Making a difference in the real world. User-centred impact evaluation of an eight-country, community-based early childhood programme.

This paper presents a unique approach to the Impact Evaluation of a project that focused on low-threshold intergenerational play-based interactions in order to support young children from marginalised communities in eight European countries. The approach builds upon the work of Fetterman's Empowerment Evaluation and Patton's Utilization Focused Evaluation and brings them together to form an adapted model of evaluation. We outline in this paper how these two well developed methods of evaluation have been applied to a real world context, that is, the impact evaluation of a complex international project. Our approach highlights the complexities of differing contexts and allows for surprising and unintended consequences to emerge. It results, through double loop learning, a type of feedback loop with the internal stakeholders and implementers that is useful to the project coordination team, with a view to further upscaling of the initiative. Recommendations for policy at local, national and European Union levels were provided to the project and potential external users. However, the predominant feedback was provided at two crucial points along the way; during a stakeholder mapping exercise and during the further development of monitoring data tools.

A Stable Finite-Difference Scheme for Population Growth and Diffusion on a Map.

We describe a general Godunov-type splitting for numerical simulations of the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovski-Piskunov growth and diffusion equation on a world map with Neumann boundary conditions. The procedure is semi-implicit, hence quite stable. Our principal application for this solver is modeling human population dispersal over geographical maps with changing paleovegetation and paleoclimate in the late Pleistocene. As a proxy for carrying capacity we use Net Primary Productivity (NPP) to predict times for human arrival in the Americas.

Antibodies to glycosphingolipid antigens in patients with immune-mediated cochleovestibular disorders.

HYPOTHESIS: To determine the presence of antibodies against the glycosphingolipid antigen sulfated glucuronic lactosominyl paragloboside (SGLPG) in the sera of patients suspected of immune-mediated cochleovestibular disorders (IMCVD). BACKGROUND: Glycospingolipids are molecules present on the surface of normal nerve cells and are considered antigenic. Previous studies have isolated these antigens in vestibular neuroepithelia, cochleovestibular nerves and endolymphatic sacs. METHODS: The sera of 22 patients suspected of IMCVD were tested for antibodies against the antigen SGLPG. Thin-layer chromatography-immunostaining method was used. RESULTS: Antibody titers were elevated in 63.6% of patients tested. Statistical significance (p < 0.0001) was achieved since reactivity was seen in only 7% of 43 age-matched healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: Antibodies to SGLPG antigens are present in some patients with IMCVD. Because SGLPD antigens have been previously isolated in the inner ear and the cochleovestibular nerve, these structures can potentially become targets for anti-SGLPG antibodies.

Performance of the internal jugular vein after functional neck dissection.

The objective of this study was to assess internal jugular vein performance after functional neck dissection in routine and extended head and neck surgical procedures, including bilateral neck dissections, treatment of radiation failures, and those combined with microvascular free grafts. Because the indications for functional neck dissection in our practice have increased. It is important to assess the use of the procedure in these circumstances. Although previous work has suggested the patency of the internal jugular vein after functional neck dissection, actual flow rates have not been investigated. The function of the dissected internal jugular vein was analyzed with duplex ultrasound at least 4 weeks after treatment. Maximal venous flow rates were evaluated. The results of this study will be presented and discussed.

Windows on a new cosmology.

The standard Big Bang cosmology requires very special initial conditions: (i) an excess of matter over antimatter, (ii) delicate tuning of the expansion rate at an early time to produce the long-lived Universe we see today, and (iii) a conspiracy among parts of the Universe out of causal contact to produce the currently observed degree of homogeneity. New theories that unify the strong and electroweak interactions may remove the necessity of specifying these conditions as initial data by introducing an inherent matter-antimatter asymmetry in physical laws and changing the early dynamic history of the Universe.

Extrahepatic biliary tract obstruction due to plasmacytoma.

In multiple myeloma, diffuse infiltration of the liver by myeloma cells can result in hepatic dysfunction and enzyme elevation. Discrete plasmacytomas are unusual and seldom disturb hepatobiliary function. We report a patient who developed jaundice due to extrahepatic biliary obstruction caused by an abdominal plasmacytoma.

Effect of a low chloride diet on lactating Holstein cows.

