Discrepancies in the widely applied GAM42a fluorescence in situ hybridisation probe for Gammaproteobacteria

A bacterial culture collection of 104 strains was obtained from an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant to pursue studies into microbial flocculation. Characterisation of the culture collection using a polyphasic approach indicated seven isolates, phylogenetically affiliated with the deep-branching Xanthomonas group of the class Gammaproteobacteria, were unable to hybridise the GAM42a fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) probe for Gammaproteobacteria. The sequence of the GAM42a probe target region in the 23S rRNA gene of these isolates was determined to have mismatches to GAM42a. Probes perfectly targeting the mismatches (GAM42a_TI038_G1031, and GAM42a_T1038 and GAM42a_A1041_A1040) were synthesised, and used in conjunction with GAM42a in FISH to,study the Gammaproteobacteria community structure in one full-scale activated sludge plant. Several bacteria in the activated sludge biomass bound the modified probes demonstrating their presence and the fact that these Gammaproteobacteria have been overlooked in community structure analyses of activated sludge. (C) 2004 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High- and low-volume resistance training similarly enhances functional performance in older adults

It is well known that resistance training improves muscle strength in older adults and may enhance or preserve functional performance. However, it is unclear if the volume of work undertaken in the elderly alters the response in functional performance. PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of a high- versus low-volume resistance training program on functional performance in older adults. METHODS: Thirty-two healthy men and women aged 65-78 years were randomly assigned to either a single-set (SS, n = 16) or 3-set (MS, n = 16) progressive resistance training program for 20 weeks. Groups trained 2 days per week using machine weights at 8 repetitions maximum (8-RM) for 7 upper and lower body exercises. Muscle strength was assessed by the 1-RM and functional performance by a battery of tests (repeated chair rise, usual and fast 6-m walk, 6-m backwards walk, floor rise to standing, stair climb, and 400-m walk time). RESULTS: Twenty-eight subjects completed the study. There was no difference between groups at baseline in muscle strength or functional performance. Whole body muscle strength significantly increased in both groups with greater gains in the 3-set group (MS 32.9 ± 3.1%; SS 18.6 ± 2.7%, mean ± SE; P < 0.01). Significant improvement (time effect, P < 0.01) occurred for both groups in the chair rise (MS 13.6 ± 3.2%; SS 10.2 ± 3.0%), 6-m backwards walk (MS 14.9 ± 3.3%; SS 14.3 ± 4.2%), stair climb (MS 6.4 ± 2.8%; SS 7.7 ± 3.1%) and 400-m walk (MS 7.4 ± 1.4%; SS 3.9 ± 1.2%). There were no interaction (group × time) effects for functional performance and no differences by sex. CONCLUSION: Resistance training that utilizes either a singleset or 3-set regimen may significantly and similarly improve functional performance in community-dwelling older adults. Enhancement of functional performance may prolong independence and improve quality of life. ©2004The American College of Sports Medicine

IGREJAS ORGÂNICAS - MOBILIDADE E RECONFIGURAÇÃO RELIGIOSA: O CASO DO CAMINHO DA GRAÇA

Este texto é a apresentação do resultado de uma pesquisa empreendida sobre o recrudescimento de um movimento que convencionamos denominar de Igreja Orgânica (IO). Para este estudo, diante de centenas de grupos encontrados durante o período da pesquisa, escolhemos a análise do Caminho da Graça (CdG), comunidade iniciada em meados de 2004, e que atualmente conta com cerca de 70 grupos no Brasil e no exterior. O grupo foi iniciado pelo (ex) reverendo Caio Fábio de Araújo Filho, ou simplesmente Caio Fábio, sustentados por uma mensagem de contracultura evangélica ou um retorno da Igreja cristã tal como era no Novo Testamento. Embora o CdG categoricamente não se auto declare uma IO, pudemos enquadrá-lo nesta tipologia observando as práticas e discurso das principais lideranças. Vemos na consolidação do Neopentecostalismo, especialmente nos anos de 1990, o início das suspeitas e decepções em massa com o universo evangélico, sobretudo advindas deste segmento do cristianismo; sendo assim estas comunidades alternativas vêm acolher dissidentes decepcionados e feridos por estas expressões religiosas. Fez-se necessário, portanto, compreender a morfologia das igrejas no período do cristianismo original, uma vez que um dos pontos de contestação destes grupos é o retorno às experiências comunitárias dos primeiros cristãos, tais quais narradas no Novo Testamento; evidenciar a biografia das principais lideranças do movimento e; enfatizar os conflitos e as motivações intracampo e extracampo existentes para compreender o êxodo e circulação dos fiéis em direção a uma experiência de fé mais pormenorizada e pós moderna; houve também necessidade de uma observação participativa, de inspiração etnográfica, para a condução de abordagens teóricas.

