Families and work: revisiting barriers to employment

"In recent years, considerable effort has been put into supporting parents to make the transition into work. This study was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to explore whether these incentives were helping parents to overcome the barriers known to impede their engagement in the formal labour market. The report is based on fieldwork conducted in 2009. However, the concluding chapter considers the significance of the findings in light of proposals for the introduction of the Universal Credit and other reforms of the tax and benefit systems proposed by the Coalition Government." - Page 1

Psychometric Evaluation and Design of Patient-Centered Communication Measures for Cancer Care Settings

Objective To evaluate the psychometric properties of questions that assess patient perceptions of patient-provider communication and design measures of patient-centered communication (PCC). Methods Participants (adults with colon or rectal cancer living in North Carolina) completed a survey at 2 to 3 months post-diagnosis. The survey included 87 questions in six PCC Functions: Exchanging Information, Fostering Health Relationships, Making Decisions, Responding to Emotions, Enabling Patient Self-Management, and Managing Uncertainty. For each Function we conducted factor analyses, item response theory modeling, and tests for differential item functioning, and assessed reliability and construct validity. Results Participants included 501 respondents; 46% had a high school education or less. Reliability within each Function ranged from 0.90 to 0.96. The PCC-Ca-36 (36-question survey; reliability=0.94) and PCC-Ca-6 (6-question survey; reliability=0.92) measures differentiated between individuals with poor and good health (i.e., known-groups validity) and were highly correlated with the HINTS communication scale (i.e., convergent validity). Conclusion This study provides theory-grounded PCC measures found to be reliable and valid in colorectal cancer patients in North Carolina. Future work should evaluate measure validity over time and in other cancer populations. Practice implications The PCC-Ca-36 and PCC-Ca-6 measures may be used for surveillance, intervention research, and quality improvement initiatives

Do wildlife warning reflectors elicit aversion in captive macropods?

A goal to reduce the frequency of animal-vehicle collisions is motivating extensive research on this topic world-wide. Over the last 30 years, one popular mechanism to warn wildlife of approaching vehicles has been the wildlife warning reflector, manufactured and distributed under the brands Swareflex (Austria) and Strieter-Lite (USA). These reflectors were designed to scare deer and other ungulates from roadways at night by reflecting light from the headlights of approaching vehicles into the eyes of animals on the road verge. Robust documentation of their effectiveness has been lacking, yet there has been a push in Australia to examine their efficacy with regard to medium to large macropodids. Field trials of the reflectors are problematic and difficult to design rigorously, so we chose to examine the behavioural response of two captive macropodid species (Macropus rufus and M. rufogriseus) to the reflectors on a simulated road in order to derive some indication as to their efficacy. The behavioural response to the reflectors was negligible for both species and not consistent with an aversive effect to deter road use or crossing. We conclude that they would be of little value in our efforts to reduce the frequency of collisions of kangaroos or wallabies with vehicles in Australia. © CSIRO 2006

Genome sequence of the Lebeckia ambigua-nodulating 'Burkholderia sprentiae' strain WSM5005T

"Burkholderia sprentiae" strain WSM5005(T) is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-sporeforming rod that was isolated in Australia from an effective N-2-fixing root nodule of Lebeckia ambigua collected in Klawer, Western Cape of South Africa, in October 2007. Here we describe the features of "Burkholderia sprentiae" strain WSM5005T, together with the genome sequence and its annotation. The 7,761,063 bp high-quality-draft genome is arranged in 8 scaffolds of 236 contigs, contains 7,147 protein-coding genes and 76 RNA-only encoding genes, and is one of 20 rhizobial genomes sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Community Sequencing Program

Retrospective evaluation of thoracic computed tomography findings in dogs naturally infected by Angiostrongylus vasorum

Angiostrongylus vasorum (A. vasorum) is an important emerging disease of canidae. Cardiorespiratory signs are common in affected dogs, therefore thoracic imaging is critical for diagnosing andmonitoring disease. Descriptions of thoracic computed tomography (CT) findings in dogs naturallyinfected with A. vasorum are currently lacking. Aims of this multicenter, retrospective study were to describe thoracic CT findings in a group of dogs with confirmed disease, determine whether any changes were consistent among dogs, and propose standardized terms for describing thoracic CT findings. Nine UK-based referral centers’ clinical and imaging databases were searched for dogs that had a confirmed diagnosis of A. vasorum, and had undergone thoracic CT examination. Eighteen dogs, from seven of the centers, fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The lung lobes were divided into the following three zones and the CT changes described in each: pleural (zone 1), subpleural (zone 2), and peribronchovascular (zone 3). The predominent abnormality was increased lung attenuation due to poorly defined ground-glass opacity or consolidation. There were regions of mosaic attenuation due to peripheral bronchiectasis. Nine/18 (50%) dogs showed hyperattenuating nodules of varying sizes with ill-defined margins. The distribution always affected zones 1and 2 with varied involvement of zone 3; this resulted in clear delineation between zones 2 and 3.Tracheobronchial lymphadenomegaly was frequently noted. Findings were nonspecific and there was considerable overlap with other pulmonary conditions. However, authors recommend that A. vasorum be considered a likely differential diagnosis for dogs with a predominantly peripheral distribution of lung changes

Genome sequence of the Ornithopus/Lupinus-nodulating Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471

Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471 is an aerobic, motile, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming rod that was isolated from an effective nitrogen-(N-2) fixing root nodule formed on the annual legume Ornithopus pinnatus (Miller) Druce growing at Oyster Harbour, Albany district, Western Australia in 1982. This strain is in commercial production as an inoculant for Lupinus and Ornithopus. Here we describe the features of Bradyrhizobium sp. strain WSM471, together with genome sequence information and annotation. The 7,784,016 bp high-quality-draft genome is arranged in 1 scaffold of 2 contigs, contains 7,372 protein-coding genes and 58 RNA-only encoding genes, and is one of 20 rhizobial genomes sequenced as part of the DOE Joint Genome Institute 2010 Community Sequencing Program