The value of competitive employment:In-depth accounts of people with intellectual disabilities

BackgroundIncreasing the societal participation of people with intellectual disabilities via competitive employment requires a full understanding of what this means to them. This paper aims to provide an in‐depth examination of the lived experiences of people with intellectual disabilities in competitive employment.MethodInterviews were conducted with six participants with mild intellectual disability or borderline functioning and good verbal communication skills. Interviews were analysed according to the guidelines of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). Member checks were conducted.ResultsAnalysis yielded three main themes: (a) Building on my life experiences, (b) My place at work and (c) Being a valuable member of society, like everyone else.ConclusionsCompetitive employment could make a substantial contribution to the sense of belonging to society and quality of life of people with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, they must cope with stigma‐related obstacles and feelings of being dependent on others in the work environment

Delineating ethnic and religious identities in research with British South Asians

The present essay presents a rationale for delineating ethnic and religious identities in empirical research into self-identification among British South Asians. It is argued that the delineation of these identities is important in order to (i) predict and explain the identificatory possibilities available to these individuals; (ii) explore the differential values attributed to these identities; (iii) the level of psychological 'connectedness' between the identities; and (iv) the inter-relations between these identities, particularly in relation to psychological coherence. It is argued that a systematic delineation of these identities may have favourable theoretical, empirical and practical outcomes

Neutral-Current Atmospheric Neutrino Flux Measurement Using Neutrino-Proton Elastic Scattering in Super-Kamiokande

Recent results show that atmospheric $\nu_\mu$ oscillate with $\delta m^2 \simeq 3 \times 10^{-3}$ eV$^2$ and $\sin^2{2\theta_{atm}} \simeq 1$, and that conversion into $\nu_e$ is strongly disfavored. The Super-Kamiokande (SK) collaboration, using a combination of three techniques, reports that their data favor $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ over $\nu_\mu \to \nu_{sterile}$. This distinction is extremely important for both four-neutrino models and cosmology. We propose that neutrino-proton elastic scattering ($\nu + p \to \nu + p$) in water \v{C}erenkov detectors can also distinguish between active and sterile oscillations. This was not previously recognized as a useful channel since only about 2% of struck protons are above the \v{C}erenkov threshold. Nevertheless, in the present SK data there should be about 40 identifiable events. We show that these events have unique particle identification characteristics, point in the direction of the incoming neutrinos, and correspond to a narrow range of neutrino energies (1-3 GeV, oscillating near the horizon). This channel will be particularly important in Hyper-Kamiokande, with $\sim 40$ times higher rate. Our results have other important applications. First, for a similarly small fraction of atmospheric neutrino quasielastic events, the proton is relativistic. This uniquely selects $\nu_\mu$ (not $\bar{\nu}_\mu$) events, useful for understanding matter effects, and allows determination of the neutrino energy and direction, useful for the $L/E$ dependence of oscillations. Second, using accelerator neutrinos, both elastic and quasielastic events with relativistic protons can be seen in the K2K 1-kton near detector and MiniBooNE.Comment: 10 pages RevTeX, 8 figure

Carbon implications of converting cropland to bioenergy crops or forest for climate mitigation: a global assessment

The potential for climate change mitigation by bioenergy crops and terrestrial carbon sinks has been the object of intensive research in the past decade. There has been much debate about whether energy crops used to offset fossil fuel use, or carbon sequestration in forests, would provide the best climate mitigation benefit. Most current food cropland is unlikely to be used for bioenergy, but in many regions of the world, a proportion of cropland is being abandoned, particularly marginal croplands, and some of this land is now being used for bioenergy. In this study, we assess the consequences of land-use change on cropland. We first identify areas where cropland is so productive that it may never be converted and assess the potential of the remaining cropland to mitigate climate change by identifying which alternative land use provides the best climate benefit: C4 grass bioenergy crops, coppiced woody energy crops or allowing forest regrowth to create a carbon sink. We do not present this as a scenario of land-use change – we simply assess the best option in any given global location should a land-use change occur. To do this, we use global biomass potential studies based on food crop productivity, forest inventory data and dynamic global vegetation models to provide, for the first time, a global comparison of the climate change implications of either deploying bioenergy crops or allowing forest regeneration on current crop land, over a period of 20 years starting in the nominal year of 2000 ad. Globally, the extent of cropland on which conversion to energy crops or forest would result in a net carbon loss, and therefore likely always to remain as cropland, was estimated to be about 420.1 Mha, or 35.6% of the total cropland in Africa, 40.3% in Asia and Russia Federation, 30.8% in Europe-25, 48.4% in North America, 13.7% in South America and 58.5% in Oceania. Fast growing C4 grasses such as Miscanthus and switch-grass cultivars are the bioenergy feedstock with the highest climate mitigation potential. Fast growing C4 grasses such as Miscanthus and switch-grass cultivars provide the best climate mitigation option on ≈485 Mha of cropland worldwide with ~42% of this land characterized by a terrain slope equal or above 20%. If that land-use change did occur, it would displace ≈58.1 Pg fossil fuel C equivalent (Ceq oil). Woody energy crops such as poplar, willow and Eucalyptus species would be the best option on only 2.4% (≈26.3 Mha) of current cropland, and if this land-use change occurred, it would displace ≈0.9 Pg Ceq oil. Allowing cropland to revert to forest would be the best climate mitigation option on ≈17% of current cropland (≈184.5 Mha), and if this land-use change occurred, it would sequester ≈5.8 Pg C in biomass in the 20-year-old forest and ≈2.7 Pg C in soil. This study is spatially explicit, so also serves to identify the regional differences in the efficacy of different climate mitigation options, informing policymakers developing regionally or nationally appropriate mitigation actions

