A systems approach to policy evaluation

There is growing interest in evaluating policy implementation in ways that grapple with the complexity of the process. This article offers an example of using systems methodology to explore how the child protection policy in child contact centres has functioned in practice. Rather than just asking the traditional evaluation question “is it working?” this study sought to understand how the policy was working and how it was interpreted as it interacted with other systems, producing conflicts, local variation and emergent effects. It illustrates how the systems concepts of ‘emergence’, ‘local rationality’, ‘socio-technical systems’ and ‘feedback for learning’ can contribute new knowledge and understanding to a complex policy evaluation problem

Dental calculus evidence of Taï Forest Chimpanzee plant consumption and life history transitions

Dental calculus (calcified dental plaque) is a source of multiple types of data on life history. Recent research has targeted the plant microremains preserved in this mineralised deposit as a source of dietary and health information for recent and past populations. However, it is unclear to what extent we can interpret behaviour from microremains. Few studies to date have directly compared the microremain record from dental calculus to dietary records, and none with long-term observation dietary records, thus limiting how we can interpret diet, food acquisition and behaviour. Here we present a high-resolution analysis of calculus microremains from wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) of Taï National Park, Côte d"Ivoire. We test microremain assemblages against more tan two decades of field behavioural observations to establish the ability of calculus to capture the composition of diet. Our results show that some microremain classes accumulate as long-lived dietary markers. Phytolith abundance in calculus can reflect the proportions of plants in the diet, yet this pattern is not true for starches. We also report microremains can record information about other dietary behaviours, such as the age of weaning and learned food processing techniques like nutcracking

East London’s Homeless: a retrospective review of an eye clinic for homeless people

Background There is very little published work on the visual needs of homeless people. This paper is the first study to investigate the visual needs of homeless people in the UK. Although similar work has been done in other countries, this study is unique because the United Kingdom is the only country with a National Health Service which provides free healthcare at the point of access. This study analysed the refractive status of the sample used, determined the demographics of homeless people seeking eye care and established if there is a need for community eye health with access to free spectacle correction in East London. Methods This retrospective case study analysed the clinical records of 1,141 homeless people using the Vision Care for Homeless People services at one of their clinics in East London. All eye examinations were carried out by qualified optometrists and, where appropriate, spectacles were dispensed to patients. Data captured included age, gender, ethnicity and refractive error. Results were analysed using two-sample t-tests with Excel and Minitab. Results Demographics of age, gender and ethnicity are described. Spherical equivalents (SE) were calculated from prescription data available for 841 clinic users. Emmetropia was defined as SE–0.50DS to +1DS, myopia as SE  +1DS. The majority of clinic users were male (79.2 %, n = 923). Approximately 80 % (n = 583) of clinic users were white, 10 % (n = 72) were ‘black’, 4 % (n = 29) ‘Asian’ and the remaining 5.6 % (n = 40) were of ‘mixed ethnicity’ and ‘other’ groups. The mean age of females attending the clinic was significantly lower than that of males (45.9 years, SD = 13.8 vs’ 48.4 years, SD = 11.8) when analysed using a two-sample t-test (t (317) = 2.44, p = 0.02). One third of service users were aged between 50–59 years. Myopia and hyperopia prevalence rates were 37.0 % and 21.0 % respectively. A total of 34.8 % of homeless people were found to have uncorrected refractive error, and required spectacle correction. Conclusions This study has identified a high proportion of uncorrected refractive error in this sample and therefore a need for regular eye examinations and provision of refractive correction for homeless people

Transcriptomics reveal an integrative role for maternal thyroid hormones during zebrafish embryogenesis

Thyroid hormones (THs) are essential for embryonic brain development but the genetic mechanisms involved in the action of maternal THs (MTHs) are still largely unknown. As the basis for understanding the underlying genetic mechanisms of MTHs regulation we used an established zebrafish monocarboxylic acid transporter 8 (MCT8) knock-down model and characterised the transcriptome in 25hpf zebrafish embryos. Subsequent mapping of differentially expressed genes using Reactome pathway analysis together with in situ expression analysis and immunohistochemistry revealed the genetic networks and cells under MTHs regulation during zebrafish embryogenesis. We found 4,343 differentially expressed genes and the Reactome pathway analysis revealed that TH is involved in 1681 of these pathways. MTHs regulated the expression of core developmental pathways, such as NOTCH and WNT in a cell specific context. The cellular distribution of neural MTH-target genes demonstrated their cell specific action on neural stem cells and differentiated neuron classes. Taken together our data show that MTHs have a role in zebrafish neurogenesis and suggest they may be involved in cross talk between key pathways in neural development. Given that the observed MCT8 zebrafish knockdown phenotype resembles the symptoms in human patients with Allan-Herndon-Dudley syndrome our data open a window into understanding the genetics of this human congenital condition.Portuguese Fundacao para Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) [PTDC/EXPL/MARBIO/0430/2013]; CCMAR FCT Plurianual financing [UID/Multi/04326/2013]; FCT [SFRH/BD/111226/2015, SFRH/BD/108842/2015, SFRH/BPD/89889/2012]; FCT-IF Starting Grant [IF/01274/2014]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Specific and individuated death reflection fosters identity integration

Identity integration is the process wherein a person assimilates multiple or conflicting identities (e.g., beliefs, values, needs) into a coherent, unified self-concept. Three experiments examined whether contemplating mortality in a specific and individuated manner (i.e., via the death reflection manipulation) facilitated outcomes indicative of identity integration. Participants in the death reflection condition (vs. control conditions) considered positive and negative life experiences as equally important in shaping their current identity (Experiment 1), regarded self-serving values and other-serving values as equally important life principles (Experiment 2), and were equally motivated to pursue growth-oriented and security-oriented needs (Experiment 3). Death reflection motivates individuals to integrate conflicting aspects of their identity into a coherent self-concept. Given that identity integration is associated with higher well-being, the findings have implications for understanding the psychological benefits of existential contemplation

Enteric Pathogens in Stored Drinking Water and on Caregiver's Hands in Tanzanian Households with and without Reported Cases of Child Diarrhea.

