Positive reinforcement in probation practice:The practice and dilemmas of praise

Positive reinforcement is a key part of probation practice, and linked to client desistance from offending. The main way practitioners positively reinforce clients’ prosocial comments or behaviours is through praising them. However, praise is tricky in interaction, as people are under pressure to accept the positive assessment whilst also avoiding self-praise. Applying conversation analysis to 21 video recordings of probation sessions originally collected for the Jersey Supervision Skills Study, we examine how this important aspect of probation features and functions in practice, and how clients respond. Our analysis shows how practitioners and clients manage the practice and dilemmas of praise

Balance: a neglected factor when attaching external devices to penguins

We observed that external attachments on penguins reduced their balance, which may be of as great concern to the individuals as the effect of increased drag. Little penguin Eudyptula minor swimming activity was observed in captivity at the Penguin Parade (r), Phillip Island, Australia. Initially, time-depth recorders (TDRs) were attached centrally to the lower back of the penguins, the point for attachment widely suggested in the literature. In the water, the penguins showed strong signs of imbalance. They tilted from side to side trying to maintain stability, avoided diving and did not move around the pool. When the TDRs were moved forward, closer to the penguins\u27 centre of gravity, the penguins started diving, swimming and preening as they had before having the TDRs attached. These observations suggest that the lower back area may not be the best attachment position for little penguins and that balance could be an important factor to consider when using back-mounted devices

Extended validation of Aeolus winds with wind-profiling radars in Antarctica and Arctic Sweden

Winds from two wind profiling radars, ESRAD in Arctic Sweden and MARA on the coast of Antarctica, are compared with collocated winds measured by the Doppler lidar onboard the Aeolus satellite for the time period July 2019&ndash;May 2021. Data is considered as a whole, and subdivided into summer/winter and ascending (afternoon) /descending (morning) passes. Mean differences (bias) and random differences are categorised (standard deviation and scaled median absolute deviation) and the effects of different quality criteria applied to the data are assessed, including the introduction of the &lsquo;modified Z-score&rsquo; to eliminate gross errors. This last criterion has a substantial effect on the standard deviation, particularly for Mie winds. Significant bias is found in two cases, for Rayleigh/descending winds at MARA (-1.4 (+0.7) m/s) and for all Mie winds at ESRAD (+1.0 (+0.3) m/s). For the Rayleigh wind bias at MARA, there is no obvious explanation for the bias in the data distribution. For the Mie wind at ESRAD there is a clear problem with a distribution of wind differences which is skewed to positive values (Aeolus HLOS wind &gt; ESRAD wind). Random differences (scaled median absolute deviation) for all data together are 5.9 / 5.3 m/s for Rayleigh winds at MARA/ESRAD respectively , and 4.9 / 3.9 m/s for Mie winds. These represent an upper bound for Aeolus wind random errors since they are due to a combination of spatial differences, and random errors in both radar winds and Aeolus winds.</p

Interferon signaling patterns in peripheral blood lymphocytes may predict clinical outcome after high-dose interferon therapy in melanoma patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High-dose Interferon (HDI) therapy produces a clinical response and achieves relapse-free survival in 20-33% of patients with operable high risk or metastatic melanoma. However, patients may develop significant side effects frequently necessitating dose reduction or discontinuation of therapy. We recently showed that peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from some melanoma patients have impaired interferon (IFN) signaling which could be restored with high concentrations of IFN. This exploratory study evaluated IFN signaling in PBL of melanoma patients to assess whether the restoration of PBL IFN signaling may predict a beneficial effect for HDI in melanoma patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>PBL from 14 melanoma patients harvested on Day 0 and Day 29 of neoadjuvant HDI induction therapy were analyzed using phosflow to assess their interferon signaling patterns through IFN-α induced phosphorylation of STAT1-Y701.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Patients who had a clinical response to HDI showed a lower PBL interferon signaling capacity than non-responders at baseline (Day 0). Additionally, clinical responders and patients with good long-term outcome showed a significant increase in their PBL interferon signaling from Day 0 to Day 29 compared to clinical non-responders and patients that developed metastatic disease. The differences in STAT1 activation from pre- to post- HDI treatment could distinguish between patients who were inclined to have a favorable or unfavorable outcome.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While the sample size is small, these results suggest that interferon signaling patterns in PBL correlate with clinical responses and may predict clinical outcome after HDI in patients with melanoma. A larger confirmatory study is warranted, which may yield a novel approach to select patients for HDI therapy.</p

Development and deployment of a precision underwater positioning system for in situ laser Raman spectroscopy in the deep ocean

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 52 (2005): 2376-2389, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2005.09.002.The field of ocean geochemistry has recently been expanded to include in situ laser Raman spectroscopic measurements in the deep ocean. While this technique has proved to be successful for transparent targets, such as fluids and gases, difficulty exists in using deep submergence vehicle manipulators to position and control the very small laser spot with respect to opaque samples of interest, such as many rocks, minerals, bacterial mats, and seafloor gas hydrates. We have developed, tested, and successfully deployed by remotely operated vehicle (ROV) a precision underwater positioner (PUP) which provides the stability and precision movement required to perform spectroscopic measurements using the Deep Ocean In Situ Spectrometer (DORISS) instrument on opaque targets in the deep ocean for geochemical research. The positioner is also adaptable to other sensors, such as electrodes, which require precise control and positioning on the seafloor. PUP is capable of translating the DORISS optical head with a precision of 0.1 mm in three dimensions over a range of at least 15 cm, at depths up to 4000 m, and under the normal range of oceanic conditions (T, P, current velocity). The positioner is controlled, and spectra are obtained, in real time via Ethernet by scientists aboard the surface vessel. This capability has allowed us to acquire high quality Raman spectra of targets such as rocks, shells, and gas hydrates on the seafloor, including the ability to scan the laser spot across a rock surface in sub-millimeter increments to identify the constituent mineral grains. These developments have greatly enhanced the ability to obtain in situ Raman spectra on the seafloor from an enormous range of specimens.Funding was provided by a grant to MBARI from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Genetic Diversity of Sapovirus in Children, Australia

Sapovirus was detected in 7 of 95 stool specimens from children with gastroenteritis of unknown etiology in Sydney, Australia, from August 2001 to August 2002 and from February 2004 to August 2004, by using reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction. Sequence analysis of the N-terminal capsid region showed all human sapovirus genogroups