Mineral load on the paddock of organic sows in the Netherlands

The main aim of this study was to quantify nutrient deposition on the paddock in Dutch organic pig farms. Observations of excreting behaviour of grazing sows were carried out at three farms in each of two measuring seasons (spring/summer and autumn). The nutrient loads of N, P and K were calculated according to their content in urine and faeces, average weight of urine and faeces per excretion, and number of urinations and defecations done in the paddock. The N and P loads on the paddock varied greatly between the organic pig farms (P<0.01 for N, not significant for P and P<0.05 for K). The total amount of nutrients on two of the farms far exceeded the permitted levels (170 kg.ha-1year-1 for N and 44 kg.ha-1year-1 for P). On all three farms, faeces were unevenly distributed in the paddock. Regular rotation of paddocks resulted in a more uniform distribution

How Rising Sea Levels May Affect The length Of Your Day

The Earth has a near-constant rotational period of approximately 23.934 hours. Rising global temperatures put this period in danger of changing by redistributing polar ice cap mass towards the equator through conservation of angular momentum. The Earth was modeled as a solid sphere with the assumption that melted ice would form a spherical shell over the Earth’s surface. We explicitly show that if all ice were to melt, Earth’s rotational period would be increased by approximately 0.285 seconds, where the discrepancy with our clocks accumulates to 17.35 minutes after only 10 years

DNA polymerase α (swi7) and the flap endonuclease fen1 (rad2) act together in the s-phase alkylation damage response in S. pombe

Polymerase α is an essential enzyme mainly mediating Okazaki fragment synthesis during lagging strand replication. A specific point mutation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe polymerase α named swi7-1, abolishes imprinting required for mating-type switching. Here we investigate whether this mutation confers any genome-wide defects. We show that the swi7-1 mutation renders cells hypersensitive to the DNA damaging agents methyl methansulfonate (MMS), hydroxyurea (HU) and UV and incapacitates activation of the intra-S checkpoint in response to DNA damage. In addition we show that, in the swi7-1 background, cells are characterized by an elevated level of repair foci and recombination, indicative of increased genetic instability. Furthermore, we detect novel Swi1-, -Swi3- and Pol α- dependent alkylation damage repair intermediates with mobility on 2D-gel that suggests presence of single-stranded regions. Genetic interaction studies showed that the flap endonuclease Fen1 works in the same pathway as Pol α in terms of alkylation damage response. Fen1 was also required for formation of alkylation- damage specific repair intermediates. We propose a model to explain how Pol α, Swi1, Swi3 and Fen1 might act together to detect and repair alkylation damage during S-phase

Operational Research Approaches

Operational research is a collection of modelling techniques used to structure, analyse, and solve problems related to the design and operation of complex human systems. While many argue that operational research should play a key role in improving healthcare services, staff may be largely unaware of its potential applications. This Element explores operational research's wartime origins and introduce several approaches that operational researchers use to help healthcare organisations: address well-defined decision problems; account for multiple stakeholder perspectives; and describe how system performance may be impacted by changing the configuration or operation of services. The authors draw on examples that illustrate the valuable perspective that operational research brings to improvement initiatives and the challenges of implementing and scaling operational research solutions. They discuss how operational researchers are working to surmount these problems and suggest further research to help operational researchers have greater beneficial impact in healthcare improvement. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core

The cultural and social dimensions of successful teaching and learning in an urban science classroom

