A Program Evaluation of the Town of Woodside, Plumas County Fire Safe Council, and Mountain Communities’ Fire Safe Council Defensible Space Projects

California is one of the most fire-prone regions in the world, with every passing year becoming more hazardous. With a tremendous amount of loss and damage occurring every year due to wildfires, property owners must prepare their homes and structures to withstand fires as much as possible. The best way to achieve this is by building and retrofitting homes with fire-resistant materials and creating defensible space around the property (Cal Fire, n.d.). Although it is the best way to protect one’s property, it is often times difficult for property owners to do so because of financial or physical limitations, or because it is not the homeowner’s priority. The town of Woodside, Plumas County Fire Safe Council, and the Mountain Communities Fire Council received funding through the city budget and grants from Cal Fire, The Forest Service, and PG&E to assist residents in creating defensible space. The research examined the question, did the programs provided by the town of Woodside, Plumas County Fire Safe Council, and the Mountain Communities Fire Council achieve their goals, and what can be learned from them? To answer the question, information was collected about the mitigation programs in the California jurisdictions of Woodside, Plumas County and San Bernardino County\u27s Mountain Rim communities. It examined the problem of fire damage mitigation in the WUI in these areas, described the implementation of these mitigation programs, collected data about their implementation as displayed in the Findings section, and evaluated the effectiveness of these programs based on the data as discussed in the Analysis section

The Value of an Educational Curriculum for Community Health Workers to Decrease Health Disparities

Abstract: Introduction: Community health workers (CHWs) are a group of health care workers that work with underserved populations in rural areas. Community health workers seldom require any formal education for their role, which may cause disparities in the information they present to the populations they serve. Problem: Underserved communities contain many low-income and marginalized populations that do not have access to adequate healthcare. Healthcare provider shortages can be particularly severe, leaving residents without access to primary care and emergency services from physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. Aim/Objective: The purpose of the article is to propose a framework for developing an educational curriculum that will be useful in training community health workers. The proposed framework will be the Health Belief Model. Solutions: An understanding of HIPPA and cultural competence should be imparted through training. Other training that should be included are aspects of culture which may also impact a community health worker\u27s performance. Conclusion: Providing standardized training will increase awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in health care among the CHWs and serve as a bridge in the current educational gap

Diabetes Prevention and Management Education for Punjabi-Sikh Older Adults

Abstract Background: South Asians from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India have a higher prevalence of diabetes than the general global population and are also more susceptible to developing diabetes due to biological and lifestyle factors. The South Asian diet is high in refined grains and monounsaturated fatty acids, increasing the risk of diabetes. Local Problem: Congregants of a Sikh gurdwara (place of worship) lacked knowledge of diet and lifestyle in relation to preventing and managing diabetes. Many senior congregants have been diagnosed with diabetes or are at high risk of developing the disease. Methods: Knowledge of diabetes prevention and management were assessed pre-and post-intervention for the effects of implementing a culture-specific educational intervention addressing diet and lifestyle for diabetes prevention and management. Responses were collected on a paper-based survey tool with 15 true/false prompts. Intervention: A two-hour educational curriculum with culture-specific content addressing diet and lifestyle was tailored to the older-adult congregants of the Sikh gurdwara and their families and presented in the Punjabi language. The specific aim was a 25% increase in knowledge from the baseline. Results: The individual mean score increased by 101.37% from pre- to post-education intervention, which was a significant increase from the goal of 25%. Conclusions: The project findings demonstrated that the participants gained a better understanding of diabetes education when training was culturally tailored and presented in the participants’ native language

Assessment of anatomical knowledge by practical examinations: the effect of question design on student performance