A pharmacy workforce survey in the West Midlands: 3 primary care pharmacists

In a study to quantify the extent of current and planned employment of primary care pharmacists (PCPs) and to explore the experiences of PCPs and the perceptions of other pharmacists who aspire to become PCPs, it was found that the satisfaction experienced by primary care pharmacists appears to offset to some extent the dissatisfaction expressed about traditional pharmacy work in community pharmacy. The high level of interest in PCP work may also be a proxy for pharmacists' dissatisfaction.

Mapping teaching, learning and assessment in the MPharm in UK schools of pharmacy

Aim To undertake a national study of teaching, learning and assessment in UK schools of pharmacy. Design Triangulation of course documentation, 24 semi-structured interviews undertaken with 29 representatives from the schools and a survey of all final year students (n=1,847) in the 15 schools within the UK during 2003–04. Subjects and setting All established UK pharmacy schools and final year MPharm students. Outcome measures Data were combined and analysed under the topics of curriculum, teaching and learning, assessment, multi-professional teaching and learning, placement education and research projects. Results Professional accreditation was the main driver for curriculum design but links to preregistration training were poor. Curricula were consistent but offered little student choice. On average half the curriculum was science-based. Staff supported the science content but students less so. Courses were didactic but schools were experimenting with new methods of learning. Examinations were the principal form of assessment but the contribution of practice to the final degree ranged considerably (21–63%). Most students considered the assessment load to be about right but with too much emphasis upon knowledge. Assessment of professional competence was focused upon dispensing and pharmacy law. All schools undertook placement teaching in hospitals but there was little in community/primary care. There was little inter-professional education. Resources and logistics were the major limiters. Conclusions There is a need for an integrated review of the accreditation process for the MPharm and preregistration training and redefinition of professional competence at an undergraduate level.

The European Community and innovation policy : reorienting towards diffusion

This study aims to explore the position of diffusion oriented support mechanisms in European Community (EC) innovation policy. With the shift from the traditional linear model towards an integrative approach to innovation, the role of diffusion of technologies and knowledge, achieved greater weight. This shift in both the thinking of academic experts, and of national policy makers, induced EC policy makers to appeal for similar changes in Community innovation policy. From the mid-1980s, the Commission of the European Communities, the key actor in EC policy making, thought to move its innovation policy away from the traditional science push approach. This study shows that in the implementation of programmes for research, technology and innovation, the traditional linear model is still dominant. The core research and technological development programmes still operate from a science push concept of innovation, mainly due to their pre-competitive nature. The case of SPRINT illustrates that policy programmes with an integrated innovation perspective can be successful at Community level. However the programme operates in a relatively isolated position from overall research and technological development policy. The case of BRITE-EURAM illustrates the difficulties of collaborative research programmes, the bulk of EC support mechanisms, to move away from the traditional model. The study shows how conflicting policy objectives arising from the different policy networks that shape EC policy making, in combination with a lack of co-ordination in those policy domains, hinder the emergence of the integrated approach. Consequently EC diffusion policy, implemented from the perspective of the linear model, will have a sub-optimal impact on the competitiveness of European industries.

