Life under siege: Nottingham during the English civil war (1642-46)

Nottingham was an important town during the British Civil Wars of the 1630s and 40s. Despite the King raising his standard in the town it rapidly became a stronghold for Parliament, and its residents became embroiled in one of the fiercest areas of fighting in the country. This research builds on and extends the 'county study' approach in novel ways; rather than focusing on political and military events it concentrates on the experiences of Nottingham's population and interprets the impact of the Civil Wars on everyday life. It attempts to reconstruct and understand the civilian experience of a garrison town during a period of often brutal civil war. Adopting innovative ways of reading the past, it incorporates soundscapes and 'history from below' in a way which shines a spotlight on the masses rather than the elite during Nottingham's difficult transformation from market and county town to fortified stronghold

The level of BMP4 signaling is critical for the regulation of distinct T-box gene expression domains and growth along the dorso-ventral axis of the optic cup

Background: Polarised gene expression is thought to lead to the graded distribution of signaling molecules providing a patterning mechanism across the embryonic eye. Bone morphogenetic protein 4 (Bmp4) is expressed in the dorsal optic vesicle as it transforms into the optic cup. Bmp4 deletions in human and mouse result in failure of eye development, but little attempt has been made to investigate mammalian targets of BMP4 signaling. In chick, retroviral gene overexpression studies indicate that Bmp4 activates the dorsally expressed Tbx5 gene, which represses ventrally expressed cVax. It is not known whether the Tbx5 related genes, Tbx2 and Tbx3, are BMP4 targets in the mammalian retina and whether BMP4 acts at a distance from its site of expression. Although it is established that Drosophila Dpp ( homologue of vertebrate Bmp4) acts as a morphogen, there is little evidence that BMP4 gradients are interpreted to create domains of BMP4 target gene expression in the mouse.Results: Our data show that the level of BMP4 signaling is critical for the regulation of distinct Tbx2, Tbx3, Tbx5 and Vax2 gene expression domains along the dorso-ventral axis of the mouse optic cup. BMP4 signaling gradients were manipulated in whole mouse embryo cultures during optic cup development, by implantation of beads soaked in BMP4, or the BMP antagonist Noggin, to provide a local signaling source. Tbx2, Tbx3 and Tbx5, showed a differential response to alterations in the level of BMP4 along the entire dorso-ventral axis of the optic cup, suggesting that BMP4 acts across a distance. Increased levels of BMP4 caused expansion of Tbx2 and Tbx3, but not Tbx5, into the ventral retina and repression of the ventral marker Vax2. Conversely, Noggin abolished Tbx5 expression but only shifted Tbx2 expression dorsally. Increased levels of BMP4 signaling caused decreased proliferation, reduced retinal volume and altered the shape of the optic cup.Conclusion: Our findings suggest the existence of a dorsal-high, ventral-low BMP4 signaling gradient across which distinct domains of Tbx2, Tbx3, Tbx5 and Vax2 transcription factor gene expression are set up. Furthermore we show that the correct level of BMP4 signaling is critical for normal growth of the mammalian embryonic eye

Computer program calculates the effective temperature for a crystalline solid /DETS/

Computer program computes and prints out both the Debye and resulting effective temperatures for each Debye model-dependent average energy per vibrational mode, Debye-Waller factor, and specific heat. The program calculates by the trapezodial rule and then Simpsons rule

Assessing reporting of narrative synthesis of quantitative data in public health systematic reviews

No abstract available

Thinking territory historically.

BACKGROUND: While the randomised controlled trial (RCT) is generally regarded as the design of choice for assessing the effects of health care, within the social sciences there is considerable debate about the relative suitability of RCTs and non-randomised studies (NRSs) for evaluating public policy interventions. // OBJECTIVES: To determine whether RCTs lead to the same effect size and variance as NRSs of similar policy interventions; and whether these findings can be explained by other factors associated with the interventions or their evaluation. // METHODS: Analyses of methodological studies, empirical reviews, and individual health and social services studies investigated the relationship between randomisation and effect size of policy interventions by: 1) Comparing controlled trials that are identical in all respects other than the use of randomisation by 'breaking' the randomisation in a trial to create non-randomised trials (re-sampling studies). 2) Comparing randomised and non-randomised arms of controlled trials mounted simultaneously in the field (replication studies). 3) Comparing similar controlled trials drawn from systematic reviews that include both randomised and non-randomised studies (structured narrative reviews and sensitivity analyses within meta-analyses). 4) Investigating associations between randomisation and effect size using a pool of more diverse RCTs and NRSs within broadly similar areas (meta-epidemiology). // RESULTS: Prior methodological reviews and meta-analyses of existing reviews comparing effects from RCTs and nRCTs suggested that effect sizes from RCTs and nRCTs may indeed differ in some circumstances and that these differences may well be associated with factors confounded with design. Re-sampling studies offer no evidence that the absence of randomisation directly influences the effect size of policy interventions in a systematic way. No consistent explanations were found for randomisation being associated with changes in effect sizes of policy interventions in field trials

The harvest plot: a method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of interventions.

