The wider value of rural rail provision

In the context of recent plans for public sector expenditure, the value for money provided by rural public transport is an important issue in Britain and elsewhere, and one aspect of this is the option and non-use value placed on public transport by residents. Whilst there are a small number of studies which have estimated option and non-use values, they rest largely on contingent valuation methods which are subject to dangers of bias, and concentrate on commuter services into cities rather than truly rural services. This paper seeks to overcome these problems by conducting a Stated Preference (SP) experiment in rural communities, which values the provision of rail services and compares this against Post Office provision. We believe that using this approach, and allowing respondents to compare willingness to pay for rail services with that for another important rural service subject to threatened cuts, should produce more reliable results; moreover we achieve this using self completion questionnaires rather than much more expensive interviews. Our results show much lower values for rail than previous studies, though this is to be expected in truly rural areas where the likelihood of commuting by rail is much lower. Other non-use values are greater than option values in this context

The Drosophila Perlecan gene trol regulates multiple signaling pathways in different developmental contexts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Heparan sulfate proteoglycans modulate signaling by a variety of growth factors. The mammalian proteoglycan Perlecan binds and regulates signaling by Sonic Hedgehog, Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) and Platelet Derived Growth Factor (PDGF), among others, in contexts ranging from angiogenesis and cardiovascular development to cancer progression. The <it>Drosophila </it>Perlecan homolog <it>trol </it>has been shown to regulate the activity of Hedgehog and Branchless (an FGF homolog) to control the onset of stem cell proliferation in the developing brain during first instar. Here we extend analysis of <it>trol </it>mutant phenotypes to show that <it>trol </it>is required for a variety of developmental events and modulates signaling by multiple growth factors in different situations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Different mutations in <it>trol </it>allow developmental progression to varying extents, suggesting that <it>trol </it>is involved in multiple cell-fate and patterning decisions. Analysis of the initiation of neuroblast proliferation at second instar demonstrated that <it>trol </it>regulates this event by modulating signaling by Hedgehog and Branchless, as it does during first instar. Trol protein is distributed over the surface of the larval brain, near the regulated neuroblasts that reside on the cortical surface. Mutations in <it>trol </it>also decrease the number of circulating plasmatocytes. This is likely to be due to decreased expression of <it>pointed</it>, the response gene for VEGF/PDGF signaling that is required for plasmatocyte proliferation. Trol is found on plasmatocytes, where it could regulate VEGF/PDGF signaling. Finally, we show that in second instar brains but not third instar brain lobes and eye discs, mutations in <it>trol </it>affect signaling by Decapentaplegic (a Transforming Growth Factor family member), Wingless (a Wnt growth factor) and Hedgehog.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These studies extend the known functions of the <it>Drosophila </it>Perlecan homolog <it>trol </it>in both developmental and signaling contexts. These studies also highlight the fact that Trol function is not dedicated to a single molecular mechanism, but is capable of regulating different growth factor pathways depending on the cell-type and event underway.</p

Internal representation and factional faultlines as antecedents for board performance in social enterprises

There is an increasing scholarly interest in how social enterprises manage their hybrid nature. As hybrid organizational forms, social enterprises combine mission-driven social goals and revenue generating activities in a variety of organizational constellations and in diverse institutional contexts. Acknowledging the potentially conflicting demands that institutional environments impose on social enterprises there is an increasing research interest in the existence and proliferation of these conflicting demands at the organizational level. Some researchers have pointed to the importance of particular management practices and governance characteristics – such as authority relations and internal representation – as mechanisms to deal with the conflicting demands at the organizational level. This paper adds to this stream of literature by taking into account the organizational level dynamics of internal representation and the proliferation of factional groups in the boards of directors of hybrid organizational forms and their impact on board performance, ultimately influencing the organizational performance

All bereaved parents are entitled to good care after stillbirth: a mixed-methods multicentre study (INSIGHT)

