Use of a physiological profile to document upper limb motor impairment in ageing and in neurological conditions

Profiling performance in the physiological domains underpinning upper limb function (such as strength, sensation, coordination) provides insight into an individual's specific impairments. This compliments the traditional medical ‘diagnosis’ model that is currently used in contemporary medicine. From an initial battery of 13 tests in which data were collected across the adult lifespan (n = 367, 20–95 years) and in those with neurological conditions (specifically, multiple sclerosis (n = 40), Parkinson's disease (n = 34), and stroke (n = 50)), six tests were selected to comprise a core upper limb physiological profile assessment (PPA). This comprised measures of handgrip strength, simple reaction time, finger dexterity, tactile sensation, bimanual coordination, and a functional task. Individual performance in each of these tests can be compared to a reference population score (devised from our database of healthy individuals aged under 60 years), informing the researcher or clinician how to best direct an intervention or treatment for the individual based on their specific impairment(s). Lastly, a composite score calculated from the average performance across the six tests provides a broad overview of an individual's overall upper limb function. Collectively, the upper limb PPA highlights specific impairments that are prevalent within distinct pathologies and reveals the magnitude of upper limb motor impairment specific to each condition. (Figure presented.)

Climate effects and stature since 1800

During the last 30 years, economic and social historians have collected and analysed large amounts of anthropometric data in order to explore key aspects of the human past. Attention has also been devoted to the examination of factors that can exert an influence on stature. This article outlines the different ways in which climate might influence stature, either directly or indirectly. It then uses Geographical Information System (GIS) software to explore the relationship between variations in temperature and precipitation and the average heights of men in France, India, Mexico, Spain and the United States (US) over the last two centuries. It is possible to observe an influence of climate on stature in some countries, especially during the nineteenth century, but the relationship weakens across time and largely disappears in recent decades. The attenuation of this relationship is attributed to a process of “technophysio evolution” as countries modernised and developed economically

Silenced encounters: an affective history of accessing abortion in Alberta, 1969-1988

This thesis is an affective history of abortion as told through the memories from four individuals; two retired medical practitioners who sat on Therapeutic Abortion Committees (TACs) and two women who accessed abortion services in Alberta between 1969 and 1988. Further, my analysis of access to abortion focuses not only on the convoluted history of reproductive services in Alberta but also draws attention to the communities of affect that circulate between individual agents such as between the medical practitioner and the patient, the narrator and the interviewer, and also the dialogue that often ensues in casual encounters where the topic of abortion is discussed. Through focusing on the complex emotions that circulate within the four oral histories of abortion, I aim to challenge the binary of either grief or relief that is often equated to narratives of abortion

Pelagic habitat and offspring survival in the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna

In this manuscript, we test how an understanding of geographical variation in larval fitness in relation to temperature and habitat use could be a useful method to improve our understanding of recruitment and develop better indices of annual recruitment. On the basis of the assumption that growth and survival of tuna larvae are influenced by temperature, we have developed a potential larval survival index for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) by combining empirical data from egg and larval rearing experiments with temperature data from hydrodynamic models. The experiments were designed to test the full range of temperature variability that bluefin larvae would experience in the field and provide a mechanistic understanding of the processes driving egg and larval survival. We then developed a biological model using the temperature-related growth expressions and a size-dependent survival function for the larvae. The biological model was applied to a time-series of spatially explicit temperature data for the western Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar to 6 E, which includes the major recognized bluefin tuna eastern stock spawning area, the Balearic Sea. Our results show that areas with high probabilities of larval survival coincide with those that would be considered as optimal based on other data sources (ichthyoplankton surveys, spawning female locations from commercial fisheries data, and adult tracking data). However, evidence of spawning has been found in areas with suboptimal thermal habitats, as predicted by the model, which we discuss regarding sampling effort and salinity fronts. There was a good match between the survival index and recruitment indices from standardized CPUE fisheries data. These results have implications for our understanding of the recruitment process of the eastern stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna, since they suggest that the combined effects of temporal and spatial variability of the environment drive recruitment success, which has important implications for the management of the species.Versión del editor2,27

The relationship between personal breastfeeding experience and the breastfeeding attitudes, knowledge, confidence and effectiveness of Australian GP registrars

