What has changed? Care home work during the pandemic in Jack Thornes’ Help: No one is coming

The article examines how Jack Thornes’ Help: No one is coming (2021) politicizes the public sphere of dementia care. The drama’s focus on care homes in the UK during the pandemic addresses the impact of the crisis and simultaneously serves to highlight the longstanding issues faced by an under-funded and under-valued sector. This paper aims to examine how Help reflects, but also writes societal scripts about how we care for our populations with dementia and the people we pay to care for them. In highlighting the pressure care homes are under, it is important to look at our collective societal attitude to care, and whether we are prepared to cover higher wages that would be required if care work became a desirable career with progression. In examining the purpose of, and effectiveness of the drama’s rhetoric, I aim to investigate how ideological notions of care and practical care work are articulated. Finally, I ask whether Help succeeds in mobilizing audiences to press for change or whether in its portrayal of care homes, the drama enables them to accept the status quo. Submitted: 16 November 2022Acctepted: 7 August 2023Published 12 September 202

Impact of the Quick-Response Code Based In-Class Assignments on Students Engagement and Retention

The paper describes a teaching technique alternative to online-based student response systems. We explore the potential of quick response (QR) code sheets as a tool for formative assessment, feedback, as well as a way to increase class engagement, student participation, information retention, and as a method to develop communication skills. The technique is neither institution nor course bound and can be implemented in classes of numerous sizes and levels. While it resembles more traditional teaching methods than computerized student response systems, it is student centered and accommodates digital natives’ approach to information gathering

Rheumatoid peripheral blood phagocytes are primed for activation but have impaired Fc-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species

Significant levels of circulating immune complexes (ICs) containing rheumatoid factors and immunoglobulin G in peripheral blood are a characteristic feature of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). ICs interact through Fcγ receptors (FcγR) to activate phagocytes in numerous inflammatory processes. The high concentration of neutrophils in synovial fluid during active phases of the disease, together with their destructive capacity, pose important questions as to their role in the pathogenesis of RA. Functional defects in RA or control peripheral blood neutrophil FcγRs were examined with a specific FcγR-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) assay. Heterologous cross-linking of FcγRIIa and FcγRIIIb on neutrophils resulted in a significantly decreased production of ROS by RA cells compared with controls matched for age and sex. However, expression and homologous ligation of receptors did not differ between these groups. These data suggest that neutrophil priming does occur before emigration into the joint and that blood neutrophils from patients with RA have a functional impairment in cooperative FcγR-mediated ROS generation. This may account for the increased susceptibility to bacterial infection that arises in patients with severe disease

Regulation and Localization of Endogenous Human Tristetraprolin

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been implicated in the development and pathogenicity of infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders, such as septic shock and arthritis. The zinc-finger protein tristetraprolin (TTP) has been identified as a major regulator of TNF biosynthesis. To define its intracellular location and examine its regulation of TNF, a quantitive intracellular staining assay specific for TTP was developed. We establish for the first time that in peripheral blood leukocytes, expres

Understanding the impact of visual arts interventions for people living with dementia: a realist review protocol

Background: Arts-based activities are being increasingly suggested as a valuable activity for people living with dementia in terms of countering the negative aspects of their condition. The potential for such programmes to improve a broad range of psychosocial outcomes is suggested in some studies. However, there is largely an absence of rigorous methodology to demonstrate the benefits, and research results are mixed. Practice variability in terms of the content, contexts and implementation of such interventions raises challenges in terms of identifying an optimal arts programme model that could be adopted by other service providers. Understanding how interventions may have the best chance at broad implementation success and uptake is limited. Methods/Design: A realist review will be undertaken. This aims to understand how visual arts interventions influence outcomes in people living with dementia. The review will explore how the context, that is the circumstances which enable or constrain, affect outcomes through the activation of mechanisms. An early scoping search and a stakeholder survey formulated the preliminary programme theory. A systematic literature search across a broad range of disciplines (arts, humanities, social sciences, health) will be undertaken to identify journal articles and grey literature. Data will be extracted in relation to the programme theory, contextual factors, mechanisms and outcomes and their configurations, background information about the study design and participant characteristics, detail about the quantity (‘dose’) of an intervention, theoretical perspectives proposed by the authors of the paper and further theorising by the reviewer. Thematic connections/patterns will be sought across the extracted data, identifying patterns amongst contextual factors, the mechanisms they trigger and the associated outcomes. Discussion: Along with stakeholder engagement and validation, this review will help inform the development of an optimal, replicable arts intervention for people with dementia as part of our broader research programme, titled ‘Dementia and Imagination’ (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council). Forthcoming work under this programme of research will test this theoretically informed intervention in three different geographical areas of the UK. The production of freely available practice guidance is a key aspect of dissemination

Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance

Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items such as plant foods, plant fibres, resins, bone points, pigments and ground-stone axes and knives. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes; for example, polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes. In this paper, we report on the function and potential significance of an unusual ground stone artefact from a site near Bannockburn, southwestern Australia. A set of regularly spaced, shallow grooves has been cut into the surface of each side of the stone. Use-wear, residues and experimental replica tools indicate that the grooves were probably made with a stone flake and then used to shape or sharpen wooden implements such as spear points or the edges of boomerangs or other weapons. The microscopic wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant fibre bag. We suggest that the Bannockburn artefact primarily functioned as a woodworking tool, but the even spacing of the incisions suggests that they were intentionally placed, perhaps to convey a special meaning, perhaps as a tally system or other form of communication

Tool-use experiments to determine the function of an incised ground stone artefact with potential symbolic significance

Ground stone implements are found across most Australian landscapes and are often regarded as Aboriginal tools that were used for processing or modifying other items such as plant foods, plant fibres, resins, bone points, pigments and ground-stone axes and knives. Less common are ground stones modified for non-utilitarian, symbolic purposes; for example, polished and carved stone ornaments; ritual implements such as cylcons and tjuringa sacred stones; and unused, well-crafted ground-stone axes. In this paper, we report on the function and potential significance of an unusual ground stone artefact from a site near Bannockburn, southwestern Australia. A set of regularly spaced, shallow grooves has been cut into the surface of each side of the stone. Use-wear, residues and experimental replica tools indicate that the grooves were probably made with a stone flake and then used to shape or sharpen wooden implements such as spear points or the edges of boomerangs or other weapons. The microscopic wear outside the grooves indicates contact with soft wood or other plant material, possibly a soft plant fibre bag. We suggest that the Bannockburn artefact primarily functioned as a woodworking tool, but the even spacing of the incisions suggests that they were intentionally placed, perhaps to convey a special meaning, perhaps as a tally system or other form of communication

Decreased home cage movement and oromotor impairments in adult \u3ci\u3eFmr1\u3c/i\u3e-KO mice

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a common inherited disorder that significantly impacts family and patient day-to-day living across the entire lifespan. The childhood and adolescent behavioral consequences of FXS are well-appreciated. However, there are significantly fewer studies (except those examining psychiatric comorbidities) assessing behavioral phenotypes seen in adults with FXS. Mice engineered with a genetic lesion of Fmr1 recapitulate important molecular and neuroanatomical characteristics of FXS, and provide a means to evaluate adult behavioral phenotypes associated with FXS. We give the first description of baseline behaviors including feeding, drinking, movement, and their circadian rhythms; all observed over 16 consecutive days following extensive environmental habituation in adult Fmr1-KO mutant mice. We find no genotypic changes in mouse food ingestion, feeding patterns, metabolism, or circadian patterns of movement, feeding, and drinking. After habituation, Fmr1-KO mice demonstrate significantly less daily movement during their active phase (the dark cycle). However, Fmr1-KO mice have more bouts of activity during the light cycle compared to wildtypes. In addition, Fmr1-KO mice demonstrate significantly less daily water ingestion during the circadian dark cycle, and this reduction in water intake is accompanied by a decrease in the amount of water ingested per lick. The observed water ingestion and circadian phenotypes noted in Fmr1-KO mice recapitulate known clinical aspects previously described in FXS. The finding of decreased movement in Fmr1-KO mice is novel, and suggests a dissociation between baseline and novelty-evoked activity for Fmr1-KO mice

Estimating Galaxy Parameters with Self-Organizing Maps and the Effect of Missing Data

The current and upcoming large data volume galaxy surveys require the use of machine learning techniques to maximize their scientific return. This study explores the use of Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) to estimate galaxy parameters with a focus on handling cases of missing data and providing realistic probability distribution functions for the parameters. We train a SOM with a simulated mass-limited lightcone assuming a ugrizYJHKs+IRAC dataset, mimicking the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Deep joint dataset. For parameter estimation, we derive SOM likelihood surfaces considering photometric errors to derive total (statistical and systematic) uncertainties. We explore the effects of missing data including which bands are particular critical to the accuracy of the derived parameters. We demonstrate that the parameter recovery is significantly better when the missing bands are "filled-in" rather than if they are completely omitted. We propose a practical method for such recovery of missing data.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa