The effects of verbal information on children's fear beliefs about social situations

Two experiments explored the role of verbal information in changing children’s fearrelated beliefs about social situations. In Experiment 1, 118 6- to 8- and 12- to 13-year-olds heard positive, negative, or no information about individuals’ experiences of three social situations. Fear beliefs regarding each situation were assessed before and after this manipulation. Verbal information had no significant influence on children’s fear beliefs. In Experiment 2, the same paradigm was used with 80 12- to 13-year-olds, but the information took the form of multiple attitude statements about the situations expressed by groups of peers, older children, or adults. An affective priming task of implicit attitudes was used to complement the explicit questions about fear beliefs. Negative information influenced both explicit and implicit fear beliefs. The source of information and the child’s own social anxiety did not moderate these effects. Implications for our understanding of the socialisation of childhood fears are discussed

Goal fluency, pessimism and disengagement in depression

Despite the development of prominent theoretical models of goal motivation and its importance in daily life, research has rarely examined goal dysregulation processes in clinical depression. Here we aimed to investigate problematic aspects of goal regulation in clinically depressed adults, relative to controls. Depressed participants (n = 42) were recruited from two Improving Access to Psychological Therapy clinics in north-west England. Control participants (n = 51) were recruited from the same region. Participants generated personal approach goals (e.g., improve my marathon time) and avoidance goals (e.g., avoid getting upset over little things) and completed self-report measures of goal attainment likelihood and depressive symptoms. Participants also completed a measure of ease of disengagement from unattainable goals and re-engagement with new goals. Compared to controls, depressed participants reported fewer approach goals (but not more avoidance goals), rated their approach goal (rewarding) outcomes as less likely to happen and avoidance goal (threatening) outcomes as more likely to happen. Depressed participants also reported greater ease of disengagement from unattainable goals and more difficulty re-engaging with new goals than controls. Our findings extend current knowledge of the psychopathology of depression from a goal regulation perspective, suggesting that pessimism around goal pursuit accompanies fewer approach goal pursuits and a general tendency to disengage when difficulties are encountered

Ανάπτυξη υβριδικών (ανόργανων / οργανικών) ημιαγωγών πολλαπλών στρωμάτων με βάση το CdSe. Μελέτη της δομής και της φωτοηλεκτροχημικής συμπεριφοράς τους

Pteropid bats (flying-foxes) are the natural reservoir of Hendra virus, an emergent paramyxovirus responsible for fatal infection in horses and humans in Australia. Pteropus alecto (the Black flying-fox) and the paraphyletic P. conspicillatus (the Spectacled flying-fox) appear to be the primary reservoir hosts. Previous studies have suggested that physiological and ecological factors may underpin infection dynamics in flying-foxes, and subsequent spillover to horses and in turn humans. We sought to examine temporal trends in urinary cortisol concentration in wild Australian flying-fox populations, to elucidate the putative relationship between Hendra virus infection and physiological stress. Pooled and individual urine samples were non-invasively collected from under roosting flying-foxes at two latitudi-nally disparate regions in the eastern Australian state of Queensland. Hendra virus detection, and (in individual urine samples) sex and species determination were PCR-based. Urinary cortisol measurement used a validated enzyme immunoassay. We found no direct correlation between increased urinary cortisol and Hendra virus excretion, but our findings do suggest a biologically plausible association between low winter temperatures and elevated cortisol levels in P. alecto in the lower latitude Southeast Queensland roosts. We hypothesize an indirect association between low winter temperatures and increased Hendra virus infection and excretion, mediated by the physiological cost of thermoregulation. Our findings and our approach are directly relevant to elaboration of the disease ecology of Nipah virus and other emerging henipaviruses in bats. More broadly, they inform investigation of emerging disease infection dynamics across the wildlife/livestock/human interface

A qualitative study exploring the influence of a talent management initiative on registered nurses' retention intentions

