Knowledge generation about care-giving in the UK: a critical review of research paradigms

While discourse about care and caring is well developed in the UK, the nature of knowledge generation about care and the research paradigms that underpin it have been subjected to limited critical reflection and analysis. An overarching synthesis of evidence – intended to promote debate and facilitate new understandings – identifies two largely separate bodies of carer-related research. The first body of work – referred to as Gathering and Evaluating – provides evidence of the extent of caregiving, who provides care to whom and with what impact; it also focuses on evaluating policy and service efficacy. This type of research tends to dominate public perception about caring, influences the type and extent of policy and support for carers and attracts funding from policy and health-related sources. However, it also tends to be conceptually and theoretically narrow, has limited engagement with carers’ perspectives and adopts an atomistic purview on the care-giving landscape. The second body of work – Conceptualising and Theorising – explores the conceptual and experiential nature of care and aims to extend thinking and theory about caring. It is concerned with promoting understanding of care as an integral part of human relationships, embedded in the life course, and a product of interdependence and reciprocity. This work conceptualises care as both an activity and a disposition and foregrounds the development of an ‘ethic of care’, thereby providing a perspective within which to recognise both the challenges care-giving may present and the significance of care as a normative activity. It tends to be funded from social science sources and, while strong in capturing carers’ experiences, has limited policy and service-related purchase. Much could be gained for citizens, carers and families, and the generation of knowledge advanced, if the two bodies of research were integrated to a greater degree

Metagenomic analysis of viruses associated with maize lethal necrosis in Kenya

Background: Maize lethal necrosis is caused by a synergistic co-infection of Maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) and a specific member of the Potyviridae, such as Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) or Johnson grass mosaic virus (JGMV). Typical maize lethal necrosis symptoms include severe yellowing and leaf drying from the edges. In Kenya, we detected plants showing typical and atypical symptoms. Both groups of plants often tested negative for SCMV by ELISA. Methods: We used next-generation sequencing to identify viruses associated to maize lethal necrosis in Kenya through a metagenomics analysis. Symptomatic and asymptomatic leaf samples were collected from maize and sorghum representing sixteen counties. Results: Complete and partial genomes were assembled for MCMV, SCMV, Maize streak virus (MSV) and Maize yellow dwarf virus-RMV (MYDV-RMV). These four viruses (MCMV, SCMV, MSV and MYDV-RMV) were found together in 30 of 68 samples. A geographic analysis showed that these viruses are widely distributed in Kenya. Phylogenetic analyses of nucleotide sequences showed that MCMV, MYDV-RMV and MSV are similar to isolates from East Africa and other parts of the world. Single nucleotide polymorphism, nucleotide and polyprotein sequence alignments identified three genetically distinct groups of SCMV in Kenya. Variation mapped to sequences at the border of NIb and the coat protein. Partial genome sequences were obtained for other four potyviruses and one polerovirus. Conclusion: Our results uncover the complexity of the maize lethal necrosis epidemic in Kenya. MCMV, SCMV, MSV and MYDV-RMV are widely distributed and infect both maize and sorghum. SCMV population in Kenya is diverse and consists of numerous strains that are genetically different to isolates from other parts of the world. Several potyviruses, and possibly poleroviruses, are also involved

A Further Comparison of Simplification Methods for Decision-Tree Induction

This paper presents an empirical investigation of eight well-known simplification methods for decision trees induced from training data. Twelve data sets are considered to compare both the accuracy and the complexity of simplified trees. The computation of optimally pruned trees is used in order to give a clear definition of bias of the methods towards overpruning and underpruning. The results indicate that the simplification strategies which exploit an independent pruning set do not perform better than the others. Furthermore, some methods show an evident bias towards either underpruning or overpruning. 35.1 Introduction. Various heuristic methods have been proposed for the construction of a decision tree, among which the most widely known is the top-down approach. In top-down induction of decision trees (TDIDT) it is possible to identify three main issues [BFOS84]: 1. The definition of a decision process associated with the tree. 2. The determination of the tests in the nodes. 3. Th..

Magnetic memory effect in magnetite charged polypropylene composite

The behaviour of damping and dynamic shear modulus in polypropylene charged with either different volume fraction or size of magnetite (Fe3O4) particles, as a function of the applied magnetic field at 318, 353 and 403 K; has been studied. An increase of the alternating magnetic field oscillating with 50 Hz, leads to an increase of the damping. In addition, during the subsequently decreasing alternating magnetic field, the damping decreases, but a hysteretic behaviour appeared. The behaviour of the damping and the elastic modulus under the application of an alternating magnetic field was explained by the development of a magnetic fatigue damage occurring around the particle interface due to oscillation of magnetite particles. In contrast, during the increase of a direct magnetic field, the damping decreases and the elastic modulus increases. Measurements performed at 353 and 403 K allowed observing the interaction process among the particles of magnetite in the polymer matrix. After the decrease in the direct magnetic field, from the maximum reached value, damping and modulus remain smaller and higher, respectively; giving rise to a memory effect. In addition, a mesoscopic description of magnetite filled polymer composite materials has been performed in the continuous media by considering the interaction between magnetic and mechanical forces. Theoretical predictions of here developed model were qualitatively applied with good success for explaining the memory effect in magnetite filled polypropylene under the application of a direct magnetic field.Fil: Mocellini, Ricardo Raúl. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lambri, Osvaldo Agustin F.. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gargicevich, Damian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Bonifacich, Federico Guillermo. Universidad Nacional de Rosario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Weidenfeller, Bernd. Technische Universitat Clausthal; AlemaniaFil: Anhalt, Mathias. Technische Universitat Clausthal; AlemaniaFil: Riehemann, Werner. Technische Universitat Clausthal; Alemani