Chain saw safety

"Chain saws are coming out of the backwoods. Although once used only by professional lumberjacks, chain saws are now popular among an increasing number of homeowners and farmers. Homeowners use them to cut firewood and to do gener-al tree trimming around their homes. Farmers find them very useful for such jobs as clearing land, trimming trees and cutting firewood. However, in the hands of a careless or inexperienced operator, chain saws can be very hazardous. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in 1979 approximately 50,000 people required hospital treatment for injuries associated with chain saws. Most accidents were caused by the operator coming into contact with a moving chain saw blade. Injuries from a chain saw are usually serious because of the jagged cut they leave."--First page.David E. Baker (Extension Safety Specialist, College of Agriculture), Don Day (Area Agricultural Engineering Specialist, University of Missouri-Columbia)New 12/81/10

Energy conservation and efficiency in farm shops (2015)

Energy losses in farm shops resemble those in homes, but we often ignore these losses. The farm shop is usually not heated to as high a temperature as the home and not as constantly, but energy savings in the shop are attainable with some conservation and efficiency practices.Revised 1/15/Web only

Energy efficiency and farm water systems (2015)

Farm water systems are often neglected when it comes to energy efficiency. Although the savings to be realized may not be as great as perhaps energy-efficient lighting, the return can be fairly short for some energy-saving investments. Here are some general guidelines regarding farm water systems: Check all water system components regularly for proper operation and leaks. Leaks can lead to excessive pumping and water heating costs. ; Inspect wiring regularly. ; Use pipes of adequate size to reduce friction loss in pumping water.Revised 1/15/Web only

”Heads you win, tails I lose”: the dilemma mandatory reporting poses for teachers

Australian teachers are mandated to report instances of child maltreatment should they suspect a child is being maltreated. Some teachers are reluctant to make a report based on suspicion alone. This review examines the barriers that may prevent teachers from reporting. It is suggested that to overcome these barriers and form a reasonable belief that a child is being maltreated, teachers may attempt to seek out proof by questioning the suspected victim. Inappropriate questioning can have detrimental consequences such as wrongful reporting when maltreatment is not occurring, or worse, no report made when a child is being maltreated. Based on the review of the literature presented in this paper and given the changing landscape of mandatory reporting in Australia, research is recommended. First, to determine if the barriers for reporting still hold true and, secondly, to establish the motivations of teachers who may question a child when they suspect maltreatment, along with exploration on how they approach this task

Reflections

This publication explores the journey of the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa since its inception.Founded in 2005, the initiative plays an active role in encouraging open, informed dialogue about issues of public importance through innovative and collaborative processes. It supports individuals and groups to participate in matters that affect them in order to demand fair treatment, delivery of services, and accountability from their leaders and institutions. The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa awards grants, develops its own programs, and promotes debate on issues of public importance

Model solar system number 2 on the Leo Himmelberg farm

"This guide presents information on a demonstration solar system located on a Central Missouri swine farm. The system was designed to collect and store solar energy for use in preheating ventilation air in a nursery building. Information and data on construction, cost and performance through the first year of operation are presented. Complete working drawings for this facility are available through your County Extension Center. Ask for UMC Plan No. 32-726-C3. The money for the design, construction and testing of this system was provided by Mr. Leo Himmelberg, the University of Missouri, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. The Himmelberg farm is located approximately 3 miles northeast of Glasgow, Mo., on Highway V. It is a 236 acre crop and livestock operation with a sow herd of 50-60 animals. All pigs are finished to market weight on the farm."--First page.Don Day and Richard E. Phillips (Department of Agricultural Engineering College of Agriculture)New 7/81/10

Engineering gamma delta T cells limits tonic signaling associated with chimeric antigen receptors

Despite the benefits of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–T cell therapies against lymphoid malignancies, responses in solid tumors have been more limited and off-target toxicities have been more marked. Among the possible design limitations of CAR-T cells for cancer are unwanted tonic (antigen-independent) signaling and off-target activation. Efforts to overcome these hurdles have been blunted by a lack of mechanistic understanding. Here, we showed that single-cell analysis with time course mass cytometry provided a rapid means of assessing CAR-T cell activation. We compared signal transduction in expanded T cells to that in T cells transduced to express second-generation CARs and found that cell expansion enhanced the response to stimulation. However, expansion also induced tonic signaling and reduced network plasticity, which were associated with expression of the T cell exhaustion markers PD-1 and TIM-3. Because this was most evident in pathways downstream of CD3ζ, we performed similar analyses on γδT cells that expressed chimeric costimulatory receptors (CCRs) lacking CD3ζ but containing DAP10 stimulatory domains. These CCR-γδT cells did not exhibit tonic signaling but were efficiently activated and mounted cytotoxic responses in the presence of CCR-specific stimuli or cognate leukemic cells. Single-cell signaling analysis enabled detailed characterization of CAR-T and CCR-T cell activation to better understand their functional activities. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CCR-γδT cells may offer the potential to avoid on-target, off-tumor toxicity and allo-reactivity in the context of myeloid malignancies

The Abisko Polar Prediction School

Polar regions are experiencing rapid climate change, faster than elsewhere on Earth with consequences for the weather and sea ice. This change is opening up new possibilities for businesses such as tourism, shipping, fisheries and oil and gas extraction, but also bringing new risks to delicate polar environments. Effective weather and climate prediction is essential to managing these risks, however our ability to forecast polar environmental conditions over periods from days to decades ahead falls far behind our abilities in the mid-latitudes. In order to meet the growing societal need for young scientists trained in this area, a Polar Prediction School for early career scientists from around the world was held in April 2016

Joint international consensus statement on crowdsourcing challenge contests in health and medicine: results of a modified Delphi process

OBJECTIVES: To develop a consensus statement to provide advice on designing, implementing and evaluating crowdsourcing challenge contests in public health and medical contexts. DESIGN: Modified Delphi using three rounds of survey questionnaires and one consensus workshop. SETTING: Uganda for face-to-face consensus activities, global for online survey questionnaires. PARTICIPANTS: A multidisciplinary expert panel was convened at a consensus-development conference in Uganda and included 21 researchers with experience leading challenge contests, five public health sector workers, and nine Ugandan end users. An online survey was sent to 140 corresponding authors of previously published articles that had used crowdsourcing methods. RESULTS: A subgroup of expert panel members developed the initial statement and survey. We received responses from 120 (85.7%) survey participants, which were presented at an in-person workshop of all 21 panel members. Panelists discussed each of the sections, revised the statement, and participated in a second round of the survey questionnaire. Based on this second survey round, we held detailed discussions of each subsection with workshop participants and further revised the consensus statement. We then conducted the third round of the questionnaire among the 21 expert panelists and used the results to finalize the statement. This iterative process resulted in 23 final statement items, all with greater than 80% consensus. Statement items are organised into the seven stages of a challenge contest, including the following: considering the appropriateness, organising a community steering committee, promoting the contest, assessing contributions, recognising contributors, sharing ideas and evaluating the contest (COPARSE). CONCLUSIONS: There is high agreement among crowdsourcing experts and stakeholders on the design and implementation of crowdsourcing challenge contests. The COPARSE consensus statement can be used to organise crowdsourcing challenge contests, improve the rigour and reproducibility of crowdsourcing research and enable large-scale collaboration