A controlled trial of early interventions to promote maternal adjustment and development in infants born with severe congenital heart disease

Background: Congenital heart disease can have a negative impact on both infant development and maternal adjustment. This study considered the impact of a new programme of early psychosocial interventions on such outcomes, following the birth of a child with severe congenital heart disease.
Methods: Seventy infants and their mothers were assigned to an intervention or control group based on order of presentation to the unit. Interventions aimed at bolstering mother–infant transactions, through psychoeducation, parent skills training and narrative therapy techniques were implemented.
Results: Clinically and statistically signi?cant gains were observed at 6-month follow-up on the mental (but not the psychomotor) scale of the Bayleys-II. Positive gains were also manifested on feeding practices, maternal anxiety, worry and appraisal of their situation.
Conclusions: A programme of generalizable psychosocial interventions is shown to have a positive impact on the infant with severe congenital heart disease and the mother.

Bax and the 'Celtic North'

A feature of scholarship on Arnold Bax is his indebtedness, in his early works, to the Irish literary revival (particularly in the mythology-suffused works of 'AE' and early Yeats) and, in his later works, to the music of Jean Sibelius, and the relationship between these periods. I argue that this relationship, which I summarize by using Bax's portmanteau term of 'Celtic North', is underpinned by the stimulus of landscape, which, as well as being a means by which to return to the Romantic idea of the sublime, also provides a means by which Bax critiques the more modernist relationship with landscape that underpins the English pastoral school of the 1920s. Thus the 'Celtic North' is the antithesis to the English 'south land' of Vaughan Williams and others.

A History of Women in Ireland, 1500-1800

The first general survey of the history of women in early modern Ireland. Based on an impressive range of source material, it presents the results of original research into women’s lives and experiences in Ireland from 1500 to 1800. This was a time of considerable change in Ireland as English colonisation, religious reform and urbanisation transformed society on the island. Gaelic society based on dynastic lordships and Brehon Law gave way to an anglicised and centralised form of government and an English legal system.

Unravelling the migration decision-making process: English early retirees moving to rural mid-Wales

There are established migrant reasons to explain rural in-migration. These include quality of life, rural idyll and lifestyle motivations. However, such one-dimensional sound bites portray rural in-migration in overly simplistic and stereotypical terms. In contrast, this paper distinguishes the decision to move from the reason for moving and in doing so sheds new light on the interconnections between different domains (family, work, finance, health) of the migrant's life which contribute to migration behaviour. Focussing on early retirees to mid-Wales and adopting a life course perspective the overall decision to move is disaggregated into a series of decisions. Giving voices to the migrants themselves demonstrates the combination of life events necessary to lead to migration behaviour, the variable factors (and often economic dominance) considered in the choice of destination (including that many are reluctant migrants to Wales), and the perceived 'accidental' choice of location and/or property. It is argued that quality of life, rural idyll and lifestyle sound bites offer an inadequate understanding of rural in-migration and associated decision-making processes. Moreover, they disguise the true nature of migrant decision making.

Biogeographical conditions, the transition to agriculture and long-run growth

We use new data on the timing of the transition to agriculture, developed by Putterman and Trainor (2006), to test the theory of Diamond (1997) and Olsson and Hibbs (2005) that an earlier transition is reflected in higher incomes today. Our results confirm the theory, even after controlling for institutional quality and other geographical factors. The date of transition is correlated with prehistoric biogeography (the availability of wild grasses and large domesticable animal species). The factors conducive to high per capita incomes today are good institutions, an early transition to agriculture, access to the sea and a low incidence of fatal malaria. Geographical influences have been at work in all of these proximate determinants of per capita income.

An evaluation of the effect of altering nutrition and nutritional strategies in early lactation on reproductive performance and estrous behavior of high-yielding Holstein-Friesian dairy cows

Reproductive performance in the high-yielding dairy cow has severely decreased in the last 40 yr. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 4 nutritional strategies in improving the reproductive performance of high-yielding dairy cows. It was hypothesized that offering cows a high-starch ration in early lactation would enhance the onset of luteal activity, and that decreasing the severity of negative energy balance in the early postcalving period would improve reproductive parameters. Nutritional regimens aimed at improving fertility were applied to 96 Holstein-Friesian dairy animals. Upon calving, animals were allocated in a balanced manner to one of 4 dietary treatments. Primiparous animals were balanced according to live weight, body condition score and calving date. Multiparous animals were balanced according to parity, previous lactation milk yield, liveweight, body condition score and calving date. Treatment 1 was based on an industry best practice diet (control) to contain 170 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter. Treatment 2 was an individual cow feeding strategy, whereby the energy balance (EB) of individual animals was managed so as to achieve a predetermined target daily EB profile (+/- 10 MJ/d). Treatment 3 was a high-starch/high-fat combination treatment, whereby an insulinogenic (high-starch) diet was offered in early lactation to encourage cyclicity and followed by a lipogenic (low-starch, high-fat) diet to promote embryo development. Treatment 4 was a low-protein diet, containing 140 g of crude protein/kg of dry matter, supplemented with protected methionine at an inclusion level of 40 g per animal per day. The nutritional strategies implemented in this study had no statistically significant effects on cow fertility measures, which included the onset of luteal activity, conception rate, in-calf rate, and the incidence of atypical cycles. The individual cow feeding strategy improved EB in early lactation but had no benefit on conception rate to first insemination. However, conception rate to second insemination, 100-d pregnancy rate (from the commencement of breeding), and overall pregnancy rate tended to be higher in this group. The high-starch/high-fat treatment tended to decrease the proportion of delayed ovulations and increase the proportion of animals cycling by d 50 postcalving. Animals that failed to conceive to first insemination had a significantly longer luteal phase in the first cycle postpartum and a longer inter-ovulatory interval in the second cycle postpartum. With regards to estrous behavior, results indicate that as the size of the sexually active group increased, the intensity of estrus and the expression of mounting or attempting to mount another cow also increased. Furthermore, cows that became pregnant displayed more intense estrous behavior than cows that failed to become pregnant.

Visual function and dysfunction in early and late age-related maculopathy

Late age-related maculopathy (ARM) is responsible for the majority of blind registrations in the Western world among persons over 50 years of age. It has devastating effects on quality of life and independence and is becoming a major public health concern. Current treatment options are limited and most aim to slow progression rather than restore vision; therefore, early detection to identify those patients most suitable for these interventions is essential. In this work, we review the literature encompassing the investigation of visual function in ARM in order to highlight those visual function parameters which are affected very early in the disease process. We pay particular attention to measures of acuity, contrast sensitivity (CS), cone function, electrophysiology, visual adaptation, central visual field sensitivity and metamorphopsia. We also consider the impact of bilateral late ARM on visual function as well as the relationship between measures of vision function and self-reported visual functioning. Much interest has centred on the identification of functional changes which may predict progression to neovascular disease; therefore, we outline the longitudinal studies, which to date have reported dark-adaptation time, short-wavelength cone sensitivity, colour-match area effect, dark-adapted foveal sensitivity, foveal flicker sensitivity, slow recovery from glare and slower foveal electroretinogram implicit time as functional risk factors for the development of neovascular disease. Despite progress in this area, we emphasise the need for longitudinal studies designed in light of developments in disease classification and retinal imaging, which would ensure the correct classification of cases and controls, and provide increased understanding of the natural course and progression of the disease and further elucidate the structure-function relationships in this devastating disorder.

Neonatal procedural pain and preterm infant cortisol response to novelty at 8 months

Stress systems may be altered in the long term in preterm infants for multiple reasons, including early exposure to procedural pain in neonatal intensive care. This question has received little attention beyond hospital discharge. Stress responses (cortisol) to visual novelty in preterm infants who were born at extremely low gestational age (ELGA; <or =28 weeks), very low gestational age (VLGA; 29-32 weeks), and term were compared at 8 months of age corrected for prematurity (corrected chronological age [CCA]). In addition, among the preterm infants, we evaluated whether cortisol levels at 8 months were related to neonatal exposure to procedural pain and morphine in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Committing to Economic Openness in Ireland: The Importance of Domestic Institutional Capabilities

This chapter sets out to explain the factors behind Ireland's exceptional period of economic growth from the early 1990s to the mid 2000s. It suggests that an unbending commitment to economic openness and an on-going effort to establish quality domestic institutions were the main drivers of the so-called ‘Celtic tiger’ phenomenon. The commitment to economic openness manifested itself in the relentless search for inward investment and a willingness to accept deep forms of European integration. Building domestic institutional capabilities involved adopting new-classical macroeconomic policies, creating a robust system of social partnership and reforming the educational system. The two factors positively interacted with each other to create dynamic effects.

Precursors to aggression are evident by 6 months of age

We tested the hypothesis that developmental precursors to aggression are apparent in infancy. Up to three informants rated 301 firstborn infants for early signs of anger, hitting and biting; 279 (93%) were assessed again as toddlers. Informants' ratings were validated by direct observation at both ages. The precursor behaviours were significantly associated with known risk factors for high levels of aggressiveness. Individual differences were stable from early infancy to the third year and predicted broader conduct problems. These findings suggest that some individuals set forth on the trajectory to high levels of aggression by 6 months of age. The findings have implications for developmental studies of aggression, clinical prevention and intervention strategies, and theoretical considerations regarding the detection of precursors in different domains of development.

Mathematics Learning Support in Ireland in 2015

The provision of mathematics learning support in higher-level institutions on the island of Ireland has developed rapidly in recent times with the number of institutions providing some form of support doubling in the past seven years. The Irish Mathematics Learning Support Network aims to inform all mathematics support practitioners in Ireland on relevant issues. Consequently it was decided that a detailed picture of current provision was necessary. A comprehensive online survey was conducted to amass the necessary data. The ultimate aim of the survey is to benefit all mathematics support practitioners in Ireland, in particular those in third-level institutions who require further support to enhance the mathematical learning experience of their students. The survey reveals that the majority of Irish higher-level institutions provide mathematics learning support to some extent, with 65% doing so through a support centre. Learners of service mathematics are the primary users: first-year science, engineering and business undergraduates, with non-traditional students being a sizeable element. Despite the growing recognition for the need to offer mathematics learning support almost half of the centres are subject to annual review. Further, less than half the support offerings have a dedicated full-time manager, while 60% operate with a staff of five or fewer. The elevation of mathematics support as a viable and worthwhile career in order to attract and retain high quality staff is seen by many respondents as the crucial next phase of development.