bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The CUL3–KLHL3 E3 ligase complex mutated in Gordon's hypertension syndrome interacts with and ubiquitylates WNK isoforms: disease-causing mutations in KLHL3 and WNK4 disrupt interaction
Authors: Ohta Akihito , Schumacher Frances-Rose , Mehellou Youcef , Johnson Clare , Knebel Axel , Macartney Thomas J. , Wood Nicola T. , Alessi Dario R. , Kurz Thimo
Published: February 2013

The WNK (with no lysine kinase)–SPAK (SPS1-related proline/alanine-rich kinase)/OSR1 (oxidative stress-responsive kinase 1) signalling pathway plays an important role in controlling mammalian blood pressure by modulating the activity of ion co-transporters in the kidney. Recent studies have identified Gordon's hypertension syndrome patients with mutations in either CUL3 (Cullin-3) or the BTB protein KLHL3 (Kelch-like 3). CUL3 assembles with BTB proteins to form Cullin–RING E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes. To explore how a CUL3–KLHL3 complex might operate, we immunoprecipitated KLHL3 and found that it associated strongly with WNK isoforms and CUL3, but not with other components of the pathway [SPAK/OSR1 or NCC (Na+/Cl− co-transporter)/NKCC1 (Na+/K+/2Cl− co-transporter 1)]. Strikingly, 13 out of the 15 dominant KLHL3 disease mutations analysed inhibited binding to WNK1 or CUL3. The recombinant wild-type CUL3–KLHL3 E3 ligase complex, but not a disease-causing CUL3–KLHL3[R528H] mutant complex, ubiquitylated WNK1 in vitro. Moreover, siRNA (small interfering RNA)-mediated knockdown of CUL3 increased WNK1 protein levels and kinase activity in HeLa cells. We mapped the KLHL3 interaction site in WNK1 to a non-catalytic region (residues 479–667). Interestingly, the equivalent region in WNK4 encompasses residues that are mutated in Gordon's syndrome patients. Strikingly, we found that the Gordon's disease-causing WNK4[E562K] and WNK4[Q565E] mutations, as well as the equivalent mutation in the WNK1[479–667] fragment, abolished the ability to interact with KLHL3. These results suggest that the CUL3–KLHL3 E3 ligase complex regulates blood pressure via its ability to interact with and ubiquitylate WNK isoforms. The findings of the present study also emphasize that the missense mutations in WNK4 that cause Gordon's syndrome strongly inhibit interaction with KLHL3. This could elevate blood pressure by increasing the expression of WNK4 thereby stimulating inappropriate salt retention in the kidney by promoting activation of the NCC/NKCC2 ion co-transporters. The present study reveals how mutations that disrupt the ability of an E3 ligase to interact with and ubiquitylate a critical cellular substrate such as WNK isoforms can trigger a chronic disease such as hypertension.
Optimal dietary zinc levels of broiler chicks fed a corn–soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 days of age
Authors: Liao Xiudong , Li Ang , Lu Lin , Liu Songbai , Li Sufen , Zhang Liyang , Wang Guangying , Luo Xugang
Published: February 2013

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary zinc (Zn) level on growth performance, Zn concentration, Zn metalloenzyme activity, Zn transporter 2 (ZnT2) mRNA abundance, metallothionein (MT) mRNA abundance and MT concentration in either serum or tissues, so as to evaluate the optimal dietary Zn level of broiler chicks fed a corn–soybean meal diet from 22 to 42 days of age. At 22 days of age, 288 birds were assigned randomly by bodyweight to one of eight dietary treatments of six replicate cages each with six birds per cage, and fed a Zn-unsupplemented basal corn–soybean meal diet containing 27.66 mg of Zn/kg or the basal diet supplemented with 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 or 140 mg of Zn/kg from reagent-grade ZnSO4·7H2O. Regression analysis was performed to estimate the optimal dietary Zn level in the presence of asymptotic response. The results showed that dietary Zn level had no effect (P > 0.25) on the growth performance, serum alkaline phosphatase and 5′-nucleotidase activities, and liver copper-Zn superoxide dismutase activity, but affected (P < 0.07) tibia Zn concentration, pancreas Zn concentration, ZnT2 mRNA abundance, MT mRNA abundance and MT concentration. The optimal dietary Zn requirements of broilers from 22 to 42 days of age were 62.44 mg/kg for tibia Zn, 64.30 mg/kg for ZnT2 mRNA abundance and 53.50 mg/kg for MT mRNA abundance based on asymptotic models, respectively. Accordingly, the optimal dietary Zn level for broilers from 22 to 42 days of age was 65 mg/kg in this study.
Impact of deleterious passenger mutations on cancer progression
Authors: McFarland Christopher D. , Korolev Kirill S. , Kryukov Gregory V. , Sunyaev Shamil R. , Mirny Leonid A.
Published: February 2013

