151 research outputs found
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Contraceptive choices for women with learning disabilities
âContraceptive choices for women with learning disabilitiesâ is an Open University research project, supported by a grant from Open Society Foundations (Grant No: OR2014-12989). This inclusive project set out to explore womenâs contraceptive decision-making and sought to include women with mild to moderate learning disabilities as well as women with high support needs. Between December 2014 and April 2015 we interviewed 19 women living in several locations across the United Kingdom
Hypoxia and the regulation of myeloid cell metabolic imprinting: consequences for the inflammatory response
Allied Health Student Clinical Placements in Residential Aged Care Facilities: Staff Opinions, Attitudes, and Support Needs
Purpose: As the population ages, the incidence and prevalence of chronic health issues requiring allied health management is increasing. Currently, there is an undersupply of appropriately skilled allied health professionals working in aged care. This has also been identified as a setting in which many beginning health practitioners are reluctant to seek employment. In order to address this workforce shortage, it is imperative that students are prepared for a possible future career within aged care facilities. Early clinical experience within this setting may increase student confidence, raise awareness of the need for services, and encourage students to consider working in aged care. At present, student clinical placements within aged care facilities are limited, potentially contributing to difficulties addressing workforce needs. The reasons for the lack of clinical placements and the relative contribution of the opinions, attitudes, training, and support needs of staff are unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the opinions, attitudes, support, and training needs of physiotherapists, dieticians, and managers working in residential aged care regarding allied health professional student clinical placements. Method: A written survey of allied health professionals (dieticians and physiotherapists, n=26) and managers (n=40) working in residential aged care was conducted. Responses were analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Results: Participants had generally positive attitudes towards student placements in residential aged care. Managers were significantly more positive regarding the scope for student clinical placements within their facilities than allied health professionals (p\u3c 0.05). The biggest barrier to student placements identified by both managers and allied health professionals was the nature of employment of allied health professionals in the sector. Participating allied health professionals also indicated that they required specific training in student supervision and the provision of clinical education. Conclusion: The attitudes and opinions of allied health professionals and managers did not appear to contribute to a lack of allied health professional student placements in aged care facilities. The main barriers to placement were the nature of allied health professional employment and a lack of staff experience in supervising students on clinical placement. Specific training and mentoring of allied health professionals may facilitate increased student placement capacity in the aged care setting
The biology of two important by-catch skate species on the Agulhas Bank, South Africa
Members of the family Rajidae are common components of the demersal trawl fishery, contributing around 1% to the total catch. However, apart from a single species all South African rajids are currently discarded. With demands for new protein sources ever-increasing, it is possible that currently underutilised species, such as the skates will be utilized to a greater extent. Raja wallacei and R.pullopunctata are common trawler by-catch species, ranging along most of the South African coast. The current study allred to further knowledge on the population biology of both species through age and growth, reproductive and feeding studies. The study also allred to assess whether any of the South African skate species show the potential for utilization as a food source. Band counts of vertebral centra were used to determine growth parameters and generate growth curves for males and females of both species. Growth was significantly different between the sexes. In both cases, females grew slower than males but reached a greater asymptotic disc width. As with other elasmobranchs, R.wallacei and R.pullopunctata are long-lived and slow growing. As with all other skates, the study species are oviparous laying large, yolked eggs in tough, leathery cases on the sea bed. The onset of maturity occurs at a large size (approximately 400mm disc width (10-11 years of age) for R.wallacei and 600mm disc width (12-13 years of age) for Rpullopunctata) and is very rapid. The oldest R.wallacei and R.pullopunctata observed were 16 and 18 years of age, respectively. No distinct breeding season was determined and no nursery areas were observed. A large proportion of individuals, especially R.pullopunctata was immature. Both species fed primarily on crustaceans and teleosts with an ontogenetic shift in diet from mysids, amphipods, isopods and bregmatocerids to larger Gnathophis sp., Mursia cristimanus and carid shrimps. Large discrepancies were seen in the diet of animals spatially, temporally and between research and commercially-caught animals. Disc-width frequency data was limited but suggested that both species show preference for depths of 100-300m. Size distribution did not appear to be affected by depth, although the data set was limited. A paucity of large individuals in the catch may indicate that stocks are suffering from growth overfishing by trawling operations. Historical and observer data showed that although skates are common components of the by-catch, the potential for greater use is limited. The biscuit skate, R.straeleni, on the west coast is the only species that could be better utilized. If skates are treated as a single group the potential is increased but this causes problems in assessing stocks
An exploration of absence and presence through the mediums of bronze, glass and resin figurative sculpture, within a narrative of memory
This research study was based upon three critical components. These include absence and presence, memory and the female nude. The problem statement aimed to determine how compositionally sound pairings and groupings of bronze, glass and resin figurative sculptures may be manipulated to create visual equilibrium in a work and communicate an inherent conceptual element. This necessitated the following research question which explored what the role of memory and the imago is within dualistic representations of the absent and present, as represented in the mediums of bronze, glass and resin. The creative and research processes culminate in the body of artwork, entitled Absence and Presence: in Search of Memory and the Imago, which is presented as a narrative installation and exhibition of sculptural work. This body of work was driven by the creation of a signifier and allegory for an absent presence or present absence which will always evoke the contemplation of this interplay between these two terms and the ways in which they define and become one another within the narrative of personal memory. Personal memories will always collide with the present and bring with them the memories of absence, but encourage the subject to make tangible this absence in order to confront it and in doing so, realise that it cannot be addressed separately from the presence which defines i
The assessment and management of bycatch and discards in the South African demersal trawl fishery
Over the past few decades it has become recognised that an ecosystem approach is required to manage world fisheries. Management strategies must ensure that non-target (bycatch) as well as target catches are sustainable. To achieve this, detailed commercial catch and biological information is required. The composition of catches made by trawlers operating off the south and west coasts of South Africa was investigated. Distinct fishing areas were identified on each coast, based on target species and fishing depth. Catch composition differed markedly among the areas defined. Although hake Merluccius sp. dominated South Coast catches, a large proportion of the catch was composed of bycatch. On the West Coast, hake dominated catches and this domination increased with increasing depth. On both coasts approximately 90% of the observed nominal catch was processed and landed. Estimates of annual discards suggested that the fishery discarded 38 thousand tons of fish per annum (16% of the nominal trawl catch). The data also indicated that hake discarding, the capture of linefish and the increased targeting of high value species might be cause for concern. Spatial analysis indicated that a variety of factors such as trawling position, catch size and catch composition affects bycatch dynamics. The monkfish Lophius vomerinus is a common bycatch species that has been increasingly targeted by demersal trawlers. This study showed that L. vomerinus is a slow-growing, long-lived species (West Coast males Lâ = 68.50cm TL, tâ = -1.69yr, K = 0.10yrâ»Âč; West Coast females Lâ = 110.23cm TL, tâ = -1.54yr, K = 0.05yrâ»Âč; South Coast sexes combined Lâ = 70.12cm TL, tâ = - 0.80yr, K = 0.11yrâ»Âč), that matures at approximately 6 years of age. These traits could have serious management implications for the species. Per-recruit analysis suggested that the stock might be overexploited, although further investigation is required to confirm this. Solutions were suggested for each of the concerns raised, taking cognisance of the differences observed between the South and West Coasts and the economic dependence of South Coast companies on bycatch. The needs of future research were considered
Confident and competent?: helping students to develop their practice based skills
The Competence in Practice Assessment (CiPA) Tool was designed and developed to support student self-assessment in a social care or health setting. It is one of many artefacts created as part of the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning called âAssessment and Learning in Practice Settingsâ. Demonstration of competence is essential for courses leading to professional registration. This presentation will chart the development and evaluation of the CiPA tool into responsive software that students can self complete at stages throughout their course: In doing this we demonstrate how a research project became the springboard for the development of student centred learning and teaching innovation. 14 students from a range of health and social work courses, who responded to a job advertisement, worked in multiprofessional collaborative groups to design feedback, reflective prompts and resource links in response to studentsâ self assessment ratings. This was then built into a simple software package by a computing placement student.
The result is that students complete the tool [with potential for PC, web or Mobile access] by assessing their perception of their own competency at their current stage in the course. The software provides them with feedback designed to support their own assessment and suggest actions: this is confidential and thus a safe activity, but linked to Personal Development Planning and so able to be incorporated into their record of professional growth, preparation for further placement experience and readiness for qualification. Taking responsibility for oneâs own learning, and developing self assessment skills are parts of becoming a competent practitioner in any profession; thus whilst the questions as they stand relate to health and social care professions, the design principles apply to any placement experience, leading to opportunities for creative development of the tool
Raman Quantum Memory with Built-In Suppression of Four-wave Mixing Noise
Quantum memories are essential for large-scale quantum information networks.
Along with high efficiency, storage lifetime and optical bandwidth, it is
critical that the memory add negligible noise to the recalled signal. A common
source of noise in optical quantum memories is spontaneous four-wave mixing. We
develop and implement a technically simple scheme to suppress this noise
mechanism by means of quantum interference. Using this scheme with a Raman
memory in warm atomic vapour we demonstrate over an order of magnitude
improvement in noise performance. Furthermore we demonstrate a method to
quantify the remaining noise contributions and present a route to enable
further noise suppression. Our scheme opens the way to quantum demonstrations
using a broadband memory, significantly advancing the search for scalable
quantum photonic networks.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures plus Supplementary Materia
Regulation of neutrophilic inflammation by hypoxic signalling pathways
Neutrophils are essential for effective innate immunity. Conversely,
inappropriate or excessive neutrophil activation can result in damaging
inflammation. This damage is implicated in the pathogenesis of a number of
respiratory diseases including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which are also both
frequently complicated by hypoxia. Cells sense and respond to hypoxia
through the activity of the transcription factor HIF (hypoxia inducible factor) and
its regulatory hydroxylases, the prolyl hydroxylase domain enzymes (PHDs) 1-
3. In the presence of oxygen, PHDs hydroxylate HIF, preventing the HIF
mediated transcriptional response. Close links exist between the pathways
which regulate hypoxic and inflammatory responses. Our group has previously
found that in mouse models of infection, acute hypoxia leads to increased
sickness and that this is driven by neutrophilic inflammation.
I have used a murine model of Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced acute lung
injury, characterised by neutrophil influx, to investigate how exposure to
hypoxia alters lung inflammation. Using high-resolution mass spectrometry, I
have defined the proteome of the inflammatory lung neutrophil. I have shown
that hypoxia results in a distinct proteomic signature in inflammatory
neutrophils. Hypoxia drives lung neutrophilic inflammation through increased
neutrophil degranulation and upregulation of inflammatory receptors.
I have also identified key metabolic alterations in hypoxic neutrophils. The
hypoxic lung represents a low glucose, high protein environment and
neutrophils adapt to exploit this. I have shown that neutrophils can scavenge
proteins from their extracellular environment, catabolise these proteins in the
lysosome and utilise the breakdown products for metabolism. These
processes are upregulated in hypoxic lung neutrophils which show increased
lysosomal protein expression, increased protein uptake and increased
glutaminolysis. Utilising heavy labelled protein extracts, I have traced
breakdown products from scavenged proteins into central carbon metabolism,
demonstrating that extracellular protein can fuel neutrophilic inflammation.
Finally, I have investigated the role of the prolyl hydroxylase PHD1 in
regulating neutrophilic inflammation. Using a neutrophil specific PHD1
knockout mouse line, I have identified a specific role for PHD1 in regulating
neutrophil metabolism and survival. I have found that the micro-environment,
particularly oxygen availability, determines the impact of PHD1 loss with
consequences for inflammation resolution in vivo.
In summary, hypoxia is a key regulator of neutrophil function and is associated
with increased neutrophilic inflammation. Utilising a proteomic approach, I
have identified the mechanisms which drive the hyperinflammatory phenotype
including the ability of neutrophils to scavenge proteins from the environment
to fuel inflammation. I have also shown that PHD1, a key component of the
hypoxic signalling pathway, may regulate these functions. A more complete
understanding of these mechanisms will help to identify therapeutic targets for
treatment of neutrophilic inflammation in the lung
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