High resolution mapping of Twist to DNA in Drosophila embryos: Efficient functional analysis and evolutionary conservation

Cis-regulatory modules (CRMs) function by binding sequence specific transcription factors, but the relationship between in vivo physical binding and the regulatory capacity of factor-bound DNA elements remains uncertain. We investigate this relationship for the well-studied Twist factor in Drosophila melanogaster embryos by analyzing genome-wide factor occupancy and testing the functional significance of Twist occupied regions and motifs within regions. Twist ChIP-seq data efficiently identified previously studied Twist-dependent CRMs and robustly predicted new CRM activity in transgenesis, with newly identified Twist-occupied regions supporting diverse spatiotemporal patterns (>74% positive, n = 31). Some, but not all, candidate CRMs require Twist for proper expression in the embryo. The Twist motifs most favored in genome ChIP data (in vivo) differed from those most favored by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX) (in vitro). Furthermore, the majority of ChIP-seq signals could be parsimoniously explained by a CABVTG motif located within 50 bp of the ChIP summit and, of these, CACATG was most prevalent. Mutagenesis experiments demonstrated that different Twist E-box motif types are not fully interchangeable, suggesting that the ChIP-derived consensus (CABVTG) includes sites having distinct regulatory outputs. Further analysis of position, frequency of occurrence, and sequence conservation revealed significant enrichment and conservation of CABVTG E-box motifs near Twist ChIP-seq signal summits, preferential conservation of ±150 bp surrounding Twist occupied summits, and enrichment of GA- and CA-repeat sequences near Twist occupied summits. Our results show that high resolution in vivo occupancy data can be used to drive efficient discovery and dissection of global and local cis-regulatory logic

Quantification and qualification by in-situ FTIR of species formed on supported-cobalt catalysts during the Fischer-Tropsch reaction

We thanks the University of Aberdeen for a studentship (to A. McNab).Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Investigation of current perspectives for NHS Wales sustainable development through procurement policies

Public sector procurement has to operate under the pressure of policies and strict budgets. This paper examines the current perspectives of NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP) on sustainable procurement policies through the environmental, social and economic dimensions. In particular, it investigates the adoption levels of the sustainable procurement policies of buyers (NHS Wales), examines the level of engagement of SMEs to NHS Wales, and explores the support for the existing sustainable procurement function through order-processing analysis of catalogue coverage

What matters versus what’s the matter – exploring perceptions of person-centred practice in nursing and physiotherapy social media communities: a qualitative study

This is a pre-copyedited, peer-reviewed version of the following article Ward, A., Eng, C., McCue, V., Stewart, R., Strain, K., McCormack, B., Dukhu, S., Thomas, J. & Bulley, C. (2018) What matters versus what’s the matter – exploring perceptions of person-centred practice in nursing and physiotherapy social media communities: a qualitative study. International Practice Development Journal, 8 (2), [Article: 3], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.19043/ipdj.82.003 in the International Journal of Practice Development.Background: Person-centred practice (PCP) is advocated internationally across multiple healthcare contexts and professions. Originating in nursing and medicine, its enactment in physiotherapy requires careful consideration.Aims and Objectives: to explore perceptions of PCP within nursing and physiotherapy online social media communities to gain insight into differences and similarities in how PCP may be enacted professionally.Methods: A large, online focus group was undertaken through an international tweet chat within the existing social media communities: WeNurses and Physiotalk. Participants were fully informed before participation. Tweets from the hour-long tweet chat plus 15 minutes were downloaded via Symplur. Analysis was undertaken using Interpretative Phenomenological Approach with consideration of group development of insight and meaning. Tweets were analysed if by nurses and physiotherapists, related to the research aim, and interpretable.Results: 233 of 504 tweets were analysed, by 38 nurses and 23 physiotherapists. Four themes are discussed here: 1. Relationship between professionals and patients, 2. Perceptions of who holds the power, 3. Treating the condition not the person, and 4. Impacts of organisational demands. Nurses and physiotherapists were seen to share many perceptions of person-centred practice, with the latter demonstrating a focus on informed decision making and education to empower. Discussion also showed a biomedical approach was often taken by physiotherapists. Patient privacy was highlighted by nurses. Explanatory theory was produced to incorporate the views of physiotherapists alongside established perceptions of PCP from nursing literature, expanding insights into profession-specific applications.Conclusions: Perceptions of PCP described by participants were generally supportive of previous PCP frameworks. Insights suggested some physiotherapists may perceive their professional role in a way that is not completely consistent with PCP; this would benefit from further exploration. The importance of education to empower patients within collaborative relationships was emphasised in relation to physiotherapy and may represent key aspects of the role.IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: • Discussion supported many similarities in the perceptions of PCP between nursing and physiotherapy online communities that resonate with existing frameworks, including prioritisation of what matters to the patient and empowerment through relationship, and the barriers to this resulting from structures and cultures within workplaces. • Participants from both professions emphasised the importance of focusing on the beliefs, values and priorities of the person, in development of a collaborative relationship, with shared decision making. • Physiotherapists involved in the tweetchat placed additional emphasis on the need to empower patients through education, to enable greater participation in informed and shared decision making. • Tweets suggested that there are risks to the enactment of PCP among physiotherapists. Some may focus on the condition rather than the person, and view the professional as expert with greater power in the therapeutic relationship.8pubpub2 [3

