Psychopolitics: Peter Sedgwick’s legacy for mental health movements

This paper re-considers the relevance of Peter Sedgwick's Psychopolitics (1982) for a politics of mental health. Psychopolitics offered an indictment of ‘anti-psychiatry’ the failure of which, Sedgwick argued, lay in its deconstruction of the category of ‘mental illness’, a gesture that resulted in a politics of nihilism. ‘The radical who is only a radical nihilist’, Sedgwick observed, ‘is for all practical purposes the most adamant of conservatives’. Sedgwick argued, rather, that the concept of ‘mental illness’ could be a truly critical concept if it was deployed ‘to make demands upon the health service facilities of the society in which we live’. The paper contextualizes Psychopolitics within the ‘crisis tendencies’ of its time, surveying the shifting welfare landscape of the subsequent 25 years alongside Sedgwick's continuing relevance. It considers the dilemma that the discourse of ‘mental illness’ – Sedgwick's critical concept – has fallen out of favour with radical mental health movements yet remains paradigmatic within psychiatry itself. Finally, the paper endorses a contemporary perspective that, while necessarily updating Psychopolitics, remains nonetheless ‘Sedgwickian’

Qualitative analysis of round-table discussions on the business case and procurement challenges for hospital electronic prescribing systems

There is a pressing need to understand the challenges surrounding procurement of and business case development for hospital electronic prescribing systems, and to identify possible strategies to enhance the efficiency of these processes in order to assist strategic decision making.We organized eight multi-disciplinary round-table discussions in the United Kingdom. Participants included policy makers, representatives from hospitals, system developers, academics, and patients. Each discussion was digitally audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and, together with accompanying field notes, analyzed thematically with NVivo9.We drew on data from 17 participants (approximately eight per roundtable), six hours of discussion, and 15 pages of field notes. Key challenges included silo planning with systems not being considered as part of an integrated organizational information technology strategy, lack of opportunity for interactions between customers and potential suppliers, lack of support for hospitals in choosing appropriate systems, difficulty of balancing structured planning with flexibility, and the on-going challenge of distinguishing “wants” and aspirations from organizational “needs”.Development of business cases for major investments in information technology does not take place in an organizational vacuum. Building on previously identified potentially transferable dimensions to the development and execution of business cases surrounding measurements of costs/benefits and risk management, we have identified additional components relevant to ePrescribing systems. These include: considerations surrounding strategic context, case for change and objectives, future service requirements and options appraisal, capital and revenue implications, timescale and deliverability, and risk analysis and management

Confirmation of low genetic diversity and multiple breeding females in a social group of Eurasian badgers from microsatellite and field data

The Eurasian badger ( Meles meles ) is a facultatively social carnivore that shows only rudimentary co-operative behaviour and a poorly defined social hierarchy. Behavioural evidence and limited genetic data have suggested that more than one female may breed in a social group. We combine pregnancy detection by ultrasound and microsatellite locus scores from a well-studied badger population from Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, UK, to demonstrate that multiple females reproduce within a social group. We found that at least three of seven potential mothers reproduced in a group that contained 11 reproductive age females and nine offspring. Twelve primers showed variability across the species range and only five of these were variable in Wytham. The microsatellites showed a reduced repeat number, a significantly higher number of nonperfect repeats, and moderate heterozygosity levels in Wytham. The high frequency of imperfect repeats and demographic phenomena might be responsible for the reduced levels of variability observed in the badger

Meandering of the subtropical front south-east of the Azores

A subtropical front was observed in the area south and southeast of the Azores during cruises of FS Meteor and FS Poseidon in early 1982. The front has a basically west–east extension, with considerable meandering observed. Meso-scale eddies are found on both sides. The overall flow pattern corresponds to earlier results on geopotential differences in the upper northeast Atlantic, but the baroclinic transport of the order of 107 m3 s−1 is found to be concentrated in a 60-km wide jet. We suggest here that the current band is part of the gyre circulation, resulting from a branching of the North Atlantic Current

Analytical Pluralism in Qualitative Research: A Meta-Study

Recent interest in analytical pluralism – the application of more than one qualitative analytical method to a single data set – has demonstrated its potential to produce multiple, complex and varied understandings of phenomena. However tensions remain regarding the commensurability of findings produced from diverse theoretical frameworks, the practical application of multiple methods of analysis and the capacity of pluralism to contribute to knowledge in psychology. This study addresses these issues, through a critical interpretation of existing qualitative studies that utilised analytical pluralism. Using a meta-study design, we examined the use of theory, application of methods and production of findings in studies that had adopted qualitative analytical pluralism. Following comprehensive database searches, 10 articles were included in the analysis. Epistemological and ontological considerations, the influence of decisions made in the practical application of pluralism and approaches to interpreting findings produced from multiple analyses are discussed, and implications for future research are considered

Does Day Length Affect Winter Bird Distribution? Testing the Role of an Elusive Variable

Differences in day length may act as a critical factor in bird biology by introducing time constraints in energy acquisition during winter. Thus, differences in day length might operate as a main determinant of bird abundance along latitudinal gradients. This work examines the influence of day length on the abundance of wintering crested tits (Lophophanes cristatus) in 26 localities of Spanish juniper (Juniperus thurifera) dwarf woodlands (average height of 5 m) located along a latitudinal gradient in the Spanish highlands, while controlling for the influence of food availability, minimum night temperature, habitat structure and landscape characteristics. Top regression models in the AIC framework explained 56% of variance in bird numbers. All models incorporated day length as the variable with the highest magnitude effect. Food availability also played an important role, although only the crop of ripe juniper fruits, but not arthropods, positively affected crested tit abundance. Differences in vegetation structure across localities had also a strong positive effect (average tree height and juniper tree density). Geographical variation in night temperature had no influence on crested tit distribution, despite the low winter temperatures reached in these dwarf forests. This paper demonstrates for the first time that winter bird abundance increases with day length after controlling for the effect of other environmental variables. Winter average difference in day length was only 10.5 minutes per day along the 1°47′ latitudinal interval (190 km) included in this study. This amount of time, which reaches 13.5 h accumulated throughout the winter season, appears to be large enough to affect the long-term energy budget of small passerines during winter and to shape the distribution of winter bird abundance under restrictive environmental conditions

