Cervical Screening in the UK and Laboratory Quality Control in the Context of the 2007 European Guidelines

The first part of this article will provide an overview of cervical cancer screening in the UK during the years before, during and after the introduction of a highly successful centrally organised cervical screening programme in 1988: since then the incidence of invasive cervical cancer has fallen by more than 40%. Screening was introduced in a background of opportunistic screening with poor quality control during a period of time when risk of disease was increasing, which will be demonstrated by national registrations of carcinoma in situ as well as invasive cancer. The programme is still facing new challenges and has recently recorded falling screening coverage in younger women, the causes of which have yet to be established. Liquid-based cytology is in the process of being rolled out nationally but high-risk human papillomavirus testing has yet to be introduced into the National Health Service (NHS) programme. Lessons from our experience may be relevant to countries introducing and maintaining organised programmes elsewhere under similar circumstances. The second part of the article will consider laboratory quality control as practiced in the UK and as recommended in the second edition of the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Cervical Cancer Screening. These evidence-based guidelines provide recommendations for organising and monitoring quality control as well as for introducing new technology and standardising terminology, which are equally relevant for new and existing programmes. Invasive cancer audit may highlight areas where procedures could be improved in any programme but also can also demonstrate the effectiveness of screening

Estimation of juvenile striped bass relative abundance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, January 2004-December 2004 : annual progress report

The primary objective of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science juvenile striped bass survey is to monitor the relative annual recruitment success of juvenile striped bass in the major Virginia nursery areas of lower Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially funded the survey from 1967 to 1973. After a hiatus ending in 1980, funds were provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Emergency Striped Bass Study program. Commencing with the 1988 annual survey, the work was jointly supported by Wallop-Breaux funds (Sport Fish Restoration Act) administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This report summarizes the results of the 2005 sampling period and compares these results with previous years

Estimation of juvenile striped bass relative abundance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, January 2003-December 2003 : annual progress report

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) has conducted a juvenile striped bass seine survey from 1967 through 1973 and from 1980 through the present. The primary objective has been the monitoring of the relative annual recruitment success ofjuvenile stripedbass in the spawning and nursery areas of Lower Chesapeake Bay. Initially (1967-1973), the survey was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and when reinstated in 1980 with funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Emergency Striped Bass Study program. Commencing with the 1988 annual survey, support of the program has been jointly made through the Sportfish Restoration Program (Wallop-Breaux Act), administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This report summarizes the results of the 2003 sampling period and compares these results with the previous work

Estimation of juvenile striped bass relative abundance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, January 2005-December 2005 : annual progress report

The primary objective of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science juvenile striped bass survey is to monitor the relative annual recruitment success of juvenile striped bass in the major Virginia nursery areas of lower Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initially funded the survey from 1967 to 1973. After a hiatus ending in 1980, funds were provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service under the Emergency Striped Bass Study program. Commencing with the 1988 annual survey, the work was jointly supported by Wallop-Breaux funds (Sport Fish Restoration Act) administered through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. This report summarizes the results of the 2005 sampling period and compares these results with previous years

Estimating Costs and Benefits Associated with Evidence-Based Violence Prevention: Four case studies based on the Fourth R program

Teen violence in dating and peer relationships has huge costs to society in numerous areas including health care, social services, the workforce and the justice system. Physical, psychological, and sexual abuse have long-lasting ramifications for the perpetrators as well as the victims, and for the families involved on both sides of that equation. An effective violence prevention program that is part of a school’s curriculum is beneficial not only for teaching teenagers what is appropriate behaviour in a relationship, but also for helping them break the cycle of violence which may have begun at home with their own maltreatment as children. The Fourth R program is an efficacious violence prevention program that was developed in Ontario and has been implemented in schools throughout Canada and the U.S. Covering relationship dynamics common to dating violence as well as substance abuse, peer violence and unsafe sex, the program can be adapted to different cultures and to same-sex relationships. The program, which gets its name from the traditional 3Rs — reading, ’riting and ’rithmetic — offers schools the opportunity to provide effective programming for teens to reduce the likelihood of them using relationship for violence as they move into adulthood. The federal government has estimated that the societal costs of relationship violence amount to more than $7 billion. These costs can continue to be incurred through the legal and health-care systems as the ripple effects of violence play out over the years, even after a relationship has ended. Other types of violence are also costly to society and not just in terms of dollars, but in young lives diverted into criminal activity. Up to 15 per cent of youth who become involved with the justice system grow into serious adult offenders who develop lengthy criminal careers. Yet, research shows that if prevention programs such as the Fourth R can deter just one 14-year-old high-risk juvenile from a life of crime, up to$5 million can be saved in costs to society

Approaching media industries comparatively:A case study of streaming

Although ‘streaming’ media has become increasingly common across multiple media industries, significant differences underpin the industrial practices that allow this behavior and explain discrepant experiences of internet distribution across industries. This article uses collaborative comparative media industry analysis to investigate the commonalities and variations among streaming in the US music, film, and television industries to assess the viability of theorizing the cultural implications of streaming as a consistent phenomenon across media industries. The article explores the consistencies and divergences of streaming among consumer experience, business practices, and textual implications to compare how established uses, production practices, and media content have been affected by internet distribution. Such detailed industry comparison is a novel approach, and the article also considers the methodological value of rigorous collaboration among scholars expert in different media industries. The analysis is based on industry data and practices obtained through trade press, industry reports, and interviews with media workers consistent with a critical media industries approach

Identification of a critical sulfation in chondroitin that inhibits axonal regeneration.

The failure of mammalian CNS neurons to regenerate their axons derives from a combination of intrinsic deficits and extrinsic factors. Following injury, chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) within the glial scar inhibit axonal regeneration, an action mediated by the sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains of CSPGs, especially those with 4-sulfated (4S) sugars. Arylsulfatase B (ARSB) selectively cleaves 4S groups from the non-reducing ends of GAG chains without disrupting other, growth-permissive motifs. We demonstrate that ARSB is effective in reducing the inhibitory actions of CSPGs both in in vitro models of the glial scar and after optic nerve crush (ONC) in adult mice. ARSB is clinically approved for replacement therapy in patients with mucopolysaccharidosis VI and therefore represents an attractive candidate for translation to the human CNS

A fundamental bimodal role for neuropeptide Y1 receptor in the immune system

Psychological conditions, including stress, compromise immune defenses. Although this concept is not novel, the molecular mechanism behind it remains unclear. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the central nervous system is a major regulator of numerous physiological functions, including stress. Postganglionic sympathetic nerves innervating lymphoid organs release NPY, which together with other peptides activate five Y receptors (Y1, Y2, Y4, Y5, and y6). Using Y1-deficient (Y1−/−) mice, we showed that Y1−/− T cells are hyperresponsive to activation and trigger severe colitis after transfer into lymphopenic mice. Thus, signaling through Y1 receptor on T cells inhibits T cell activation and controls the magnitude of T cell responses. Paradoxically, Y1−/− mice were resistant to T helper type 1 (Th1) cell–mediated inflammatory responses and showed reduced levels of the Th1 cell–promoting cytokine interleukin 12 and reduced interferon γ production. This defect was due to functionally impaired antigen-presenting cells (APCs), and consequently, Y1−/− mice had reduced numbers of effector T cells. These results demonstrate a fundamental bimodal role for the Y1 receptor in the immune system, serving as a strong negative regulator on T cells as well as a key activator of APC function. Our findings uncover a sophisticated molecular mechanism regulating immune cell functions that can lead to stress-induced immunosuppression