Making a decision about trial participation : the feasibility of measuring deliberation during the informed consent process for clinical trials

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Predicting gene expression in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum using histone modification, nucleosome positioning, and 3D localization features.

Empirical evidence suggests that the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum employs a broad range of mechanisms to regulate gene transcription throughout the organism's complex life cycle. To better understand this regulatory machinery, we assembled a rich collection of genomic and epigenomic data sets, including information about transcription factor (TF) binding motifs, patterns of covalent histone modifications, nucleosome occupancy, GC content, and global 3D genome architecture. We used these data to train machine learning models to discriminate between high-expression and low-expression genes, focusing on three distinct stages of the red blood cell phase of the Plasmodium life cycle. Our results highlight the importance of histone modifications and 3D chromatin architecture in Plasmodium transcriptional regulation and suggest that AP2 transcription factors may play a limited regulatory role, perhaps operating in conjunction with epigenetic factors

Classics and Feminist Pedagogy: Practical Tips for Teaching

On July 29th, 2016 the Women’s Classical Committee UK, with the support of the Council of University Classics Departments, hosted a workshop at the University of Birmingham titled ‘Classics and Feminist Pedagogy: Practical Tips for Teaching’ workshop. This is one of two reports that came out of that workshop and presents some practical tips for teaching, aimed primarily at PhDs and ECRs

Practical Tips for Feminist Pedagogy in Classics

On July 29th, 2016 the Women’s Classical Committee UK, with the support of the Council of University Classics Departments, hosted a workshop at the University of Birmingham titled ‘Classics and Feminist Pedagogy: Practical Tips for Teaching’ workshop. This is one of two reports that came out of that workshop and presents some practical tips for teaching, aimed primarily at PhDs and ECRs

Volume of physical activity and injury occurrence in young basketball players

Participation in organised, competitive physical activity by young athletes is increasing rapidly. This is concurrent with an increase in sporting injuries in the young population. This pilot study aimed to compare the weekly volume and types of physical activity in young basketball players injured and not injured during the season. Detailed physical activity and injury data were prospectively collected in 46 school-level basketball players aged 14 to 18 years. Participants completed physical activity logs which documented the type of physical activity undertaken, what the activity consisted of (i.e. training, competition) and the level at which it was played on a daily basis. Allied health staff completed a weekly injury form. Results showed that injured and uninjured athletes participated in a similar volume of total weekly physical activity over the season. However, injured athletes (p = 0.04) and athletes who specifically sustained overuse injuries (p = 0.01) participated in a greater amount of basketball refereeing than uninjured athletes. Based on these findings it was concluded that greater participation in running-type physical activity such as refereeing, as an addition to training and competition, may predispose the young basketball player to increased injury risk. Future research using larger sample sizes are required to further investigate the role of participation volume and type on injury occurrence in adolescent athletes.<br /

Exploiting genomics to improve the biological control potential of Pasteuria spp., an organisms with potential to control plant-parasitic nematodes

The Pasteuria group of Gram positive bacteria are invertebrate parasites with the potential to be developed into biological control agents of plant-parasitic nematodes. A key step in the infection process is the attachment of endospores to the cuticle of plant-parasitic nematodes, possibly through a Velcro-like attachment system involving the collagen-like fibres of the exosporium (Davies, 2009). Phylogenetically these bacteria are members of the Firmicutes and closely related to the members of genus Bacillus. Some of the genes involved in the construction of the endospore and in particular the exosporium in Bacillus spp. have already been identified. The Pasteuria sequences in the public databases and the complete genomes of Bacillus spp. were investigated for the genes linked with the endospore and associated exosporium. On the basis of our in silico studies we report the presence of genes putatively similar to bclA, exsJ and vrrB in Pasteuria.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Praise, blame and identity construction in Greek Tragedy

This thesis examines the use of praise and blame in Greek tragedy as a method of identity construction. It takes sociolinguistic theory as its starting point to show that the distribution of praise and blame, an important social function of archaic poetry, can be seen as contributing to the process of linguistic identity construction discussed by sociolinguists. However, in tragedy, the destructive or dangerous aspects of this process are explored, and the distribution of praise and blame becomes a way of destabilising or destroying identity rather than constructing positive identities for individuals. The thesis begins with a section exploring the importance of praise and blame as a vehicle for identity construction in the case of some of the mythical/heroic warriors who populate the tragic stage: Ajax, Heracles, and Theseus. I discuss the ways in which their own seeking after inappropriate praise leads to the destruction of Ajax and Heracles, and the lack of clear praise for Theseus in extant tragedy. The second half of the thesis examines the devastation caused by women's involvement in the process of identity construction, focusing on Deianira, Clytemnestra, and Medea. All of these women are involved in rejecting the praise discourses which construct the identities for their husbands. Clytemnestra and Medea further replace such praise with new discourses of blame. This process contributes to the destruction of all three women's husbands. Prioritising this important element in interpretations of tragedy, influenced by a greater recognition of the ways in which tragedy draws on older genres of poetry, leads to new readings of apparently well-known plays, and new conclusions on such iconic figures as Theseus. Furthermore, within the context of the extended scholarly discussion on women's speech in tragedy, this approach demonstrates an effective and destructive result of that speech from a new perspective

Surgeons' and methodologists' perceptions of utilising an expertise-based randomised controlled trial design : A qualitative study

Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge the interviewees for giving up the time to take part in the interviews and Sharon McCann for her guidance when setting up the study. Funding Jonathan Cook held a Medical Research Council (MRC) UK methodology (G1002292) fellowship which supported this study. Katie Gilles holds a MRC UK methodology fellowship (MR/L01193X/1). The Health Services Research Unit, Institute of Applied Health Sciences (University of Aberdeen), is core-funded by the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates. The funders had no involvement in study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, reporting or the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD