Young people's participation in the development of a self-care intervention--a multi-site formative research study.

The poor outcomes of young people with chronic health conditions indicate that current services and self-care programmes are not meeting the needs of young people. How young people self-manage their condition impacts on long-term health outcomes, but there is little published evidence that details the development of self-care programmes and their most effective components. This article reports on an innovative formative research study, the purpose of which was to develop a self-care intervention prototype. Participants were 87 young people, aged 12-17, and seven young adult facilitators, aged 18-25, with type 1 diabetes or asthma. Each contributed to talking groups exploring themes that young people wanted to be addressed within a self-care programme. Instead of being focused on 'illness', young people's main concerns were directed toward 'life as an adolescent', while at the same time building sustainable daily routines of self-care. Overall, this article illustrates the process of initiating and implementing a developmental approach focused on young people, while also demonstrating the tailored self-care intervention that the process developed. This approach can be used to involve young people in the design and development of other conditions that rely on self-care interventions

The use of red clover (Trifolium pratense) in soil fertility-building: A Review

Red clover cultivation made significant contributions to soil fertility prior to the introduction of mineral nitrogen fertilizers. Its modern usage lies primarily in forage production, but reintegration into arable systems can enhance sustainability and preserve environmental integrity. Here we review red clovers nitrogen (N) contribution to subsequent crops, its capacity to fix N, and how this N is transferred to subsequent crops. The senescence of the root system following cultivation also contributes to soil organic matter, providing a suite of ecosystem services which are also reviewed. Potential contributions to allelopathic weed control and how this may be utilized to improve weed control is also discussed. Red clover varieties are diverse and can be split into categories of early/late flowering, erect/prostrate and diploid/tetraploid. This use of this diversity to different ends and purposes in fertility-building and the role of plant breeding in optimizing use of genetic resources is reviewed. Management strategies are also diverse; red clover can be grown in monoculture or with companion grasses, it can be harvested for forage or green manured (which can include or omit herbicides) and the consequence of this for soil fertility is discussed. High protein forage production is also a key benefit of red clover cultivation and the economic incentive this may provide to farmers is also reviewed

Soil mineral nitrogen availability predicted by herbage yield and disease resistance in red clover (Trifolium pratense) cropping

Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient in crop production. Legumes such as red clover can provide N through biofixation, but securing nitrogen in soil for subsequent crop production must also be considered. Variety selection and management in red clover cropping can influence soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) availability. A field trial to investigate this was conducted with six varieties, under one and two cut management, over 2 years. Dry matter (DM) and N yield, Sclerotinia resistance and SMN availability were assessed. Low DM and N yields (1.6–2.4 t DM ha−1 and 54–83 kg N ha−1) in the first year of cultivation allowed ~ 40 kg N ha−1 to become available, but high DM and N yields (10.2–14.6 t DM ha−1 and 405–544 kg N ha−1) allowed ~ 20 kg N ha−1 to become available. Wetter weather in 2015 caused significantly more SMN losses than 2016 (20 kg N ha−1 in 2015 and 5 kg N ha−1 in 2016). The varieties Amos, Maro and Milvus lost significantly more SMN in the winter period, which may have been caused by more severe infection of Sclerotinia (these varieties were 50–80% more severely infected other varieties). Varietal effect was non-significant for winter losses in 2016, where no significant varietal differences in Sclerotinia infection were observed. 1 cut made ~ 41 kg N ha−1 available in the growing season of 2015, whilst 2 cut made significantly less (37 kg N ha−1). Cutting was non-significant in 2016 but 1 cut was less susceptible to losses in the winter period. Cutting in 2015 did not significantly affect herbage DM and N yields in the first or second cut of 2016

Initial red clover (Trifolium pratense, L.) variety evaluation for soil fertility-building

Nitrogen fixation by legume crops within arable rotations can build soil-fertility, produce a home-grown, highprotein fodder and provide a suite of ecosystem services. Although red clover (Trifolium pratense, L.) is primarly associated with grassland livestock production in the UK, it can also improve the performance of subsequent crops when grown alone or in monoculture (Doel 2013, Moyo 2015). Appropriate variety and foliage management selection could optimize this improvement. The goal of this project is to evaluate six red clover varieties, under treatments of one and two cuts, for fertility-building capacity. The yield and quality of subsequent bioassay crops will be used to assess this capacity

Red clover (Trifolium pratense) in conservation agriculture: a compelling case for increased adoption

The rapidly growing population will soon require a near doubling of food production. This increase must be achieved in a manner that maintains environmental integrity, preserves public health and resolves food access and distribution equalities. The use of forage legumes in arable rotations can make significant and multidimensional contributions to this sustainable intensification and this paper reviews the potential contribution of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), with particular reference to sustainable cereal production in conservation agriculture systems. The use of red clover as a tool in soil fertility-building and the multiple benefits to the cropping system in which it is used is described. The benefits discussed include atmospheric nitrogen fixation, soil conservation, structural soil improvements and a suite of agroecosystem services including increased soil microbial activity, the phytoremediation of polluted soils and the provision of food for pollinators. Reported allelopathic weed suppression by red clover cover crops and the role of modern plant breeding in creating new varieties that further enhance system sustainability is also discussed. Finally, as economic considerations will always impact on adoption rates, the profitability of red clover rotations in terms of silage value and yield benefits is taken into account

A germline TaqI restriction fragment length polymorphism in the progesterone receptor gene in ovarian carcinoma.

