An evaluation of the Writing Assessment Measure (WAM) for children's narrative writing

AbstractThe study evaluated the reliability and validity of the Writing Assessment Measure (WAM), developed to reflect the skills which children of different abilities are expected to achieve in written expression, as part of the National Curriculum guidelines in England and Wales. The focus was on its potential use in investigations of children's written narrative in order to inform and target related interventions. The study involved 97 children aged 7–11 from one urban primary school in England. Prompt 1 was administered to all the children in their classrooms together with a standardised written expression test. After three weeks, the same procedure was followed and Prompt 2 was administered. Statistical analyses of the reliability and validity of the instrument showed that it is consistent over time and can be scored reliably by different raters. Content validity of the instrument was demonstrated through inspection of item total correlations which were all significant. Analyses for concurrent validity showed that the instrument correlates significantly with the Wechsler Written Expressive Language sub-test. Significant differences between children of different age and writing skill were also found. The findings indicate that the instrument has potential utility to professionals assessing children's writing

Who counts? Gender, gatekeeping, and quantitative human geography

How academic disciplines are represented and reproduced is a charged issue. In geography in particular, the challenge is not only who counts, especially with regard to gender and other factors, but also how the boundaries of the discipline are drawn and which subfields are acknowledged. This article contributes to both aspects of the discussion by extending recent research on gender, internationalization, and academic gatekeeping to additional subfields of human geography. In particular, we focus on the demographic structure and international diversity of the editorial teams of flagship quantitative geography journals. We find that women are underrepresented in our sample, with shares ranging from 23.1 to 43.5 percent—numbers unfortunately comparable to many other geography journals. We also find that career stage is an important factor and that our sample is more international and less Anglophone than the disciplinary norm. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of attending to issues of inclusive gatekeeping in geography and elsewhere.PostprintPeer reviewe

c-Myc co-ordinates mRNA cap methylation and ribosomal RNA production

The mRNA cap is a structure added to RNA pol II transcripts in eukaryotes, which recruits factors involved in RNA processing, nuclear export and translation initiation. RNA guanine-7 methyltransferase (RNMT)–RNA-activating miniprotein (RAM), the mRNA cap methyltransferase complex, completes the basic functional mRNA cap structure, cap 0, by methylating the cap guanosine. Here, we report that RNMT–RAM co-ordinates mRNA processing with ribosome production. Suppression of RNMT–RAM reduces synthesis of the 45S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) precursor. RNMT–RAM is required for c-Myc expression, a major regulator of RNA pol I, which synthesises 45S rRNA. Constitutive expression of c-Myc restores rRNA synthesis when RNMT–RAM is suppressed, indicating that RNMT–RAM controls rRNA production predominantly by controlling c-Myc expression. We report that RNMT–RAM is recruited to the ribosomal DNA locus, which may contribute to rRNA synthesis in certain contexts

Protocol for the OUTREACH trial: a randomised trial comparing delivery of cancer systemic therapy in three different settings: patient's home, GP surgery and hospital day unit.

BACKGROUND: The national Cancer Reform Strategy recommends delivering care closer to home whenever possible. Cancer drug treatment has traditionally been administered to patients in specialist hospital-based facilities. Technological developments mean that nowadays, most treatment can be delivered in the out-patient setting. Increasing demand, care quality improvements and patient choice have stimulated interest in delivering some treatment to patients in the community, however, formal evaluation of delivering cancer treatment in different community settings is lacking. This randomised trial compares delivery of cancer treatment in the hospital with delivery in two different community settings: the patient's home and general practice (GP) surgeries. METHODS/DESIGN: Patients due to receive a minimum 12 week course of standard intravenous cancer treatment at two hospitals in the Anglia Cancer Network are randomised on a 1:1:1 basis to receive treatment in the hospital day unit (control arm), or their own home, or their choice of one of three neighbouring GP surgeries. Overall patient care, treatment prescribing and clinical review is undertaken according to standard local practice. All treatment is dispensed by the local hospital pharmacy and treatment is delivered by the hospital chemotherapy nurses. At four time points during the 12 week study period, information is collected from patients, nursing staff, primary and secondary care teams to address the primary end point, patient-perceived benefits (using the emotional function domain of the EORTC QLQC30 patient questionnaire), as well as secondary end points: patient satisfaction, safety and health economics. DISCUSSION: The Outreach trial is the first randomised controlled trial conducted which compares delivery of out-patient based intravenous cancer treatment in two different community settings with standard hospital based treatment. Results of this study may better inform all key stakeholders regarding potential costs and benefits of transferring clinical services from hospital to the community. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN: ISRCTN66219681.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Variable Glycemic Responses to Intact and Hydrolyzed Milk Proteins in Overweight and Obese Adults Reveal the Need for Precision Nutrition

