Treatment motivation in adolescents with psychosis or at high risk: Determinants and impact on improvements in symptoms and cognitive functioning, preliminary results.

Abstract Low motivation is frequent in chronic disorders such as psychosis and may limit treatment efficacy. Although some evidence supports this view in adults, few studies so far have focused on adolescents. We assessed the impact of baseline symptoms, cognitive deficits and cognitive treatment characteristics on treatment motivation (TM), and examined whether TM affected treatment outcome. Twenty-eight adolescents with psychotic disorders participated in 16 sessions of computerized cognitive remediation or games. TM was assessed for each session. Lower TM was predicted by more severe symptoms at baseline, and was associated with smaller improvements in symptoms and both cognitive and psychosocial functioning at the end of the intervention. Experiencing success in the treatment exercises enhanced TM in all patients.

Diabetes care in Switzerland: good, but perfectible: a population-based cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: While Switzerland invests a lot of money in its healthcare system, little is known about the quality of care delivered. The objective of this study was to assess the quality of care provided to patients with diabetes in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 406 non-institutionalized adults with type 1 or 2 diabetes. Patients' characteristics, diabetes and process of care indicators were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Process indicators (past 12 months) included HbA1C check among HbA1C-aware patients, eye assessment by ophtalmologist, microalbuminuria check, feet examination, lipid test, blood pressure and weight measurement, influenza immunization, physical activity recommendations, and dietary recommendations. Item-by-item (each process of care indicator: percentage of patients having received it), composite (mean percentage of recommended care: sum of received processes of care / sum of possible recommended care), and all-or-none (percentage of patients receiving all specified recommended care) measures were computed. RESULTS: Mean age was 64.4 years; 59% were men. Type 1 and type 2 diabetes were reported by 18.2% and 68.5% of patients, respectively, but diabetes type remained undetermined for almost 20% of patients. Patients were treated with oral anti-diabetic drugs (50%), insulin (23%) or both (27%). Of 219 HbA1C-aware patients, 98% reported ≥ one HbA1C check during the last year. Also, ≥94% reported ≥ one blood pressure measurement, ≥ one weight measurement or lipid test, and 68%, 64% and 56% had feet examination, microalbuminuria check and eye assessment, respectively. Influenza immunization was reported by 62% of the patients.The percentage of patients receiving all processes of care ranged between 14.2%-16.9%, and 46.6%-50.7%, when considering ten and four indicators, respectively. Ambulatory care utilization showed little use of multidisciplinary care, and low levels of participation in diabetes-education classes. CONCLUSIONS: While routine processes-of-care were performed annually in most patients, diabetes-specific risk screenings, influenza immunization, physical activity and dietary recommendations were less often reported; this was also the case for multidisciplinary care and participation in education classes. There is room for diabetes care improvement in Switzerland. These results should help define priorities and further develop country-specific chronic disease management initiatives for diabetes.

The relationship between public education expenditure and economic growth: The case of India

The paper reviews the theoretical and the empirical case for public investment in education in India. Though the theoretical literature provides a backing for such a policy, the empirical literature fails to find a robust relation between education expenditure and growth. Expenditure on education is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for growth. It seems that the effectiveness of education expenditure depends on the institutional and labour market characteristics of the economy. The effectiveness of education investments also depends on other factors such as trade openness. Due to these aforesaid factors, we argue that the empirical relation between education expenditure and growth for India has been inconsistent.

On the safe of pesticides in controlling the terrestrial mollusc pests

The preferred food items of the slugs Laevicaulis alte and the snails Achatina fulica were used to prepare 'poison baits'by injecting the pesticides 'Rogor'and 'Nuvan'to kill these mollusc pests. The 'poison baits'prepared with Thrichosanthes dioica and Lycopersicum esculentum were accepted by 100% individuals of both the species irrespective of the pesticides used. In all cases the slug and the snail individuals died within a considerable length of time following consuption of the bait. The importance of using 'poison bait'lies not only with the sure success in killing the pests but also with the 'safe use'of toxic materials in order to avoid environmental hazards.

