Building social capital through breastfeeding peer support: Insights from an evaluation of a voluntary breastfeeding peer support service in North-West England

Background: Peer support is reported to be a key method to help build social capital in communities. To date there are no studies that describe how this can be achieved through a breastfeeding peer support service. In this paper we present findings from an evaluation of a voluntary model of breastfeeding peer support in North-West England to describe how the service was operationalized and embedded into the community. This study was undertaken from May, 2012 to May, 2013. Methods: Interviews (group or individual) were held with 87 participants: 24 breastfeeding women, 13 peer supporters and 50 health and community professionals. The data contained within 23 monthly monitoring reports (January, 2011 to February 2013) compiled by the voluntary peer support service were also extracted and analysed. Results: Thematic analysis was undertaken using social capital concepts as a theoretical lens. Key findings were identified to resonate with ’bonding’, ‘bridging’ and ‘linking’ forms of social capital. These insights illuminate how the peer support service facilitates ‘bonds’ with its members, and within and between women who access the service; how the service ‘bridges’ with individuals from different interests and backgrounds, and how ‘links’ were forged with those in authority to gain access and reach to women and to promote a breastfeeding culture. Some of the tensions highlighted within the social capital literature were also identified. Conclusions: Horizontal and vertical relationships forged between the peer support service and community members enabled peer support to be embedded into care pathways, helped to promote positive attitudes to breastfeeding and to disseminate knowledge and maximise reach for breastfeeding support across the community. Further effort to engage with those of different ethnic backgrounds and to resolve tensions between peer supporters and health professionals is warranted

Transformational school leadership as a key factor for teachers’ job attitudes during their first year in the profession

Teacher attrition is a global concern that is particularly prevalent among beginning teachers. Teachers' intrinsic motivation to teach, affective organisational commitment and job satisfaction are considered job attitudes that stop them from dropping out of the profession. This study explores the interplay between factors at the school level (i.e. transformational leadership of the principal, professional collegial support) and the teacher level (i.e. self-efficacy) influencing these job attitudes. A sample of 292 first-year primary-school teachers participated. The results of the path analysis demonstrated that transformational leadership of the principal is directly related to teachers' job attitudes in a positive way. Moreover, transformational leadership of the principal is also indirectly related to these attitudes, via both professional collegial support and teachers' self-efficacy. Implications for the supportive role of the principal in the teachers' first year in the profession are discussed

Synchronized Retrovirus Fusion in Cells Expressing Alternative Receptor Isoforms Releases the Viral Core into Distinct Sub-cellular Compartments

Disparate enveloped viruses initiate infection by fusing with endosomes. However, the highly diverse and dynamic nature of endosomes impairs mechanistic studies of fusion and identification of sub-cellular sites supporting the nucleocapsid release. We took advantage of the extreme stability of avian retrovirus-receptor complexes at neutral pH and of acid-dependence of virus-endosome fusion to isolate the latter step from preceding asynchronous internalization/trafficking steps. Viruses were trapped within endosomes in the presence of NH4Cl. Removal of NH4Cl resulted in a quick and uniform acidification of all subcellular compartments, thereby initiating synchronous viral fusion. Single virus imaging demonstrated that fusion was initiated within seconds after acidification and often culminated in the release of the viral core from an endosome. Comparative studies of cells expressing either the transmembrane or GPI-anchored receptor isoform revealed that the transmembrane receptor delivered the virus to more fusion-permissive compartments. Thus the identity of endosomal compartments, in addition to their acidity, appears to modulate viral fusion. A more striking manifestation of the virus delivery to distinct compartments in the presence of NH4Cl was the viral core release into the cytosol of cells expressing the transmembrane receptor and into endosomes of cells expressing the GPI-anchored isoform. In the latter cells, the newly released cores exhibited restricted mobility and were exposed to a more acidic environment than the cytoplasm. These cores appear to enter into the cytosol after an additional slow temperature-dependent step. We conclude that the NH4Cl block traps the virus within intralumenal vesicles of late endosomes in cells expressing the GPI-anchored receptor. Viruses surrounded by more than one endosomal membrane release their core into the cytoplasm in two steps – fusion with an intralumenal vesicle followed by a yet unknown temperature-dependent step that liberates the core from late endosomes

Lysophosphatidate Induces Chemo-Resistance by Releasing Breast Cancer Cells from Taxol-Induced Mitotic Arrest

Taxol is a microtubule stabilizing agent that arrests cells in mitosis leading to cell death. Taxol is widely used to treat breast cancer, but resistance occurs in 25-69% of patients and it is vital to understand how Taxol resistance develops to improve chemotherapy. The effects of chemotherapeutic agents are overcome by survival signals that cancer cells receive. We focused our studies on autotaxin, which is a secreted protein that increases tumor growth, aggressiveness, angiogenesis and metastasis. We discovered that autotaxin strongly antagonizes the Taxol-induced killing of breast cancer and melanoma cells by converting the abundant extra-cellular lipid, lysophosphatidylcholine, into lysophosphatidate. This lipid stimulates specific G-protein coupled receptors that activate survival signals.In this study we determined the basis of these antagonistic actions of lysophosphatidate towards Taxol-induced G2/M arrest and cell death using cultured breast cancer cells. Lysophosphatidate does not antagonize Taxol action in MCF-7 cells by increasing Taxol metabolism or its expulsion through multi-drug resistance transporters. Lysophosphatidate does not lower the percentage of cells accumulating in G2/M by decreasing exit from S-phase or selective stimulation of cell death in G2/M. Instead, LPA had an unexpected and remarkable action in enabling MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cells, which had been arrested in G2/M by Taxol, to normalize spindle structure and divide, thus avoiding cell death. This action involves displacement of Taxol from the tubulin polymer fraction, which based on inhibitor studies, depends on activation of LPA receptors and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.This work demonstrates a previously unknown consequence of lysophosphatidate action that explains why autotaxin and lysophosphatidate protect against Taxol-induced cell death and promote resistance to the action of this important therapeutic agent

