Brief Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mental State Attribution and Empathizing

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Lang-Lit from A to BA: student backgrounds and first year content

This report, originally prepared in 2013, investigates the relationship between English ‘langlit’ provision at A level and at BA level (school qualifications outside the A level nations are beyond the direct scope of this report). It builds on an earlier HEA report (Clark and Macrae 2014) which considered general questions about the nature of lang-lit work in both contexts and some issues of transition between the two. This report presents a more detailed comparative analysis of the content and delivery methods of lang-lit work at A level and first year BA level, identifying popular teaching and learning resources, tasks, and assessment methods. This overview is mainly grounded in data gathered from course materials, plus questionnaire responses gathered via a small survey. 20 responses to the survey were received from teachers and lecturers: these responses are not treated as representative of national opinion, but are nonetheless indicative of some widely held opinions in education at school and university. The report also presents limited anecdotal data, some of this gathered from interviews with colleagues delivering courses at both levels

Using a hypothetical scenario to assess public preferences for colorectal surveillance following screening-detected, intermediate-risk adenomas: annual home-based stool test vs. triennial colonoscopy

Background To assess public preferences for colorectal cancer (CRC) surveillance tests for intermediate-risk adenomas, using a hypothetical scenario. Methods Adults aged 45–54 years without CRC were identified from three General Practices in England (two in Cumbria, one in London). A postal survey was carried out during a separate study on preferences for different first-line CRC screening modalities (non- or full-laxative computed tomographic colonography, flexible sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy). Individuals were allocated at random to receive a pack containing information on one first-line test, and a paragraph describing CRC surveillance recommendations for people who are diagnosed with intermediate-risk adenomas during screening. All participants received a description of two surveillance options: annual single-sample, home-based stool testing (consistent with Faecal Immunochemical Tests; FIT) or triennial colonoscopy. Invitees were asked to imagine they had been diagnosed with intermediate-risk adenomas, and then complete a questionnaire on their surveillance preferences. Results 22.1 % (686/3,100) questionnaires were returned. 491 (15.8 %) were eligible for analysis. The majority of participants stated a surveillance preference for the stool test over colonoscopy (60.8 % vs 31.0 %; no preference: 8.1 %; no surveillance: 0.2 %). Women were more likely to prefer the stool test than men (66.7 % vs. 53.6 %; p = .011). The primary reason for preferring the stool test was that it would be done more frequently. The main reason to prefer colonoscopy was its superiority at finding polyps. Conclusions A majority of participants stated a preference for a surveillance test resembling FIT over colonoscopy. Future research should test whether this translates to greater adherence in a real surveillance setting

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF USING A BORDER TREATMENT FOR REDUCING ORGANOPHOSPHATE USE IN SEED POTATO PRODUCTION

Recent research shows initial colonization of potato fields by winged green peach aphid is concentrated at field edges. This suggests that insecticides applied only to field margins during initial colonization would largely eliminate a colonizing aphid population, conserve natural enemies in the field center, and reduce insecticide use. To better understand the costs and benefits of reducing organophosphate use, the six participating growers were interviewed to ascertain their reason for participating and their satisfaction with the border only treatment method as well as their estimated net economic benefits. Five of the farms ranked cost reduction as the most important reason for participating. The sixth farm ranked reducing virus spread as the most important reason with cost reduction as their second most important reason. The average cost savings over all 28 participating fields of using the border treatment is estimated to be $23.85 per acre for the entire field-a 93% savings. Almost all the farmers found the border treatment method to be successful at aphid control. None of the farmers observed any impact on the physical yield of seed potato. All the fields were certified during the summer except for one of Farmer F's fields that was lost because of off type. In conclusion, the border treatment method seems likely to be adopted by many farmers since the potential cost saving is large and farmers dislike Monitor. However, some farmers may resist the method due to scouting requirements and costs. Also, farmers with fields that do not meet the uniformity requirements of the border treatment will not be successful in their use of the border method.Crop Production/Industries,

Intensity measures for the seismic response of pile foundations

In this study the efficacy of various ground motion intensity measures for the seismic response of pile foundations embedded in liquefiable and non-liquefiable soils is investigated. A soil-pile-structure model consisting of a two-layer soil deposit with a single pile and a single degree-of-freedom superstructure is used in a parametric study to determine the salient features of the seismic response of the soil-pile-structure system. A suite of ground motion records scaled to various levels of intensity are used to investigate the full range of pile behaviour, from elastic response to failure. Various intensity measures are used to inspect their efficiency in predicting the seismic demand on the pile foundation for a given level of ground motion intensity. It is found that velocity-based intensity measures are the most efficient in predicting the pile response, which is measured in terms of maximum curvature or pile-head displacement. In particular, velocity spectrum intensity (VSI), which represents the integral of the pseudo-velocity spectrum over a wide period range, is found to be the most efficient intensity measure in predicting the seismic demands on the pile foundation. VSI is also found to be a sufficient intensity measure with respect to earthquake magnitude, sourceto- site distance, and epsilon, and has a good predictability, thus making it a prime candidate for use in seismic response analysis of pile foundations

