'Permanently Temping?’ – Education, Labour Markets and Precarious Transitions to Adulthood

Since the late 1970s the UK has undergone a period of substantial economic, political and social change. Fundamental to this has been the rise of ‘neoliberalism’ a political and economic philosophy premised upon the expansion of free markets, deregulation, and a reduced role for the state. The subsequent reformulation of economy and society around such principles has transformed the structures, institutions and processes through which people navigate their lives. Young people must now make decisions and face risks that were largely unheard of only one or two generations ago with significant changes in both education and the labour market having radically altered the transition from school to work. The move towards market-driven ‘mass’ higher education in the UK, alongside a deregulated, flexible and non-unionised labour force driven by an expansion of insecure, temporary and ‘precarious’ forms of work, has impacted upon youth transitions on a number of levels. With an absence of economic security and biographical clarity, the ability to achieve the traditional benchmarks of adulthood (marriage, mortgage and children) is becoming extremely difficult. This study investigates the experiences of a group of young people in order to find out how processes associated with neoliberalism are affecting their lives. By conducting interviews with twenty temporary workers aged between 18 and 30, this study builds up a picture of their transition from compulsory education to further study or employment. The aim here is to understand how they have negotiated the choices available to them, how they feel about the work they do, their experiences of and views on higher education, ‘temping’ and youth labour markets more generally. Ultimately, it uncovers how the precarious and insecure nature of their temporary role impacts on their personal identity, their ambitions, relationships and plans for the future

The EU debate, young people, and the giant, neoliberal-shaped ‘elephant in the room’

Neoliberal policymaking is behind many of the problems facing young people in the UK and across the EU, including debt, job insecurity, and housing. Yet discussions about structural issues are excluded from the referendum debate, argues Laura Cartwright, and so voters are missing the bigger picture of what causes these problems. Without an understanding of what keeps young people from reaching their full potential, any discussions about being ‘in’ or ‘out’ are meaningless

CANCER HEALTH LITERACY AND HOSPITALIZATION IN THE FIRST FIVE YEARS FOLLOWING A CANCER DIAGNOSIS

BACKGROUND: The field of health literacy research has been focused recently on developing more accurate measurement tools and understanding the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes. Individuals with lower levels of health literacy have worse health outcomes, including hospitalization rates, compared to those with adequate health literacy. This relationship has yet to be examined in the cancer patient population, although significant relationships between health literacy and cancer knowledge, screening behavior and quality of life have been found. This study is the first to examine the relationship between health literacy and hospitalization rates in a cancer patient population, and the first to examine the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes using the recently developed Cancer Health Literacy Tests (CHLT-30, CHLT-6). METHOD: These secondary data analyses matched data collected during the larger Cancer Health Literacy Study (CHLS) to hospital data from electronic medical records. This study examined the data of 778 CHLS participants interviewed within the first five years of their cancer diagnosis. The outcomes of interest were the number of inpatient hospital admissions, the total number of days spent hospitalized, and the number of 30-day hospital readmissions. Multivariate multiple negative binomial regression modeling was done to identify predictors of the three hospitalization outcomes. RESULTS: The CHLT-30 was found to significantly predict number of inpatient admissions when controlling for confounding variables, total days hospitalized, and number of readmissions. The CHLT-6 significantly predicted total days spent hospitalized when controlling for number of inpatient admissions, number of 30-day readmissions, treatment, race, stage, number of comorbidities, dying, and education level, with those with limited health literacy spending more days in the hospital as compared to those with adequate health literacy. CONCLUSION: This study produced mixed results regarding the significance of health literacy in predicting hospitalization rates in a cancer patient population. However, this study provides evidence that health literacy may be a mediator in this relationship and further work should be done to test a full or partial mediation model

Estimation of parasite age and synchrony status in Plasmodium falciparum infections

