Prevention of sexual violence and domestic abuse through a university bystander intervention programme: learning from a UK feasibility study

In response to evidence documenting the scale and impact of sexual violence (SV) and domestic abuse (DA) in universities, Universities UK (2016) recommend implementation of a UK based bystander programme, The Intervention Initiative (TII), as a key prevention strategy. However, a recent UK review (Gaffney et al, 2023) concluded that no studies have addressed implementation issues for university-based bystander programmes. Our study explored what is required for implementation of the TII in a UK university, rather than intervention effectiveness. The intervention was delivered to undergraduate students across three school cohorts: medicine, social work and sports coaching. The study draws on pre- and post-intervention surveys to explore SV and DA knowledge, attitudes, and bystander skills. Focus groups or individual interviews with students (n=11) and staff facilitators (n=10) explored experiences of implementation, delivery and participation. Students reported positive changes across several areas and some evidence of immediate impact on behaviours, suggesting potential for wider implementation across university contexts. Barriers included professionalisation of the application of the bystander intervention, resistance to an underpinning gendered evidence base and a lack of diversity and relatability in programme materials

Prevention of sexual violence and domestic abuse through a university bystander intervention programme: learning from a UK feasibility study

In response to evidence documenting the scale and impact of sexual violence (SV) and domestic abuse (DA) in universities, Universities UK (2016) recommend implementation of a UK based bystander programme, The Intervention Initiative (TII), as a key prevention strategy. However, a recent UK review (Gaffney et al, 2023) concluded that no studies have addressed implementation issues for university-based bystander programmes. Our study explored what is required for implementation of the TII in a UK university, rather than intervention effectiveness. The intervention was delivered to undergraduate students across three school cohorts: medicine, social work and sports coaching. The study draws on pre- and post-intervention surveys to explore SV and DA knowledge, attitudes, and bystander skills. Focus groups or individual interviews with students (n=11) and staff facilitators (n=10) explored experiences of implementation, delivery and participation. Students reported positive changes across several areas and some evidence of immediate impact on behaviours, suggesting potential for wider implementation across university contexts. Barriers included professionalisation of the application of the bystander intervention, resistance to an underpinning gendered evidence base and a lack of diversity and relatability in programme materials

AMP-activated protein kinase mediates preconditioning in cardiomyocytes by regulating activity and trafficking of sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K(+) channels

Brief periods of ischemia and reperfusion that precede sustained ischemia lead to a reduction in myocardial infarct size. This phenomenon, known as ischemic preconditioning, is mediated by signaling pathway(s) that is complex and yet to be fully defined. AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) is activated in cells under conditions associated with ATP depletion and increased AMP/ATP ratio. In the present study, we have taken advantage of a cardiac phenotype overexpressing a dominant negative form of the α2 subunit of AMPK to analyze the role, if any, that AMPK plays in preconditioning the heart. We have found that myocardial preconditioning activates AMPK in wild type, but not transgenic mice. Cardiac cells from transgenic mice could not be preconditioned, as opposed to cells from the wild type. The cytoprotective effect of AMPK was not related to the effect that preconditioning has on mitochondrial membrane potential as revealed by JC-1, a mitochondrial membrane potential-sensitive dye, and laser confocal microscopy. In contrast, experiments with di-8-ANEPPS, a sarcolemmal-potential sensitive dye, has demonstrated that intact AMPK activity is required for preconditioning-induced shortening of the action membrane potential. The preconditioning-induced activation of sarcolemmal K(ATP) channels was observed in wild type, but not in transgenic mice. HMR 1098, a selective inhibitor of sarcolemmal K(ATP) channels opening, inhibited preconditioning-induced shortening of action membrane potential as well as cardioprotection afforded by AMPK. Immunoprecipitation followed by Western blotting has shown that AMPK is essential for preconditioning-induced recruitment of sarcolemmal K(ATP) channels. Based on the obtained results, we conclude that AMPK mediates preconditioning in cardiac cells by regulating the activity and recruitment of sarcolemmal K(ATP) channels without being a part of signaling pathway that regulates mitochondrial membrane potential

The chicken polydactyly (Po) locus causes allelic imbalance and ectopic expression of Shh during limb development

Point mutations in the intronic ZRS region of Lmbr1, a limb specific cis-regulatory element of Sonic hedgehog (Shh), are associated with polydactyly in humans, cats, and mice. We and others have recently mapped the dominant preaxial polydactyly (Po) locus in Silkie chickens to a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ZRS region. Using polymorphisms in the chicken Shh sequence, we confirm that the ZRS region directly regulates Shh expression in the developing limb causing ectopic Shh expression in the anterior leg, prolonged Shh expression in the posterior limb, and allelic imbalance between wt and Slk Shh alleles in heterozygote limbs. Using Silkie legs, we have explored the consequences of increased Shh expression in the posterior leg on the patterning of the toes, and the induction of preaxial polydactyly

Integrating technologies for comparing 3D gene expression domains in the developing chick limb

Chick embryos are good models for vertebrate development due to their accessibility and manipulability. Recent large increases in available genomic data from both whole genome sequencing and EST projects provide opportunities for identifying many new developmentally important chicken genes. Traditional methods of documenting when and where specific genes are expressed in embryos using wholemount and section in-situ hybridisation do not readily allow appreciation of 3-dimensional (3D) patterns of expression, but this can be accomplished by the recently developed microscopy technique, Optical Projection Tomography (OPT). Here we show that OPT data on the developing chick wing from different labs can be reliably integrated into a common database, that OPT is efficient in capturing 3D gene expression domains and that such domains can be meaningfully compared. Novel protocols are used to compare 3D expression domains of 7 genes known to be involved in chick wing development. This reveals previously unappreciated relationships and demonstrates the potential, using modern genomic resources, for building a large scale 3D atlas of gene expression. Such an atlas could be extended to include other types of data, such as fate maps, and the approach is also more generally applicable to embryos, organs and tissues