Provision of pharmaceutical care by community pharmacists:a comparison across Europe

Objective To investigate the provision of pharmaceutical care by community pharmacists across Europe and to examine the various factors that could affect its implementation. Methods A questionnaire-based survey of community pharmacies was conducted within 13 European countries. The questionnaire consisted of two sections. The first section focussed on demographic data and services provided in the pharmacy. The second section was a slightly adapted version of the Behavioral Pharmaceutical Care Scale (BPCS) which consists of three main dimensions (direct patient care activities, referral and consultation activities and instrumental activities). Results Response rates ranged from 10–71% between countries. The mean total score achieved by community pharmacists, expressed as a percentage of the total score achievable, ranged from 31.6 (Denmark) to 52.2% (Ireland). Even though different aspects of pharmaceutical care were implemented to different extents across Europe, it was noted that the lowest scores were consistently achieved in the direct patient care dimension (particularly those related to documentation, patient assessment and implementation of therapeutic objectives and monitoring plans) followed by performance evaluation and evaluation of patient satisfaction. Pharmacists who dispensed higher daily numbers of prescriptions in Ireland, Germany and Switzerland had significantly higher total BPCS scores. In addition, pharmacists in England and Ireland who were supported in their place of work by other pharmacists scored significantly higher on referral and consultation and had a higher overall provision of pharmaceutical care. Conclusion The present findings suggest that the provision of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacy is still limited within Europe. Pharmacists were routinely engaged in general activities such as patient record screening but were infrequently involved in patient centred professional activities such as the implementation of therapeutic objectives and monitoring plans, or in self-evaluation of performance.

Community pharmacist perceptions of the loss of resale price maintenance

Focal points: This study was designed to elicit the views of community pharmacists on any perceived business and professional changes following the loss of resale price maintenance (RPM)A piloted, 22-point self-completion questionnaire containing open, closed and scaled response questions was distributed to 35 independent (<10 stores), 13 multiple group and three supermarket-based pharmacies, and 40 responses were obtained (29 independent, eight multiple and three supermarket)Theme analysis indicated that 20 respondents felt that an increased range of services was now provided, 27 reported a decreased sales potential and 25 thought that patients now purchased more medicinesThe average price at which eight common over-the-counter medicines were offered was found to be £4.34 in independents, £4.37 in multiples and £4.22 in the supermarket pharmacies, compared with an average standard list price of £4.32There are indications that removal of RPM may have instigated changes in community pharmacy

Education, earnings, and rates of return: The case of Taiwan

Educational planners and economists have long recognized the importance of education as a form of productive investment in both advanced countries and developing countries. In the case of Taiwan, along with impressive economic growth, there was an even faster rate of growth of the government's investment in education. This leads some to question whether education has any role in economic development. ^ The purpose of this study is to provide a broad overview of the role of education, in terms of private rates of return to education, in Taiwan. In the process, a variety of hypotheses about human capital theory are examined and an empirical study of Taiwan's earnings functions are tested to show that education can be an important instrument to increase private rate of return, even under conditions of scarcity of natural and physical resources. Data was collected using the Manpower Survey and Manpower Utilization Survey, conducted by the government. Research questions were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequencies, and regression analysis. ^ Results indicated that the Manpower Development Plans have been the decisive influence in allowing Taiwan to develop its human resources and achieve success in meeting the needs of Taiwan's economy. The structure of age-earnings profiles showed a strong relationship between earnings and education, and the profiles that successively shift upward are associated with higher levels of education. In the cross-sectional results of the rate of return in 1997, each additional year of schooling leads to a 6.2% increase in income. As to the private rates of return to different levels of education, the results found that the private rates of return are 2.88%, 4.85% and 10.05% for primary, secondary and higher education respectively. In an intertemporal comparison for 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1997, the results showed no significant trend except the private rates of return for primary education have been falling from 3.9% to 2.88%. ^ On the basis of this study, for individual student or family in Taiwan, there is likely to be a strong demand for education, particularly at the higher level. Therefore, a well-developed higher educational level becomes essential and the content of curriculum in higher education becomes another crucial question facing planners in Taiwan if they are going to use education as a means to foster economic development. ^