Human malaria parasites have complex but poorly understood population dynamics inside their human host. In some but not all infections, parasites progress synchronously through the 48 h lifecycle following erythrocyte invasion, such that at any one time there is a limited spread of parasites at a particular time (hours) post-invasion. Patients presenting with older parasites, and with asynchronous infections, have been reported to have higher risks of fatal outcomes, associated with higher parasite biomass and multiplication rates respectively. However, practical tools to assess synchrony and estimate parasite age post-invasion in patient samples are lacking. We have developed a novel method based on three genes differentially expressed over the parasite intra-erythrocytic lifecycle, and applied it to samples from patients with uncomplicated malaria attending two health clinics in Ghana. We found that most patients presented with synchronous infections, and with parasites within 12 h of erythrocyte invasion. Finally we investigated if clinical features such as fever and parasite density could act as predictors of parasite age and synchrony. The new method is a simple and practicable approach to study parasite dynamics in naturally-infected patients, and is a significant improvement on the subjective microscopical methods for parasite staging in vivo, aiding patient management

Self-Assembling Ice Membranes on Europa: Brinicle Properties, Field Examples, and Possible Energetic Systems in Icy Ocean Worlds

Brinicles are self-assembling tubular ice membrane structures, centimeters to meters in length, found beneath sea ice in the polar regions of Earth. We discuss how the properties of brinicles make them of possible importance for chemistry in cold environments-including that of life's emergence-and we consider their formation in icy ocean world. We argue that the non-ice composition of the ice on Europa and Enceladus will vary spatially due to thermodynamic and mechanical properties that serve to separate and fractionate brines and solid materials. The specifics of the composition and dynamics of both the ice and the ocean in these worlds remain poorly constrained. We demonstrate through calculations using FREZCHEM that sulfate likely fractionates out of accreting ice in Europa and Enceladus, and thus that an exogenous origin of sulfate observed on Europa's surface need not preclude additional endogenous sulfate in Europa's ocean. We suggest that, like hydrothermal vents on Earth, brinicles in icy ocean worlds constitute ideal places where ecosystems of organisms might be found

In vitro placental model optimization for nanoparticle transport studies

Advances in biomedical nanotechnology raise hopes in patient populations but may also raise questions regarding biodistribution and biocompatibility, especially during pregnancy. Special consideration must be given to the placenta as a biological barrier because a pregnant woman's exposure to nanoparticles could have significant effects on the fetus developing in the womb. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to optimize an in vitro model for characterizing the transport of nanoparticles across human placental trophoblast cells. The growth of BeWo (clone b30) human placental choriocarcinoma cells for nanoparticle transport studies was characterized in terms of optimized Transwell® insert type and pore size, the investigation of barrier properties by transmission electron microscopy, tight junction staining, transepithelial electrical resistance, and fluorescein sodium transport. Following the determination of nontoxic concentrations of fluorescent polystyrene nanoparticles, the cellular uptake and transport of 50 nm and 100 nm diameter particles was measured using the in vitro BeWo cell model. Particle size measurements, fluorescence readings, and confocal microscopy indicated both cellular uptake of the fluorescent polystyrene nanoparticles and the transcellular transport of these particles from the apical (maternal) to the basolateral (fetal) compartment. Over the course of 24 hours, the apparent permeability across BeWo cells grown on polycarbonate membranes (3.0 µm pore size) was four times higher for the 50 nm particles compared with the 100 nm particles. The BeWo cell line has been optimized and shown to be a valid in vitro model for studying the transplacental transport of nanoparticles. Fluorescent polystyrene nanoparticle transport was size-dependent, as smaller particles reached the basal (fetal) compartment at a higher rate

Bayesian atmospheric tomography for detection and quantification of methane emissions : application to data from the 2015 Ginninderra release experiment

