9095 research outputs found
Sort by
Keeping up with the Neighbours: Cultural Emulation, Integration and Change in Southeast Wales c.1050 - c.1350.
Get PDFThe Process of Scaling an Early Childhood Development Parenting Programme by Integrating into Primary Health Care Services in Bangladesh
Get PDFGenetic assimilation of ancestral plasticity during parallel adaptation to Zinc contamination in Silene uniflora
Get PDFPhenotypic plasticity in ancestral populations is hypothesized to facilitate adaptation, but evidence is piecemeal and often contradictory. Further, whether ancestral plasticity increases the probability of parallel adaptive changes has not been explored. The most general finding is that ancestral responses to a new environment are reversed following adaptation (known as reversion). We investigated the contribution of ancestral plasticity to adaptive evolution of gene expression in two independently evolved lineages of zinc-tolerant Silene uniflora. We found that the general pattern of reversion is driven by the absence of a widespread stress response in zinc-adapted plants compared with zinc-sensitive plants. We show that ancestral plasticity that moves expression closer to the optimum value in the new environment influences the evolution of gene expression among genes that are likely to be involved in adaptation and increases the chance that genes are recruited repeatedly during adaptation. However, despite convergence in gene expression levels between independently adapted lineages, ancestral plasticity does not influence how similar expression values of adaptive genes become. Surprisingly, we also observed that ancestral plasticity that increases fitness often becomes genetically determined and fixed, that is, genetically assimilated. These results emphasize the important role of ancestral plasticity in parallel adaptation.</p
Development and initial evaluation of the COnfident Parent INternet Guide program for parents of 3–8 year olds
Get PDFPositive parenting promotes children's cognitive, social and emotional development and parenting programs based on social learning theory are effective in supporting parents to help reduce behavioral problems among high challenge children. However there is less evidence for programs with non-clinical populations. COPING (COnfident Parent INternet Guide) is a 10-week online universal program for parents of 3 - 8 year olds presenting evidence-informed principles based on social learning theory to support parents in addressing common challenges with their children. This study explored the development and feasibility of delivery of the program in terms of recruitment, retention and acceptability. It also reports on initial program effectiveness, evaluated via a pilot randomized controlled trial. Data on child behavior, parental skills and mental health were collected at baseline and three months later for all participants and six months post-baseline for the intervention group only. Those parents who accessed the course provided very positive feedback however the trial experienced challenges with recruitment and initial engagement, particularly for parents referred by professionals. For parents who engaged with the program there were significant improvements in reported parenting skills with evidence of longer-term maintenance. This paper provides limited evidence of effectiveness for the COPING program however further feasibility work, particularly around recruitment, is needed before conducting larger effectiveness trials. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 Hutchings, Owen and Williams.
Phonological variation of (ai) in the final unstressed syllable in Cardiff Welsh
Get PDFYn yr erthygl hon, cyflwynir dadansoddiad meintiol o amrywio ffonolegol (ai) yny sillaf olaf ddiacen mewn perthynas â’r orgraffynnau , ac yng Nghymraeg Caerdydd. O ganlyniad i ddiffyg ymchwil ar Gymraeg Caerdydd, nid yw’n glir pa ffurf neu ffurfiau sy’n gyffredin ar gyfer (ai) yng Nghaerdydd erbyn hyn, a bydd yr erthygl hon yn cyflwyno darlun cyfredol o’r nodwedd hon trwy archwilio effaith cyffyrddiad tafodieithol a safoni ar Gymraeg Caerdydd. Ceir hefyd ddadansoddiad o ystod o ffactorau ieithyddol a chymdeithasol sy’n effeithio ar amrywio (ai) yn y sillaf olaf ddiacen yng Nghymraeg Caerdydd. Mae’r erthygl hefyd yn ystyried goblygiadau ffurfio tafodiaith newydd yng nghyddestun adfywio ieithyddol.: This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the phonological variation of(ai) in final unstressed syllables with regard to the orthographic , and in Cardiff Welsh. Due to a lack of research on Cardiff Welsh, it is unclear what form or forms are common for (ai), and this paper presents a contemporary analysis of this feature by examining the effect of dialect contact and standardization on Cardiff Welsh. An analysis of a range of linguistic and social factors affecting (ai) variation in final unstressed syllables in Cardiff Welsh is also presented. This paper also considers the implications of forming new dialects in the context of language revitalization
Factors influencing the choice of technique to launder funds: The APPT framework
Get PDFThis paper proposes a new framework to provide insights into the techniques launderers adopt to clean illicit funds, drawing on existing literature and theories including rational choice, public value, structural coupling, and stakeholder. The proposed APPT framework is named after four factors that explain the choice of techniques: the Actors involved, Predicate crime, the Purpose of laundering, and Technological innovations. While the current literature on money laundering primarily directs attention toward aspects such as regulatory frameworks, the stages of money laundering, and ways of detecting it, there is a lack of understanding about the reasons underlying a launderer’s choice of techniques. This paper endeavors to reduce this gap in the literature and contribute to understanding the motivation of money launderers for the benefit of investigations. The framework offers new insights for the money laundering literature and has implications for neophytes, practitioners, and institutions teaching financial crime
Wastewater-based monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 at UK airports and its potential role in international public health surveillance