Industrial district effects and innovation in the Tuscan shipbuilding industry

The aim of the present work is to investigate innovative processes within a geographical cluster, and thus contribute to the debate on the effects of industrial clusters on innovation capacity. In particular, we would like to ascertain whether the advantages of industrial districts in promoting innovation, as already revealed by literature (diffusion of knowledge, social capital and trust, efficient networking), are also keys to success in the Tuscan shipbuilding industry of pleasure and sporting boats. First, we verify the existence of clusters of shipbuilding in Tuscany, using a specific methodology. Next, in the identified clusters, we analyse three innovative networks financed in a policy to support innovation, and examine whether the typical features of a cluster for promoting innovation are at work, using a questionnaire administered to 71 actors. Finally, we develop a performance analysis of the cluster firms and ascertain whether their different behaviours also lead to different performances. The analysis results show that our case records effects of industrial clustering on innovation capacity, such as the important role given to trust and social capital, the significant worth put in interfirm relations and in each partner’s specific competencies, or even the distinctive performance of firms belonging to a cluster.

How to improve the formal analytic reasoning and scientific motivation in the intellectual training of medical students

A review article of the The New England Journal of Medicine refers that almost a century ago, Abraham Flexner, a research scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, undertook an assessment of medical education in 155 medical schools in operation in the United States and Canada. Flexner’s report emphasized the nonscientific approach of American medical schools to preparation for the profession, which contrasted with the university-based system of medical education in Germany. At the core of Flexner’s view was the notion that formal analytic reasoning, the kind of thinking integral to the natural sciences, should hold pride of place in the intellectual training of physicians. This idea was pioneered at Harvard University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1880s, but was most fully expressed in the educational program at Johns Hopkins University, which Flexner regarded as the ideal for medical education. (...)

Control of schistosomiasis transmission

Despite the success of control programmes, schistosomiasis is still a serious public health problem in the world. More than 70 countries where 200 million individuals are evaluated to be infected of a total 600 million at risk. Though there have been important local success in the control of transmission, globally the infection has increased. Economic constrains in developing countries, environmental changes associated with migration and water resources development have been blocking the progress. The main objective of schistosomiasis control is to achieve reduction of disease due to schistosomiasis. We discussed the control measures like: health education, diagnosis and chemotherapy, safe water supplies, sanitation and snail control. We emphasized the need to give priority to school-age children and the importance of integrating the measures of control into locally available systems of health care. The control of schistosomiasis is directly related to the capacity of the preventive health services of an endemic country. The strategy of control requires long-term commitment from the international to the local level.

Oxygen consumption in offspring tawny owls Strix aluco is associated with colour morph of foster mother

In several colour polymorphic species, morphs differ in thermoregulation either because dark and pale surfaces absorb solar radiation to a different extent and/or because morphs differ in key metabolic processes. Morph-specific thermoregulation may potentially account for the observation that differently coloured individuals are frequently not randomly distributed among habitats, and differ in many respects, including behaviour, morphology, survival and reproductive success. In a wild population of the colour polymorphic tawny owl Strix aluco, a recent cross-fostering experiment showed that offspring raised and born from red mothers were heavier than those from grey mothers. In the present study, we tested in the same individuals whether these morph-specific offspring growth patterns were associated with a difference in metabolic rate between offspring of red and grey mothers. For this purpose, we measured nestling oxygen consumption under two different temperatures (laboratory measurements: 4 and 20 degrees C), and examined the relationships between these data sets and the colour morph of foster and biological mothers. After controlling for nestling body mass, oxygen consumption at 20 degrees C was greater in foster offspring raised by grey foster mothers. No relationship was found between nestling oxygen consumption and coloration of their biological mother. Therefore, our study indicates that in our experiment offspring raised by grey foster mothers showed not only a lower body mass than offspring raised by red foster mothers, but also consumed more oxygen under warm temperature. This further indicates that rearing conditions in nests of grey mothers were more stressful than in nests of red mothers.

