Connecting key competencies and social inquiry in primary social studies pedagogy: initial teacher education students' planning decisions and reflections.

Over 2007-2009 we have worked with the national curriculum's key competencies to establish their place and purpose in the social sciences learning area. As a result, our initial teacher education (ITE) primary social studies programmes involve pedagogy that conceives key competencies as analogous to social inquiry thinking and skills processes. Our team was keen to research ways ITE students identify and embed key competencies in their social inquiry planning decisions. The research also sought student reflection of how engagement with key competencies might influence their future social studies teaching and learning. The article offers a storying of ways the curriculum element of key competencies has been developed, implemented, researched and reflected upon within ITE primary social studies curriculum

Seasonal changes in stratification and oxygen content of a eutrophic lake, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky

Wilgreen Lake (Madison County, Kentucky) is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as nutrient-impaired. The overabundance of nutrients is likely linked to the land-use practices in this area. Cattle pasture, residential developments served by septic systems, and urban/industrial areas lie in the lake’s watershed. We have studied the lake for two years to characterize its physical and chemical characteristics, and to identify nutrient sources. The 2007 field season began in March and continued through October. We measured temperature and oxygen levels along with other parameters at 1-meter depth intervals at 19 stations distributed along the length of the lake and within its tributaries. Oxygen and temperature values were plotted on lake cross sections to show seasonal changes from March to October. The lake was essentially unstratified in March but was stratified by April. Stratification persisted to the end of the field season in October. The thermocline set up between 3 and 4 meters for the duration of summer with little variation. Peak anoxia occurred in July with anoxic waters spanning about 6 meters to bottom; disoxic waters (up to 2 mL/L oxygen) occurred from the thermocline downward to the anoxic boundary. WilgreenLakeis a typical eutrophic lake. Heating in the spring leads to stratification. Phytoplankton growth in the photic zone yields organic matter to the lake’s lower layer and sediments. Here oxygen demand created by decomposition in both the water column and sediments of the lake causes disoxia and anoxia. Over the past two field seasons we have seen no increase in the amount of anoxic or disoxic waters. One of our aims in measuring the temperature and oxygenation of the lake so thoroughly is to detect any changes in the future. Continued nutrient loading may alter the characteristics of the lake and our study offers an effective comparison point

Introduction: Re-examining criminal process through the lens of integrity

Criminal proceedings, it is often now said, ought to be conducted with integrity. But what, exactly, does it mean for criminal process to have, or to lack, 'integrity'? Is integrity in this sense merely an aspirational normative ideal, with possibly diffuse influence on conceptions of professional responsibility? Or is it also a juridical concept with robust institutional purchase and enforceable practical consequences in criminal litigation? The 16 new essays contained in this collection, written by prominent legal scholars and criminologists from Australia, Hong Kong, the UK and the USA, engage systematically with - and seek to generate further debate about - the theoretical and practical significance of 'integrity' at all stages of the criminal process. Reflecting the flexibility and scope of a putative 'integrity principle', the essays range widely over many of the most hotly contested issues in contemporary criminal justice theory, policy and practice, including: the ethics of police investigations, charging practice and discretionary enforcement; prosecutorial independence, policy and operational decision-making; plea bargaining; the perils of witness coaching and accomplice testimony; expert evidence; doctrines of admissibility and abuse of process; lay participation in criminal adjudication; the role of remorse in criminal trials; the ethics of appellate judgment writing; innocence projects; and state compensation for miscarriages of justice

The role of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 in the regulation of the stress inducible transcription factor, nuclear factor kappa-B

