Anxiously Anticipating! A Parallel Journey to an Art and Equestrian Camp for Children with Disabilities

In many communities, there are few opportunities for children with disabilities to participate in engaging summer camp experiences. This poster will highlight one successful endeavor that provided this much-needed opportunity to children with disabilities. Little has been explored regarding how parents go about preparing their children for the camp experience that is to come; and few studies have documented the planning and preparation by camp staff. This presentation will explore one family’s efforts to prepare and support a child’s first venture into organized summer programming. At the same time, this presentation will detail the preparation (and surprising level of anxiety) of the staff that provided the camp as a service learning project. After careful selection and training, undergraduate students became day camp counselors for an immersive service learning experience where they planned and implemented a two-week day camp for schoolchildren with mild disabilities. Campers, counselor, and volunteers alike learned valuable social and academic enrichment skills during the camp experience, but did report mild to moderate anxiety associated with anticipating their involvement in the project. During the months preceding camp, journal and diary entries detail the ups and downs of camp preparation as well as the actual daily camp experience, describing the growth that occurred in both the campers and the counselors. These journal entries and practical suggestions for camp planning and camper preparation give voice to the camp experience through two perspectives – the camper/parent and the camp team. Service learning can take many forms and serve diverse purposes and populations. This poster documents the process of combining service learning with the provision of summer camp experiences for underserved populations - an exciting venture! This particular service learning experience – an equestrian, art, and science camp – enabled college students to learn new skills, enhance leadership abilities, develop important personal attributes, and widen their understandings of diverse populations. The same project enabled this camper, and many others, to make new friends, develop recreational competencies, and take risks in a safe environment. Perhaps, though, the greatest benefit to all was that intangible, mysterious experience that everyone needs to discover from time to time – fun

Intraduodenal sarcoma recurrence of retroperitoneal origin: an unusual cause for a duodenal obstruction.

Soft tissue sarcomas are uncommon tumors, and intraduodenal soft tissue sarcoma manifestation is even more rare. Only three cases of intraduodenal sarcomas have been reported in the literature thus far. Here, we report a case of an intraduodenal recurrence of a retroperitoneal sarcoma causing bowel obstruction. This unusual recurrence pattern likely relates to the patient's previous resection and radiation treatment, and highlights the benefits, limitations and follow-up strategies after multimodality treatment

Migration aspirations and migration cultures:A case study of Ukrainian migration towards the European Union

An abundant body of research focused on macrolevel, mesolevel, and microlevel factors explaining why individuals move across international borders. In this paper, we aim to complement the existing literature by exploring how, within a single country, mesolevel factors differently impact migration aspirations, focusing on a case study of Ukraine. We particularly focus on how migration aspirations of individuals in two different regions can be explained by their international social networks with family members, on the one hand, and with friends, on the other. Furthermore, we explore whether regional migration characteristics play a role, as well as the interaction of such characteristics with individuals' frequency of contact with transnational networks. Our analyses are based on the EUMAGINE project and suggest that the interplay between regional migration characteristics and transnational social contact are key for explainingthe decline of migration systems over time

In vitro integration of ribosomal RNA synthesis, ribosome assembly, and translation

Purely in vitro ribosome synthesis could provide a critical step towards unraveling the systems biology of ribosome biogenesis, constructing minimal cells from defined components, and engineering ribosomes with new functions. Here, as an initial step towards this goal, we report a method for constructing Escherichia coli ribosomes in crude S150 E. coli extracts. While conventional methods for E. coli ribosome reconstitution are non-physiological, our approach attempts to mimic chemical conditions in the cytoplasm, thus permitting several biological processes to occur simultaneously. Specifically, our integrated synthesis, assembly, and translation (iSAT) technology enables one-step co-activation of rRNA transcription, assembly of transcribed rRNA with native ribosomal proteins into functional ribosomes, and synthesis of active protein by these ribosomes in the same compartment. We show that iSAT makes possible the in vitro construction of modified ribosomes by introducing a 23S rRNA mutation that mediates resistance against clindamycin. We anticipate that iSAT will aid studies of ribosome assembly and open new avenues for making ribosomes with altered properties

Young people's everyday romance and sexual experiences in relation to sex-related conversations with parents:a diary study in the Netherlands