© 2017 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Objective: To understand challenges in care after stillbirth and provide tailored solutions. Design: Multi-centre case study. Setting: Three maternity hospitals. Population: Parents with a stillborn baby, maternity staff. Methods: Thematic analysis of parent interviews and staff focus groups and service provision investigation. Outcomes: 1 Themes; 2 Triangulation matrix; 3 Recommendations. Results: Twenty-one women, 14 partners, and 22 staff participated. Service Provision: Care for parents after stillbirth varies excessively; there are misconceptions; post-mortem does not delay follow-up. Presentation: Women ‘do not feel right’ before stillbirth; their management is haphazard and should be standardised. Diagnosis: Stillbirth is an emergency for parents but not always for staff; communication can seem cold; well-designed bereavement space is critical. Birth: Staff shift priorities to mother and future, but for parents their baby is still a baby; parents are not comfortable with staff recommending vaginal birth as the norm; there are several reasons why parents ask for a caesarean; better care involves clear communication, normal behaviour, and discussion of coping strategies. Post-mortem: Parents are influenced by discussions with staff. Staff should ‘sow seeds’, clarify its respectful nature, delineate its purpose, and explain the timescale. Follow-up: It is not standardised; parents wish to see their multi-professional team. Conclusions: There is unacceptable variation in care after stillbirth, and insensitive interactions between staff and bereaved parents. Understanding parents' needs, including why they ask for caesarean birth, will facilitate joint decision-making. Every bereaved parent is entitled to good, respectful care. Tweetable abstract: Care too varied & interactions often insensitive after stillbirth; national pathway & training urgently needed. Plain Language Summary: Why and how was the study carried out? Previous studies have shown that improving care after stillbirth is important for families. We investigated the opinions of bereaved parents and maternity staff to find ways to improve care. At three hospitals in 2013, all women who experienced a stillbirth were invited to an interview along with their partners. Thirty-five parents of 21 babies agreed to participate. Twenty-two obstetricians and midwives took part in focus group discussions. What were the main findings? Care was often not as good as it should and could be. Communication with parents was not always as sensitive as they would have liked because staff did not have appropriate training. Some women reported they did not ‘feel right’ before going to hospital. Once they arrived, there was no standard approach to how care was given. Sometimes there were long delays before the death of the baby was confirmed and action was taken. After it had been confirmed that the baby had died, staff focussed on the mothers’ needs, but the parents’ priorities were still with their baby. There were several reasons why parents asked for a caesarean birth that staff had not considered. Staff influenced parents’ decisions about post-mortem examinations. Parents found it helpful when staff explained the respectful nature and purpose of the examination. After discharge from hospital, there was no consistent plan for how follow-up care would be given. Parents would have liked more information about their next hospital appointment. What are the limitations of the work? The parents interviewed depended on their memories of the details of the care, which happened some time ago. In staff group discussions, junior doctors may not have spoken openly because there were senior doctors present. Further research is necessary to understand and improve care globally. What is the implication for parents? Every bereaved parent is entitled to the best possible care after stillbirth, but some do not get good care. Parents and staff made suggestions that can help to develop processes for how care is given after stillbirth. These suggestions can also inform staff training, so that every singleparent is treated respectfully and participates in decision making

Stereomammography: Evaluation of depth perception using a virtual 3D cursor

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134910/1/mp9008.pd

Bringing numerous methods for expression and promoter analysis to a public cloud computing service

Every year, a large number of novel algorithms are introduced to the scientific community for a myriad of applications, but using these across different research groups is often troublesome, due to suboptimal implementations and specific dependency requirements. This does not have to be the case, as public cloud computing services can easily house tractable implementations within self-contained dependency environments, making the methods easily accessible to a wider public. We have taken 14 popular methods, the majority related to expression data or promoter analysis, developed these up to a good implementation standard and housed the tools in isolated Docker containers which we integrated into the CyVerse Discovery Environment, making these easily usable for a wide community as part of the CyVerse UK project

