Psychological type and attitude towards Celtic Christianity among committed Churchgoers in the United Kingdom: an empirical study

This article takes the burgeoning interest in Celtic Christianity as a key example of the way in which churches may be responding to the changing spiritual and religious landscape in the United Kingdom today and examines the power of psychological type theory to account for variation in the attitude of committed churchgoers to this innovation. Data provided by a sample of 248 Anglican clergy and lay church officers (who completed the Francis Psychological Type Scales together with the Attitude toward Celtic Christianity Scale) demonstrated that intuitive types, feeling types, and perceiving types reported a more positive attitude towards Celtic Christianity than sensing types, thinking types, and judging types. These findings are interpreted to analyse the appeal of Celtic Christianity and to suggest why some committed churchgoers may find this innovation less attractive

Does cranberry extract reduce antibiotic use for symptoms of acute uncomplicated urinary tract infections (CUTI)?:Protocol for a feasibility study

Background: Consultations in primary care for symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and patients are frequently treated with antibiotics. Given increasing antimicrobial resistance, there has been interest in non-antibiotic treatment options for common infections. One such option is the use of cranberry extract to treat symptoms attributable to UTIs. Methods: A target of 45 women consulting in primary care, with symptoms suggestive of an uncomplicated UTI for whom the practitioner would normally prescribe antibiotics, will be randomised to receive one of three treatment approaches: (1) immediate prescription for antibiotics; (2) immediate prescription for antibiotics plus a 7-day course of cranberry capsules and (3) cranberry capsules plus a delayed prescription for antibiotics to be used in case their symptoms do not get better, or get worse. Follow-up will be by daily rating of symptoms and recording of treatments used for 2 weeks in an online symptom diary. Interviews will be conducted with around 10-15 study participants, as well as with around 10-15 women who have experienced a UTI but have not been approached to take part in the study. Both groups will be asked about their experience of having a UTI, their thoughts on non-antibiotic treatments for UTIs and their thoughts on, or experience of, the feasibility trial. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility of undertaking a full trial in primary care of the effectiveness of cranberry extract to reduce antibiotic use for symptoms of acute uncomplicated UTI. The secondary objective is to conduct a preliminary assessment of the extent to which cranberry might reduce antibiotic use and symptom burden. Discussion: This feasibility study with embedded interviews will inform the planning and sample size calculation of an adequately powered trial to definitively determine whether cranberry helps to alleviate the symptoms of acute uncomplicated UTIs in women and whether it can safely reduce antibiotic use. Trial registration: ISRCTN registry, ID: 10399299. Registered on 24 January 2019.</p

Does cranberry extract reduce antibiotic use for symptoms of acute uncomplicated urinary tract infections (CUTI)?:A feasibility randomised trial

Objectives To determine the feasibility of conducting a randomised trial of the effectiveness of cranberry extract in reducing antibiotic use by women with symptoms of acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI). Design Open-label feasibility randomised parallel group trial. Setting Four general practices in Oxfordshire. Participants Women aged 18 years and above presenting to general practice with symptoms of acute, uncomplicated UTI. Interventions Women were randomly assigned using Research Electronic Data Capture in a 1:1:1 ratio to: (1) immediate antibiotics alone (n=15); (2) immediate antibiotics and immediate cranberry capsules for up to 7 days (n=15); or (3) immediate cranberry capsules and delayed antibiotics for self-initiation in case of non-improvement or worsening of symptoms (n=16). Primary and secondary outcome measures The primary outcome measures were: rate of recruitment of participants; numbers lost to follow-up; proportion of electronic diaries completed by participants; and acceptability of the intervention and study procedures to participants and recruiters. Secondary outcomes included an exploration of differences in symptom burden and antibiotic use between groups. Results Four general practitioner practices (100%) were opened and recruited participants between 1 July and 2 December 2019, with nine study participants recruited per month on average. 68.7% (46/67) of eligible participants were randomised (target 45) with a mean age of 48.4 years (SD 19.9, range 18–81). 89.1% (41/46) of diaries contained some participant entered data and 69.6% (32/46) were fully complete. Three participants (6.5%) were lost to follow-up and two (4.4%) withdrew. Of women randomly assigned to take antibiotics alone (controls), one-third of respondents reported consuming cranberry products (33.3%, 4/12). There were no serious adverse events. Conclusions It appears feasible to conduct a randomised trial of the use of cranberry extract in the treatment of acute, uncomplicated UTI in general practice. Trial registration number ISRCTN Registry (ID: 10399299)

