Sex-specific mortality forecasting for UK countries: a coherent approach

This paper introduces a gender specific model for the joint mortality projection of three countries (England and Wales combined, Scotland, and Northern Ireland) of the United Kingdom. The model, called 2-tier Augmented Common Factor model, extends the classical Lee and Carter [26] and Li and Lee [32] models, with a common time factor for the whole UK population, a sex specific period factor for males and females, and a specific time factor for each country within each gender. As death counts in each subpopulation are modelled directly, a Poisson framework is used. Our results show that the 2-tier ACF model improves the in-sample fitting compared to the use of independent LC models for each subpopulation or of independent Li and Lee models for each couple of genders within each country. Mortality projections also show that the 2-tier ACF model produces coherent forecasts for the two genders within each country and different countries within each gender, thus avoiding the divergence issues arising when independent projections are used. The 2-tier ACF is further extended to include a cohort term to take into account the faster improvements of the UK ‘golden generation’

Live imaging of stem cell and progeny behaviour in physiological hair-follicle regeneration

Tissue development and regeneration depend on cell-cell interactions and signals that target stem cells and their immediate progeny. However, the cellular behaviours that lead to a properly regenerated tissue are not well understood. Using a new, non-invasive, intravital two-photon imaging approach we study physiological hair-follicle regeneration over time in live mice. By these means we have monitored the behaviour of epithelial stem cells and their progeny during physiological hair regeneration and addressed how the mesenchyme influences their behaviour. Consistent with earlier studies, stem cells are quiescent during the initial stages of hair regeneration, whereas the progeny are more actively dividing. Moreover, stem cell progeny divisions are spatially organized within follicles. In addition to cell divisions, coordinated cell movements of the progeny allow the rapid expansion of the hair follicle. Finally, we show the requirement of the mesenchyme for hair regeneration through targeted cell ablation and long-term tracking of live hair follicles. Thus, we have established an in vivo approach that has led to the direct observation of cellular mechanisms of growth regulation within the hair follicle and that has enabled us to precisely investigate functional requirements of hair-follicle components during the process of physiological regeneration. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Medical Student Professionalism Narratives: A Thematic Analysis and Interdisciplinary Comparative Investigation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Professionalism development is influenced by the informal and hidden curriculum. The primary objective of this study was to better understand this experiential learning in the setting of the Emergency Department (ED). Secondarily, the study aimed to explore differences in the informal curriculum between Emergency Medicine (EM) and Internal Medicine (IM) clerkships.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A thematic analysis was conducted on 377 professionalism narratives from medical students completing a required EM clerkship from July 2008 through May 2010. The narratives were analyzed using established thematic categories from prior research as well as basic descriptive characteristics. Chi-square analysis was used to compare the frequency of thematic categories to prior research in IM. Finally, emerging themes not fully appreciated in the established thematic categories were created using grounded theory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Observations involving interactions between attending physician and patient were most abundant. The narratives were coded as positive 198 times, negative 128 times, and hybrid 37 times. The two most abundant narrative themes involved <it>manifesting respect </it>(36.9%) and <it>spending time </it>(23.7%). Both of these themes were statistically more likely to be noted by students on EM clerkships compared to IM clerkships. Finally, one new theme regarding <it>cynicism </it>emerged during analysis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This analysis describes an informal curriculum that is diverse in themes. Student narratives suggest their clinical experiences to be influential on professionalism development. Medical students focus on different aspects of professionalism depending on clerkship specialty.</p

Dysregulated RNA polyadenylation contributes to metabolic impairment in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Pre-mRNA processing is an essential mechanism for the generation of mature mRNA and the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. While defects in pre-mRNA processing have been implicated in a number of diseases their involvement in metabolic pathologies is still unclear. Here, we show that both alternative splicing and alternative polyadenylation, two major steps in pre-mRNA processing, are significantly altered in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Moreover, we find that Serine and Arginine Rich Splicing Factor 10 (SRSF10) binding is enriched adjacent to consensus polyadenylation motifs and its expression is significantly decreased in NAFLD, suggesting a role mediating pre-mRNA dysregulation in this condition. Consistently, inactivation of SRSF10 in mouse and human hepatocytes in vitro, and in mouse liver in vivo, was found to dysregulate polyadenylation of key metabolic genes such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARA) and exacerbate diet-induced metabolic dysfunction. Collectively our work implicates dysregulated pre-mRNA polyadenylation in obesity-induced liver disease and uncovers a novel role for SRSF10 in this process

That’s another story: an alternative to the ‘official’ way the urban school story is told