This critical ethnography focused on improving the teaching and learning of chemistry in a diverse, urban, tenth-grade classroom in high-achieving magnet high school serving students of differing cultural, social, and historical backgrounds. Participants included all 26 students in the class, a university researcher (Sarah-Kate LaVan) and me as a teacher-researcher. Conducted within the methodological and theoretical frameworks of critical ethnography, this research employed collaborative research, autobiographical reflection, the sociology of emotions, and cogenerative dialogues as tools by which to examine the influence of structure and the social and historical contexts of lived experiences on teacher and student practices in the context of the science learning that took place in our classroom. The methods employed in this ethnography were designed to catalyze social transformation by identifying contradictions within structures and then finding ways to alter these structures to expand the agency of all those involved. Specifically I asked the following questions: 1) How do practices and schemas gained by being within school structures afford the structures of the classroom field? 2) How can the structures of the classroom be transformed to allow students and teachers greater exchange of capital (social, cultural, and symbolic)? 3) How does the exchange of capital afford agency for the participants? 4) How can participants' actions transform the structures associated with school and the classroom to break cycles of reproduction? Using multiple data resources such as field notes, videotape, interviews and artifacts, our research team was able to elicit and support findings at micro-, meso-, and macroscopic levels to answer these questions.This research provides evidence of the ways in which structure shapes and is shaped by the practices and beliefs of students and teachers in different fields and how those, in turn, structure fields and afford agency for both the individual and the collective. The major findings of the study reveal that students and teachers need to participate in structured conversations that explicitly define and negotiate roles and rules for successful classroom interactions. One way to accomplish this is via participation in overlapping fields of cogenerative dialogue, a feature of our research methodology that emerged as salient during our research. This study offers administrators, teachers, and students a means by which to evaluate the ways in which structures shape the learning environment. Coupled with cogenerative dialogue, participants are provided a pathway for expanding agency in the classroom and in the school

From animal models to patients : the role of placental microRNAs, miR-210, miR-126, and miR-148a/152 in preeclampsia

Placental microRNAs (miRNAs) regulate the placental transcriptome and play a pathological role in preeclampsia (PE), a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. Three PE rodent model studies explored the role of placental miRNAs, miR-210, miR-126, and miR-148/152 respectively, by examining expression of the miRNAs, their inducers, and potential gene targets. This review evaluates the role of miR-210, miR-126, and miR-148/152 in PE by comparing findings from the three rodent model studies with in vitro studies, other animal models, and preeclamptic patients to provide comprehensive insight into genetic components and pathological processes in the placenta contributing to PE. The majority of studies demonstrate miR-210 is upregulated in PE in part driven by HIF-1a and NF-?Bp50, stimulated by hypoxia and/or immune-mediated processes. Elevated miR-210 may contribute to PE via inhibiting anti-inflammatory Th2-cytokines. Studies report an up- and downregulation of miR-126, arguably reflecting differences in expression between cell types and its multifunctional capacity.MiR-126 may play a pro-angiogenic role bymediating the PI3K-Akt pathway. Most studies report miR-148/152 family members are upregulated in PE. Evidence suggests they may inhibit DNA methylation of genes involved in metabolic and inflammatory pathways. Given the genetic heterogeneity of PE, it is unlikely that a single placental miRNA is a suitable therapeutic target for all patients. Investigating miRNAs in PE subtypes in patients and animal models may represent a more appropriate approach going forward. Developing methods for targeting placental miRNAs and specific placental cell types remains crucial for research seeking to target placental miRNAs as a novel treatment for PE

The Theory of Planned Behavior and the Earned Income Tax Credit

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) seeks to reduce poverty and provide the resources necessary for an individual to become self-sufficient. The EITC achieves this annually by lifting millions of households above the poverty level through income supplementation. However, recent evidence suggests that the long-term upward economic mobility provided by the EITC in practice is limited. To investigate the factors associated with achieving this financial independence, this study utilized the Theory of Planned Behavior to determine if (a) attitudes—as measured by time preference and self-esteem, (b) subjective norms—as measured by education, parents’ poverty level or work status, and religiosity, and/or (c) perceived behavioral control—as measured by self-efficacy (perceived effectiveness in accomplishing tasks) were significant in moving beyond qualification standards of the EITC. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), the EITC utilization pattern of a sample of 178 individuals was investigated. Results reaffirmed the economic advantages of marriage, suggesting that, by protecting and support healthy marriages, financial therapists can actively contribute to improved financial outcomes. Results also indicated that individuals with a high degree of mastery (feeling in control) were more likely to experience economic improvement, as measured through movement above EITC qualification standards. This suggests that financial therapists should work to facilitate growth in personal mastery as a part of helping clients reach their financial goals

Making ends meet : A conceptual and ethical analysis of efficiency

Peer reviewe