Managing Access to Biobanks:How Can We Reconcile Privacy and Public Interests in Genetic Research?

This article is concerned with the ultimate objectives of genetic biobanks set up to promote the public interest—being the sharing of samples and data for medical research—and the consequences for personal privacy of realising them. Our aim is to chart the values, interests and principles in play, to consider the challenges of realizing biobanking objectives on a global scale, and to propose viable ways forward that ensure, as far as possible, that access provisions remain fit for purpose throughout the entire life of a biobank, while adequately protecting the privacy interests at stake. It is argued that key features in any robust access model must include mechanisms to (a) maintain participant trust in management of the resource and to measure and respond to participants’ expectations, (b) facilitate and promote the sharing of benefits, and (c) respond timeously and effectively to new challenges

MOCVD of crystalline Bi2O3 thin films using a single-source bismuth alkoxide precursor and their use in photodegradation of water

Bismuth(III) tert-butoxide [Bi((OBu)-Bu-t)(3)] was utilised as a single-source precursor to controllably deposit thin films of different phases of bismuth oxide (Bi2O3) on glass substrates via low-pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD). Band gaps for the different phases have been measured (E-g = 2.3-3.0 eV) and the films displayed excellent photodegradation of water under near-UV irradiation

On the Cosmology of Massive Vector Fields with SO(3) Global Symmetry

A relevant reference ([14]) has been added.Comment: 19 pages, plain tex, DF/IST-3/92 and DFFCUL 03-5/199

Ceftriaxone or HIV associated angio-oedema? Case report

Angio-oedema may be hereditary or acquired and is characterised by episodes of potentially life threatening localised tissue oedema and swelling resulting from deficiency of compliment pathway C1 esterase inhibitor. Acquired angio-oedema is about ten times less frequent than the hereditary type and has been associated with immune-deficiency disorders, malignancies and exposure to specific medications and food substances. We present a case of seven year old, human immune-deficiency virus positive girl, who developed gross swelling of the tongue and neck while on treatment for pneumococcal meningitis with ceftriaxone. Difficulties in arriving at a definitive diagnosis of angio-oedema in a resource poor country are discussed and alternative diagnostic options proposed

Correlation Effects in Nuclear Transparency

The Glauber approximation is used to calculate the contribution of nucleon correlations in high-energy $A(e,e'N)$ reactions. When the excitation energy of the residual nucleus is small, the increase of the nuclear transparency due to correlations between the struck nucleon and the other nucleons is mostly compensated by a decrease of the transparency due to the correlations between non detected nucleons. We derive Glauber model predictions for nuclear transparency for the differential cross section when nuclear shell level excitations are measured. The role of correlations in color transparency is briefly discussed.Comment: 24 pages revtex, 4 uuencoded PostScript Figures as separate fil

Combining gravity with the forces of the standard model on a cosmological scale

We prove the existence of a spectral resolution of the Wheeler-DeWitt equation when the underlying spacetime is a Friedman universe with flat spatial slices and where the matter fields are comprised of the strong interaction, with \SU(3) replaced by a general \SU(n), $n\ge 2$, and the electro-weak interaction. The wave functions are maps from $\R[4n+10]$ to a subspace of the antisymmetric Fock space, and one noteworthy result is that, whenever the electro-weak interaction is involved, the image of an eigenfunction is in general not one dimensional, i.e., in general it makes no sense specifying a fermion and looking for an eigenfunction the range of which is contained in the one dimensional vector space spanned by the fermion.Comment: 53 pages, v6: some typos correcte

Grain Yield of Rice, Corn, and Sorghum to Low External Input Agriculture Practices in Maliana, Bobonaro, Timor Leste

A farmers’ field yield trial during the 2018 dry season was conducted in Maliana, Bobonaro District, Timor Leste to evaluate the compatibility of selected hybrid and inbred varieties of rice, maize, and sorghum to low external input crop management practices common to subsistence farmers in the region. In rice, grain yield performance as influenced by genotype (hybrid or inbred) and planting density (single or double row spacing) was assessed by measuring grain yield and selected agronomic traits. In rice, grain yield was not significantly different, between hybrid and inbred varieties, but higher planting densities gave 17-27% advantage for hybrids and 36-45% for inbred varieties. The observed yield from farmers’ field was, however, 60-70% lower than yield obtained from experimental fields.  Agronomic traits (plant height, tiller, panicle, and spikelet counts) were found to have very strong genotype x planting density interaction effects, and although post-hoc analyses revealed marginal differences on selected yield-related components between the two planting densities, these differences were not statistically significant, and did not contribute to improvement in rice grain yield.  Hybrid and inbred varieties of maize and sorghum showed comparable yield levels in two independent yield trials, and although agronomic traits showed significant differences between varieties, these did not account for any yield advantage.

Using Meta-Ethnography to Synthesize Relevant Studies: Capturing the Bigger Picture in Dementia with Challenging Behavior within Families

In understanding the range and depth of people’s experiences, it is important to include the wide range of approaches which capture the richness within a given knowledge base. However, systematic reviews using quantitative data alone risk missing findings that can contribute to a better understanding of a research question. In response, meta-ethnography has emerged as a potentially useful method to synthesize and integrate both qualitative and quantitative data from different perspectives using qualitative methodology. In this case study, we describe how we have used meta-ethnography to better understand how families experience dementia. We address a particular issue of selecting the highest quality evidence across a range of epistemologies

Practitioners’ understanding of barriers to accessing specialist support by family carers of people with dementia in distress

Distressing symptoms in dementia are hard to manage for many family carers. This article explores practitioners' perceptions of the barriers to accessing skilled behaviour management support encountered by carers. A survey of cases referred to the English National Health Service (n = 5,360) was followed by in-depth group discussions and practitioner interviews. Data revealed that practitioners focused on care home residents or older people with mental health problems other than dementia, rather than community-dwelling people with dementia and families. Barriers to access included misperceptions about the nature of distressing behaviour affecting carers and structural limitations in the capacity of specialist services to respond to carers