64 results
COVID-19 vaccination and venous thromboembolism risk in older veterans
- Peter L. Elkin, Steven H. Brown, Skyler Resendez, Wilmon McCray, Melissa Resnick, Kendria Hall, Gillian Franklin, Jean M. Connors, Mary Cushman
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- Journal:
- Journal of Clinical and Translational Science / Volume 7 / Issue 1 / 2023
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 February 2023, e55
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Introduction
It is important for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine providers, vaccine recipients, and those not yet vaccinated to be well informed about vaccine side effects. We sought to estimate the risk of post-vaccination venous thromboembolism (VTE) to meet this need.
MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study to quantify excess VTE risk associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in US veterans age 45 and older using data from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Surveillance Tool. The vaccinated cohort received at least one dose of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine at least 60 days prior to 3/06/22 (N = 855,686). The control group was those not vaccinated (N = 321,676). All patients were COVID-19 tested at least once before vaccination with a negative test. The main outcome was VTE documented by ICD10-CM codes.
ResultsVaccinated persons had a VTE rate of 1.3755 (CI: 1.3752–1.3758) per thousand, which was 0.1 percent over the baseline rate of 1.3741 (CI: 1.3738–1.3744) per thousand in the unvaccinated patients, or 1.4 excess cases per 1,000,000. All vaccine types showed a minimal increased rate of VTE (rate of VTE per 1000 was 1.3761 (CI: 1.3754–1.3768) for Janssen; 1.3757 (CI: 1.3754–1.3761) for Pfizer, and for Moderna, the rate was 1.3757 (CI: 1.3748–1.3877)). The tiny differences in rates comparing either Janssen or Pfizer vaccine to Moderna were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Adjusting for age, sex, BMI, 2-year Elixhauser score, and race, the vaccinated group had a minimally higher relative risk of VTE as compared to controls (1.0009927 CI: 1.007673–1.0012181; p < 0.001).
ConclusionThe results provide reassurance that there is only a trivial increased risk of VTE with the current US SARS-CoV-2 vaccines used in veterans older than age 45. This risk is significantly less than VTE risk among hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The risk-benefit ratio favors vaccination, given the VTE rate, mortality, and morbidity associated with COVID-19 infection.
A Survey of Long Case Psychotherapy Experiences of Psychiatric Trainees Working in South London and Maudsley NHS Trust
- Famia Askari, Gillian Brown
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- Journal:
- BJPsych Open / Volume 8 / Issue S1 / June 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 20 June 2022, p. S15
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Aims
Psychotherapy is a mandatory component of the Royal College of Psychiatrists training curriculum. The long-term benefits of psychotherapeutically-informed practice to both patients and doctors are well recognised. In the face of regular service configurations, there was a wish to gather evidence to ensure continued provision of this training experience to a high quality. The purpose of this survey was to obtain feedback from trainees regarding their experience of the psychodynamic psychotherapy long case to evidence the relevance and value of this component of the training programme.
MethodsThe anonymous survey, including questions, numerical rating scales and free text boxes, was sent to 294 trainees on a combined mailing list. This number may be slightly inaccurate due to incorrect email addresses and duplicates. A reminder email was sent one week later to encourage a higher fill rate.
ResultsThere were 35 responses: a fill rate of approximately 12%. The largest group of respondents were Core Trainees (3rd year) of whom just over half had completed the long case.
92% of respondents found the long case to be at least ‘slightly useful’, of whom almost a third found it ‘extremely useful’. 94% of trainees found the experience to be at least ‘slightly helpful’ in understanding psychodynamic concepts and 75% found supervision ‘very’ or ‘extremely useful’.
Qualitative responses described it as a unique experience not offered elsewhere in the curriculum that provided important transferable skills.
Difficulties mentioned were similar to those found by previous studies, including practical concerns relating to patient and service factors. There were suggestions for more in-depth training and suggested reading to increase trainees’ confidence. An email was sent signposting trainees to further support in response to some specific concerns.
ConclusionOverall, the responses suggest that the majority of trainees find the long case a valuable training opportunity. These data are useful to evaluate and improve trainees’ experience within the trust, and could be helpful for other training programmes nationally.
Due to the nature of psychotherapy, there is inevitable variation in trainee experiences but attempts to clarify and/or standardise some elements may result in greater trainee satisfaction. Trainees suggested improvements including addressing practical issues, patient factors, supervision content, and educational resources. A future survey following implementation of some suggested improvements would be helpful; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the switch to remote working is another area that may be useful to explore.
Leukotriene inhibitors with dexamethasone show promise in the prevention of death in COVID-19 patients with low oxygen saturations
- Peter L. Elkin, Skyler Resendez, Sarah Mullin, Bruce R. Troen, Manoj J. Mammen, Shirley Chang, Gillian Franklin, Wilmon McCray, Steven H. Brown
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- Journal:
- Journal of Clinical and Translational Science / Volume 6 / Issue 1 / 2022
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 16 May 2022, e74
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Introduction:
COVID-19 is a major health threat around the world causing hundreds of millions of infections and millions of deaths. There is a pressing global need for effective therapies. We hypothesized that leukotriene inhibitors (LTIs), that have been shown to lower IL6 and IL8 levels, may have a protective effect in patients with COVID-19.
Methods:In this retrospective controlled cohort study, we compared death rates in COVID-19 patients who were taking a LTI with those who were not taking an LTI. We used the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Corporate Data Warehouse (CDW) to create a cohort of COVID-19-positive patients and tracked their use of LTIs between November 1, 2019 and November 11, 2021.
Results:Of the 1,677,595 cohort of patients tested for COVID-19, 189,195 patients tested positive for COVID-19. Forty thousand seven hundred one were admitted. 38,184 had an oxygen requirement and 1214 were taking an LTI. The use of dexamethasone plus a LTI in hospital showed a survival advantage of 13.5% (CI: 0.23%–26.7%; p < 0.01) in patients presenting with a minimal O2Sat of 50% or less. For patients with an O2Sat of <60 and <50% if they were on LTIs as outpatients, continuing the LTI led to a 14.4% and 22.25 survival advantage if they were continued on the medication as inpatients.
