Let’s Think Secondary Science: Evaluation report and executive summary

Let’s Think Secondary Science (LTSS) aims to develop students’ scientific reasoning by teaching them scientific principles such as categorisation, probability and experimentation LTSS was evaluated using a randomised controlled trial with over 8000 students in 53 schools. Schools were randomly allocated to deliver either the programme or their ‘business as usual’ science teaching. It should be considered an effectiveness trial, as it aimed to test a scalable intervention under realistic conditions in a large number of schools. The primary outcome measure was an age-appropriate science test based on a Key Stage 3 SATs paper, and the secondary measures were English and maths tests provided by GL Assessment. The process evaluation consisted of lesson observations, surveys and interviews with staff, and surveys and focus groups with students. The trial started in September 2013 and ended in July 2015.This evaluation provided no evidence that Let’s Think Secondary Science improved the science attainment of students by the end of Year 8

Estimating the Irish public's willingness to pay for more sustainable salmon produced by integrated multi-trophic aquaculture

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) has been put forward as a potential sustainable alternative to single fin fish species aquaculture. In IMTA, several species are combined in the production process. Integrating species has a conceivable dual advantage; the environmental impact can be lowered through nutrient cycling and from an economic perspective there is potential for increased efficiency, product diversification and a higher willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly produced salmon. This paper presents the results from a choice experiment which examines whether the Irish public is willing to pay a premium for “sustainably produced” farmed salmon from an IMTA process. Uniquely, an ecolabel was used in the design, based on familiar energy rating labels, to communicate the environmental pressure of fish farming to respondents. The experiment demonstrates that the Irish public has a willingness to pay a price premium for sustainability in salmon farming and for locally produced salmon

Risk factors for hospitalizations associated with depression among women during the years around a birth: a retrospective cohort study

Introduction Socio-economic status (SES) is an important determinant of health and low SES is associated with higher rates of prenatal and post-partum depression while prenatal and post-partum depression are associated with sub-optimal maternal and infant health. Furthermore, increased negative effects of post-partum depression have been reported in children from low SES backgrounds. Objectives To assess whether socio-economic status (SES) was related to the risk of a medical or psychiatric hospitalization associated with depression (HAWD) and the risk of a HAWD by anti-depressant (AD) use during the years around a birth Methods This retrospective cohort study used linked birth, hospitalization, prescription and tax-file records of the study cohort. We linked registry data of 243,933 women delivering 348,273 live infants in British Columbia (1999-2009). The outcomes of interest were a HAWD and a HAWD and the associated patient anti-depressant (AD) use. Ranked area-based measures of equivalised, family disposable income were used to create income deciles (Decile-1 low), our proxy for SES. Mothers from Decile-6 were the comparator group. Anti-depressant use was defined as having a prenatal prescription for a serotonin reuptake inhibitor or other AD and the years around a birth were the period beginning 12 months before conception and ending 12 months after the birth. We analysed by pregnancy using mixed effects logistic regression whilst adjusting for maternal age and parity. Results                                                                                    Compared to middle-income mothers from Decile-6, (Decile-1, Decile-2) mothers from low income neighbourhoods had increased odds of HAWDs [aOR=1.77(CI: 1.43, 2.19); aOR=1.56(CI: 1.26, 1.94)]. Mothers from low income areas with depression and no AD use had even higher odds of HAWDs [aOR=1.83(CI: 1.33, 2.20); aOR=1.71(CI: 1.33, 2.20)]. Conclusions Results provide preliminary evidence that barriers to treating depression with ADs in mothers from low income areas during the years around a birth might contribute to their increased risk of a hospitalization associated with non-pharmacologically treated depression. Further research is implicated to further elucidate the origins of this increased risk

Estimating the Irish public's willingness to pay for more sustainable salmon produced by integrated multi-trophic aquaculture

Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) has been put forward as a potential sustainable alternative to single fin fish species aquaculture. In IMTA, several species are combined in the production process. Integrating species has a conceivable dual advantage; the environmental impact can be lowered through nutrient cycling and from an economic perspective there is potential for increased efficiency, product diversification and a higher willingness to pay for more environmentally friendly produced salmon. This paper presents the results from a choice experiment which examines whether the Irish public is willing to pay a premium for “sustainably produced” farmed salmon from an IMTA process. Uniquely, an ecolabel was used in the design, based on familiar energy rating labels, to communicate the environmental pressure of fish farming to respondents. The experiment demonstrates that the Irish public has a willingness to pay a price premium for sustainability in salmon farming and for locally produced salmon.PostprintPeer reviewe

Turning round the telescope. Centre-right parties and immigration and integration policy in Europe

This is an Author's Original Manuscript of 'Turning round the telescope. Centre-right parties and immigration and integration policy in Europe', whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Journal of European Public Policy 15(3):315-330, 2008 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi.org/10.1080/13501760701847341

Phenotypic analysis of Myo10 knockout (Myo10tm2/tm2) mice lacking full-length (motorized) but not brain-specific headless myosin X