Get PDFIt is well established that air travel plays a key role in the global spread of many enteric and respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. Even with travel restrictions (e.g. mask wearing, negative COVID-19 test prior to departure), SARS-CoV-2 may be transmitted by asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals carrying the virus. Due to the limitation of current clinical surveillance approaches, complementary methods need to be developed to allow estimation of the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 entry across international borders. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) represents one such approach, allowing the unbiased sampling of SARS-CoV-2 carriage by passenger cohorts entering via airports. In this study, we monitored sewage in samples from terminals (n = 150) and aircraft (n = 32) at three major international airports in the UK for 1-3 weeks in March 2022. As the raw samples were more turbid than typical municipal wastewater, we used beef extract treatment followed by polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation to concentrate viruses, followed by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and a faecal indicator virus, crAssphage. All samples taken from sewers at the arrival terminals of Heathrow and Bristol airports, and 85% of samples taken from sites at Edinburgh airport, were positive for SARS-CoV-2. This suggests a high COVID-19 prevalence among passengers and/or airport staff members. Samples derived from aircraft also showed 93% SARS-CoV-2 positivity. No difference in viral prevalence was found before and after COVID-19 travel restrictions were lifted. Our results suggest that WBE is a useful tool for monitoring the global transfer rate of human pathogens and other disease-causing agents across international borders and should form part of wider international efforts to monitor and contain the spread of future disease outbreaks.</p
Maintenance and expansion of genetic and trait variation following domestication in a clonal crop
Get PDFClonal propagation enables favourable crop genotypes to be rapidly selected and multiplied. However, the absence of sexual propagation can lead to low genetic diversity and accumulation of deleterious mutations, which may eventually render crops less resilient to pathogens or environmental change. To better understand this trade-off, we characterize the domestication and contemporary genetic diversity of Enset (Ensete ventricosum), an indigenous African relative of bananas (Musa) and a principal starch staple for 20 million Ethiopians. Wild enset reproduction occurs strictly by sexual outcrossing, but for cultivation, it is propagated clonally and associated with diversification and specialization into hundreds of named landraces. We applied tGBS sequencing to generate genome-wide genotypes for 192 accessions from across enset's cultivated distribution, and surveyed 1340 farmers on enset agronomic traits. Overall, reduced heterozygosity in the domesticated lineage was consistent with a domestication bottleneck that retained 37% of wild diversity. However, an excess of putatively deleterious missense mutations at low frequency present as heterozygotes suggested an accumulation of mutational load in clonal domesticated lineages. Our evidence indicates that the major domesticated lineages initially arose through historic sexual recombination associated with a domestication bottleneck, followed by the amplification of favourable genotypes through an extended period of clonal propagation. Among domesticated lineages, we found a significant phylogenetic signal for multiple farmer-identified food, nutrition and disease resistance traits and little evidence of contemporary recombination. The development of future-climate adapted genotypes may require crop breeding, but outcrossing risks exposing deleterious alleles as homozygotes. This trade-off may partly explain the ubiquity and persistence of clonal propagation over recent centuries of comparative climate stability
Understanding people’s decisions when choosing or declining a kidney transplant: a qualitative evidence synthesis
Get PDFTo synthesise qualitative research exploring patients' perspectives, experiences and factors influencing their decision-making preferences when choosing or declining kidney transplantation. A qualitative evidence synthesis. Electronic databases were searched from 2000 to June 2021: PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, ProQuest Core Databases for Dissertations and Theses, and Google Scholar. Qualitative studies exploring and reporting decision-making preferences of people with kidney disease, which reported influencing factors when choosing or declining kidney transplantation, published in English from high-income and middle-income countries. Titles were screened against the inclusion criteria. Thematic synthesis was done with the use of the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist to assess study quality, and assessment of confidence in the qualitative findings was done using the Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research. 37 studies from 11 countries reported the perspectives of 1366 patients with kidney disease. Six descriptive themes were developed: decisional preferences influenced patients' readiness to pursue kidney transplantation, gathering sufficient information to support decision-making, navigating the kidney transplant assessment pathway, desire for kidney transplantation, opposed to kidney transplantation and uncertainties while waiting for the kidney transplant. A new enhanced theoretical model was developed to aid understanding of the complexities of decision-making in people with kidney disease, by integrating the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Adaptive Decision Maker Framework to incorporate the novel findings. The synthesis provides a better understanding of the extremely complex decision-making processes of people with kidney disease, which are aligned to their kidney transplantation preferences. Further research is needed to better understand the reasons for declining kidney transplantation, and to underpin development of personalised information, interventions and support for patients to make informed decisions when presented with kidney replacement options. CRD42021272588. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.