Network analysis as a tool for community capacity measurement and assessing partnerships between community-based organizations in Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Minsoo

2012-01-01

The community partnership is a foundation laid by the local community that has been historically and geographically formed to develop itself. This article, an exploratory community network survey for capacity building, assessed collaborations among community-based organizations (CBOs) in the S-district, Republic of Korea, and evaluated methods for the reconstruction of a resident-governing healthy network. Using CBOs' evaluation questionnaire, the author surveyed 83 CBOs that were collected by snowball sampling. The CBOs in the S-district had formed community networks based on vocational associations established in the 1980s and the 1990s. The entire network evidenced a cooperative partnership, in which women's organizations and civic groups carried out essential functions. In the capacity-building process through CBOs, community collaboration can be naturally cultivated, and health promotion programs to improve the residents' health will tend to be more systematic than the current approach and yield higher compliance and practice rates. Thus, it will be necessary to construct an effective partnership of community networks by reorganizing existing exclusive relations.

Detection of communities with Naming Game-based methods

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Ribeiro, Carlos Henrique Costa

2017-01-01

Complex networks are often organized in groups or communities of agents that share the same features and/or functions, and this structural organization is built naturally with the formation of the system. In social networks, we argue that the dynamic of linguistic interactions of agreement among people can be a crucial factor in generating this community structure, given that sharing opinions with another person bounds them together, and disagreeing constantly would probably weaken the relationship. We present here a computational model of opinion exchange that uncovers the community structure of a network. Our aim is not to present a new community detection method proper, but to show how a model of social communication dynamics can reveal the (simple and overlapping) community structure in an emergent way. Our model is based on a standard Naming Game, but takes into consideration three social features: trust, uncertainty and opinion preference, that are built over time as agents communicate among themselves. We show that the separate addition of each social feature in the Naming Game results in gradual improvements with respect to community detection. In addition, the resulting uncertainty and trust values classify nodes and edges according to role and position in the network. Also, our model has shown a degree of accuracy both for non-overlapping and overlapping communities that are comparable with most algorithms specifically designed for topological community detection. PMID:28797097

The effectiveness of international development assistance from American organizations to deaf communities in Jamaica.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Amy T

American organizations bringing assistance to deaf people in developing countries unintentionally create relationships of dependency or oppression rather than relationships of support. Using qualitative methods, the author examined the effectiveness of development assistance provided to the Jamaican Deaf community by two American churches, one American nongovernmental organization, and one U.S. federal agency. Documents were reviewed and observations were made. Interviews were conducted with more than 60 deaf and hearing people involved with the American organizations, the Jamaican organizations, and deaf Jamaican beneficiaries. The author concludes that the Jamaican Deaf community was often excluded in planning, designing, or evaluating programs, and was unsatisfied with the American assistance it received. Results also indicate that the American organizations were poorly prepared to work with the Deaf community. Suggestions for American organizations wishing to strengthen and empower deaf people through development assistance in developing countries are proposed.

Ecological assessments of effluent impacts on communities of indigenous aquatic organisms (symposium), 1979

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, J.M.; Weber, C.I.

1981-01-01

This conference proceedings contains 17 papers, of which 4 are indexed separately. All papers deal with the effects of chemical, radioactive, and thermal effluents on aquatic organisms. The emphasis is on the methods of evaluating the effects of effluents on the standing crop, community structure, and community function

Creating "communicative spaces": a case of NGO community organizing for HIV/AIDS prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

de Souza, Rebecca

2009-12-01

This study uses the case study method to investigate the processes used by a local nongovernmental organization called the Society for People's Action for Development to organize sex workers in the slums of Bangalore, India, for HIV/AIDS prevention. The nongovernmental organization-facilitated HIV/AIDS program is based on the new paradigm of community organizing that encourages community participation and capacity building. Grounded in the culture-centered approach, this study documents the processes used to organize the women, while highlighting the role of communication in these processes. The study identifies 4 primary processes used to mobilize the community, namely collectivization, community awareness and sensitization, capacity building, and providing legal education and support. Each of these processes highlights the importance of attending to the economic, social, and political realities that shape the health of women. The common thread linking these processes together is the notion of "voice." More specifically, each process serves as a catalyst to produce discursive practices that enable women to provide support to each other, increase awareness in the community about the problems that they face, build self-reliance through financial skills training and communication training, and defend their legal rights. In addition, the study suggests that the primary role of nongovernmental organizations should be the creation of "communicative spaces," which are discursive and material spaces within marginalized communities and mainstream society where cultural participants can identify problems (oftentimes beyond the realm of health), manage solutions to those problems, and advocate for health and social change.

Partnership Among Peers: Lessons Learned From the Development of a Community Organization-Academic Research Training Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Jewett-Tennant, Jeri; Collins, Cyleste; Matloub, Jacqueline; Patrick, Alison; Chupp, Mark; Werner, James J; Borawski, Elaine A

2016-01-01

Community engagement and rigorous science are necessary to address health issues. Increasingly, community health organizations are asked to partner in research. To strengthen such community organization-academic partnerships, increase research capacity in community organizations, and facilitate equitable partnered research, the Partners in Education Evaluation and Research (PEER) program was developed. The program implements an 18-month structured research curriculum for one mid-level employee of a health-focused community-based organization with an organizational mentor and a Case Western Reserve University faculty member as partners. The PEER program was developed and guided by a community-academic advisory committee and was designed to impact the research capacity of organizations through didactic modules and partnered research in the experiential phase. Active participation of community organizations and faculty during all phases of the program provided for bidirectional learning and understanding of the challenges of community-engaged health research. The pilot program evaluation used qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques, including experiences of the participants assessed through surveys, formal group and individual interviews, phone calls, and discussions. Statistical analysis of the change in fellows' pre-test and post-test survey scores were conducted using paired sample t tests. The small sample size is recognized by the authors as a limitation of the evaluation methods and would potentially be resolved by including more cohort data as the program progresses. Qualitative data were reviewed by two program staff using content and narrative analysis to identify themes, describe and assess group phenomena and determine program improvements. The objective of PEER is to create equitable partnerships between community organizations and academic partners to further research capacity in said organizations and develop mutually beneficial research

Adoption of an evidence-based colorectal cancer screening promotion program by community organizations serving Filipino Americans

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Filipino Americans have low rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening and high CRC mortality. To reduce this disparity, we conducted a dissemination trial in which we offered two levels of technical assistance to community organizations to disseminate an evidence-based CRC screening promotion program among their Filipino American members. This report describes the recruitment of organizations and adoption – the proportion and representativeness of organizations that decided to implement the program. Methods During the recruitment phase, we completed organizational assessments with 44 community-based organizations (previous partners in research, organizations that were referred to us, or new organizations) to assess their eligibility to participate (having ≥ 150 Filipino American members age 50+). We compared organizational characteristics of organizations that did and did not adopt our CRC screening promotion program. Results Twenty two of the 44 community organizations that completed the assessment adopted the CRC screening promotion program (50%). Adoption was highest among organizations that had previously partnered with us (11/14 = 79%) and among organizations that were referred to us by community partners (5/10 = 50%) and lowest among new organizations (6/20 = 30%). Few organizational differences were found between adopters and non-adopters. Conclusions The high rate of adoption among organizations that were referred by community partners or had partnered with us in the past underscores the importance of community resources, community-academic relationships, and partnership in the dissemination process. However, the moderate rate of adoption among new organizations and the demands of completing documentation and assessments in our trial to advance dissemination research raise questions regarding the generalizability of study findings. PMID:24618267

ADOLESCENTS’ EXPOSURE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE: ARE NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS PROTECTIVE?

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Margo; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2011-01-01

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we identified a significant inverse association between the variety of youth organizations available at the neighborhood level and adolescents’ exposure to community violence. We examined two non-competing explanations for this finding. First, at the individual level, we tested the hypothesis that access to a greater variety of neighborhood youth organizations predicts adolescents’ participation in organized community-based activities, which, in turn, protects against community violence exposure. Second, at the neighborhood level, we tested the hypothesis that lower violent crime rates explain the inverse relation between neighborhood youth organization variety and community violence exposure. Our findings supported the latter of these two mechanisms. PMID:21666761

Effects of organic pollution on biological communities of marine biofilm on hard substrata

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanz-Lázaro, C.; Fodelianakis, S.; Guerrero-Meseguer, L.; Marín, A.; Karakassis, I.

2015-01-01

We examined the effect of organic enrichment on diatom and bacterial assemblages of marine epilithic biofilms on two locations in the Mediterranean, one situated in Spain and the other in Greece. Total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, stable isotopes (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) and chlorophyll a indicated significant incorporation of organic wastes, increased primary production and trophic niche modifications on the biofilms close to the organic enrichment source. In Spain, where the organic load was higher than in Greece, diatom and, to some extent, bacterial assemblages varied following the organic enrichment gradient. The taxonomic richness of diatom and bacterial communities was not influenced by organic enrichment. Classical community parameters showed consistent patterns to organic pollution in both locations, whereas community assemblages were only influenced when organic pollution was greatest. The successional patterns of these communities were similar to other epilithic communities. The modification of community assemblages induced by organic pollution may affect ecological functions. - Highlights: • We examined the effect of organic enrichment on assemblages of marine biofilms. • Classical community parameters showed consistent patterns to organic pollution. • Diatom and bacterial assemblages were affected under high level of organic enrichment. • Successional patterns were similar to other communities inhabiting hard substrata. • Assemblage modifications induced by organic pollution may affect ecological functions. - Organic pollution modifies the assemblages of biofilm communities which may affect important ecological functions

Geography of community health information organization activity in the United States: Implications for the effectiveness of health information exchange.

Science.gov (United States)

Vest, Joshua R

The United States has invested nearly a billion dollars in creating community health information organizations (HIOs) to foster health information exchange. Community HIOs provide exchange services to health care organizations within a distinct geographic area. While geography is a key organizing principle for community HIOs, it is unclear if geography is an effective method for organization or what challenges are created by a geography-based approach to health information exchange. This study describes the extent of reported community HIO coverage in the United States and explores the practical and policy implications of overlaps and gaps in HIO service areas. Furthermore, because self-reported service areas may not accurately reflect the true extent of HIOs activities, this study maps the actual markets for health services included in each HIO. An inventory of operational community HIOs that included self-reported geographic markets and participating organizations was face-validated using a crowd-sourcing approach. Aggregation of the participating hospitals' individual health care markets provided the total geographic market served by each community HIO. Mapping and overlay analyses using geographic information system methods described the extent of community HIO activity in the United States. Evidence suggests that community HIOs may be inefficiently distributed. Parts of the United States have multiple, overlapping HIOs, while others do not have any providing health information exchange services. In markets served by multiple community HIOs, 45% of hospitals were participants of only one HIO. The current geography of community HIO activity does not provide comprehensive patient information to providers, nor community-wide information for public health agencies. The discord between the self-reported and market geography of community HIOs raises concerns about the potential effectiveness of health information exchange, illustrates the limitations of geography as

Community Social Organization: A Conceptual Linchpin in Examining Families in the Context of Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Mancini, Jay A.; Bowen, Gary L.; Martin, James A.

2005-01-01

The concept of social organization provides an important framework for understanding families in the context of communities and focuses our attention on norms, networks, and associated processes that typify community life. We discuss the significance of community for understanding family outcomes, discuss challenges in defining community context,…

A spectral method to detect community structure based on distance modularity matrix

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jin-Xuan; Zhang, Xiao-Dong

2017-08-01

There are many community organizations in social and biological networks. How to identify these community structure in complex networks has become a hot issue. In this paper, an algorithm to detect community structure of networks is proposed by using spectra of distance modularity matrix. The proposed algorithm focuses on the distance of vertices within communities, rather than the most weakly connected vertex pairs or number of edges between communities. The experimental results show that our method achieves better effectiveness to identify community structure for a variety of real-world networks and computer generated networks with a little more time-consumption.

Effects of organic pollution on biological communities of marine biofilm on hard substrata.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanz-Lázaro, C; Fodelianakis, S; Guerrero-Meseguer, L; Marín, A; Karakassis, I

2015-06-01

We examined the effect of organic enrichment on diatom and bacterial assemblages of marine epilithic biofilms on two locations in the Mediterranean, one situated in Spain and the other in Greece. Total organic carbon, total organic nitrogen, stable isotopes (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) and chlorophyll a indicated significant incorporation of organic wastes, increased primary production and trophic niche modifications on the biofilms close to the organic enrichment source. In Spain, where the organic load was higher than in Greece, diatom and, to some extent, bacterial assemblages varied following the organic enrichment gradient. The taxonomic richness of diatom and bacterial communities was not influenced by organic enrichment. Classical community parameters showed consistent patterns to organic pollution in both locations, whereas community assemblages were only influenced when organic pollution was greatest. The successional patterns of these communities were similar to other epilithic communities. The modification of community assemblages induced by organic pollution may affect ecological functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Traditions and Management Perspectives of Community and Non-Profit Organizations in Lithuania

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Andrius Stasiukynas

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Purpose – To overview the traditions and management perspectives of community and non-profit organizations in Lithuania.Methodology – For the purpose of this research a literature analysis on community and non-profit organization case studies was conducted. The case studies describing stories of success were singled out and leaders of these organizations were interviewed.Findings – The research has showed the growth of the number of community and nonprofit organizations during the last twenty years and the difficulties of collecting the statistical data. This study presupposes the possibility to identify the tendencies of management in community and non-profit organizations, including the following: increasing use of the social networks for communication; proliferation of strategic planning; greater emphasis on educating and empowering new generation of leaders.Research implications – Prior studies in this area in Lithuania have not exhaustively analyzed the components of human resource management of non-profit organizations. An important follow up on this study would be to analyze the human resource management in community organizations.Practical implications – This study covered the management aspects important for the improvement of how community and non-profit organizations work.Originality/Value – This study expands the knowledge on Lithuanian community and non-profit organization development and management.Research type – literature review, research paper.

Community health needs assessment with precede-proceed model: a mixed methods study

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Wang Yang

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Community health services in China have developed over the last few decades. In order to use limited health resources more effectively, we conducted a community health needs assessment. This aimed to provide an understanding of the community's health problems and the range of potential factors affecting risk behaviours for the priority health problems. Methods We used the precede-proceed model for the needs assessment. Triangulation of data, methods and researchers were employed in data collection. Results Main findings include: cardiovascular diseases (CVDs were identified as the priority health problems in the study communities; risk factors associated with CVDs included smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating behaviours, particularly amongst male residents with low education level; factors negatively affecting behaviours were classified into predisposing factors (limited knowledge, beliefs and lack of perceived needs, enabling factors (limited access to health promotion activities, unawareness of health promotion, lack of work-site and school health promotion, absence of health promotion related policy and reinforcing factors (culture. Policies and organization were not perfect; there were limited staff skilled in providing health promotion in the community. Conclusion CVDs were identified by the communities as priority health problems. Future health programs should focus on smoking, physical inactivity and unhealthy eating behaviours. Behaviour change strategies should take predisposing factors, enabling factors and reinforcing factors into consideration. Policies, organization and human resource need strengthening.

Source Materials for the Healthy Communities Toolkit: A Resource Guide for Community and Faith-Based Organizations.

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Acosta, Joie; Chandra, Anita; Williams, Malcolm; Davis, Lois M

2011-01-01

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act places significant emphasis on the role of community-based health promotion initiatives; within this focus, community and faith-based organizations (CFBOs) are seen as critical partners for improving community well-being. This article describes a report that provides the content for a toolkit that will prepare community and faith-based organizations to take advantage of opportunities presented in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and engage faith and community leaders in promoting health in their communities. This includes key facts and figures about health topics, handouts for community groups, and web links for resources and other information in the following areas: healthcare reform; community health centers and development of the community health workforce; promotion of healthy families; mental health; violence and trauma; prevention of teen and unintended pregnancy and HIV/AIDS; and chronic disease prevention. The report also includes recommendations for testing the content of the toolkit with communities and considerations for its implementation.

Does Social Capital Explain Community-Level Differences in Organ Donor Designation?

Science.gov (United States)

Ladin, Keren; Wang, Rui; Fleishman, Aaron; Boger, Matthew; Rodrigue, James R

2015-09-01

The growing shortage of life-saving organs has reached unprecedented levels, with more than 120,000 Americans waiting for them. Despite national attempts to increase organ donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, geographic disparities remain. A better understanding of the contextual determinants of organ donor designation, including social capital, may enhance efforts to increase organ donation by raising the probability of collective action and fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. Because community-level factors, including social capital, predict more than half the variation in donor designation, future interventions should tailor strategies to specific communities as the unit of intervention. The growing shortage of organs has reached unprecedented levels. Despite national attempts to increase donation and federal laws mandating the equitable allocation of organs, their availability and waiting times vary significantly nationwide. Organ donor designation is a collective action problem in public health, in which the regional organ supply and average waiting times are determined by the willingness of individuals to be listed as organ donors. Social capital increases the probability of collective action by fostering norms of reciprocity and cooperation while increasing costs to defectors. We examine whether social capital and other community-level factors explain geographic variation in organ donor designation rates in Massachusetts. We obtained a sample of 3,281,532 registered drivers in 2010 from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Registry of Motor Vehicles (MassDOT RMV). We then geocoded the registry data, matched them to 4,466 census blocks, and linked them to the 2010 US Census, the American Community Survey (ACS), and other sources to obtain community-level sociodemographic, social capital (residential segregation, voter registration and participation, residential

Weighted Evolving Networks with Self-organized Communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Zhou; Wang Xiaofan; Li Xiang

2008-01-01

In order to describe the self-organization of communities in the evolution of weighted networks, we propose a new evolving model for weighted community-structured networks with the preferential mechanisms functioned in different levels according to community sizes and node strengths, respectively. Theoretical analyses and numerical simulations show that our model captures power-law distributions of community sizes, node strengths, and link weights, with tunable exponents of ν ≥ 1, γ > 2, and α > 2, respectively, sharing large clustering coefficients and scaling clustering spectra, and covering the range from disassortative networks to assortative networks. Finally, we apply our new model to the scientific co-authorship networks with both their weighted and unweighted datasets to verify its effectiveness

Developing community based rehabilitation for cancer survivors: Organizing for coordination and coherence in practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

la Cour, Karen; Cutchin, Malcolm

2013-01-01

Background. Increasing incidence of cancer combined with prolonged survival have raised the need for developing community based rehabilitation. The objectives of the analysis were to describe and interpret the key issues related to coordination and coherence of community-based cancer rehabilitation......-based organization, and informal relationships were fundamental for developing coordination and coherence. Conclusions. Coordination and coherence in community-based rehabilitation relies on increased collaboration, which may best be optimized by use of shared frameworks within and across systems. Results highlight...... in Denmark and to provide insights relevant for other contexts. Methods. Twenty-seven rehabilitation managers across 15 municipalities in Denmark comprised the sample. The study was designed with a combination of data collection methods including questionnaires, individual interviews, and focus groups...

Immigrant Workers Centers in Eastern Massachusetts, USA: Fostering Services, Support, Advocacy, and Community Organizing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Humberto Reynoso-Vallejo

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Immigrant Workers Centers (IWCs are community-based organizations that have been developed in the United States to promote and protect workers’ rights through support, services, advocacy, and organizing initiatives. The purpose of this research study was to examine how IWCs in the Eastern part of the state of Massachusetts are structured along twelve dimensions of organizational development and community organizing. Qualitative research methods were used to identify shared themes within the six IWCs and three immigrant support organizations, as well as their organizational responses to the current anti-immigrant environment. IWCs constituted a convenience sample which enabled the researchers to gather data utilizing a case study methodology. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted between the months of July and September of 2009 to answer the following research questions: 1What are the shared themes for the development of Immigrant Workers Centers?, and 2 How do Immigrant Workers Centers respond to current anti-immigrant sentiment, intolerant immigration policies, and increased exploitation in this troubled economy? Shared themes among the IWCs include prioritizing community organizing for workers’ rights and collective empowerment. Sub-modalities such as education, training and leadership development area common feature. While some individual support is provided, and in some cases, programming, it always is offered within a context that emphasizes the need for collective action to overcome injustice. Issues addressed include health/safety, sexual harassment, discrimination, and various problems associated with wages (underpayment, missed payments, collecting back wages, and lack of overtime pay. IWCs respond to antiimmigrant policies and practices by supporting larger efforts for immigration reformat the municipal, state, and federal levels. Coalitions of IWCS and their allies attempt to make state wide and federal policy changes

A Novel Method for Analyzing Microbially Affiliated Volatile Organic Compounds in Soil Environments

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Ruhs, C. V.; McNeal, K. S.

2010-12-01

A concerted, international effort by citizens, governments, industries and educational systems is necessary to address the myriad environmental issues that face us today. The authors of this paper concentrate on soil environments and, specifically, the methods currently used to characterize them. The ability to efficiently and effectively monitor and characterize various soils is desired, allows for the study, supervision, and protection of natural and cultivated ecosystems, and may assist stakeholders in meeting governmentally-imposed environmental standards. This research addresses soil characterization by a comparison of four methods that emphasize a combination of microbial community and metabolic measures: BIOLOG, fatty acid methyl-ester analysis (FAME), descriptive physical and chemical analysis (moisture content, pH, carbon content, nutrient content, and grain size), and the novel soil-microbe volatile organic compound analysis (SMVOC) presented in this work. In order to achieve the method comparison, soils were collected from three climatic regions (Bahamas, Michigan, and Mississippi), with three samples taken from niche ecosystems found at each climatic region (a total of nine sites). Of interest to the authors is whether or not an investigation of microbial communities and the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by microbial communities from nine separate soil ecosystems provides useful information about soil dynamics. In essence, is analysis of soil-derived VOCs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) an effective method for characterizing microbial communities and their metabolic activity of soils rapidly and accurately compared with the other three traditional characterization methods? Preliminary results suggest that VOCs in each of these locales differ with changes in soil types, soil moisture, and bacterial community. Each niche site shows distinct patterns in both VOCs and BIOLOG readings. Results will be presented to show the

Treatment of radioactive liquid organic waste using bacteria community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafael Vicente de Padua Ferreira; Solange Kazumi Sakata; Maria Helena Bellini; Julio Takehiro Marumo; Fernando Dutra; Patricia Busko Di Vitta; Maria Helena Tirollo Taddei

2012-01-01

Waste management plays an important role in radioactive waste volume reduction as well as lowering disposal costs and minimizing the environment-detrimental impact. The employment of biomass in the removal of heavy metals and radioisotopes has a significant potential in liquid waste treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the radioactive waste treatment by using three different bacterial communities (BL, BS, and SS) isolated from impacted areas, removing radioisotopes and organic compounds. The best results were obtained in the BS and BL community, isolated from the soil and a lake of a uranium mine, respectively. BS community was able to remove 92% of the uranium and degraded 80% of tributyl phosphate and 70% of the ethyl acetate in 20 days of experiments. BL community removed 81% of the uranium and degraded nearly 60% of the TBP and 70% of the ethyl acetate. SS community collected from the sediment of Sao Sebastiao channel removed 76% of the uranium and 80% of the TBP and 70% of the ethyl acetate. Both americium and cesium were removed by all communities. In addition, the BS community showed to be more resistant to radioactive liquid waste than the other communities. These results indicated that the BS community is the most viable for the treatment of large volumes of radioactive liquid organic waste. (author)

A Public Policy for Neighborhood and Community Organizations.

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Kotler, Milton

1979-01-01

It is in the interest of federal and local governments to enlarge the power of community and neighborhood organizations for the sake of effective governing. During this era of budgetary and tax restraint, these organizations must be brought into the process of service delivery and development. (Author/RLV)

Results from the Data & Democracy initiative to enhance community-based organization data and research capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll-Scott, Amy; Toy, Peggy; Wyn, Roberta; Zane, Jazmin I; Wallace, Steven P

2012-07-01

In an era of community-based participatory research and increased expectations for evidence-based practice, we evaluated an initiative designed to increase community-based organizations' data and research capacity through a 3-day train-the-trainer course on community health assessments. We employed a mixed method pre-post course evaluation design. Various data sources collected from 171 participants captured individual and organizational characteristics and pre-post course self-efficacy on 19 core skills, as well as behavior change 1 year later among a subsample of participants. Before the course, participants reported limited previous experience with data and low self-efficacy in basic research skills. Immediately after the course, participants demonstrated statistically significant increases in data and research self-efficacy. The subsample reported application of community assessment skills to their work and increased use of data 1 year later. Results suggest that an intensive, short-term training program can achieve large immediate gains in data and research self-efficacy in community-based organization staff. In addition, they demonstrate initial evidence of longer-term behavior change related to use of data and research skills to support their community work.

Using mixed methods when researching communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Ochieng, Bertha M N; Meetoo, Danny

2015-09-01

To argue for the use of mixed methods when researching communities. Although research involving minority communities is now advanced, not enough effort has been made to formulate methodological linkages between qualitative and quantitative methods in most studies. For instance, the quantitative approaches used by epidemiologists and others in examining the wellbeing of communities are usually empirical. While the rationale for this is sound, quantitative findings can be expanded with data from in-depth qualitative approaches, such as interviews or observations, which are likely to provide insights into the experiences of people in those communities and their relationships with their wellbeing. Academic databases including The Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CINAHL, AMED, INTERNURSE, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge and PubMed. An iterative process of identifying eligible literature was carried out by comprehensively searching electronic databases. Using mixed-methods approaches is likely to address any potential drawbacks of individual methods by exploiting the strengths of each at the various stages of research. Combining methods can provide additional ways of looking at a complex problem and improve the understanding of a community's experiences. However, it is important for researchers to use the different methods interactively during their research. The use of qualitative and quantitative methods is likely to enrich our understanding of the interrelationship between wellbeing and the experiences of communities. This should help researchers to explore socio-cultural factors and experiences of health and healthcare practice more effectively.

Urgency of Community Supervision Organization by Government

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Catur Wibowo Budi Santoso

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Urgency Surveillance Study of Social Organization aims to describe the reality of the problems in the a real of Social Organization; describe the implementation of the role of government (including local government in controlling the Social Organization; and provider recommendations on matters that need to be regulated in the draft regulations on the supervision of organizations. This study used a qualitative approach, with the aim that can be obtained in-depth and complete information about matters relating to the existence and dynamics in regional organizations. The study results presented can be: that on the one hand the existence of organizations that do not contribute little in development, but on the other hand there are many community organizations that act an archaic and disturbing in society; for the entire operational provisions for the implementation of Social Organization must be available; things that need to be arranged substantially in the surveillance by the government.

Screening of the pelvic organ prolapse without a physical examination; (a community based study

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Tehrani Fahimeh

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pelvic organ prolapse (POP is a silent disorder with a huge impact on women's quality of life. There is limited data from community-based studies conducted to determine the prevalence of POP as its assessment needs a pelvic examination. We aimed to develop a simple screening inventory for identification of pelvic organ prolapse and then evaluate its sensitivity and specificity. Methods This study had two phases. In the first phase in order to develop a simple inventory for assessment of POP, the Pelvic Floor Disorder Inventory (PFDI was completed for a convenience sample of 200 women, aged 18-45 years, referred for annual gynecologic examination, and their pelvic organ prolapse was assessed using the standard protocol. The most sensitive and specific questions were selected as pelvic organ prolapse simple screening inventory (POPSSI. In the second phase, using a stratified multistage probability cluster sampling method, the sensitivity and specificity of the POPSSI was investigated in a non selected sample of 954 women recruited from among reproductive aged women living in four randomly selected provinces of Iran. Results The sensitivity and specificity of POPSSI for identification of pelvic organ prolapse in the general population were 45.5 and 87.4% respectively; these values were 96.7 and 20% among those women who were aware of their pelvic dysfunction. Conclusion Community based screening studies on pelvic organ prolapse could be facilitated by using the POPSSI, the sensitivity of which would be enhanced through conducting of public awareness programs.

Role of Women Organizations in Community Development: A Case ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper analysed the role of women organizations in the development of rural communities in Orlu Agricultural zone of Imo state. Six communities were purposively selected from three Local Government Areas of the Zone for the study. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 120 randomly selected ...

Using Interdisciplinary Research Methods to Revise and Strengthen the NWS TsunamiReadyTM Community Recognition Program

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, C.; Gregg, C. E.; Ritchie, L.; Stephen, M.; Farnham, C.; Fraser, S. A.; Gill, D.; Horan, J.; Houghton, B. F.; Johnson, V.; Johnston, D.

2013-12-01

The National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program (NTHMP) partnered with the National Weather Service (NWS) in early 2000 to create the TsunamiReadyTM Community Recognition program. TsunamiReadyTM, modeled after the older NWS StormReadyTM program, is designed to help cities, towns, counties, universities and other large sites in coastal areas reduce the potential for disastrous tsunami-related consequences. To achieve TsunamiReadyTM recognition, communities must meet certain criteria aimed at better preparing a community for tsunami, including specific actions within the following categories: communications and coordination, tsunami warning reception, local warning dissemination, community preparedness, and administration. Using multidisciplinary research methods and strategies from Public Health; Psychology; Political, Social and Physical Sciences and Evaluation, our research team is working directly with a purposive sample of community stakeholders in collaboration and feedback focus group sessions. Invitation to participate is based on a variety of factors including but not limited to an individual's role as a formal or informal community leader (e.g., in business, government, civic organizations), or their organization or agency affiliation to emergency management and response. Community organizing and qualitative research methods are being used to elicit discussion regarding TsunamiReadyTM requirements and the division of requirements based on some aspect of tsunami hazard, vulnerability and risk, such as proximity to active or passive plate margins or subduction zone generated tsunamis versus earthquake-landslide generated tsunamis . The primary aim of this research is to use social science to revise and refine the NWS TsunamiReadyTM Guidelines in an effort to better prepare communities to reduce risk to tsunamis.

Participatory Democracy, Community Organizing and the Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) Partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Sprague Martinez, Linda; Reisner, Ellin; Campbell, Maria; Brugge, Doug

2017-02-04

Background: Conflicting interests, power imbalance and relationships characterized by distrust are just a few of the many challenges community-academic research partnerships face. In addition, the time it takes to build relationships is often overlooked, which further complicates matters and can leave well-intentioned individuals re-creating oppressive conditions through inauthentic partnerships. This paper presents a novel approach of using meeting minutes to explore partnership dynamics. The Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH) partnership is used as an illustrative case study to identify how community academic partnerships overcome the challenges associated with community-based participatory research (CBPR). CAFEH is a study of ultrafine particle exposure (UFP) near highways in the Boston, MA area. Methods: Qualitative analysis was applied to meeting minutes and process evaluation reports from the first three years of the CAFEH study ( n = 73 files). In addition, a group meeting was held with project partners in order to contextualize the findings from the document analysis. Results: The three most commonly referenced challenges included language barriers, the overall project structure and budgetary constraints. Meanwhile, a heavy emphasis on process and an approach steeped in participatory democracy facilitated CAFEH's ability to overcome these challenges, as well as sustain and augment strong partnership ties. Conclusions: This experience suggests that leadership that incorporates an organizing approach and a transformational style facilitates CBPR processes and helps teams surmount challenges.

Appreciative Organizing: Charting a Course for Community Engagement

OpenAIRE

Shelly A. Parini-Runge

2015-01-01

This article provides a brief overview of Appreciative Organizing (AO), a term coined by the author in her graduate work to describe the roles that dialogue, listening, storytelling, community networks, social bonding, and leadership play in designing and leading meaningful community engagement initiatives that result in transformative partnerships. It offers constructive steps and a real-life example of how AO was used to strengthen relationships between an institution of higher learning and...

The Role of Soil Organic Matter, Nutrients, and Microbial Community Structure on the Performance of Microbial Fuel Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Rooney-Varga, J. N.; Dunaj, S. J.; Vallino, J. J.; Hines, M. E.; Gay, M.; Kobyljanec, C.

2011-12-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer the potential for generating electricity, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and bioremediating pollutants through utilization of a plentiful, natural, and renewable resource: soil organic carbon. In the current study, we analyzed microbial community structure, MFC performance, and soil characteristics in different microhabitats (bulk soil, anode, and cathode) within MFCs constructed from agricultural or forest soils in order to determine how soil type and microbial dynamics influence MFC performance. MFCs were constructed with soils from agricultural and hardwood forest sites at Harvard Forest (Petersham, MA). The bulk soil characteristics were analyzed, including polyphenols, short chain fatty acids, total organic C and N, abiotic macronutrients, N and P mineralization rates, CO2 respiration rates, and MFC power output. Microbial community structure of the anodes, cathodes, and bulk soils was determined with molecular fingerprinting methods, which included terminal restriction length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. Our results indicated that MFCs constructed from agricultural soil had power output about 17 times that of forest soil-based MFCs and respiration rates about 10 times higher than forest soil MFCs. Agricultural soil MFCs had lower C:N ratios, polyphenol content, and acetate concentrations than forest soil MFCs, suggesting that active agricultural MFC microbial communities were supported by higher quality organic carbon. Microbial community profile data indicate that the microbial communities at the anode of the high power MFCs were less diverse than in low power MFCs and were dominated by Deltaproteobacteria, Geobacter, and, to a lesser extent, Clostridia, while low-power MFC anode communities were dominated by Clostridia. These data suggest that the presence of organic carbon substrate (acetate) was not the major limiting factor in selecting for highly electrogenic microbial

Developing an integrated organ/system curriculum with community-orientation for a new medical college in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa M El-Naggar

2007-01-01

Conclusion: The new curriculum adopted by the Jazan Faculty of Medicine is an integrated, organ/ system based, community-oriented, with early clinical skills, elective modules, and innovative methods of instructions.

Polar ecosystem dynamics: recovery of communities from organic enrichment in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Stacy; Hammerstom, Kamille K; Conlan, Kathleen E; Thurber, Andrew R

2010-12-01

Community structure and diversity are influenced by patterns of disturbance and input of food. In Antarctica, the marine ecosystem undergoes highly seasonal changes in availability of light and in primary production. Near research stations, organic input from human activities can disturb the regular productivity regime with a consistent input of sewage. McMurdo Sound has both high-productivity and low-productivity habitats, thereby providing an ideal test bed for community recovery dynamics under polar conditions. We used experimental manipulations of the subtidal communities to test the hypotheses that (1) benthic communities respond differently to disturbance from organic enrichment versus burial and (2) community response also varies in areas with different natural patterns of food supply. Both in low- and high-food habitats, the strongest community response was to organic enrichment and resulted in dominance of typical organic-enrichment specialists. In habitats with highly seasonal productivity, community response was predictable and recovery was rapid. In habitats with low productivity, community variability was high and caging treatments suggested that inconsistencies were due to patchy impacts by scavengers. In areas normally subject to regular organic enrichment, either from primary production or from further up the food web (defecation by marine mammals), recovery of benthic communities takes only years even in a polar system. However, a low-productivity regime is as common in near shore habitats around the continent; under these conditions, recovery of benthic communities from disturbance is likely to be much slower and follow a variable ecological trajectory.

[Community-based organizations and the aids epidemic in Amazonas state, Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Kadri, Michele Rocha; Schweickardt, Julio Cesar

2015-05-01

The scope of this paper was to analyze the perception of community-based organizations and their contributions to the history of tackling Aids in Amazonas State. It involved qualitative research with the use of oral and documental sources. Data were collected between June and September 2013 by means of semi-structured interviews with the leaders of eight organizations that work or worked with more vulnerable communities. Based on Discourse Analysis the conclusion drawn is that that the organizations perceive two distinct phases since the decentralization of funds from the Sexually-Transmitted Diseases Aids and Viral Hepatitis Department to the local leaders. The first phase was marked by the strengthening of organizations, collective empowerment and active political participation. The current phase has seen the distancing between organizations, a loss of political momentum and weakening of common response and organization.

Integrating Medication Therapy Management (MTM Services Provided by Community Pharmacists into a Community-Based Accountable Care Organization (ACO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian Isetts

2017-10-01

Full Text Available (1 Background: As the U.S. healthcare system evolves from fee-for-service financing to global population-based payments designed to be accountable for both quality and total cost of care, the effective and safe use of medications is gaining increased importance. The purpose of this project was to determine the feasibility of integrating medication therapy management (MTM services provided by community pharmacists into the clinical care teams and the health information technology (HIT infrastructure for Minnesota Medicaid recipients of a 12-county community-based accountable care organization (ACO. (2 Methods: The continuous quality improvement evaluation methodology employed in this project was the context + mechanism = outcome (CMO model to account for the fact that programs only work insofar as they introduce promising ideas, solutions and opportunities in the appropriate social and cultural contexts. Collaborations between a 12-county ACO and 15 community pharmacies in Southwest Minnesota served as the social context for this feasibility study of MTM referrals to community pharmacists. (3 Results: All 15 community pharmacy sites were integrated into the HIT infrastructure through Direct Secure Messaging, and there were 32 recipients who received MTM services subsequent to referrals from the ACO at 5 of the 15 community pharmacies over a 1-year implementation phase. (4 Conclusion: At the conclusion of this project, an effective electronic communication and MTM referral system was activated, and consideration was given to community pharmacists providing MTM in future ACO shared savings agreements.

Using evaluation to adapt health information outreach to the complex environments of community-based organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Olney, Cynthia A

2005-10-01

After arguing that most community-based organizations (CBOs) function as complex adaptive systems, this white paper describes the evaluation goals, questions, indicators, and methods most important at different stages of community-based health information outreach. This paper presents the basic characteristics of complex adaptive systems and argues that the typical CBO can be considered this type of system. It then presents evaluation as a tool for helping outreach teams adapt their outreach efforts to the CBO environment and thus maximize success. Finally, it describes the goals, questions, indicators, and methods most important or helpful at each stage of evaluation (community assessment, needs assessment and planning, process evaluation, and outcomes assessment). Literature from complex adaptive systems as applied to health care, business, and evaluation settings is presented. Evaluation models and applications, particularly those based on participatory approaches, are presented as methods for maximizing the effectiveness of evaluation in dynamic CBO environments. If one accepts that CBOs function as complex adaptive systems-characterized by dynamic relationships among many agents, influences, and forces-then effective evaluation at the stages of community assessment, needs assessment and planning, process evaluation, and outcomes assessment is critical to outreach success.

Community Organizing as Educational Leadership: Lessons from Chicago on the Politics of Racial Justice

Science.gov (United States)

Welton, Anjalé D.; Freelon, Rhoda

2018-01-01

The collective power of community members has the potential to shape education reform efforts through activism and community organizing. In this article, we present two cases where community organizers exhibited key leadership strategies designed to influence district decision-making about school closures in Chicago. Employing a mix of interviews,…

Factors limiting deceased organ donation: focus groups' perspective from culturally diverse community.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, L P

2010-06-01

In-depth understanding of cultural and religious factors limiting organ donation of three ethnic populations (Malay, Chinese, and Indian) in Southeast Asia is lacking. Identification of factors limiting organ donation among these three ethnic groups will provide insights into culturally appropriate strategies to promote acceptance of organ donation in a multiethnic Asian community. A total of 17 focus group discussions (105 participants) were conducted between September and December 2008. Participants were members of the general public aged 18 to 60 years, recruited through convenient sampling around the Klang Valley area of Malaysia. Although the majority had favorable attitudes toward deceased organ donation and transplantation, a diversity of myths and misinformation were unearthed from the discussions across the ethnic groups. These include perceived religious prohibition, cultural myths and misperceptions, fear of disfigurement, fear of surgery, distrust of the medical system, and family disapproval. Culture and religious beliefs played important prohibitive roles among those opposed to organ donations. There were distinctive ethnic differences in cultural and religious concerns regarding organ donation. Less-educated and rural groups appeared to have more misconceptions than the well-educated and the urban groups. Our findings may assist organ donation and transplantation organizations to reach diverse sociodemographic and ethnic communities with culture-specific information about organ donation. The involvement of community and religious leaders is critical in organ donation requests.

Roles of organizers and champions in building campus-community prevention partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakocs, Ronda C; Tiwari, Rashmi; Vehige, Tamara; DeJong, William

2008-01-01

A campus-community partnership can be an effective vehicle for launching environmental strategies to prevent college alcohol-related problems. In this study, the authors' primary aim was identifying key factors that facilitate or impede colleges' efforts to build campus-community partnerships. From fall 2004 to summer 2006, administrators at five 4-year colleges participated in a multisite case study. Level of partnership development was the primary outcome. Three interrelated factors facilitated higher-developed partnerships: college staff assigned to facilitate the partnerships who worked as community organizers, higher-level college administrators who served as aggressive champions, and community initiation of the partnership. The authors did not observe this trio of factors among the less-developed partnerships. A lack of administrative support made it more difficult for a champion to emerge, a college administrator who staunchly advocated for a campus-community partnership, and for those assigned to facilitate the partnership to carry out their work. Colleges should appoint higher-level administrators to serve as champions, while also ensuring that those assigned to facilitate a partnership can apply community organizing skills.

Health politics meets post-modernism: its meaning and implications for community health organizing.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenau, P V

1994-01-01

In this article, post-modern theory is described and applied to health politics with examples from community health organizing, social movements, and health promotion. Post-modernism questions conventional assumptions about concepts such as representation, participation, empowerment, community, identity, causality, accountability, responsibility, authority, and roles in community health promotion (those of expert, leader, and organizer). I compare post-modern social movements with their modern counterparts: the organizational forms, leadership styles, and substantive intellectual orientations of the two differ. I explain the social planning, community development, and social action models of community health organizing, comparing them with the priorities of post-modern social movements, and show the similarities and differences between them as to structural preferences, process, and strategies. Finally, and most importantly, I present the implicit lessons that post-modernism offers to health politics and outline the strengths and weaknesses of this approach to health politics.

A divisive spectral method for network community detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Jianjun; Li, Longjie; Yao, Yukai; Chen, Xiaoyun; Leng, Mingwei; Lu, Weiguo

2016-01-01

Community detection is a fundamental problem in the domain of complex network analysis. It has received great attention, and many community detection methods have been proposed in the last decade. In this paper, we propose a divisive spectral method for identifying community structures from networks which utilizes a sparsification operation to pre-process the networks first, and then uses a repeated bisection spectral algorithm to partition the networks into communities. The sparsification operation makes the community boundaries clearer and sharper, so that the repeated spectral bisection algorithm extract high-quality community structures accurately from the sparsified networks. Experiments show that the combination of network sparsification and a spectral bisection algorithm is highly successful, the proposed method is more effective in detecting community structures from networks than the others. (paper: interdisciplinary statistical mechanics)

Organic fertilization alters the community composition of root associated fungi in Pisum sativum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, L.; Nicolaisen, M.; Ravnskov, S.

2013-01-01

Organic fertilization is well known to affect individual functional groups of root associated fungi such as arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and root pathogens, but limited information is available on the effect of organic fertilization at the fungal community composition level. The main objective...... of the present study was to examine the response of communities of root associated fungi in Pisum sativum to Protamylasse, an organic fertilizer used in pea production. Plants were grown in pots with field soil amended with four different levels of Protamylasse. 454 pyrosequencing was employed to examine......, the organic fertilizer Protamylasse clearly affects communities of root associated fungi, which seems to be linked to the life strategy of the different functional groups of root associated fungi. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Developing community based rehabilitation for cancer survivors: organizing for coordination and coherence in practice

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Increasing incidences of cancer combined with prolonged survival have raised the need for developing community based rehabilitation. The objectives of the analysis were to describe and interpret the key issues related to coordination and coherence of community-based cancer rehabilitation in Denmark and to provide insights relevant for other contexts. Methods Twenty-seven rehabilitation managers across 15 municipalities in Denmark comprised the sample. The study was designed with a combination of data collection methods including questionnaires, individual interviews, and focus groups. A Grounded Theory approach was used to analyze the data. Results A lack of shared cultures among health care providers and systems of delivery was a primary barrier to collaboration which was essential for establishing coordination of care. Formal multidisciplinary steering committees, team-based organization, and informal relationships were fundamental for developing coordination and coherence. Conclusions Coordination and coherence in community-based rehabilitation relies on increased collaboration, which may best be optimized by use of shared frameworks within and across systems. Results highlight the challenges faced in practical implementation of community rehabilitation and point to possible strategies for its enhancement. PMID:24004881

Perspectives of Community- and Faith-Based Organizations about Partnering with Local Health Departments for Disasters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Stajura

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Public health emergency planners can better perform their mission if they develop and maintain effective relationships with community- and faith-based organizations in their jurisdictions. This qualitative study presents six themes that emerged from 20 key informant interviews representing a wide range of American community- and faith-based organizations across different types of jurisdictions, organizational types, and missions. This research seeks to provide local health department public health emergency planners with tools to assess and improve their inter-organizational community relationships. The themes identified address the importance of community engagement, leadership, intergroup dynamics and communication, and resources. Community- and faith-based organizations perceive that they are underutilized or untapped resources with respect to public health emergencies and disasters. One key reason for this is that many public health departments limit their engagement with community- and faith-based organizations to a one-way “push” model for information dissemination, rather than engaging them in other ways or improving their capacity. Beyond a reprioritization of staff time, few other resources would be required. From the perspective of community- and faith-based organizations, the quality of relationships seems to matter more than discrete resources provided by such ties.

