The Impact of a Corporate Adventure Program

Corporations continue to use adventure challenge activities to create or enhance a sense of cohesion, or team, within their corporate culture. The purpose of this study was to document the perceived benefits of an Adventure Challenge program on a _short term basis. The program was designed to meet specific expectations held by high ranking employees of an international accounting firm. The goals for the program were developed in consultation with instructional designers and their superiors responS1ole for the finns\u27 training and devel\u3c\u3eJ\u3ement This paper reports on efforts t.o document the impact of an adventure challenge program integrated into an extended corporate education course. Two hours of adventure challenge activities took place in the afternoon during an intensive course in business consulting. Some of the goals of the program included building a network of international cooperation, creating trust, introducing an attitude of mk taking behavior, and recognizing the importance of working as a highly functioning team. Subjects in the study were assigned to small teams of eight or more members. The groups were structured with the intent of mixing participants from different countries as well as from different levels of responsibility within the firm. Groups remained the same over the ten day period with the same facilitator. Each team participated in a similar set of activities which were carefully sequenced to provide problems of steadily increasing difficulty. Activities included many standard initiative tasks which were adapted to fit the clientele. Common names of some of those activities are the nitro crossing, zigzag, trolleys, trust sequence, Mohawk walk, and the pamper pole. Each event was followed by a debriefing session designed to create an avenue for reflection with a large group debrief finalizing the program on the last day. Opinionnaires were administered to participants prior to the start of the program. and at its conclusion. Over 125 participants from five separate schools responded to the three questionnaires developed to explore their views. An eleven item questionnaire attempted to assess the extent to which program goals were met in each specific school. The results were reported as mean scores and tested for significance using a two tailed t scores. One instrument consisted of an eleven item opinionnaire which asked participants to assess the degree to which specific program goals were met. A pretest to establish a baseline of participant views was used for comparisons after the adventure challenge component. The opinionnaire was a five point Likert scale which addressed communication, risk taking, stress management, self confidence, motivation of others, trust, conflict management, and cooperation with colleagues from different countries. Significant results were reported in the areas of communicating with colleagues from other countries and management of conflict. Four of the five reported significant changes were in self confidence. Two of five schools reported significant change in communication abilities, handling stress, and trusting associates. A second Likert scale instrument was used on a post-test basis only. This survey asked participants to rate program activities in terms of how much they enjoyed each one and the extent to which each activity reached the previously stated program goals. The results are reported as mean scores in rank order. The data suggested that it is important to provide participants with several enjoyable activities in order to have participants feel that the goals of the program were achieved. It is also interesting to note that the mean scores for meeting program goals were consistently higher than the means for enjoyment for corresponding activities. This finding suggested a level of mature reflection on the part of the respondents. It must be assumed that facilitator ability and activity sequencing has influenced the ranking of these activities. A third instrument was open ended. It asked participants to give their views on six items regarding the value of program activities and personal changes created by the program.For many participants the adventure challenge program served as a powerful socializing force. Teamwork, knowledge of others, and friendships were the most frequently mentioned worthwhile outcomes. The results provide additional support for the overall positive socializing effect of adventure challenge activities. The results of this study lend support to the belief that adventure challenge programs assist corporations in boosting self-confidence in their employees, reducing social barriers between members of the organization, and facilitating the development of a team concept.The results also suggested that the benefits are dissimilar for each participating team. In some groups improved communication with subordinates occurred, in others, several participates gained in their ability to motivate others and trust associates. The most powerful impact of the adventure challenge program was that of socializing participants from various parts of the world to one another. Participants formed friendships with others from foreign lands and worked well together to accomplish the common challenges they were asked to pursue. While the research design should be improved to provide more definitive data on the role of adventure challenge activities in corporate educational programs, this preliminary study did suggest some of the more powerful effects of such programs

Accuracy and feasibility of an android-based digital assessment tool for post stroke visual disorders - The StrokeVision App