Good Research Practices for Measuring Drug Costs in Cost-Effectiveness Analyses: Medicare, Medicaid and Other US Government Payers Perspectives: The ISPOR Drug Cost Task Force Report—Part IV

Objectives Public programs finance a large share of the US pharmaceutical expenditures. To date, there are not guidelines for estimating the cost of drugs financed by US public programs. The objective of this study was to provide standards for estimating the cost of drugs financed by US public programs for utilization in pharmacoeconomic evaluations. Methods This report was prepared by the ISPOR Task Force on Good Research Practices—Use of Drug Costs for Cost-Effectiveness Analysis Medicare, Medicaid, and other US Government Payers Subgroup. The Subgroup was convened to assess the methodological and practical issues confronted by researchers when estimating the cost of drugs financed by US public programs, and to propose standards for more transparent, accurate and consistent costing methods. Results The Subgroup proposed these recommendations: 1) researchers must consider regulation requirements that affect the drug cost paid by public programs; 2) drug cost must represent the actual acquisition cost, incorporating any rebates or discounts; 3) transparency with respect to cost inputs must be ensured; 4) inclusion of the public program\u27s perspective is recommended; 5) high cost drugs require special attention, particularly when drugs represent a significant proportion of health-care expenditures for a specific disease; and 6) because of variations across public programs, sensitivity analyses for actual acquisition cost, real-world adherence, and generics availability are warranted. Specific recommendations also were proposed for the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Conclusions As pharmacoeconomic evaluations for coverage decisions made by US public programs grows, the need for precise and consistent estimation of drug costs is warranted. Application of the proposed recommendations will allow researchers to include accurate and unbiased cost estimates in pharmacoeconomic evaluations

Mineralisation of soft and hard tissues and the stability of biofluids

Evidence is provided from studies on natural and artificial biofluids that the sequestration of amorphous calcium phosphate by peptides or proteins to form nanocluster complexes is of general importance in the control of physiological calcification. A naturally occurring mixture of osteopontin peptides was shown, by light and neutron scattering, to form calcium phosphate nanoclusters with a core–shell structure. In blood serum and stimulated saliva, an invariant calcium phosphate ion activity product was found which corresponds closely in form and magnitude to the ion activity product observed in solutions of these osteopontin nanoclusters. This suggests that types of nanocluster complexes are present in these biofluids as well as in milk. Precipitation of amorphous calcium phosphate from artificial blood serum, urine and saliva was determined as a function of pH and the concentration of osteopontin or casein phosphopeptides. The position of the boundary between stability and precipitation was found to agree quantitatively with the theory of nanocluster formation. Artificial biofluids were prepared that closely matched their natural counterparts in calcium and phosphate concentrations, pH, saturation, ionic strength and osmolality. Such fluids, stabilised by a low concentration of sequestering phosphopeptides, were found to be highly stable and may have a number of beneficial applications in medicine

In the dedicated pursuit of dedicated capital: restoring an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism

Tony Blair’s landslide electoral victory on May 1 (New Labour Day?) presents the party in power with a rare, perhaps even unprecedented, opportunity to revitalise and modernise Britain’s ailing and antiquated manufacturing economy.* If it is to do so, it must remain true to its long-standing (indeed, historic) commitment to restore an indigenous investment ethic to British capitalism. In this paper we argue that this in turn requires that the party reject the very neo-liberal orthodoxies which it offered to the electorate as evidence of its competence, moderation and ‘modernisation’, which is has internalised, and which it apparently now views as circumscribing the parameters of the politically and economically possible

