3,766 research outputs found
A Study of DFID's Support for Post-Cyclone Livelihoods Rehabilitation In Orissa, India
The recent UK Government Foresight Project on Global Food and Farming Futures recognises the intensifying pressure on the world's food system that we can expect in the next 40 years. Meeting the challenges these pressures present will require concerted effort by many research communities, among them those that focus on fisheries. In recent years there has been a growth in research pointing to the importance and potential of fisheries in a development and food security context. As a major source of animal protein, especially for poor consumers in developing countries, securing and making the most of the world's fisheries remains an important priority (Béné et al., 2007; World Bank/FAO/WorldFish, 2010). In parallel, after a period of disillusionment following the failures of investments in fisheries projects in the 1970s and 80s (Cunninghamet al., 2009; NFDS, 2009), interest in supporting this sector through foreign aid is returning. Not surprisingly, this resurgence of interest aligns with the renewed focus on agriculture and food security, following relative neglect in the 1990s (World Bank, 2008). With increasing interest in investing development aid in fisheries, it is legitimate to ask what recent research has to offer by way of guidance. In this short paper we summarise the potential significance of several emerging areas of fisheries research and management for helping secure and enhance fish supplies from wild harvesting in support of food security in the developing world. Our focus is on small-scale fisheries, for reasons summarised below, these fisheries present a critical frontier in the challenge to increase the contribution of fish to poverty reduction and sustainable development.We have selected four areas –loosely titled 'Small-scale fisheries' (highlighting gender and inland fisheries), 'Governance reform', 'Resilience in practice' and 'External drivers'. Although more conventional fisheries topics such as effort reduction, fish stock sustainability and gear technology remain important, we feel these other broad areas of inquiry offer particular promise for supporting development efforts. Our intention is to provide readers with a short accessible introduction to these topics and to provide entry points to some of the recent literature
Restrictive antibiotic stewardship associated with reduced hospital mortality in gram-negative infection
Introduction: Antimicrobial stewardship has an important role in the control of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and antibiotic resistance. An important component of UK stewardship interventions is the restriction of broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics and promotion of agents associated with a lower risk of CDI such as gentamicin. Whilst the introduction of restrictive antibiotic guidance has been associated with improvements in CDI and antimicrobial resistance evidence of the effect on outcome following severe infection is lacking.
Methods: In 2008, Glasgow hospitals introduced a restrictive antibiotic guideline. A retrospective before/after study assessed outcome following gram-negative bacteraemia in the 2-year period around implementation.
Results: Introduction of restrictive antibiotic guidelines was associated with a reduction in utilisation of ceftriaxone and co-amoxiclav and an increase in amoxicillin and gentamicin. 1593 episodes of bacteraemia were included in the study. The mortality over 1 year following gram-negative bacteraemia was lower in the period following guideline implementation (RR 0.852, P = 0.045). There was no evidence of a difference in secondary outcomes including ITU admission, length of stay, readmission, recurrence of bacteraemia and need for renal replacement therapy. There was a fall in CDI (RR 0.571, P = 0.014) and a reduction in bacterial resistance to ceftriaxone and co-amoxiclav but no evidence of an increase in gentamicin resistance after guideline implementation.