Cancer progression is driven by the accumulation of a small number of genetic alterations. However, these fewdriveralterations reside in a cancer genome alongside tens of thousands of additional mutations termedpassengers. Passengers are widely believed to have no role in cancer, yet many passengers fall within protein-coding genes and other functional elements that can have potentially deleterious effects on cancer cells. Here we investigate the potential of moderately deleterious passengers to accumulate and alter the course of neoplastic progression. Our approach combines evolutionary simulations of cancer progression with an analysis of cancer sequencing data. From simulations, we find that passengers accumulate and largely evade natural selection during progression. Although individually weak, the collective burden of passengers alters the course of progression, leading to several oncological phenomena that are hard to explain with a traditional driver-centric view. We then tested the predictions of our model using cancer genomics data and confirmed that many passengers are likely damaging and have largely evaded negative selection. Finally, we use our model to explore cancer treatments that exploit the load of passengers by either (i) increasing the mutation rate or (ii) exacerbating their deleterious effects. Though both approaches lead to cancer regression, the latter is a more effective therapy. Our results suggest a unique framework for understanding cancer progression as a balance of driver and passenger mutations.
Systematic measurement of transcription factor-DNA interactions by targeted mass spectrometry identifies candidate gene regulatory proteins
Authors: Mirzaei Hamid , Knijnenburg Theo A. , Kim Bong , Robinson Max , Picotti Paola , Carter Gregory W. , Li Song , Dilworth David J. , Eng Jimmy K. , Aitchison John D. , Shmulevich Ilya , Galitski Timothy , Aebersold Ruedi , Ranish Jeffrey
Published: February 2013

Regulation of gene expression involves the orchestrated interaction of a large number of proteins with transcriptional regulatory elements in the context of chromatin. Our understanding of gene regulation is limited by the lack of a protein measurement technology that can systematically detect and quantify the ensemble of proteins associated with the transcriptional regulatory elements of specific genes. Here, we introduce a set of selected reaction monitoring (SRM) assays for the systematic measurement of 464 proteins with known or suspected roles in transcriptional regulation at RNA polymerase II transcribed promoters in
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
. Measurement of these proteins in nuclear extracts by SRM permitted the reproducible quantification of 42% of the proteins over a wide range of abundances. By deploying the assay to systematically identify DNA binding transcriptional regulators that interact with the environmentally regulated
FLO11
promoter in cell extracts, we identified 15 regulators that bound specifically to distinct regions along ∼600 bp of the regulatory sequence. Importantly, the dataset includes a number of regulators that have been shown to either control
FLO11
expression or localize to these regulatory regions in vivo. We further validated the utility of the approach by demonstrating that two of the SRM-identified factors, Mot3 and Azf1, are required for proper
FLO11
expression. These results demonstrate the utility of SRM-based targeted proteomics to guide the identification of gene-specific transcriptional regulators.
Verbal Description Benefits for Faces When Description Conditions are Unknown a Priori
Authors: Jones Todd C. , Armstrong Ruth , Casey Allanah , Burson Rebecca A. , Memon Amina
Published: February 2013

Some prior research has shown a benefit for describing nonverbal study stimuli, particularly faces, on a later recognition test relative to a control (no description) condition. In such studies, participants have known a priori whether a stimulus will need to be described, meaning that encoding differences other than the description could account for the effect. In Experiment 1, a description benefit was obtained for faces that could not be attributed to encoding differences. A direct manipulation of description duration, thus allowing more time to produce descriptors, did not influence the description effect. In Experiment 2, visual rehearsal instructions (without any verbal descriptions) failed to produce a rehearsal benefit. The experiments provide direct evidence against an account where the description or rehearsal enhances the featural information of nonverbal representations. For the present results, a benefit stemming from the encoding and retrieval of descriptors appears to be an attractive theoretical alternative over one that posits an enhancement or alteration of featural or holistic information.
Evidence for dynein and astral microtubule–mediated cortical release and transport of Gαi/LGN/NuMA complex in mitotic cells
Authors: Zheng Zhen , Wan Qingwen , Liu Jing , Zhu Huabin , Chu Xiaogang , Du Quansheng
Published: February 2013

Spindle positioning is believed to be governed by the interaction between astral microtubules and the cell cortex and involve cortically anchored motor protein dynein. How dynein is recruited to and regulated at the cell cortex to generate forces on astral microtubules is not clear. Here we show that mammalian homologue of Drosophila Pins (Partner of Inscuteable) (LGN), a Gαi-binding protein that is critical for spindle positioning in different systems, associates with cytoplasmic dynein heavy chain (DYNC1H1) in a Gαi-regulated manner. LGN is required for the mitotic cortical localization of DYNC1H1, which, in turn, also modulates the cortical accumulation of LGN. Using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching analysis, we show that cortical LGN is dynamic and the turnover of LGN relies, at least partially, on astral microtubules and DYNC1H1. We provide evidence for dynein- and astral microtubule–mediated transport of Gαi/LGN/nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) complex from cell cortex to spindle poles and show that actin filaments counteract such transport by maintaining Gαi/LGN/NuMA and dynein at the cell cortex. Our results indicate that astral microtubules are required for establishing bipolar, symmetrical cortical LGN distribution during metaphase. We propose that regulated cortical release and transport of LGN complex along astral microtubules may contribute to spindle positioning in mammalian cells.
The small molecule dispergo tubulates the endoplasmic reticulum and inhibits export
Authors: Lu Lei , Hannoush Rami N. , Goess Brian C. , Varadarajan Shankar , Shair Matthew D. , Kirchhausen Tom
Published: February 2013

The mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle that maintains a complex, compartmentalized organization of interconnected cisternae and tubules while supporting a continuous flow of newly synthesized proteins and lipids to the Golgi apparatus. Using a phenotypic screen, we identify a small molecule, dispergo, that induces reversible loss of the ER cisternae and extensive ER tubulation, including formation of ER patches comprising densely packed tubules. Dispergo also prevents export from the ER to the Golgi apparatus, and this traffic block results in breakdown of the Golgi apparatus, primarily due to maintenance of the constitutive retrograde transport of its components to the ER. The effects of dispergo are reversible, since its removal allows recovery of the ER cisternae at the expense of the densely packed tubular ER patches. This recovery occurs together with reactivation of ER-to-Golgi traffic and regeneration of a functional Golgi with correct morphology. Because dispergo is the first small molecule that reversibly tubulates the ER and inhibits its export function, it will be useful in studying these complex processes.
The Co-operative Movement in Britain: From Crisis to “Renaissance,” 1950–2010
Authors: Wilson John , Webster Anthony , Vorberg-Rugh Rachael
Published: February 2013

Between 1950 and 2010, the British co-operative movement faced a series of commercial, structural, and corporate governance crises. Having pioneered many of the features of modern large-scale retailing since its origins in the mid-nineteenth century, from the 1950s the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) and the retail cooperative societies it served experienced plummeting market share, continued internecine rivalries, and increasing marginalization. In the early twenty-first century, however, co-operatives improved their market share and experienced a “Renaissance” in commercial fortunes despite continued fierce competition in food retailing. As yet there has been little exploration of the nature of this turnaround and the ways in which the once-foundering co-operative business model was re-engineered.

Drawing on new research into the CWS (renamed The Co-operative Group in 2001), this article provides a historical analysis of the movement’s decline and revival. As the article details, from the 1950s significant efforts were made to reform CWS and the movement as a whole. However, co-operatives were slow to adapt to the changing business environment, hampered by dysfunctional organizational dynamics that constrained structural change and limited efforts to compete with private retail multiples. Following an unsuccessful takeover bid for CWS in 1997, co-operative opinion coalesced around the need for change. In the final section, the authors analyze the factors underpinning the “Renaissance,” focusing on both organizational innovations and the reassertion of core values and principles on which co-operation had been built. This provides a fascinating illustration of how a business can respond effectively to internal and external challenges, yet retain its fundamental character.
Symptoms and common explanations
Authors: Lysaker Paul H. , Lysaker John T.
Published: February 2013

Thus far we have outlined the wide range of symptoms and deficits that characterize the spectrum of phenomena gathered under the title ‘schizophrenia’. We have also presented, in survey fashion, two central empirical explanations for the appearance of these phenomena. One regards schizophrenia as the result of abnormal biological forces derailing the lives of individuals. The other finds unjust social forces responsible for the unsettling of so many minds and lives. Schizophrenia thus presents itself to the general reader as a tidal wave propelled on the one hand by the likes of poverty, racism and childhood abuse, and on the other by disastrous declines in brain function. Or, as many have suggested, perhaps both fault lines interact (Carter and Flesher, 1995; Walker and Diforio, 1997).
Sense of self in schizophrenia
Authors: Lysaker Paul H. , Lysaker John T.
Published: February 2013

At the end of Chapter 1, we suggested that even the most thorough third-person accounts fail to fully portray the phenomenon of schizophrenia. Not that objective symptoms, cortical dysfunction, neurocognitive compromise, or social injustice are of marginal interest for the study of schizophrenia. Rather, any explanation which ignores the first-person dimensions of the illness limits our understanding of it and, perhaps, our ability to treat it. While we will refine our conception of the first-person in Chapter 3, for now, the concept stands to remind us that human beings are creatures who experience events even as they strive to respond productively to those events. Our claim, then, is that alongside symptoms and their causes, one must track and engage sense of self among those with schizophrenia, for its fate is integral to the illness.
The self in and as dialogue
Authors: Lysaker Paul H. , Lysaker John T.
Published: February 2013

Because we’d like to explore how one’s sense of self could suffer such a fate, we first need to explore how sense of self emerges, that is, how it is that we as human beings are disclosed to ourselves outside of psychosis. To that end, we now will thicken our understanding of sense of self. With that in hand, we can turn to how such disclosures might acquire the kind of character we saw in Chapter 2.

