561 research outputs found
Detection and quantification of tissue of origin in salmon and veal products using methylation sensitive AFLPs
No full textAbstract not availableCarlos M. Rodríguez López, Paloma Morán, Fátima Lago, Montserrat Espiñeira, Manfred Beckmann, Sofia Consuegr
The impact of pregnancy on peak flow values in women with asthma
No full textAsthma is the most common respiratory complication of pregnancy and affects approximately four per cent of all pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to establish normative data regarding how peak flow values change during gestation in pregnant women with asthma. Eighteen pregnant women with asthma were recruited and completed dally logs throughout their pregnancies. The findings suggest there is a difference in peak flow values in different trimesters. Specifically peak flow values were highest in the second trimester with significant differences between the second and third trimesters. While the sample size is small it does provide longitudinal data that suggest changes in asthma as the pregnancy progresses. This study represents a logical next step in identifying the impact of pregnancy on asthma.Peer reviewe
Peak Flow Values by Gestation in Women with Asthma
No full textAsthma is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy. Control of asthma is associated with improved perinatal outcomes compared with pregnancies of women whose asthma is not controlled. Peak flow measures have been recommended to determine the status of asthma yet norms for peak flow values in women with asthma are missing from the literature. The purpose of this prospective, longitudinal study was to determine average peak flow values in pregnant women with asthma. Forty three women were recruited into the study prior to the twentieth week of pregnancy. Demographic data including age, ethnic background, and number of pregnancies were collected. Type and severity of asthma, medications used for asthma, and past hospitalizations for asthma was recorded. Peak flow values increased across the three trimesters. Significant differences were found in peak flow values between the first and third trimesters (>0.001) and the second and third trimesters (>0.007). Findings from the present study contradict those of studies on pregnant women without asthma. Since hormonal levels change during pregnancy and hormones are thought to influence the status of asthma, the interaction of hormonal changes of pregnancy and asthma warrant further study.Peer reviewe
The Role of Coordination and Cooperation for Bt-maize cultivation in Brandenburg, Germany
No full textSince 2006, several varieties of transgenic Bt-maize are approved for commercial cultivation in Germany. The German regulatory framework for growing these crops comprises ex-ante regulations as well as ex-post liability rules to protect conventional and organic farming from possible negative side effects of transgenic plants and to ensure co-existence. Public regulation is also suspected to impose additional costs to those farmers who intend to plant Bt-maize. We address the question how Bt-maize growing farmers perceive the additional costs of regulation and whether coordination or cooperation takes place in order to diminish these costs. In 2006, we carried out a case study in the Oderbruch region (Brandenburg, Germany) comprising eight Bt-maize growing farmers and six adjacent neighbours. The predominantly large farms chose intrafarm coordination to manage the construction of buffer zones within their own fields and to avoid the planting of Bt-maize close to their neighbours. Inter-farm coordination or cooperation with adjacent farmers was not regarded necessary to achieve co-existence.Coordination, Cooperation, Bt-maize, Crop Production/Industries,
Faculty Perception of Bullying in Schools of Nursing
No full textAims: This paper is a report of a study of conducted to determine the prevalence of bullying among faculty members in Schools or Colleges of Nursing.
Background: The issue of bullying of nursing faculty in the academic setting is of interest in terms of recruitment, retention, job satisfaction, and the overall quality of the work environment.
Method: This cross-sectional, descriptive study of faculty in three northeastern states of the U.S. was carried out in 2010. The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised was used to survey faculty members in Schools of Nursing who award a baccalaureate degree (or higher) in nursing.
Results: 473 faculty members met the inclusion criteria and responded to the NAQ-R. An iterative exploratory principal components analysis with orthogonal rotation was performed. Thirteen of the original 22 items were retained to measure the experiences of negative acts in the nursing faculty workplaces. The mean total score for the 13 item instrument was 17.90 (SD 6.07) and ranged from 13 to 56. The resulting components structure produced three clear subscales identifying the experiences of: Verbal abuse, Physical abuse, and Devaluing. The revised 13 item instrument had a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.88. Experiences of bullying were reported in 169 of the 473 (36%) respondents. A significant correlation was found between meeting frequency and the report of bullying (r = 0.18, p ≤ 0.001). Administrators and senior faculty were more likely than expected to be the perpetrators of bullying.
Discussion: If the leaders are identified as bullies, the environment cannot be perceived as supportive and healthy. These unhealthy environments may have serious consequences related to retaining nursing faculty.Peer reviewe
A dance or a marriage? The relationship between education and the law in South Africa some personal observations from two vantage points
No full textThis article deals with the debate in education and law circles about the convergence of the two fields of knowledge in an area conveniently called education law. It recognises that there is no universal acknowledgement of the existence of such a discipline.