Clinical outcome in ovarian carcinoma is predicted by progesterone receptor status, indicating an endocrine aspect to this disease. Peripheral leucocyte genomic DNAs were obtained from 41 patients with primary ovarian carcinoma and 83 controls from Ireland, as well as from 26 primary ovarian carcinoma patients and 101 controls in Germany. Southern analysis using a human progesterone receptor (hPR) cDNA probe identified a germline TaqI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) defined by two alleles: T1, represented by a 2.7 kb fragment; and T2, represented by a 1.9 kb fragment and characterised by an additional TaqI restriction site with respect to T1. An over-representation of T2 in ovarian cancer patients compared with controls in the pooled Irish/German population (P < 0.025) was observed. A difference (P < 0.02) in the distribution of the RFLP genotypes between Irish and German control populations was also observed. The allele distributions could not be shown to differ significantly from Hardy-Weinberg distribution in any subgroup. Using hPR cDNA region-specific probes, the extra TaqI restriction site was mapped to intron G of the hPR gene

Stimulated Muscle Contractions Regulate Membrane-Bound and Soluble TLR4 to Prevent LPS-Induced Signaling and Myotube Atrophy in Skeletal Muscle Cells

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) activation by lipopolysaccharides (LPS) contributes to chronic inflammation and causes upregulation of muscle atrophy signaling pathways. Exercise can suppress LPS/TLR4 axis activation by reducing the expression of TLR4 on immune cells. It is unknown how this regulation occurs, and it is not clear how exercise affects TLR4 on skeletal muscle. PURPOSE: To uncover the nature and mechanisms by which exercise affects TLR4 expression and intracellular signaling using cell culture models and human experiments. METHODS: C2C12 myotubes were subjected to electrical pulse stimulation (EPS) with and without subsequent treatment with 500 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS) along with corresponding control conditions. To investigate the effect of muscle contraction on the regulation of TLR4 in-vivo, we analyzed PBMC and serum samples from eight recreationally active men that completed 60-minutes of cycling at a moderate intensity (65% of VO2max). RESULTS: In-vitro, LPS decreased membrane-bound TLR4, increased TLR4 signaling (decreased inhibitor of κBα), and induced myotube atrophy. However, stimulated muscle contractions decreased membrane-bound TLR4, increased soluble TLR4 (sTLR4), and prevented LPS-induced signaling and myotube atrophy. In human participants, a single bout of moderate-intensity exercise decreased membrane-bound TLR4 on PBMCs and increased serum-borne sTLR4. CONCLUSION: These experiments support exercise may exert a novel anti-catabolic/ anti-inflammatory effect by increasing sTLR4 and decreasing TLR4 expressed on the muscle membrane. These results could help improve interventions for conditions associated with TLR4-mediated inflammation and muscle atrophy, such as diabetes, sarcopenia, and cancer cachexia

Sequentiality and processivity of nuclear receptor coregulators in regulation of target gene expression

A series of data has accumulated over the past five years that raises questions about our current understanding of the transcriptional process and its regulation. Following the discovery of coactivators for nuclear receptors (NRs), a large number of these molecules have been reported in the literature. This perspective will summarize some opinions on the significance of this large number of factors

Religion and religious education : comparing and contrasting pupils’ and teachers’ views in an English school

This publication builds on and develops the English findings of the qualitative study of European teenagers’ perspectives on religion and religious education (Knauth et al. 2008), part of ‘Religion in Education: A contribution to dialogue or a factor of conflict in transforming societies of European countries?’ (REDCo) project. It uses data gathered from 27 pupils, aged 15-16, from a school in a multicultural Northern town in England and compares those findings with data gathered from ten teachers in the humanities faculty of the same school, collected during research for the Warwick REDCo Community of Practice. Comparisons are drawn between the teachers’ and their pupils’ attitudes and values using the same structure as the European study: personal views and experiences of religion, the social dimension of religion, and religious education in school. The discussion offers an analysis of the similarities and differences in worldviews and beliefs which emerged. These include religious commitment/observance differences between the mainly Muslim-heritage pupils and their mainly non-practising Christian-heritage teachers. The research should inform the ways in which the statutory duties to promote community cohesion and equalities can be implemented in schools. It should also facilitate intercultural and interreligious understanding between teachers and the pupils from different ethnic and religious backgrounds