Evaluation of an interview skills training package for adolescents with speech, language and communication needs

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We evaluated a structured intervention programme aimed at preparing adolescents with developmental language disorders for job interviews. Our primary outcome measures included change in ratings of verbal and non‐verbal social communication behaviours evident during mock interviews. METHODS & PROCEDURES: In study 1, 12 participants, aged 17–19 years, from a specialist sixth‐form college completed the intervention and two mock interviews, one pre‐ and one post‐intervention. In study 2, 34 participants, aged 17–19 years, completed a modified intervention programme and three mock interviews, one at baseline (included to control for possible practise effects), one pre‐ and one post‐intervention. In both studies, interviews were video recorded and social communication behaviours were coded by independent assessors blind to interview time, participant diagnosis and therapy content. A repeated‐measures design was employed to measure change in communication behaviours. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: In study 1, a significant increase in the number of ‘positive’ verbal and non‐verbal social communication behaviours was observed from pre‐ to post‐intervention. However, there was no significant change in the number of ‘negative’ behaviours (i.e., fidgeting, irrelevant remarks). In study 2, there were no significant changes in verbal behaviours, but significant group differences (though wide individual variation) in both positive and negative non‐verbal social communication behaviours. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: Our findings suggest that training specific social communication skills that are important for interview success, and consistently reinforcing those behaviours during therapy practice, can increase the use of those skills in an interview setting, though in this heterogeneous population there was considerable variation in therapy outcome. The skills of the interviewer were identified as a potential source of variation in outcome, and a target for future research and practice

Optimizing end-labeled free-solution electrophoresis by increasing the hydrodynamic friction of the drag-tag

We study the electrophoretic separation of polyelectrolytes of varying lengths by means of end-labeled free-solution electrophoresis (ELFSE). A coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation model, using full electrostatic interactions and a mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann fluid to account for hydrodynamic interactions, is used to characterize the drag coefficients of different label types: linear and branched polymeric labels, as well as transiently bound micelles. It is specifically shown that the label's drag coefficient is determined by its hydrodynamic size, and that the drag per label monomer is largest for linear labels. However, the addition of side chains to a linear label offers the possibility to increase the hydrodynamic size, and therefore the label efficiency, without having to increase the linear length of the label, thereby simplifying synthesis. The third class of labels investigated, transiently bound micelles, seems very promising for the usage in ELFSE, as they provide a significant higher hydrodynamic drag than the other label types. The results are compared to theoretical predictions, and we investigate how the efficiency of the ELFSE method can be improved by using smartly designed drag-tags.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Macromolecule

Route of administration affects corticosteroid sensitivity of a combined ovalbumin and lipopolysaccharide model of asthma exacerbation in guinea-pigs

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) contributes to asthma exacerbations and development of inhaled corticosteroid insensitivity. Complete resistance to systemic corticosteroids is rare and most patients lie on a continuum of steroid responsiveness. The objective of this study was to examine the sensitivity of combined ovalbumin- (Ova) and LPS-induced functional and inflammatory responses to inhaled and systemic corticosteroid in conscious guinea-pigs, to test the hypothesis that the route of administration affects its sensitivity. Guinea-pigs were sensitised to Ova and challenged with inhaled Ova alone or combined with LPS. Airways function was determined by measuring specific airways conductance via whole-body plethysmography. Airways hyperresponsiveness to histamine was determined pre- and 24h post-Ova challenge. Airways inflammation and underlying mechanisms were determined from bronchoalveolar lavage cell counts and lung tissue cytokines. Vehicle or dexamethasone was administered by once-daily intraperitoneal injection (5, 10 or 20 mg/kg) or twice-daily inhalation (4 or 20 mg/ml) for 6 days before Ova challenge or Ova with LPS. LPS exacerbated Ova-induced responses, elongating early asthmatic responses (EAR), prolonging bronchoconstriction by histamine and further elevating airways inflammation. Intraperitoneal dexamethasone (20 mg/kg) significantly reduced the elongated EAR and airways inflammation but not the increased bronchoconstriction to histamine. In contrast, inhaled dexamethasone (20 mg/ml), which inhibited responses to Ova alone, did not significantly reduce functional and inflammatory responses to combined Ova and LPS. Combined Ova and LPS-induced functional and inflammatory responses are insensitive to inhaled but only partially sensitive to systemic dexamethasone. These results suggest that the route of corticosteroid administration may be important in determining the sensitivity of asthmatic responses to these agents

Overview of the Second Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS II) and the Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS)

