Building an On-Ramp to Children's Health Coverage: A Report on California's Express Lane Eligibility Program

Documents the successes and current policy and procedural barriers to enrolling eligible but uninsured children through California's Express Lane Eligibility initiative, which has been piloted in 72 schools in five school districts across California

Solar plasma experiment

Solar plasma experiment by Mariner IV space prob

Enhancing laboratory capacities in the Caribbean for better animal health regional surveillance

The Caribbean Animal Health Network (CaribVET) is a collaboration network of veterinary services, laboratories, research institutes and regional/international organizations in the Caribbean. Its goal is to improve animal and veterinary public health in the 32 Caribbean countries and territories. In the past, CaribVET had evaluated 34 CARICOM diagnostic laboratories and organized several workshops on IATA regulations and on diagnostic techniques. CaribVET coordinated simulation exercises on Avian Influenza samples' shipment and inter-laboratory assays on Classical Swine Fever diagnostic. The 'Laboratory Quality Assurance and Diagnosis Working Group ' (WG), created in 2011, gathers main actors involved in diagnostic and laboratory activities and meets every 3-4 months physically or virtually. The WG (1) regularly updates diagnostic capabilities and capacities in the region; (2) identifies training needs, promotes and strengthens links with reference labs; (3) provides guidance for the development of a regional network of laboratories while promoting the exchange of data, protocols, materials, and human resources; (4) promotes the implementation of quality assurance in veterinary diagnostic laboratories; and (5) supports the logistics of inter-laboratory assays. Recent achievements include (1) the development of an online database of laboratories in the Americas (CaribVET, CIRAD Guadeloupe, OIE collaboration); (2) signature of a letter of understanding between OIE and CaribVET to develop joint activities in accordance to both structures' recommendations; and (3) organization of a workshop on diagnostics of swine influenza and quality assurance in Guadeloupe within the FAO technical cooperation project on swine influenza surveillance. These coordinated activities reinforce diagnostic capacities and capabilities in the Caribbean which are essential for efficient surveillance of animal health. (Texte intégral

Deceleration of the solar wind in the Earth foreshock region: ISEE 2 and IMP 8 observations

The deceleration of the solar wind in the region of the interplanetary space filled by ions backstreaming from the Earth bow shock was studied using a two spacecraft technique. This deceleration, which is correlated with the "diffuse" but not with the "reflected" ion population, depends on the solar wind bulk velocity: at low velocities (below 300 km/sec) the velocity decrease is about 5 km/sec, while at higher velocities (above 400 km/sec) the decrease may be as large as 30 km/sec. Along with this deceleration, the solar wind undergoes a deflection of about 1 deg away from the direction of the Earth bow shock. The energy balance shows that the kinetic energy loss far exceeds the thermal energy which is possibly gained by the solar wind, therefore, at least part of this energy must go into waves and/or into the backstreaming ions

The influence of emotional reaction on help seeking by victims of school bullying

Research has started to focus on how victims of school bullying cope, but there is still very little understanding if why pupils cope in one way and not another. This paper aimed to examine the effects of gender, school-stage, frequency of victimization and different emotions (anger, vengeance, self-pity, indifference, and helplessness) upon the choice of social support that children report using. Questionnaires were completed by 6282 Maltese schoolchildren aged between 9 and 14 years old. Analyses revealed that specific patterns of emotion and victimization predict whether pupils report using certain sources of social support. Results are discussed in relation to their relevance for possible intervention, future research needs and implications for the theoretical framework used

Stress appraisal, coping, and work engagement among police recruits: an exploratory study.

This study investigated the influence of stress appraisal and coping on work engagement levels (Absorption, Vigour, and Dedication) of police recruits. Participants were 387 men, ages 20 to 33 yr. (M = 24.1, SD = 2.4), in their last month of academy training before becoming police officers. Partially in support of predictions, work engagement was associated with Stressor control perceived, but not Stress intensity experienced over a self-selected stressor. Although the three dimensions of work engagement were explained by Stressor control and coping, Absorption was the dimension better explained by these variables. Police recruits reporting higher Absorption, Vigour, and Dedication reported using more Active coping and less Behavioural disengagement. Results showed that stress appraisal and coping are important variables influencing work engagement among police recruits. Findings suggested that future applied interventions fostering work engagement among police recruits should reinforce perceptions of control over a stressor as well as Active coping strategies

Goitre and Iodine Deficiency in Europe

The prevalence of endemic iodine-deficiency goitre in Europe has been reduced in many areas by the introduction of iodination programmes. Recent reports, however, show that goitre remains a significant problem and that its prevalence has not decreased in a number of European countries. Hetzel1 has pointed out that the high global prevalence of iodine-deficiency disorders could be eradicated within 5-10 years by introduction of an iodised salt programme. The current World Health Organisation recommendations for iodine intake are between 150 and 300 μg/da