Perspectives of community- and faith-based organizations about partnering with local health departments for disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Stajura, Michael; Glik, Deborah; Eisenman, David; Prelip, Michael; Martel, Andrea; Sammartinova, Jitka

2012-07-01

Public health emergency planners can better perform their mission if they develop and maintain effective relationships with community- and faith-based organizations in their jurisdictions. This qualitative study presents six themes that emerged from 20 key informant interviews representing a wide range of American community- and faith-based organizations across different types of jurisdictions, organizational types, and missions. This research seeks to provide local health department public health emergency planners with tools to assess and improve their inter-organizational community relationships. The themes identified address the importance of community engagement, leadership, intergroup dynamics and communication, and resources. Community- and faith-based organizations perceive that they are underutilized or untapped resources with respect to public health emergencies and disasters. One key reason for this is that many public health departments limit their engagement with community- and faith-based organizations to a one-way "push" model for information dissemination, rather than engaging them in other ways or improving their capacity. Beyond a reprioritization of staff time, few other resources would be required. From the perspective of community- and faith-based organizations, the quality of relationships seems to matter more than discrete resources provided by such ties.

Root-derived organic matter confines sponge community composition in mangrove ecosystems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hunting, E.R.; Ubels, S.M.; Kraak, M.H.S.; van der Geest, H.G.

2013-01-01

Introduction Caribbean mangrove-associated sponge communities are very distinct from sponge communities living on nearby reefs, but the mechanisms that underlie this distinction remain uncertain. It has been hypothesized that dissolved organic matter (DOM) leaching from mangrove roots and the

Building Community: The Neighborhood Context of Social Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Swaroop, Sapna; Morenoff, Jeffrey D.

2006-01-01

This study explores how neighborhood context influences participation in local social organization through a multilevel-spatial analysis of residents in Chicago neighborhoods. We construct a typology of community participation based on two dimensions: instrumental vs. expressive motivations for participation and formal vs. informal modes of…

The Community-based Organizations Working Group of the Space Science Education Support Network

Science.gov (United States)

Lutz, J. H.; Lowes, L. L.; Asplund, S.

2004-12-01

The NASA Space Science Support Network Community-based Organizations Working Group (CBOWG) has been working for the past two years on issues surrounding afterschool programs and programs for youth (e.g., Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, summer camps, afterschool and weekend programs for various ages, programs with emphases on minority youth). In this session the co-leaders of the CBOWG will discuss the challenges of working with community-based organizations on a regional or national level. We will highlight some ties that we have forged with the National Institute for Out of School Time (NIOST) and the National Afterschool Association (NAA). We will also talk about efforts to coordinate how various entities within NASA cooperate with community-based organizations to serve the best interests of these groups. We will give a couple of examples of how NASA space science organizations have partnered with community-based organizations. The session will include some handouts of information and resources that the CBOWG has found useful in developing an understanding of this segment of informal education groups. We would like to thank NASA for providing resources to support the work of the CBOWG.

Chapter 11. Community analysis-based methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, Y.; Wu, C.H.; Andersen, G.L.; Holden, P.A.

2010-05-01

Microbial communities are each a composite of populations whose presence and relative abundance in water or other environmental samples are a direct manifestation of environmental conditions, including the introduction of microbe-rich fecal material and factors promoting persistence of the microbes therein. As shown by culture-independent methods, different animal-host fecal microbial communities appear distinctive, suggesting that their community profiles can be used to differentiate fecal samples and to potentially reveal the presence of host fecal material in environmental waters. Cross-comparisons of microbial communities from different hosts also reveal relative abundances of genetic groups that can be used to distinguish sources. In increasing order of their information richness, several community analysis methods hold promise for MST applications: phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP), cloning/sequencing, and PhyloChip. Specific case studies involving TRFLP and PhyloChip approaches demonstrate the ability of community-based analyses of contaminated waters to confirm a diagnosis of water quality based on host-specific marker(s). The success of community-based MST for comprehensively confirming fecal sources relies extensively upon using appropriate multivariate statistical approaches. While community-based MST is still under evaluation and development as a primary diagnostic tool, results presented herein demonstrate its promise. Coupled with its inherently comprehensive ability to capture an unprecedented amount of microbiological data that is relevant to water quality, the tools for microbial community analysis are increasingly accessible, and community-based approaches have unparalleled potential for translation into rapid, perhaps real-time, monitoring platforms.

Associations between soil bacterial community structure and nutrient cycling functions in long-term organic farm soils following cover crop and organic fertilizer amendment.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez, Adria L; Sheaffer, Craig C; Wyse, Donald L; Staley, Christopher; Gould, Trevor J; Sadowsky, Michael J

2016-10-01

Agricultural management practices can produce changes in soil microbial populations whose functions are crucial to crop production and may be detectable using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA. To apply sequencing-derived bacterial community structure data to on-farm decision-making will require a better understanding of the complex associations between soil microbial community structure and soil function. Here 16S rRNA sequencing was used to profile soil bacterial communities following application of cover crops and organic fertilizer treatments in certified organic field cropping systems. Amendment treatments were hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), winter rye (Secale cereale), oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), beef manure, pelleted poultry manure, Sustane(®) 8-2-4, and a no-amendment control. Enzyme activities, net N mineralization, soil respiration, and soil physicochemical properties including nutrient levels, organic matter (OM) and pH were measured. Relationships between these functional and physicochemical parameters and soil bacterial community structure were assessed using multivariate methods including redundancy analysis, discriminant analysis, and Bayesian inference. Several cover crops and fertilizers affected soil functions including N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase and β-glucosidase activity. Effects, however, were not consistent across locations and sampling timepoints. Correlations were observed among functional parameters and relative abundances of individual bacterial families and phyla. Bayesian analysis inferred no directional relationships between functional activities, bacterial families, and physicochemical parameters. Soil functional profiles were more strongly predicted by location than by treatment, and differences were largely explained by soil physicochemical parameters. Composition of soil bacterial communities was predictive of soil functional profiles. Differences in soil function were

ADOLESCENTS’ EXPOSURE TO COMMUNITY VIOLENCE: ARE NEIGHBORHOOD YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS PROTECTIVE?

OpenAIRE

Gardner, Margo; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2009-01-01

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we identified a significant inverse association between the variety of youth organizations available at the neighborhood level and adolescents’ exposure to community violence. We examined two non-competing explanations for this finding. First, at the individual level, we tested the hypothesis that access to a greater variety of neighborhood youth organizations predicts adolescents’ participation in organized co...

Dynamic functional connectivity using state-based dynamic community structure: method and application to opioid analgesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Lucy F; Atlas, Lauren Y; Wager, Tor D

2015-03-01

We present a new method, State-based Dynamic Community Structure, that detects time-dependent community structure in networks of brain regions. Most analyses of functional connectivity assume that network behavior is static in time, or differs between task conditions with known timing. Our goal is to determine whether brain network topology remains stationary over time, or if changes in network organization occur at unknown time points. Changes in network organization may be related to shifts in neurological state, such as those associated with learning, drug uptake or experimental conditions. Using a hidden Markov stochastic blockmodel, we define a time-dependent community structure. We apply this approach to data from a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment examining how contextual factors influence drug-induced analgesia. Results reveal that networks involved in pain, working memory, and emotion show distinct profiles of time-varying connectivity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

76 FR 7855 - Patient Safety Organizations: Voluntary Delisting From Community Medical Foundation for Patient...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-02-11

... Organizations: Voluntary Delisting From Community Medical Foundation for Patient Safety AGENCY: Agency for... Medical Foundation for Patient Safety, of its status as a Patient Safety Organization (PSO). The Patient... notification from Community Medical Foundation for Patient Safety, PSO number P0029, to voluntarily relinquish...

Volatile organic chemicals of a shore-dwelling cyanobacterial mat community.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W G

1994-02-01

The main components of a cyanobacterial mat community of a hypersaline lake shore consist of edaphic, mat-forming strains (ecophenes), and littoral strains ofOscillatoria animalis Agardh andO. subbrevis Schmidle, other microorganisms associated with these cyanobacteria, several species ofBembidion (Carabidae: Coleoptera), and two halophytic flowering plants:Puccinellia nuttalliana (salt meadow grass) andSalicornia europaea rubra (samphire). The volatile organic compounds of this community are a blend of those emitted by each of these components such as the C17 alka(e)nes, geosmin, 2-methylisoborneol,β-cyclocitral,β-ionone, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide of cyanobacteria and associated microorganisms; alcohols, esters, and aldehydes usually associated with flowering plants; and possibly some insect-derived esters, particularly isopropyl tetradecanoate. The dominant compounds were: C11, C13, C15, and C17 alka(e)nes, methyl esters of C16 and C18:2 acids, isopropyl tetradecanoate, heptanal, 3-octanone and 2-nonanone, the acyclic terpene linalool, and the alcohols 1-heptanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 3-hexen-1-ol, and 2-octen-1-ol. It is concluded that this community may be distinguished from related communities by its repertoire of volatile organic compounds.

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO STUDY OF OPTIMAL MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN LEADERS OF ETHNIC COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N T Kolesnik

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article describes the main psychological approaches, and in particular, the system-synergetic approach to the study of the management activities of the leaders of ethnic community organizations. It also discusses the concept and essence of social self-organization of the ethnic group. It presents the methodological framework of the synergetic approach to the consideration of the study of complex self-organizing systems. The analysis of conditions of effectiveness of the process of self-organization of ethnic public associations is given. The basic principles of modern psychology of labor, which form the basis for the research of the optimal management activity of the leaders of ethnic community organizations, are highlighted. The presented theoretical analysis led to the conclusion that the integral research of the management activities of the heads of ethnic community organizations may be based on the psychological system-synergetic approach, from the point of which the management activities could be presented as a psychologically complex and open system.

Organizing a Community "Biggest Loser" Weight Loss Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Jensen, Kirstin D.

2013-01-01

The program described here shows how Extension can be a strong collaborative partner in a rural setting in improving the overall health of the community by organizing a three month "Biggest Loser" Weight Loss Challenge. A pre-and post-fitness assessment and bi-weekly weigh-ins were administered. Three healthy lifestyle educational…

A new hierarchical method to find community structure in networks

Science.gov (United States)

Saoud, Bilal; Moussaoui, Abdelouahab

2018-04-01

Community structure is very important to understand a network which represents a context. Many community detection methods have been proposed like hierarchical methods. In our study, we propose a new hierarchical method for community detection in networks based on genetic algorithm. In this method we use genetic algorithm to split a network into two networks which maximize the modularity. Each new network represents a cluster (community). Then we repeat the splitting process until we get one node at each cluster. We use the modularity function to measure the strength of the community structure found by our method, which gives us an objective metric for choosing the number of communities into which a network should be divided. We demonstrate that our method are highly effective at discovering community structure in both computer-generated and real-world network data.

Intersections of Critical Systems Thinking and Community Based Participatory Research: A Learning Organization Example with the Autistic Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Raymaker, Dora M

2016-10-01

Critical systems thinking (CST) and community based participatory research (CBPR) are distinct approaches to inquiry which share a primary commitment to holism and human emancipation, as well as common grounding in critical theory and emancipatory and pragmatic philosophy. This paper explores their intersections and complements on a historical, philosophical, and theoretical level, and then proposes a hybrid approach achieved by applying CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice to traditional systems thinking frameworks and practices. This hybrid approach is illustrated in practice with examples drawn from of the implementation of the learning organization model in an action research setting with the Autistic community. Our experience of being able to actively attend to, and continuously equalize, power relations within an organizational framework that otherwise has great potential for reinforcing power inequity suggests CBPR's principles and considerations for operationalizing emancipatory practice could be useful in CST settings, and CST's vocabulary, methods, and clarity around systems thinking concepts could be valuable to CBPR practioners.

Community participation in international health: practical recommendations for donor and recipient organizations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akukwe Chinua

1999-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the need for donor agencies and recipient organizations to involve target communities in the conceptualization, development, monitoring, and implementation of health services and programs in international health. This paper assumes that most donor organizations are based in industrialized countries. Given that resources are finite in both developing and developed countries, the article briefly reviews the current trend of declining public funds for health systems and an increasing role for privately funded health services worldwide. The article calls for community-based international health services that reflect the priorities of target populations, and it also discusses practi cal steps to involve local populations in community-based health planning and management in international health.

Microbial Interactions With Dissolved Organic Matter Drive Carbon Dynamics and Community Succession

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoqin Wu

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Knowledge of dynamic interactions between natural organic matter (NOM and microbial communities is critical not only to delineate the routes of NOM degradation/transformation and carbon (C fluxes, but also to understand microbial community evolution and succession in ecosystems. Yet, these processes in subsurface environments are usually studied independently, and a comprehensive view has been elusive thus far. In this study, we fed sediment-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM to groundwater microbes and continually analyzed microbial transformation of DOM over a 50-day incubation. To document fine-scale changes in DOM chemistry, we applied high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS and soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (sXAS. We also monitored the trajectory of microbial biomass, community structure and activity over this time period. Together, these analyses provided an unprecedented comprehensive view of interactions between sediment-derived DOM and indigenous subsurface groundwater microbes. Microbial decomposition of labile C in DOM was immediately evident from biomass increase and total organic carbon (TOC decrease. The change of microbial composition was closely related to DOM turnover: microbial community in early stages of incubation was influenced by relatively labile tannin- and protein-like compounds; while in later stages the community composition evolved to be most correlated with less labile lipid- and lignin-like compounds. These changes in microbial community structure and function, coupled with the contribution of microbial products to DOM pool affected the further transformation of DOM, culminating in stark changes to DOM composition over time. Our study demonstrates a distinct response of microbial communities to biotransformation of DOM, which improves our understanding of coupled interactions between sediment-derived DOM, microbial processes, and community structure in

Associations between the social organization of communities and psychiatric disorders in rural Asia.

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Axinn, William G; Ghimire, Dirgha J; Williams, Nathalie E; Scott, Kate M

2015-10-01

We provide rare evidence of factors producing psychiatric variation in a general population sample from rural South Asia. The setting is particularly useful for demonstrating that variations in the social organization of communities, often difficult to observe in rich countries, are associated with important variations in mental health. Clinically validated survey measures are used to document variation in psychiatric disorders among 401 adults. This sample is chosen from a systematic sample of the general population of rural Nepal, in a community-level-controlled comparison design. Multilevel logistic regression is used to estimate multivariate models of the association between community-level nonfamily social organization and individual-level psychiatric disorders. Schools, markets, health services and social support groups each substantially reduce the odds of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), intermittent explosive disorder and anxiety disorders. Associations between schools, health services and social support groups and depression are statistically significant and independent of each other. The association between access to markets and PTSD is statistically significant and independent of other social organization and support groups. Community integration of some nonfamily social organizations promotes mental health in ways that may go unobserved in settings with many such organizations. More research on the mechanisms producing these associations is likely to reveal potential avenues for public policy and programs to improve mental health in the general population.

Sense of community, psychological empowerment, and civic participation inworkers of cultural organizations

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Ignacio Ramos-Vidal

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this study we evalute the sense of community, psychological empowerment, and communityparticipation of 120 workers of performing arts organizations in Andalusia. By means of three concurrentregression models we show that the sense of community and psychological empowerment are stronglyrelated, while social participation is not significantly associated to the other two processes. Cluster analysisbased on the three dimensions of interest classify participants in three different groups. In half of theparticipants a positive, mutual association between participation, empowerment, and a sense ofcommunity is observed. In addition, we have documented a passive profile, with low levels of participation,and a paradoxical profile, in which social participation seems to occur regardless of involvement in theorganization of reference. The three profiles differ in commitment to the organization and evaluation oflabor issues. The positive profile is also more likely to occur in smaller organizations. Finally, we discuss therelationship between the organizational dynamics of the performing arts groups and their potential to beinvolved in the community.

Interweaving Youth Development, Community Development, and Social Change through Youth Organizing

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Christens, Brian D.; Dolan, Tom

2011-01-01

Community organizing groups that have built coalitions for local change over the past few decades are now involving young people as leaders in efforts to improve quality of life. The current study explores a particularly effective youth organizing initiative through review of organizational documents and collection and analysis of qualitative…

Tillage practices and straw-returning methods affect topsoil bacterial community and organic C under a rice-wheat cropping system in central China

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Guo, Lijin; Zheng, Shixue; Cao, Cougui; Li, Chengfang

2016-09-01

The objective of this study was to investigate how the relationships between bacterial communities and organic C (SOC) in topsoil (0-5 cm) are affected by tillage practices [conventional intensive tillage (CT) or no-tillage (NT)] and straw-returning methods [crop straw returning (S) or removal (NS)] under a rice-wheat rotation in central China. Soil bacterial communities were determined by high-throughput sequencing technology. After two cycles of annual rice-wheat rotation, compared with CT treatments, NT treatments generally had significantly more bacterial genera and monounsaturated fatty acids/saturated fatty acids (MUFA/STFA), but a decreased gram-positive bacteria/gram-negative bacteria ratio (G+/G-). S treatments had significantly more bacterial genera and MUFA/STFA, but had decreased G+/G- compared with NS treatments. Multivariate analysis revealed that Gemmatimonas, Rudaea, Spingomonas, Pseudomonas, Dyella, Burkholderia, Clostridium, Pseudolabrys, Arcicella and Bacillus were correlated with SOC, and cellulolytic bacteria (Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Rudaea and Bacillus) and Gemmationas explained 55.3% and 12.4% of the variance in SOC, respectively. Structural equation modeling further indicated that tillage and residue managements affected SOC directly and indirectly through these cellulolytic bacteria and Gemmationas. Our results suggest that Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Rudaea, Bacillus and Gemmationas help to regulate SOC sequestration in topsoil under tillage and residue systems.

Conceptual hierarchical modeling to describe wetland plant community organization

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Little, A.M.; Guntenspergen, G.R.; Allen, T.F.H.

2010-01-01

Using multivariate analysis, we created a hierarchical modeling process that describes how differently-scaled environmental factors interact to affect wetland-scale plant community organization in a system of small, isolated wetlands on Mount Desert Island, Maine. We followed the procedure: 1) delineate wetland groups using cluster analysis, 2) identify differently scaled environmental gradients using non-metric multidimensional scaling, 3) order gradient hierarchical levels according to spatiotem-poral scale of fluctuation, and 4) assemble hierarchical model using group relationships with ordination axes and post-hoc tests of environmental differences. Using this process, we determined 1) large wetland size and poor surface water chemistry led to the development of shrub fen wetland vegetation, 2) Sphagnum and water chemistry differences affected fen vs. marsh / sedge meadows status within small wetlands, and 3) small-scale hydrologic differences explained transitions between forested vs. non-forested and marsh vs. sedge meadow vegetation. This hierarchical modeling process can help explain how upper level contextual processes constrain biotic community response to lower-level environmental changes. It creates models with more nuanced spatiotemporal complexity than classification and regression tree procedures. Using this process, wetland scientists will be able to generate more generalizable theories of plant community organization, and useful management models. ?? Society of Wetland Scientists 2009.

Structure of bacterial communities in soil following cover crop and organic fertilizer incorporation.

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Fernandez, Adria L; Sheaffer, Craig C; Wyse, Donald L; Staley, Christopher; Gould, Trevor J; Sadowsky, Michael J

2016-11-01

Incorporation of organic material into soils is an important element of organic farming practices that can affect the composition of the soil bacterial communities that carry out nutrient cycling and other functions crucial to crop health and growth. We conducted a field experiment to determine the effects of cover crops and fertilizers on bacterial community structure in agricultural soils under long-term organic management. Illumina sequencing of 16S rDNA revealed diverse communities comprising 45 bacterial phyla in corn rhizosphere and bulk field soil. Community structure was most affected by location and by the rhizosphere effect, followed by sampling time and amendment treatment. These effects were associated with soil physicochemical properties, including pH, moisture, organic matter, and nutrient levels. Treatment differences were apparent in bulk and rhizosphere soils at the time of peak corn growth in the season following cover crop and fertilizer application. Cover crop and fertilizer treatments tended to lower alpha diversity in early season samples. However, winter rye, oilseed radish, and buckwheat cover crop treatments increased alpha diversity in some later season samples compared to a no-amendment control. Fertilizer treatments and some cover crops decreased relative abundance of members of the ammonia-oxidizing family Nitrosomonadaceae. Pelleted poultry manure and Sustane® (a commercial fertilizer) decreased the relative abundance of Rhizobiales. Our data point to a need for future research exploring how (1) cover crops influence bacterial community structure and functions, (2) these effects differ with biomass composition and quantity, and (3) existing soil conditions and microbial community composition influence how soil microbial populations respond to agricultural management practices.

Becoming a health literate organization: Formative research results from healthcare organizations providing care for undeserved communities.

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Adsul, Prajakta; Wray, Ricardo; Gautam, Kanak; Jupka, Keri; Weaver, Nancy; Wilson, Kristin

2017-11-01

Background Integrating health literacy into primary care institutional policy and practice is critical to effective, patient centered health care. While attributes of health literate organizations have been proposed, approaches for strengthening them in healthcare systems with limited resources have not been fully detailed. Methods We conducted key informant interviews with individuals from 11 low resourced health care organizations serving uninsured, underinsured, and government-insured patients across Missouri. The qualitative inquiry explored concepts of impetus to transform, leadership commitment, engaging staff, alignment to organization wide goals, and integration of health literacy with current practices. Findings Several health care organizations reported carrying out health literacy related activities including implementing patient portals, selecting easy to read patient materials, offering community education and outreach programs, and improving discharge and medication distribution processes. The need for change presented itself through data or anecdotal staff experience. For any change to be undertaken, administrators and medical directors had to be supportive; most often a champion facilitated these changes in the organization. Staff and providers were often resistant to change and worried they would be saddled with additional work. Lack of time and funding were the most common barriers reported for integration and sustainability. To overcome these barriers, managers supported changes by working one on one with staff, seeking external funding, utilizing existing resources, planning for stepwise implementation, including members from all staff levels and clear communication. Conclusion Even though barriers exist, resource scarce clinical settings can successfully plan, implement, and sustain organizational changes to support health literacy.

The Cooperative Organization And Rural Passenger Transportation: An Approach to Community Development.

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Stommes, Eileen S.

The need for passenger transportation is widely recognized by rural communities. Shrinking federal funding has led many communities and human service agencies to experiment with innovative approaches to provide transportation services. One such approach is the use of cooperative organizations to provide needed services. A study conducted by the…

Community assessment in a suburban Hispanic community: a description of method.

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Ludwig-Beymer, P; Blankemeier, J R; Casas-Byots, C; Suarez-Balcazar, Y

1996-01-01

The Hispanic population is growing rapidly and is composed of individuals from many countries with varying levels of acculturation, education, income, and citizenship status. The Genesis Health and Empowerment Program was developed locally in 1993 to improve the health status of Hispanics living in Des Plaines, Illinois, USA. Understanding the quality of life and its cultural patterning for the community is an essential aspect of planning and implementing a health care delivery program. Using Leininger's Theory of Culture Care: Diversity and Universality as a framework, adapted the Concerns Report Method was essential for data collection. This paper describes the method used for learning about the Hispanic community. Steps included conducting three focus groups, constructing a structured interview guide, collecting data, analyzing data, and reporting the findings to the community. Some very preliminary findings are presented and implications for transcultural health care are described.

Towards a Knowledge Building Community: From Guided to Self-Organized Inquiry

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Stefano Cacciamani

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Over four academic years a design experiment was conducted involving four online university courses with the goal of shifting from Guided to Self-Organized Inquiry to foster Knowledge Building communities in the classroom. Quantitative analyses focused on notes contributed to collective knowledge spaces, as well as reading and building-on notes of others. All team members, including teachers, contributed at high levels. Students tended to produce more notes in the guided-inquiry approach but read more and demonstrated more even distribution of work as part of self-organized inquiry. Qualitative data focused on strategies students reported as new to their school experience. Strategies fell into three categories common to both guided and self-organizing inquiry: elaborating course content for depth of understanding, collaboration in an online environment, and metacognition, with greater reflection on idea development. Distinctive aspects of self-organized inquiry, according to student reports, included going beyond given information, linking new understandings and personal experiences, attention to the collective works of the community, and learning from instructor’s strategies.

Evaluating the Mental Health Training Needs of Community-based Organizations Serving Refugees

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Jennifer Anne Simmelink

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This exploratory study examines the mental health knowledge and training needs of refugee-serving community based organizations in a Midwestern state. A survey was administered to 31 staff members at 27 community based organizations (CBOs to assess the ability of staff to recognize and screen for mental health symptoms that may interfere with successful resettlement. Of the 31 respondents 93.5% (n=29 see refugees with mental health issues and 48.4% (n=15 assess refugees for mental health symptoms – primarily through informal assessment. Mainstream organizations were more likely than ethnic organizations to have received training related to the mental health needs of refugees. Results indicate that while refugee led CBOs recognize mental health symptoms of refugees they may be less likely to assess mental health symptoms and refer for treatment. Policy recommendations for improving CBO services to refugees are offered.

Hawai‘i in Public Health: Community Strengthening Through Canoe Culture: Ho'omana'o Mau as Method and Metaphor

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Ho-Lastimosa, Ilima; Hwang, Phoebe W; Lastimosa, Bob

2014-01-01

Historical trauma occurs across generations and is evidenced by indigenous disparities. Efforts made to address this issue commonly utilize European ethnocentric methods. Rather, a community-based approach should be used to empower indigenous communities. God's Country Waimanalo (GCW) is a grassroots organization developed by Native Hawaiians for Native Hawaiians. Its wa‘a (canoe) project, Ho‘omana‘o Mau (everlasting memories; abbreviated Ho‘o) is meant to perpetuate pre-colonial Hawaiian pra...

A specter of coexistence: Is centrifugal community organization haunted by the ghost of competition?

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Wasserberg, Gideon; Kotler, B.P.; Morris, D.W.; Abramsky, Z.

2006-01-01

In a centrifugally organized community species prefer the same habitat (called "core") but differ in their secondary habitat preferences. The first model of centrifugal community organization (CCO) predicted that optimally foraging, symmetrically competing species would share use of the core habitat at all density combinations. But one might also assume that the competition in the core habitat is asymmetrical, that is, that one of the species (the dominant) has a behavioral advantage therein. In this study, we asked how should habitat use evolve in a centrifugally organized community if its species compete asymmetrically in the core habitat? To address this question we developed an "isoleg model". The model predicts that in a centrifugally organized community, asymmetric competition promotes the use of the core habitat exclusively by the dominant species at most points in the state space. The separation of the core habitat use by the species ("the ghost of competition past") may be either complete or partial ("partial ghost"), and behavior at the stable competitive equilibrium between the species could determine whether coexistence should occur at the "complete-" or the "partial ghost" regions. This version of CCO should be a common feature of competitive systems.

The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project — A Community-Level, Public Health Initiative to Build Community Disaster Resilience

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David Eisenman

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Public health officials need evidence-based methods for improving community disaster resilience and strategies for measuring results. This methods paper describes how one public health department is addressing this problem. This paper provides a detailed description of the theoretical rationale, intervention design and novel evaluation of the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project (LACCDR, a public health program for increasing community disaster resilience. The LACCDR Project utilizes a pretest–posttest method with control group design. Sixteen communities in Los Angeles County were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental community resilience group or the comparison group. Community coalitions in the experimental group receive training from a public health nurse trained in community resilience in a toolkit developed for the project. The toolkit is grounded in theory and uses multiple components to address education, community engagement, community and individual self-sufficiency, and partnerships among community organizations and governmental agencies. The comparison communities receive training in traditional disaster preparedness topics of disaster supplies and emergency communication plans. Outcome indicators include longitudinal changes in inter-organizational linkages among community organizations, community member responses in table-top exercises, and changes in household level community resilience behaviors and attitudes. The LACCDR Project is a significant opportunity and effort to operationalize and meaningfully measure factors and strategies to increase community resilience. This paper is intended to provide public health and academic researchers with new tools to conduct their community resilience programs and evaluation research. Results are not yet available and will be presented in future reports.

Community energy auditing: experience with the comprehensive community energy management program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moore, J.L.; Berger, D.A.; Rubin, C.B.; Hutchinson, P.A. Sr.; Griggs, H.M.

1980-09-01

The report provides local officials and staff with information on lessons from the audit, projection, and general planning experiences of the Comprehensive Community Energy Management Program (CCEMP) communities and provides ANL and US DOE with information useful to the further development of local energy management planning methods. In keeping with the objectives, the report is organized into the following sections: Section II presents the evaluation issues and key findings based on the communities' experiences from Spring of 1979 to approximately March of 1980; Section III gives an organized review of experience of communities in applying the detailed audit methodology for estimating current community energy consumption and projecting future consumption and supply; Section IV provides a preliminary assessment of how audit information is being used in other CCEMP tasks; Section V presents an organized review of preliminary lessons from development of the community planning processes; and Section VI provides preliminary conclusions on the audit and planning methodology. (MCW)

Solar Community Organizations and active peer effects in the adoption of residential PV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noll, Daniel; Dawes, Colleen; Rai, Varun

2014-01-01

Solar Community Organizations (SCOs) are formal or informal organizations and citizen groups that help to reduce the barriers to the adoption of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) by (1) providing access to credible and transparent information about the localized benefits of residential PV and (2) actively campaigning to encourage adoption within their operational boundaries. We study the peer effect, or social interaction, process catalyzed by SCOs to understand the impact of these organizations on the residential PV market. Using a standardized search methodology across spatial scales (state; city; neighborhoods), we identify and characterize the operations of 228 SCOs formed in the U.S. between 1970 and 2012. We also present case studies of four successful SCOs and find that a common thread of why these SCOs are successful involves effectively leveraging trusted community networks combined with putting together a complete information and financial-tools package for use by interested communities. Finally, our findings suggest that empirical studies that attempt statistical identification and estimation of peer effects should pay close attention to the role of SCOs, as the social interactions engendered by SCOs may be correlated both with the level of social learning and the socio-demographic characteristics of the communities of interest. - Highlights: • New dataset on Solar Community Organizations (SCOs) in the U.S. during 1970–2012. • Shock events catalyze formation of SCOs. • SCOs-driven peer effects found to positively impact PV adoption. • Leveraging trust networks is crucial for the success of SCOs. • In addition to information provision, financing options also key for SCOs' success

Gross community production and metabolic balance in the South Pacific Gyre, using a non intrusive bio-optical method

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H. Claustre

2008-03-01

Full Text Available The very clear waters of the South Pacific Gyre likely constitute an end-member of oligotrophic conditions which remain essentially unknown with respect to its impact on carbon fixation and exportation. We describe a non-intrusive bio-optical method to quantify the various terms of a production budget (Gross community production, community losses, net community production in this area. This method is based on the analysis of the diel cycle in Particulate Organic Carbon (POC, derived from high frequency measurements of the particle attenuation coefficient c_p. We report very high integrated rates of Gross Community Production within the euphotic layer (average of 846±484 mg C m⁻² d⁻¹ for 17 stations that are far above any rates determined using incubation techniques for such areas. Furthermore we show that the daily production of POC is essentially balanced by the losses so that the system cannot be considered as net heterotrophic. Our results thus agree well with geochemical methods, but not with incubation studies based on oxygen methods. We stress to the important role of deep layers, below the euphotic layer, in contributing to carbon fixation when incident irradiance at the ocean surface is high (absence of cloud coverage. These deep layers, not considered up to know, might fuel part of the heterotrophic processes in the upper layer, including through dissolved organic carbon. We further demonstrate that, in these extremely clear and stratified waters, integrated gross community production is proportional to the POC content and surface irradiance via an efficiency index ψ _GCP^*, the water column cross section for Gross Community Production. We finally discuss our results in the context of the role of oligotrophic gyre in the global carbon budget and of the possibility of using optical proxies from space for the development of growth community rather than primary production

Give Water a Hand. Community Site Action Guide. Organizing Water Conservation and Pollution Prevention Service Projects in Your Community.

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Wisconsin Univ., Madison. Coll. of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Students grades 4-8 can use this guide to explore the topics of water, and water conservation within a community, while conducting an environmental community service project. Youth groups, led by a group leader, work with local experts from business, government, or environmental organizations to complete the project. Nine activity sections involve…

The organization and administration of community college non-credit workforce education and training cuts

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Kozachyn, Karen P.

Community colleges are struggling financially due to underfunding. Recent state budget cuts coupled with the elimination of federal stimulus money has exacerbated the issue as these funding streams had contributed to operating costs (Moltz, 2011). In response to these budget cuts, community colleges are challenged to improve, increase, and develop revenue producing programs. These factors heighten the need for community colleges to examine their non-credit workforce organizations. The community college units charged with delivering non-credit workforce education and training programs are historically ancillary to the academic divisions that deliver certificate, technical degree, and transfer degree programs. The perceptions of these units are that they are the community college's 'step child' (Grubb, Bradway, and Bell, 2002). This case study examined the organization and administration of community college non-credit workforce education and training units, utilizing observation, interviews, and document analysis. Observational data focused on the physical campus and the unit. Interviews were conducted onsite with decision-making personnel of the division units that deliver non-credit workforce education and training within each community college. Document analysis included college catalogues, program guides, marketing material, and website information. The study was grounded in the review of literature associated with the evolution of the community college, as well as the development of workforce education and training including funding, organizational structure and models, management philosophies, and effectiveness. The findings of the study report that all five units were self-contained and were organized and operated uniquely within the organization. Effectiveness was measured differently by each institution. However, two common benchmarks were revenue and student evaluations. Another outcome of this study is the perceived lack of college-wide alignment between

Deterministic and fuzzy-based methods to evaluate community resilience

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Kammouh, Omar; Noori, Ali Zamani; Taurino, Veronica; Mahin, Stephen A.; Cimellaro, Gian Paolo

2018-04-01

Community resilience is becoming a growing concern for authorities and decision makers. This paper introduces two indicator-based methods to evaluate the resilience of communities based on the PEOPLES framework. PEOPLES is a multi-layered framework that defines community resilience using seven dimensions. Each of the dimensions is described through a set of resilience indicators collected from literature and they are linked to a measure allowing the analytical computation of the indicator's performance. The first method proposed in this paper requires data on previous disasters as an input and returns as output a performance function for each indicator and a performance function for the whole community. The second method exploits a knowledge-based fuzzy modeling for its implementation. This method allows a quantitative evaluation of the PEOPLES indicators using descriptive knowledge rather than deterministic data including the uncertainty involved in the analysis. The output of the fuzzy-based method is a resilience index for each indicator as well as a resilience index for the community. The paper also introduces an open source online tool in which the first method is implemented. A case study illustrating the application of the first method and the usage of the tool is also provided in the paper.

Pastoral community organization, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation in Mongolia's Southern Gobi Region

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Sabine M. Schmidt

2006-01-01

In this paper I describe processes and impacts of collective action by mobile pastoralist communities, and of external support strategies to strengthen local institutions and cooperation in Mongolia’s southern Gobi. The need for pastoral mobility triggered the processes leading to community organization, and the emergence, or re-emergence, of local informal...

Group Organization and Communities of Practice in Translational Research

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Victor J. Krawczyk

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The collective lived experience of translational research teams requires further appreciation, particularly at the stages of group formation. To achieve this, we conducted a case study of a translational research team (n = 16. Through the case description and then discussing case-based themes with community of practice theory, themes such as “Being Open” and “Working as a Group” found that this team’s mutual respect, cooperation, and their sharing of knowledge uncovered an alternative way that professionals organize themselves for translational research projects. In conjunction to this finding, our analysis showed that the team has qualities of a community of practice.

Designing Multidimensional Policing Strategy And Organization: Towards A Synthesis Of Professional And Community Police Models

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Suve Priit

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this article we analyse professional police and community policing in view of professionalism, strategy and structures. We aim to find ways for synthesizing these models that are usually seen as incompatible. Unlike many earlier studies of police organizations or strategies, we view strategies in the organization at the corporate, functional and operational levels, and argue that by combining them with functional and divisional principles of structuring, it is possible to place professional strategy at the core of policing, while using the community policing strategy mainly as a component part of the strategy in the framework of divisional organization. This way it is possible to avoid the risk of alienating police from the community and to ensure the successful implementation of corporate strategy through providing professional police units that perform the narrow functions, with quick and adequate information from the community.

An indicator for effects of organic toxicants on lotic invertebrate communities: Independence of confounding environmental factors over an extensive river continuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beketov, Mikhail A.; Liess, Matthias

2008-01-01

Distinguishing between effects of natural and anthropogenic environmental factors on ecosystems is a fundamental problem in environmental science. In river systems the longitudinal gradient of environmental factors is one of the most relevant sources of dissimilarity between communities that could be confounded with anthropogenic disturbances. To test the hypothesis that in macroinvertebrate communities the distribution of species' sensitivity to organic toxicants is independent of natural longitudinal factors, but depends on contamination with organic toxicants, we analysed the relationship between community sensitivity SPEAR organic (average community sensitivity to organic toxicants) and natural and anthropogenic environmental factors in a large-scale river system, from alpine streams to a lowland river. The results show that SPEAR organic is largely independent of natural longitudinal factors, but strongly dependent on contamination with organic toxicants (petrochemicals and synthetic surfactants). Usage of SPEAR organic as a stressor-specific longitude-independent measure will facilitate detection of community disturbance by organic toxicants. - Indicator for organic toxicants at community level can be independent of natural environmental factors

"It's Like Moving the Titanic:" Community Organizing to Address Food (In)Security.

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Okamoto, Kristen E

2017-08-01

Health communication scholars are uniquely positioned to examine the ways in which individuals organize to address current and future exigencies related to social ills. In particular, organizations are key sites in understanding our health decisions related to food choice. From a young age, children develop habits of eating that stay with them throughout their life. More specifically, food insecurity impacts childhood nutrition. Children from low-income homes experience disproportional negative health outcomes. Appalachian Ohio is an area within the United States that experiences severe poverty. In 2013, community members in a small public school district in Appalachian Ohio formed the Appalachian Nutrition Advisory Council to address the nutritional needs of students in schools. This project stories the ways in which community members creatively organized to supplement existing structures in place designed to address school nutrition and food security.

Microbial Community Response to Terrestrially Derived Dissolved Organic Matter in the Coastal Arctic

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Rachel E. Sipler

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Warming at nearly twice the global rate, higher than average air temperatures are the new ‘normal’ for Arctic ecosystems. This rise in temperature has triggered hydrological and geochemical changes that increasingly release carbon-rich water into the coastal ocean via increased riverine discharge, coastal erosion, and the thawing of the semi-permanent permafrost ubiquitous in the region. To determine the biogeochemical impacts of terrestrially derived dissolved organic matter (tDOM on marine ecosystems we compared the nutrient stocks and bacterial communities present under ice-covered and ice-free conditions, assessed the lability of Arctic tDOM to coastal microbial communities from the Chukchi Sea, and identified bacterial taxa that respond to rapid increases in tDOM. Once thought to be predominantly refractory, we found that ∼7% of dissolved organic carbon and ∼38% of dissolved organic nitrogen from tDOM was bioavailable to receiving marine microbial communities on short 4 – 6 day time scales. The addition of tDOM shifted bacterial community structure toward more copiotrophic taxa and away from more oligotrophic taxa. Although no single order was found to respond universally (positively or negatively to the tDOM addition, this study identified 20 indicator species as possible sentinels for increased tDOM. These data suggest the true ecological impact of tDOM will be widespread across many bacterial taxa and that shifts in coastal microbial community composition should be anticipated.

Adaptive Management and Social Learning in Collaborative and Community-Based Monitoring: a Study of Five Community-Based Forestry Organizations in the western USA

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Maria E. Fernandez-Gimenez

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Collaborative and community-based monitoring are becoming more frequent, yet few studies have examined the process and outcomes of these monitoring approaches. We studied 18 collaborative or community-based ecological assessment or monitoring projects undertaken by five community-based forestry organizations (CBFs, to investigate the objectives, process, and outcomes of collaborative ecological monitoring by CBF organizations. We found that collaborative monitoring can lead to shared ecological understanding among diverse participants, build trust internally and credibility externally, foster social learning and community-building, and advance adaptive management. The CBFs experienced challenges in recruiting and sustaining community participation in monitoring, building needed technical capacity for monitoring, and communicating monitoring results back to the broader community. Our results suggest that involving diverse and sometimes adversarial interests at key points in the monitoring process can help resolve conflicts and advance social learning, while also strengthening the link between social and ecological systems by improving the information base for management and increasing collective awareness of the interdependence of human and natural forest communities.

A novel self-organizing E-Learner community model with award and exchange mechanisms.

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Yang, Fan; Shen, Rui-min; Han, Peng

2004-11-01

How to share experience and resources among learners is becoming one of the hottest topics in the field of E-Learning collaborative techniques. An intuitive way to achieve this objective is to group learners which can help each other into the same community and help them learn collaboratively. In this paper, we proposed a novel community self-organization model based on multi-agent mechanism, which can automatically group learners with similar preferences and capabilities. In particular, we proposed award and exchange schemas with evaluation and preference track records to raise the performance of this algorithm. The description of learner capability, the matchmaking process, the definition of evaluation and preference track records, the rules of award and exchange schemas and the self-organization algorithm are all discussed in this paper. Meanwhile, a prototype has been built to verify the validity and efficiency of the algorithm. Experiments based on real learner data showed that this mechanism can organize learner communities properly and efficiently; and that it has sustainable improved efficiency and scalability.

Network communities as a new form of social organization in conditions of postmodern

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N. V. Burmaha

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the approach to interpretation of essence of the network community concept in which we propose to consider it as a new form of social organization that is substantiated by the specificity of how our society is functioning in conditions of Postmodern. There were explored two main approaches to network communities studying: the first approach considers social networks in a classic, traditional interpretation of modernity as a special kind of social structure, and the second one represents social networks as a specific virtual formation, a social structure of virtual Internet reality. There were revealed some common features of a social organization and a network community: presence of permanent communication between members of the group, united by certain common interests and goals, as well as presence of the certain hierarchy among all members of the community, and the rules of conduct, implementation of communication. Distinctive features: network community is more informal, offers its members considerable leeway in the implementation of their own goals and satisfying the needs, full virtualization of communication absence of direct interaction during communication, under conditions where the main resource for the interchange in network communities is information. It was shown that in the process of emergence, development and distribution of network communities, the fundamental role is played by modern communications - namely, unification them in a stable set of interconnected networks and, in particular network communities.

Organizing a community advanced pharmacy practice experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenigsfeld, Carrie Foust; Tice, Angela L

2006-02-15

Setting up a community advanced pharmacy practice experience can be an overwhelming task for many pharmacy preceptors. This article provides guidance to pharmacist preceptors in developing a complete and effective community advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE). When preparing for the APPE, initial discussions with the college or school of pharmacy are key. Benefits, training, and requirements should be addressed. Site preparation, including staff education, will assist in the development process. The preceptor should plan orientation day activities and determine appropriate evaluation and feedback methods. With thorough preparation, the APPE will be rewarding for both the student and the pharmacy site.

A novel community detection method in bipartite networks

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Cangqi; Feng, Liang; Zhao, Qianchuan

2018-02-01

Community structure is a common and important feature in many complex networks, including bipartite networks, which are used as a standard model for many empirical networks comprised of two types of nodes. In this paper, we propose a two-stage method for detecting community structure in bipartite networks. Firstly, we extend the widely-used Louvain algorithm to bipartite networks. The effectiveness and efficiency of the Louvain algorithm have been proved by many applications. However, there lacks a Louvain-like algorithm specially modified for bipartite networks. Based on bipartite modularity, a measure that extends unipartite modularity and that quantifies the strength of partitions in bipartite networks, we fill the gap by developing the Bi-Louvain algorithm that iteratively groups the nodes in each part by turns. This algorithm in bipartite networks often produces a balanced network structure with equal numbers of two types of nodes. Secondly, for the balanced network yielded by the first algorithm, we use an agglomerative clustering method to further cluster the network. We demonstrate that the calculation of the gain of modularity of each aggregation, and the operation of joining two communities can be compactly calculated by matrix operations for all pairs of communities simultaneously. At last, a complete hierarchical community structure is unfolded. We apply our method to two benchmark data sets and a large-scale data set from an e-commerce company, showing that it effectively identifies community structure in bipartite networks.

Adolescents' Exposure to Community Violence: Are Neighborhood Youth Organizations Protective?

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Gardner, Margo; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne

2009-01-01

Using data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN), we identified a significant inverse association between the variety of youth organizations available at the neighborhood level and adolescents' exposure to community violence. We examined two non-competing explanations for this finding. First, at the individual…

Differential paths to activism: a study of social movement organizations in Three Mile Island communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cable, S.M.

1985-01-01

This project compares political activists from four community protest organizations in Three Mile Island (TMI) communities that were formed as a response of the March 1979 accident at the TMI nuclear power plant. These organizations constituted four separate groups of activists concerned with the same set of grievances. The purpose of the study was to compare the activists across groups to assess differential paths to activism. The data were gathered over a three-year period from March 1979 to March 1982 and included monthly newsletters published by the organizations, newspaper accounts of relevant events; and a systematic survey of 149 of the most active participants. The thesis of differential paths to activism was supported by the data; two relatively distinct paths were found to dominate the TMI communities. In the path that dominated in communities within five miles of the plant, activists tended to be older, more conservative, and less ideologically inclined to protest prior to the accident. In the path to activism that dominated in communities further from the plant site, activists tended to be younger, more liberal, and more experienced in protests

Effect of organic acids production and bacterial community on the possible mechanism of phosphorus solubilization during composting with enriched phosphate-solubilizing bacteria inoculation.

