Dealing with data : optimising data consistency to demonstrate the value of nurse practitioner service

Introduction: Other authors in this volume have argued for the need to undertake audit and research related to nurse practitioner practice. Audit and research require skills in competently reviewing literature on a topic, developing an answerable question and devising an appropriate design and methodology. However, these are not the only aspects that need consideration before commencing the data collection phase. Too often clinicians successfully review the literature, identify the question, design and methods and then launch into the ‘doing’ of the project without also planning how data will be managed and analysed. The organising and processing of data are just as important as any other phase of the project, but these components of a successful project are often overlooked in the planning stages

Parenting Styles and Youth Well-Being Across Immigrant Generations

This study examines generational patterns of parenting styles, the relationships between parenting styles and adolescent well-being among youth of Mexican origin, and the role of generational parenting style patterns in explaining generational patterns in youth behavior (delinquency and alcohol problems) and psychological well-being (depression and self-esteem). This study uses two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The proportion of teens with permissive parents increased with generation; other parenting styles declined. The rate of youth with behavioral problems increased with generation. Self-esteem improved with generation; depression scores did not. Bivariate generational patterns of behavioral and psychological outcomes are a function of the patterns seen for youth with permissive parents, coupled with the increase in the proportion of permissive parents with each successive generation. In contrast, these outcomes did not worsen with generation for youth with authoritative parents

Metformin Induces a Dietary Restriction–Like State and the Oxidative Stress Response to Extend C. elegans Healthspan via AMPK, LKB1, and SKN-1

Metformin, a biguanide drug commonly used to treat type-2 diabetes, has been noted to extend healthspan of nondiabetic mice, but this outcome, and the molecular mechanisms that underlie it, have received relatively little experimental attention. To develop a genetic model for study of biguanide effects on healthspan, we investigated metformin impact on aging Caenorhabditis elegans. We found that metformin increases nematode healthspan, slowing lipofuscin accumulation, extending median lifespan, and prolonging youthful locomotory ability in a dose-dependent manner. Genetic data suggest that metformin acts through a mechanism similar to that operative in eating-impaired dietary restriction (DR) mutants, but independent of the insulin signaling pathway. Energy sensor AMPK and AMPK-activating kinase LKB1, which are activated in mammals by metformin treatment, are essential for health benefits in C. elegans, suggesting that metformin engages a metabolic loop conserved across phyla. We also show that the conserved oxidative stress-responsive transcription factor SKN-1/Nrf2 is essential for metformin healthspan benefits in C. elegans, a mechanistic requirement not previously described in mammals. skn-1, which functions in nematode sensory neurons to promote DR longevity benefits and in intestines for oxidative stress resistance lifespan benefits, must be expressed in both neurons and intestines for metformin-promoted healthspan extension, supporting that metformin improves healthy middle-life aging by activating both DR and antioxidant defense longevity pathways. In addition to defining molecular players operative in metformin healthspan benefits, our data suggest that metformin may be a plausible pharmacological intervention to promote healthy human aging

Birth seasonality studies in a large Prader-Willi syndrome cohort.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is generally due to sporadic paternal deletions of the chromosome 15q11-q13 region followed by maternal disomy 15. Advanced maternal age is more commonly seen in those with maternal disomy 15. Environmental factors (e.g., drug use, occupational chemical exposure, infectious agents, and irradiation) could account for chromosome changes. Previous evidence of differences in male and female gametogenesis could suggest an environmental role in the causation of the paternal 15q11-q13 deletion seen in PWS. Certain occupations such as hydrocarbon-exposing occupations (e.g., landscaping, farming, and painting) and viral exposure (e.g., human coronavirus 229E causing upper respiratory infections in adults with an incorporation site in the human genome at chromosome 15q11) can be seasonal in nature and contribute to chromosome damage. To assess, we reviewed birth seasonality data in a large cohort of individuals with PWS recruited nationally (N = 355) but no significant differences were seen by month between those with the 15q11-q13 deletion compared with maternal disomy 15 when analyzing quarterly seasonal patterns. Although early evidence supported birth seasonality differences in PWS, a larger number of individuals in our recent study using advanced genetic testing methods did not find this observation

Early Diagnosis in Prader-Willi Syndrome Reduces Obesity and Associated Co-Morbidities.