Let’s begin with a hypothesis that governs our inquiry. Human beings engage in, even live as an ensemble of dialogues. Said otherwise, the locus of life that we are, and from which the first-person emerges, is dialogical. We relate to others and ourselves, we plan, imagine, remember, and lust only on the basis of dialogical relations. We are thus more than an atomistic entity. In elusive but crucial ways, our being is bound to and in some sense involves the presence of others, and our lives unfold as movements within ourselves and among others.

Even at the outset, it is crucial to note that we are not claiming simply that selves employ narratives that synthesize their lives and that these narratives involve dialogues among various facets of a life. No doubt this happens to varying degrees, and we shall try to explain, at least in part, why and how, but our claim runs further than this. At base, the very self whose life one might gather up and redirect through a narrative is dialogical in the first place, and thus a multiple phenomenon in and of itself, not simply in its self-presentations.

What follows does not provide a comprehensive account of the self. A comprehensive theory would identify and explain elements whose interactions constitute human being, as well as the principles that govern those interactions. Such a view would have to reckon with a vast array of phenomena, from perception and self-awareness to an infant’s journey into adulthood, from language and labor to emotion and conscience. It would recognize that human beings are not simply instantiations of an eidos or Platonist form, but unique, active loci of a temporally woven life. That said, our claim is nevertheless a strong one – dialogical relations are integral to the self, and those relations form an irreducible field out of which a sense of self is allowed to emerge.
Conclusion
Authors: Lysaker Paul H. , Lysaker John T.
Published: February 2013

This chapter provides a brief summary of the arguments made in the preceding chapters. It also discusses the limitations of the study, and suggest future directions for the project,
Essential Philosophy of Psychiatry
Authors: Thornton Tim
Published: February 2013

This resource is a concise introduction to the growing field of philosophy of psychiatry. Divided into the three main aspects of psychiatric clinical judgement, values, meanings and facts, it examines the key debates about mental health care, and the philosophical ideas and tools needed to assess those debates.
Anti-psychiatry, values and the philosophy of psychiatry
Authors: Thornton Tim
Published: February 2013

At the heart of the debate about anti-psychiatry is a debate about the nature of mental illness itself. The anti-psychiatry view that mental illness does not exist has immediate repercussions for the justification of mental health care practice. Thus, the analysis of mental illness is not merely one question of interest to the philosophy of psychiatry, it is the key question. For that reason it is where I will begin. The first section of the chapter examines Szasz’ arguments based on the idea that mental and physical illness answer to distinct norms.Whilst physical illness is deviation from structural or functional integrity, mental illness, Szasz argues, depends on deviation from evaluative norms and thus mental illness cannot be treated by medical means. This view is contrasted with ologicallyminded defences of psychiatry offered by Kendell and Boorse. The second section describes two attempted overviews of the debate about mental illness. Fulford suggests that whilst value-theorists like Szasz, and descriptivists like Boorse and Kendell disagree about the status of mental illness they implicitly agree that physical illness is value-free. Fulford argues, however, that assumption is mistaken. He argues, instead, that illness as a whole is essentially value-laden, but mental illness appears more so because the values involved are more contested. Just because mental illness is valueladen, it does not follow that it is unreal. The third section examines Wakefield’s harmful dysfunction analysis of illness. This turns on reducing mental disorder to a biological dysfunction itself analysed into the purely descriptive terms of evolutionary theory. Biological functions look to be a promising way of ‘naturalising’ the idea of mental disorder because they are both normative (there is a prescriptive distinction between behaviour that accords with them and that which does not), but also rooted in scientific theory. I argue, however, that the very idea of biological function presupposes the kind of intelligibility exemplified in reason-giving. It does not explain it. Thus, it fails to explain disorder in more basic terms. The final section takes mild cognitive impairment as an example. The same general issues that concern mental illness as a whole apply to this difficult borderline condition helping to demonstrate the real difficulty of making a judgement as to its pathological status.
Conclusions and the future of philosophy of psychiatry
Authors: Thornton Tim
Published: February 2013

The six chapters of this book have offered a snapshot of the diverse subjects that make up contemporary philosophy of psychiatry, but whilst they have ranged across the three main themes of the role of values, understanding meanings and the scientific and factual basis of mental health care, there have been some underlying common conclusions that have been re-emphasised throughout the book.

In this brief final section, I will highlight three such unifying conclusions:

there is an ineliminable role for non-algorithmic or uncodified judgement in mental health care;

the basic unit of meaning or significance is the whole person;

the best understanding of nature is a relaxed rather than a reductionist naturalism.
Psychopathic personality disorder
Authors: Callender John S.
Published: February 2013

Psychopaths constitute 15% to 25% of male and female prison populations and they are responsible, relative to nonpsychopathic criminals for a disproportionate amount of criminal recidivism and violent crime (Hare, 2003). The prevalence in the wider male population is unknown but is estimated at around 0.75% (Blair et al., 2005).