Background: Visual impairment affects up to 70% of stroke survivors. We designed an app (StrokeVision) to facilitate screening for common post stroke visual issues (acuity, visual fields and visual inattention). We sought to describe the test-time, feasibility, acceptability and accuracy of our app based digital visual assessments against a) current methods used for bedside screening, and b) gold standard measures. Methods: Patients were prospectively recruited from acute stroke settings. Index tests were app based assessments of fields and inattention performed by a trained researcher. We compared against usual clinical screening practice of visual fields to confrontation including inattention assessment (simultaneous stimuli). We also compared app to gold standard assessments of formal kinetic perimetry (Goldman or Octopus Visual Field Assessment); and pencil and paper based tests of inattention (Albert’s, Star Cancellation, and Line Bisection). Results of inattention and field tests were adjudicated by a specialist Neuro-Ophthalmologist. All assessors were masked to each other’s results. Participants and assessors graded acceptability using a bespoke scale that ranged from 0 (completely unacceptable) to 10 (perfect acceptability). Results: Of 48 stroke survivors recruited, the complete battery of index and reference tests for fields was successfully completed in 45. Similar acceptability scores were observed for app-based (assessor median score 10 [IQR:9-10]; patient 9 [IQR:8-10]) and traditional bedside testing (assessor 10 [IQR:9-10; patient 10 [IQR:9-10]). Median test time was longer for app-based testing (combined time-to-completion of all digital tests 420 seconds [IQR:390-588]) when compared with conventional bedside testing (70 seconds, [IQR:40-70]) but shorter than gold standard testing (1260 seconds, [IQR:1005-1620]). Compared with gold standard assessments, usual screening practice demonstrated 79% sensitivity and 82% specificity for detection of a stroke-related field defect. This compares with 79% sensitivity and 88% specificity for StrokeVision digital assessment. Conclusion: StrokeVision shows promise as a screening tool for visual complications in the acute phase of stroke. The app is at least as good as usual screening and offers other functionality that may make it attractive for use in acute stroke

Specificity Between Lactobacilli And Hymenopteran Hosts Is The Exception Rather Than The Rule

Lactobacilli (Lactobacillales: Lactobacillaceae) are well known for their roles in food fermentation, as probiotics, and in human health, but they can also be dominant members of the microbiota of some species of Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps). Honey bees and bumble bees associate with host-specific lactobacilli, and some evidence suggests that these lactobacilli are important for bee health. Social transmission helps maintain associations between these bees and their respective microbiota. To determine whether lactobacilli associated with social hymenopteran hosts are generally host specific, we gathered publicly available Lactobacillus 16S rRNA gene sequences, along with Lactobacillus sequences from 454 pyrosequencing surveys of six other hymenopteran species (three sweat bees and three ants). We determined the comparative secondary structural models of 16S rRNA, which allowed us to accurately align the entire 16S rRNA gene, including fast-evolving regions. BLAST searches and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic reconstructions confirmed that honey and bumble bees have host-specific Lactobacillus associates. Regardless of colony size or within-colony oral sharing of food (trophallaxis), sweat bees and ants associate with lactobacilli that are closely related to those found in vertebrate hosts or in diverse environments. Why honey and bumble bees associate with host-specific lactobacilli while other social Hymenoptera do not remains an open question. Lactobacilli are known to inhibit the growth of other microbes and can be beneficial whether they are coevolved with their host or are recruited by the host from environmental sources through mechanisms of partner choice.National Science Foundation PRFB-1003133, DEB-0919519Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 01923, National Institutes of Health GM067317Integrative BiologyCellular and Molecular BiologyCenter for Computational Biology and BioinformaticsBrackenridge Field Laborator

Potential ring of Dirac nodes in a new polymorph of Ca3_3P2_2

We report the crystal structure of a new polymorph of Ca$_3$P$_2$, and an analysis of its electronic structure. The crystal structure was determined through Rietveld refinements of powder synchrotron x-ray diffraction data. Ca$_3$P$_2$ is found to be a variant of the Mn$_5$Si$_3$ structure type, with a Ca ion deficiency compared to the ideal 5:3 stoichiometry to yield a charge-balanced compound. We also report the observation of a secondary phase, Ca$_5$P$_3$H, in which the Ca and P sites are fully occupied and the presence of interstitial hydride ions creates a closed-shell electron-precise compound. We show via electronic structure calculations of Ca$_3$P$_2$ that the compound is stabilized by a gap in the density of states compared to the hypothetical compound Ca$_5$P$_3$. Moreover, the calculated band structure of Ca$_3$P$_2$ indicates that it should be a three-dimensional Dirac semimetal with a highly unusual ring of Dirac nodes at the Fermi level. The Dirac states are protected against gap opening by a mirror plane in a manner analogous to graphene. The results suggest that further study of the electronic properties of Ca$_3$P$_2$ will be of interest