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Wei, Yuquan; Zhao, Yue; Shi, Mingzi; Cao, Zhenyu; Lu, Qian; Yang, Tianxue; Fan, Yuying; Wei, Zimin

2018-01-01

Enriched phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) agent were acquired by domesticated cultivation, and inoculated into kitchen waste composting in different stages. The effect of different treatments on organic acids production, tricalcium phosphate (TCP) solubilization and their relationship with bacterial community were investigated during composting. Our results pointed out that inoculation affected pH, total acidity and the production of oxalic, lactic, citric, succinic, acetic and formic acids. We also found a strong advantage in the solubilization of TCP and phosphorus (P) availability for PSB inoculation especially in the cooling stage. Redundancy analysis and structural equation models demonstrated inoculation by different methods changed the correlation of the bacterial community composition with P fractions as well as organic acids, and strengthened the cooperative function related to P transformation among species during composting. Finally, we proposed a possible mechanism of P solubilization with enriched PSB inoculation, which was induced by bacterial community and organic acids production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Structural-functional organization of the littoral zooplankton communities of the Kremenchutskiy reservoir

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Z. Burian

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To find out the present state of the structural and functional organization of the littoral zooplankton communities of the upper Kremenchuk reservoir in the area of ​​the Kaniv Nature Reserve. Methodology. The material was collected in the summer time of 2016 at six stations of the littoral zone of the upper Kremenchug reservoir. The collection and analysis were carried out using generally accepted methods. The objects of the research were representatives of three main groups of zooplankton (rotifers, cladocerans, copepods, as well as ostracods and larvae of bivalve molluscs. Statistical data processing was done in MS Excel 2013. Findings. The results of the study represent the present state and organisation of littoral zooplankton. The species richness of the littoral zooplankton of the upper Kremenchug reservoir was presented by 48 species. There are 20 species of monogonont rotifers, 18 cladocerans species and copepods – 10. The representatives of the rotifer-cladoceran complex dominated in the taxonomic composition that can be explained by the preservation of the river regime and the rheophilic conditions in this part of the reservoir. The analysis showed that according to the ecological spectrum of zooplankton groups, the representatives of the pelagic group dominated – 47.92%. As for the feeding type, the largest share was represented by the non-predatory group – 64.58%. After analyzing of the quantitative indices (density and biomass of zooplankton, it was found that they were lower than average for overgrown biotopes (112580 ± 129914 ind./m³ і 1.83 ± 2.07 g/m³ and low for open water (26160 ± 19161 ind./m³ і 0,82 ± 0,86 g/m³. Originality. The present state of structural and functional organization of the littoral zooplankton communities of the upper Kremenchug reservoir has been revealed. Practical significance. The conducted studies give the information about the structural and functional organization of the

COMMUNITY LEVEL ORGANIC WASTE COLLECTION SYSTEM IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: CASE STUDY OF FLORIANÓPOLIS, BRAZIL

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Carla Tognato de Oliveira

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to set an organic waste collection system which is accessible to the community group of the "Revolução dos baldinhos"(Revolution of the buckets, located in the neighborhood called Chico Mendes, in Florianópolis, Brazil. The focus is the geographical identification of voluntary delivery points and routing the collection of organic waste through low cost material and procedures and high degree of accessibility. Therefore, we define the routing problem and shared the methodological procedures in three steps. The first step was the geographical location of the voluntary delivery points and check the current collection - verifying collected and route volume. The second step was to propose routes and the third step was the comparison between the performed route and the proposal route. By comparing the route performed by empirical method and the computational method, we came to 12.76% by reducing distances. The question regarding the volume of collected organic waste, we have identified that reducing the 50 liters container volume to 30 liters, reduces the route.

The Affinity between Qualitative Methods and Community Psychology

OpenAIRE

Jarg Bergold

2000-01-01

Basically community psychology is not associated with a certain methodology but there are good reasons why qualitative methods are chosen in many investigations in community psychology. Characteristic features of the community psychology approach are nearness to everyday life, multiperspectivity, partiality, and process orientation. These characteristics become relevant if complex psycho-social processes like empowerment, social networks etc. are investigated. In this contribution I will disc...

Communities with Source Separated Organics Programs, United States, 2015, EPA Region 9

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This GIS dataset contains polygon features that represent communities with residential organics collection programs in the United States. EPA used US Census Bureau...

Biodegradation of ethyl acetate in radioactive liquid organic waste by bacterial communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferreira, Rafael V.P.; Sakata, Solange K.; Borba, Tania R.; Bellini, Maria H.; Marumo, Julio T.; Dutra, Fernando

2009-01-01

The research and development program in reprocessing of low burn-up spent fuel elements began in Brazil in 70's, originating the lab -scale hot cell, known as CELESTE located at IPEN-CNEN/SP. The program was ended at the beginning of 90's and part of the radioactive waste generated mainly from the analytical laboratories is stored at the Waste Management Laboratory. Among various types of radioactive waste generated, the organic liquid represents a major problem for its management, because it can not be directly solidified with cement. The objective of this work is to develop a pretreatment methodology to degrade the ethyl acetate present in organic liquid waste so that it can subsequently be immobilized in cement. This work was divided into two parts: selection and adaptation of three bacterial communities for growth in medium containing ethyl acetate and degradation experiments of ethyl acetate present in radioactive organic liquid waste. The results showed that from bacterial communities the highest biodegradation level observed was 77%. (author)

Exploring barriers to organ donation in the African-American communities of California.

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Law, Debra R; McNiesh, Susan

2012-07-01

There are a disproportionate number of African-Americans on transplant waiting lists across the country. The outcomes of a transplant are greatly improved when the donor and the recipient are from the same ethnic group. Sadly, the demand for cadaver organs in the African-American community exceeds the supply. Researchers in the past have sought to identify barriers to organ and tissue donation. To date, the studies have been conducted in the eastern and southern regions of the United States. This study examines whether the previously identified barriers are applicable in the African-American communities of California. A revised version of the Bone Marrow Donation Intention Tool was administered both in person and online. A t-test was used for analysis. The findings revealed statistically significant agreement/disagreement statements. These statements indicated that the barriers to organ donation from other areas of the United States were not representative of the respondents on the west coast.

Organic carbon and nitrogen availability determine bacterial community composition in paddy fields of the Indo-Gangetic plain.

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Kumar, Arvind; Rai, Lal Chand

2017-07-01

Soil quality is an important factor and maintained by inhabited microorganisms. Soil physicochemical characteristics determine indigenous microbial population and rice provides food security to major population of the world. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of physicochemical variables on bacterial community composition and diversity in conventional paddy fields which could reflect a real picture of the bacterial communities operating in the paddy agro-ecosystem. To fulfill the objective; soil physicochemical characterization, bacterial community composition and diversity analysis was carried out using culture-independent PCR-DGGE method from twenty soils distributed across eight districts. Bacterial communities were grouped into three clusters based on UPGMA cluster analysis of DGGE banding pattern. The linkage of measured physicochemical variables with bacterial community composition was analyzed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). CCA ordination biplot results were similar to UPGMA cluster analysis. High levels of species-environment correlations (0.989 and 0.959) were observed and the largest proportion of species data variability was explained by total organic carbon (TOC), available nitrogen, total nitrogen and pH. Thus, results suggest that TOC and nitrogen are key regulators of bacterial community composition in the conventional paddy fields. Further, high diversity indices and evenness values demonstrated heterogeneity and co-abundance of the bacterial communities.

The Organic Food Method and Movement: An Interdisciplinary Reference Review

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Park, Elizabeth E.

2011-01-01

From popular movies to New York Times bestsellers, organic food is widely acknowledged to be of growing importance. Many community college students are asking: How is organic food different from everything else in the grocery store? What impact does farming have on the environment? How safe is our food? A survey of reference works introduces…

Attitudes and beliefs about deceased organ donation in the Arabic-speaking community in Australia: a focus group study

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Ralph, Angelique F; Alyami, Ali; Allen, Richard D M; Howard, Kirsten; Craig, Jonathan C; Chadban, Steve J; Irving, Michelle; Tong, Allison

2016-01-01

Objectives To describe the beliefs and attitudes to organ donation in the Arabic-speaking community. Design Arabic-speaking participants were purposively recruited to participate in 6 focus groups. Transcripts were analysed thematically. Participants 53 participants, aged 19–77 years, and originating from 8 countries, participated in 1 of 6 focus groups. Participants identified as Christian (73%), Islam (26%), Buddhist (2%) or did not identify with any religion (2%). Results 6 themes (with subthemes) were identified; religious conviction; invisibility of organ donation; medical suspicion; owning the decision; and reciprocal benefit. Conclusions Although organ donation is considered a generous life-saving ‘gift’, representative members of the Arabic-speaking community in Australia were unfamiliar with, unnerved by and sceptical about the donation process. Making positive decisions about organ donation would likely require resolving tensions between respecting family, community and religious values versus their individual autonomy. Providing targeted education about the process and benefits of organ donation within the Arabic community may clarify ambiguities surrounding cultural and religious-based views on organ donation, reduce taboos and suspicion towards donation, and in turn, lead to increased organ donation rates. PMID:26787253

Engaging community organizations in falls prevention for older adults: Moving from research to action.

Science.gov (United States)

Markle-Reid, Maureen F; Dykeman, Catherine S; Reimer, Holly D; Boratto, Lorna J; Goodall, Carol E; McGugan, Jennifer L

2015-04-29

Falls prevention (FP) evidence abounds but falls rates remain relatively unaffected. This study aimed to explore community service providers' use of evidence-based FP interventions, attitudes toward implementation, knowledge and capacity for FP engagement, collaboration in FP, and organizational readiness to implement evidence. To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring the potential for broader integration of FP throughout communities. A purposive sampling of providers (n = 84), in varied roles within diverse senior-serving community organizations (both health and non-health sectors) across disparate geographies, completed a structured survey as part of a larger mixed methods study. Nearly all (90%) reported already implementing at least one evidence-based FP practice. The majority indicated that falls were preventable (82%) and a top concern for older adults (75%), and that FP would be beneficial to their clients (75%). There were, however, notable differences between health and non-health sectors in their: confidence in providing FP activities (86% vs. 47%), desire for future collaboration (86% vs. 56%) and already knowing how best to provide FP activities (49% vs. 36%). Only some (21%) perceived that staff to a great extent had the necessary knowledge and skills, and few (10%) perceived that available resources could support FP activities. Community service providers generally supported FP, but resources limited implementation, particularly in non-health sectors. Translating FP evidence to better fit community settings, and fostering collaboration to bridge resource gaps, suggest a public health role in the broader integration of FP within and across community sectors.

Community Engagement in Youth Violence Prevention: Crafting Methods to Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Morrel-Samuels, Susan; Bacallao, Martica; Brown, Shelli; Bower, Meredith; Zimmerman, Marc

2016-04-01

The purpose of the Youth Violence Prevention Centers (YVPC) Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is to reduce youth violence in defined high-risk communities through the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive, evidence based prevention strategies. Within this common framework, each YVPC varies in its structure and methods, however all engage communities in multiple ways. We explore aspects of community engagement employed by three centers that operate in very different contexts: a rural county in North Carolina; a suburban area of Denver, Colorado; and an urban setting in Flint, Michigan. While previous research has addressed theories supporting community involvement in youth violence prevention, there has been less attention to the implementation challenges of achieving and sustaining participation. In three case examples, we describe the foci and methods for community engagement in diverse YVPC sites and detail the barriers and facilitating factors that have influenced implementation. Just as intervention programs may need to be adapted in order to meet the needs of specific populations, methods of community engagement must be tailored to the context in which they occur. We discuss case examples of community engagement in areas with varying geographies, histories, and racial and ethnic compositions. Each setting presents distinct challenges and opportunities for conducting collaborative violence prevention initiatives and for adapting engagement methods to diverse communities. Although approaches may vary depending upon local contexts, there are certain principles that appear to be common across cultures and geography: trust, transparency, communication, commitment. We also discuss the importance of flexibility in community engagement efforts.

Impact of organic and inorganic nanomaterials in the soil microbial community structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogueira, Veronica; Lopes, Isabel [Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, P-3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Rocha-Santos, Teresa [ISEIT/Viseu, Instituto Piaget, Estrada do Alto do Gaio, Galifonge, 3515-776 Lordosa, Viseu (Portugal); Santos, Ana L. [Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, P-3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Rasteiro, Graca M.; Antunes, Filipe [CIEPQPF, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, Polo II, University of Coimbra, 3030-290 Coimbra (Portugal); Goncalves, Fernando; Soares, Amadeu M.V.M.; Cunha, Angela; Almeida, Adelaide [Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, P-3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Gomes, Newton N.C.M., E-mail: gomesncm@ua.pt [Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, P-3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Pereira, Ruth [Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); CESAM (Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies), University of Aveiro, Campus de Santiago 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal)

2012-05-01

In this study the effect of organic and inorganic nanomaterials (NMs) on the structural diversity of the soil microbial community was investigated by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, after amplification with universal primers for the bacterial region V6-V8 of 16S rDNA. The polymers of carboxylmethyl-cellulose (CMC), of hydrophobically modified CMC (HM-CMC), and hydrophobically modified polyethylglycol (HM-PEG); the vesicles of sodium dodecyl sulphate/didodecyl dimethylammonium bromide (SDS/DDAB) and of monoolein/sodium oleate (Mo/NaO); titanium oxide (TiO{sub 2}), titanium silicon oxide (TiSiO{sub 4}), CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, gold nanorods, and Fe/Co magnetic fluid were the NMs tested. Soil samples were incubated, for a period of 30 days, after being spiked with NM suspensions previously characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) or by an ultrahigh-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM). The analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) of DGGE profiles showed that gold nanorods, TiO{sub 2}, CMC, HM-CMC, HM-PEG, and SDS/DDAB have significantly affected the structural diversity of the soil bacterial community. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Organic and inorganic nanomaterials on soil microbial community. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Structural diversity was investigated by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer All the organic nanomaterials, TiO{sub 2} and gold nanorods significantly affected the structural diversity.

Impact of organic and inorganic nanomaterials in the soil microbial community structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nogueira, Verónica; Lopes, Isabel; Rocha-Santos, Teresa; Santos, Ana L.; Rasteiro, Graça M.; Antunes, Filipe; Gonçalves, Fernando; Soares, Amadeu M.V.M.; Cunha, Angela; Almeida, Adelaide; Gomes, Newton N.C.M.; Pereira, Ruth

2012-01-01

In this study the effect of organic and inorganic nanomaterials (NMs) on the structural diversity of the soil microbial community was investigated by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis, after amplification with universal primers for the bacterial region V6–V8 of 16S rDNA. The polymers of carboxylmethyl-cellulose (CMC), of hydrophobically modified CMC (HM-CMC), and hydrophobically modified polyethylglycol (HM-PEG); the vesicles of sodium dodecyl sulphate/didodecyl dimethylammonium bromide (SDS/DDAB) and of monoolein/sodium oleate (Mo/NaO); titanium oxide (TiO 2 ), titanium silicon oxide (TiSiO 4 ), CdSe/ZnS quantum dots, gold nanorods, and Fe/Co magnetic fluid were the NMs tested. Soil samples were incubated, for a period of 30 days, after being spiked with NM suspensions previously characterized by Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) or by an ultrahigh-resolution scanning electron microscope (SEM). The analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) of DGGE profiles showed that gold nanorods, TiO 2 , CMC, HM-CMC, HM-PEG, and SDS/DDAB have significantly affected the structural diversity of the soil bacterial community. - Highlights: ► Organic and inorganic nanomaterials on soil microbial community. ► Structural diversity was investigated by Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis. ► All the organic nanomaterials, TiO 2 and gold nanorods significantly affected the structural diversity.

Integrating Community Health Workers (CHWs) into Health Care Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Julianne; Razi, Sima; Emery, Kyle; Quattrone, Westleigh; Tardif-Douglin, Miriam

2017-10-01

Health care organizations increasingly employ community health workers (CHWs) to help address growing provider shortages, improve patient outcomes, and increase access to culturally sensitive care among traditionally inaccessible or disenfranchised patient populations. Scholarly interest in CHWs has grown in recent decades, but researchers tend to focus on how CHWs affect patient outcomes rather than whether and how CHWs fit into the existing health care workforce. This paper focuses on the factors that facilitate and impede the integration of the CHWs into health care organizations, and strategies that organizations and their staff develop to overcome barriers to CHW integration. We use qualitative evaluation data from 13 awardees that received Health Care Innovation Awards from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to enhance the quality of health care, improve health outcomes, and reduce the cost of care using programs involving CHWs. We find that organizational capacity, support for CHWs, clarity about health care roles, and clinical workflow drive CHW integration. We conclude with practical recommendations for health care organizations interested in employing CHWs.

Speaking for ourselves: feminist methods and community psychology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cosgrove, L; McHugh, M C

2000-12-01

Although feminist and community psychology share a number of epistemological and methodological perspectives that guide their respective theories and research practices, it has been argued that community psychology has not fully integrated a feminist perspective into the discipline. This paper examines how community psychology and feminist research methods might combine to help us better understand women's experiences without essentializing or universalizing those experiences. The authors offer a series of suggested directions for feminist research that may also prove promising for community psychology. Particular attention is paid to feminist social constructionist approaches insofar as they address the complex relationship between epistemology and methodology.

Millennials, Technology and Perceived Relevance of Community Service Organizations: Is Social Media Replacing Community Service Activities?

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, August John

2017-01-01

This mixed-methods qualitative study examined the relationship between perceptions of the importance of social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter) with community service projects and volunteerism. Participants (n = 80) were interviewed and surveyed regarding their experiences in participating in a variety of community service work (CSW) projects…

Open source community organization

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Molefe, Onkgopotse M

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Open Source communities (OSCs), sometimes referred to as virtual or online communities play a significant role in terms of the contribution they continue to make in producing user-friendly Open Source Software (OSS) solutions. Many projects have...

Faith and Health: Past and Present of Relations between Faith Communities and the World Health Organization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

The Rev. Canon Ted Karpf

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Relationships between faith communities and international multi-lateral organizations can be complicated. While there is potential for synergy between the two, different values often characterize the approach of each. The history of these relationships is illustrative. This review describes collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO and faith-based organizations (FBOs in the implementation of primary health care, the role of spirituality in health, community responses to the HIV pandemic, and definitions of Quality of Life containing spiritual dimensions. However, important gaps persist in the appreciation and measurement of the contribution of faith communities to health assets on the part of governments and the WHO. FBOs can still draw from the nine points developed in the 1960s as a time-tested viable agenda for current and future operations.

32 CFR Appendix C to Part 77 - DD Form 2581-1, Public and Community Service Organization Validation

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false DD Form 2581-1, Public and Community Service Organization Validation C Appendix C to Part 77 National Defense Department of Defense OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY..., App. C Appendix C to Part 77—DD Form 2581-1, Public and Community Service Organization Validation...

Effects of organic amendments and mulches on soil microbial communities in quarry restoration under semiarid climate

Science.gov (United States)

Luna Ramos, Lourdes; Pastorelli, Roberta; Miralles Mellado, Isabel; Fabiani, Arturo; Bastida López, Felipe; Hernández Fernández, María Teresa; García Izquierdo, Carlos; Solé Benet, Albert

2015-04-01

Mining activities generate loss of the quality of the environment and landscape specially in arid and semiarid Mediterranean regions. A precondition for ecosystem reclamation in such highly disturbed mining areas is the development of functional soils with appropriate levels of organic matter. In an experimental soil restoration in limestone quarries from Sierra de Gádor (Almería), SE Spain, 9 plots 15 x 5 m were prepared to test organic amendments (compost from solid urban residues-DOW-, sludge from urban water treatment-SS-, control-NA-) and different mulches (fine gravel-GM-, wood chips-WM-, control-NM-) with the aim to improve soil/substrate properties and to reduce evaporation and erosion. In each experimental plot, 75 native plants (Macrochloa tenacissima, Anthyllis terniflora and Anthyllis cytisoides) were planted. After 5 years from the start of the experiment, we evaluated how microbial community composition responded to the organic amendments and mulches. Microbial community composition of both bacteria and fungi was determined by phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprinting. The results of the two-way ANOVA showed that PLFAs were significantly affected by organic amendments but not by the mulches or interaction of both factors. Experimental plots with DOW showed significantly higher level of fungal PLFAs than those with SS and NA, even higher than the reference undisturbed soil. However, any plot with organic amendments did not reach the content of bacterial PLFAs of the reference soils. The bacterial diversity (evaluated by diversity indices calculated from DGGE profiles) was greater in soil samples taken under NA and GM. Comparing these indices in fungal DGGE, we found greater values for soil samples taken under DOW and without mulches. Results from UPGMA analysis showed significant differences in the structure of soil bacterial communities from the different treatments

Organizing for Change: A Case Study of Grassroots Leadership at a Kentucky Community College

Science.gov (United States)

Borregard, Andrea Rae

2016-01-01

Community colleges constitute a special type of higher education organization: their complex mission, dynamics, personnel structures, and values require a distinct set of understandings and skills to lead and manage them well. Most of the research on leadership in community colleges focuses on leaders in positions of power (presidents, provosts,…

The participation of community-based organizations on waste management in the city municipal of Medan

Science.gov (United States)

Trimurni, Februati; Dayana

2018-03-01

Waste is currently main problem experienced by cities all over the world. The waste has brought negative impacts on public health, environment, development and social of the cities. However, there must be solutions to overcome the piles of waste in case the individual citizens or community-based organization wisely deal with the problem. In the municipal area of Medan in the Province of North Sumatra, there is sort of organization established by community-based organization (CBO) so-called Bank Sampah or Waste Bank which is placed as a flatform for the member to do business of waste materials by collecting them from households around, sorting the materials into waste categories and ended up by purchasing and selling them to make some money. The organization is not merely a flatform for doing a business of waste materials yet the media for other social activities and efforts of reaching social and family welfare. The study is conducted in some sites of such organization activities in the city, and there are some observations of how the community run the business and in the same time arranging other social activities. The study tries to portray the activities and analyzes the means and the significancy of the CBO on reducing waste problems in the city.

Metaphorical Duality: High School Subject Departments as Both Communities and Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Melville, Wayne; Wallace, John

2007-01-01

This article investigates the metaphorical duality that exists when school subject departments are concurrently conceptualized as both communities and organizations. Employing a narrative methodology, we use the metaphorical duality to examine the manner in which science teachers negotiate two key aspects of their work; professional learning and…

How community organizations moderate the effect of armed conflict on migration in Nepal

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Nathalie E.

2013-01-01

This article describes an analytical study of systematic micro-level variability in migration during conflict. The study is based on a multi-dimensional model of individual out-migration that examines the economic, social, and political consequences of conflict and how community organizations condition the experience of these consequences and systematically alter migration patterns. A unique combination of detailed data on violent events and individual behaviours during the Maoist insurrection in Nepal and multi-level event-history models were used to empirically test the model. Results indicate that community organizations dampened the effect of conflict on out-migration by providing resources that helped people to cope with the danger as well as economic, social and political consequences of conflict. This evidence suggests a systematic redistribution of population, partially contingent upon specific resources available in each community, which will likely affect the socio-demographic context of post-conflict Nepal into the future. PMID:23356735

Organic matter processing by microbial communities throughout the Atlantic water column as revealed by metaproteomics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergauer, Kristin; Fernandez-Guerra, Antonio; Garcia, Juan A L

2018-01-01

The phylogenetic composition of the heterotrophic microbial community is depth stratified in the oceanic water column down to abyssopelagic layers. In the layers below the euphotic zone, it has been suggested that heterotrophic microbes rely largely on solubilized particulate organic matter...... as a carbon and energy source rather than on dissolved organic matter. To decipher whether changes in the phylogenetic composition with depth are reflected in changes in the bacterial and archaeal transporter proteins, we generated an extensive metaproteomic and metagenomic dataset of microbial communities...... collected from 100- to 5,000-m depth in the Atlantic Ocean. By identifying which compounds of the organic matter pool are absorbed, transported, and incorporated into microbial cells, intriguing insights into organic matter transformation in the deep ocean emerged. On average, solute transporters accounted...

IMPACT OF SRI ORGANIC AS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF PT MEDCO E&P INDONESIA

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Lita Ayudia Fitriyani

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Indonesia is an agricultural country that has majority occupation as farmer. Unfortunately, farmers still become the biggest contributor to poverty in Indonesia around 62.25% in 2012. As a country that has a vision to become an independent country, Indonesia should be able to meet the welfare of its people, including farmers. This can be achieved if the cooperation between the government and the perpetrators of activities in Indonesia; such as natural resource companies that perform social responsibility programs as a contribution to society. One form of social responsibility is a community development program which is considered to be more useful. System of Rice Intensification or SRI Organic Organic is one of the community development programs that were developed to improve the welfare of farmers. The aim of this study were 1 to evaluate the impact of a given Organic SRI as a community development programs; 2 measuring the level of Organic SRI farmers' income; 3 Organic SRI analyze opportunities in the future as an independent and sustainable program. By doing a case study on community development programs conducted by PT Medco E & P Indonesia in the dusun parit 9, Banyuasin District, the authors analyze and evaluate the impact of using SEAGA to 20 respondents. The results of these studies are intended to provide input in order to make the community development program more effective in the future.Keywords: welfare, corporate social responsibility, community development, SRI organic, SEAGAABSTRAKIndonesia adalah negara agraris dimana petani merupakan mayoritas pekerjaan namun menjadi penyumbang kemiskinan terbesar di Indonesia sekitar 62,25% pada 2012.  Sebagai negara yang memiliki visi untuk menjadi negara mandiri, Indonesia harus mampu memenuhi kesejahteraan rakyatnya termasuk petani. Hal tersebut dapat tercapai jika adanya kerjasama antara pemerintah dan pelaku aktivitas di Indonesia; seperti perusahaan sumber daya alam yang melakukan

Bacterial community dynamics and activity in relation to dissolved organic matter availability during sea-ice formation in a mesocosm experiment.

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Eronen-Rasimus, Eeva; Kaartokallio, Hermanni; Lyra, Christina; Autio, Riitta; Kuosa, Harri; Dieckmann, Gerhard S; Thomas, David N

2014-02-01

The structure of sea-ice bacterial communities is frequently different from that in seawater. Bacterial entrainment in sea ice has been studied with traditional microbiological, bacterial abundance, and bacterial production methods. However, the dynamics of the changes in bacterial communities during the transition from open water to frozen sea ice is largely unknown. Given previous evidence that the nutritional status of the parent water may affect bacterial communities during ice formation, bacterial succession was studied in under ice water and sea ice in two series of mesocosms: the first containing seawater from the North Sea and the second containing seawater enriched with algal-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM). The composition and dynamics of bacterial communities were investigated with terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and cloning alongside bacterial production (thymidine and leucine uptake) and abundance measurements (measured by flow cytometry). Enriched and active sea-ice bacterial communities developed in ice formed in both unenriched and DOM-enriched seawater (0-6 days). γ-Proteobacteria dominated in the DOM-enriched samples, indicative of their capability for opportunistic growth in sea ice. The bacterial communities in the unenriched waters and ice consisted of the classes Flavobacteria, α- and γ-Proteobacteria, which are frequently found in natural sea ice in polar regions. Furthermore, the results indicate that seawater bacterial communities are able to adapt rapidly to sudden environmental changes when facing considerable physicochemical stress such as the changes in temperature, salinity, nutrient status, and organic matter supply during ice formation. © 2014 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Organizing graduate medical education programs into communities of practice

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Robert G. Bing-You

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Background: A new organizational model of educational administrative support was instituted in the Department of Medical Education (DME to better meet increasing national accreditation demands. Residency and fellowship programs were organized into four ‘Communities of Practice’ (CoOPs based on discipline similarity, number of learners, and geographic location. Program coordinator reporting lines were shifted from individual departments to a centralized reporting structure within the DME. The goal of this project was to assess the impact on those most affected by the change. Methods: This was a mixed methods study that utilized structured interviews and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI. Eleven members of the newly formed CoOPs participated in the study. Results: Three major themes emerged after review and coding of the interview transcripts: improved group identity, improved availability of resources, and increased opportunity for professional growth. OCAI results indicated that respondents are committed to the DME and perceived the culture to be empowering. The ‘preferred culture’ was very similar to the culture at the time of the study, with some indication that DME employees are ready for more creativity and innovation in the future. Conclusion: Reorganization within the DME of residency programs into CoOPs was overwhelmingly perceived as a positive change. Improved resources and accountability may position our DME to better handle the increasing complexity of graduate medical education.

Organizing graduate medical education programs into communities of practice.

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Bing-You, Robert G; Varaklis, Kalli

2016-01-01

Background A new organizational model of educational administrative support was instituted in the Department of Medical Education (DME) to better meet increasing national accreditation demands. Residency and fellowship programs were organized into four 'Communities of Practice' (CoOPs) based on discipline similarity, number of learners, and geographic location. Program coordinator reporting lines were shifted from individual departments to a centralized reporting structure within the DME. The goal of this project was to assess the impact on those most affected by the change. Methods This was a mixed methods study that utilized structured interviews and the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). Eleven members of the newly formed CoOPs participated in the study. Results Three major themes emerged after review and coding of the interview transcripts: improved group identity, improved availability of resources, and increased opportunity for professional growth. OCAI results indicated that respondents are committed to the DME and perceived the culture to be empowering. The 'preferred culture' was very similar to the culture at the time of the study, with some indication that DME employees are ready for more creativity and innovation in the future. Conclusion Reorganization within the DME of residency programs into CoOPs was overwhelmingly perceived as a positive change. Improved resources and accountability may position our DME to better handle the increasing complexity of graduate medical education.

The Activities of Community Organizations in Providing Assistance to Prisoners of World War I

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Gulzhaukhar K. Kokebayeva

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The main purpose of this article is to examine the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other community organizations in providing assistance to prisoners of the World War I. According to Article 15 of the Hague Convention of 1907, organizations that assist the prisoners of war, as well as their representatives can use all the benefits from the authorities of the warring countries. Representatives of these organizations are allowed to distribute benefits to places of detention of POWs, provided that a nominal permit is issued by the military authorities. During the World War I, the community organizations played a significant role in providing material and moral support to prisoners of war of belligerent countries. The role of the Red Cross in the protection of war victims and providing assistance to the POWs during the World War I is undeniable, international and national organizations interacted as natural mediators and influenced their own governments, in order to further alleviate the plight of the prisoners of war.

Quantifying the Importance of the Rare Biosphere for Microbial Community Response to Organic Pollutants in a Freshwater Ecosystem.

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Wang, Yuanqi; Hatt, Janet K; Tsementzi, Despina; Rodriguez-R, Luis M; Ruiz-Pérez, Carlos A; Weigand, Michael R; Kizer, Heidi; Maresca, Gina; Krishnan, Raj; Poretsky, Rachel; Spain, Jim C; Konstantinidis, Konstantinos T

2017-04-15

A single liter of water contains hundreds, if not thousands, of bacterial and archaeal species, each of which typically makes up a very small fraction of the total microbial community (biosphere." How often, and via what mechanisms, e.g., clonal amplification versus horizontal gene transfer, the rare taxa and genes contribute to microbial community response to environmental perturbations represent important unanswered questions toward better understanding the value and modeling of microbial diversity. We tested whether rare species frequently responded to changing environmental conditions by establishing 20-liter planktonic mesocosms with water from Lake Lanier (Georgia, USA) and perturbing them with organic compounds that are rarely detected in the lake, including 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), and caffeine. The populations of the degraders of these compounds were initially below the detection limit of quantitative PCR (qPCR) or metagenomic sequencing methods, but they increased substantially in abundance after perturbation. Sequencing of several degraders (isolates) and time-series metagenomic data sets revealed distinct cooccurring alleles of degradation genes, frequently carried on transmissible plasmids, especially for the 2,4-D mesocosms, and distinct species dominating the post-enrichment microbial communities from each replicated mesocosm. This diversity of species and genes also underlies distinct degradation profiles among replicated mesocosms. Collectively, these results supported the hypothesis that the rare biosphere can serve as a genetic reservoir, which can be frequently missed by metagenomics but enables community response to changing environmental conditions caused by organic pollutants, and they provided insights into the size of the pool of rare genes and species. IMPORTANCE A single liter of water or gram of soil contains hundreds of low-abundance bacterial and archaeal species, the so called rare biosphere. The

Organized Communities as a Hybrid Form of Data Sharing: Experiences from the Global STEP Project

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Isabell Stamm

2018-01-01

Full Text Available With this article, I explore a new way of how social scientists can share primary qualitative data with each other. More specifically, I examine organized research communities, which are small membership groups of scholars. This hybrid form of data sharing is positioned between informal sharing through collaboration and institutionalized sharing through accessing research archives. Using the global "Successful Transgenerational Entrepreneurship Practices" (STEP project as an example, I draw attention to the pragmatic practices of data sharing in such communities. Through ongoing negotiations, organized communities can, at least temporarily, put forward sharing policies and create a culture of data sharing that elevates the re-use of qualitative data while being mindful of the data's intersubjective and processual character.

A portable and inexpensive method for quantifying ambient intermediate volatility organic compounds

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Bouvier-Brown, Nicole C.; Carrasco, Erica; Karz, James; Chang, Kylee; Nguyen, Theodore; Ruiz, Daniel; Okonta, Vivian; Gilman, Jessica B.; Kuster, William C.; de Gouw, Joost A.

2014-09-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and intermediate volatility VOCs (IVOCs) are gas-phase organic compounds which may participate in chemical reactions affecting air quality and climate. The development of an inexpensive, field-portable quantification method for higher molecular weight VOCs and IVOCs utilizing commercially available components could be used as a tool to survey aerosol precursors or identify and monitor air quality in various communities. We characterized the performance characteristics for the HayeSep-Q adsorbent with a representative selection of anthropogenic and biogenic VOC standards and optimized experimental conditions and procedures for field collections followed by laboratory analysis. All VOCs were analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Precision (average 22%) and accuracy were reasonable and the limit of detection ranged from 10 to 80 pmol/mol (ppt) for the studied compounds. The method was employed at the Los Angeles site during the CalNex campaign in summer 2010 and ambient mixing ratios agreed well (slope 0.69-1.06, R2 0.67-0.71) with measurements made using an in-situ GC-MS - a distinctly different sampling and quantification method. This new technique can be applied to quantify ambient biogenic and anthropogenic C8-C15 VOCs and IVOCs.

Community Perspective of Alternative Methods of keeping ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

UNIBEN

methods of keeping childhood immunization records based on community's .... An alternative home-based record keeping ... coded before computer entry. Data was managed using the Statistical ..... encounter and also work to ensure accurate.

Community interventions for cardiovascular disease.

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Parker, Donna R; Assaf, Annlouise R

2005-12-01

Review of the community-based CVD intervention programs suggests that a number of components have been successful using varying methods and materials for CVD risk reduction. It should be noted, however, that in multi-intervention programs it is often difficult to determine which components of the intervention were responsible for the overall success of the study. The community-based approach to CVD prevention is generalizable, cost-effective (because of the use of mass communication methods), and has the potential for modifying the environment and influencing health policies. Based on the experiences and successes of a number of community projects, recommendations have been proposed for developing future programs. Although they are not totally comprehensive, it has been suggested that a community-based intervention program should consider the following recommendations: 1) An understanding of the community: the needs and priorities of the community should be assessed, and close collaboration with individuals from the community, including community leaders, opinion leaders, community health care providers, and community organizations from various sectors of the community, should be consulted. Efforts should be focused on underserved and vulnerable populations. 2) Inclusion of community activities: these activities should be integrated within the context of the community environment, including primary health care services, voluntary organizations, grocery stores, restaurants, work sites, schools, and local media. 3) Inclusion mass media messages: the mass media can provide information and reinforcement of the behavior change. 4) Develop cost-effective interventions to assure that the community is exposed to an effective dose of the intervention. 5) Work with community organizations to help change social and physical environments to make them more conducive to health and healthy life-styles changes. 6) Develop a reliable monitoring and evaluation system: monitor the

Crucial Dimension in Organization Management of Indonesian Islamic Almsgiving (Zakah Institutions: Insights for Community Economic Empowerment

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Sari Viciawati Machdum

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This research analyzed the crucial management dimensions or key elements oforganizations that have been managed as Islamic almsgiving institutions (zakahfunds in Indonesia. Zakah funds are traditionally managed for a limited number ofbeneficiaries. Zakah funds are now collected and managed by professional Islamicor faith-based organizations and institutions at the national or regional level toachieve a wider range of beneficiaries. This article examines how two Islamicor faith-based organizations, herein named CV (commanditaire vennootschap“X” and “Y” Foundation, manage small enterprise programs based on zakah toreach a wider range of beneficiaries. Using qualitative methods, the researchidentifies crucial dimensions in the management of organizational dynamics ofthese Islamic or faith-based organizations, i.e., organizational systems, humanresources, and organizational climate. Those elements are used to manageeconomic empowerment activities with faith as a supra structure or contextualunderlying factor. Field findings also demonstrated the usefulness of religiousvalues in managing sustainable community-empowerment practices in smallenterprise programs. 

Technology in Community-Based Organizations that Serve Older People: High Tech Meets High Touch

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Renold, Carl; Meronk, Cheryl; Kelly, Christopher

2005-01-01

Appropriate implementation of information technology (IT) can help create a more efficient, less costly, and higher-quality service-delivery environment for community-based organizations that serve older people. Relevant studies and reports on technology in healthcare can be compared and applied to these organizations. This study is the result of…

Mineral and organic growing media have distinct community structure, stability and functionality in soilless culture systems.

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Grunert, Oliver; Hernandez-Sanabria, Emma; Vilchez-Vargas, Ramiro; Jauregui, Ruy; Pieper, Dietmar H; Perneel, Maaike; Van Labeke, Marie-Christine; Reheul, Dirk; Boon, Nico

2016-01-05

The choice of soilless growing medium for plant nutrition, growth and support is crucial for improving the eco-sustainability of the production in horticultural systems. As our current understanding of the functional microbial communities inhabiting this ecosystem is still limited, we examined the microbial community development of the two most important growing media (organic and mineral) used in open soilless horticultural systems. We aimed to identify factors that influence community composition over time, and to compare the distribution of individual taxa across growing media, and their potential functionality. High throughput sequencing analysis revealed a distinctive and stable microbial community in the organic growing medium. Humidity, pH, nitrate-N, ammonium-N and conductivity were uncovered as the main factors associated with the resident bacterial communities. Ammonium-N was correlated with Rhizobiaceae abundance, while potential competitive interactions among both Methylophilaceae and Actinobacteridae with Rhizobiaceae were suggested. Our results revealed that soilless growing media are unique niches for diverse bacterial communities with temporal functional stability, which may possibly impact the resistance to external forces. These differences in communities can be used to develop strategies to move towards a sustainable horticulture with increased productivity and quality.

Inorganic Metal Oxide/Organic Polymer Nanocomposites And Method Thereof

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Gash, Alexander E.; Satcher, Joe H.; Simpson, Randy

2004-11-16

A synthetic method for preparation of hybrid inorganic/organic energetic nanocomposites is disclosed herein. The method employs the use of stable metal in organic salts and organic solvents as well as an organic polymer with good solubility in the solvent system to produce novel nanocomposite energetic materials. In addition, fuel metal powders (particularly those that are oxophilic) can be incorporated into composition. This material has been characterized by thermal methods, energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM), N.sub.2 adsoprtion/desorption methods, and Fourier-Transform (FT-IR) spectroscopy. According to these characterization methods the organic polymer phase fills the nanopores of the material, providing superb mixing of the component phases in the energetic nanocomposite.

The raison d'etre for the community pharmacy and the community pharmacist in Sweden

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wisell, Kristin; Kälvemark Sporrong, Sofia

2016-01-01

Community pharmacies are balancing between business (selling medicines and other products) and healthcare (using the pharmacists’ knowledge in order to improve drug utilization). This balance could be affected by regulations decided upon by politicians, but also influenced by others. The aim...... of this study was to explore important stakeholders’ views on community pharmacy and community pharmacists in Sweden. The method used was that of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Political, professional, and patient organization representatives were interviewed. The results show that informants who...... are pharmacists or representatives of a professional pharmacist organization generally have a healthcare-centered view on community pharmacy/pharmacists. However, different views on how this orientation should be performed were revealed, ranging from being specialists to dealing with uncomplicated tasks...

Factors influencing motivation and job satisfaction among supervisors of community health workers in marginalized communities in South Africa

OpenAIRE

Akintola, Olagoke; Chikoko, Gamuchirai

2016-01-01

Background Management and supervision of community health workers are factors that are?critical to the success of community health worker programmes. Yet few studies have explored the perspectives of supervisors in these programmes. This study explored factors influencing motivations of supervisors in community health worker programmes. Methods We conducted qualitative interviews with 26 programme staff providing supervision to community health workers in eight community-based organizations i...

A study on international nuclear organizations and conventions for the globalization of Korean nuclear community

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kwang Seok; Oh, Keun Bae; Lee, Byung Wook; Cho, Il Hoon; Lee, Jae Sung; Choi, Young Rok; Ko, Han Seok; Ham, Chul Hoon; Lee, Byung Woon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1995-12-01

The objective of this study is to analyze the current status of international nuclear organizations and conventions in systems perspective and suggest national strategies for utilizing them for the globalization of Korean nuclear community. This study analyzes the current status of international nuclear organizations such as IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) and international nuclear conventions related to nuclear accidents, nuclear liability, physical protection or nuclear safety. Based on the analysis, this study suggests national strategies, in general and specific terms, to utilize international nuclear organizations and conventions for the globalization of Korean nuclear community. Separately from this report this study publishes `IAEA Handbook`, which contains all about IAEA such as statute, membership, organizational structure, main activities, finance and budget, etc.. 9 tabs., 2 figs., 35 refs. (Author).

A study on international nuclear organizations and conventions for the globalization of Korean nuclear community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kwang Seok; Oh, Keun Bae; Lee, Byung Wook; Cho, Il Hoon; Lee, Jae Sung; Choi, Young Rok; Ko, Han Seok; Ham, Chul Hoon; Lee, Byung Woon

1995-12-01

The objective of this study is to analyze the current status of international nuclear organizations and conventions in systems perspective and suggest national strategies for utilizing them for the globalization of Korean nuclear community. This study analyzes the current status of international nuclear organizations such as IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) and international nuclear conventions related to nuclear accidents, nuclear liability, physical protection or nuclear safety. Based on the analysis, this study suggests national strategies, in general and specific terms, to utilize international nuclear organizations and conventions for the globalization of Korean nuclear community. Separately from this report this study publishes 'IAEA Handbook', which contains all about IAEA such as statute, membership, organizational structure, main activities, finance and budget, etc.. 9 tabs., 2 figs., 35 refs. (Author)

Microbial community responses in forest mineral soil to compaction, organic matter removal, and vegetation control

Science.gov (United States)

Matt D. Busse; Samual E. Beattie; Robert F. Powers; Filpe G. Sanchez; Allan E. Tiarks

2006-01-01

We tested three disturbance hypotheses in young conifer plantations: H1: soil compaction and removal of surface organic matter produces sustained changes in microbial community size, activity, and structure in mineral soil; H2: microbial community characteristics in mineral soil are linked to the recovery of plant diversity...

Soil mineral assemblage influences on microbial communities and carbon cycling under fresh organic matter input

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Finley, B. K.; Schwartz, E.; Koch, B.; Dijkstra, P.; Hungate, B. A.

2017-12-01

The interactions between soil mineral assemblages and microbial communities are important drivers of soil organic carbon (SOC) cycling and storage, although the mechanisms driving these interactions remain unclear. There is increasing evidence supporting the importance of associations with poorly crystalline, short-range order (SRO) minerals in protection of SOC from microbial utilization. However, how the microbial processing of SRO-associated SOC may be influenced by fresh organic matter inputs (priming) remains poorly understood. The influence on SRO minerals on soil microbial community dynamics is uncertain as well. Therefore, we conducted a priming incubation by adding either a simulated root exudate mixture or conifer needle litter to three soils from a mixed-conifer ecosystem. The parent material of the soils were andesite, basalt, and granite and decreased in SRO mineral content, respectively. We also conducted a parallel quantitative stable isotope probing incubation by adding 18O-labelled water to the soils to isotopically label microbial DNA in situ. This allowed us to characterize and identify the active bacterial and archaeal community and taxon-specific growth under fresh organic matter input. While the granite soil (lowest SRO content), had the largest total mineralization, the least priming occurred. The andesite and basalt soils (greater SRO content) had lower total respiration, but greater priming. Across all treatments, the granite soil, while having the lowest species richness of the entire community (249 taxa, both active and inactive), had a larger active community (90%) in response to new SOC input. The andesite and basalt soils, while having greater total species richness of the entire community at 333 and 325 taxa, respectively, had fewer active taxa in response to new C compared to the granite soil (30% and 49% taxa, respectively). These findings suggest that the soil mineral assemblage is an important driver on SOC cycling under fresh

Insights into the Regulation of Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities by Application of Bio-organic Fertilizer in Pseudostellaria heterophylla Monoculture Regime

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Linkun Wu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The biomass and quality of Pseudostellariae heterophylla suffers a significant decline under monoculture. Since rhizosphere microbiome plays crucial roles in soil health, deep pyrosequencing combined with qPCR was applied to characterize the composition and structure of soil bacterial community under monoculture and different amendments. The results showed compared with the first-year planted (FP, second-year monoculture of P. heterophylla (SP led to a significant decline in yield and resulted in a significant increase in Fusarium oxysporum but a decline in Burkholderia spp. Bio-organic fertilizer (MT formulated by combining antagonistic bacteria with organic matter could significantly promote the yield by regulating rhizosphere bacterial community. However, organic fertilizer (MO without antagonistic bacteria could not suppress Fusarium wilt. Multivariate statistics analysis showed a distinct separation between the healthy samples (FP and MT and the unhealthy samples (SP and MO, suggesting a strong relationship between soil microbial community and plant performance. Furthermore, we found the application of bio-organic fertilizer MT could significantly increase the bacterial community diversity and restructure microbial community with relatively fewer pathogenic F. oxysporum and more beneficial Burkholderia spp. In conclusion, the application of novel bio-organic fertilizer could effectively suppress Fusarium wilt by enriching the antagonistic bacteria and enhancing the bacterial diversity.

