Fifteen-minute consultation: diabulimia and disordered eating in childhood diabetes

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a common chronic disease in children and young people. Living with diabetes can pose many challenges both medical and psychological. Disordered eating behaviours, intentional insulin omission and recognised eating disorders are common among young people with diabetes and are associated with increased risk of short-term and long-term complications and death. Recognition of these behaviours is important to ensure that relevant support is provided. Joint working between diabetes and mental health teams has challenges but is essential to ensure all needs are met during treatment and recovery

Algorithmic governance: Developing a research agenda through the power of collective intelligence

We are living in an algorithmic age where mathematics and computer science are coming together in powerful new ways to influence, shape and guide our behaviour and the governance of our societies. As these algorithmic governance structures proliferate, it is vital that we ensure their effectiveness and legitimacy. That is, we need to ensure that they are an effective means for achieving a legitimate policy goal that are also procedurally fair, open and unbiased. But how can we ensure that algorithmic governance structures are both? This article shares the results of a collective intelligence workshop that addressed exactly this question. The workshop brought together a multidisciplinary group of scholars to consider (a) barriers to legitimate and effective algorithmic governance and (b) the research methods needed to address the nature and impact of specific barriers. An interactive management workshop technique was used to harness the collective intelligence of this multidisciplinary group. This method enabled participants to produce a framework and research agenda for those who are concerned about algorithmic governance. We outline this research agenda below, providing a detailed map of key research themes, questions and methods that our workshop felt ought to be pursued. This builds upon existing work on research agendas for critical algorithm studies in a unique way through the method of collective intelligence

The contribution of wet deposition and particulate matter to total copper, lead and zinc in stormwater runoff

Wet deposition is an important process in the removal of heavy metal particulates from the atmosphere. However, the contribution of wet deposition to the total heavy metal deposition flux can vary widely between different airsheds. Understanding the contribution of wet deposition to the total metal deposition flux is important for accurate knowledge of local atmospheric deposition processes, which will subsequently help in the selection of appropriate stormwater treatment and management options. This research monitored Cu, Zn and Pb loads in wet deposition samples and in bulk deposition samples from modular concrete paving slab systems. In conjunction, ambient particulate matter (PM) concentrations were monitored to determine their contribution to the wet deposition flux. All research was conducted in an industrial land-use area in Christchurch, New Zealand. Results showed that wet deposition efficiently removed PM from the atmosphere, but after 1–2.5 antecedent dry days, PM concentrations recovered. Subsequent antecedent dry days, i.e > 1–2.5 d, did not influence PM concentrations. Pb loads in wet deposition were dependent on coarse PM (size range between 2.5 μm and 10 μm) concentrations. This suggested that there was a local source emitting coarse Pb particles into the atmosphere. Wet deposition was an important contributor of dissolved Zn to bulk deposition. However, dry deposition was the greatest source of total Cu, Zn, and Pb loads in bulk deposition. This is principally due to the low annual rainfall in Christ church, which limits pollutant removal via wet deposition unlike dry deposition, which is continually occurring

Role of the DNA Sensor STING in Protection from Lethal Infection following Corneal and Intracerebral Challenge with Herpes Simplex Virus 1

STING is a protein in the cytosolic DNA and cyclic dinucleotide sensor pathway that is critical for the initiation of innate responses to infection by various pathogens. Consistent with this, herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) causes invariable and rapid lethality in STING-deficient (STING(-/-)) mice following intravenous (i.v.) infection. In this study, using real-time bioluminescence imaging and virological assays, as expected, we demonstrated that STING(-/-) mice support greater replication and spread in ocular tissues and the nervous system. In contrast, they did not succumb to challenge via the corneal route even with high titers of a virus that was routinely lethal to STING(-/-) mice by the i.v. route. Corneally infected STING(-/-) mice also showed increased periocular disease and increased corneal and trigeminal ganglia titers, although there was no difference in brain titers. They also showed elevated expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and CXCL9 relative to control mice but surprisingly modest changes in type I interferon expression. Finally, we also showed that HSV strains lacking the ability to counter autophagy and the PKR-driven antiviral state had near-wild-type virulence following intracerebral infection of STING(-/-) mice. Together, these data show that while STING is an important component of host resistance to HSV in the cornea, its previously shown immutable role in mediating host survival by the i.v. route was not recapitulated following a mucosal infection route. Furthermore, our data are consistent with the idea that HSV counters STING-mediated induction of the antiviral state and autophagy response, both of which are critical factors for survival following direct infection of the nervous system

Exploring the intersection of violence against women and girls with post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding processes: a new analytical framework

Conflict-related violence against women and girls (VAWG) has drawn increasing attention, yet scholars, policymakers, and practitioners focussed on conflict-related VAWG and those focussed on post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding have largely worked separately. Less attention has been given to VAWG during post-conflict transitions than during conflict itself. This article makes three major contributions to guide researchers and policymakers in addressing VAWG in post-conflict contexts. First, it identifies critical gaps in understanding the intersection between VAWG and post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding processes. Second, it presents an ecological model to explore the drivers of VAWG during and after armed conflict. Third, it proposes a conceptual framework for analysing and addressing the intersections of VAWG with both post-conflict statebuilding and peacebuilding. The article concludes that application of this framework can help policymakers shape statebuilding and peacebuilding processes to more effectively institutionalise approaches to VAWG so that post-conflict transitions advance sustainable, positive peace

Growing up in Ireland: The lives of 17/18-Year-olds of Cohort ’98 (Child Cohort). ESRI Growing Up in Ireland Report July 2020.

New Growing Up in Ireland research paints a picture of the lives of 17/18-year-olds in 2016: generally in good health and ambitious for their futures, but with inequalities persisting

Chorea–Acanthocytosis and the Huntington Disease Allele in an Irish Family

The presence of peripheral blood film acanthocytes can help narrow the differential diagnosis of a familial choreiform disorder. Acanthocytosis is associated with chorea–acanthocytosis (ChAc), McLeod syndrome, pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN), and Huntington’s disease-like 2 (HDL-2). Huntington disease (HD) can present at a similar age with a similar phenotype, but without acanthocytosis. We report the cases of three adult siblings with genetically confirmed ChAc, and discuss the unusual finding of a co-existing abnormal HD allele (CAG repeat expansion in the range of reduced penetrance) in two of these siblings