Things in the library 15th Sept...

Things for sale...
Book sale @Illingworth Library
We now have on sale some old editions of books which we have replaced with newer stock. Please note that books are sold on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved, however special arrangements may be arranged for SCH staff who are not based at the Western Bank site.
If you are interested in purchasing any items please come to the Illingworth Library, F Floor, Stephenson Wing, and ask at the counter.
If you would like to see a list of the items available please email us.
Payment may be made in cash /cheque or arrangements can be made to pay by card if over a £5.00 minimum charge  - card payments will be processed via the general office between 9.00am and 4.30pm (closed for lunch 12.30-1.30pm)
Please note that no book sales will be possible within 30 minutes of our closing times.
Our opening hours are: Mon - Thurs 8:45 until 19:00 and Friday 8:45 until 17:00

Things about childhood...
The Good Childhood Report 2017, produced in partnership with the University of York, is the sixth in a series of annual reports published by The Children’s Society about how children in the UK feel about their lives. The report examines the latest trends in well-being over time, explanations for gender patterns in well-being, and insights into how multiple experiences of disadvantage are linked to children’s well-being.
The latest report shows that young people’s happiness is at its lowest since 2010. Fear of crime, living in a family struggling to pay the bills and not having enough emotional support at home are just some of the serious problems that leave teenagers more likely to be unhappy. Teenagers with more than seven serious problems in their life are ten times more likely to feel unhappy than those with none.

Things about health and work in degree courses...
A study mapping the coverage of health and work topics in healthcare and business degree courses.
The study mapped the coverage of six core health and work topics in a selection of business, healthcare and social work courses in England. This included examining:

• Perceptions among course leaders on the importance of health & work topics for particular healthcare and business occupations;
• The extent to which health and work was included in course objectives and curricula;
• How health and work topics are assessed; and
• Factors influencing the teaching of health and work.

The healthcare courses examined in the study included undergraduate career-entry provision for medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health professionals (AHP) and social work. The business courses examined in the study included both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, with a particular focus on Masters of Business Administration (MBA) courses.

Things about constipation...

A recent article in Acta Paediatrica looked at 'Physical activity may decrease the likelihood of children developing constipation'

AIM: Childhood constipation is common. We evaluated children diagnosed with constipation, who were referred to an Icelandic paediatric emergency department, and determined the effect of lifestyle factors on its aetiology.

METHODS: The parents of children who were diagnosed with constipation and participated in a phase IIB clinical trial on laxative suppositories answered an online questionnaire about their children's lifestyle and constipation in March-April 2013. The parents of non-constipated children that visited the paediatric department of Landspitali University Hospital or an Icelandic outpatient clinic answered the same questionnaire.

RESULTS: We analysed responses regarding 190 children aged 1-18 years: 60 with constipation and 130 without. We found that 40% of the constipated children had recurrent symptoms, 27% had to seek medical attention more than once and 33% received medication per rectum. The 47/130 control group subjects aged 10-18 were much more likely to exercise more than three times a week (72%) and for more than a hour (62%) than the 26/60 constipated children of the same age (42% and 35%, respectively).

CONCLUSION: Constipation risk factors varied with age and many children diagnosed with constipation had recurrent symptoms. Physical activity may affect the likelihood of developing constipation in older children. 

Things about neonatal sleep...

A recent article about sleep/wake patterns in neonates in Sleep journal 'Neonatal sleep-wake analyses predict 18-month neurodevelopmental outcomes'

The neurological examination of critically ill neonates is largely limited to reflexive behavior. The exam often ignores sleep-wake physiology that may reflect brain integrity and influence long-term outcomes. We assessed whether polysomnography and concurrent cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) might improve prediction of 18-month neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Methods

Term newborns with suspected seizures underwent standardized neurologic examinations to generate Thompson scores, and had 12-hour bedside polysomnography with concurrent cerebral NIRS. For each infant, the distribution of sleep-wake stages and electroencephalogram delta power were computed. NIRS-derived fractional tissue oxygen extraction (FTOE) was calculated across sleep-wake stages. At age 18–22 months, surviving subjects were evaluated with Bayley Scales of Infant Development (Bayley-III), 3rd edition.

Results

Twenty-nine subjects completed the Bayley-III. Increased newborn time in quiet sleep predicted worse 18-month cognitive and motor scores (robust regression models, adjusted r2=0.22, p=0.007, and 0.27, 0.004, respectively). Decreased 0.5–2 Hz EEG power during quiet sleep predicted worse 18-month language and motor scores (adjusted r2=0.25, p=0.0005, and 0.33, 0.001, respectively). Predictive value remained significant after adjustment for neonatal Thompson scores or exposure to phenobarbital. Similarly, an attenuated difference in FTOE, between neonatal wakefulness and quiet sleep, predicted worse 18-month cognitive, language, and motor scores in adjusted analyses (each p<0.05).

Conclusions

These prospective, longitudinal data suggest that inefficient neonatal sleep – as quantified by increased time in quiet sleep, lower electroencephalogram delta power during that stage, and muted differences in FTOE between quiet sleep and wakefulness – may improve prediction of adverse long-term outcomes for newborns with neurological dysfunction.

Things to attend in Sheffield...

Off the shelf  7- 28th October 2017
Now in its 26th year, the 2017 programme includes an array of international, national and local talent who represent diverse, exciting and thought provoking interpretations of the written and spoken word.
The roll call of guests includes; Lee Child, Robert Webb, Brian Blessed, Mark Haddon, George Monbiot, Robert McCrum, Laurie Penny, Stephen McGann, Tariq Ali, Harriet Harman, Hollie McNish, Philip Kerr,  Sunjeev Sahota, Clinton Woods, Michael Rosen, Kate Summerscale, Simon Jenkins, Melvyn Bragg, Jenni Murray, Henry Blofeld, Chris Difford, Tim Dowling, John O’Farrell, Peggy Seeger and many more.
Have a look at the brochure and visit the new website at www.offtheshelf.org.uk where you will find easy links to the box office to make your bookings.

Things to do with a butternut squash...

I had a comedy accident with a large butternut squash this week (details on request) so to get my own back on the squash family I thought I would share one of my very favourite recipes of all time 'Butternut squash & sage risotto' ...be careful! It put me in mind of this famous and still very funny Hoffnung sketch - though no wheelbarrows were involved in my incident.