In conjunction with other health professionals, doctors believe they play an important role in promoting breastfeeding to women. Although many have positive breastfeeding attitudes, significant knowledge deficits often limit their capacity to effectively encourage, support and assist breastfeeding women and their infants. Personal breastfeeding experience (of self or partner) may be the main source of breastfeeding knowledge and skill development and is related to improved knowledge, more positive attitudes and greater confidence. This paper describes the relationship between the cumulative length of personal breastfeeding experience and the breastfeeding knowledge and attitudes of a cohort of Australian general practice (GP) registrars, as well as their confidence and perceived effectiveness assisting breastfeeding women. The Australian Breastfeeding Knowledge and Attitude Questionnaire containing demographic items, a 20-item attitude scale and a 40-item knowledge scale was distributed between February and May 2007 to Australian GP registrars in their final year of training. Participants with more than 52-week cumulative personal (self or partner) breastfeeding experience had the highest mean knowledge score, had more positive attitudes, and were more confident and effective than all other participants. Parents with limited personal experience (≤ 26 weeks) had the poorest breast-feeding attitudes and their knowledge base was similar to participants with no personal experience. Confidence and perceived effectiveness when assisting breastfeeding women rose with increasing cumulative breastfeeding experience. Personal breastfeeding experience per se does not guarantee better breastfeeding knowledge or attitudes although increasing length of experience is related to higher knowledge, attitude, confidence and perceived effectiveness scores

New knowledge networks of small-scale farmers in Europe’s periphery

Funding for this research was provided by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 311994, and the Scottish Government’s Strategic Research Programme (2011–2016).In this paper we assess the types of knowledge networks utilised by small-scale farmers in four case studies (located in Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom). We focus on knowledge acquired to inform three new activities being undertaken by study participants: agricultural production, subsidy access and regulatory compliance, and farm diversification (specifically agritourism). Findings demonstrate that the new knowledge networks are dominated by different forms of expertise: formal ‘agricultural advisors’ identified in the case studies primarily offer codified managerial knowledge through centralised networks, suggesting that state-funded services for small-scale farmers are largely embedded in traditional, linear models of knowledge transfer. Production and diversification knowledge is exchanged through ‘distributed’ and ‘decentralised’ networks, where a range of actors are involved across varying geographical distances. Findings highlight issues associated with the quality and independence of both ‘free’ and paid advice, as well as the importance of combining tacit and codified knowledge for credibility. In all four cases, we found that small-scale farmers utilise formal advisory services primarily for accessing subsidies (e.g. completing application forms), rather than acquiring production knowledge. The authors argue that by utilising the state funding allocated to advisory services for small-scale farmers primarily to enable these farmers to access subsidies, important opportunities for innovation by both advisors or farmers can be lost.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

An Integrated Meta-Analysis of Two Variants in HOXA1/HOXB1 and Their Effect on the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders

BACKGROUND: HOXA1 and HOXB1 have been strongly posed as candidate genes for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) given their important role in the development of hindbrain. The A218G (rs10951154) in HOXA1 and the insertion variant in HOXB1 (nINS/INS, rs72338773) were of special interest for ASD but with inconclusive results. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis integrating case-control and transmission/disequilibrium test (TDT) studies to clearly discern the effect of these two variants in ASD. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Multiple electronic databases were searched to identify studies assessing the A218G and/or nINS/INS variant in ASD. Data from case-control and TDT studies were analyzed in an allelic model using the Catmap software. A total of 10 and 7 reports were found to be eligible for meta-analyses of A218G and nINS/INS variant, respectively. In overall meta-analysis, the pooled OR for the 218G allele and the INS allele was 0.97 (95% CI = 0.76-1.25, P(heterogeneity) = 0.029) and 1.14 (95% CI = 0.97-1.33, P(heterogeneity) = 0.269), respectively. No significant association was also identified between these two variants and ASD risk in stratified analysis. Further, cumulative meta-analysis in chronologic order showed the inclination toward null-significant association for both variants with continual adding studies. Additionally, although the between-study heterogeneity regarding the A218G is not explained by study design, ethnicity, and sample size, the sensitive analysis indicated the stability of the result. CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis suggests the HOXA1 A218G and HOXB1 nINS/INS variants may not contribute significantly to ASD risk

The statistics of natural hand movements.

