African Entrepreneurs’ Perceptions on the Mentoring Provided by a Cross-cultural Professional Development Experience: Implications for Future Program

We conducted a multicase investigation to assess the impacts of a cross-cultural exchange program on Entrepreneur Fellows from Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda (8 women; 14 men) after they had returned home from the United States. Our assessment included the mentoring aspect of the program. Six questions and related probes guided semi-structured interviews with the 22 Fellows, the study’s quintain. The lead researcher transcribed the study’s interviews and verified accuracy and trustworthiness by sending her transcriptions to the Fellows for verification. Findings derived from the interviews or cases crystallized as themes representative of the quintain. The emergent themes, which included mentoring, inspired two theoretical lenses to guide our interpretation of the Fellows’ experiences: human capital theory and theory of planned behavior. Recommendations for practice include additional training of entrepreneur mentors and suggestions to facilitate high-quality field experiences. Additional research examining participants’ views about mentoring – protégés and their mentors – as an integral component of entrepreneurial training in cross-cultural settings, and how that can be improved, would likely enhance the learning outcomes of similar programs

Third-Party Rating Curve Development and Debris Testing for Thirsty Duck® TDP Series Floating Outlet and Skimmer

The University of Minnesota, St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL) was contracted by Thirsty Duck, LP to conduct a testing program on a series of floating outlets and skimmers. The purpose of the study was to develop rating curves, conduct a freezing test, and analyze performance under extreme debris loading conditions for their TDP series product. The models tested include the TDP-248 and TDP-184. An additional hydrostatic pressure test was conducted on the 8-inch bellows component of the TDP-248. Performance under debris load was evaluated using a mixture of grass (hay), cans, plastic bottles, plastic bags, and rope. The discharge rate was monitored during the debris performance tests to determine if the debris impaired the function of the product. A freeze test was also performed on a TDP-248 with an 8-inch bellows. The results of the rating curve experiments were used by Thirsty Duck, LP to calibrate their analytic model for predicting flow rates. The TDP products are designed to connect to the outlet pipe with a standard 150# ANSI flange connection. Figure 1 contains a concept diagram of the TDP system. Major components include an orifice to control discharge, a float to suspend the orifice at a fixed distance below the water surface, a skimmer to prevent fouling, and an expanding conduit ("bellows") to convey water from the orifice to the outlet pipe. The orifice is cut from a conical plenum that connects the float to the bellows. This allows the orifice to be custom sized by the installer. Both floating outlet and skimmers were tested for multiple orifice sizes. Testing specifications are provided in Table 1.Thirsty Duck, L

In Dear Old Ireland

Inset photo of A. Taylor Craighttps://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/2432/thumbnail.jp

Investigating diet as the source of tetrodotoxin in Pleurobranchaea maculata

The origin of tetrodotoxin (TTX) is highly debated; researchers have postulated either an endogenous or exogenous source with the host accumulating TTX symbiotically or via food chain transmission. The aim of this study was to determine whether the grey side-gilled sea slug (Pleurobranchaea maculata) could obtain TTX from a dietary source, and to attempt to identify this source through environmental surveys. Eighteen non-toxic P. maculata were maintained in aquariums and twelve were fed a TTX-containing diet. Three P. maculata were harvested after 1 h, 24 h, 17 days and 39 days and TTX concentrations in their stomach, gonad, mantle and remaining tissue/fluids determined using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Tetrodotoxin was detected in all organs/tissue after 1 h with an average uptake of 32%. This decreased throughout the experiment (21%, 15% and 9%, respectively). Benthic surveys at sites with dense populations of toxic P. maculata detected very low or no TTX in other organisms. This study demonstrates that P. maculata can accumulate TTX through their diet. However, based on the absence of an identifiable TTX source in the environment, in concert with the extremely high TTX concentrations and short life spans of P. maculata, it is unlikely to be the sole TTX source for this species

The Paradox of Compacts: final report to the Home Office on monitoring the impact of Compacts

The Compact is an important building block in achieving a better relationship between Government and the voluntary and community sector. We are fully committed to partnership working with the sector and increasing their role in civil society and in the delivery of public s e rvices. The Compact helps us to work better together, so that we can better meet the needs of communities

Systematic review of antimicrobial drug prescribing in hospitals.

Prudent antibiotic prescribing to hospital inpatients has the potential to reduce the incidences of antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infection. We reviewed the literature from January 1980 to November 2003 to identify rigorous evaluations of interventions to improve hospital antibiotic prescribing. We identified 66 studies with interpretable data of which 16 reported 20 microbiological outcomes: Gram negative resistant bacteria (GNRB), 10 studies; Clostridium difficile associated diarrhoea (CDAD), 5 studies; vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE), 3 studies and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2 studies. Four studies provide good evidence that the intervention changed microbial outcomes with low risk of alternative explanations, eight studies provide less convincing evidence and four studies were negative. The strongest and most consistent evidence was for CDAD but we were able to analyse only the immediate impact of interventions because of nonstandardised durations of follow up. The ability to compare results of studies could be substantially improved by standardising methodology and reporting