Tuz v. Chadbourne, Inc., 310 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1975)

Judgments- ISSUE PRECLUSION- FORMAL ADVERSENESS BETWEEN CODEFENDANTS IS NOT PREREQUISITE TO APPLICATION OF ESTOPPEL BY JUDGMENT; SINGLE ACCIDENT INJURING MORE THAN ONE PERSON MAY PRODUCE SINGLE ISSUE FOR PURPOSES OF ESTOPPEL BY JUDGMENT

The comparison of four techniques used in presenting test information to freshman students.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University

Supporting newly qualified nurses in the UK: a systematic literature review

Aim: This is a systematic literature review of the existing published research related to the development of preceptorship to support newly qualified nurses in the United Kingdom (UK). Background: It has been known for some time that newly qualified nurses experience a period of unsettling transition at the point of registration. In the UK, preceptorship has been the professional body’s recommended solution to this for over 20 years. Data Sources: Searches were made of the CINAHL Plus and MEDLINE databases. Review Methods: A systematic review was carried out in August 2011. Twelve separate searches were conducted generating 167 articles, of which 24 were finally reviewed. Papers were critically reviewed and relevant data were extracted and synthesised using an approach based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis ( PRISMA). Results and Discussion: A results table is presented of the twenty-four sources generated by the systematic search. Three themes were identified from the empirical evidence base: ‘Managerial Support Framework’; ‘Recruitment and Retention’; and ‘Reflection and Critical Thinking in Action’;. Conclusion: There is strong evidence that the newly qualified nurse benefits from a period of supported and structured preceptorship, which translates to improved recruitment and retention for the employing organisations. Recommendations for Further Research and Practice: The existing literature provides an evidence base upon which to construct a preceptorship programme and a means by which to measure its efficacy and monitor its future development. Case study research projects should be considered for future preceptorship programmes in order to find the most effective methods of delivery.Research funded by Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trus

Discovery of Infection Associated Metabolic Markers in Human African Trypanosomiasis

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Reducing stigma and discrimination: Candidate interventions

This paper proposes that stigma in relation to people with mental illness can be understood as a combination of problems of knowledge (ignorance), attitudes (prejudice) and behaviour (discrimination). From a literature review, a series of candidate interventions are identified which may be effective in reducing stigmatisation and discrimination at the following levels: individuals with mental illness and their family members; the workplace; and local, national and international. The strongest evidence for effective interventions at present is for (i) direct social contact with people with mental illness at the individual level, and (ii) social marketing at the population level

The cellular toxicology of mitragynine, the dominant alkaloid of the narcotic-like herb, Mitragyna speciosa Korth

Mitragyna speciosa Korth (Kratom), a herb of the Rubiaceae family is indigenous to southeast Asia. The plant and its dominant alkaloid mitragynine (MIT) are narcotic/analgesic and illicit consumption is widespread in Asia; the toxicological consequences of consumption are poorly documented. We determined cytotoxicity of MIT on human cell lines and report dose and time-dependent stimulation and inhibition of proliferation. Since MIT has powerful opiate-like activity, we focussed on human neuronal SH-SY5Y cell line and found the colony forming ability of cells treated with MIT showed a dose-dependent trend for reduced survival. Studies using metabolically competent MCL-5 cells and chemical inhibitors indicated that CYP 2E1 and 2A6 were involved in the cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity was preceded by cell cycle arrest mainly at G1 and S phase. To assess whether arrest was due to DNA damage or mutation, we examined genotoxic potential using the L5178 TK +/− mouse lymphoma assay and found that MIT was not genotoxic at the TK locus, even at doses that were highly cytotoxic. To investigate mechanisms of MIT cytotoxicity, we used flow cytometry and annexin V with 7-amino-actinomycin D staining and show apoptosis and necrotic activity. Apoptosis was further supported as MIT rapidly induced the activity of executioner caspases 3/7. However, cytotoxicity of MIT was partially reduced by inclusion of the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, a μ and δ opioid receptor antagonist, suggesting that cytotoxicity depends in part on opioid signalling, consistent with the known toxicity of other opiates. Based on consumption of 20 leaves per day of Mitragyna speciosa, we estimated daily human exposure to MIT to be about 17 mg MIT for regular consumers, potentially giving plasma concentrations in of 10−9 to 10 −7 M. Importantly, fatalities after kratom consumption have been reported to occur in individuals with blood mitragynine concentrations of between 0.45–1.0 μM, substantially lower than the threshold of toxicity predicted from this in vitro report. Clearly the implications of these findings to humans consuming Mitragyna speciosa leaves will require further study, but individuals taking large quantities of these opiate-like materials may be at risk, especially those who have a high CYP2E1 activity, such as heavy alcohol users

Associations of the lipidome with ageing, cognitive decline and exercise behaviours

One of the most recognisable features of ageing is a decline in brain health and cognitive dysfunction, which is associated with perturbations to regular lipid homeostasis. Although ageing is the largest risk factor for several neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, a loss in cognitive function is commonly observed in adults over the age of 65. Despite the prevalence of normal age-related cognitive decline, there is a lack of effective methods to improve the health of the ageing brain. In light of this, exercise has shown promise for positively influencing neurocognitive health and associated lipid profiles. This review summarises age-related changes in several lipid classes that are found in the brain, including fatty acyls, glycerolipids, phospholipids, sphingolipids and sterols, and explores the consequences of age-associated pathological cognitive decline on these lipid classes. Evidence of the positive effects of exercise on the affected lipid profiles are also discussed to highlight the potential for exercise to be used therapeutically to mitigate age-related changes to lipid metabolism and prevent cognitive decline in later life

K-OPLS package: Kernel-based orthogonal projections to latent structures for prediction and interpretation in feature space

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Kernel-based classification and regression methods have been successfully applied to modelling a wide variety of biological data. The Kernel-based Orthogonal Projections to Latent Structures (K-OPLS) method offers unique properties facilitating separate modelling of predictive variation and structured noise in the feature space. While providing prediction results similar to other kernel-based methods, K-OPLS features enhanced interpretational capabilities; allowing detection of unanticipated systematic variation in the data such as instrumental drift, batch variability or unexpected biological variation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We demonstrate an implementation of the K-OPLS algorithm for MATLAB and R, licensed under the GNU GPL and available at <url>http://www.sourceforge.net/projects/kopls/</url>. The package includes essential functionality and documentation for model evaluation (using cross-validation), training and prediction of future samples. Incorporated is also a set of diagnostic tools and plot functions to simplify the visualisation of data, e.g. for detecting trends or for identification of outlying samples. The utility of the software package is demonstrated by means of a metabolic profiling data set from a biological study of hybrid aspen.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The properties of the K-OPLS method are well suited for analysis of biological data, which in conjunction with the availability of the outlined open-source package provides a comprehensive solution for kernel-based analysis in bioinformatics applications.</p