Conclusions:When combined dexamethasone and LTIs provided a mortality benefit in COVID-19 patients presenting with an O2 saturations <50%. The LTI cohort had lower markers of inflammation and cytokine storm.
Response to the article ‘The role of prenatal stress as a pathway to personality disorder: longitudinal birth cohort study’
- Gillian Brown, Cedric E. Ginestet
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- Journal:
- The British Journal of Psychiatry / Volume 217 / Issue 6 / December 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 30 November 2020, p. 727
- Print publication:
- December 2020
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Molecular Landscape of Carbapenemase-Producing Acinetobacter baumanii in the United States
- Kellan Burrell, Jennifer Huang, Maria Karlsson, Gillian McAllister, Allison Brown
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- Journal:
- Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology / Volume 41 / Issue S1 / October 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 November 2020, pp. s320-s321
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- October 2020
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Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) are an urgent public health threat because they cause healthcare-associated infections that are difficult to treat and can spread in healthcare environments. Acinetobacter spp may develop resistance to carbapenems through various mechanisms, including decreased permeability, overexpression of efflux pumps, and production of carbapenemases. Carbapenemases found in CRAB commonly belong to the group of carbapenem-hydrolyzing class D β-lactamases, which can be either intrinsic or acquired. The most clinically relevant class D enzymes are the OXA-23-like, OXA-24/40–like, and OXA-58–like because they are commonly plasmid mediated and thereby have the potential for rapid dissemination. We describe the molecular epidemiology of CRAB in the United States using a convenience sample of isolates collected from reference submissions, an isolate-based surveillance system, and the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (ARLN). Methods: Beginning in August 2017, 7 public health laboratories in the ARLN began testing CRAB isolates submitted by participating sentinel clinical laboratories across their region. Carbapenem-resistant isolates were identified by resistance to imipenem, meropenem, or doripenem. Testing included molecular detection of 4 targeted carbapenemase genes: blaKPC, blaNDM, blaVIM, and blaIMP. Participating labs reported testing results to CDC at least monthly. A separate collection of isolates from CDC reference and surveillance activities between 2013 and 2015 underwent whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to evaluate the presence of acquired carbapenemase genes, including class D OXA-variants. Results: From August 2017 through July 2019, the ARLN tested 2,368 CRAB isolates across 44 states. Only 12 (0.5%) of these harbored a bla- gene: blaKPC (n = 5), blaNDM (n = 5), blaIMP (n = 1), and blaVIM (n = 1). Of 95 reference and surveillance isolates sequenced, none harbored these targeted carbapenemases. However, 69 (73%) harbored at least 1 acquired class D OXA gene; OXA-23 was the most commonly acquired OXA variant (n = 46, 48.4%). Conclusions: Using a multipronged approach, our studies indicate that the presence of class D β-lactamases of the OXA type are common in CRAB among surveillance and reference samples that underwent WGS analysis. Other acquired carbapenemases appear to be rare. To prevent the spread of highly resistant CRAB, particularly those carrying the targeted, emerging carbapenemase genes, continued testing, and rapid infection control are necessary to improve patient safety and maintain situational awareness.
Funding: None
Disclosures: None
1 - Landscape Modelling and Stakeholder Engagement: Participatory Approaches and Landscape Visualisation
- Edited by Neil Sang, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
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- Modelling Nature-based Solutions
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- 13 March 2020
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- 12 March 2020, pp 19-55
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Summary
Landscapes are defined as ‘an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors’ (Council of Europe, 2000). Cultural landscapes are defined by the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1992) as distinct geographical areas or properties uniquely ‘represent[ing] the combined work of nature and of man’. It also describes cultural landscapes as a ‘diversity of manifestations of the interaction between humankind and its natural environment’, and that the protection of traditional cultural landscapes can contribute to maintaining biological diversity. Indeed, Pilgrim and Pretty (2010) propose that the resilience of ecocultural systems is at its strongest when biological and cultural diversity can be considered as an interdependent whole.
Barriers and facilitators to accessing psychological therapies for severe mental health difficulties in later life
- Katherine Berry, Jennifer Sheardown, Uma Pabbineedi, Gillian Haddock, Catherine Cross, Laura J.E. Brown
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- Journal:
- Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy / Volume 48 / Issue 2 / March 2020
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 24 October 2019, pp. 216-228
- Print publication:
- March 2020
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Background:
The number of people growing older with severe mental illness (SMI) is rising, reflecting societal trends towards an ageing population. Evidence suggests that older people are less likely to seek help, be referred for and receive psychological therapy compared with younger people, but past research has focused on those with mild to moderate mental health needs.
Aims:This research aims to identify the specific barriers faced by older people with SMI.
Method:We interviewed 53 participants (22 service users with SMI aged over 50 years, 11 carers of people with SMI, and 20 health care professionals) about their views and experiences of accessing therapy for SMI in later life.
Results:Thematic analysis revealed five themes: organizational and resource issues; myths about therapy and attitudinal barriers; stigma; encouraging access to therapy; and meeting age-specific needs.
Conclusions:Barriers faced by older people with SMI are not only age-related, but also reflect specific issues associated with having a SMI over many years. Improving awareness of the benefits of psychological therapies is important not only for older people with SMI themselves, but also for their carers and staff who work with them.
Physician Emergency Preparedness: A National Poll of Physicians
- Gillian K. SteelFisher, Robert J. Blendon, Amanda S. Brulé, Keri M. Lubell, Loretta Jackson Brown, Dahna Batts, Eran Ben-Porath
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- Journal:
- Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness / Volume 9 / Issue 6 / December 2015
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 06 November 2015, pp. 666-680
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Objective
To provide a more comprehensive view than previously available of US physician preparedness for public health emergencies, this study examined physicians’ assessments of their preparedness, training, participation in institutional activities, information practices, and experiences with patient education. Four kinds of public health emergencies were considered: natural disasters, major airborne infections, major foodborne illness outbreaks, and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives (CBRNE) incidents.
MethodsBetween October 19, 2011, and January 11, 2012, researchers conducted a national poll among 1603 practicing physicians in a range of specialties in hospital and nonhospital settings.