This study builds on existing research into how young people's emergent sexual development is connected to parent-child sex-related communication through avoidance vs. disclosure. Over the course of one year, a total of 21 young people (age range 12-17.5) reported in longitudinal qualitative diaries their (1) everyday sexual experiences and (2) sex-related conversations with their parents. Using a mixed-methods approach, findings show that less sexually experienced participants reported greater avoidance of parent-child sex-related conversations than more experienced participants. The sex-related conversations of more experienced participants mainly concerned overt experiences in the form of everyday issues with their romantic partner, while the conversations of less experienced participants were characterised by more covert experiences such as opinions about romantic relationships in general. These results suggest that the degree to which young people feel comfortable talking about sexuality with their parents partly depends on when the conversation takes place during a young person's romantic and sexual development

Pilot-Scale Testing of In Situ Vitrification of Arnold Engineering Development Center Site 10 Contaminated Soils

Process verification testing using in situ vitrification (ISV) was successfully performed in a pilot-scale test using soils containing fuel oils and heavy metals from Site 10 Installation Restoration Program (IRP) at the Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) located in the southern portion of middle Tennessee. This effort was directed through the U.S. Department of Energy ' s Hazardous Waste Remedial Action Program (HAZWRAP) Office managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems. In situ vitrification is a thermal treatment process that converts contaminated soils and wastes into a durable product containing glass and crystalline phases. During processing, heavy metals or other inorganic constituents are retained and immobilized in the glass structure; organic constituents are typically destroyed or removed and captured by the off-gas treatment system. The objective of this test is to verify the applicability of the ISV process for stabilization of the contaminated soil at Site 10 . The pilotscale ISV testing results, reported herein, indicate that the AEDC Site 10 Fire Training Area may be successfully processed by ISV. Site 10 is a fire training pit that is contaminated with fuel oils and heavy metals from fire training exercises. Actual site material was processed by ISV to verify its feasible application to those soils . Initial feasibility bench-scale testing and analyses of the soils determined that a lower-melting, electrically conductive fluxing additive (such as sodium carbonate) is required as an additive to the soil for ISV processing to work effecti vely. The actual Site 10 soils showed a larger degree of compositional variation than the soil used for the bench-scale test . This variation dictates that each vitrification setting should be analyzed to determine the composition as. a function of depth and location . This data will dictate the amount (if any) of fluxing add itives of sodium and calci um to bring the melt composition to the recommended quantity of 5 wt% sodium and 5 wt% calcium oxide. Each variable additive adjustment would result in a vitrification melt composition of 5 wt% calcium and sodium oxide content . The pilot -scale operation created a vitrified block weighing 15 metric t onnes (t) and measuring 1.5 m (5 ft) deep and 2.4 m (8 ft) on each side. The quantity of fluxing additives and the method of placing the fluxing additives in the surface cover soil limited the operating electrical system providing power to the ISV melt. The power limitation created enhanced lateral growth of the block and resulted in a shallower depth . This method of adding fluxes demonstrated that ISV operating efficiency would be greatly improved if the fluxes were injected or mixed with the entire designated vitrification volume. However, the volume vitrified contained a sufficient quantity of hazardous contaminants to allow for an effective verification evaluation of ISV processing of the AEDC Site 10. Analytical efforts for this project were directed towards evaluating the organic destruction and thermal transport effects of ISV processing on the Site 10 contaminated soil. No thermal transport of hydrocarbon contaminants to the surrounding soil were detected. These results continue to confirm the organic destruction and nontransport mechanisms presented in this report . Off-gas releases of the hydrocarbons indicated an 89 wt% destruction efficiency by the ISV process exclusive of off-gas treatment. The destruction and removal efficiency of the overall ISV system was 99.85 wt%. Leach testing using extraction procedure (EP) toxicity and toxic characteristics leach procedure (TCLP) showed that all metals of concern were below leach testing release limits, indicating that the ISV process produces a nonhazardous product . These favorable results indicate that ISV can be used to effectively treat and remediate the contaminated soils at the AEDC Site 10

