A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production

Human land use threatens global biodiversity and compromises multiple ecosystem functions critical to food production. Whether crop yield-related ecosystem services can be maintained by a few dominant species or rely on high richness remains unclear. Using a global database from 89 studies (with 1475 locations), we partition the relative importance of species richness, abundance, and dominance for pollination; biological pest control; and final yields in the context of ongoing land-use change. Pollinator and enemy richness directly supported ecosystem services in addition to and independent of abundance and dominance. Up to 50% of the negative effects of landscape simplification on ecosystem services was due to richness losses of service-providing organisms, with negative consequences for crop yields. Maintaining the biodiversity of ecosystem service providers is therefore vital to sustain the flow of key agroecosystem benefits to society. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC).

Prevalence of childhood disability and the characteristics and circumstances of disabled children in the UK : secondary analysis of the Family Resources Survey

Background: Robust data on the prevalence of childhood disability and the circumstances and characteristics of disabled children is crucial to understanding the relationship between impairment and social disadvantage. It is also crucial for public policy development aimed at reducing the prevalence of childhood disability and providing appropriate and timely service provision. This paper reports prevalence rates for childhood disability in the United Kingdom (UK) and describes the social and household circumstances of disabled children, comparing these where appropriate to those of non-disabled children. Methods: Data were generated from secondary analysis of the Family Resources Survey, a national UK cross-sectional survey, (2004/5) which had data on 16,012 children aged 0-18 years. Children were defined as disabled if they met the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) definition (1995 and 2005). Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations were run to establish prevalence estimates, and describe the circumstances of disabled children. To establish the association between individual social and material factors and childhood disability when other factors were controlled for, logistic regression models were fitted on the dependent variable 'DDA defined disability'. Results: 7.3% (CI 6.9, 7.7) of UK children were reported by as disabled according to the DDA definition. Patterns of disability differed between sexes with boys having a higher rate overall and more likely than girls to experience difficulties with physical coordination; memory, concentration and learning; communication. Disabled children lived in different personal situations from their non-disabled counterparts, and were more likely to live with low-income, deprivation, debt and poor housing. This was particularly the case for disabled children from black/minority ethnic/ mixed parentage groups and lone-parent households. Childhood disability was associated with lone parenthood and parental disability and these associations persisted when social disadvantage was controlled for. Conclusion: These analyses suggest that UK disabled children experience higher levels of poverty and personal and social disadvantage than other children. Further research is required to establish accurate prevalence estimates of childhood disability among different black and minority ethnic groups and to understand the associations between childhood disability and lone parenthood and the higher rates of sibling and parental disability in households with disabled children

What sources of bereavement support are perceived helpful by bereaved people and why? Empirical evidence for the compassionate communities approach

YesAims: To determine who provides bereavement support in the community, what sources are perceived to be the most or least helpful and for what reason, and to identify the empirical elements for optimal support in developing any future compassionate communities approach in palliative care. Design: A population-based cross-sectional investigation of bereavement experiences. Sources of support (informal, community and professional) were categorised according to the Public Health Model of Bereavement Support; most helpful reasons were categorised using the Social Provisions Scale, and least helpful were analysed using inductive content analysis. Setting and participants: Bereaved people were recruited from databases of funeral providers in Australia via an anonymous postal survey (2013–2014). Results: In total, 678 bereaved people responded to the survey. The most frequently used sources of support were in the informal category such as family, friends and funeral providers. While the professional category sources were the least used, they had the highest proportions of perceived unhelpfulness whereas the lowest proportions of unhelpfulness were in the informal category. The functional types of helpful support were Attachment, Reliable Alliance, Social Integration and Guidance. The five themes for least helpful support were: Insensitivity, Absence of Anticipated Support, Poor Advice, Lack of Empathy and Systemic Hindrance. Conclusion: A public health approach, as exemplified by compassionate communities policies and practices, should be adopted to support the majority of bereaved people as much of this support is already provided in informal and other community settings by a range of people already involved in the everyday lives of those recently bereaved. This study has provided further support for the need to strengthen the compassionate communities approach, not only for end of life care for dying patients but also along the continuum of bereavement support.Health Department of Western Australia

