Where the Green Grants Went: Patterns of UK Funding for Environmental and Conservation Work

Provides results of an annual analysis grants for environmental programs from trusts and foundations based in the United Kingdom. Includes a geographic comparison of environmental giving in the UK and abroad

A Community Sample\u27s Knowledge Of, Judgment Of, and Attitudes Toward Childrearing and Child Abuse.

The present study addressed an important void in the literature of child abuse prevention. The challenge in empirical development of preventive education in child abuse to the public lies in the identification of specific target behaviors which are (1) related to potential child abuse, and (2) amenable to education. This investigation examined individual\u27s expectations, attitudes and beliefs toward childrearing, as well as individual\u27s knowledge of childrearing and behavioral child management techniques. Data generated in this study also evaluated the presence of differential judgments of child abuse in a community sample. Two hundred and eighty-two community volunteers participated in this study. Subjects were recruited from the East Baton Rouge Parish community. Participants were administered a packet of assessment devices that included: the Child Abuse Potential Inventory, the Parental Expectations, Attitudes and Belief Inventory, the Knowledge of Behavioral Principles Inventory, the Child Abuse Sensitivity Questionnaire and a demographic data form. Results indicated significant differences between the high and low median split groups as to their level of knowledge of behavioral principles as applied to child management techniques. The data demonstrated that there was not a significant difference between the two median split groups with regard to their judgments as to what constitutes psychological and physical child abuse. Finally, results showed that high scorers on the Child Abuse Potential Inventory did not exhibit more deviant attitudes, expectations and beliefs toward parenting than did low scorers on the Child Abuse Potential Inventory. These results suggest that potentially abusive individuals possess a degree of awareness and judgment as to what constitutes psychological and physical child abuse, their weakness appears to lie in their knowledge base of parenting techniques and child management techniques. These findings have important implications for preventative educational training programs, as well as for parent training programs for the community at large

Characterising the role of CR1 and CR2 in a humanised mouse model

The complement cascade is being increasingly implicated in development and disease. To understand these various roles, mouse models have been used and are proving to be an excellent tool. While they have helped to elucidate many roles of central cascade components, they do not adequately model complement regulators. Complement Receptors 1 (CR1) and 2 (CR2) have been implicated in modifying disease states, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, but they are not well replicated in mice. This leaves a gap in knowledge about how these receptors are functioning. To overcome this, a mouse model was engineered to replace endogenous murine Cr2 with the human complement receptors, CR1 and CR2. This model will be an asset to the complement research community, but there is need for characterizing the expression of CR1. This project aims to establish and validate this model. CR1 has an array of allotypes in human populations, and using traditional recombination methods (FLP-FRT and Cre recombination) two of the most common alleles are replicated within this mouse, along with creating a CR1 knockout allele. To validate the model a variety of techniques were used to ensure the correct targeting of the genomic construct into the murine Cr2 locus. Once integration was confirmed, the allelic series was established. Expression patterns in blood-derived cells were probed at an RNA level, with the different isoforms of CR1 being identified at a protein level. These models accurately produce viable protein products. These findings ensure that an accurate mouse model will be available to the complement research community

Cemetery Inscriptions - Village Cemetery and Elm Grove Cemetery, Thomaston, Maine

Compiled by Edith H. Wilson, Maria O. Hawley, and Harriet R. Williams of the General Knox Chapter of the Maine Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution during the Summer and Fall of 1956.https://digitalmaine.com/books/1036/thumbnail.jp

Sialic Acid within the Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Anchor Targets the Cellular Prion Protein to Synapses.

Although the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) is concentrated at synapses, the factors that target PrP(C) to synapses are not understood. Here we demonstrate that exogenous PrP(C) was rapidly targeted to synapses in recipient neurons derived from Prnp knock-out((0/0)) mice. The targeting of PrP(C) to synapses was dependent upon both neuronal cholesterol concentrations and the lipid and glycan composition of its glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Thus, the removal of either an acyl chain or sialic acid from the GPI anchor reduced the targeting of PrP(C) to synapses. Isolated GPIs (derived from PrP(C)) were also targeted to synapses, as was IgG conjugated to these GPIs. The removal of sialic acid from GPIs prevented the targeting of either the isolated GPIs or the IgG-GPI conjugate to synapses. Competition studies showed that pretreatment with sialylated GPIs prevented the targeting of PrP(C) to synapses. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the sialylated GPI anchor attached to PrP(C) acts as a synapse homing signal.This work was supported by the European Commission FP6 “Neuroprion” – Network of Excellence.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology via http://dx.doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M116.73111

'Une chaîne invisible’: contemporary artistes, feminist self-representation, and the work of Annie Ernaux

This dissertation studies the work of French author Annie Ernaux in comparison with that of three contemporary artistes – Louise Bourgeois, Annette Messager, and Yayoi Kusama – inspired by Ernaux’s own concept of ‘une chaîne invisible’. Following a consideration of the existing intertextual and intermedial scholarship on Ernaux’s work, I discuss feminism, autobiography, and women’s self-portraiture. I address the following questions: how do these women create self-representations? To what extent are such works feminist? How do they link to each other? Each chapter focuses on one artiste, comparing and contrasting their work to that of Ernaux, as well as referencing various aspects feminist art where relevant in order to locate these women in their socio-historic-artistic contexts. My choice of Ernaux works offers intimate pieces of her self-representation: Passion simple (1991), Journal du dehors (1993), La Vie extérieure (2000), L’Événement (2000), Se perdre (2001), and L’Usage de la photo (2005). This art-based reading highlights the ways in which Ernaux’s corpus interacts with feminist art history and visual culture. This is the first project that analyses Ernaux’s work in relation to multiple artistes and is only the beginning of the use of the ‘chaîne invisible’ as a framework. Through text and image analysis, I examine diverse themes such as sexuality, illness, and death, demonstrating that it is in fact appropriate to call Ernaux an artiste due to the richness of her links with these women. I not only illuminate the work of Ernaux, but also that of the artistes, and I ultimately imply that more consideration should be given to such intermedial matters in future scholarship

General practice palliative care: Patient and carer expectations, advance care plans and place of death-a systematic review

Background: With an increasing ageing population in most countries, the role of general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) in providing optimal end of life (EoL) care is increasingly important. Objective: To explore: (1) patient and carer expectations of the role of GPs and GPNs at EoL; (2) GPs’ and GPNs’ contribution to advance care planning (ACP) and (3) if primary care involvement allows people to die in the place of preference. Method: Systematic literature review. Data sources: Papers from 2000 to 2017 were sought from Medline, Psychinfo, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane databases. Results: From 6209 journal articles, 51 papers were relevant. Patients and carers expect their GPs to be competent in all aspects of palliative care. They valued easy access to their GP, a multidisciplinary approach to care and well-coordinated and informed care. They also wanted their care team to communicate openly, honestly and empathically, particularly as the patient deteriorated. ACP and the involvement of GPs were important factors which contributed to patients being cared for and dying in their preferred place. There was no reference to GPNs in any paper identified. Conclusions: Patients and carers prefer a holistic approach to care. This review shows that GPs have an important role in ACP and that their involvement facilitates dying in the place of preference. Proactive identification of people approaching EoL is likely to improve all aspects of care, including planning and communicating about EoL. More work outlining the role of GPNs in end of life care is required