Doing research in care homes: the experiences of researchers and participants

The UK Prime Minister's Challenge on Dementia 2020 includes a target for more research to be conducted in care homes, yet research in care homes can be complex, as they are both homes and workplaces. We reflect on our experiences as researchers on a mixed methods study in six care homes over a year. We include the experiences of care home residents, their family and friends, and members of staff. Care home staff turnover was high, funding was constrained and priorities often differed from those of the researchers. Negotiating ongoing access and data collection was therefore challenging at times. Most residents did not mind taking part, but those who preferred not to felt able to decline. Private space was limited. Research in care homes needs to be adequately planned and resourced, including funding for staff time, if staff, residents and visitors are to participate in a meaningful way

The subfield of online journalism: a study of the legitimizing practices of online news organizations

Traditional news organizations exist within an apparatus of accountability, held together by their reputation and the professionalization of the occupation of journalism. Legitimacy in journalism has solidified over time; but with the emergence of online media, traditional journalistic standards have been challenged as online news organizations attempt to establish a new standard. This study explores the changing nature of journalism as a space of contested power relations and networked communities, focusing specifically on how online news organizations, born digitally, become legitimate. Based on close to 200 hours of interviews conducted over a period of six months at prominent online news organizations in the United States, this dissertation seeks to identify the manner in which online news organizations, specifically $\textit{Breitbart.com, The Drudge Report, and The Huffington Post}$, gain legitimacy in the subfield of online journalism. There exists a unique structured space internal to the subfield of online journalism – a subfield of practices and power relations – with online organizations accumulating varying degrees of social capital in order to legitimize their role within this evolving ecology. In relying on Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of the field, Mark Suchman’s work on organizational legitimacy, and Anand Narasimhan and Mary Watson’s work on field formation, this study outlines the conditions under which certain online news organizations can participate and gain legitimacy in this emerging subfield. I argue that three characteristics determine whether an online news organization can be considered legitimate; in analyzing these characteristics, I demonstrate how they help to create legitimacy in specific cases. If media scholars are to understand how online news organizations have emerged in recent years and become a key source for information, an interrogation of this unique space, in all of its complexities, is essential

Influencer Celebrification: How Social Media Influencers Acquire Celebrity Capital

The digital age has given rise to new pathways for everyday individuals to accrue media attention, which can be translated into promotional endeavors. Such sociocultural currency is referred to as celebrity capital, which can be exchanged within the field of advertising through celebrity endorsements. Traditional celebrities acquire celebrity capital through institutional intermediaries such as sport, television, music, and movies. Research is needed to understand the unique process by which social media influencers (SMIs) acquire celebrity capital. We draw on interviews with 40 global advertising industry practitioners and influencers to better understand how influencers acquire celebrity capital in a saturated media landscape. Extending previous work on celebrity capital and influencer advertising, this study conceptualizes a process which we term influencer celebrification. Influencer celebrification is the process by which SMIs acquire celebrity capital within an interconnected advertising ecosystem. Empirical findings identify three types of practices in the influencer celebrification process: generative practices; collaborative practices; and evaluative practices. This study identifies the role of advertising practitioners in the influencer celebrification process and offers implications for advertising theory and practice

Development of risk-taking, perspective-taking, and inhibitory control during adolescence

Structural and functional brain development is thought to lead to different developmental progressions of cognitive control, risk/reward processing, and social cognition during adolescence. We compared these abilities in a cross-sectional sample of 90 adolescents aged 12, 15, or 17 years old, using computerized measures of inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task), risk-taking (Balloon Analogue Risk task), and social perspective–taking (Director task). Fifteen-year-olds exhibited better inhibitory control than 12-year-olds, while 17-year-olds exhibited greater perspective-taking than younger adolescents. Risk-taking was greater in older adolescents than 12-year-olds when controlling for inhibitory control. These findings are consistent with earlier findings obtained in separate samples

A single center observational study on emergency department clinician non-adherence to clinical practice guidelines for treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections

