Guidance on minimising the use of physical restraint in Scotland’s residential child care establishments

This guidance has been developed by a working group drawn from a comprehensive group of stakeholders representing all sectors, including the regulatory and inspection agencies and advocacy services. The main task of the group was to, building on the guidance in Holding Safely, clarify procedures for staff, service users and regulators, and help staff to understand when it is safe and appropriate to restrain a child

The anti-proliferative Effects of enterolactone in prostate cancer cells: evidence for the role of DNA licencing genes, mi-R106b cluster expression, and PTEN dosage

The mammalian lignan, enterolactone, has been shown to reduce the proliferation of the earlier stages of prostate cancer at physiological concentrations in vitro. However, efficacy in the later stages of the disease occurs at concentrations difficult to achieve through dietary modification. We have therefore investigated what concentration(s) of enterolactone can restrict proliferation in multiple stages of prostate cancer using an in vitro model system of prostate disease. We determined that enterolactone at 20 μM significantly restricted the proliferation of mid and late stage models of prostate disease. These effects were strongly associated with changes in the expression of the DNA licencing genes (GMNN, CDT1, MCM2 and 7), in reduced expression of the miR-106b cluster (miR-106b, miR-93, and miR-25), and in increased expression of the PTEN tumour suppressor gene. We have shown anti-proliferative effects of enterolactone in earlier stages of prostate disease than previously reported and that these effects are mediated, in part, by microRNA-mediated regulation

Engendering perspective transformation: a model for designing programs and facilitating transformative learning

Traditional training and education events—also referred to as learning in corporate talent development programs—often focus on delivering content. Adults work to define, identify, or apply the content in ideal conditions as detailed in the courses’ behavioural learning objectives. Such lower-level learning may serve organizations well when training disassociated skills, but it fails in allowing the adult learner to deliberately examine their theories of action. Failing to do so may result in missing out on the work required to develop their capacity and could result in experiencing unproductive dilemmas (Argyris, 1976). Therefore, the authors propose a model for creating and facilitating programs that engages adult learners in examining their purpose, values, feelings, and how they make meaning as they work toward realizing their professional development outcomes. The model provides a framework for designing, developing, and facilitating perspective transformation, so that the participants embody course concepts and can employ them in their context, even in the face of complexity. This model materialized through the examination of the transformative learning literature and two distinct, long-standing, successful transformative learning programs (McCann & Barto, 2018; Corrie, 2023). The model (Figure 1) begins with establishing the foundation of future work, the learning environment. Next, attention to learner motivation helps examine participant purpose in relation to extrinsic influence. The work in this model transpires through discourse with self, others, and the material itself. Much of the work concerns epistemology, or how the individual and organization create knowledge. The course curated discourse includes the practice of reflection, from simplistic individual process reflection to the more difficult critical reflection. Perspective taking and positioning takes the center of the model as they touch each component and directly relate to addressing a participant’s worldview. Together, through purposeful design, these components create opportunities for emergence (Pendleton-Jullian, & Brown, 2018) and emancipatory adult learning, where participants can hold object, the forces they were once subject to, and grow their capacity (Kegan, 2018). Designers using this model select course concepts to serve as meta themes, meaning that they hold relevance in achieving learning outcomes as much as engendering perspective transformation. The concepts assist the participants in planning their own course of action and in acquiring new capability and capacity in later stages of transformative learning. Upfront, the concepts promote an exploration of more ideal ways of being and serve participants in a critical assessment of assumptions. And when trying on new roles, building competence and confidence, and reintegrating the new perspective, they continue to provide the support required for perspective transformation. This paper will detail the model for designing and facilitating transformative learning (Mezirow, 1990), while providing examples from real world research (McCann & Barto, 2018; Corrie, 2023). During the roundtable session, the authors will present the model (Figure 1) and invite conference participants into the discourse around the model’s efficacy as a tool for promoting transformative and emancipatory learning in professional development programs

