Christ Church Canterbury University educational assessment report: Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children NICU/HDU, prepared for Newborns Vietnam

This report represents the findings of an educational assessment visit undertaken by Christ Church Canterbury University in March 2012, following a request to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) by Newborns Vietnam (NBV) a charitable organisation working in partnership with the Da Nang Department of Health for assistance to advance neonatal care in central Vietnam. All parties recognised that nurses are critical to good neonatal care and assistance was sought to assess current skills, knowledge, working practices and to explore the potential to develop Vietnam’s first neonatal nurse training curriculum. NBV’s objective is to address the lack of a formal neonatal nurse training programme and through its fundraising activities provide sponsorship for additional nurses to improve the nurse baby ratio to facilitate the training and to provide the evidence base for advocacy for increased resources for neonatal care within Vietnam

A service evaluation: EllenorLions Hospices Children and Young Peoples Service: Executive Summary

Between January and June 2011, the EllenorLions Hospices commissioned a team from Canterbury Christ Church University to independently review the Children and Young Peoples Service to evaluate the integrated service model which delivers both palliative care and community oncology to children and young people with life threatening and life limiting illnesses. The project brief was conducted in two phases. In Phase 1 an information review was undertaken and in Phase 2 the effectiveness and usability of the service for service users and staff was analysed by qualitative methods (individual and focus group interviews). 10 families, 4 young people, and 12 Professional/ Support Staff were involved. The evaluation team presented the draft report to the EllenorLions Management Team in June 2011 and the final report was presented in August 2011

The cerebrovascular effects of adrenaline, noradrenaline and dopamine infusions under propofol and isoflurane anaesthesia in sheep

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisher © Australian Society of AnaesthetistsInfusions of catecholamines are frequently administered to patients receiving propofol or isoflurane anaesthesia. Interactions between these drugs may affect regional circulations, such as the brain. The aim of this animal (sheep) study was to determine the effects of ramped infusions of adrenaline, noradrenaline (10, 20, 40 µg/min) and dopamine (10, 20, 40 µg/kg/min) on cerebral blood flow (CBF), intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebrovascular resistance (CVR) and cerebral metabolic rate for oxygen (CMRO₂). These measurements were made under awake physiological conditions, and during continuous propofol (15 mg/min) or 2% isoflurane anaesthesia. All three catecholamines significantly and equivalently increased mean arterial pressure from baseline in a dose-dependent manner in the three cohorts (P0.05). Under propofol (n=6) and isoflurane (n=6), all three catecholamines significantly increased CBF (P<0.001). Dopamine caused the greatest increase in CBF, and was associated with significant increases in ICP (awake: P<0.001; propofol P<0.05; isoflurane P<0.001) and CVR (isoflurane P<0.05). No significant changes in CMRO₂ were demonstrated. Under propofol and isoflurane anaesthesia, the cerebrovascular effects of catecholamines were significantly different from the awake, physiological state, with dopamine demonstrating the most pronounced effects, particularly under propofol. Dopamine-induced hyperaemia was associated with other cerebrovascular changes. In the presence of an equivalent effect on mean arterial pressure, the exaggerated cerebrovascular effects under anaesthesia appear to be centrally mediated, possibly induced by propofol- or isoflurane-dependent changes in blood-brain barrier permeability, thereby causing a direct influence on the cerebral vasculature.http://www.aaic.net.au/Article.asp?D=200205

The timing of benthic copepod emergence

We investigated emergence of marine benthic harpacticoid and cyclopoid copepods from subtidal sediment into the bottom water. Previous studies that used traps in the field found that copepods emerged from the sediment within 2 h of dusk. We examined emergence in 20-min sampling periods over 13 h from 1200 to 0100 h in a laboratory flume under conditions of constant flow speed. The light intensity was adjusted to field conditions every 20 min. We observed a peak in emergence during the 20-min sampling period after the onset of darkness, greatly increasing the accuracy with which the timing of emergence is known. This result will help to set the stage for studies of emergence cues

Evaluation and comparison of mammalian subcellular localization prediction methods

BACKGROUND: Determination of the subcellular location of a protein is essential to understanding its biochemical function. This information can provide insight into the function of hypothetical or novel proteins. These data are difficult to obtain experimentally but have become especially important since many whole genome sequencing projects have been finished and many resulting protein sequences are still lacking detailed functional information. In order to address this paucity of data, many computational prediction methods have been developed. However, these methods have varying levels of accuracy and perform differently based on the sequences that are presented to the underlying algorithm. It is therefore useful to compare these methods and monitor their performance. RESULTS: In order to perform a comprehensive survey of prediction methods, we selected only methods that accepted large batches of protein sequences, were publicly available, and were able to predict localization to at least nine of the major subcellular locations (nucleus, cytosol, mitochondrion, extracellular region, plasma membrane, Golgi apparatus, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), peroxisome, and lysosome). The selected methods were CELLO, MultiLoc, Proteome Analyst, pTarget and WoLF PSORT. These methods were evaluated using 3763 mouse proteins from SwissProt that represent the source of the training sets used in development of the individual methods. In addition, an independent evaluation set of 2145 mouse proteins from LOCATE with a bias towards the subcellular localization underrepresented in SwissProt was used. The sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each method and compared to a theoretical value based on what might be observed by random chance. CONCLUSION: No individual method had a sufficient level of sensitivity across both evaluation sets that would enable reliable application to hypothetical proteins. All methods showed lower performance on the LOCATE dataset and variable performance on individual subcellular localizations was observed. Proteins localized to the secretory pathway were the most difficult to predict, while nuclear and extracellular proteins were predicted with the highest sensitivity

Goose at Goldie&#039;s Milk Bar: the nature of human animal relationships in three modern literary fairy tales