ResultsMore than one-half of physicians felt prepared to handle a natural disaster, a major outbreak of an airborne infection, or a major foodborne illness outbreak, whereas one-third (34%) felt prepared to handle a CBRNE incident. About one-half of physicians (55%) had participated in training or a conference related to emergencies in the past 2 years. Sizable fractions of physicians were unaware of emergency response tools in their care setting. For example, nearly one-half in hospitals (44%) did not know whether their care setting had an emergency response plan, and less than one-quarter had participated in a drill using such a plan in the past 2 years. Less than one-third (31%) of physicians had signed up to receive alerts in the case of future emergencies. One in 10 reported sharing emergency information with patients at least “sometimes.”
ConclusionsSignificant gaps remain in physician preparedness for public health emergencies, as well as in related training and participation in institutional activities. New efforts, with a focus on possible collaborations between public health institutions and health system leaders combined with effective use of online resources, are needed to bring more physicians on board and to develop relevant and useful key tools. New approaches, including those that rely on different types of care providers, may be needed to enhance patient education regarding emergency preparedness. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:666–680)
Cost-effectiveness of an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies service
- Clara Mukuria, John Brazier, Michael Barkham, Janice Connell, Gillian Hardy, Rebecca Hutten, Dave Saxon, Kim Dent-Brown, Glenys Parry
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- Journal:
- The British Journal of Psychiatry / Volume 202 / Issue 3 / March 2013
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 02 January 2018, pp. 220-227
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- March 2013
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Background
Effective psychological therapies have been recommended for common mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, but provision has been poor. Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) may provide a cost-effective solution to this problem.
AimsTo determine the cost-effectiveness of IAPT at the Doncaster demonstration site (2007–2009).
MethodAn economic evaluation comparing costs and health outcomes for patients at the IAPT demonstration site with those for comparator sites, including a separate assessment of lost productivity. Sensitivity analyses were undertaken.
ResultsThe IAPT site had higher service costs and was associated with small additional gains in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) compared with its comparator sites, resulting in a cost per QALY gained of £29 500 using the Short Form (SF-6D). Sensitivity analysis using predicted EQ-5D scores lowered this to £16 857. Costs per reliable and clinically significant (RCS) improvement were £9440 per participant.
ConclusionsImproving Access to Psychological Therapies provided a service that was probably cost-effective within the usual National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) threshold range of £20 000-30 000, but there was considerable uncertainty surrounding the costs and outcome differences.
Contributors
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- By Rose Teteki Abbey, K. C. Abraham, David Tuesday Adamo, LeRoy H. Aden, Efrain Agosto, Victor Aguilan, Gillian T. W. Ahlgren, Charanjit Kaur AjitSingh, Dorothy B E A Akoto, Giuseppe Alberigo, Daniel E. Albrecht, Ruth Albrecht, Daniel O. Aleshire, Urs Altermatt, Anand Amaladass, Michael Amaladoss, James N. Amanze, Lesley G. Anderson, Thomas C. Anderson, Victor Anderson, Hope S. Antone, María Pilar Aquino, Paula Arai, Victorio Araya Guillén, S. Wesley Ariarajah, Ellen T. Armour, Brett Gregory Armstrong, Atsuhiro Asano, Naim Stifan Ateek, Mahmoud Ayoub, John Alembillah Azumah, Mercedes L. García Bachmann, Irena Backus, J. Wayne Baker, Mieke Bal, Lewis V. Baldwin, William Barbieri, António Barbosa da Silva, David Basinger, Bolaji Olukemi Bateye, Oswald Bayer, Daniel H. Bays, Rosalie Beck, Nancy Elizabeth Bedford, Guy-Thomas Bedouelle, Chorbishop Seely Beggiani, Wolfgang Behringer, Christopher M. Bellitto, Byard Bennett, Harold V. Bennett, Teresa Berger, Miguel A. Bernad, Henley Bernard, Alan E. Bernstein, Jon L. Berquist, Johannes Beutler, Ana María Bidegain, Matthew P. Binkewicz, Jennifer Bird, Joseph Blenkinsopp, Dmytro Bondarenko, Paulo Bonfatti, Riet en Pim Bons-Storm, Jessica A. Boon, Marcus J. Borg, Mark Bosco, Peter C. Bouteneff, François Bovon, William D. Bowman, Paul S. Boyer, David Brakke, Richard E. Brantley, Marcus Braybrooke, Ian Breward, Ênio José da Costa Brito, Jewel Spears Brooker, Johannes Brosseder, Nicholas Canfield Read Brown, Robert F. Brown, Pamela K. Brubaker, Walter Brueggemann, Bishop Colin O. Buchanan, Stanley M. Burgess, Amy Nelson Burnett, J. Patout Burns, David B. Burrell, David Buttrick, James P. Byrd, Lavinia Byrne, Gerado Caetano, Marcos Caldas, Alkiviadis Calivas, William J. Callahan, Salvatore Calomino, Euan K. Cameron, William S. Campbell, Marcelo Ayres Camurça, Daniel F. Caner, Paul E. Capetz, Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi, Patrick W. Carey, Barbara