Children’s Futures: Lessons From a Second-Generation Community Change Initiative

· This article describes Children’s Futures, a 10-year initiative in Trenton, N.J., that seeks to improve the health and well-being of children from 0 to 3 years old and ensure that they are ready for school. · During the first five years, the initiative was successful in implementing a number of evidence-based practices to improve children’s health, such as providing home visits to pregnant women, measuring and improving the quality of day care centers, and improving the use of information systems to track childhood immunizations. · Efforts to provide services for fathers and improve home-based child care were not successful; these are areas in which there are not any evidence-based practices. · Leveraging public and private money beyond the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s substantial $20 million commitment proved challenging because the foundation’s commitment was so large. The authors recommend obtaining agreements for matching funds prior to finalizing commitments. · A lack of attention to initiative-wide communications hindered integration across programs. · A need for a citywide data system was identified; this is being implemented in the second five-year funding cycle

28 years of vegetation change (1978 – 2006) in a calcareous coastal dune system

Changes in vegetation structure and composition over a 28 year period (1978–2006) following removal of human-induced disturbances, were examined in a calcareous coastal dune system in Point Nepean National Park (380 19’S, 1440 41’E) in south-eastern Victoria, Australia. In the early 1980s human habitation of Point Nepean was abandoned and disturbance regimes such as burning, slashing and land clearing were altered or removed, providing an opportunity to study the recovery of disturbed coastal vegetation. Broad-scale and community-level vegetation changes were assessed by comparing quadrat and GIS mapping data from 1978 with data collected in 2006. Results indicate a change in broad vegetation patterns; shrubland vegetation has replaced hind dune grasslands and disturbed areas and there has been a decrease in exposed coastal areas (such as blowouts, dunes and cliffs), and an increase in woody native species and highly invasive woody weeds. The changes highlight the importance of incorporating vegetation states in planning management actions in dynamic coastal vegetation

Mixing it Up: Developing Expertise in Forensic Fingerprint Examination Using Interleaved Practice

This item is only available electronically.Forensic fingerprint experts have a superior ability to differentiate highly similar print pairs, especially in comparison to novices (those with no experience in the interpretation of fingerprints). Few studies have investigated methods of effectively training novices to become experts. The current study draws on the principle of interleaved practice to train a small sample of fingerprint novices. Interleaving theory purports that ‘mixing’ exemplars from different categories has greater learning benefit than ‘massing’ exemplars from the same category. The current experiment applied this principle via a novel training paradigm in which one group of novices responded to fingerprints from different fingers (Mixed), and a second group responded to fingerprints from the same finger (Massed). An active control group completed a task unrelated to fingerprint examination. All participants completed a measure of fingerprint expertise performance (the xQ) immediately prior to each of 10 training sessions across 10 consecutive days, with a final measure of performance completed on the eleventh and final day of testing. It was predicted that both fingerprint training groups would exhibit significantly greater improvement on the xQ across sessions than controls, and that the Mixed training group would display superior performance across sessions compared to the Massed training group. Instead, the results suggested that, while the Massed training group performed more accurately overall, none of the three groups improved significantly over sessions. This study has potential implications for the training of future fingerprint experts and could reduce the risk of costly errors made by these experts.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 202

Inherent sensitivity and acquired resistance in human testicular germ cell tumours in vitro

Advanced testicular germ cell tumours, in contrast to the majority of adult solid tumours, are curable using chemotherapy. The reasons for their sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs are unknown. A mode I system is required to study the mechanisms. Ten continuous cell lines derived from human non-seminomatous testicular germ cell tumours, cultured under identical conditions, were characterized in terms of population doubling time, intermitotic time, cell loss rate, colony-forming efficiency, proportion of S-phase cells, DNA ploidy levels, isozyme pattern, tumorigenicity in nude mice and xenograft morphology. To determine whether testicular tumour cell Lines retain chemosensitivity in vitro, the responses of five testicular and five bladder tumour cell lines were compared. Using a colony-forming assay, the testicular tumour cell lines were, on average, five times more sensitive to cisplatin and adriamycin (comparing IC70s). Thus chemosensitivity is inherent to the cells, and is not due solely to humoral factors such as blood supply or immunogenicity. One mechanism that may be involved is differential binding of drug to DNA. Binding of cisplatin was compared in a testicular and a bladder cell line using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Identical amounts of cisplatin were bound, indicating that testicular tumour cells may be less able to repair damaged DNA. Activity of an enzyme involved in a specific DNA repair pathway, prevention of crosslink formation by 6 chloroethylnitrosoureas, 06-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase, was measured. Development of resistance to cisplatin is a major cause of treatment failure. One testicular and one bladder cell line with stable cisplatin resistance were developed by continuous exposure to increasing concentrations of cisplatin. The growth characteristics, isozyme pattern and chromosome composition of the cell lines were compared, and degree of cross-resistance to other anticancer agents was measured. Thus in vitro model systems for studying inherent sensitivity and acquired drug resistance in testicular tumours were developed and characterized, and used to investigate two possible mechanisms. In the long term, understanding the mechanisms underlying differential sensitivity may result in more effective treatment for the resistant tumours

Is there a link between previous exposure to sport injury psychology education and UK sport injury rehabilitation professionals' attitudes and behaviour towards sport psychology?