The objective structural practical examination (OSPE) is a timed examination that assesses topographical and/or applied knowledge of anatomy with the use of cadaveric resources and medical images. This study investigated whether elements of question design (provision of clinical context, type of visual resources used, gender context, and difficulty) of an anatomy question affected students' performance and also whether there was any effect of basic demography or participation in various voluntary activities. Study participants were second-year medical students (n = 150), 83 of whom consented to fill in a questionnaire collecting demographics, revision preferences, and assessment preferences. The examination scores were matched with students' responses collected on the questionnaire and all data analyzed by multiple linear regression. Difficulty of the question was the only design element found to be significantly associated with the number of students that answered correctly (P = 0.001); clinical context, visual resources used and gender of the question were not significant. When individual students' marks were analyzed along with the questionnaire data, only the students' interest in participating in department's demonstrator program was a significant predictor of a high individual score, gender of the students showed a strong trend toward significance, with female students scoring on average higher than male students. The two part OSPE questions were dissociated and analyzed using binary logistic regression to determine whether a correct answer to Part 1 (identification of a tagged or pinned anatomical structures on a specimen or medical image) was predictive of a correct answer to Part 2 (assessment of the relevant functional, applied, or clinical knowledge), but no association was found. Anat Sci Educ. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists

Effect of high blood pressure on thyroid and lipid profile of pregnant women

Background: Hypertension is common medical problem encountered during pregnancy, complicating up to 10% pregnancies. Hypertension is defined as the systolic blood pressure ≤140 mmHg and a diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg on two separate measurements at least 4-6 hours apart. During pregnancy thyroid demand changes with increased iodine uptake and synthesis of thyroid hormone. Serum from pre-eclamptic women had both a higher ratio of free fatty acid to albumin and increase up take of free fatty acids, which are further esterified to triglyceride. The aim of the present study was to evaluate thyroid hormone, lipid profile and urine albumin in hypertensive pregnant women and its comparison with normotensive pregnant womenMethods: Total 90 samples were collected from Beri Maternity Hospital and Civil Hospital, Amritsar. Blood samples were analysed for biochemical parameters viz. lipid profile and thyroid profile. Urine samples were also analysed for presence of albumin.Results: From the study it has been revealed that thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels increased in hypertensive pregnant women mean (4.26±1.1µ/ml). The total cholesterol (234.56±14.2mg/dl), triglyceride (138±16.96mg/dl), HDL (50.7±7.4mg/dl), LDL (156.2±17.11mg/dl) and VLDL (27.7±3mg/dl) was found altered in hypertensive pregnancy as compared to normotensive pregnancy. The albumin excretion was seen in 13.3% hypertensive pregnancies.Conclusions: TSH were elevated in hypertensive pregnant women due to the effects of estrogen. Among all the parameters of lipid profile, total cholesterol, TG, LDL and VLDL has been increased significantly in hypertensive pregnant women as compared to normotensive pregnant women due endothelial dysfunction.

Effect of Pre-Harvest Treatment on Yield, Maturity and Quality of Flame Seedless Grape (Vitis vinifera L.)

To improve fruit quality in grape cv. Flame Seedless, application of Ethephon (400 and 500 ppm) and trunk girdling was done at veraison stage. Cluster thinning was done by retaining 100, 75 and 50% of total number of bunches on the vines, and, the rest were removed immediately after full bloom. Highest yield was obtained in the treatment 100% Crop load + 500ppm Ethephon, followed by 75% Crop load + 500ppm Ethephon. The treatment of 50% Crop load + 500ppm Ethephon resulted in maximum bunch weight, lowest percentage of uneven coloured berries, maximum TSS, minimum acidity and maximum TSS:acid ratio, maximum anthocyanin content, advanced maturity by 9 days and had maximum sensory rating. But, in this treatment, yield was significantly lower than in treatments where either 75% or 100% Crop load was retained. Thus, considering yield as well as quality parameters, the treatment 75% Crop load + 500ppm Ethephon was found to be the best

On the accuracy of the Perturbative Approach for Strong Lensing: Local Distortion for Pseudo-Elliptical Models

The Perturbative Approach (PA) introduced by \citet{alard07} provides analytic solutions for gravitational arcs by solving the lens equation linearized around the Einstein ring solution. This is a powerful method for lens inversion and simulations in that it can be used, in principle, for generic lens models. In this paper we aim to quantify the domain of validity of this method for three quantities derived from the linearized mapping: caustics, critical curves, and the deformation cross section (i.e. the arc cross section in the infinitesimal circular source approximation). We consider lens models with elliptical potentials, in particular the Singular Isothermal Elliptic Potential and Pseudo-Elliptical Navarro--Frenk--White models. We show that the PA is exact for this first model. For the second, we obtain constraints on the model parameter space (given by the potential ellipticity parameter $\varepsilon$ and characteristic convergence $\kappa_s$) such that the PA is accurate for the aforementioned quantities. In this process we obtain analytic expressions for several lensing functions, which are valid for the PA in general. The determination of this domain of validity could have significant implications for the use of the PA, but it still needs to be probed with extended sources.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Impact of intercropping on yield, fruit quality and economics of young Kinnow mandarin plants

