Shifting beliefs about suicide: Pre-post evaluation of the effectiveness of a program for workers in the construction industry

Suicide is a significant health problem that is known to disproportionately affect those employed in manual occupations, including construction workers and tradespeople. Universal General Awareness Training (GAT) was part of a multi-component suicide prevention program in the Australian construction industry. The program’s aims were to increase awareness of mental health and suicide, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking and help-offering behaviours. This paper sought to examine the effectiveness of the GAT program in shifting suicide beliefs. Pre- and post-training survey data of 20,125 respondents was obtained from a database of GAT evaluation results between 2016 and 2018. Generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were fitted to examine belief changes, and predictive margins and their SEs were computed. Mean differences in belief change were obtained for the overall sample, and by occupation. Modest but significant favourable shifts in three of the four beliefs assessed were observed following GAT. Managers and professionals showed greater propensity to shift beliefs, and Labourers and Machinery Operators and Drivers showed least. Results suggest that GAT can successfully shift some beliefs regarding suicide and mental health at least in the short term, but highlight the need to tailor communication to vulnerable occupational groups.This study was funded by an NHMRC Partnership Project grant (APP1134499)

Instances and connectors : issues for a second generation process language

This work is supported by UK EPSRC grants GR/L34433 and GR/L32699Over the past decade a variety of process languages have been defined, used and evaluated. It is now possible to consider second generation languages based on this experience. Rather than develop a second generation wish list this position paper explores two issues: instances and connectors. Instances relate to the relationship between a process model as a description and the, possibly multiple, enacting instances which are created from it. Connectors refers to the issue of concurrency control and achieving a higher level of abstraction in how parts of a model interact. We believe that these issues are key to developing systems which can effectively support business processes, and that they have not received sufficient attention within the process modelling community. Through exploring these issues we also illustrate our approach to designing a second generation process language.Postprin

Pond ecology and conservation: research priorities and knowledge gaps

Ponds are among the most biodiverse and ecologically important freshwater habitats globally and may provide a significant opportunity to mitigate anthropogenic pressures and reverse the decline of aquatic biodiversity. Ponds also provide important contributions to society through the provision of ecosystem services. Despite the ecological and societal importance of ponds, freshwater research, policy, and conservation have historically focused on larger water bodies, with significant gaps remaining in our understanding and conservation of pond ecosystems. In May 2019, pond researchers and practitioners participated in a workshop to tackle several pond ecology, conservation, and management issues. Nine research themes and 30 research questions were identified during and following the workshop to address knowledge gaps around: (1) pond habitat definition; (2) global and long-term data availability; (3) anthropogenic stressors; (4) aquatic–terrestrial interactions; (5) succession and disturbance; (6) freshwater connectivity; (7) pond monitoring and technological advances; (8) socio-economic factors; and (9) conservation, management, and policy. Key areas for the future inclusion of ponds in environmental and conservation policy were also discussed. Addressing gaps in our fundamental understanding of pond ecosystems will facilitate more effective research-led conservation and management of pondscapes, their inclusion in environmental policy, support the sustainability of ecosystem services, and help address many of the global threats driving the decline in freshwater biodiversity

Concurrent Oral 9 - Rheumatoid Arthritis: Aetiopathogenesis [OP59-OP64]: OP59. The Value of Interleukin-17 Serum Level in Rheumatoid Arthritis Immunopathogenesis

Background: Interleukin (IL)-17 is the main Th-1 cytokine, produced by activated T-lymphocytes. The potential IL-17 value in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) pathogenesis consists of its independent inflammatory response induction and mediated stimulation of proinflammatory factors synthesis resulting in joint destruction. The aim of study was to determine the role of IL-17 in immuno-inflammatory/autoimmune reactions development and to reveal IL-17 serum level associations with clinical and immunological characteristics of RA. Methods: 50 patients with early RA (disease duration >, Russia), anti-CCP antibodies (Axies-Shield Diagnostic, UK) were revealed using ELISA immunoassay. Results: On the base of IL-17 serum level patients were divided in two groups: group1 (n = 28) were patients with normal IL-17 serum level and group2 (n = 22) were those with high IL-17 serum level. In the group2, the rate of patients' pain assessment by visual analogue scale (67.3 ± 7.2 vs 32.8 ± 4.6; P < 0.001), tender (16.7 ± 2.0 vs 8.4 ± 1.1; P < 0.01) and swollen (12.3 ± 2.3 vs 3.9 ± 0.8; P < 0.01) joint count, DAS28 (5.0 ± 0.4 vs 2.8 ± 0.2 P < 0.01) were significantly higher compare to group1. It was found that in group2 the higher T-lymphocyte amount (CD3) was due to CD4 higher quantity, at the same time CD8 amount was significantly lower (22.2 ± 1.5% vs 28.4 ± 1.7%, P < 0.05) compare to group1. This caused the immunoregulative index increasing and indicated in the lost of autoimmune process regulation, including B-lymphocytes (CD19) activation. The CD154 expression was significantly lower in the group2 (3.4 ± 0.4% vs 10.8 ± 2.8%, P < 0.05) compare to group1. The difference in autoimmune reaction indices wasn't significant between groups except antibody-producing B-lymphocytes (13.7 ± 1.5% vs 8.5 ± 1.0%, P < 0.05) and IgM RF serum level (2.9 ± 0.3 U/ml vs 1.6 ± 0.5 U/ml, P < 0.05), which were significantly higher in group1. The IL-17 level had a positive correlative connections with DAS28 (r = 0.7; P < 0.05), circulative immune complex level (r = 0.38; P < 0.05), anti-CCP antibodies (r = 0.4; P < 0.05), IgM RF (r = 0.41; P < 0.05), CD4 (r = 0.38; P < 0.05) and negative correlative connection with CD8 (r = -0.39; P < 0.05). Conclusions: The importance of IL-17 value in immuno-inflammatory and autoimmune reactions development through T-lymphocytes activation in RA pathogenesis was confirmed. Thus the influence on T-depended immuno-inflammatory reaction products synthesis could be a new therapeutic target of RA patients' management. Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action as Ethnic Behavior: Part 1. Construction of the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory

© 2016 Taylor & Francis.This article reports the construction of a new survey—specifically, the Brunel Ethnic Behavior Inventory (BEBI)—designed to measure ethnic speech and ethnic action as separate, yet related, aspects of individuals’ ethnic behavior. Using Tajfel’s social identity theory as a conceptual frame of reference, this study sought an answer to the research question of how many factors actually are measured by the BEBI, and tested the hypothesis that a two-factor model (i.e., Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action as two correlated factors) would provide significantly better goodness of fit to the correlational data than would a one-factor model (i.e., Ethnic Behavior as one undifferentiated factor). Across one pilot sample (n = 101) and two main samples (n = 120 for Sample 1, n = 148 for Sample 2), the study found that not only did the BEBI measure two factors at most (i.e., Ethnic Speech and Ethnic Action) but, consistent with the hypothesis, the two-factor model yielded better goodness of fit than did the one-factor model. Implications for the conceptualization and measurement of Verkuyten’s “ways of ethnicity” are discussed

Curriculum in early childhood education: critical questions about content, coherence, and control

A continuing struggle over curriculum in early childhood education is evident in contemporary research and debate at national and international levels. This reflects the dominant influence of developmental psychology in international discourses, and in policy frameworks that determine approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. Focusing on early childhood education, we argue that this struggle generates critical questions about three significant themes within curriculum theory: content, coherence, and control. We outline two positions from which these themes can be understood: Developmental and Educational Psychology and contemporary policy frameworks. We argue that within and between these positions, curriculum content, coherence, and control are viewed in different and sometimes oppositional ways. Following this analysis, we propose that a focus on ‘working theories’ as a third position offers possibilities for addressing some of these continuing struggles, by exploring different implications for how content, coherence, and control might be understood. We conclude that asking critical questions of curriculum in early childhood education is a necessary endeavour to develop alternative theoretical frameworks for understanding the ways in which curriculum can be considered alongside pedagogy, assessment, play, and learning

Candidate biomarkers of PARP inhibitor sensitivity in ovarian cancer beyond the BRCA genes

BACKGROUND: Olaparib (Lynparza™) is a PARP inhibitor approved for advanced BRCA-mutated (BRCAm) ovarian cancer. PARP inhibitors may benefit patients whose tumours are dysfunctional in DNA repair mechanisms unrelated to BRCA1/2. We report exploratory analyses, including the long-term outcome of candidate biomarkers of sensitivity to olaparib in BRCA wild-type (BRCAwt) tumours. METHODS: Tumour samples from an olaparib maintenance monotherapy trial (Study 19, D0810C00019; NCT00753545) were analysed. Analyses included classification of mutations in genes involved in homologous recombination repair (HRR), BRCA1 promoter methylation status, measurement of BRCA1 protein and Myriad HRD score. RESULTS: Patients with BRCAm tumours gained most benefit from olaparib; a similar treatment benefit was also observed in 21/95 patients whose tumours were BRCAwt but had loss-of-function HRR mutations compared to patients with no detectable HRR mutations (58/95). A higher median Myriad MyChoice® HRD score was observed in BRCAm and BRCAwt tumours with BRCA1 methylation. Patients without BRCAm tumours derived benefit from olaparib treatment vs placebo although to a lesser extent than BRCAm patients.CONCLUSIONS: Ovarian cancer patients with tumours harbouring loss-of-function mutations in HRR genes other than BRCA1/2 may constitute a small, molecularly identifiable and clinically relevant population who derive treatment benefit from olaparib similar to patients with BRCAm