Opening the Door: How Community Organizations Address the Youth Unemployment Crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Adria; Almeida, Cheryl

2015-01-01

At this moment, the role of community-based organizations (CBOs) has never been more important. The country is facing a dual crisis in youth unemployment and low postsecondary completion rates. Both are especially prevalent among low-income and minority young people. Across the nation, nearly 7 million young people are neither in school nor part…

Changes in bacterial and fungal communities across compost recipes, preparation methods, and composting times.

Science.gov (United States)

Neher, Deborah A; Weicht, Thomas R; Bates, Scott T; Leff, Jonathan W; Fierer, Noah

2013-01-01

Compost production is a critical component of organic waste handling, and compost applications to soil are increasingly important to crop production. However, we know surprisingly little about the microbial communities involved in the composting process and the factors shaping compost microbial dynamics. Here, we used high-throughput sequencing approaches to assess the diversity and composition of both bacterial and fungal communities in compost produced at a commercial-scale. Bacterial and fungal communities responded to both compost recipe and composting method. Specifically, bacterial communities in manure and hay recipes contained greater relative abundances of Firmicutes than hardwood recipes with hay recipes containing relatively more Actinobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes. In contrast, hardwood recipes contained a large relative abundance of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi. Fungal communities of compost from a mixture of dairy manure and silage-based bedding were distinguished by a greater relative abundance of Pezizomycetes and Microascales. Hay recipes uniquely contained abundant Epicoccum, Thermomyces, Eurotium, Arthrobotrys, and Myriococcum. Hardwood recipes contained relatively abundant Sordariomycetes. Holding recipe constant, there were significantly different bacterial and fungal communities when the composting process was managed by windrow, aerated static pile, or vermicompost. Temporal dynamics of the composting process followed known patterns of degradative succession in herbivore manure. The initial community was dominated by Phycomycetes, followed by Ascomycota and finally Basidiomycota. Zygomycota were associated more with manure-silage and hay than hardwood composts. Most commercial composters focus on the thermophilic phase as an economic means to insure sanitation of compost from pathogens. However, the community succeeding the thermophilic phase begs further investigation to determine how the microbial dynamics observed here can be best managed

Organizational Barriers to Adopting an Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention in Community-Based Mental Health Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Patterson, David A; Wolf Adelv Unegv Waya, Silver; Dulmus, Catherine N

2012-06-01

This paper examines two factors related to successfully implementing a brief alcohol screening throughout all community-based mental health organizations. The first issue is related to an organization's internal structures, such as culture and climate that can impede evidenced-based practice implementation. There is literature suggesting that organizational culture and climate affect decisions about whether evidence-based practices are adopted and implemented within health care agencies. Following this literature review on organizational barriers, the history and successes of adopting an alcohol screening and brief intervention are reviewed. Studying, identifying, and understanding the organizational factors associated with the successful dissemination and implementation of best practices throughout community-based mental health organizations would contribute to increasing the likelihood that an alcohol screening and brief intervention are implemented throughout mental health organizations.

A new method used to evaluate organic working fluids

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xinxin; He, Maogang; Wang, Jingfu

2014-01-01

In this paper, we propose a method named “Weight Classification-Hasse Dominance” to evaluate organic working fluids. This new method combines the advantages of both the method of weight determination and the Hasse Diagram Technique (HDT). It can be used to evaluate the thermodynamic performance, environmental protection indicator, and safety requirement of organic working fluid simultaneously. This evaluation method can offer good reference for working fluid selection. Using this method, the organic working fluids which have been phased out and will be phased out by the Montreal Protocol including CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons), and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) were evaluated. Moreover, HCs (hydrocarbons) can be considered as a completely different kind of organic working fluid from CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs according to the comparison based on this new evaluation method. - Highlights: • We propose a new method used to evaluate organic working fluids. • This evaluation method can offer good reference for working fluid selection. • CFC, HCFC, and HFC working fluids were evaluated using this evaluation method. • HC can be considered as a totally different working fluid from CFC, HCFC, and HFC

Sourdough microbial community dynamics: An analysis during French organic bread-making processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lhomme, Emilie; Urien, Charlotte; Legrand, Judith; Dousset, Xavier; Onno, Bernard; Sicard, Delphine

2016-02-01

Natural sourdoughs are commonly used in bread-making processes, especially for organic bread. Despite its role in bread flavor and dough rise, the stability of the sourdough microbial community during and between bread-making processes is debated. We investigated the dynamics of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast communities in traditional organic sourdoughs of five French bakeries during the bread-making process and several months apart using classical and molecular microbiology techniques. Sourdoughs were sampled at four steps of the bread-making process with repetition. The analysis of microbial density over 68 sourdough/dough samples revealed that both LAB and yeast counts changed along the bread-making process and between bread-making runs. The species composition was less variable. A total of six LAB and nine yeast species was identified from 520 and 1675 isolates, respectively. The dominant LAB species was Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, found for all bakeries and each bread-making run. The dominant yeast species changed only once between bread-making processes but differed between bakeries. They mostly belonged to the Kazachstania clade. Overall, this study highlights the change of population density within the bread-making process and between bread-making runs and the relative stability of the sourdough species community during bread-making process. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attitudes and beliefs within the Sikh community regarding organ donation: a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Exley, C; Sim, J; Reid, N; Jackson, S; West, N

1996-07-01

The current shortage of organs for transplantation is a matter of considerable concern in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Whilst issues of histocompatibility create particular problems in this respect for the Asian population in the U.K., it is sometimes suggested that there is also a resistance to the idea of organ transplantation among this community. To explore this issue, a small-scale interview study was conducted in Coventry among members of the Sikh community. A judgemental sample of 22 individuals, from different strata of the local Sikh community, were interviewed either in one-to-one interviews or in a focus group. These interviews had two broad aims: to determine the prevailing attitudes towards organ transplantation, and to gauge the impact and acceptability of the current Department of Health campaign literature. It was found that, whilst there were a number of misgivings to do with notions of mutilation and reincarnation, and anxieties as to technical or clinical aspects of the transplantation process, the prevailing view was supportive of transplantation, and organ donation was seen as a highly appropriate means of exhibiting the altruistic tradition within Sikhism. Such barriers that exist to the idea of transplantation seem to have more to do with knowledge and understanding than with cultural or religious factors. Concerning the campaign literature, informants identified a number of shortcomings, and indicated ways in which the impact of the leaflets and posters might be enhanced. Although the generalizability of these findings is limited, and despite possible threats to the validity of the data collected, this study has produced findings with significant implications for future policy in this area.

How community environment shapes physical activity: perceptions revealed through the PhotoVoice method.

Science.gov (United States)

Belon, Ana Paula; Nieuwendyk, Laura M; Vallianatos, Helen; Nykiforuk, Candace I J

2014-09-01

A growing body of evidence shows that community environment plays an important role in individuals' physical activity engagement. However, while attributes of the physical environment are widely investigated, sociocultural, political, and economic aspects of the environment are often neglected. This article helps to fill these knowledge gaps by providing a more comprehensive understanding of multiple dimensions of the community environment relative to physical activity. The purpose of this study was to qualitatively explore how people's experiences and perceptions of their community environments affect their abilities to engage in physical activity. A PhotoVoice method was used to identify barriers to and opportunities for physical activity among residents in four communities in the province of Alberta, Canada, in 2009. After taking pictures, the thirty-five participants shared their perceptions of those opportunities and barriers in their community environments during individual interviews. Using the Analysis Grid for Environments Linked to Obesity (ANGELO) framework, themes emerging from these photo-elicited interviews were organized in four environment types: physical, sociocultural, economic, and political. The data show that themes linked to the physical (56.6%) and sociocultural (31.4%) environments were discussed more frequently than the themes of the economic (5.9%) and political (6.1%) environments. Participants identified nuanced barriers and opportunities for physical activity, which are illustrated by their quotes and photographs. The findings suggest that a myriad of factors from physical, sociocultural, economic, and political environments influence people's abilities to be physically active in their communities. Therefore, adoption of a broad, ecological perspective is needed to address the barriers and build upon the opportunities described by participants to make communities more healthy and active. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

The Activities of Community Organizations in Providing Assistance to Prisoners of World War I

OpenAIRE

Gulzhaukhar K. Kokebayeva; Ryskeldy S. Myrzabekova; Moldakhmet S. Myrzabekov

2016-01-01

The main purpose of this article is to examine the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other community organizations in providing assistance to prisoners of the World War I. According to Article 15 of the Hague Convention of 1907, organizations that assist the prisoners of war, as well as their representatives can use all the benefits from the authorities of the warring countries. Representatives of these organizations are allowed to distribute benefits to places of...

A new cell primo-culture method for freshwater benthic diatom communities

OpenAIRE

Debenest, Timothée; Silvestre, Jérôme; Coste, Michel; Delmas, François; Pinelli, Eric

2009-01-01

A new cell primo-culture method was developed for the benthic diatom community isolated from biofilm sampled in rivers. The approach comprised three steps: (1) scraping biofilm from river pebbles, (2) diatom isolation from biofilm, and (3) diatom community culture. With a view to designing a method able to stimulate the growth of diatoms, to limit the development of other microorganisms, and to maintain in culture a community similar to the original natural one, different factors were test...

Methods for Determining Organic Matter and Colour in Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramunė Albrektienė

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The article examines different methods for determining organic matter and colour in water. Most of organic compounds in water have a humic substance. These substances frequently form complexes with iron. Humic matter gives water a yellow-brownish colour. Water filtration through conventional sand filters does not remove colour and organic compounds, and therefore complicated water treatment methods shall be applied. The methods utilized for organic matter determination in water included research on total organic carbon, permanganate index and the bichromate number of UV absorption of 254 nm wave length. The obtained results showed the greatest dependence between water colour and permanganate index. However, UV adsorption could be used for organic matter determination during the operation of a water treatment plant and the start-up of plants as easy and fast methods.Article in Lithuanian

Understanding Program Planning Theory and Practice in a Feminist Community-Based Organization

Science.gov (United States)

Bracken, Susan J.

2011-01-01

The purpose of this article is to discuss feminist-program-planning issues, drawing from a critical ethnographic study of a Latin American feminist community-based organization. The research findings discuss the centrality of feminist identity to understanding and analyzing day-to-day program-planning process issues within a feminist…

Comparative responses of river biofilms at the community level to common organic solvent and herbicide exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Paule, A; Roubeix, V; Swerhone, G D W; Roy, J; Lauga, B; Duran, R; Delmas, F; Paul, E; Rols, J L; Lawrence, J R

2016-03-01

Residual pesticides applied to crops migrate from agricultural lands to surface and ground waters. River biofilms are the first aquatic non-target organisms which interact with pesticides. Therefore, ecotoxicological experiments were performed at laboratory scale under controlled conditions to investigate the community-level responses of river biofilms to a chloroacetanilide herbicide (alachlor) and organic solvent (methanol) exposure through the development referenced to control. Triplicate rotating annular bioreactors, inoculated with river water, were used to cultivate river biofilms under the influence of 1 and 10 μg L(-1) of alachlor and 25 mg L(-1) of methanol. For this purpose, functional (thymidine incorporation and carbon utilization spectra) and structural responses of microbial communities were assessed after 5 weeks of development. Structural aspects included biomass (chlorophyll a, confocal laser scanning microscopy) and composition (fluor-conjugated lectin binding, molecular fingerprinting, and diatom species composition). The addition of alachlor resulted in a significant reduction of bacterial biomass at 1 μg L(-1), whereas at 10 μg L(-1), it induced a significant reduction of exopolymer lectin binding, algal, bacterial, and cyanobacterial biomass. However, there were no changes in biofilm thickness or thymidine incorporation. No significant difference between the bacterial community structures of control and alachlor-treated biofilms was revealed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analyses. However, the methanol-treated bacterial communities appeared different from control and alachlor-treated communities. Moreover, methanol treatment resulted in an increase of bacterial biomass and thymidine incorporation as well. Changes in dominant lectin binding suggested changes in the exopolymeric substances and community composition. Chlorophyll a and cyanobacterial biomass were also altered by methanol. This study suggested

Method-centered digital communities on protocols.io for fast-paced scientific innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kindler, Lori; Stoliartchouk, Alexei; Teytelman, Leonid; Hurwitz, Bonnie L

2016-01-01

The Internet has enabled online social interaction for scientists beyond physical meetings and conferences. Yet despite these innovations in communication, dissemination of methods is often relegated to just academic publishing. Further, these methods remain static, with subsequent advances published elsewhere and unlinked. For communities undergoing fast-paced innovation, researchers need new capabilities to share, obtain feedback, and publish methods at the forefront of scientific development. For example, a renaissance in virology is now underway given the new metagenomic methods to sequence viral DNA directly from an environment. Metagenomics makes it possible to "see" natural viral communities that could not be previously studied through culturing methods. Yet, the knowledge of specialized techniques for the production and analysis of viral metagenomes remains in a subset of labs.  This problem is common to any community using and developing emerging technologies and techniques. We developed new capabilities to create virtual communities in protocols.io, an open access platform, for disseminating protocols and knowledge at the forefront of scientific development. To demonstrate these capabilities, we present a virology community forum called VERVENet. These new features allow virology researchers to share protocols and their annotations and optimizations, connect with the broader virtual community to share knowledge, job postings, conference announcements through a common online forum, and discover the current literature through personalized recommendations to promote discussion of cutting edge research. Virtual communities in protocols.io enhance a researcher's ability to: discuss and share protocols, connect with fellow community members, and learn about new and innovative research in the field.  The web-based software for developing virtual communities is free to use on protocols.io. Data are available through public APIs at protocols.io.

Communities of clinical practice: the social organization of clinical learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Egan, Tony; Jaye, Chrystal

2009-01-01

The social organization of clinical learning is under-theorized in the sociological literature on the social organization of health care. Professional scopes of practice and jurisdictions are formally defined by professional principles and standards and reflected in legislation; however, these are mediated through the day-to-day clinical activities of social groupings of clinical teams. The activities of health service providers typically occur within communities of clinical practice. These are also major sites for clinical curriculum delivery, where clinical students learn not only clinical skills but also how to be health professionals. In this article, we apply Wenger's model of social learning within organizations to curriculum delivery within a health service setting. Here, social participation is the basis of learning. We suggest that it offers a powerful framework for recognizing and explaining paradox and incongruence in clinical teaching and learning, and also for recognizing opportunities, and devising means, to add value to students' learning experiences.

Iodine removing method in organic solvent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Takeo; Sakurai, Manabu

1988-01-01

Purpose: To effectively remove iodine in an organic solvent to thereby remove iodine in the solvent that can be re-used or put to purning treatment. Method: Organic solvent formed from wastes of nuclear facilities is mixed with basic lead acetate, or silica gel or activated carbon incorporated with such a compound to adsorb iodine in the organic solvent to the basic lead acetate. Then, iodine in the organic solvent is removed by separating to eliminate the basic lead acetate adsorbing iodine from the organic solvent or by passing the organic solvent through a tower or column charged or pre-coated with silica gel or activated carbon incorporated with lead acetate. By using basic lead acetate as the adsorbents, iodine can effective by adsorbed and eliminated. Thus, the possibility of circumstantial release of iodine can be reduced upon reusing or burning treatment of the organic solvent. (Kamimura, M.)

Comparison of DNA preservation methods for environmental bacterial community samples.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Michael A; Pratte, Zoe A; Kellogg, Christina A

2013-02-01

Field collections of environmental samples, for example corals, for molecular microbial analyses present distinct challenges. The lack of laboratory facilities in remote locations is common, and preservation of microbial community DNA for later study is critical. A particular challenge is keeping samples frozen in transit. Five nucleic acid preservation methods that do not require cold storage were compared for effectiveness over time and ease of use. Mixed microbial communities of known composition were created and preserved by DNAgard(™), RNAlater(®), DMSO-EDTA-salt (DESS), FTA(®) cards, and FTA Elute(®) cards. Automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis and clone libraries were used to detect specific changes in the faux communities over weeks and months of storage. A previously known bias in FTA(®) cards that results in lower recovery of pure cultures of Gram-positive bacteria was also detected in mixed community samples. There appears to be a uniform bias across all five preservation methods against microorganisms with high G + C DNA. Overall, the liquid-based preservatives (DNAgard(™), RNAlater(®), and DESS) outperformed the card-based methods. No single liquid method clearly outperformed the others, leaving method choice to be based on experimental design, field facilities, shipping constraints, and allowable cost. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reframing cooperation: Challenges in overcoming tensions between professional services and volunteer organizations providing parenting support in immigrant communities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ponzoni, E.

2015-01-01

Volunteer organizations can potentially partner with mainstream professional services to provide better parenting support to immigrant parents. This qualitative study of cooperation between professional agencies and volunteer organizations known as migrant volunteer and community organizations

A methodology for selecting optimum organizations for space communities

Science.gov (United States)

Ragusa, J. M.

1978-01-01

This paper suggests that a methodology exists for selecting optimum organizations for future space communities of various sizes and purposes. Results of an exploratory study to identify an optimum hypothetical organizational structure for a large earth-orbiting multidisciplinary research and applications (R&A) Space Base manned by a mixed crew of technologists are presented. Since such a facility does not presently exist, in situ empirical testing was not possible. Study activity was, therefore, concerned with the identification of a desired organizational structural model rather than the empirical testing of it. The principal finding of this research was that a four-level project type 'total matrix' model will optimize the effectiveness of Space Base technologists. An overall conclusion which can be reached from the research is that application of this methodology, or portions of it, may provide planning insights for the formal organizations which will be needed during the Space Industrialization Age.

Comparing two sampling methods to engage hard-to-reach communities in research priority setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Valerio, Melissa A; Rodriguez, Natalia; Winkler, Paula; Lopez, Jaime; Dennison, Meagen; Liang, Yuanyuan; Turner, Barbara J

2016-10-28

Effective community-partnered and patient-centered outcomes research needs to address community priorities. However, optimal sampling methods to engage stakeholders from hard-to-reach, vulnerable communities to generate research priorities have not been identified. In two similar rural, largely Hispanic communities, a community advisory board guided recruitment of stakeholders affected by chronic pain using a different method in each community: 1) snowball sampling, a chain- referral method or 2) purposive sampling to recruit diverse stakeholders. In both communities, three groups of stakeholders attended a series of three facilitated meetings to orient, brainstorm, and prioritize ideas (9 meetings/community). Using mixed methods analysis, we compared stakeholder recruitment and retention as well as priorities from both communities' stakeholders on mean ratings of their ideas based on importance and feasibility for implementation in their community. Of 65 eligible stakeholders in one community recruited by snowball sampling, 55 (85 %) consented, 52 (95 %) attended the first meeting, and 36 (65 %) attended all 3 meetings. In the second community, the purposive sampling method was supplemented by convenience sampling to increase recruitment. Of 69 stakeholders recruited by this combined strategy, 62 (90 %) consented, 36 (58 %) attended the first meeting, and 26 (42 %) attended all 3 meetings. Snowball sampling recruited more Hispanics and disabled persons (all P research, focusing on non-pharmacologic interventions for management of chronic pain. Ratings on importance and feasibility for community implementation differed only on the importance of massage services (P = 0.045) which was higher for the purposive/convenience sampling group and for city improvements/transportation services (P = 0.004) which was higher for the snowball sampling group. In each of the two similar hard-to-reach communities, a community advisory board partnered with researchers

Infusing Financial Capability and Asset Building Content into a Community Organizing Class

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Joanna K.; Bagdasaryan, Sofya

2018-01-01

As social work's fight for social and economic justice returns to its historical attention to finances, faculty are called to infuse financial capability and asset building (FCAB) content into their classes. Given few published models, this study contributes a redesign that infuses FCAB in a community organization course, with additional attention…

Comparing two sampling methods to engage hard-to-reach communities in research priority setting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa A. Valerio

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Effective community-partnered and patient-centered outcomes research needs to address community priorities. However, optimal sampling methods to engage stakeholders from hard-to-reach, vulnerable communities to generate research priorities have not been identified. Methods In two similar rural, largely Hispanic communities, a community advisory board guided recruitment of stakeholders affected by chronic pain using a different method in each community: 1 snowball sampling, a chain- referral method or 2 purposive sampling to recruit diverse stakeholders. In both communities, three groups of stakeholders attended a series of three facilitated meetings to orient, brainstorm, and prioritize ideas (9 meetings/community. Using mixed methods analysis, we compared stakeholder recruitment and retention as well as priorities from both communities’ stakeholders on mean ratings of their ideas based on importance and feasibility for implementation in their community. Results Of 65 eligible stakeholders in one community recruited by snowball sampling, 55 (85 % consented, 52 (95 % attended the first meeting, and 36 (65 % attended all 3 meetings. In the second community, the purposive sampling method was supplemented by convenience sampling to increase recruitment. Of 69 stakeholders recruited by this combined strategy, 62 (90 % consented, 36 (58 % attended the first meeting, and 26 (42 % attended all 3 meetings. Snowball sampling recruited more Hispanics and disabled persons (all P < 0.05. Despite differing recruitment strategies, stakeholders from the two communities identified largely similar ideas for research, focusing on non-pharmacologic interventions for management of chronic pain. Ratings on importance and feasibility for community implementation differed only on the importance of massage services (P = 0.045 which was higher for the purposive/convenience sampling group and for city improvements

Detecting the overlapping and hierarchical community structure in complex networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lancichinetti, Andrea; Fortunato, Santo; Kertesz, Janos

2009-01-01

Many networks in nature, society and technology are characterized by a mesoscopic level of organization, with groups of nodes forming tightly connected units, called communities or modules, that are only weakly linked to each other. Uncovering this community structure is one of the most important problems in the field of complex networks. Networks often show a hierarchical organization, with communities embedded within other communities; moreover, nodes can be shared between different communities. Here, we present the first algorithm that finds both overlapping communities and the hierarchical structure. The method is based on the local optimization of a fitness function. Community structure is revealed by peaks in the fitness histogram. The resolution can be tuned by a parameter enabling different hierarchical levels of organization to be investigated. Tests on real and artificial networks give excellent results.

Best practices for community gardening in a US-Mexico border community.

Science.gov (United States)

Mangadu, Thenral; Kelly, Michael; Orezzoli, Max C E; Gallegos, Rebecca; Matharasi, Pracheta

2017-12-01

Minority communities such as those on the US-Mexico border are placed at disproportionate high risk for child and adult obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. A built environment characterized by an arid desert climate, lack of access to healthy foods, barriers to increasing physical activity, cultural and community norms which deter healthy eating and sustainable food production, shape obesity-related health disparities in these communities. Three pilot community gardens (implemented by two local governmental organizations and one community-based organization) were funded through the local Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) initiative in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces and Anthony, New Mexico (US-MX border communities with high obesity rates) in order to encourage healthy lifestyles among families in the region. A mixed-methods evaluation (n = 223) examined the implementation process, immediate outcomes and best practices of implementing and sustaining community gardens in these minority binational communities. In addition to nutrition-related outcomes, the potential for psychosocial outcomes from participating in community and school garden projects were observed. The best practices in relation to (i) assessing community norms related to growing food, (ii) increasing access to land and water for community/school gardening and (iii) enhancing social support for gardening are discussed. The implications of these best practices for obesity prevention and implementing community gardens in a minority US-MX border community characterized by cultural, geographical and socioeconomic barriers are examined. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Community-based knowledge translation: unexplored opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Armstrong Rebecca

2011-06-01

, between communities, community-based organizations, decision makers, and researchers is likely to be beneficial when ensuring that 'evidence' meets the needs of all end users and that decisions are based on both relevant research and community requirements. Further exploratory work is needed to identify alternative methods for evaluating these strategies when applied within community-based settings.

Method and Theory of Intergroups in Organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-10-29

Relations and Organizational Diagnosis " (T.R. #3) identified the philosophical formulations of clinical methods for studying organizations, reviewed the...earliest clinical studies of organizations that 4- took a group and intergroup perspective, and critiqued existing approaches to organizational diagnosis . This

The Evolution of Community Self-Organization in Interaction With Government Institutions: Cross-Case Insights From Three Countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. Edelenbos (Jurian); I.F. van Meerkerk (Ingmar); Schenk, T. (Todd)

2018-01-01

textabstractThis article deals with the evolution of community self-organization in public administration. Within the literature of interactive governance, increasing attention is being paid to how communities take initiative in dealing with societal issues. However, we know little about the factors

An innovative community organizing campaign to improve mental health and wellbeing among Pacific Island youth in South Auckland, New Zealand.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Hahrie; Nicholas, Alexandra; Aimer, Margaret; Gray, Jonathon

2015-12-01

To examine whether being an organizer in a community organizing program improves personal agency and self-reported mental health outcomes among low-income Pacific Island youth in Auckland, New Zealand. Counties Manukau Health initiated a community organizing campaign led and run by Pacific Island youth. We used interviews, focus groups and pre- and post-campaign surveys to examine changes among 30 youths as a result of the campaign. Ten youths completed both pre- and post-campaign surveys. Eleven youths participated in focus groups, and four in interviews. Overall, youths reported an increased sense of agency and improvements to their mental health. Community organizing has potential as a preventive approach to improving mental health and developing agency over health among disempowered populations. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Organic Matter Loading Modifies the Microbial Community Responsible for Nitrogen Loss in Estuarine Sediments.

Science.gov (United States)

Babbin, Andrew R; Jayakumar, Amal; Ward, Bess B

2016-04-01

Coastal marine sediments, as locations of substantial fixed nitrogen loss, are very important to the nitrogen budget and to the primary productivity of the oceans. Coastal sediment systems are also highly dynamic and subject to periodic natural and anthropogenic organic substrate additions. The response to organic matter by the microbial community involved in nitrogen loss processes was evaluated using mesocosms of Chesapeake Bay sediments. Over the course of a 50-day incubation, rates of anammox and denitrification were measured weekly using (15)N tracer incubations, and samples were collected for genetic analysis. Rates of both nitrogen loss processes and gene abundances associated with them corresponded loosely, probably because heterogeneities in sediments obscured a clear relationship. The rates of denitrification were stimulated more, and the fraction of nitrogen loss attributed to anammox slightly reduced, by the higher organic matter addition. Furthermore, the large organic matter pulse drove a significant and rapid shift in the denitrifier community composition as determined using a nirS microarray, indicating that the diversity of these organisms plays an essential role in responding to anthropogenic inputs. We also suggest that the proportion of nitrogen loss due to anammox in these coastal estuarine sediments may be underestimated due to temporal dynamics as well as from methodological artifacts related to conventional sediment slurry incubation approaches.

A new method for identifying the types of organic matter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tong Chunhan; Li Guodong

1991-01-01

A new method for dividing the types of organic matter according to V and Ni contents in soluble organic matter determined by NAA is introduced. The research site was an oil-gas field in northeastern China. The type of organic matter is an important parameter in evaluating an oil or a gas field. The conventional organic geochemistry methods will meet unsurmountable difficulties when the maturity of organic matter is high. The method described in this paper can solve the problem. (author) 4 refs.; 1 fig.; 2 tabs

Effects of inoculation with organic-phosphorus-mineralizing bacteria on soybean (Glycine max) growth and indigenous bacterial community diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wei; Qian, Xun; Gu, Jie; Wang, Xiao-Juan; Li, Yang; Duan, Man-Li

2017-05-01

Three different organic-phosphorus-mineralizing bacteria (OPMB) strains were inoculated to soil planted with soybean (Glycine max), and their effects on soybean growth and indigenous bacterial community diversity were investigated. Inoculation with Pseudomonas fluorescens Z4-1 and Brevibacillus agri L7-1 increased organic phosphorus degradation by 22% and 30%, respectively, compared with the control at the mature stage. Strains P. fluorescens Z4-1 and B. agri L7-1 significantly improved the soil alkaline phosphatase activity, average well color development, and the soybean root activity. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis demonstrated that P. fluorescens Z4-1 and B. agri L7-1 could persist in the soil at relative abundances of 2.0%-6.4% throughout soybean growth. Thus, P. fluorescens Z4-1 and B. agri L7-1 could potentially be used in organic-phosphorus-mineralizing biofertilizers. OPMB inoculation altered the genetic structure of the soil bacterial communities but had no apparent influence on the carbon source utilization profiles of the soil bacterial communities. Principal components analysis showed that the changes in the carbon source utilization profiles of bacterial community depended mainly on the plant growth stages rather than inoculation with OPMB. The results help to understand the evolution of the soil bacterial community after OPMB inoculation.

Effects of toxic organic flotation reagent (aniline aerofloat) on an A/O submerged membrane bioreactor (sMBR): Microbial community dynamics and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Weixiong; Sun, Shuiyu; Wu, Chun; Xu, Pingting; Ye, Ziwei; Zhuang, Shengwei

2017-08-01

Bio-treatment of flotation wastewater has been proven to be both effective and economical, as a treatment method. Despite this, little is known regarding the effects of toxic organic floatation reagents such as Dianilinodithiophosphoric acid (DDA), on the microbial community performance or dynamics, which are critical to the effective performance of the bio-treatment reactor. A submerged membrane bioreactor (sMBR) was constructed to continuously treat simulated wastewater contaminated with DDA, an organic flotation reagent that is now considered a significant pollutant. The performance of the sMBR system was investigated at different DDA loading concentrations, with assessment of the effects of DDA on the microbial communities within the sMBR, in particular the biodiversity and succession within the microbial community. Results showed that, with increased DDA loadings, the performance of the sMBR was initially negatively affected, but the system adapted efficiently and consistently reached a COD removal rate of up to 80%. Increased DDA loading concentrations had an adverse effect on the activity of both the activated sludge and microbial communities, resulting in a large alteration in microbial dynamics, especially during the start-up stage and the high DDA loading stage. Strains capable of adapting to the presence of DDA, capable of degrading DDA or utilizing its byproducts, were enriched within the sMBR community, such as Zoogloea, Clostridium, Sideroxydans lithotrophicus, Thiobacillus, Thauera amino aromatica and Alicycliphilus denitrificans. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A simple encapsulation method for organic optoelectronic devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Qian-Qian; An Qiao-Shi; Zhang Fu-Jun

2014-01-01

The performances of organic optoelectronic devices, such as organic light emitting diodes and polymer solar cells, have rapidly improved in the past decade. The stability of an organic optoelectronic device has become a key problem for further development. In this paper, we report one simple encapsulation method for organic optoelectronic devices with a parafilm, based on ternary polymer solar cells (PSCs). The power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of PSCs with and without encapsulation decrease from 2.93% to 2.17% and from 2.87% to 1.16% after 168-hours of degradation under an ambient environment, respectively. The stability of PSCs could be enhanced by encapsulation with a parafilm. The encapsulation method is a competitive choice for organic optoelectronic devices, owing to its low cost and compatibility with flexible devices. (atomic and molecular physics)

The Raison D’être for the Community Pharmacy and the Community Pharmacist in Sweden: A Qualitative Interview Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristin Wisell

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Community pharmacies are balancing between business (selling medicines and other products and healthcare (using the pharmacists’ knowledge in order to improve drug utilization. This balance could be affected by regulations decided upon by politicians, but also influenced by others. The aim of this study was to explore important stakeholders’ views on community pharmacy and community pharmacists in Sweden. The method used was that of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Political, professional, and patient organization representatives were interviewed. The results show that informants who are pharmacists or representatives of a professional pharmacist organization generally have a healthcare-centered view on community pharmacy/pharmacists. However, different views on how this orientation should be performed were revealed, ranging from being specialists to dealing with uncomplicated tasks. Political organization representatives generally had a more business-oriented view, where competition in the market was believed to be the main driving force for development. A third dimension in which competition was not stressed also emerged; that community pharmacies should primarily distribute medicines. This dimension was most prevalent among the political and patient organization representatives. One conclusion to be drawn is that no stakeholder seemed to have a clear vision or was willing to take the lead for the development of the community pharmacy sector.

The Raison D’être for the Community Pharmacy and the Community Pharmacist in Sweden: A Qualitative Interview Study

Science.gov (United States)

Wisell, Kristin; Sporrong, Sofia Kälvemark

2015-01-01

Community pharmacies are balancing between business (selling medicines and other products) and healthcare (using the pharmacists’ knowledge in order to improve drug utilization). This balance could be affected by regulations decided upon by politicians, but also influenced by others. The aim of this study was to explore important stakeholders’ views on community pharmacy and community pharmacists in Sweden. The method used was that of semi-structured qualitative interviews. Political, professional, and patient organization representatives were interviewed. The results show that informants who are pharmacists or representatives of a professional pharmacist organization generally have a healthcare-centered view on community pharmacy/pharmacists. However, different views on how this orientation should be performed were revealed, ranging from being specialists to dealing with uncomplicated tasks. Political organization representatives generally had a more business-oriented view, where competition in the market was believed to be the main driving force for development. A third dimension in which competition was not stressed also emerged; that community pharmacies should primarily distribute medicines. This dimension was most prevalent among the political and patient organization representatives. One conclusion to be drawn is that no stakeholder seemed to have a clear vision or was willing to take the lead for the development of the community pharmacy sector. PMID:28970376

Methods of dosimetry for aquatic organisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Woodhead, D.S.

1979-01-01

The importance is emphasized of accurate estimates of radiation doses or dose rates that must be made for experiments to investigate the effects of irradiation on aquatic organisms. Computational methods are described which provide the best estimate of radiation dose or dose rates received by aquatic organisms when living in contaminated water. Also, techniques appropriate to the determination of radiation doses from external sources are briefly discussed. (author)

DEFINING THE "COMMUNITY" FOR A COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTION ADDRESSING LATINO IMMIGRANT HEALTH DISPARITIES: AN APPLICATION OF ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS.

Science.gov (United States)

Edberg, Mark; Cleary, Sean; Simmons, Lauren B; Cubilla-Batista, Idalina; Andrade, Elizabeth L; Gudger, Glencora

2015-01-01

Although Latino and other immigrant populations are the driving force behind population increases in the U.S., there are significant gaps in knowledge and practice on addressing health disparities in these populations. The Avance Center for the Advancement of Immigrant/Refugee Health, a health disparities research center in the Washington, DC area, includes as part of its mission a multi-level, participatory community intervention (called Adelante) to address the co-occurrence of substance abuse, violence and sex risk among Latino immigrant youth and young adults. Research staff and community partners knew that the intervention community had grown beyond its Census-designated place (CDP) boundaries, and that connection and attachment to community were relevant to an intervention. Thus, in order to understand current geographic and social boundaries of the community for sampling, data collection, intervention design and implementation, the research team conducted an ethnographic study to identify self-defined community boundaries, both geographic and social. Beginning with preliminary data from a pilot intervention and the original CDP map, the research included: geo-mapping de-identified addresses of service clients from a major community organization; key informant interviews; and observation and intercept interviews in the community. The results provided an expanded community boundary profile and important information about community identity.

Social media use by community-based organizations conducting health promotion: a content analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramanadhan, Shoba; Mendez, Samuel R; Rao, Megan; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

2013-12-05

Community-based organizations (CBOs) are critical channels for the delivery of health promotion programs. Much of their influence comes from the relationships they have with community members and other key stakeholders and they may be able to harness the power of social media tools to develop and maintain these relationships. There are limited data describing if and how CBOs are using social media. This study assesses the extent to which CBOs engaged in health promotion use popular social media channels, the types of content typically shared, and the extent to which the interactive aspects of social media tools are utilized. We assessed the social media presence and patterns of usage of CBOs engaged in health promotion in Boston, Lawrence, and Worcester, Massachusetts. We coded content on three popular channels: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. We used content analysis techniques to quantitatively summarize posts, tweets, and videos on these channels, respectively. For each organization, we coded all content put forth by the CBO on the three channels in a 30-day window. Two coders were trained and conducted the coding. Data were collected between November 2011 and January 2012. A total of 166 organizations were included in our census. We found that 42% of organizations used at least one of the channels of interest. Across the three channels, organization promotion was the most common theme for content (66% of posts, 63% of tweets, and 93% of videos included this content). Most organizations updated Facebook and Twitter content at rates close to recommended frequencies. We found limited interaction/engagement with audience members. Much of the use of social media tools appeared to be uni-directional, a flow of information from the organization to the audience. By better leveraging opportunities for interaction and user engagement, these organizations can reap greater benefits from the non-trivial investment required to use social media well. Future research should

Microbial communities related to volatile organic compound emission in automobile air conditioning units.

Science.gov (United States)

Diekmann, Nina; Burghartz, Melanie; Remus, Lars; Kaufholz, Anna-Lena; Nawrath, Thorben; Rohde, Manfred; Schulz, Stefan; Roselius, Louisa; Schaper, Jörg; Mamber, Oliver; Jahn, Dieter; Jahn, Martina

2013-10-01

During operation of mobile air conditioning (MAC) systems in automobiles, malodours can occur. We studied the microbial communities found on contaminated heat exchanger fins of 45 evaporators from car MAC systems which were operated in seven different regions of the world and identified corresponding volatile organic compounds. Collected biofilms were examined by scanning electron microscopy and fluorescent in situ hybridization. The detected bacteria were loosely attached to the metal surface. Further analyses of the bacteria using PCR-based single-strand conformation polymorphism and sequencing of isolated 16S rRNA gene fragments identified highly divergent microbial communities with multiple members of the Alphaproteobacteriales, Methylobacteria were the prevalent bacteria. In addition, Sphingomonadales, Burkholderiales, Bacillales, Alcanivorax spp. and Stenotrophomonas spp. were found among many others depending on the location the evaporators were operated. Interestingly, typical pathogenic bacteria related to air conditioning systems including Legionella spp. were not found. In order to determine the nature of the chemical compounds produced by the bacteria, the volatile organic compounds were examined by closed loop stripping analysis and identified by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Sulphur compounds, i.e. di-, tri- and multiple sulphides, acetylthiazole, aromatic compounds and diverse substituted pyrazines were detected. Mathematical clustering of the determined microbial community structures against their origin identified a European/American/Arabic cluster versus two mainly tropical Asian clusters. Interestingly, clustering of the determined volatiles against the origin of the corresponding MAC revealed a highly similar pattern. A close relationship of microbial community structure and resulting malodours to the climate and air quality at the location of MAC operation was concluded.

Comparability of slack water and Lagrangian flow respirometry methods for community metabolic measurements.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily C Shaw

Full Text Available Coral reef calcification is predicted to decline as a result of ocean acidification and other anthropogenic stressors. The majority of studies predicting declines based on in situ relationships between environmental parameters and net community calcification rate have been location-specific, preventing accurate predictions for coral reefs globally. In this study, net community calcification and production were measured on a coral reef flat at One Tree Island, Great Barrier Reef, using Lagrangian flow respirometry and slack water methods. Net community calcification, daytime net photosynthesis and nighttime respiration were higher under the flow respirometry method, likely due to increased water flow relative to the slack water method. The two methods also varied in the degrees to which they were influenced by potential measurement uncertainties. The difference in the results from these two commonly used methods implies that some of the location-specific differences in coral reef community metabolism may be due to differences in measurement methods.

New methods for the geometrical analysis of tubular organs.

Science.gov (United States)

Grélard, Florent; Baldacci, Fabien; Vialard, Anne; Domenger, Jean-Philippe

2017-12-01

This paper presents new methods to study the shape of tubular organs. Determining precise cross-sections is of major importance to perform geometrical measurements, such as diameter, wall-thickness estimation or area measurement. Our first contribution is a robust method to estimate orthogonal planes based on the Voronoi Covariance Measure. Our method is not relying on a curve-skeleton computation beforehand. This means our orthogonal plane estimator can be used either on the skeleton or on the volume. Another important step towards tubular organ characterization is achieved through curve-skeletonization, as skeletons allow to compare two tubular organs, and to perform virtual endoscopy. Our second contribution is dedicated to correcting common defects of the skeleton by new pruning and recentering methods. Finally, we propose a new method for curve-skeleton extraction. Various results are shown on different types of segmented tubular organs, such as neurons, airway-tree and blood vessels. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diel changes in stream periphyton extracellular enzyme activity throughout community development on inert and organic substrates

Science.gov (United States)

Rier, S. T.; Francoeur, S. N.; Kuehn, K. A.

2005-05-01

We tested the hypothesis that algal photosynthesis in stream periphyton communities would influence the activities of extracellular enzymes produced by associated heterotrophic bacteria and fungi to acquire organic compounds and inorganic nutrients. We approached this question by looking for diurnal variation in activities of four extracellular enzymes in periphyton communities that were grown on either inert (glass fiber filters) or organic (leaves) substrata that there were incubated in stream-side channels that were either open to full sun or shaded. Substrata were subsampled for β-glucosidase, alkaline phosphotase, leucine-aminopeptidase, and phenol oxidase activities at 3-5 hr. intervals over two consecutive diurnal cycles that were repeated at an early and later stage of periphyton community development. Activities of all enzymes displayed diurnal periodicity but the strength of the diurnal effects depended largely on the substrate type and stage of community development. The most consistent diurnal change was observed with phenol oxidase activity with significantly greater (p<0.05) activities being observed in during the day for both stages of community development and for both substrate types. It is likely that oxygen produced by algal photosynthesis is driving the activity of this oxidative enzyme and that algae might indirectly influence the decomposition of phenolic compounds.

Collaborative Research with Parents and Local Communities: Organizing Against Racism and Education Privatization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pauline Lipman

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The author discusses her collaborative research with parents and communities against neoliberal education policies in Chicago. The paper summarizes several projects that challenge racism and educational privatization: using social science data to challenge public school closings, collaboration with a community organization to tell the story of the effects of school closings and disinvestment on African American students and schools from their own perspective, and research for a city-wide coalition for an elected school governance board. The author uses these projects to illustrate multiple forms of activist scholarship and some of their complexities and contradictions.

Community Mining Method of Label Propagation Based on Dense Pairs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

WENG Wei

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, with the popularity of handheld Internet equipments like mobile phones, increasing numbers of people are becoming involved in the virtual social network. Because of its large amount of data and complex structure, the network faces new challenges of community mining. A label propagation algorithm with low time complexity and without prior parameters deals easily with a large networks. This study explored a new method of community mining, based on label propagation with two stages. The first stage involved identifying closely linked nodes according to their local adjacency relations that gave rise to a micro-community. The second stage involved expanding and adjusting this community through a label propagation algorithm (LPA to finally obtain the community structure of the entire social network. This algorithm reduced the number of initial labels and avoided the merging of small communities in general LPAs. Thus, the quality of community discovery was improved, and the linear time complexity of the LPA was maintained.

Strengthening community leadership: evaluation findings from the california healthy cities and communities program.

Science.gov (United States)

Kegler, Michelle C; Norton, Barbara L; Aronson, Robert E

2008-04-01

Collaborative approaches to community health improvement such as healthy cities and communities have the potential to strengthen community capacity through leadership development. The healthy cities and communities process orients existing local leadership to new community problem-solving strategies and draws out leadership abilities among residents not previously engaged in civic life. In an evaluation of the California Healthy Cities and Communities (CHCC) Program, leadership development was one of several outcomes assessed at the civic-participation level of the social ecology. Data collection methods included focus groups and surveys, semistructured interviews with coordinators and community leaders, and review of program documents. Findings suggest that the CHCC program enhanced capacity by expanding new leadership opportunities through coalition participation, program implementation, and civic leadership roles related to spin-off organizations and broader collaborative structures. Communities in rural regions were particularly successful in achieving significant leadership outcomes.

Bioavailability of autochthonous dissolved organic nitrogen in marine plankton communities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Helle; Markager, Svend Stiig; Søndergaard, Morten

The purpose of this study was to investigate the bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) produced during a phytoplankton bloom. The experiments were conducted with natural plankton communities as batch growth experiments over approximately 30 days with nitrogen limitation. Five to six...... times during the exponential and stationary phases of each experimental bloom the bioavailability of DON was measured over 60 days together with DOC and oxygen consumption. The overall aim was to quantify remineralization of the added nitrate. The results showed that maximum 33 % of the added nitrate...

A View of Professional Learning Communities through Three Frames: Leadership, Organization, and Culture

Science.gov (United States)

Mullen, Carol A.; Schunk, Dale H.

2010-01-01

In this discussion of professional learning communities (PLCs) in North American public schools, we examine three theoretical frames--leadership, organization, and culture. Issues related to learning are infused throughout our presentation of the frames. Based on our analysis of the current literature on this topic, PLCs offer a promising tool for…

Review on methods for determination of metallothioneins in aquatic organisms.