peer-reviewedBackground Dietary modifications can contribute to improved pancreatic β cell function and enhance glycemic control. Objectives The objectives of this study were as follows: 1) to investigate the potential of milk protein hydrolysates to modulate postprandial glucose response; 2) to assess individual responses; and 3) to explore the inter- and intraindividual reproducibility of the response. Methods A 14-d randomized crossover study investigated interstitial glucose levels of participants in response to 12% w/v milk protein drinks (intact caseinate and casein hydrolysate A and B) consumed in random order with a 2-d washout between treatments. Milk protein drinks were consumed immediately prior to study breakfast and evening meals. Twenty participants (11 men, 9 women) aged 50 ± 8 y with a body mass index (in kg/m2) of 30.2 ± 3.1 were recruited. Primary outcome was glucose levels assessed at 15-min intervals with the use of glucose monitors. Results Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that for breakfast there was a significant difference across the 3 treatment groups (P = 0.037). The ability to reduce postprandial glucose was specific to casein hydrolysate B in comparison with intact caseinate (P = 0.039). However, despite this significant difference, further examination revealed that only 3 out of 18 individuals were classified as responders (P < 0.05). High intraclass correlation coefficients were obtained for glucose response to study meals (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.892 for breakfast with intact caseinate). The interindividual CVs were higher than the intraindividual CVs. Mean inter- and intraindividual CVs were 19.4% and 5.7%, respectively, for breakfast with intact caseinate. Conclusion Ingestion of a specific casein hydrolysate successfully reduced the postprandial glucose response; however, at an individual level only 3 participants were classified as responders, highlighting the need for precision nutrition. Exploration of high interindividual responses to nutrition interventions is needed, in combination with the development of precision nutrition, potentially through an n-of-1 approach. This clinical trial was registered as ISRCTN61079365 (https://www.isrctn.com/).Food for Health Irelan

Poor food and nutrient intake among Indigenous and non-Indigenous rural Australian children

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to describe the food and nutrient intake of a population of rural Australian children particularly Indigenous children. Participants were aged 10 to 12 years, and living in areas of relative socio-economic disadvantage on the north coast of New South Wales.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this descriptive cross-sectional study 215 children with a mean age of 11.30 (SD 0.04) years (including 82 Indigenous children and 93 boys) completed three 24-hour food recalls (including 1 weekend day), over an average of two weeks in the Australian summer of late 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high proportion of children consumed less than the Australian Nutrient Reference Values for fibre (74-84% less than Adequate Intake (AI)), calcium (54-86% less than Estimated Average Requirement (EAR)), folate and magnesium (36% and 28% respectively less than EAR among girls), and the majority of children exceeded the upper limit for sodium (68-76% greater than Upper Limit (UL)). Energy-dense nutrient-poor (EDNP) food consumption contributed between 45% and 49% to energy. Hot chips, sugary drinks, high-fat processed meats, salty snacks and white bread were the highest contributors to key nutrients and sugary drinks were the greatest <it>per capita </it>contributor to daily food intake for all. <it>Per capita </it>intake differences were apparent by Indigenous status. Consumption of fruit and vegetables was low for all children. Indigenous boys had a higher intake of energy, macronutrients and sodium than non-Indigenous boys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The nutrient intake and excessive EDNP food consumption levels of Australian rural children from disadvantaged areas are cause for concern regarding their future health and wellbeing, particularly for Indigenous boys. Targeted intervention strategies should address the high consumption of these foods.</p

The dopamine β-hydroxylase -1021C/T polymorphism is associated with the risk of Alzheimer's disease in the Epistasis Project

Contains fulltext : 88930.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: The loss of noradrenergic neurones of the locus coeruleus is a major feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH) catalyses the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline. Interactions have been reported between the low-activity -1021T allele (rs1611115) of DBH and polymorphisms of the pro-inflammatory cytokine genes, IL1A and IL6, contributing to the risk of AD. We therefore examined the associations with AD of the DBH -1021T allele and of the above interactions in the Epistasis Project, with 1757 cases of AD and 6294 elderly controls. METHODS: We genotyped eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the three genes, DBH, IL1A and IL6. We used logistic regression models and synergy factor analysis to examine potential interactions and associations with AD. RESULTS: We found that the presence of the -1021T allele was associated with AD: odds ratio = 1.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.06-1.4, p = 0.005). This association was nearly restricted to men < 75 years old: odds ratio = 2.2 (1.4-3.3, 0.0004). We also found an interaction between the presence of DBH -1021T and the -889TT genotype (rs1800587) of IL1A: synergy factor = 1.9 (1.2-3.1, 0.005). All these results were consistent between North Europe and North Spain. CONCLUSIONS: Extensive, previous evidence (reviewed here) indicates an important role for noradrenaline in the control of inflammation in the brain. Thus, the -1021T allele with presumed low activity may be associated with misregulation of inflammation, which could contribute to the onset of AD. We suggest that such misregulation is the predominant mechanism of the association we report here

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P &lt; 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely