Summer School 2011 Event Flyer

The Quantitative Methodologies in Policy and Practice for Child Health and Wellbeing Summer School is organised by the Children’s Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland in conjunction with TCD School of Nursing & Midwifery. The Children’s Research Network for Ireland and Northern Ireland is a not for profit membership-based organization which supports the research community to better understand and improve the lives of children and young people, by creating and maintaining an inclusive, independent network through which  information, knowledge, experience, learning and skills can be shared. Membership to the network facilitates access to workshops, summer schools, and events focused on children’s research. The Summer School is funded by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

Connectome alterations in schizophrenia

Introduction : DTI has proven to be an exquisite biomarker of tissue microstructure integrity. This technique has been successfully applied to schizophrenia in showing that fractional anisotropy (FA, a marker of white matter integrity) is diminished in several areas of the brain (Kyriakopoulos M et al (2008)). New ways of representing diffusion data emerged recently and achieved to create structural connectivity maps in healthy brains (Hagmann P et al. (2008)). These maps have the capacity to study alterations over the entire brain at the connection and network level. This is of high interest in complex disconnection diseases like schizophrenia. We report on the specific network alterations of schizophrenic patients. Methods : 13 patients with chronic schizophrenia were recruited from in-patient, day treatment, out-patient clinics. Comparison subjects were recruited and group-matched to patients on age, sex, handedness, and parental social economic-status. This study was approved by the local IRB and subjects had to give informed written consent. They were scanned with a 3T clinical MRI scanner. DTI and high-resolution anatomical T1w imaging were performed during the same session. The path from diffusion MRI to a multi-resolution structural connection matrices of the entire brain is a five steps process that was performed in a similar way as described in Hagmann P et al. (2008). (1) DTI and T1w MRI of the brain, (2) segmentation of white and gray matter, (3) white matter tractography, (4) segmentation of the cortex into 242 ROIs of equal surface area covering the entire cortex (Fig 1), (5) the connection network was constructed by measuring for each ROI to ROI connection the related average FA along the corresponding tract. Results : For every connection between 2 ROIs of the network we tested the hypothesis H0: "average FA along fiber pathway is larger or equal in patients than in controls". H0 was rejected for connections where average FA in a connection was significantly lower in patients than in controls. Threshold p-value was 0.01 corrected for multiple comparisons with false discovery rate. We identified consistently that temporal, occipito-temporal, precuneo-temporal as well as frontal inferior and precuneo-cingulate connections were altered (Fig 2: significant connections in yellow). This is in agreement with the known literature, which showed across several studies that FA is diminished in several areas of the brain. More precisely, abnormalities were reported in the prefrontal and temporal white matter and to some extent also in the parietal and occipital regions. The alterations reported in the literature specifically included the corpus callosum, the arcuate fasciculus and the cingulum bundle, which was the case here as well. In addition small world indexes are significantly reduced in patients (p<0.01) (Fig. 3). Conclusions : Using connectome mapping to characterize differences in structural connectivity between healthy and diseased subjects we were able to show widespread connectional alterations in schizophrenia patients and systematic small worldness decrease, which is a marker of network desorganization. More generally, we described a method that has the capacity to sensitively identify structure alterations in complex disconnection syndromes where lesions are widespread throughout the connectional network.

Health and social inequalities in English adolescents: Exploring the importance of school, family and neighbourhood

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study was established 22 years ago. It is cross-national research conducted by an international network of teams in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe. Its aim is to gain new insight into young people۪s health, wellbeing and health behaviour, including links with their social context. Researchers from three countries started the HBSC study in 1982 and since then, a growing number of countries and regions have joined the study. This report presents findings from the 2001/2 English part of the study, which was carried out on behalf of the Health Development Agency by BMRB Social Research. This is the third time the survey has been carried out in England; previous surveys took place in 1995 and 1997.

Pronostic factors in solitary plasmacytoma of the bone: A Rare Cancer Network study

Contexte Le plasmocytome isolé osseux est une tumeur maligne rare des cellules plasmocytaires. Les données issues de la littérature ne permettent pas de se déterminer sur la dose radiothérapeutique optimale. Dans cette perspective nous avons conduit une vaste étude rétrospective dans le but d'évaluer l'évolution, les facteurs pronostiques aunsi que la dose radiothérapeutique optimale chez les patients présentant un plasmocytome isolé. Méthodes Nous avons réunis les données de 206 patients présentant un plasmocytome isolé osseux sans évidence de myélome multiple. Chaque cas a été documenté histopathologiquement. La majorité des patients (n=169) ont été traités par radiothérapie seule, 32 par une combinaison radiothérapie-chimiothérapie, et 5 par chirurgie. La durée de suivi médiane fut de 54 mois (7-245) Résultats A 5 ans, la survie globale est de 70%, la survie sans maladie de 46% et le contrôle local de 88%. La durée médiane de développement vers une myélome multiple est de 21 mois (2-135) avec une probabilité à 5 ans de 51 %. Les analyses multivariées indiquent l'âge (<60 ans) et la taille de la tumeur (<5cm) comme facteur favorables pour survie. L'âge (<60ans) se dégage comme facteur favorable pour la survie sans maladie. La localisation de la tumeur (vertébrale vs autre) indique la probabilité de contrôle local. L'âge plus avancé (>60 ans) est le seul prédicteur de myélome multiple. Aucune relation dose-réponse n'est mise en évidence pour les doses supérieures à 30 Gy, même pour lés tumeurs les plus étendues. Conclusions Les patients les plus jeunes, principalement ceux présentant une localisation vertébrale, présentent la meilleure évolution sous traitement radiothérapeutique modéré. La progression vers le myélome multiple reste le problème thérapeutique principal. Les futures investigations devraient se focaliser sur les chimiothérapies adjuvantes ainsi que sur les nouveaux agents thérapeutiques.