Carvill, Hal Cauthron, Subhadra Mitra Channa, Mark D. Chapman, James H. Charlesworth, Kenneth R. Chase, Chen Zemin, Luciano Chianeque, Philip Chia Phin Yin, Francisca H. Chimhanda, Daniel Chiquete, John T. Chirban, Soobin Choi, Robert Choquette, Mita Choudhury, Gerald Christianson, John Chryssavgis, Sejong Chun, Esther Chung-Kim, Charles M. A. Clark, Elizabeth A. Clark, Sathianathan Clarke, Fred Cloud, John B. Cobb, W. Owen Cole, John A Coleman, John J. Collins, Sylvia Collins-Mayo, Paul K. Conkin, Beth A. Conklin, Sean Connolly, Demetrios J. Constantelos, Michael A. Conway, Paula M. Cooey, Austin Cooper, Michael L. Cooper-White, Pamela Cooper-White, L. William Countryman, Sérgio Coutinho, Pamela Couture, Shannon Craigo-Snell, James L. Crenshaw, David Crowner, Humberto Horacio Cucchetti, Lawrence S. Cunningham, Elizabeth Mason Currier, Emmanuel Cutrone, Mary L. Daniel, David D. Daniels, Robert Darden, Rolf Darge, Isaiah Dau, Jeffry C. Davis, Jane Dawson, Valentin Dedji, John W. de Gruchy, Paul DeHart, Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards, Miguel A. De La Torre, George E. Demacopoulos, Thomas de Mayo, Leah DeVun, Beatriz de Vasconcellos Dias, Dennis C. Dickerson, John M. Dillon, Luis Miguel Donatello, Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev, Susanna Drake, Jonathan A. Draper, N. Dreher Martin, Otto Dreydoppel, Angelyn Dries, A. J. Droge, Francis X. D'Sa, Marilyn Dunn, Nicole Wilkinson Duran, Rifaat Ebied, Mark J. Edwards, William H. Edwards, Leonard H. Ehrlich, Nancy L. Eiesland, Martin Elbel, J. Harold Ellens, Stephen Ellingson, Marvin M. Ellison, Robert Ellsberg, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Eldon Jay Epp, Peter C. Erb, Tassilo Erhardt, Maria Erling, Noel Leo Erskine, Gillian R. Evans, Virginia Fabella, Michael A. Fahey, Edward Farley, Margaret A. Farley, Wendy Farley, Robert Fastiggi, Seena Fazel, Duncan S. Ferguson, Helwar Figueroa, Paul Corby Finney, Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald, Thomas E. FitzGerald, John R. Fitzmier, Marie Therese Flanagan, Sabina Flanagan, Claude Flipo, Ronald B. Flowers, Carole Fontaine, David Ford, Mary Ford, Stephanie A. Ford, Jim Forest, William Franke, Robert M. Franklin, Ruth Franzén, Edward H. Friedman, Samuel Frouisou, Lorelei F. Fuchs, Jojo M. Fung, Inger Furseth, Richard R. Gaillardetz, Brandon Gallaher, China Galland, Mark Galli, Ismael García, Tharscisse Gatwa, Jean-Marie Gaudeul, Luis María Gavilanes del Castillo, Pavel L. Gavrilyuk, Volney P. Gay, Metropolitan Athanasios Geevargis, Kondothra M. George, Mary Gerhart, Simon Gikandi, Maurice Gilbert, Michael J. Gillgannon, Verónica Giménez Beliveau, Terryl Givens, Beth Glazier-McDonald, Philip Gleason, Menghun Goh, Brian Golding, Bishop Hilario M. Gomez, Michelle A. Gonzalez, Donald K. Gorrell, Roy Gottfried, Tamara Grdzelidze, Joel B. Green, Niels Henrik Gregersen, Cristina Grenholm, Herbert Griffiths, Eric W. Gritsch, Erich S. Gruen, Christoffer H. Grundmann, Paul H. Gundani, Jon P. Gunnemann, Petre Guran, Vidar L. Haanes, Jeremiah M. Hackett, Getatchew Haile, Douglas John Hall, Nicholas Hammond, Daphne Hampson, Jehu J. Hanciles, Barry Hankins, Jennifer Haraguchi, Stanley S. Harakas, Anthony John Harding, Conrad L. Harkins, J. William Harmless, Marjory Harper, Amir Harrak, Joel F. Harrington, Mark W. Harris, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Van A. Harvey, R. Chris Hassel, Jione Havea, Daniel Hawk, Diana L. Hayes, Leslie Hayes, Priscilla Hayner, S. Mark Heim, Simo Heininen, Richard P. Heitzenrater, Eila Helander, David Hempton, Scott H. Hendrix, Jan-Olav Henriksen, Gina Hens-Piazza, Carter Heyward, Nicholas J. Higham, David Hilliard, Norman A. Hjelm, Peter C. Hodgson, Arthur Holder, M. Jan Holton, Dwight N. Hopkins, Ronnie Po-chia Hsia, Po-Ho Huang, James Hudnut-Beumler, Jennifer S. Hughes, Leonard M. Hummel, Mary E. Hunt, Laennec Hurbon, Mark Hutchinson, Susan E. Hylen, Mary Beth Ingham, H. Larry Ingle, Dale T. Irvin, Jon Isaak, Paul John Isaak, Ada María Isasi-Díaz, Hans Raun Iversen, Margaret C. Jacob, Arthur James, Maria Jansdotter-Samuelsson, David Jasper, Werner G. Jeanrond, Renée Jeffery, David Lyle Jeffrey, Theodore W. Jennings, David H. Jensen, Robin Margaret Jensen, David Jobling, Dale A. Johnson, Elizabeth A. Johnson, Maxwell E. Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Mark D. Johnston, F. Stanley Jones, James William Jones, John R. Jones, Alissa Jones Nelson, Inge Jonsson, Jan Joosten, Elizabeth Judd, Mulambya Peggy Kabonde, Robert Kaggwa, Sylvester Kahakwa, Isaac Kalimi, Ogbu U. Kalu, Eunice Kamaara, Wayne C. Kannaday, Musimbi Kanyoro, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Frank Kaufmann, Léon Nguapitshi Kayongo, Richard Kearney, Alice A. Keefe, Ralph Keen, Catherine Keller, Anthony J. Kelly, Karen Kennelly, Kathi Lynn Kern, Fergus Kerr, Edward Kessler, George Kilcourse, Heup Young Kim, Kim Sung-Hae, Kim Yong-Bock, Kim Yung Suk, Richard King, Thomas M. King, Robert M. Kingdon, Ross Kinsler, Hans G. Kippenberg, Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Clifton Kirkpatrick, Leonid Kishkovsky, Nadieszda Kizenko, Jeffrey Klaiber, Hans-Josef Klauck, Sidney Knight, Samuel Kobia, Robert Kolb, Karla Ann Koll, Heikki Kotila, Donald Kraybill, Philip D. W. Krey, Yves Krumenacker, Jeffrey Kah-Jin Kuan, Simanga R. Kumalo, Peter Kuzmic, Simon Shui-Man Kwan, Kwok Pui-lan, André