Lessons from successful ‘turnaround’ cities for the UK

What are the necessary ingredients for a city to reverse long-term economic underperformance and move towards a new trajectory? Improving the economic prospects of post-industrial cities in particular has long been a pressing issue in the UK and beyond. In the UK’s post-Brexit era, against the backdrop of ongoing debate about ‘Levelling Up’, there is a vigorous discussion on this issue even if it hasn’t translated into meaningful policy action. This paper seeks to shine a new light on this issue by learning lessons from abroad. It examines the characteristics of seven turnaround city-regions across five countries which have all faced severe economic shocks but have managed to break away from the resulting cycles of decline and transition to a more successful development path. These cities are Dortmund and Duisburg in Germany; Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain; Lille, in northern France; Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia; Windsor in Ontario, Canada; and Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. Importantly, the experiences of these turnaround cities provide insights into the challenges facing the UK’s Levelling Up agenda and the governance reforms required to increase its chances of success. The individual details of each city are complex, but in the next section, we provide pen-portraits of each city and its turnaround experience. The third section then sets out six common themes emerging from these case-studies which are instructive for the challenges facing UK city-regions. The fourth section suggests five changes which are required to help city-regions in the weaker parts of the UK prosper. The fifth section discusses the endemic barriers in the UK’s governance systems and the key aspects of the system which need to be reformed to take on board the lessons from the turnaround cities

Colon-available raspberry polyphenols exhibit anti-cancer effects on in vitro models of colon cancer

BACKGROUND: There is a probable association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduced risk of cancer, particularly cancer of the digestive tract. This anti-cancer activity has been attributed in part to anti-oxidants present in these foods. Raspberries in particular are a rich source of the anti-oxidant compounds, such as polyphenols, anthocyanins and ellagitannins. METHODS: A "colon-available" raspberry extract (CARE) was prepared that contained phytochemicals surviving a digestion procedure that mimicked the physiochemical conditions of the upper gastrointestinal tract. The polyphenolic-rich extract was assessed for anti-cancer properties in a series of in vitro systems that model important stages of colon carcinogenesis, initiation, promotion and invasion. RESULTS: The phytochemical composition of CARE was monitored using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. The colon-available raspberry extract was reduced in anthocyanins and ellagitannins compared to the original raspberry juice but enriched in other polyphenols and polyphenol breakdown products that were more stable to gastrointestinal digestion. Initiation – CARE caused significant protective effects against DNA damage induced by hydrogen peroxide in HT29 colon cancer cells measured using single cell microgelelectrophoresis. Promotion – CARE significantly decreased the population of HT29 cells in the G(1 )phase of the cell cycle, effectively reducing the number of cells entering the cell cycle. However, CARE had no effect on epithelial integrity (barrier function) assessed by recording the trans-epithelial resistance (TER) of CACO-2 cell monolayers. Invasion – CARE caused significant inhibition of HT115 colon cancer cell invasion using the matrigel invasion assay. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that raspberry phytochemicals likely to reach the colon are capable of inhibiting several important stages in colon carcinogenesis in vitro

Modeling transport of bromide in furrow-irrigated field

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability of combining a surface irrigation model (SRFR) and two functional solute transport models (RAO and TETrans) in predicting the position of bromide (BC) measured in a 0.81-ha field under furrow irrigation. The SRFR model was used to first predict the infiltrated depths and then RAO and TETrans models were used to predict the position of the solute. Solute was transported according to piston flow theory for the first irrigation and both models predicted the position of the solute with good accuracy. The solute was transported slightly faster than estimated by piston flow for the second irrigation, resulting in a reduction of correct predictions by both models. Both models predicted poorly for the third irrigation because deviations from piston flow were large. RAO model was more successful in predicting the peak solute position, while TETrans was more accurate in predicting mean solute depths. The latter was attributed to the differences between the two models and the sensitivity of TETrans to nodal spacing when predicting peak solute position

Evaluation of a Technology Enabled Garment for Older Walkers

Walking is often cited as the best form of activity for persons over the age of 60. In this paper we outline the development and evaluation of a smart garment system that aims to monitor the wearer's wellbeing and activity regimes during walking activities. Functional requirements were ascertained using a combination of questionnaires and two workshops with a target cohort. The requirements were subsequently mapped onto current technologies as part of the technical design process. In this paper we outline the development and second round of evaluations of a prototype as part of a three-phase iterative development cycle. The evaluation was undertaken with 6 participants aged between 60 and 73 years of age. The results of the evaluation demonstrate the potential role that technology can play in the promotion of activity regimes for the older population

Finishing the finished human chromosome 22 sequence

A combination of approaches was used to close 8 of the 11 gaps in the original sequence of human chromosome 22, and to generate a total 1.018 Mb of new sequence