Inhibitory Control Training and Disruptive Behaviour in Young People

Objective: Adolescence is a period of crucial neuropsychological development. Executive control functions (ECF) develop during adolescence and are constructs involving the planning, initiation, and regula¬tion of goal-directed behaviour. ECFs include impulse control critical for behavioural regulation. Training approaches for improving inhibitory control (IC) and impulsivity in young people (YP) are in their infancy, although some positive effects have been found in adults. This research aimed to test the hypothesis that IC intervention would improve IC and impulsivity (direct, near and far-transfer effects) and improve behavioural-control (mid and far-transfer effects) in YP. Methods: Six healthy YP, aged 11-16 years, attending mainstream education, participated in this single-case, multiple-baseline experimental design. The participants completed assessments at three phase-change points and completed continuous measures of their own impulsivity and behaviour goals. Each participant completed a baseline and intervention phase of differing randomised lengths within the 20 day study. The data were analysed visually using non-parametric tests of difference, randomisations tests and indices of reliable change. Results: IC and impulsivity were not observed to improve with intervention based on direct and far-transfer effects and limited improvement was observed based on near-transfer effects. Overall, behavioural control was not observed to improve with intervention based on near and far-training effects, but limited improvements were observed for some individual participants. Conclusion: The intervention was not observed to be effective in reducing IC or improving behavioural control overall, with very limited effects found in individual cases, which are discussed in directions for future research

Ecosystem legacies of invasive pines with exotic grasses and shrubs,

The aim of my thesis was to investigate the connection between invasive plants and the resident plant community via soil modification. Pines were chosen as the primary model invasive species for my project due to the dramatic transformations associated with pine invasions and local significance in Aotearoa | New Zealand. I began my research by leveraging soils from a previous experiment which involved various plant communities grown in the same steam sterilised soil. This provided known soil legacies to test various legacy factors associated with the previous plant communities and how those would affect the growth of future plants. For chapter two, I grew locally-relevant invasive species from three different functional groups, Pinus contorta (tree), Cytisus scoparius (shrub), and Holcus lanatus (grass) in a greenhouse experiment with these legacy soils. I found that legacies with a high proportion of exotic plants or with the presence of pine resulted in plants with the largest biomass. A potential biological mechanism was investigated by scoring nodules on Cytisus and mycorrhization on Pinus, which did not show a measurable effect across treatments. There were significant trends on fungal DNA sequences from pine seedling root samples, including showing that a pine legacy decreased the fungal community diversity while increasing pine seedling growth. Although the soil legacies for chapter two included invasive pine species in the legacy community, at most it was two seedlings in each growth phase, which might not have the same impact as soil from established adult trees or from various degrees of invasion. To address this issue, I sampled soil from along a pine invasional gradient, as measured by pine dominance. Also, I tested whether plant responses to the legacy soils differed if plants were grown individually or in communities; a closer representation of the natural system. This greenhouse study involved a community pot per sampling plot as well as an individual pot for each species represented in the community assay. An increasing pine legacy was found to be beneficial to most plants, but in a community context any benefit to native plants was obscured by the strong competitive fitness of many exotic species. Chapters two and three indicated that there was a biological effect in pine legacy soils, and that there was a reciprocal positive interaction between grasses and pines. Fungal endophytes were chosen as a biological indicator as they are associated with their host plant’s health and also will be affected by changes in resident soil. I collected grass roots (both exotic and native species) from paired plots (a pine invasion and a nearby uninvaded grassland). The endophytic fungal communities from exotic grasses and pine invasion sites had a greater abundance of potential pathogens, while sharing many generalists. This indicates a potential for spill over from exotic to native grasses, and that pine invasion soils might be a reservoir for pathogens. Exotic grass species might be better equipped to deal with these pathogens due to previous experience, compared to a lack of past interactions with native grass species, particularly if natives are under competitive stress. By demonstrating the effects of invasive pine legacy and various community legacy effects, my research could be helpful to land managers looking to control invasive pine spread. My thesis showed a pine soil legacy can be particularly beneficial to other exotic invasive species, which, in turn, can facilitate future invasions

Improving Tanzanian childbirth service quality.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe a quality improvement (QI) intervention in primary health facilities providing childbirth care in rural Southern Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach A QI collaborative model involving district managers and health facility staff was piloted for 6 months in 4 health facilities in Mtwara Rural district and implemented for 18 months in 23 primary health facilities in Ruangwa district. The model brings together healthcare providers from different health facilities in interactive workshops by: applying QI methods to generate and test change ideas in their own facilities; using local data to monitor improvement and decision making; and health facility supervision visits by project and district mentors. The topics for improving childbirth were deliveries and partographs. Findings Median monthly deliveries increased in 4 months from 38 (IQR 37-40) to 65 (IQR 53-71) in Mtwara Rural district, and in 17 months in Ruangwa district from 110 (IQR 103-125) to 161 (IQR 148-174). In Ruangwa health facilities, the women for whom partographs were used to monitor labour progress increased from 10 to 57 per cent in 17 months. Research limitations/implications The time for QI innovation, testing and implementation phases was limited, and the study only looked at trends. The outcomes were limited to process rather than health outcome measures. Originality/value Healthcare providers became confident in the QI method through engagement, generating and testing their own change ideas, and observing improvements. The findings suggest that implementing a QI initiative is feasible in rural, low-income settings