LaCocque, Stephen E. Lahey, John Tsz Pang Lai, Emiel Lamberts, Armando Lampe, Craig Lampe, Beverly J. Lanzetta, Eve LaPlante, Lizette Larson-Miller, Ariel Bybee Laughton, Leonard Lawlor, Bentley Layton, Robin A. Leaver, Karen Lebacqz, Archie Chi Chung Lee, Marilyn J. Legge, Hervé LeGrand, D. L. LeMahieu, Raymond Lemieux, Bill J. Leonard, Ellen M. Leonard, Outi Leppä, Jean Lesaulnier, Nantawan Boonprasat Lewis, Henrietta Leyser, Alexei Lidov, Bernard Lightman, Paul Chang-Ha Lim, Carter Lindberg, Mark R. Lindsay, James R. Linville, James C. Livingston, Ann Loades, David Loades, Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole, Lo Lung Kwong, Wati Longchar, Eleazar López, David W. Lotz, Andrew Louth, Robin W. Lovin, William Luis, Frank D. Macchia, Diarmaid N. J. MacCulloch, Kirk R. MacGregor, Marjory A. MacLean, Donald MacLeod, Tomas S. Maddela, Inge Mager, Laurenti Magesa, David G. Maillu, Fortunato Mallimaci, Philip Mamalakis, Kä Mana, Ukachukwu Chris Manus, Herbert Robinson Marbury, Reuel Norman Marigza, Jacqueline Mariña, Antti Marjanen, Luiz C. L. Marques, Madipoane Masenya (ngwan'a Mphahlele), Caleb J. D. Maskell, Steve Mason, Thomas Massaro, Fernando Matamoros Ponce, András Máté-Tóth, Odair Pedroso Mateus, Dinis Matsolo, Fumitaka Matsuoka, John D'Arcy May, Yelena Mazour-Matusevich, Theodore Mbazumutima, John S. McClure, Christian McConnell, Lee Martin McDonald, Gary B. McGee, Thomas McGowan, Alister E. McGrath, Richard J. McGregor, John A. McGuckin, Maud Burnett McInerney, Elsie Anne McKee, Mary B. McKinley, James F. McMillan, Ernan McMullin, Kathleen E. McVey, M. Douglas Meeks, Monica Jyotsna Melanchthon, Ilie Melniciuc-Puica, Everett Mendoza, Raymond A. Mentzer, William W. Menzies, Ina Merdjanova, Franziska Metzger, Constant J. Mews, Marvin Meyer, Carol Meyers, Vasile Mihoc, Gunner Bjerg Mikkelsen, Maria Inêz de Castro Millen, Clyde Lee Miller, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, Alexander Mirkovic, Paul Misner, Nozomu Miyahira, R. W. L. Moberly, Gerald Moede, Aloo Osotsi Mojola, Sunanda Mongia, Rebeca Montemayor, James Moore, Roger E. Moore, Craig E. Morrison O.Carm, Jeffry H. Morrison, Keith Morrison, Wilson J. Moses, Tefetso Henry Mothibe, Mokgethi Motlhabi, Fulata Moyo, Henry Mugabe, Jesse Ndwiga Kanyua Mugambi, Peggy Mulambya-Kabonde, Robert Bruce Mullin, Pamela Mullins Reaves, Saskia Murk Jansen, Heleen L. Murre-Van den Berg, Augustine Musopole, Isaac M. T. Mwase, Philomena Mwaura, Cecilia Nahnfeldt, Anne Nasimiyu Wasike, Carmiña Navia Velasco, Thulani Ndlazi, Alexander Negrov, James B. Nelson, David G. Newcombe, Carol Newsom, Helen J. Nicholson, George W. E. Nickelsburg, Tatyana Nikolskaya, Damayanthi M. A. Niles, Bertil Nilsson, Nyambura Njoroge, Fidelis Nkomazana, Mary Beth Norton, Christian Nottmeier, Sonene Nyawo, Anthère Nzabatsinda, Edward T. Oakes, Gerald O'Collins, Daniel O'Connell, David W. Odell-Scott, Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Kathleen O'Grady, Oyeronke Olajubu, Thomas O'Loughlin, Dennis T. Olson, J. Steven O'Malley, Cephas N. Omenyo, Muriel Orevillo-Montenegro, César Augusto Ornellas Ramos, Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, Kenan B. Osborne, Carolyn Osiek, Javier Otaola Montagne, Douglas F. Ottati, Anna May Say Pa, Irina Paert, Jerry G. Pankhurst, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Samuele F. Pardini, Stefano Parenti, Peter Paris, Sung Bae Park, Cristián G. Parker, Raquel Pastor, Joseph Pathrapankal, Daniel Patte, W. Brown Patterson, Clive Pearson, Keith F. Pecklers, Nancy Cardoso Pereira, David Horace Perkins, Pheme Perkins, Edward N. Peters, Rebecca Todd Peters, Bishop Yeznik Petrossian, Raymond Pfister, Peter C. Phan, Isabel Apawo Phiri, William S. F. Pickering, Derrick G. Pitard, William Elvis Plata, Zlatko Plese, John Plummer, James Newton Poling, Ronald Popivchak, Andrew Porter, Ute Possekel, James M. Powell, Enos Das Pradhan, Devadasan Premnath, Jaime Adrían Prieto Valladares, Anne Primavesi, Randall Prior, María Alicia Puente Lutteroth, Eduardo Guzmão Quadros, Albert Rabil, Laurent William Ramambason, Apolonio M. Ranche, Vololona Randriamanantena Andriamitandrina, Lawrence R. Rast, Paul L. Redditt, Adele Reinhartz, Rolf Rendtorff, Pål Repstad, James N. Rhodes, John K. Riches, Joerg Rieger, Sharon H. Ringe, Sandra Rios, Tyler Roberts, David M. Robinson, James M. Robinson, Joanne Maguire Robinson, Richard A. H. Robinson, Roy R. Robson, Jack B. Rogers, Maria Roginska, Sidney Rooy, Rev. Garnett Roper, Maria José Fontelas Rosado-Nunes, Andrew C. Ross, Stefan Rossbach, François Rossier, John D. Roth, John K. Roth, Phillip Rothwell, Richard E. Rubenstein, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Markku Ruotsila, John E. Rybolt, Risto Saarinen, John Saillant, Juan Sanchez, Wagner Lopes Sanchez, Hugo N. Santos, Gerhard Sauter, Gloria L. Schaab, Sandra M. Schneiders, Quentin J. Schultze, Fernando F. Segovia, Turid Karlsen Seim, Carsten Selch Jensen, Alan P. F. Sell, Frank C. Senn, Kent Davis Sensenig, Damían Setton, Bal Krishna Sharma, Carolyn J. Sharp, Thomas Sheehan, N. Gerald Shenk, Christian Sheppard, Charles Sherlock, Tabona Shoko, Walter B. Shurden, Marguerite Shuster, B. Mark Sietsema, Batara Sihombing, Neil Silberman, Clodomiro Siller, Samuel Silva-Gotay, Heikki Silvet, John K. Simmons, Hagith Sivan, James C. Skedros, Abraham Smith, Ashley A. Smith, Ted A. Smith, Daud