OGO-E cosmic radiation - Nuclear abundance experiment

OGO-E cosmic radiation detector

A Study of the Condition of "Good Work" in Educational Leadership in Iowa

iv, 180 leaves. Advisor: Sally Beisser.Extending the research of Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, and Damon (2001) in the fields of genetics and journalism and pursued because "we are convinced that the challenge of good work confronts every professional today" (p. ix), this study focuues on the question of what it means to carry out good work - "work that is both excellent in quality and socially resposible - at a time of constant change" (p ix) in the field of educational leadership. This study is qualitative in nature, combining features from the traditions of grounded theory and ethnography to provide a thick and rich description of good work in educational leadership in Iowa. One central research question, "What does it mean to carry out 'good work' in the professional realm of educational leadership in Iowa today?" guided the study. Over 120 pages of data were collected from semi-structured interviews of 10 high-profile, influential educational leaders from the state of Iowa. These leaders were specifically selected through a collaborative identification process with School Administrators of Iowa. Data analysis and verification included searching for themes through the processes of open, axial, and selective coding; triangulation; member checks; and interpreting the data to make sense of the findings. The resulting findings were written in an ethnographic narrative style to present a meaningful, contextual description of the discoveries and to provide the opportunity for authorial "voice". This study found that good work (defined in terms of excellence and ethics) exists for these 10 educational leaders through the building of relationshps, leadership, focusing on student need and achievement, moral purpose, decision-making, transparency of processes, and accountability. Their efforts to carry out good work are supported by professional organizations, strong relationships, influential individuals, high expectations, effective communication, integrated personal belief systems, and personal efficacy. Efforts to do good work are challege by resource limitations, political mandates and accountability systems, systemic and societal changes, and subtle shift to a market based educational system, and the continual struggle to determine the "greater good" in any given circumstance. Fundamentally, those who choose educational leadership as a profession do so for a greater good; to make a difference in the lives of children, subsequently shaping the future of our society and even the world. It is the conclusion of this study, that despite the incresing challenges, prominent educational leaders in Iowa are engaging in high quality work in a socially responsible manner. As a result, the perception prevails that the future of educational leadership is an optimistic one

Therapy-based exercise from the perspective of adult patients: a qualitative systematic review conducted using an ethnographic approach

© The Author(s) 2019.Objectives: Many patients do not meet recommended levels of therapy-based exercise. This review aims to explore how adult patients view being prescribed therapy-based exercise, the information/education they are given and receive and if/how they independently practise and adhere. Design: A qualitative systematic review conducted using an ethnographic approach and in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Sources: PubMed, CINAHL, SCOPUS and EMBASE databases (01 January 2000–31 December 2018). Methods: Qualitative studies with a focus on engagement/adherence with therapy-based exercise were included. Data extraction and quality appraisal were undertaken by two reviewers. Results were discussed and data synthesized. Results: A total of 20,294 titles were screened, with data extracted from 39 full texts and data from 18 papers used to construct three themes. ‘The Guidance received’ suggests that the type of delivery desired to support and sustain engagement was context-dependent and individually situated. ‘The Therapist as teacher’ advocates that patients see independent therapy-based exercise as a shared activity and value caring, kind and professional qualities in their therapist. ‘The Person as learner’ proposes that when having to engage with and practise therapy-based exercise because of ill-health, patients often see themselves as new learners who experience fear and uncertainty about what to do. Patients may have unacknowledged ambivalences about learning that impact on engagement and persistence. Conclusion: The quality of the interaction between therapists and patients appears integral to patients engaging with, and sustaining practice of, rehabilitation programmes. Programmes need to be individualized, and health care professionals need to take patients’ previous experiences and ambivalences in motivation and empowerment into account.Peer reviewe

Sufficient Conditions for Fast Switching Synchronization in Time Varying Network Topologies

