430 research outputs found
Trash or Treasure! Opportunities and Challenges for Artisan Enterprise from Recycled Waste
Scavenging, or informal recycling, represents a significant global economic activity (Medina, 2007) allowing certain groups to survive while providing raw materials to various industries including agriculture, housing, industry, and artisan enterprise. In developing areas, artisans use scavenged raw materials to create a wide variety of products including pottery, sandals, lamps, fashion accessories, and textiles. This paper uses two cases in Guatemala as evidence of the informal recycling system. Data were collected in Guatemala through participant observation, interviews with artisans and organizational leaders, and photo documentation of production processes and finished products. Data were analyzed through constant comparison, and resolution of themes, issues, and challenges emerging from the data. In Project #1, artisans wove strips cut from plastic bags into household products and accessories for export. In Project #2 artisans hooked rugs for the U.S. market from used clothing purchased at pacas. Both projects have contributed significantly to economic sustainability for families and communities in Guatemala
Creating Partnerships: A Key Counselor Capability
Counselors who create active partnerships as they implement counseling programs ensure support for their work. This ethnographic case study of an exemplary elementary school counselor details three strategies used in creating partnerships
Automated SNP genotype clustering algorithm to improve data completeness in high-throughput SNP genotyping datasets from custom arrays
High-throughput SNP genotyping platforms use automated genotype calling algorithms to assign genotypes. While these algorithms work efficiently for individual platforms, they are not compatible with other platforms, and have individual biases that result in missed genotype calls. Here we present data on the use of a second complementary SNP genotype clustering algorithm. The algorithm was originally designed for individual fluorescent SNP genotyping assays, and has been optimized to permit the clustering of large datasets generated from custom-designed Affymetrix SNP panels. In an analysis of data from a 3K array genotyped on 1,560 samples, the additional analysis increased the overall number of genotypes by over 45,000, significantly improving the completeness of the experimental data. This analysis suggests that the use of multiple genotype calling algorithms may be advisable in high-throughput SNP genotyping experiments. The software is written in Perl and is available from the corresponding author
Field Dependence of the Superconducting Basal Plane Anisotropy of TmNi2B2C
The superconductor TmNi2B2C possesses a significant four-fold basal plane
anisotropy, leading to a square Vortex Lattice (VL) at intermediate fields.
However, unlike other members of the borocarbide superconductors, the
anisotropy in TmNi2B2C appears to decrease with increasing field, evident by a
reentrance of the square VL phase. We have used Small Angle Neutron Scattering
measurements of the VL to study the field dependence of the anisotropy. Our
results provide a direct, quantitative measurement of the decreasing
anisotropy. We attribute this reduction of the basal plane anisotropy to the
strong Pauli paramagnetic effects observed in TmNi2B2C and the resulting
expansion of vortex cores near Hc2.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl
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LONG-TERM CHANGES IN MERCURY CONCENTRATIONS IN FISH FROM THE MIDDLE SAVANNAH RIVER
Total mercury levels were measured in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), ''sunfishes'' (Lepomis spp)., and ''catfish'' (primarily Ameiurus spp.) from 1971 to 2004 in the middle reaches of the Savannah River, which drains the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. Mercury levels were highest in 1971 but declined over the next ten years due to the mitigation of point sources of industrial pollution. Mercury levels began to increase in the 1980s as a possible consequence of mercury inputs from tributaries and associated wetlands where mercury concentrations were significantly elevated in water and fish. Mercury levels in Savannah River fish decreased sharply in 2001-2003 coincident with a severe drought in the Savannah River basin, but returned to previous levels in 2004 with the resumption of normal precipitation. Regression models showed that mercury levels in Savannah River fish changed significantly over time and were affected by river discharge. Despite temporal changes, there was little overall difference in Savannah River fish tissue mercury levels between 1971 and 2004
Pretransplant HLA typing revealed loss of heterozygosity in the major histocompatibility complex in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia
Introduction
Chromosomal abnormalities are frequent events in hematological malignancies. The degree of HLA compatibility between donor and recipient in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is critical.
Purpose of the study
In this report, we describe an acute myeloid leukemia case with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) encompassing the entire HLA.
Materials and methods
HLA molecular typing was performed on peripheral blood (PB) and buccal swabs (BS). Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) was performed using a whole genome platform.
Results
Typing results on PB sample collected during blast crisis demonstrated homozygosity at the -A, -B, -C, -DR, and -DQ loci. A BS sample demonstrated heterozygosity at all loci. A subsequent PB sample drawn after count recovery confirmed heterozygosity. The CMA performed on PB samples collected during and after blast crisis revealed a large terminal region of copy-neutral LOH involving chromosome region 6p25.3p21.31, spanning approximately 35.9 Mb. The results of the CMA assay on sample collected after count recovery did not demonstrate LOH.
