The temporal priority principle: at what age does this develop?

The temporal priority principle states that all causes must precede their effects. It is widely assumed that children's causal reasoning is guided by this principle from early in development. However, the empirical studies that have examined children's use of the principle, most of which were conducted some decades ago, in fact show inconsistent findings. Some researchers have argued that 3-year-olds reliably use this principle, whereas others have suggested that it is not until 5 years that children properly grasp the inviolability of the principle. To examine this issue, 100 children, 50 three-year-olds, and 50 four-year-olds, took part in a study in which they had to judge which of two causes yielded an effect. In the task, children saw one event (A), an effect (E), and then another event (B). The events A and B involved the rolling of balls down runways, and the effect E was a Jack-in-a-box popping up. The extent to which E left a visible trace was also varied, because comparisons across previous studies suggested that this may affect performance. As a group, 3- and 4-year-olds performed at above-chance levels, but performance improved with age. The nature of the effect did not have a significant impact on performance. Although some previous studies suggested that 3-year-olds may be more likely to choose B rather than A as a cause due to a recency effect, we found no evidence of this pattern of performance in the younger group. Potential explanations of the age-related improvement in performance are discussed. © 2013 Desmet.

Experimental and numerical studies on rock breaking with TBM tools under high stress confinement

The understanding of rock breaking and chipping due to the TBM cutter disks mechanism in deep tunnels is considered in this paper. The interest stems from the use of TBMs for the excavation of long Trans-Alpine tunnels. Some tests that simulate the disk cutter action at the tunnel face by means of an indenter, acting on a rock specimen are proposed. The rock specimen is confined through a flat-jack and a confinement-free area on one side of the specimen simulates the formation of a groove near the indenter, like it occurs in TBM excavation conditions. Results show a limited influence of the confinement stress versus the thrust increment required for breaking the rock between the indenter and the free side of the specimen. Numerical modelling of the cutter disk action on confined material has also been carried out in order to investigate further aspects of the fracture initiation. Also in this case the importance of the relative position between disk cutter and groove is pointed out. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.

An efficient Cu(II)-bis(oxazoline)-based polymer immobilised ionic liquid phase catalyst for asymmetric carbon–carbon bond formation

The asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction between N-acryloyloxazolidinone and cyclopentadiene and the Mukaiyama-aldol reaction between methylpyruvate and 1-phenyl-1-trimethylsilyloxyethene have been catalysed by heterogeneous copper(II)-bis(oxazoline)-based polymer immobilised ionic liquid phase (PIILP) systems generated from a range of linear and cross linked ionic polymers. In both reactions selectivity and ee were strongly influenced by the choice of polymer. A comparison of the performance of a range of Cu(II)-bis(oxazoline)-PIILP catalyst systems against analogous supported ionic liquid phase (SILP) heterogeneous catalysts as well as their homogeneous counterparts has been undertaken and their relative merits evaluated.

Anastrozole for prevention of breast cancer in high-risk postmenopausal women (IBIS-II): an international, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Aromatase inhibitors effectively prevent breast cancer recurrence and development of new contralateral tumours in postmenopausal women. We assessed the efficacy and safety of the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole for prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are at high risk of the disease.

Nurses' experiences providing palliative care to individuals living in rural communities aspects of the physical residential setting

Introduction: Efforts are needed to improve palliative care in rural communities, given the unique characteristics and inherent challenges with respect to working within the physical aspects of residential settings. Nurses who work in rural communities play a key role in the delivery of palliative care services. Hence, the purpose of this study was to explore nurses’ experiences of providing palliative care in rural communities, with a particular focus on the impact of the physical residential setting.

Methods: This study was grounded in a qualitative approach utilizing an exploratory descriptive design. Individual telephone interviews were conducted with 21 community nurses. Data were analyzed by thematic content analysis.

Results: Nurses described the characteristics of working in a rural community and how it influences their perception of their role, highlighting the strong sense of community that exists but how system changes over the past decade have changed the way they provide care. They also described the key role that they play, which was often termed a ‘jack of all trades’, but focused on providing emotional, physical, and spiritual care while trying to manage many challenges related to transitioning and working with other healthcare providers. Finally, nurses described how the challenges of working within the physical constraints of a rural residential setting impeded their care provision to clients who are dying in the community, specifically related to the long distances that they travel while dealing with bad weather.

Risk of myeloid neoplasms after solid organ transplantation

Solid organ transplant recipients have elevated cancer risks, owing in part to pharmacologic immunosuppression. However, little is known about risks for hematologic malignancies of myeloid origin. We linked the US Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients with 15 population-based cancer registries to ascertain cancer occurrence among 207 859 solid organ transplants (1987–2009). Solid organ transplant recipients had a significantly elevated risk for myeloid neoplasms, with standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of 4.6 (95% confidence interval 3.8–5.6; N=101) for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), 2.7 (2.2–3.2; N=125) for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 2.3 (1.6–3.2; N=36) for chronic myeloid leukemia and 7.2 (5.4–9.3; N=57) for polycythemia vera. SIRs were highest among younger individuals and varied by time since transplantation and organ type (Poisson regression P<0.05 for all comparisons). Azathioprine for initial maintenance immunosuppression increased risk for MDS (P=0.0002) and AML (2–5 years after transplantation, P=0.0163). Overall survival following AML/MDS among transplant recipients was inferior to that of similar patients reported to US cancer registries (log-rank P<0.0001). Our novel finding of increased risks for specific myeloid neoplasms after solid organ transplantation supports a role for immune dysfunction in myeloid neoplasm etiology. The increased risks and inferior survival should heighten clinician awareness of myeloid neoplasms during follow-up of transplant recipients.

