Indicators on community art practices: some reflections

From the Divercity project, the article reflects on methodology, good practices and indicators useful for community art practices. At first term, social exclusión is defined as well as community art, and which features it presents. Subsequently, the article reviews the indicators that are being used to measure the success or achievement of community arts practice, raising criticism from equality and including indicators that measure the well-being of women.

A laboratory study of water ice erosion by low-energy ions

Water ice covers the surface of various objects in the outer Solar system.Within the heliopause, surface ice is constantly bombarded and sputtered by energetic particles from the solar wind and magnetospheres. We report a laboratory investigation of the sputtering yield of water ice when irradiated at 10 K by 4 keV singly (13C+, N+, O+, Ar+) and doubly charged ions (13C2+, N2+, O2+). The experimental values for the sputtering yields are in good agreement with the prediction of a theoretical model. There is no significant difference in the yield for singly and doubly charged ions. Using these yields, we estimate the rate of water ice erosion in the outer Solar system objects due to solar wind sputtering. Temperature-programmed desorption of the ice after irradiation with 13C+ and 13C2+ demonstrated the formation of 13CO and 13CO2, with 13CO being the dominant formed species.

Discussion about the validity of virtual practices in subjects in the radioccomunication area. Results of the educational experience

[EN]Nowadays we are living a virtual learning boom. Mainly, it is due to two facts: first, easy spreading of the knowledge and second, virtual learning is cheaper than classic instrumentation laboratories. This cost is even bigger in radiocommunication and high frequency area. In fact, time and time again there are more universities that give up offering the realization of laboratory practice. In the present report we propose a discussion about the increase of virtual practices when contact with instrumentation and circuits is basic. The experience of seven lecturers of the Communications Engineering Group (GIC) will be exposed.

Good looks and good practice: the attitudes of career practitioners to attractiveness and appearance

Empirical evidence attests the impact that career image has on objective career success, yet little is known of how career practitioners conceptualise and operationalise this information. This article presents the quantitative findings of an online survey of career practitioners (n=399, 74% female, 89% white, 75% from the UK) exploring their attitudes and practices towards issues of appearance and attractiveness. Career practitioners who participated in this survey acknowledged that beauty, self-presentation and interpersonal skills influence career success, and 96% of them considered conversations about career image as part of their professional remit. The career practitioners felt relatively comfortable and well informed in their discussions in this arena, but would welcome further guidance and training to inform their practice. Ethical and practical implications for the profession are considered.

Multi-residue analysis of 39 pesticides in surface waters of Ria de Aveiro

A multi-residue gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method was developed in order to evaluate the presence of 39 pesticides of different chemical families (organophosphorus, triazines, imidazole, organochlorine), as well as some of their transformation products, in surface water samples from Ria de Aveiro. Ria de Aveiro is an estuarine coastal lagoon, located in the northern west region of Portugal, which receives inputs from agriculture, urban and industrial activities. The analytical method was developed and validated according international guidelines and showed good linearity, with correlation coefficients higher than 0.9949 for all compounds, adequate precision and accuracy, and high sensitivity. Pesticides were chosen from the priority pollutants list of the Directive 2008/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (on environmental quality standards in the field of water policy), or were selected due their common use in agricultural practices. Some of these 39 pesticides are, or are suspected to be, endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs), being capable of altering the endocrine system of wildlife and humans, causing form malfunction and ultimately health problems. Even those pesticides which are not EDCs, are known to be awfully toxic and have a recognised impact in human health. The aquatic environment is particularly susceptible to pollution due to intentional and accidental release of chemicals to water [3]. Pesticide contamination of surface water is a national issue as it is often used as drinking water. This concern is especially important in rural agricultural areas where population uses small private water supplies, regularly without any laboratory surveillance. The study was performed in seven sampling points and the results showed a considerable concern pesticide contamination of all samples.

Development of management accounting practices in energy operations in a forest industry Company

The aim of this master’s thesis was to map the management accounting processes and reporting of an internal service unit. The research was conducted in energy services in a forest industry company. Research questions and the results of the study are highly specific for the case unit although some generalizable features of management accounting in internal service units under shared services were searched. The research was carried out as a qualitative action research and a single case study. Internal benchmarking was used to find best practices from other units and to get a comprehensive understanding of the financial processes of the case company. Empirical data for the study was collected with participant observation, interviews of experts and by exploring internal company documents. A literature review was conducted to outline the subject and to support the study. Although the management accounting processes of the case unit were found to be on a good level, some improvement ideas were presented. Results of the research show that the needs of the customers are in the key role in the processes of an internal service unit. Management accounting and reporting need to support the company strategy and management decision-making. To evaluate the performance of the service unit both financial and non-financial measures are needed.

