33,700 research outputs found
A new pragmatic design for dose escalation in phase 1 clinical trials using an adaptive continual reassessment method
‘20 tins of Stella for a fiver’: The making of class through Labour and Coalition government alcohol policy
Alcohol use in the UK has been a key concern to both the Labour and Coalition governments, and commands considerable attention in the media and academic discussions. This article analyses how recent government policy discussions have defined particular forms of drinking as problematic, and how these definitions and associated policy initiatives can be seen as part of a wider symbolic economy through which people come to be valued differently, incorporating ideas of economic, cultural and social capital. Therefore, I argue that government policies and discussions of drinking are a key way in which class is constituted in contemporary Britain
Linking the subcultures of physics: Virtual empiricism and the bonding role of trust
This article draws on empirical material concerning the communication and use of knowledge in experimental physics and their relations to the culture of theoretical physics. The role that trust plays in these interactions is used to create a model of social distance between interacting theoretical and experimental cultures. This article thus seeks to reintroduce trust as a fundamental element in answering the problem of disunity in the sociology of knowledge
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The Psy-Security-Curriculum ensemble: British Values curriculum policy in English schools
Framed as being in response to terrorist attacks and concerns about religious bias in some English schools, ‘British Values’ (BV) curriculum policy forms part of the British Government’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015. This includes a Duty on teachers in England to actively promote British Values to deter students from radicalisation. This paper, first, traces the history of Britishness in the curriculum to reveal a prevalence of nationalistic, colonial values. Next, an ensemble of recent policies and speeches focusing on British Values is analysed, using a psycho-political approach informed by anti-colonial scholarship. Finally, we interrogate two key critiques of the British Values curriculum discourse: the universality of British Values globally, and concerns over the securitisation of education. Findings indicate that the constitution of white British supremacist subjectivities operate through curriculum as a defence mechanism against perceived threats to white privilege, by normalising a racialised state-controlled social order. The focus is on ‘British’ values, but the analytic framework and findings have wider global significance
Role of peripheral quantitative computed tomography in identifying disuse osteoporosis in paraplegia
Objective: Disuse osteoporosis is a major long-term health consequence of spinal cord injury (SCI) that still needs to be addressed. Its management in SCI should begin with accurate diagnosis, followed by targeted treatments in the most vulnerable subgroups. We present data quantifying disuse osteoporosis in a cross-section of the Scottish paraplegic population to identify subgroups with lowest bone mineral density (BMD).
Materials and Methods: Forty-seven people with chronic SCI at levels T2-L2 were scanned using peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT) at four tibial sites and two femoral sites, at the Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit, Glasgow (U.K.). At the distal epiphyses, trabecular BMD (BMDtrab), total BMD, total bone cross-sectional area (CSA), and bone mineral content (BMC) were determined. In the diaphyses, cortical BMD, total bone CSA, cortical CSA, and BMC were calculated. Bone, muscle and fat CSAs were estimated in the lower leg and thigh.
Results: BMDtrab decreased exponentially with time since injury, at different rates in the tibia and femur. At most sites, female paraplegics had significantly lower BMC, total bone CSA and muscle CSA than male paraplegics. Subjects with lumbar SCI tended to have lower bone values and smaller muscle CSAs than in thoracic SCI.
Conclusion: At the distal epiphyses of the tibia and femur, there is generally a rapid and extensive reduction in BMDtrab after SCI. Female subjects, and those with lumbar SCI, tend to have lower bone values than males or those with thoracic SCI, respectively.
