Policy into practice: an experience of Higher Education Link in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Aim: The main aim of the Child and Adolescent Overseas Working Party has been to support the development of services in low-income countries through enhancing their training capacity. This is congruent with the British Council’s policy of Higher Education. Link: The paper shares an experience of translating such a policy into practice. Method: The experience of implementing a British Council Higher Education Link in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry between the two Universities in Varanasi and Leicester is shared. Implication: In spite of various difficulties, all parties concerned learnt some valuable lessons and found it to be a worthwhile ventur

The genetics of a managed Atlantic salmon stock and implications for conservation.

Numerous populations of wild Atlantic salmon have declined in recent years. The Atlantic salmon in Girnock Burn, an upland spate tributary of the River Dee, Scotland have been monitored intensely by government scientists since 1966. The burn is equipped with upstream and downstream traps, which have enabled monitoring of juveniles leaving the burn and adults returning to it since 1966. Recently, due to a decline in numbers of female returns, a supportive breeding program was instigated. Using microsatellite-based DNA profiling, this study exploited existing and novel tissue samples to investigate aspects of Atlantic salmon biology and conservation. A panel of up to 12, mainly highly polymorphic, microsatellite loci were employed to derive allele frequency data and to resolve parentage in egg, parr, smolt and anadromous adult samples taken between 1991 and 2004. Genotyping error was investigated and rectified where possible. Overall, the detected error was low (c.0.5%), providing confidence in subsequent population and parentage analyses. The error rate involved in estimating the age of salmon in Girnock Burn from scale readings was also estimated (c.2-8%). A study of the dynamics of natural spawning, based on the parentage of parr, confirmed that multiple matings by anadromous returns of both sexes were prevalent. Not all anadromous returns were apparently successful spawners; data from parr and existing redd samples failed to detect a contribution from 35% of males and 29% of females. An important aspect of the work was to determine the success of the supportive breeding program. Results showed that, in comparison to natural spawning, the program gave a more complete and even representation of adult spawners in offspring. In addition, there was no detectable difference in the output (number of smolts) of the two schemes when the number of eggs used in each was taken into account. The distribution of juvenile kin (parr aged 1+) within the burn was determined, which revealed clustering of full and half sib groups. This was found to impact on standard population genetic analyses. Adjacent samples (n = 50), each sampled over a c.1.5 km stretch of river were shown to exhibit significant allelic differentiation, while samples from individuals selected at random over a 7.5km stretch did not. Parentage analysis of adult returns showed that the number of returns likely to be philopatric was higher than would be predicted solely from physical tagging data. This was attributed to ‘leakage’ of the downstream parr/smolt trap. An initial investigation into the role of mature parr in adaptation of populations to the environment was made, although sire type (i.e. anadromous male or mature parr) was not found to affect survival in the freshwater environment in this case. More research into this aspect is warranted, particularly with the possible impact of predicted climate change on male parr maturity. A comparison of genetic diversity through time (measured by allelic richness) revealed no detectable change between 1991 and 2004. Estimates of the effective population size using different genetic (temporal) methods were associated with a large degree of uncertainty, and were surprisingly high (ranging from 595 to 1992) c.f. demographic based estimates (ranging from 95 to 144), which was likely to be due in part to violation of assumptions made in the calculations. These findings have highlighted a range of avenues for future lines of research, should aid in the management of Atlantic salmon within Girnock Burn and assist in the design of sampling regimes.NERC, University of Stirlin

Variation in the helminth community structure in bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) from three comparable localities in the Mazury Lake District region of Poland

We tested the null hypothesis that populations of hosts trapped in isolated neighbouring locations showing comparable habitat quality, should support similar helminth parasite communities. The study was undertaken in a 2-week period in late summer in NE Poland in a single year, thereby eliminating seasonal and between-year variation in parasite burdens. A total of 139 Clethrionomys glareolus (bank vole) were sampled from 3 forest sites of similar habitat quality. Total species richness was 11 (6 nematodes and 5 cestodes) with 85±6% of the voles carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1±4. At the component community level, the fewest species of helminths were recorded from site 2 (n=6, compared with 9 at each of the other sites), but site 3 had the lowest Berger-Parker Dominance Index and the highest Simpson's Index of Diversity. At the infracommunity level, site 3 had the highest mean no. of helminthspecies}vole, the highest mean Brillouin's Index of Diversity but the lowest mean no. of helminths/vole. Voles from sites 1 and 3 differed in the nematodes that were most common (site 1, Heligmosomum mixtum ± 95%; site 3, Heligmosomoides glareoli ± 79±3%). At site 2 no species exceeded 50% but prevalence of Syphacia petrusewiczi was higher than at the other sites. The prevalence of cestodes was too low to test reliably (12±9%), but the highest prevalence of adult cestodes was recorded at site 1 (22±5%compared with 4±9 and 1±7%for sites 2 and 3 respectively). Host sex did not ifluence infection, but mean species richness increased with age. The different sites were responsible for most of the variation in our data, and the intrinsic factors (sex and age) were less important in shaping the component community structure of helminths. We conclude that even locations in relative close proximity to one another (13±25 km), selected on the basis of similar habitat quality, have rodent populations that differ in their helminth parasite communities, although for reasons other than the factors quantified in the present study

