Expressions of faith: religious writing

No abstract available

Expressions of faith: religious writing

No abstract available

Postfledging Survival, Movements, and Dispersal of Ring Ouzels (Turdus torquatus)

We thank Invercauld Estate for cooperation with access to Glen Clunie. S. Redpath, J. Wilson, and S. Roos provided valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Scottish Natural Heritage, and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. J.L.L. was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Managing the symptoms of neuropathic pain: An exploration of patients' experiences

The debilitating effects of chronic neuropathic pain on everyday life are considerable but little is known about how individual sufferers manage these effects. Virtually nothing is known about what patients prefer, what measures they take themselves, when, or in what combinations. The aim of this study was to explore patients’ reports of how they managed their neuropathic pain symptoms. Three focus groups including 10 participants were used to generate qualitative data on both individual and shared experiences of managing their symptoms of neuropathic pain. Discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, identifying categories and broader themes of importance to patients. The most common management strategy was the use of conventional medications, often associated with poor effectiveness and unpleasant side-effects. Complementary and alternative medicine was ineffective but many found resting or retreating helpful. They exhibited a repeated cycle of seeking help to manage the pain, with each unsuccessful attempt followed by new attempts. Some had tried to accept their pain, but there was insufficient psychological, social, emotional and practical support to allow them to do this successfully. This exploratory study provides a basis from which to develop a larger study to validate and extend the findings. Other issues meriting research are the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapies for those with neuropathic pain; and an exploration and subsequent evaluation of different types of social, practical and emotional support needed to help live with neuropathic pain

Health care professionals’ experience, understanding and perception of need of advanced cancer patients with cachexia and their families: The benefits of a dedicated clinic.

BACKGROUND: Cachexia is defined as the on-going loss of skeletal muscle mass that cannot be fully reversed by conventional nutritional support. It is found in up to 80% of patients with advanced cancer and has profound psycho-social consequences for patients and their families. Previous studies demonstrate that many healthcare professionals receive little formal education in cachexia management leading them to feel that they have limited understanding of the syndrome and cannot intervene effectively. This study aims to examine the value of a dedicated cachexia clinic and its influence on staff understanding and practice. METHODS: An exploratory qualitative study was conducted. The study employed semi-structured interviews with a range of healthcare professionals responsible for designing and delivering cancer care in a large teaching hospital in Australia. This hospital had a dedicated cachexia clinic. RESULTS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 8 healthcare professionals and senior managers. Four themes were identified: formal and informal education; knowledge and understanding; truth telling in cachexia and palliative care; and, a multi-disciplinary approach. Findings show that improved knowledge and understanding across a staff body can lead to enhanced staff confidence and a willingness to address cancer cachexia and its consequences with patients and their families. CONCLUSION: Comparisons with similar previous research demonstrate the advantages of providing a structure for staff to gain knowledge about cachexia and how this can contribute to feelings of improved understanding and confidence necessary to respond to the challenge of cachexia

Discoveries from a Near-infrared Proper Motion Survey using Multi-epoch 2MASS Data

We have conducted a 4030-square-deg near-infrared proper motion survey using multi-epoch data from the Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). We find 2778 proper motion candidates, 647 of which are not listed in SIMBAD. After comparison to DSS images, we find that 107 of our proper motion candidates lack counterparts at B-, R-, and I-bands and are thus 2MASS-only detections. We present results of spectroscopic follow-up of 188 targets that include the infrared-only sources along with selected optical-counterpart sources with faint reduced proper motions or interesting colors. We also establish a set of near-infrared spectroscopic standards with which to anchor near-infrared classifications for our objects. Among the discoveries are six young field brown dwarfs, five "red L" dwarfs, three L-type subdwarfs, twelve M-type subdwarfs, eight "blue L" dwarfs, and several T dwarfs. We further refine the definitions of these exotic classes to aid future identification of similar objects. We examine their kinematics and find that both the "blue L" and "red L" dwarfs appear to be drawn from a relatively old population. This survey provides a glimpse of the kinds of research that will be possible through time-domain infrared projects such as the UKIDSS Large Area Survey, various VISTA surveys, and WISE, and also through z- or y-band enabled, multi-epoch surveys such as Pan-STARRS and LSST.Comment: To appear in the September 2010 issue of The Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Serie

