“A Friend in the Corner”: Supporting people at home in the last year of life via telephone and video consultation – an evaluation

YesObjective: To evaluate a 24/7, nurse led telephone and video-consultation support service for patients thought to be in the last year of life in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven. Method: Activity and other data recorded at the time of calls were analysed. Interviews with 13 participants captured patients and carers perspectives. Results: Between April 1st 2014 and March 31st 2015, 4648 patients were registered on the Gold Line. 42% had a non-cancer diagnosis and 46% were not known to specialist palliative care services. The median time on the caseload was 49 days (range 1-504 days). 4533 telephone calls and 573 video consultations were received from 1813 individuals. 39% of the 5106 calls were resolved by Gold Line team without referral to other services. 69% of calls were made outside normal working hours. Interviews with patients and carers reported experiences of support and reassurance and the importance of practical advice. Conclusion: A nurse led, 24/7 telephone and video consultation service can provide valuable support for patients identified to be in the last year of life and their cares. The line enabled them to feel supported and remain in their place of residence, reducing avoidable hospital admissions and use of other services. Providing this service may encourage health care professionals to identify patients approaching the last year of life, widening support offered to this group of patients beyond those known to specialist palliative care services.Health Foundation adn Shared Purpos

Characterization of a spinach psbS cDNA encoding the 22 kDa protein of photosystem II

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117165/1/feb2001457939281463v.pd

Sequence of a tomato gene encoding a third type of LHCII chlorophyll a/b -binding polypeptide

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43429/1/11103_2004_Article_BF00037074.pd

Integrative GWAS and co-localisation analysis suggests novel genes associated with age-related multimorbidity

Abstract Advancing age is the greatest risk factor for developing multiple age-related diseases. Therapeutic approaches targeting the underlying pathways of ageing, rather than individual diseases, may be an effective way to treat and prevent age-related morbidity while reducing the burden of polypharmacy. We harness the Open Targets Genetics Portal to perform a systematic analysis of nearly 1,400 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) mapped to 34 age-related diseases and traits, identifying genetic signals that are shared between two or more of these traits. Using locus-to-gene (L2G) mapping, we identify 995 targets with shared genetic links to age-related diseases and traits, which are enriched in mechanisms of ageing and include known ageing and longevity-related genes. Of these 995 genes, 128 are the target of an approved or investigational drug, 526 have experimental evidence of binding pockets or are predicted to be tractable, and 341 have no existing tractability evidence, representing underexplored genes which may reveal novel biological insights and therapeutic opportunities. We present these candidate targets for exploration and prioritisation in a web application

Identification of the polypeptides of the major light-harvesting complex of photosystem II (LHCII) with their genes in tomato

Using an improved SDS-PAGE system, the polypeptides of the major chlorophyll a/b light-harvesting complex of PSII (LHCII) from tomato leaves were resolved into five polypeptide bands. All the polypeptides were matched with the genes encoding them by comparing amino acid sequences of tryptic peptides with gene sequences. The two major LHCII bands (usually comigrating as a `27 kDa' polypeptide) were encoded by cab1 and cab3 (Type I LHCII) genes. A third strong band or about 25 kDa was encoded by cab4 (Type II) genes. Polypeptides from two minor bands of 23-24 kDa were not N-teminally blocked; their N-terminal sequences showed they were Type III LHCII proteins. One complete cDNA clone and several incomplete clones for Type III polypeptides were sequenced. Combined with the peptide sequences, the results indicate that there are at least four different Type III genes in tomato, encoding four almost identical polypeptides. Thus, all the LHCII CAB polypeptides have been identified, and each type of LHCII polypeptide is encoded by distinct gene or genes in tomato.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/29980/1/0000344.pd

Argumentum ad misericordiam - the critical intimacies of victimhood

This article discusses the widespread use of victim tropes in contemporary Anglo-American culture by using cultural theory to analyse key social media memes circulating on Facebook in 2015. Since the growth of social media, victim stories have been proliferating, and each demands a response. Victim narratives are rhetorical, they are designed to elicit pity and shame the perpetrator. They are deployed to stimulate political debate and activism, as well as to appeal to an all-purpose humanitarianism. Victimology has its origins in Law and Criminology, but this paper opens up the field more broadly to think about the cultural politics of victimhood, to consider how the victim-figure can be appropriated by/for different purposes, particularly racial and gender politics, including in the case of Rachel Dolezal, and racial passing. In formulating an ethical response to the lived experience of victims, we need to think about the different kinds of critical intimacies elicited by such media

Erratum: Sequence data and association statistics from 12,940 type 2 diabetes cases and controls.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2017.179