Recruiting and retaining children and families' social workers. The potential of work discussion groups

Current difficulties with the recruitment and retention of children and families' social workers have been formally acknowledged. However, although initiatives which focus on remuneration and career progression are clearly welcome, research and evidence from practice highlights how social workers themselves place high value on the availability of good quality supervision. Yet, questions remain about whether first-line managers have the time or are even in the best position to offer this support. This article draws on the experience and evaluation of one particular model of supervision — 'work discussion groups' —and explores its impact with residential social work staff and teachers as well as the potential for further developments of this kind

Proses Densifikasi Produk Karbonisasi Tandan Kosong Sawit Menjadi Briket Menggunakan Crude Gliserol Produk Samping Biodiesel Sebagai Filler

Empty fruit bunches (EFB) has not been utilized optimally. EFB can be used as source of solid fuel in the form of briquettes. The calorific value of the EFB is 18.200,975 kJ / kg. The calorific value can be increased by carbonization process that is followed by densification process. Carbonization process aims to minimize the elements forming of the smoke, so the exhaust gas can be cleaner. Densification Process aims to increase the density and simplify the handling process. The calorific value of the combustion products can be enhanced by adding the filler. Crude glycerol is used as the filler, because it has a the calorific value of 25.175,98 kJ / kg which aims to improve the calorific value. The purpose of this research is to utilize EFB and wasting crude glycerol as a source of solid fuel, to learn how is the effect of crude glycerol, particle size, and compression pressure, to determine the influence of calorific value and compressive strength of the briquettes produced. EFB Densification uses a hydraulic press in operating conditions of particle sizes (60, 80, and 100 mesh), the composition of the filler (60:40, 70:30 and 80:20) and a pressing pressure (100.110, and 120 bar). Responses were analyzed, namely the calorific value and compressive strength by using Response Surface Methodology. The Best calorific value is obtained by 28.999,4 kJ / kg at 80 mesh particle size, composition filler 53: 47, and the pressing pressure of 110 bar. While the best compressive strength value is 9,5316 kg / cm2 at 100 mesh particle size, composition filler 60: 40, and the pressing pressure of 120 bar. Process conditions is very influence significantly on the calorific value and compressive strength is the composition of the filler and the pressing pressure

Autopodial development is selectively impaired by misexpression of chordin-like 1 in the chick limb

AbstractChordin-like 1 (CHRDL1) is a secreted bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonist expressed in mesenchymal tissues whose function in development of the skeleton has not been examined in detail. Here we show Chrdl1 is dynamically expressed in the early distal limb bud mesenchyme, with expression becoming downregulated as development proceeds. Chrdl1 expression is largely excluded from the critical signaling center of the posterior limb bud, the Zone of Polarizing Activity (ZPA), as has been described for the BMP antagonist Gremlin (GREM1) (Scherz et al., 2004, Science, 305, 396–399). Unlike Grem1, Chrdl1 is expressed in the hindlimb by a small subset of ZPA cells and their descendants suggesting divergent regulation and function between the various BMP antagonists. Ectopic expression of Chrdl1 throughout the avian limb bud using viral misexpression resulted in an oligodactyly phenotype with loss of digits from the anterior limb, although the development of more proximal elements of the zeugopod and stylopod were unaffected. Overgrowths of soft tissue and syndactyly were also observed, resulting from impaired apoptosis and failure of the anterior mesenchyme to undergo SOX9-dependent chondrogenesis, instead persisting as an interdigital-like soft tissue phenotype. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) and fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling were upregulated and persisted later in development, however these changes were only detected late in limb development at timepoints when endogenous Grem1 would normally be downregulated and increasing BMP signaling would cause termination of Shh and Fgf expression. Our results suggest that the early stages of the GREM1–SHH–FGF signaling network are resistant to Chrdl1-overexpression, leading to normal formation of proximal limb structures, but that later Bmp expression, impaired by ectopic CHRDL1, is essential for formation of the correct complement of digits

A Wisp3 Cre-knockin Allele Produces Efficient Recombination in Spermatocytes during Early Prophase of Meiosis I

Individuals with the autosomal recessive skeletal disorder Progressive Pseudorheumatoid Dysplasia have loss-of-function mutations in WISP3, and aberrant WISP3 expression has been detected in tumors from patients with colon and breast cancer. In mice however, neither absence nor over-expression of WISP3 was found to cause a phenotype, and endogenous Wisp3 expression has been difficult to detect. To confirm that Wisp3 knockout mice have no phenotype and to identify potential sites of endogenous Wisp3 expression, we generated mice with a knockin allele (Wisp3GFP-Cre) designed to express Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and Cre-recombinase instead of WISP3. Heterozygous and homozygous knockin mice were fertile and indistinguishable from their wild-type littermates, confirming that mice lacking Wisp3 have no phenotype. We could not detect GFP-expression from the knockin allele, but we could detect Cre-expression after crossing mice with the knockin allele to Cre-reporter mice; the double heterozygous offspring had evidence of Cre-mediated recombination in several tissues. The only tissue that had high levels of Cre-mediated recombination was the testis, where recombination in spermatocytes occurred by early prophase of meiosis I. As a consequence, males that were double heterozygous for a Wisp3GFP-Cre and a floxed allele only contributed a recombined allele to their offspring. We detected no evidence of Cre-mediated recombination in the female ovary, although when double heterozygous females contributed the reporter allele to their offspring it had recombined ~7% of the time. Wisp3GFP-Cre expression therefore occurs less frequently and most likely at a later stage of oocyte development in female mice compared to male mice. We conclude that although WISP3 is dispensable in mice, male mice with a Wisp3GFP-Cre allele (Jackson Laboratory stock # 017685) will be useful for studying early prophase of meiosis I and for efficiently recombining floxed alleles that are passed to offspring