Objectives: The use of sport psychology strategies during sport injury rehabilitation can lead to several positive outcomes such as improved adherence and self-efficacy. The purpose of this study was to compare the sport psychology related attitudes and behaviours of UK sport injury rehabilitation professionals (SIRPs) who had studied the psychological aspects of sport injury to those who had not. Participants and design: Ninety-four SIRPs (54 physiotherapists and 40 sports therapists with a mean of 9.22 years' experience of working in sport) completed an online survey and were grouped according to their level of previous exposure to sport injury psychology education at an undergraduate/postgraduate level. Analyses were undertaken to establish whether there were any differences in sport psychology related attitude (MANOVA), usage (MANOVA), and referral behaviours (chi square) between the groups. Results: The MANOVA and chi square tests conducted revealed that those who had studied the psychological aspects of sport injury reported using significantly more sport psychology in their practice and making more referrals to sport psychologists. Conclusions: It was concluded that sport injury psychology education appears to be effective in increasing the sport psychology related behaviours (use of sport psychology and referral) of SIRPs and should be integrated into professional training

The impact of a sport psychology education intervention on physiotherapists

The purpose of this study was to measure the impact of an online sport psychology education module on the attitudes and behaviours of qualified sports physiotherapists in the UK. Ninety-five sport physiotherapists studied either a sport psychology module or a control module, and their attitudes and behaviours towards sport psychology were measured prior to studying the module and at three points over a six-month period following its completion. It was found that those who had studied the sport psychology module demonstrated an improvement in their attitudes towards sport psychology immediately following its completion that was significantly higher than those who had studied the control module. Use of sport psychology also increased following the sport psychology module, with significant differences seen between the intervention and control group on the sport psychology subscale, indicating that those who had studied the sport psychology module were integrating more sport psychology techniques into their practice than those who had studied the control module. It was concluded that the online sport psychology module was effective in improving the attitudes and behaviours of UK physiotherapists and that more sport psychology education opportunities should be made available

Help Us Help Them: Instruction Training for LIS Students and New Librarians

The online tutorial has emerged as a ubiquitous representation of information literacy (IL) instruction and often is the visible face of IL programs. Tutorials have been evaluated primarily in relation to criteria of instruction. This presentation asks new questions: Does the tutorial reflect the library\u27s goals and mission for information literacy? Does it do what we say we will do in our mission? The presentation details the process and provides graphic results of the in-depth evaluation of one library’s mission and tutorial. The audience will be asked to participate in an analysis of a library’s mission statement and online tutorial. Participants will leave with a framework and tools to conduct a similar evaluation in their institutions

Wolbachia Biocontrol Strategies for Arboviral Diseases and the Potential Influence of Resident Wolbachia Strains in Mosquitoes.

Arboviruses transmitted by mosquitoes are a major cause of human disease worldwide. The absence of vaccines and effective vector control strategies has resulted in the need for novel mosquito control strategies. The endosymbiotic bacterium Wolbachia has been proposed to form the basis for an effective mosquito biocontrol strategy. Resident strains of Wolbachia inhibit viral replication in Drosophila fruit flies and induce a reproductive phenotype known as cytoplasmic incompatibility that allows rapid invasion of insect populations. Transinfection of Wolbachia strains into the principle mosquito vector of dengue virus, Stegomyia aegypti, has resulted in dengue-refractory mosquito lines with minimal effects on mosquito fitness. Wolbachia strains have now been established in wild St. aegypti populations through open releases in dengue-endemic countries. In this review, we outline the current state of Wolbachia-based biocontrol strategies for dengue and discuss the potential impact of resident Wolbachia strains for additional target mosquito species that transmit arboviruses

The Potential Use of Wolbachia-Based Mosquito Biocontrol Strategies for Japanese Encephalitis.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a zoonotic pathogen transmitted by the infectious bite of Culex mosquitoes. The virus causes the development of the disease Japanese encephalitis (JE) in a small proportion of those infected, predominantly affecting children in eastern and southern Asia. Annual JE incidence estimates range from 50,000-175,000, with 25%-30% of cases resulting in mortality. It is estimated that 3 billion people live in countries in which JEV is endemic. The virus exists in an enzootic transmission cycle, with mosquitoes transmitting JEV between birds as reservoir hosts and pigs as amplifying hosts. Zoonotic infection occurs as a result of spillover events from the main transmission cycle. The reservoir avian hosts include cattle egrets, pond herons, and other species of water birds belonging to the family Ardeidae. Irrigated rice fields provide an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes and attract migratory birds, maintaining the transmission of JEV. Although multiple vaccines have been developed for JEV, they are expensive and require multiple doses to maintain efficacy and immunity. As humans are a "dead-end" host for the virus, vaccination of the human population is unlikely to result in eradication. Therefore, vector control of the principal mosquito vector, Culex tritaeniorhynchus, represents a more promising strategy for reducing transmission. Current vector control strategies include intermittent irrigation of rice fields and space spraying of insecticides during outbreaks. However, Cx. Tritaeniorhynchus is subject to heavy exposure to pesticides in rice fields, and as a result, insecticide resistance has developed. In recent years, significant advancements have been made in the potential use of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia for mosquito biocontrol. The successful transinfection of Wolbachia strains from Drosophila flies to Aedes (Stegomyia) mosquitoes has resulted in the generation of "dengue-refractory" mosquito lines. The successful establishment of Wolbachia in wild Aedes aegypti populations has recently been demonstrated, and open releases in dengue-endemic countries are ongoing. This review outlines the current control methods for JEV in addition to highlighting the potential use of Wolbachia-based biocontrol strategies to impact transmission. JEV and dengue virus are both members of the Flavivirus genus, and the successful establishment of Drosophila Wolbachia strains in Cx. Tritaeniorhynchus, as the principal vector of JEV, is predicted to significantly impact JEV transmission