Proceedings of the MEVTV Workshop on The Evolution of Magma Bodies on Mars

The workshop focused on many of the diverse approaches related to the evolution of magma bodies on Mars that have been pursued during the course of the Mars Evolution of Volcanism, Tectonism, and Volatiles (MEVTV) Program. Approximately 35 scientists from the Mars volcanology, petrology, geochemistry, and modeling communities attended. Segments of the meeting concentrated of laboratory analyses and investigations of SNC meteorites, the interpretation of Viking Orbiter and Lander datasets, and the interpretation of computer codes that model volcanic and tectonic processes on Mars. Abstracts of these reports are presented

BRACKEN (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn) STAND CHARACTERISATION ON THE NORTH YORK MOORS: A STUDY OF THE RHIZOME AND FROND SYSTEM WITH REGARD TO A LARGE SCALE CONTROL PROGRAMME

Merged with duplicate record 10026.1/777 on 15.02.2017 by CS (TIS)Large-scale rhizome sampling on the North York Moors together with an assessment of published bracken sampling protocols concluded that small-scale sampling of the rhizome system is inadequate to describe upland bracken stands accurately. It is also concluded that the frond cannot be used as an indicator of the rhizome system before or after treatment to achieve bracken control. An improved sampling strategy is proposed which increases the reliability of data collected and the validity of any conclusions drawn form such data. The structure of bracken rhizome systems, from separate stands on the North York Moors, were found to be distinct from one another and demonstrated intrinsic variation which could affect a differential response to control. The most important components of the rhizome system, when considering chemical control using asulam are: the number of buds likely to remain viable afterwards; the rhizome biomass which may effect herbicide dilution; and the origin of frond production which may affect herbicide distribution. The effect of asulam was to cause severe localised damage to buds and apices detectable one year after treatment but the rhizome dry weight remained unaffected. In one instance asulam appeared to have a stimulatory effect on bracken by breaking bud dormancy, this was related to the characteristics of the stand before treatment. It is recommended that the use of asulam is restricted to pioneer or building stands which have a high number of active buds in relation to dormant buds, and a low rhizome dry weight. Crushing bracken once a year effected a temporary reduction in rhizome dry weight, and an increase in frond number (which could improve asulam absorption). A combination of crushing and asulam reduced both bud number and rhizome dry weight and was thus the most successful treatment studied for reduction of bracken vigour. In particular, stands adjacent to valued plant communities should be targeted for control. It is suggested that bilberry could be used as a buffer zone between heather and invading bracken. The use of large-scale bracken control programmes in upland regions was questioned due to the apparent ineffectiveness of asulam on the rhizome system, and the difficulty of implementing a programme of successful follow-up and after-care management. A broad classification of upland bracken, based on the rhizome, was recognised, and general models of selective bracken control suggested, by evaluation of the rhizome system with regard to the number of dormant and active buds, and the rhizome dry weight.The North York Moors National Par

The experiences of relatives of people with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) of the condition and associated social and health care services

Context: ABI can arise from many causes and is a significant issue for long-term care. Developments in health care have meant that many more people with ABI are living longer, some with complex needs arising from their brain injury. The consequences of injury are generally long-term, even lifelong. Family members of people with ABI are significant to their rehabilitation, support and care, and research has identified many of the challenges they face. Objective: This paper reports work to survey the views of family members of people with ABI to ascertain their experience of the condition and their views and experience of related health and social care services. Method: An online survey was distributed via ABI networks to family members of individuals affected by ABI. One hundred ten respondents ranked the difficulties met by their relative living with an ABI and rated the services they had encountered. A series of open questions enabled respondents to provide greater detail regarding their experience and knowledge. Findings: The key findings are that relationships between the injured and non-injured parties change, alterations to roles and responsibilities are difficult and mediated via unending and complex grief. Relatives reported poor levels of involvement in decisions regarding the provision of social and health care services, a failure to be given good, accurate information in a timely fashion and the need to ‘fight’ for virtually any service provided. Service provision, particularly post-hospital discharge, was very regularly criticized for being either entirely absent, unaware of the impact of brain injury, failing to take account of actual functioning and/or structured in ways that are not concomitant with the needs of the injured person or the relative. Lack of knowledge of the impact of ABI by non-specialist staff and services is particularly highlighted as a barrier to progress and an added burden for relatives to contend with. Social work in particular was commented upon most negatively, most often for a failure to understand the condition and needs. Valued services and professionals are noted to be humane, knowledgeable about ABI, aware of the impact ABI has on the non-injured relative and able to act as a single ‘one-stop’ focal point for service provision. Limitations: As a self-selecting cohort of respondents to an online survey the work is not necessarily generalisable to the population as a whole. The findings, however, provide important considerations for improving social and health care services for people with ABI and the key relatives involved in supporting them. Implications: Commissioners and providers of social and health care services ought to work more closely with family members of people living with ABI. Services and individual practitioners need to be more knowledgeable about the likely functional outcomes of ABI, in particular the impact of invisible impairments to cognition and executive functioning. Relatives identify the benefit of good quality, accurate information and of a knowledgeable single point of contact across time and setting. Knowledge of ABI, of neurorehabilitation and of the impact of ABI upon family members by social workers is noted to be poor and attention to this may help with people’s rehabilitation and to prevent unnecessary additional carer burden