Concurrent Sessions A: Passage Effectiveness Monitoring in Small Streams II - An Evaluation of the Stream Simulation Culvert Design Method in Washington State

Over the past decade, stream simulation has become the standard for culvert design in Washington State and in many other states and countries. Stream simulation culverts are based on the assumption that the geologic and hydraulic conditions in natural channels define passage requirements for migrating fish in a given stream and that water crossing structures that imitate these conditions can then achieve those same passage requirements. In early stages of development during the late 1990s, the design method contained various assumptions about how to effectively imitate the channel environment, such as the relationship between the culvert width and the natural channel width. In 2003, a preliminary effectiveness study was done on 19 culverts to explore the veracity of these assumptions. This study expands the initial effort to 50 culverts and includes refined methods and analysis comparing hydraulic characteristics based on cross sections, profile variation, and bed texture between each culvert and its paired reference reach situated in an adjacent section of the natural channel of each stream. Taken as a group, these culverts simulate bed texture, 100-year recurrence interval flood velocity and 2-year flood width, but do not simulate thalweg complexity or other hydraulic metrics. Culvert span, relative to the bank full width of the stream, does not by itself determine whether the culvert simulates the reference reach. Of the 50 culverts, many of which experienced record floods, only one experienced significant bed degradation

Occurrence rate of delirium in acute stroke settings

Background and Purpose— Delirium is associated with increased mortality, length of stay, and poor functional outcome following critical illness. The epidemiology of delirium in stroke is poorly described. We sought to collate evidence around occurrence (incidence or prevalence) of delirium in acute stroke. Methods— We searched multiple cross-disciplinary electronic databases using a prespecified search strategy, complemented by hand searching. Eligible studies described delirium in acute (first 6 weeks) stroke. We compared delirium occurrence using random-effects models to describe summary estimates. We assessed risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa tool, incorporating this in sensitivity analyses. We performed subgroup analyses for delirium diagnostic method (confusion assessment method scoring, clinical diagnosis, other), duration and timing of delirium assessment (>1 or <1 week), and performed meta-regression based on the year of publication. Results— Of 8822 titles, we included 32 papers (6718 participants) in the quantitative analysis. Summary estimate for occurrence of delirium was 25% (95% CI, 20%–30%; moderate quality evidence). Limiting to studies at low risk of bias (22 studies, 4422 participants), the occurrence rate was 23% (95% CI, 17%–28%). Subgroup summary estimates suggest that delirium occurrence may vary with assessment method: confusion assessment method, 21% (95% CI, 16%–27%); clinical diagnosis, 27% (95% CI, 19%–38%); other, 32% (95% CI, 22%–43%) but not with duration and timing of assessment. Meta-regression suggested decline in occurrence of delirium comparing historical to more recent studies (slope, 0.03 [SE, 0.004]; P<0.0001). Conclusions— Delirium is common, affecting 1 in 4 acute stroke patients. Reported rates of delirium may be dependent on assessment method. Our estimate of delirium occurrence could be used for audit, to plan intervention studies, and inform clinical practice. Clinical Trial Registration— URL: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/. Unique identifier: CRD42015029251

Inference of single-cell phylogenies from lineage tracing data using Cassiopeia.

The pairing of CRISPR/Cas9-based gene editing with massively parallel single-cell readouts now enables large-scale lineage tracing. However, the rapid growth in complexity of data from these assays has outpaced our ability to accurately infer phylogenetic relationships. First, we introduce Cassiopeia-a suite of scalable maximum parsimony approaches for tree reconstruction. Second, we provide a simulation framework for evaluating algorithms and exploring lineage tracer design principles. Finally, we generate the most complex experimental lineage tracing dataset to date, 34,557 human cells continuously traced over 15 generations, and use it for benchmarking phylogenetic inference approaches. We show that Cassiopeia outperforms traditional methods by several metrics and under a wide variety of parameter regimes, and provide insight into the principles for the design of improved Cas9-enabled recorders. Together, these should broadly enable large-scale mammalian lineage tracing efforts. Cassiopeia and its benchmarking resources are publicly available at www.github.com/YosefLab/Cassiopeia