Analysis of the NF-κB p50 dimer interface by diversity screening

An in vivo screen has been devised for NF-κB p50 activity in Escherichia coli exploiting the ability of the mammalian transcription factor to emulate a prokaryotic repressor. Active intracellular p50 was shown to repress the expression of a green fluorescent protein reporter gene allowing for visual screening of colonies expressing active p50 on agar plates. A library of mutants was constructed in which the residues Y267, L269, A308 and V310 of the dimer interface were simultaneously randomised and twenty-five novel functional interfaces were selected which repressed the reporter gene to similar levels as the wild-type protein. The leucine-269 alanine-308 core was repeatedly, but not exclusively, selected from the library whilst a diversity of predominantly non-polar residues were selected at positions 267 and 310. These results indicate that L269 and A308 may form a hot spot of interaction and allow an insight into the processes of dimer selectivity and evolution within this family of transcription factors.

Compliance with physical activity guidelines : prevalence in a population of children and youth

PURPOSE To use objective monitoring of physical activity to determine the percentages of children and youth in a population that met physical activity guidelines. METHODS A total of 375 students in grades 1–12 wore an accelerometer (CSA 7164) for seven consecutive days. Bouts of continuous activity and accumulation of minutes spent in physical activity at various intensities were calculated to determine how many students met three physical activity guidelines. RESULTS Over 90% of students met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.6 and nearly 70% met the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, both of which recommend daily accumulation of moderate physical activity. Less than 3% met Healthy People 2010, Objective 22.7, which calls for bouts of continuous vigorous physical activity. For the United Kingdom Expert Consensus Group guideline, compliance decreased markedly with age, but gender differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS Prevalence estimates for compliance with national physical activity guidelines varied markedly for the three guidelines examined. Objective monitoring of physical activity in youth appears to be feasible and may provide more accurate prevalence rates than self-report measures.

Surface magnetoplasma waves at the interface between a plasma-like medium and a metal in the Voigt geometry

Theoretical and experimental results associated with the studies of different properties of surface-type waves (SW) in plasma-like medium-metal structures are reviewed. The propagation of surface waves in the Voigt geometry (the SW propagate across the external magnetic field, which is parallel to the interface) is considered. Various problems dealing with the linear properties of the SW (dispersion characteristics, electromagnetic fields topography, influence of the inhomogeneity of the medium, etc.); excitation mechanisms of the plasma-metal waveguide structures (parametric, drift, diffraction, etc. mechanisms); nonlinear effects associated with SW propagation (higher harmonics generation, self-interaction, nonlinear damping, nonlinear interactions, etc.) are presented. In many cases the results are valid for both gaseous and solid-state plasmas. © 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Public sector change, person-organization fit, and work attitudes : a mediation model

Organizational change is a typical phenomenon within public sector agencies in OECD countries. An increasing number of studies in the literature examine the implementation of change and its resulting impact on the work attitudes of public sector employees; however, little is known about the extent to which change management processes impact on employees’ work attitudes. This study aims to address this issue by developing a path model underpinned by change management and public service motivation literature. The path model was tested on a sample of 308 managerial and non-managerial public sector employees from the U.S. The results provide further empirical evidence on the types of change initiatives on nursing work and change management processes being implemented. Public sector agencies in the sample implemented a variety of change initiatives such as downsizing, delayering and empowerment. Employees reported two change management processes: the provision of change-related information and participation in change decision making. While the results indicate that change produces change-induced stressors, change information tends to reduce stressors and, subsequently, role stress. The results also indicate that change management processes are associated with higher levels of public service motivation, which is in turn connected to higher levels of person–organization fit. Person–organization fit was found to partially mediate the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction in the context of change.

Government grants - an abrogation or management of risks?

New public management (NPFM), with its hands-on, private sector-style performance measurement, output control, parsimonious use of resources, disaggreation of public sector units and greater competition in the public sector, has significantly affected charitable and nonprofit organisations delivering community services (Hood, 1991; Dunleavy, 1994; George & Wilding, 2002). The literature indicates that nonprofit organisations under NPM believe they are doing more for less: while administration is increasing, core costs are not being met; their dependence on government funding comes at the expense of other funding strategies; and there are concerns about proportionality and power asymmetries in the relationship (Kerr & Savelsberg, 2001; Powell & Dalton, 2011; Smith, 2002, p. 175; Morris, 1999, 2000a). Government agencies are under increased pressure to do more with less, demonstrate value for money, measure social outcomes, not merely outputs and minimise political risk (Grant, 2008; McGreogor-Lowndes, 2008). Government-community service organisation relationships are often viewed as 'uneasy alliances' characterised by the pressures that come with the parties' differing roles and expectations and the pressures that come with the parties' differing roles and expectations and the pressurs of funding and security (Productivity Commission, 2010, p. 308; McGregor-Lowndes, 2008, p. 45; Morris, 200a). Significant community services are now delivered to citizens through such relationships, often to the most disadvantaged in the community, and it is important for this to be achieved with equity, efficiently and effectively. On one level, the welfare state was seen as a 'risk management system' for the poor, with the state mitigating the risks of sickness, job loss and old age (Giddens, 1999) with the subsequent neoliberalist outlook shifting this risk back to households (Hacker, 2006). At the core of this risk shift are written contracts. Vincent-Jones (1999,2006) has mapped how NPM is characterised by the use of written contracts for all manner of relations; e.g., relgulation of dealings between government agencies, between individual citizens and the state, and the creation of quais-markets of service providers and infrastructure partners. We take this lens of contracts to examine where risk falls in relation to the outsourcing of community services. First we examine the concept of risk. We consider how risk might be managed and apportioned between governments and community serivce organisations (CSOs) in grant agreements, which are quasiy-market transactions at best. This is informed by insights from the law and economics literature. Then, standard grant agreements covering several years in two jurisdictions - Australia and the United Kingdom - are analysed, to establish the risk allocation between government and CSOs. This is placed in the context of the reform agenda in both jurisdictions. In Australia this context is th enonprofit reforms built around the creation of a national charities regulator, and red tape reduction. In the United Kingdom, the backdrop is the THird Way agenda with its compacts, succeed by Big Society in a climate of austerity. These 'case studies' inform a discussion about who is best placed to bear and manage the risks of community service provision on behalf of government. We conclude by identifying the lessons to be learned from our analysis and possible pathways for further scholarship.

Australasian post

History of the general-interest magazine, Australasian Post, also known as Aussie Post.

Mesoporous silica spheres from colloids

A novel method has been developed to synthesize mesoporous silica spheres using commercial silica colloids (SNOWTEX) as precursors and electrolytes (ammonium nitrate and sodium chloride) as destabilizers. Crosslinked polyacrylamide hydrogel was used as a temporary barrier to obtain dispersible spherical mesoporous silica particles. The influences of synthesis conditions including solution composition and calcination temperature on the formation of the mesoporous silica particles were systematically investigated. The structure and morphology of the mesoporous silica particles were characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 sorption technique. Mesoporous silica particles with particle diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.6 μm were produced whilst the BET surface area was in the range of 31-123 m2 g-1. Their pore size could be adjusted from 14.1 to 28.8 nm by increasing the starting particle diameter from 20-30 nm up to 70-100 nm. A simple and cost effective method is reported that should open up new opportunities for the synthesis of scalable host materials with controllable structures.

Effective removal of zinc (II) from aqueous solutions by tricalcium aluminate (C3A)

Recently, studies have identified high zinc levels in various environmental resources, and excessive intake of zinc has long been considered to be harmful to human health. The aim of this research was to investigate the effectiveness of tricalcium aluminate (C3A) as a removal agent of zinc from aqueous solution. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been used to characterize such removal behavior. The effects of various factors such as pH influence, temperature and contact time were investigated. The adsorption capacity of C3A for Zn2+ was computed to be up to 13.73 mmol g−1, and the highest zinc removal capacity was obtained when the initial pH of Zn(NO3)2 solution was between 6.0 and 7.0, with temperature around 308 K. The XRD analysis showed that the resultant products were ZnAl-LDHs. Combined with the analysis of solution component, it was proved the existence of both precipitation and cation exchange in the removal process. From the experimental results, it was clear that C3A could be potentially used as a cost-effective material for the removal of zinc in aqueous environment.

Factors affecting antihypertensive medications adherence among hypertensive patients in Saudi Arabia

Hypertension is a health problem that has increasing prevalence worldwide. Antihypertensive medications are the key for achieving controlled blood pressure. Little is known about predictors of antihypertensive medications adherence in Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study of 308 participants from a general hospital in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia conducted between July 2013 and February 2014. Out of the 308 participants, the results showed that 27.9% were classified as perfect adherents and 72.1% were classified as non-perfect adherents to antihypertensive medications. Significant predictors of non-perfect antihypertensive medications in this study were having non-formal education (p=0.031, OR=2.3, 95%CI = [1.82-5]), reporting a poor relationship with physicians (p=0.004, OR=2.25, 95%CI= [1.29-3.9]), and having no co-morbidities (p=0.048, OR=1.86, 95%CI [1.00-3.46]). The outcome of this study highlights the need for policies and interventions that enhance the level of formal education at a population level and improve physician-patient relationships in health care settings.

Supporting staff to identify residents in pain: A controlled pretest-posttest study in residential aged care

Practical strategies are needed to improve pain awareness among aged care staff and promote a systematic approach to pain identification using evidence-based tools. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a pain identification tool for use by nursing and non-professional staff in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). A controlled pretest-posttest intervention design was conducted in two RACFs in Brisbane, Australia. Completed surveys were returned by 216 staff and 74 residents at baseline and 218 staff and 94 residents at 3-month follow-up. Chart audits were conducted on 308 residents at baseline and 328 at follow-up. Groups were compared on: (1) staff knowledge and attitudes regarding pain, perceived confidence and skills for pain assessment, and perceived quality of pain management, (2) frequency of pain assessments and use of pain interventions, and (3) residents’ perceptions of the quality of pain management. Both groups had high knowledge scores and reported high levels of confidence, skills and perceived quality of pain management at baseline and follow-up. The intervention group showed significant improvement in routine pain assessment and use of non-drug pain interventions. However, due to unexpected changes in control group conditions, both groups increased episodic pain assessment. Overall, staff believed the intervention was clinically useful and fostered a team approach to pain assessment. We found the introduction of pain identification resources with implementation strategies to support frontline staff was partially effective in improving staff and resident outcomes. Nonetheless, our findings confirm the need for change and importance of translational pain research in RACFs.

High-throughput sequencing of IL23R reveals a low-frequency, nonsynonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism that is associated with ankylosing spondylitis in a Han Chinese population

Objective Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a highly heritable common inflammatory arthritis that targets the spine and sacroiliac joints of the pelvis, causing pain and stiffness and leading eventually to joint fusion. Although previous studies have shown a strong association of IL23R with AS in white Europeans, similar studies in East Asian populations have shown no association with common variants of IL23R, suggesting either that IL23R variants have no role or that rare genetic variants contribute. The present study was undertaken to screen IL23R to identify rare variants associated with AS in Han Chinese. Methods A 170-kb region containing IL23R and its flanking regions was sequenced in 50 patients with AS and 50 ethnically matched healthy control subjects from a Han Chinese population. In addition, the 30-kb region of peak association in white Europeans was sequenced in 650 patients with AS and 1,300 healthy controls. Validation genotyping was undertaken in 846 patients with AS and 1,308 healthy controls. Results We identified 1,047 variants, of which 729 were not found in the dbSNP genomic build 130. Several potentially functional rare variants in IL23R were identified, including one nonsynonomous single-nucleotide polymorphism (nsSNP), Gly149Arg (position 67421184 GA on chromosome 1). Validation genotyping showed that the Gly149Arg variant was associated with AS (odds ratio 0.61, P = 0.0054). Conclusion This is the first study to implicate rare IL23R variants in the pathogenesis of AS. The results identified a low-frequency nsSNP with predicted loss-of-function effects that was protectively associated with AS in Han Chinese, suggesting that decreased function of the interleukin-23 (IL-23) receptor protects against AS. These findings further support the notion that IL-23 signaling has an important role in the pathogenesis of AS.