The ecology of the phytoplankton of a new reservoir in the Thames Valley

A three-year investigation of the phytoplankton and associated physical and chemical environmental factors of the River Thames and the Queen Elizabeth II reservoir is described. In addition to routine analyses and records, the methods to be employed were critically surveyed and some were modified before regular use. A new method of particle counting and sizing involving the use of a Coulter Counter is described and the results compared in detail with those results obtained by other means. The influence of artificially imposed turbulence - a unique condition restricted to this reservoir - on the thermal conditions and on the phytoplankton is considered. The importance of the quality and the quantity of the River Thames inflow is discussed. Culture experiments are described which indicate that SiO might at times be a limiting nutrient for the growth of diatoms in the River Thames and the reservoir. Culture experiments also indicate perennation, especially by certain diatoms, in the reservoir sediment.<p

School meal provision: a rapid evidence review

Food insecurity is of growing concern in high-income countries and children from socio-economically disadvantaged families are particularly at risk of experiencing hunger and poor nutrition. This can have a detrimental effect on children’s development and capacity for learning. Therefore, food security is a serious matter for teachers and schools, particularly in areas where there is a high proportion of socioeconomically disadvantaged students and families. This rapid review of the literature determined the research evidence available on impacts of school food provision for socio-economically disadvantaged students, with a particular focus on food security

Healthy eating and active living and education-related outcomes in children and adolescents: A rapid evidence review

This rapid review explores the association between education-related outcomes valued by educators and healthy eating and physical activity in school-aged children and adolescents. The term ‘education-related outcomes’ includes outcomes educational performance, education-related behaviours, social outcomes and general well-being outcomes. The findings of this review support a positive association between healthy eating and physical activity, and most education-related outcomes

Marital interaction theory: some implications for research

This project examines specific basic areas of marital interaction theory. Individual chapters are developed around the following themes: historical development of the theory of interaction; a theoretical discussion of selected concepts; personality as a determinant of interaction; communication in marriage; marital interaction patterns; methodology pertaining to research findings; and finally some implications for research which became apparent as this project developed. The project lays the conceptual groundwork for a series of empirical studies that will use the interactional approach as a theoretical base. The immediate purpose of this project therefore is to describe the important dimensions of the interactional approach as these pertain to marital interaction. Interaction is defined as a reciprocal relationship in which each person may produce effects upon the other. Here the essence of marriage is interaction; thus marital interaction is critical in its effect on the spouses and the continuity of the marriage. Some of the basic concepts of George Mead are described and it is suggested that they are essential elements of the interactional approach. The major assumptions of this approach are that a) human behavior cannot be derived or inferred from nonhuman forms, b) the social act is the primary analytic unit for an understanding of society and the personality, c) the human infant is potentially social, and d) the human being is actor as well as reactor. Personality is discussed as a determinant of the quality and quantity of marital interaction. The issue of personal competence is explored, particularly in respect to verbal ability. Communication, the process of influence, is defined for marital interaction and the consequent formation of patterns. Identification and classification of marital interaction patterns are limited to a description of selected examples from family research and the observations of clinicians. Patterns tend to be defined in psychological terms although communicative behavior is stressed. The absence of common criteria and terminology is noted. Description of dysfunctional patterns predominates. Two methods frequently used in recent studies of marital interaction are direct observation and analysis of reports from marital partners. It is suggested that a combination of these techniques could increase the quantity of information about marital interaction. Research questions focus on the problem of adult socialization, its implications for the establishment of marital interaction patterns, and the need to determine the relation between the interaction process and the functional or dysfunctional quality of the resultant pattern. An inseparable part of the aforementioned research areas is the function of communication. It is suggested that investigation of verbal communication might yield significant data for the understanding of the interaction process as it affects the personalities of the spouses and the formation of patterns

Limited Impact of the Protein Corona on the Cellular Uptake of PEGylated Zein Micelles by Melanoma Cancer Cells

