643 research outputs found
Surface electrical properties experiment, part 1
The work is reported which was performed on the Surface Electrical Properties Experiment Data Acquisition System. Areas discussed include: data handling and processing, installation and external signal application, operation of the equipment, and digital output. Detailed circuit descriptions are included
Linking Community Participatory Research to Global Policymaking: Lessons Learned
The past two decades saw a proliferation of
opportunities for the perspectives of people
experiencing poverty and marginalisation to input into
global policymaking spaces. So far these efforts have
been contested, with attempts to embed participatory
methodologies facilitating only limited consultation
and falling into many pitfalls. While Participate
was built on learning from previous attempts
to influence global policy, we aimed to further
understand participatory processes, and advance
practical mechanisms for participation at every level
of decision-making, from local to national and global.
Participate emphasises the interactions between these
levels and the importance of impacting multiple levels
in order to create lasting, transformative change.
This chapter describes what has been learnt about
bringing the voices on the ground into global
policymaking. We examine how and by whom the
knowledge and evidence created were used, and the
barriers and challenges to embedding this knowledge
into global policy processes, through the following
questions:
• What have been the challenges to embedding
participatory processes into global policy spaces?
• What have these pathways of influence looked
like, and what are some of the key lessons learned
from these
On the state dependency of fast feedback processes in (palaeo) climate sensitivity
Palaeo data have been frequently used to determine the equilibrium (Charney)
climate sensitivity , and - if slow feedback processes (e.g. land
ice-albedo) are adequately taken into account - they indicate a similar range
as estimates based on instrumental data and climate model results. Most studies
implicitly assume the (fast) feedback processes to be independent of the
background climate state, e.g., equally strong during warm and cold periods.
Here we assess the dependency of the fast feedback processes on the background
climate state using data of the last 800 kyr and a conceptual climate model for
interpretation. Applying a new method to account for background state
dependency, we find K(Wm) using the latest LGM
temperature reconstruction and significantly lower climate sensitivity during
glacial climates. Due to uncertainties in reconstructing the LGM temperature
anomaly, is estimated in the range K(Wm).Comment: submitted to Geophysical Research Letter
Targeted online liquid chromatography electron capture dissociation mass spectrometry for the localization of sites of in vivo phosphorylation in human Sprouty2
We demonstrate a strategy employing collision-induced dissociation for phosphopeptide discovery, followed by targeted electron capture dissociation (ECD) for site localization. The high mass accuracy and low background noise of the ECD mass spectra allow facile sequencing of coeluting isobaric phosphopeptides, with up to two isobaric phosphopeptides sequenced from a single mass spectrum. In contrast to the previously described neutral loss of dependent ECD method, targeted ECD allows analysis of both phosphotyrosine peptides and lower abundance phosphopeptides. The approach was applied to phosphorylation analysis of human Sprouty2, a regulator of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling. Fifteen sites of phosphorylation were identified, 11 of which are novel
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Looking into the future, what do we see?
This series of short communications introduces and celebrates the occasion of World Nutrition Rio2012, and looks ahead. There will be another series published next month in our May issue, which will be on-line early, at 0001 GMT on Thursday 26 April, the day before Rio2012 begins.
The questions and answers: Our contributors, this month and next month, have been asked to write within a standard framework, based on their knowledge and experience, in a style comparable with those of the news and comment sections of journals concerned with public health. Their contributions are judgements, as any policy statements are and must be. The first question is about Rio2012 itself. The second question is addressed to young colleagues. All the questions are designed to look forward and to advise, warn and encourage.
What do I hope Rio2012 will achieve?
My advice to a young public health nutritionist
When I am optimistic, what is my vision?
When I am pessimistic, what do I foresee?