Science.gov (United States)

Shariati, Fatemeh; Shariati, Shahab

2011-06-01

One aspect of environmental degradation in coastal areas is pollution from toxic metals, which are persistent and are bioaccumulated by marine organisms, with serious public health implications. A conventional monitoring system of environmental metal pollution includes measuring the level of selected metals in the whole organism or in respective organs. However, measuring only the metal content in particular organs does not give information about its effect at the subcellular level. Therefore, the evaluation of biochemical biomarker metallothionein may be useful in assessing metal exposure and the prediction of potential detrimental effects induced by metal contamination. There are some methods for the determination of metallothioneins including spectrophotometric method, electrochemical methods, chromatography, saturation-based methods, immunological methods, electrophoresis, and RT-PCR. In this paper, different methods are discussed briefly and the comparison between them will be presented.

Evaluation of parameters of a plankton community's biological rhythms under the natural environment of the Black Sea using the Fourier transform method.

Science.gov (United States)

Mel'nikova, Ye B

2017-05-01

Night-time changes in bioluminescence intensity in the coastal area of the Black Sea were recorded. It was noted that the biomass of luminous organisms is closely correlated with the biomass of plankton and other pelagic organisms, including commercial pelagic fish. The parameters of plankton communities' basic biological rhythms were determined using the discrete Fourier transform method. These rhythms were manifest as spatial and temporal changes in the bioluminescence intensity. It was shown that changes in the bioluminescence intensity over a 14.0-h period were due to the duration of the light/dark cycles. By contrast, changes in bioluminescence intensity with periods of 4.7 and 2.8 h were due to the endogenous rhythms of the plankton community (feeding and cell division). An original method for evaluating of errors in the calculated periods of the biological rhythms was proposed. A strong correlation (r = 0.906) was observed between the measured and calculated values for the bioluminescence intensity, which provided support for the assumptions made. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Characterization Of Solid Wastes Generated By A Community In ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

on and organic fertilizers from household wastes could be transferred to the community to create jobs and gener-ate income. Landfills and relocation of refuse dumps far from the community were suggested as alternative disposal methods to ...

Method of decomposing radioactive organic solvent wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uki, Kazuo; Ichihashi, Toshio; Hasegawa, Akira; Sato, Tatsuaki

1986-01-01

Purpose: To decompose radioactive organic solvent wastes or radioactive hydrocarbon solvents separated therefrom into organic materials under moderate conditions, as well as greatly decrease the amount of secondary wastes generated. Method: Radioactive organic solvent wastes comprising an organic phosphoric acid ester ingredient and a hydrocarbon ingredient as a diluent therefor, or radioactive hydrocarbon solvents separated therefrom are oxidatively decomposed by hydrogen peroxide in an aqueous phosphoric acid solution of phosphoric acid metal salts finally into organic materials to perform decomposing treatment for the radioactive organic solvent wastes. The decomposing reaction is carried out under relatively moderate conditions and cause less burden to facilities or the likes. Further, since the decomposed liquid after the treatment can be reused for the decomposing reaction as a catalyst solution secondary wastes can significantly be decreased. (Yoshihara, H.)

Impacts of Alterations of Organic Inputs on the Bacterial Community within the sediments of Wind Cave, South Dakota, USA

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Chelius Marisa K.

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Wind Cave (WICA in the Black Hills of South Dakota, like many mostly dry caves in temperate regions is an energy-starved system.The biotic communities that reside in these systems are low in diversity and simple in structure, and sensitive to changes in externalinputs of organic matter. Caves open to tourist traffic offer an opportunity to study the impacts of organic matter amendments in theform of human and rodent hair and dander, clothing lint, material from rodent activity (nesting materials and feces, and algal growthin and around artificial lighting. This study reports on the impacts of carbon amendments from humans and rodents on the bacterialand archaeal communities within the sediments of WICA from annual surveys and from a manipulative study that added lint (‘L’;cellulose plus rodent dander and rodent hair, rodent feces (‘F’, and a combination of both (‘LF’. The survey confirmed that bacterialbiomass was higher in regions of the cave with the highest rates of lint (hair and natural clothing fibers input. The manipulative studyfound that organic amendments in the forms of lint (L and rodent feces (F altered the WICA bacterial community structure in bothabundance and diversity, with the combined lint and feces (LF amendment having the most significant response. The high similarityof the LF and L communities suggests that the cave bacterial community is more carbon than nitrogen limited. The implication ofcave development to management practices is immediate and practical. Even small amounts of lint and organic matter foreign tocave bacteria significantly compromise the integrity of the endemic community resulting in the replacement of undescribed speciesby assemblages with at best, unknown impacts to natural cave features.

An improved high throughput sequencing method for studying oomycete communities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sapkota, Rumakanta; Nicolaisen, Mogens

2015-01-01

the usefulness of the method not only in soil DNA but also in a plant DNA background. In conclusion, we demonstrate a successful approach for pyrosequencing of oomycete communities using ITS1 as the barcode sequence with well-known primers for oomycete DNA amplification....... communities. Thewell-known primer sets ITS4, ITS6 and ITS7were used in the study in a semi-nested PCR approach to target the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 of ribosomal DNA in a next generation sequencing protocol. These primers have been used in similar studies before, butwith limited success.......Wewere able to increase the proportion of retrieved oomycete sequences dramaticallymainly by increasing the annealing temperature during PCR. The optimized protocol was validated using three mock communities and the method was further evaluated using total DNA from 26 soil samples collected from different...

Community assembly and coexistence in communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Vályi, Kriszta; Mardhiah, Ulfah; Rillig, Matthias C; Hempel, Stefan

2016-10-01

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are asexual, obligately symbiotic fungi with unique morphology and genomic structure, which occupy a dual niche, that is, the soil and the host root. Consequently, the direct adoption of models for community assembly developed for other organism groups is not evident. In this paper we adapted modern coexistence and assembly theory to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. We review research on the elements of community assembly and coexistence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, highlighting recent studies using molecular methods. By addressing several points from the individual to the community level where the application of modern community ecology terms runs into problems when arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are concerned, we aim to account for these special circumstances from a mycocentric point of view. We suggest that hierarchical spatial structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities should be explicitly taken into account in future studies. The conceptual framework we develop here for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi is also adaptable for other host-associated microbial communities.

Beyond the Biomedical Paradigm: The Formation and Development of Indigenous Community-Controlled Health Organizations in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoury, Peter

2015-01-01

This article describes the formation and development of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services in Australia, with emphasis on the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service in Sydney. These organizations were established in the 1970s by Indigenous Australians who were excluded from and denied access to mainstream health services. The aim of this research was to explore notions of Indigenous agency against a historical backdrop of dispossession, colonialism, and racism. Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services act as a primary source of healthcare for many Indigenous communities in rural and urban areas. This study examined their philosophy of healthcare, the range of services provided, their problems with state bureaucracies and government funding bodies, and the imposition of managerialist techniques and strategies on their governance. Essentially, these organizations transcend individualistic, biomedical, and bureaucratic paradigms of health services by conceptualizing and responding to Indigenous health needs at a grassroots level and in a broad social and political context. They are based on a social model of health. © SAGE Publications 2015.

HIV Testing and Care in Canadian Aboriginal Youth: A community based mixed methods study

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Myers Ted

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background HIV infection is a serious concern in the Canadian Aboriginal population, particularly among youth; however, there is limited attention to this issue in research literature. The purpose of this national study was to explore HIV testing and care decisions of Canadian Aboriginal youth. Methods A community-based mixed-method design incorporating the Aboriginal research principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP was used. Data were collected through surveys (n = 413 and qualitative interviews (n = 28. Eleven community-based organizations including urban Aboriginal AIDS service organizations and health and friendship centres in seven provinces and one territory assisted with the recruitment of youth (15 to 30 years. Results Average age of survey participants was 21.5 years (median = 21.0 years and qualitative interview participants was 24.4 years (median = 24.0. Fifty-one percent of the survey respondents (210 of 413 youth and 25 of 28 interview participants had been tested for HIV. The most common reason to seek testing was having sex without a condom (43.6% or pregnancy (35.4% while common reasons for not testing were the perception of being low HIV risk (45.3% or not having had sex with an infected person (34.5%. Among interviewees, a contributing reason for not testing was feeling invulnerable. Most surveyed youth tested in the community in which they lived (86.5% and 34.1% visited a physician for the test. The majority of surveyed youth (60.0% had tested once or twice in the previous 2 years, however, about one-quarter had tested more than twice. Among the 26 surveyed youth who reported that they were HIV-positive, 6 (23.1% had AIDS at the time of diagnosis. Delays in care-seeking after diagnosis varied from a few months to seven years from time of test. Conclusion It is encouraging that many youth who had tested for HIV did so based on a realistic self-assessment of HIV risk behaviours; however, for others

The formation of community-based organizations : an analysis of a quasi-experiment in Zimbabwe

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barr, A.; Dekker, M.; Fafchamps, M.

2015-01-01

Previous analyses of the formation and composition of community-based organizations (CBOs) have used cross section data. So, causal inference has been compromised. We obviate this problem by using data from a quasi-experiment in which villages were formed by government officials selecting and

Opening the Door: How Community Organizations Address the Youth Unemployment Crisis. Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Steinberg, Adria; Almeida, Cheryl

2015-01-01

Few Americans know the importance of community-based organizations, or CBOs, in helping tens of thousands of undereducated, underemployed young people find a job or go back to school. But the role of CBOs is growing more critical as the business, education, and philanthropic sectors increasingly recognize the need to enable the nation's millions…

Method of doping organic semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Kloc, Christian Leo [Constance, DE; Ramirez, Arthur Penn [Summit, NJ; So, Woo-Young [New Providence, NJ

2012-02-28

A method includes the steps of forming a contiguous semiconducting region and heating the region. The semiconducting region includes polyaromatic molecules. The heating raises the semiconducting region to a temperature above room temperature. The heating is performed in the presence of a dopant gas and the absence of light to form a doped organic semiconducting region.

Application of the holistic methods in analysis of organic milk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anka Popović-Vranješ

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Organic farming has advantages in terms of environmental protection, biodiversity, soil quality, animal welfare and pesticide residues. Unlike conventional production “organic chain” means that healthy soil leads to healthy animal feed, leading to healthy cows with normal milk, which eventually leads to healthy consumers. Since this must be scientifically proven, there is an increasing need for scientific methods that will reveal the benefits of organic food. For this purpose holistic methods such as biocrystallization and methods of rising picture are introduced. Biocrystallization shows that organic milk is systematically more “balanced” and that there is more “ordered structure” and better “integration and coordination.” Previous studies using biocrystallization method were performed on the raw milk produced in different conditions, differently treated milk (heat treatment and homogenization and on butter. Pictures of biocrystallization are firstly visually assessed and then by the computer analysis of texture images, which are used to estimate the density of images. Rising picture method which normally works in parallel with biocrystallization can differentiate samples of Demeter, and organic milk from conventional production and milk treated differently during processing. Organic milk in relation to conventional shows better result in terms of impact on the health of consumers when using both the conventional and holistic methods.

Partnering with American Indian communities in health using methods of strategic collaboration.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajaram, Shireen S; Grimm, Brandon; Giroux, Jennifer; Peck, Magda; Ramos, Athena

2014-01-01

The Association for Prevention Teaching and Research (APTR) sponsored six regional workshops in 2010 on community engagement and community-engaged research. One of the six workshops was a collaborative effort between the Great Plains Tribal Chairman's Health Board (GPTCHB)-Northern Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center and the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC-COPH). To create a meaningful and dynamic forum for the exchange of ideas and co-learning between researchers from urban, tribal and nontribal communities and to build the groundwork for development of sustainable partnerships between researchers and American Indian (AI) communities to eliminate health disparities. To enhance meaningful community engagement, we utilized methods of Strategic Collaboration using the Appreciative Inquiry, 4D Change Process Model and designed several interactive group activities including Collaborative Learning and Understanding Exercises (CLUE) and the Research Café. The key themes that emerged from the interactive sessions stressed the importance of building relationships and trust; mutual use and sharing of data; and acquiring knowledge, skills, and abilities to enable sustainable research partnerships with AI communitiesConclusions: Innovative, dynamic, and strategic collaborative methods of Appreciative Inquiry and the World Café can served to engage people in a constructive dialogue to create a shared vision and plan for more meaningful research partnerships based on principles of equity and social justice, essential for the elimination of health disparities. These collaborative methods can be replicated and adapted in diverse communities, locally, nationally, and globally.

METHODS OF DIAGNOSTIC EFFECTIVENESS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES IN CARGO MOTOR TRANSPORTATION ORGANIZATIONS

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Denis Sergeevich Antipov

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article propose methods of diagnostic effectiveness organizational changes in cargo motor transportation organizations. The article contain the main results approbation of the developed methods of diagnostic effectiveness organizational changes in cargo motor transportation organizations in 37 cargo motor transportation organizations of Saint-Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Constructed diagrams of conformity specific weights resulting from organizational changes in cargo motor transportation organizations. Presents diagrams effectiveness organizational changes in cargo motor transportation organizations at every stages of the life cycle. The goal of the present paper is to development methods of diagnostic effectiveness organizational changes in cargo motor transportation organizations.

Microbial Community Composition of Polyhydroxyalkanoate-Accumulating Organisms in Full-Scale Wastewater Treatment Plants Operated in Fully Aerobic Mode

Science.gov (United States)

Oshiki, Mamoru; Onuki, Motoharu; Satoh, Hiroyasu; Mino, Takashi

2013-01-01

The removal of biodegradable organic matter is one of the most important objectives in biological wastewater treatments. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-accumulating organisms (PHAAOs) significantly contribute to the removal of biodegradable organic matter; however, their microbial community composition is mostly unknown. In the present study, the microbial community composition of PHAAOs was investigated at 8 full-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), operated in fully aerobic mode, by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis and post-FISH Nile blue A (NBA) staining techniques. Our results demonstrated that 1) PHAAOs were in the range of 11–18% in the total number of cells, and 2) the microbial community composition of PHAAOs was similar at the bacterial domain/phylum/class/order level among the 8 full-scale WWTPs, and dominant PHAAOs were members of the class Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria. The microbial community composition of α- and β-proteobacterial PHAAOs was examined by 16S rRNA gene clone library analysis and further by applying a set of newly designed oligonucleotide probes targeting 16S rRNA gene sequences of α- or β-proteobacterial PHAAOs. The results demonstrated that the microbial community composition of PHAAOs differed in the class Alphaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria, which possibly resulted in a different PHA accumulation capacity among the WWTPs (8.5–38.2 mg-C g-VSS−1 h−1). The present study extended the knowledge of the microbial diversity of PHAAOs in full-scale WWTPs operated in fully aerobic mode. PMID:23257912

The effects of organic inputs to estuaries on overwintering bird populations and communities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, P.T.; Hill, D.A.; Clark, N.A.

1992-01-01

This study investigates the relationship between changes in organic inputs to river estuaries and other coastal intertidal areas, and changes in the populations of waterfowl in these habitats. This is done in the context of tidal barrage construction, where barrage construction and operation may coincide with the cleaning of estuarine water. A thorough review of the literature is undertaken to determine the current status of knowledge of bird/organic-enrichment interactions. The use of multivariate statistics for identifying gradients in similarity between bird communities (specifically waders) of different estuaries, irrespective of geographic locations is investigated. (UK)

Community Phylogenetics: Assessing Tree Reconstruction Methods and the Utility of DNA Barcodes

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, Elizabeth E.; Adamowicz, Sarah J.

2015-01-01

Studies examining phylogenetic community structure have become increasingly prevalent, yet little attention has been given to the influence of the input phylogeny on metrics that describe phylogenetic patterns of co-occurrence. Here, we examine the influence of branch length, tree reconstruction method, and amount of sequence data on measures of phylogenetic community structure, as well as the phylogenetic signal (Pagel’s λ) in morphological traits, using Trichoptera larval communities from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. We find that model-based tree reconstruction methods and the use of a backbone family-level phylogeny improve estimations of phylogenetic community structure. In addition, trees built using the barcode region of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) alone accurately predict metrics of phylogenetic community structure obtained from a multi-gene phylogeny. Input tree did not alter overall conclusions drawn for phylogenetic signal, as significant phylogenetic structure was detected in two body size traits across input trees. As the discipline of community phylogenetics continues to expand, it is important to investigate the best approaches to accurately estimate patterns. Our results suggest that emerging large datasets of DNA barcode sequences provide a vast resource for studying the structure of biological communities. PMID:26110886

Evaluating the Impacts of Professional Development: A Mixed Method Study of Adult Education Learning Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Dilworth, Jessica S.

2010-01-01

Adult education programs providing classes to students preparing for high school equivalency and learning English that demonstrate characteristics of learning organizations may be better able to thrive when confronted with less-than-ideal circumstances. Many of these programs organize adult educators into learning communities as the context for…

Microbial communities and their potential for degradation of dissolved organic carbon in cryoconite hole environments of Himalaya and Antarctica.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanyal, Aritri; Antony, Runa; Samui, Gautami; Thamban, Meloth

2018-03-01

Cryoconite holes (cylindrical melt-holes on the glacier surface) are important hydrological and biological systems within glacial environments that support diverse microbial communities and biogeochemical processes. This study describes retrievable heterotrophic microbes in cryoconite hole water from three geographically distinct sites in Antarctica, and a Himalayan glacier, along with their potential to degrade organic compounds found in these environments. Microcosm experiments (22 days) show that 13-60% of the dissolved organic carbon in the water within cryoconite holes is bio-available to resident microbes. Biodegradation tests of organic compounds such as lactate, acetate, formate, propionate and oxalate that are present in cryoconite hole water show that microbes have good potential to metabolize the compounds tested. Substrate utilization tests on Biolog Ecoplate show that microbial communities in the Himalayan samples are able to oxidize a diverse array of organic substrates including carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amino acids, amines/amides and polymers, while Antarctic communities generally utilized complex polymers. In addition, as determined by the extracellular enzyme activities, majority of the microbes (82%, total of 355) isolated in this study (Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Basidiomycota) had ability to degrade a variety of compounds such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, cellulose and lignin that are documented to be present within cryoconite holes. Thus, microbial communities have good potential to metabolize organic compounds found in the cryoconite hole environment, thereby influencing the water chemistry in these holes. Moreover, microbes exported downstream during melting and flushing of cryoconite holes may participate in carbon cycling processes in recipient ecosystems. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Effects of sludge inoculum and organic feedstock on active microbial communities and methane yield during anaerobic digestion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David eWilkins

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Anaerobic digestion (AD is a widespread microbial technology used to treat organic waste and recover energy in the form of methane (biogas. While most AD systems have been designed to treat a single input, mixtures of digester sludge and solid organic waste are emerging as a means to improve efficiency and methane yield. We examined laboratory anaerobic cultures of AD sludge from two sources amended with food waste, xylose, and xylan at mesophilic temperatures, and with cellulose at meso- and thermophilic temperatures, to determine whether and how the inoculum and substrate affect biogas yield and community composition. All substrate and inoculum combinations yielded methane, with food waste most productive by mass. Pyrosequencing of transcribed bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA showed that community composition varied across substrates and inocula, with differing ratios of hydrogenotrophic/acetoclastic methanogenic archaea associated with syntrophic partners. While communities did not cluster by either inoculum or substrate, additional sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene in the source sludge revealed that the bacterial communities were influenced by their inoculum. These results suggest that complete and efficient AD systems could potentially be assembled from different microbial inocula and consist of taxonomically diverse communities that nevertheless perform similar functions.

Effect of microbial community structure on organic removal and biofouling in membrane adsorption bioreactor used in seawater pretreatment

KAUST Repository

Jeong, Sanghyun; Cho, Kyungjin; Bae, Hyokwan; Keshvardoust, Pejhman; Rice, Scott A.; Vigneswaran, Saravanamuthu; Lee, Seockheon; Leiknes, TorOve

2016-01-01

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were operated on-site for 56 d with different powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosages of 0, 1.5 and 5.0 g/L to pretreat seawater for reverse osmosis desalination. It was hypothesized that PAC would stimulate adsorption and biological degradation of organic compounds. The microbial communities responsible for biofouling on microfiltration (MF) membranes and biological organic removal in MBR were assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting and 454-pyrosequencing. The PAC addition improved assimilable organic carbon removal (53-59%), and resulted in reduced biofouling development on MF (> 50%) with only a marginal development in trans-membrane pressure. Interestingly, the bacterial community composition was significantly differentiated by the PAC addition. Cyanobacterium, Pelagibaca and Maricoccus were dominant in the PAC-free conditions, while Thiothrix and Sphingomonas were presumably responsible for the better reactor performances in PAC-added conditions. In contrast, the archaeal communities were consistent with predominance of Candidatus Nitrosopumilus. These data therefore show that the addition of PAC can improve MBR performance by developing different bacterial species, controlling AOC and associated biofouling on the membranes.

Effect of microbial community structure on organic removal and biofouling in membrane adsorption bioreactor used in seawater pretreatment

KAUST Repository

Jeong, Sanghyun

2016-03-03

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were operated on-site for 56 d with different powdered activated carbon (PAC) dosages of 0, 1.5 and 5.0 g/L to pretreat seawater for reverse osmosis desalination. It was hypothesized that PAC would stimulate adsorption and biological degradation of organic compounds. The microbial communities responsible for biofouling on microfiltration (MF) membranes and biological organic removal in MBR were assessed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism fingerprinting and 454-pyrosequencing. The PAC addition improved assimilable organic carbon removal (53-59%), and resulted in reduced biofouling development on MF (> 50%) with only a marginal development in trans-membrane pressure. Interestingly, the bacterial community composition was significantly differentiated by the PAC addition. Cyanobacterium, Pelagibaca and Maricoccus were dominant in the PAC-free conditions, while Thiothrix and Sphingomonas were presumably responsible for the better reactor performances in PAC-added conditions. In contrast, the archaeal communities were consistent with predominance of Candidatus Nitrosopumilus. These data therefore show that the addition of PAC can improve MBR performance by developing different bacterial species, controlling AOC and associated biofouling on the membranes.

Forging community partnerships to improve health care: the experience of four Medicaid managed care organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Silow-Carroll, Sharon; Rodin, Diana

2013-04-01

Some managed care organizations (MCOs) serving Medicaid beneficiaries are actively engaging in community partnerships to meet the needs of vulnerable members and nonmembers. We found that the history, leadership, and other internal factors of four such MCOs primarily drive that focus. However, external factors such as state Medicaid policies and competition or collaboration among MCOs also play a role. The specific strat­egies of these MCOs vary but share common goals: (1) improve care coordination, access, and delivery; (2) strengthen the community and safety-net infrastructure; and (3) prevent illness and reduce disparities. The MCOs use data to identify gaps in care, seek community input in designing interventions, and commit resources to engage community organiza­tions. State Medicaid programs can promote such work by establishing goals, priorities, and guidelines; providing data analysis and technical assistance to evaluate local needs and community engagement efforts; and convening stakeholders to collaborate and share best practices.

Biogeochemical and microbial variation across 5500 km of Antarctic surface sediment implicates organic matter as a driver of benthic community structure

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Deric R Learman

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Western Antarctica, one of the fastest warming locations on Earth, is a unique environment that is underexplored with regards to biodiversity. Although pelagic microbial communities in the Southern Ocean and coastal Antarctic waters have been well studied, there are fewer investigations of benthic communities and most have a focused geographic range. We sampled surface sediment from 24 sites across a 5,500 km region of Western Antarctica (covering the Ross Sea to the Weddell Sea to examine relationships between microbial communities and sediment geochemistry. Sequencing of the 16S and 18S rRNA genes showed microbial communities in sediments from the Antarctic Peninsula (AP and Western Antarctica (WA, including the Ross, Amundsen, and Bellingshausen Seas, could be distinguished by correlations with organic matter concentrations and stable isotope fractionation (total organic carbon; TOC, nitrogen, and δ13C. Overall, samples from the AP were higher in nutrient content (TOC, nitrogen, and NH4+ and communities in these samples had higher relative abundances of operational taxonomic units (OTUs classified as the diatom, Chaetoceros, a marine cercozoan and four OTUs classified as Cytophaga or Flavobacteria. As these OTUs were strongly correlated with TOC, the data suggests the diatoms could be a source of organic matter and the Bacteroidetes and cercozoan are grazers that consume the organic matter. Additionally, samples from WA have lower nutrients and were dominated by Thaumarchaeota, which could be related to their known ability to thrive as lithotrophs. This study documents the largest analysis of benthic microbial communities to date in the Southern Ocean, representing almost half the continental shoreline of Antarctica, and documents trophic interactions and coupling of pelagic and benthic communities. Our results indicate potential modifications in carbon sequestration processes related to change in community composition, identifying a

Nitrogen removal capacity and bacterial community dynamics of a Canon biofilter system at different organic matter concentrations.

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García-Ruiz, María J; Maza-Márquez, Paula; González-López, Jesús; Osorio, Francisco

2018-02-01

Three Canon bench-scale bioreactors with a volume of 2 L operating in parallel were configured as submerged biofilters. In the present study we investigated the effects of a high ammonium concentration (320 mgNH 4 + · L -1 ) and different concentrations of organic matter (0, 100 and 400 mgCOD·L -1 ) on the nitrogen removal capacity and the bacterial community structure. After 60 days, the Canon biofilters operated properly under concentrations of 0 and 100 mgCOD·L -1 of organic matter, with nitrogen removal efficiencies up to 85%. However, a higher concentration of organic matter (400 mgCOD·L -1 ) produced a partial inhibition of nitrogen removal (68.1% efficiency). The addition of higher concentrations of organic matter a modified the bacterial community structure in the Canon biofilter, increasing the proliferation of heterotrophic bacteria related to the genera of Thauera, Longilinea, Ornatilinea, Thermomarinilinea, unclassified Chlorobiales and Denitratisoma. However, heterotrophic bacteria co-exist with Nitrosomonas and Candidatus Scalindua. Thus, our study confirms the co-existence of different microbial activities (AOB, Anammox and denitrification) and the adaptation of a fixed-biofilm system to different concentrations of organic matter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community Based Distribution of Child Spacing Methods at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

uses volunteer CBD agents. Mrs. E.F. Pelekamoyo. Service Delivery Officer. National Family Welfare Council of Malawi. Private Bag 308. Lilongwe 3. Malawi. Community Based Distribution of. Child Spacing Methods ... than us at the Hospital; male motivators by talking to their male counterparts help them to accept that their ...

Determinants and Outcomes of Employee Participation in a Strategic Community of Practice: A Mixed-Method Approach

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Chang, Joohee; Jacobs, Ronald L.

2012-01-01

Despite increasing investment in building, supporting, and managing communities of practice that meet the strategic business needs of the organization, the literature indicates that little is known about strategic communities of practice in organizational work settings. The purpose of this study was to investigate determinants and outcomes of…

Selection criteria for oxidation method in total organic carbon measurement.

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Yoon, GeunSeok; Park, Sang-Min; Yang, Heuiwon; Tsang, Daniel C W; Alessi, Daniel S; Baek, Kitae

2018-05-01

During the measurement of total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon is converted into CO 2 by using high temperature combustion (HTC) or wet chemical oxidation (WCO). However, the criteria for selecting the oxidation methods are not clear. In this study, the chemical structures of organic material were considered as a key factor to select the oxidation method used. Most non-degradable organic compounds showed a similar oxidation efficiency in both methods, including natural organic compounds, dyes, and pharmaceuticals, and thus both methods are appropriate to measure TOC in waters containing these compounds. However, only a fraction of the carbon in the halogenated compounds (perfluorooctanoic acid and trifluoroacetic acid) were oxidized using WCO, resulting in measured TOC values that are considerably lower than those determined by HTC. This result is likely due to the electronegativity of halogen elements which inhibits the approach of electron-rich sulfate radicals in the WCO, and the higher bond strength of carbon-halogen pairs as compared to carbon-hydrogen bonds, which results in a lower degree of oxidation of the compounds. Our results indicate that WCO could be used to oxidize most organic compounds, but may not be appropriate to quantify TOC in organic carbon pools that contain certain halogenated compounds. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ESTIMATION METHODS OF PHARMACY ORGANIZATION BANKRUPTCY PROBABILITY

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V. L. Adzhienko

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A purpose of this study was to determine the probability of bankruptcy by various methods in order to predict the financial crisis of pharmacy organization. Estimating the probability of pharmacy organization bankruptcy was conducted using W. Beaver’s method adopted in the Russian Federation, with integrated assessment of financial stability use on the basis of scoring analysis. The results obtained by different methods are comparable and show that the risk of bankruptcy of the pharmacy organization is small.

Soil microbial communities as affected by organic fertilizer and sunn hemp as a cover crop in organic sweet pepper production in Puerto Rico

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Organic production in Puerto Rico is at an early stage and research is needed to validate the sustainability of different management practices. This research initiated evaluation of selected soil properties including the microbial communities to evaluate the effects of Tropic sunn (Crotalaria juncea...

Mexican Americans on the Home Front: Community Organizations in Arizona during World War II.

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Marin, Christine

During World War II Arizona's Mexican-American communities organized their own patriotic activities and worked, in spite of racism, to support the war effort. In Phoenix the Lenadores del Mundo, an active fraternal society, began this effort by sponsoring a festival in January 1942. Such "mutualistas" provided an essential support system…

Advanced organic analysis and analytical methods development: FY 1995 progress report. Waste Tank Organic Safety Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wahl, K.L.; Campbell, J.A.; Clauss, S.A.

1995-09-01

This report describes the work performed during FY 1995 by Pacific Northwest Laboratory in developing and optimizing analysis techniques for identifying organics present in Hanford waste tanks. The main focus was to provide a means for rapidly obtaining the most useful information concerning the organics present in tank waste, with minimal sample handling and with minimal waste generation. One major focus has been to optimize analytical methods for organic speciation. Select methods, such as atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, were developed to increase the speciation capabilities, while minimizing sample handling. A capillary electrophoresis method was developed to improve separation capabilities while minimizing additional waste generation. In addition, considerable emphasis has been placed on developing a rapid screening tool, based on Raman and infrared spectroscopy, for determining organic functional group content when complete organic speciation is not required. This capability would allow for a cost-effective means to screen the waste tanks to identify tanks that require more specialized and complete organic speciation to determine tank safety

Government dependence of Chinese and Vietnamese community organizations and fiscal politics of immigrant services.

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Tseng, Winston

2005-01-01

Few studies have examined the impact of government support and policies on immigrant services within ethnic enclaves. This paper seeks to address this gap and examines the structure and challenges of ethnic community based organizations (CBOs) that serve low income immigrant populations and the impact of government support and policies on these CBOs. The study utilized case study and ethnographic methodologies and examined 2 Chinese and 2 Vietnamese CBOs in the San Francisco Bay Area. The findings show that ethnic CBOs critically depend on government fiscal support for survival. In exchange for fiscal support, ethnic CBOs represent public assistance and legitimacy interests for government in immigrant communities. However, culturally proficient and community leadership resources of ethnic CBOs can serve as bargaining chips to secure government funding, reduce compliance to government demands, and advance immigrant community interests. Nevertheless, in times of government fiscal crisis, ethnic CBOs and immigrant services tend to be most vulnerable to budget cuts due to lack of political voice. In sum, government-community collaboration through ethnic CBOs has a central role to play in facilitating and strengthening health and human services for rapidly growing, culturally diverse immigrant populations. These collaborative efforts in immigrant services are vital to cultivating healthy immigrant human capital and multicultural communities across the United States.

Biochar affects soil organic matter cycling and microbial functions but does not alter microbial community structure in a paddy soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Jing; Wang, Jingyuan; Dippold, Michaela; Gao, Yang; Blagodatskaya, Evgenia; Kuzyakov, Yakov

2016-06-15

The application of biochar (BC) in conjunction with mineral fertilizers is one of the most promising management practices recommended to improve soil quality. However, the interactive mechanisms of BC and mineral fertilizer addition affecting microbial communities and functions associated with soil organic matter (SOM) cycling are poorly understood. We investigated the SOM in physical and chemical fractions, microbial community structure (using phospholipid fatty acid analysis, PLFA) and functions (by analyzing enzymes involved in C and N cycling and Biolog) in a 6-year field experiment with BC and NPK amendment. BC application increased total soil C and particulate organic C for 47.4-50.4% and 63.7-74.6%, respectively. The effects of BC on the microbial community and C-cycling enzymes were dependent on fertilization. Addition of BC alone did not change the microbial community compared with the control, but altered the microbial community structure in conjunction with NPK fertilization. SOM fractions accounted for 55% of the variance in the PLFA-related microbial community structure. The particulate organic N explained the largest variation in the microbial community structure. Microbial metabolic activity strongly increased after BC addition, particularly the utilization of amino acids and amines due to an increase in the activity of proteolytic (l-leucine aminopeptidase) enzymes. These results indicate that microorganisms start to mine N from the SOM to compensate for high C:N ratios after BC application, which consequently accelerate cycling of stable N. Concluding, BC in combination with NPK fertilizer application strongly affected microbial community composition and functions, which consequently influenced SOM cycling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bacterial communities in the gut and reproductive organs of Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae) based on 454 pyrosequencing.

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Wang, Ailin; Yao, Zhichao; Zheng, Weiwei; Zhang, Hongyu

2014-01-01

The citrus fruit fly Bactrocera minax is associated with diverse bacterial communities. We used a 454 pyrosequencing technology to study in depth the microbial communities associated with gut and reproductive organs of Bactrocera minax. Our dataset consisted of 100,749 reads with an average length of 400 bp. The saturated rarefaction curves and species richness indices indicate that the sampling was comprehensive. We found highly diverse bacterial communities, with individual sample containing approximately 361 microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs). A total of 17 bacterial phyla were obtained from the flies. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA revealed that Proteobacteria was dominant in all samples (75%-95%). Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were also commonly found in the total clones. Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, and Serratia were the major genera. However, bacterial diversity (Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indices) and community structure (PCA analysis) varied across samples. Female ovary has the most diverse bacteria, followed by male testis, and the bacteria diversity of reproductive organs is richer than that of the gut. The observed variation can be caused by sex and tissue, possibly to meet the host's physiological demands.

Bacterial communities in the gut and reproductive organs of Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae based on 454 pyrosequencing.

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Ailin Wang

Full Text Available The citrus fruit fly Bactrocera minax is associated with diverse bacterial communities. We used a 454 pyrosequencing technology to study in depth the microbial communities associated with gut and reproductive organs of Bactrocera minax. Our dataset consisted of 100,749 reads with an average length of 400 bp. The saturated rarefaction curves and species richness indices indicate that the sampling was comprehensive. We found highly diverse bacterial communities, with individual sample containing approximately 361 microbial operational taxonomic units (OTUs. A total of 17 bacterial phyla were obtained from the flies. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rDNA revealed that Proteobacteria was dominant in all samples (75%-95%. Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were also commonly found in the total clones. Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, and Serratia were the major genera. However, bacterial diversity (Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indices and community structure (PCA analysis varied across samples. Female ovary has the most diverse bacteria, followed by male testis, and the bacteria diversity of reproductive organs is richer than that of the gut. The observed variation can be caused by sex and tissue, possibly to meet the host's physiological demands.

Impact of clay mineral, wood sawdust or root organic matter on the bacterial and fungal community structures in two aged PAH-contaminated soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Cébron, Aurélie; Beguiristain, Thierry; Bongoua-Devisme, Jeanne; Denonfoux, Jérémie; Faure, Pierre; Lorgeoux, Catherine; Ouvrard, Stéphanie; Parisot, Nicolas; Peyret, Pierre; Leyval, Corinne

2015-09-01

The high organic pollutant concentration of aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated wasteland soils is highly recalcitrant to biodegradation due to its very low bioavailability. In such soils, the microbial community is well adapted to the pollution, but the microbial activity is limited by nutrient availability. Management strategies could be applied to modify the soil microbial functioning as well as the PAH contamination through various amendment types. The impact of amendment with clay minerals (montmorillonite), wood sawdust and organic matter plant roots on microbial community structure was investigated on two aged PAH-contaminated soils both in laboratory and 1-year on-site pot experiments. Total PAH content (sum of 16 PAHs of the US-EPA list) and polar polycyclic aromatic compounds (pPAC) were monitored as well as the available PAH fraction using the Tenax method. The bacterial and fungal community structures were monitored using fingerprinting thermal gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE) method. The abundance of bacteria (16S rRNA genes), fungi (18S rRNA genes) and PAH degraders (PAH-ring hydroxylating dioxygenase and catechol dioxygenase genes) was followed through qPCR assays. Although the treatments did not modify the total and available PAH content, the microbial community density, structure and the PAH degradation potential changed when fresh organic matter was provided as sawdust and under rhizosphere influence, while the clay mineral only increased the percentage of catechol-1,2-dioxygenase genes. The abundance of bacteria and fungi and the percentage of fungi relative to bacteria were enhanced in soil samples supplemented with wood sawdust and in the plant rhizospheric soils. Two distinct fungal populations developed in the two soils supplemented with sawdust, i.e. fungi related to Chaetomium and Neurospora genera and Brachyconidiellopsis and Pseudallescheria genera, in H and NM soils respectively. Wood sawdust amendment favoured the

The Search Conference as a Method in Planning Community Health Promotion Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Magnus, Eva; Knudtsen, Margunn Skjei; Wist, Guri; Weiss, Daniel; Lillefjell, Monica

2016-01-01

Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives. Significance for public health This article describe and discuss how the Search conference can be used as a method when working with knowledge based health promotion actions in local communities. The article describe the sequences of the conference and shows how this have been adapted when planning and prioritizing health promotion actions in three Norwegian municipalities. The significance of the article is that it shows how central elements in the planning of health promotion actions, as participation and involvements as well as evidence was a fundamental thinking in how the conference were accomplished. The article continue discussing how the method function as both a top-down and a bottom-up strategy, and in what way working evidence based can be in conflict with a bottom-up strategy. The experiences described can be used as guidance planning knowledge based health promotion actions in communities. PMID:27747199

Teaching methods in community health nursing clerkships: experiences of healthcare staff in Iran

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Eshagh Ildarabadi

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Healthcare staff educate nursing students during their clerkships at community health nursing programs. Their teaching methods play an important role in nursing students’ acquisition of competencies; however, these methods have not been studied thoroughly. Thus, this study aims to describe, interpret, and understand the experiences of healthcare staff’s teaching methods in clerkships at a community health nursing program. Methods: This study was conducted using purposeful sampling and semi-structured interviews with 13 members of the staff of three urban healthcare centers in Iran. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Results: Multiplicity of teaching was identified as the main category of teaching method, and the five subcategories were teaching through lecture, demonstration, doing, visits and field trips, and readiness. The most common method used by the healthcare staff was lecturing. Conclusion: The healthcare staff used multiple methods to teach students in the nursing clerkship of the community health program, which was the strength of the course. However, they should be familiar with, and utilize additional methods, such as discussion rather than lecture.

Engaging Institutional Review Boards in Developing a Brief, Community-Responsive Human Subjects Training for Community Partners

Science.gov (United States)

Calzo, Jerel P.; Bogart, Laura M.; Francis, Evelyn; Kornetsky, Susan Z.; Winkler, Sabune J.; Kaberry, Julie M.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND Engaging community partners as co-investigators in community-based participatory research (CBPR) requires certification in the rules, ethics, and principles governing research. Despite developments in making human research protection trainings more convenient and standardized (e.g., self-paced Internet modules), time constraints and the structure of the content (which may favor academic audiences) may hinder the training of community partners. OBJECTIVES This paper is motivated by a case example in which academic and community partners, and stakeholders of a community-based organization actively engaged the leadership of a pediatric hospital-based Institutional Review Board (IRB) in implementing a brief, community-responsive human subjects training session. METHODS A two hour, discussion-based human subjects training was developed via collaborations between the IRB and the community and academic partners. Interviews with trainees and facilitators after the training were used to evaluate its acceptability and possible future applications. CONCLUSIONS Local Institutional Review Boards have the potential to assist community partners in building sufficient knowledge of human subjects research protections to engage in specific projects, thereby expediting the progress of vital research to address community needs. We propose the need for developing truncated human subjects education materials to train and certify community partners, and creating formally organized entities within academic and medical institutions that specialize in community-based research to guide the development and implementation of alternative human subjects training certification opportunities for community partners. PMID:28230554

Nitrous oxide emission and denitrifier communities in drip-irrigated calcareous soil as affected by chemical and organic fertilizers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Rui; Wakelin, Steven A; Liang, Yongchao; Hu, Baowei; Chu, Guixin

2018-01-15

The effects of consecutive application of chemical fertilizer with or without organic fertilizer on soil N 2 O emissions and denitrifying community structure in a drip-irrigated field were determined. The four fertilizer treatments were (i) unfertilized, (ii) chemical fertilizer, (iii) 60% chemical fertilizer plus cattle manure, and (iv) 60% chemical fertilizer plus biofertilizer. The treatments with organic amendments (i.e. cattle manure and biofertilizer) reduced cumulative N 2 O emissions by 4.9-9.9%, reduced the N 2 O emission factor by 1.3-42%, and increased denitrifying enzyme activities by 14.3-56.2%. The nirK gene copy numbers were greatest in soil which received only chemical fertilizer. In contrast, nirS- and nosZ-copy numbers were greatest in soil amended with chemical fertilizer plus biofertilizer. Chemical fertilizer application with or without organic fertilizer significantly changed the community structure of nirK-type denitrifiers relative to the unfertilized soil. In comparison, the nirS- and nosZ-type denitrifier genotypes varied in treatments receiving organic fertilizer but not chemical fertilizer alone. The changes in the denitrifier communities were closely associated with soil organic carbon (SOC), NO 3 - , NH 4 + , water holding capacity, and soil pH. Modeling indicated that N 2 O emissions in this soil were primarily associated with the abundance of nirS type denitrifying bacteria, SOC, and NO 3 - . Overall, our findings indicate that (i) the organic fertilizers increased denitrifying enzyme activity, increased denitrifying-bacteria gene copy numbers, but reduced N 2 O emissions, and (ii) nirS- and nosZ-type denitrifiers were more sensitive than nirK-type denitrifiers to the organic fertilizers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Soil Rhizosphere Microbial Communities and Enzyme Activities under Organic Farming in Alabama

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Zachary Senwo

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Evaluation of the soil rhizosphere has been limited by the lack of robust assessments that can explore the vast complex structure and diversity of soil microbial communities. Our objective was to combine fatty acid methyl ester (FAME and pyrosequencing techniques to evaluate soil microbial community structure and diversity. In addition, we evaluated biogeochemical functionality of the microbial communities via enzymatic activities of nutrient cycling. Samples were taken from a silt loam at 0–10 and 10–20 cm in an organic farm under lettuce (Lactuca sativa, potato (Solanum tuberosum, onion (Allium cepa L, broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis and Tall fescue pasture grass (Festuca arundinacea. Several FAMEs (a15:0, i15:0, i15:1, i16:0, a17:0, i17:0, 10Me17:0, cy17:0, 16:1ω5c and 18:1ω9c varied among the crop rhizospheres. FAME profiles of the soil microbial community under pasture showed a higher fungal:bacterial ratio compared to the soil under lettuce, potato, onion, and broccoli. Soil under potato showed higher sum of fungal FAME indicators compared to broccoli, onion and lettuce. Microbial biomass C and enzyme activities associated with pasture and potato were higher than the other rhizospheres. The lowest soil microbial biomass C and enzyme activities were found under onion. Pyrosequencing revealed significant differences regarding the maximum operational taxonomic units (OTU at 3% dissimilarity level (roughly corresponding to the bacterial species level at 0–10 cm (581.7–770.0 compared to 10–20 cm (563.3–727.7 soil depths. The lowest OTUs detected at 0–10 cm were under broccoli (581.7; whereas the lowest OTUs found at 10–20 cm were under potato (563.3. The predominant phyla (85% in this soil at both depths were Bacteroidetes (i.e., Flavobacteria, Sphingobacteria, and Proteobacteria. Flavobacteriaceae and Xanthomonadaceae were predominant under broccoli. Rhizobiaceae, Hyphomicrobiaceae, and Acidobacteriaceae were more

Creating Community Engagements Between People with Disability and the Local Community Through Digital Storytelling

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Shinsuke Funaki

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The International Federation of Social Workers adopted a new global definition of social work in 2014. Although promotion of social cohesion and respect for diversities was included in the new definition, social work practices for promoting cultural citizenship were still under-developed in Japan. Since the 1990s, community arts organizations in Australia have developed community engagement projects for people with disabilities through digital media production, such as digital storytelling, film making etc. It is important to develop collaborative methods between social workers and artists to promote cultural citizenship as social inclusion for minority groups such as immigrants and people with disabilities. With the aid of social workers and artists working in disability care fields, iPad digital storytelling workshops for people with intellectual disabilities were organized in Fukui, Japan, from 2013 to 2014. The digital media training programs for human service professionals and social work students were organized in Sydney, Australia, and Fukui, Japan, prior to these workshops. During this research project, we conducted interviews with participants to understand the ways in which people with disabilities and the local community interact with each other through digital storytelling. This paper explores two key questions. Firstly, we examine how digital storytelling can be employed for community engagement between people with disabilities and the local community and how it can help them achieve cultural citizenship. Secondly, we investigate how we can develop social work practices for people with disabilities through digital storytelling.