A Model of Coastal Wetland Palaeogeography and Archaeological Narratives : Loch Spynie, Northern Scotland

This paper presents a new model for the palaeogeography of an important archaeological region in northern Scotland – the former Loch Spynie, Moray. The method employed refines existing glacio-isostatic adjustment and relative sea-level models for the Holocene with open data sources of geomorphological, geotechnical and archaeological data to constrain the proposed former extent of marine, estuarine and other wetland environment through time. The study area is shown to be an important isolation basin that is highly likely to preserve dateable relative sea-level index points. The resulting palaeogeographic model for the former Loch Spynie estuary is then used to develop an archaeological narrative of coastal and maritime activity in later prehistory critiquing and supporting an emergent paradigm in understanding later prehistory in northern Scotland. This study demonstrates how it is possible to develop palaeogeographic models at scales useful for site-based archaeological interpretation bridging a problematic gap in archaeological narratives

Centrosome amplification arises before neoplasia and increases upon p53 loss in tumorigenesis

The uploaded article version is the Epub Ahead of Print version of the article, posted online 8 May 2018. It has been submitted to peer-review.The deposited article version contains attached the supplementary materials within the pdf.Centrosome abnormalities are a typical hallmark of human cancers. However, the origin and dynamics of such abnormalities in human cancer are not known. In this study, we examined centrosomes in Barrett's esophagus tumorigenesis, a well-characterized multistep pathway of progression, from the premalignant condition to the metastatic disease. This human cancer model allows the study of sequential steps of progression within the same patient and has representative cell lines from all stages of disease. Remarkably, centrosome amplification was detected as early as the premalignant condition and was significantly expanded in dysplasia. It was then present throughout malignant transformation both in adenocarcinoma and metastasis. The early expansion of centrosome amplification correlated with and was dependent on loss of function of the tumor suppressor p53 both through loss of wild-type expression and hotspot mutations. Our work shows that centrosome amplification in human tumorigenesis can occur before transformation, being repressed by p53. These findings suggest centrosome amplification in humans can contribute to tumor initiation and progression.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia–Harvard Medical School Program Portugal grant: (HMSP-CT/SAU-ICT/0075/2009); Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro; European Molecular Biology Organization Installation; Sociedade Portuguesa de Gastroenterologia.N/

Extensive telomere erosion is consistent with localised clonal expansions in Barrett’s metaplasia

Barrett’s oesophagus is a premalignant metaplastic condition that predisposes patients to the development of oesophageal adenocarcinoma. However, only a minor fraction of Barrett’s oesophagus patients progress to adenocarcinoma and it is thus essential to determine bio-molecular markers that can predict the progression of this condition. Telomere dysfunction is considered to drive clonal evolution in several tumour types and telomere length analysis provides clinically relevant prognostic and predictive information. The aim of this work was to use high-resolution telomere analysis to examine telomere dynamics in Barrett’s oesophagus. Telomere length analysis of XpYp, 17p, 11q and 9p, chromosome arms that contain key cancer related genes that are known to be subjected to copy number changes in Barrett’s metaplasia, revealed similar profiles at each chromosome end, indicating that no one specific telomere is likely to suffer preferential telomere erosion. Analysis of patient matched tissues (233 samples from 32 patients) sampled from normal squamous oesophagus, Z-line, and 2 cm intervals within Barrett’s metaplasia, plus oesophago-gastric junction, gastric body and antrum, revealed extensive telomere erosion in Barrett’s metaplasia to within the length ranges at which telomere fusion is detected in other tumour types. Telomere erosion was not uniform, with distinct zones displaying more extensive erosion and more homogenous telomere length profiles. These data are consistent with an extensive proliferative history of cells within Barrett’s metaplasia and are indicative of localised clonal growth. The extent of telomere erosion highlights the potential of telomere dysfunction to drive genome instability and clonal evolution in Barrett’s metaplasia