Differentiating patterns of violence in the family

The feasibility and prevalence of Reciprocal, Hierarchical and Paternal patterns of family aggression hypothesised by Dixon and Browne (2003) were explored within a sample of maltreating families. The psychological reports of 67 families referred to services for alleged child maltreatment that evidenced concurrent physical intimate partner violence and child maltreatment were investigated. Of these, 29 (43.3%) cases were characterised by hierarchical; 28 (41.8%) Reciprocal and 10 (14.9%) Paternal patterns. Significant differences in the form of child maltreatment perpetrated by mothers and fathers and parent dyads living in different patterns were found. In Hierarchical sub-patterns, fathers were significantly more likely to have been convicted for a violent and/or sexual offence than mothers and were significantly less likely to be biologically related to the child. The findings demonstrate the existence of the different patterns in a sample of families involved in the Child Care Protection process in England and Wales, supporting the utility of a holistic approach to understanding aggression in the family

The formation of professional identity in medical students: considerations for educators

<b>Context</b> Medical education is about more than acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge and developing relevant skills. To practice medicine students need to develop a professional identity – ways of being and relating in professional contexts.<p></p> <b>Objectives</b> This article conceptualises the processes underlying the formation and maintenance of medical students’ professional identity drawing on concepts from social psychology.<p></p> <b>Implications</b> A multi-dimensional model of identity and identity formation, along with the concepts of identity capital and multiple identities, are presented. The implications for educators are discussed.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Identity formation is mainly social and relational in nature. Educators, and the wider medical society, need to utilise and maximise the opportunities that exist in the various relational settings students experience. Education in its broadest sense is about the transformation of the self into new ways of thinking and relating. Helping students form, and successfully integrate their professional selves into their multiple identities, is a fundamental of medical education

A novel pathway producing dimethylsulphide in bacteria is widespread in soil environments

The volatile compound dimethylsulphide (DMS) is important in climate regulation, the sulphur cycle and signalling to higher organisms. Microbial catabolism of the marine osmolyte dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) is thought to be the major biological process generating DMS. Here we report the discovery and characterisation of the first gene for DMSP-independent DMS production in any bacterium. This gene, mddA, encodes a methyltransferase that methylates methanethiol (MeSH) and generates DMS. MddA functions in many taxonomically diverse bacteria including sediment-dwelling pseudomonads, nitrogen-fixing bradyrhizobia and cyanobacteria, and mycobacteria, including the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The mddA gene is present in metagenomes from varied environments, being particularly abundant in soil environments, where it is predicted to occur in up to 76% of bacteria. This novel pathway may significantly contribute to global DMS emissions, especially in terrestrial environments, and could represent a shift from the notion that DMSP is the only significant precursor of DMS

Methanethiol-dependent dimethylsulfide production in soil environments

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is an environmentally important trace gas with roles in sulfur cycling, signalling to higher organisms and in atmospheric chemistry. DMS is believed to be predominantly produced in marine environments via microbial degradation of the osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). However, significant amounts of DMS are also generated from terrestrial environments, for example, peat bogs can emit ~6 μmol DMS m−2 per day, likely via the methylation of methanethiol (MeSH). A methyltransferase enzyme termed ‘MddA’, which catalyses the methylation of MeSH, generating DMS, in a wide range of bacteria and some cyanobacteria, may mediate this process, as the mddA gene is abundant in terrestrial metagenomes. This is the first study investigating the functionality of MeSH-dependent DMS production (Mdd) in a wide range of aerobic environments. All soils and marine sediment samples tested produced DMS when incubated with MeSH. Cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent methods were used to assess microbial community changes in response to MeSH addition in a grassland soil where 35.9% of the bacteria were predicted to contain mddA. Bacteria of the genus Methylotenera were enriched in the presence of MeSH. Furthermore, many novel Mdd+ bacterial strains were isolated. Despite the abundance of mddA in the grassland soil, the Mdd pathway may not be a significant source of DMS in this environment as MeSH addition was required to detect DMS at only very low conversion rates

Anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon fluxes from land to ocean