From the horse's mouth: how people talk about voice and silence at work

The overall aim of this research was to address the core problem that organisations appear to make decisions based on incomplete information. Although many organisations invite their staff to give voice, people may choose to remain silent at work and not voice their opinions, comments and suggestions. This research tried to shed some light on this problem by asking how people talk about voice and silence at work and by investigating the conditions under which they speak out or keep quiet. This research project, which used Morrison's (2011) definition and model of employee voice as a conceptual framework, was conducted from a Critical Realist perspective and adopted a Mixed Methods approach in order to triangulate the data across the project. Study One used Q Method to gather data from 80 working adults who completed an on-line survey by rank-ordering 50 statements about voice and silence at work. The data were analysed using Centroid Factor Analysis and the factors identified were then orthogonally rotated to produce 5 factors that, together, accounted for 48% of the common variance in respondents' viewpoints. These factors described the benefits of voice, the risks attached to speaking out, the problems of thinking differently, the value of sharing knowledge and the importance of having good ideas. Study Two explored these factors further and used Thematic Analysis to interpret the data from interviews with 15 participants who worked at various levels for a UK trade union and professional body. This analysis produced 5 main themes, which described how key people and a climate of sensitivity affected voice, how voice moved around the organisation in unpredictable ways, how voice could be packaged to get it heard, how senior managers, long servers and people with certain dispositions were heard more, and how being heard or unheard impacted on people's behaviour and, by inference, on the organisation as a whole. The main implications of this research for work organisations and occupational psychologists are that the climate of the workplace and the systems and processes in place for voice could mean that certain types of people and certain sorts of messages are heard more readily than others. This could lead organisations to make decisions based on incomplete information and could lead to the disengagement of those people who are not heard. Future research is recommended into the influence of context and individual differences on voice, and the impact on people at work when their voice is not welcomed

Bailout Strategists: Thinking through Philanthropy in a Time of Troubles

As the global economy spirals into the unknown, fiscal certainty remains hard to come by in the region, especially when it comes to issues of social justice and support for the underprivileged. It’s hard to hear marginalized communities over the din of big banks and corporate CEOs. Increasingly, philanthropic organizations are being relied upon to fill the gap between having and needing, but can we expect philanthropy to thrive given predictions of darkening financial gloom? Vivek Shandas recently sat down with the principals from two local foundations outside the mainstream to learn about their strategies for success. Marjory Hamman is Executive Director of the Mackenzie River Gathering Foundation (MRG), a community- supported foundation that funds work on social, environmental, and economic justice in Oregon

In silico regulatory analysis for exploring human disease progression

© 2008 Holloway et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Classifying transcription factor targets and discovering relevant biological features

