Assessing the Effectiveness of Schools to Safeguard Their Pupil’s Use of Social Media Through an Analysis of School Inspection Reports

While social media remains a facet of life that many children and young people happily engage in, its use comes with some recognised risks and dangers. Parents can feel ill-equipped to support their children with this and there is consequently a reliance on schools to teach children how to use these platforms appropriately. To evaluate the effectiveness of secondary schools in teaching pupils about social media, this study makes use of evidence from Ofsted school inspection reports. Exploiting techniques developed in computer science, the Ofsted web portal was automatically scraped for reports and the content searched for reference to social media. This identified 317 reports which referred to the platforms. The report’s texts were coded through content analysis and subsequently revealed that over 90% of the references to social media contained in inspection reports were positive in reporting that pupils both understood the risks and knew how to describe how to manage their online activities. The results suggest that schools are effective in addressing these safeguarding issues although pupils are not always putting their knowledge into practise

Restructuring and hospital care: Sub-national trends, differentials, and their impacts; New Zealand from 1981

An analysis of the "nation's health" is the central concern of this study. Its genesis was a detailed, technical, time-series research on regional and ethnic differentials in health in New Zealand. But as this work progressed it became increasingly evident that the results of this more narrow analysis could make a wider contribution to the development of a knowledge-base on health trends and on the impacts of policy on these. In a sense, the analysis provides a demographic audit of health trends over the last two decades. The focus here is different from that in most other studies on restructuring of the New Zealand health system as their concern was either to review in detail the rewriting of policy per se, and attendant structural and institutional changes (Fougere 2001), or to identify how these changes relate to changes in mortality (Blakely et al. 2008). The research question reported here was, instead, to analyse the most crucial of health outcomes, „how long we live and how often we end up in hospital‟, identified in the earlier quotation, to report patterns and trends in hospital use nationally and sub-nationally over the period under review, and to determine the degrees to which various sub-populations benefited, or did not benefit, from these changes. The analysis focuses on the hospital sector in the system, but it will also show relations between this and other sectors, formal (e.g. primary health) and less formal (notably the healthcare afforded sickness and invalid beneficiaries). Thus two questions are addressed: 1. whether or not the nation‟s population health improved over the period and; 2. whether or not there was a convergence in patterns of health gain across its constituent sub-populations defined geographically and ethnically. This monograph deals with sub-national differences in health in New Zealand over a period of substantial socio-economic restructuring and associated radical changes in health policy, health systems and their related information systems (see also, Text Appendix A). It complements the recently published analysis of national ethnic trends in mortality (Blakely et al. 2004), but differs in several critical respects. That study reviewed health status by emphasising aetiologies and causes of death. In contrast, the present analysis focuses on actuarial dimensions of both mortality and morbidity and on health as measured by functional capacity rather than the disease orientated „burden of disease‟. It goes beyond health status issues to look at the system itself, to assess whether health policy outcomes were generated more through efficiency-gain (economic or service delivery, such as those resulting in a convergence sub-nationally of supply and demand effects), or through health gains, or ideally, by both. To do this, and as a by-product to analyse changes in health status and the system in an era of restructuring, innovative methodologies and composite time-series indices combining the two dimensions of a „nation‟s health‟, needing hospital care and longevity, have had to be custom-designed. To achieve this objective, the ensuing analysis is often technical, and may introduce concepts that are unfamiliar to some readers. In order to look at possible inequalities of outcome, comparisons were made between regions and ethnic groups, as well as age-groups and genders, and as a result, in places the analysis becomes rather complex

Influence of the TARP γ8-selective negative allosteric modulator JNJ-55511118 on AMPA receptor gating and channel conductance

AMPARs mediate excitatory signaling in the brain and are therapeutic targets for the treatment of diverse neurological disorders. The receptors interact with a variety of auxiliary subunits, including the transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs). The TARPs influence AMPAR biosynthesis and trafficking and enhance receptor responses by slowing desensitization and deactivation and increasing single-channel conductance. TARP γ8 has an expression pattern that is distinct from other TARPs, being enriched in the hippocampus. Recently, several compounds have been identified that selectivity inhibit γ8-containing AMPARs. One such inhibitor, JNJ-55511118, has shown considerable promise for the treatment of epilepsy. However, key details of its mechanism of action are still lacking. Here, using patch-clamp electrophysiological recording from heterologously expressed AMPARs, we show that JNJ-55511118 inhibits peak currents of γ8-containing AMPARs by decreasing their single-channel conductance. The drug also modifies hallmark features of AMPAR pharmacology, including the TARP-dependent actions of intracellular polyamines and the partial agonist kainate. Moreover, we find that JNJ-5551118 reduces the influence of γ8 on all biophysical measures, aside from its effect on the recovery from desensitization. The drug is also effective when applied intracellularly, suggesting it may access its binding site from within the membrane. Additionally, we find that AMPARs incorporating TARP γ2 mutated to contain the JNJ-55511118 binding site, exhibit greater block than seen with AMPARs containing γ8, potentially reflecting differences in TARP stoichiometry. Taken together, our data provide new insight into the mechanism by which γ8-selective drugs inhibit AMPARs