The formation of a protein layer corona on the nanoparticle surface upon entry into a biological environment was shown to strongly influence the interactions with cells, especially affecting the uptake of nanomedicines. In this work, we present the impact of the protein corona on the uptake of PEGylated zein micelles by cancer cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells. Zein was successfully conjugated with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) of varying chain lengths (5K and 10K) and assembled into micelles. Our results demonstrate that PEGylation conferred stealth effects to the zein micelles. The presence of human plasma did not impact the uptake levels of the micelles by melanoma cancer cells, regardless of the PEG chain length used. In contrast, it decreased the uptake by macrophages and dendritic cells. These results therefore make PEGylated zein micelles promising as potential drug delivery systems for cancer therapy

Interventions to support the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during and after a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic: a mixed methods systematic review

Background Evidence from disease epidemics shows that healthcare workers are at risk of developing short‐ and long‐term mental health problems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about the potential negative impact of the COVID‐19 crisis on the mental well‐being of health and social care professionals. Symptoms of mental health problems commonly include depression, anxiety, stress, and additional cognitive and social problems; these can impact on function in the workplace. The mental health and resilience (ability to cope with the negative effects of stress) of frontline health and social care professionals ('frontline workers' in this review) could be supported during disease epidemics by workplace interventions, interventions to support basic daily needs, psychological support interventions, pharmacological interventions, or a combination of any or all of these. Objectives Objective 1: to assess the effects of interventions aimed at supporting the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during and after a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic. Objective 2: to identify barriers and facilitators that may impact on the implementation of interventions aimed at supporting the resilience and mental health of frontline health and social care professionals during and after a disease outbreak, epidemic or pandemic. Search methods On 28 May 2020 we searched the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Global Index Medicus databases and WHO Institutional Repository for Information Sharing. We also searched ongoing trials registers and Google Scholar. We ran all searches from the year 2002 onwards, with no language restrictions. Selection criteria We included studies in which participants were health and social care professionals working at the front line during infectious disease outbreaks, categorised as epidemics or pandemics by WHO, from 2002 onwards. For objective 1 we included quantitative evidence from randomised trials, non‐randomised trials, controlled before‐after studies and interrupted time series studies, which investigated the effect of any intervention to support mental health or resilience, compared to no intervention, standard care, placebo or attention control intervention, or other active interventions. For objective 2 we included qualitative evidence from studies that described barriers and facilitators to the implementation of interventions. Outcomes critical to this review were general mental health and resilience. Additional outcomes included psychological symptoms of anxiety, depression or stress; burnout; other mental health disorders; workplace staffing; and adverse events arising from interventions. Data collection and analysis Pairs of review authors independently applied selection criteria to abstracts and full papers, with disagreements resolved through discussion. One review author systematically extracted data, cross‐checked by a second review author. For objective 1, we assessed risk of bias of studies of effectiveness using the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool. For objective 2, we assessed methodological limitations using either the CASP (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) qualitative study tool, for qualitative studies, or WEIRD (Ways of Evaluating Important and Relevant Data) tool, for descriptive studies. We planned meta‐analyses of pairwise comparisons for outcomes if direct evidence were available. Two review authors extracted evidence relating to barriers and facilitators to implementation, organised these around the domains of the Consolidated Framework of Implementation Research, and used the GRADE‐CERQual approach to assess confidence in each finding. We planned to produce an overarching synthesis, bringing quantitative and qualitative findings together. Main results We included 16 studies that reported implementation of an intervention aimed at supporting the resilience or mental health of frontline workers during disease outbreaks (severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): 2; Ebola: 9; Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS): 1; COVID‐19: 4). Interventions studied included workplace interventions, such as training, structure and communication (6 studies); psychological support interventions, such as counselling and psychology services (8 studies); and multifaceted interventions (2 studies). Objective 1: a mixed‐methods study that incorporated a cluster‐randomised trial, investigating the effect of a work‐based intervention, provided very low‐certainty evidence about the effect of training frontline healthcare workers to deliver psychological first aid on a measure of burnout. Objective 2: we included all 16 studies in our qualitative evidence synthesis; we classified seven as qualitative and nine as descriptive studies. We identified 17 key findings from multiple barriers and facilitators reported in studies. We did not have high confidence in any of the findings; we had moderate confidence in six findings and low to very low confidence in 11 findings. We are moderately confident that the following two factors were barriers to intervention implementation: frontline workers, or the organisations in which they worked, not being fully aware of what they needed to support their mental well‐being; and a lack of equipment, staff time or skills needed for an intervention. We are moderately confident that the following three factors were facilitators of intervention implementation: interventions that could be adapted for local needs; having effective communication, both formally and socially; and having positive, safe and supportive learning environments for frontline workers. We are moderately confident that the knowledge or beliefs, or both, that people have about an intervention can act as either barriers or facilitators to implementation of the intervention. Authors' conclusions There is a lack of both quantitative and qualitative evidence from studies carried out during or after disease epidemics and pandemics that can inform the selection of interventions that are beneficial to the resilience and mental health of frontline workers. Alternative sources of evidence (e.g. from other healthcare crises, and general evidence about interventions that support mental well‐being) could therefore be used to inform decision making. When selecting interventions aimed at supporting frontline workers' mental health, organisational, social, personal, and psychological factors may all be important. Research to determine the effectiveness of interventions is a high priority. The COVID‐19 pandemic provides unique opportunities for robust evaluation of interventions. Future studies must be developed with appropriately rigorous planning, including development, peer review and transparent reporting of research protocols, following guidance and standards for best practice, and with appropriate length of follow‐up. Factors that may act as barriers and facilitators to implementation of interventions should be considered during the planning of future research and when selecting interventions to deliver within local settings