Feasibility trial of a film-based educational intervention for increasing boy's and girl's intentions to avoid teenage pregnancy: study protocol

The World Health Organisation, amongst others, recognises that adolescent men have a vital yet neglected role in reducing teenage pregnancies and that there is a pressing need for educational interventions designed especially for them. This study seeks to fill this gap by determining the feasibility of conducting an effectiveness trial of the If I Were Jack intervention in post-primary schools. This 4-week intervention aims to increase teenagers' intentions to avoid unintended pregnancy and addresses gender inequalities in sex education by explicitly focusing on young men. A cluster randomised feasibility trial with embedded process evaluation will determine: recruitment, participation and retention rates; quality of implementation; acceptability and feasibility of the intervention and trial procedures; and costs. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Report of the workshop for life detection in samples from Mars

The question of whether there is or was life on Mars has been one of the most pivotal since Schiaparellis' telescopic observations of the red planet. With the advent of the space age, this question can be addressed directly by exploring the surface of Mars and by bringing samples to Earth for analysis. The latter, however, is not free of problems. Life can be found virtually everywhere on Earth. Hence the potential for contaminating the Mars samples and compromising their scientific integrity is not negligible. Conversely, if life is present in samples from Mars, this may represent a potential source of extraterrestrial biological contamination for Earth. A range of measures and policies, collectively termed ‘planetary protection’, are employed to minimise risks and thereby prevent undesirable consequences for the terrestrial biosphere. This report documents discussions and conclusions from a workshop held in 2012, which followed a public conference focused on current capabilities for performing life-detection studies on Mars samples. The workshop focused on the evaluation of Mars samples that would maximise scientific productivity and inform decision making in the context of planetary protection. Workshop participants developed a strong consensus that the same measurements could be employed to effectively inform both science and planetary protection, when applied in the context of two competing hypotheses: 1) that there is no detectable life in the samples; or 2) that there is martian life in the samples. Participants then outlined a sequence for sample processing and defined analytical methods that would test these hypotheses. They also identified critical developments to enable the analysis of samples from Mars.

The not-so-Irish spurge: Euphorbia hyberna (Euphorbiaceae) and the Littletonian plant ‘steeplechase’

The disjunct distributions of the Lusitanian flora, which are found only in south-west Ireland and northern Iberia, and are generally absent from intervening regions, have been of great interest to biogeographers. There has been much debate as to whether Irish populations represent relicts that survived the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; approximately 21 kya), or whether they recolonized from southern refugia subsequent to the retreat of the ice and, if so, whether this occurred directly (i.e. the result of long distance dispersal) or successively (i.e. in the manner of a ‘steeplechase’, with the English Channel and Irish Sea representing successive ‘water-jumps’ that have to be successfully crossed). In the present study, we used a combined palaeodistribution modelling and phylogeographical approach to determine the glacial history of the Irish spurge, Euphorbia hyberna, the sole member of the Lusitanian flora that is also considered to occur naturally in south-western England. Our findings suggest that the species persisted through the LGM in several southern refugia, and that northern populations are the result of successive recolonization of Britain and Ireland during the postglacial Littletonian warm stage, akin to the ‘steeplechase’ hypothesis.

Generation of metallosupramolecular polymer gels from multiply functionalized grid-type complexes

A ditopic ligand (1), containing two tridentate bis(acylhydrazone) subunits and bearing both long alkyl chains and hydrogen-bonding groups, has been synthesised. Metal cation binding in the presence of a base leads to hierarchical self-assembly, forming first a neutral [2 x 2] grid-type complex (2) that hierarchically assembles into metallosupramolecular polymer gels in toluene.

The radiated energy budget of Chromospheric Plasma in a major solar flare deduced from multi-wavelength observations

This paper presents measurements of the energy radiated by the lower solar atmosphere, at optical, UV, and EUV wavelengths, during an X-class solar flare (SOL2011-02-15T01:56) in response to an injection of energy assumed to be in the form of nonthermal electrons. Hard X-ray observations from RHESSI were used to track the evolution of the parameters of the nonthermal electron distribution to reveal the total power contained in flare accelerated electrons. By integrating over the duration of the impulsive phase, the total energy contained in the nonthermal electrons was found to be >2 × 1031 erg. The response of the lower solar atmosphere was measured in the free–bound EUV continua of H i (Lyman), He i, and He ii, plus the emission lines of He ii at 304 Å and H i (Lyα) at 1216 Å by SDO/EVE, the UV continua at 1600 Å and 1700 Å by SDO/AIA, and the white light continuum at 4504 Å, 5550 Å, and 6684 Å, along with the Ca ii H line at 3968 Å using Hinode/SOT. The summed energy detected by these instruments amounted to ~3 × 1030 erg; about 15% of the total nonthermal energy. The Lyα line was found to dominate the measured radiative losses. Parameters of both the driving electron distribution and the resulting chromospheric response are presented in detail to encourage the numerical modeling of flare heating for this event, to determine the depth of the solar atmosphere at which these line and continuum processes originate, and the mechanism(s) responsible for their generation.