Local variation in endoparasite intensities of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus )from ecologically similar sites: morphometric and endocrine correlates

Much interest has centred recently on the role of adaptive trade-offs between the immune system and other components of life history in determining resistance and parasite intensities among hosts. Steroid hormones, particularly glucocorticoids and sex steroids, provide a plausible mechanism for mediating such trade-offs. A basic assumption behind the hypothesis, however, is that steroid activity will generally correlate with reduced resistance and thus greater parasite intensities. Here, we present some findings from a field study of bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus ) in which we have looked at associations between parasite intensities, anatomical and morphometric measures relating to endocrine function and life history variation in three local populations inhabiting similar but mutually isolated woodland habitats. In general, sites with greater parasite intensities were those in which male C. glareolus had significantly larger adrenal glands, testes and seminal vesicles for their age and body size. Females also showed a site difference in adrenal gland weight. Some aspects of site-related parasite intensity were associated with asymmetry in adrenal gland weight and hind foot length, which may have reflected developmental effects on glucocorticoid activity

Teaching within a Consumer Model of Higher Education

The political economy of higher education has transformed our ways of thinking about knowledge, teaching and learning, and labour relations. As students are increasingly seeking to attend a university that, they perceive, will offer them the best entry point into the global market place, the work of university teachers is transforming. This literature presents a critical discussion of sociological aspects of consumerism in higher education as it seeks to highlight notions that feed our current conceptualization of consumerism. Furthermore, it articulates a number of critical consequences of teaching to a consumerist ideology. These findings suggest that numerous pedagogical strategies have been implemented in response to the current political economic climate of higher education, and that curriculum has become increasingly responsive to stakeholders in higher education as well as the strategic positioning of programs within the institution and the global labour market. This discussion is framed by a discourse of labour relations

Computer simulation of coronary blood flow

A computer model to simulate coronary fluid dynamics has been developed which can give some insight into the role of hemodynamics in health and disease. Although this study focuses mainly on coronary blood flow, the complete model consists of all major branches of the systemic circulation as well as the left epicardial coronary circulation;The flow equations are obtained by integrating the one-dimensional continuity and momentum equations over the cross-section of the artery to give a relationship between the primary variables of interest, the pressure and flowrate. An arctangent model was used as a constitutive equation to describe the pressure-area relationship for the arterial wall. The distal point of each terminal branch is modeled using a lumped parameter impedance to account for all the cumulative effects of the distal vasculature. The systemic circulation terminal impedances each contain a simple constant property modified windkessel. The coronary terminal impedances are modeled using similar lumped parameter models. The first model employed was based on the waterfall concept of collapsible tube dynamics. The second model was slightly more sophisticated and was based on the intramyocardial pump concept. Unlike the systemic terminal impedances, the coronary terminal resistance and compliance values are allowed to vary throughout the cardiac cycle according to the extravascular compressive pressure created by the contracting myocardium. The above system of nonlinear partial differential equations was discretized using a finite difference formulation and solved numerically;Both coronary models developed could predict realistic flow patterns in the epicardial arteries. The computer model is also capable of investigating the effects of coronary stenoses with vascular bypasses on epicardial blood flow. The limitations of the model are mainly related to the assumptions needed to obtain the simplified form of the governing equations and the extensive amount of parameter data that are required. Overall, this type of model offers a useful tool for studying the fluid dynamics of the human circulation

Development of a direct mechanical ventricular assist device

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2720420

Yoshinori Ohsumi's Nobel Prize for mechanisms of autophagy: from basic yeast biology to therapeutic potential.

On 3 October 2016, Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 'for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy'; autophagy being an intracellular degradation pathway that helps maintain cytoplasmic homeostasis. This commentary discusses Ohsumi's Nobel prize-winning work in context, before explaining the clinical relevance of autophagy

Empowering Our Future: Integrating Advocacy into Special Education Coursework

Becoming a special education teacher encompasses more than just learning how to teach. A large component of this position requires advocacy at the local, state, and national levels. Therefore, special education teachers need to be prepared to effectively advocate across all levels. This article examines the integration of advocacy into an undergraduate special education course and provides actionable recommendations. Implications for further integrating advocacy into special education teacher preparation programs are also discussed

Reimagining the 4M Framework in Educational Development for SoTL

In this paper, we seek to contextualize our work in SoTL-focused educational development and those who work to support others in SoTL, as interstitially spaced across the 4M Framework, re-envisioned as a flexible but formalized professional continua. The establishment of a model for educational development SoTL-related activity allows for the opportunity to explore how this work is done in a systematic manner. We offer our ideas and visions through, what we term, the 4M Continua for Educational Development as a possible understanding of the work that SoTL-focused educational developers do, as well as those who engage in educational development more broadly. While the 4M Framework provides a guide through four interrelated organizational lenses: micro; meso; macro; and mega, we have adapted a model to situate educational development work using the 4M Framework to inform the ways in which we do, contribute to, consume, advocate, and support SoTL broadly, including at local, provincial, national, and international levels. The 4M Continua can be an avenue for those who do educational development to describe their work, where the work is situated, and how support can be offered throughout the community. Click here to read the corresponding ISSOTL blog post