Quasar Evolution and the Baldwin Effect in the Large Bright Quasar Survey

From a large homogeneous sample of optical/UV emission line measurements for 993 quasars from the Large Bright Quasar Survey (LBQS), we study correlations between emission line equivalent width and both restframe ultraviolet luminosity (i.e., the Baldwin Effect) and redshift. Our semi-automated spectral fitting accounts for absorption lines, fits blended iron emission, and provides upper limits to weak emission lines. Use of a single large, well-defined sample and consistent emission line measurements allows us to sensitively detect many correlations, most of which have been previously noted. A new finding is a significant Baldwin Effect in UV iron emission. Further analysis reveals that the primary correlation of iron emission strength is probably with redshift, implying an evolutionary rather than a luminosity effect. We show that for most emission lines with a significant Baldwin Effect, and for some without, evolution dominates over luminosity effects. This may reflect evolution in abundances, in cloud covering factors, or overall cloud conditions such as density and ionization. We find that in our sample, a putative correlation between Baldwin Effect slope and the ionization potential is not significant. Uniform measurements of other large quasar samples will extend the luminosity and redshift range of such spectral studies and provide even stronger tests of spectral evolution.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, emulateapj style, including 3 tables and 6 figures. Accepted April 02, 2001 for publication in ApJ Main Journal. See also http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~pgreen/Papers.htm

Getting it right: creating partnerships for change. Integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges in social work education and practice

The 2012 Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) state that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing, being and doing are one of four essential core curriculum content areas alongside Mental Health, Child Wellbeing and Protection and Cross-cultural knowledge and skills, that must now be included in all Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)-accredited social work programs (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2012a). By articulating this new requirement, the AASW is asserting that social workers need to be informed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges in all areas of practice

Oral bisphosphonates and risk of cancer of oesophagus, stomach, and colorectum: case-control analysis within a UK primary care cohort

Objective To examine the hypothesis that risk of oesophageal, but not of gastric or colorectal, cancer is increased in users of oral bisphosphonates

Enhancing the Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopic Visualization of Lucifer Yellow Filled Cells in Whole-Mounted Tissue

The laser scanning confocal microscope (LSCM) is an extremely useful tool that allows fluorescently labelled cells to be visualized in whole-mount preparations. This is particularly advantageous, for example, in studying the dendritic trees of neurons with respect to their environment. One of the most popular, and easiest, ways to visualize a cell is to inject it intracellularly with the fluorophore Lucifer Yellow (LY). However, the argon gas lasers of most LSCM\u27s are not well matched to the excitation spectrum of aqueous LY. When this largely inappropriate excitation is combined with standard filters, designed for fluorescein fluorescence rather than Lucifer Yellow, the resulting image is poor. We report that clearing LY-injected neurons in methyl salicylate and mounting them in Entellan, a non-aqueous medium of high refractive index, enhances their visualization on a Bio-Rad LSCM with standard fluorescein (FITC) filters to an unexpected degree. This technique also leads to a substantial reduction in photobleaching

Leading for the long haul: A mixed-method evaluation of the Sustainment Leadership Scale (SLS)

© 2018 The Author(s). Background: Despite our progress in understanding the organizational context for implementation and specifically the role of leadership in implementation, its role in sustainment has received little attention. This paper took a mixed-method approach to examine leadership during the sustainment phase of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework. Utilizing the Implementation Leadership Scale as a foundation, we sought to develop a short, practical measure of sustainment leadership that can be used for both applied and research purposes. Methods: Data for this study were collected as a part of a larger mixed-method study of evidence-based intervention, SafeCare®, sustainment. Quantitative data were collected from 157 providers using web-based surveys. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the Sustainment Leadership Scale (SLS). Qualitative data were collected from 95 providers who participated in one of 15 focus groups. A framework approach guided qualitative data analysis. Mixed-method integration was also utilized to examine convergence of quantitative and qualitative findings. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the a priori higher order factor structure of the SLS with subscales indicating a single higher order sustainment leadership factor. The SLS demonstrated excellent internal consistency reliability. Qualitative analyses offered support for the dimensions of sustainment leadership captured by the quantitative measure, in addition to uncovering a fifth possible factor, available leadership. Conclusions: This study found qualitative and quantitative support for the pragmatic SLS measure. The SLS can be used for assessing leadership of first-level leaders to understand how staff perceive leadership during sustainment and to suggest areas where leaders could direct more attention in order to increase the likelihood that EBIs are institutionalized into the normal functioning of the organization