The Goose at Goldie&#039;s Milk Bar is a modern literary fairy tale written in the form of a novel for adult readers. Set in the fictional Australian small country town of Baxters Creek, it tells the story of Goldie Sullivan, an elderly former milk bar proprietor who has an affair with a gigantic cognisant gander. Goldie lives out the back of the town&#039;s old milk bar, hiding from the surrounding narrow-minded community, until late one night she witnesses a bolt of lightning strike the bell tower on the nearby church. When she goes to investigate, Goldie finds the body of a large bird buried in the debris and, believing it is an omen, she carries the half-dead bird home on her back. As she rehabilitates the bird, Goldie discovers there is more to the feathered creature than she first thought. The bird, a giant gander blown off course and struck down in the middle of migration, reveals an advanced awareness of humanity and the profound ability to comprehend the sorrow in Goldie&#039;s life. Through a shared appreciation of jazz music, Goldie and the goose learn to communicate and a close friendship ensues. Goldie teaches the goose to dance, the pair share baths and the goose moves into Goldie&#039;s bedroom. Before too long, Goldie finds herself in the midst of a most indecent affair. Goldie&#039;s relationship with the gander unfolds against a backdrop of other unconventional relationships. Kevin Dwyer, the new reporter in town finds himself drawn to the shire maintenance worker, Travis Handley. Real estate agent Alexander Bourke has taken Lynne Fontaine, the chef at the local Chinese restaurant, as his oriental mistress, and recently windowed farmer, Mary Peddley, sets tongues wagging with the one-legged publican, Jack Diamond. The novel uses the human animal narrative to explore the premise that fate is driven by unseen, sometimes magical forces that manifest in inexplicable ways to reveal the hidden truths of people. The writing of the novel has been supported by research conducted for an exegesis titled, The Nature of Human Animal Relationships in Three Modern Literary Fairy Tales. The exegesis identifies and discusses the nature of the central human animal relationships in three novels: Yann Martel&#039;s Life of Pi, Peter Hoeg&#039;s Woman and the Ape and the writing project, The Goose at Goldie&#039;s Milk Bar. The exegesis identifies and discusses the roles and functions the human and animal characters perform in the three novels through a comparative analysis of the narrative theories of early Russian Structuralist, Vladimir Propp. The exegesis also identifies and discusses the types of transformation the human and animal characters undergo, and conducts a comparative analysis of the theories of English academic and fairy tale historian, Jack Zipes. Finally, the exegesis analyses and discusses the multi-dimensional nature of the bonds formed by the human and animal characters and demonstrates how writers of modern literary fairy tales seek to awaken the reader to the possibilities of relationships with animals beyond usual human understanding or experience

Outcome assessment after traumatic brain injury

No abstract available

Calcium channel blockers for acute traumatic brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Acute traumatic brain injury is a major cause of death and disability. Calcium channel blockers (calcium antagonists) have been used in an attempt to prevent cerebral vasospasm after injury, maintain blood flow to the brain, and so prevent further damage. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effects of calcium channel blockers in patients with acute traumatic brain injury, and in a subgroup of brain injury patients with traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage. SEARCH STRATEGY: Handsearching and electronic searching for randomised controlled trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials in patients with all levels of severity of clinically diagnosed acute traumatic brain injury. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently assessed the identified studies for eligibility and extracted data from each study. Summary odds ratios were calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel method. MAIN RESULTS: Six RCTs were identified as eligible for inclusion in the systematic review. The effect of calcium channel blockers on the risk of death was reported in five of the RCTs. The pooled odds ratio (OR) for the five studies was 0.91 (95% confidence interval [95%CI] 0.70-1.17). For the four RCTs that reported death and severe disability (unfavourable outcome), the pooled odds ratio was 0.85 (95%CI 0.68-1.07). In the two RCTs which reported the risk of death in a subgroup of traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage patients, the pooled odds ratio was 0.59 (95%CI 0.37-0.94). Three RCTs reported death and severe disability as an outcome in this subgroup, and the pooled odds ratio was 0.67 (95%CI 0.46-0.98). REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: This systematic review of randomised controlled trials of calcium channel blockers in acute traumatic head injury patients shows that considerable uncertainty remains over their effects. The effect of nimodipine in a subgroup of brain injury patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage shows a beneficial effect, though the increase in adverse reactions suffered by the intervention group may mean that the drug is harmful for some patients

SopB-Mediated Recruitment of SNX18 Facilitates Salmonella Typhimurium Internalization by the Host Cell

To invade epithelial cells, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) induces macropinocytosis through the action of virulence proteins delivered across the host cell membrane via a type III secretion system. We show that after docking at the plasma membrane S. Typhimurium triggers rapid recruitment of cytosolic SNX18, a SH3-PX-BAR domain sorting nexin protein, to the bacteria-induced membrane ruffles and to the nascent Salmonella-containing vacuole. SNX18 recruitment required the inositol-phosphatase activity of the Salmonella effector SopB and an intact phosphoinositide-binding site within the PX domain of SNX18, but occurred independently of Rho-GTPases Rac1 and Cdc42 activation. SNX18 promotes formation of the SCV from the plasma membrane by acting as a scaffold to recruit Dynamin-2 and N-WASP in a process dependent on the SH3 domain of SNX18. Quantification of bacteria uptake revealed that overexpression of SNX18 increased bacteria internalization, whereas a decrease was detected in cells overexpressing the phosphoinositide-binding mutant R303Q, the ΔSH3 mutant, and in cells where endogenous levels of SNX18 were knocked-down. This study identifies SNX18 as a novel target of SopB and suggests a mechanism where S. Typhimurium engages host factors via local manipulation of phosphoinositide composition at the site of invasion to orchestrate the internalization process