Annual Report Readership: A Study of an Agricultural Supply Cooperative

Recent corporate collapses have focussed attention on the (un)reliability of financial information. However, although the agricultural sector, which is significant globally, is run primarily using the cooperative form, there is scant research on these users' perception of financial information. Therefore this paper examines members' readership and understanding of the annual reports of a large, fertiliser cooperative. The findings show that there is a lack of readership of the annual report, due to a lack of understanding and a lack of time. A minority of non-readers trust directors to "do a good job". Preparers of information should focus on making reports more user-friendly and evidence suggests that financial information could be released more strategically using other sources of communication, namely other print media and the internet.cooperatives, annual reports, readership, understanding, Agribusiness,

Women's views about the importance of education in preparation for childbirth.

Background: this paper reports original research that embraces childbearing women’s views about theimportance of education in preparation for childbirth. A survey was carried out using the Birth Satisfaction Scale developed by Hollins Martin and Fleming (2011). All of the items in the questionnaire include a space where the women can add their own comments to allow them to document what is important to them. This paper reports the analysis of this qualitative data.Methods: the qualitative data collected in the survey was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) method for undertaking a thematic analysis.Participants: participants were a convenience sample of postnatal women from a maternity unit in the West of Scotland (UK) (n ¼ 228) who had an uncomplicated pregnancy at term (37e42 weeks). Those with a medical diagnosis, poor obstetric history, prematurity (42 weeks), younger than (50) of age, had a history of stillbirth, perinatal or neonatal death were excluded from participating in the study.Results: three themes emerged from the data: ‘better to be prepared’, ‘prepared through previous experience’ and ‘in labour nothing goes to plan’.Conclusion: the participants in this study were variable in their reports about the importance of education in preparation for childbirth, with some clearly presenting a perception of no need. For the midwife, importance lies in providing women with educational opportunities and choice and control in relation to uptake.Recommendations: women may perceive more value in education when they evaluate it as critical to their outcomes. For example, providing information about: (a) how to identify risk factors before and after birth, (b) strategies that can work towards improving maternal and fetal health, (c) how to improve fetal growth and wellbeing, (d) how to improve nutritional and dietary status, (e) optimising pregnancy outcomes. In relation to delivery of education, midwives require to make purpose and links clear

Mass media and risk factors for cancer: the under-representation of age

BACKGROUND: Increasing age is a risk factor for developing cancer. Yet, older people commonly underestimate this risk, are less likely to be aware of the early symptoms, and are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stage cancer. Mass media are a key influence on the public's understanding health issues, including cancer risk. This study investigates how news media have represented age and other risk factors in the most common cancers over time. METHODS: Eight hundred articles about the four most common cancers (breast, prostate, lung and colorectal) published within eight UK national newspapers in 2003, 2004, 2013 and 2014 were identified using the Nexis database. Relevant manifest content of articles was coded quantitatively and subjected to descriptive statistical analysis in SPSS to identify patterns across the data. RESULTS: Risk was presented in half of the articles but this was rarely discussed in any depth and around a quarter of all articles introduced more than one risk factor, irrespective of cancer site. Age was mentioned as a risk factor in approximately 12% of all articles and this varied by cancer site. Age was most frequently reported in relation to prostate cancer and least often in articles about lung cancer. Articles featuring personal narratives more frequently focused on younger people and this was more pronounced in non-celebrity stories; only 15% of non-celebrity narratives were about people over 60. Other common risks discussed were family history and genetics, smoking, diet, alcohol, and environmental factors. Family history and genetics together featured as the most common risk factors. Risk factor reporting varied by site and family history was most commonly associated with breast cancer, diet with bowel cancer and smoking with lung cancer. CONCLUSION: Age and older adults were largely obscured in media representation of cancer and cancer experience. Indeed common risk factors in general were rarely discussed in any depth. Our findings will usefully inform the development of future cancer awareness campaigns and media guidelines. It is important that older adults appreciate their heightened risk, particularly in the context of help-seeking decisions

Exploration of the experiences of young mothers seeking and accessing health services.

The objective was to explore young mothers’ experiences of seeking and accessing health services, specifically maternity care. Study design: a phenomenological approach underpinned by the work of Husserl and guided by the framework offered by Giorgi. Participants: a purposive sample of seven young mothers took part in audio-recorded unstructured interviews in either the young mother’s home or in a private room at their GP practice. Findings: six themes emerged from the initial thematic analysis: (1) feeling abandoned, (2) information is vital, (3) feeling judged, (4) family and friends, (5) interference, (6) younger mothers need additional support. After ‘bracketing’ the preconceptions evident in the initial analysis, essential themes describing the young mothers’ experience of accessing healthcare were identified: (1) the need for support and information; (2) fear of stigmatisation and stigmatisation of self. Conclusions: the young mothers in this study experienced a need for support and information, which reflects the findings of previous studies. This study has added to the knowledge base as it also found that these young mothers were hindered from obtaining or making use of available support and information through fear or expectation of stigmatisation and self-stigmatisation. There is a need to improve availability of support and information for young mothers, who may benefit from one-to-one education to help them gain confidence to deal with pregnancy and parenthood issues. Further research on young mothers’ perceptions of maternity service provision will advance understanding of young mothers’ help and support needs during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period

Lung cancer symptom appraisal among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A qualitative interview study