Background The Emergency Department (ED) is a frequent site of antibiotic use; poor adherence with evidence-based guidelines and broad-spectrum antibiotic overuse is common. Our objective was to determine rates and predictors of inappropriate antimicrobial use in patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI) compared to the 2010 International Clinical Practice Guidelines (ICPG). Methods A single center, prospective, observational study of patients with uncomplicated UTI presenting to an urban ED between September 2012 and February 2014 that examined ED physician adherence to ICPG when treating uncomplicated UTIs. Clinician-directed antibiotic treatment was compared to the ICPG using a standardized case definition for non-adherence. Binomial confidence intervals and student’s t-tests were performed to evaluate differences in demographic characteristics and management between patients with pyelonephritis versus cystitis. Regression models were used to analyze the significance of various predictors to non-adherent treatment. Results 103 cases met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, with 63.1 % receiving non-adherent treatment, most commonly use of a fluoroquinolone (FQ) in cases with cystitis (97.6 %). In cases with pyelonephritis, inappropriate antibiotic choice (39.1 %) and no initial IV antibiotic for pyelonephritis (39.1 %) where recommended were the most common characterizations of non-adherence. Overall, cases of cystitis were no more/less likely to receive non-adherent treatment than cases of pyelonephritis (OR 0.9, 95 % confidence interval 0.4–2.2, P = 0.90). In multivariable analysis, patients more likely to receive non-adherent treatment included those without a recent history of a UTI (OR 3.8, 95 % CI 1.3–11.4, P = 0.02) and cystitis cases with back or abdominal pain only (OR 11.4, 95 % CI 2.1–63.0, P = 0.01). Conclusions Patients with cystitis with back or abdominal pain only were most likely to receive non-adherent treatment, potentially suggesting diagnostic inaccuracy. Physician education on evidence-based guidelines regarding the treatment of uncomplicated UTI will decrease broad-spectrum use and drug resistance in uropathogens

Gestures Everywhere: A Multimodal Sensor Fusion and Analysis Framework for Pervasive Displays

Gestures Everywhere is a dynamic framework for multimodal sensor fusion, pervasive analytics and gesture recognition. Our framework aggregates the real-time data from approximately 100 sensors that include RFID readers, depth cameras and RGB cameras distributed across 30 interactive displays that are located in key public areas of the MIT Media Lab. Gestures Everywhere fuses the multimodal sensor data using radial basis function particle filters and performs real-time analysis on the aggregated data. This includes key spatio-temporal properties such as presence, location and identity; in addition to higher-level analysis including social clustering and gesture recognition. We describe the algorithms and architecture of our system and discuss the lessons learned from the systems deployment

Biosynthesis and enzymology of the Caenorhabditis elegans cuticle: identification and characterization of a novel serine protease inhibitor.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans represents an excellent model in which to examine nematode gene expression and function. A completed genome, straightforward transgenesis, available mutants and practical genome-wide RNAi approaches provide an invaluable toolkit in the characterization of nematode genes. We have performed a targeted RNAi screen in an attempt to identify components of the cuticle collagen biosynthetic pathway. Collagen biosynthesis and cuticle assembly are multi-step processes that involve numerous key enzymes involved in post-translational modification, trimer folding, procollagen processing and subsequent cross-linking stages. Many of these steps, the modifications and the enzymes are unique to nematodes and may represent attractive targets for the control of parasitic nematodes. A novel serine protease inhibitor was uncovered during our targeted screen, which is involved in collagen maturation, proper cuticle assembly and the moulting process. We have confirmed a link between this inhibitor and the previously uncharacterized bli-5 locus in C. elegans. The mutant phenotype, spatial expression pattern and the over-expression phenotype of the BLI-5 protease inhibitor and their relevance to collagen biosynthesis are discussed

The UV, Optical, and IR Properties of SDSS Sources Detected by GALEX

We discuss the UV, optical, and IR properties of the SDSS sources detected by GALEX as part of its All-sky Imaging Survey Early Release Observations. Virtually all of the GALEX sources in the overlap region are detected by SDSS. GALEX sources represent ~2.5% of all SDSS sources within these fields and about half are optically unresolved. Most unresolved GALEX/SDSS sources are bright blue turn-off thick disk stars and are typically detected only in the GALEX near-UV band. The remaining unresolved sources include low-redshift quasars, white dwarfs, and white dwarf/M dwarf pairs, and these dominate the optically unresolved sources detected in both GALEX bands. Almost all the resolved SDSS sources detected by GALEX are fainter than the SDSS 'main' spectroscopic limit. These sources have colors consistent with those of blue (spiral) galaxies (u-r<2.2), and most are detected in both GALEX bands. Measurements of their UV colors allow much more accurate and robust estimates of star-formation history than are possible using only SDSS data. Indeed, galaxies with the most recent (<20 Myr) star formation can be robustly selected from the GALEX data by requiring that they be brighter in the far-UV than in the near-UV band. However, older starburst galaxies have UV colors similar to AGN, and thus cannot be selected unambiguously on the basis of GALEX fluxes alone. With the aid of 2MASS data, we construct and discuss median 10 band UV-optical-IR spectral energy distributions for turn-off stars, hot white dwarfs, low-redshift quasars, and spiral and elliptical galaxies. We point out the high degree of correlation between the UV color and the contribution of the UV flux to the UV-optical-IR flux of galaxies detected by GALEX.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables; to appear in the AJ. PS with better figures available from http://www.astro.washington.edu/agueros/pub

