Fanning the flames: How the European Union is fuelling a new arms race - Executive Summary

At the time of writing in March 2022, a war has broken out in eastern Europe following the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. Towards the end of 2021 unrest in the Balkans came close to boiling point. Tensions in the South China Sea continue to simmer and threaten regional and global stability. Wars and violence continue in Afghanistan, in Central Africa, Iraq, several countries across the Sahel, Syria, and Yemen among other countries and regions experiencing constant violence and consequent displacement. Some of the world's most powerful nations are sabre-rattling, drafting and deploying troops, stockpiling military materiel, and actively preparing for war – including the European Union (EU) and some of its member states. Contrary to the EU's founding principle of promoting peace, it too has been charting a course to establish itself as a global military power. History has shown, however, that far from contributing to stability and peace, militarism fuels tension, instability, destruction and devastation.In a 'watershed moment', in response to the war in Ukraine, the EU announced that it would, for the first time, fund and supply lethal weapons to a country under attack through the European Peace Facility (EPF). While this move is unprecedented, it is not unexpected. The EU has been pursuing a military path since the entry in to force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009, which provides the legal underpinning to create a common security and defence policy. Less than a decade later, in a new point of departure, the EU created specific budget lines to allocate funding to military-related projects. This decision firmly set the EU on a new and deeply worrying trajectory, where international political and social problems were to be addressed not only through dialogue and diplomacy, but also through the threat of military solutions

Prematur ovarialinsuffisiens

Prematur ovarialinsuffisiens defineres som tap av ovariefunksjon før 40 års alder og er en kompleks tilstand med heterogen etiologi. Tidlig diagnose og igangsetting av hormonerstattende behandling er viktig for å lindre symptomer og forebygge senkomplikasjoner som følge av prematur østrogenmangel. I denne kliniske oversikten presenterer vi en oppdatering på diagnostikk og behandling av tilstanden.publishedVersio

Motherhood, Human Trafficking, and Asylum Seeking: The Experiences and Needs of Survivor Mothers in Birthing and Postnatal Care

This article aims to illuminate the little-studied phenomenon of asylum-seeking child-bearing women in the UK, survivors of violence and human trafficking. This is a significant issue in terms of the proportion of women affected and the paucity of care and support currently available to them as mother survivors. This study looked to examine the frontline support services of one project to survivor mothers through two collaborating organisations, Happy Baby Community and Hestia, and how their services support mothers' experiences of perinatal mental health, infant feeding, and the general experiences of migrant women and trafficking survivors in maternity care in the UK. Using evidence collected from semi-structured service-users' interviews and focus groups, and an anonymous online staff survey, this article shows the types of care and support that are required to address not only the challenges faced by any new mother, but also the additional challenges experienced with trafficking and seeking asylum such as mental health, housing, and legal and access to other support. This article illustrates the many complex and interrelated challenges these women face, and the way the project meets practical, informational, emotional, appraisal, and social needs. It concludes by identifying several implications of the support provided and/or needed, which could be considered by other services or policymakers looking to meet the fundamental needs and rights of this cohort

Findings from a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled feasibility trial of a music and dance programme for community dwelling older adults

IntroductionFunctional decline, chronic illness, reduced quality of life and increased healthcare utilisation are common in older adults. Evidence suggests music and dance can support healthy ageing in older adults. This study explored the feasibility, potential for effect and cost effectiveness of the Music and Movement for Health (MMH) programme among community-dwelling older adults using a pragmatic cluster-randomised, controlled feasibility trial design.MethodsCommunity-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older were recruited to seven clusters in the Mid-West region of Ireland. Clusters were block randomised to either the MMH intervention or control. Primary feasibility outcomes included recruitment, retention, adherence, fidelity, and safety. Secondary outcomes measured physical activity, physical and cognitive performance, and psychosocial well-being, along with healthcare utilisation were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks.ResultsThe study successfully met feasibility targets, with recruitment (n = 100), retention (91 %), adherence (71 %), data completeness (92 %) and intervention fidelity (21 out of 24) all meeting predetermined criteria. Both groups exhibited an increase in self-reported physical activity and improved physical function. Participants in the intervention group scored consistently better in psychosocial measures compared to the control group at follow-up. The health economic analysis confirmed the feasibility of the methodology employed and points to the potential cost-effectiveness of the MMH relative to the control or no organised programme.Discussion and ImplicationsThe MMH intervention and study design were found to be feasible and acceptable with important findings to inform future evaluation of the clinical and cost-effectiveness of a definitive randomised controlled trial

