Listening and learning : the reciprocal relationship between worker and client

The relationship between worker and client has for the best part of 100 years been the mainstay of probation, and yet has recently been eroded by an increased emphasis on punishment, blame and managerialism. The views of offenders are in direct contradiction to these developments within the criminal justice system and this article argues that only by taking account of the views of those at the 'coal face' will criminologists, policy makers and practitioners be able to effect real change in crime rates. The article thus focuses on the views of a sample of previously persistent offenders in Scotland about offending, desistance and how the system can help them. It explores not only their need for friendship and support in youth but also the close association between relationships and the likelihood of offending. It also demonstrates the views of offenders themselves about the importance of the working relationship with supervising officers in helping them desist from crime. The article concludes that the most effective way of reducing offending is to re-engage with the message of the Probation Act of 100 years ago, namely, to 'advise, assist and befriend' offenders rather than to 'confront, challenge and change' offending behaviour

Safety and efficacy with alemtuzumab over 13 years in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis: final results from the open-label TOPAZ study

Alemtuzumab; Disease-modifying therapy; Multiple sclerosisAlemtuzumab; Teràpia modificadora de la malaltia; Esclerosi múltipleAlemtuzumab; Terapia modificadora de la enfermedad; Esclerosis múltipleBackground and objectives: Alemtuzumab demonstrated superior efficacy versus subcutaneous interferon (IFN) beta-1a in participants with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in the 2-year CARE-MS I and II trials. Efficacy was maintained in the 4-year CARE-MS extension, during which alemtuzumab-treated participants (‘alemtuzumab-only’) could receive additional courses upon disease activity, and IFN-treated participants switched to alemtuzumab (‘IFN-alemtuzumab’). Participants who completed the CARE-MS extension could enroll in the open-label TOPAZ study which assessed safety and efficacy for 5–7 years (11–13 years after alemtuzumab/IFN initiation). Methods: Participants received additional alemtuzumab courses as needed. Assessments included adverse events (AEs; primary outcome), annualized relapse rate (ARR), 6-month confirmed disability worsening [CDW; ⩾1.0-point Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score increase or ⩾1.5 if baseline EDSS = 0], and 6-month confirmed disease improvement [CDI; >1.0-point EDSS decrease (baseline score ⩾2.0)]. Results: 43.5% of alemtuzumab-only participants from CARE-MS II and 54.2% from CARE-MS I received no additional alemtuzumab courses; 30.0% and 20.9%, respectively, received one additional course (the median). Incidences of AEs, including thyroid AEs and infections, declined over time. The safety profile of alemtuzumab was similar for participants who received zero, one, or two additional courses. For CARE-MS II participants, who had inadequate response to previous treatment, ARR remained low during Years 3–13 for the alemtuzumab-only [0.17; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15–0.20] and IFN-alemtuzumab (0.14; 0.11–0.17) groups. At Year 11, the proportions of participants who were either free from CDW or who had CDI were higher in the alemtuzumab-only group (58% and 49%, respectively) than in the IFN-alemtuzumab group (51% and 37%). For CARE-MS I participants, who were previously treatment-naïve, clinical outcomes remained improved, and no between-group differences were apparent. Conclusion: Safety risks associated with alemtuzumab treatment declined over time. Clinical benefits were maintained up to 11–13 years, and most participants did not require more than one additional course.The TOPAZ study as well as writing and editorial support for this article were funded by Sanofi

Measurement of zinc stable isotope ratios in biogeochemical matrices by double-spike MC-ICPMS and determination of the isotope ratio pool available for plants from soil

Analysis of naturally occurring isotopic variations is a promising tool for investigating Zn transport and cycling in geological and biological settings. Here, we present the recently installed double-spike (DS) technique at the MAGIC laboratories at Imperial College London. The procedure improves on previous published DS methods in terms of ease of measurement and precisions obtained. The analytical method involves addition of a 64Zn–67Zn double-spike to the samples prior to digestion, separation of Zn from the sample matrix by ion exchange chromatography, and isotopic analysis by multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The accuracy and reproducibility of the method were validated by analyses of several in-house and international elemental reference materials. Multiple analyses of pure Zn standard solutions consistently yielded a reproducibility of about ±0.05‰ (2 SD) for δ66Zn, and comparable precisions were obtained for analyses of geological and biological materials. Highly fractionated Zn standards analyzed by DS and standard sample bracketing yield slightly varying results, which probably originate from repetitive fractionation events during manufacture of the standards. However, the δ66Zn values (all reported relative to JMC Lyon Zn) for two less fractionated in-house Zn standard solutions, Imperial Zn (0.10 ± 0.08‰: 2 SD) and London Zn (0.08 ± 0.04‰), are within uncertainties to data reported with different mass spectrometric techniques and instruments. Two standard reference materials, blend ore BCR 027 and ryegrass BCR 281, were also measured, and the δ66Zn were found to be 0.25 ± 0.06‰ (2 SD) and 0.40 ± 0.09‰, respectively. Taken together, these standard measurements ascertain that the double-spike methodology is suitable for accurate and precise Zn isotope analyses of a wide range of natural samples. The newly installed technique was consequently applied to soil samples and soil leachates to investigate the isotopic signature of plant available Zn. We find that the isotopic composition is heavier than the residual, indicating the presence of loosely bound Zn deposited by atmospheric pollution, which is readily available to plants

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: the transition to large-scale cosmic homogeneity