Nutrient gradients in a granular activated carbon biofilter drives bacterial community organization and dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Boon, Nico; Pycke, Benny F G; Marzorati, Massimo; Hammes, Frederik

2011-12-01

The quality of drinking water is ensured by hygienic barriers and filtration steps, such as ozonation and granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration. Apart from adsorption, GAC filtration involves microbial processes that remove biodegradable organic carbon from the ozonated ground or surface water and ensures biological stability of the treated water. In this study, microbial community dynamics in were monitored during the start-up and maturation of an undisturbed pilot-scale GAC filter at 4 depths (10, 45, 80 and 115 cm) over a period of 6 months. New ecological tools, based on 16S rRNA gene-DGGE, were correlated to filter performance and microbial activity and showed that the microbial gradients developing in the filter was of importance. At 10 cm from the top, receiving the freshly ozonated water with the highest concentration of nutrients, the microbial community dynamics were minimal and the species richness remained low. However, the GAC samples at 80-115 cm showed a 2-3 times higher species richness than the 10-45 cm samples. The highest biomass densities were observed at 45-80 cm, which corresponded with maximum removal of dissolved and assimilable organic carbon. Furthermore, the start-up period was clearly distinguishable using the Lorenz analysis, as after 80 days, the microbial community shifted to an apparent steady-state condition with increased evenness. This study showed that GAC biofilter performance is not necessarily correlated to biomass concentration, but rather that an elevated functionality can be the result of increased microbial community richness, evenness and dynamics. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the impacts of international volunteer tourism in host communities: A new approach to organizing and prioritizing indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher Anthony Lupoli; Wayde C. Morse; Conner Bailey; John Schelhas

2014-01-01

This paper explores the use of indicators to evaluate the impacts of volunteer tourism in host communities, based on an online questionnaire sent to 183 volunteer tourism organizations. Little research exists demonstrating how volunteer tourism programs impact host communities or how impacts can be assessed, but the literature suggests the use of indicators to do so....

Impacts of Fertilization Regimes on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) Community Composition Were Correlated with Organic Matter Composition in Maize Rhizosphere Soil.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Chen; Ling, Ning; Guo, Junjie; Wang, Min; Guo, Shiwei; Shen, Qirong

2016-01-01

The understanding of the response of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) community composition to fertilization is of great significance in sustainable agriculture. However, how fertilization influences AMF diversity and composition is not well-established yet. A field experiment located in northeast China in typical black soil (Chernozem) was conducted and high-throughput sequencing approach was used to investigate the effects of different fertilizations on the variation of AMF community in the rhizosphere soil of maize crop. The results showed that AMF diversity in the maize rhizosphere was significantly altered by different fertilization regimes. As revealed by redundancy analysis, the application of organic manure was the most important factor impacting AMF community composition between samples with and without organic manure, followed by N fertilizer and P fertilizer inputs. Moreover, the organic matter composition in the rhizosphere, determined by GC-MS, was significantly altered by the organic manure amendment. Many of the chemical components displayed significant relationships with the AMF community composition according to the Mantel test, among those, 2-ethylnaphthalene explained the highest percentage (54.2%) of the variation. The relative contents of 2-ethylnaphthalene and 2, 6, 10-trimethyltetradecane had a negative correlation with Glomus relative abundance, while the relative content of 3-methylbiphenyl displayed a positive correlation with Rhizophagus . The co-occurrence patterns in treatments with and without organic manure amendment were analyzed, and more hubs were detected in the network of soils with organic manure amendment. Additionally, three operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to Glomerales were identified as hubs in all treatments, indicating these OTUs likely occupied broad ecological niches and were always active for mediating AMF species interaction in the maize rhizosphere. Taken together, impacts of fertilization regimes on

Impacts of fertilization regimes on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF community composition were correlated with organic matter composition in maize rhizosphere soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen Zhu

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The understanding of the response of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF community composition to fertilization is of great significance in sustainable agriculture. However, how fertilization influences AMF diversity and composition is not well established yet. A field experiment located in northeast China in typical black soil (Chernozem was conducted and high-throughput sequencing approach was used to investigate the effects of different fertilizations on the variation of AMF community in the rhizosphere soil of maize crop. The results showed that AMF diversity in the maize rhizosphere was significantly altered by different fertilization regimes. As revealed by redundancy analysis, the application of organic manure was the most important factor impacting AMF community composition between samples with and without organic manure, followed by N fertilizer and P fertilizer inputs. Moreover, the organic matter composition in the rhizosphere, determined by GC-MS, was significantly altered by the organic manure amendment. Many of the chemical components displayed significant relationships with the AMF community composition according to the Mantel test, among those, 2-ethylnaphthalene explained the highest percentage (54.2% of the variation. The relative contents of 2-ethylnaphthalene and 2, 6, 10-trimethyltetradecane had a negative correlation with Glomus relative abundance, while the relative content of 3-methylbiphenyl displayed a positive correlation with Rhizophagus. The co-occurrence patterns in treatments with and without organic manure amendment were analysed, and more hubs were detected in the network of soils with organic manure amendment. Additionally, three OTUs belonging to Glomerales were identified as hubs in all treatments, indicating these OTUs likely occupied broad ecological niches and were always active for mediating AMF species interaction in the maize rhizosphere. Taken together, impacts of fertilization regimes on AMF community

Measuring and controlling method for organic impurities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aizawa, Motohiro; Igarashi, Hiroo

1995-01-01

The present invention concerns measurement and control for organic impurities contained in ultrapurified water for use in a nuclear power plant. A specimen containing organic impurities leached out of anionic exchange resins and cationic exchange resins is introduced to an organic material decomposing section to decompose organic impurities into organic carbon and other decomposed products. Sulfate ions, nitrate ions, nitrite ions and carbon dioxide are produced by the decomposition of the organic impurities. As a next step, carbon dioxide in the decomposed products is separated by deaerating with a nitrogen gas or an argon gas and then a TOC concentration is measured by a non-dispersion-type infrared spectrometer. Further, a specimen from which carbon dioxide was separated is introduced to a column filled with ion exchange resins and, after concentrating inorganic ion impurities, the inorganic ion impurities are identified by using a measuring theory of an ion chromatographic method of eluting and separating inorganic ion impurities and detecting them based on the change of electroconductivity depending on the kinds of the inorganic ion impurities. Organic impurities can be measured and controlled, to improve the reliability of water quality control. (N.H.)

The Response of Heterotrophic Prokaryote and Viral Communities to Labile Organic Carbon Inputs Is Controlled by the Predator Food Chain Structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandaa, Ruth-Anne; Pree, Bernadette; Larsen, Aud; Våge, Selina; Töpper, Birte; Töpper, Joachim P; Thyrhaug, Runar; Thingstad, Tron Frede

2017-08-23

Factors controlling the community composition of marine heterotrophic prokaryotes include organic-C, mineral nutrients, predation, and viral lysis. Two mesocosm experiments, performed at an Arctic location and bottom-up manipulated with organic-C, had very different results in community composition for both prokaryotes and viruses. Previously, we showed how a simple mathematical model could reproduce food web level dynamics observed in these mesocosms, demonstrating strong top-down control through the predator chain from copepods via ciliates and heterotrophic nanoflagellates. Here, we use a steady-state analysis to connect ciliate biomass to bacterial carbon demand. This gives a coupling of top-down and bottom-up factors whereby low initial densities of ciliates are associated with mineral nutrient-limited heterotrophic prokaryotes that do not respond to external supply of labile organic-C. In contrast, high initial densities of ciliates give carbon-limited growth and high responsiveness to organic-C. The differences observed in ciliate abundance, and in prokaryote abundance and community composition in the two experiments were in accordance with these predictions. Responsiveness in the viral community followed a pattern similar to that of prokaryotes. Our study provides a unique link between the structure of the predator chain in the microbial food web and viral abundance and diversity.

The search conference as a method in planning community health promotion actions

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Eva Magnus

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives.

Network analysis of Bogotá's Ciclovía Recreativa, a self-organized multisectorial community program to promote physical activity in a middle-income country.

Science.gov (United States)

Meisel, Jose D; Sarmiento, Olga L; Montes, Felipe; Martinez, Edwin O; Lemoine, Pablo D; Valdivia, Juan A; Brownson, Ross C; Zarama, Roberto

2014-01-01

Conduct a social network analysis of the health and non-health related organizations that participate in Bogotá's Ciclovía Recreativa (Ciclovía). Cross-sectional study. Ciclovía is a multisectoral community-based mass program in which streets are temporarily closed to motorized transport, allowing exclusive access to individuals for leisure activities and physical activity. Twenty-five organizations that participate in the Ciclovía. Seven variables were examined by using network analytic methods: relationship, link attributes (integration, contact, and importance), and node attributes (leadership, years in the program, and the sector of the organization). The network analytic methods were based on a visual descriptive analysis and an exponential random graph model. Analysis shows that the most central organizations in the network were outside of the Health sector and include Sports and Recreation, Government, and Security sectors. The organizations work in clusters formed by organizations of different sectors. Organization importance and structural predictors were positively related to integration, while the number of years working with Ciclovía was negatively associated with integration. Ciclovía is a network whose structure emerged as a self-organized complex system. Ciclovía of Bogotá is an example of a program with public health potential formed by organizations of multiple sectors with Sports and Recreation as the most central.

Applying Critical Race Theory to Group Model Building Methods to Address Community Violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Leah; Lich, Kristen Hassmiller; Funchess, Melanie; Burrell, Marcus; Cerulli, Catherine; Bedell, Precious; White, Ann Marie

2016-01-01

Group model building (GMB) is an approach to building qualitative and quantitative models with stakeholders to learn about the interrelationships among multilevel factors causing complex public health problems over time. Scant literature exists on adapting this method to address public health issues that involve racial dynamics. This study's objectives are to (1) introduce GMB methods, (2) present a framework for adapting GMB to enhance cultural responsiveness, and (3) describe outcomes of adapting GMB to incorporate differences in racial socialization during a community project seeking to understand key determinants of community violence transmission. An academic-community partnership planned a 1-day session with diverse stakeholders to explore the issue of violence using GMB. We documented key questions inspired by critical race theory (CRT) and adaptations to established GMB "scripts" (i.e., published facilitation instructions). The theory's emphasis on experiential knowledge led to a narrative-based facilitation guide from which participants created causal loop diagrams. These early diagrams depict how violence is transmitted and how communities respond, based on participants' lived experiences and mental models of causation that grew to include factors associated with race. Participants found these methods useful for advancing difficult discussion. The resulting diagrams can be tested and expanded in future research, and will form the foundation for collaborative identification of solutions to build community resilience. GMB is a promising strategy that community partnerships should consider when addressing complex health issues; our experience adapting methods based on CRT is promising in its acceptability and early system insights.

Towards Community - Reflections on Community Psychiatry, Culture and Alterity

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Ana Neto

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The constant transformation of  communities  and  its relationship  with mental illness has been studied and debated for the past decades, although it is still not clear how it has been incorporated in clinical practice.Aims: The authors propose to review the relevance to Psychiatry, especially Community Psychiatry, of understanding  communities as well as the methodologies and conceptual frameworks that allow that approach.Methods: Selected and critical review of the literature about Community Psychiatry and Culture, Communities, and Social Inequity and Mental Health.Results: The authors start by reviewing the meaning  of  Community and the  defining principles of Community Psychiatry in their relationships with  cultural  sensitivity.  This aspect is illustrated with two examples of the impact of culture and alterity in the understanding of Mental Health and Service Organization, one at the level of International and Global Mental Health, and the other at the local communities’ level. In this context, participatory action research is highlighted.Conclusions: Psychiatry,  in  particular Community  Psychiatry,  by acknowledging a  wide  range  of  methodologies  and  being open  to transdisciplinary  models, is in a privileged position of electing communities as a field of investigation and integrate it in its praxis.

Bacterial Communities: Interactions to Scale

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Reed M. Stubbendieck

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In the environment, bacteria live in complex multispecies communities. These communities span in scale from small, multicellular aggregates to billions or trillions of cells within the gastrointestinal tract of animals. The dynamics of bacterial communities are determined by pairwise interactions that occur between different species in the community. Though interactions occur between a few cells at a time, the outcomes of these interchanges have ramifications that ripple through many orders of magnitude, and ultimately affect the macroscopic world including the health of host organisms. In this review we cover how bacterial competition influences the structures of bacterial communities. We also emphasize methods and insights garnered from culture-dependent pairwise interaction studies, metagenomic analyses, and modeling experiments. Finally, we argue that the integration of multiple approaches will be instrumental to future understanding of the underlying dynamics of bacterial communities.

Printing method for organic light emitting device lighting

Science.gov (United States)

Ki, Hyun Chul; Kim, Seon Hoon; Kim, Doo-Gun; Kim, Tae-Un; Kim, Snag-Gi; Hong, Kyung-Jin; So, Soon-Yeol

2013-03-01

Organic Light Emitting Device (OLED) has a characteristic to change the electric energy into the light when the electric field is applied to the organic material. OLED is currently employed as a light source for the lighting tools because research has extensively progressed in the improvement of luminance, efficiency, and life time. OLED is widely used in the plate display device because of a simple manufacture process and high emitting efficiency. But most of OLED lighting projects were used the vacuum evaporator (thermal evaporator) with low molecular. Although printing method has lower efficiency and life time of OLED than vacuum evaporator method, projects of printing OLED actively are progressed because was possible to combine with flexible substrate and printing technology. Printing technology is ink-jet, screen printing and slot coating. This printing method allows for low cost and mass production techniques and large substrates. In this research, we have proposed inkjet printing for organic light-emitting devices has the dominant method of thick film deposition because of its low cost and simple processing. In this research, the fabrication of the passive matrix OLED is achieved by inkjet printing, using a polymer phosphorescent ink. We are measured optical and electrical characteristics of OLED.

Evaluating Community Partnerships Addressing Community Resilience in Los Angeles, California

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Malcolm V. Williams

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Community resilience has grown in importance in national disaster response and recovery efforts. However, measurement of community resilience, particularly the content and quality of relationships aimed at improving resilience, is lacking. To address this gap, we used a social network survey to measure the number, type, and quality of relationships among organizations participating in 16 coalitions brought together to address community resilience in the Los Angeles Community Disaster Resilience project. These coalitions were randomized to one of two approaches (community resilience or preparedness. Resilience coalitions received training and support to develop these partnerships and implement new activities. Both coalition types received expert facilitation by a public health nurse or community educator. We also measured the activities each coalition engaged in and the extent to which partners participated in these activities at two time points. We found that the community resilience coalitions were initially larger and had lower trust among members than the preparedness communities. Over time, these trust differences dissipated. While both coalitions grew, the resilience community coalitions maintained their size difference throughout the project. We also found differences in the types of activities implemented by the resilience communities; these differences were directly related to the trainings provided. This information is useful to organizations seeking guidance on expanding the network of community-based organizations that participate in community resilience activities.

Methods and systems for chemoautotrophic production of organic compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fischer, Curt R.; Che, Austin J.; Shetty, Reshma P.; Kelly, Jason R.

2018-02-27

The present disclosure identifies pathways, mechanisms, systems and methods to confer chemoautotrophic production of carbon-based products of interest, such as sugars, alcohols, chemicals, amino acids, polymers, fatty acids and their derivatives, hydrocarbons, isoprenoids, and intermediates thereof, in organisms such that these organisms efficiently convert inorganic carbon to organic carbon-based products of interest using inorganic energy, such as formate, and in particular the use of organisms for the commercial production of various carbon-based products of interest.

Genetic 'fingerprints' to characterise microbial communities during organic overloading and in large-scale biogas plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kleyboecker, A.; Lerm, S.; Vieth, A.; Wuerdemann, H. [GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Bio-Geo-Engineering, Potsdam (Germany); Miethling-Graff, R. [Bundesforschungsanstalt fuer Landwirtschaft, Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Agraroekologie; Wittmaier, M. [Institut fuer Kreislaufwirtschaft, Bremen (Germany)

2007-07-01

Since fermentation is a complex process, biogas reactors are still known as 'black boxes'. Mostly they are not run at their maximum loading rate due to the possible failure in the process by organic overloading. This means that there are still unused capacities to produce more biogas in less time. Investigations of different large-scale biogas plants showed that fermenters are operated containing different amounts of volatile fatty acids. These amounts can vary so much that one of two digestors, both possessing the same VFA concentration, does not produce gas anymore while the other is still at work. A reason for this phenomenon might be found in the composition of the microbial communities or in differences in the operation of the plants. To gain a better understanding of the 'black box', structural changes in microbial communities during controlled organic overloading in a laboratory and biocenosis of large-scale reactors were investigated. A genetic fingerprint based on 16S rDNA (PCR-SSCP) was used to characterise the microbial community. (orig.)

Outdoor Recreation. Community Action Guide for Public Officials: (1) Planning, (2) Legal Aspects, (3) Organization, (4) Staffing and Consultants, (5) Areawide and Multigovernmental Opportunities, (6) Financing, (7) Technical and Financial Assistance, (8) Land Acquisition, (9) Water Based Recreation, (10) Citizen Support

Science.gov (United States)

Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (Dept. of Interior), Washington, DC.

A series of 10 Community Action Guides was developed to assist public officials and community leaders in establishing comprehensive outdoor recreation programs. The importance of providing parks and recreation facilities in metropolitan areas and the importance of protecting the natural environment are emphasized. Methods of organization,…

Better Together: Research Findings on the Relationship between Racial Justice Organizations and LGBT Communities. Report

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Rinku; Wessler, Seth; Apollon, Dominique

2010-01-01

In partnership with the Arcus Foundation, the Applied Research Center (ARC) has undertaken a study of the relationship between racial justice organizations and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) constituencies and issues, with the understanding that communities of color themselves, including their LGBT members, have a good deal at stake in…

Response of soil organic carbon fractions, microbial community composition and carbon mineralization to high-input fertilizer practices under an intensive agricultural system

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xueping; Gebremikael, Mesfin Tsegaye; Wu, Huijun; Cai, Dianxiong; Wang, Bisheng; Li, Baoguo; Zhang, Jiancheng; Li, Yongshan; Xi, Jilong

2018-01-01

Microbial mechanisms associated with soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition are poorly understood. We aim to determine the effects of inorganic and organic fertilizers on soil labile carbon (C) pools, microbial community structure and C mineralization rate under an intensive wheat-maize double cropping system in Northern China. Soil samples in 0–10 cm layer were collected from a nine-year field trial involved four treatments: no fertilizer, CK; nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizers, NP; maize straw combined with NP fertilizers, NPS; and manure plus straw and NP fertilizers, NPSM. Soil samples were analyzed to determine labile C pools (including dissolved organic C, DOC; light free organic C, LFOC; and microbial biomass C, MBC), microbial community composition (using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profiles) and SOC mineralization rate (from a 124-day incubation experiment). This study demonstrated that the application of chemical fertilizers (NP) alone did not alter labile C fractions, soil microbial communities and SOC mineralization rate from those observed in the CK treatment. Whereas the use of straw in conjunction with chemical fertilizers (NPS) became an additional labile substrate supply that decreased C limitation, stimulated growth of all PLFA-related microbial communities, and resulted in 53% higher cumulative mineralization of C compared to that of CK. The SOC and its labile fractions explained 78.7% of the variance of microbial community structure. Further addition of manure on the top of straw in the NPSM treatment did not significantly increase microbial community abundances, but it did alter microbial community structure by increasing G+/G- ratio compared to that of NPS. The cumulative mineralization of C was 85% higher under NPSM fertilization compared to that of CK. Particularly, the NPSM treatment increased the mineralization rate of the resistant pool. This has to be carefully taken into account when setting realistic and effective goals

Towards an agro-ecological village at the Flora Community : reducing greenhouse gas emissions through organic based farming and energy self reliance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samson, R.; Mulkins, L. [Resource Efficient Agricultural Production-Canada, Ste. Anne de Bellevue, PQ (Canada); Amongo, L.; Yap, E. [MASIPAG, Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines); Mendoza, T. [Univ. of the Philippines Los Banos, Laguna (Philippines). Dept of Agronomy

2000-07-01

A former haciendero owned sugarcane plantation in Negros Occidental, Philippines was transformed into a diversified, self-reliant, agro-ecological village, and its transition is documented in this paper. In 1995, through the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the Philippine Government awarded 87 hectares of land to 76 hacienda workers. Community organizing, farm planning, training in organic farming, and loan support from a number of social welfare agencies were all areas where the community received assistance. The sugarcane production has been reduced at Flora since the land transition, and the community diversified into the growing of organic rice, corn and vegetables. Through its transition into an agro-ecological village, the Flora community has become more self-reliant in the areas of food and energy. Most individual farms and communally farmed areas have adopted organic based farming practices. The main products sold off the farm are sugarcane and high value vegetables. The MASIPAG rice farming system is being adhered to in the production of rice, the community's staple food. Nitrogen fixed during straw decomposition and the use of azolla, a nitrogen-fixing plant, represent some of the sources of nitrogen for the rice production. Other nutrient sources used are the mudpress from sugarcane processing and rice hull ash. To encourage nitrogen fixation and soil carbon accumulation from cane litter, a system of continuous trash farming was implemented for the production of sugarcane. In excess of 140 water buffaloes (carabaos) are employed for tillage and on-farm hauling, which minimizes the requirements for fossil fuels. Liquid propane gas (LPG), kerosene and wood fuel use in home cooking are being minimized by the efficient rice hull cookers. The local environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions are minimized, and the Flora community largely meets its requirements in terms of food security, on-farm energy and income. refs., 1 tab., 12 figs.

Methodical Aspects of Applying Strategy Map in an Organization

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Piotr Markiewicz

2013-06-01

Full Text Available One of important aspects of strategic management is the instrumental aspect included in a rich set of methods and techniques used at particular stages of strategic management process. The object of interest in this study is the development of views and the implementation of strategy as an element of strategic management and instruments in the form of methods and techniques. The commonly used method in strategy implementation and measuring progress is Balanced Scorecard (BSC. The method was created as a result of implementing the project “Measuring performance in the Organization of the future” of 1990, completed by a team under the supervision of David Norton (Kaplan, Norton 2002. The developed method was used first of all to evaluate performance by decomposition of a strategy into four perspectives and identification of measures of achievement. In the middle of 1990s the method was improved by enriching it, first of all, with a strategy map, in which the process of transition of intangible assets into tangible financial effects is reflected (Kaplan, Norton 2001. Strategy map enables illustration of cause and effect relationship between processes in all four perspectives and performance indicators at the level of organization. The purpose of the study being prepared is to present methodical conditions of using strategy maps in the strategy implementation process in organizations of different nature.

Cross-organism learning method to discover new gene functionalities.

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Domeniconi, Giacomo; Masseroli, Marco; Moro, Gianluca; Pinoli, Pietro

2016-04-01

Knowledge of gene and protein functions is paramount for the understanding of physiological and pathological biological processes, as well as in the development of new drugs and therapies. Analyses for biomedical knowledge discovery greatly benefit from the availability of gene and protein functional feature descriptions expressed through controlled terminologies and ontologies, i.e., of gene and protein biomedical controlled annotations. In the last years, several databases of such annotations have become available; yet, these valuable annotations are incomplete, include errors and only some of them represent highly reliable human curated information. Computational techniques able to reliably predict new gene or protein annotations with an associated likelihood value are thus paramount. Here, we propose a novel cross-organisms learning approach to reliably predict new functionalities for the genes of an organism based on the known controlled annotations of the genes of another, evolutionarily related and better studied, organism. We leverage a new representation of the annotation discovery problem and a random perturbation of the available controlled annotations to allow the application of supervised algorithms to predict with good accuracy unknown gene annotations. Taking advantage of the numerous gene annotations available for a well-studied organism, our cross-organisms learning method creates and trains better prediction models, which can then be applied to predict new gene annotations of a target organism. We tested and compared our method with the equivalent single organism approach on different gene annotation datasets of five evolutionarily related organisms (Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Bos taurus, Gallus gallus and Dictyostelium discoideum). Results show both the usefulness of the perturbation method of available annotations for better prediction model training and a great improvement of the cross-organism models with respect to the single-organism ones

Species-specific effects of epigeic earthworms on microbial community structure during first stages of decomposition of organic matter.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez-Brandón, María; Lores, Marta; Domínguez, Jorge

2012-01-01

Epigeic earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with microorganisms. The earthworm species and the quality and/or substrate availability are expected to be major factors influencing the outcome of these interactions. Here we tested whether and to what extent the epigeic earthworms Eisenia andrei, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus, widely used in vermicomposting, are capable of altering the microbiological properties of fresh organic matter in the short-term. We also questioned if the earthworm-induced modifications to the microbial communities are dependent on the type of substrate ingested. To address these questions we determined the microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acid profiles) and microbial activity (basal respiration and microbial growth rates) of three types of animal manure (cow, horse and rabbit) that differed in microbial composition, after being processed by each species of earthworm for one month. No differences were found between earthworm-worked samples with regards to microbial community structure, irrespective of type of manure, which suggests the existence of a bottleneck effect of worm digestion on microbial populations of the original material consumed. Moreover, in mesocosms containing cow manure the presence of E. andrei resulted not only in a decrease in bacterial and fungal biomass, but also in a reduced bacterial growth rate and total microbial activity, while no such reduction was found with E. fetida and P. excavatus. Our results point to the species of earthworm with its associated gut microbiota as a strong determinant of the process shaping the structure of microbial communities in the short-term. This must nonetheless be weighed against the fact that further knowledge is necessary to evaluate whether the changes in the composition of microbiota in response to the earthworm species is accompanied by a change in the microbial community diversity and

Species-specific effects of epigeic earthworms on microbial community structure during first stages of decomposition of organic matter.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Gómez-Brandón

Full Text Available Epigeic earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with microorganisms. The earthworm species and the quality and/or substrate availability are expected to be major factors influencing the outcome of these interactions. Here we tested whether and to what extent the epigeic earthworms Eisenia andrei, Eisenia fetida and Perionyx excavatus, widely used in vermicomposting, are capable of altering the microbiological properties of fresh organic matter in the short-term. We also questioned if the earthworm-induced modifications to the microbial communities are dependent on the type of substrate ingested.To address these questions we determined the microbial community structure (phospholipid fatty acid profiles and microbial activity (basal respiration and microbial growth rates of three types of animal manure (cow, horse and rabbit that differed in microbial composition, after being processed by each species of earthworm for one month. No differences were found between earthworm-worked samples with regards to microbial community structure, irrespective of type of manure, which suggests the existence of a bottleneck effect of worm digestion on microbial populations of the original material consumed. Moreover, in mesocosms containing cow manure the presence of E. andrei resulted not only in a decrease in bacterial and fungal biomass, but also in a reduced bacterial growth rate and total microbial activity, while no such reduction was found with E. fetida and P. excavatus.Our results point to the species of earthworm with its associated gut microbiota as a strong determinant of the process shaping the structure of microbial communities in the short-term. This must nonetheless be weighed against the fact that further knowledge is necessary to evaluate whether the changes in the composition of microbiota in response to the earthworm species is accompanied by a change in the microbial community

Molecular Phylogenetic: Organism Taxonomy Method Based on Evolution History

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N.L.P Indi Dharmayanti

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Phylogenetic is described as taxonomy classification of an organism based on its evolution history namely its phylogeny and as a part of systematic science that has objective to determine phylogeny of organism according to its characteristic. Phylogenetic analysis from amino acid and protein usually became important area in sequence analysis. Phylogenetic analysis can be used to follow the rapid change of a species such as virus. The phylogenetic evolution tree is a two dimensional of a species graphic that shows relationship among organisms or particularly among their gene sequences. The sequence separation are referred as taxa (singular taxon that is defined as phylogenetically distinct units on the tree. The tree consists of outer branches or leaves that represents taxa and nodes and branch represent correlation among taxa. When the nucleotide sequence from two different organism are similar, they were inferred to be descended from common ancestor. There were three methods which were used in phylogenetic, namely (1 Maximum parsimony, (2 Distance, and (3 Maximum likehoood. Those methods generally are applied to construct the evolutionary tree or the best tree for determine sequence variation in group. Every method is usually used for different analysis and data.

Community College Program Planning: A Method to Measure and Meet Community Need

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Vergara, Kelly; Lathrop, Rachel; Orlowski, Martin

2018-01-01

Offering academic programs that meet community need has long been a core mission of community colleges. However, determining which job skills and credentials are needed for employment in the community is challenging. In order to facilitate a holistic and community-based perspective, our 2-year community college developed a structured curricular…

Network analysis of Bogotá’s Ciclovía Recreativa, a self-organized multisectoral community program to promote physical activity in a middle-income country

Science.gov (United States)

Meisel, Jose D; Sarmiento, Olga; Montes, Felipe; Martinez, Edwin O.; Lemoine, Pablo D; Valdivia, Juan A; Brownson, RC; Zarama, Robert

2016-01-01

Purpose Conduct a social network analysis of the health and non-health related organizations that participate in the Bogotá’s Ciclovía Recreativa (Ciclovía). Design Cross sectional study. Setting Ciclovía is a multisectoral community-based mass program in which streets are temporarily closed to motorized transport, allowing exclusive access to individuals for leisure activities and PA. Subjects 25 organizations that participate in the Ciclovía. Measures Seven variables were examined using network analytic methods: relationship, link attributes (integration, contact, and importance), and node attributes (leadership, years in the program, and the sector of the organization). Analysis The network analytic methods were based on a visual descriptive analysis and an exponential random graph model. Results Analysis shows that the most central organizations in the network were outside of the health sector and includes Sports and Recreation, Government, and Security sectors. The organizations work in clusters formed by organizations of different sectors. Organization importance and structural predictors were positively related to integration, while the number of years working with Ciclovía was negatively associated with integration. Conclusion Ciclovía is a network whose structure emerged as a self-organized complex system. Ciclovía of Bogotá is an example of a program with public health potential formed by organizations of multiple sectors with Sports and Recreation as the most central. PMID:23971523

The Organization and Structure of Community Education Offerings in Community Colleges

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Michael; Grover, Kenda S.; Kacirek, Kit

2014-01-01

One of the key services community colleges provide is community education, meaning those programs and activities that are often offered for leisure or self-improvement and not for credit. Programs of this nature are increasingly challenged to be self-financing, whether through user fees or externally funded grants. The current study explored 75…

Thermodynamic properties of organic compounds estimation methods, principles and practice

CERN Document Server

Janz, George J

1967-01-01

Thermodynamic Properties of Organic Compounds: Estimation Methods, Principles and Practice, Revised Edition focuses on the progression of practical methods in computing the thermodynamic characteristics of organic compounds. Divided into two parts with eight chapters, the book concentrates first on the methods of estimation. Topics presented are statistical and combined thermodynamic functions; free energy change and equilibrium conversions; and estimation of thermodynamic properties. The next discussions focus on the thermodynamic properties of simple polyatomic systems by statistical the

Development of Methods of Innovative Projects’ Management in Developer Organizations

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Papelniuk Oksana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In article the author studies the conceptual scheme of life cycle of innovative developer project and offers methods of innovative projects' management according to the stages of its lifecycle. The author describes algorithm of the organization of management system of innovative projects in the developer organization representing set of stages and methods. The offered algorithm allows developer organizations achieve one of the main of their objectives, which is the creation of a special environment of comfortable accommodation with the emphasis on ecological compatibility and energy efficiency.

Earthworm Effects without Earthworms: Inoculation of Raw Organic Matter with Worm-Worked Substrates Alters Microbial Community Functioning

OpenAIRE

Aira, Manuel; Domínguez, Jorge

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: Earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with soil microorganisms. They enhance decomposition rates through the joint action of direct effects (i.e. effects due to direct earthworm activity such as digestion, burrowing, etc) and indirect effects (i.e. effects derived from earthworm activities such as cast ageing). Here we test whether indirect earthworm effects affect microbial community functioning in the substrate, a...

Exploring the role of intermediary organizations in firm and user community collaborations: Resolving or multiplying paradoxes?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dragsdahl Lauritzen, Ghita

2015-01-01

Research on user innovation shows that innovation can be impeded by the conflicting demands that arise in the context of collaborations between firms and their user communities. One stream of research, however, applies a paradox lens to argue that intermediary organizations can help to resolve...... these conflicts, by bridging the opposing logics in which they originate. On the basis of an embedded case study, this article suggests that instead of resolving a paradox of innovation, intermediaries create new paradoxical tensions. Further, I argue that mediating firm-community collaboration is not a matter...

Probabilistic atlas-guided eigen-organ method for simultaneous bounding box estimation of multiple organs in volumetric CT images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Cong; Wada, Takashige; Shimizu, Akinobu; Kobatake, Hidefumi; Nawano, Shigeru

2006-01-01

We propose an approach for the simultaneous bounding box estimation of multiple organs in volumetric CT images. Local eigen-organ spaces are constructed for different types of training organs, and a global eigen-space, which describes the spatial relationships between the organs, is also constructed. Each volume of interest in the abdominal CT image is projected into the local eigen-organ spaces, and several candidate locations are determined. The final selection of the organ locations is made by projecting the set of candidate locations into the global eigen-space. A probabilistic atlas of organs is used to eliminate locations with low probability and to guide the selection of candidate locations. Evaluation by the leave-one-out method using 10 volumetric abdominal CT images showed that the proposed method provided an average accuracy of 80.38% for 11 different organ types. (author)

Concept and Method of Asset-Based Community Development Planning: A Case Study on Minlecun Community in Chongqing’s Yuzhong District

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Huang; Ling; Liu; Yang; Xu; Jianfeng

2015-01-01

With the transformation of the Chinese economy from an extensive growth to intensive development, city development is also gradually turning from incremental construction to stock management. Community, as a basic unit of human settlements, is an important platform to build and improve the social governance capability. In 2013, Shiyoulu Jiedao Offi ce of Yuzhong District led the 1st urban community development planning, which was a milestone of Chongqing’s city regeneration and governance innovation. This paper focuses on two key issues: how to understand the community values and make the community development planning based on the above, and how to integrate with the local forces so that the community development planning can be integrated into the action plan. Combined with the practice of Minlecun Community Development Planning, using the concept of asset-based community development, a comprehensive survey is conducted on community assets(including three aspects of physical, human, and social capital), and a community comprehensive planning strategy is formulated which covers two parts: the optimization of community spaces and the upgrading of community governance. The paper explores the local-based community planning theories and methods from such aspects as value attitude, public participation, role transformation of urban planners, and others.

A Novel Method to Evaluate the Community Built Environment Using Photographs – Environmental Profile of a Community Health (EPOCH) Photo Neighbourhood Evaluation Tool

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Clara K.; Corsi, Daniel J.; Lock, Karen; Madhavan, Manisha; Mackie, Pam; Li, Wei; Yi, Sun; Wang, Yang; Swaminathan, Sumathi; Lopez-Jaramillo, Patricio; Gomez-Arbelaez, Diego; Avezum, Álvaro; Lear, Scott A.; Dagenais, Gilles; Teo, Koon; McKee, Martin; Yusuf, Salim

2014-01-01

Background Previous research has shown that environments with features that encourage walking are associated with increased physical activity. Existing methods to assess the built environment using geographical information systems (GIS) data, direct audit or large surveys of the residents face constraints, such as data availability and comparability, when used to study communities in countries in diverse parts of the world. The aim of this study was to develop a method to evaluate features of the built environment of communities using a standard set of photos. In this report we describe the method of photo collection, photo analysis instrument development and inter-rater reliability of the instrument. Methods/Principal Findings A minimum of 5 photos were taken per community in 86 communities in 5 countries according to a standard set of instructions from a designated central point of each community by researchers at each site. A standard pro forma derived from reviewing existing instruments to assess the built environment was developed and used to score the characteristics of each community. Photo sets from each community were assessed independently by three observers in the central research office according to the pro forma and the inter-rater reliability was compared by intra-class correlation (ICC). Overall 87% (53 of 60) items had an ICC of ≥0.70, 7% (4 of 60) had an ICC between 0.60 and 0.70 and 5% (3 of 60) items had an ICC ≤0.50. Conclusions/Significance Analysis of photos using a standardized protocol as described in this study offers a means to obtain reliable and reproducible information on the built environment in communities in very diverse locations around the world. The collection of the photographic data required minimal training and the analysis demonstrated high reliability for the majority of items of interest. PMID:25369366

Evaluating the effects of community-based organization engagement on HIV and AIDS-related risk behavior in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Riehman, Kara S; Kakietek, Jakub; Manteuffel, Brigitte A; Rodriguez-García, Rosalía; Bonnel, Rene; N'Jie, N'Della; Godoy-Garraza, Lucas; Orago, Alloys; Murithi, Patrick; Fruh, Joseph

2013-01-01

International donors have increasingly shifted AIDS funding directly to community-based organizations (CBOs) with the assumption that responding to the epidemic is best achieved at the community level. The World Bank, ICF Macro, and the National Council for Population and Development in Kenya, conducted a study to evaluate the community response in Kenya. The study used a quasi-experimental design comparing seven study communities and seven comparison communities in Nyanza Province and Western Province. We examined the impact of CBO activity on individual and community-level outcomes, including HIV knowledge, awareness and perceptions, sexual risk behavior, and social transformation (gender ideology and social capital). The study consisted of two components: a household survey conducted in all 14 communities, and qualitative data collected in a subset of communities. Individuals in communities with higher CBO engagement were significantly more likely to have reported consistent condom use. Higher CBO engagement was associated with some measures of social capital, including participation in local and national elections, and participation in electoral campaigns. CBOs provide added value in addressing the HIV and AIDS epidemic in very targeted and specific ways that are closely tied to the services they provide (e.g., prevention education); thus, increasing CBO engagement can be an effective measure in scaling up prevention efforts in those areas.

International non-governmental organizations' provision of community-based tuberculosis care for hard-to-reach populations in Myanmar, 2013-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Soe, Kyaw Thu; Saw, Saw; van Griensven, Johan; Zhou, Shuisen; Win, Le; Chinnakali, Palanivel; Shah, Safieh; Mon, Myo Myo; Aung, Si Thu

2017-03-24

National tuberculosis (TB) programs increasingly engage with international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), especially to provide TB care in complex settings where community involvement might be required. In Myanmar, however, there is limited data on how such INGO community-based programs are organized and how effective they are. In this study, we describe four INGO strategies for providing community-based TB care to hard-to-reach populations in Myanmar, and assess their contribution to TB case detection. We conducted a descriptive study using program data from four INGOs and the National TB Program (NTP) in 2013-2014. For each INGO, we extracted information on its approach and key activities, the number of presumptive TB cases referred and undergoing TB testing, and the number of patients diagnosed with TB and their treatment outcomes. The contribution of INGOs to TB diagnosis in their selected townships was calculated as the proportion of INGO-diagnosed new TB cases out of the total NTP-diagnosed new TB cases in the same townships. All four INGOs implemented community-based TB care in challenging contexts, targeting migrants, post-conflict areas, the urban poor, and other vulnerable populations. Two recruited community volunteers via existing community health volunteers or health structures, one via existing community leaderships, and one directly involved TB infected/affected individuals. Two INGOs compensated volunteers via performance-based financing, and two provided financial and in-kind initiatives. All relied on NTP laboratories for diagnosis and TB drugs, but provided direct observation treatment support and treatment follow-up. A total of 21 995 presumptive TB cases were referred for TB diagnosis, with 7 383 (34%) new TB cases diagnosed and almost all (98%) successfully treated. The four INGOs contributed to the detection of, on average, 36% (7 383/20 663) of the total new TB cases in their respective townships (range: 15-52%). Community-based TB

Can AmeriCorps Build Communities?

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, Ann Marie; Perry, James L.

1998-01-01

An examination of AmeriCorps in five communities focused on its impact on the capacity of local community-based organizations to achieve community goals. Most partner organizations were unable to build sufficient commitment for self-governance; few programs were designed to encourage collective goals. Getting things done in local communities may…

The community dynamics of major bioleaching microorganisms during chalcopyrite leaching under the effect of organics.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Qihou; Tian, Ye; Fu, Xian; Yin, Huaqun; Zhou, Zhijun; Liang, Yiting; Qiu, Guanzhou; Liu, Jie; Liu, Hongwei; Liang, Yili; Shen, Li; Cong, Jing; Liu, Xueduan

2011-08-01

To determine the effect of organics (yeast extract) on microbial community during chalcopyrite bioleaching at different temperature, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to analyze community dynamics of major bacteria applied in bioleaching. The results showed that yeast extract exerted great impact on microbial community, and therefore influencing bioleaching rate. To be specific, yeast extract was adverse to this bioleaching process at 30°C due to decreased proportion of important chemolithotrophs such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. However, yeast extract could promote bioleaching rate at 40°C on account of the increased number and enhanced work of Ferroplasma thermophilum, a kind of facultative bacteria. Similarly, bioleaching rate was enhanced under the effect of yeast extract at 50°C owing to the work of Acidianus brierleyi. At 60°C, bioleaching rate was close to 100% and temperature was the dominant factor determining bioleaching rate. Interestingly, the existence of yeast extract greatly enhanced the relative competitiveness of Ferroplasma thermophilum in this complex bioleaching microbial community.

Managing a new collaborative entity in business organizations: understanding organizational communities of practice effectiveness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkman, Bradley L; Mathieu, John E; Cordery, John L; Rosen, Benson; Kukenberger, Michael

2011-11-01

Companies worldwide are turning to organizational communities of practice (OCoPs) as vehicles to generate learning and enhance organizational performance. OCoPs are defined as groups of employees who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic and who strengthen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on a consistent basis. To date, OCoP research has drawn almost exclusively from the community of practice (CoP) literature, even though the organizational form of CoPs shares attributes of traditional CoPs and of organizational teams. Drawing on Lave and Wenger's (1991) original theory of legitimate peripheral participation, we integrate theory and research from CoPs and organizational teams to develop and empirically examine a model of OCoP effectiveness that includes constructs such as leadership, empowerment, the structure of tasks, and OCoP relevance to organizational effectiveness. Using data from 32 OCoPs in a U.S.-based multinational mining and minerals processing firm, we found that external community leaders play an important role in enhancing OCoP empowerment, particularly to the extent that task interdependence is high. Empowerment, in turn, was positively related to OCoP effectiveness. We also found that OCoPs designated as "core" by the organization (e.g., working on critical issues) were more effective than those that were noncore. Task interdependence also was positively related to OCoP effectiveness. We provide scholars and practitioners with insights on how to effectively manage OCoPs in today's organizations. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Latina/o Parent Organizing for Educational Justice: An Ethnographic Account of Community Building and Radical Healing

Science.gov (United States)

Nygreen, Kysa

2017-01-01

This article describes a parent organizing effort with Latina/o immigrant parents in a large, high-poverty, racially and linguistically diverse urban school district. Drawing from ethnographic research and the theoretical framework of "mujerismo," it examines the relational processes of community building and radical healing that…

Keeping "Community" in a Community Land Trust

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Karen A.; Galande, Mugdha

2011-01-01

This instrumental case study examined the role of grassroots community organizing in a community land trust (CLT) in a southern U.S. city. Twenty-nine homeowners, renters, board members, community members, and current and former CLT employees were interviewed. In addition, two focus groups of 11 and six participants composed of CLT residents and…

Ordination of self-organizing feature map neural networks and its application to the study of plant communities

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jintun ZHANG; Dongping MENG; Yuexiang XI

2009-01-01

A self-organizing feature map (SOFM) neural network is a powerful tool in analyzing and solving complex, non-linear problems. According to its features, a SOFM is entirely compatible with ordination studies of plant communities. In our present work, mathematical principles, and ordination techniques and procedures are introduced. A SOFM ordination was applied to the study of plant communities in the middle of the Taihang mountains. The ordination was carried out by using the NNTool box in MATLAB. The results of 68 quadrats of plant communities were distributed in SOFM space. The ordination axes showed the ecological gradients clearly and provided the relationships between communities with ecological meaning. The results are consistent with the reality of vegetation in the study area. This suggests that SOFM ordination is an effective technique in plant ecology. During ordination procedures, it is easy to carry out clustering of communities and so it is beneficial for combining classification and ordination in vegetation studies.

Quantitative Comparison of Abundance Structures of Generalized Communities: From B-Cell Receptor Repertoires to Microbiomes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammadkarim Saeedghalati

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The community, the assemblage of organisms co-existing in a given space and time, has the potential to become one of the unifying concepts of biology, especially with the advent of high-throughput sequencing experiments that reveal genetic diversity exhaustively. In this spirit we show that a tool from community ecology, the Rank Abundance Distribution (RAD, can be turned by the new MaxRank normalization method into a generic, expressive descriptor for quantitative comparison of communities in many areas of biology. To illustrate the versatility of the method, we analyze RADs from various generalized communities, i.e. assemblages of genetically diverse cells or organisms, including human B cells, gut microbiomes under antibiotic treatment and of different ages and countries of origin, and other human and environmental microbial communities. We show that normalized RADs enable novel quantitative approaches that help to understand structures and dynamics of complex generalized communities.

[Methods of coping with musculoskeletal pain among community-dwelling elderly individuals].