My most highly recommended writer
One choice of my own publication
Proapoptotic BH3-only proteins trigger membrane integration of prosurvival Bcl-w and neutralize its activity
Prosurvival Bcl-2–like proteins, like Bcl-w, are thought to function on organelles such as the mitochondrion and to be targeted to them by their hydrophobic COOH-terminal domain. We unexpectedly found, however, that the membrane association of Bcl-w was enhanced during apoptosis. In healthy cells, Bcl-w was loosely attached to the mitochondrial membrane, but it was converted into an integral membrane protein by cytotoxic signals that induce binding of BH3-only proteins, such as Bim, or by the addition of BH3 peptides to lysates. As the structure of Bcl-w has revealed that its COOH-terminal domain occupies the hydrophobic groove where BH3 ligands bind, displacement of that domain by a BH3 ligand would displace the hydrophobic COOH-terminal residues, allowing their insertion into the membrane. To determine whether BH3 ligation is sufficient to induce the enhanced membrane affinity, or to render Bcl-w proapoptotic, we mimicked their complex by tethering the Bim BH3 domain to the NH2 terminus of Bcl-w. The chimera indeed bound avidly to membranes, in a fashion requiring the COOH-terminal domain, but neither promoted nor inhibited apoptosis. These results suggest that ligation of a proapoptotic BH3-only protein alters the conformation of Bcl-w, enhances membrane association, and neutralizes its survival function
Using the past to constrain the future: how the palaeorecord can improve estimates of global warming
Climate sensitivity is defined as the change in global mean equilibrium
temperature after a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration and provides a
simple measure of global warming. An early estimate of climate sensitivity,
1.5-4.5{\deg}C, has changed little subsequently, including the latest
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The persistence of such large uncertainties in this simple measure casts
doubt on our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change and our ability
to predict the response of the climate system to future perturbations. This has
motivated continued attempts to constrain the range with climate data, alone or
in conjunction with models. The majority of studies use data from the
instrumental period (post-1850) but recent work has made use of information
about the large climate changes experienced in the geological past.
In this review, we first outline approaches that estimate climate sensitivity
using instrumental climate observations and then summarise attempts to use the
record of climate change on geological timescales. We examine the limitations
of these studies and suggest ways in which the power of the palaeoclimate
record could be better used to reduce uncertainties in our predictions of
climate sensitivity.Comment: The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in
Progress in Physical Geography, 31(5), 2007 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All
rights reserved. \c{opyright} 2007 Edwards, Crucifix and Harriso
Maintenance of intervention effects: long-term outcomes for participants in a group talk-therapy trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Abstract
Background
Despite the growth of psychotherapy trials in low- and middle-income countries, there have been limited follow-up studies of more than 2 years. This study follows up female sexual violence survivors approximately 6 years after completing a 12-session group cognitive processing therapy (CPT) program in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Methods
Baseline trial data were collected in December 2010 from 134 women in 7 study villages randomly allocated to CPT. Study women were over 18 years, reported personally experiencing or witnessing sexual violence, and reported elevated depression, anxiety and/or posttraumatic stress symptoms. Women were followed up (1) post-treatment (6-months after baseline); (2) 6 months later; (3) 12 months later; and (4) in March 2017 (6.3 years after baseline). At the long-term follow-up, 103 women (77%) in 6 of 7 CPT villages were re-assessed; one village was not visited due to ongoing insecurity.
Results
We found strong continued intervention effects; nearly all women maintained treatment impacts over the first two years; at long-term follow-up, approximately half continued to maintain low symptom scores. Relapse rates for probable PTSD and probable depression and anxiety were 20%.
Conclusions
This study extends prior research to show that treatment impacts can be maintained for several years despite experiences of ongoing trauma. The women described continuing to meet with the women in their therapy group and using the skills they learned in the psychotherapy, providing evidence of the potential for these programs to provide valuable social supports and skills that people use as they continue to face adversity
Effectiveness of a structured educational intervention using psychological delivery methods in children and adolescents with poorly controlled type 1 diabetes: a cluster randomised controlled trial of the CASCADE intervention
Introduction: Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents is increasing worldwide with a particular increase in children < 5 years. Fewer than one in six children and adolescents achieve recommended HbA1c values. Methods: A pragmatic, cluster randomised control trial assessed the efficacy of a clinic-based structured educational group incorporating psychological approaches to improve long-term glycaemic control, quality of life and psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents with T1D. 28 paediatric diabetes services were randomised to deliver the intervention or standard care. 362 children (8-16 years) HbA1c ≥ 8.5% were recruited. Outcomes were HbA1c at 12 and 24 months, hypoglycaemia, admissions, self-management skills, intervention compliance, emotional and behavioural adjustment and quality of life. A process evaluation collected data from key stakeholder groups in order to evaluate the feasibility of delivering the intervention. Results: 298/362 patients (82.3%) provided HbA1c at 12 months and 284/362 (78.5%) at 24 months. The intervention did not improve HbA1c at 12 months (intervention effect 0.11, 95% CI −0.28 to 0.50, P=0.584), or 24 months (intervention effect 0.03, 95% CI -0.36 to 0.41, P=0.891). There were no significant changes in remaining outcomes. 96/180 (53%) families in the intervention arm attended at least one module. The number of modules attended did not affect outcome. Reasons for low uptake included difficulties organising groups and work and school commitments. Those with highest HbA1cs were less likely to attend. Mean cost of the intervention was £683 per child. Conclusions: Significant challenges in the delivery of a structured education intervention using psychological techniques to enhance engagement and behaviour change delivered by diabetes nurses and dietitians in routine clinical practice were found. The intervention did not improve HbA1c in children and adolescents with poor control
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