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is an imprinting genetic disorder characterized by lack of expression of genes on the paternal chromosome 15q11-q13 region. Growth hormone (GH) replacement positively influences stature and body composition in PWS. Our hypothesis was that early diagnosis delays onset of obesity in PWS. We studied 352 subjects with PWS, recruited from the NIH Rare Disease Clinical Research Network, to determine if age at diagnosis, ethnicity, gender, and PWS molecular class influenced the age they first become heavy, as determined by their primary care providers, and the age they first developed an increased appetite and began seeking food. The median ages that children with PWS became heavy were 10 years, 6 years and 4 years for age at diagnosis < 1 year, between 1 and 3 years, and greater than 3 years of age, respectively. The age of diagnosis and ethnicity were significant factors influencing when PWS children first became heavy (p < 0.01), however gender and the PWS molecular class had no influence. Early diagnosis delayed the onset of becoming heavy in individuals with PWS, permitting early GH and other treatment, thus reducing the risk of obesity-associated co-morbidities. Non-white individuals had an earlier onset of becoming heavy

Creating a Legal Framework for Copyright Management of Open Access within the Australian Academic and Research Sector

There is an increasing recognition, in Australia and internationally, that access to knowledge is a key driver of social, cultural and economic development. The argument for greater access to, and reuse of, research outputs is reinforced by the fact that much research in Australia is funded by public money and, consequently, that there is a public benefit to be served by allowing citizens to access the outputs they have funded.2 This recognition poses both legal and policy challenges, in terms of existing legal frameworks such as copyright law and traditional business models. With the rise of networked digital technologies our knowledge landscape and innovation system is becoming more and more reliant on best practice copyright management strategies and there is a need to accommodate both the demands for open sharing of knowledge and traditional commercialisation models. As a result, new business models that support and promote open innovation are rapidly emerging. This chapter analyses the copyright law framework needed to ensure open access to outputs of the Australian academic and research sector such as journal articles and theses. It overviews the new knowledge landscape, the principles of copyright law, the concept of open access to knowledge, the recently developed open content models of copyright licensing and the challenges faced in providing greater access to knowledge and research outputs

Comparing the Determinants of Mode Choice across Travel Purposes

This paper considers travel mode choice for a range of journey purposes in Ireland using micro-data for 2009. Results suggest that demographic and socio-economic variables, location and public transport availability are important determinants of mode choice. The results also indicate an attachment to the car as a mode of transport for non-commuting journeys when available, and especially when used regularly for work journeys. Importantly, the determinants of mode choice are found to differ across journey purposes suggesting that it is not valid to generalise the results from studies considering only one journey purpose

The Optical Design of CHARIS: An Exoplanet IFS for the Subaru Telescope

High-contrast imaging techniques now make possible both imaging and spectroscopy of planets around nearby stars. We present the optical design for the Coronagraphic High Angular Resolution Imaging Spectrograph (CHARIS), a lenslet-based, cryogenic integral field spectrograph (IFS) for imaging exoplanets on the Subaru telescope. The IFS will provide spectral information for 138x138 spatial elements over a 2.07 arcsec x 2.07 arcsec field of view (FOV). CHARIS will operate in the near infrared (lambda = 1.15 - 2.5 microns) and will feature two spectral resolution modes of R = 18 (low-res mode) and R = 73 (high-res mode). Taking advantage of the Subaru telescope adaptive optics systems and coronagraphs (AO188 and SCExAO), CHARIS will provide sufficient contrast to obtain spectra of young self-luminous Jupiter-mass exoplanets. CHARIS will undergo CDR in October 2013 and is projected to have first light by the end of 2015. We report here on the current optical design of CHARIS and its unique innovations.Comment: 15 page

Investigating metallic cores using experiments on the physical properties of liquid iron alloys

An outstanding goal in planetary science is to understand how terrestrial cores evolved to have the compositions, thermal properties, and magnetic fields observed today. To achieve that aim requires the integration of datasets from space missions with laboratory experiments conducted at high pressures and temperatures. Over the past decade, technological advances have enhanced the capability to conduct in situ measurements of physical properties on samples that are analogs to planetary cores. These challenging experiments utilize large-volume presses that optimize control of pressure and temperature, and diamond-anvil cells to reach the highest pressures. In particular, the current experimental datasets of density, compressional velocity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity of iron alloys are most relevant to the core conditions of small terrestrial planets and moons. Here we review the physical properties of iron alloys measured in the laboratory at conditions relevant to the cores of Mars, the Moon, and Mercury. We discuss how these properties inform models of core composition, as well as thermal and magnetic evolution of their cores. Experimental geochemistry (in particular, metal-silicate partitioning experiments) provides additional insights into the nature and abundance of light elements within cores, as well as crystallization processes. Emphasis is placed on the Martian core to discuss the effect of chemistry on core evolution