Science.gov (United States)

Anzai, Saori; Sato, Miyuki; Ikeda, Shinpei; Shiba, Yoshitaka; Yoshida, Hiroto; Haga, Hiroshi; Ueki, Shouzoh

2018-01-01

Objectives　Musculoskeletal pain impairs vital function and results in a requirement for long-term care. According to studies in other countries, a program that aims at reducing pain through instructions for pain-coping should be implemented. In Japan, a study on pain-coping has recently been initiated; however, the methods of coping with pain that are implemented by community-dwelling elderly individuals have not been evaluated. This study aimed to clarify the methods currently used for coping with musculoskeletal pain and to examine their association with the state of pain among community-dwelling elderly individuals.Methods　A survey was performed by sending questionnaires by mail to 2,281 community-dwelling elderly individuals. Responses were obtained from 1,835 people. The survey items consisted of questions about basic attributes and pain. A total of 16 questionnaire items regarding the methods of coping with pain were used for measuring pain-coping that community-dwelling elderly individuals use. The methods of coping with pain were classified into various types by factor analysis. The scores were calculated by type and their association with the state of pain was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance.Results　As a result of the factor analysis, methods of coping with pain were classified into five categories: "treatment in hospitals," "daily active coping," "restriction of daily behavior," "self-therapy," and "rest." From one-way analysis of variance for the site of pain, there was a significant difference between the "treatment in hospitals" and "restriction of daily behavior" categories. Among both scores, a higher score was observed in subjects with pain in both the lower back and the knee, compared to those with only pain in the lower back or the knee. Among the number of the sites, there was a significant difference between the "treatment in hospitals," "restriction of daily behavior," and "self-therapy" categories; subjects exhibiting two or

Effects of Didymosphenia geminata massive growth on stream communities: Smaller organisms and simplified food web structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladrera, Rubén; Gomà, Joan; Prat, Narcís

2018-01-01

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the impact of Didymosphenia geminata massive growths upon river ecosystem communities' composition and functioning. This is the first study to jointly consider the taxonomic composition and functional structure of diatom and macroinvertebrate assemblages in order to determine changes in community structure, and the food web alterations associated with this invasive alga. This study was carried out in the Lumbreras River (Ebro Basin, La Rioja, Northern Spain), which has been affected by a considerable massive growth of D. geminata since 2011. The study shows a profound alteration in both the river community composition and in the food web structure at the sites affected by the massive growth, which is primarily due to the alteration of the environmental conditions, thus demonstrating that D. geminata has an important role as an ecosystem engineer in the river. Thick filamentous mats impede the movement of large invertebrates-especially those that move and feed up on it-and favor small, opportunistic, herbivorous organisms, mainly chironomids, that are capable of moving between filaments and are aided by the absence of large trophic competitors and predators -prey release effect-. Only small predators, such as hydra, are capable of surviving in the new environment, as they are favored by the increase in chironomids, a source of food, and by the reduction in both their own predators and other midge predators -mesopredator release-. This change in the top-down control affects the diatom community, since chironomids may feed on large diatoms, increasing the proportion of small diatoms in the substrate. The survival of small and fast-growing pioneer diatoms is also favored by the mesh of filaments, which offers them a new habitat for colonization. Simultaneously, D. geminata causes a significant reduction in the number of diatoms with similar ecological requirements (those attached to the substrate). Overall, D

Community mental health care in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Padmavati, R

2005-04-01

Recent times are witnessing methods in the various forms of community care for the mentally ill in India. Non-governmental organizations (NGO) play a pivotal role in filling the gap in the existing mental health services in India and the substantial need for these services. Various strategies that have been employed in community care have attempted to utilize existing community resources for implementation. Informal manpower resources incorporated with specialist psychiatric care and integrated with existing health care facilities have been general strategies. While the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of the NGO operated community outreach programs for the mentally ill have been demonstrated, various factors are seen to influence the planning and execution of such programs. This paper elucidates some critical factors that would need to be considered in community mental health care in India.

RNA preservation agents and nucleic acid extraction method bias perceived bacterial community composition.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann McCarthy

Full Text Available Bias is a pervasive problem when characterizing microbial communities. An important source is the difference in lysis efficiencies of different populations, which vary depending on the extraction protocol used. To avoid such biases impacting comparisons between gene and transcript abundances in the environment, the use of one protocol that simultaneously extracts both types of nucleic acids from microbial community samples has gained popularity. However, knowledge regarding tradeoffs to combined nucleic acid extraction protocols is limited, particularly regarding yield and biases in the observed community composition. Here, we evaluated a commercially available protocol for simultaneous extraction of DNA and RNA, which we adapted for freshwater microbial community samples that were collected on filters. DNA and RNA yields were comparable to other commonly used, but independent DNA and RNA extraction protocols. RNA protection agents benefited RNA quality, but decreased DNA yields significantly. Choice of extraction protocol influenced the perceived bacterial community composition, with strong method-dependent biases observed for specific phyla such as the Verrucomicrobia. The combined DNA/RNA extraction protocol detected significantly higher levels of Verrucomicrobia than the other protocols, and those higher numbers were confirmed by microscopic analysis. Use of RNA protection agents as well as independent sequencing runs caused a significant shift in community composition as well, albeit smaller than the shift caused by using different extraction protocols. Despite methodological biases, sample origin was the strongest determinant of community composition. However, when the abundance of specific phylogenetic groups is of interest, researchers need to be aware of the biases their methods introduce. This is particularly relevant if different methods are used for DNA and RNA extraction, in addition to using RNA protection agents only for RNA

A novel method to evaluate the community built environment using photographs--Environmental Profile of a Community Health (EPOCH photo neighbourhood evaluation tool.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara K Chow

Full Text Available Previous research has shown that environments with features that encourage walking are associated with increased physical activity. Existing methods to assess the built environment using geographical information systems (GIS data, direct audit or large surveys of the residents face constraints, such as data availability and comparability, when used to study communities in countries in diverse parts of the world. The aim of this study was to develop a method to evaluate features of the built environment of communities using a standard set of photos. In this report we describe the method of photo collection, photo analysis instrument development and inter-rater reliability of the instrument.A minimum of 5 photos were taken per community in 86 communities in 5 countries according to a standard set of instructions from a designated central point of each community by researchers at each site. A standard pro forma derived from reviewing existing instruments to assess the built environment was developed and used to score the characteristics of each community. Photo sets from each community were assessed independently by three observers in the central research office according to the pro forma and the inter-rater reliability was compared by intra-class correlation (ICC. Overall 87% (53 of 60 items had an ICC of ≥ 0.70, 7% (4 of 60 had an ICC between 0.60 and 0.70 and 5% (3 of 60 items had an ICC ≤ 0.50.Analysis of photos using a standardized protocol as described in this study offers a means to obtain reliable and reproducible information on the built environment in communities in very diverse locations around the world. The collection of the photographic data required minimal training and the analysis demonstrated high reliability for the majority of items of interest.

An integrated miRNA functional screening and target validation method for organ morphogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rebustini, Ivan T; Vlahos, Maryann; Packer, Trevor; Kukuruzinska, Maria A; Maas, Richard L

2016-03-16

The relative ease of identifying microRNAs and their increasing recognition as important regulators of organogenesis motivate the development of methods to efficiently assess microRNA function during organ morphogenesis. In this context, embryonic organ explants provide a reliable and reproducible system that recapitulates some of the important early morphogenetic processes during organ development. Here we present a method to target microRNA function in explanted mouse embryonic organs. Our method combines the use of peptide-based nanoparticles to transfect specific microRNA inhibitors or activators into embryonic organ explants, with a microRNA pulldown assay that allows direct identification of microRNA targets. This method provides effective assessment of microRNA function during organ morphogenesis, allows prioritization of multiple microRNAs in parallel for subsequent genetic approaches, and can be applied to a variety of embryonic organs.

Method for obtaining more precise measures of excreted organic carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1977-01-01

A new method for concentrating and measuring excreted organic carbon by lyophilization and scintillation counting is efficient, improves measurable radioactivity, and increases precision for estimates of organic carbon excreted by phytoplankton and macrophytes

Quantitative EDXS analysis of organic materials using the ζ-factor method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fladischer, Stefanie; Grogger, Werner

2014-01-01

In this study we successfully applied the ζ-factor method to perform quantitative X-ray analysis of organic thin films consisting of light elements. With its ability to intrinsically correct for X-ray absorption, this method significantly improved the quality of the quantification as well as the accuracy of the results compared to conventional techniques in particular regarding the quantification of light elements. We describe in detail the process of determining sensitivity factors (ζ-factors) using a single standard specimen and the involved parameter optimization for the estimation of ζ-factors for elements not contained in the standard. The ζ-factor method was then applied to perform quantitative analysis of organic semiconducting materials frequently used in organic electronics. Finally, the results were verified and discussed concerning validity and accuracy. - Highlights: • The ζ-factor method is used for quantitative EDXS analysis of light elements. • We describe the process of determining ζ-factors from a single standard in detail. • Organic semiconducting materials are successfully quantified

The Socialization Process of Street Children in the Youth Gangs and Groups of Organized Crime in Local Community. Preliminary Report

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Małgorzata Michel

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This article includes the research report on the socialization process of children in the street, youth gangs, and organized criminal groups in local communities. The author has analysed the signs and communication codes located on walls in local communities. This is very important to the socialization process of the youth street gangs.

Method of processing radiation-contaminated organic polymer materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kobayashi, Yoshii.

1980-01-01

Purpose: To process radiation contaminated organic high polymer materials with no evolution of toxic gases, at low temperature and with safety by hot-acid immersion process using sulfuric acid-hydrogen peroxide. Method: Less flammable or easily flammable organic polymers contaminated with radioactive substances, particularly with long life actinoid are heated and carbonized in concentrated sulfuric acid. Then, aqueous 30% H 2 O 2 solution is continuously added dropwise as an oxidizing agent till the solution turns colourless. If the carbonization was insufficient, addition of H 2 O 2 solution is stopped temporarily and the carbonization is conducted again. Thus, the organic polymers are completely decomposed by the wet oxidization. Then, the volume of the organic materials to be discharged is decreased and the radioactive substances contained are simultaneously concentrated and collected. (Seki, T.)

Constructing Taxonomies to Identify Distinctive Forms of Primary Healthcare Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Borgès Da Silva, Roxane; Pineault, Raynald; Hamel, Marjolaine; Levesque, Jean-Frédéric; Roberge, Danièle; Lamarche, Paul

2013-01-01

Background. Primary healthcare (PHC) renewal gives rise to important challenges for policy makers, managers, and researchers in most countries. Evaluating new emerging forms of organizations is therefore of prime importance in assessing the impact of these policies. This paper presents a set of methods related to the configurational approach and an organizational taxonomy derived from our analysis. Methods. In 2005, we carried out a study on PHC in two health and social services regions of Quebec that included urban, suburban, and rural areas. An organizational survey was conducted in 473 PHC practices. We used multidimensional nonparametric statistical methods, namely, multiple correspondence and principal component analyses, and an ascending hierarchical classification method to construct a taxonomy of organizations. Results. PHC organizations were classified into five distinct models: four professional and one community. Study findings indicate that the professional integrated coordination and the community model have great potential for organizational development since they are closest to the ideal type promoted by current reforms. Conclusion. Results showed that the configurational approach is useful to assess complex phenomena such as the organization of PHC. The analysis highlights the most promising organizational models. Our study enhances our understanding of organizational change in health services organizations. PMID:24959575

Methods of soil organic carbon determination in Brazilian savannah soils

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Juliana Hiromi Sato

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Several methods exist for determining soil organic carbon, and each one has its own advantages and limitations. Consequently, a comparison of the experimental results obtained when these methods are employed is hampered, causing problems in the comparison of carbon stocks in soils. This study aimed at evaluating the analytical procedures used in the determination of carbon and their relationships with soil mineralogy and texture. Wet combustion methods, including Walkley-Black, Mebius and Colorimetric determination as well as dry combustion methods, such as Elemental and Gravimetric Analysis were used. Quantitative textural and mineralogical (kaolinite, goethite and gibbsite analyses were also carried out. The wet digestion methods underestimated the concentration of organic carbon, while the gravimetric method overestimated. Soil mineralogy interfered with the determination of carbon, with emphasis on the gravimetric method that was greatly influenced by gibbsite.

Mineral vs. organic amendments: microbial community structure, activity and abundance of agriculturally relevant microbes are driven by long-term fertilization strategies

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Davide Francioli

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Soil management is fundamental to all agricultural systems and fertilization practices have contributed substantially to the impressive increases in food production. Despite the pivotal role of soil microorganisms in agro-ecosystems, we still have a limited understanding of the complex response of the soil microbiota to organic and mineral fertilization in the very long-term. Here we report the effects of different fertilization regimes (mineral, organic and combined mineral and organic fertilization, carried out for more than a century, on the structure and activity of the soil microbiome. Organic matter content, nutrient concentrations and microbial biomass carbon were significantly increased by mineral, and even more strongly by organic fertilization. Pyrosequencing revealed significant differences between the structures of bacterial and fungal soil communities associated to each fertilization regime. Organic fertilization increased bacterial diversity, and stimulated microbial groups (Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Zygomycota that are known to prefer nutrient-rich environments, and that are involved in the degradation of complex organic compounds. In contrast, soils not receiving manure harbored distinct microbial communities enriched in oligotrophic organisms adapted to nutrient-limited environments, as Acidobacteria. The fertilization regime also affected the relative abundances of plant beneficial and detrimental microbial taxa, which may influence productivity and stability of the agroecosystem. As expected, the activity of microbial exoenzymes involved in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous mineralization were enhanced by both types of fertilization. However, in contrast to comparable studies, the highest chitinase and phosphatase activities were observed in the solely mineral fertilized soil. Interestingly, these two enzymes showed also a particular high biomass-specific activities and a strong negative relation with soil pH. As many soil

Jog Your Mind: methodology and challenges of conducting evaluative research in partnership with community organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

Bier, Nathalie; Lorthios-Guilledroit, Agathe; Nour, Kareen; Parisien, Manon; Ellemberg, Dave; Laforest, Sophie

2015-01-01

Jog Your Mind is a community-based program aiming at empowering elderly people to maintain their cognitive abilities using a multi-strategic approach including cognitively stimulating activities, mnemonic strategies, and strategies to promote healthy behaviors. It is offered to elderly individuals without known or diagnosed cognitive impairment by volunteers or community practitioners over ten weekly sessions. This paper describes the protocol of a quasi-experimental study designed to evaluate Jog Your Mind. Community responsible to recruit participants were either assigned to the experimental group (participating in the Jog Your Mind program) or to the control group (one-year waiting list). All participants were interviewed at baseline (T1), after the program (T2), and 12 months after the baseline (T3). Primary outcomes were the use of everyday memory strategies and aids and subjective memory functioning in daily life. Secondary outcomes included attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors related to cognitive vitality and cognitive abilities (memory and executive functions). Program delivery, organizational and environmental variables were recorded to document the implementation process. Twenty-three community organizations recruited 294 community-dwelling elderly individuals in total at T1. Between T1 and T3, an attrition rate of 15.2% was obtained. Jog Your Mind is one of the only programs targeting cognition among older adults being offered in community settings by community practitioners. The protocol described was designed with a focus on maximizing broad generalizations of the results while achieving scientific rigor. It can serve as an example to guide future research aiming to evaluate health interventions under natural conditions.

Novel method reveals a narrow phylogenetic distribution of bacterial dispersers in environmental communities exposed to low hydration conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krüger, U. S.; Bak, F.; Aamand, J.

2018-01-01

In this study, we developed a method that provides community-level surface dispersal profiles under controlled hydration conditions from environmental samples and enables us to isolate and uncover the diversity of the fastest bacterial dispersers. The method expands on the Porous Surface Model (PSM...... Pseudomonas putida and Flavobacterium johnsoniae strains from their non-motile mutants. Applying the method to soil and lake water bacterial communities showed that community-scale dispersal declined as conditions became drier. However, for both communities, dispersal was detected even under low hydration...... dispersers were substantially less diverse than the total communities. The dispersing fraction of the soil microbial community was dominated by Pseudomonas which increased in abundance at low hydration conditions, while the dispersing fraction of the lake community was dominated by Aeromonas and, under wet...

Assessing research activity and capacity of community-based organizations: development and pilot testing of an instrument.

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, Debbie L; Carroll-Scott, Amy; Mitchell, Leif; Tian, Terry; Choudhury, Shonali; Fiellin, David A

2014-01-01

Although awareness of the importance of the research capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) is growing, a uniform framework of the research capacity domains within CBOs has not yet been developed. To develop a framework and instrument (the Community REsearch Activity assessment Tool [CREAT]) for assessing the research activity and capacity of CBOs that incorporates awareness of the different data collection and analysis priorities of CBOs. We conducted a review of existing tools for assessing research capacity to identify key capacity domains. Instrument items were developed through an iterative process with CBO representatives and community researchers. The CREAT was then pilot tested with 30 CBOs. The four primary domains of the CREAT framework include 1) organizational support for research, 2) generalizable experiences, 3) research specific experiences, and 4) funding. Organizations reported a high prevalence of activities in the research-specific experiences domain, including conducting literature reviews (70%), use of research terminology (83%), and primary data collection (100%). Respondents see research findings as important to improve program and service delivery, and to seek funds for new programs and services. Funders, board members, and policymakers are the most important dissemination audiences. The work reported herein advances the field of CBO research capacity by developing a systematic framework for assessing research activity and capacity relevant to the work of CBOs, and by developing and piloting an instrument to assess activity in these domains.

Combining polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) with toxicity testing to evaluate pesticide mixture effects on natural phototrophic biofilms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pesce, Stephane; Morin, Soizic; Lissalde, Sophie; Montuelle, Bernard; Mazzella, Nicolas

2011-01-01

Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) are valuable tools in passive sampling methods for monitoring polar organic pesticides in freshwaters. Pesticides extracted from the environment using such methods can be used to toxicity tests. This study evaluated the acute effects of POCIS extracts on natural phototrophic biofilm communities. Our results demonstrate an effect of POCIS pesticide mixtures on chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic efficiency and community structure. Nevertheless, the range of biofilm responses differs according to origin of the biofilms tested, revealing spatial variations in the sensitivity of natural communities in the studied stream. Combining passive sampler extracts with community-level toxicity tests offers promising perspectives for ecological risk assessment. - Research highlights: → Polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) were used for monitoring polar organic pesticides in a contaminated river. → The acute effects of POCIS extracts were tested on natural phototrophic biofilm communities. → POCIS pesticide mixtures affected chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic efficiency and community structure. → Biofilm responses differed according to origin of the biofilms tested, revealing variations in the sensitivity of natural communities. → Combining passive sampler extracts with community-level toxicity tests offers promising perspectives for ecological risk assessment. - Pesticide mixtures extracted from POCIS can affect chl a fluorescence, photosynthetic efficiency and community structure of natural biofilms.

Modern contact investigation methods for enhancing tuberculosis control in Aboriginal communities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria J. Cook

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The Aboriginal communities in Canada are challenged by a disproportionate burden of TB infection and disease. Contact investigation (CI guidelines exist but these strategies do not take into account the unique social structure of different populations. Because of the limitations of traditional CI, new approaches are under investigation and include the use of social network analysis, geographic information systems and genomics, in addition to the widespread use of genotyping to better understand TB transmission. Guidelines for the routine use of network methods and other novel methodologies for TB CI and outbreak investigation do not exist despite the gathering evidence that these approaches can positively impact TB control efforts, even in Aboriginal communities. The feasibility and efficacy of these novel approaches to CI in Aboriginal communities requires further investigation. The successful integration of these novel methodologies will require community involvement, capacity building and ongoing support at every level. The outcome will not only be the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of CI data in high-burden communities to assess transmission but the prioritization of contacts who are candidates for treatment of LTBI which will break the cycle of transmission. Ultimately, the measure of success will be a clear and sustained decline in TB incidence in Aboriginal communities.

Evaluation of next generation sequencing for the analysis of Eimeria communities in wildlife.

Science.gov (United States)

Vermeulen, Elke T; Lott, Matthew J; Eldridge, Mark D B; Power, Michelle L

2016-05-01

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques are well-established for studying bacterial communities but not yet for microbial eukaryotes. Parasite communities remain poorly studied, due in part to the lack of reliable and accessible molecular methods to analyse eukaryotic communities. We aimed to develop and evaluate a methodology to analyse communities of the protozoan parasite Eimeria from populations of the Australian marsupial Petrogale penicillata (brush-tailed rock-wallaby) using NGS. An oocyst purification method for small sample sizes and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) protocol for the 18S rRNA locus targeting Eimeria was developed and optimised prior to sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. A data analysis approach was developed by modifying methods from bacterial metagenomics and utilising existing Eimeria sequences in GenBank. Operational taxonomic unit (OTU) assignment at a high similarity threshold (97%) was more accurate at assigning Eimeria contigs into Eimeria OTUs but at a lower threshold (95%) there was greater resolution between OTU consensus sequences. The assessment of two amplification PCR methods prior to Illumina MiSeq, single and nested PCR, determined that single PCR was more sensitive to Eimeria as more Eimeria OTUs were detected in single amplicons. We have developed a simple and cost-effective approach to a data analysis pipeline for community analysis of eukaryotic organisms using Eimeria communities as a model. The pipeline provides a basis for evaluation using other eukaryotic organisms and potential for diverse community analysis studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Comparison of Didactic and Inquiry Teaching Methods in a Rural Community College Earth Science Course

Science.gov (United States)

Beam, Margery Elizabeth

The combination of increasing enrollment and the importance of providing transfer students a solid foundation in science calls for science faculty to evaluate teaching methods in rural community colleges. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the effectiveness of two teaching methods, inquiry teaching methods and didactic teaching methods, applied in a rural community college earth science course. Two groups of students were taught the same content via inquiry and didactic teaching methods. Analysis of quantitative data included a non-parametric ranking statistical testing method in which the difference between the rankings and the median of the post-test scores was analyzed for significance. Results indicated there was not a significant statistical difference between the teaching methods for the group of students participating in the research. The practical and educational significance of this study provides valuable perspectives on teaching methods and student learning styles in rural community colleges.

Reducing Cancer Health Disparities through Community Engagement: Working with Faith-Based Organizations (Project CHURCH)

Science.gov (United States)

Lorna H. McNeill, PhD, MPH, is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Disparities at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. McNeill's research is on the elimination of cancer-related health disparities in minority populations. Her research has particular emphasis on understanding the influence of social contextual determinants of cancer in minorities, with a special focus of the role of physical activity as a key preventive behavior and obesity as a major cancer determinant. Her research takes place in minority and underserved communities such as public housing developments, black churches, community-based clinics and low-income neighborhoods-communities with excess cancer death rates. She has been continuously funded, receiving grants from various funding agencies (i.e., National Institutes of Health, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, etc.), to better understand and design innovative solutions to address obesity in racial/ethnic minority communities. Dr. McNeill is PI of several community-based studies, primarily working with African American churches. One is a called Project CHURCH, an academic-faith-based partnership established to: 1) identify underlying reasons for health disparities in cancer and cancer risk factors (e.g., screening, diet) among AAs using a cohort study (N=2400), 2) engage AAs as partners in the research process, and 3) to ultimately eliminate disparities among AAs. In 2014 Dr. McNeill furthered her partnership through the Faith, Health, and Family (FHF) Collaborative. The goals of FHF are to enhance the Project CHURCH partnership to address family obesity in African Americans, strengthen the partnership by developing a larger coalition of organizations and stakeholders to address the problem, assess church and community interest in family obesity and develop an agenda to address obesity in faith settings. To date we have 50 churches as members. Dr. McNeill is also director of the Center for Community

Implementing community-based provider participation in research: an empirical study

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Since 2003, the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sought to restructure the clinical research enterprise in the United States by promoting collaborative research partnerships between academically-based investigators and community-based physicians. By increasing community-based provider participation in research (CBPPR), the NIH seeks to advance the science of discovery by conducting research in clinical settings where most people get their care, and accelerate the translation of research results into everyday clinical practice. Although CBPPR is seen as a promising strategy for promoting the use of evidence-based clinical services in community practice settings, few empirical studies have examined the organizational factors that facilitate or hinder the implementation of CBPPR. The purpose of this study is to explore the organizational start-up and early implementation of CBPPR in community-based practice. Methods We used longitudinal, case study research methods and an organizational model of innovation implementation to theoretically guide our study. Our sample consisted of three community practice settings that recently joined the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) in the United States. Data were gathered through site visits, telephone interviews, and archival documents from January 2008 to May 2011. Results The organizational model for innovation implementation was useful in identifying and investigating the organizational factors influencing start-up and early implementation of CBPPR in CCOP organizations. In general, the three CCOP organizations varied in the extent to which they achieved consistency in CBPPR over time and across physicians. All three CCOP organizations demonstrated mixed levels of organizational readiness for change. Hospital management support and resource availability were limited across CCOP organizations early on, although they improved in one CCOP organization

Conflict Resolution in Africa: Challenges for the International Community, The Organization of African Unity and the Sub- Regional Groups

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wamala, Edward

2000-01-01

.... It will discuss in detail the common causes of the conflicts, highlight the roles of external players, the challenges and roles of the international community, the Organization of African Unity (OAU...

[Sample preparation methods for chromatographic analysis of organic components in atmospheric particulate matter].

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Liang; Wu, Dapeng; Guan, Yafeng

2014-09-01

The determination of organic composition in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is of great importance in understanding how PM affects human health, environment, climate, and ecosystem. Organic components are also the scientific basis for emission source tracking, PM regulation and risk management. Therefore, the molecular characterization of the organic fraction of PM has become one of the priority research issues in the field of environmental analysis. Due to the extreme complexity of PM samples, chromatographic methods have been the chief selection. The common procedure for the analysis of organic components in PM includes several steps: sample collection on the fiber filters, sample preparation (transform the sample into a form suitable for chromatographic analysis), analysis by chromatographic methods. Among these steps, the sample preparation methods will largely determine the throughput and the data quality. Solvent extraction methods followed by sample pretreatment (e. g. pre-separation, derivatization, pre-concentration) have long been used for PM sample analysis, and thermal desorption methods have also mainly focused on the non-polar organic component analysis in PM. In this paper, the sample preparation methods prior to chromatographic analysis of organic components in PM are reviewed comprehensively, and the corresponding merits and limitations of each method are also briefly discussed.

The Immunity Community: A Community Engagement Strategy for Reducing Vaccine Hesitancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schoeppe, Jennie; Cheadle, Allen; Melton, Mackenzie; Faubion, Todd; Miller, Creagh; Matthys, Juno; Hsu, Clarissa

2017-09-01

Parental concerns about vaccine safety have grown in the United States and abroad, resulting in delayed or skipped immunizations (often called "vaccine hesitancy"). To address vaccine hesitancy in Washington State, a public-private partnership of health organizations implemented and evaluated a 3-year community intervention, called the "Immunity Community." The intervention mobilized parents who value immunization and provided them with tools to engage in positive dialogue about immunizations in their communities. The evaluation used qualitative and quantitative methods, including focus groups, interviews, and pre and post online surveys of parents, to assess perceptions about and reactions to the intervention, assess facilitators and barriers to success, and track outcomes including parental knowledge and attitudes. The program successfully engaged parent volunteers to be immunization advocates. Surveys of parents in the intervention communities showed statistically significant improvements in vaccine-related attitudes: The percentage concerned about other parents not vaccinating their children increased from 81.2% to 88.6%, and the percentage reporting themselves as "vaccine-hesitant" decreased from 22.6% to 14.0%. There were not statistically significant changes in parental behaviors. This study demonstrates the promise of using parent advocates as part of a community-based approach to reduce vaccine hesitancy.

Using community-based participatory research and organizational diagnosis to characterize relationships between community leaders and academic researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Karen H; Ray, Natasha J; Berg, David N; Greene, Ann T; Lucas, Georgina; Harris, Kenn; Carroll-Scott, Amy; Tinney, Barbara; Rosenthal, Marjorie S

2017-09-01

Sustaining collaborations between community-based organization leaders and academic researchers in community-engaged research (CEnR) in the service of decreasing health inequities necessitates understanding the collaborations from an inter-organizational perspective. We assessed the perspectives of community leaders and university-based researchers conducting community-engaged research in a medium-sized city with a history of community-university tension. Our research team, included experts in CEnR and organizational theory, used qualitative methods and purposeful, snowball sampling to recruit local participants and performed key informant interviews from July 2011-May 2012. A community-based researcher interviewed 11 community leaders, a university-based researcher interviewed 12 university-based researchers. We interviewed participants until we reached thematic saturation and performed analyses using the constant comparative method. Unifying themes characterizing community leaders and university-based researchers' relationships on the inter-organizational level include: 1) Both groups described that community-engaged university-based researchers are exceptions to typical university culture; 2) Both groups described that the interpersonal skills university-based researchers need for CEnR require a change in organizational culture and training; 3) Both groups described skepticism about the sustainability of a meaningful institutional commitment to community-engaged research 4) Both groups described the historical impact on research relationships of race, power, and privilege, but only community leaders described its persistent role and relevance in research relationships. Challenges to community-academic research partnerships include researcher interpersonal skills and different perceptions of the importance of organizational history. Solutions to improve research partnerships may include transforming university culture and community-university discussions on race

Organizational cultural competence in community health and social service organizations: how to conduct a self-assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Olavarria, Marcela; Beaulac, Julie; Bélanger, Alexandre; Young, Marta; Aubry, Tim

2009-01-01

In an effort to address the significant socio-cultural changes in the population demographics of the United States (US) and Canada, organizations are increasingly seeking ways of improving their level of cultural competence. Evaluating organizational cultural competence is essential to address the needs of ethnic and cultural minorities. Yet, research related to organizational cultural competence is relatively new. The purpose of this paper is to review the extant literature with a specific focus on: (1) identifying the key standards that define culturally competent community health and social service organizations; and (2) outlining the core elements for evaluating cultural competence in a health and social service organization. Furthermore, issues related to choosing self-assessment tools and conducting an evaluation will be explored.

Factors Associated with Falls in Community-Dwelling Older People with Focus on Participation in Sport Organizations: The Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Takahiro Hayashi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. Promoting participation in sport organizations may be a population strategy for preventing falls in older people. In this study, we examined whether participation in sport organizations is associated with fewer falls in older people even after adjusting for multiple individual and environmental factors. Methods. We used the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study data of 90,610 people (31 municipalities who were not eligible for public long-term care. Logistic regression analysis was performed, with multiple falls over the past year as the dependent variable and participation in a sport organization as the independent variable, controlling for 13 factors. These included individual factors related to falls, such as age and sex, and environmental factors such as population density of the habitable area. Results. A total of 6,391 subjects (7.1% had a history of multiple falls. Despite controlling for 13 variables, those who participated in a sport organization at least once a week were approximately ≥20% less likely to fall than those who did not participate at all (once a week; odds ratio = 0.82 and 95% confidence interval = 0.72–0.95. Conclusion. Participation in a sport organization at least once per week might help prevent falls in the community-dwelling older people.

Organized Communities and Potable Water Public Utilities in Colombia: Advocacy for the Third Economic Option Based on the Common-pool Resources Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jhonny Moncada Mesa

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Based on the theory and institutional principles proposed by Elinor Ostrom, this paper explores whether Colombian organized communities are able to provide potable water public utility in a sustainable manner and manage it as a common-pool resource (CPR. For this purpose, a set of Colombian community aqueducts is selected and compared against the eight principles proposed by this theory. The results have shown that, in general it complies with institutional principles but it also highlights difficulties, particularly in regards to the "minimal recognition of organization rights" principle.

First Evidence of an Important Organic Matter Trophic Pathway between Temperate Corals and Pelagic Microbial Communities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J A Fonvielle

Full Text Available Mucus, i.e., particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM, DOM released by corals, acts as an important energy carrier in tropical ecosystems, but little is known on its ecological role in temperate environments. This study assessed POM and DOM production by the temperate coral Cladocora caespitosa under different environmental conditions. The subsequent enzymatic degradation, growth of prokaryotes and virus-like particles (VLPs as well as changes in the structure of the prokaryotic communities were also monitored. C. caespitosa produced an important quantity of mucus, which varied according to the environmental conditions (from 37.8 to 67.75 nmol carbon h-1 cm-2, but remained higher or comparable to productions observed in tropical corals. It has an important nutritional value, as highlighted by the high content in dissolved nitrogen (50% to 90% of the organic matter released. Organic matter was rapidly degraded by prokaryotes' enzymatic activities, and due to its nitrogen content, aminopeptidase activity was 500 fold higher than the α-glucosidase activity. Prokaryotes, as well as VLPs, presented a rapid growth in the mucus, with prokaryote production rates as high as 0.31 μg h-1 L-1. Changes in bacterial and archaeal communities were observed in the ageing mucus and between mucus and the water column, suggesting a clear impact of mucus on microorganism diversity. Overall, our results show that the organic matter released by temperate corals, such as C. caespitosa, which can form reef structures in the Mediterranean Sea, stimulates microbial activity and thereby functions as a significant carbon and nitrogen supplier to the microbial loop.

Team Organization Method Using Salary Auction Game for Sustainable Motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sangkyun Kim

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In performing team-based projects in engineering class, students usually face many problems, such as free-riding, lack of responsibility, boredom, and insufficient initiative. This papers proposes a new method for performing team-based projects in engineering class—specifically, a gamified method for team organization using a salary auction game. On the description of the design and use of a salary auction game in engineering class, a case study conducted using a survey method is reported to validate the practical value of the proposed auction game. The salary auction game proposed in this paper demonstrates that a gamified team organization method in engineering class could be used as an effective tool to enhance motivation and to improve learning outcomes of engineering students.

Lessons Learned for Online Health Community Moderator Roles: A Mixed-Methods Study of Moderators Resigning From WebMD Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Marmor, Rebecca; Jiang, Xiaoqian

2016-01-01

Background Online health community (OHC) moderators help facilitate conversations and provide information to members. However, the necessity of the moderator in helping members achieve goals by providing the support they need remains unclear, with some prior research suggesting that moderation is unnecessary or even harmful for close-knit OHCs. Similarly, members’ perceptions of moderator roles are underexplored. Starting January of 2013, WebMD moderators stopped working for WebMD communities. This event provided an opportunity for us to study the perceived role of moderators in OHCs. Objective We examine the OHC members’ perception on OHC moderators by studying their reactions toward the departure of moderators in their communities. We also analyzed the relative posting activity on OHCs before and after the departure of moderators from the communities among all members and those who discussed moderators’ departures. Methods We applied a mixed-methods approach to study the posts of all 55 moderated WebMD communities by querying the terms relating to discussions surrounding moderators’ disappearance from the WebMD community. We performed open and axial coding and affinity diagramming to thematically analyze patients’ reactions to the disappeared moderators. The number of posts and poster groups (members and moderators) were analyzed over time to understand posting patterns around moderators’ departure. Results Of 821 posts retrieved under 95 threads, a total of 166 open codes were generated. The codes were then grouped into 2 main themes with 6 total subthemes. First, patients attempted to understand why moderators had left and what could be done to fill the void left by the missing moderators. During these discussions, the posts revealed that patients believed that moderators played critical roles in the communities by making the communities vibrant and healthy, finding solutions, and giving medical information. Some patients felt personally attached

How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Bromley, Elizabeth; Eisenman, David P; Magana, Aizita; Williams, Malcolm; Kim, Biblia; McCreary, Michael; Chandra, Anita; Wells, Kenneth B

2017-10-21

Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR) initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups ( n = 5) and interviews ( n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators) to compare coalitions' strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education). We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships) also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

How Do Communities Use a Participatory Public Health Approach to Build Resilience? The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Bromley

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Community resilience is a key concept in the National Health Security Strategy that emphasizes development of multi-sector partnerships and equity through community engagement. Here, we describe the advancement of CR principles through community participatory methods in the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR initiative. LACCDR, an initiative led by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health with academic partners, randomized 16 community coalitions to implement either an Enhanced Standard Preparedness or Community Resilience approach over 24 months. Facilitated by a public health nurse or community educator, coalitions comprised government agencies, community-focused organizations and community members. We used thematic analysis of data from focus groups (n = 5 and interviews (n = 6 coalition members; n = 16 facilitators to compare coalitions’ strategies for operationalizing community resilience levers of change (engagement, partnership, self-sufficiency, education. We find that strategies that included bidirectional learning helped coalitions understand and adopt resilience principles. Strategies that operationalized community resilience levers in mutually reinforcing ways (e.g., disseminating information while strengthening partnerships also secured commitment to resilience principles. We review additional challenges and successes in achieving cross-sector collaboration and engaging at-risk groups in the resilience versus preparedness coalitions. The LACCDR example can inform strategies for uptake and implementation of community resilience and uptake of the resilience concept and methods.

Feasibility analysis of organic Tea authentication using 15N natural abundance method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Haiqiang; Pan Zhiqiang; Yu Cuiping; Wang Xiaochang

2011-01-01

Organic agricultural products were always adulterated by pollutant-free agricultural products in market because of lacking of available authentication technique. Organic tea was one of the largest organic agricultural products in China which are facing the same problem and can not be accepted by consumers. In this paper, based on the newest information of δ 15 N from soil-plant-fertilizer system, a new method was suggested to identify whether N fertilizer was applied to organic tea in producing processing. Meanwhile, the principle of this new method and its feasibility were discussed. (authors)

METHOD 415.3 - MEASUREMENT OF TOTAL ORGANIC ...

Science.gov (United States)

2.0 SUMMARY OF METHOD2.1 In both TOC and DOC determinations, organic carbon in the water sample is oxidized to form carbon dioxide (CO2), which is then measured by a detection system. There are two different approaches for the oxidation of organic carbon in water samples to carbon dioxide gas: (a) combustion in an oxidizing gas and (b) UV promoted or heat catalized chemical oxidation with a persulfate solution. Carbon dioxide, which is released from the oxidized sample, is detected by a conductivity detector or by a nondispersive infrared (NDIR) detector. Instruments using any combination of the above technologies may be used in this method.2.2. Setteable solids and floating matter may cause plugging of valves, tubing, and the injection needle port. The TOC procedure allows the removal of settleable solids and floating matter. The suspended matter is considered part of the sample. The resulting water sample is then considered a close approximation of the original whole water sample for the purpose of TOC measurement.2.3. The DOC procedure requires that the sample be passed through a 0.45 um filter prior to analysis.2.4. The TOC and DOC procedures require that all inorganic carbon be removed from the sample before the sample is analyzed for organic carbon content. If the inorganic carbon (IC) is not completely removed, significant error will occur. The inorganic carbon interference is removed by converting the mineralized IC to CO2 by acidification and

H. A. Gleason's 'individualistic concept' and theory of animal communities: a continuing controversy.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, R P

1995-05-01

A tradition of natural history and of the lore of early twentieth-century ecology was that organisms lived together and interacted to form natural entities or communities. Before there was a recognizable science of ecology, Mobius (1877) had provided a name 'biocoenosis' for such entities. This concept persisted in the early decades of ecological science; at an extreme it was maintained that the community had integrating capabilities and organization like those of an individual organism, hence the term organismic community. In the 1950s-1970s an alternative individualist concept, derived from the ideas of H. A. Gleason (1939), gained credence which held that communities were largely a coincidence of individualistic species characteristics, continuously varying environments and different probabilities of a species arriving on a given site. During the same period, however, a body of population based theory of animal communities became dominant which perpetuated the idea of patterns in nature based on biotic interactions among species resulting in integrated communities. This theory introduced an extended terminology and mathematical models to explain the organization of species into groups of compatible species governed by rules. In the late 1970s the premises and methods of the theory came under attack and a vigorous debate ensued. The alternatives proposed were, at an extreme, null models of random aggregations of species or stochastic, individualistic aggregations of species, sensu Gleason. Extended research and debate ensued during the 1980s resulting in an explosion of studies of animal communities and a plethora of symposia and volumes of collected works concerning the nature of animal communities. The inherent complexity of communities and the traditional differences among animal ecologists about how they should be defined and delimited, at what scale of taxa, space and time to study them, and appropriate methods of study and analysis have resulted in extended

Evaluation of the Perception of Community Pharmacists Regarding ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: A qualitative study design was adopted. ... Conclusion: Community pharmacies in Pakistan currently face shortage of pharmacists. This has ... Compared to the developed world ... contact. All the interviews were conducted at the pharmacists' work-places. .... World Health Organization (WHO), Report of the health.

A simple method to prepare self-assembled organic-organic heterobilayers on metal substrates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. D. Sun

2011-06-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate a self-assembly based simple method to prepare organic-organic heterobilayers on a metal substrate. By either sequential- or co-deposition of para-sexiphenyl (p-6P and pentacene molecules onto the Cu(110 surface in ultrahigh vacuum, p-6P/pentacene/Cu(110 heterobilayer is synthesized at room temperature. The layer sequence of the heterostructure is independent of the growth scenario indicating the p-6P/pentacene/Cu(110 is a self-assembled structure with lowest energy. Besides, the bilayer shows a very high orientational ordering and is thermally stable up to 430K.

Implementing Community Service Learning through Archaeological Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Nassaney, Michael S.

2004-01-01

The Anthropology Department at Western Michigan University has sponsored an annual archaeological field school since the mid-1970s. Over the past decade, students have worked with community and government organizations, learning to apply archaeological methods to real world problems to preserve and interpret significant heritage sites. They come…

Method-centered digital communities on protocols.io for fast-paced scientific innovation [version 2; referees: 2 approved

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lori Kindler

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The Internet has enabled online social interaction for scientists beyond physical meetings and conferences. Yet despite these innovations in communication, dissemination of methods is often relegated to just academic publishing. Further, these methods remain static, with subsequent advances published elsewhere and unlinked. For communities undergoing fast-paced innovation, researchers need new capabilities to share, obtain feedback, and publish methods at the forefront of scientific development. For example, a renaissance in virology is now underway given the new metagenomic methods to sequence viral DNA directly from an environment. Metagenomics makes it possible to "see" natural viral communities that could not be previously studied through culturing methods. Yet, the knowledge of specialized techniques for the production and analysis of viral metagenomes remains in a subset of labs.  This problem is common to any community using and developing emerging technologies and techniques. We developed new capabilities to create virtual communities in protocols.io, an open access platform, for disseminating protocols and knowledge at the forefront of scientific development. To demonstrate these capabilities, we present a virology community forum called VERVENet. These new features allow virology researchers to share protocols and their annotations and optimizations, connect with the broader virtual community to share knowledge, job postings, conference announcements through a common online forum, and discover the current literature through personalized recommendations to promote discussion of cutting edge research. Virtual communities in protocols.io enhance a researcher's ability to: discuss and share protocols, connect with fellow community members, and learn about new and innovative research in the field.  The web-based software for developing virtual communities is free to use on protocols.io. Data are available through public APIs at protocols.io.

Community Organization of Siberian Coachmen in Late XVI – XVII Centuries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleg V. Semenov

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The article, basing on the wide range of archival data, mostly introduced into scientific use for the first time, studies communal (secular and church organization of Siberian coachmen in late XVI – XVII centuries. The paper touches upon the issue, concerning the time of its establishment, thoroughly characterizes the structure, functions and officials. The features of interrelation between coachmen ‘world’ and state and other corporate communities of the region are showed. The conclusion that, despite the dependence on the authorities, the processes of bureaucratization and the growth of the villeinage trends, common for the country, coachmen played significant role in the social life of Siberia is made. They intensively protected their interests and forced the government to consider them.

Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Williams, Elton

2004-01-01

The Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium is a unique, forward-thinking, community-based healthcare service project organized around 5 not-for-profit community hospitals located throughout Louisiana and Mississippi...

Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Williams, Elton

2003-01-01

The Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium is a unique, forward-thinking, community-based healthcare service project organized around 5 not-for-profit community hospitals located throughout Louisiana and Mississippi...

Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Williams, Jr, Elton L

2007-01-01

The Community Hospital Telehealth Consortium is a unique, forward-thinking, community-based healthcare service project organized around 5 not-for-profit community hospitals located throughout Louisiana and Mississippi...

Community Ecology

CERN Document Server

1988-01-01

This book presents the proceedings of a workshop on community ecology organized at Davis, in April, 1986, sponsored by the Sloan Foundation. There have been several recent symposia on community ecology (Strong et. al., 1984, Diamond and Case, 1987) which have covered a wide range of topics. The goal of the workshop at Davis was more narrow: to explore the role of scale in developing a theoretical approach to understanding communities. There are a number of aspects of scale that enter into attempts to understand ecological communities. One of the most basic is organizational scale. Should community ecology proceed by building up from population biology? This question and its ramifications are stressed throughout the book and explored in the first chapter by Simon Levin. Notions of scale have long been important in understanding physical systems. Thus, in understanding the interactions of organisms with their physical environment, questions of scale become paramount. These more physical questions illustrate the...

Provider-related barriers to rapid HIV testing in U.S. urban non-profit community clinics, community-based organizations (CBOs) and hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Bogart, Laura M; Howerton, Devery; Lange, James; Setodji, Claude Messan; Becker, Kirsten; Klein, David J; Asch, Steven M

2010-06-01

We examined provider-reported barriers to rapid HIV testing in U.S. urban non-profit community clinics, community-based organizations (CBOs), and hospitals. 12 primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs; three per region) were sampled randomly, with sampling weights proportional to AIDS case reports. Across PMSAs, all 671 hospitals and a random sample of 738 clinics/CBOs were telephoned for a survey on rapid HIV test availability. Of the 671 hospitals, 172 hospitals were randomly selected for barriers questions, for which 158 laboratory and 136 department staff were eligible and interviewed in 2005. Of the 738 clinics/CBOs, 276 were randomly selected for barriers questions, 206 were reached, and 118 were eligible and interviewed in 2005-2006. In multivariate models, barriers regarding translation of administrative/quality assurance policies into practice were significantly associated with rapid HIV testing availability. For greater rapid testing diffusion, policies are needed to reduce administrative barriers and provide quality assurance training to non-laboratory staff.

