Building social capital through breastfeeding peer support: Insights from an evaluation of a voluntary breastfeeding peer support service in North-West England

Background: Peer support is reported to be a key method to help build social capital in communities. To date there are no studies that describe how this can be achieved through a breastfeeding peer support service. In this paper we present findings from an evaluation of a voluntary model of breastfeeding peer support in North-West England to describe how the service was operationalized and embedded into the community. This study was undertaken from May, 2012 to May, 2013. Methods: Interviews (group or individual) were held with 87 participants: 24 breastfeeding women, 13 peer supporters and 50 health and community professionals. The data contained within 23 monthly monitoring reports (January, 2011 to February 2013) compiled by the voluntary peer support service were also extracted and analysed. Results: Thematic analysis was undertaken using social capital concepts as a theoretical lens. Key findings were identified to resonate with ’bonding’, ‘bridging’ and ‘linking’ forms of social capital. These insights illuminate how the peer support service facilitates ‘bonds’ with its members, and within and between women who access the service; how the service ‘bridges’ with individuals from different interests and backgrounds, and how ‘links’ were forged with those in authority to gain access and reach to women and to promote a breastfeeding culture. Some of the tensions highlighted within the social capital literature were also identified. Conclusions: Horizontal and vertical relationships forged between the peer support service and community members enabled peer support to be embedded into care pathways, helped to promote positive attitudes to breastfeeding and to disseminate knowledge and maximise reach for breastfeeding support across the community. Further effort to engage with those of different ethnic backgrounds and to resolve tensions between peer supporters and health professionals is warranted

Genome-wide association study identifies loci associated with liability to alcohol and drug dependence that is associated with variability in reward-related ventral striatum activity in African- and European-Americans.

Genetic influences on alcohol and drug dependence partially overlap, however, specific loci underlying this overlap remain unclear. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a phenotype representing alcohol or illicit drug dependence (ANYDEP) among 7291 European-Americans (EA; 2927 cases) and 3132 African-Americans (AA: 1315 cases) participating in the family-based Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism. ANYDEP was heritable (h 2 in EA = 0.60, AA = 0.37). The AA GWAS identified three regions with genome-wide significant (GWS; P < 5E-08) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on chromosomes 3 (rs34066662, rs58801820) and 13 (rs75168521, rs78886294), and an insertion-deletion on chromosome 5 (chr5:141988181). No polymorphisms reached GWS in the EA. One GWS region (chromosome 1: rs1890881) emerged from a trans-ancestral meta-analysis (EA + AA) of ANYDEP, and was attributable to alcohol dependence in both samples. Four genes (AA: CRKL, DZIP3, SBK3; EA: P2RX6) and four sets of genes were significantly enriched within biological pathways for hemostasis and signal transduction. GWS signals did not replicate in two independent samples but there was weak evidence for association between rs1890881 and alcohol intake in the UK Biobank. Among 118 AA and 481 EA individuals from the Duke Neurogenetics Study, rs75168521 and rs1890881 genotypes were associated with variability in reward-related ventral striatum activation. This study identified novel loci for substance dependence and provides preliminary evidence that these variants are also associated with individual differences in neural reward reactivity. Gene discovery efforts in non-European samples with distinct patterns of substance use may lead to the identification of novel ancestry-specific genetic markers of risk

Assessing Graphical Robot Aids for Interactive Co-working

The shift towards more collaborative working between humans and robots increases the need for improved interfaces. Alongside robust measures to ensure safety and task performance, humans need to gain the confidence in robot co-operators to enable true collaboration. This research investigates how graphical signage can support human–robot co-working, with the intention of increased productivity. Participants are required to co-work with a KUKA iiwa lightweight manipulator on a manufacturing task. The three conditions in the experiment differ in the signage presented to the participants – signage relevant to the task, irrelevant to the task, or no signage. A change between three conditions is expected in anxiety and negative attitudes towards robots; error rate; response time; and participants’ complacency, suggested by facial expressions. In addition to understanding how graphical languages can support human–robot co-working, this study provides a basis for further collaborative research to explore human–robot co-working in more detail

Alterations in cognitive performance during passive hyperthermia are task dependent

The objectives of this study were to (1) assess the effect of passive heating upon attention and memory task performance, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the application of cold packs to the head on preserving these functions. Using a counterbalance design 16 subjects underwent three trials: a control (CON, 20°C, 40% rH), hot (HOT, 50°C, 50% rH) and hot with the head kept cool (HHC). In each condition, three attention tests and two memory tests were performed. Mean core, forehead and tympanic temperatures were all significantly higher (p< 0.05) during HOT (38.6° ±0.1°, 39.6° ±0.2° and 38.8°±0.1°C, respectively) and HHC (38°±0.2, 37.7°±0.3° and 37.7°C, respectively) than in CON (37.1°±0.6°, 33.3° ±0.2° and 35.9°±0.3°C, respectively). Results indicate that there was impairment in working memory with heat exposure (p < 0.05) without alteration in attentional processes. The regular application of cold packs only prevented the detrimental effect of hyperthermia on short-term memory. Our results show that impairments in cognitive function with passive hyperthermia and the beneficial effect of head cooling are task dependent and suggests that exposure to a hot environment is a competing variable to the cognitive processes