A substantial amount of the atmospheric carbon taken up on land through photosynthesis and chemical weathering is transported laterally along the aquatic continuum from upland terrestrial ecosystems to the ocean. So far, global carbon budget estimates have implicitly assumed that the transformation and lateral transport of carbon along this aquatic continuum has remained unchanged since pre-industrial times. A synthesis of published work reveals the magnitude of present-day lateral carbon fluxes from land to ocean, and the extent to which human activities have altered these fluxes. We show that anthropogenic perturbation may have increased the flux of carbon to inland waters by as much as 1.0 Pg C yr-1 since pre-industrial times, mainly owing to enhanced carbon export from soils. Most of this additional carbon input to upstream rivers is either emitted back to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (~0.4 Pg C yr-1) or sequestered in sediments (~0.5 Pg C yr-1) along the continuum of freshwater bodies, estuaries and coastal waters, leaving only a perturbation carbon input of ~0.1 Pg C yr-1 to the open ocean. According to our analysis, terrestrial ecosystems store ~0.9 Pg C yr-1 at present, which is in agreement with results from forest inventories but significantly differs from the figure of 1.5 Pg C yr-1 previously estimated when ignoring changes in lateral carbon fluxes. We suggest that carbon fluxes along the land–ocean aquatic continuum need to be included in global carbon dioxide budgets.Peer reviewe

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Вибір моделі системи управління охороною здоров’я та безпекою праці підприємства з урахуванням вимог міжнародних стандартів

Article 43 of the Constitution of Ukraine guarantees proper, safe and healthy working conditions for every employee, according to Article 13 of the Law “On Labor Protection” the employer must ensure the functioning of the labor protection management system. Accordingly, the Concept approved by the Order of the Ministry of Labor dated 22.10. No. 432 of 2001, every enterprise, institution or organization (hereinafter – the enterprise) of any form of ownership, which uses the labor of employees in its activities, is obliged to comply with the necessary requirements established by the legislation of Ukraine, in order to guarantee the safety of work and the preservation of life, health and working capacity of employees in the process of work. In order to ensure healthy, safe and highly productive working conditions, improve working life, prevent injuries and occupational diseases, the company operates a health and safety management system, which is an integral part of the management system of the business entity. The occupational health and safety management system (OH&S) is a set of enterprise management bodies that, on the basis of a set of regulatory documentation, carry out purposeful, planned activities regarding the implementation of management tasks and functions in order to ensure healthy, safe and highly productive working conditions.To build an effective occupational safety management system, it is necessary to choose its optimal model. A scientific and applied problem is the choice of the most suitable system in the conditions of a particular enterprise. An analysis of the approaches available in international practice regarding the formation of health and safety management system models, taking into account quality management systems, environmental protection and social responsibility, was carried out. Recommendations aregiven for choosing a basic methodological approach that will contribute to the creation of an effective labor safety management system with the aim of ensuring safe and highly productive working conditions and creating a positive image of the enterprise.Статтею 43 Конституції України гарантовано кожному працівнику належні, безпечні і здорові умови праці, згідно статті 13 Закону “Про охорону праці” роботодавець повинен забезпечити функціонування системи управління охороною праці. Відповідно, Концепції затвердженої Наказом Мінпраці від 22.10. 2001 р. № 432 кожне підприємство, установа чи організація (далі – підприємство) будь-якої форми власності, що використовують у своїй діяльності праці найманих працівників, зобов’язані дотримуватись необхідних вимог, встановлених законодавством України, з метою гарантування безпеки праці та збереження життя, здоров’я і працездатності працівників у процесі трудової діяльності. З метою забезпеченням здорових, безпечних і високопродуктивних умов праці, поліпшення виробничого побуту, запобігання травматизму та професійним захворюванням на підприємстві діє система управління охороною здоров’я та безпекою праці підприємства, що є невід’ємною складовою системи управління суб’єктом господарювання. Система управління охороною праці (СУОП) — це сукупність органів управління підприємством, які на підставі комплексу нормативної документації проводять цілеспрямовану, планомірну діяльність щодо здійснення завдань і функцій управління з метою забезпечення здорових, безпечних і високопродуктивних умов праці. Для побудови ефективної системи управління безпекою праці необхідно обрати її оптимальну модель. Науково-прикладною проблемою є вибір найбільш придатної в умовах конкретного підприємства системи. Здійснено аналіз підходів, наявних в міжнародній практиці, щодо формування моделей системи управління охороною здоров’я та безпекою праці, з урахуванням систем управління якістю, охороною довкілля та соціальною відповідальністю. Наведено рекомендації щодо вибору базового методологічного підходу, що сприятиме створенню ефективної системи управління безпекою праці з метою забезпечення безпечних і високопродуктивних умов праці та створення позитивного іміджу підприємства