Communities and social care in Russia: The role of Muslim welfare provision in everyday life in Russia's Tatarstan region

Based on large-scale surveys and in-depth interviews, this article discusses the role of religion in social welfare and social work in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan, a majority Muslim region. It notes that there is relatively little formal social work provided by large-scale Islam-based groups. However, religious spaces are important as places where social networks are developed, facilitating social welfare provision within wider networks. Locally, mosques rarely provide immediate aid, such as cash transfers, but some engage in long-term targeted provision. The article concludes that as such schemes develop, trust in religious organizations will increase and more people will turn to them in times of need. © The Author(s) 2014

Randomised controlled trial of specialist nurse intervention in heart failure

<p>Objectives. To determine whether specialist nurse intervention improves outcome in patients with chronic heart failure.</p> <p>Design. Randomised controlled trial.</p> <p>Setting. Acute medical admissions unit in a teaching hospital.</p> <p>Participants. 165 patients admitted with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The intervention started before discharge and continued thereafter with home visits for up to 1 year.</p> <p>Main outcome measures. Time to first event analysis of death from all causes or readmission to hospital with worsening heart failure.</p> <p>Results. 31 patients (37%) in the intervention group died or were readmitted with heart failure compared with 45 (53%) in the usual care group (hazard ratio=0.61, 95% confidence interval 0.33 to 0.96).Compared with usual care, patients in the intervention group had fewer readmissions for any reason (86 v 114, P=0.018), fewer admissions for heart failure (19 v 45, P<0.001) and spent fewer days in hospital for heart failure (mean 3.43 v 7.46 days, P=0.0051).</p> <p>Conclusions. Specially trained nurses can improve the outcome of patients admitted to hospital with heart failure.</p&gt

Electroluminescence from single nanowires by tunnel injection: an experimental study

We present a hybrid light-emitting diode structure composed of an n-type gallium nitride nanowire on a p-type silicon substrate in which current is injected along the length of the nanowire. The device emits ultraviolet light under both bias polarities. Tunnel-injection of holes from the p-type substrate (under forward bias) and from the metal (under reverse bias) through thin native oxide barriers consistently explains the observed electroluminescence behaviour. This work shows that the standard p-n junction model is generally not applicable to this kind of device structure.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure

The microaerophilic microbiota of de-novo paediatric inflammatory bowel disease: the BISCUIT study

<p>Introduction: Children presenting for the first time with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) offer a unique opportunity to study aetiological agents before the confounders of treatment. Microaerophilic bacteria can exploit the ecological niche of the intestinal epithelium; Helicobacter and Campylobacter are previously implicated in IBD pathogenesis. We set out to study these and other microaerophilic bacteria in de-novo paediatric IBD.</p> <p>Patients and Methods: 100 children undergoing colonoscopy were recruited including 44 treatment naïve de-novo IBD patients and 42 with normal colons. Colonic biopsies were subjected to microaerophilic culture with Gram-negative isolates then identified by sequencing. Biopsies were also PCR screened for the specific microaerophilic bacterial groups: Helicobacteraceae, Campylobacteraceae and Sutterella wadsworthensis.</p> <p>Results: 129 Gram-negative microaerophilic bacterial isolates were identified from 10 genera. The most frequently cultured was S. wadsworthensis (32 distinct isolates). Unusual Campylobacter were isolated from 8 subjects (including 3 C. concisus, 1 C. curvus, 1 C. lari, 1 C. rectus, 3 C. showae). No Helicobacter were cultured. When comparing IBD vs. normal colon control by PCR the prevalence figures were not significantly different (Helicobacter 11% vs. 12%, p = 1.00; Campylobacter 75% vs. 76%, p = 1.00; S. wadsworthensis 82% vs. 71%, p = 0.312).</p> <p>Conclusions: This study offers a comprehensive overview of the microaerophilic microbiota of the paediatric colon including at IBD onset. Campylobacter appear to be surprisingly common, are not more strongly associated with IBD and can be isolated from around 8% of paediatric colonic biopsies. S. wadsworthensis appears to be a common commensal. Helicobacter species are relatively rare in the paediatric colon.</p&gt

