Optimising the value of the evidence generated in Implementation Science : the use of ontologies to address the challenges

Our thanks to Marta Marques, Emma Norris, Ildiko Tombor, Holly Walton, Olga Perski and Hilary Groarke for comments on an earlier draft of this editorial. The project is funded by a Wellcome Trust collaborative award [The Human Behaviour-Change Project: Building the science of behaviour change for complex intervention development’, 201,524/Z/16/Z].Peer reviewedPublisher PD

21st Century Environmental Challenges: The Need For a New Economics

Research on environmental economics and policy has been dominated by neoclassical theory. While there have been advances in this approach, including more sophisticated analysis of imperfect information and time, and the development of endogenous growth theory, neoclassical models contain a number of underlying characteristics that limit their relevance for modelling firm behaviour especially in relation to environmental issues, innovation and change. The limitations spring fundamentally from the underlying model of rational choice or business decision making, the treatment of innovation and the lack of any meaningful analysis of the institutional environment in which business and policy decisions are taken

Changing clinical behaviour by making guidelines specific

Efforts to get doctors to follow guidelines have overlooked the importance of clear and concise recommendation

Evaluation of the main achievements of cohesion policy programmes and projects over the longer term in 15 selected regions: case study North East England

This report presents the Pilot Case Study for North East England as part of the study ‘Evaluation of the Main Achievements of Cohesion Policy Programmes over the Longer Term in 15 Selected Regions (from 1989-1993 Programming Period to the Present)’ which is being managed by the European Policies Research Centre and London School of Economics

Protein kinase C in cellular transformation: a valid target for therapy?

The protein kinase C (PKC) family of serine/threonine protein kinases share structural homology, while exhibiting substantial functional diversity. PKC isoforms are ubiquitously expressed in tissues which makes it difficult to define roles for individual isoforms, with complexity compounded by the finding that PKC isoforms can co-operate with or antagonize other PKC family members. A number of studies suggest the involvement of PKC family members in regulating leukaemic cell survival and proliferation. Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), the most common leukaemia in the Western world, exhibits dysregulated expression of PKC isoforms, with recent reports indicating that PKCβ and δ play a critical role in B-cell development, due to their ability to link the B-cell receptor (BCR) with downstream signalling pathways. Given the prognostic significance of the BCR in CLL, inhibition of these BCR/PKC-mediated signalling pathways is of therapeutic relevance. The present review discusses the emerging role of PKC isoforms in the pathophysiology of CLL and assesses approaches that have been undertaken to modulate PKC activity