AimThe aim of this study is to explore the influence of a talent management scheme in an English National Health Service (NHS) Trust on registered nurses' retention intentions.BackgroundThe retention of nurses is a global challenge, and talent management initiatives can play a role in improving retention. Talent management in its broadest sense is a way in which an organization recruits and retains the workforce that it needs to optimize the services it delivers.MethodsIn this qualitative study, eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with registered nurses who had participated in a talent management initiative, at an English acute NHS Trust. Data were collected in July 2019.ResultsThe talent management initiative influenced positive retention intentions. Retention of nurses was facilitated by the creation of networks and networking.ConclusionNetworks and networking can be viewed as a form of social capital, which was a facilitating factor for positive retention intentions for nurses.Implications for Nursing ManagementTalent management initiatives for nurses should be developed and directed to include the building of networks and networking to enable development of social capital. Although this talent management scheme is within the NHS, the issue of nursing retention is global. Application of learning from this paper to other health care systems is possible

Evidence of Endemic Hendra Virus Infection in Flying-Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus)—Implications for Disease Risk Management

This study investigated the seroepidemiology of Hendra virus in a spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) population in northern Australia, near the location of an equine and associated human Hendra virus infection in late 2004. The pattern of infection in the population was investigated using a serial cross-sectional serological study over a 25-month period, with blood sampled from 521 individuals over six sampling sessions. Antibody titres to the virus were determined by virus neutralisation test. In contrast to the expected episodic infection pattern, we observed that seroprevalence gradually increased over the two years suggesting infection was endemic in the population over the study period. Our results suggested age, pregnancy and lactation were significant risk factors for a detectable neutralizing antibody response. Antibody titres were significantly higher in females than males, with the highest titres occurring in pregnant animals. Temporal variation in antibody titres suggests that herd immunity to the virus may wax and wane on a seasonal basis. These findings support an endemic infection pattern of henipaviruses in bat populations suggesting their infection dynamics may differ significantly from the acute, self limiting episodic pattern observed with related viruses (e.g. measles virus, phocine distemper virus, rinderpest virus) hence requiring a much smaller critical host population size to sustain the virus. These findings help inform predictive modelling of henipavirus infection in bat populations, and indicate that the life cycle of the reservoir species should be taken into account when developing risk management strategies for henipaviruses

Evidence of Endemic Hendra Virus Infection in Flying-Foxes (Pteropus conspicillatus)—Implications for Disease Risk Management

This study investigated the seroepidemiology of Hendra virus in a spectacled flying-fox (Pteropus conspicillatus) population in northern Australia, near the location of an equine and associated human Hendra virus infection in late 2004. The pattern of infection in the population was investigated using a serial cross-sectional serological study over a 25-month period, with blood sampled from 521 individuals over six sampling sessions. Antibody titres to the virus were determined by virus neutralisation test. In contrast to the expected episodic infection pattern, we observed that seroprevalence gradually increased over the two years suggesting infection was endemic in the population over the study period. Our results suggested age, pregnancy and lactation were significant risk factors for a detectable neutralizing antibody response. Antibody titres were significantly higher in females than males, with the highest titres occurring in pregnant animals. Temporal variation in antibody titres suggests that herd immunity to the virus may wax and wane on a seasonal basis. These findings support an endemic infection pattern of henipaviruses in bat populations suggesting their infection dynamics may differ significantly from the acute, self limiting episodic pattern observed with related viruses (e.g. measles virus, phocine distemper virus, rinderpest virus) hence requiring a much smaller critical host population size to sustain the virus. These findings help inform predictive modelling of henipavirus infection in bat populations, and indicate that the life cycle of the reservoir species should be taken into account when developing risk management strategies for henipaviruses

How far back do we need to look to capture diagnoses in electronic health records? A retrospective observational study of hospital electronic health record data

Objectives: Analysis of routinely collected electronic health data is a key tool for long-term condition research and practice for hospitalised patients. This requires accurate and complete ascertainment of a broad range of diagnoses, something not always recorded on an admission document at a single point in time. This study aimed to ascertain how far back in time electronic hospital records need to be interrogated to capture long-term condition diagnoses. Design: Retrospective observational study of routinely collected hospital electronic health record data. Setting: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (UK)-linked data held by the PIONEER acute care data hub. Participants: Patients whose first recorded admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation (n=560) or acute stroke (n=2142) was between January and December 2018 and who had a minimum of 10 years of data prior to the index date. Outcome measures: We identified the most common International Classification of Diseases version 10-coded diagnoses received by patients with COPD and acute stroke separately. For each diagnosis, we derived the number of patients with the diagnosis recorded at least once over the full 10-year lookback period, and then compared this with shorter lookback periods from 1 year to 9 years prior to the index admission. Results: Seven of the top 10 most common diagnoses in the COPD dataset reached >90% completeness by 6 years of lookback. Atrial fibrillation and diabetes were >90% coded with 2–3 years of lookback, but hypertension and asthma completeness continued to rise all the way out to 10 years of lookback. For stroke, 4 of the top 10 reached 90% completeness by 5 years of lookback; angina pectoris was >90% coded at 7 years and previous transient ischaemic attack completeness continued to rise out to 10 years of lookback. Conclusion: A 7-year lookback captures most, but not all, common diagnoses. Lookback duration should be tailored to the conditions being studied