Conclusion: Restrictive antibiotic guidelines were associated with a reduction in CDI and bacterial resistance but no evidence of adverse outcomes following gram-negative bacteraemia. There was a small reduction in one year mortality
Structural transformations and disordering in zirconolite (CaZrTi2O7) at high pressure
There is interest in identifying novel materials for use in radioactive waste applications and studying their behavior under high pressure conditions. The mineral zirconolite (CaZrTi2O7) exists naturally in trace amounts in diamond-bearing deep-seated metamorphic/igneous environments, and it is also identified as a potential ceramic phase for radionuclide sequestration. However, it has been shown to undergo radiation-induced metamictization resulting in amorphous forms. In this study we probed the high pressure structural properties of this pyrochlore-like structure to study its phase transformations and possible amorphization behavior. Combined synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies reveal a series of high pressure phase transformations. Starting from the ambient pressure monoclinic structure, an intermediate phase with P21/m symmetry is produced above 15.6 GPa via a first order transformation resulting in a wide coexistence range. Upon compression to above 56 GPa a disordered metastable phase III with a cotunnite-related structure appears that is recoverable to ambient conditions. We examine the similarity between the zirconolite behavior and the structural evolution of analogous pyrochlore systems under pressure.<br/
Designing and evaluating complex interventions to improve health care
Complex interventions are “built up from a number of components, which may act both independently and interdependently.”1 2 Many health service activities should be considered as complex. Evaluating complex interventions can pose a considerable challenge and requires a substantial investment of time. Unless the trials illuminate processes and mechanisms they often fail to provide useful information. If the result is negative, we are left wondering whether the intervention is inherently ineffective (either because the intervention was inadequately developed or because all similar interventions are ineffective), whether it was inadequately applied or applied in an inappropriate context, or whether the trial used an inappropriate design, comparison groups or outcomes. If there is a positive effect, it can be hard to judge how the results of the trial might be applied to a different context (box 1)
Exercise Training to Target Gait Unsteadiness in People with Diabetes
Balance impairment and an associated high fall rate in people with diabetes is common, and a huge burden to quality of life and healthcare systems. Causes of impaired balance are commonly attributed to both sensory and motor deficits, which includes impaired muscle strength and function. This study investigated the effects of resistance exercise training on balance control during walking over level ground and on stairs. Ten DM people (age: 62 years, BMI: 29kg/m2, VPT: 9V) and 6 DM people with DPN (age: 59 years, BMI: 27kg/m2, VPT: 31V) performed a 16-week intervention of weekly resistance exercise training to increase ankle and knee extensor muscle strength. Six DM controls did not take part in the intervention (age: 50 years, BMI: 26kg/m2, VPT: 12V). Balance during gait was quantified before and after the intervention, by separation between the body centre-of-mass and centre-of-pressure under the feet during both level and stair walking. Knee and ankle extensor muscle strength was assessed using a dynamometer. The exercise intervention increased strength of ankle plantar flexors (22%) and knee extensors (30%). Despite the increases in lower limb muscle strength produced by the intervention, no improvements in balance were seen post training. However, gait speed did increase by 8%, which previous research has shown to be associated with quality of life. Controls showed no training effects in any variables. Although this exercise intervention had a positive effect on gait by increasing walking speed, there was no effect on the control of balance. Previous research has identified that medio-lateral (side-to-side) balance is impaired in people with DPN. The muscles exercised in the present study mainly control the major sagittal plane (forwards-backwards) movements that occur during gait. Interventions targeting the lateral stabilising muscles of the hip and trunk, may show greater potential efficacy in redressing the balance impairment of this population
Protein Kinase A Activity and Anchoring Are Required for Ovarian Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion
Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the deadliest of the gynecological malignancies, due in part to its clinically occult metastasis. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms governing EOC dissemination and invasion may provide new targets for antimetastatic therapies or new methods for detection of metastatic disease. The cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) is often dysregulated in EOC. Furthermore, PKA activity and subcellular localization by A-kinase anchoring proteins (AKAPs) are important regulators of cytoskeletal dynamics and cell migration. Thus, we sought to study the role of PKA and AKAP function in both EOC cell migration and invasion. Using the plasma membrane-directed PKA biosensor, pmAKAR3, and an improved migration/invasion assay, we show that PKA is activated at the leading edge of migrating SKOV-3 EOC cells, and that inhibition of PKA activity blocks SKOV-3 cell migration. Furthermore, we show that while the PKA activity within the leading edge of these cells is mediated by anchoring of type-II regulatory PKA subunits (RII), inhibition of anchoring of either RI or RII PKA subunits blocks cell migration. Importantly, we also show – for the first time – that PKA activity is up-regulated at the leading edge of SKOV-3 cells during invasion of a three-dimensional extracellular matrix and, as seen for migration, inhibition of either PKA activity or AKAP-mediated PKA anchoring blocks matrix invasion. These data are the first to demonstrate that the invasion of extracellular matrix by cancer cells elicits activation of PKA within the invasive leading edge and that both PKA activity and anchoring are required for matrix invasion. These observations suggest a role for PKA and AKAP activity in EOC metastasis