Invading freshwater snails and biological control in Martinique Island, French West Indies

Eight alien freshwater snail species were introduced into Martinique Island during the last 50 years. The introduced snails include four planorbids (Biomphalaria straminea, Helisoma duryi, Amerianna carinata and Gyraulus sp.), three thiarids (Melanoides tuberculata, M. amabilis and Tarebia granifera) and one ampullarid (Marisa cornuarietis). Four of these species rapidly colonized the whole Martinican hydrographic system whereas the other four remained restricted to some particular sites. The invasion processes were documented during the last 20 years and showed (i) a rapid invasion of the island by several morphs of M. tuberculata at the beginning of the 80's; (ii) the introduction of T. granifera in 1991 and M. amabilis in 1997; and (iii) the rapid spread of these last two species throughout the island. In the years following its introduction, M. tuberculata was used in biological control experiments against the snail hosts of schistosomiasis, B. glabrata and B. straminea. Experiments were conducted with success in several groups of water-cress beds which constituted the latest transmission sites for schistosomiasis at the beginning of the 80's. A malacological survey carried out in 2000 all over the island showed the absence of B. glabrata but the presence of some residual populations of B. straminea. Long-term studies carried out in Martinique have shown that the thiarids are able to maintain relatively stable populations over a long period of time, thus preventing recolonization by the snail hosts. Within this context the invasion of the hydrographic system of Martinique by thiarid snails has resulted in an efficient and sustainable control of the intermediate hosts of schistosomiasis.

Domiciliation Trend of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus in Colombia

The present paper presents evidence of the domiciliation of Panstrongylus rufotuberculatus in La Gardenia, Colombia through the collection of 2 unhatched eggs, 81 nymphs and 10 adults (4 males and 6 females), from 2 rural houses. The transmission risk indicators of Trypanosoma cruzi by P. rufotuberculatus in La Gardenia, were: domiciliary infestation 7.5%, density 2.35, colonization 66.6%, overcrowding 31.33, natural infection 4.6%, and relative infection 2.5%. These results and findings in Peru and Argentina, show that P. rufotuberculatus has a potential success in domiciliation and could some day become an alternate vector of American trypanosomiasis.

Fermanagh - Your Life in Your Hands

This project intends to build on the success in equipping individuals with mental health problems, who are obese, with the skills necessary to make healthier lifestyle choices.Particpants will work as a group and support each other. A range of sessions were held on health issues of importance to clients (stress, exercise, mental health) through information workshops, training, pharmacy clinics, cooking etc. For the participants involved in the project their confidence has grown and they are able to share their learning with others at the centre. The clients are aware of other services and how to access them. The pharmacist role played a visit to the doctors to help clients get the best out of their appointment. The mental health of those involved has also imporved and has spurred them on to make changes in their overall lifestyle.

When Cooperation Stumbles: the effects of grades on indicators of cooperation

(English Abstract) In western societies, grades are to date the most widespread means by which achievement and performance are assessed in educational contexts. Grades are used for their capacity to provide individuals with a clear indicator of success or failure, in particular in comparison to others; in this respect, we study their impact on particular work contexts requiring cooperation. Indeed, students are often exhorted to cooperate and work in groups, while at the same time assessed with grades and focused on inter-individual comparison. However, to the best of our knowledge, no work has investigated the effects of grades on cooperation and on indicators of cooperation, a central question to be addressed given its significance for educational trends encouraging cooperative practices, and which we propose to explore in the experimental parts of this thesis. The first experimental chapter, Chapter 4, investigates the effect of grades with regards to their capacity to highlight individual visibility and at the same time social comparison. It tries to disentangle which of these facets could affect a motivated bias likely to reduce cooperation, namely individuals' preference for information confirming their own choice. In two experiments, results showed that a graded-cooperative situation increased this preference effect in comparison to other conditions where only individual visibility was manipulated, and furthermore increased individuals' perception of a competitive atmosphere. Chapter 5 investigates the effect of grades on direct cooperative inter- individual interactions, namely on group information sharing. Two experiments showed that grades hindered informational communication between individuals, leading them to withhold crucial task-information. Finally, Chapter 6 investigates the effects of grades on another indicator of group cooperation, namely inter-individual coordination. Results indicated that showcasing grades at the onset of a cooperative task necessitating inter-individual coordination decreased group performance and elicited more negative dominant behaviours amongst participants. Together these results provide evidence that grades hamper group cooperation. We conclude by discussing implications for the practice of grading in Education. ------------------------------------------------------- (Résumé en langue française) Dans la plupart des pays occidentaux, les notes sont majoritairement utilisées pour évaluer la performance et rendre compte de la réussite scolaire des individus. Dans cette perspective, elles sont non seulement un indicateur de succès ou d'échec, mais aussi de la valeur comparative des individus. Dans cette thèse nous proposons de tester l'effet des notes lorsque celles-ci sont utilisées dans des contextes bien spécifiques de coopération. En effet, si les notes et la comparaison sociale sont pratique courante, les étudiants sont souvent encouragés et amenés à coopérer en groupe. Cependant, à notre connaissance, point d'études ont testé l'effet des notes sur la coopération; études qui seraient pourtant légitimes étant donné la tendance existante en milieu éducatif à encourager les pratiques coopératives. C'est précisément ce que proposent de faire les chapitres expérimentaux de cette thèse. Le premier (Chapitre 4) teste l'effet des notes au regard de leur capacité à accentuer à la fois la visibilité et la comparaison sociale. Deux expériences investiguent l'effet des notes et tentent de démêler ce qui, de la visibilité individuelle, de la comparaison sociale ou des deux, pourrait affecter un biais motivationnel qui réduit la propension à coopérer: la propension à préférer les informations qui confirment les choix de l'individu. Les résultats montrent qu'en situation coopérative, les notes accroissent ce biais comparativement à des situations où seule la visibilité individuelle est soulignée, suggérant de plus que les notes produisent une focalisation des individus sur une comparaison sociale compétitive. Le second (Chapitre 5) teste l'effet des notes sur les interactions coopératives des individus, précisément sur le partage d'information. Deux expériences montrent que dans un contexte de travail en groupe coopératif, les notes entravent le bon partage des informations entre individus, les amenant à faire de la rétention d'information. Enfin, le troisième (Chapitre 6) investigue l'effet des notes sur un autre indicateur de coopération en groupe: la coordination interindividuelle. Les résultats montrent que les notes réduisent la coordination des individus et les mènent à avoir des comportements de dominance négative entre eux. En somme, les notes entravent la coopération et réduisent les comportements coopératifs entre individus. Enfin, nous discutons des implications pour le milieu éducatif.

