SMEs in Australia and Latin America: A Comparative Study of Regulation and Reality in an Encroaching COVID19 Pandemic

This paper reports on a comparative study between the structures, regulation and challenges of small and medium size businesses (SMEs) in Australia and two Latin American jurisdictions – Chile and Cuba - with the object of exploring ways in which SME-propitious ecosystem can be configured in an unprecedented crisis situation. It examines the legislation, bodies and regulation in place which deal with SME issues, including consumer protection, and the differing contextual considerations, taking cognizance of the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the paper explores ways in which SMEs can be assisted and advised of their legal rights, including the provision of clinical and advisory support at a university level, and considers the steps taken by governments in mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To compare practices and learn from them the research utilizes three case studies and contrasts the issues faced in an emerging economy such as Cuba with more established frameworks such as Chile and Australia, both OECD countriesEste artículo presenta resultados del estudio comparado de las estructuras, la regulación, y los desafíos de pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYMEs) en Australia y América Latina. Aquello con el objetivo de explorar formas de lograr un ecosistema propicio para la actividad de las PYMEs enfrentando una crisis nunca antes visto. Examina la legislación, los órganos y los reglamentos vigentes, entre ellos régimen de protección del consumidor, y las diferentes consideraciones contextuales, entre ellas prestación de apoyo por parte de las clínicas jurídicas y otras iniciativas de las instituciones de la educación superior, teniendo en cuenta los desafíos enfrentados durante la pandemia de COVID-19. Por último, el estudio considera las medidas adoptadas por los gobiernos para mitigar el impacto de la pandemia COVID-19. La investigación utiliza tres casos de estudio y contrasta los problemas enfrentados en una economía emergente como la de Cuba con marcos más establecidos como Chile y Australia para comparar las prácticas y aprender de ellas

Strategies for Systems Change: Lessons Learned from the Transforming Early Educator Lead Teacher Preparation Programs Through Multi-Partner Innovation Grant Program

In 2021–22, The Collaborative awarded eight grants in support of partnerships between institutions of higher education (IHEs) and states/territories/tribal nations to transform their preparation programs for early educators. To support our grantees in their work, The Collaborative engaged School Readiness Consulting (SRC) to develop a learning community to foster peer learning and collective problem-solving.Two years into this work, The Collaborative and SRC provided grantees with an opportunity to reflect on their experiences through the lens of an overarching question: How have the IHEs and their partners made meaningful, systemic changes to address barriers on their campuses, in their communities, and in the field at large?This report describes the strategies grantees used for systems change, as well as their reflections on next steps and sustainability.Key insights from the report include:Grantees readily leveraged policies, practices, and resources to create immediate and measurable impacts on their institutions and their students. Strategies include centering equity in student recruitment and retention, enhancing coursework offerings and strengthening classes related to culturally relevant practices, and investing in resources driven by the actual needs of their students.In addition, grantees identified strategies to create the conditions needed to maintain progress and enable further changes to best support their students. These strategies include strengthening and creating connections, shifting power dynamics, and changing mental models

Kansas Dairy Producers\u27 Needs Survey: Reproductive Management on Kansas Dairy Farms

A section of the Kansas Dairy Producers\u27 Needs Survey evaluated needs related to education on reproductive management and the most common reproductive management practices used on Kansas dairy farms. Of the 312 surveys mailed to dairy producers, 70 were returned fully completed. Results indicate that producers need education on the topic of reproduction and that reproductive management practices and herd sizes are related to where farms are located in the state. Consequently, future Extension reproductive management programming should reflect the diversity of Kansas\u27s dairy industry. Moreover, the results presented align with earlier data from a nationwide survey and therefore may have applicability on a national scale

Idiotypic DNA vaccination for the treatment of multiple myeloma: safety and immunogenicity in a phase I clinical study

We report on the safety and immunogenicity of idiotypic DNA vaccination in a phase I, non-randomised, open-label study in patients with multiple myeloma. The study used DNA fusion gene vaccines encoding patient-specific single chain variable fragment, or idiotype (Id), linked to fragment C (FrC) of tetanus toxin. Patients in complete or partial response following high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant were vaccinated intramuscularly with 1 mg DNA on six occasions, beginning at least 6 months post-transplant; follow-up was to week 52. Fourteen patients were enrolled on study and completed vaccinations. Idiotypic DNA vaccines were well tolerated with vaccine-related adverse events limited to low-grade constitutional symptoms. FrC- and Id-specific T-cell responses were detected by ex vivo ELISPOT in 9/14 and 3/14 patients, respectively. A boost of pre-existing anti-FrC antibody (Ab) was detected by ELISA in 8/14 patients, whilst anti-Id Ab was generated in 1/13 patients. Overall, four patients (29 %) made an immune response to FrC and Id, with six patients (43 %) responding to FrC alone. Over the 52-week study period, serum paraprotein was undetectable, decreased or remained stable for ten patients (71 %), whilst ongoing CR/PR was maintained for 11 patients (79 %). The median time to progression was 38.0 months for 13/14 patients. Overall survival was 64 % after a median follow-up of 85.6 months

Gibbs distribution analysis of temporal correlations structure in retina ganglion cells

We present a method to estimate Gibbs distributions with \textit{spatio-temporal} constraints on spike trains statistics. We apply this method to spike trains recorded from ganglion cells of the salamander retina, in response to natural movies. Our analysis, restricted to a few neurons, performs more accurately than pairwise synchronization models (Ising) or the 1-time step Markov models (\cite{marre-boustani-etal:09}) to describe the statistics of spatio-temporal spike patterns and emphasizes the role of higher order spatio-temporal interactions.Comment: To appear in J. Physiol. Pari