A rare variant in EZH2 is associated with prostate cancer risk

Prostate cancer (PrCa) is highly heritable, and although rare variants contribute significantly to PrCa risk, few have been identified to date. Herein, whole-genome sequencing was performed in a large PrCa family featuring multiple affected relatives spanning several generations. A rare, predicted splice site EZH2 variant, rs78589034 (G > A), was identified as segregating with disease in all but two individuals in the family, one of whom was affected with lymphoma and bowel cancer and a female relative. This variant was significantly associated with disease risk in combined familial and sporadic PrCa datasets (n = 1551; odds ratio [OR] = 3.55, P = 1.20 × 10−5). Transcriptome analysis was performed on prostate tumour needle biopsies available for two rare variant carriers and two wild-type cases. Although no allele-dependent differences were detected in EZH2 transcripts, a distinct differential gene expression signature was observed when comparing prostate tissue from the rare variant carriers with the wild-type samples. The gene expression signature comprised known downstream targets of EZH2 and included the top-ranked genes, DUSP1, FOS, JUNB and EGR1, which were subsequently validated by qPCR. These data provide evidence that rs78589034 is associated with increased PrCa risk in Tasmanian men and further, that this variant may be associated with perturbed EZH2 function in prostate tissue. Disrupted EZH2 function is a driver of tumourigenesis in several cancers, including prostate, and is of significant interest as a therapeutic target

IgD attenuates the IgM-induced anergy response in transitional and mature B cells

Self-tolerance by clonal anergy of B cells is marked by an increase in IgD and decrease in IgM antigen receptor surface expression, yet the function of IgD on anergic cells is obscure. Here we define the RNA landscape of the in vivo anergy response, comprising 220 induced sequences including a core set of 97. Failure to co-express IgD with IgM decreases overall expression of receptors for self-antigen, but paradoxically increases the core anergy response, exemplified by increased Sdc1 encoding the cell surface marker syndecan-1. IgD expressed on its own is nevertheless competent to induce calcium signalling and the core anergy mRNA response. Syndecan-1 induction correlates with reduction of surface IgM and is exaggerated without surface IgD in many transitional and mature B cells. These results show that IgD attenuates the response to self-antigen in anergic cells and promotes their accumulation. In this way, IgD minimizes tolerance-induced holes in the pre-immune antibody repertoire.This work was supported by NIH grant U19 AI100627 and NHMRC grants 585490, 1016953 and 1081858 to C.C.G., NHMRC CJ Martin Fellowship 595989 to J.H.R., an Endeavour Award from the Australian Government to Z.S. and the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme Australian Phenomics Facilit

Impact of the G84E variant on HOXB13 gene and protein expression in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded prostate tumours

The HOXB13 G84E variant is associated with risk of prostate cancer (PCa), however the role this variant plays in PCa development is unknown. This study examined 751 cases, 450 relatives and 355 controls to determine the contribution of this variant to PCa risk in Tasmania and investigated HOXB13 gene and protein expression in tumours from nine G84E heterozygote variant and 13 wild-type carriers. Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry showed that HOXB13 gene and protein expression did not differ between tumour samples from variant and wild-type carriers. Allele-specific transcription revealed that two of seven G84E carriers transcribed both the variant and wild-type allele, while five carriers transcribed the wild-type allele. Methylation of surrounding CpG sites was lower in the variant compared to the wild-type allele, however overall methylation across the region was very low. Notably, tumour characteristics were less aggressive in the two variant carriers that transcribed the variant allele compared to the five that did not. This study has shown that HOXB13 expression does not differ between tumour tissue of G84E variant carriers and non-carriers. Intriguingly, the G84E variant allele was rarely transcribed in carriers, suggesting that HOXB13 expression may be driven by the wild-type allele in the majority of carriers