Design of Drip Irrigation Lines

This report presents a simple way of estimating friction drop along the lateral line, pressure distribution along the drip line, and variation of emitter discharge along the lateral. Design charts are presented for determining pressure and length of the lateral lines and submains of a drip irrigation system

Twitter and non-elites. Interpreting power dynamics in the life story of the (#)BRCA Twitter stream

In May 2013 and March 2015, actress Angelina Jolie wrote in the New York Times about her choice to undergo preventive surgery. In her two op-eds she explained that - as a carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation - preventive surgery was the best way to lower her heightened risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. By applying a digital methods approach to BRCA-related tweets from 2013 and 2015, before, during and after the exposure of Jolie’s story, this study maps and interprets Twitter discursive dynamics at two time points of the BRCA Twitter stream. Findings show an evolution in curation and framing dynamics occurring between 2013 and 2015, with individual patient advocates replacing advocacy organisations as top curators of BRCA content and coming to prominence as providers of specialist illness narratives. These results suggest that between 2013 and 2015, Twitter went from functioning primarily as an organisation-centred news reporting mechanism, to working as a crowdsourced specialist awareness system. This paper advances a twofold contribution. First, it points at Twitter’s fluid functionality for an issue public and suggests that by looking at the life story – rather than at a single time point – of an issue-based Twitter stream we can track the evolution of power roles underlying discursive practices and better interpret the emergence of non-elite actors in the public arena. Second, the study provides evidence of the rise of activist cultures that rely on fluid, non-elite, collective and individual social media engagement

Microvillar and ciliary defects in zebrafish lacking an actin-binding bioactive peptide amidating enzyme

© The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Scientific Reports 8 (2018): 4547, doi:10.1038/s41598-018-22732-9.The assembly of membranous extensions such as microvilli and cilia in polarized cells is a tightly regulated, yet poorly understood, process. Peptidylglycine α-amidating monooxygenase (PAM), a membrane enzyme essential for the synthesis of amidated bioactive peptides, was recently identified in motile and non-motile (primary) cilia and has an essential role in ciliogenesis in Chlamydomonas, Schmidtea and mouse. In mammalian cells, changes in PAM levels alter secretion and organization of the actin cytoskeleton. Here we show that lack of Pam in zebrafish recapitulates the lethal edematous phenotype observed in Pam−/− mice and reveals additional defects. The pam−/− zebrafish embryos display an initial striking loss of microvilli and subsequently impaired ciliogenesis in the pronephros. In multiciliated mouse tracheal epithelial cells, vesicular PAM staining colocalizes with apical actin, below the microvilli. In PAM-deficient Chlamydomonas, the actin cytoskeleton is dramatically reorganized, and expression of an actin paralogue is upregulated. Biochemical assays reveal that the cytosolic PAM C-terminal domain interacts directly with filamentous actin but does not alter the rate of actin polymerization or disassembly. Our results point to a critical role for PAM in organizing the actin cytoskeleton during development, which could in turn impact both microvillus formation and ciliogenesis.This study was supported by grants DK032949 (to BAE and REM), DK044464 (to JDG) and GM051293 (to SMK) from the National Institutes of Health

Enhancing caregivers’ understanding of dementia and tailoring activities in frontotemporal dementia:two case studies

PURPOSE: To describe the intervention process and results of the Tailored Activities Program (TAP) in two people diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD). METHOD: TAP is an occupational therapy (OT) community-based intervention program that prescribes personalised activities to reduce difficult behaviours of dementia. The OT works with carers over a 4-month period (assessment, activity prescription, and generalisation of strategies). Study measures were collected (blind researcher) pre- and post- intervention: cognition, functional disability, behavioural symptoms, and Caregiver Confidence and Vigilance. RESULTS: A 51-year-old woman with behavioural-variant FTD could consistently engage in more activities post-intervention, with scores indicating improvements to behaviour, function, and caregiver confidence. A 63-year-old man with semantic variant FTD engaged well in the prescribed activities, with scores reflecting reduced carer distress regarding challenging behaviours and improved caregiver vigilance. CONCLUSIONS: TAP is efficacious in FTD, allowing for differences in approach for FTD subtype, where behavioural symptoms are very severe and pervasive

Data and safety monitoring in social behavioral intervention trials: the REACH II experience