Mutations in SELENBP1, encoding a novel human methanethiol oxidase, cause extraoral halitosis

Selenium-binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) has been associated with several cancers, although its exact role is unknown. We show that SELENBP1 is a methanethiol oxidase (MTO), related to the MTO in methylotrophic bacteria, that converts methanethiol to H2O2, formaldehyde, and H2S, an activity not previously known to exist in humans. We identified mutations in SELENBP1 in five patients with cabbage-like breath odor. The malodor was attributable to high levels of methanethiol and dimethylsulfide, the main odorous compounds in their breath. Elevated urinary excretion of dimethylsulfoxide was associated with MTO deficiency. Patient fibroblasts had low SELENBP1 protein levels and were deficient in MTO enzymatic activity; these effects were reversed by lentivirus-mediated expression of wild-type SELENBP1. Selenbp1-knockout mice showed biochemical characteristics similar to those in humans. Our data reveal a potentially frequent inborn error of metabolism that results from MTO deficiency and leads to a malodor syndrome.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Joint Influence of Intra- and Inter-Team Learning Processes on Team Performance: A Constructive or Destructive Combination?

In order for teams to build a shared conception of their task, team learning is crucial. Benefits of intra-team learning have been demonstrated in numerous studies. However, teams do not operate in a vacuum, and interact with their environment to execute their tasks. Our knowledge of the added value of inter-team learning (team learning with external parties) is limited. Do both types of team learning compete over limited resources, or do they form a synergistic combination? We aim to shed light on the interplay between intra- and inter-team learning in relation to team performance, by including adaptive and transformative sub-processes of intra-team learning. A quantitative field study was conducted among 108 university teacher teams. The joint influence of intra- and inter-team learning as well as structural (task interdependence) and cultural (team efficacy) team characteristics on self-perceived and externally rated team performance were explored in a path model. The results showed that adaptive intra-team learning positively influenced self-perceived team performance, while transformative intra-team learning positively influenced externally rated team performance. Moreover, intra-team and inter-team learning were found to be both a constructive and a destructive combination. Adaptive intra-team learning combined with inter-team learning led to increased team performance, while transformative intra-team learning combined with inter-team learning hurt team performance. The findings demonstrate the importance of distinguishing between both the scope (intra- vs. inter-team) and the level (adaptive vs. transformative) of team learning in understanding team performance

Networked individualism and learning in organizations:an ego-network perspective on informal learning ties

\u3cp\u3ePurpose: This paper aims to investigate the extent professionals from the vocational sector are networked individuals. The authors explore how professionals use their personal networks to engage in a wide variety of learning activities and examine what social mechanisms influence professionals’ agency to form personal informal learning networks. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied a mixed-method approach to data collection. Social network data were gathered among school professionals working in the vocational sector. Ego-network analysis was performed. A total of 24 in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews were analyzed. Findings: This study found that networked individualism is not represented to its full potential in the vocational sector. However, it is important to form informal learning ties with different stakeholders because all types of informal learning ties serve different learning purposes. The extent to which social mechanisms (i.e. proximity, trust, level of expertise and homophily) influence professionals’ agency to form informal learning ties differs depending on the stakeholder with whom the informal learning ties are formed. Research limitations/implications: This study excludes the investigation of social mechanisms that shape learning through more impersonal virtual learning resources, such as social media or expert forums. Moreover, the authors only included individual- and dyadic-level social mechanisms. Practical implications: By investigating the social mechanisms that shape informal learning ties, this study provides insights how professionals can be stimulated to build rich personal learning networks in the vocational sector. Originality/value: The authors extend earlier research with in-depth information on the different types of learning activities professionals engage in in their personal learning networks with different stakeholders. The ego-network perspective reveals how different social mechanisms influence professionals’ agency to shape informal learning networks with different stakeholders.\u3c/p\u3

Lighting affects students' concentration positively: Findings from three Dutch studies

The importance of lighting for performance in human adults is well established. However, evidence on the extent to which lighting affects the school performance of young children is sparse. This paper evaluates the effect of lighting conditions (with vertical illuminances between 350 lux and 1000 lux and correlated colour temperatures between 3000 and 12 000 K) on the concentration of elementary school children in three experiments. In the first two experiments, a flexible and dynamic lighting system is used in quasi-experimental field studies using data from 89 pupils from two schools (Study 1) and 37 pupils from two classrooms (Study 2). The third experiment evaluated two lighting settings within a schoolsimulating, windowless laboratory setting (n ¼ 55). The results indicate a positive influence of the lighting system on pupils' concentration. The findings underline the importance of lighting for learning. Several suggestions are made for further research