Increased precipitation accelerates soil organic matter turnover associated with microbial community composition in topsoil of alpine grassland on the eastern Tibetan Plateau.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Conghai; Wang, Zongli; Si, Guicai; Lei, Tianzhu; Yuan, Yanli; Zhang, Gengxin

2017-10-01

Large quantities of carbon are stored in alpine grassland of the Tibetan Plateau, which is extremely sensitive to climate change. However, it remains unclear whether soil organic matter (SOM) in different layers responds to climate change analogously, and whether microbial communities play vital roles in SOM turnover of topsoil. In this study we measured and collected SOM turnover by the 14 C method in alpine grassland to test climatic effects on SOM turnover in soil profiles. Edaphic properties and microbial communities in the northwestern Qinghai Lake were investigated to explore microbial influence on SOM turnover. SOM turnover in surface soil (0-10 cm) was more sensitive to precipitation than that in subsurface layers (10-40 cm). Precipitation also imposed stronger effects on the composition of microbial communities in the surface layer than that in deeper soil. At the 5-10 cm depth, the SOM turnover rate was positively associated with the bacteria/fungi biomass ratio and the relative abundance of Acidobacteria, both of which are related to precipitation. Partial correlation analysis suggested that increased precipitation could accelerate the SOM turnover rate in topsoil by structuring soil microbial communities. Conversely, carbon stored in deep soil would be barely affected by climate change. Our results provide valuable insights into the dynamics and storage of SOM in alpine grasslands under future climate scenarios.

Community of Inquiry Method and Language Skills Acquisition: Empirical Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Preece, Abdul Shakhour Duncan

2015-01-01

The study investigates the effectiveness of community of inquiry method in preparing students to develop listening and speaking skills in a sample of junior secondary school students in Borno state, Nigeria. A sample of 100 students in standard classes was drawn in one secondary school in Maiduguri metropolis through stratified random sampling…

A Framework Applied Three Ways: Responsive Methods of Co-Developing and Implementing Community Science Solutions for Local Impact

Science.gov (United States)

Goodwin, M.; Pandya, R.; Udu-gama, N.; Wilkins, S.

2017-12-01

While one-size-fits all may work for most hats, it rarely does for communities. Research products, methods and knowledge may be usable at a local scale, but applying them often presents a challenge due to issues like availability, accessibility, awareness, lack of trust, and time. However, in an environment with diminishing federal investment in issues related climate change, natural hazards, and natural resource use and management, the ability of communities to access and leverage science has never been more urgent. Established, yet responsive frameworks and methods can help scientists and communities work together to identify and address specific challenges and leverage science to make a local impact. Through the launch of over 50 community science projects since 2013, the Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX) has created a living framework consisting of a set of milestones by which teams of scientists and community leaders navigate the challenges of working together. Central to the framework are context, trust, project planning and refinement, relationship management and community impact. We find that careful and respectful partnership management results in trust and an open exchange of information. Community science partnerships grounded in local priorities result in the development and exchange of stronger decision-relevant tools, resources and knowledge. This presentation will explore three methods TEX uses to apply its framework to community science partnerships: cohort-based collaboration, online dialogues, and one-on-one consultation. The choice of method should be responsive to a community's needs and working style. For example, a community may require customized support, desire the input and support of peers, or require consultation with multiple experts before deciding on a course of action. Knowing and applying the method of engagement best suited to achieve the community's objectives will ensure that the science is most effectively translated and applied.

Estimation of deuterium content in organic compounds by mass spectrometric methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dave, S.M.; Goomer, N.C.

1979-01-01

Many organic sompounds are finding increasing importance in heavy water enrichment programme. New methods based on quantitative chemical conversion have been developed and standardized in for estimating deuterium contents of the exchanging organic molecules by mass spectrometry. The methods have been selected in such a way that the deuterium contents of both exchangeable as well as total hydrogens in the molecule can be conveniently estimated. (auth.)

Method of decomposing treatment for radioactive organic phosphate wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uki, Kazuo; Ichihashi, Toshio; Hasegawa, Akira; Sato, Tatsuaki

1985-01-01

Purpose: To decompose the organic phosphoric-acid ester wastes containing radioactive material, which is produced from spent fuel reprocessing facilities, into inorganic materials using a simple device, under moderate conditions and at high decomposing ratio. Method: Radioactive organic phosphate wates are oxidatively decomposed by H 2 O 2 in an aqueous phosphoric-acid solution of metal phosphate salts. Copper phosphates are used as the metal phosphate salts and the decomposed solution of the radioactive organic phosphate wastes is used as the aqueous solution of the copper phosphate. The temperature used for the oxidizing decomposition ranges from 80 to 100 0 C. (Ikeda, J.)

Micro-organisms behind the pollination scenes: microbial imprint on floral nectar sugar variation in a tropical plant community.

Science.gov (United States)

Canto, A; Herrera, C M

2012-11-01

Variation in the composition of floral nectar reflects intrinsic plant characteristics as well as the action of extrinsic factors. Micro-organisms, particularly yeasts, represent one extrinsic factor that inhabit the nectar of animal-pollinated flowers worldwide. In this study a 'microbial imprint hypothesis' is formulated and tested, in which it is proposed that natural community-wide variation in nectar sugar composition will partly depend on the presence of yeasts in flowers. Occurrence and density of yeasts were studied microscopically in single-flower nectar samples of 22 animal-pollinated species from coastal xeric and sub-humid tropical habitats of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Nectar sugar concentration and composition were concurrently determined on the same samples using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods. Microscopical examination of nectar samples revealed the presence of yeasts in nearly all plant species (21 out of 22 species) and in about half of the samples examined (51·8 % of total, all species combined). Plant species and individuals differed significantly in nectar sugar concentration and composition, and also in the incidence of nectar yeasts. After statistically controlling for differences between plant species and individuals, nectar yeasts still accounted for a significant fraction of community-wide variance in all nectar sugar parameters considered. Significant yeast × species interactions on sugar parameters revealed that plant species differed in the nectar sugar correlates of variation in yeast incidence. The results support the hypothesis that nectar yeasts impose a detectable imprint on community-wide variation in nectar sugar composition and concentration. Since nectar sugar features influence pollinator attraction and plant reproduction, future nectar studies should control for yeast presence and examine the extent to which microbial signatures on nectar characteristics ultimately have some influence on

Community sensitization and decision-making for trial participation: a mixed-methods study from The Gambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Dierickx, Susan; O'Neill, Sarah; Gryseels, Charlotte; Immaculate Anyango, Edna; Bannister-Tyrrell, Melanie; Okebe, Joseph; Mwesigwa, Julia; Jaiteh, Fatou; Gerrets, René; Ravinetto, Raffaella; D'Alessandro, Umberto; Peeters Grietens, Koen

2017-08-16

Ensuring individual free and informed decision-making for research participation is challenging. It is thought that preliminarily informing communities through 'community sensitization' procedures may improve individual decision-making. This study set out to assess the relevance of community sensitization for individual decision-making in research participation in rural Gambia. This anthropological mixed-methods study triangulated qualitative methods and quantitative survey methods in the context of an observational study and a clinical trial on malaria carried out by the Medical Research Council Unit Gambia. Although 38.7% of the respondents were present during sensitization sessions, 91.1% of the respondents were inclined to participate in the trial when surveyed after the sensitization and prior to the informed consent process. This difference can be explained by the informal transmission of information within the community after the community sensitization, expectations such as the benefits of participation based on previous research experiences, and the positive reputation of the research institute. Commonly mentioned barriers to participation were blood sampling and the potential disapproval of the household head. Community sensitization is effective in providing first-hand, reliable information to communities as the information is cascaded to those who could not attend the sessions. However, further research is needed to assess how the informal spread of information further shapes people's expectations, how the process engages with existing social relations and hierarchies (e.g. local political power structures; permissions of heads of households) and how this influences or changes individual consent. © 2017 The Authors Developing World Bioethics Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Utilization of an interorganizational network analysis to evaluate the development of community capacity among a community-academic partnership.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Heather R; Ramirez, Albert; Drake, Kelly N; Beaudoin, Christopher E; Garney, Whitney R; Wendel, Monica L; Outley, Corliss; Burdine, James N; Player, Harold D

2014-01-01

Following a community health assessment the Brazos Valley Health Partnership (BVHP) organized to address fragmentation of services and local health needs. This regional partnership employs the fundamental principles of community-based participatory research, fostering an equitable partnership with the aim of building community capacity to address local health issues. This article describes changes in relationships as a result of capacity building efforts in a community-academic partnership. Growth in network structure among organizations is hypothesized to be indicative of less fragmentation of services for residents and increased capacity of the BVHP to collectively address local health issues. Each of the participant organizations responded to a series of questions regarding its relationships with other organizations. Each organization was asked about information sharing, joint planning, resource sharing, and formal agreements with other organizations. The network survey has been administered 3 times between 2004 and 2009. Network density increased for sharing information and jointly planning events. Growth in the complexity of relationships was reported for sharing tangible resources and formal agreements. The average number of ties between organizations as well as the strength of relationships increased. This study provides evidence that the community capacity building efforts within these communities have contributed to beneficial changes in interorganizational relationships. Results from this analysis are useful for understanding how a community partnership's efforts to address access to care can strengthen a community's capacity for future action. Increased collaboration also leads to new assets, resources, and the transfer of knowledge and skills.

Earthworm effects without earthworms: inoculation of raw organic matter with worm-worked substrates alters microbial community functioning.

Science.gov (United States)

Aira, Manuel; Domínguez, Jorge

2011-01-27

Earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with soil microorganisms. They enhance decomposition rates through the joint action of direct effects (i.e. effects due to direct earthworm activity such as digestion, burrowing, etc) and indirect effects (i.e. effects derived from earthworm activities such as cast ageing). Here we test whether indirect earthworm effects affect microbial community functioning in the substrate, as when earthworms are present (i. e., direct effects). To address these questions we inoculated fresh organic matter (pig manure) with worm-worked substrates (vermicompost) produced by three different earthworm species. Two doses of each vermicompost were used (2.5 and 10%). We hypothesized that the presence of worm-worked material in the fresh organic matter will result in an inoculum of different microorganisms and nutrients. This inoculum should interact with microbial communities in fresh organic matter, thus promoting modifications similar to those found when earthworms are present. Inoculation of worm-worked substrates provoked significant increases in microbial biomass and enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, cellulase, phosphatase and protease). These indirect effects were similar to, although lower than, those obtained in pig manure with earthworms (direct and indirect earthworm effects). In general, the effects were not dose-dependent, suggesting the existence of a threshold at which they were triggered. Our data reveal that the relationships between earthworms and microorganisms are far from being understood, and suggest the existence of several positive feedbacks during earthworm activity as a result of the interactions between direct and indirect effects, since their combination produces stronger modifications to microbial biomass and enzyme activity.

Earthworm effects without earthworms: inoculation of raw organic matter with worm-worked substrates alters microbial community functioning.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Aira

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Earthworms are key organisms in organic matter decomposition because of the interactions they establish with soil microorganisms. They enhance decomposition rates through the joint action of direct effects (i.e. effects due to direct earthworm activity such as digestion, burrowing, etc and indirect effects (i.e. effects derived from earthworm activities such as cast ageing. Here we test whether indirect earthworm effects affect microbial community functioning in the substrate, as when earthworms are present (i. e., direct effects. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To address these questions we inoculated fresh organic matter (pig manure with worm-worked substrates (vermicompost produced by three different earthworm species. Two doses of each vermicompost were used (2.5 and 10%. We hypothesized that the presence of worm-worked material in the fresh organic matter will result in an inoculum of different microorganisms and nutrients. This inoculum should interact with microbial communities in fresh organic matter, thus promoting modifications similar to those found when earthworms are present. Inoculation of worm-worked substrates provoked significant increases in microbial biomass and enzyme activities (β-glucosidase, cellulase, phosphatase and protease. These indirect effects were similar to, although lower than, those obtained in pig manure with earthworms (direct and indirect earthworm effects. In general, the effects were not dose-dependent, suggesting the existence of a threshold at which they were triggered. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our data reveal that the relationships between earthworms and microorganisms are far from being understood, and suggest the existence of several positive feedbacks during earthworm activity as a result of the interactions between direct and indirect effects, since their combination produces stronger modifications to microbial biomass and enzyme activity.

Collaborative Communities of Firms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2011-01-01

and developing strategic initiatives that aid the community as a whole. We discuss the facilitator role of the shared services provider, contrasting it with the coordinator role found in other multi-firm organizations, and we show how shared services providers function by describing three examples...... is an organizational model called the collaborative community of firms. This chapter addresses an important organizational role in a collaborative community, that of the shared services provider. The shared services provider acts as a facilitator in the community, helping member firms collaborate with one another...... of collaborative communities of firms from different sectors: the U.S.-based Blade.org and two Denmark-based communities, the Kalundborg Industrial Symbiosis and MG50. Implications for the theory and practice of organization design are discussed....

Comparative analysis of methods and sources of financing of the transport organizations activity

Science.gov (United States)

Gorshkov, Roman

2017-10-01

The article considers the analysis of methods of financing of transport organizations in conditions of limited investment resources. A comparative analysis of these methods is carried out, the classification of investment, methods and sources of financial support for projects being implemented to date are presented. In order to select the optimal sources of financing for the projects, various methods of financial management and financial support for the activities of the transport organization were analyzed, which were considered from the perspective of analysis of advantages and limitations. The result of the study is recommendations on the selection of optimal sources and methods of financing of transport organizations.

Content and Method Trends in the "Journal of Community Psychology" between 2003 and 2007

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Tanya M.; Ismail, Tasneem

2011-01-01

Ongoing inquiry into the characteristics of published work and its synergy with community psychology's core principles is an important reflexive endeavour in the field's continuing development. This study examined topic and method trends within the "Journal of Community Psychology" during a 5-year period (January 2003-December 2007).…

Labor Migration, Drug Trafficking Organizations, and Drug Use: Major Challenges for Transnational Communities in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

González, Laura

2009-01-01

In our article, we present the recent findings of our ethnographic field study on drug use and the emergence of a drug use culture in transnational communities in Mexico. Transnational communities are part of a larger migratory labor circuit that transcends political borders and are not restricted to a single locality. Transnational migrants and returning immigrants link the multiple localities through their social networks. In southern Guanajuato, Mexico, using a transnational migration paradigm, we examined the manner in which transnational migration and drug trafficking organizations are contributing to a growing drug problem in these communities. We found that transnational migrants and returning immigrants, including deported workers, introduce drugs and drug use practices, and contribute to the creation of a drug use culture within the communities. The social conditions in the community that foster and proliferate drug use are many: the erosion of the traditional family, truncated kinship bases, and new social formations. These conditions are all consequences of migration and emigration. Recent drug cartel activities are also contributing to this growing drug problem. The cartels have aggressively targeted these communities because of availability of money, existing drug use, a drug use culture, and the breakdown of traditional deterrents to substance abuse. Although a number of communities in three municipalities were part of our study, we focus on two: Lindavista, a rancho, Progreso, a municipal seat. Our field study in Mexico, one of four sequential ethnographic field studies conducted in Guanajuato and Pennsylvania, was completed over a six month period, from September, 2008, through February, 2009, using traditional ethnography. The four field studies are part of a larger, ongoing, three-year bi-national study on drug use among transnational migrants working in southeastern Pennsylvania. This larger study, near its third and final year, is funded by the

[Soil organic carbon fractionation methods and their applications in farmland ecosystem research: a review].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Guo; Cao, Zhi-ping; Hu, Chan-juan

2011-07-01

Soil organic carbon is of heterogeneity in components. The active components are sensitive to agricultural management, while the inert components play an important role in carbon fixation. Soil organic carbon fractionation mainly includes physical, chemical, and biological fractionations. Physical fractionation is to separate the organic carbon into active and inert components based on the density, particle size, and its spatial distribution; chemical fractionation is to separate the organic carbon into various components based on the solubility, hydrolizability, and chemical reactivity of organic carbon in a variety of extracting agents. In chemical fractionation, the dissolved organic carbon is bio-available, including organic acids, phenols, and carbohydrates, and the acid-hydrolyzed organic carbon can be divided into active and inert organic carbons. Simulated enzymatic oxidation by using KMnO4 can separate organic carbon into active and non-active carbon. Biological fractionation can differentiate microbial biomass carbon and potential mineralizable carbon. Under different farmland management practices, the chemical composition and pool capacity of soil organic carbon fractions will have different variations, giving different effects on soil quality. To identify the qualitative or quantitative relationships between soil organic carbon components and carbon deposition, we should strengthen the standardization study of various fractionation methods, explore the integrated application of different fractionation methods, and sum up the most appropriate organic carbon fractionation method or the appropriate combined fractionation methods for different farmland management practices.

Using community-based participatory research and organizational diagnosis to characterize relationships between community leaders and academic researchers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karen H. Wang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Sustaining collaborations between community-based organization leaders and academic researchers in community-engaged research (CEnR in the service of decreasing health inequities necessitates understanding the collaborations from an inter-organizational perspective. We assessed the perspectives of community leaders and university-based researchers conducting community-engaged research in a medium-sized city with a history of community-university tension. Our research team, included experts in CEnR and organizational theory, used qualitative methods and purposeful, snowball sampling to recruit local participants and performed key informant interviews from July 2011–May 2012. A community-based researcher interviewed 11 community leaders, a university-based researcher interviewed 12 university-based researchers. We interviewed participants until we reached thematic saturation and performed analyses using the constant comparative method. Unifying themes characterizing community leaders and university-based researchers' relationships on the inter-organizational level include: 1 Both groups described that community-engaged university-based researchers are exceptions to typical university culture; 2 Both groups described that the interpersonal skills university-based researchers need for CEnR require a change in organizational culture and training; 3 Both groups described skepticism about the sustainability of a meaningful institutional commitment to community-engaged research 4 Both groups described the historical impact on research relationships of race, power, and privilege, but only community leaders described its persistent role and relevance in research relationships. Challenges to community-academic research partnerships include researcher interpersonal skills and different perceptions of the importance of organizational history. Solutions to improve research partnerships may include transforming university culture and community

Alteration of chromophoric dissolved organic matter by solar UV radiation causes rapid changes in bacterial community composition†

Science.gov (United States)

Piccini, Claudia; Conde, Daniel; Pernthaler, Jakob; Sommaruga, Ruben

2010-01-01

We evaluated the effect of photochemical alterations of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) on bacterial abundance, activity and community composition in a coastal lagoon of the Atlantic Ocean with high dissolved organic carbon concentration. On two occasions during the austral summer, bacteria-free water of the lagoon was exposed to different regions of the solar spectrum (full solar radiation, UV-A + PAR, PAR) or kept in the dark. Subsequently, dilution cultures were established with bacterioplankton from the lagoon that were incubated in the pre-exposed water for 5 h in the dark. Cell abundance, activity, and community composition of bacterioplankton were assessed before and after incubation in the different treatments. Changes in absorption, fluorescence, and DOC concentration were used as proxies for CDOM photoalteration. We found a significant CDOM photobleaching signal, DOC loss, as well as a stimulation of bacterial activity in the treatments pre-exposed to UV radiation, suggesting increased bioavailability of DOM. Bacterial community analysis by fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that this stimulation was mainly accompanied by the specific enrichment of Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria. Thus, our results suggest that CDOM photoalteration not only stimulates bacterioplankton growth, but also induces rapid changes in bacterioplankton composition, which can be of relevance for ecosystem functioning, particularly considering present and future changes in the input of terrestrial CDOM to aquatic systems. PMID:19707620

Alteration of chromophoric dissolved organic matter by solar UV radiation causes rapid changes in bacterial community composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Piccini, Claudia; Conde, Daniel; Pernthaler, Jakob; Sommaruga, Ruben

2009-09-01

We evaluated the effect of photochemical alterations of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) on bacterial abundance, activity and community composition in a coastal lagoon of the Atlantic Ocean with high dissolved organic carbon concentration. On two occasions during the austral summer, bacteria-free water of the lagoon was exposed to different regions of the solar spectrum (full solar radiation, UV-A+PAR, PAR) or kept in the dark. Subsequently, dilution cultures were established with bacterioplankton from the lagoon that were incubated in the pre-exposed water for 5 h in the dark. Cell abundance, activity, and community composition of bacterioplankton were assessed before and after incubation in the different treatments. Changes in absorption, fluorescence, and DOC concentration were used as proxies for CDOM photoalteration. We found a significant CDOM photobleaching signal, DOC loss, as well as a stimulation of bacterial activity in the treatments pre-exposed to UV radiation, suggesting increased bioavailability of DOM. Bacterial community analysis by fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that this stimulation was mainly accompanied by the specific enrichment of Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria. Thus, our results suggest that CDOM photoalteration not only stimulates bacterioplankton growth, but also induces rapid changes in bacterioplankton composition, which can be of relevance for ecosystem functioning, particularly considering present and future changes in the input of terrestrial CDOM to aquatic systems.

28 CFR 0.119 - Organization.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Organization. 0.119 Section 0.119 Judicial Administration DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 1-Office of Community Oriented Policing Services § 0.119 Organization. The Office of Community Oriented Policing...

Community Crowd-Funded Solar Finance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jagerson, Gordon " Ty" [Village Power Finance, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

2016-07-08

The award supported the demonstration and development of the Village Power Platform, which enables community organizations to more readily develop, finance and operate solar installations on local community organizations. The platform enables partial or complete local ownership of the solar installation. The award specifically supported key features including financial modeling tools, community communications tools, crowdfunding mechanisms, a mobile app, and other critical features.

Assessing Health Promotion Interventions: Limitations of Traditional Research Methods in Community-Based Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Dressel, Anne; Schneider, Robert; DeNomie, Melissa; Kusch, Jennifer; Welch, Whitney; Sosa, Mirtha; Yeldell, Sally; Maida, Tatiana; Wineberg, Jessica; Holt, Keith; Bernstein, Rebecca

2017-09-01

Most low-income Americans fail to meet physical activity recommendations. Inactivity and poor diet contribute to obesity, a risk factor for multiple chronic diseases. Health promotion activities have the potential to improve health outcomes for low-income populations. Measuring the effectiveness of these activities, however, can be challenging in community settings. A "Biking for Health" study tested the impact of a bicycling intervention on overweight or obese low-income Latino and African American adults to reduce barriers to cycling and increase physical activity and fitness. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in summer 2015. A 12-week bicycling intervention was implemented at two sites with low-income, overweight, or obese Latino and African American adults. We found that randomized controlled trial methodology was suboptimal for use in this small pilot study and that it negatively affected participation. More discussion is needed about the effectiveness of using traditional research methods in community settings to assess the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. Modifications or alternative methods may yield better results. The aim of this article is to discuss the effectiveness and feasibility of using traditional research methods to assess health promotion interventions in community-based settings.

Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities: Assistance from Grantees

Science.gov (United States)

EPA awarded Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities grants to four nonprofit organizations with extensive expertise in community sustainability. These organizations deliver technical assistance to communities.

Community stress and social and technological change: a framework for interpreting the behavior of social movements and community action groups

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perry, R.W.; Schuller, C.R.; Lindell, M.K.; Greene, M.R.; Walsh, J.T.; Earle, T.

1980-06-01

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive examination of existing research on community organizations and community political systems. These findings will be integrated into a framework for understanding the variety of social and political responses which may be manifest in small communities facing the prospect of hosting a major nuclear facility. The principal focus is on the formation and behavior of social groups in communities, particularly politically oriented social movements or community action groups. This analysis is set on the context of a community experiencing social stress. Most of the discussion which follows is based on an extrapolation from the large body of reseach literature on the topics in sociology, political science, and psychology. Chapter I examines the community political systems which are the arena in which local action groups will operate. Chapter II focuses on the internal conditions necessary for the formation and maintenance of community action groups. Chapter III reviews the research literature on the social environment of organizations in communities and the external conditions which are necessary to maintain organizations over time. Chapter IV develops a logic whereby the community consensus model can be adopted to particular social movement organizations and community actions groups. Chapter V examines changes in aspects of the environment which can be a function of the operation of movement organizations, and changes in the structure and tactics of movement organizations which appear to be a response to the environment.

Evaluation of the effect of an additional fertilizer on the dynamics of microbial community and the decomposition of organic matter in soil

Science.gov (United States)

Fabiola, B.; Olivier, M.; Houdusse, F.; Fuentes, M.; Garcia, M. J. M.; Lévêque, J.; Yvin, J. C.; Maron, P. A.; Lemenager, D.

2012-04-01

Organic matter (OM) influences many of the soil functions and occupies a central position in the global carbon cycle. At the scale of the agro-ecosystem, primary productivity is dependent on the recycling of soil organic matter (SOM) by the action of decomposers (mainly bacteria and fungi), which mineralize organic compounds, releasing the nutrients needed for plant growth. At a global scale, the recycling of the SOM determines the carbon flux between soil and atmosphere, with major consequences in terms of environmental quality. In this context, the management of SOM stocks in agro-ecosystems is a major issue from which depend the maintenance of the productivity and sustainability of agricultural practices. The use of additional fertilizer appears to be a promising way to achieve such management. These products have been proven effectives in many field trials. However, their mode of action, particularly in terms of impact on soil microbial component, is still nearly unknown. In this context, this study aims to test the influence of an additional fertilizer on (i) soil microbial communities (total biomass, density of bacteria and fungi), and (ii) soil functioning in terms of dynamics of organic matter. It is based on experiments in soil microcosms which follow in parallel the kinetics of mineralization of different organic carbon compartments (endogenous compartment: soil organic matter; exogenous compartment: wheat residue provided) and the dynamics of microbial communities after the addition of wheat residues in soil. Two different soils were used to evaluate the influence of soil physicochemical characteristics on the effect induced by the addition in terms of fertilization. The first results show a significant effect of the input of additional fertilizer on the dynamics of soil organic matter. They also show that soil pH as well as the dose at which the additional fertilizer is applied are important for modulating the observed effect. Characterization of

A METHOD FOR CREATING STRUCTURES OR DEVICES USING AN ORGANIC ICE RESIST

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

The invention relates to a method for creating an organic resist on a surface of a cooled substrate, the method comprising the steps of condensing a vapour into a solid film on the surface of the cooled substrate; patterning at least part of the solid film by exposing selected portions of said...... solid film to at least one electron beam thereby creating the organic resist on 5 the surface of the cooled substrate in accordance with a predetermined pattern; wherein the created organic resist remains essentially intact at ambient conditions; and using the created organic resist as a mask...... for creating semiconductor structures and/or semiconductor devices....

Exploration on Planning Methods for Rural Communities in the Local Economic and Institutional Contexts

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Ying; WANG; Xin; PAN; Zhilun; XIAO; Xiangwei; CHENG; Caige; LI

2014-01-01

This paper reviews the wave of rural community construction, compares the urban and rural areas on the aspects of land property right, financing channels, construction management procedures, and the user-builder difference, and examines the unique characteristics of rural communities. On the basis of that, it proposes some planning methods for the rural community planning and construction, such as encouraging public participation, conducting public facility-oriented planning, and providing house-design menu, and further puts forward some supporting measures and policies.

Novel Setting for Addressing Tobacco-Related Disparities: A Survey of Community Welfare Organization Smoking Policies, Practices and Attitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Bonevski, B.; O'Brien, J.; Frost, S.; Yiow, L.; Oakes, W.; Barker, D.

2013-01-01

Research in the United States and Australia acknowledges the potential of non-government social and community service organizations (SCSOs) for reaching socially disadvantaged smokers. This study aimed to describe SCSO smoking policies and practices, and attitudes of senior staff towards smoking and cessation. It also investigated factors…

Metal-organic frameworks: structure, properties, methods of synthesis and characterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butova, V V; Soldatov, M A; Guda, A A; Lomachenko, K A; Lamberti, C

2016-01-01

This review deals with key methods of synthesis and characterization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The modular structure affords a wide variety of MOFs with different active metal sites and organic linkers. These compounds represent a new stage of development of porous materials in which the pore size and the active site structure can be modified within wide limits. The set of experimental methods considered in this review is sufficient for studying the short-range and long-range order of the MOF crystal structure, determining the morphology of samples and elucidating the processes that occur at the active metal site in the course of chemical reactions. The interest in metal-organic frameworks results, first of all, from their numerous possible applications, ranging from gas separation and storage to chemical reactions within the pores. The bibliography includes 362 references

Variations in the patterns of soil organic carbon mineralization and microbial communities in response to exogenous application of rice straw and calcium carbonate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Shuzhen; Huang, Yuan; Ge, Yunhui; Su, Yirong; Xu, Xinwen; Wang, Yongdong; He, Xunyang

2016-01-01

The addition of exogenous inorganic carbon (CaCO 3 ) and organic carbon has an important influence on soil organic carbon (SOC) mineralization in karst soil, but the microbial mechanisms underlying the SOC priming effect are poorly understood. We conducted a 100-day incubation experiment involving four treatments of the calcareous soil in southwestern China's karst region: control, 14 C-labeled rice straw addition, 14 C-labeled CaCO 3 addition, and a combination of 14 C-labeled rice straw and CaCO 3 . Changes in soil microbial communities were characterized using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis with polymerase chain reaction (PCR-DGGE) and real-time quantitative PCR (q-PCR). Both 14 C-rice straw and Ca 14 CO 3 addition stimulated SOC mineralization, suggesting that organic and inorganic C affected SOC stability. Addition of straw alone had no significant effect on bacterial diversity; however, when the straw was added in combination with calcium carbonate, it had an inhibitory effect on bacterial and fungal diversity. At the beginning of the experimental period, exogenous additives increased bacterial abundance, although at the end of the 100-day incubation bacterial community abundance had gradually declined. Incubation time, exogenous input, and their interaction significantly affected SOC mineralization (in terms of priming and the cumulative amount of mineralization), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and microbial community abundance and diversity. Moreover, the key factors influencing SOC mineralization were MBC, bacterial diversity, and soil pH. Overall, these findings support the view that inorganic C is involved in soil C turnover with the participation of soil microbial communities, promoting soil C cycling in the karst region. - Highlights: • Different patterns of 14 C-rice straw and Ca 14 CO 3 addition on positive priming effects of SOC mineralization. • Inorganic C is involved in soil C cycling with the participation of soil microbial

Is old organic matter simple organic matter?

Science.gov (United States)

Nunan, Naoise; Lerch, Thomas; Pouteau, Valérie; Mora, Philippe; Changey, Fréderique; Kätterer, Thomas; Herrmann, Anke

2016-04-01

Bare fallow soils that have been deprived of fresh carbon inputs for prolonged periods contain mostly old, stable organic carbon. In order to shed light on the nature of this carbon, the functional diversity profiles (MicroResp™, Biolog™ and enzyme activity spectra) of the microbial communities of long-term barefallow soils were analysed and compared with those of the microbial communities from their cultivated counterparts. The study was based on the idea that microbial communities adapt to their environment and that therefore the catabolic and enzymatic profiles would reflect the type of substrates available to the microbial communities. The catabolic profiles suggested that the microbial communities in the long-term bare-fallow soil were exposed to a less diverse range of substrates and that these substrates tended to be of simpler molecular forms. Both the catabolic and enzyme activity profiles suggested that the microbial communities from the long-term bare-fallow soils were less adapted to using polymers. These results do not fit with the traditional view of old, stable carbon being composed of complex, recalcitrant polymers. An energetics analysis of the substrate use of the microbial communities for the different soils suggested that the microbial communities from the long-term bare-fallow soils were better adapted to using readily oxidizable,although energetically less rewarding, substrates. Microbial communities appear to adapt to the deprivation of fresh organic matter by using substrates that require little investment.

Relative diversity and community structure analysis of rumen protozoa according to T-RFLP and microscopic methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Tymensen, Lisa; Barkley, Cindy; McAllister, Tim A

2012-01-01

Protozoa are common inhabitants of the rumen where they play roles in host nutrition and methanogenesis. Knowledge of how changes in the composition of protozoa communities affect these processes is limited in part due to a lack of efficient methods for protozoa community analysis. In this study, a terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) assay targeting the 18S rRNA gene was developed for comparative analysis of rumen protozoa communities. Comparison of diversity and structure of protozoa communities from hay-fed versus silage/grain-fed cattle via T-RFLP analysis yielded similar overall results to microscopy analysis. According to both methods, Entodinium spp. were more abundant in the silage/grain-fed cattle and protozoa diversity (as calculated using the Shannon index) was higher for the hay-fed cattle due to greater species evenness. Type B protozoa were more prevalent in the hay-fed cattle, whereas Type A protozoa were more prevalent in the silage/grain-fed cattle. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) indicated that the protozoa communities from hay-fed and silage/grain-fed cattle were different, and multivariate analysis indicated that pen mates (i.e., cattle fed the same diet and housed together) tended to have similar protozoa communities types. In summary, we present a T-RFLP method for analyzing rumen protozoa communities which complements traditional microscopy approaches but has the advantage of being amenable to high-throughput. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Collaborative Communities of Firms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøllingtoft, Anne; Müller, Sabine; Ulhøi, John Parm

2011-01-01

and developing strategic initiatives that aid the community as a whole. We discuss the facilitator role of the shared services provider, contrasting it with the coordinator role found in other multi-firm organizations, and we show how shared services providers function by describing three examples...... of collaborative communities of firms from different sectors: the U.S.-based Blade.org and two Denmark-based communities, the Kalundborg Industrial Symbiosis and MG50. Implications for the theory and practice of organization design are discussed....

EarthCube: A Community Organization for Geoscience Cyberinfrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Patten, K.; Allison, M. L.

2014-12-01

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) EarthCube initiative is a community-driven approach to building cyberinfrastructure for managing, sharing, and exploring geoscience data and information to better address today's grand-challenge science questions. The EarthCube Test Enterprise Governance project is a two-year effort seeking to engage diverse geo- and cyber-science communities in applying a responsive approach to the development of a governing system for EarthCube. During Year 1, an Assembly of seven stakeholder groups representing the broad EarthCube community developed a draft Governance Framework. Finalized at the June 2014 EarthCube All Hands Meeting, this framework will be tested during the demonstration phase in Year 2, beginning October 2014. A brief overview of the framework: Community-elected members of the EarthCube Leadership Council will be responsible for managing strategic direction and identifying the scope of EarthCube. Three Standing Committees will also be established to oversee the development of technology and architecture, to coordinate among new and existing data facilities, and to represent the academic geosciences community in driving development of EarthCube cyberinfrastructure. An Engagement Team and a Liaison Team will support communication and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders, and a central Office will serve a logistical support function to the governance as a whole. Finally, ad hoc Working Groups and Special Interest Groups will take on other issues related to EarthCube's goals. The Year 2 demonstration phase will test the effectiveness of the proposed framework and allow for elements to be changed to better meet community needs. It will begin by populating committees and teams, and finalizing leadership and decision-making processes to move forward on community-selected priorities including identifying science drivers, coordinating emerging technical elements, and coming to convergence on system architecture. A

Investigating the role for adaptation of the microbial community to transform trace organic chemicals during managed aquifer recharge

KAUST Repository

Alidina, Mazahirali

2014-06-01

This study was undertaken to investigate whether adaptation by pre-exposure to trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) was necessary for microbial transformation during managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Two pairs of laboratory-scale soil columns, each receiving a different primary substrate, were utilized to simulate the dominant bulk organic carbon present in MAR systems receiving wastewater effluent of varying quality and having undergone different degrees of pre-treatment, as well as organic carbon prevalent at different stages of subsurface travel. Each pair of columns consisted of duplicate set-ups receiving the same feed solution with only one pre-exposed to a suite of eight TOrCs for approximately ten months. Following the pre-exposure period, a spiking experiment was conducted in which the non-exposed columns also received the same suite of TOrCs. TOrC attenuation was quantified for the pre- and non-exposed columns of each pair during the spiking experiment. The microbial community structure and function of these systems were characterized by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene and metagenomics, respectively. Biotransformation rather than sorption was identified as the dominant removal mechanism for almost all the TOrCs (except triclocarban). Similar removal efficiencies were observed between pre-exposed and non-exposed columns for most TOrCs. No obvious differences in microbial community structure were revealed between pre- and non-exposed columns. Using metagenomics, biotransformation capacity potentials of the microbial community present were also similar between pre- and non-exposed columns of each pair. Overall, the pre-exposure of MAR systems to TOrCs at ng/L levels did not affect their attenuation and had no obvious influence on the resulting microbial community structure and function. Thus, other factors such as bioavailability of the primary substrate play a greater role regarding biotransformation of TOrCs. These results indicate that MAR systems adapted to a

Investigating the role for adaptation of the microbial community to transform trace organic chemicals during managed aquifer recharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Alidina, Mazahirali; Li, Dong; Drewes, Jörg E

2014-06-01

This study was undertaken to investigate whether adaptation by pre-exposure to trace organic chemicals (TOrCs) was necessary for microbial transformation during managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Two pairs of laboratory-scale soil columns, each receiving a different primary substrate, were utilized to simulate the dominant bulk organic carbon present in MAR systems receiving wastewater effluent of varying quality and having undergone different degrees of pre-treatment, as well as organic carbon prevalent at different stages of subsurface travel. Each pair of columns consisted of duplicate set-ups receiving the same feed solution with only one pre-exposed to a suite of eight TOrCs for approximately ten months. Following the pre-exposure period, a spiking experiment was conducted in which the non-exposed columns also received the same suite of TOrCs. TOrC attenuation was quantified for the pre- and non-exposed columns of each pair during the spiking experiment. The microbial community structure and function of these systems were characterized by pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene and metagenomics, respectively. Biotransformation rather than sorption was identified as the dominant removal mechanism for almost all the TOrCs (except triclocarban). Similar removal efficiencies were observed between pre-exposed and non-exposed columns for most TOrCs. No obvious differences in microbial community structure were revealed between pre- and non-exposed columns. Using metagenomics, biotransformation capacity potentials of the microbial community present were also similar between pre- and non-exposed columns of each pair. Overall, the pre-exposure of MAR systems to TOrCs at ng/L levels did not affect their attenuation and had no obvious influence on the resulting microbial community structure and function. Thus, other factors such as bioavailability of the primary substrate play a greater role regarding biotransformation of TOrCs. These results indicate that MAR systems adapted to a

Strategies in Mobilizing Coastal Communities for Community-Based Coastal Resource Management in Bolinao, Pangasinan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacquelyn Pinat

2000-12-01

Full Text Available The Marine Fishery Resources Management Project (MFRMP hopes to facilitate partnership between the local government unit and the local communities in managing the coastal resources of Bolinao. Mobilization, both at the community and municipal levels, has been very important in promoting community-based strategies in coastal resources management. The community organization process in the municipality has gone through several levels; and different organizations have been formed. In empowering individuals and organizations, strategies tend to be varied and fluid depending on the need, the reason for mobilization, and the resources at hand. The Bolinao experience showcases different strategies used in implementing the resource enhancement, coastal zoning, harvest regulation, and capability building components of the program. These have included the formation of people's organizations, the mobilization of zonal action teams for each of the four zones, the creation and orientation of fishery and aquatic resources management councils at the barangay and municipal levels, and the active collaboration with the local government unit. These strategies and approaches have provided the people and the communities a wealth of experience and lessons that provide helpful insights in undertaking different endeavors. The strategies employed in the mobilization activities have significantly contributed to the empowerment of communities and individuals who are the primary managers of their resources.

Enriching acid rock drainage related microbial communities from surface-deposited oil sands tailings.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Courtney; Xiao, Yeyuan; Roberts, Deborah J

2016-10-01

Little is known about the microbial communities native to surface-deposited pyritic oil sands tailings, an environment where acid rock drainage (ARD) could occur. The goal of this study was to enrich sulfur-oxidizing organisms from these tailings and determine whether different populations exist at pH levels 7, 4.5, and 2.5. Using growth-based methods provides model organisms for use in the future to predict potential activities and limitations of these organisms and to develop possible control methods. Thiosulfate-fed enrichment cultures were monitored for approximately 1 year. The results showed that the enrichments at pH 4.5 and 7 were established quicker than at pH 2.5. Different microbial community structures were found among the 3 pH environments. The sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms identified were most closely related to Halothiobacillus neapolitanus, Achromobacter spp., and Curtobacterium spp. While microorganisms related to Chitinophagaceae and Acidocella spp. were identified as the only possible iron-oxidizing and -reducing microbes. These results contribute to the general knowledge of the relatively understudied microbial communities that exist in pyritic oil sands tailings and indicate these communities may have a potential role in ARD generation, which may have implications for future tailings management.

Co-deposition methods for the fabrication of organic optoelectronic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Mark E.; Liu, Zhiwei; Wu, Chao

2016-09-06

A method for fabricating an OLED by preparing phosphorescent metal complexes in situ is provided. In particular, the method simultaneously synthesizes and deposits copper (I) complexes in an organic light emitting device. Devices comprising such complexes may provide improved photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties.

Understanding the experience of place: expanding methods to conceptualize and measure community integration of persons with serious mental illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Greg; Kloos, Bret; Wright, Patricia A

2009-06-01

Community integration research explores community contexts and factors that encourage or hinder individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) from actively participating in community life. This research agenda can be advanced by using mixed-methods that better document the relationships between contextual factors and individual experience. Two such methods were applied to a mixed-methods study of 40 adults with SMI living in independent housing in the Southeastern United States. Their contextualized experiences of community integration were measured by applying innovative participatory mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping techniques. Use of these methods in conjunction with one another facilitated the creation of activity spaces, which can measure geographic accessibility and help to represent an individual's experience of place and degree of mobility. The utility of these newly applied methods for better understanding community integration for persons with SMI is explored and implications for using these measures in research and practice are discussed.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in rice paddies under long-term agro-ecosystem experiments in southern China - VI. Changes in microbial community structure and respiratory activity

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, D.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Li, L.; Pan, G.; Crowley, D.; Tippkötter, R.

2011-02-01

Biological stabilization within accumulated soil organic carbon (SOC) has not been well understood, while its role in physical and chemical protection as well as of chemical recalcitrance had been addressed in Chinese rice paddies. In this study, topsoil samples were collected and respiratory activity measured in situ following rice harvest under different fertilization treatments of three long-term experimental sites across southern China in 2009. The SOC contents, microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and nitrogen (SMBN) were analysed using chemical digestion and microbial community structure assessment via clony dilute plate counting methods. While SOC contents were consistently higher under compound chemical fertilization (Comp-Fert) or combined organic and inorganic fertilization (Comb-Fert) compared to N fertilization only (N-Fert), there was significantly higher fungal-bacterial ratio under Comb-Fert than under N-Fert and Comp-Fert. When subtracting the background effect under no fertilization treatment (Non-Fert), the increase both in SMBC and SMBN under fertilization treatment was found very significantly correlated to the increase in SOC over controls across the sites. Also, the ratio of culturable fungal to bacterial population numbers (F/B ratio) was well correlated with soil organic carbon contents in all samples across the sites studied. SOC accumulation favoured a build-up the microbial community with increasing fungal dominance in the rice paddies under fertilization treatments. While soil respiration rates were high under Comb-Fert as a result of enhanced microbial community build-up, the specific soil respiratory activity based on microbial biomass carbon was found in a significantly negatively correlation with the SOC contents for overall samples. Thus, a fungal-dominated microbial community seemed to slow SOC turnover, thereby favouring SOC accumulation under Comp-Fert or under Comb-Fert in the rice paddies. Therefore, the biological stabilization

Money Management for Women: A Demonstration of the Role of Community Organizations in the Delivery of Consumer Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Heller, Barbara R.; Florio, Carol

The Money Management for Women program was designed and implemented to provide lower-income women with financial planning information geared to their current level of understanding and financial circumstances. Objectives were to develop a model consumer education program and test the efficacy of community-based organizations as agents in…

Role Of Non-Governmental Organizations Leadership In The Implementation Of Community Development Projects In Arumeru District Tanzania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajabu Ally Mtunge

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine the role of leadership in the implementation of community development projects by local non-governmental organizations in Arumeru District Tanzania. The study applied survey design which covered the sample of 46 respondents including District Executive Director District Social Workers Non-Governmental Organization leaders workers and volunteers and community members in Arumeru district Tanzania. The study employed simple random sampling technique in order to ensure equal chance of an individual being involved in this study as inferential statistics considered. Data collected from a sample of 46 NGOs employees using a semi-structured questionnaire with both closed and open-ended questions. The collected data analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistical tools used included frequencies mean and standard deviation while inferential statistical tool used was correlation. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences SPSS version 19 used for analyzing the data collected. The study achieved a response of 46 out of a sample of 47 representing a response rate of 97.87. The results show that a significant number of NGOs 34.8 had not completed their projects 21.7 stated that less than five projects were complete and 43.5 of the respondents confirmed that more than five projects not completed over the last one year. Regarding the influence of leadership on implementation of project spearmans rank correlation revealed a very strong positive correlation 0.910 between of leadership vision and implementation of community development projects a strong positive correlation between communication and implementation of community development projects rho 0.730 n 46 p .001 strong positive correlation between commitment and implementation of community developmental projects which was statistically significant rs .601 p .000 and a positive correlation between accountability and

The paradoxes and promise of community coalitions.

Science.gov (United States)

Chavis, D M

2001-04-01

Community coalitions, as they are currently applied, are unique organizations whose ability to promote community change is different from other types of community organizations. This article explores those differences and elaborates how community coalitions can use those differences to transform conflict into greater capacity, equity, and justice. Concerns are also raised in this article about how community coalitions can intentionally and unintentionally protect the status quo and contain the empowerment of grassroots leadership and those of marginalized groups. There is a need for more theory, research, and discourse on how community coalitions can transform conflict into social change and how they can increase the power of grassroots and other citizen-lead organizations.