Thrombocytogenesis by megakaryocyte; Interpretation by protoplatelet hypothesis

Serial transmission electron microscopy of human megakaryocytes (MKs) revealed their polyploidization and gradual maturation through consecutive transition in characteristics of various organelles and others. At the beginning of differentiation, MK with ploidy 32N, e.g., has 16 centrosomes in the cell center surrounded by 32N nucleus. Each bundle of microtubules (MTs) emanated from the respective centrosome supports and organizes 16 equally volumed cytoplasmic compartments which together compose one single 32N MK. During the differentiation, single centriole separated from the centriole pair, i.e., centrosome, migrates to the most periphery of the cell through MT bundle, corresponding to a half of the interphase array originated from one centrosome, supporting one “putative cytoplasmic compartment” (PCC). Platelet demarcation membrane (DM) is constructed on the boundary surface between neighbouring PCCs. Matured PCC, composing of a tandem array of platelet territories covered by a sheet of DM is designated as protoplatelet. Eventually, the rupture of MK results in release of platelets from protoplatelets

Benzodiazepine use of community-based violent offenders : a preliminary investigation

Objective: To explore the relationship between benzodiazepine use and violent crime in a sample of community-based offenders. Methods: Participants were recruited via drug diversion and treatment programs in Melbourne, Australia. Data regarding benzodiazepine and other substance use, mental health, personality characteristics, and crime involvement was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted in 2011. Participants (n = 82, 79.3% male) were 21-56 years old, predominantly Australian-born (89%), with 14.6% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. Eligibility criteria were having been charged with a criminal offence in the previous six months and at least monthly benzodiazepine use. Group differences between violent (n = 11) and non-violent offenders were assessed via independent samples t-tests (two-tailed) and non-parametric tests. Results: Individuals charged with violent index offences were significantly more likely to use higher average doses of alprazolam (p = .040), and exhibit benzodiazepine dependence (p = .037) as well as report high levels of sensation seeking, prior violence, and the diagnoses of depression and personality disorder, than individuals charged with non-violent index offences. Conclusions: The findings suggest the existence of a complex dynamic between mental health and violent offending that may be influenced by benzodiazepine use, in particular alprazolam. A core implication of these preliminary findings includes attending to the interpersonal skills and adaptive coping resources of violent offenders. Key words: benzodiazepines, alprazolam, violence, impulsive behaviour, mental healt

Non-adherence to the single dose nevirapine regimen for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Bindura town, Zimbabwe: a cross-sectional analytic study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme was introduced at Bindura Hospital in 2003. Seven additional satellite PMTCT clinics were set up in the district to increase service coverage but uptake of PMTCT interventions remained unsatisfactory. In this study we determined the prevalence of and factors associated with non-adherence to the single dose nevirapine (SD-NVP) regimen for PMTCT in Bindura town.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An analytic cross-sectional study was conducted in four health institutions in Bindura town. Participants were mother-baby pairs on the PMTCT programme attending routine six weeks post natal visits in the participating health institutions from March to July 2008. We interviewed 212 mothers using a structured questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The non-adherence rate to the maternal nevirapine dose was 30.7%, while non-adherence to the newborn nevirapine dose was 26.9%. The combined mother-baby pair nevirapine non-adherence was 42.9%. Non-adherence to the maternal dose of nevirapine was associated with lack of maternal secondary education (POR = 2.38; 95%CI: 1.05-3.39) and multi-parity (POR = 2.66; 95%CI: 1.05-6.72), while previous maternal exposure to the PMTCT programme (POR = 0.22; 95%CI: 0.08-0.57) and giving the mother a NVP tablet to take home during antenatal care (POR = 0.03; 95%CI: 0.01-0.09) were associated with improved maternal adherence to nevirapine. Non-adherence to the infant dose of nevirapine was associated with maternal non-disclosure of HIV results to sexual partner (POR = 2.75; 95%CI: 1.04-7.32) and home deliveries (POR = 48.76; 95%CI: 17.51-135.82).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Non-adherence to nevirapine prophylaxis for PMTCT was high in Bindura. Ensuring institutional deliveries, encouraging self-disclosure of HIV results by the mothers to their partners and giving HIV positive mothers nevirapine doses to take home early in pregnancy all play significant roles in improving adherence to PMTCT prophylaxis.</p