Soesilo, Pia Søltoft, Choan-Seng (C. S.) Song, Kathryn Spink, Bryan Spinks, Eric O. Springsted, Nicolas Standaert, Brian Stanley, Glen H. Stassen, Karel Steenbrink, Stephen J. Stein, Andrea Sterk, Gregory E. Sterling, Columba Stewart, Jacques Stewart, Robert B. Stewart, Cynthia Stokes Brown, Ken Stone, Anne Stott, Elizabeth Stuart, Monya Stubbs, Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, David Kwang-sun Suh, Scott W. Sunquist, Keith Suter, Douglas Sweeney, Charles H. Talbert, Shawqi N. Talia, Elsa Tamez, Joseph B. Tamney, Jonathan Y. Tan, Yak-Hwee Tan, Kathryn Tanner, Feiya Tao, Elizabeth S. Tapia, Aquiline Tarimo, Claire Taylor, Mark Lewis Taylor, Bishop Abba Samuel Wolde Tekestebirhan, Eugene TeSelle, M. Thomas Thangaraj, David R. Thomas, Andrew Thornley, Scott Thumma, Marcelo Timotheo da Costa, George E. “Tink” Tinker, Ola Tjørhom, Karen Jo Torjesen, Iain R. Torrance, Fernando Torres-Londoño, Archbishop Demetrios [Trakatellis], Marit Trelstad, Christine Trevett, Phyllis Trible, Johannes Tromp, Paul Turner, Robert G. Tuttle, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Peter Tyler, Anders Tyrberg, Justin Ukpong, Javier Ulloa, Camillus Umoh, Kristi Upson-Saia, Martina Urban, Monica Uribe, Elochukwu Eugene Uzukwu, Richard Vaggione, Gabriel Vahanian, Paul Valliere, T. J. Van Bavel, Steven Vanderputten, Peter Van der Veer, Huub Van de Sandt, Louis Van Tongeren, Luke A. Veronis, Noel Villalba, Ramón Vinke, Tim Vivian, David Voas, Elena Volkova, Katharina von Kellenbach, Elina Vuola, Timothy Wadkins, Elaine M. Wainwright, Randi Jones Walker, Dewey D. Wallace, Jerry Walls, Michael J. Walsh, Philip Walters, Janet Walton, Jonathan L. Walton, Wang Xiaochao, Patricia A. Ward, David Harrington Watt, Herold D. Weiss, Laurence L. Welborn, Sharon D. Welch, Timothy Wengert, Traci C. West, Merold Westphal, David Wetherell, Barbara Wheeler, Carolinne White, Jean-Paul Wiest, Frans Wijsen, Terry L. Wilder, Felix Wilfred, Rebecca Wilkin, Daniel H. Williams, D. Newell Williams, Michael A. Williams, Vincent L. Wimbush, Gabriele Winkler, Anders Winroth, Lauri Emílio Wirth, James A. Wiseman, Ebba Witt-Brattström, Teofil Wojciechowski, John Wolffe, Kenman L. Wong, Wong Wai Ching, Linda Woodhead, Wendy M. Wright, Rose Wu, Keith E. Yandell, Gale A. Yee, Viktor Yelensky, Yeo Khiok-Khng, Gustav K. K. Yeung, Angela Yiu, Amos Yong, Yong Ting Jin, You Bin, Youhanna Nessim Youssef, Eliana Yunes, Robert Michael Zaller, Valarie H. Ziegler, Barbara Brown Zikmund, Joyce Ann Zimmerman, Aurora Zlotnik, Zhuo Xinping
- Edited by Daniel Patte, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee
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- The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
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- 20 September 2010, pp xi-xliv
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A prospective study of children with head injuries: II. Cognitive sequelae
- Oliver Chadwick, Michael Rutter, Gillian Brown, David Shaffer, Michael Traub
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- Psychological Medicine / Volume 11 / Issue 1 / February 1981
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 July 2009, pp. 49-61
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A 2¼-year prospective study of children suffering head injury is described. Three groups of children were studied: (a) 31 children with ‘severe’ head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) of at least 7 days; (b) an individually matched control group of 28 children with hospital treated orthopaedic injuries; and (c) 29 children with ‘mild’ head injuries resulting in a PTA exceeding 1 hour but less than 1 week. Individual psychological testing was carried out as soon as the child recovered from PTA, and then again 4 months, 1 year, and 2¼ years after the injury. A shortened version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC), the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability and a battery of tests of specific cognitive functions were employed. The mild head injury group had a mean level of cognitive functioning below the control group, but the lack of any recovery during the follow-up period indicated that the intellectual impairment was not a consequence of the injury. In the severe head injury group, the presence of cognitive recovery and a ‘dose—response’ relationship with the degree of brain injury showed that the intellectual deficits were caused by brain damage. Some degree of cognitive impairment was common following head injuries giving rise to a PTA of at least 2 weeks. Conversely no cognitive sequelae, transient or persistent, could be detected when the PTA was less than 24 hours. The results were less consistent in the 1-day to 2-week PTA range, but the evidence suggested that a broadly defined threshold for impairment operated at about that level of severity of injury. Timed measures of visuo-spatial and visuo-motor skills tended to show more impairment than verbal skills but otherwise there was no suggestion of a specific pattern of cognitive deficit. Recovery was most rapid in the early months after injury, but substantial recovery continued for 1 year with some improvement continuing in the second year in some children, especially those with the most severe injuries. Age, sex and social class showed no significant effects on the course of recovery.
