Road: artists and the stop the M11 link road campaign 1984 - 1994

The project 'Road' is an archive of text, images and oral recordings that document the living history of the 'No M11 Link Road' campaign in East London (Leyton, Leytonstone and Wanstead) from 1984 to 1995, and the people that lived in and visited the area. Road: Acme Artists and the Stop the M11 Link Road Campaign, 1984 – 1994, celebrates and preserves the experiences and thoughts of artists, protesters and the community that lived and worked on the route of the M11 link road

Promoting Sustainable Indian Textiles: final report to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), London, UK

In 2009, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), through the Sustainable Development Dialogue (SDD) fund, backed the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) at London College of Fashion and Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF), New Delhi to run a project to promote Indian sustainable textiles. Improving patterns of sustainable consumption and production (SCP) in India and the UK is one of the agreed areas for collaboration under the UK-India Sustainable Development Dialogue. The project is also part of a body of work taking place under the Defra Sustainable Clothing Roadmap, which aims to improve the sustainability of clothing. Defra has identified that ‘while an economic success story (globally worth over £500 billion) the industry has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain.’ The Roadmap aims to improve the sustainability of clothing by gathering a robust evidence base of impacts and working with a wide range of stakeholders, to build on existing interventions. For more details on the roadmap see: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/business/products/roadmaps/clothing/index.htm This report is only one of the dissemination tools associated with the project. The project film, images and website should be viewed in conjunction with this report

Evaluation of Stem-Loop Reverse Transcription and Poly-A Tail Extension in MicroRNA Analysis of Body Fluids

MicroRNA has been demonstrated to be a viable tool for body fluid identification purposes in forensic casework. Stem-loop reverse transcription (slRT) is regularly used for cDNA synthesis from mature miRNA, along with poly-A tail extension. Both have been used in a forensic context, but no direct comparison has been carried out. It has also not been shown whether poly-A tail extension can be used upon DNA extracts, as previously shown with slRT. Blood and saliva samples were collected and underwent DNA extraction with or without on-column DNA digestion. All samples were then aliquoted and underwent slRT and poly-A tail extension separately. qPCR was then conducted targeting microRNA markers hsa-miR-451 and hsa-miR-205. It was shown that the DNA digestion step did not affect the ability to differentiate between blood and saliva. It was also shown that this differentiation was possible using poly-A tail extension, and that poly-A tail extension exhibited more amplification than slRT. So whilst the choice of slRT and poly-A tail extension for the purpose of forensic body fluid identification is not critical, it may be best to use poly-A tail extension, particularly where there are low traces of sample

When Words Fail, Music Speaks

Vocal performers are distinctive due to the self-discipline that necessarily accompanies having one\u27s voice be one\u27s instrument, as all life choices directly affect a vocalist\u27s ability to sing. Vocalists are also united by a strong feeling of self-confidence that is essential in a field that is highly competitive, subjective, and personal. Furthermore, while a love of music is a common theme for many musicians, vocal performers are distinguished by both the emotional and physical connection that they must forge with their music

Dental safety net capacity: An innovative use of existing data to measure dentists’ clinical engagement in state Medicaid programs

Background The demand for dentists available for state Medicaid populations has long outpaced the supply of such providers. To help understand the workforce dynamics, this study sought to develop a novel approach to measuring dentists’ relative contribution to the dental safety net and, using this new measurement, identify demographic and practice characteristics predictive of dentists’ willingness to participate in Indiana's Medicaid program. Methods We examined Medicaid claims data for 1,023 Indiana dentists. We fit generalized ordered logistic regression models to measure dentists’ level of clinical engagement with Medicaid. Using a partial proportional odds specification model, we estimated proportional adjusted odds ratios for covariates and separate estimates for each contrast of nonproportional covariates. Results Though 75% of Medicaid‐enrolled dentists were active providers, only 27% of them had 800 or more claims during fiscal year 2015. As has been shown in previous studies, our findings from the proportional odds model reinforced certain demographic and practice characteristics to be predictive of dentists’ participation in state Medicaid programs. Conclusions In addition to confirming predictive factors for Medicaid enrollment, this study validated the clinical engagement measure as a reliable method to assess the level of Medicaid participation. Prior studies have been limited by self‐reported data and variations in Medicaid claims reporting

Student Usage and Perceptions of Digital Devices in the Classroom and While Driving

The purpose of this study is to examine Central Washington University students’ use of electronic devices for non-class related purposes and while driving. For the purposes of the study, electronic devices are defined as cellphones, tablets, laptops, and any other devices that are non-essential to the classroom environment, and non-classroom purposes are defined as any non-course specific activities performed on an electronic device during lecture. The survey has two parts, the first focusing on electronic device usage in the classroom, and the second focusing on electronic device usage while operating a vehicle. The survey is administered online, and focuses on students over the age of eighteen. Psychology students represent the largest demographic, but the survey also draws from numerous other departments. Preliminary results are similar to those of studies regarding electronic device usage conducted at other universities, and indicate that the use of electronic devices is prominent in Central Washington University classrooms. These findings highlight how important it is for professors to understand students’ perceptions toward the use of electronic devices in the classroom for non-class related purposes

Size reconstructibility of graphs

The deck of a graph $G$ is given by the multiset of (unlabelled) subgraphs $\{G-v:v\in V(G)\}$. The subgraphs $G-v$ are referred to as the cards of $G$. Brown and Fenner recently showed that, for $n\geq29$, the number of edges of a graph $G$ can be computed from any deck missing 2 cards. We show that, for sufficiently large $n$, the number of edges can be computed from any deck missing at most $\frac1{20}\sqrt{n}$ cards.Comment: 15 page

