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INTRODUCTION: There is a lack of standard nomenclature and a limited understanding of programmes and services delivered to people in prisons as they transition into the community to support their integration and reduce reoffending related risk factors. The aim of this paper is to outline the protocol for a modified Delphi study designed to develop expert consensus on the nomenclature and best-practice principles of programmes and services for people transitioning from prison into the community. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: An online, two-phase modified Delphi process will be conducted to develop an expert consensus on nomenclature and the best-practice principles for these programmes. In the preparatory phase, a questionnaire was developed comprising a list of potential best-practice statements identified from a systematic literature search. Subsequently, a heterogeneous sample of experts including service providers, Community and Justice Services, Not for Profits, First Nations stakeholders, those with lived experience, researchers and healthcare providers will participate in the consensus building phase (online survey rounds and online meeting) to achieve consensus on nomenclature and best-practice principles. Participants will indicate, via Likert scale, to what extent they agree with nomenclature and best-practice statements. If at least 80% of the experts agree to a term or statement (indicated via Likert scale), it will be included in a final list of nomenclature and best-practice statements. Statements will be excluded if 80% experts disagree. Nomenclature and statements not meeting positive or negative consensus will be explored in a facilitated online meeting. Approval from experts will be sought on the final list of nomenclature and best-practice statements. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been received from the Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network Human Research Ethics Committee, the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council Huma

Infertility affects millions of people globally. Although an estimated 1 in 6 couples in Australia are unable to conceive without medical intervention, little is known about the mental health impacts of infertility. This study investigated how infertility impacts the mental health of women. The study used nationally representative Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) data. We analysed data from survey periods 2-8 conducted every three years between 2000 and 2018 for 6582 women born in 1973-78. We used a Generalised Equation Modelling (GEE) method to investigate the association of primary, secondary and resolved fertility status and psychological distress over time. Multiple measures were used to measure psychological distress: the (1) the mental health index subscale of the 36-item short form survey (SF-36), (2) the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), (3) the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADanx) anxiety subscale; and a (4) composite psychological distress variable. About a third (30%) of women reported infertility at any of the survey rounds; a steady increase over 18 years from 1.7% at round 2 to 19.3% at round 8. Half of the women reporting primary or secondary infertility reported psychological distress, with the odds of having psychological distress was higher in women reporting primary (odds ratio (OR) 1.24, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.06-1.45), secondary (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.46) or resolved infertility (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.05-1.26) compared to women reporting normal fertility status. Women with partners, underweight or higher BMI, smoking, and high-risk alcohol use had higher odds of psychological distress, whereas women in paid work had significantly lower odds of psychological distress (p < 0.001). Diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, and other chronic physical illness were independently associated with higher odds of psychological distress. Infertility has a significant impact on mental health ev

BACKGROUND: Women in prison are a vulnerable group, often with a history of abuse, out-of-home care, mental health problems and unemployment. Many are mothers when they become involved in the criminal justice system and their gender and parenting related needs are often not considered. The aim of this rapid review was to thematically synthesize the existing research on the needs and experiences of mothers while in, and following release from, prison in Australia. METHODS: We conducted a rapid systematic search of electronic databases, search engines, the websites of key agencies, and contacted key agencies and researchers. RESULTS: Twenty-two publications from 12 studies met the inclusion criteria and were thematically synthesized in relation to the mothers, their children, family and community, and systems and services which mothers had contact with. We found that mothers in prison have a history of disadvantage which is perpetuated by the trauma of imprisonment. Release from prison is a particularly challenging time for mothers. In relation to their children, the included studies showed that the imprisonment of mothers impacts their maternal identity and role and disrupts the mother-child relationship. Specific strategies are needed to maintain the mother-child relationship, and to ensure the needs and rights of the child are met. In relation to family and community, we found that although family and social support is an important need of women in prison, such support may not be available. Moreover, the stigma associated with having been in prison is a significant barrier to transitions into the community, including finding employment and housing. In relation to systems and services, although limited services exist to support women in prison and on release, these often do not consider the parenting role. Evaluations of parenting programs in prison found them to be acceptable and beneficial to participants but barriers to access limit the number of women who can pa

Syngas, from biomass gasification, needs to be purified of condensible tars before being used as a fuel for spark ignition engines. A novel tar tolerant system is being developed, wherein a (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) HCCI engine is fueled by impure syngas at intake temperatures above the tar dew point, thus avoiding the condensation of tars and its consequent problems. This paper introduces the novel concept and studies the sensitivities of HCCI combustion to key context relevant issues such as the variations in the combustible composition (H2:CO ratio from 30:70 to 55:45%), moisture (upto 12% by volume) and tars (from 3 to 17 g/Nm3) at the intake temperatures of around 250 °C. The effects of intake temperatures (230–270 °C) and pressures (1.0–1.2 bar) are also studied. The experiments are carried out with artificial syngas on a 435 cc mono-cylinder HCCI engine with a compression ratio of 12 and operated at 1500 RPM. Indicated efficiencies about 34% and Indicated Mean Effective Pressures about 2.5 bar were achieved at equivalence ratios between 0.3 and 0.34. In the tested ranges, moisture delayed the combustion while the effect of tars were insignificant.