A prospective study of children with head injuries: I. Design and methods
- Michael Rutter, Oliver Chadwick, David Shaffer, Gillian Brown
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- Psychological Medicine / Volume 10 / Issue 4 / November 1980
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 July 2009, pp. 633-645
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The main unresolved issues with respect to the psychological sequelae of brain damage in childhood are noted, and the previous studies of children suffering head injury are critically reviewed. A new prospective study is described. Three groups of children were studied: (a) 31 children with ‘severe’ head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia of at least 7 days; (b) an individually matched control group of 28 children with hospital-treated orthopaedic injuries; and (c) 29 children with ‘mild’ head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia exceeding 1 hour but less than 1 week. The children were studied as soon as possible after the accident and then again 4 months, 1 year, and 2¼ years after the injury. The parents were interviewed, using systematic and standardized interview techniques; both parents and teachers completed behavioural questionnaires; and the children were seen for individual psychological testing using the WISC, the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability and a battery of tests of more specific cognitive functions. At the final follow-up, the severe head injury group (but not the other 2 groups) received a systematic neurological examination and the school teacher who knew the child best was personally interviewed. The findings are given on physical handicap, neurological abnormality, school placement and psychiatric referrals. All types of disabilities were both more frequent and more persistent in the children with severe head injuries.
A prospective study of children with head injures: III. Psychiatric sequelae
- Gillian Brown, Oliver Chadwick, David Shaffer, Michael Rutter, Michael Traub
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- Journal:
- Psychological Medicine / Volume 11 / Issue 1 / February 1981
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 July 2009, pp. 63-78
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A 2¼-year prospective study of children suffering head injury is described. Three groups of children were studied: (a) 31 children with ‘severe’ head injuries resulting in a post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) of at least 7 days; (b) an individually matched control group of 28 children with hospital-treated orthopaedic injuries; and (c) 29 children with ‘mild’ head injuries resulting in a PTA exceeding 1 hour but less than 1 week. A retrospective assessment of the children's pre-accident behaviour was obtained by parental interview and teacher questionnaire immediately after the accident and before the behavioural sequelae of the injury could be known. Further psychiatric assessments were undertaken 4 months, 1 year and 21 years after the initial injury. The mild head injury group showed a raised level of behavioural disturbance before the accident but no increase thereafter. It was concluded that head injuries resulting in a PTA of less than I week did not appreciably increase the psychiatric risk. By contrast, there was a marked increase in psychiatric disorders following severe head injury. The high rate of new disorders in children with severe head injuries who were without disorder before the accident, together with the finding of a dose–response relationship with the severity of brain injury, indicated a causal relationship. However, the development of psychiatric disorders in children with severe head injuries was also influenced by the children's pre-accident behaviour, their intellectual level, and their psychosocial circumstances. With the exception of social disinhibition and a slight tendency for the disorders to show greater persistence over time, the disorders attributable to head injury showed no specific features.
Objective and subjective memory impairment in pregnancy
- Peter M. Brindle, Malcolm W. Brown, John Brown, Huw B. Griffith, Gillian M. Turner
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- Psychological Medicine / Volume 21 / Issue 3 / August 1991
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 09 July 2009, pp. 647-653
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Pregnant subjects rated their memories as worse than normal and their ratings differed significantly from controls. Explicit memory tested by both recognition and recall was unimpaired. In contrast, implicit memory was significantly impaired in primigravidae. Impairment in implicit memory correlated with the subjective memory ratings. The dissociation of explicit and implicit memory is discussed.
Tolerated scrounging in nonhuman primates
- Gillian R. Brown
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- Journal:
- Behavioral and Brain Sciences / Volume 27 / Issue 4 / August 2004
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 14 February 2005, pp. 562-563
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Gurven suggests that the tolerated scrounging model has limited relevance for explaining patterns of food transfers in human populations. However, this conclusion is based on a restricted interpretation of the tolerated scrounging model proposed originally by Blurton Jones (1987). Examples of food transfers in nonhuman primates illustrate that the assumptions of Gurven's tolerated scrounging model are open to question.
6 - Hawthorne’s American history
- Edited by Richard H. Millington
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- The Cambridge Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Published online:
- 28 May 2006
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- 23 September 2004, pp 121-142
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Summary
Every one who has considered the subject, knows full well that a nation without fancy, without some romance, never did, never can, never will, hold a great place under the sun.
In this 1853 proclamation, Charles Dickens articulates the nineteenthcentury belief in the importance of fancy in books for children that has remained a guiding assumption about children's literature ever since. “The fairy literature of our childhood,” according to Dickens, significantly affords a “precious old escape”from the world which “is too much with us, early and late.” This is why he objects to his friend George Cruikshank writing temperance messages into fairy tales; Dickens would keep social and political agendas outside the realm of fancy. It might seem odd, then, that he expressly associates fancy and romance with the very worldly institution of nationalism. But the Dickensian defense of fancy astutely recognizes the imaginative character of nationalism: like fairy tales, nations seem to exist independently of the local concerns and interests of their citizens. Nations garner fealty from their inhabitants by convincing them to believe in and find refuge in realms beyond themselves, realms apart from immediate experience.
The fairy stories that Dickens and his contemporaries were writing for juvenile readers thus schooled them in the imaginative dynamics of nationalism. One of those contemporaries in the United States – Nathaniel Hawthorne, who had just published A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1852) – had already identified the crucial role of fancy in nationalism in such 1830s stories as “The Gray Champion” and “Legends of the Province- House.” But Hawthorne from the start saw nationalism not merely as a realization of fancy in which a powerful sense of nation and the practices that strengthen, expand, and perpetuate a nation emanate from a fanciful sensibility. For Hawthorne, any investment that persons develop in places and pasts, in specific countries and histories, proceeds imaginatively. Since nationalism, like other human formations, owes its existence to the imaginative faculty, it registers rather than rationalizes (either positively or negatively) the function of imagination.
4 - Reading and children:Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Pearl of Orr’s Island
- Edited by Cindy Weinstein, California Institute of Technology
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- Book:
- The Cambridge Companion to Harriet Beecher Stowe
- Published online:
- 28 May 2006
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- 15 July 2004, pp 77-95
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Summary
People have always noticed that representations affect them, and have variously explained, classified, evaluated, justified, regulated, and enjoyed this phenomenon. Whereas Plato banned poets from his republic in order to restrict influences upon the citizenry, Aristotle formulated his theory of catharsis to legitimate the effects of art upon persons. Noting that drama consistently produces in audiences certain effects - fear, pity, admiration, awe, superiority, affinity, belief, skepticism, compassion, and relief - Aristotle identified these responses as official aims of art, formalizing what audiences feel as the standard moral effects achieved by art.
Since the late seventeenth century, when mass print culture provided greater numbers of persons with the regular affective experience of literature, the novel became another focal point in the ongoing debate and discourse about the effects of representation. Even more than drama and poetry, the novel seemed to demand the reader’s sentiments, through the staged direct address of epistolarity, or through the differently but equally contrived direct address of apostrophe to reader. Thus, when Harriet Beecher Stowe famously enjoins readers of Uncle Tom’s Cabin to “feel right,” she is writing in an ancient tradition to which modern sentimentalism has contributed its affective techniques, upholding longstanding assumptions about reader response. No less than Aristotle assuming that tragedy arouses terror and pity in audiences, Stowe relies on the sentimental novel to produce sympathy in readers, an abolitionist sympathy for the plight of slaves in mid-nineteenth-century America.
14 - Sex ratios in primate groups
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- By Joan B. Silk, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Gillian R. Brown, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Edited by Peter M. Kappeler, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, Göttingen, Germany, Carel P. van Schaik, Duke University, North Carolina
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- Sexual Selection in Primates
- Published online:
- 10 August 2009
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- 13 May 2004, pp 253-265
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I formerly thought that when a tendency to produce the two sexes in equal numbers was advantageous to the species, it would follow from natural selection, but I now see the whole problem is so intricate that it is safer to leave its solution for the future.
Charles Darwin, 1871Introduction
Sexual selection is an important evolutionary force in mammalian species because of one simple fact – males are a glut on the market. From the females' point of view, there are more males than needed to meet their reproductive requirements. And from the males' point of view, there are not nearly enough females to go around to satisfy their reproductive potential. The relative abundance of males generates strong intrasexual competition among them.
The goals of this chapter are to explore the selective factors that influence the evolution of birth sex ratios, and to weigh the empirical evidence that primate females facultatively manipulate birth sex ratios to enhance their own fitness. We will begin by briefly enumerating some of the ways in which adult sex ratios influence the evolution of male and female life histories, morphology and reproductive strategies in primate groups. Then, we will explain how natural selection shapes the evolution of birth sex ratios, and consider the empirical evidence for adaptive manipulation of birth sex ratios in primate groups.
Mutational analysis of a plant branchpoint and polypyrimidine tract required for constitutive splicing of a mini-exon
- CRAIG G. SIMPSON, GRAHAM THOW, GILLIAN P. CLARK, S. NIKKI JENNINGS, JENNY A. WATTERS, JOHN W.S. BROWN
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The branchpoint sequence and associated polypyrimidine tract are firmly established splicing signals in vertebrates. In plants, however, these signals have not been characterized in detail. The potato invertase mini-exon 2 (9 nt) requires a branchpoint sequence positioned around 50 nt upstream of the 5′ splice site of the neighboring intron and a U11 element found adjacent to the branchpoint in the upstream intron (Simpson et al., RNA, 2000, 6:422–433). Utilizing the sensitivity of this plant splicing system, these elements have been characterized by systematic mutation and analysis of the effect on inclusion of the mini-exon. Mutation of the branchpoint sequence in all possible positions demonstrated that branchpoints matching the consensus, CURAY, were most efficient at supporting splicing. Branchpoint sequences that differed from this consensus were still able to permit mini-exon inclusion but at greatly reduced levels. Mutation of the downstream U11 element suggested that it functioned as a polypyrimidine tract rather than a UA-rich element, common to plant introns. The minimum sequence requirement of the polypyrimidine tract for efficient splicing was two closely positioned groups of uridines 3–4 nt long (<6 nt apart) that, within the context of the mini-exon system, required being close (<14 nt) to the branchpoint sequence. The functional characterization of the branchpoint sequence and polypyrimidine tract defines these sequences in plants for the first time, and firmly establishes polypyrimidine tracts as important signals in splicing of at least some plant introns.
Multiple snoRNA gene clusters from Arabidopsis
- JOHN W.S. BROWN, GILLIAN P. CLARK, DAVID J. LEADER, CRAIG G. SIMPSON, TODD LOWE
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Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are involved in precursor ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) processing and rRNA base modification (2′-O-ribose methylation and pseudouridylation). In all eukaryotes, certain snoRNAs (e.g., U3) are transcribed from classical promoters. In vertebrates, the majority are encoded in introns of protein-coding genes, and are released by exonucleolytic cleavage of linearized intron lariats. In contrast, in maize and yeast, nonintronic snoRNA gene clusters are transcribed as polycistronic pre-snoRNA transcripts from which individual snoRNAs are processed. In this article, 43 clusters of snoRNA genes, an intronic snoRNA, and 10 single genes have been identified by cloning and by computer searches, giving a total of 136 snoRNA gene copies of 71 different snoRNA genes. Of these, 31 represent snoRNA genes novel to plants. A cluster of four U14 snoRNA genes and two clusters containing five different snoRNA genes (U31, snoR4, U33, U51, and snoR5) from Arabidopsis have been isolated and characterized. Of these genes, snoR4 is a novel box C/D snoRNA that has the potential to base pair with the 3′ end of 5.8S rRNA and snoR5 is a box H/ACA snoRNA gene. In addition, 42 putative sites of 2′-O-ribose methylation in plant 5.8S, 18S, and 25S rRNAs have been mapped by primer extension analysis, including eight sites novel to plant rRNAs. The results clearly show that, in plants, the most common gene organization is polycistronic and that over a third of predicted and mapped methylation sites are novel to plant rRNAs. The variation in this organization among gene clusters highlights mechanisms of snoRNA evolution.