Surveillance, security and violence in a mental health ward: An ethnographic case-study of an Australian purpose-built unit

This paper discusses the potential relationship between surveillance techniques, the enactment of security measures, and patient violence in mental health wards. The paper draws upon data from an ethnographic study conducted in a purpose-built mental health unit containing two wards (one locked and one open) in South Australia, and argues that acts of violence observed in the unit were typically preceded by an incident within the unit that was related to the implementation of security measures aimed at controlling non-compliant behaviours. The paper argues that if a relationship between security measures and violence does exist in mental health wards, then close attention must be paid to the ways in which forms of surveillance may arguably exacerbate, rather than prevent, the need for security measures.Clemence Due, Kathleen Connellan, Damien W. Rigg

Association between personality factors and consulting specialty of practice of doctors at an academic hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Background. Studies found an association between personality types and field of specialty. The current study could assist aspiring specialists in deciding which specialty they are best suited for by comparing their own personalities with the results.Objectives. To explore the personality characteristics of doctors in three consulting and four surgical specialties at an academic hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa.Methods. In this analytical cross-sectional study, questionnaires, including the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire, were handed out. Overall, 58 consultants and senior registrars from the departments of Family Medicine, Paediatrics and Internal Medicine (response rate 71.6%) and 70 consultants and senior registrars from surgical specialties (response rate 60.3%) participated.Results. Family medicine had the lowest median score for impulsive sensation seeking (21.1%) and aggression-hostility (11.8%), and highest for parties and friends (33.3%). Paediatrics scored highest for neuroticism-anxiety (44.7%) and aggression-hostility (23.5%). Internal medicine scored highest for sociability (25.0%) and isolation intolerance (37.8%), and lowest for neuroticism-anxiety (36.8%) and activity (47.1%). Overall, the consulting group scored lower than the surgical group for impulsive sensation seeking, aggression-hostility, sociability and activity, and higher for neuroticism-anxiety.Conclusion. The study identified personality types of some specialties, and revealed differences between characteristics of local specialists compared with findings from studies elsewhere

Factors affecting greenhouse microclimate and its regulating techniques: a review

This paper reviews factors affecting greenhouse microclimate and its regulating techniques towards upgrading the greenhouse applications in the area of southeast China which have little or very basic technology integration. The microclimate of greenhouse is apparently influenced by the shape and its orientation, the wind direction, the property of covering material, and the use of insect-proof screen as they eventually affect the total solar radiation, the thermal characterises, and the flow pattern inside. The natural ventilation and sun block are the most common method to cool the greenhouse, but more efficient evaporative cooling such as pad-fan system, misting/fogging system and roof sprinkler are required with extreme temperatures. The earth to air heat exchanger and the heat storage using phase change material may be used for heating or cooling throughout the year which are more economic and energy-saving than other traditional thermal technologies. The reviewed knowledge provides insights into upgrading greenhouse applications in Ningbo area towards more sustainable and efficient greenhouse farming

Protein-Glutamine Gamma-Glutamyltransferase

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Overcoming Ostrea edulis seed production limitations to meet ecosystem restoration demands in the UN decade on restoration

The European flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is a habitat-forming bivalve which was historically widespread throughout Europe. Following its decline due to overfishing, pollution, sedimentation, invasive species, and disease, O. edulis and its beds are now listed as a threatened and/or declining species and habitat by OSPAR. Increasing recognition of the plight of the oyster, alongside rapidly developing restoration techniques and growing interest in marine restoration, has resulted in a recent and rapid growth in habitat restoration efforts. O. edulis seed supply is currently a major bottleneck in scaling up habitat restoration efforts in Europe. O. edulis has been cultured for centuries, however, research into its culture declined following the introduction of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas to Europe in the early 1970 s. Recent efforts to renew both hatchery and pond production of O. edulis seed for habitat restoration purposes are hampered by restoration project timelines and funding typically being short, or projects not planning appropriately for the timescales required for investment, research-and-development and delivery of oyster seed by commercial producers. Furthermore, funding for restoration is intermittent, making long-term commitments between producers and restoration practitioners difficult. Long-term, strategic investment in research and production are needed to overcome these bottlenecks and meet current ambitious restoration targets across Europe

Adorno?s Grey, Taussig?s Blue: Colour, Organization and Critical Affect

In this article we seek to open up the study of affect and organization to colour. Often simply taken for granted in organizational life and usually neglected in organizational thought, colour is an affective force by default. Deploying and interweaving the languages of affect theory, critical theory, and organization studies, we discuss colour as a primary phenomenon for the study of ?critical affect?. We then trace colour?s affect in conditioning the unfolding of organization in two particular ?colour/spaces? ? Adorno?s grey and Taussig?s blue of our title ? and discuss both its ambiguity and critical potential. Finally, we ponder what colour might do to the style of an organizational scholarship attuned to affect, where sentences blur with things and forces more than they seek to represent them

The Redox State of Transglutaminase 2 Controls Arterial Remodeling

While inward remodeling of small arteries in response to low blood flow, hypertension, and chronic vasoconstriction depends on type 2 transglutaminase (TG2), the mechanisms of action have remained unresolved. We studied the regulation of TG2 activity, its (sub) cellular localization, substrates, and its specific mode of action during small artery inward remodeling. We found that inward remodeling of isolated mouse mesenteric arteries by exogenous TG2 required the presence of a reducing agent. The effect of TG2 depended on its cross-linking activity, as indicated by the lack of effect of mutant TG2. The cell-permeable reducing agent DTT, but not the cell-impermeable reducing agent TCEP, induced translocation of endogenous TG2 and high membrane-bound transglutaminase activity. This coincided with inward remodeling, characterized by a stiffening of the artery. The remodeling could be inhibited by a TG2 inhibitor and by the nitric oxide donor, SNAP. Using a pull-down assay and mass spectrometry, 21 proteins were identified as TG2 cross-linking substrates, including fibronectin, collagen and nidogen. Inward remodeling induced by low blood flow was associated with the upregulation of several anti-oxidant proteins, notably glutathione-S-transferase, and selenoprotein P. In conclusion, these results show that a reduced state induces smooth muscle membrane-bound TG2 activity. Inward remodeling results from the cross-linking of vicinal matrix proteins, causing a stiffening of the arterial wall

Acute oxytocin improves memory and gaze following in male but not female nursery-reared infant macaques

Rationale: Exogenous oxytocin administration is widely reported to improve social cognition in human and nonhuman primate adults. Risk factors of impaired social cognition, however, emerge in infancy. Early interventions—when plasticity is greatest—are critical to reverse negative outcomes. Objective: We tested the hypothesis that oxytocin may exert similar positive effects on infant social cognition, as in adults. To test this idea, we assessed the effectiveness of acute, aerosolized oxytocin on two foundational social cognitive skills: working memory (i.e., ability to briefly hold and process information) and social gaze (i.e., tracking the direction of others’ gaze) in 1-month-old nursery-reared macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We did not predict sex differences, but we included sex as a factor in our analyses to test whether our effects would be generalizable across both males and females. Results: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, we found that females were more socially skilled at baseline compared to males, and that oxytocin improved working memory and gaze following, but only in males. Conclusions: These sex differences, while unexpected, may be due to interactions with gonadal steroids and may be relevant to sexually dimorphic disorders of social cognition, such as male-biased autism spectrum disorder, for which oxytocin has been proposed as a potential treatment. In sum, we report the first evidence that oxytocin may influence primate infant cognitive abilities. Moreover, these behavioral effects appear sexually dimorphic, highlighting the importance of considering sex differences. Oxytocin effects observed in one sex may not be generalizable to the other sex