We have made the largest-volume measurement to date of the transition to large-scale homogeneity in the distribution of galaxies. We use the WiggleZ survey, a spectroscopic survey of over 200,000 blue galaxies in a cosmic volume of ~1 (Gpc/h)^3. A new method of defining the 'homogeneity scale' is presented, which is more robust than methods previously used in the literature, and which can be easily compared between different surveys. Due to the large cosmic depth of WiggleZ (up to z=1) we are able to make the first measurement of the transition to homogeneity over a range of cosmic epochs. The mean number of galaxies N(<r) in spheres of comoving radius r is proportional to r^3 within 1%, or equivalently the fractal dimension of the sample is within 1% of D_2=3, at radii larger than 71 \pm 8 Mpc/h at z~0.2, 70 \pm 5 Mpc/h at z~0.4, 81 \pm 5 Mpc/h at z~0.6, and 75 \pm 4 Mpc/h at z~0.8. We demonstrate the robustness of our results against selection function effects, using a LCDM N-body simulation and a suite of inhomogeneous fractal distributions. The results are in excellent agreement with both the LCDM N-body simulation and an analytical LCDM prediction. We can exclude a fractal distribution with fractal dimension below D_2=2.97 on scales from ~80 Mpc/h up to the largest scales probed by our measurement, ~300 Mpc/h, at 99.99% confidence.Comment: 21 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: Survey Design and First Data Release

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey is a survey of 240,000 emission line galaxies in the distant universe, measured with the AAOmega spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). The target galaxies are selected using ultraviolet photometry from the GALEX satellite, with a flux limit of NUV<22.8 mag. The redshift range containing 90% of the galaxies is 0.2<z<1.0. The primary aim of the survey is to precisely measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) imprinted on the spatial distribution of these galaxies at look-back times of 4-8 Gyrs. Detailed forecasts indicate the survey will measure the BAO scale to better than 2% and the tangential and radial acoustic wave scales to approximately 3% and 5%, respectively. This paper provides a detailed description of the survey and its design, as well as the spectroscopic observations, data reduction, and redshift measurement techniques employed. It also presents an analysis of the properties of the target galaxies, including emission line diagnostics which show that they are mostly extreme starburst galaxies, and Hubble Space Telescope images, which show they contain a high fraction of interacting or distorted systems. In conjunction with this paper, we make a public data release of data for the first 100,000 galaxies measured for the project.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS; this has some figures in low resolution format. Full resolution PDF version (7MB) available at http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/mjd/pub/wigglez1.pdf The WiggleZ home page is at http://wigglez.swin.edu.au

Differences in efficacy of monepantel, derquantel and abamectin against multi-resistant nematodes of sheep

Drug resistance has become a global phenomenon in gastrointestinal nematodes of sheep, particularly resistance to macrocyclic lactones. New anthelmintics are urgently needed for both the control of infections with multi-resistant nematodes in areas where classical anthelmintics are no longer effective, and the prevention of the spread of resistance in areas where the problem is not as severe. Recently, two new active ingredients became commercially available for the treatment of nematode infections in sheep, monepantel (Zolvix®) and derquantel, the latter used only in a formulated combination with the macrocyclic lactone, abamectin (Startect®). In order to assess the potential of the new actives for the control and prevention of spread of anthelmintic resistance, two characterized multi-resistant field isolates from Australia were used in a GLP (good laboratory practice) conducted efficacy study in sheep. Eight infected sheep in each group were treated orally according to the product labels with 2.5 mg/kg body weight monepantel, 0.2 mg/kg abamectin, or with the combination of 2.0 mg/kg derquantel and 0.2 mg/kg abamectin. The results demonstrate that monepantel was fully effective against multi-resistant species, Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Haemonchus contortus (99.9%). In contrast, the combination of derquantel and abamectin was effective against T. colubriformis (99.9%), but was not effective against larval stages of the barber's pole worm H. contortus (18.3%)

Biological and structural studies of phosphonium 'masked thiolate' compounds

The ability of phosphonium cations to act as intracellular transport vectors is well-established. Phosphonioalkylthiosulfate zwitterions, and (omega)-thioacetylalkylphosphonium salts, which act as 'masked thiolate' ligands, are useful precursors for the formation of phosphonium-functionalised gold nanoparticles, enabling the nanoparticles to be transported into cells for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. In this study we have completed cytotoxicity studies of (omega)-thioacetylpropylphosphonium salts derived from triphenylphosphine and tri(4-fluorophenyl)phosphine, which show that the compounds are only toxic towards PC3 prostate cancer cells at high concentrations and at prolonged incubation periods and display IC50 values of 67uM and 252uM respectively, significantly higher than those of other phosphonium salts. MALDI-TOF-MS has been used to investigate the uptake of the compounds by PC3 cells and to quantify detectable levels of the compounds inside the cells. The structures of (omega)-thioacetylpropyl(tri-4-fluorophenyl) phosphonium bromide and the corresponding tri(4-fluorophenyl)phosphonio-propylthiosulfate zwitterion have been investigated by single crystal X-ray crystallography. The results show that molecules of the zwitterion are held together through an extensive array of electrostatic and non-covalent interactions. The unit cell of (omega)-thioacetylpropyl(tri-4-fluorophenyl)phosphonium bromide contains eight cations together with eight bromide anions and two waters of crystallisation, all held together through a complex network of hydrogen bonds. The differences in the molecular packing of the two compounds may account for the lower solubility of the zwitterion in aqueous solutions, compared with that of the phosphonium salt