Keywords: Bone loss, osteoporosis, paraplegia, peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography, spinal cord injur
Intraspecfic variation in cold-temperature metabolic phenotypes of Arabidopsis lyrata ssp petraea
Atmospheric temperature is a key factor in determining the distribution of a plant species. Alongside this, plant populations growing at the margin of their range may exhibit traits that indicate genetic differentiation and adaptation to their local abiotic environment. We investigated whether geographically separated marginal populations of Arabidopsis lyrata ssp. petraea have distinct metabolic phenotypes associated with exposure to cold temperatures. Seeds of A. petraea were obtained from populations along a latitudinal gradient, namely Wales, Sweden and Iceland and grown in a controlled cabinet environment. Mannose, glucose, fructose, sucrose and raffinose concentrations were different between cold treatments and populations, especially in the Welsh population, but polyhydric alcohol concentrations were not. The free amino acid compositions were population specific, with fold differences in most amino acids, especially in the Icelandic populations, with gross changes in amino acids, particularly those associated with glutamine metabolism. Metabolic fingerprints and profiles were obtained. Principal component analysis (PCA) of metabolite fingerprints revealed metabolic characteristic phenotypes for each population and temperature. It is suggested that amino acids and carbohydrates were responsible for discriminating populations within the PCA. Metabolite fingerprinting and profiling has proved to be sufficiently sensitive to identify metabolic differences between plant populations at different atmospheric temperatures. These findings show that there is significant natural variation in cold metabolism among populations of A. l. petraea which may signify plant adaptation to local climates
Using the MitoB method to assess levels of reactive oxygen species in ecological studies of oxidative stress
In recent years evolutionary ecologists have become increasingly interested in the effects of reactive
oxygen species (ROS) on the life-histories of animals. ROS levels have mostly been inferred indirectly
due to the limitations of estimating ROS from in vitro methods. However, measuring ROS (hydrogen
peroxide, H2O2) content in vivo is now possible using the MitoB probe. Here, we extend and refine
the MitoB method to make it suitable for ecological studies of oxidative stress using the brown trout
Salmo trutta as model. The MitoB method allows an evaluation of H2O2 levels in living organisms over
a timescale from hours to days. The method is flexible with regard to the duration of exposure and
initial concentration of the MitoB probe, and there is no transfer of the MitoB probe between fish. H2O2
levels were consistent across subsamples of the same liver but differed between muscle subsamples
and between tissues of the same animal. The MitoB method provides a convenient method for
measuring ROS levels in living animals over a significant period of time. Given its wide range of possible
applications, it opens the opportunity to study the role of ROS in mediating life history trade-offs in
ecological settings
Satellite-based delivery of educational content to geographically isolated communities: A service based approach
Enabling learning for members of geographically
isolated communities presents benefits in terms of
promoting regional development and cost savings for governments and companies. However, notwithstanding recent advances in e-Learning, from both technological and pedagogical perspectives, there are very few, if any,
recognised methodologies for user-led design of satellite-based e-learning infrastructures. In this paper, we present a methodology for designing a satellite and wireless based network infrastructure and learning services to support distance learning for such isolated communities. This methodology entails (a) the involvement of community members in the development of targeted learning services from an early stage, and (b) a service-oriented approach to learning solution deployment. Results show, that, while the technological premises of distance learning can be
accommodated by hybrid satellite/wireless infrastructures,this has to be complemented with (a) high-quality audio–visual educational material, and (b) the opportunity for community members to interact with other community
members either as groups (common-room oriented scenarios) or individuals (home-based scenarios), thus providing an impetus for learner engagement in both formal and informal activities
Constraints on dark matter and the shape of the Milky Way dark halo from the 511 keV line
About one year ago, it was speculated that decaying or annihilating Light
Dark Matter (LDM) particles could explain the flux and extension of the 511 keV
line emission in the galactic centre. Here we present a thorough comparison
between theoretical expectations of the galactic positron distribution within
the LDM scenario and observational data from INTEGRAL/SPI. Unlike previous
analyses, there is now enough statistical evidence to put tight constraints on
the shape of the dark matter halo of our galaxy, if the galactic positrons
originate from dark matter. For annihilating candidates, the best fit to the
observed 511 keV emission is provided by a radial density profile with inner
logarithmic slope gamma=1.03+-0.04. In contrast, decaying dark matter requires
a much steeper density profile, gamma>1.5, rather disfavoured by both
observations and numerical simulations. Within the annihilating LDM scenario, a
velocity-independent cross-section would be consistent with the observational
data while a cross-section purely proportional to v^2 can be rejected at a high
confidence level. Assuming the most simplistic model where the galactic
positrons are produced as primaries, we show that the LDM candidate should be a
scalar rather than a spin-1/2 particle and obtain a very stringent constraint
on the value of the positron production cross-section to explain the 511 keV
emission. One consequence is that the value of the fine structure constant
should differ from that recommended in the CODATA. This is a very strong test
for the LDM scenario and an additional motivation in favour of experiments
measuring alpha directly. Our results finally indicate that an accurate
measurement of the shape of the dark halo profile could have a tremendous
impact on the determination of the origin of the 511 keV line and vice versa.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRA
Exploring young people's and youth workers' experiences of spaces for ‘youth development’: creating cultures of participation
The paper focuses on the emergence of ‘positive youth development’ and its impact on older, more established practices of working with young people, such as youth work. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in England between 2004 and 2006, in particular young people's and youth workers' accounts of participating in youth work, the analysis engages with the social spaces in which youth work takes place and asks key questions about why young people might participate in youth spaces, what they get out of participating and how such spaces can promote cultures of participation. The analysis shows that such spaces provide young people and their communities with biographical continuity and time becomes a key component for sustaining such spaces. The argument is made for a more nuanced understanding of what young people get out of their participation in youth spaces, and for an epistemological approach to youth praxis that embraces the messiness and inequalities of lived experience
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