GWAS of human bitter taste perception identifies new loci and reveals additional complexity of bitter taste genetics.

Human perception of bitterness displays pronounced interindividual variation. This phenotypic variation is mirrored by equally pronounced genetic variation in the family of bitter taste receptor genes. To better understand the effects of common genetic variations on human bitter taste perception, we conducted a genome-wide association study on a discovery panel of 504 subjects and a validation panel of 104 subjects from the general population of São Paulo in Brazil. Correction for general taste-sensitivity allowed us to identify a SNP in the cluster of bitter taste receptors on chr12 (10.88- 11.24 Mb, build 36.1) significantly associated (best SNP: rs2708377, P = 5.31 × 10(-13), r(2) = 8.9%, β = -0.12, s.e. = 0.016) with the perceived bitterness of caffeine. This association overlaps with-but is statistically distinct from-the previously identified SNP rs10772420 influencing the perception of quinine bitterness that falls in the same bitter taste cluster. We replicated this association to quinine perception (P = 4.97 × 10(-37), r(2) = 23.2%, β = 0.25, s.e. = 0.020) and additionally found the effect of this genetic locus to be concentration specific with a strong impact on the perception of low, but no impact on the perception of high concentrations of quinine. Our study, thus, furthers our understanding of the complex genetic architecture of bitter taste perception.

Acute pain in adults admitted to the emergency room: development and implementation of abbreviated guidelines.

AIM: Although acute pain is frequently reported by patients admitted to the emergency room, it is often insufficiently evaluated by physicians and is thus undertreated. With the aim of improving the care of adult patients with acute pain, we developed and implemented abbreviated clinical practice guidelines (CG) for the staff of nurses and physicians in our hospital's emergency room. METHODS: Our algorithm is based upon the practices described in the international literature and uses a simultaneous approach of treating acute pain in a rapid and efficacious manner along with diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. RESULTS: Pain was assessed using either a visual analogue scale (VAS) or a numerical rating scale (NRS) at ER admission and again during the hospital stay. Patients were treated with paracetamol and/or NSAID (VAS/NRS <4) or intravenous morphine (VAS/NRS > or =04). The algorithm also outlines a specific approach for patients with headaches to minimise the risks inherent to a non-specific treatment. In addition, our algorithm addresses the treatment of paroxysmal pain in patients with chronic pain as well as acute pain in drug addicts. It also outlines measures for pain prevention prior to minor diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Based on published guidelines, an abbreviated clinical algorithm (AA) was developed and its simple format permitted a widespread implementation. In contrast to international guidelines, our algorithm favours giving nursing staff responsibility for decision making aspects of pain assessment and treatment in emergency room patients.

What do we gain from simplicity versus complexity in species distribution models?

Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used to explain and predict species ranges and environmental niches. They are most commonly constructed by inferring species' occurrence-environment relationships using statistical and machine-learning methods. The variety of methods that can be used to construct SDMs (e.g. generalized linear/additive models, tree-based models, maximum entropy, etc.), and the variety of ways that such models can be implemented, permits substantial flexibility in SDM complexity. Building models with an appropriate amount of complexity for the study objectives is critical for robust inference. We characterize complexity as the shape of the inferred occurrence-environment relationships and the number of parameters used to describe them, and search for insights into whether additional complexity is informative or superfluous. By building 'under fit' models, having insufficient flexibility to describe observed occurrence-environment relationships, we risk misunderstanding the factors shaping species distributions. By building 'over fit' models, with excessive flexibility, we risk inadvertently ascribing pattern to noise or building opaque models. However, model selection can be challenging, especially when comparing models constructed under different modeling approaches. Here we argue for a more pragmatic approach: researchers should constrain the complexity of their models based on study objective, attributes of the data, and an understanding of how these interact with the underlying biological processes. We discuss guidelines for balancing under fitting with over fitting and consequently how complexity affects decisions made during model building. Although some generalities are possible, our discussion reflects differences in opinions that favor simpler versus more complex models. We conclude that combining insights from both simple and complex SDM building approaches best advances our knowledge of current and future species ranges.

Strong isomorphism reductions in complexity theory

We give the first systematic study of strong isomorphism reductions, a notion of reduction more appropriate than polynomial time reduction when, for example, comparing the computational complexity of the isomorphim problem for different classes of structures. We show that the partial ordering of its degrees is quite rich. We analyze its relationship to a further type of reduction between classes of structures based on purely comparing for every n the number of nonisomorphic structures of cardinality at most n in both classes. Furthermore, in a more general setting we address the question of the existence of a maximal element in the partial ordering of the degrees.

Implementing CLIL in a primary school in Spain : the effects of CLIL on L2 English learners' oral production skills

This study presents the results of implementing a CLIL programme in a Catalan primary school three years after the onset of the implementation. The main objective of this investigation was to determine the effects of CLIL on students’ L2 English oral performance in terms of Complexity, Accuracy and Fluency (CAF). The results obtained suggest that CLIL learners outperform non-CLIL learners not only in fluency, but also in syntactic complexity. However, despite the encouraging results, the study concludes that further research which transcends the methodological limitations observed in the study is needed in order to confirm the results

Health Impact Assessment Reviewing the implementation of HIA recommendations

This tool provides a template to monitor the implementation of the HIA recommendations by identified decision-makers

IPH Response to OFMDFM Consultation ‘Everyone’s Involved’ - Sustainable Development Strategy Implementation Plan

The Institute of Public Health in Ireland (IPH) aims to improve health on the island of Ireland by working to combat health inequalities and influence public policies in favour of health.  IPH promotes cooperation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in public health research, training and policy advice. Its key focus is on efforts to improve health equity. The work of IPH (www.publichealth.ie) includes health impact assessment, building and sharing evidence for public health development, developing Ireland and Northern Ireland’s population health observatory (INISPHO www.inispho.org ), and providing public health policy advice in areas such as health inequalities, obesity, fuel poverty and food poverty.   Health is influenced by a wide range of social determinants, including economic, environmental, social and biological factors. IPH has a key interest and significant experience in raising awareness and developing work to influence these wider social and environmental determinants in ways which improve health. Sustainable development and public health are inextricably linked, in ways which are described in section 3.  Sustainable development is essentially at the heart of healthy communities and individuals as well as a healthy environment and sustainable economic development   - all factors at the heart of public health.

RQIA Review of the implementation of Promoting Quality Care (PQC) Good Practice Guidance on the Assessment and Management of Risk in Mental Health and Learning Disability Services (PDF1.07MB)

Overview Report October 2012

Proposed Consultation on Implementation of the EC Directive on the Protection of Young People at Work (94/33) (PDF 114 KB)

Proposed Consultation on Implementation of the EC Directive on the Protection of Young People at Work (94/33)