Preliminary data on the influence of rearing temperature on the growth and reproductive status of fathead minnows Pimephales promelas

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is available from the specified link - Copyright @ 2011 Brian JV et al.An investigation into the influence of temperature on the growth and reproductive status of the fathead minnow Pimephales promelas revealed that, while there was no clear effect of treatment on sex differentiation, ovarian tissue from female fish reared under the highest temperature regime contained large amounts of undefined tissue containing no germ cells. Furthermore, both male and female fish exhibited differences in length mass, condition and somatic indices, and in the expression of secondary sexual characteristics. The patterns observed are discussed in the context of climate change

From ‘other’ to involved: User involvement in research: An emerging paradigm

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund. Copyright @ 2013 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article. Non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly attributed, cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way, is permitted. The moral rights of the named author(s) have been asserted.This article explores the issue of ‘othering’ service users and the role that involving them, particularly in social policy and social work research may play in reducing this. It takes, as its starting point, the concept of ‘social exclusion’, which has developed in Europe and the marginal role that those who have been included in this construct have played in its development and the damaging effects this may have. The article explores service user involvement in research and is itself written from a service user perspective. It pays particular attention to the ideological, practical, theoretical, ethical and methodological issues that such user involvement may raise for research. It examines problems that both research and user involvement may give rise to and also considers developments internationally to involve service users/subjects of research, highlighting some of the possible implications and gains of engaging service user knowledge in research and the need for this to be evaluated

Association between diabetes, diabetes treatment and risk of developing endometrial cancer.

BackgroundA growing body of evidence suggests that diabetes is a risk factor for endometrial cancer incidence. However, most of these studies used case-control study designs and did not adjust for obesity, an established risk factor for endometrial cancer. In addition, few epidemiological studies have examined the association between diabetes treatment and endometrial cancer risk. The objective of this study was to assess the relationships among diabetes, diabetes treatment and endometrial cancer risk in postmenopausal women participating in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).MethodsA total of 88 107 postmenopausal women aged 50-79 years who were free of cancer and had no hysterectomy at baseline were followed until date of endometrial cancer diagnosis, death, hysterectomy or loss to follow-up, whichever came first. Endometrial cancers were confirmed by central medical record and pathology report review. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) (95% confidence interval (CI)) for diagnosis of diabetes and metformin treatment as risk factors for endometrial cancer.ResultsOver a mean of 11 years of follow-up, 1241 endometrial cancers developed. In the primary analysis that focused on prevalent diabetes at enrolment, compared with women without diabetes, women with self-reported diabetes, and the subset of women with treated diabetes, had significantly higher risk of endometrial cancer without adjusting for BMI (HR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.13-1.85 for diabetes, HR=1.57, 95% CI: 1.19-2.07 for treated diabetes). However after adjusting for BMI, the associations between diabetes, diabetes treatment, diabetes duration and the risk of endometrial cancer became non-significant. Elevated risk was noted when considering combining diabetes diagnosed at baseline and during follow-up as time-dependent exposure (HR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.08-1.59) even after adjusting for BMI. No significant association was observed between metformin use and endometrial cancer risk.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the relationship observed in previous research between diabetes and endometrial cancer incidence may be largely confounded by body weight, although some modest independent elevated risk remains

Linkages Between the Phenologies of Jack Pine \u3ci\u3e(Pinus Banksiana)\u3c/i\u3e Foliage and Jack Pine Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

A field study conducted in 2001 and 2002 in the Michigan Upper Peninsula investigated seasonal associations between the development of jack pine, Pinus banksiana Lamb., and larvae of the jack pine budworm Choristoneura pinus Freeman (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). There was almost no active relationship between post-diapause emerging second instars and elongation of vegetative shoots. Early instars were not closely synchronized with the flushing of current-year needle fascicles, which is required to optimize larval feeding. How- ever, there were close feeding and shelter relationships between early instars and year-2 pollen cone development. Associations with, and larval damage to, year-2 seed cones were dependent upon larval population size and posed only minimal and periodic threats to jack pine seed production. As a consequence, early instar jack pine budworm relied almost exclusively on pollen cones for survival. Third to fifth instars vacated pollen cones as soon as they became desiccated. Only then did these larvae start close associations with vegetative shoots. First, they excised partially emerged needles at their base, and when the needle-pairs completely escaped their fascicle sheath, the larvae fed routinely on the complete needle lamina. Late instars, pupae and adults were associated with previous years’ and current-year foliage without any apparent bias. This study has shown that it might be more practical to time insecticide strategies, which are intended to manage jack pine budworm larvae, to the tree’s phenology rather than jack pine budworm larval indices

