Social pedagogy as relational attachment practice

The utility of social pedagogy as an approach to building resiliency and developing positive relationships with children and youth is currently underdeveloped in North America. However, there are signs of growth in this field. For example, one youth project in British Columbia, Canada, employs relationship building, collaboration and creativity in terms of music- or art-based community interventions as part of its programme. The findings from a recent evaluation report on this youth project will be used to explore the potential for a social pedagogical approach being deployed more widely, and possibly more effectively, than current youth-focused practice. Specifically, the importance of relational practice, underpinned by aspects of attachment theory will be used to explore the utility of social pedagogical practices and examine the possibility of its development within a number of professional contexts

Effects of ursodeoxycholic acid on synthesis of cholesterol and bile acids in healthy subjects

Background/Aims: Ursodeoxycholic acid ( UDCA) decreases biliary secretion of cholesterol and is therefore used for the dissolution of cholesterol gallstones. It remains unclear whether these changes in biliary cholesterol excretion are associated with changes in cholesterol synthesis and bile acid synthesis. We therefore studied the activities of rate-limiting enzymes of cholesterol synthesis and bile acid synthesis, 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutarylcoenzyme A reductase and cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase, respectively, in normal subjects during UDCA feeding. Methods: UDCA was given to 8 healthy volunteers ( 5 men, 3 women; age 24-44 years) in a single dose of 10-15 mg/kg body weight for 40 days. Before and during ( days 3, 5, 10, 20, 30 and 40) UDCA treatment, urinary excretion of mevalonic acid and serum concentrations of 7alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (7alpha-HCO) were determined as markers of cholesterol and bile acid synthesis, respectively. The Wilcoxon signed rank test and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis. Results: Cholesterol synthesis and serum lipid concentrations remained unchanged during UDCA treatment for 40 days. However, synthesis of bile acids increased during long-term treatment with UDCA as reflected by an increase in 7alpha-HCO serum concentrations from 39.7 +/- 21.3 ng/ml (median 32.8 ng/ml) before treatment to 64.0 +/- 30.4 ng/ml (median 77.5 ng/ml) at days 30-40 of UDCA treatment ( p < 0.05). Conclusions: UDCA treatment does not affect cholesterol synthesis in the liver, but does increase bile acid synthesis after prolonged treatment. This may represent a compensatory change following decreased absorption of endogenous bile acids as observed with UDCA therapy

GENETIC VARIABILITY AMONG CATTLE BREEDS FOR BEEF PRODUCTION

Between-breed variation in body weight, food intake, carcass composition, milk yield, efficiency of food conversion during growth and maintenance efficiency in adult cattle was examined in a multibreed experiment at the AFRC Animal Breeding Research Organisation. Females from 11 beef , 8 dual-purpose and 6 dairy breeds were fed a complete pelleted diet (AA6) ad libitum from weaning at 12 weeks of age until the birth of their third calf. Females were mated by AI to produce both purebred and crossbred progeny which were reared under the same conditions and slaughtered at either 24, 48 or 72 weeks of age. In addition, non-pregnant, non-lactating mature females from two beef breeds, two dairy breeds and one dual purpose breed were fed for prolonged periods on fixed levels of the same AA6 diet until an equilibrium body weight had been attained. There was significant variation among breeds for body weight, cumulated intake and cumulated food efficiency over the age range of 12 to 72 weeks. At 12 weeks of age the between-breed variation as a proportion of the total (t) was 0.71 for body weight, 0.62 for cumulated intake and 0.15 for cumulated food efficiency. Breed and sex had Significant effects on carcass composition at all three age of 24, 48 and 72 weeks. Heterosis in carcass composition although significant at 24 weeks declined at subsequent ages. Beef breeds when compared with dairy breeds had on average daily lactation yields that were half as high, total lactation yields that were 1/3 as high and lactation lengths that were 2/3 as long. Maintenance efficiency in mature cattle varied with potential milk yield, beef breeds being about 20% more efficient than dairy breeds

Global tectonic studies: Hotspots and anomalous topography

Volcanic activity on Earth and its secular variations are compared with that on other terrestrial planets. Activity at divergent, transform, and convergent plate margins is described with particular emphasis on hot spots and flood basalts. The timing and causing of uplifting above 500 meters, which in not associated with either plate boundaries or the normal nonplate margin edges of continents is considered with particular focus on the Guyana Highlands in southern Venezuela and western British Guiana, and the Brazilian Highlands in the central, eastern, and southern parts of the country. The mode and mechanism of plateau uplifting and the re-elevation of old mountain belts and subsidence of intra-continental basins are also discussed

GENETIC VARIABILITY AMONG CATTLE BREEDS FOR BEEF PRODUCTION

Between-breed variation in body weight, food intake, carcass composition, milk yield, efficiency of food conversion during growth and maintenance efficiency in adult cattle was examined in a multibreed experiment at the AFRC Animal Breeding Research Organisation. Females from 11 beef , 8 dual-purpose and 6 dairy breeds were fed a complete pelleted diet (AA6) ad libitum from weaning at 12 weeks of age until the birth of their third calf. Females were mated by AI to produce both purebred and crossbred progeny which were reared under the same conditions and slaughtered at either 24, 48 or 72 weeks of age. In addition, non-pregnant, non-lactating mature females from two beef breeds, two dairy breeds and one dual purpose breed were fed for prolonged periods on fixed levels of the same AA6 diet until an equilibrium body weight had been attained. There was significant variation among breeds for body weight, cumulated intake and cumulated food efficiency over the age range of 12 to 72 weeks. At 12 weeks of age the between-breed variation as a proportion of the total (t) was 0.71 for body weight, 0.62 for cumulated intake and 0.15 for cumulated food efficiency. Breed and sex had Significant effects on carcass composition at all three age of 24, 48 and 72 weeks. Heterosis in carcass composition although significant at 24 weeks declined at subsequent ages. Beef breeds when compared with dairy breeds had on average daily lactation yields that were half as high, total lactation yields that were 1/3 as high and lactation lengths that were 2/3 as long. Maintenance efficiency in mature cattle varied with potential milk yield, beef breeds being about 20% more efficient than dairy breeds

Back-side-on-BOX heterogeneously integrated III-V-on-silicon O-band discrete-mode lasers

We demonstrate foundry-fabricated O-band III-V-on-silicon discrete-mode lasers. The laser fabrication follows the back-side-on-buried-oxide laser integration process and is compatible with complex, multilayer, silicon-on-insulator based platforms. A series of devices were characterized, with the best devices producing on-chip powers of nearly 20 mW with Lorentzian linewidths below 20 kHz and a side mode suppression ratio of at least 60 dB

Performance of Port Facilities During the Northridge Earthquake

During the January 17, 1994, Northridge earthquake, two of the Port of Los Angeles\u27 facilities called Berths 121-126 and Pier 300 sustained moderate damage. Lateral displacement of dikes up to five inches and liquefaction of hydraulic fills were observed. Several geotechnical analyses from simplified SPT -based method to sophisticated fully-coupled analyses are presented. Observed lateral displacements are predicted reasonably well by the fully-coupled analysis procedure and an intermediate analysis procedure which incorporates some results from a fully-coupled analysis in to a simplified Newmark-type deformation analysis. The potential for higher pore pressure generation underneath the dike compared to a level ground is also discussed