Twenty primiparous lactating Holstein cows were fed diets supplemented with either .5% sodium chloride or .75% sodium bicarbonate. Those fed the latter diet conserved chloride by reducing the chloride concentration in urine, feces, and, to a small but nonsignificant amount, in milk. The low chloride diet did not affect consumption of feed dry matter and water or milk production and composition. There was no indication of pica or other aberrant taste behavior. One half of the cows in each diet group was given free choice salt block of trace elements. Those fed the low chloride diet consumed more salt (337 versus 149 g/cow per wk). When chloride requirements have been established and data on chloride composition become more widely available, it will be possible to include both sodium and chloride in diet formulations and omit salt. This will reduce the amount of salt needed as either a sodium or chloride supplement.

Use of urea by early postpartum Holstein cows.

Thirty-nine lactating Holstein cows were fed high-energy complete rations ad libitum with crude protein: 1) 11.7% (negative control); 2) 13.9% (1% urea); 3) 16.6% (1% urea); or 4) 16.6% (positive control) in a continuous 12-wk study beginning at wk 5 postpartum. Milk production of 27.7, 31.8, 34.0, and 30.4 kg/day showed the use of urea nitrogen by groups 2 and probably 3. Two digestion-nitrogen balance trials with each cow also provided evidence that urea nitrogen was used for milk secretion. Energy digestibility averaged 59.4, 64.2, 65.4, and 65.8; and lower for the negative control diet. Nitrogen solubility in the diets was 28, 36, 32, and 21%, which reflects the objective of selecting ingredients with low nitrogen solubility for use in urea diets. Concentrations of ammonia nitrogen before and after feeding were 1.1, 3.3, 3.5, 4.2, and 2.2, 11.2, 11.9, and 9.3 mg/100 ml of rumen fluid. The prefeeding amounts were probably too low for maximum microbial growth. Urea-nitrogen concentrations in plasma were 8.65, 10.32, 18.00, and 17.03 mg/100 ml. These results lend support to the postulate that lactating cows in early lactation can use urea nitrogen when high-energy complete rations with ingredients of low nitrogen solubility are fed ad libitum.

Effects of a low calcium diet on feed intake, milk production, and response to blood calcium challenge in lactating Holstein cows.

Twenty-four lactating cows were fed a normal-calcium (.75% of dry matter) diet plus free-choice dicalcium phosphate supplement for 8 wk, a low-calcium (.25% of dry matter) diet for 9 wk, and a low-calcium (.25% of dry matter) diet plus free-choice supplement for 4 wk. The low-calcium diet did not appear to affect adversely feed intake, milk production, or plasma ions. Depression of plasma calcium by sequestration with a chelating agent was less following low intake of calcium than following adequate calcium intake. Presumably, lower calcium intake increased parathyroid hormone which resulted in a larger and more responsive calcium pool immediately mobilizable. Changes in plasma phosphorus and magnesium were similar among treatments. Low calcium intake for short times apparently will not affect intake or production and may increase resistance to calcium stress such as hypocalcemia and parturient paresis.

Effect of urea form and method of feeding on rumen ammonia concentration.

Rumen ammonia was compared in six rumen fistulated, lactating Holstein cows fed urea twice daily in a concentrate mixture, urea fed once per day in a complete ration, and a gelatinized starch-urea product fed twice daily in the concentrate mixture. Samples were taken during 24-h intervals at the end of each 3 wk. Sharp and similar peaks in rumen ammonia followed feeding of urea and gelatinized urea-starch product twice daily in the concentrate mixture. A much lower ammonia peak followed the once daily feeding of the complete ration. Use of complete rations offered ad libitum eliminates the need for products with sustained ammonia release.

Effects of silage diets on health, reproduction, and blood metabolites of dairy cattle.

Forty-eight Hostein dairy cows were assigned uniformly by parity and calving date to three forage treatments for three lactations. Forage treatments were corn silage (F-I), corn silage plus Hay-crop silage (-f-II), and corn silage plus hay (F-III). Records of health and reproductive data were kept to evaluate dietary effects. During the third lactation six animals in each treatment were blood-sampled on a 4-day interval from 24 days prepartum to 60 days postpartum to determine metabolites. Reproductive traits were similar among the treatment groups as were occurrences of mastitis. Corn silage and hay-crop silage cows had more ketosis than hay cows. Corn silage cows had more parturient paresis than the other two groups, and abomasal displacement occurred only in the corn silage group. There were differences in concentrations of plasma metabolites among treatments; however, they appeared to be within normal ranges, and no pathological implications were obvious. Blood pH, blood packed cell volume, blood alkaline reserve, and pH values were similar among treatment groups. Histological evaluation of hepatic and endocrine tissues revealed no treatment effects.