Global expression profiling of theophylline response genes in macrophages: evidence of airway anti-inflammatory regulation

BACKGROUND: Theophylline has been used widely as a bronchodilator for the treatment of bronchial asthma and has been suggested to modulate immune response. While the importance of macrophages in asthma has been reappraised and emphasized, their significance has not been well investigated. We conducted a genome-wide profiling of the gene expressions of macrophages in response to theophylline. METHODS: Microarray technology was used to profile the gene expression patterns of macrophages modulated by theophylline. Northern blot and real-time quantitative RT-PCR were also used to validate the microarray data, while Western blot and ELISA were used to measure the levels of IL-13 and LTC4. RESULTS: We identified dozens of genes in macrophages that were dose-dependently down- or up-regulated by theophylline. These included genes related to inflammation, cytokines, signaling transduction, cell adhesion and motility, cell cycle regulators, and metabolism. We observed that IL-13, a central mediator of airway inflammation, was dramatically suppressed by theophylline. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR and ELISA analyses also confirmed these results, without respect to PMA-treated THP-1 cells or isolated human alveolar macrophages. Theophylline, rolipram, etazolate, db-cAMP and forskolin suppressed both IL-13 mRNA expression (~25%, 2.73%, 8.12%, 5.28%, and 18.41%, respectively) and protein secretion (<10% production) in macrophages. These agents also effectively suppressed LTC4 expression. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the suppression of IL-13 by theophylline may be through cAMP mediation and may decrease LTC4 production. This study supports the role of theophylline as a signal regulator of inflammation, and that down regulation of IL-13 by theophylline may have beneficial effects in inflammatory airway diseases

A General Framework for Formal Tests of Interaction after Exhaustive Search Methods with Applications to MDR and MDR-PDT

The initial presentation of multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) featured cross-validation to mitigate over-fitting, computationally efficient searches of the epistatic model space, and variable construction with constructive induction to alleviate the curse of dimensionality. However, the method was unable to differentiate association signals arising from true interactions from those due to independent main effects at individual loci. This issue leads to problems in inference and interpretability for the results from MDR and the family-based compliment the MDR-pedigree disequilibrium test (PDT). A suggestion from previous work was to fit regression models post hoc to specifically evaluate the null hypothesis of no interaction for MDR or MDR-PDT models. We demonstrate with simulation that fitting a regression model on the same data as that analyzed by MDR or MDR-PDT is not a valid test of interaction. This is likely to be true for any other procedure that searches for models, and then performs an uncorrected test for interaction. We also show with simulation that when strong main effects are present and the null hypothesis of no interaction is true, that MDR and MDR-PDT reject at far greater than the nominal rate. We also provide a valid regression-based permutation test procedure that specifically tests the null hypothesis of no interaction, and does not reject the null when only main effects are present. The regression-based permutation test implemented here conducts a valid test of interaction after a search for multilocus models, and can be applied to any method that conducts a search to find a multilocus model representing an interaction

Antimicrobial activity of new green-functionalized oxazoline-based oligomers against clinical isolates

Background: The search for new antimicrobial compounds able to overcome the global issue of microbial resistance to antibiotics is a priority worldwide. Moreover, several commensal microorganisms have been increasingly associated to opportunistic microbial infections. Having previously disclosed the green synthesis and preliminary characterization of the oligomers [linear oligo(ethylenimine) hydrochloride and oligo(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) quaternized with N,Ndimethyldodecylamine] we herein report on the screening of these oligomers against a battery of 69 clinical isolates of Aerococcus spp., Candida spp., Staphylococcus spp. and Streptococcus spp. Findings: The isolates’ susceptibility to both oligomers was evaluated by determining their minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the biocidal effectiveness of each compound was further confirmed through spectrophotometric measurements and fluorescence microscopy. The MIC values of the 69 isolates were highly variable, yet favourably comparable with those of other antimicrobial polymers. The viability assays resulted in 100% of microbial killing rate after only 5 min, highlighting the promising antimicrobial action of these oligomers. Conclusions: Though further studies are required, evidence suggests that a strong effort should be done in order to confirm these compounds as valid alternatives for several clinical applications. This is reinforced by their well described biocompatibility with human tissues and by their proposed mechanism of action which difficult the development of microbial resistance to these compounds