The stress inducible transcription factor, NF-κB, induces genes involved in proliferation and apoptosis. Aberrant NF-κB activity is common in cancer and contributes to therapeutic-resistance. Moreover, constitutive NF-κB activation has been shown to contribute to malignant progression through the regulation of gene expression. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is activated during DNA strand break repair and is a known transcriptional co-regulator. The role of PARP-1 function during NF-κB activation using siRNA knockdown of either p65 or PARP-1, or the potent PARP-1 inhibitor, AG-014699, was investigated. Survival and apoptosis assays showed that NF- кB p65-/- mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were more sensitive to ionising radiation (IR) than p65+/+ MEFs. Co-incubation with p65 siRNA, PARP siRNA or AG-014699 radio-sensitised p65+/+, but not p65-/- MEFs, demonstrating that PARP-1 mediates its effects on survival via NF-κB. Furthermore, a combination of p65 siRNA and AG- 014699 radio-sensitised p65+/+ MEFs to the same extent as either agent alone, strongly indicating that PARP-1 and NF-κB are mechanistically linked. PARP-1 is known to be vital for the repair of single strand breaks (SSBs). SSB repair kinetics, and the effect SSB repair inhibition by AG-014699 were similar in p65+/+ and p65-/- cells. Since inhibition of SSB repair did not radio-sensitise p65-/- cells, these data show that radiosensitisation by AG-014699 is due to downstream inhibition of NF-kB activation, and independent of SSB repair inhibition. PARP-1 catalytic activity was essential for IRinduced p65 DNA binding and NF-κB-dependent gene transcription, whereas for TNF- α treated cells, PARP-1 protein alone was sufficient. It can therefore be hypothesised that this stimulus-dependent differential is mediated via stimulation of the Poly(ADPribose) (PAR) polymer, which was induced following IR, not TNF-α. Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (PARG) is the major enzyme responsible for the catabolism of the PAR polymer. In order to inhibit degradation of the PAR polymer a potent and specific PARG inhibitor was used. Increased polymer stability following IR, by virtue of inhibition of polymer degradation, led to the persistence of NF-κB DNA binding, an increase in anti-apoptotic gene expression and a protection against IR-induced cell death. These data confirm a role for the PAR polymer in the activation of NF-κB following DNA damage. Microarray analysis showed that the TNF-α driven transcription of NF-κBdependent inflammatory and immune response genes was unaffected by AG-014699, 4 suggesting that targeting DNA-damage activated NF-κB using AG-014699 may overcome toxicity observed with classical NF-κB inhibitors without compromising other vital inflammatory functions. An investigation into the role of PARP-1 in DNA damage activated NF-κB activation in glioblastoma cells was also undertaken to assess the potential utility of AG-014699 in tumour types known to express constitutively active NF-κB. PARP-1 activity was vital for both radio- and chemo-sensitisation of U251 glioblastoma cells, and in IR- or temozolomide- treated cells, PARP-1 mediated its effects on survival via NF-κB. Importantly, these data confirm the findings in the MEFs by demonstrating that radio- or chemo-sensitisation by AG-014699 is due to downstream inhibition of NF-kB activation, and independent of SSB repair inhibition. Hence, these data highlight the potential of PARP-1 inhibitors to overcome NF-κBmediated therapeutic resistance and widens the spectrum of cancers in which these agents may be utilised. The therapeutic potential of a potent inhibitor of NF-κB subunit DNA binding, PBS- 1086, was also assessed in the NF-κB p65+/+ and p65-/- MEFs and the MDA-MB-231, T47D and MCF7 breast cancer cell lines. DNA binding and luciferase reporter assays showed that PBS-1086 inhibited IR-induced p65 and p50 DNA binding and NF-κBdependent gene transcription in p65+/+ cells. Co-incubation with PBS-1086 or p65 siRNA radio-sensitised p65+/+, but not p65-/- cells, demonstrating that PBS-1086 mediates radio-sensitisation via the p65 NF-κB subunit. Gene expression analysis showed that PBS-1086 inhibited IR-induced transcription of known NF-κB-regulated anti-apoptotic genes. MDA-MB-231 cells were found to have the highest constitutive levels of DNA binding of all NF-κB subunits. PBS-1086 radio-sensitised all three breast cancer cell lines. In survival assays, all breast cancer cell lines tested were also sensitive to PBS-1086, however, MDA-MB-231 cells were the most sensitive to PBS-1086 alone. Thus, high NF-κB DNA binding activity appears to correlate with sensitivity to PBS- 1086. Collectively these data highlight the potential of modulating NF-κB activity, either by PARP-1, or directly via inhibition of subunit DNA binding, to restore radioand chemo-sensitivity in cancers with aberrantly active NF-κB, and to overcome NF-κB mediated therapeutic resistance.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceCancer Research UKGBUnited Kingdo

