307 research outputs found
Geographies for play in austere times
This concluding essay to a collection of 10 papers examining, Best of times to worst of times? Appraising the changing landscape of play in the UK, reviews six key themes that emerge – re-fuelling longstanding tensions within playwork; organisational legacy of the investment years; broad acceptance of the wider value of play in society; the need to develop a critical play intelligence within the sector; the reconfiguration of play geographies and the impact of play provision on local play cultures; and the need for a much more central focus on play cultures in our enquiry. Without question, Austerity has undermined the public investment in play and play services that characterised the UK in early years of the Millennium. Nevertheless, for every ‘threat’ that this poses, others are able and willing to conceptualise this as an opportunity to reprioritise play priorities. It is argued that play is resilient, and adept an adapting to the changing realities of the financial landscape
Resveratrol, Acetyl-Resveratrol, and Polydatin Exhibit Antigrowth Activity against 3D Cell Aggregates of the SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines
Resveratrol has aroused significant scientific interest as it has been claimed that it exhibits a spectrum of health benefits. These include effects as an anti-inflammatory and an antitumour compound. The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare any potential antigrowth effects of resveratrol and two of its derivatives, acetyl-resveratrol and polydatin, on 3D cell aggregates of the EGFR/Her-2 positive and negative ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8, respectively. Results showed that resveratrol and acetyl-resveratrol reduced cell growth in the SKOV-3 and OVCAR-8 in a dose-dependant manner. The growth reduction was mediated by the induction of apoptosis via the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1). At lower concentrations, 5 and 10 µM, resveratrol, acetyl-resveratrol, and polydatin were less effective than higher concentrations, 50 and 100 µM. In SKOV-3 line, at higher concentrations, resveratrol and polydatin significantly reduced the phosphorylation of Her-2 and EGFR and the expression of Erk. Acetyl-resveratrol, on the other hand, did not change the activation of Her-2 and EGFR. Resveratrol, acetyl-resveratrol, and polydatin suppressed the secretion of VEGF in a dose-dependant fashion. In the OVCAR-8 cell line, resveratrol and acetyl-resveratrol at 5 and 10 µM increased the activation of Erk. Above these concentrations they decreased activation. Polydatin did not produce this effect. This study demonstrates that resveratrol and its derivatives may inhibit growth of 3D cell aggregates of ovarian cancer cell lines via different signalling molecules. Resveratrol and its derivatives, therefore, warrant further in vivo evaluation to assess their potential clinical utility
Growth characteristics in individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta in North America: results from a multicenter study.
PurposeOsteogenesis imperfecta (OI) predisposes people to recurrent fractures, bone deformities, and short stature. There is a lack of large-scale systematic studies that have investigated growth parameters in OI.MethodsUsing data from the Linked Clinical Research Centers, we compared height, growth velocity, weight, and body mass index (BMI) in 552 individuals with OI. Height, weight, and BMI were plotted on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention normative curves.ResultsIn children, the median z-scores for height in OI types I, III, and IV were -0.66, -6.91, and -2.79, respectively. Growth velocity was diminished in OI types III and IV. The median z-score for weight in children with OI type III was -4.55. The median z-scores for BMI in children with OI types I, III, and IV were 0.10, 0.91, and 0.67, respectively. Generalized linear model analyses demonstrated that the height z-score was positively correlated with the severity of the OI subtype (P < 0.001), age, bisphosphonate use, and rodding (P < 0.05).ConclusionFrom the largest cohort of individuals with OI, we provide median values for height, weight, and BMI z-scores that can aid the evaluation of overall growth in the clinic setting. This study is an important first step in the generation of OI-specific growth curves
New software for statistical analysis of Cambridge Structural Database data
A new piece of software for statistical analysis of geometrical, chemical and crystallographic data within the Cambridge Structural Database System is described. This software has been written specifically to deal with chemical structure data and crucially provides simultaneous visualization of the three-dimensional structural information
Concentrations and size distributions of fungal bioaerosols in a municipal landfill
The object of this research was to study the behavior of fungal bioaerosols during a sampling period of 12 months (April 2015–April 2016), in each treatment stages of a landfill located in Atlántico Department, Colombia. The fungi bioaerosol samples were collected using a Six-Stage Viable Andersen Cascade Impactor - Thermo Fisher Scientific, a vacuum pump with a flow rate of 28.3 L/min–1, and ammeter KESTREL 4500 for the weather conditions. With the large amount of data obtained, a database was made in excel and analyzed using Statgraphics Centurion XVI software. The processing of data mining was carried out applying to a generalized linear regression model and Multifactorial ANOVA. Golden Surfer 11 program was used to stablish the distribution of temporal and spational mold airborne. The Variables: sampling campaign, stage, taxa, temperature and relative humidity presented a statistically significant correlation with the concentration P-value = 0. The concentrations of fungal bioaerosols varied considerably over the whole sampling period with average concentrations from 73.02 ± 26, 75 CFUs/m3 to 1830.38 ± 971.28 CFUs/m3. The fungal bioaerosols presented in both the coarse and fine fraction; but the fraction of 2.1–3.3 μm (stage 4) was the fraction of the dominant size in terms of higher concentration. According to the taxa identification, there was a higher prevalence of Aspergillus: the highest concentration corresponds to A. fumigatus, associated to toxins that may be cytotoxic [1, 2]
