Suchergebnisse

Climate change effects on biogeochemical cycles, nutrient and water supply / Pascal A. Niklaus -- Nutrient and water demands of plants under global climate change / Oula Ghannoum, Matthew J. Searson and Jann P. Conroy -- Climate change and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in agroecosystems / Richard B. Thomas, Skip J. Van Bloem and William H. Schlesinger -- Belowground food webs in a changing climate / Joseph C. Blankinship and Bruce A. Hungate -- Herbivory and nutrient cycling / R. Andrew Carran and Vincent Allard -- Sustainability of crop production systems under climate change / Jürg Fuhrer -- Plant performance and implications for plant population dynamics and species composition in a changing climate / Grant R. Edwards and Paul C.D. Newton -- Climate change effects on fungi in agroecosystems / Matthias C. Rillig -- Trophic interactions and climate change / Jonathan A. Newman -- Future weed/pest/disease problems for plants / Lewis H. Ziska and G. Brett Runion -- Distinguishing between acclimation and adaptation / Mark J. Hovenden -- Plant breeding for a changing environment / Paul C.D. Newton and Grant R. Edwards.

This study examined group knowledge in three school boards, which we conceptualised as a phenomenon influenced by structural/political and social/relational elements and composed of affective, axiological, and cognitive dimensions. Several data collection techniques were used: surveys, conversation analysis, observation, and the Critical Decision Method (CDM). Results indicate that group knowledge is strongly influenced by group communication patterns and the structural and political environment. Most importantly, the results suggests that the affective, axiological, and cognitive dimensions of group knowledge are not discrete, but interact with each other within the processes of knowledge transformation and knowledge transfer Key words: educational governance, decision‐making, emotion, cognition, values L'étude porte sur les connaissances du groupe au sein de trois conseils scolaires. D'après les auteurs, il s'agit d'un phénomène influencé par des éléments structurels/politiques et sociaux/relationnels et regroupant des dimensions affective, axiologique et cognitive. Plusieurs techniques de collecte de données ont été utilisées : sondages, analyse de conversations, observations et la Critical Decision Method (CDM). Les résultats indiquent que les connaissances du groupe sont fortement influencées par les méthodes de communication dans le groupe et le contexte structurel et politique. Ces résultats semblent surtout indiquer que les dimensions affective, axiologique et cognitive des connaissances du groupe ne sont pas discrètes, mais qu'elles s'influencent mutuellement au sein du processus de transformation et de transfert des connaissances. Mots clés : gouvernance en éducation, prise de décisions, émotion, cognition, valeurs.

This paper reports on an interpretive study that examined the role of the teaching principal, particularly as it relates to principals' moral and legal requirement to work as instructional leaders for student learning. A teaching principal is defined as a principal who has a "double load" or dual roles in teaching and administration (Clarke & Stevens, 2009). In this study, we explored the constitution and effects of this role on individuals and leadership practices of 12 rural teaching principals in Alberta and Manitoba. Findings reflect the need to develop policies that sustain the smaller schools which depend upon administrators capable of thriving in this dual role. Additionally, the way in which teaching principals practice as instructional leaders promises to enrich the literature on instructional leadership. Specifically, the practices that emerge through the teaching principalship are a unique adaptation of existing conceptualizations that offer considerable advantages over those that presuppose a full-time administrative appointment. Cet article rend compte d'une étude interprétative portant sur le rôle du directeur enseignant, notamment par rapport à l'exigence morale et juridique qu'ont les directeurs de travailler comme leaders pédagogiques. Un directeur enseignant en est un qui a une « double charge », qui joue deux rôles, un en enseignement et un en administration (Clarke & Stevens, 2009). Dans cette étude, nous avons exploré la création et les effets de ce rôle sur les individus et sur les pratiques de leadership de douze directeurs enseignants en milieu rural en Alberta et au Manitoba. Les résultats reflètent la nécessité de développer des politiques qui appuient les plus petites écoles qui dépendent d'administrateurs en mesure de prospérer dans le contexte de ce double rôle. De plus, les pratiques qu'emploient les directeurs enseignants dans leur capacité de leaders pédagogiques promettent d'enrichir la littérature sur le leadership pédagogique. Plus spécifiquement, les pratiques qui ressortent des pratiques des directeurs enseignants constituent une adaptation unique des conceptualisations existantes, une qui offre un nombre considérable d'avantages par rapport à celles qui présupposent un poste administratif à temps plein.

Conducting clinical trials has never been harder, but it may soon become criminal too, under two dangerously unwise legal initiatives emanating from Europe. Two well-meaning legal texts designed to fight falsified or substandard medicines—one from the Council of Europe (CoE), and another from the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) but drafted by the Irish Medicines Board—are so negligently done that they would expose honest researchers and drug manufacturers to prosecution, simply for their involvement in something so basic as a placebo-controlled trial. If clinical trials are not unwittingly to lead to criminal trials, the research community must intervene against these errant legal proposals becoming binding.