Baseline hospital performance and the impact of medical emergency teams: Modelling vs. conventional subgroup analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To compare two approaches to the statistical analysis of the relationship between the baseline incidence of adverse events and the effect of medical emergency teams (METs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from a cluster randomized controlled trial (the MERIT study), we analysed the relationship between the baseline incidence of adverse events and its change from baseline to the MET activation phase using quadratic modelling techniques. We compared the findings with those obtained with conventional subgroup analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using linear and quadratic modelling techniques, we found that each unit increase in the baseline incidence of adverse events in MET hospitals was associated with a 0.59 unit subsequent reduction in adverse events (95%CI: 0.33 to 0.86) after MET implementation and activation. This applied to cardiac arrests (0.74; 95%CI: 0.52 to 0.95), unplanned ICU admissions (0.56; 95%CI: 0.26 to 0.85) and unexpected deaths (0.68; 95%CI: 0.45 to 0.90). Control hospitals showed a similar reduction only for cardiac arrests (0.95; 95%CI: 0.56 to 1.32). Comparison using conventional subgroup analysis, on the other hand, detected no significant difference between MET and control hospitals.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed that, in the MERIT study, when there was dependence of treatment effect on baseline performance, an approach based on regression modelling helped illustrate the nature and magnitude of such dependence while sub-group analysis did not. The ability to assess the nature and magnitude of such dependence may have policy implications. Regression technique may thus prove useful in analysing data when there is a conditional treatment effect.</p

The nonprofit board as a team: Pilot results and initial insights

There is a growing desire for boards of nonprofits to deliver better governance to the organizations they control. Consequently, self-evaluation has become an important tool for nonprofit boards to meet these expectations and demonstrate that they are discharging their responsibilities effectively. This article describes initial results aimed at developing a psychometrically sound, survey-based board evaluation instrument, based on the Team Development Survey (TDS), that assesses the team attributes of an organization’s board. Our results indicate that while constructs applicable to teams generally appear to apply to boards, there are also important differences. We highlight how a perception of board objective clarity, appropriate skills mix, resource availability, and psychological safety were positively and significantly associated with measures of board, management and organizational performance

The ENCODE Project at UC Santa Cruz

The goal of the Encyclopedia Of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project is to identify all functional elements in the human genome. The pilot phase is for comparison of existing methods and for the development of new methods to rigorously analyze a defined 1% of the human genome sequence. Experimental datasets are focused on the origin of replication, DNase I hypersensitivity, chromatin immunoprecipitation, promoter function, gene structure, pseudogenes, non-protein-coding RNAs, transcribed RNAs, multiple sequence alignment and evolutionarily constrained elements. The ENCODE project at UCSC website () is the primary portal for the sequence-based data produced as part of the ENCODE project. In the pilot phase of the project, over 30 labs provided experimental results for a total of 56 browser tracks supported by 385 database tables. The site provides researchers with a number of tools that allow them to visualize and analyze the data as well as download data for local analyses. This paper describes the portal to the data, highlights the data that has been made available, and presents the tools that have been developed within the ENCODE project. Access to the data and types of interactive analysis that are possible are illustrated through supplemental examples

Seeking legitimacy through CSR: Institutional Pressures and Corporate Responses of Multinationals in Sri Lanka

Arguably, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs) are influenced by a wide range of both internal and external factors. Perhaps most critical among the exogenous forces operating on MNEs are those exerted by state and other key institutional actors in host countries. Crucially, academic research conducted to date offers little data about how MNEs use their CSR activities to strategically manage their relationship with those actors in order to gain legitimisation advantages in host countries. This paper addresses that gap by exploring interactions between external institutional pressures and firm-level CSR activities, which take the form of community initiatives, to examine how MNEs develop their legitimacy-seeking policies and practices. In focusing on a developing country, Sri Lanka, this paper provides valuable insights into how MNEs instrumentally utilise community initiatives in a country where relationship-building with governmental and other powerful non-governmental actors can be vitally important for the long-term viability of the business. Drawing on neo-institutional theory and CSR literature, this paper examines and contributes to the embryonic but emerging debate about the instrumental and political implications of CSR. The evidence presented and discussed here reveals the extent to which, and the reasons why, MNEs engage in complex legitimacy-seeking relationships with Sri Lankan institutions