Entorn de treball per a una organització, a través d'un servidor d'aplicacions i la seva gestió

Aquest treball consisteix en la construcció d'un servidor segur d'aplicacions per a la mitjana empresa. Aquest servidor ens dotarà d'un entorn segur, gràcies al qual els usuaris de l'organització podran entrar a les seves aplicacions de manera remota com si executessin les seves necessitats dins la xarxa de l'empresa.

The Politics of Network Governance in Europe: The Case of Energy Regulation

Networks are considered increasingly important for policy-making. The literature on new modes of governance in Europe suggests that their horizontal coordination capacity and flexible and informal structures are particularly suitable for governing the multilevel architecture of the European polity. However, empirical evidence about the effects of networks on policy-making and public policies is still quite limited. This article uses the case of the European network of energy regulators to explore the determinants of the position of network members and, in turn, the domestic adoption of soft rules developed within this network. The empirical analysis, based on multivariate statistics and semi-directive interviews, supports the expectation that institutional complementarities increase actors' centrality in networks, while arguments based on organisational resources and age are disproved. Furthermore, results show that the overall level of adoption is considerable and that centrality might have a small positive effect on domestic adoption.

Neurological Conditions Network - Engagement exercise summary report

This is the summary report of the Speak out for Change engagement exercise carried out by the Neurological Conditions Network. This engagement undertook to ask people's experiences of living with a neurological condition and caring for someone with a neurological condition. Across the wide range of conditions represented,� the 142 patient experiences gathered to date, have consistently revealed issues around information, choice and control, independence and the emotional impact of neurological conditions.

Unraveling the complex network of cuticular structure and function.

A hydrophobic cuticle is deposited at the outermost extracellular matrix of the epidermis in primary tissues of terrestrial plants. Besides forming a protective shield against the environment, the cuticle is potentially involved in several developmental processes during plant growth. A high degree of variation in cuticle composition and structure exists between different plant species and tissues. Lots of progress has been made recently in understanding the different steps of biosynthesis, transport, and deposition of cuticular components. However, the molecular mechanisms that underlie cuticular function remain largely elusive.

Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services network in Northern Ireland - Update report 2008-2009

The third annual report from the World Health Organisation's (WHO) Healthy Promoting Hospitals (HPH) and Healthy Services network highlights a rich selection of the innovative developments and team-working achievements across services in Northern Ireland. The report provides a platform to showcase the five Health and Social Care Trusts and Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT)��'s commitment to health and wellbeing to the population and shows how hospitals can have an impact on the determinants of health as they are explained in the context of people��'s daily lives.

NetEye - Network Monitoring, Zabbix implementation

Trabajo de presentación en formato PowerPoint del TFC NetEye- Zabbix, network monitoring implementation.

GLUT2 surface expression and intracellular transport via the constitutive pathway in pancreatic beta cells and insulinoma: evidence for a block in trans-Golgi network exit by brefeldin A.

The biosynthesis, intracellular transport, and surface expression of the beta cell glucose transporter GLUT2 was investigated in isolated islets and insulinoma cells. Using a trypsin sensitivity assay to measure cell surface expression, we determined that: (a) greater than 95% of GLUT2 was expressed on the plasma membrane; (b) GLUT2 did not recycle in intracellular vesicles; and (c) after trypsin treatment, reexpression of the intact transporter occurred with a t1/2 of approximately 7 h. Kinetics of intracellular transport of GLUT2 was investigated in pulse-labeling experiments combined with glycosidase treatment and the trypsin sensitivity assay. We determined that transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to the trans-Golgi network (TGN) occurred with a t1/2 of 15 min and that transport from the TGN to the plasma membrane required a similar half-time. When added at the start of a pulse-labeling experiment, brefeldin A prevented exit of GLUT2 from the endoplasmic reticulum. When the transporter was first accumulated in the TGN during a 15-min period of chase, but not following a low temperature (22 degrees C) incubation, addition of brefeldin A (BFA) prevented subsequent surface expression of the transporter. This indicated that brefeldin A prevented GLUT2 exit from the TGN by acting at a site proximal to the 22 degrees C block. Together, these data demonstrate that GLUT2 surface expression in beta cells is via the constitutive pathway, that transport can be blocked by BFA at two distinct steps and that once on the surface, GLUT2 does not recycle in intracellular vesicles.

Genomic organization, fine-mapping, and expression of the human islet-brain 1 (IB1)/c-Jun-amino-terminal kinase interacting protein-1 (JIP-1) gene.

Islet-brain 1 (IB1), a regulator of the pancreatic beta-cell function in the rat, is homologous to JIP-1, a murine inhibitor of c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK). Whether IB1 and JIP-1 are present in humans was not known. We report the sequence of the 2133-bp human IB1 cDNA, the expression, structure, and fine-mapping of the human IB1 gene, and the characterization of an IB1 pseudogene. Human IB1 is 94% identical to rat IB1. The tissue-specific expression of IB1 in human is similar to that observed in rodent. The IB1 gene contains 12 exons and maps to chromosome 11 (11p11.2-p12), a region that is deleted in DEFECT-11 syndrome. Apart from an IB1 pseudogene on chromosome 17 (17q21), no additional IB1-related gene was found in the human genome. Our data indicate that the sequence and expression pattern of IB1 are highly conserved between rodent and human and provide the necessary tools to investigate whether IB1 is involved in human diseases.