We investigated the physiological functions of Myo10 (myosin X) using Myo10 reporter knockout (Myo10tm2) mice. Full-length (motorized) Myo10 protein was deleted, but the brain-specific headless (Hdl) isoform (Hdl-Myo10) was still expressed in homozygous mutants. In vitro, we confirmed that Hdl-Myo10 does not induce filopodia, but it strongly localized to the plasma membrane independent of the MyTH4-FERM domain. Filopodia-inducing Myo10 is implicated in axon guidance and mice lacking the Myo10 cargo protein DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) have severe commissural defects, whereas MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) of isolated brains revealed intact commissures in Myo10tm2/tm2 mice. However, reminiscent of Waardenburg syndrome, a neural crest disorder, Myo10tm2/tm2 mice exhibited pigmentation defects (white belly spots) and simple syndactyly with high penetrance (>95%), and 24% of mutant embryos developed exencephalus, a neural tube closure defect. Furthermore, Myo10tm2/tm2 mice consistently displayed bilateral persistence of the hyaloid vasculature, revealed by MRI and retinal whole-mount preparations. In principle, impaired tissue clearance could contribute to persistence of hyaloid vasculature and syndactyly. However, Myo10-deficient macrophages exhibited no defects in the phagocytosis of apoptotic or IgG-opsonized cells. RNA sequence analysis showed that Myo10 was the most strongly expressed unconventional myosin in retinal vascular endothelial cells and expression levels increased 4-fold between P6 and P15, when vertical sprouting angiogenesis gives rise to deeper layers. Nevertheless, imaging of isolated adult mutant retinas did not reveal vascularization defects. In summary, Myo10 is important for both prenatal (neural tube closure and digit formation) and postnatal development (hyaloid regression, but not retinal vascularization)

Cognitive Diversity in a Healthy Aging Cohort: Cross-Domain Cognition in the Cam-CAN Project.

Objective: Studies of "healthy" cognitive aging often focus on a limited set of measures that decline with age. The current study argues that defining and supporting healthy cognition requires understanding diverse cognitive performance across the lifespan. Method: Data from the Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) cohort was examined across a range of cognitive domains. Performance was related to lifestyle including education, social engagement, and enrichment activities. Results: Results indicate variable relationships between cognition and age (positive, negative, or no relationship). Principal components analysis indicated maintained cognitive diversity across the adult lifespan, and that cognition-lifestyle relationships differed by age and domain. Discussion: Our findings support a view of normal cognitive aging as a lifelong developmental process with diverse relationships between cognition, lifestyle, and age. This reinforces the need for large-scale studies of cognitive aging to include a wider range of both ages and cognitive tasks.The Cambridge Centre for Aging and Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) research was supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant number BB/H008217/1)

Hiding behind Writing: Communication in the Offering Process of Mortgage-Backed Securities

Abstract Securities Offering Reform (SOR) in 2005 formalized free writing prospectus (FWP) as permittable written communication in the offering process by securities issuers. Using non-agency mortgage deals securitized following SOR, we find the surprising result that MBS deals with more FWP usage suffered up to 2% higher cumulative net loss, accounting for almost 18% of the deal average loss. Examining the contents of FWPs, we uncover that textual FWPs rather than loan data tape played a more significant role for the larger deal losses. More FWPs are associated with increased uncertain text usage in the final prospectus supplements, a tactic often used to hedge litigation risk on undisclosed information. Our findings provide evidence that MBS issuers may have hidden information behind writing for their financial benefits. Keywords: Written Communication, Free Writing Prospectus, Information Withholding, Uncertain Text * We thank Dion Bongaerts, Zhonglan Dai, Kathleen Weiss Hanley, Jun Li, Tim Loughran, Han Xia, and the seminar participants at Erasmus University for helpful comments. All three authors are from Naveen Jindal School of Management, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas, 75080, email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] "In many ways, mortgage products such as RMBS were ground zero in the financial crisis. Misrepresentations in connection with the creation and sale of mortgage securities contributed greatly to the tremendous losses suffered by investors once the U.S. housing market collapsed.&quot

A subset of myofibroblastic cancer-associated fibroblasts regulate collagen fiber elongation, which is prognostic in multiple cancers

Collagen structure has been shown to influence tumor cell invasion, metastasis and clinical outcome in breast cancer. However, it remains unclear how it affects other solid cancers. Here we utilized multi-photon laser scanning microscopy and Second Harmonic Generation to identify alterations to collagen fiber structure within the tumor stroma of head & neck, esophageal and colorectal cancers. Image segmentation algorithms were then applied to quantitatively characterize these morphological changes, showing that elongated collagen fibers significantly correlated with poor clinical outcome (Log Rank p < 0.05). We used TGF-? treatment to model fibroblast conversion to smooth muscle actin SMA-positive cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and found that these cells induce the formation of elongated collagen fibers in vivo. However, proteomic/transcriptomic analysis of SMA-positive CAFs cultured ex-vivo showed significant heterogeneity in the expression of genes with collagen fibril organizing gene ontology. Notably, stratifying patients according to stromal SMA-positivity and collagen fiber elongation was found to provide a highly significant correlation with poor survival in all 3 cancer types (Log Rank p ? 0.003). In summary, we show that increased collagen fiber length correlates with poor patient survival in multiple tumor types and that only a sub-set of SMA-positive CAFs can mediate the formation of this collagen structure