2,505 research outputs found
Rapid point-of-care tests for HIV and sexually transmissible infection control in remote Australia: can they improve Aboriginal people's and Torres Strait Islanders' health?
No full textJames Ward, Rebecca Guy, Rae-Lin Huang, Janet Know, Sophie Couzos, David Scrimgeour, Liz Moore, Tim Leahy, Jenny Hunt, Basil Donovan and John M. Kaldo
Communities of practice and creativity
No full textIn the current chapter the role of creative and innovative processes in communities of prac-
tice (Wenger, 1998) are discussed. Communities of practice require trust among their mem-
bers, the use of a shared repertoire of meanings and finally a common goal. Creative process-
es and knowledge sharing are social phenomena among members of each community: new
ideas or artifacts arises from the synergy of many sources and not only from the mind of a
single person. The communities of practice are the ideal environment for the development of
original and valuable ideas. The application of technologies could be a useful support for pro-
moting the interaction and for facilitating what is called “tacit knowledge”, knowledge that is
easily make in common through the narration of practices and experiences. Moreover, it is
important to consider the conditions because very often creativity emerges spontaneously if
the members of the community perceive that their proposals are listened to. The perception
of a friendly and supportive environment where they can freely talk about of their feelings and
life stories, thus stimulating motivation and the pleasure to share are core aspects and condi-
tions. Linking the subjects of community of practices and creativity could be considered valu-
able also for a wide context inducing outcomes that are generalizable
Crystal and molecular structure of bis(5,7-dimethyl-[1,2,4]triazololium-N3-[1,5-a]pyrimidine) hexachlorostannate: [Hdmtp]2[SnCl6]
No full textJ. M. Salas, A. Rahmani, M. A. Romero, A. D. Rae, A. C. Willis and E. R. T. Tiekin
Disruption of brainstem monoaminergic fibre tracts in multiple sclerosis as a putative mechanism for cognitive fatigue:a fixel-based analysis
No full textIn multiple sclerosis (MS), monoaminergic systems are altered as a result of both inflammation-dependent reduced synthesis and direct structural damage. Aberrant monoaminergic neurotransmission is increasingly considered a major contributor to fatigue pathophysiology. In this study, we aimed to compare the integrity of the monoaminergic white matter fibre tracts projecting from brainstem nuclei in a group of patients with MS (n = 68) and healthy controls (n = 34), and to investigate its association with fatigue. Fibre tracts integrity was assessed with the novel fixel-based analysis that simultaneously estimates axonal density, by means of 'fibre density', and white matter atrophy, by means of fibre 'cross section'. We focused on ventral tegmental area, locus coeruleus, and raphe nuclei as the main source of dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and serotoninergic fibres within the brainstem, respectively. Fourteen tracts of interest projecting from these brainstem nuclei were reconstructed using diffusion tractography, and compared by means of the product of fibre-density and cross-section (FDC). Finally, correlations of monoaminergic axonal damage with the modified fatigue impact scale scores were evaluated in MS. Fixel-based analysis revealed significant axonal damage - as measured by FDC reduction - within selective monoaminergic fibre-tracts projecting from brainstem nuclei in MS patients, in comparison to healthy controls; particularly within the dopaminergic-mesolimbic pathway, the noradrenergic-projections to prefrontal cortex, and serotoninergic-projections to cerebellum. Moreover, we observed significant correlations between severity of cognitive fatigue and axonal damage within the mesocorticolimbic tracts projecting from ventral tegmental area, as well as within the locus coeruleus projections to prefrontal cortex, suggesting a potential contribution of dopaminergic and noradrenergic pathways to central fatigue in MS. Our findings support the hypothesis that axonal damage along monoaminergic pathways contributes to the reduction/dysfunction of monoamines in MS and add new information on the mechanisms by which monoaminergic systems contribute to MS pathogenesis and fatigue. This supports the need for further research into monoamines as therapeutic targets aiming to combat and alleviate fatigue in MS.© 2021 T. Carandini, M. Mancini, I. Bogdan, C. Rae, A. Barritt, A. Sethi, N. Harrison, W. Rashid, E. Scarpini, D. Galimberti, M. Bozzali, M. Cercignani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ </p
Open Access to Peer-Reviewed Research through Author/Institution Self-Archiving: Maximizing Research Impact by Maximizing Online Access
No full textAll refereed journals will soon be available online; most of them already are. This means that anyone will be able to access them from any networked desk-top. The literature will all be interconnected by citation, author, and keyword/subject links, allowing for unheard-of power and ease of access and navigability. Successive drafts of pre-refereeing preprints will be linked to the official refereed draft, as well as to any subsequent corrections, revisions, updates, comments, responses, and underlying empirical databases, all enhancing the self-correctiveness, interactivity and productivity of scholarly and scientific research and communication in remarkable new ways. New scientometric indicators of digital impact are also emerging <http://opcit.eprints.org> to chart the online course of knowledge. But there is still one last frontier to cross before science reaches the optimal and the inevitable: Just as there is no longer any need for research or researchers to be constrained by the access-blocking restrictions of paper distribution, there is no longer any need to be constrained by the impact-blocking financial fire-walls of Subscription/Site-License/Pay-Per-View (S/L/P) tolls for this give-away literature. Its author/researchers have always donated their research reports for free (and its referee/researchers have refereed for free), with the sole goal of maximizing their impact on subsequent research (by accessing the eyes and minds of fellow-researchers, present and future) and hence on society. Generic (OAi-compliant) software is now available free so that institutions can immediately create Eprint Archives in which their authors can self-archive all their refereed papers for free for all forever <http://www.eprints.org/>. These interoperable Open Archives <http://www.openarchives.org> will then be harvested into global, jointly searchable "virtual archives" (e.g., <http://arc.cs.odu.edu/>). "Scholarly Skywriting" in this PostGutenberg Galaxy will be dramatically (and measurably) more interactive and productive, spawning its own new digital metrics of productivity and impact, allowing for an online "embryology of knowledge.
Situational correlates of disclosure of child sexual abuse
No full textOften, a sexually abused childs disclosure is the only evidence of the abuse. However, most victims do not disclose until adulthood, if ever. This study explores situational correlates of child sexual abuse disclosure. An archival data set comprised of 1120 cases of child sexual abuse was analyzed. Questions asked include whether or not any variable differentiates between the type of disclosure a child makes, the identity of the recipient of the disclosure, whether or not a child will recant, and if a child does recant, in what timeframe this occurs. Variables included victim characteristics (gender, ethnicity, age, family income) and abuse characteristics (relationship to the perpetrator, nature of the abuse, threat involved, frequency of abuse, and duration of abuse.) T-tests, chi-square analyses, and log linear modeling were used in the analysis of the data. Although statistical limitations were an issue, age and threat were found to be influential in the disclosure process
The influence of contagion information and behavior on older adolescents' perceptions of peers with chronic illness
No full textTo explore attributions about chronically ill peers, 545 older adolescents ages 17-26 read a short vignette describing a brief social encounter with a hypothetical peer suffering from a medical condition, and then responded to a series of questionnaires to assess their perceptions of that peer. Nine measures intended to assess perceptions of ill peers were developed and empirically validated. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency was moderate to good for all measures. Component structure of the Peer Acceptance Questionnaire (PAQ), Peer Acceptance Questionnaire ?? 3rd Person (PAQ-F), and Perceived Similarity Questionnaire (PSQ) were also evaluated. Principal components analysis yielded a 2-factor structure of Openness and Egalitarianism for both the PAQ and PAQ-F. A 6-factor structure of (a) Familial/Spiritual, (b) General Health, (c) Social, (d) Behavioral, (e) Physical, and (f) Educational was suggested for the PSQ. Results indicated an interaction between illness type and behavior on acceptance ratings, such that behavior potentiated the effect of illness type on acceptance. In addition, vignette characters with contagious illnesses were rated less favorably than those with noncontagious illnesses, and vignette characters displaying typical behavior were rated more favorably than either withdrawn or aggressive vignette characters. Illness-specific knowledge, ratings of perceived similarity, and ratings of assigned blame predicted acceptance ratings, whereas illness-specific knowledge and acceptance ratings predicted ratings of assigned blame.
Finally, significant differences were observed between first- and third-person ratings of both acceptance and assigned blame
Web 2.0 and micro-businesses: an exploratory investigation
No full textPurpose: the paper reports from an exploratory study into how small businesses use Web 2.0 information and communication technologies (ICT) to work collaboratively with other small businesses. The study had two aims: to investigate the benefits available from the use of Web 2.0 in small business collaborations, and to characterize the different types of such online collaborations.Design/methodology/approach: the research uses a qualitative case study methodology based on semi-structured interviews with the owner-managers of twelve UK-based small companies in the business services sector, who are early adopters of Web 2.0 technologies. Findings: Benefits from the use of Web 2.0 are categorised as lifestyle benefits, internal operational efficiency, enhanced capability, external communications and enhanced service offerings. A 2x2 framework is developed to categorise small business collaborations using the dimensions of the basis for inter-organizational collaboration (control vs. cooperation) and the level of Web 2.0 ICT use (simple vs. sophisticated). Research limitations/implications: A small number of firms of similar size, sector and location were studied, which limits generalisability. Nonetheless, the results offer a pointer to the likely future use of Web 2.0 tools by other small businesses. Practical implications: the research provides evidence of the attraction and potential of Web 2.0 for collaborations between small businesses. Originality/value: the paper is one of the first to report on use of Web 2.0 ICT in collaborative working between small businesses. It will be of interest to those seeking a better understanding of the potential of Web 2.0 in the small business community<br/
Calculating Reproductive Performance in Beef Operations: The University of Florida Beef Herds' 2019 Breeding Season
No full textThis publication reviews the basic calculations of reproductive performance and reports the reproductive performance of two University of Florida beef herds. Written by Mario Binelli, Angela M. Gonella-Diaza, Thiago Martins, Cecilia C. Rocha, Felipe A. C. C. Silva, Federico Tarnonsky, Sergio Roskopf, Owen Rae, Danny Driver, Nicolas DiLorenzo, Jose Dubeux, and David Thomas, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Animal Sciences, May 2021
Food consumption patterns and nutrition in urban Java households: the discriminatory power of some socioeconomic variables
No full textFood consumption patterns are undergoing substantial change in many countries as economic development proceeds. The trend is a move away from traditional cereals towards higher‐value and higher‐protein foods. Explaining such changes only in terms of traditional economic variables can lead to biased estimates of income effects and perhaps biased projections of food demand. Household survey data from Indonesia are used to measure the importance of several socioeconomic variables in explaining differences in household food consumption patterns and nutrition. Household expenditure and the level of women’s education are shown to be the most influential in this explanation.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,
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