Bacterial topoisomerase I as a target for discovery of antibacterial compounds

Bacterial topoisomerase I is a potential target for discovery of new antibacterial compounds. Mutant topoisomerases identified by SOS induction screening demonstrated that accumulation of the DNA cleavage complex formed by type IA topoisomerases is bactericidal. Characterization of these mutants of Yersinia pestis and Escherichia coli topoisomerase I showed that DNA religation can be inhibited while maintaining DNA cleavage activity by decreasing the binding affinity of Mg(II) ions. This can be accomplished either by mutation of the TOPRIM motif involved directly in Mg(II) binding or by altering the charge distribution of the active site region. Besides being used to elucidate the key elements for the control of the cleavage-religation equilibrium, the SOS-inducing mutants of Y. pestis and E. coli topoisomerase I have also been utilized as models to study the cellular response following the accumulation of bacterial topoisomerase I cleavage complex. Bacterial topoisomerase I is required for preventing hypernegative supercoiling of DNA during transcription. It plays an important role in transcription of stress genes during bacterial stress response. Topoisomerase I targeting poisons may be particularly effective when the bacterial pathogen is responding to host defense, or in the presence of other antibiotics that induce the bacterial stress response

Éabhlóid an Súil Eile: 20 Bliain de Bhrandáil TG4

Pléann an páipéar seo an éabhlóid a tháinig ar straitéis bhrandála TG4 ó 1996 go 2016. Diomaite d’obair Lysaght (2009 & 2010) agus Ó Gairbhí (2017) is gné í an bhrandáil de stair agus d’fhorás TG4 nach bhfuil an oiread sin airde tugtha ag acadóirí agus ag taighdeoirí uirthi. Tá mórán taighde foilsithe, áfach, ar chleachtas na brandála go hidirnáisiúnta i dtimpeallacht na craoltóireachta teilifíse ag leithéidí: Chan-Olmsted & Yungwook (2001), Fanthome (2007), Gray (2010), Johnson (2007), Lloyd (2018) agus Seston (2012). Sa pháipéar seo, tarraingítear ar an taighde idirnáisiúnta sin chun anailís a dhéanamh ar bhrandáil an chraoltóra teilifíse Gaeilge. Baintear úsáid as figiúirí féachana mar aon le léirmheasanna sna meáin chlóite chun tionchar bhrandáil TG4 ar an lucht féachana a thomhas. Lena chois sin, baintear úsáid as taighde neamhspleách a cuireadh i gcrích le lucht bainistíochta an stáisiúin (Ó Ciardha (2010) agus Ó Coileáin (2017)) chun iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar an smaointeoireacht a bhí taobh thiar de ghnéithe éagsúla de bhrandáil an stáisiúin. Mar sin féin, ní cuntas forleathan é an páipéar seo ar bhrandáil TG4, ach tarraingíonn sé aird ar fhorbairtí tábhachtacha i dteilgean bhrandáil an stáisiúin ó thosaigh sé ag craoladh go dtí a cheiliúradh 20 bliain ar an aer. Trí anailís a dhéanamh ar bhrandáil an chraoltóra, feictear an múnlú agus an t-athmhúnlú a rinneadh ar íomhá TG4 agus é ag triail lucht féachana a mhealladh

The aesthetics of exile: an exploration of place and image space

‘The Aesthetics of Exile’ seeks to understand and represent a condition of exile through visual practice. The following text comprises two parts. Part one is divided into three sections, and serves to outline the form of the project, as well as the thinking behind it. Section 1 introduces the visual exploration and reasoning within the practice, Section 2 summarises its contextual and conceptual grounding, and Section 3 describes the visual material to be viewed, focussing on the processes behind each individual series of work. In Part two an essay on the artwork written by Jonathan Miles is reproduced in full to provide a further reading of the practice. The text is by way of introduction and reference but, ultimately, the evidence and outcome of the research lies in the artwork itself, which is presented here in a series of ten folios. These folios document chronologically the visual exploration and progression of the project. Each series of work selected for reproduction is represented by an edition of unbound c-prints and/or DVD, individually housed and titled. The final folio documents the concluding exhibition of the research project, as it was installed and assessed in the gallery setting