Intercropping practices in orchard not only generate an extra income but the practice also helps to check the soil erosion through ground coverage and improves the physico-chemical properties of the soil.. The effect of intercrops on vegetative performance and quality of 5 years old Kinnow mandarins raised on Rough Lemon rootstocks at 6x6m spacing was studied at RRS, Bathinda during the year 2011-12 and 2012-13. An intercropping experiment comprising of seven treatments such as T1: guara (Summer) + wheat (winter), T2: guara (summer) + barley (winter), T3: guara (summer) + fenugreek (winter), T4: moong (summer) + wheat (winter), T5: moong (summer) + barley (winter), T6: moong (summer) + fenugreek (winter) and T7: control (fallow: no intercrop) was laid out in Randomized Block Design with four replications to assess the effect of various intercrops on the performance of Kinnow in arid irrigated region of Bathinda, Punjab. The results of the study revealed that guar + wheat intercropping system exhibited better performance which has been reflected in the form of plant  height (3.31 cm), gross income (Rs. 41180/-), fruit number (175) and Total Soluble Solids(TSS) per cent (10.8) of Kinnow fruit. The work concludes that intercropping in Kinnow mandarin helps to improve yield, fruit quality and economic aspect.&nbsp

Time of Day and Performance on Cognitive Tests in Patients with Mild Dementia

Background Cognitive screening for elderly patients with mild dementia is typically conducted in the morning under the impression that testing at this time will optimize performance and cooperation of patients. This study was conducted to determine if the time of day in which several cognitive screening tests would be normally given could significantly affect test performance in patients with mild dementia and normal control subjects. Methods Fifty nursing home residents with mild to moderate dementia and twenty normal control subjects were given three commonly used cognitive tests in two separate sessions (morning and afternoon) with a two week interval between sessions. Half of subjects were tested first in the morning and second in the afternoon, the other half first in the afternoon and second in the morning. Evaluation tools included the Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE), the Mini-Cog Test, and Semantic Verbal Fluency (for animal names) at each session. Test scores were compared within each subject between the morning and afternoon sessions. Results Across all subjects, better scores were observed for afternoon performance in the MMSE score (p\u3c0.005) and Mini-Cog (p\u3c0.011) for subjects who tested first in the morning and second in the afternoon. No differences were observed in the reverse condition. The morning/afternoon differences and trends across all subjects were strongest for the mild dementia group (MMSE, p\u3c0.003; Mini-Cog, p\u3c0.075). However, the analysis also indicated that test experience contributed to some of the observed differences, such that no clear effect of time of day on performance could be substantiated. Conclusion Under the conditions of this study, we could not conclude that performance on cognitive tests was significantly affected by the time of day of administration. A more comprehensive study will be necessary to better define the potential factors identified

Effect of chitosan coatings on physico-chemical and enzymatic activities in mango cv Dashehari stored at low temperature

Physico-chemical and enzymatic changes in mango (Mangifera indica) cv. Dashehari inresponse to postharvest application of chitosan (0, 0.5 and 1.0%) were studied during 4 weeks that were stored between 10±1 °C, 90-95 % RH. Fruits were evaluated for various quality parameters such as firmness, weight loss, pulp colour, β-carotene, soluble solid content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and activities of polygalactouronase (PG) and cellulase on 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days. Results exhibited that chitosan coatings (1.0 %) effectively reduced the weight loss (5.82 %) and markedly slowed down the ripening changes as evidenced from their retention of fruit firmness (15.50 N), maintenance of SSC (18.85 %) and TA (0.44 %) at 21 days of storage. Chitosan coatings also retarded the pulp colour development and lowered activities of PG and cellulase enzymes as compared to non-coated fruits. Overall, chitosan coating at 1.0% was found to be most effective in enhancing the storability and quality of mango fruits at cool storage temperatures