© 2019 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Objective: The incidence of lung cancer is four times higher in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) compared with the general population. Promotion of a shorter time from symptom onset to presentation is one potential strategy for earlier lung cancer diagnosis, but distinguishing respiratory symptoms can be difficult. We investigated how the experience of COPD influences symptom appraisal and help seeking for potential lung cancer symptoms. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with men (n = 17) and women (n = 23) aged 40 to 83 years with COPD. Topic guides drew on the integrated symptom-response framework and covered symptom experience, interpretation, action, recognition, help seeking, evaluation, and reevaluation. We used the framework method to analyse the data. Results: Participants said that they attributed chest symptoms to their COPD; no other cause was considered. Participants said that family/friends noticed changes in their symptoms and encouraged help seeking. Others felt isolated by their COPD because they could not get out, were fatigued, or were embarrassed. Participants visited health professionals frequently, but increased risk of lung cancer was not discussed. Conclusions: Our study provides insight into different levels of influence on symptom appraisal and targets for intervention. Greater awareness of increased lung cancer risk and support to act on symptom changes is essential and could be achieved through a concerted information campaign. Health professionals working with people with COPD could also optimise appointments to support symptom appraisal of potential lung cancer symptoms

Exhaustive glycosylation, pegylation, and glutathionylation of a [G4]‐ene_(48) dendrimer via photoinduced thiol‐ene coupling

The use of free‐radical thiol‐ene coupling (TEC) for the introduction of carbohydrate, poly(ethylene glycol), and peptide fragments at the periphery of an alkene functional dendrimer has been reported in this article. Four different sugar thiols including glucose, mannose, lactose, and sialic acid, two PEGylated thiols, and the natural tripeptide glutathione were reacted with a fourth generation alkene functional dendrimer [G4]‐ene48 on irradiation at λmax 365 nm. In all cases, the 1H NMR spectra of the crude reaction mixture revealed the complete disappearance of alkene proton signals indicating the quantitative conversion of all 48 alkene groups of the dendrimer. With one exception only, all dendrimer conjugates were isolated in high yields (70–94%), validating the high efficiency of multiple TEC reactions on a single substrate. All isolated and purified compounds were analyzed by matrix assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight (MALDI‐TOF) spectrometry and gave spectra consistent with the assigned structure

A One Health overview, facilitating advances in comparative medicine and translational research.

Table of contentsA1 One health advances and successes in comparative medicine and translational researchCheryl StroudA2 Dendritic cell-targeted gorilla adenoviral vector for cancer vaccination for canine melanomaIgor Dmitriev, Elena Kashentseva, Jeffrey N. Bryan, David T. CurielA3 Viroimmunotherapy for malignant melanoma in the companion dog modelJeffrey N. Bryan, David Curiel, Igor Dmitriev, Elena Kashentseva, Hans Rindt, Carol Reinero, Carolyn J. HenryA4 Of mice and men (and dogs!): development of a commercially licensed xenogeneic DNA vaccine for companion animals with malignant melanomaPhilip J. BergmanA5 Successful immunotherapy with a recombinant HER2-expressing Listeria monocytogenes in dogs with spontaneous osteosarcoma paves the way for advances in pediatric osteosarcomaNicola J. Mason, Josephine S. Gnanandarajah, Julie B. Engiles, Falon Gray, Danielle Laughlin, Anita Gaurnier-Hausser, Anu Wallecha, Margie Huebner, Yvonne PatersonA6 Human clinical development of ADXS-HER2Daniel O'ConnorA7 Leveraging use of data for both human and veterinary benefitLaura S. TremlA8 Biologic replacement of the knee: innovations and early clinical resultsJames P. StannardA9 Mizzou BioJoint Center: a translational success storyJames L. CookA10 University and industry translational partnership: from the lab to commercializationMarc JacobsA11 Beyond docking: an evolutionarily guided OneHealth approach to drug discoveryGerald J. Wyckoff, Lee Likins, Ubadah Sabbagh, Andrew SkaffA12 Challenges and opportunities for data applications in animal health: from precision medicine to precision husbandryAmado S. GuloyA13 A cloud-based programmable platform for healthHarlen D. HaysA14 Comparative oncology: One Health in actionAmy K. LeBlancA15 Companion animal diseases bridge the translational gap for human neurodegenerative diseaseJoan R. Coates, Martin L. Katz, Leslie A. Lyons, Gayle C. Johnson, Gary S. Johnson, Dennis P. O'BrienA16 Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene therapyDongsheng DuanA17 Polycystic kidney disease: cellular mechanisms to emerging therapiesJames P. CalvetA18 The domestic cat as a large animal model for polycystic kidney diseaseLeslie A. Lyons, Barbara GandolfiA19 The support of basic and clinical research by the Polycystic Kidney Disease FoundationDavid A. BaronA20 Using naturally occurring large animal models of human disease to enable clinical translation: treatment of arthritis using autologous stromal vascular fraction in dogsMark L. WeissA21 Regulatory requirements regarding clinical use of human cells, tissues, and tissue-based productsDebra A. WebsterA22 Regenerative medicine approaches to Type 1 diabetes treatmentFrancis N. KaranuA23 The zoobiquity of canine diabetes mellitus, man's best friend is a friend indeed-islet transplantationEdward J. RobbA24 One Medicine: a development model for cellular therapy of diabetesRobert J. Harman