National Strategy for Higher Education 2030

Ireland’s higher education system has played a major role in the development of Irish society and the economy, and has an even more critical role to play in the coming decades as we seek to rebuild an innovative knowledge-based economy that will provide sustainable employment opportunities and good standards of living for all our citizens. Its role in enabling every citizen to realise their full potential and in generating new ideas through research are and will be the foundation for wider developments in society. The development of the higher education system in the years to 2030 will take place initially in an environment of severe constraints on public finances. Demand to invest in education to support job creation and innovation, and to help people back into employment is increasing. In the wider world, globalisation, technological advancement and innovation are defining economic development, people are much more mobile internationally as they seek out career opportunities, and competition for foreign direct investment remains intense.

National Strategy for Higher Education 2030 - Summary

Ireland’s higher education system has played a major role in the development of Irish society and the economy, and has an even more critical role to play in the coming decades as we seek to rebuild an innovative knowledge-based economy that will provide sustainable employment opportunities and good standards of living for all our citizens. Its role in enabling every citizen to realise their full potential and in generating new ideas through research are and will be the foundation for wider developments in society. The development of the higher education system in the years to 2030 will take place initially in an environment of severe constraints on public finances. Demand to invest in education to support job creation and innovation, and to help people back into employment is increasing. In the wider world, globalisation, technological advancement and innovation are defining economic development, people are much more mobile internationally as they seek out career opportunities, and competition for foreign direct investment remains intense.

Evolution of life history traits in a natural population of the shrew Crocidura russula