Two Bee-Pollinated Plant Species Show Higher Seed Production when Grown in Gardens Compared to Arable Farmland

Background Insect pollinator abundance, in particular that of bees, has been shown to be high where there is a super-abundance of floral resources; for example in association with mass-flowering crops and also in gardens where flowering plants are often densely planted. Since land management affects pollinator numbers, it is also likely to affect the resultant pollination of plants growing in these habitats. We hypothesised that the seed or fruit set of two plant species, typically pollinated by bumblebees and/or honeybees might respond in one of two ways: 1) pollination success could be reduced when growing in a floriferous environment, via competition for pollinators, or 2) pollination success could be enhanced because of increased pollinator abundance in the vicinity. Methodology/Principal Findings We compared the pollination success of experimental plants of Glechoma hederacea L. and Lotus corniculatus L. growing in gardens and arable farmland. On the farms, the plants were placed either next to a mass-flowering crop (oilseed rape, Brassica napus L. or field beans, Vicia faba L.) or next to a cereal crop (wheat, Triticum spp.). Seed set of G. hederacea and fruit set of L. corniculatus were significantly higher in gardens compared to arable farmland. There was no significant difference in pollination success of G. hederacea when grown next to different crops, but for L. corniculatus, fruit set was higher in the plants growing next to oilseed rape when the crop was in flower. Conclusions/Significance The results show that pollination services can limit fruit set of wild plants in arable farmland, but there is some evidence that the presence of a flowering crop can facilitate their pollination (depending on species and season). We have also demonstrated that gardens are not only beneficial to pollinators, but also to the process of pollination

Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Their Impacts on Bees: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Identification of Knowledge Gaps

It has been suggested that the widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides threatens bees, but research on this topic has been surrounded by controversy. In order to synthesize which research approaches have been used to examine the effect of neonicotinoids on bees and to identify knowledge gaps, we systematically reviewed research on this subject that was available on the Web of Science and PubMed in June 2015. Most of the 216 primary research studies were conducted in Europe or North America (82%), involved the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (78%), and concerned the western honey bee Apis mellifera (75%). Thus, little seems to be known about neonicotinoids and bees in areas outside Europe and North America. Furthermore, because there is considerable variation in ecological traits among bee taxa, studies on honey bees are not likely to fully predict impacts of neonicotinoids on other species. Studies on crops were dominated by seed-treated maize, oilseed rape (canola) and sunflower, whereas less is known about potential side effects on bees from the use of other application methods on insect pollinated fruit and vegetable crops, or on lawns and ornamental plants. Laboratory approaches were most common, and we suggest that their capability to infer real-world consequences are improved when combined with information from field studies about realistic exposures to neonicotinoids. Studies using field approaches often examined only bee exposure to neonicotinoids and more field studies are needed that measure impacts of exposure. Most studies measured effects on individual bees. We suggest that effects on the individual bee should be linked to both mechanisms at the sub-individual level and also to the consequences for the colony and wider bee populations. As bees are increasingly facing multiple interacting pressures future research needs to clarify the role of neonicotinoids in relative to other drivers of bee declines

T cell adhesion and cytolysis of pancreatic cancer cells: a role for E-cadherin in immunotherapy?

Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive and potent disease, which is largely resistant to conventional forms of treatment. However, the discovery of antigens associated with pancreatic cancer cells has recently suggested the possibility that immunotherapy might become a specific and effective therapeutic option. T cells within many epithelia, including those of the pancreas, are known to express the αEβ7-integrin adhesion molecule, CD103. The only characterised ligand for CD103 is E-cadherin, an epithelial adhesion molecule which exhibits reduced expression in pancreatic cancer. In our study, CD103 was found to be expressed only by activated T cells following exposure to tumour necrosis factor beta 1, a factor produced by many cancer cells. Significantly, the expression of this integrin was restricted mainly to class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted CD8+ T cells. The human pancreatic cancer cell line Panc-1 was transfected with human E-cadherin in order to generate E-cadherin negative (wild type) and positive (transfected) sub-lines. Using a sensitive flow cytometric adhesion assay it was found that the expression of both CD103 (on T cells) and E-cadherin (on cancer cells) was essential for efficient adhesion of activated T cells to pancreatic cancer cells. This adhesion process was inhibited by the addition of antibodies specific for CD103, thereby demonstrating the importance of the CD103→E-cadherin interaction for T-cell adhesion. Using a 51Cr-release cytotoxicity assay it was found that CD103 expressing T cells lysed E-cadherin expressing Panc-1 target cells following T cell receptor stimulation; addition of antibodies specific for CD103 significantly reduced this lysis. Furthermore, absence of either CD103 from the T cells or E-cadherin expression from the cancer cells resulted in a significant reduction in cancer cell lysis. Therefore, potentially antigenic pancreatic cancer cells could evade a local anti-cancer immune response in vivo as a consequence of their loss of E-cadherin expression; this phenotypic change may also favour metastasis by reducing homotypic adhesion between adjacent cancer cells. We conclude that effective immunotherapy is likely to require upregulation of E-cadherin expression by pancreatic cancer cells or the development of cytotoxic immune cells that are less dependent on this adhesion molecule for efficient effecter function