Electrochemical detection of TNT at cobalt phthalocyanine mediated screen-printed electrodes and application to detection of airborne vapours

We describe the use of cobalt phthalocyanine as a mediator to improve the sensitivity for the electrochemical detection of TNT. Commercial screen-printed electrodes containing cobalt phthalocyanine were employed for determination of TNT. Improved sensitivities compared to screen-printed carbon electrodes without phthalocyanine were observed, current response for cyclic voltammetric measurements at modified electrodes being at least double that of unmodified electrodes. A synergistic effect between oxygen and TNT reduction was also observed. Correlation between TNT concentrations and sensor output was observed between 0–200 µM TNT. Initial proof-of-concept experiments combining electrochemical determinations, with the use of an air-sampling cyclone, are also reported

Assessing Local Health Department Performance in Diabetes Prevention and Control — North Carolina, 2005

Introduction: To improve the public health system's ability to prevent and control chronic diseases, we must first understand current practice and develop appropriate strategies for measuring performance. The objectives of this study were to measure capacity and performance of local health departments in diabetes prevention and control and to investigate characteristics associated with performance. Methods: In 2005, we conducted a cross-sectional mailed survey of all 85 North Carolina local health departments to assess capacity and performance in diabetes prevention and control based on the 10 Essential Public Health Services and adapted from the Local Public Health System Performance Assessment Instrument. We linked survey responses to county-level data, including data from a national survey of local health departments. Results: Local health departments reported a median of 0.05 full-time equivalent employees in diabetes prevention and 0.1 in control. Performance varied across the 10 Essential Services; activities most commonly reported included providing information to the public and to policy makers (76%), providing diabetes education (58%), and screening (74%). The mean score on a 10-point performance index was 3.5. Characteristics associated with performance were population size, health department size and accreditation status, and diabetes-specific external funding. Performance was not better in localities where the prevalence of diabetes was high or availability of primary care was low. Conclusion: Most North Carolina local health departments had limited capacity to conduct diabetes prevention or control programs in their communities. Diabetes is a major cause of illness and death, yet it is neglected in public health practice. These findings suggest opportunities to enhance local public health practice, particularly through targeted funding and technical assistance

A Case-Control Study of Peripheral Blood Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number and Risk of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Background: Low mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number is a common feature of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and may influence tumor development. Results: from a recent case-control study suggest that low mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood may be a marker for increased RCC risk. In an attempt to replicate that finding, we measured mtDNA copy number in peripheral blood DNA from a U.S. population-based case-control study of RCC. Methodology/Principal Findings: Relative mtDNA copy number was measured in triplicate by a quantitative real-time PCR assay using DNA extracted from peripheral whole blood. Cases (n = 603) had significantly lower mtDNA copy number than controls (n = 603; medians 0.85, 0.91 respectively; P = 0.0001). In multiple logistic regression analyses, the lowest quartile of mtDNA copy number was associated with a 60% increase in RCC risk relative to the highest quartile (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1–2.2; Ptrend = 0.009). This association remained in analyses restricted to cases treated by surgery alone (OR Q1 = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0–2.1) and to localized tumors (2.0, 1.3–2.8). Conclusions/Significance: Our findings from this investigation, to our knowledge the largest of its kind, offer important confirmatory evidence that low mtDNA copy number is associated with increased RCC risk. Additional research is needed to assess whether the association is replicable in prospective studies

How PETE comes to matter in the performance of social justice education

Background: For over four decades there have been calls for physical education (PE) and physical education teacher education (PETE) to address social inequality and foster social justice. Yet, as numerous studies demonstrate, attempts to educate for social justice in PETE are infrequent and rarely comprehensive. This raises the question why it appears to be possible in some situations but not others, and for some students and not others.    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the multiple socio-political networks or assemblages in which PETE is embedded and explore how these shape the possibilities for students to engage with the concept of social justice and sociocultural issues when learning to teach PE. Two research questions guided this study: How does an orientation for social justice education within education policy affect the standards for enacting PETE programs? How is social justice education encouraged within PETE programs? Methodology: Methodology: Drawing from a broader study of over 70 key personnel in more than 40 PETE programs, we examined how faculty in PETE understand their professional world, identify their subjective meanings of their experiences, and address sociocultural issues (SCI) and social justice education (SJE) within PETE. Data sources included an initial survey, a semi-structured interview, and program artifacts. We analyze the ways that SJE/SCI was represented in three national settings (England, the United States, and New Zealand) and identified common themes. Results:  Examination of each national setting reveals ways that SJE and SCI were enabled and constrained across the national, programmatic, and individual level in each of the countries. The coherence of explicit National policy and curricula, PETE program philosophies, and the presence of multiple individual interests in social justice served to reify a sociocultural agenda. Conversely possibilities were nullified by narrow or general National Standards, programs that failed to acknowledge sociocultural interests, and the absence of a critical mass of actors with a socio-critical orientation. These differences in assemblage culminated in variations in curriculum time that served to restrict or enable the breadth, frequency, and consistency of the messages surrounding SCI in PETE Conclusion: These findings highlight the importance of acknowledging socio-political networks where PETE operates. The agency of PETEs to enact pedagogies that foreground sociocultural interests is contingent on congruity of the networks. The authors caution that although the ‘perfect storm’ of conditions have a profound influence of the possibility of transformational learning of SCI in PETE, this arrangement is always temporary, fluid, and subject to changes in any of the three network levels. Additionally, the success of PETE in enabling graduating PE teachers to recognize the inequities that may be reinforced through the ‘hidden curriculum’ and to problematize the subject area is contingent on the expectations of the schools in which they teach.   

State Control and the Effects of Foreign Relations on Bilateral Trade

Do states use trade to reward and punish partners? WTO rules and the pressures of globalization restrict states’ capacity to manipulate trade policies, but we argue that governments can link political goals with economic outcomes using less direct avenues of influence over firm behavior. Where governments intervene in markets, politicization of trade is likely to occur. In this paper, we examine one important form of government control: state ownership of firms. Taking China and India as examples, we use bilateral trade data by firm ownership type, as well as measures of bilateral political relations based on diplomatic events and UN voting to estimate the effect of political relations on import and export flows. Our results support the hypothesis that imports controlled by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) exhibit stronger responsiveness to political relations than imports controlled by private enterprises. A more nuanced picture emerges for exports; while India’s exports through SOEs are more responsive to political tensions than its flows through private entities, the opposite is true for China. This research holds broader implications for how we should think about the relationship between political and economic relations going forward, especially as a number of countries with partially state-controlled economies gain strength in the global economy

Why is it difficult to implement e-health initiatives? A qualitative study

<b>Background</b> The use of information and communication technologies in healthcare is seen as essential for high quality and cost-effective healthcare. However, implementation of e-health initiatives has often been problematic, with many failing to demonstrate predicted benefits. This study aimed to explore and understand the experiences of implementers - the senior managers and other staff charged with implementing e-health initiatives and their assessment of factors which promote or inhibit the successful implementation, embedding, and integration of e-health initiatives.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We used a case study methodology, using semi-structured interviews with implementers for data collection. Case studies were selected to provide a range of healthcare contexts (primary, secondary, community care), e-health initiatives, and degrees of normalization. The initiatives studied were Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) in secondary care, a Community Nurse Information System (CNIS) in community care, and Choose and Book (C&B) across the primary-secondary care interface. Implementers were selected to provide a range of seniority, including chief executive officers, middle managers, and staff with 'on the ground' experience. Interview data were analyzed using a framework derived from Normalization Process Theory (NPT).<p></p> <b>Results</b> Twenty-three interviews were completed across the three case studies. There were wide differences in experiences of implementation and embedding across these case studies; these differences were well explained by collective action components of NPT. New technology was most likely to 'normalize' where implementers perceived that it had a positive impact on interactions between professionals and patients and between different professional groups, and fit well with the organisational goals and skill sets of existing staff. However, where implementers perceived problems in one or more of these areas, they also perceived a lower level of normalization.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Implementers had rich understandings of barriers and facilitators to successful implementation of e-health initiatives, and their views should continue to be sought in future research. NPT can be used to explain observed variations in implementation processes, and may be useful in drawing planners' attention to potential problems with a view to addressing them during implementation planning

Feasibility of trial procedures for a randomised controlled trial of a community based group exercise intervention for falls prevention for visually impaired older people: the VIOLET study

