Cortisol levels in response to starting school in children at increased risk for social phobia

Background: Research on depression has identified hyperactivity of the HPA axis as a potential contributory factor to the intergenerational transmission of affective symptoms. However, this has not yet been examined in the context of social phobia. The current study compared HPA axis activity in response to a universal social stressor (starting school) in children of 2 groups of women: one with social phobia and one with no history of anxiety (comparison group). To determine specificity of effects of maternal social phobia, a third group of children were also examined whose mothers had generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). Method: Children provided salivary cortisol samples in the morning, afternoon and at bedtime across 3 time-blocks surrounding the school start: a month before starting school (baseline), the first week at school (stress response), and the end of the first school term (stress recovery). Child behavioural inhibition at 14 months was also assessed to explore the influence of early temperament on later stress responses. Results: All children displayed an elevation in morning and afternoon cortisol from baseline during the first week at school, which remained elevated until the end of the first term. Children in the social phobia group, however, also displayed an equivalent elevation in bedtime cortisol, which was not observed for comparison children or for children of mothers with GAD. Children in the social phobia group who were classified as 'inhibited' at 14 months displayed significantly higher afternoon cortisol levels overall. Summary: A persistent stress response to school in the morning and afternoon is typical for all children, but children of mothers with social phobia also display atypical elevations in evening cortisol levels when at school - signalling long-term disruption of the circadian rhythm in HPA axis activity. This is the first study to report HPA axis disruption in children at risk of developing social phobia, and future research should aim to determine whether this represents a pathway for symptom development, taking early temperament into account

Ethics for teacher research: same as research ethics or different?

Following the 2013 Goldacre paper extolling the benefits of teacher research, this paper reports on a small-scale study conducted in a UK University School of Education by two teacher educators who train and support teacher researchers. The paper focuses on views of teachers and teacher educators regarding whether ethical guidelines for educational research should be required for teachers’ school-based research. The School of Education requires its staff and students to conduct research according to the BERA (2011) Revised Guidelines for Practitioner Research; this study was no exception. However, before it began, the teacher educators who led it had found anecdotally that teachers often questioned why they should follow ethical guidelines for researching in their own schools. Since teachers tend not to seek parental consent for gathering, storing and reporting assessment data, they often queried the requirement in respect of research data; equally, they troubled the classroom practicalities of allowing students to withdraw from research based on teaching and learning interventions. The teachers’ views highlighted the need for systematic exploration concerning the issue of ethics for school-based teacher research. This small-scale instrumental case study aimed to investigate perceptions of ethical guidelines for practitioner research. To gain trustworthy data, two participant groups were recruited: (i) teachers with no experience as educational researchers (n= 8) and (ii) teacher educators who had been teachers and were also experienced educational researchers (n=8). Participants engaged in two hour-long focus groups, when they discussed the nature of school-based research, whether teachers need to follow ethical guidelines for school-based research and, if so, what such guidelines should include. Data were verified with participants, then analysed using thematic coding. Emerging themes included definitions, relationships, consent/assent, and deontological versus consequentialist argument. While both groups thought teachers adopted an ethical code for teaching, practising teachers held a stronger conviction that teachers’ professional actions are consistently beneficent. Equally, teachers did not believe they needed informed consent or assent to collect, store or report student data for research or assessment purposes, seeing this as a barrier to school-based research. A larger -scale study is indicated to identify whether these beliefs are shared by teachers beyond the study location, whether new ethical guidelines for teachers researching in schools might be useful, whether collection, storage and reporting of school assessment data requires a new ethical framework and what the implications may be for teacher education, teachers and school leaders

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

Supplementary data for the article: Andrić, J. M.; Misini-Ignjatović, M. Z.; Murray, J. S.; Politzer, P.; Zarić, S. D. Hydrogen Bonding between Metal-Ion Complexes and Noncoordinated Water: Electrostatic Potentials and Interaction Energies. ChemPhysChem 2016, 2035–2042. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.201501200

Supplementary material for: [https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.201501200]Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/2289

