'Just eating and sleeping': asylum seekers' constructions of belonging within a restrictive policy environment

The ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe has drawn attention to the reasons why people risk desperate journeys to seek safety. However, less research has focussed on what happens to those on the move once they have reached their destination country. In recent years the UK government's ‘hostile environment’ policy for asylum seekers has taken precedence over attempts to integrate refugees, creating a system in which destitution, dispersal and detention have all become pervasive features. This paper takes a discursive psychological approach to the analysis of interviews with asylum seekers in Wales, UK. It argues that participants draw on economic repertoires of effortfulness to construct accounts in which belonging is dependent upon being able to contribute to the economic and civic life of the host society. It further highlights how participants construct accounts in which restriction from the asylum system is positioned as the reason for not belonging and that time spent as an asylum seeker is policy-imposed liminality. The findings suggest that allowing asylum seekers to work would be a key step forward in integration policy and contribute to generating a greater sense of belonging

Pituophis melanoleucus

Number of Pages: 8Integrative BiologyGeological Science

How a photograph of a drowned refugee child turned a migrant crisis into a refugee crisis:A comparative discourse analysis

The ‘refugee crisis’ refers to the on-going movement of people crossing into Europe, in which over 34 thousand refugees died in 2015. A key point in this ‘crisis’ was the publishing of photographs of one of the young children who died. Despite the death toll, representations, and the resulting treatment, of refugees in Europe remained ambivalent. This paper compares the representation of the crisis across three countries (The UK, Norway and Australia) before and after the publishing of the photographs from one major broadcaster in each country using discourse analysis. It is shown that the photographs led to a more sympathetic portrayal of refugees resulting in the crisis shifting from a ‘migrant’ to a ‘refugee’ crisis. This analysis demonstrates the importance of the ways in which refugees are presented as well as the benefits of a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to discourse analysis

Mucoadhesive polysaccharides modulate sodium retention, release and taste perception

The mucoadhesion between polymeric substances and mucosal membranes, widely exploited in the pharmaceutics industry to prolong drug residence, has been investigated as a means of retaining taste or aroma molecules in the oral cavity. This study shows that the mucoadhesive properties of carboxymethyl cellulose, a commonly used polysaccharide in the food and pharmaceutics industry, can modify retention, release and perception of sodium over time. A three-part study was designed coupling in vitro retention using ex vivo porcine tongue, sensory perception with a trained panel and in vivo retention of sodium ions in human volunteers. The findings suggest that although salt perception is stunted in samples containing a random coil, ionic, mucoadhesive thickener, the retention of sodium ions in the mouth is prolonged due to the mucoadhesive nature of the polysaccharide. Not only has this study-investigated mucoadhesion of liquid formulations in the oral cavity but it is also the first to link the mucoadhesive nature of a commonly used polysaccharide to the organoleptic properties of a food

Oncogenic R132 IDH1 Mutations Limit NADPH for De Novo Lipogenesis through (D)2-Hydroxyglutarate Production in Fibrosarcoma Sells.

Neomorphic mutations in NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenases (IDH1 and IDH2) contribute to tumorigenesis in several cancers. Although significant research has focused on the hypermethylation phenotypes associated with (D)2-hydroxyglutarate (D2HG) accumulation, the metabolic consequences of these mutations may also provide therapeutic opportunities. Here we apply flux-based approaches to genetically engineered cell lines with an endogenous IDH1 mutation to examine the metabolic impacts of increased D2HG production and altered IDH flux as a function of IDH1 mutation or expression. D2HG synthesis in IDH1-mutant cells consumes NADPH at rates similar to de novo lipogenesis. IDH1-mutant cells exhibit increased dependence on exogenous lipid sources for in vitro growth, as removal of medium lipids slows growth more dramatically in IDH1-mutant cells compared with those expressing wild-type or enzymatically inactive alleles. NADPH regeneration may be limiting for lipogenesis and potentially redox homeostasis in IDH1-mutant cells, highlighting critical links between cellular biosynthesis and redox metabolism

Adiabatic Berry Phase and Hannay Angle for Open Paths

We obtain the adiabatic Berry phase by defining a generalised gauge potential whose line integral gives the phase holonomy for arbitrary evolutions of parameters. Keeping in mind that for classical integrable systems it is hardly clear how to obtain open-path Hannay angle, we establish a connection between the open-path Berry phase and Hannay angle by using the parametrised coherent state approach. Using the semiclassical wavefunction we analyse the open-path Berry phase and obtain the open-path Hannay angle. Further, by expressing the adiabatic Berry phase in terms of the commutator of instantaneous projectors with its differential and using Wigner representation of operators we obtain the Poisson bracket between distribution function and its differential. This enables us to talk about the classical limit of the phase holonomy which yields the angle holonomy for open-paths. An operational definition of Hannay angle is provided based on the idea of classical limit of quantum mechanical inner product. A probable application of the open-path Berry phase and Hannay angle to wave-packet revival phenomena is also pointed out.Comment: Latex, no figures, 24 pages, submitted to Ann. Phy