Factors affecting vaccine handling and storage practices among immunization service providers in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Background: Improper handling has been identified as one of the major reasons for the decline in vaccine potency at the time of administration. Loss of potency becomes evident when immunised individuals contract the diseases the vaccines were meant to prevent. Objective: Assessing the factors associated with vaccine handling and storage practices. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Three-stage sampling was used to recruit 380 vaccine handlers from 273 health facilities from 11 Local Government areas in Ibadan. Data was analysed using SPSS version 16 Results: Seventy-three percent were aware of vaccine handling and storage guidelines with 68.4% having ever read such guidelines. Only 15.3% read a guideline less than 1 month prior to the study. About 65.0% had received training on vaccine management. Incorrect handling practices reported included storing injections with vaccines (13.7%) and maintaining vaccine temperature using ice blocks (7.6%). About 43.0% had good knowledge of vaccine management, while 66.1% had good vaccine management practices. Respondents who had good knowledge of vaccine handling and storage [OR=10.0, 95%CI (5.28 – 18.94), p < 0.001] and had received formal training on vaccine management [OR=5.3, 95%CI (2.50 – 11.14), p< 0.001] were more likely to have good vaccine handling and storage practices. Conclusion: Regular training is recommended to enhance vaccine handling and storage practices.

“In The Good Old Days of Long Ago": Echoes of Vaudeville and Minstrelsy in the Music of Uncle Dave Macon

Uncle Dave Macon provided an essential link between nineteenth-century, urban popular stage music (especially the minstrel show and vaudeville) and commercialized country music of the 1920s. He preserved through his recordings a large body of songs and banjo techniques that had their origins in urban-based, nineteenth-century vaudeville and minstrelsy. Like the minstrel and vaudeville performers of the nineteenth century, Macon told jokes and stories, employed attention-grabbing stage gimmicks, marketed himself with boastful or outrageous slogans, and dressed with individual flair. At the same time, Macon incorporated many features from the rural-based folk music of Middle Tennessee. Overall, Macon’s repertoire, musical style, and stage persona (which included elements of the rube, country gentleman, and old man) demonstrated his deep absorption, and subsequent reinterpretation, of nineteenth-century musical traditions. Macon’s career offers a case study in how nineteenth-century performance styles, repertoire, and stage practices became a part of country music in the 1920s. As an artist steeped in two separate, but overlapping, types of nineteenth-century music—stage and folk—Macon was well-positioned to influence the development of the new commercial genre. He brought together several strains of nineteenth-century music to form a modern, twentieth-century musical product ideally suited to the new mass media of records, radio, and film. By tracing Macon’s career and studying his music, we can observe how the cross-currents of rural and popular entertainment during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries interacted to form the commercial genre we now know as country music.

Assessment of laboratory test utilization for HIV/AIDS care in urban ART clinics of Lilongwe, Malawi

Background The 2011 Malawi HIV guidelines promote CD4 monitoring for pre-ART assessment and considering HIVRNA monitoring for ART response assessment, while some clinics used CD4 for both. We assessed clinical ordering practices as compared to guidelines, and determined whether the samples were successfully and promptly processed. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of all patients seen in from August 2010 through July 2011,, in two urban HIV-care clinics that utilized 6-monthly CD4 monitoring regardless of ART status. We calculated the percentage of patients on whom clinicians ordered CD4 or HIVRNA analysis. For all samples sent, we determined rates of successful labprocessing, and mean time to returned results. Results Of 20581 patients seen, 8029 (39%) had at least one blood draw for CD4 count. Among pre-ART patients, 2668/2844 (93.8%) had CD4 counts performed for eligibility. Of all CD4 samples sent, 8082/9207 (89%) samples were successfully processed. Of those, mean time to processing was 1.6 days (s.d 1.5) but mean time to results being available to clinician was 9.3 days (s.d. 3.7). Regarding HIVRNA, 172 patients of 17737 on ART had a blood draw and only 118/213 (55%) samples were successfully processed. Mean processing time was 39.5 days (s.d. 21.7); mean time to results being available to clinician was 43.1 days (s.d. 25.1). During the one-year evaluated, there were multiple lapses in processing HIVRNA samples for up to 2 months. Conclusions Clinicians underutilize CD4 and HIVRNA as monitoring tools in HIV care. Laboratory processing failures and turnaround times are unacceptably high for viral load analysis. Alternative strategies need to be considered in order to meet laboratory monitoring needs.

Large scale laboratory cultures of Ankistrodesmus gracilis (Reisch) Korsikov (Chlorophyta) and Diaphanosoma biergei Korinek, 1981 (Cladocera)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o cultivo em larga escala de Ankistrodesmus gracilis e Diaphanososma birgei em laboratório através do estudo da biologia das espécies, composição bioquímica e custo operacional de produção. A. gracilis apresentou um crescimento exponencial até o sexto dia, ao redor de 144 x 10(4) células mL-1. Logo em seguida, sofreu um brusco decréscimo apresentando 90 x 10(4) células mL-1 (oitavo dia). A partir do décimo primeiro dia, as células algais tenderam a crescer novamente, apresentando um máximo de 135 x 10(4) células mL-1 no 17º dia. No cultivo de D. birgei, foi observado o primeiro pico de crescimento no nono dia com 140 x 10² indivíduos L-1, aumentando novamente a partir do décimo segundo dia. A alga clorofícea A. gracilis e o zooplâncton D. birgei possuem aproximadamente 50 e 70% de proteína (PS), respectivamente, com teor de carboidrato acima de 5%. A eletricidade e mão de obra foram os itens mais dispendiosos e, de acordo com os dados obtidos, a temperatura, nutrientes, disponibilidade de luz e manejo do cultivo, foram fatores determinantes sobre a produtividade. Os resultados indicam que o meio NPK (20-5-20) pode ser utilizado diretamente como uma alternativa de cultivo em larga escala, considerando o baixo custo de produção, promovendo adequado crescimento e valor nutricional para A. gracilis e D. birgei.