The Student Wellbeing Process Questionnaire (Student WPQ)

Recent research has used short questionnaires based on single item versions of psychosocial concepts to assess well-being. This has largely been confined to occupational samples and the present article describes the extension of this process to university students. The Student Well-being Process Questionnaire (Student WPQ) was used to examine predictors of positive well-being, negative mental health and cognitive function. An online survey was used with 478 first and second year undergraduates as participants. Regression analyses showed that positive well-being (e.g. happiness, positive affect and life satisfaction) was predicted by positive personality (high optimism, self-esteem and self-efficacy), high social support and low stressors and low negative coping scores. Negative outcomes (e.g. perceived stress, anxiety and depression) were predicted by high stressor, coping and conscientiousness scores, and low positive personality and social support scores. Cognitive problems were predicted by high stressor and negative coping scores and low positive personality scores. A MANOVA showed that there were no significant interactions between the predictor variables. The best predictor of all outcomes was a combined score including all predictor variables. Overall, the present study shows that the Student WPQ can provide useful information on predictors of different aspects of well-being. Future research can include additional potential predictors and other outcomes to determine whether other factors are significant when established predictors are adjusted for

Electrophysiological and Behavioral Working Memory Differences Between Musicians and Non-Musicians

The current study is an examination of P300 differences between musicians and non-musician groups during a visual oddball task, in addition to behavioral subtests of the TOMAL-2 measuring visual and auditory working memory. Previous research has demonstrated higher amplitude P300 waveforms with shorter latencies of P300 onset in musician groups, indicating a more sensitive and accurate stimulus detection system. Fluctuations of P300 amplitude and latency activity near parietal areas have been used to quantify differences in updating processes of working memory possibly associated with differences in amounts of music experience. The current study is designed to partially replicate a method previously implemented by George and Coch (2011) in order to contribute to the body of research describing how music experience may be associated with differences in visual processing as well as auditory working memory. Behavioral data will be collected using six standardized subtest measures of the TOMAL-2, followed by event-related potential (ERP) recordings during a large and small circle visual oddball task. The current study hypothesizes musicians will score significantly higher on the TOMAL-2 and record shorter latency with higher P300 amplitudes associated with greater amounts of music experience in areas previously associated with working memory processing

Depolarization of sperm membrane potential is a common feature of men with subfertility and is associated with low fertilization rate at IVF

STUDY QUESTION. Are significant abnormalities in outward (K+) conductance and resting membrane potential (Vm) present in the spermatozoa of patients undertaking IVF and ICSI and if so, what is their functional effect on fertilization success? SUMMARY ANSWER. Negligible outward conductance (≈5% of patients) or an enhanced inward conductance (≈4% of patients), both of which caused depolarization of Vm, were associated with a low rate of fertilization following IVF. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY. Sperm-specific potassium channel knockout mice are infertile with defects in sperm function, suggesting that these channels are essential for fertility. These observations suggest that malfunction of K+ channels in human spermatozoa might contribute significantly to the occurrence of subfertility in men. However, remarkably little is known of the nature of K+ channels in human spermatozoa or the incidence and functional consequences of K+ channel defects. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE AND DURATION. Spermatozoa were obtained from healthy volunteer research donors and subfertile IVF and ICSI patients attending a hospital assisted reproductive techniques clinic between May 2013 and December 2015. In total, 40 IVF patients, 41 ICSI patients and 26 normozoospermic donors took part in the study. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS. Samples were examined using electrophysiology (whole-cell patch clamping). Where abnormal electrophysiological characteristics were identified, spermatozoa were further examined for Ca2+ influx induced by progesterone and penetration into viscous media if sufficient sample was available. Full exome sequencing was performed to specifically evaluate potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M α 1 (KCNMA1), potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily U member 1 (KCNU1) and leucine-rich repeat containing 52 (LRRC52) genes and others associated with K+ signalling. In IVF patients, comparison with fertilization rates was done to assess the functional significance of the electrophysiological abnormalities. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE. Patch clamp electrophysiology was used to assess outward (K+) conductance and resting membrane potential (Vm) and signalling/motility assays were used to assess functional characteristics of sperm from IVF and ICSI patient samples. The mean Vm and outward membrane conductance in sperm from IVF and ICSI patients were not significantly different from those of control (donor) sperm prepared under the same conditions, but variation between individuals was significantly greater (P< 0.02) with a large number of outliers (>25%). In particular, in ≈10% of patients (7/81), we observed either a negligible outward conductance (4 patients) or an enhanced inward current (3 patients), both of which caused depolarization of Vm. Analysis of clinical data from the IVF patients showed significant association of depolarized Vm (≥0 mV) with low fertilization rate (P= 0.012). Spermatozoa with electrophysiological abnormities (conductance and Vm) responded normally to progesterone with elevation of [Ca2+]i and penetration of viscous medium, indicating retention of cation channel of sperm (CatSper) channel function. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION. For practical, technical, ethical and logistical reasons, we could not obtain sufficient additional semen samples from men with conductance abnormalities to establish the cause of the conductance defects. Full exome sequencing was only available in two men with conductance defects. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS. These data add significantly to the understanding of the role of ion channels in human sperm function and its impact on male fertility. Impaired potassium channel conductance (Gm) and/or Vm regulation is both common and complex in human spermatozoa and importantly is associated with impaired fertilization capacity when the Vm of cells is completely depolarized