Competing PT potentials and re-entrant PT symmetric phase for a particle in a box

We investigate the effects of competition between two complex, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials on the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase of a "particle in a box". These potentials, given by $V_Z(x)=iZ\mathrm{sign}(x)$ and $V_\xi(x)=i\xi[\delta(x-a)-\delta(x+a)]$, represent long-range and localized gain/loss regions respectively. We obtain the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase in the $(Z,\xi)$ plane, and find that for locations $\pm a$ near the edge of the box, the $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase is strengthened by additional losses to the loss region. We also predict that a broken $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry will be restored by increasing the strength $\xi$ of the localized potential. By comparing the results for this problem and its lattice counterpart, we show that a robust $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric phase in the continuum is consistent with the fragile phase on the lattice. Our results demonstrate that systems with multiple, $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetric potentials show unique, unexpected properties.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Trial and error versus errorless learning of functional skills in patients with acute stroke

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of errorless learning versus trial and error learning for teaching activities of daily living to patients with acute stroke with or without explicit memory impairments. Design: Randomized crossover. Setting: Rehabilitation hospital. Participants: 33 adult subjects following an acute stroke. Intervention: Subjects were taught to prepare a wheelchair for a transfer and to put on a sock with a sock-donner. Tasks were taught using errorless learning or trial and error learning. Explicit memory was assessed using the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Exam. Main Outcome Measures: Days until subject was able to demonstrate retention of the task, and success or failure at carry-over to a similar task. Results: No significant differences were found in days to retention for either functional task when taught using errorless learning or trial and error learning in subjects with or without explicit memory impairments. Carry-over was significantly better when trial and error learning was used for learning sock donning. Conclusions: When choosing the best learning method for patients undergoing rehabilitation for stroke, the nature of the task should be considered. Additional research is needed to identify the best approach for teaching activities of daily living and facilitating carry-over of learning in individuals with acute stroke

Characterisation of lignocellulosic sugars from municipal solid waste residue.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) contains significant quantities of plant-derived carbohydrates which have the potential to be exploited as a biomass source. This study evaluated the chemical composition and fractionation of MSW water-insoluble organic matter remaining after recycling of other components (MSWR). The organic matter was prepared as a dry, alcohol insoluble residue (MSWR-AIR, comprising w = 6% of original MSW) and size fractionated into fractions A, B, C & D. Carbohydrates were present in all the sub-fractions, comprising up to w = 54%; their complexity was also assessed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The lignin content in the samples ranged from w = 11–22%. The most carbohydrate-rich subfraction (C; w = 4% original MSW) was sequentially extracted to provide information on the likely constituent cell wall-derived polymers, sugar compositions and uronic acid content. The results indicate that approximately w = 25% of the MSWR-AIR comprises glucose, which appears to be mostly cellulosic in origin. The results are discussed in relation to the potential for exploitation

Sleep During Pregnancy: The nuMoM2b Pregnancy and Sleep Duration and Continuity Study

Study Objectives: To characterize sleep duration, timing and continuity measures in pregnancy and their association with key demographic variables. Methods: Multisite prospective cohort study. Women enrolled in the nuMoM2b study (nulliparous women with a singleton gestation) were recruited at the second study visit (16-21 weeks of gestation) to participate in the Sleep Duration and Continuity substudy. Women <18 years of age or with pregestational diabetes or chronic hypertension were excluded from participation. Women wore a wrist activity monitor and completed a sleep log for 7 consecutive days. Time in bed, sleep duration, fragmentation index, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and sleep midpoint were averaged across valid primary sleep periods for each participant. Results: Valid data were available from 782 women with mean age of 27.3 (5.5) years. Median sleep duration was 7.4 hours. Approximately 27.9% of women had a sleep duration of 9 hours. In multivariable models including age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, insurance status, and recent smoking history, sleep duration was significantly associated with race/ethnicity and insurance status, while time in bed was only associated with insurance status. Sleep continuity measures and sleep midpoint were significantly associated with all covariates in the model, with the exception of age for fragmentation index and smoking for wake after sleep onset. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the relationship between sleep and important demographic characteristics during pregnancy