An inter-laboratory validation of a real time PCR assay to measure host excretion of bacterial pathogens, particularly of Mycobacterium bovis

Advances in the diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis infection in wildlife hosts may benefit the development of sustainable approaches to the management of bovine tuberculosis in cattle. In the present study, three laboratories from two different countries participated in a validation trial to evaluate the reliability and reproducibility of a real time PCR assay in the detection and quantification of M. bovis from environmental samples. The sample panels consisted of negative badger faeces spiked with a dilution series of M. bovis BCG Pasteur and of field samples of faeces from badgers of unknown infection status taken from badger latrines in areas with high and low incidence of bovine TB (bTB) in cattle. Samples were tested with a previously optimised methodology. The experimental design involved rigorous testing which highlighted a number of potential pitfalls in the analysis of environmental samples using real time PCR. Despite minor variation between operators and laboratories, the validation study demonstrated good concordance between the three laboratories: on the spiked panels, the test showed high levels of agreement in terms of positive/negative detection, with high specificity (100%) and high sensitivity (97%) at levels of 10(5) cells g(-1) and above. Quantitative analysis of the data revealed low variability in recovery of BCG cells between laboratories and operators. On the field samples, the test showed high reproducibility both in terms of positive/negative detection and in the number of cells detected, despite low numbers of samples identified as positive by any laboratory. Use of a parallel PCR inhibition control assay revealed negligible PCR-interfering chemicals co-extracted with the DNA. This is the first example of a multi-laboratory validation of a real time PCR assay for the detection of mycobacteria in environmental samples. Field studies are now required to determine how best to apply the assay for population-level bTB surveillance in wildlife.

Evaluation of DUALEM, OptRx and Grassmaster II sensors for monitoring the spatial variability and the temporal stability of a Mediterranean pasture

Site-specific management (SSM) is a form of precision agriculture whereby decisions on resource application and agronomic practices are improved to better match soil and crop requirements as they vary in the field. SSM enables the identification of regions (homogeneous management zones) within the area delimited by field boundaries. These subfield regions constitute areas that have similar permanent characteristics. Traditional soil and pasture sampling and the necessary laboratory analysis are time-consuming, labour-intensive and cost prohibitive, not viable from a SSM perspective because it needs a large number of soil and pasture samples in order to achieve a good representation of soil properties, nutrient levels and pasture quality and productivity. The main objective of this work was to evaluate technologies which have potential for monitoring aspects related to spatial and temporal variability of soil nutrients and pasture green and dry matter yield (respectively, GM and DM, in kg/ha) and support to decision making for the farmer. Three types of sensors were evaluated in a 7ha pasture experimental field: an electromagnetic induction sensor (“DUALEM 1S”, which measures the soil apparent electrical conductivity, ECa), an active optical sensor ("OptRx®", which measures the NDVI, “Normalized Difference Vegetation Index”) and a capacitance probe ("GrassMaster II" which estimates plant mass). The results indicate the possibility of using a soil electrical conductivity probe as, probably, the best tool for monitoring not only some of the characteristics of the soil, but also those of the pasture, which could represent an important help in simplifying the process of sampling and support SSM decision making, in precision agriculture projects. On the other hand, the significant and very strong correlations obtained between capacitance and NDVI and between any of these parameters and the pasture productivity shows the potential of these tools for monitoring the evolution of spatial and temporal patterns of the vegetative growth of biodiverse pasture, for identifying different plant species and variability in pasture yield in Alentejo dry-land farming systems. These results are relevant for the selection of an adequate sensing system for a particular application and open new perspectives for other works that would allow the testing, calibration and validation of the sensors in a wider range of pasture production conditions, namely the extraordinary diversity of botanical species that are characteristic of the Mediterranean region at the different periods of the year.

Exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Area: Reporting practices, data management and transparency

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulates the activities related with the exploration and exploitation of seabed mineral resources in the Area, which are considered as the "common heritage of mankind" under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.The ISA has also the mandate to ensure the protection of the marine environment.The development of good practices for the annual reporting and data submission by Contractors is crucial for the ISA to comply with the sustainable development of the mineral marine resources. In 2015,the ISA issued a new template for reporting on exploration activities, which includes the definition of the format for all geophysical, geological and environmental data to be collected and analysed during exploration. The availability of reliable data contributes to improve the assessment of the ISA on the activities in the Area while promoting transparency, which is considered as a major principle of industry bestpractices.