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The Transformation of Parents’ Values and Aspirations for Their Children: A Retrospective Qualitative Longitudinal Analysis of Changing Cultural Configurations
No full textThis article contributes to new scholarship on family change as bricolage and institutional layering. Focusing on the classic topic of parental values and aspirations for their children, we used a retrospective qualitative longitudinal analysis to trace the evolution of four overlapping cultural configurations across the 20th century: (1) standing back and not interfering, (2) cultivating achievement, (3) encouraging positive relationships, and (4) promoting happiness and self-fulfilment. We show that there was a directional change in the emphases and inflections placed on these configurations, and in the moral ambivalence that parents displayed as they reconciled them in their narratives. Meanings centred on autonomy and cultivation were layered onto relatedness across changing social contexts. Engaging with recent debates on the value of qualitative interviews, our analysis demonstrates how qualitative longitudinal research can provide rigorous analysis of long-term cultural change
Challenging the Use of EU Funds: Locus Standi as a Roadblock for Disability Organisations
No full textThe abstract is included in the text
ICD‐11 ‘mixed depressive and anxiety disorder’ is clinical rather than sub‐clinical and more common than anxiety and depression in the general population
No full textBackground. The new International Classification of Diseases was published in 2018
(ICD-11; World Health Organization, 2018) and now includes ‘Mixed depressive and anxiety disorder’ (6A73: MDAD) designated as a mood disorder. This disorder is defined
by symptoms of both anxiety and depression occurring more days than not, for a period of
two weeks, and neither set of symptoms considered separately reaches a diagnostic threshold for either disorder. However, to date no study has examined the validity of these guidelines in a general population sample.
Methods. Using Goldberg et al.’s (2017) guidelines regarding measurement of depression and anxiety, this study used factor mixture modelling (FMM) to examine the validity of the ICD-11 criteria of MDAD. Symptom endorsement rates are provided as well as demographic predictors and somatization outcomes.
Results. Fit indices suggested the two-factor four-class solution was the best balance between model complexity and model fit. The results did not support a class that is
subsyndromal to both anxiety and depression. On the contrary, we suggest that there exists a ‘Comorbid’ class that represents endorsement of both anxiety and depression
symptoms at a higher level when compared to both ‘anxiety’ and ‘depression’ groups. Demographic predictors, as well as somatization and functional impairment outcomes,
provided support for this FMM solution.
Conclusions. The ‘Comorbid’ group was the largest symptomatic group and had the highest levels of both anxiety and depression symptoms. Importantly, this group was
larger than either the ‘anxiety’ or ‘depression’ group and was associated with high levels of functional impairment and somatizatio
The lexicography and etymology of OIr. eclas
No full textThis article examines the existing lexicographical evidence for the rare Irish word eclas,
typically translated as ‘stomach’ or ‘gizzard’, and presents some hitherto unnoticed
attestations of this term from a large collection of Irish medical remedies now preserved in
two sixteenth-century manuscripts. The new data allow better insights into the historical
phonology and morphology of OIr. eclas and its Breton cognate elas, and make it possible to
set up an Indo-European etymology for it and the related word glas in Welsh and Cornish.
This reconstruction *(eg̑ʰs)-gʰl̥H-ST-o/eh₂- also has repercussions for the reconstruction of
words for ‘digestive organs’ in other Indo-European languages. Even though eclas occurs as
an equivalent for gaile ‘stomach’ in the context of late-medieval medical writing, it is argued
that it probably originally referred to some other internal organ in the vicinity of the stomach,
possibly the ‘oesophagus
Helminth antigens modulate human PBMCs, attenuating disease progression in a humanised mouse model of graft versus host disease
No full textFasciola hepatica is a trematode worm that causes fascioliasis, a neglected tropical disease in humans and livestock. To gain insight into the host-parasite interactions that facilitate infection, we have investigated the immunomodulatory properties of the parasite's tegumental coat (FhTeg), a major antigen source that is sloughed off and renewed every 2–3 h as the worm migrates through host tissue. Using mouse models of infection, we have previously shown that FhTeg induces a novel phenotype of dendritic cells that induce anergic CD4+ T-cells. We proposed that this induced state of hyporesponsiveness characterised by suppression of cell proliferation and cytokine secretion was one mechanism by which F. hepatica prevented host protective immunity to support the parasite survival. To determine if the same mechanisms are utilised during human infections, we have now examined the interaction of FhTeg with human PBMCs. FhTeg binds to and modulates cytokine production in human PBMCs, in particular targeting the CD4+ population resulting in reduced levels of TNF, IL-2 and IFNγ and increased markers of anergy. Furthermore, the adoptive transfer of FhTeg stimulated PBMCs to a humanised model of acute graft versus host disease (GvHD) attenuated disease progression by increasing survival and reducing pathological scores. These mice also displayed a significant decrease in the total number of human CD4+ cells expressing TNF, IL-2 and IFNγ in the spleen, liver and lung. This study therefore concurs with evidence from ruminant and murine models of infection suggesting that anergic CD4+ T cells are associated with successful Fasciola hepatica infection and highlights an important role for FhTeg in contributing to the overall immunosuppressive effects of this parasite
Development of a core outcome set for therapeutic studies in eosinophilic esophagitis (COREOS)
No full textBackground: End points used to determine treatment efficacy in
eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) have evolved over time. With
multiple novel therapies in development for EoE, harmonization
of outcomes measures will facilitate evidence synthesis and
appraisal when comparing different treatments.
Objective: We sought to develop a core outcome set (COS)
for controlled and observational studies of pharmacologic and diet interventions in adult and pediatric
patients with EoE.
Methods: Candidate outcomes were generated from systematic
literature reviews and patient engagement interviews and
surveys. Consensus was established using an iterative Delphi
process, with items voted on using a 9-point Likert scale and
with feedback from other participants to allow score refinement
Representation of Drought Events in the United Kingdom: Contrasting 200 years of News Texts and Rainfall Records
No full textThis paper combines evidence from the analyses of large sets of newspaper material and long-term rainfall records to gain insights into representations of drought events in the United Kingdom, between 1800 and 2014. More specifically, we bring together two different, though complementary, approaches to trace longitudinal patterns in the ways drought events have been measured and perceived, focusing specifically on the duration, spatial extent, and intensity of each event. The power of the combined approach is demonstrated through three case studies (1911–1913, 1940–1945, and 1947–1949), in which we explore the available evidence in more detail and explore the impacts of the droughts upon the British population. Using corpus linguistics methods, we examined four sets of newspaper material: 1) the British Library 19th century newspaper corpus, 2) The Times 20th century corpus (both i and ii with over five billion words), 3) 4,986 texts from British broadsheet papers (3.8 million words) and 4) 2,384 texts from tabloids (1.1 million words). An independent analysis of meteorological drought was undertaken using three sources: 1) the England and Wales Precipitation (EWP) series (back to 1800), 2) a statistically reconstructed version of the EWP which is more reliable in the early record (pre-1870), and 3) a high resolution gridded dataset (back to 1862) which is aggregated to NUTS1 regional scales. Meteorological droughts were assessed using the Standardised Precipitation Index, which allowed us to appraise drought intensity, severity and duration. We found an overwhelming agreement between the corpus data and meteorological records. For the very few cases of disparity between the corpus and rainfall data, there were in most cases plausible explanations. All in all, the present study demonstrates the power of the combined approach, presenting evidence on a scale that would not otherwise be possible, thus contributing to a better understanding of how drought is perceived, in addition to how it is traditionally “measured”
Evaluating Bias-Correction Methods for Seasonal Dynamical Precipitation Forecasts
No full textSeasonal forecasting of climatological variables is important for water and climatic-related decision-making.
Dynamical models provide seasonal forecasts up to one year in advance, but direct outputs from these models need to be
bias-corrected prior to application by end users. Here, five bias-correction methods are applied to precipitation hindcasts
from ECMWF’s fifth generation seasonal forecast system (SEAS5).We apply each method in two distinct ways; first to the
ensemble mean and second to individual ensemble members, before deriving an ensemble mean. The performance of bias correction
methods in both schemes is assessed relative to the simple average of raw ensemble members as a benchmark.
Results show that in general, bias correction of individual ensemble members before deriving an ensemble mean (scheme
2) is most skillful for more frequent precipitation values while bias correction of the ensemble mean (scheme 1) performed
better for extreme high and low precipitation values. Irrespective of application scheme, all bias-correction methods
improved precipitation hindcasts compared to the benchmark method for lead times up to 6 months, with the best performance
obtained at one month lead time in winter
Using expert elicitation to strengthen future regional climate information for climate services
No full textClimate change knowledge can inform regional and local adaptation decisions. However, estimates of future
climate are uncertain and methods for assessing uncertainties typically rely on the results of climate model
simulations, which are constrained by the quality of assumptions used in model experiments and the limitations
of available models. To strengthen scientific knowledge for climate services and climate change adaptation
decisions, we explore the use of structured expert elicitation to assess future regional climate change. Using the
Lower Yangtze region in China as a case study, we elicit judgements from six experts on future changes in
temperature and precipitation as well as uncertainty sources, and compare it with climate model outputs from
the Couple Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5). We find high consensus amongst experts that the
Lower Yangtze region will be warmer in the coming decades, albeit with differences in the magnitude of change.
There is less consensus about the direction and magnitude of future precipitation change. Compared with CMIP5
climate model outputs, experts provide similar or narrower uncertainty ranges for temperature change and very
different uncertainty ranges for precipitation. Experts considered additional factors (e.g. model credibility, observations, theory and paleo-climatic evidence) and uncertainties not usually represented in conventional
modelling approaches. We argue that, in context of regional climate information provision, expert-elicited
judgements can characterise less predictable, or less explored, elements of the climate system and expert elicited reasoning provides additional information and knowledge that is absent from modelling approaches.
We discuss the value in bringing together multiple lines of evidence, arguing that expert elicited information can
complement model information to strengthen regional climate change knowledge and help in building dialogue
between climate experts and regional stakeholders, as part of a more complete climate service
The water mass transformation framework and variability in hurricane activity
No full textHurricane activity has been higher since 1995 than in the 1970s and 1980s. This rise in activity has been linked to a warming Atlantic. In this study, we consider variability of the volume of water warmer than 26.5 ºC, considered widely to be the
temperature threshold crucial to hurricane development. We find the depth of the 26.5 ºC isotherm better correlated with
seasonal hurricane counts than SST in the early part of the Atlantic hurricane season in some regions. The volume of water
transformed by surface heat fluxes to temperatures above 26.5 ºC is directly calculated using the Water Mass Transformation framework. This volume is compared with the year-to-year changes in the volume of water of this temperature to see
how much of the volume can be explained using this calculation. In some years, there is notable correspondence between
transformed and observed volume anomalies, but anomalies in other years must be largely associated with other processes,
such as the divergence of horizontal heat transport associated with the AMOC. This technique provides evidence that, in a
given year, coordinated physical mechanisms are responsible for the build-up of anomalous ocean heat; not only net surface
heat exchange but also the convergence of horizontal heat transport from ocean currents, to provide fuel for larger numbers
of intense hurricanes