Are interventions to promote healthy eating equally effective for all? Systematic review of socioeconomic inequalities in impact.

BACKGROUND: Interventions to promote healthy eating make a potentially powerful contribution to the primary prevention of non communicable diseases. It is not known whether healthy eating interventions are equally effective among all sections of the population, nor whether they narrow or widen the health gap between rich and poor. We undertook a systematic review of interventions to promote healthy eating to identify whether impacts differ by socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: We searched five bibliographic databases using a pre-piloted search strategy. Retrieved articles were screened independently by two reviewers. Healthier diets were defined as the reduced intake of salt, sugar, trans-fats, saturated fat, total fat, or total calories, or increased consumption of fruit, vegetables and wholegrain. Studies were only included if quantitative results were presented by a measure of SEP. Extracted data were categorised with a modified version of the "4Ps" marketing mix, expanded to 6 "Ps": "Price, Place, Product, Prescriptive, Promotion, and Person". RESULTS: Our search identified 31,887 articles. Following screening, 36 studies were included: 18 "Price" interventions, 6 "Place" interventions, 1 "Product" intervention, zero "Prescriptive" interventions, 4 "Promotion" interventions, and 18 "Person" interventions. "Price" interventions were most effective in groups with lower SEP, and may therefore appear likely to reduce inequalities. All interventions that combined taxes and subsidies consistently decreased inequalities. Conversely, interventions categorised as "Person" had a greater impact with increasing SEP, and may therefore appear likely to reduce inequalities. All four dietary counselling interventions appear likely to widen inequalities. We did not find any "Prescriptive" interventions and only one "Product" intervention that presented differential results and had no impact by SEP. More "Place" interventions were identified and none of these interventions were judged as likely to widen inequalities. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions categorised by a "6 Ps" framework show differential effects on healthy eating outcomes by SEP. "Upstream" interventions categorised as "Price" appeared to decrease inequalities, and "downstream" "Person" interventions, especially dietary counselling seemed to increase inequalities. However the vast majority of studies identified did not explore differential effects by SEP. Interventions aimed at improving population health should be routinely evaluated for differential socioeconomic impact

Working with the National Framework for Inclusion: a guide for teacher educators

This companion resource accompanies the National Framework for Inclusion 3rd edition and was developed by the Scottish Universities Inclusion Group (SUIG) and edited by Di Cantali (SUIG Chair). SUIG is a working group of the Scottish Council of Deans of Education

Working with the National Framework for Inclusion: a guide for teacher educators

This companion resource accompanies the National Framework for Inclusion 3rd edition and was developed by the Scottish Universities Inclusion Group (SUIG) and edited by Di Cantali (SUIG Chair). SUIG is a working group of the Scottish Council of Deans of Education

National framework for inclusion

Inclusive education is the cornerstone of Scottish education and, as such, must be of the highest priority for the Scottish Government and for all those involved in education in Scotland. There is clear recognition of the fact that teachers need to be well prepared and appropriately supported throughout their careers if they are to succeed in developing and sustaining the desired inclusive practice which will enable them to meet the increasingly diverse needs of all children within schools in Scotland