THE EFFECTIVENESS OF JOB CARD GROUNDING IN AN INTERMEDIATE CARE FACILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Despite limited research, Job Card Grounding (JCG) remains a highly recommended clinical intervention for defiant adolescents, with many medical and parenting websites advocating for its use. The purpose of the current study was to examine the effectiveness and social acceptability of JCG in reducing defiant behaviors among residents in an Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disability (ICF/IID). Participants included three female adolescents with intellectual and related psychological disabilities. JCG was introduced as a multi-element intervention, adapted for use in the ICF/IID, that afforded participants the option to complete a brief 10 to 15-minute household chore contingent upon target (i.e., problem) behaviors. Daily rewards were incorporated to reinforce appropriate behavior. JCG was rated as a socially acceptable intervention that resulted in small to moderate reductions of target behavior across phase comparisons compared to treatment as usual. Results also suggest that JCG was a less restrictive intervention when compared to the behavioral intervention plans that were used at the facility

Viewgraph preparation made easier

Rolls of color-reversal film permit exposure of over 200 viewgraphs on one film loading. Time is saved in film development as roll film lends itself readily to automatic processing

RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) and its relationship to other plant RNA-dependent RNA polymerases

Cellular RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RDR) catalyze synthesis of double stranded RNAs that can serve to initiate or amplify RNA silencing. Arabidopsis thaliana has six RDR genes; RDRs 1, 2 and 6 have roles in anti-viral RNA silencing. RDR6 is constitutively expressed but RDR1 expression is elevated following plant treatment with defensive phytohormones. RDR1 also contributes to basal virus resistance. RDR1 has been studied in several species including A. thaliana, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), N. benthamiana, N. attenuata and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) but not to our knowledge in potato (S. tuberosum). StRDR1 was identified and shown to be salicylic acid-responsive. StRDR1 transcript accumulation decreased in transgenic potato plants constitutively expressing a hairpin construct and these plants were challenged with three viruses: potato virus Y, potato virus X, and tobacco mosaic virus. Suppression of StRDR1 gene expression did not increase the susceptibility of potato to these viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of RDR genes present in potato and in a range of other plant species identified a new RDR gene family, not present in potato and found only in Rosids (but apparently lost in the Rosid A. thaliana) for which we propose the name RDR7.LJRH was supported by a studentship co-funded by the James Hutton Institute (formerly Scottish Crop Research Institute) and the UK Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Work in the JPC lab is funded by The Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2012-667), BBSRC (BB/D014376/1, BB/J011762/1) and the Cambridge University Newton Trust. SFB was funded by Leverhulme grant F/09-741/G to Professor Beverley Glover. KG was funded by an EMBO Short Term Fellowship. Work in the PP lab is funded by grant number NRF-2013R1A2A2A01016282 from the Korean National Research Foundation.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via https://doi.org/10.1038/srep2308

Characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in stems and petioles of C-3 flowering plants

Most plants are known as C-3 plants because the first product of photosynthetic CO2 fixation is a three-carbon compound. C-4 plants, which use an alternative pathway in which the first product is a four-carbon compound, have evolved independently many times and are found in at least 18 families. In addition to differences in their biochemistry, photosynthetic organs of C-4 plants show alterations in their anatomy and ultrastructure. Little is known about whether the biochemical or anatomical characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis evolved first. Here we report that tobacco, a typical C-3 plant, shows characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in cells of stems and petioles that surround the xylem and phloem, and that these cells are supplied with carbon for photosynthesis from the vascular system and not from stomata. These photosynthetic cells possess high activities of enzymes characteristic of C-4 photosynthesis, which allow the decarboxylation of four-carbon organic acids from the xylem and phloem, thus releasing CO2 for photosynthesis. These biochemical characteristics of C-4 photosynthesis in cells around the vascular bundles of stems of C-3 plants might explain why C-4 photosynthesis has evolved independently many times

Same old song and dance: An exploratory study of portrayal of physical activity in television programmes aimed at young adolescents

Abstract Objective Exposure to health-related behaviours on television has been shown to influence smoking and drinking in young people, but little research has been conducted on the portrayal physical activity. The aim of the current project was to explore the portrayal of physical activity in television programmes aimed specifically at adolescent females. Content analysis of 120 episodes of four popular adolescent television programmes was performed. Information on the type and context of physical activity, motivating factors and characters involved was recorded. Results Physical activity was portrayed 122 times, for a duration of 1 h and 31 min (3.2% of total viewing time). Physical activity was mainly portrayed as part of an informal activity as part of a group activity. Over half (53.2%) of scenes portrayed activity been carried out by teenagers. The types of activities portrayed were mostly of vigorous intensity (76.2%), for recreational purposes (78.7%) such as dancing (54.1%) and running (11.5%), and motivated by enjoyment. This study highlights that physical activity is portrayed infrequently, and often with a skewed representation of type of activity. There may be an opportunity to influence physical activity in young adolescents through the positioning of positive images of an active lifestyle in the media

Classifying medical histories in US medicare beneficiaries using fixed vs all‐available look‐back approaches

Purpose: Evaluate use of fixed and all‐available look‐backs to identify eligibility criteria and confounders among Medicare beneficiaries. Methods: We identified outpatient visits (2007‐2012) with recently documented (≤180 days) cardiovascular risk and classified patients according to whether the exposure (statin) was initiated within 14 days. We selected each beneficiary's first eligible visit (in each treatment group) that met criteria during the respective look‐backs: continuous enrollment (1 or 3 years for fixed look‐back; 180 days for all‐available), no cancer history, and no statin claims. We estimated crude and standardized mortality ratio weighted hazard ratios (HRs) for the effect of statin initiation on incident 6‐month cancer (a known null effect) and 2‐year mortality, separately, adjusting for covariates assessed by using each look‐back. Results: Analyzing short‐term cancer, the estimated HR from the all‐available approach (HR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.83, 0.98) was less biased than the 1‐year look‐back (HR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.84), which included beneficiaries with prevalent cancer. The 3‐year look‐back (HR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.21) was somewhat less biased than the all‐available estimate but less precise due the exclusion of a large proportion of observations without sufficient continuous enrollment (62.0% and 59.9% of initiators and non‐initiators, respectively). All approaches produced similar estimates of the effect on all‐cause mortality. Alternative look‐backs did not differ in their ability to control confounding. Conclusions: The all‐available look‐back performed nearly as well as the 3‐year fixed, which produced the least biased point estimate. If 3‐year look‐backs are infeasible (eg, due to power/sample), all‐available look‐backs may be preferable to short (1‐year) fixed look‐backs

Profiling the temperature distribution in AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with nanocrystalline diamond heat spreading layers

Reduced performance in Gallium Nitride (GaN) based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) as a result of self-heating has been well-documented. A new approach, termed “diamond-before-gate" is shown to improve the thermal budget of the deposition process and enables large area diamond without degrading the gate metal NCD capped devices had a 20% lower channel temperature at equivalent power dissipation