3,686 research outputs found
Ethnicity and alcohol: a review of the UK literature
This literature review draws together recorded drinking patterns among minority ethnic groups in the UK over the last 15 years and considers the evidence for service provision and support. A recommendation in implementing the Government’s alcohol strategy, Safe. Sensible. Social. is to assess the need for and develop provision for black and minority ethnic groups. This need is heightened by the growing minority ethnic population and changes in consumption levels that may emerge over generations.
The review explores differences in drinking patterns by ethnicity and the cultural and social contexts around which the use of alcohol is established and maintained.
This review:
• describes drinking levels as reported in national surveys and local research;
• considers processes and infl uences that help to explain why drinking rates among ethnic groups in a new country may
change over time;
• examines help-seeking, support and service provision for
minority ethnic groups;
• examines the extent to which services are equipped to respond to the needs of minority ethnic groups
A continuous model for microtubule dynamics with catastrophe, rescue and nucleation processes
Microtubules are a major component of the cytoskeleton distinguished by
highly dynamic behavior both in vitro and in vivo. We propose a general
mathematical model that accounts for the growth, catastrophe, rescue and
nucleation processes in the polymerization of microtubules from tubulin dimers.
Our model is an extension of various mathematical models developed earlier
formulated in order to capture and unify the various aspects of tubulin
polymerization including the dynamic instability, growth of microtubules to
saturation, time-localized periods of nucleation and depolymerization as well
as synchronized oscillations exhibited by microtubules under various
experimental conditions. Our model, while attempting to use a minimal number of
adjustable parameters, covers a broad range of behaviors and has predictive
features discussed in the paper. We have analyzed the resultant behaviors of
the microtubules changing each of the parameter values at a time and observing
the emergence of various dynamical regimes.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure
Why Do Cascade Sizes Follow a Power-Law?
We introduce random directed acyclic graph and use it to model the
information diffusion network. Subsequently, we analyze the cascade generation
model (CGM) introduced by Leskovec et al. [19]. Until now only empirical
studies of this model were done. In this paper, we present the first
theoretical proof that the sizes of cascades generated by the CGM follow the
power-law distribution, which is consistent with multiple empirical analysis of
the large social networks. We compared the assumptions of our model with the
Twitter social network and tested the goodness of approximation.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted to WWW 201
Novel steady state of a microtubule assembly in a confined geometry
We study the steady state of an assembly of microtubules in a confined
volume, analogous to the situation inside a cell where the cell boundary forms
a natural barrier to growth. We show that the dynamical equations for growing
and shrinking microtubules predict the existence of two steady states, with
either exponentially decaying or exponentially increasing distribution of
microtubule lengths. We identify the regimes in parameter space corresponding
to these steady states. In the latter case, the apparent catastrophe frequency
near the boundary was found to be significantly larger than that in the
interior. Both the exponential distribution of lengths and the increase in the
catastrophe frequency near the cell margin is in excellent agreement with
recent experimental observations.Comment: 8 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Identifying promising approaches and initiatives to reducing alcohol related harm
This study aimed to identify promising approaches that could be included in multi-component programmes (MCPs) to reduce alcohol related harm at local level in the UK. MCPs involve the identification of alcohol related problems at the local level and implementation of a programme of co-ordinated projects to tackle a problem. They are based on an integrative design where singular interventions run in combination with each other and/or are sequenced together over time; the identification, coordination and mobilisation of local agencies, stakeholders and community are key elements (Thom and Bayley, 2007). This study was underpinned by the recognition that the voices of practitioners are often marginalised in the debates about ‘what works’ and it set out to include their views. So whilst acknowledging the importance of the international research literature, care was taken not to privilege it over other ‘softer’ sources e.g. knowledge and experience of practitioners
Measuring the long-term success of small-scale marine protected areas in a Philippine reef fishery