1 juni 2010, Contains fulltext : 88839.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access), AIMS: Medullary carcinomas (MCs) represent a rare breast cancer subtype associated with a rather favourable prognosis compared with invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs). Due to histopathological overlap, MCs are frequently misclassified as high-grade IDCs, potentially leading to overtreatment of MCs. Our aim was to establish novel diagnostic markers distinguishing MCs from hormone receptor-negative high-grade IDCs. METHODS AND RESULTS: Sixty-one MCs and 133 hormone receptor-negative IDCs were analysed in a comparative immunohistochemical study. Applied markers included a comprehensive panel of cytokeratins (CKs), vimentin, smooth muscle actin (SMA), p63, p53, cell adhesion molecules [N-CAM (CD56), syndecan-1 (CD138), E-cadherin and P-cadherin] and development associated transcription factors (AP-2 alpha, AP-2 gamma). A significantly higher proportion of IDCs displayed increased expression of CK7, AP-2 alpha and HER2 in contrast to MCs (CK7: 91% of IDCs versus 77% of MCs; AP-2 alpha: 77% versus 57%; and HER2: 26% versus 7%, each P < 0.01). Vice versa, MCs were slightly more frequently positive for SMA and vimentin (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Hormone receptor-negative high-grade IDCs are significantly associated with luminal differentiation, Her2 and AP-2 alpha overexpression, whereas MCs tend to display myoepithelial features. Markers analysed in this study are of diagnostic value regarding the differential diagnosis of MCs.

BACKGROUND: Y-box binding protein-1 (YB-1) is the prototypic member of the cold shock protein family that fulfills numerous cellular functions. In the nucleus YB-1 protein orchestrates transcription of proliferation-related genes, whereas in the cytoplasm it associates with mRNA and directs translation. In human tumor entities, such as breast, lung and prostate cancer, cellular YB-1 expression indicates poor clinical outcome, suggesting that YB-1 is an attractive marker to predict patients' prognosis and, potentially, is suitable to individualize treatment protocols. Given these predictive qualities of YB-1 detection we sought to establish a highly specific monoclonal antibody (Mab) for diagnostic testing and its characterization towards outcome prediction (relapse-free and overall survival). METHODS: Hybridoma cell generation was carried out with recombinant YB-1 protein as immunogen and Mab characterization was performed using immunoblotting and ELISA with recombinant and tagged YB-1 proteins, as well as immunohistochemistry of healthy and breast cancer specimens. Breast tumor tissue array staining results were analyzed for correlations with receptor expression and outcome parameters. RESULTS: YB-1-specific Mab F-E2G5 associates with conformational binding epitopes mapping to two domains within the N-terminal half of the protein and detects nuclear YB-1 protein by immunohistochemistry in paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissues. Prognostic evaluation of Mab F-E2G5 was performed by immunohistochemistry of a human breast cancer tissue microarray comprising 179 invasive breast cancers, 8 ductal carcinoma in situ and 37 normal breast tissue samples. Nuclear YB-1 detection in human breast cancer cells was associated with poor overall survival (p = 0.0046). We observed a close correlation between nuclear YB-1 detection and absence of progesterone receptor expression (p = 0.002), indicating that nuclear YB-1 detection marks a specific subgroup of breast cancer. Likely due

Sediment and water can potentially be altered, chemically, physically and biologically as they are sampled at the seafloor, brought to the surface, processed and analysed. As a result, in situ observations of relatively undisturbed systems have become the goal of a growing body of scientists. Our understanding of sediment biogeochemistry and exchange fluxes was revolutionized by the introduction of benthic chambers and in situ micro-electrode profilers that allow for the direct measurement of chemical fluxes between sediment and water at the sea floor and for porewater composition. Since then, rapid progress in the technology of in situ sensors and benthic chambers (such as the introduction of gel probes, voltammetric electrodes or one- and two-dimensional optodes) have yielded major breakthroughs in the scientific understanding of benthic biogeochemistry. This paper is a synthesis of discussions held during the workshop on sediment biogeochemistry at the “Benthic Dynamics: in situ surveillance of the sediment–water interface” international conference (Aberdeen, UK—March 25–29, 2002). We present a review of existing in situ technologies for the study of benthic biogeochemistry dynamics and related scientific applications. Limitations and possible improvement (e.g., technology coupling) of these technologies and future development of new sensors are discussed. There are countless important scientific and technical issues that lend themselves to investigation using in situ benthic biogeochemical assessment. While the increasing availability of these tools will lead research in yet unanticipated directions, a few emerging issues include greater insight into the controls on organic matter (OM) mineralization, better models for the understanding of benthic fluxes to reconcile microelectrode and larger-scale chamber measurements, insight into the impacts of redox changes on trace metal behavior, new insights into geochemical reaction pathways in surface sediments, and a b