The impact of the internet of things on mobile workers

Ongoing developments in digital, computer, and communication technologies are likely to have profound long-term consequences for the nature of work and employment (Brynjolfsson & McAfee 2016). One significant area of development concerns the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT can be described as everyday objects, such as cars, fridges or watches, having internet connectivity allowing them to send and receive data. The IoT is predicted to be a major IT-enabled business trend over the next 10 years. Peppet (2014) suggests the potential for 200 billion connected devices by 2020 and a trillion by 2025, and Mishra et al. (2016) note that according to McKinsey (2013), IoT has a potential global economic impact of $36 trillion. A recent Computing (2016) report indicates that in the UK, applications of the IoT in work settings are most likely to involve the use of tracking devices for internal deployment to achieve cost optimization. For example, an English county police force are deploying an IoT platform to create connected vehicles and 4G streaming cameras that are lightweight and wearable and can stream high definition video. Internet-connected police cars allow police officers to use laptops, mobile phones and tablet computers in their vehicles giving them access to important information while working remotely (Palmer, 2015). Thus, the IoT has the potential to have significant impacts on the organization and management of mobile workers. This study will examine the impact of IoT technologies on mobile work in UK organizations. The main emphasis of the project is to develop user-centric considerations of digital technologies to counterbalance techno-centric research on this topic: the users in this study are defined as both organizations and individual workers. This is partly because various concerns have been raised regarding surveillance implications of these technologies for workers (O’Connor, 2015). This exploratory study has two aims: 1) to understand organizational drivers for the adoption of IoT for mobile work; 2) to explore how IoT technologies impact on mobile workers

Laser-induced thermal stress and the heat shock response in neural cells

Background The Ho: YAG laser is used extensively in orthopedic surgery. It offers a minimally invasive method of ablating tissue with precision. Previous studies have explored the effects of laser use on temperature during experimental foraminoplasty. To date, there has been limited work on the effects of thermal stress on cells in this context. Material and methods Cells were exposed either to heated medium or the Ho: YAG laser in the high-power mode. Heated medium was used as a stressor by (I) exposing groups of cells to a constant temperature of 45°C for varying lengths of time: 5, 10, 15 and 20 min, and (II) exposing cells for a fixed length of time (5 min) to varying temperatures: 45°C, 55°C, 65°C with a control treated at 37°C. A third group was subjected to direct laser treatment. The effects of the treatments were assessed using trypan blue staining as a measure of viability and immunocytochemistry was used to measure changes in heat shock protein (HSP) expression. Results There was a negative correlation between cell viability and HSP expression, and between cell viability and the severity of the treatment. Interpretation Our findings suggest a possible role for the Ho: YAG laser in spinal foraminoplasty based on the high level of cell viability in the treatment regimen that most closely mirrored the clinical application of the laser

Enhanced functional detection of synaptic calcium-permeable AMPA receptors using intracellular NASPM

Calcium-permeable AMPA-type glutamate receptors (CP-AMPARs) contribute to many forms of synaptic plasticity and pathology. They can be distinguished from GluA2-containing calcium-impermeable AMPARs by the inward rectification of their currents, which reflects voltage-dependent channel block by intracellular spermine. However, the efficacy of this weakly permeant blocker is differentially altered by the presence of AMPAR auxiliary subunits - including transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins, cornichons and GSG1L - which are widely expressed in neurons and glia. This complicates the interpretation of rectification as a measure of CP-AMPAR expression. Here we show that inclusion of the spider toxin analogue 1‑naphthylacetyl spermine (NASPM) in the intracellular solution results in complete block of GluA1-mediated outward currents irrespective of the type of associated auxiliary subunit. In neurons from GluA2-knockout mice expressing only CP-AMPARs, intracellular NASPM, unlike spermine, completely blocks outward synaptic currents. Thus, our results identify a functional measure of CP-AMPARs, that is unaffected by their auxiliary subunit content

Molecular mechanisms contributing to TARP regulation of channel conductance and polyamine block of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors.