The construction of ethnic identity: insights from identity process theory

Ethnicity has received much empirical and theoretical attention in the social sciences. Yet, it has scarcely been explored in terms of its relationship with the motivational principles of identity. Here it is argued that there is much heuristic and predictive value in applying identity process theory (IPT), a socio-psychological model of identity threat, to the substantive literature on ethnicity. The paper explores the potential psychological benefits of ethnic identification. Key theoretical strands from anthropology and sociology, such as the ‘relational self’ in ethnic identification, are discussed in relation to IPT. The intergroup dimension of ethnic identification is explored through the discussion of ethnic 'boundaries'. Finally, the paper discusses the construct of 'hybridization' in relation to social psychology. This paper attempts to reconcile psychological and sociological perspectives on ethnic identification, advocating a multi-methodological approach. Key theoretical points are outlined in the form of testable hypotheses which are open to empirical exploration

Is EGFR expression altered following postoperative chemotherapy for colorectal adenocarcinoma?

BACKGROUND: There is immunohistochemical evidence to suggest that expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in primary colorectal adenocarcinoma predicts its expression in recurrent disease. This study investigates whether postoperative chemotherapy affects the degree of concordance between EGFR statuses of the two tumors. METHODS: Thirty-three patients were identified from the files of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center from July 1994 to June 2005. All patients had resection of their primary tumors and their distant recurrences. Eighteen patients received postoperative chemotherapy, 3 of which also received postoperative radiation therapy. Representative primary and recurrent tumor sections were stained using mouse anti-EGFR antibodies and only membranous staining of malignant cells was recorded. Results were reported as negative (no staining), 1+ (positivity in <50% of cells) or 2+ (positivity in >50% of cells). RESULTS: EGFR immunostaining in the 15 patients, who received no postoperative chemotherapy, was decreased in 3 recurrences, remained the same in 10 and increased in 2. In the group of 18 patients who received postoperative chemotherapy, EGFR immunostaining was decreased in 6 recurrences, remained the same in 9 and increased in 3 (p = 0.6598). In patients who received postoperative chemotherapy, the odds ratio for a recurrence to show lower levels of EGFR immunostaining compared to its originally resected primary was 4.75 (CI = 0.94 – 26.73). CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that recurrences following postoperative chemotherapy are likely to have lower levels of EGFR expression compared to cases who receive no chemotherapy. Although the difference of immunostaining profiles between the two groups was not statistically significant, this observation might impact the management of these patients by targeted biologic therapies and its practical implications need further validation in larger series

Osteoarthritis and mortality: A prospective cohort study and systematic review with meta-analysis

Objectives: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of disability, but the relationship with premature mortality remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the relationship between OA and mortality from any cause and from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: Electronic literature databases searches were conducted to identify prospective studies comparing mortality in a sample of people with and without OA. Risk of all-cause and CVD mortality were summarized using adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for joint specific (hand, hip, and knee) and joint non-specific OA. New data from the Progetto Veneto Anziani (PRO.V.A.) study were also included. Results: From the PRO.V.A. study (N 1⁄4 2927), there was no significant increase in mortality risk for participants with any joint OA (N 1⁄4 1858) compared to non-OA (all-cause, HR 1⁄4 0.95, 95% CI: 0.77–1.15 and CVD, HR 1⁄4 1.12, 95% CI: 0.82–1.54). On meta-analysis, seven studies (OA 1⁄4 10,018/non-OA 1⁄4 18,541), with a median 12-year follow-up, reported no increased risk of any-cause mortality in those with OA (HR 1⁄4 1.10, 95% CI: 0.97–1.25). After removing data on hand OA, a significant association between OA and mortality was observed (HR 1⁄4 1.18, 95% CI: 1.08–1.28). There was a significant higher risk of overall mortality for (1) studies conducted in Europe, (2) patients with multi-joint OA; and (3) a radiological diagnosis of OA. OA was associated with significantly higher CVD mortality (HR 1⁄4 1.21, 95% CI: 1.10–1.34). Conclusions: People with OA are at increased risk of death due to CVD. The relationship with overall mortality is less clear and may be moderated by the presence of hand OA

Inclusion Body Myositis: Laser Microdissection Reveals Differential Up-Regulation of IFN-γ Signaling Cascade in Attacked versus Nonattacked Myofibers

Sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a muscle disease with two separate pathogenic components, degeneration and inflammation. Typically, nonnecrotic myofibers are focally surrounded and invaded by CD8+ T cells and macrophages. Both attacked and nonattacked myofibers express high levels of human leukocyte antigen class I (HLA-I) molecules, a prerequisite for antigen presentation to CD8+ T cells. However, only a subgroup of HLA-I+ myofibers is attacked by immune cells. By using IHC, we classified myofibers from five patients with sporadic IBM as attacked (AIBM) or nonattacked (NIBM) and isolated the intracellular contents of myofibers separately by laser microdissection. For comparison, we isolated myofibers from control persons (HCTRL). The samples were analyzed by microarray hybridization and quantitative PCR. HLA-I up-regulation was observed in AIBM and NIBM, whereas HCTRL were negative for HLA-I. In contrast, the inducible chain of the interferon (IFN) γ receptor (IFNGR2) and several IFN-γ–induced genes were up-regulated in AIBM compared with NIBM and HCTRL fibers. Confocal microscopy confirmed segmental IFNGR2 up-regulation on the membranes of AIBM, which positively correlated with the number of adjacent CD8+ T cells. Thus, the differential up-regulation of the IFN-γ signaling cascade observed in the attacked fibers is related to local inflammation, whereas the ubiquitous HLA-I expression on IBM muscle fibers does not require IFNGR expression