Background Visually impaired older people (VIOP) have a higher risk of falling than their sighted peers, and are likely to avoid physical activity. The aim was to adapt the existing Falls Management Exercise (FaME) programme for VIOP, delivered in the community, and to investigate the feasibility of conducting a definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT) of this adapted intervention. Methods Two-centre randomised mixed methods pilot trial and economic evaluation of the adapted group-based FaME programme for VIOP versus usual care. A one hour exercise programme ran weekly over 12 weeks at the study sites (Newcastle and Glasgow), delivered by third sector (voluntary and community) organisations. Participants were advised to exercise at home for an additional two hours over the week. Those randomised to the usual activities group received no intervention. Outcome measures were completed at baseline, 12 and 24 weeks. The potential primary outcome was the Short Form Falls Efficacy Scale – International (SFES-I). Participants’ adherence was assessed by reviewing attendance records and self-reported compliance to the home exercises. Adherence with the course content (fidelity) by instructors was assessed by a researcher. Adverse events were collected in a weekly phone call. Results Eighteen participants, drawn from community-living VIOP were screened; 68 met the inclusion criteria; 64 participants were randomised with 33 allocated to the intervention and 31 to the usual activities arm. 94% of participants provided data at the 12 week visit and 92% at 24 weeks. Adherence was high. The intervention was found to be safe with 76% attending nine or more classes. Median time for home exercise was 50 min per week. There was little or no evidence that fear of falling, balance and falls risk, physical activity, emotional, attitudinal or quality of life outcomes differed between trial arms at follow-up. Conclusions The intervention, FaME, was implemented successfully for VIOP and all progression criteria for a main trial were met. The lack of difference between groups on fear of falling was unsurprising given it was a pilot study but there may have been other contributory factors including suboptimal exercise dose and apparent low risk of falls in participants. These issues need addressing for a future trial

Testing Adaptations of Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study with Veterans

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have well-documented relationship problems and many wish to include their intimate partners in treatment. This pilot study randomly assigned 46 couples (Veterans with clinician-administered PTSD scale confirmed PTSD diagnosis and their intimate partners) to one of two groups. The treatment group received a modified mindfulness-based version of cognitive-behavioral conjoint therapy for PTSD (CBCT; Monson & Fredman, 2012) that included all three phases of the mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral conjoint therapy (MB-CBCT). The control group received a modified version of CBCT that included communication skills training from Phases 1 and 2 of CBCT (CBCT-CS) without PTSD-specific content. Modified CBCT Phases 1 and 2 content was delivered to both groups during weekend retreats in multicouple group sessions. The postretreat protocol for MB-CBCT included nine individual couple sessions: a transition session following the retreat, and CBCT Phase 3. For CBCT-CS, two additional monthly multicouple group sessions reviewed communication skills. No statistically significant pre- to posttreatment differences were detected for primary outcomes between groups: Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for Veterans (mean change difference, −1.4, 95% CI [−16.0 to 13.2]); Dyadic Adjustment Scale for Veterans (mean change difference, −1.0, 95% CI [−13.2 to 11.2]); and Dyadic Adjustment Scale for Partners (mean change difference, −0.4, 95% CI [−8.9 to 8.1]). However, within group pre- to posttreatment effect sizes were medium to large for both MB-CBCT and CBCT-CS on all three primary outcomes. Findings suggest that Veterans returning from recent conflicts and their partners may benefit from both modifications of CBCT

Experimental determination of translational start sites resolves uncertainties in genomic open reading frame predictions – application to Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Correct identification of translational start sites is important for understanding protein function and transcriptional regulation. The annotated translational start sites contained in genome databases are often predicted using bioinformatics and are rarely verified experimentally, and so are not all accurate. Therefore, we devised a simple approach for determining translational start sites using a combination of epitope tagging and frameshift mutagenesis. This assay was used to determine the start sites of three Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins: LexA, SigC and Rv1955. We were able to show that proteins may begin before or after the predicted site. We also found that a small, non-annotated open reading frame upstream of Rv1955 was expressed as a protein, which we have designated Rv1954A. This approach is readily applicable to any bacterial species for which plasmid transformation can be achieved