Leptons in Holographic Composite Higgs Models with Non-Abelian Discrete Symmetries

We study leptons in holographic composite Higgs models, namely in models possibly admitting a weakly coupled description in terms of five-dimensional (5D) theories. We introduce two scenarios leading to Majorana or Dirac neutrinos, based on the non-abelian discrete group $S_4\times \Z_3$ which is responsible for nearly tri-bimaximal lepton mixing. The smallness of neutrino masses is naturally explained and normal/inverted mass ordering can be accommodated. We analyze two specific 5D gauge-Higgs unification models in warped space as concrete examples of our framework. Both models pass the current bounds on Lepton Flavour Violation (LFV) processes. We pay special attention to the effect of so called boundary kinetic terms that are the dominant source of LFV. The model with Majorana neutrinos is compatible with a Kaluza-Klein vector mass scale $m_{KK}\gtrsim 3.5$ TeV, which is roughly the lowest scale allowed by electroweak considerations. The model with Dirac neutrinos, although not considerably constrained by LFV processes and data on lepton mixing, suffers from a too large deviation of the neutrino coupling to the $Z$ boson from its Standard Model value, pushing $m_{KK}\gtrsim 10$ TeV.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figures; v2: Note added in light of recent T2K and MINOS results, figures updated with new limit from MEG, references added, various minor improvements, matches JHEP published versio

Enhancing the reporting of implementation research

In the 10 years since the inception of Implementation Science, we have witnessed a continued rise in the number of submissions received, reflecting the continued global interest in methods to enhance the uptake of research findings into healthcare practice and policy. We receive over 750 submissions annually, and there is now a large gap between what is submitted and what gets published. In this editorial, we restate the journal scope and current boundaries. We also identify some specific reporting issues that if addressed will help enhance the scientific reporting quality and transparency of the manuscripts we receive. We hope that this editorial acts as a further guide to researchers seeking to publish their work in Implementation Science

Towards a greater dialogue on disability between Muslims and Christians

Attitudes to disability and disabled people by Muslims – focusing on attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa - and Christians – focusing on the West (here taken to mean Europe, North America and Australasia) - were examined through a grounded theory literature search, with the study being divided into three phases of reading and analysis. The aims of study were to develop a dialogue on disability between the two cultures, to inform an understanding of the attitudes to disability in the two cultures, and to inform cultural practice in promoting support and equality in both cultures. The study finds that Islam and Christianity have much in common and are a force for good in promoting and developing disability equality in both Muslim and Christian cultures

Raising the profile of pilot and feasibility studies in relation to the development, evaluation and implementation of patient-reported outcome measures.

This editorial introduces a new special series on the pilot and feasibility testing of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the on-line open access journal Pilot and Feasibility Studies. Pilot and feasibility studies are typically implemented to address issues of uncertainty before undertaking a larger definitive study such as a randomised controlled trial or large scale survey. This editorial considers the role that such pilot and feasibility testing plays in relation to the development, evaluation and implementation of PROMs. This is often an essential element of PROM research but is typically overlooked-especially within current methodological guidance, reporting space and also debate. This editorial aims to open up a dialogue about the role of pilot and feasibility testing in relation to PROMs. It highlights some of the areas in PROMs research where these types of studies have been carried out and discusses the ways in which the PROM community may be better supported and encouraged to integrate this element of the research process into their PROM-based work