The role of remote engagement in supporting boundary chain networks across Alaska

AbstractBoundary organizations serve multiple roles in linking science and decision making, including brokering knowledge, supporting local- and cross-level networks, facilitating the co-production of knowledge, and negotiating conflict. Yet they face several challenges in providing services for an ever-increasing number of actors and institutions interested in climate information and adaptation. This study evaluates how the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP) innovated its boundary spanning role to improve outcomes by partnering with other boundary organizations through its ongoing climate webinar series. We utilize the concept of boundary chains to investigate outcomes associated with different extended network connections. Our evaluation is based on the analysis three datasets, including interviews (2013) and two web-based questionnaires (2010 and 2013–2015). Findings from the evaluation reveal several ways that remote engagement via the ACCAP webinar series facilitates learning, decision application, and cross-level network building, and overcomes barriers associated with large geographic distances between communities. In an organic evolution and innovation of the climate webinar series, ACCAP partnered with other boundary organizations to establish satellite hub sites to facilitate in-person gatherings at remote locations, thereby increasing the number and diversity of participants served and supporting local networking within organizations, agencies, and communities. Leveraging complementary resources through the satellite hub sites provided mutual benefits for ACCAP and partnering boundary organizations. These findings advance our understanding of the value of remote engagement in supporting boundary spanning processes and how boundary organizations innovate their roles to build capacity and increase the usability of climate information

Specialty-based, voluntary incident reporting in neonatal intensive care: description of 4846 incident reports

OBJECTIVES: To examine the characteristics of incidents reported after introduction of a voluntary, non-punitive incident reporting system for neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in the Netherlands; and to investigate which types of reported incident pose the highest risk to patients in the NICU. DESIGN: Prospective multicentre survey. METHODS: Voluntary, non-punitive incident reporting was introduced in eight level III NICUs and one paediatric surgical ICU. An incident was defined as any unintended event which (could have) reduced the safety margin for the patient. Multidisciplinary, unit-based patient safety committees systematically collected and analysed incident reports, and assigned risk scores to each reported incident. Data were centrally collected for specialty-based analysis. This paper describes the characteristics of incidents reported during the first year. Bivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify high-risk incident categories. RESULTS: There were 5225 incident reports on 3859 admissions, of which 4846 were eligible for analysis. Incidents with medication were most frequently reported (27%), followed by laboratory (10%) and enteral nutrition (8%). Severe harm was described in seven incident reports, and moderate harm in 63 incident reports. Incidents involving mechanical ventilation and blood products were most likely to be assigned high-risk scores, followed by those involving parenteral nutrition, intravascular lines and medication dosing errors. CONCLUSIONS: Incidents occur much more frequently in Dutch NICUs than has been previously observed, and their impact on patient morbidity is considerable. Reported incidents concerning mechanical ventilation, blood products, intravascular lines, parenteral nutrition and medication dosing errors pose the highest risk to patients in the NIC

Protein Pattern Formation

Protein pattern formation is essential for the spatial organization of many intracellular processes like cell division, flagellum positioning, and chemotaxis. A prominent example of intracellular patterns are the oscillatory pole-to-pole oscillations of Min proteins in \textit{E. coli} whose biological function is to ensure precise cell division. Cell polarization, a prerequisite for processes such as stem cell differentiation and cell polarity in yeast, is also mediated by a diffusion-reaction process. More generally, these functional modules of cells serve as model systems for self-organization, one of the core principles of life. Under which conditions spatio-temporal patterns emerge, and how these patterns are regulated by biochemical and geometrical factors are major aspects of current research. Here we review recent theoretical and experimental advances in the field of intracellular pattern formation, focusing on general design principles and fundamental physical mechanisms.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, review articl

Linguistic analysis of online domestic violence testimonies in the context of COVID-19

Stress and Psychopatholog

Eindrapportage Aaltjesmanagement in de vollegrondsgroente 2002-2005

Het doel van dit project is het ontwikkelen en introduceren van aaltjesmanagement voor bedrijven in de vollegrondgroenteteelt om zodoende de kwaliteit en kwantiteit van de productie te kunnen verbeteren en te waarborgen op lange termijn. Met als subdoel de bewustwording van de vollegrondgroentetelers

Experimental Observation of Proton Bunch Modulation in a Plasma at Varying Plasma Densities

We give direct experimental evidence for the observation of the full transverse self-modulation of a long, relativistic proton bunch propagating through a dense plasma. The bunch exits the plasma with a periodic density modulation resulting from radial wakefield effects. We show that the modulation is seeded by a relativistic ionization front created using an intense laser pulse copropagating with the proton bunch. The modulation extends over the length of the proton bunch following the seed point. By varying the plasma density over one order of magnitude, we show that the modulation frequency scales with the expected dependence on the plasma density, i.e., it is equal to the plasma frequency, as expected from theory

Bacteriophage therapy reduces <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in a porcine and human <i>ex vivo</i> burn wound infection model

Burn wounds are a major burden, with high mortality rates due to infections. Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent of burn wound infections, which can be difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. An alternative to antibiotics is the use of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria. We investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage therapy for burn wound infections, in both a porcine and a newly developed human ex vivo skin model. In both models, the efficacy of a reference antibiotic treatment (fusidic acid) and bacteriophage treatment was determined for a single treatment, successive treatment, and prophylaxis. Both models showed a reduction in bacterial load after a single bacteriophage treatment. Increasing the frequency of bacteriophage treatments increased bacteriophage efficacy in the human ex vivo skin model, but not in the porcine model. In both models, prophylaxis with bacteriophages increased treatment efficacy. In all cases, bacteriophage treatment outperformed fusidic acid treatment. Both models allowed investigation of bacteriophage-bacteria dynamics in burn wounds. Overall, bacteriophage treatment outperformed antibiotic control underlining the potential of bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of burn wound infections, especially when used prophylactically

Identification and differential expression dynamics of peach small GTPases encoding genes during fruit development and ripening

The function of monomeric GTPases of the RAS superfamily in fruit development and ripening has been partially characterized. Here the identification of peach (Prunus persica) small GTPases of the RAS superfamily expressed in fruit and the characterization of their expression profiles during fruit development are described. Extensive searches on expressed sequence tag (EST) databases led to the selection of a total of 24 genes from peach encoding proteins with significant similarity to Arabidopsis small GTPases. Sequence similarity analyses and identification of conserved motifs, diagnostic of specific RAS families and subfamilies, enabled bona fide assignment of fourteen PpRAB, seven PpARF/ARL/SAR, two PpROP and one PpRAN GTPases. Transcriptional expression profiles of peach monomeric GTPases, analysed by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR, were obtained for mesocarp samples, collected in two consecutive years. Reproducible patterns of expression could be identified for five peach RAB-encoding genes (PpRABA1-1, PpRABA2, PpRABD2-1, PpRABD2-2, and PpRABC2), two ARFs (PpARFA1-1 and PpARLB1), and two ROPs (PpROP3 and PpROP4). Interestingly, the transient transcriptional up-regulation of PpARF genes and of PpRAB genes of the A and D clades, putatively controlling the exocytic delivery of cell wall components and modifying enzymes, appeared to coincide with peaks of growth speed and sugar accumulation and with the final phases of ripening. To our knowledge, this is the first description of the co-ordinated differential expression of a set of genes encoding small GTPases of the ARF and RAB families which takes place during key moments of fruit development and maturation

Associations between chronotypes and psychological vulnerability factors of depression

FSW - Self-regulation models for health behavior and psychopathology - ou