In this chapter I will begin by describing the defining characteristics of psychopathy. I will go on to describe the kinds of empirical research into psychopathy that have been carried out in recent years. I will then examine the concept of psychopathic personality with regard to its history, validity, and the reliability with which it can be diagnosed. I will then consider how such a disorder affects the agent's capacities for moral responsibility and whether such considerations should influence how we respond when someone with a psychopathic personality is convicted of a crime. I will conclude with discussion of how we should deal with psychopathic offenders in the light of the various theories of responsibility and punishment that have been described earlier in this text.

The psychopath usually comes to clinical attention only after he or she has committed a crime. The fact of wrongdoing therefore provides the main stimulus for interest in, and concern about, this condition. The psychopath therefore lies at the intersection of psychiatric diagnosis and judgments of moral and legal responsibility. He or she exemplifies many of the dilemmas and conflicts that arise when psychiatry, morals, and the law come into contact with each other.
Conclusions
Authors: Callender John S.
Published: February 2013

The central theme of this book is the nature of what we term free will and responsibility. Our understanding of these concepts has important implications for how we think about ourselves. It is also of central relevance to how we respond to wrongdoing, whether this is perpetrated by those who are mentally well or who those suffer from some form of psychiatric disorder.
Scoping public health problems
Authors: Bammer Gabriele
Published: February 2013

This chapter aims to help you figure out what you can most effectively do, within the constraints of the resources you have, to address the public health problem you are concerned with.
Priorities and ethics in health care
Authors: Griffiths Sian M. , Martin Robyn , Sinclair Don
Published: February 2013

This chapter aims to help you understand the language of ethics and the role ethics plays in public health, recognize ways in which public health ethics differ from bioethics, understand the principles of priority-setting within a constrained budget, appreciate how ethics should underpin public health interventions, and appreciate the importance of ethics-based public health policy-making.
Assessing health status
Authors: Flowers Julian
Published: February 2013

This chapter is intended to identify key principles involved in assessing the health of a defined population, rather than individual health status. It should help identify some techniques and approaches that can be applied in practice. Good health assessments require skills in epidemiology and information management and analysis; synthesis of information and opinion from a range of sources; leadership, political and partnership working, and persistence.
Statistical understanding
Authors: Kumaran Kalyanaraman , Lang Iain
Published: February 2013

The objective of this chapter is to help you to understand when statistical analysis would be useful, and to interpret correctly the statistics you encounter. It also contains an outline of how to use standardization to compare two populations. In public health practice you are likely to use statistics for two purposes: to summarize information about populations (descriptive statistics), and to make inferences from data derived from research or other analysis (inferential statistics).
Inference, causality, and interpretation
Authors: Lang Iain
Published: February 2013

Understanding causality and interpreting evidence in public health practice can be challenging. This chapter describes some of the key concepts involved, including association, causation, bias, confounding, and error. Although understanding the causes of things is a key public health skill, just as important are being aware of the limits to our understanding of what causes things, being able to communicate these limits to other people, and being able to make decisions even when the information we have is incomplete or inconclusive. This chapter will help you become familiar with some of the main concepts in this area, to understand how the inferences we can draw from evidence are shaped, and give you some insight into the limits of our understanding based on the available evidence.
Finding and appraising evidence
Authors: Brice Anne , Burls Amanda , Hill Alison
Published: February 2013

Making good public health decisions requires integrating good information (much of it routine) with good research evidence. However, there is a vast quantity of research evidence available, much of it poor quality. This chapter aims to help you find and appraise research evidence efficiently, so the best, most relevant research evidence is used to improve health.
Environmental health risks
Authors: Taylor Roscoe , Guest Charles
Published: February 2013

This chapter will help you to understand the environmental health in the rapidly changing context of health protection, the usefulness of having a framework for environmental health risk assessment, and the process of identifying, evaluating, and planning a response to an environmental health threat.
Protecting and promoting health in the workplace
Authors: Aw Tar-Ching , Whitaker Stuart , Harrington Malcolm
Published: February 2013

After reading this chapter you will be able to understand the nature and scope of occupational health practice, and how efforts to protect and promote health in the workplace will contribute to general public health.
Assuring screening programmes
Authors: Raffle Angela , Barratt Alex , Muir Gray J. A.
Published: February 2013

After reading this chapter, you will be able to understand why screening needs a programme not just a test, recognize the biases that limit the validity of observational evidence, be clearer about the public health tasks in screening, and understand that values and beliefs shape screening policy as much as evidence.
Health communication
Authors: Viswanath Kasisomayajula
Published: February 2013