In previous work, empirical evidence indicated that a time-varying network could propagate sufficient information to allow synchronization of the sometimes coupled oscillators, despite an instantaneously disconnected topology. We prove here that if the network of oscillators synchronizes for the static time-average of the topology, then the network will synchronize with the time-varying topology if the time-average is achieved sufficiently fast. Fast switching, fast on the time-scale of the coupled oscillators, overcomes the descychnronizing decoherence suggested by disconnected instantaneous networks. This result agrees in spirit with that of where empirical evidence suggested that a moving averaged graph Laplacian could be used in the master-stability function analysis. A new fast switching stability criterion here-in gives sufficiency of a fast-switching network leading to synchronization. Although this sufficient condition appears to be very conservative, it provides new insights about the requirements for synchronization when the network topology is time-varying. In particular, it can be shown that networks of oscillators can synchronize even if at every point in time the frozen-time network topology is insufficiently connected to achieve synchronization.Comment: Submitted to SIAD

Simpósio Nacional de Culturas Agro-industriais Potencialidades e perspectivas

Simpósio Nacional de Culturas Agro-industriais Potencialidades e perspectiva

Results of testing the prototype of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats in 30 intensive farms in Northern Italy

The AWIN project aimed at developing an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for adult dairy goats. A prototype protocol was tested in 30 intensive dairy goat farms to evaluate its feasibility in farms of different size. Time for applying the prototype was recorded and any other constraint was taken into account. Moreover, data collected during the prototype testing provided information on the prevalence of welfare issues in intensive dairy goat farms in Northern Italy. The prototype included 25 animal-based indicators (14 group- and 11 individual-level indicators). The prototype showed a good on-farm feasibility and it was highly accepted among stakeholders, as its application did not interfere with the daily routine. Approximately 2 h were required for the application of the prototype. When feeding racks were available, using them for locking the animals during the individual assessment resulted advantageous to speed the data collection and to reduce handling stress to the goats and disturbance to the farmers. Farm size and different management systems influenced the prevalence of some indicators, with small farms in general better welfare conditions compared to larger farms. The results of the present study represent an important starting point to set up an epidemiological database that may lead to improve the welfare status of goats

Set up of a sampling strategy for the collection of animal-based welfare indicators during milking

We hypothesised milking time to be the period of the production process that allows observers to have closer contact with dairy goats, hence being the ideal location/time to assess certain animal-based welfare indicators. However, for the development of a practical welfare assessment scheme, observing all the animals during milking would be too time consuming. The aim of the present study was to define a sampling strategy that can reduce the observation time and at the same time produce a valid and unbiased result. We observed milking in two farms (Farm1: 303 goats; Farm2: 141 goats). In each farm, goats were housed in two pens, so we had a total of four pens (191 and 112 goats each in Farm1; 65 and 76 goats each in Farm2). We collected data on lameness, body condition score, cleanliness, teat and udder abnormality and overgrown claws. Data were compared by chisq test. We found significant differences (at least P<0.01) between farms for all the observed variables, except for lameness (P=0.08). Within each farm, no differences between pens were recorded. A minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6 milking groups were formed from each pen, depending on the size of the milking parlour. We compared the prevalence of each welfare indicator in the whole pen with its prevalence in each milking group. In most cases, each single milking group did not statistically differ from the whole pen, and the central groups were able to better reflect the welfare situation of the whole pen. However, a clear and often significant increase of the prevalence of lameness was observed in the last milking groups. Our preliminary results suggest that a reliable sampling strategy can be used during milking to gather information about the welfare condition of dairy goats, thus reducing the time needed for data collection. When more than one pen is present in a farm, it seems that one pen can give sufficient information to represent the whole farm welfare level for the considered variables, provided that observations are carried out on the central milking groups. This seems particularly important for lameness. Further observations in more farms are required in order to confirm this hypothesis

The use of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment for the on-farm welfare assessment of dairy goats

This research investigated whether using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with a fixed list of descriptors may be related to quantitative animal- (ABM) and resource-based (RBM) measures included in the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) welfare assessment prototype protocol for goats, tested in 60 farms. A principal component analysis (PCA) was conducted on QBA descriptors; then PCs were correlated to some ABMs and RBMs. Subsequently, a combined PCA merged QBA scores, ABMs and RBMs. The study confirms that QBA can identify the differences in goats\u2019 emotions, but only few significant correlations were found with ABMs and RBMs. In addition, the combined PCA revealed that goats with a normal hair coat were scored as more relaxed and sociable. A high farm workload was related to bored and suffering goats, probably because farmers that can devote less time to animals may fail to recognise important signals from them. Goats were scored as sociable, but also alert, in response to the presence of an outdoor run, probably because when outdoors they received more stimuli than indoors and were more attentive to the surroundings. Notwithstanding these results, the holistic approach of QBA may allow to register animals\u2019 welfare from a different perspective and be complementary to other measures