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An important goal in post-genomic research is discovering the network of interactions between transcription factors (TFs) and the genes they regulate. We have previously reported the development of a supervised-learning approach to TF target identification, and used it to predict targets of 104 transcription factors in yeast. We now include a new sequence conservation measure, expand our predictions to include 59 new TFs, introduce a web-server, and implement an improved ranking method to reveal the biological features contributing to regulation. The classifiers combine 8 genomic datasets covering a broad range of measurements including sequence conservation, sequence overrepresentation, gene expression, and DNA structural properties.</p> <p>Principal Findings</p> <p>(1) Application of the method yields an amplification of information about yeast regulators. The ratio of total targets to previously known targets is greater than 2 for 11 TFs, with several having larger gains: Ash1(4), Ino2(2.6), Yaf1(2.4), and Yap6(2.4).</p> <p>(2) Many predicted targets for TFs match well with the known biology of their regulators. As a case study we discuss the regulator Swi6, presenting evidence that it may be important in the DNA damage response, and that the previously uncharacterized gene YMR279C plays a role in DNA damage response and perhaps in cell-cycle progression.</p> <p>(3) A procedure based on recursive-feature-elimination is able to uncover from the large initial data sets those features that best distinguish targets for any TF, providing clues relevant to its biology. An analysis of Swi6 suggests a possible role in lipid metabolism, and more specifically in metabolism of ceramide, a bioactive lipid currently being investigated for anti-cancer properties.</p> <p>(4) An analysis of global network properties highlights the transcriptional network hubs; the factors which control the most genes and the genes which are bound by the largest set of regulators. Cell-cycle and growth related regulators dominate the former; genes involved in carbon metabolism and energy generation dominate the latter.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Postprocessing of regulatory-classifier results can provide high quality predictions, and feature ranking strategies can deliver insight into the regulatory functions of TFs. Predictions are available at an online web-server, including the full transcriptional network, which can be analyzed using VisAnt network analysis suite.</p> <p>Reviewers</p> <p>This article was reviewed by Igor Jouline, Todd Mockler(nominated by Valerian Dolja), and Sandor Pongor.</p

Acquired brain injury: the lived experience of family members

Family members are themselves affected by the impact of Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) upon their relatives and they play an important role in the rehabilitation and long term support required. The study aims to understand how families are impacted and their views on the formal and informal support received directly or indirectly as a consequence of the ABI. To date there has been very little research undertaken by social workers in relation to ABI and/or the experience of family members. A mixed methods research design was employed to capture the lived experience of family members of people with ABI. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data were triangulated against the literature. An online survey was completed by 110 relatives of people with an ABI, seeking their experience of the condition, its impact upon their lives and their views of services. The results of the survey were collated and organised in SPSS (version 24). Non-parametric Spearman’s Rho Correlations (non-parametric test) were performed upon the results. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 family members of people with severe ABI to ascertain the family members’ experience of their relatives’ condition, its impact upon them and their views of the associated formal and informal support received. Inductive thematic analysis of the transcribed interview data was undertaken to identify themes. The quantitative element of the research identified strong correlations between the relative’s assessment of the invisible impairments suffered by those with an ABI (cognitive, executive, behavioural and emotional difficulties) and lack of insight. This correlation was not present in relation to physical impairment. It was observed that increased loss of insight and behavioural difficulties were strongly correlated with loss of friendships by the non-injured family member. The results of the inductive thematic analysis identified 7 themes which were: 1: The Context 2: The All-Encompassing Challenge 3: Family Loss and Grief 4: The Unavoidable Burden 5: The Poor Experience of Support 6: Positive Support and Change 7: The Curator of Narrative The research identified that family members’ experience is complex and enduring, encompassing most aspects of life, and is affected by the context in which it occurs as well as by formal and informal support structures. The particular nature of the grief and loss experienced by families is ambiguous, develops over time and leads to ambivalent feelings for family members who perceive no option but to remain involved. Informal and formal support frequently fails to take account of the reality and complexity of the condition and fails to integrate the relative by recognising their own losses and trauma. Relatives’ views on the services received identified significant gaps in practitioner knowledge, most especially of those aspects of life that were of most concern to them, the invisible impairments and issues with insight. Practitioners that were valued were more likely to be specialists in the condition and practiced as “expert companions” supporting the relative to develop a new “neuro-narrative” to reconstruct their identity in the face of their ongoing grief. The specific nature of the condition requires such an approach if input is to be effective. Greater understanding of the complex lived experience of family members may support more effective responses to both them and the individual with ABI, integrating services and families to improve quality-of-life. As ABI is a process with changes to functioning developing over time, the information and knowledge required by loving and supportive relatives needs to be created with them, being person-, family-, injury-and-context-specific

CINEMATHERAPY AND FILM AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL IN UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHIATRY TEACHING: A CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Film possesses an extraordinary power and offers an unrivalled medium for entertainment and escapism. There are many films that revolve around a mental illness theme and the medical specialty that most commonly features in motion picture is psychiatry. Over the last few decades films have become increasingly used as an educational tool in the teaching of psychiatry topics such as mental state examination to undergraduate students. Above and beyond its utility in pedagogy, film also has the power to heal and the term cinematherapy has been coined to reflect this. Indeed, there are case studies of people with first-hand experience of psychopathology who report that watching films with a mental illness theme has contributed to their recovery. We provide a first person narrative from an individual with schizophrenia in which he expounds on the concepts of cinematherpy and metaphorical imagery in films which theme on psychosis