OBJECTIVE: The emergence of infectious diseases pose major global health threats. Estimates of total in-country human pathogen diversity, and insights as to how and when species were described through history, could be used to estimate the probability of new pathogen discoveries. Data from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) were used in this proof-of-concept study to estimate national human pathogen diversity and to examine historical discovery rate drivers. METHODS: A systematic survey of the French and English scientific and grey literature of pathogen description in Laos between 1874 and 2017 was conducted. The first descriptions of each known human pathogen in Laos were coded according to the diagnostic evidence available. Cumulative frequency of discovery across time informed the rate of discovery. Four distinct periods of health systems development in Laos were identified prospectively and juxtaposed to the unmodelled rate of discovery. A model with a time-varying rate of discovery was fitted to these data using a Markov-Chain- Monte-Carlo technique. RESULTS: From 6456 pathogen descriptions, 245 discoveries of known human pathogens in Laos, including repeat discoveries using different grades of evidence, were identified. The models estimate that the Laos human pathogen species diversity in 2017 is between 169 and 206. During the last decade, there has been a 33-fold increase in the discovery rate coinciding with the strengthening of medical research and microbiology. CONCLUSION: Discovery curves can be used to model and estimate country-level human pathogen diversity present in a territory. Combining this with historical assessment improves the understanding of the factors affecting local pathogen discovery. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: A protocol of this work was registered on PROSPERO (ID:CRD42016046728).

OBJECTIVE: The emergence of infectious diseases pose major global health threats. Estimates of total in-country human pathogen diversity, and insights as to how and when species were described through history, could be used to estimate the probability of new pathogen discoveries. Data from the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) were used in this proof-of-concept study to estimate national human pathogen diversity and to examine historical discovery rate drivers. METHODS: A systematic survey of the French and English scientific and grey literature of pathogen description in Laos between 1874 and 2017 was conducted. The first descriptions of each known human pathogen in Laos were coded according to the diagnostic evidence available. Cumulative frequency of discovery across time informed the rate of discovery. Four distinct periods of health systems development in Laos were identified prospectively and juxtaposed to the unmodelled rate of discovery. A model with a time-varying rate of discovery was fitted to these data using a Markov-Chain- Monte-Carlo technique. RESULTS: From 6456 pathogen descriptions, 245 discoveries of known human pathogens in Laos, including repeat discoveries using different grades of evidence, were identified. The models estimate that the Laos human pathogen species diversity in 2017 is between 169 and 206. During the last decade, there has been a 33-fold increase in the discovery rate coinciding with the strengthening of medical research and microbiology. CONCLUSION: Discovery curves can be used to model and estimate country-level human pathogen diversity present in a territory. Combining this with historical assessment improves the understanding of the factors affecting local pathogen discovery. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: A protocol of this work was registered on PROSPERO (ID:CRD42016046728).

We performed indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFAs) to compare levels of IgM and IgG antibodies to Orientia tsutsugamushi and Rickettsia typhi in admission-phase serum samples and filter paper blood spots (assayed immediately and stored at 5.4°C and 29°C for 30 days) collected on the same day from 53 adults with suspected scrub typhus and murine typhus admitted to Mahosot Hospital Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic. The sensitivities and specificities of admission-phase filter paper blood spots in comparison to paired sera were between 91% and 95% and 87% and 100%, respectively, for the diagnosis of scrub typhus and murine typhus. The classification of patients as having or not having typhus did not significantly differ after storage of the blood spots for 30 days (P > 0.4) at 5.4°C and 29°C. Because filter paper blood samples do not require sophisticated and expensive storage and transport, they may be an appropriate specimen collection technique for the diagnosis of rickettsial disease in the rural tropics.

Leptospirosis is a global zoonotic disease caused by pathogenic bacteria of the Leptospira genus, which are fastidious, slow-growing organisms. Antimicrobial susceptibility data are limited; traditionally, the organisms have not been culturable on solid media. The recent development of Leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun (LVW) agar, which facilitates rapid growth of Leptospira spp., provides the opportunity for antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Eighty-three Leptospira spp. clinical isolates originating from patients in Laos between 2006 and 2016 were tested against six antimicrobials (azithromycin, ceftriaxone, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, gentamicin, and penicillin G) using disk diffusion on LVW agar. Quality control was undertaken using American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) reference strains with known susceptibilities on both standard media and LVW agar. All Leptospira spp. isolates produced large zones of inhibition around each of the six antimicrobials. All zones were greater than 25 mm: gentamicin produced the smallest zones (median 35 mm; interquartile range 30 mm-37 mm) and azithromycin produced the largest zones (median 85 mm; interquartile range 85 mm-85 mm). Zones produced by non-leptospiral ATCC reference strains on LVW agar were within 2 mm of accepted strain-specific quality control range on standard media. Antimicrobial activity on LVW agar appears to be similar to that on standard media. As there are no published susceptibility guidelines for the Leptospira genus, zone interpretation was subjective. Leptospira Vanaporn Wuthiekanun agar enabled antimicrobial susceptibility testing of multiple Leptospira isolates on solid media; the large zone sizes observed suggest that resistance has not emerged to these six antimicrobials in Lao Leptospira spp.