Urogenital tuberculosis — epidemiology, pathogenesis and clinical features

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common cause of death from infectious disease worldwide. A substantial proportion of patients presenting with extrapulmonary TB have urogenital TB (UG-TB), which can easily be overlooked owing to non-specific symptoms, chronic and cryptic protean clinical manifestations, and lack of clinician awareness of the possibility of TB. Delay in diagnosis results in disease progression, irreversible tissue and organ damage and chronic renal failure. UG-TB can manifest with acute or chronic inflammation of the urinary or genital tract, abdominal pain, abdominal mass, obstructive uropathy, infertility, menstrual irregularities and abnormal renal function tests. Advanced UG-TB can cause renal scarring, distortion of renal calyces and pelvic, ureteric strictures, stenosis, urinary outflow tract obstruction, hydroureter, hydronephrosis, renal failure and reduced bladder capacity. The specific diagnosis of UG-TB is achieved by culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis from an appropriate clinical sample or by DNA identification. Imaging can aid in localizing site, extent and effect of the disease, obtaining tissue samples for diagnosis, planning medical or surgical management, and monitoring response to treatment. Drug-sensitive TB requires 6–9 months of WHO-recommended standard treatment regimens. Drug-resistant TB requires 12–24 months of therapy with toxic drugs with close monitoring. Surgical intervention as an adjunct to medical drug treatment is required in certain circumstances. Current challenges in UG-TB management include making an early diagnosis, raising clinical awareness, developing rapid and sensitive TB diagnostics tests, and improving treatment outcomes

Improved seismic hazard model with application to probabilistic seismic demand analysis

An improved seismic hazard model for use in performance-based earthquake engineering is presented. The model is an improved approximation from the so-called 'power law' model, which is linear in log-log space. The mathematics of the model and uncertainty incorporation is briefly discussed. Various means of fitting the approximation to hazard data derived from probabilistic seismic hazard analysis are discussed, including the limitations of the model. Based on these 'exact' hazard data for major centres in New Zealand, the parameters for the proposed model are calibrated. To illustrate the significance of the proposed model, a performance-based assessment is conducted on a typical bridge, via probabilistic seismic demand analysis. The new hazard model is compared to the current power law relationship to illustrate its effects on the risk assessment. The propagation of epistemic uncertainty in the seismic hazard is also considered. To allow further use of the model in conceptual calculations, a semi-analytical method is proposed to calculate the demand hazard in closed form. For the case study shown, the resulting semi-analytical closed form solution is shown to be significantly more accurate than the analytical closed-form solution using the power law hazard model, capturing the 'exact' numerical integration solution to within 7% accuracy over the entire range of exceedance rat

Topical rosiglitazone is an effective anti-scarring agent in the cornea

Corneal scarring remains a major cause of blindness world-wide, with limited treatment options, all of which have side-effects. Here, we tested the hypothesis that topical application of Rosiglitazone, a Thiazolidinedione and ligand of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), can effectively block scar formation in a cat model of corneal damage. Adult cats underwent bilateral epithelial debridement followed by excimer laser ablation of the central corneal stroma to a depth of ~160 µm as a means of experimentally inducing a reproducible wound. Eyes were then left untreated, or received 50 µl of either 10 µM Rosiglitazone in DMSO/Celluvisc, DMSO/Celluvisc vehicle or Celluvisc vehicle twice daily for 2 weeks. Cellular aspects of corneal wound healing were evaluated with in vivo confocal imaging and post-mortem immunohistochemistry for alpha smooth muscle actin (αSMA). Impacts of the wound and treatments on optical quality were assessed using wavefront sensing and optical coherence tomography at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks post-operatively. In parallel, cat corneal fibroblasts were cultured to assess the effects of Rosiglitazone on TGFβ-induced αSMA expression. Topical application of Rosiglitazone to cat eyes after injury decreased αSMA expression and haze, as well as the induction of lower-order and residual, higher-order wavefront aberrations compared to vehicle-treated eyes. Rosiglitazone also inhibited TGFβ-induced αSMA expression in cultured corneal fibroblasts. In conclusion, Rosiglitazone effectively controlled corneal fibrosis in vivo and in vitro, while restoring corneal thickness and optics. Its topical application may represent an effective, new avenue for the prevention of corneal scarring with distinct advantages for pathologically thin corneas

Brief Mindfulness Meditation Improves Mental State Attribution and Empathizing

Peer reviewedPublisher PD