Quantitative Accuracy of Low-Count SPECT Imaging in Phantom and In Vivo Mouse Studies

We investigated the accuracy of a single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system in quantifying a wide range of radioactivity concentrations using different scan times in both phantom and animal models. A phantom containing various amounts of In-111 or Tc-99m was imaged until the activity had decayed close to background levels. Scans were acquired for different durations, employing different collimator pinhole sizes. VOI analysis was performed to quantify uptake in the images and the values compared to the true activity. The phantom results were then validated in tumour-bearing mice. The use of an appropriate calibration phantom and disabling of a background subtraction feature meant that absolute errors were within 12% of the true activity. Furthermore, a comparison of in vivo imaging and biodistribution studies in mice showed a correlation of 0.99 for activities over the 200 kBq to 5 MBq range. We conclude that the quantitative information provided by the NanoSPECT camera is accurate and allows replacement of dissection studies for assessment of radiotracer biodistribution in mouse models

The North Wyke Farm Platform: Methodologies Used in the Remote Sensing of the Quantity and Quality of Drainage Water

The North Wyke Farm Platform(NWFP) for agri-environmental research in temperate grassland was established in the UK in 2010 (Orr et al. 2011). Here we describe the instrumentation and methodologies used to monitor the quantity and quality of drainage water at a total of 15 H-flumes draining 5 sub-catchments within three farmlets. Each of 15 flume laboratories is supplied with 3 kW of mains power and connected to both fibre optic and UHF (Ultra High Frequency) radio networks for data exchange. The radio data network also provides telemetry for rain gauges and soil temperature/moisture probes located away from the flumes and within the catchment blocks. Water flow is measured using bubbler flow meters and when flow is above a defined threshold level, water is pumped into bespoke 13-litre stainless steel bypass cells on a 15-minute cycle using bi-directional peristaltic pumps. A range of sensors located within the bypass cells measure the following water quality parameters: nitrate, ammonium, dissolved organic carbon, temperature, conductivity, turbidity, pH and dissolved oxygen. Total phosphorus and ortho phosphorus are measured at one flume in each farmlet. Networked auto-samplers are also provided at each flume site for the measurement of other wa-ter quality parameters as required. All data are logged and sent to a dedicated server at a 15 min resolution while a web front end allows advanced visualization capabilities and remote control of the entire system. The system is configured to allow for flexibility and future expansion to a wider range of parameters

Combined bezafibrate and medroxyprogesterone acetate: potential novel therapy for acute myeloid leukaemia

Background: The majority of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients are over sixty years of age. With current treatment regimens, survival rates amongst these, and also those younger patients who relapse, remain dismal and novel therapies are urgently required. In particular, therapies that have anti-leukaemic activity but that, unlike conventional chemotherapy, do not impair normal haemopoiesis. Principal Findings: Here we demonstrate the potent anti-leukaemic activity of the combination of the lipid-regulating drug bezafibrate (BEZ) and the sex hormone medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) against AML cell lines and primary AML cells. The combined activity of BEZ and MPA (B/M) converged upon the increased synthesis and reduced metabolism of prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) resulting in elevated levels of the downstream highly bioactive, anti-neoplastic prostaglandin 15-deoxy Δ12,14 PGJ2 (15d-PGJ2). BEZ increased PGD2 synthesis via the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and activation of the lipid peroxidation pathway. MPA directed prostaglandin synthesis towards 15d-PGJ2 by inhibiting the PGD2 11β -ketoreductase activity of the aldo-keto reductase AKR1C3, which metabolises PGD2 to 9α11β-PGF2α. B/M treatment resulted in growth arrest, apoptosis and cell differentiation in both AML cell lines and primary AML cells and these actions were recapitulated by treatment with 15d-PGJ2. Importantly, the actions of B/M had little effect on the survival of normal adult myeloid progenitors. Significance: Collectively our data demonstrate that B/M treatment of AML cells elevated ROS and delivered the anti-neoplastic actions of 15d-PGJ2. These observations provide the mechanistic rationale for the redeployment of B/M in elderly and relapsed AML