Many properties of fast synaptic transmission in the brain are influenced by transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs) that modulate the pharmacology and gating of AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). Although much is known about TARP influence on AMPAR pharmacology and kinetics through their modulation of the extracellular ligand-binding domain (LBD), less is known about their regulation of the ion channel region. TARP-induced modifications in AMPAR channel behavior include increased single-channel conductance and weakened block of calcium-permeable AMPARs (CP-AMPARs) by endogenous intracellular polyamines. To investigate how TARPs modify ion flux and channel block, we examined the action of γ-2 (stargazin) on GluA1 and GluA4 CP-AMPARs. First, we compared the permeation of organic cations of different sizes. We found that γ-2 increased the permeability of several cations but not the estimated AMPAR pore size, suggesting that TARP-induced relief of polyamine block does not reflect altered pore diameter. Second, to determine whether residues in the TARP intracellular C-tail regulate polyamine block and channel conductance, we examined various γ-2 C-tail mutants. We identified the membrane proximal region of the C terminus as crucial for full TARP-attenuation of polyamine block, whereas complete deletion of the C-tail markedly enhanced the TARP-induced increase in channel conductance; thus, the TARP C-tail influences ion permeation. Third, we identified a site in the pore-lining region of the AMPAR, close to its Q/R site, that is crucial in determining the TARP-induced changes in single-channel conductance. This conserved residue represents a site of TARP action, independent of the AMPAR LBD

An Unexpectedly Broad Thermal and Salinity-Tolerant Estuarine Methanogen Community

Moderately thermophilic (Tmax, ~55 °C) methanogens are identified after extended enrichments from temperate, tropical and low-temperature environments. However, thermophilic methanogens with higher growth temperatures (Topt ≥ 60 °C) are only reported from high-temperature environments. A microcosm-based approach was used to measure the rate of methane production and methanogen community structure over a range of temperatures and salinities in sediment from a temperate estuary. We report short-term incubations (<48 h) revealing methanogens with optimal activity reaching 70 °C in a temperate estuary sediment (in situ temperature 4–5 °C). While 30 °C enrichments amended with acetate, H2 or methanol selected for corresponding mesophilic trophic groups, at 60 °C, only hydrogenotrophs (genus Methanothermobacter) were observed. Since these methanogens are not known to be active under in situ temperatures, we conclude constant dispersal from high temperature habitats. The likely provenance of the thermophilic methanogens was studied by enrichments covering a range of temperatures and salinities. These enrichments indicated that the estuarine sediment hosted methanogens encompassing the global activity envelope of most cultured species. We suggest that estuaries are fascinating sink and source environments for microbial function study

Public service innovation and multiple institutional logics: the case of hybrid social enterprise providers of health and wellbeing

Public sector organisations are confronted with growing health and social care needs in combination with severe resource constraints, prompting interest in innovative responses to such challenges. Public service and social innovation is poorly understood, particularly where innovators must navigate between the norms, practices and logics of public, private and civil society sectors. We contribute to the understanding of how innovating hybrid organisations are able to creatively combine co-existing logics. Case study evidence from newly established social enterprise providers of health and wellbeing services in England is utilised to examine how innovations are shaped by (i) an incumbent state or public sector logic, and two ‘challenger’ logics relating to (ii) the market and increasing competition; and (iii) civil society, emphasising social value and democratic engagement with employees and service users. The analysis shows how a more fluid and creative interplay of logics can be observed in relation to specific strategies and practices. Within organisations, these strategies relate to the empowerment of staff to be creative, financial management, and knowledge sharing and protection. The interplay of logics shaping social innovation is also found in relationships with key stakeholders, notably public sector funders, service users and service delivery partners. Implications are drawn for innovation in public services and hybrid organisations more broadly

TARP γ-7 selectively enhances synaptic expression of calcium-permeable AMPARs

Regulation of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors (CP-AMPARs) is crucial in normal synaptic function and neurological disease states. Although transmembrane AMPAR regulatory proteins (TARPs) such as stargazin (γ-2) modulate the properties of calcium-impermeable AMPARs (CI-AMPARs) and promote their synaptic targeting, the TARP-specific rules governing CP-AMPAR synaptic trafficking remain unclear. We used RNA interference to manipulate AMPAR-subunit and TARP expression in γ-2–lacking stargazer cerebellar granule cells—the classic model of TARP deficiency. We found that TARP γ-7 selectively enhanced the synaptic expression of CP-AMPARs and suppressed CI-AMPARs, identifying a pivotal role of γ-7 in regulating the prevalence of CP-AMPARs. In the absence of associated TARPs, both CP-AMPARs and CI-AMPARs were able to localize to synapses and mediate transmission, although their properties were altered. Our results also establish that TARPed synaptic receptors in granule cells require both γ-2 and γ-7 and reveal an unexpected basis for the loss of AMPAR-mediated transmission in stargazer mice