Tropical coral reefs are subject to multiple pressures from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These pressures have caused widespread declines in reef health, resulting in the increased use of spatial management tools such as marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs have proven generally effective if well designed and enforced, but there are limited long-term studies investigating how the presence of small-scale MPAs affects fish populations and reef communities. Using a 12-year time series, we found that small-scale (10–50 ha) community-managed MPAs along the Danajon Bank of the Philippines preserved average fish biomass within their boundaries over time relative to surrounding fished reefs. Unprotected areas are, however, showing significant long-term biomass decline. MPAs were also found to preserve more key trophic groups and larger-bodied commercially targeted reef fish families. Fish biomass of piscivore, scavenger and invertivore trophic groups inside individual MPAs is, however, still declining at a similar rate as outside. Surprisingly, long-term benthic cover and growth form composition were not significantly affected overall by MPA presence, despite the sporadic use of highly destructive dynamite fishing in this region. Coral cover has remained historically low (21–28%) throughout the study, following widespread bleaching mortality. While management tempered overall abundance declines, we found that irrespective of MPA presence, there was a generalised decline of both large- and small-bodied fish size groups across the study region, most steeply within the 20–30 cm length fish, and a shift towards proportionally higher abundances of small (5–10 cm) fish. This indicates a combination of over-exploitation, inadequate MPA size and coverage for larger fish, and the lingering effects of the 1998 bleaching event. Generalised shifts in body size and trophic structure reported here could lead to future reductions in fishery productivity and stability and will be further exacerbated unless broader fishery regulations and enforcement is instated
A modified version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II for cognitive matching of infants with and without Down syndrome
Background Many measures of infants' early cognitive development, including the BSID-II (The Bayley Scales of Infant Development), mix together test items that assess a number of different developmental domains including language, attention, motor functioning and social abilities, and some items contribute to the assessment of more than one domain. Consequently, the scales may lead to under- or over-estimates of cognitive abilities in some clinical samples and may not be the best measure to use for matching purposes.
Method To address this issue we created a modified form of the BSID-II (the BSID-M) to provide a ‘purer’ assessment of the general cognitive capacities in infants with Down syndrome (DS) from 6 to 18 months of age. We excluded a number of items that implicated language, motor, attentional and social functioning from the original measure. This modified form was administered to 17 infants with Down syndrome when 6, 12 and 18 months old and to 41 typically developing infants at 4, 7 and 10 months old.
Results The results suggested that the modified form continued to provide a meaningful and stable measure of cognitive functioning and revealed that DS infants may score marginally higher in terms of general cognitive abilities when using this modified form than they might when using the standard BSID-II scales.
Conclusions This modified form may be useful for researchers who need a ‘purer’ measure with which to match infants with DS and other infants with intellectual disabilities on cognitive functioning
Community-linked maternal death review (CLMDR) to measure and prevent maternal mortality: a pilot study in rural Malawi.
In Malawi, maternal mortality remains high. Existing maternal death reviews fail to adequately review most deaths, or capture those that occur outside the health system. We assessed the value of community involvement to improve capture and response to community maternal deaths
Computer model for the cardiovascular system: development of an e-learning tool for teaching of medical students
BACKGROUND: This study combined themes in cardiovascular modelling, clinical cardiology and e-learning to create an on-line environment that would assist undergraduate medical students in understanding key physiological and pathophysiological processes in the cardiovascular system. METHODS: An interactive on-line environment was developed incorporating a lumped-parameter mathematical model of the human cardiovascular system. The model outputs were used to characterise the progression of key disease processes and allowed students to classify disease severity with the aim of improving their understanding of abnormal physiology in a clinical context. Access to the on-line environment was offered to students at all stages of undergraduate training as an adjunct to routine lectures and tutorials in cardiac pathophysiology. Student feedback was collected on this novel on-line material in the course of routine audits of teaching delivery. RESULTS: Medical students, irrespective of their stage of undergraduate training, reported that they found the models and the environment interesting and a positive experience. After exposure to the environment, there was a statistically significant improvement in student performance on a series of 6 questions based on cardiovascular medicine, with a 33% and 22% increase in the number of questions answered correctly, p < 0.0001 and p < 0.001 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable improvement was found in students' knowledge and understanding during assessment after exposure to the e-learning environment. Opportunities exist for development of similar environments in other fields of medicine, refinement of the existing environment and further engagement with student cohorts. This work combines some exciting and developing fields in medical education, but routine adoption of these types of tool will be possible only with the engagement of all stake-holders, from educationalists, clinicians, modellers to, most importantly, medical students
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