Although the article does not present a full scale analysis of the relationship between education and law, it does present some views emerging from the existence and functioning of two organisations in South Africa namely the South African Education Law Association (SAELA) and the Interuniversity Centre for Education Law and Policy (CELP). Both of the organisations aim to promote education law research and training. In light of the existing literature the relationship is likened to a marriage of convenience or a dance in which the quality of the relationship between the two fields varies.
The author examines and concurs with opinions that there are grounds to support the notion that a discrete field of inquiry named education law does exist in South Africa. However, the relationship still needs to be developed for the field to mature as an academic discipline. Among the problems that have to be addressed are the lack of interest in universities (especially law faculties at former English universities) in this field, the subsequent imbalance between educators and jurists active in the field and the failure of educational administrators to abide by the law even if they are aware of what the law requires. Added to this failure is a lack of knowledge among administrators of education law and the presence of a phenomenon termed the use of imagined power among them.
The article concludes that there are indications that the relationship between education and the law can lead to the development and promotion of a discrete field of law named education law
Protective potential of high-contrast mineral-bonded layers on reinforced concrete slabs subjected to uniform shock waves
No full textThis study compares the blast performance of reinforced concrete (RC) slabs with and without strengthening on the impact-facing side. The strengthening strategy employed the application of two thin layers of materials with a high mutual stiffness offset, i.e., high-contrast layers. The first is a low-strength, low-modulus damping layer made of infra-lightweight concrete, followed by a second layer of high-ductility fiber-reinforced concrete. The plain RC slabs under investigation vary in thickness of either 40 mm or 100 mm. The layered specimens consist of a 40 mm thick RC slab strengthened with a 40 mm damping layer and a 20 mm cover SHLC3 layer. This configuration enables a comparison of its behavior with the unstrengthened specimen (a plain 40 mm thick RC slab) and a specimen with a similar eigenfrequency (the plain 100 mm thick RC slab). The employed shock tube subjects the specimens to two rapidly rising areal pressures: a low-pressure wave reaching approximately 0.4 MPa and a high-pressure wave peaking at around 1.2 MPa. The study assesses the specimens’ response in terms of accelerations, velocities, and deformations. Additionally, it evaluates damage by analyzing crack patterns, Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) measurements, and damping analysis. Overall, the layered specimens exhibited performance nearly equivalent to the 100 mm thick specimens, displaying similar deformations and velocities despite having lower mass and bending stiffness. The high-pressure shock wave hardly damaged the layered specimens, unlike the 40 mm thick slabs
J. Passon: Shakespeare in der Realschule inszenieren. Theatre Education zur Förderung von Kommunikativer und Performativer Fremdsprachenkompetenz
No full text§ Die in Buchrezensionen vertretenen Ansichten und Meinungen sind die der jeweiligen Rezensentinnen und Rezensenten und reflektieren nicht notwendigerweise die Position von SCENARIO. § Bei diesem Band handelt es sich um eine empirische Studie, deren Ziel es ist darzulegen, dass die von der Autorin formulierte English Theatre Class–Theorie (ETC) die kommunikative und performative Fremdsprachenkompetenz von Mittelstufenschülerinnen und -schülern fördert und verbessert. In acht Kapiteln beschreibt Passon das Design ihrer außercurricularen englischsprachigen Arbeitsgemeinschaft (English Theatre Class) an einer Realschule in Baden-Württemberg sowie die in diesem Rahmen vorgenommene Aktionsforschung mit Hilfe unterschiedlicher Datenquellen. Ein Online-Appendix mit Transkriptionen und Beobachtungsnotizen findet sich auf der Webseite des LIT-Verlags. Vorläufer dieser Datenerhebung sind Erkenntnisse aus einer explorativen Studie (Passon 2008) und einer Pilotstudie (Passon 2011). Nach einer Einleitung (Kapitel 1) gibt Passon im zweiten Kapitel („Das Untersuchungsfeld Fremdsprachenunterricht in der Realschule“) einen Abriss über den aktuellen Stand der Fremdsprachendidaktik in der Sekundarstufe 1. Ihr zufolge ist zwar ein Trend zu drama- bzw. theaterpädagogischen Mitteln zu erkennen, aber eine performative Kompetenz als kommunikative Fertig- und Fähigkeit (skill) sei im Gemeinsamen Europäischen Referenzrahmen für Sprachen und den Bildungsstandards Baden-Württembergs bisher nicht formuliert. Im dritten Kapitel („Shakespeare und Fremdsprachenunterricht“) beleuchtet Passon die Relevanz von Shakespeares Werken im Fremdsprachenunterricht ..
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