Changes in microphytobenthos fluorescence over a tidal cycle: implications for sampling designs

Intertidal microphytobenthos (MPB) are important primary producers and provide food for herbivores in soft sediments and on rocky shores. Methods of measuring MPB biomass that do not depend on the time of collection relative to the time of day or tidal conditions are important in any studies that need to compare temporal or spatial variation, effects of abiotic factors or activity of grazers. Pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry is often used to estimate biomass of MPB because it is a rapid, non-destructive method, but it is not known how measures of fluorescence are altered by changing conditions during a period of low tide. We investigated this experimentally using in situ changes in minimal fluorescence (F) on a rocky shore and on an estuarine mudflat around Sydney (Australia), during low tides. On rocky shores, the time when samples are taken during low tide had little direct influence on measures of fluorescence as long as the substratum is dry. Wetness from wave-splash, seepage from rock pools, run-off, rainfall, etc., had large consequences for any comparisons. On soft sediments, fluorescence was decreased if the sediment dried out, as happens during low-spring tides on particularly hot and dry days. Surface water affected the response of PAM and therefore measurements used to estimate MPB, emphasising the need for care to ensure that representative sampling is done during low tide

Intermediate care at a community hospital as an alternative to prolonged general hospital care for elderly patients: a randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Demographic changes together with an increasing demand among older people for hospital beds and other health services make allocation of resources to the most efficient care level a vital issue. The aim of this trial was to study the efficacy of intermediate care at a community hospital compared to standard prolonged care at a general hospital.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In a randomised controlled trial 142 patients aged 60 or more admitted to a general hospital due to acute illness or exacerbation of a chronic disease 72 (intervention group) were randomised to intermediate care at a community hospital and 70 (general hospital group) to further general hospital care.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the intervention group 14 patients (19.4%) were readmitted for the same disease compared to 25 patients (35.7%) in the general hospital group (p = 0.03). After 26 weeks 18 (25.0%) patients in the intervention group were independent of community care compared to seven (10.0%) in the general hospital group (p = 0.02). There were an insignificant reduction in the number of deaths and an insignificant increase in the number of days with inward care in the intervention group. The number of patients admitted to long-term nursing homes from the intervention group was insignificantly higher than from the general hospital group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Intermediate care at a community hospital significantly decreased the number of readmissions for the same disease to general hospital, and a significantly higher number of patients were independent of community care after 26 weeks of follow-up, without any increase in mortality and number of days in institutions.</p

Acquisition of pneumococci specific effector and regulatory Cd4+ T cells localising within human upper respiratory-tract mucosal lymphoid tissue

The upper respiratory tract mucosa is the location for commensal Streptococcus (S.) pneumoniae colonization and therefore represents a major site of contact between host and bacteria. The CD4(+) T cell response to pneumococcus is increasingly recognised as an important mediator of immunity that protects against invasive disease, with data suggesting a critical role for Th17 cells in mucosal clearance. By assessing CD4 T cell proliferative responses we demonstrate age-related sequestration of Th1 and Th17 CD4(+) T cells reactive to pneumococcal protein antigens within mucosal lymphoid tissue. CD25(hi) T cell depletion and utilisation of pneumococcal specific MHCII tetramers revealed the presence of antigen specific Tregs that utilised CTLA-4 and PDL-1 surface molecules to suppress these responses. The balance between mucosal effector and regulatory CD4(+) T cell immunity is likely to be critical to pneumococcal commensalism and the prevention of unwanted pathology associated with carriage. However, if dysregulated, such responses may render the host more susceptible to invasive pneumococcal infection and adversely affect the successful implementation of both polysaccharide-conjugate and novel protein-based pneumococcal vaccines