A case study of the Ellison model's use of mentoring as an approach toward inclusive community building

The Ellison Executive Mentoring Inclusive Community Building (ICB) Model is a paradigm for initiating and implementing projects utilizing executives and professionals from a variety of fields and industries, university students, and pre-college students. The model emphasizes adherence to ethical values and promotes inclusiveness in community development. It is a hierarchical model in which actors in each succeeding level of operation serve as mentors to the next. Through a three-step process—content, process, and product—participants must be trained with this mentoring and apprenticeship paradigm in conflict resolution, and they receive sensitivity and diversity training through an interactive and dramatic exposition. ^ The content phase introduces participants to the model's philosophy, ethics, values and methods of operation. The process used to teach and reinforce its precepts is the mentoring and apprenticeship activities and projects in which the participants engage and whose end product demonstrates their knowledge and understanding of the model's concepts. This study sought to ascertain from the participants' perspectives whether the model's mentoring approach is an effective means of fostering inclusiveness, based upon their own experiences in using it. The research utilized a qualitative approach and included data from field observations, individual and group interviews, and written accounts of participants' attitudes. ^ Participants complete ICB projects utilizing The Ellison Model as a method of development and implementation. They generally perceive that the model is a viable tool for dealing with diversity issues whether at work, at school, or at home. The projects are also instructional in that whether participants are mentored or serve as apprentices, they gain useful skills and knowledge about their careers. Since the model is relatively new, there is ample room for research in a variety of areas including organizational studies to determine its effectiveness in combating problems related to various kinds of discrimination. ^

Three essays on the interrelationships among financial restatements, corporate governance, market microstructure and the firm's rate of return

The increase in the number of financial restatements in recent years has resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of market capitalization for restated companies. Prior literature did not differentiate between single and multiple restatements announcements. This research investigated the inter-relationships among multiple financial restatements, corporate governance, market microstructure and the firm’s rate of return in the form of three essays by differentiating between single and multiple restatement announcement companies. First essay examined the stock performance of companies announcing the financial restatement multiple times. The postulation is that prior research overestimates the abnormal return by not separating single restatement companies from multiple restatement companies. This study investigated how market penalizes the companies that announce restatement more than once. Differentiating the restatement announcement data based on number of restatement announcements, the results supported the non persistence hypothesis that the market has no memory and negative abnormal returns obtained after each of the restatement announcements are completely random. Second essay examined the multiple restatement announcements and its perceived resultant information asymmetry around the announcement day. This study examined the pattern of information asymmetry for these announcements in terms of whether the bid-ask spread widens around the announcement day. The empirical analysis supported the hypotheses that the spread does widen not only around the first restatement announcement day but around every subsequent announcement days as well. The third essay empirically examined the financial and corporate governance characteristics of single and multiple restatement announcements companies. The analysis showed that corporate governance variables influence the occurrence of multiple restatement announcements and can distinguish multiple restatements announcement companies from single restatement announcement companies.

Effects of student-faculty interactions on persistence of underprepared community college students

The high concentration of underprepared students in community colleges presents a challenge to educators, policy-makers, and researchers. All have pointed to low completion rates and caution that institutional practices and policy ought to focus on improving retention and graduation rates. However, a multitude of inhibiting factors limits the educational opportunities of underprepared community college students. Using Tinto's (1993) and Astin's (1999) models of student departure as the primary theoretical framework, as well as faculty mentoring as a strategy to impact student performance and retention, the purpose of this study was to determine whether a mentoring program designed to promote greater student-faculty interactions with underprepared community college students is predictive of higher retention for such students. While many studies have documented the positive effects of faculty mentoring with 4-year university students, very few have examined faculty mentoring with underprepared community college students (Campbell and Campbell, 1997; Nora & Crisp, 2007). In this study, the content of student-faculty interactions captured during the mentoring experience was operationalized into eight domains. Faculty members used a log to record their interactions with students. During interactions they tried to help students develop study skills, set goals, and manage their time. They also provided counseling, gave encouragement, nurtured confidence, secured financial aid/grants/scholarships, and helped students navigate their first semester at college. Logistic regression results showed that both frequency and content of faculty interactions were important predictors of retention. Students with high levels of faculty interactions in the area of educational planning and personal/family concerns were more likely to persist. Those with high levels of interactions in time-management and academic concerns were less likely to persist. Interactions that focused on students' poor grades, unpreparedness for class, or excessive absences were predictive of dropping out. Those that focused on developing a program of study, creating a road map to completion, or students' self-perceptions, feelings of self-efficacy, and personal control were predictive of persistence.