The Shapes of Cooperatively Rearranging Regions in Glass Forming Liquids
The shapes of cooperatively rearranging regions in glassy liquids change from
being compact at low temperatures to fractal or ``stringy'' as the dynamical
crossover temperature from activated to collisional transport is approached
from below. We present a quantitative microscopic treatment of this change of
morphology within the framework of the random first order transition theory of
glasses. We predict a correlation of the ratio of the dynamical crossover
temperature to the laboratory glass transition temperature, and the heat
capacity discontinuity at the glass transition, Delta C_p. The predicted
correlation agrees with experimental results for the 21 materials compiled by
Novikov and Sokolov.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of the Marsworth area, south-central England
To elucidate the Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental history of south-central England, we report the stratigraphy, sedimentology, palaeoecology and geochronology of some deposits near the foot of the Chiltern Hills scarp at Marsworth, Buckinghamshire. The Marsworth site is important because its sedimentary sequences contain a rich record of warm stages and cold stages, and it lies close to the Anglian glacial limit. Critical to its history are the origin and age of a brown pebbly silty clay (diamicton) previously interpreted as weathered till.
The deposits described infill a river channel incised into chalk bedrock. They comprise clayey, silty and gravelly sediments, many containing locally derived chalk and some with molluscan, ostracod and vertebrate remains. Most of the deposits are readily attributed to periglacial and fluvial processes, and some are dated by optically stimulated luminescence to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. Although our sedimentological data do not discriminate between a glacial or periglacial interpretation of the diamicton, amino-acid dating of three molluscan taxa from beneath it indicates that it is younger than MIS 9 and older than MIS 5e. This makes a glacial interpretation unlikely, and we interpret the diamicton as a periglacial slope deposit.
The Pleistocene history reconstructed for Marsworth identifies four key elements: (1) Anglian glaciation during MIS 12 closely approached Marsworth, introducing far-travelled pebbles such as Rhaxella chert and possibly some fine sand minerals into the area. (2) Interglacial environments inferred from fluvial sediments during MIS 7 varied from fully interglacial conditions during sub-stages 7e and 7c, cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7b or 7a, temperate conditions similar to those today in central England towards the end of the interglacial, and cool temperate conditions during sub-stage 7a. (3) Periglacial activity during MIS 6 involved thermal contraction cracking, permafrost development, fracturing of chalk bedrock, fluvial activity, slopewash, mass movement and deposition of loess and coversand. (4) Fully interglacial conditions during sub-stage 5e led to renewed fluvial activity, soil formation and acidic weathering
Exploring international differences in ovarian cancer treatment: A comparison of clinical practice guidelines and patterns of care
Report from IPITA-TTS opinion leaders meeting on the future of β-cell replacement
Peer reviewe
Successful awake proning is associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19: single-centre high-dependency unit experience
The SARS-CoV-2 can lead to severe illness with COVID-19. Outcomes of patients requiring mechanical ventilation are poor. Awake proning in COVID-19 improves oxygenation, but on data clinical outcomes is limited. This single-centre retrospective study aimed to assess whether successful awake proning of patients with COVID-19, requiring respiratory support (continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) or high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO)) on a respiratory high-dependency unit (HDU), is associated with improved outcomes. HDU care included awake proning by respiratory physiotherapists. Of 565 patients admitted with COVID-19, 71 (12.6%) were managed on the respiratory HDU, with 48 of these (67.6%) requiring respiratory support. Patients managed with CPAP alone 22/48 (45.8%) were significantly less likely to die than patients who required transfer onto HFNO 26/48 (54.2%): CPAP mortality 36.4%; HFNO mortality 69.2%, (p=0.023); however, multivariate analysis demonstrated that increasing age and the inability to awake prone were the only independent predictors of COVID-19 mortality. The mortality of patients with COVID-19 requiring respiratory support is considerable. Data from our cohort managed on HDU show that CPAP and awake proning are possible in a selected population of COVID-19, and may be useful. Further prospective studies are required
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