Detection and quantification of greenhouse-gas emissions is important for both compliance and environment conservation. However, despite several decades of active research, it remains predominantly an open problem, largely due to model errors and assumptions that appear at each stage of the inversion processing chain. In 2015, a controlled-release experiment headed by Geoscience Australia was carried out at the Ginninderra Controlled Release Facility, and a variety of instruments and methods were employed for quantifying the release rates of methane and carbon dioxide from a point source. This paper proposes a fully Bayesian approach to atmospheric tomography for inferring the methane emission rate of this point source using data collected during the experiment from both point-and path-sampling instruments. The Bayesian framework is designed to account for uncertainty in the parameterisations of measurements, the meteorological data, and the atmospheric model itself when performing inversion using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We apply our framework to all instrument groups using measurements from two release-rate periods. We show that the inversion framework is robust to instrument type and meteorological conditions. From all the inversions we conducted across the different instrument groups and release-rate periods, our worst-case median emission rate estimate was within 36% of the true emission rate. Further, in the worst case, the closest limit of the 95% credible interval to the true emission rate was within 11% of this true value

The Future of Our Seas: Marine scientists and creative professionals collaborate for science communication

To increase awareness of the current challenges facing the marine environment, the Future of Our Seas (FOOS) project brought together the expertise of scientists, public engagement experts and creatives to train and support a group of marine scientists in effective science communication and innovative public engagement. This case study aims to inspire scientists and artists to use the FOOS approach in training, activity design and development support (hereafter called the ‘FOOS programme’) to collaboratively deliver novel and creative engagement activities. The authors reflect on the experiences of the marine scientists: (1) attending the FOOS communication and engagement training; (2) creating and delivering public engagement activities; (3) understanding our audience; and (4) collaborating with artists. The authors also share what the artists and audiences learned from participating in the FOOS public engagement activities. These different perspectives provide new insights for the field with respect to designing collaborative training which maximizes the impact of the training on participants, creative collaborators and the public. Long-term benefits of taking part in the FOOS programme, such as initiating future collaborative engagement activities and positively impacting the scientists’ research processes, are also highlighted

From Chemical Gardens to Fuel Cells: Generation of Electrical Potential and Current Across Self-Assembling Iron Mineral Membranes

We examine the electrochemical gradients that form across chemical garden membranes and investigate how self-assembling, out-of-equilibrium inorganic precipitates—mimicking in some ways those generated in far-from-equilibrium natural systems—can generate electrochemical energy. Measurements of electrical potential and current were made across membranes precipitated both by injection and solution interface methods in iron-sulfide and iron-hydroxide reaction systems. The battery-like nature of chemical gardens was demonstrated by linking multiple experiments in series which produced sufficient electrical energy to light an external light-emitting diode (LED). This work paves the way for determining relevant properties of geological precipitates that may have played a role in hydrothermal redox chemistry at the origin of life, and materials applications that utilize the electrochemical properties of self-organizing chemical systems

Unfamiliar Territory: Emerging Themes for Ecological Drought Research and Management

Novel forms of drought are emerging globally, due to climate change, shifting teleconnection patterns, expanding human water use, and a history of human influence on the environment that increases the probability of transformational ecological impacts. These costly ecological impacts cascade to human communities, and understanding this changing drought landscape is one of today\u27s grand challenges. By using a modified horizon-scanning approach that integrated scientists, managers, and decision-makers, we identified the emerging issues in ecological drought that represent key challenges to timely and effective responses. Here we review the themes that most urgently need attention, including novel drought conditions, the potential for transformational drought impacts, and the need for anticipatory drought management. This horizon scan and review provides a roadmap to facilitate the research and management innovations that will support forward-looking, co-developed approaches to reduce the risk of drought to our socio-ecological systems during the 21st century. We used a modified horizon-scanning approach that brought together scientists, managers, and decision-makers to identify the emerging issues around the ecological impacts from drought that represent key challenges to effective response. We found three broad themes within ecological drought that need attention, including novel drought conditions, transformational drought impacts, and anticipatory drought management. This horizon scan and integrated review provides a roadmap to inspire the needed research and management innovations to reduce the risk of 21st century droughts