Biology by Design: From Top to Bottom and Back

Synthetic biology is a nascent technical discipline that seeks to enable the design and construction of novel biological systems to meet pressing societal needs. However, engineering biology still requires much trial and error because we lack effective approaches for connecting basic “parts” into higher-order networks that behave as predicted. Developing strategies for improving the performance and sophistication of our designs is informed by two overarching perspectives: “bottom-up” and “top-down” considerations. Using this framework, we describe a conceptual model for developing novel biological systems that function and interact with existing biological components in a predictable fashion. We discuss this model in the context of three topical areas: biochemical transformations, cellular devices and therapeutics, and approaches that expand the chemistry of life. Ten years after the construction of synthetic biology's first devices, the drive to look beyond what does exist to what can exist is ushering in an era of biology by design

Cross-Comparison of Climate Change adaptation Strategies Across Large River Basins in Europe, Africa and Asia

A cross-comparison of climate change adaptation strategies across regions was performed, considering six large river basins as case study areas. Three of the basins, namely the Elbe, Guadiana, and Rhine, are located in Europe, the Nile Equatorial Lakes region and the Orange basin are in Africa, and the Amudarya basin is in Central Asia. The evaluation was based mainly on the opinions of policy makers and water management experts in the river basins. The adaptation strategies were evaluated considering the following issues: expected climate change, expected climate change impacts, drivers for development of adaptation strategy, barriers for adaptation, state of the implementation of a range of water management measures, and status of adaptation strategy implementation. The analysis of responses and cross-comparison were performed with rating the responses where possible. According to the expert opinions, there is an understanding in all six regions that climate change is happening. Different climate change impacts are expected in the basins, whereas decreasing annual water availability, and increasing frequency and intensity of droughts (and to a lesser extent floods) are expected in all of them. According to the responses, the two most important drivers for development of adaptation strategy are: climate-related disasters, and national and international policies. The following most important barriers for adaptation to climate change were identified by responders: spatial and temporal uncertainties in climate projections, lack of adequate financial resources, and lack of horizontal cooperation. The evaluated water resources management measures are on a relatively high level in the Elbe and Rhine basins, followed by the Orange and Guadiana. It is lower in the Amudarya basin, and the lowest in the NEL region, where many measures are only at the planning stage. Regarding the level of adaptation strategy implementation, it can be concluded that the adaptation to climate change has started in all basins, but progresses rather slowl

An examination of the effects of self-regulatory focus on the perception of the media richness: the case of email

Communication is a key element in organizations’ business success. The media richness theory and the channel expansion theory are two of the most influential theories regarding the selection and use of communication media in organizations; however, literature has focused little on the effects of self-regulation by managers and employees in these theories. To analyze these topics, this study develops an empirical investigation by gathering data from 600 managers and employees using a questionnaire. The results suggest that the perception of media richness is positively affected when the individual shows a promotion focus or strategy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Multimorbidity, control and treatment of noncommunicable diseases among primary healthcare attenders in the Western Cape, South Africa

Background. South Africa (SA) is facing a heavy burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Few studies address multimorbidity, control and treatment of NCDs in patients attending primary healthcare (PHC) clinics. Objectives. To describe multimorbidity, related risk factors, disease severity and treatment status of patients with four important NCDs attending public sector PHC clinics in two districts in SA. Methods. A cross-sectional sample of patients completed baseline data collection for a randomised controlled trial of a health systems intervention. The study population comprised adults attending PHC clinics in the Eden and Overberg districts of the Western Cape in 2011. Four subgroups of patients were identified: hypertension, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease and depression. A total of 4 393 participants enrolled from 38 clinics completed a baseline structured questionnaire and had measurements taken. Prescription data were recorded. Results. Of participants with hypertension, diabetes, respiratory disease and depression, 80%, 92%, 88% and 80%, respectively, had at least one of the other three conditions. There were low levels of control and treatment: 59% of participants with hypertension had a blood pressure ≥140/90 mmHg, the mean haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) value in participants with diabetes was 9%, 12% of participants in the depression group were prescribed an antidepressant at a therapeutic dose, and 48% of respiratory participants were prescribed a b2-agonist and 34% an inhaled corticosteroid. Conclusion. Considerable multimorbidity and unmet treatment needs exist among patients with NCDs attending public sector PHC clinics. Improved strategies are required for diagnosing and managing NCDs in this sector