The Second Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS II) was conducted in eastern Texas during 2005 and 2006. This 2-year study included an intensive field campaign, TexAQS 2006/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS), conducted in August–October 2006. The results reported in this special journal section are based on observations collected on four aircraft, one research vessel, networks of ground-based air quality and meteorological (surface and radar wind profiler) sites in eastern Texas, a balloon-borne ozonesonde-radiosonde network (part of Intercontinental Transport Experiment Ozonesonde Network Study (IONS-06)), and satellites. This overview paper provides operational and logistical information for those platforms and sites, summarizes the principal findings and conclusions that have thus far been drawn from the results, and directs readers to appropriate papers for the full analysis. Two of these findings deserve particular emphasis. First, despite decreases in actual emissions of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOC) and some improvements in inventory estimates since the TexAQS 2000 study, the current Houston area emission inventories still underestimate HRVOC emissions by approximately 1 order of magnitude. Second, the background ozone in eastern Texas, which represents the minimum ozone concentration that is likely achievable through only local controls, can approach or exceed the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75 ppbv for an 8-h average. These findings have broad implications for air quality control strategies in eastern Texas

Long-term efficacy and safety of the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor lomitapide in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is a genetic disorder characterized by low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-receptor dysfunction, markedly elevated levels of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and premature atherosclerosis. Patients are often poorly responsive to conventional lipid-lowering therapies that upregulate LDL-receptor expression

Genome characterization of a new strain of peanut chlorotic streak virus causing chlorotic vein banding disease of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in India

The double-stranded DNA of the chlorotic vein banding isolate of peanut chlorotic streak caulimovirus (PC1SV-CVB), isolated from purified virus, resolved into circular and linear molecules similar to those of other caulimoviruses. A physical map of viral DNA was constructed, which showed the PCLSV-CVB DNA to be circular and composed of approximately 8.2 kbp. A number of restriction sites were found to be shared with a similar caulimovirus, PCLSV. Nevertheless, several differences between physical maps of the 2 viruses suggested that PCLSV-CVB should be considered as a distinct strain of PCLSV. Bam HI-cleaved PCLSV-CVB DNA was cloned into pUC 118 and was infectious when cleaved from the cloning vector and inoculated onto Vigna unguiculata [cowpeas]

Taxing times: taxation, divided societies and the informal economy in Northern Nigeria

This paper challenges the notion that taxing the informal economy provides a mechanism for increasing popular political voice and rebuilding the social contract. It contends that current arguments for taxing the informal economy suffer from a Eurocentric understanding of taxation and state formation, and a fiscally essentialist and undifferentiated notion of the informal economy. Drawing on fieldwork in northern Nigeria, this paper shows that history, gender, wealth and ethno-religious identity influence how taxing the informal economy shapes governance outcomes. Evidence from Nigeria suggests an inverse relationship between informal economy taxation and political voice, posing the risk that increased taxation will exacerbate social divisions rather than rebuild the social contract

Two TPX2-Dependent Switches Control the Activity of Aurora A

Aurora A is an important oncogenic kinase for mitotic spindle assembly and a potentially attractive target for human cancers. Its activation could be regulated by ATP cycle and its activator TPX2. To understand the activation mechanism of Aurora A, a series of 20 ns molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed on both the wild-type kinase and its mutants. Analyzing the three dynamic trajectories (Aurora A-ATP, Aurora A-ADP, and Aurora A-ADP-TPX2) at the residue level, for the first time we find two TPX2-dependent switches, i.e., switch-1 (Lys-143) and switch-2 (Arg-180), which are tightly associated with Aurora A activation. In the absence of TPX2, Lys-143 exhibits a “closed” state, and becomes hydrogen-bonded to ADP. Once TPX2 binding occurs, switch-1 is forced to “open” the binding site, thus pulling ADP away from Aurora A. Without facilitation of TPX2, switch-2 exits in an “open” conformation which accompanies the outward-flipping movement of P·Thr288 (in an inactive conformation), leading to the crucial phosphothreonine exposed and accessible for deactivation. However, with the binding of TPX2, switch-2 is forced to undergo a “closed” movement, thus capturing P·Thr288 into a buried position and locking its active conformation. Analysis of two Aurora A (K143A and R180A) mutants for the two switches further verifies their functionality and reliability in controlling Aurora activity. Our systems therefore suggest two switches determining Aurora A activation, which are important for the development of aurora kinase inhibitors

On handling urban informality in southern Africa

In this article I reconsider the handling of urban informality by urban planning and management systems in southern Africa. I argue that authorities have a fetish about formality and that this is fuelled by an obsession with urban modernity. I stress that the desired city, largely inspired by Western notions of modernity, has not been and cannot be realized. Using illustrative cases of top–down interventions, I highlight and interrogate three strategies that authorities have deployed to handle informality in an effort to create or defend the modern city. I suggest that the fetish is built upon a desire for an urban modernity based on a concept of formal order that the authorities believe cannot coexist with the “disorder” and spatial “unruliness” of informality. I question the authorities' conviction that informality is an abomination that needs to be “converted”, dislocated or annihilated. I conclude that the very configuration of urban governance and socio-economic systems in the region, like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, renders informality inevitable and its eradication impossible