Regionalism and African agency : negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and SADC-Minus

This article investigates the regional dynamics of African agency in the case of negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and a group of Southern African countries, known as SADC-Minus. I argue that these negotiations were shaped by a pattern of differentiated responses to the choice set on offer under the EPAs by SADC-Minus policymakers and by a series of strategic interactions and power plays between them. I offer two contributions to an emerging literature on the role of African agency in international politics. First, I argue for a clear separation between ontological claims about the structure-agency relationship and empirical questions about the preferences, strategies and influence of African actors. Second, I suggest that in order to understand the regional dynamics of African agency it is important to pay close attention to the diversity and contingency of African preferences and to the role of both power politics and rhetorical contestation in regional political processes

Changing Politics: Towards a New Democracy

In October 2014 the PSA joint-funded a Consultation event ‘Changing Politics – Towards a New Democracy’ with St. George’s House. The Chair of the PSA, Professor Matthew Flinders, chaired the event which brought together participants from a range of fields (including academics, think tankers and practitioners in several policy areas). Today, St. George’s House has published a report which highlights the main themes emerging from the discussion as well as some conclusions and recommendations. It identifies several areas where changes are urgently needed to reinvigorate democracy. The report concludes that to fully succeed in addressing the growth of political apathy and disengagement, parties and leaders must forget their differences and join citizens, academics, charities and others to address this problem with all available energy and resources

Buried alive: Aquatic plants survive in ‘ghost ponds’ under agricultural fields

The widespread loss of wetlands due to agricultural intensification has been highlighted as a major threat to aquatic biodiversity. However, all is not lost as we reveal that the propagules of some aquatic species could survive burial under agricultural fields in the sediments of ‘ghost ponds’ - ponds in-filled during agricultural land consolidation. Our experiments showed at least eight aquatic macrophyte species to germinate from seeds and oospores, following 50–150 years of dormancy in the sediments of ghost ponds. This represents a significant proportion of the expected macrophyte diversity for local farmland ponds, which typically support between 6 and 14 macrophyte species. The rapid (< 6 months) re-colonisation of resurrected ghost ponds by a diverse aquatic vegetation similarly suggests a strong seed-bank influence. Ghost ponds represent abundant, dormant time capsules for aquatic species in agricultural landscapes around the globe, affording opportunities for enhancing landscape-scale aquatic biodiversity and connectivity. While reports of biodiversity loss through agricultural intensification dominate conservation narratives, our study offers a rare positive message, demonstrating that aquatic organisms survive prolonged burial under intensively managed agricultural fields. We urge conservationists and policy makers to consider utilizing and restoring these valuable resources in biodiversity conservation schemes and in agri-environmental approaches and policies

Interventions to Influence Consulting and Antibiotic Use for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are common in children and generally self-limiting, yet often result in consultations to primary care. Frequent consultations divert resources from care for potentially more serious conditions and increase the opportunity for antibiotic overuse. Overuse of antibiotics is associated with adverse effects and antimicrobial resistance, and has been shown to influence how patients seek care in ensuing illness episodes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of interventions directed towards parents or caregivers which were designed to influence consulting and antibiotic use for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in children in primary care. Main outcomes were parental consulting rate, parental knowledge, and proportion of children subsequently consuming antibiotics. Of 5,714 references, 23 studies (representing 20 interventions) met inclusion criteria. Materials designed to engage children in addition to parents were effective in modifying parental knowledge and behaviour, resulting in reductions in consulting rates ranging from 13 to 40%. Providing parents with delayed prescriptions significantly decreased reported antibiotic use (Risk Ratio (RR) 0.46 (0.40, 0.54); moreover, a delayed or no prescribing approach did not diminish parental satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS: IN ORDER TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE, INTERVENTIONS TO INFLUENCE PARENTAL CONSULTING AND ANTIBIOTIC USE SHOULD: engage children, occur prior to an illness episode, employ delayed prescribing, and provide guidance on specific symptoms. These results support the wider implementation of interventions to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use in children