Multiple AMPK activators inhibit L-Carnitine uptake in C2C12 skeletal muscle myotubes

Mutations in the gene that encodes the principal L-Carnitine transporter, OCTN2, can lead to a reduced intracellular L-Carnitine pool and the disease Primary Carnitine Deficiency. L-Carnitine supplementation is used therapeutically to increase intracellular L-Carnitine. As AMPK and insulin regulate fat metabolism and substrate uptake we hypothesised that AMPK activating compounds and insulin would increase L-Carnitine uptake in C2C12myotubes. The cells express all three OCTN transporters at the mRNA level and immunohistochemistry confirmed expression at the protein level. Contrary to our hypothesis, despite significant activation of PKB and 2DG uptake, insulin did not increase L-Carnitine uptake at 100nM. However, L-Carnitine uptake was modestly increased at a dose of 150nM insulin. A range of AMPK activators that increase intracellular calcium content [caffeine (10mM, 5mM, 1mM, 0.5mM), A23187 (10&mu;M)], inhibit mitochondrial function [Sodium Azide (75&mu;M), Rotenone (1&mu;M), Berberine (100&mu;M), DNP (500&mu;M)] or directly activate AMPK [AICAR (250&mu;M)] were assessed for their ability to regulate L-Carnitine uptake. All compounds tested significantly inhibited L-Carnitine uptake. Inhibition by caffeine was not dantrolene (10&mu;M) sensitive. Saturation curve analysis suggested that caffeine did not competitively inhibit L-Carnitine transport. However, the AMPK inhibitor Compound C (10&mu;M) partially rescued the effect of caffeine suggesting that AMPK may play a role in the inhibitory effects of caffeine. However, caffeine likely inhibits L-Carnitine uptake by alternative mechanisms independently of calcium release. PKA activation or direct interference with transporter function may play a role

Evaluating Arctic clouds modelled with the Unified Model and Integrated Forecasting System

By synthesising remote-sensing measurements made in the central Arctic into a model-gridded Cloudnet cloud product, we evaluate how well the Met Office Unified Model (UM) and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) capture Arctic clouds and their associated interactions with the surface energy balance and the thermodynamic structure of the lower troposphere. This evaluation was conducted using a 4-week observation period from the Arctic Ocean 2018 expedition, where the transition from sea ice melting to freezing conditions was measured. Three different cloud schemes were tested within a nested limited-area model (LAM) configuration of the UM – two regionally operational single-moment schemes (UM_RA2M and UM_RA2T) and one novel double-moment scheme (UM_CASIM-100) – while one global simulation was conducted with the IFS, utilising its default cloud scheme (ECMWF_IFS). Consistent weaknesses were identified across both models, with both the UM and IFS overestimating cloud occurrence below 3 km. This overestimation was also consistent across the three cloud configurations used within the UM framework, with >90 % mean cloud occurrence simulated between 0.15 and 1 km in all the model simulations. However, the cloud microphysical structure, on average, was modelled reasonably well in each simulation, with the cloud liquid water content (LWC) and ice water content (IWC) comparing well with observations over much of the vertical profile. The key microphysical discrepancy between the models and observations was in the LWC between 1 and 3 km, where most simulations (all except UM_RA2T) overestimated the observed LWC. Despite this reasonable performance in cloud physical structure, both models failed to adequately capture cloud-free episodes: this consistency in cloud cover likely contributes to the ever-present near-surface temperature bias in every simulation. Both models also consistently exhibited temperature and moisture biases below 3 km, with particularly strong cold biases coinciding with the overabundant modelled cloud layers. These biases are likely due to too much cloud-top radiative cooling from these persistent modelled cloud layers and were consistent across the three UM configurations tested, despite differences in their parameterisations of cloud on a sub-grid scale. Alarmingly, our findings suggest that these biases in the regional model were inherited from the global model, driving a cause–effect relationship between the excessive low-altitude cloudiness and the coincident cold bias. Using representative cloud condensation nuclei concentrations in our double-moment UM configuration while improving cloud microphysical structure does little to alleviate these biases; therefore, no matter how comprehensive we make the cloud physics in the nested LAM configuration used here, its cloud and thermodynamic structure will continue to be overwhelmingly biased by the meteorological conditions of its driving model