RegPredict: an integrated system for regulon inference in prokaryotes by comparative genomics approach

RegPredict web server is designed to provide comparative genomics tools for reconstruction and analysis of microbial regulons using comparative genomics approach. The server allows the user to rapidly generate reference sets of regulons and regulatory motif profiles in a group of prokaryotic genomes. The new concept of a cluster of co-regulated orthologous operons allows the user to distribute the analysis of large regulons and to perform the comparative analysis of multiple clusters independently. Two major workflows currently implemented in RegPredict are: (i) regulon reconstruction for a known regulatory motif and (ii) ab initio inference of a novel regulon using several scenarios for the generation of starting gene sets. RegPredict provides a comprehensive collection of manually curated positional weight matrices of regulatory motifs. It is based on genomic sequences, ortholog and operon predictions from the MicrobesOnline. An interactive web interface of RegPredict integrates and presents diverse genomic and functional information about the candidate regulon members from several web resources. RegPredict is freely accessible at http://regpredict.lbl.gov

A Mathematical model for Astrocytes mediated LTP at Single Hippocampal Synapses

Many contemporary studies have shown that astrocytes play a significant role in modulating both short and long form of synaptic plasticity. There are very few experimental models which elucidate the role of astrocyte over Long-term Potentiation (LTP). Recently, Perea & Araque (2007) demonstrated a role of astrocytes in induction of LTP at single hippocampal synapses. They suggested a purely pre-synaptic basis for induction of this N-methyl-D- Aspartate (NMDA) Receptor-independent LTP. Also, the mechanisms underlying this pre-synaptic induction were not investigated. Here, in this article, we propose a mathematical model for astrocyte modulated LTP which successfully emulates the experimental findings of Perea & Araque (2007). Our study suggests the role of retrograde messengers, possibly Nitric Oxide (NO), for this pre-synaptically modulated LTP.Comment: 51 pages, 15 figures, Journal of Computational Neuroscience (to appear

Acceptability and deliverability of an auditory rhythmical cueing (ARC) training programme for use at home and outdoors to improve gait and physical activity post-stroke

Background Although laboratory studies demonstrate that training programmes using auditory rhythmical cueing (ARC) may improve gait post-stroke, few studies have evaluated this intervention in the home and outdoors where deployment may be more appropriate. This manuscript reports stakeholder refinement of an ARC gait and balance training programme for use at home and outdoors, and a study which assessed acceptability and deliverability of this programme. Methods Programme design and content were refined during stakeholder workshops involving physiotherapists and stroke survivors. A two-group acceptability and deliverability study was then undertaken. Twelve patients post-stroke with a gait related mobility impairment received either the ARC gait and balance training programme or the gait and balance training programme without ARC. Programme provider written notes, participant exercise and fall diaries, adverse event monitoring and feedback questionnaires captured data about deliverability, safety and acceptability of the programmes. Results The training programme consisted of 18 sessions (six supervised, 12 self-managed) of exercises and ARC delivered by a low-cost commercially available metronome. All 12 participants completed the six supervised sessions and 10/12 completed the 12 self-managed sessions. Provider and participant session written records and feedback questionnaires confirmed programme deliverability and acceptability. Conclusion An ARC gait and balance training programme refined by key stakeholders was feasible to deliver and acceptable to participants and providers. Trial registration ISCTRN 12/03/2018

Fair play:Perceived fairness in crowdsourcing competitions and the customer relationship-related consequences

TeleRehab enables the rehabilitation services to be delivered in distance by providing information exchange between patient with disabilities and the clinical professionals. The readiness step in any adoption of healthcare services should always be one of the requirements for a successful implementation of an innovation. However, little scholarly has been undertaken to study its influence on TeleRehab and the various barrier factors that influence its adoption. This research explores the barrier factors that influence the readiness of healthcare institution to adopt TeleRehab. This paper presents a semi-structured interview involving 23 clinical professionals of a case study on the issues of TeleRehab readiness in one rehabilitation centre in Malaysia. By applying thematic analysis, the study uncovers seven barriers that affect the TeleRehab readiness. This includes barriers of no urgency to change, less awareness, less involvement in planning, not enough exposure on e-Healthcare knowledge, resistance to change, low usage of hardware and software, and less connectivity. The study contributes to both TeleRehab management and technology readiness research in hospitals