Abstract Life history traits encompass all the decisions concerning fitness an individual is faced with during his life. The study of these traits is crucial to understand the factors shaping the biology of living organisms. Up until now, most of the information on the evolution of life history traits comes from laboratory studies. While these studies are interesting to test the effect of specific parameters, their conclusions are difficult to extrapolate to natural populations. Investigating the evolution of life history traits in natural populations is of great interest. This may be tricky because it requires information on reproduction, survival and morphology of individuals. Mark-recapture methods allow most of this information to be obtained. However, when direct observations of a species are not possible due to its ecology, indirect methods must be used to infer lifetime reproductive success. In this case, molecular markers are particularly helpful in assessing the genetic relationships between individuals and allow the construction of a pedigree. This thesis focuses on a natural population of a small insectivorous mammal, the greater white-toothed shrew, Crocidura russula. Because of its hidden lifestyle, the two complementary techniques mentioned above were combined to gather information on this population. The data were used to explore diverse aspects of evolutionary biology. We demonstrated that the high genetic variance displayed by the species was not maintained by its mating system because this shrew was less monogamous than previously thought. The large genetic diversity was most likely promoted by gene flow from the neighborhood. Dispersal was thus a central topic in this thesis. We showed that dispersal was not driven by inbreeding avoidance. In addition, we did not find any inbreeding depression in the population. Dispersal was promoted by a high number of vacant territories in the population for both sexes, meaning that territory acquisition played an important role in driving dispersal. Moreover, dispersal propensity was shown to have a genetic basis and, once achieved, to have no effect on individual fitness. Body mass was found to be a life history trait strongly influenced by sexual and viability selection in both sexes. Larger individuals had higher access to reproduction through territory acquisition and defense than lighter ones. By contrast, intermediate size individuals were favored by viability selection presumably because of ecological constraints and metabolic costs. Finally, we demonstrated that the majority of the life history traits in our shrew population has the potential to evolve because they maintained substantial amounts of additive genetic variance. Nonetheless, life history traits had no significant heritability due to their high level of nonadditive or environmental variance. Résumé Les traits d'histoire de vie comprennent toutes les décisions auxquelles un individu est confronté au cours de sa vie et qui concernent sa valeur adaptative. L'étude de ces traits est cruciale pour comprendre les facteurs qui façonnent la biologie des êtres vivants. Jusqu'à ce jour, la majorité des informations sur l'évolution des traits d'histoire de vie provient d'études réalisées en laboratoire. Alors que ces études sont intéressantes pour tester l'effet de paramètres spécifiques, leurs conclusions sont difficilement extrapolables aux populations naturelles. Il est particulièrement intéressant d'étudier l'évolution des traits d'histoire de vie dans des populations naturelles. Toutefois, ces études peuvent se révéler difficiles parce qu'elles requièrent des informations sur la reproduction, la survie et la morphologie des individus. Des méthodes de marquage-recapture permettent d'obtenir ces informations. Cependant, lorsque l'écologie de l'espèce rend les obervations directes impossibles, des méthodes indirectes doivent être utilisées pour obtenir le succès reproducteur des individus. Dans ce cas, les marqueurs moléculaires sont particulièrement utiles pour évaluer les relations génétiques entre individus et permettre la construction d'un pedigree. Cette thèse porte sur une population naturelle d'un petit mammifère insectivore, la musaraigne musette, Crocidura russula. Parce que cette espèce présente un mode de vie souterrain, les deux techniques complémentaires mentionnées ci-dessus ont été combinées pour acquérir les informations nécessaires. Les données ont été utilisées pour explorer divers aspects de biologie evolutive. Nous avons montré que la grande quantité de variance génétique trouvée chez cette espèce n'est pas maintenue par son système d'appariement. Celle-ci s'est en effet avérée être moins monogame que ce qui était admis jusqu'ici. Sa grande diversité génétique est plutôt entretenue par le flux de gènes provenant du voisinage. La dispersion a donc été un sujet phare dans cette thèse. Nous avons montré qu'elle n'est pas provoquée par un évitement de la consanguinité et nous n'avons pas trouvé de dépression de consanguité dans notre population. L'acquisition d'un territoire joue par contre un rôle important dans la dispersion. En outre, la dispersion possède une base génétique chez cette espèce. De plus, une fois qu'ils ont dispersé, les individus n'ont pas une valeur adaptative differente d'individus philopatriques. Le poids s'est avéré être un trait d'histoire de vie fortement influencé par la sélection sexuelle et de viabilité chez les deux sexes. Les gros individus ont accès à la reproduction parce qu'ils acquièrent et défendent un territoire plus facilement que les plus légers. Au contraire, les individus de taille intermédiaire sont favorisés par la sélection de viabilité, certainement à cause de contraintes écologiques et de coûts métaboliques. Finalement, nous avons montré que la majorité des traits d'histoire de vie dans notre population a le potentiel d'évoluer parce qu'elle maintient des quantités considérables de variance génétique additive. Néanmoins, l'héritabilité de ces traits d'histoire de vie n'est pas significative à cause de la grande quantité de variance non-additive ou environmentale associée à ces traits.