The Egyptian Cardiothoracic Surgeon (ECTS - E-Journal)
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From Polls to Votes to Seats: Forecasting the 2015 British general election
No full textThis paper develops a three-stage method to forecast parliamentary election results from vote preferences in British opinion polls: (1) adjusting and aggregating vote-intentions from different polling organizations; (2) forecasting how public support for parties will change in the period before election day; and (3) translating, through simulations, the forecast of election day vote shares into seat totals while incorporating constituency-level information, including local vote-intention polls. Overall, this approach seeks to combine relevant national, regional and local information, and uncertainty about that information, to better reflect the fragmentation and diversity of political contexts found in the new era of five/six-party British politic
Early maladaptive schema, social functioning and distress in psychosis: a preliminary investigation
No full textAbstractBackgroundCognitive models of psychosis suggest that negative schema confer vulnerability to and maintain psychotic symptoms. However, few studies have investigated schema among individuals with psychotic symptoms, and research has yet to investigate associations between early maladaptive schema and social functioning and distress. The current preliminary study aimed to investigate these issues.MethodsA cross-sectional design was utilised. Participants with experience of psychosis (n = 20) completed questionnaires measuring early maladaptive schema, social functioning, and global distress.ResultsSocial functioning was significantly associated with two schema: dependency and enmeshment. Eight schema were significantly associated with distress. However, a cross-sectional design and small sample size limit the generalisability of the results.ConclusionsThese results suggest that early maladaptive schema may have an important role in psychosis, and could be considered as part of psychological therapies that seek to enhance social functioning and reduce distress
Fruit Flies in Biological Research
No full textDrosophila has remained at the forefront of biological research for over a century. During this time Drosophila researchers have made essential contributions to our knowledge of fundamental biology and made Drosophila the conceptually best understood animal organism we have to date. Andreas Prokop, Professor of Cellular and Developmental Neurobiology at the University of Manchester, explains why
The effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention for children’s attentional functioning.
No full textAim: This study sought to evaluate the impact of a 6-hour mindfulness programme (Paws .b) on mainstream primary school aged pupils’ suppressing and sustaining attention skills. Methods: A randomised control trial (RCT) design with quasi-experimental intervention cross-lag was used with two classes of 8- to 9-year-olds. Pupils and class teachers were randomly assigned to the experimental or waitlist control group, with each receiving the intervention over 6-weeks. Teacher-reported and standardised attention measures were gathered at pre- and post-intervention, and at follow-up. Findings: Within-condition comparisons revealed several significant pre- vs. post-intervention effects, the majority of which were maintained at follow-up. Between-condition comparisons revealed some significant partial condition × time-point interactions within the attention measures. Limitations: Quasi-experimental research within ecologically valid real world settings is prone to the influence of confounding variables. In this case, a change of teacher for the waitlist control group may have had a marked impact on the results. Conclusions: The research offers tentative evidence for the usefulness of Paws.b in improving attentional functioning in primary-aged children. Findings are discussed relative to mindfulness and attention literature, and implications for future research are outlined
On the nature of star-forming filaments: II. Sub-filaments and velocities
No full textWe show that hydrodynamic turbulent cloud simulations naturally produce large filaments made up of a network of smaller and coherent subfilaments. Such simulations resemble observations of filaments and fibres in nearby molecular clouds. The subfilaments are dynamical features formed at the stagnation points of the turbulent velocity field where shocks dissipate the turbulent energy. They are a ubiquitous feature of the simulated clouds, which appear from the beginning of the simulation and are not formed by gradual fragmentation of larger filaments. Most of the subfilaments are gravitationally subcritical and do not fragment into cores, however, there is also a significant fraction of supercritical subfilaments which break up into star-forming cores. The subfilaments are coherent along their length, and the residual velocities along their spine show that they are subsonically contracting without any ordered rotation on scales of ˜0.1 pc. Accretion flows along the subfilaments can feed material into star-forming cores embedded within the network. The overall mass in subfilaments and the number of subfilaments increases as the cloud evolves. We propose that the formation of filaments and subfilaments is a natural consequence of the turbulent cascade in the complex multiphase interstellar medium. Subfilaments are formed by the high wavenumber, small-scale modes in the turbulent velocity field. These are then stretched by local shear motions and gathered together by a combination of low wavenumber modes and gravitational contraction on larger scales, and by doing so build up the extended filaments observed in column density maps
Macrophage Exosomes Induce Placental Inflammatory Cytokines:A Novel Mode of Maternal-Placental Messaging
No full textDuring pregnancy, the placenta forms the interface between mother and fetus. Highly controlled regulation of trans-placental trafficking is therefore essential for the healthy development of the growing fetus. Extracellular vesicle-mediated transfer of protein and nucleic acids from the human placenta into the maternal circulation is well documented; the possibility that this trafficking is bi-directional has not yet been explored but could affect placental function and impact on the fetus.We hypothesized that the ability of the placenta to respond to maternal inflammatory signals is mediated by the interaction of maternal immune cell exosomes with placental trophoblast. Utilizing the BeWo cell line and whole placental explants, we demonstrated that the human placenta internalizes macrophage-derived exosomes in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This uptake was via clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Furthermore, macrophage exosomes induced release of proinflammatory cytokines by the placenta. Taken together, our data demonstrates that exosomes are actively transported into the human placenta and that exosomes from activated immune cells modulate placental cytokine production. This represents a novel mechanism by which immune cells can signal to the placental unit, potentially facilitating responses to maternal inflammation and infection, and thereby preventing harm to the fetus.</p
Blimp-1-Dependent IL-10 Production by Tr1 Cells Regulates TNF-Mediated Tissue Pathology.
No full textTumor necrosis factor (TNF) is critical for controlling many intracellular infections, but can also contribute to inflammation. It can promote the destruction of important cell populations and trigger dramatic tissue remodeling following establishment of chronic disease. Therefore, a better understanding of TNF regulation is needed to allow pathogen control without causing or exacerbating disease. IL-10 is an important regulatory cytokine with broad activities, including the suppression of inflammation. IL-10 is produced by different immune cells; however, its regulation and function appears to be cell-specific and context-dependent. Recently, IL-10 produced by Th1 (Tr1) cells was shown to protect host tissues from inflammation induced following infection. Here, we identify a novel pathway of TNF regulation by IL-10 from Tr1 cells during parasitic infection. We report elevated Blimp-1 mRNA levels in CD4+ T cells from visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients, and demonstrate IL-12 was essential for Blimp-1 expression and Tr1 cell development in experimental VL. Critically, we show Blimp-1-dependent IL-10 production by Tr1 cells prevents tissue damage caused by IFNγ-dependent TNF production. Therefore, we identify Blimp-1-dependent IL-10 produced by Tr1 cells as a key regulator of TNF-mediated pathology and identify Tr1 cells as potential therapeutic tools to control inflammation