After reading this chapter you will be able to understand why health communication is important in health promotion and disease prevention, explain how communication messages are produced by different organizations, identify different types of communication content and genres, such as entertainment, news and advertising, and understand the effects of exposure to communication messages on health outcomes.
Public health practice in primary care
Authors: Gillam Steve
Published: February 2013

Having read this chapter, you should be able to understand why effective systems of primary care are integral to delivering public health objectives, know those public health interventions that primary care professionals provide, and define those elements of primary care that need strengthening in order to deliver public health objectives.
Influencing international policy
Authors: Lang Tim , Caraher Martin
Published: February 2013

This chapter will help you understand the relationships between international policy and local policy action, why public health practitioners should build an international dimension into their work, and how you can influence and advance public health internationally, including through local action.
Health care process and patient experience
Authors: Delnoij Diana
Published: February 2013

This chapter will help you to analyse the health care process and, in particular, the quality of this process and its outcomes from the patient’s perspective. You will read how you can measure quality from the patient’s perspective, how to interpret the findings, and how to take action based on the results. This chapter provides hands-on guidance with respect to the development and implementation of surveys measuring patient experiences. However, keep in mind that this is only a first step in the quality cycle. The results of such a survey give you a ‘diagnosis’ of the quality of care from the patients’ perspective. It does not really tell you what you should do to improve patient experiences, however. To find effective remedies for negative experiences, often you will have to do additional research.
Effective meetings
Authors: Jessop Edmund
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses factors of effective meetings, including aspects to keep in mind before the meeting (thinking about aims, preparation), setting up a meeting (timing, venue, agenda), during the meeting (listening, summary statements), and after the meeting (follow-up letters).
Effective writing
Authors: Jessop Edmund
Published: February 2013

This chapter discusses aspects of effective writing and aims to help you to make your writing more enjoyable to read. As a result, it will be more effective in initiating and sustaining appropriate change in others.
Communicating risk
Authors: Steel Nick , Guest Charles
Published: February 2013

By reading this chapter you will be able to use an understanding of risk perception to communicate about risk more effectively.
Consultancy in a national strategy
Authors: Guest Charles
Published: February 2013

This chapter introduces the steps for developing a public health strategy. It should assist you to play a constructive role as a public health consultant, working closely with government officials, policy advisers, and other stakeholders in the creation of a major strategy.
Programme planning and project management
Authors: Fien John
Published: February 2013

This chapter draws from the project management and programme/project evaluation fields to provide a practitioner’s guide to programme planning and project management.

This chapter covers the relationship between programmes and projects, the components of effective programme and project planning, how to develop a programme theory and logic model for a project, and how to implement it, ways of developing an evaluation strategy, managing projects as part of a programme, and the attributes of an effective programme planner and project manager.
Business planning
Authors: Gogarty Mike
Published: February 2013

This chapter will help you understand the fundamentals of business planning, develop an effective business case.
Partnerships
Authors: Elston Julian
Published: February 2013

This chapter should help you understand what is meant by partnership, how national and local contexts influence partnership, what processes and interactions are key to partnership success, how to develop partnership and achieve collaboration, and key elements of success and the signs of a faltering partnership.
Adult Neurogenesis 2
Authors: Kempermann, MD Gerd
Published: February 2013

This resource is aimed at those interested in adult neurogenesis and stem cell biology of the adult brain, and covers the historical background and describes in detail adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus as well as the subventricular zone and olfactory bulb. It then discusses the regulatory mechanisms, and the subject of neurogenesis outside the "canonical" neurogenic regions of rodents and primates, as well as how adult neurogenesis in different species. It concludes with coverage of the provocative hypotheses that link failing adult neurogenesis with diseases such as temporal lobe epilepsy, major depression, schizophrenia, brain tumors, and dementias.
Epidemiology 1: Basic Concepts
Authors: Kermott Cindy
Published: February 2013

Descriptive and analytic methods are used in epidemiologic investigations. Statistical tools are used to describe data, evaluate hypotheses, and apply causal theory. Epidemiologic research can be used to determine whether a causative relationship exists between a disease and its associated factors. Epidemiologic data can be collected by government agencies, hospitals, medical insurance carriers, third-party payers, physician practices, and managed care programs. Each data collection system has potential weaknesses such as introduced errors, incomplete records, limited access, and nonrepresentative populations. Registries are detailed listings of all occurrences of a disease or condition within a defined region. An outbreak investigation begins by establishing the existence of an outbreak. After the case definition is established, factors such as person, time, and place are used to develop causal hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested to evaluate credibility, and reconsideration or refinement of the hypotheses may be necessary. Control measures may be taken before the outbreak source or route of spread is ascertained. Prevention and control measures must be communicated.
Behavioral Medicine and Substance Abuse
Authors: Thompson Warren G.
Published: February 2013

The goal of preventive medicine is to prevent premature death and disability. The successful practitioner of preventive medicine mush be skilled at facilitating behavior change in patients because behaviors such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, alcohol misuse, and illegal drug use are the leading causes of premature death and disability in the United States. This chapter focuses on the key knowledge and skills necessary for physicians to stimulate changes in patient behavior.
Maternal and Child Health
Authors: Roeber Rice Heidi K. , Brost Brian C.
Published: February 2013

The habits and health of mothers and children have lifelong significance to the well-being of a nation and the world. Healthy People 2010, a statement of national health objectives, aims to increase the quality and years of healthy life and to eliminate health disparities. It includes maternal, infant, and child health as focus areas. Early recognition and detection of problems, followed by treatment and ongoing assessment, can lead to considerable reductions in preventable morbidity and mortality for women and children. Preconception counseling and early prenatal care may improve pregnancy outcomes through risk assessment, risk reduction, and patient education. Newborn assessment begins immediately after birth (Apgar score, physical examination). Screening for metabolic diseases is a part of public health programs throughout the United States. Sudden infant death syndrome is the leading cause of postnatal death. The cause is likely multifactorial and involves biological vulnerability and environmental stressors. Assessment of normal developmental milestones should occur routinely to detect developmental delays. Adolescence is when life-long health habits are established. It is an opportunity to introduce preventive health care issues by addressing risk-taking behaviors.
Medical Quality Management
Authors: Majka Andrew , Varkey Prathibha
Published: February 2013

The past 2 decades have seen unprecedented advances in medicine and technology. However, the health care system continues to perform far below acceptable levels for ensuring safety and addressing patient needs. The publication To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System from the Institute of Medicine galvanized health care system response and the public demand for change. Providers rely largely on paper tools, memory, and hard work to improve patient care. However, it is difficult to create reliable and sustained improvement in health care with use of traditional methods. Improvement often requires deliberate redesign of processes through human factors knowledge, as well as tools such as Lean and Six Sigma known to assist improvement. The clear ethical imperative to enhance the quality and safety of health care and meet external accreditation requirements and patient expectations calls providers to address quality of care issues.
Stemphylium Leaf Spot of Parsley in California Caused by Stemphylium vesicarium
Authors: Koike Steven T. , O'Neill Nichole , Wolf Julie , Van Berkum Peter , Daugovish Oleg
Published: February 2013

From 2009 through 2011, a previously undescribed disease occurred on commercial parsley in coastal (Ventura County) California. Symptoms of the disease consisted of circular to oval, tan to brown leaf spots and resulted in loss of crop quality and, hence, reduced yields. A fungus was consistently isolated from symptomatic parsley. Morphological and molecular data identified the fungus as Stemphylium vesicarium. When inoculated onto parsley leaves, the isolates caused symptoms that were identical to those seen in the field; the same fungus was recovered from test plants, thus completing Koch's postulates. Additional inoculation experiments demonstrated that 10 of 11 tested flat leaf and curly parsley cultivars were susceptible. The parsley isolates also caused small leaf spots on other Apiaceae family plants (carrot and celery) but not on leek, onion, spinach, and tomato. Isolates caused brown lesions to form when inoculated onto pear fruit but only when the fruit tissue was wounded. Using a freeze-blotter seedborne pathogen assay, parsley seed was found to have a low incidence (0.25%) of S. vesicarium. When inoculated onto parsley leaves, three of four isolates from seed caused the same leaf spot disease. This is the first documentation of a foliar parsley disease caused by S. vesicarium. The occurrence of S. vesicarium on parsley seed indicates that infested seed may be one source of initial inoculum. Based on the negative results in the host range experiments, it appears that this parsley pathogen differs from the S. vesicarium that causes disease on leek, garlic, onion, and pear fruit.
Identification of Genes in Thuja plicata Foliar Terpenoid Defenses
Authors: Foster Adam J. , Hall Dawn E. , Mortimer Leanne , Abercromby Shelley , Gries Regine , Gries Gerhard , Bohlmann Jörg , Russell John , Mattsson Jim
Published: February 2013

Thuja plicata (western redcedar) is a long-lived conifer species whose foliage is rarely affected by disease or insect pests, but can be severely damaged by ungulate browsing. Deterrence to browsing correlates with high foliar levels of terpenoids, in particular the monoterpenoid α-thujone. Here, we set out to identify genes whose products may be involved in the production of α-thujone and other terpenoids in this species. First, we generated a foliar transcriptome database from which to draw candidate genes. Second, we mapped the storage of thujones and other terpenoids to foliar glands. Third, we used global expression profiling to identify more than 600 genes that are expressed at high levels in foliage with glands, but can either not be detected or are expressed at low levels in a natural variant lacking foliar glands. Fourth, we used in situ RNA hybridization to map the expression of a putative monoterpene synthase to the epithelium of glands and used enzyme assays with recombinant protein of the same gene to show that it produces sabinene, the monoterpene precursor of α-thujone. Finally, we identified candidate genes with predicted enzymatic functions for the conversion of sabinene to α-thujone. Taken together, this approach generated both general resources and detailed functional characterization in the identification of genes of foliar terpenoid biosynthesis in T. plicata.
Unravelling the architecture of functional variability in wild populations of Polygonum viviparum L
Authors: Boucher Florian C. , Thuiller Wilfried , Arnoldi Cindy , Albert Cécile H. , Lavergne Sébastien
Published: February 2013

Functional variability (FV) of populations can be decomposed into three main features: the individual variability of multiple traits, the strength of correlations between those traits and the main direction of these correlations, the latter two being known as ‘phenotypic integration’. Evolutionary biology has long recognized that FV in natural populations is key to determining potential evolutionary responses, but this topic has been little studied in functional ecology.

Here, we focus on the arctico‐alpine perennial plant species Polygonum viviparum L.. We used a comprehensive sampling of seven functional traits in 29 wild populations covering the whole environmental niche of the species. The niche of the species was captured by a temperature gradient, which separated alpine stressful habitats from species‐rich, competitive subalpine ones. We sought to assess the relative roles of abiotic stress and biotic interactions in shaping different aspects of functional variation within and among populations, that is, the multi‐trait variability, the strength of correlations between traits and the main directions of functional trade‐offs.

Populations with the highest extent of functional variability were found in the warm end of the gradient, whereas populations exhibiting the strongest degree of phenotypic integration were located in sites with intermediate temperatures. This could reveal both the importance of environmental filtering and population demography in structuring FV. Interestingly, we found that the main axes of multivariate functional variation were radically different within and across population.

Although the proximate causes of FV structure remain uncertain, our study presents a robust methodology for the quantitative study of functional variability in connection with species' niches. It also opens up new perspectives for the conceptual merging of intraspecific functional patterns with community ecology.
Postoperative urinary retention in benign inguinal and anorectal operations
Authors: Iramaneerat Cherdsak , Yongpradit Thada
Published: February 2013

Aim

Postoperative urinary retention is the most common complication after elective inguinal and anorectal surgical procedures. The risk factors identified in the literature were inconsistent. We conducted this study to identify independent risk factors for postoperative urinary retention and to develop a model for predicting urinary retention.

Patients and Methods

A retrospective case‐control study of medical records of patients who underwent elective benign inguinal and perianal operations at Siriraj Hospital between 2006 and 2008 was done. The risk factors identified from the univariate analyses (χ2‐test and t‐test) were examined together in a logistic regression analysis.

Results

We reviewed 77 records of patients with urinary retention and 168 records of patients with no urinary retention. We identified three independent risk factors for postoperative urinary retention, including spinal anaesthesia (odds ratio: 4.41), limitation of activity (odds ratio: 6.47) and pain score (odds ratio: 1.80). We developed a model for making prediction of postoperative urinary retention, based on these three variables.

Conclusion

To avoid postoperative urinary retention, a patient who receives an inguinal or perianal operation should avoid spinal anaesthesia, and have early ambulation and effective pain control.
Meta‐analysis of laparoscopic versus open distal pancreatectomy for pancreatic diseases
Authors: Qiu Jianguo , Chen Shuting , Prasoon Pankaj , Wu Hong
Published: February 2013

Aim

Increasing studies have reported on the feasibility of laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy (LDP) versus open distal pancreatectomy (ODP) for pancreatic diseases; however, the therapeutic efficacies between the two procedures remain controversial. The aim of the present study was to conduct a meta‐analysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of LDP for pancreatic diseases.

Patients and Methods

Searches of the Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Database, and CNKI were performed to identify relevant studies published between January 2001 and December 2011.

Results

Sixteen studies involving 1796 participants were included. LDP was associated with longer operative time [mean difference (MD): −13.45, 95 per cent confidence interval (95 per cent CI): 8.18–18.17, P < 0.00001] and fewer lymph nodes harvested (MD:−6.05, 95 per cent CI: −6.54 to −5.56, P < 0.00001), but higher spleen preservation rates [odds ratio (OR): 3.38, 95 per cent CI: 1.93–5.9, P < 0.00001], less estimated blood loss (MD: −389.75, 95 per cent CI: −407.96 to −371.55, P < 0.00001), shorter hospital stay (MD: −3.95, 95 per cent CI: −4.0 to −3.9, P < 0.00001) and less complications (OR: 0.47, 95 per cent CI: 0.25–0.88), P = 0.02] compared with patients undergoing ODP. There were no significant differences between the two groups in postoperative mortality and long‐term survival.

Conclusion

The short‐term outcomes of LDP for pancreatic diseases were comparable with the open approach. Although ODP might be associated with shorter operative time and more lymph nodes harvested, individuals considering LDP might benefit from a shorter hospital stay and a faster resumption without an increase in postoperative morbidity and mortality.