Parent support advisor pilot : first interim report from the evaluation

The Parent Support Adviser (PSA) pilot is a government funded initiative to support 20 Local Authorities (LAs) to introduce PSAs into their workforce. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) commissioned the Centre for Educational Development, Appraisal and Research (CEDAR) to evaluate the PSA pilot programme from September 2006 – August 2008. A government grant (£40 million) has been made available to fund employment of PSAs over this period. To date, 717 PSAs are in place, supporting parents in 1167 schools. This first Interim Report is based on semi-structured interviews with 97 PSAs, 85 line managers and 23 other professionals in 12 case study LAs during Phase 1 of the evaluation, which was carried out between April and June 2007. Phase 2 of the study will take place during the period October to December 2007; phase 3 will take place during March to June 2008. In addition to these interview-based studies with the 12 case study LAs, an analysis will be made of the data collected by all 20 LAs over the period of the pilot using a standard database devised by CEDAR. Data are being collected on the PSAs’ work with parents and, where this occurs, with children. Finally, a cost effectiveness study will be undertaken. The findings from these phases of the project will be reported in the final report

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): A third wave behaviour therapy

Abstract. This paper introduces Acceptance and commitment Therapy (ACT) as one of the newer contextualist behaviour therapies. A brief history of the development of ACT is outlined. The concepts of equivalence and laterality and the important relationship between Relational Frame Theory and ACT are then described. The "hexagram" summary of the six core linked processes in ACT is presented and, finally, the research evidence to support the effectiveness of ACT applied to a range of clinical conditions and client groups is summarized

Forms and Functions of Participatory Evaluation in International Development: A Review of the Empirical and Theoretical Literature

Background: Since the late 1970s participatory approaches have been widely promoted to evaluate international development programs. However, there is no universal agreement of what is meant by participatory evaluation.  For some evaluators, participatory evaluations involve the extensive participation of all stakeholder groups (from donor to non-recipients) in every phase of the evaluation (from design to dissemination). For others, the participation of donors in the design constitutes a participatory evaluation approach. Participatory evaluation approaches are best considered on a continuum. In other words, there are many gradations to participation and evaluations should be classified accordingly.  Purpose: The lack of shared meaning of participatory evaluation approaches also impedes serious discussion on their use including their merits and demerits, suggestions for their improvement, and their overall effectiveness. The purpose of this article is to present an examination of the literature on participatory evaluation approaches to highlight commonalities and differences. Setting: Not applicable Intervention: Not applicable. Research Design: Not applicable. Data Collection and Analysis: Desk review. Findings: This article clearly demonstrates how broadly participatory evaluation is conceptualized and practiced and underscores the clear need for specification and precision when discussing what is meant by participatory evaluation. Recommendations for how evaluators should describe participatory evaluations are provided. Keywords: participatory evaluation; collaborative evaluation; empowerment evaluation; stakeholder-based evaluatio

Shaping the future of learning using the student voice: we’re listening but are we hearing clearly?

Student voice data is a key factor as Manchester Metropolitan University strives to continually improve institutional technology enhanced learning (TEL) infrastructure. A bi-annual Institutional Student Survey enables students to communicate their experience of learning, teaching and assessment on programmes and specific units studied. Each cycle of the survey contains approximately 40–50,000 free text comments from students pertaining to what they appreciate and what they would like to see improved. A detailed thematic analysis of this data has identified 18 themes, arranged into six categories relating to the ‘Best’ aspects of courses, and 25 themes, arranged in seven categories in relation to aspects of courses considered to be ‘in need of improvement’. This student data was then used as a basis for semi-structured interviews with staff. Anecdotally, evidence suggested that student expectations and staff expectations around TEL and the virtual learning environment (VLE) differed. On-going evaluation of this work has highlighted a disconnect. In significant instances, academic colleagues seemingly misinterpret the student voice analysis and consequently struggle to respond effectively. In response to the analysis, the learning technologist's role has been to re-interpret the analysis and redevelop TEL staff development and training activities. The changes implemented have focused on: contextualising resources in VLE; making lectures more interactive; enriching the curriculum with audio–visual resources; and setting expectations around communications

Pollen feeding proteomics: Salivary proteins of the passion flower butterfly, Heliconius melpomene.

While most adult Lepidoptera use flower nectar as their primary food source, butterflies in the genus Heliconius have evolved the novel ability to acquire amino acids from consuming pollen. Heliconius butterflies collect pollen on their proboscis, moisten the pollen with saliva, and use a combination of mechanical disruption and chemical degradation to release free amino acids that are subsequently re-ingested in the saliva. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms of this complex pollen feeding adaptation. Here we report an initial shotgun proteomic analysis of saliva from Heliconius melpomene. Results from liquid-chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry confidently identified 31 salivary proteins, most of which contained predicted signal peptides, consistent with extracellular secretion. Further bioinformatic annotation of these salivary proteins indicated the presence of four distinct functional classes: proteolysis (10 proteins), carbohydrate hydrolysis (5), immunity (6), and "housekeeping" (4). Additionally, six proteins could not be functionally annotated beyond containing a predicted signal sequence. The presence of several salivary proteases is consistent with previous demonstrations that Heliconius saliva has proteolytic capacity. It is likely that these proteins play a key role in generating free amino acids during pollen digestion. The identification of proteins functioning in carbohydrate hydrolysis is consistent with Heliconius butterflies consuming nectar, like other lepidopterans, as well as pollen. Immune-related proteins in saliva are also expected, given that ingestion of pathogens is a likely route to infection. The few "housekeeping" proteins are likely not true salivary proteins and reflect a modest level of contamination that occurred during saliva collection. Among the unannotated proteins were two sets of paralogs, each seemingly the result of a relatively recent tandem duplication. These results offer a first glimpse into the molecular foundation of Heliconius pollen feeding and provide a substantial advance towards comprehensively understanding this striking evolutionary novelty.This work was supported by the Balfour-Browne Fund administered by the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge. Additional support came from the University of Kansas.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.04.00

Design, prototyping and testing of a compact superconducting double quarter wave crab cavity

A novel design of superconducting Crab Cavity was proposed and designed at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The new cavity shape is a Double Quarter Wave or DQWCC. After fabrication and surface treatments, the niobium proof-of-principle cavity was cryogenically tested in a vertical cryostat. The cavity is extremely compact yet has a low frequency of 400 MHz, an essential property for service for the Large Hadron Collider luminosity upgrade. The electromagnetic properties of the cavity are also well matched for this demanding task. The demonstrated deflecting voltage of 4.6 MV is well above the requirement for a crab cavity in the future High Luminosity LHC of 3.34 MV. In this paper we present the design, prototyping and test results of the DQWCC.Comment: to be published in Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beam

Cx3cr1-deficient microglia exhibit a premature aging transcriptome.

CX3CR1, one of the highest expressed genes in microglia in mice and humans, is implicated in numerous microglial functions. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying Cx3cr1 signaling are not well understood. Here, we analyzed transcriptomes of Cx3cr1-deficient microglia under varying conditions by RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq). In 2-mo-old mice, Cx3cr1 deletion resulted in the down-regulation of a subset of immune-related genes, without substantial epigenetic changes in markers of active chromatin. Surprisingly, Cx3cr1-deficient microglia from young mice exhibited a transcriptome consistent with that of aged Cx3cr1-sufficient animals, suggesting a premature aging transcriptomic signature. Immunohistochemical analysis of microglia in young and aged mice revealed that loss of Cx3cr1 modulates microglial morphology in a comparable fashion. Our results suggest that CX3CR1 may regulate microglial function in part by modulating the expression levels of a subset of inflammatory genes during chronological aging, making Cx3cr1-deficient mice useful for studying aged microglia

A pilot study of performance among hospitalised elderly patients on a novel test of visuospatial cognition: the letter and shape drawing (LSD) test.

peer-reviewedObjectives. Conventional bedside tests of visuospatial function such as the clock drawing (CDT) and intersecting pentagons tests (IPT) are subject to considerable inconsistency in their delivery and interpretation. We compared performance on a novel test – the letter and shape drawing (LSD) test –with these conventional tests in hospitalised elderly patients. Methods. The LSD, IPT, CDT and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were performed in 40 acute elderly medical inpatients at University Hospital Limerick The correlation between these tests was examined as well as the accuracy of the visuospatial tests to identify significant cognitive impairment on the MoCA. Results. The patients (mean age 81.0±7.71; 21 female) had a median MoCA score of 15.5 (range = 1–29). There was a strong, positive correlation between the LSD and both the CDT (r = 0.56) and IPT (r = 0.71). The correlation between the LSD and MoCA (r = 0.91) was greater than for the CDT and IPT (both 0.67). The LSD correlated highly with all MoCA domains (ranging from 0.54 to 0.86) and especially for the domains of orientation (r = 0.86), attention (0.81) and visuospatial function (r = 0.73). Two or more errors on the LSD identified 90% (26/29) of those patients with MoCA scores of ⩽20, which was substantially higher than for the CDT (59%) and IPT (55%). Conclusion. The LSD is a novel test of visuospatial function that is brief, readily administered and easily interpreted. Performance correlates strongly with other tests of visuospatial ability, with favourable ability to identify patients with significant impairment of general cognition.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

Mental health in UK Biobank: development, implementation and results from an online questionnaire completed by 157 366 participants

Background UK Biobank is a well-characterised cohort of over 500 000 participants that offers unique opportunities to investigate multiple diseases and risk factors. Aims An online mental health questionnaire completed by UK Biobank participants was expected to expand the potential for research into mental disorders. Method An expert working group designed the questionnaire, using established measures where possible, and consulting with a patient group regarding acceptability. Case definitions were defined using operational criteria for lifetime depression, mania, anxiety disorder, psychotic-like experiences and self-harm, as well as current post-traumatic stress and alcohol use disorders. Results 157 366 completed online questionnaires were available by August 2017. Comparison of self-reported diagnosed mental disorder with a contemporary study shows a similar prevalence, despite respondents being of higher average socioeconomic status than the general population across a range of indicators. Thirty-five per cent (55 750) of participants had at least one defined syndrome, of which lifetime depression was the most common at 24% (37 434). There was extensive comorbidity among the syndromes. Mental disorders were associated with high neuroticism score, adverse life events and long-term illness; addiction and bipolar affective disorder in particular were associated with measures of deprivation. Conclusions The questionnaire represents a very large mental health survey in itself, and the results presented here show high face validity, although caution is needed owing to selection bias. Built into UK Biobank, these data intersect with other health data to offer unparalleled potential for crosscutting biomedical research involving mental health