Humans constantly use their hands to interact with the environment and they engage spontaneously in a wide variety of manual activities during everyday life. In contrast, laboratory-based studies of hand function have used a limited range of predefined tasks. The natural movements made by the hand during everyday life have thus received little attention. Here, we developed a portable recording device that can be worn by subjects to track movements of their right hand as they go about their daily routine outside of a laboratory setting. We analyse the kinematic data using various statistical methods. Principal component analysis of the joint angular velocities showed that the first two components were highly conserved across subjects, explained 60% of the variance and were qualitatively similar to those reported in previous studies of reach-to-grasp movements. To examine the independence of the digits, we developed a measure based on the degree to which the movements of each digit could be linearly predicted from the movements of the other four digits. Our independence measure was highly correlated with results from previous studies of the hand, including the estimated size of the digit representations in primary motor cortex and other laboratory measures of digit individuation. Specifically, the thumb was found to be the most independent of the digits and the index finger was the most independent of the fingers. These results support and extend laboratory-based studies of the human hand

Impacts of climate change on plant diseases – opinions and trends

There has been a remarkable scientific output on the topic of how climate change is likely to affect plant diseases in the coming decades. This review addresses the need for review of this burgeoning literature by summarizing opinions of previous reviews and trends in recent studies on the impacts of climate change on plant health. Sudden Oak Death is used as an introductory case study: Californian forests could become even more susceptible to this emerging plant disease, if spring precipitations will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, although climate shifts may also affect the current synchronicity between host cambium activity and pathogen colonization rate. A summary of observed and predicted climate changes, as well as of direct effects of climate change on pathosystems, is provided. Prediction and management of climate change effects on plant health are complicated by indirect effects and the interactions with global change drivers. Uncertainty in models of plant disease development under climate change calls for a diversity of management strategies, from more participatory approaches to interdisciplinary science. Involvement of stakeholders and scientists from outside plant pathology shows the importance of trade-offs, for example in the land-sharing vs. sparing debate. Further research is needed on climate change and plant health in mountain, boreal, Mediterranean and tropical regions, with multiple climate change factors and scenarios (including our responses to it, e.g. the assisted migration of plants), in relation to endophytes, viruses and mycorrhiza, using long-term and large-scale datasets and considering various plant disease control methods

Six Year Refractive Change among White Children and Young Adults: Evidence for Significant Increase in Myopia among White UK Children

OBJECTIVE:To determine six-year spherical refractive error change among white children and young adults in the UK and evaluate differences in refractive profiles between contemporary Australian children and historical UK data. DESIGN:Population-based prospective study. PARTICIPANTS:The Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) study Phase 1 examined 1068 children in two cohorts aged 6-7 years and 12-13 years. Prospective data for six-year follow-up (Phase 3) are available for 212 12-13 year olds and 226 18-20 year olds in each cohort respectively. METHODS:Cycloplegic refractive error was determined using binocular open-field autorefraction (Shin-Nippon NVision-K 5001, cyclopentolate 1%). Participants were defined by spherical equivalent refraction (SER) as myopic SER ≤-0.50D, emmetropic -0.50D<SER<+2.00 or hyperopic SER≥+2.00D. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Proportion and incidence of myopia. RESULTS:The proportion of myopes significantly increased between 6-7 years (1.9%) and 12-13 years (14.6%) (p<0.001) but not between 12-13 and 18-20 years (16.4% to 18.6%, p = 0.51). The estimated annual incidence of myopia was 2.2% and 0.7% for the younger and older cohorts respectively. There were significantly more myopic children in the UK at age 12-13 years in the NICER study (16.4%) than reported in Australia (4.4%) (p<0.001). However by 17 years the proportion of myopia neared equivalence in the two populations (NICER 18.6%, Australia 17.7%, p = 0.75). The proportion of myopic children aged 12-13 years in the present study (2006-2008) was 16.4%, significantly greater than that reported for children aged 10-16 years in the 1960's (7.2%, p = 0.01). The proportion of hyperopes in the younger NICER cohort decreased significantly over the six year period (from 21.7% to 14.2%, p = 0.04). Hyperopes with SER ≥+3.50D in both NICER age cohorts demonstrated persistent hyperopia. CONCLUSIONS:The incidence and proportion of myopia are relatively low in this contemporary white UK population in comparison to other worldwide studies. The proportion of myopes in the UK has more than doubled over the last 50 years in children aged between 10-16 years and children are becoming myopic at a younger age. Differences between the proportion of myopes in the UK and in Australia apparent at 12-13 years were eliminated by 17 years of age