Conclusions
LOH at the HLA gene locus may significantly influence the donor search resulting in mistakenly choosing homozygous donors. We recommend confirming the HLA typing of recipients with hematological malignancies when homozygosity is detected at any locus by using BS samples, or alternatively from PB when remission is achieved
Vortex lattice structure in BaFe2(As0.67P0.33)2 by the small-angle neutron scattering technique
We have observed a magnetic vortex lattice (VL) in BaFe2(As_{0.67}P_{0.33})2
(BFAP) single crystals by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). With the field
along the c-axis, a nearly isotropic hexagonal VL was formed in the field range
from 1 to 16 T, which is a record for this technique in the pnictides, and no
symmetry changes in the VL were observed. The temperature-dependence of the VL
signal was measured and confirms the presence of (non d-wave) nodes in the
superconducting gap structure for measurements at 5 T and below. The nodal
effects were suppressed at high fields. At low fields, a VL reorientation
transition was observed between 1 T and 3 T, with the VL orientation changing
by 45{\deg}. Below 1 T, the VL structure was strongly affected by pinning and
the diffraction pattern had a fourfold symmetry. We suggest that this (and
possibly also the VL reorientation) is due to pinning to defects aligned with
the crystal structure, rather than being intrinsic.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Kondo behavior, ferromagnetic correlations, and crystal fields in the heavy Fermion compounds Ce3X (X=In, Sn)
We report measurements of inelastic neutron scattering, magnetic
susceptibility, magnetization, and the magnetic field dependence of the
specific heat for the heavy Fermion compounds CeIn and CeSn. The
neutron scattering results show that the excited crystal field levels have
energies = 13.2 meV, = 44.8 meV for CeIn and = 18.5 meV,
= 36.1 meV for CeSn. The Kondo temperature deduced from the
quasielastic linewidth is 17 K for CeIn and 40 K for CeSn. The low
temperature behavior of the specific heat, magnetization, and susceptibility
can not be well-described by J=1/2 Kondo physics alone, but require
calculations that include contributions from the Kondo effect, broadened
crystal fields, and ferromagnetic correlations, all of which are known to be
important in these compounds. We find that in CeIn the ferromagnetic
fluctuation makes a 10-15 % contribution to the ground state doublet entropy
and magnetization. The large specific heat coefficient in this heavy
fermion system thus arises more from the ferromagnetic correlations than from
the Kondo behavior.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Learning Disabilities in the Workplace: LD awareness presentation for supervisors
This informational workshop is an awareness tool for chairpersons to understand and recognize characteristics and consequences of learning disabilities in the workplace. Legal rights and responsibilities of employers and individuals with learning disabilities will be discussed. Accommodations for specific learning disabilities will be identified. This presentation is informational only.Citation: Verhage, E., Coleman, T., Darbyshire, M.J., & Littrell, L. (2006). Learning Disabilities in the Workplace: LD awareness presentation for supervisors. Academic Chairperson’s Conference. Orlando, FL
Availability and quality of anti-malarials among private sector outlets in Myanmar in 2012: results from a large, community-based, cross-sectional survey before a large-scale intervention
BACKGROUND: Global malaria control efforts are threatened by the spread and emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites. In 2012, the widespread sale of partial courses of artemisinin-based monotherapy was suspected to take place in the highly accessed, weakly regulated private sector in Myanmar, posing potentially major threats to drug resistance. This study investigated the presence of artemisinin-based monotherapies in the Myanmar private sector, particularly as partial courses of therapy, to inform the targeting of future interventions to stop artemisinin resistance. METHODS: A large cross-sectional survey comprised of a screening questionnaire was conducted across 26 townships in Myanmar between March and May, 2012. For outlets that stocked anti-malarials at the time of survey, a stock audit was conducted, and for outlets that stocked anti-malarials within 3 months of the survey, a provider survey was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 3,658 outlets were screened, 83% were retailers (pharmacies, itinerant drug vendors and general retailers) and 17% were healthcare providers (private facilities and health workers). Of the 3,658 outlets screened, 1,359 outlets (32%) stocked at least one anti-malarial at the time of study. Oral artemisinin-based monotherapy comprised of 33% of self-reported anti-malarials dispensing volumes found. The vast majority of artemisinin-based monotherapy was sold by retailers, where 63% confirmed that they sold partial courses of therapy by cutting blister packets. Very few retailers (5%) had malaria rapid diagnostic tests available, and quality-assured artemisinin-based combination therapy was virtually nonexistent among retailers. CONCLUSION: Informal private pharmacies, itinerant drug vendors and general retailers should be targeted for interventions to improve malaria treatment practices in Myanmar, particularly those that threaten the emergence and spread of artemisinin resistance
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