Self-Directed Support: A Review of the Barriers and Facilitators

This is a report on the published literature on the barriers and facilitators of self- directed support. It was undertaken to inform a research study funded by the Scottish Government 2009-2011 that is evaluating initiatives in three local authorities. These initiatives aim to improve take up of self-directed support for people eligible for social care and other public funds. The three test site areas are working to reduce bureaucracy; to make the processes easy and 'light touch'; and to provide training and leadership to people working on these developments. Scottish Government has provided extra money to assist these three authorities and to help people in other areas learn from their experiences

Theory-based predictors of multiple clinician behaviors in the management of diabetes

Peer reviewedPostprin

From transformative learning to social change? Using action research to explore and improve informal complaints management in an NHS trust

Background: The number of complaints concerning aspects of care from patients and/or carers have increased over time. Yet, in spite of a growing body of national and international literature on health care complaints there is a lack of knowledge around how nurses and midwives manage informal complaints at ward level, or staff needs in relation to this. Aim: Using an Action research (AR) approach with mixed methods, four phases and four cycles, the aim was to explore informal complaints management by nurses and midwives at ward level. We discuss the AR process primarily in connection with learning and service change, drawing from the qualitative data in this paper. Findings: The analysis of the collected qualitative data resulted in three main themes related to the complexities of complaints and complaints management, staff support needs and the existing ambiguous complaints systems which are hard for both staff and servicer users to negotiate. The AR approach facilitated learning and change in participants in relation to views on complaints management, and the main issues around complaints management in the collaborating trust. Conclusions: The extant body of research on complaints does not sufficiently recognise the complexity of complaints and informal complaints management or the complaints systems in place. Needs based staff training can help support staff to manage informal complaints more effectively

Diabetes care provision in UK primary care practices

Background: Although most people with Type 2 diabetes receive their diabetes care in primary care, only a limited amount is known about the quality of diabetes care in this setting. We investigated the provision and receipt of diabetes care delivered in UK primary care. Methods: Postal surveys with all healthcare professionals and a random sample of 100 patients with Type 2 diabetes from 99 UK primary care practices. Results: 326/361 (90.3%) doctors, 163/186 (87.6%) nurses and 3591 patients (41.8%) returned a questionnaire. Clinicians reported giving advice about lifestyle behaviours (e.g. 88% would routinely advise about calorie restriction; 99.6% about increasing exercise) more often than patients reported having received it (43% and 42%) and correlations between clinician and patient report were low. Patients’ reported levels of confidence about managing their diabetes were moderately high; a median (range) of 21% (3% to 39%) of patients reporting being not confident about various areas of diabetes selfmanagement. Conclusions: Primary care practices have organisational structures in place and are, as judged by routine quality indicators, delivering high quality care. There remain evidence-practice gaps in the care provided and in the self confidence that patients have for key aspects of self management and further research is needed to address these issues. Future research should use robust designs and appropriately designed studies to investigate how best to improve this situation

Nutrient and fecal microbe sources for a eutrophic lake and recommended remediation steps, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky

Wilgreen Lake is a man-made lake, classified as nutrient-impaired (303d list) by the EPA and State of Kentucky. The lake drains a watershed with residential developments, cattle pasture, modified woodlands, and some industrial/urban usage in the city of Richmond. The principal tributaries are Taylor Fork and Old Town Branch that meet to form the trunk of the lake approximately one mile in length. The upper reaches of Taylor Fork are adjacent to a densely-packed (quarter-acre lots) housing development with septic systems, and its watershed drains some portions of southern Richmond. Old Town Branch drains cattle pasture and residential areas of moderate to large lot size. An intermittent tributary flowing into Pond Cove drains cattle pasture and one small housing development. Fecal material contributes both nutrients and microbes to Wilgreen Lake. Both cattle and human fecal material enter the lake as documented by high fecal microbes counts and DNA tracing techniques. DNA tracing methods are limited by our sampling frequency but show that bovine Bacteroides microbes dominate water samples even at loci where suspected septic effluent enters the lake. The nitrogen isotopic composition (d15N) of lake plankton and algae are broadly consistent with nitrogen input from human fecal material, but results are equivocal. We suspect that large amounts of nutrients do enter the lake through septic groundwater input, however, the strong bovine signal clearly suggests deployment of remediation methods that would limit runoff from pastures adjacent to Wilgreen Lake and within its watershed. Such methods include fencing cattle off from drainages and the lake, and planting vegetative buffers around stream and lake margins. Our data alone cannot justify elimination of septic systems by costly implementation of a sewage treatment system