Living near the edge : how extreme outcome and their neighbours drive risky choice
Extreme stimuli are often more salient in perception and memory than moderate stimuli. In risky choice, when people learn the odds and outcomes from experience, the extreme outcomes (best and worst) also stand out. This additional salience leads to more risk-seeking for relative gains than for relative losses—the opposite of what people do when queried in terms of explicit probabilities. Previous research has suggested that this pattern arises because the most extreme experienced outcomes are more prominent in memory. An important open question, however, is what makes these extreme outcomes more prominent? Here we assess whether extreme outcomes stand out because they fall at the edges of the experienced outcome distributions or because they are distinct from other outcomes. Across four experiments, proximity to the edge determined what was treated as extreme: Outcomes at or near the edge of the outcome distribution were both better remembered and more heavily weighted in choice. This prominence did not depend on two metrics of distinctiveness: lower frequency or distance from other outcomes. This finding adds to evidence from other domains that the values at the edges of a distribution have a special role
Expansion of Foxp3+ T-cell populations by Candida albicans enhances both Th17-cell responses and fungal dissemination after intravenous challenge
Research Funding Wellcome Trust, UK. Grant Numbers: 086827, 080088 NIH. Grant Number: DE022550Peer reviewedPublisher PD
The Murmur of the Sleeping Black Hole: Detection of Nuclear Ultraviolet Variability in LINER Galaxies
LINER nuclei, which are present in many nearby galactic bulges, may be the
manifestation of low-rate or low-radiative-efficiency accretion onto
supermassive central black holes. However, it has been unclear whether the
compact UV nuclear sources present in many LINERs are clusters of massive
stars, rather than being directly related to the accretion process. We have
used HST to monitor the UV variability of a sample of 17 galaxies with LINER
nuclei and compact nuclear UV sources. Fifteen of the 17 galaxies were observed
more than once, with two to five epochs per galaxy, spanning up to a year. We
detect significant variability in most of the sample, with peak-to-peak
amplitudes from a few percent to 50%. In most cases, correlated variations are
seen in two independent bands (F250W and F330W). Comparison to previous UV
measurements indicates, for many objects, long-term variations by factors of a
few over decade timescales. Variability is detected in LINERs with and without
detected compact radio cores, in LINERs that have broad H-alpha wings detected
in their optical spectra (``LINER 1's''), and in those that do not (``LINER
2s''). This variability demonstrates the existence of a non-stellar component
in the UV continuum of all types, and sets a lower limit to the luminosity of
this component. We note a trend in the UV color (F250W/F330W) with spectral
type - LINER 1s tend to be bluer than LINER 2s. This trend may indicate a link
between the shape of the nonstellar continuum and the presence or the
visibility of a broad-line region. In one target, the post-starburst galaxy NGC
4736, we detect variability in a previously noted UV source that is offset by
2.5" (60 pc in projection) from the nucleus. This may be the nearest example of
a binary active nucleus, and of the process leading to black hole merging.Comment: accepted to Ap
Zoochorous dispersal of freshwater bivalves: an overlooked vector in biological invasions?
Vectors that underpin the natural dispersal of invasive alien species are frequently unknown. In particular, the passive dispersal (zoochory) of one organism (or propagule) by another, usually more mobile animal, remains poorly understood. Field observations of the adherence of invasive freshwater bivalves to other organisms have prompted us to assess the importance of zoochory in the spread of three prolific invaders: zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha; quagga mussel Dreissena bugensis; and Asian clam Corbicula fluminea. An extensive, systematic search of the literature was conducted across multiple on-line scientific databases using various search terms and associated synonyms. In total, only five publications fully satisfied the search criteria. It appears that some fish species can internally transport viable adult D. polymorpha and C. fluminea specimens. Additionally, literature indicates that veligers and juvenile D. polymorpha can adhere to the external surfaces of waterbirds. Overall, literature suggests that zoochorous dispersal of invasive bivalves is possible, but likely a rare occurrence. However, even the establishment of a few individuals (or a single self-fertilising C. fluminea specimen) can, over-time, result in a substantial population. Here, we highlight knowledge gaps, identify realistic opportunities for data collection, and suggest management protocols to mitigate the spread of invasive alien species
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