Poetry for pleasure : promoting poetry to children in public libraries

This article reports an investigation of the attitudes and opinions of children’s librarians towards poetry, and towards its promotion in the public library. It also reports some attitudes towards literature promotion to young people in general. A series of structured interviews with library professionals currently working in the public sector strongly indicate that children’s librarians are themselves enthusiastic concerning poetry, and are firmly convinced both of the benefits incurred by children encouraged to read, write and listen to poems from a very early age, and of children’s own enjoyment of this genre. Due to its brevity and memorability, poetry is regarded by the interviewees as the most accessible literary form for poor or reluctant readers, despite its wider image as a neglected and ‘difficult’ genre for children and young people

Predictive markers and risk factors in canine pyometra

Pyometra is a common and life-threatening disease in intact female dogs, which is generally treated by surgery. Early identification of dogs with high risk of complications or poor prognosis is valuable for optimising treatment and increase survival. The objectives of this thesis were to detect predictive markers for prognosis and outcome of pyometra by investigating clinical and pathophysiological responses and to explore the breed-dependent risk for pyometra and mammary tumours (MTs). Leucopaenia was the most important predictive variable, associated with an 18-fold increased risk for peritonitis (present in 13% of the dogs) and an over 3.5-fold increased risk for prolonged postoperative hospitalisation. Fever or hypothermia was linked with an increased risk for peritonitis and dogs with moderate to severely depressed general condition or pale mucous membranes had an increased risk for prolonged postoperative hospitalisation. These results show that commonly explored clinical variables may be helpful for predicting prognosis. Blood concentrations of the acute phase proteins, C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A (SAA) were found to be increased in dogs with pyometra, whereas concentrations of albumin, insulin-like growth factor-I, and iron were decreased. Importantly, SAA concentrations were higher in the dogs that also suffered from sepsis. Though unspecific, SAA could therefore be a potential marker for identifying more severely affected dogs. The neuroendocrine protein chromogranin A was measured by its breakdown products catestatin and vasostatin. Catestatin concentrations were decreased in pyometra whereas vasostatin concentrations did not differ compared to healthy dogs. None of these investigated inflammatory mediators or chromogranin A were useful for outcome prediction as measured by postoperative hospitalisation. The incidence of pyometra in 110 different breeds was studied using insurance data. Before 10 years of age, 19% of all female dogs had suffered from the disease. Breed greatly affected the risk of both pyometra and MTs. In summary, these findings show that clinical and laboratory data and analysis of inflammatory variables can be helpful for predicting prognosis and assessing severity in dogs with pyometra. Breed considerably affects the risk of pyometra and MTs, and the information presented in this thesis will be valuable for evaluating possible health benefits of spaying in individual dogs, based on the risk of developing these diseases

The healthiness of food and beverages on price promotion at promotional displays: A cross-sectional audit of australian supermarkets

Supermarket environments can strongly influence purchasing decisions. Price promotions are recognised as a particularly persuasive tactic, but the healthiness of price promotions in prominent in-store locations is understudied. This study compared the prevalence and magnitude of price promotions on healthy and unhealthy food and beverages (foods) displayed at prominent in-store locations within Australian supermarkets, including analyses by supermarket group and area-level socio-economic position. A cross-sectional in-store audit of price promotions on foods at key display areas was undertaken in 104 randomly selected stores from major Australian supermarket groups (Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and independents) in Victoria, Australia. Of the display space dedicated to foods with price promotions, three of the four supermarket groups had a greater proportion of display space devoted to unhealthy (compared to healthy) foods at each promotional location measured (end of aisles: 66%; island bins: 53%; checkouts: 88%). Aldi offered very few price promotions. Few measures varied by area-level socio-economic position. This study demonstrated that price promotions at prominent in-store locations in Australian supermarkets favoured unhealthy foods. Marketing of this nature is likely to encourage the purchase of unhealthy foods, highlighting the need for retailers and policy-makers to consider addressing in-store pricing and placement strategies to encourage healthier food environments

Reef fishes weaken dietary preferences after coral mortality, altering resource overlap

The direct and indirect effects of climate change can affect, and are mediated by, changes in animal behaviour. However, we often lack sufficient empirical data to assess how large-scale disturbances affect the behaviour of individuals, which scales up to influence communities. Here, we investigate these patterns by focusing on the foraging behaviour of butterflyfishes, prominent coral-feeding fishes on coral reefs, before and after a mass coral bleaching event in Iriomote, Japan. In response to 65% coral mortality, coral-feeding fishes broadened their diets, showing a significant weakening of dietary preferences across species. Multiple species reduced their consumption of bleaching-sensitive Acropora corals, while expanding their diets to consume a variety of other coral genera. This resulted in decreased dietary overlap among butterflyfishes. Behavioural changes in response to bleaching may increase resilience of coral reef fishes in the short term. However, coral mortality has reduced populations of coral-feeders world-wide, indicating the changes in feeding behaviour we document here may not be sufficient to ensure long-term resilience of butterflyfishes on coral reefs

Hand-held internet tablets for school-based data collection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the last 20 years, researchers have been using computer self-administered questionnaires to gather data on a wide range of adolescent health related behaviours. More recently, researchers collecting data in schools have started to use smaller hand-held computers for their ease of use and portability. The aim of this study is to describe a new technology with wi-fi enabled hand-held internet tablets and to compare adolescent preferences of laptop computers or hand-held internet tablets in administering a youth health and well-being questionnaire in a school setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 177 students took part in a pilot study of a national youth health and wellbeing survey. Students were randomly assigned to internet tablets or laptops at the start of the survey and were changed to the alternate mode of administration about half-way through the questionnaire. Students at the end of the questionnaire were asked which of the two modes of administration (1) they preferred, (2) was easier to use, (3) was more private and confidential, and (4) was easier to answer truthfully.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Many students expressed no preference between laptop computers or internet tablets. However, among the students who expressed a preference between laptop computers or internet tablets, the majority of students found the internet tablets more private and confidential (p < 0.001) and easier to answer questions truthfully (p < 0.001) compared to laptop computers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study demonstrates that using wi-fi enabled hand-held internet tablets is a feasible methodology for school-based surveys especially when asking about sensitive information.</p

The Association between Parental Educational Expectations and School Functioning among Young People with Disabilities:A Longitudinal Investigation

Past research has established clear educational inequities between young people with disabilities and their peers. In part, some of these inequities may be attributed to expectations. In this study, we examined whether parental expectations were related to school functioning at high school, with school functioning broadly defined as ease and frequency of engagement in school-based activities. Using the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children ( N = 3,956; 48.9% female; 5.01% with disability), we examined parental expectations and school functioning measured at three time-points, biennially from the ages of 12 and 13 through to 16 and 17. A multigroup, parallel latent growth curve analysis revealed that high parental expectations at the first timepoint predicted steeper increases in the trajectory of school functioning over time, but only among young people with disability. Parental expectations did not significantly predict school functioning trajectories for the remainder of the sample. Subsequent multigroup analyses that compared disability characteristics revealed that learning difficulties and speech problems, in particular, were associated with lower parental expectations. These results suggest that the perceptions of parents in the lives of young people with disability are important and efforts to shape them may have long-term benefits

Pleiotropic functions of the tumor- and metastasis-suppressing Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 in mammary cancer in MMTV-PyMT transgenic mice

Matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8; neutrophil collagenase) is an important regulator of innate immunity which has onco-suppressive actions in numerous tumor types