BACKGROUND: One attraction of meta-analysis is the forest plot, a compact overview of the essential data included in a systematic review and the overall 'result'. However, meta-analysis is not always suitable for synthesising evidence about the effects of interventions which may influence the wider determinants of health. As part of a systematic review of the effects of population-level tobacco control interventions on social inequalities in smoking, we designed a novel approach to synthesis intended to bring aspects of the graphical directness of a forest plot to bear on the problem of synthesising evidence from a complex and diverse group of studies. METHODS: We coded the included studies (n = 85) on two methodological dimensions (suitability of study design and quality of execution) and extracted data on effects stratified by up to six different dimensions of inequality (income, occupation, education, gender, race or ethnicity, and age), distinguishing between 'hard' (behavioural) and 'intermediate' (process or attitudinal) outcomes. Adopting a hypothesis-testing approach, we then assessed which of three competing hypotheses (positive social gradient, negative social gradient, or no gradient) was best supported by each study for each dimension of inequality. RESULTS: We plotted the results on a matrix ('harvest plot') for each category of intervention, weighting studies by the methodological criteria and distributing them between the competing hypotheses. These matrices formed part of the analytical process and helped to encapsulate the output, for example by drawing attention to the finding that increasing the price of tobacco products may be more effective in discouraging smoking among people with lower incomes and in lower occupational groups. CONCLUSION: The harvest plot is a novel and useful method for synthesising evidence about the differential effects of population-level interventions. It contributes to the challenge of making best use of all available evidence by incorporating all relevant data. The visual display assists both the process of synthesis and the assimilation of the findings. The method is suitable for adaptation to a variety of questions in evidence synthesis and may be particularly useful for systematic reviews addressing the broader type of research question which may be most relevant to policymakers

Research priorities relating to the debate on assisted dying: what do we still need to know? : Results of a modified Delphi technique

Objective To identify the main areas of uncertainty and subsequent research priorities to inform the ongoing debate around assisted dying. Design Two-round electronic modified Delphi consultation with experts and interested bodies. Setting and participants 110 groups and individuals interested in the subject of end of life care and/or assisted dying were approached to participate. Respondents included health and social care professionals, researchers, campaigners, patients, and carers predominately based in the UK. In the first round, the respondents were asked to propose high-priority research questions related to the topic of assisted dying. The collected research questions were then de-duplicated and presented to all respondents in a second round in which they could rate each question in terms of importance. Results 24% and 26% of participants responded to the first and second rounds respectively. Respondents suggested 85 unique research questions in the first round. These were grouped by theme and rated in terms of importance in the second round. Emergent themes were: Palliative care/symptom control; patient characteristics, experiences and decisions; families and carers; society and the general public; arguments for and against assisted dying; international experiences /analysis of existing national data; suicide; mental health, psychological and psychosocial considerations; comorbidities; the role of clinicians; environment and external influences; broader topics incorporating assisted dying; and moral, ethical and legal issues. Ten of the 85 proposed questions were rated as being important (≥7/10) by at least 50% of respondents. Conclusions Research questions with the highest levels of consensus were predominately concerned with understanding how and why people make end-of-life decisions, and which factors influence those decisions. Dissemination of these findings alongside a focused examination of the existing literature may be the most effective way to add evidence to the ongoing debate around assisted dying

Group-based microfinance for collective empowerment: a systematic review of health impacts

$\textbf{Objective}$ To assess the impact on health-related outcomes, of group microfinance schemes based on collective empowerment. $\textbf{Methods}$ We searched the databases Social Sciences Citation Index, Embase, MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, PsycINFO, Social Policy & Practice and Conference Proceedings Citation Index for articles published between 1 January 1980 and 29 February 2016. Articles reporting on health impacts associated with group-based microfinance were included in a narrative synthesis. $\textbf{Findings}$ We identified one cluster-randomized control trial and 22 quasi-experimental studies. All of the included interventions targeted poor women living in low- or middle-income countries. Some included a health-promotion component. The results of the higher quality studies indicated an association between membership of a microfinance scheme and improvements in the health of women and their children. The observed improvements included reduced maternal and infant mortality, better sexual health and, in some cases, lower levels of interpersonal violence. According to the results of the few studies in which changes in empowerment were measured, membership of the relatively large and well-established microfinance schemes generally led to increased empowerment but this did not necessarily translate into improved health outcomes. Qualitative evidence suggested that increased empowerment may have contributed to observed improvements in contraceptive use and mental well-being and reductions in the risk of violence from an intimate partner. $\textbf{Conclusion}$ Membership of the larger, well-established group-based microfinance schemes is associated with improvements in some health outcomes. Future studies need to be designed to cope better with bias and to assess negative as well as positive social and health impacts.The systematic review was funded by the United Kingdom Department of Health through the Public Health Research Consortium