Expansion Thoracoplasty Affects Lung Growth and Morphology in a Rabbit Model: A Pilot Study

Background: Thoracic insufficiency syndrome represents a novel form of postnatal restrictive respiratory disease occurring in children with early-onset scoliosis and chest wall anomalies. Expansion thoracoplasty improves lung volumes in children with thoracic insufficiency syndrome; however, how it affects lung development is unknown. Questions/purposes: Using a rabbit model of thoracic insufficiency syndrome, we evaluated the effect of expansion thoracoplasty on the response of biologic mechanisms in the alveolar microstructure. Methods: Using archived material from a previous experiment, 10 4-week-old New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups: normal (n = 3), disease (n = 3), and treated (n = 4). Left ribs four to eight were tethered in seven rabbits at age 5 weeks to induce hypoplasia of the left hemithorax (disease). At age 10 weeks, four of these rabbits were treated by expansion thoracoplasty (treated). At age 24 weeks, lungs were excised and processed. Alveolar density and parenchymal airspace were measured on histologic sections. Immunohistochemistry was performed for vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (angiogenesis), KI-67 (cell proliferation), and RAM-11 (macrophages). Results: Alveolar walls were poorly perfused and airspace fraction was larger (emphysematous) in disease rabbits than normal or treated rabbits. Immunohistochemistry provided inconclusive evidence to support the concept that pulmonary hypoplasia is induced by thoracic insufficiency syndrome and controlled by expansion thoracoplasty. Conclusions: Treatment of thoracic insufficiency syndrome by expansion thoracoplasty may prevent emphysematous changes in the alveolar microstructure, thereby enhancing gas exchange

Presphenoidal synchondrosis fusion in DBA/2J mice

Cranial base growth plates are important centers of longitudinal growth in the skull and are responsible for the proper anterior placement of the face and the stimulation of normal cranial vault development. We report that the presphenoidal synchondrosis (PSS), a midline growth plate of the cranial base, closes in the DBA/2J mouse strain but not in other common inbred strains. We investigated the genetics of PSS closure in DBA/2J mice by evaluating F1, F1 backcross, and/or F1 intercross offspring from matings with C57BL/6J and DBA/1J mice, whose PSS remain open. We observed that PSS closure is genetically determined, but not inherited as a simple Mendelian trait. Employing a genome-wide SNP array, we identified a region on chromosome 11 in the C57BL/6J strain that affected the frequency of PSS closure in F1 backcross and F1 intercross offspring. The equivalent region in the DBA/1J strain did not affect PSS closure in F1 intercross offspring. We conclude that PSS closure in the DBA/2J strain is complex and modified by different loci when outcrossed with C57BL/6J and DBA/1J mice. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00335-012-9437-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Semantic aware Bayesian network model for actionable knowledge discovery in linked data

The majority of the conventional mining algorithms treat the mining process as an isolated data-driven procedure and overlook the semantic of the targeted data. As a result, the generated patterns are abundant and end users cannot act upon them seamlessly. Furthermore, interdisciplinary knowledge can not be obtained from domain-specific silo of data. The emergence of Linked Data (LD) as a new model for knowledge representation, which intertwines data with its semantics, has introduced new opportunities for data miners. Accordingly, this paper proposes an ontology-based Semantic-Aware Bayesian network (BN) model. In contrast to the existing mining algorithms, the proposed model does into transform the original format of the LD set. Therefore, it not only accommodates the semantic aspects in LD, but also caters to the need of connecting different data-sets from different domains. We evaluate the proposed model on a Bone Dysplasia dataset, Experimental results show promising performance

Protective Effects of C-Type Natriuretic Peptide on Linear Growth and Articular Cartilage Integrity in a Mouse Model of Inflammatory Arthritis

Objective: The C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) signaling pathway is a major contributor to postnatal skeletal growth in humans. This study was undertaken to investigate whether CNP signaling could prevent growth delay and cartilage damage in an animal model of inflammatory arthritis. Methods: We generated transgenic mice that overexpress CNP (B6.SJL-Col2a1-NPPC) in chondrocytes. We introduced the CNP transgene into mice with experimental systemic inflammatory arthritis (K/BxN T cell receptor [TCR]) and determined the effect of CNP overexpression in chondrocytes on the severity of arthritis, cartilage damage, and linear growth. We also examined primary chondrocyte cultures for changes in gene and protein expression resulting from CNP overexpression. Results: K/BxN TCR mice exhibited linear growth delay (P < 0.01) compared to controls, and this growth delay was correlated with the severity of arthritis. Diminished chondrocyte proliferation and matrix production was also seen in K/BxN TCR mice. Compared to non–CNP-transgenic mice, K/BxN TCR mice with overexpressed CNP had milder arthritis, no growth delay, and less cartilage damage. Primary chondrocytes from mice overexpressing CNP were less sensitive to inflammatory cytokines than wild-type mouse chondrocytes. Conclusion: CNP overexpression in chondrocytes can prevent endochondral growth delay and protect against cartilage damage in a mouse model of inflammatory arthritis. Pharmacologic or biologic modulation of the CNP signaling pathway may prevent growth retardation and protect cartilage in patients with inflammatory joint diseases, such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis