A New Concept of Interprofessional Education in Planning Programmes: Reflections on a Healthy Urban Planning Project

Although widely debated, some of the defining professional characteristics of planners appear to be competencies in co-ordination, mediation and multidisciplinary working. Despite this, there is little pedagogical reflection on how interprofessional skills are promoted in planning programmes. This paper reflects on the experience of bringing together undergraduate students from medicine and planning to explore the concept of Healthy Urban Planning in a real life context of an urban motorway extension. This reveals a number of unexpected outcomes of such collaboration and points to the value of promoting interprofessional education, both as a way of increasing interest in some of the key challenges now facing society and in order to induce greater professional reflection amongst students.

Cardiovascular disease risk profiles among 'healthy' siblings of patients with early-onset cardiovascular disease:Application of the new SCORE system

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) occurs more frequently in individuals with a family history of premature CVD. Within families the demographics of CVD are poorly described. DESIGN: We examined the risk estimation based on the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) system and the Joint British Guidelines (JBG) for older unaffected siblings of patients with premature CVD (onset ≤55 years for men and ≤60 years for women). METHODS: Between August 1999 and November 2003 laboratory and demographic details were collected on probands with early-onset CVD and their older unaffected siblings. Siblings were screened for clinically overt CVD by a standard questionnaire and 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). RESULTS: A total of 790 siblings was identified and full demographic details were available for 645. The following siblings were excluded: 41 with known diabetes mellitus; seven with random plasma glucose of 11.1 mmol/l or greater; and eight with ischaemic ECG. Data were analysed for 589 siblings from 405 families. The mean age was 55.0 years, 43.1% were men and 28.7% were smokers. The mean total serum cholesterol was 5.8 mmol/l and hypertension was present in 49.4%. Using the SCORE system, when projected to age 60 years, 181 men (71.3%) and 67 women (20.0%) would be eligible for risk factor modification. Using JBG with a 10-year risk of 20% or greater, 42 men (16.5%) and four women (1.2%) would be targeted. CONCLUSIONS: Large numbers of these asymptomatic individuals meet both European and British guidelines for the primary prevention of CVD and should be targeted for risk factor modification. The prevalence of individuals defined as eligible for treatment is much higher when using the SCORE system. © 2007 European Society of Cardiology.

Dopaminergic genotype biases spatial attention in healthy children

In everyday life, our sensory system is bombarded with visual input and we rely upon attention to select only those inputs that are relevant to behavioural goals. Typically, humans can shift their attention from one visual field to the other with little cost to perception. In cases of, unilateral neglect', however, there is a persistent bias of spatial attention towards the same side as the damaged cerebral hemisphere. We used a visual orienting task to examine the influence of functional polymorphisms of the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) on individual differences in spatial attention in normally developing children. DAT1 genotype significantly influenced spatial bias. Healthy children who were homozygous for alleles that influence the expression of dopamine transporters in the brain displayed inattention for left-sided stimuli, whereas heterozygotes did not. Our data provide the first evidence in healthy individuals of a genetically mediated bias in spatial attention that is related to dopamine signalling.

A healthy settings framework: an evaluation and comparison of midwives' responses to addressing domestic violence

Objectives: to compare and contrast how midwives working in either hospital- or community-based settings address domestic violence by evaluating their views on: prevalence of domestic violence; their role in addressing domestic violence; the acceptability of routine enquiry; and barriers encountered in asking clients questions about violence and abuse in pregnancy. Design: a postal survey questionnaire. Setting: Northern Ireland. Study population: 983 hospital and community midwives. Findings: overall, 488 midwives returned a completed questionnaire; a 57% response rate. Comparisons were made using descriptive, inferential statistics and cross-tabulation. Although there were significant differences between hospital- and community-based midwives in relation to domestic violence, both groups of midwives tended to underestimate its prevalence. Key conclusions: the findings suggest that midwives per se identify and respond to a fraction of the cases of domestic abuse in pregnancy, due to lack of confidence, education and training. This reinforces the need for both hospital and community midwives to gain further confidence and an understanding of the many psychosocial factors that surround domestic violence. Implications for practice: healthy settings theory can be used effectively to identify good practice with women who experience domestic violence. Effective investment for health care requires the gaps between hospital- and community-based practice to be bridged, and for work to be integrated.

Simvastatin Decreases Lipopolysaccharide-induced Pulmonary Inflammation in Healthy Volunteers

RATIONALE:
Simvastatin inhibits inflammatory responses in vitro and in murine models of lung inflammation in vivo. As simvastatin modulates a number of the underlying processes described in acute lung injury (ALI), it may be a potential therapeutic option.
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate in vivo if simvastatin modulates mechanisms important in the development of ALI in a model of acute lung inflammation induced by inhalation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in healthy human volunteers.
METHODS:
Thirty healthy subjects were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects were randomized to receive 40 mg or 80 mg of simvastatin or placebo (n = 10/group) for 4 days before inhalation of 50 microg LPS. Measurements were performed in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) obtained at 6 hours and plasma obtained at 24 hours after LPS challenge. Nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) was measured in monocyte-derived macrophages.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:
Pretreatment with simvastatin reduced LPS-induced BALF neutrophilia, myeloperoxidase, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, matrix metalloproteinases 7, 8, and 9, and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as plasma CRP (all P < 0.05 vs. placebo). There was no significant difference between simvastatin 40 mg and 80 mg. BALF from subjects post-LPS inhalation induced a threefold up-regulation in nuclear NF-kappaB in monocyte-derived macrophages (P < 0.001); pretreatment with simvastatin reduced this by 35% (P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS:
Simvastatin has antiinflammatory effects in the pulmonary and systemic compartment in humans exposed to inhaled LPS.