Diarrhea is one of the leading causes of mortality in young children. Diarrheal pathogens are transmitted via the fecal-oral route, and for children the majority of this transmission is thought to occur within the home. However, very few studies have documented enteric pathogens within households of low-income countries. The presence of molecular markers for three enteric viruses (enterovirus, adenovirus, and rotavirus), seven Escherichia coli virulence genes (ECVG), and human-specific Bacteroidales was assessed in hand rinses and household stored drinking water in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Using a matched case-control study design, we examined the relationship between contamination of hands and water with these markers and child diarrhea. We found that the presence of ECVG in household stored water was associated with a significant decrease in the odds of a child within the home having diarrhea (OR = 0.51; 95% confidence interval 0.27-0.93). We also evaluated water management and hygiene behaviors. Recent hand contact with water or food was positively associated with detection of enteric pathogen markers on hands, as was relatively lower volumes of water reportedly used for daily hand washing. Enteropathogen markers in stored drinking water were more likely found among households in which the markers were also detected on hands, as well as in households with unimproved water supply and sanitation infrastructure. The prevalence of enteric pathogen genes and the human-specific Bacteroidales fecal marker in stored water and on hands suggests extensive environmental contamination within homes both with and without reported child diarrhea. Better stored water quality among households with diarrhea indicates caregivers with sick children may be more likely to ensure safe drinking water in the home. Interventions to increase the quantity of water available for hand washing, and to improve food hygiene, may reduce exposure to enteric pathogens in the domestic environment

Dynamical Boson Stars

The idea of stable, localized bundles of energy has strong appeal as a model for particles. In the 1950s John Wheeler envisioned such bundles as smooth configurations of electromagnetic energy that he called {\em geons}, but none were found. Instead, particle-like solutions were found in the late 1960s with the addition of a scalar field, and these were given the name {\em boson stars}. Since then, boson stars find use in a wide variety of models as sources of dark matter, as black hole mimickers, in simple models of binary systems, and as a tool in finding black holes in higher dimensions with only a single killing vector. We discuss important varieties of boson stars, their dynamic properties, and some of their uses, concentrating on recent efforts.Comment: 79 pages, 25 figures, invited review for Living Reviews in Relativity; major revision in 201

nIFTy Cosmology: Comparison of Galaxy Formation Models

We present a comparison of 14 galaxy formation models: 12 different semi-analytical models and 2 halo-occupation distribution models for galaxy formation based upon the same cosmological simulation and merger tree information derived from it. The participating codes have proven to be very successful in their own right but they have all been calibrated independently using various observational data sets, stellar models, and merger trees. In this paper we apply them without recalibration and this leads to a wide variety of predictions for the stellar mass function, specific star formation rates, stellar-to- halo mass ratios, and the abundance of orphan galaxies. The scatter is much larger than seen in previous comparison studies primarily because the codes have been used outside of their native environment within which they are well tested and calibrated. The purpose of the `nIFTy comparison of galaxy formation models' is to bring together as many different galaxy formation modellers as possible and to investigate a common approach to model calibration. This paper provides a unified description for all participating models and presents the initial, uncalibrated comparison as a baseline for our future studies where we will develop a common calibration framework and address the extent to which that reduces the scatter in the model predictions seen here

Assessing the presence of shared genetic architecture between Alzheimer's disease and major depressive disorder using genome-wide association data

We are grateful to the families and individuals who took part in the GS:SFHS and UKB studies, and to all those involved in participant recruitment, data collection, sample processing and QC, including academic researchers, clinical staff, laboratory technicians, clerical workers, IT staff, statisticians and research managers. This work is supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Strategic Award, reference 104036/Z/ 14/Z. We acknowledge with gratitude the financial support received from the Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation. This research has been conducted using the GS:SFHS and UK Biobank (project #4844) resources. GS:SFHS received core funding from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health Directorates [CZD/16/6] and the Scottish Funding Council [HR03006]. UKB was established using funding from the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, the Scottish Government Department of Health, and the Northwest Regional Development Agency. DJP, IJD, TCR and AMM are members of the University of Edinburgh Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, part of the cross council Lifelong Health and Wellbeing Initiative (MR/K026992/1). TCR is supported by Alzheimer's Scotland, through the Marjorie MacBeath bequest. Funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and Medical Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. We are grateful for the use of summary data from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project and the Major Depressive Disorder working group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Aging brain from a network science perspective: Something to be positive about?

To better understand age differences in brain function and behavior, the current study applied network science to model functional interactions between brain regions. We observed a shift in network topology whereby for older adults subcortical and cerebellar structures overlapping with the Salience network had more connectivity to the rest of the brain, coupled with fragmentation of large-scale cortical networks such as the Default and Fronto-Parietal networks. Additionally, greater integration of the dorsal medial thalamus and red nucleus in the Salience network was associated with greater satisfaction with life for older adults, which is consistent with theoretical predictions of age-related increases in emotion regulation that are thought to help maintain well-being and life satisfaction in late adulthood. In regard to cognitive abilities, greater ventral medial prefrontal cortex coherence with its topological neighbors in the Default Network was associated with faster processing speed. Results suggest that large-scale organizing properties of the brain differ with normal aging, and this perspective may offer novel insight into understanding age-related differences in cognitive function and well-being. © 2013 Voss et al