On-Farm Welfare Assessment Protocol for Adult Dairy Goats in Intensive Production Systems

Within the European AWIN project, a protocol for assessing dairy goats\u2019 welfare on the farm was developed. Starting from a literature review, a prototype including animal-based indicators covering four welfare principles and 12 welfare criteria was set up. The prototype was tested in 60 farms for validity, reliability, and feasibility. After testing the prototype, a two-level assessment protocol was proposed in order to increase acceptability among stakeholders. The first level offers a more general overview of the welfare status, based on group assessment of a few indicators (e.g., hair coat condition, latency to the first contact test, severe lameness, Qualitative Behavior Assessment), with no or minimal handling of goats and short assessment time required. The second level starts if welfare problems are encountered in the first level and adds a comprehensive and detailed individual evaluation (e.g., Body Condition Score, udder asymmetry, overgrown claws), supported by an effective sampling strategy. The assessment can be carried out using the AWIN Goat app. The app results in a clear visual output, which provides positive feedback on welfare conditions in comparison with a benchmark of a reference population. The protocol may be a valuable tool for both veterinarians and technicians and a self-assessment instrument for farmers

Citalopram Enhances the Activity of Chloroquine in Resistant Plasmodium in Vitro and in Vivo 1

ABSTRACT Citalopram, is an extremely potent inhibitor of neuronal serotonin reuptake. It is structurally unrelated to other antidepressants, but it contains the chemical features associated with reversal of drug resistance and exhibits minimal cardiotoxic side effects and fewer of the anticholinergic and adrenolytic side effects associated with other psychotropic agents. Sensitivity tests to citalopram alone and in combination with chloroquine were performed against chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine-sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium chabaudi. Citalopram alone showed intrinsic activity against the chloroquine-resistant strains of P. falciparum (IC 50 ϭ 1.51 Ϯ .6 M) but only limited activity against the chloroquine-sensitive strain (IC 50 ϭ 33.27 Ϯ 5.87 M) and no activity in vivo. The interaction of chloroquine and citalopram in vitro resulted in a synergistic response in the chloroquineresistant strain but there was no interaction between the drugs in the chloroquine-sensitive strain-a pattern found with other reversal agents. Citalopram enhanced chloroquine susceptibility in both strains of P. chabaudi, however, the potentiating effect was seen at lower doses in the chloroquine-resistant strain. The results of this study suggest that citalopram may have potential as a chemosensitizer in Plasmodium infections on the basis of the low toxicity of citalopram at concentrations potentiating chloroquine activity both in vitro and in vivo. Malaria is a significant source of global morbidity and mortality. Despite the development of new antimalarial agents such as mefloquine, halofantrine and the artemisins, chloroquine remains the drug of choice for the treatment of uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria infections, due to its low cost, rapid onset of action and its low toxicity. However, the efficacy of chloroquine has diminished due to the emergence and prevalence of chloroquine-resistant strains of P. falciparum (Wensdorfer and Payne, 1991). The rapid development and spread of resistance to chloroquine and other antimalarials, and the tremendous cost of drug development has emphasized the necessity to optimize the use of existing antimalarial agents A number of adjunct drugs have been identified from a wide variety of chemical classes including calcium-channel blockers Citalopram,1-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]-1-(4-fluorophenyl)-1,3dihydroisobenzofuran-5-carbonite), is an extremely potent inhibitor of neuronal serotonin reuptake The low toxicity coupled with the chemical similarity to chemosensitizers (resistance reversal agents) prompted us to investigate the chemosensitizing effect of citalopram in Plasmodium. In this study, we screened citalopram for chloroquine potentiating activity in chloroquine-resistant and chloroquine sensitive-parasites; both in vitro against P. falciparum and in a rodent malaria model (Plasmodium chabaudi). Methods Effect of Citalopram in Vitro Parasites. Two well-characterized isolates of P. falciparum were used for the drug assays. The chloroquine-resistant FCR-3 strain (IC 50 ϳ 150 nM) (donated by J. Freese, Research in diseases of the Tropical Environment, Durban, South Africa) and the chloroquine