This article, co-authored by two research-active teachers with the support of their academic partner, reports on the resistance of an urban primary school in a northern city of England to the label ‘disadvantaged school’ and various judgements that refuse to take into account its holistic work with students and families from different and diverse minority ethnic backgrounds. The article will argue that there are flaws in the ways the school’s story is officially told where it does not acknowledge what is being done to address students’ experiences of immigration, poverty and deprivation, and the cultural barriers they often negotiate in coming to school. As a driver for change, practitioner research foregrounds the authenticity of school and classroom contexts and puts them under scrutiny as a means of informing strategic decisions. Utilising a case study design, this paper pulls together a range of data evidence to construct its narrative and tell the school’s story, working in collaboration with its university academic partner. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of practitioner research within challenging urban school settings, under pressure from centralised conceptualisations of achievement gaps and school performance. It puts many of these ideas under scrutiny and asks fundamental questions about curriculum, pedagogy and accountability

Do people with risky behaviours participate in biomedical cohort studies?

BACKGROUND: Analysis was undertaken on data from randomly selected participants of a bio-medical cohort study to assess representativeness. The research hypotheses was that there was no difference in participation and non-participations in terms of health-related indicators (smoking, alcohol use, body mass index, physical activity, blood pressure and cholesterol readings and overall health status) and selected socio-demographics (age, sex, area of residence, education level, marital status and work status). METHODS: Randomly selected adults were recruited into a bio-medical representative cohort study based in the north western suburbs of the capital of South Australia – Adealide. Comparison data was obtained from cross-sectional surveys of randomly selected adults in the same age range and in the same region. The cohort participants were 4060 randomly selected adults (18+ years). RESULTS: There were no major differences between study participants and the comparison population in terms of current smoking status, body mass index, physical activity, overall health status and proportions with current high blood pressure and cholesterol readings. Significantly more people who reported a medium to very high alcohol risk participated in the study. There were some demographic differences with study participants more likely to be in the middle level of household income and education level. CONCLUSION: People with risky behaviours participated in this health study in the same proportions as people without these risk factors

Ensemble coding of color and luminance contrast

Ensemble coding has been demonstrated for many attributes including color, but the metrics on which this coding is based remain uncertain. We examined ensemble percepts for stimulus sets that varied in chromatic contrast between complementary hues, or that varied in luminance contrast between increments and decrements, in both cases focusing on the ensemble percepts for the neutral gray stimulus defining the category boundary. Each ensemble was composed of 16 circles with four contrast levels. Observers saw the display for 0.5 s and then judged whether a target contrast was a member of the set. False alarms were high for intermediate contrasts (within the range of the ensemble) and fell for higher or lower values. However, for ensembles with complementary hues, gray was less likely to be reported as a member, even when it represented the mean chromaticity of the set. When the settings were repeated for luminance contrast, false alarms for gray were higher and fell off more gradually for out-of-range contrasts. This difference implies that opposite luminance polarities represent a more continuous perceptual dimension than opponent-color variations, and that “gray” is a stronger category boundary for chromatic than luminance contrasts. For color, our results suggest that ensemble percepts reflect pooling within rather than between large hue differences, perhaps because the visual system represents hue differences more like qualitatively different categories than like quantitative differences within an underlying color “space.” The differences for luminance and color suggest more generally that ensemble coding for different visual attributes might depend on different processes that in turn depend on the format of the visual representation

Foods advertised in US weekly supermarket sales circulars over one year: a content analysis

BACKGROUND: The nutritional content of Americans’ shopping carts is suboptimal despite federal dietary guidance, in this case, the MyPlate consumer icon which displays desired proportions of vegetables, fruits, dairy, grains and protein foods for consumption. Consumers mention print advertising—such as weekly sales circulars—frequently as influencing their grocery shopping decisions. METHODS: To examine and describe the relative proportions of advertised foods aggregated into the MyPlate food grouping system, a content analysis of 9 209 foods advertised in 52 weekly supermarket newspaper sales inserts in 2009 from a local grocery chain was conducted in a Midwestern community. RESULTS: Overall, the protein foods group was most often represented in sales circulars (25% of total items), followed by grains (18%); dairy (10%); vegetables (8%) and fruits (7%). Less than 3% of sales advertisements were for dark green and red & orange vegetables. Over twice as much whole fruit versus 100% fruit juice was advertised (70% vs. 30%, respectively; P < 0.001). Significantly fewer protein foods and more grains than expected were advertised in the fall, and slightly more dark green vegetables were advertised in winter and spring than in summer and fall (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The average American diet, including underconsumption of fruits and vegetables but overconsumption of protein foods, was reflected in the relative frequency of food groups advertised in weekly sales circulars. Modifying sales circulars to represent healthier food groups may preserve retail profits (considering these groups’ higher profit margin) while promoting adherence to federal dietary guidance