Diversity of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants and management practices in home garden agroecosystems, Kyrgyz Republic

Pollination-dependent fruit trees grown in home gardens play an important role in the agricultural based economy of Central Asian countries, yet little is known about the status of pollinator communities, the cultivated plant composition or the factors that influence management practices in Kyrgyz home garden agroecosystems. As agricultural systems are human created and managed, a logical approach to their study blends anthropological and ecological methods, an ethnoecological approach. Over three years, I investigated how species richness and abundance of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants, and home garden management were related using quantitative and qualitative methods in the Issyk-kul Man and Biosphere reserve. Structured surveys were undertaken with heads of households using a random sample stratified by village. Gardens were then mapped with participation of household members to inventory edible species in gardens, most of which are pollinator-dependent, and to compare home garden diversity as reported by respondents during interviews. Apple diversity was studied to the variety level to understand respondents’ classification system in the context of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Household members identified 52 edible plant species when mapping the garden, compared with 32 reported when interviewed. The proportion of plant species received from others through exchange and the number of plots cultivated significantly explained the variation in edible plant diversity among gardens. Insects were sampled in gardens and orchards to determine potential pollinator community composition and the effect of different management practices on Hymenoptera richness and abundance. I collected 756 Hymenoptera individuals (56 bee; 12 wasp species); 12 species were new records for Kyrgyzstan or within Kyrgyzstan. Economic pressures to intensify cultivation could impact management practices that currently promote diversity. A home garden development initiative was undertaken to study management practice improvement. Participants in the initiative had higher adoption rates than controls of management practices that improve long-term yield, ecological sustainability and stability of home gardens. Home gardens, as currently managed, support abundant and diverse pollinator communities and have high cultivated plant diversity with few differences in community composition between garden management types.

Spatial scale and abundance patterns of large fish communities in freshwater marshes of the Florida Everglades

Anthropogenic habitat alterations and water-management practices have imposed an artificial spatial scale onto the once contiguous freshwater marshes of the Florida Everglades. To gain insight into how these changes may affect biotic communities, we examined whether variation in the abundance and community structure of large fishes (SL . 8 cm) in Everglades marshes varied more at regional or intraregional scales, and whether this variation was related to hydroperiod, water depth, floating mat volume, and vegetation density. From October 1997 to October 2002, we used an airboat electrofisher to sample large fishes at sites within three regions of the Everglades. Each of these regions is subject to unique watermanagement schedules. Dry-down events (water depth , 10 cm) occurred at several sites during spring in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002. The 2001 dry-down event was the most severe and widespread. Abundance of several fishes decreased significantly through time, and the number of days post-dry-down covaried significantly with abundance for several species. Processes operating at the regional scale appear to play important roles in regulating large fishes. The most pronounced patterns in abundance and community structure occurred at the regional scale, and the effect size for region was greater than the effect size for sites nested within region for abundance of all species combined, all predators combined, and each of the seven most abundant species. Non-metric multi-dimensional scaling revealed distinct groupings of sites corresponding to the three regions. We also found significant variation in community structure through time that correlated with the number of days post-dry-down. Our results suggest that hydroperiod and water management at the regional scale influence large fish communities of Everglades marshes.