Working with Children with Learning Disabilities and/or who Communicate Non-verbally: Research experiences and their implications for social work education, increased participation and social inclusion

Social exclusion, although much debated in the UK, frequently focuses on children as a key 'at risk' group. However, some groups, such as disabled children, receive less consideration. Similarly, despite both UK and international policy and guidance encouraging the involvement of disabled children and their right to participate in decision-making arenas, they are frequently denied this right. UK based evidence suggests that disabled children's participation lags behind that of their non-disabled peers, often due to social work practitioners' lack of skills, expertise and knowledge on how to facilitate participation. The exclusion of disabled children from decision-making in social care processes echoes their exclusion from participation in society. This paper seeks to begin to address this situation, and to provide some examples of tools that social work educators can introduce into pre- and post-qualifying training programmes, as well as in-service training. The paper draws on the experiences of researchers using non-traditional qualitative research methods, especially non-verbal methods, and describes two research projects, focusing on the methods employed to communicate with and involve disabled children, the barriers encountered and lessons learnt. Some of the ways in which these methods of communication can inform social work education are explored alongside wider issues of how and if increased communication can facilitate greater social inclusion

Estimating The Costs And Cost-effectiveness Of Promoting Mammography Screening Among US-based Latinas

Purpose: We characterize the costs and cost-effectiveness of a community health worker (CHW)-based intervention to promote screening mammography among US-based non-adherent Latinas. Methods: The parent study was a randomized controlled trial for 536 Latinas aged 42-74 years old who had sought care within a safety net health center in Western Washington. Participants were block-randomized within clinic to the control arm (usual care) or intervention arm (CHW-led motivational interviewing intervention). We used the perspective of the organization implementing promotional activities to characterize costs and cost-effectiveness. Cost data were categorized as program set-up and maintenance (initial training, booster/annual training) program implementation (administrative activities, intervention delivery); and, overhead/miscellaneous expenses. Cost-effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost of screening for each additional woman screened between the intervention and control arms. Results: The respective costs per participant for standard care and the intervention arm were $69.96 and$300.99. There were no study arm differences in 1-year QALYs among women who completed a 12-month follow-up survey (intervention= 0.8827, standard care = 0.8841). Most costs pertained to program implementation and administrative activities specifically. The incremental cost per additional woman screened was $2,595.32. Conclusions: Our findings are within the ranges of costs and cost-effectiveness for other CHW programs to promote screening mammography among underserved populations. Our strong study design and focus on non-adherent women provides important strengths to this body of work, especially give implementation and dissemination science efforts regarding CHW-based health promotion for health disparity populations

The Signs of Maize? A Reconsideration of What δ¹³C Values Say about Palaeodiet in the Andean Region

Palaeodietary isotope studies have long assumed C_4 signals in South American archaeological populations to be due to the consumption of maize (Zea mays), which in turn, underlie interpretations important social processes. We presents δ¹³C data from wild plants (n=89) from the south coast of Peru, which may have been significant in the diets of humans and animals in the past. A combination of these with previously published results from domesticates of the Andean region (n=144) brings the proportion of C_4 species likely to have contributed to the human dietary isotopic signal, whether directly or indirectly, to almost one third. This undermines the widespread assumption that maize is the only plant to contribute a C_4 signal to diets. By considering both direct and indirect routes whereby C_4 plants may have contributed to the human isotopic signal we show the need for a reassessment of how palaeodietary studies are interpreted in the Andes, and perhaps elsewhere in the Americas.LC would like to thank the AHRC, the Anthony Wilkins Fund and the Santander Universities Grant for Travel to Latin America for enabling this research. TCO would like to thank the Wellcome Trust.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10745-012-9509-0

Accounting Hall of Fame 1999 induction: Ray J. Groves

For the induction of Ray J. Groves there were: Remarks by Dennis R. Beresford, University of Georgia; citation by Daniel L. Jensen, The Ohio State University; Response by Ray J. Groves, Ernst & Young, retired, and Legg Mason Merchant Banking, Inc

Pregnant Teens in Foster Care: Concepts, Issues, and Challenges in Conducting Research on Vulnerable Populations

Teens in foster care give birth at over twice the rate of other teens. Unique challenges exist for these vulnerable teens and babies, yet research on such populations, particularly within the systems that serve them, is limited. A demonstration project at Inwood House, a residential foster care agency in New York City, from 2000 to 2005, at the same time that the Administration for Children\u27s Services was exploring policy and practice changes for this population, is described. Research design and implementation issues, descriptive data, and experiences provide lessons for improving the evidence base to meet the needs of pregnant teens in care