Background Psychosocial and behavioral interventions trials targeting a broad range of complex social and behavioral problems such as smoking, obesity and family caregiving have proliferated in the past 30 years. At the same time the use of Data and Safety Monitoring Boards (DSMBs) to monitor the progress and quality of intervention trials and the safety of study participants has increased substantially. Most of the existing literature and guidelines for safety monitoring and reporting of adverse events focuses on medical interventions. Consequently, there is little guidance for investigators conducting social and behavior trials. Purpose This paper summarizes how issues associated with safety monitoring and adverse event reporting were handled in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer\u27s Caregiver Health (REACH II) program, a multi-site randomized clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes on Aging (NIA) and the National Institutes of Nursing Research (NINR), that tested the efficacy of a multicomponent social/behavioral intervention for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer\u27s disease. Methods A task force was formed to define adverse events for the trial and protocols for reporting and resolving events that occurred. The task force conducted a review of existing polices and protocols for data and safety monitoring and adverse event reporting and identified potential risks particular to the study population. An informal survey regarding data and safety monitoring procedures with investigators on psychosocial intervention trials was also conducted. Results Two categories of events were defined for both caregivers and patients; adverse events and safety alerts. A distinction was also made between events detected at baseline assessment and those detected post-randomization. Standardized protocols were also developed for the reporting and resolution of events that occurred and training of study personnel. Results from the informal survey indicated wide variability in practices for data safety and monitoring across psychosocial intervention trials. Conclusions Overall, the REACH II experience demonstrates that existing guidelines regarding safety monitoring and adverse event reporting pose unique challenges for social/behavioral intervention trials. Challenges encountered in the REACH II program included defining and classifying adverse events, defining resolution of adverse events and attributing causes for events that occurred. These challenges are highlighted and recommendations for addressing them in future studies are discussed

Desperately constructing ethnic audiences: Anti-immigration discourses and minority audience research in the Netherlands

This article examines how minority ethnic audiences are measured, and thus constructed, in the Netherlands today. The analysis shows that this process is tightly woven into the dominant assimilationist and neoliberal discourse. This discourse portrays specific minority groups as deviant in relation to an essentialized notion of Dutchness. Furthermore, it presents social inclusion as an opportunity that is limited to well-adjusted, profitable consumers. Different attempts to represent minority audiences – including efforts to promote a more just minority representation in Dutch media – are compelled to accommodate to this dominant discourse. The article underscores the limited scope for contesting current hegemonic representations of minority groups and national belonging in the Netherlands

The tailored activity program (TAP) to address behavioral disturbances in frontotemporal dementia: a feasibility and pilot study

Purpose: To explore the feasibility of implementing the Tailored Activity Program with a cohort of people with frontotemporal dementia and their carers (dyads). Methods: The Tailored Activity Program is an occupational therapy based intervention that involves working collaboratively with family carers and prescribes personalized activities for behavioral management in people with dementia. Twenty dyads randomized into the study (Tailored Activity Program: n = 9; Control: n = 11) were assessed at baseline and 4-months. Qualitative analyzes evaluated feasibility and acceptability of the program for the frontotemporal dementia cohort, and quantitative analyzes (linear mixed model analyzes, Spearman’s rho correlations) measured the impact of the program on the dyads. Results: The Tailored Activity Program was an acceptable intervention for the frontotemporal dementia dyads. Qualitative analyses identified five themes: “carer perceived benefits”, “carer readiness to change”, “strategies used by carer to engage person with dementia”, “barriers to the Tailored Activity Program uptake/implementation”, and “person with dementia engagement”. Quantitative outcomes showed an overall reduction of behavioral symptoms (F 18.34 = 8.073, p = 0.011) and maintenance of functional performance in the person with dementia (F 18.03 = 0.375, p = 0.548). Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential for using an activity-based intervention such as the Tailored Activity Program in frontotemporal dementia. Service providers should recognize that while people with frontotemporal dementia present with challenging issues, tailored therapies may support their function and reduce their behavioral symptoms.Implications for rehabilitation The Tailored Activity Program is an occupational therapy based intervention that involves prescribing personalized activities for behavioral management in dementia. The Tailored Activity Program is an acceptable and feasible intervention approach to address some of the unique behavioral and functional impairments inherent in frontotemporal dementia

Media Ecology and the Politics of Dissent: Representations of the Hong Kong Protests in the Guardian and China Daily.

The phenomenon of protests, currently on the rise in worldwide democracies, is made known to citizens mainly through representations in the media. This paper, responding to the need for a broader view of protest media coverage in an international context, examines the ways the 2014 Hong Kong protests were covered by the online versions of two highly influential and appealing newspapers, belonging to contrasting media systems: Guardian and China Daily. By revising a typology of previously used frames and inventing new ones this study conducts a quantitative content analysis of news articles with the view to a) highlight similarities and differences in the media coverage of protests within the above - mentioned media systems, b) find out whether the media coverage of such events with political ramifications is affected by the geopolitical interests of the countries. Based on our analysis, this study suggests the need for revising the protest paradigm as important factors - the protests’ momentum, the media systems, the new information communication technologies and certain geopolitical interests - are involved in the dynamics surrounding media coverage of protests and as such they greatly influence the framing process. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that the media coverage of the 2014 HK protests by the two newspapers was reflective of both the media systems in which they function as well as of the distinctive national standpoints