Insulated conducting cantilevered nanotips and two-chamber recording system for high resolution ion sensing AFM.

Biological membranes contain ion channels, which are nanoscale pores allowing controlled ionic transport and mediating key biological functions underlying normal/abnormal living. Synthetic membranes with defined pores are being developed to control various processes, including filtration of pollutants, charge transport for energy storage, and separation of fluids and molecules. Although ionic transport (currents) can be measured with single channel resolution, imaging their structure and ionic currents simultaneously is difficult. Atomic force microscopy enables high resolution imaging of nanoscale structures and can be modified to measure ionic currents simultaneously. Moreover, the ionic currents can also be used to image structures. A simple method for fabricating conducting AFM cantilevers to image pore structures at high resolution is reported. Tungsten microwires with nanoscale tips are insulated except at the apex. This allows simultaneous imaging via cantilever deflections in normal AFM force feedback mode as well as measuring localized ionic currents. These novel probes measure ionic currents as small as picoampere while providing nanoscale spatial resolution surface topography and is suitable for measuring ionic currents and conductance of biological ion channels

The Governance of Sex Trafficking: Politics, Policy and Practice in England and Wales

This thesis explores how non-governmental organisation (NGOs) and the police operate as part of an ever-growing network of actors in the governance of sex trafficking in England and Wales. Drawing upon data generated through semi-structured interviews with 24 NGO actors and 18 police officers – ranging from Case Workers and Police Constables to CEOs and Chief Constables – this thesis focuses upon how anti-trafficking policy translates into practice in a field defined by ‘hyper-politicisation’. It examines how interrelationships within the anti-trafficking policy domain are structured and maintained through service delivery; how anti-trafficking policy and practice is shaped by the interests and priorities of anti-trafficking actors; and how anti-trafficking actors construct trafficking victimhood. In so doing, the thesis responds to the increasing international political attention cast onto sex trafficking in recent years and seeks to counter the rise of research in this field which has tended towards sensationalism, mythologisation and polarised feminist debate. Addressing the dearth of research on anti-trafficking service providers, the findings from this research demonstrate that trafficking is a social issue that is enveloped in, and conditioned by, moral struggles and divergent political agendas, which manifest in the control of womyn’s bodies and state borders. It therefore offers new empirical evidence to advance understanding of how sex trafficking has been taken up, both by state and non-state actors, as a noble guise through which to pursue draconian policy and practice

2023 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Annual Report

San Diego County is home to a growing and dynamic nonprofit sector working on the frontlines to serve families and communities while also advancing innovative solutions to the region’s most urgent challenges. To support our community and regional leaders to be informed partners with the nonprofit sector, the 2023 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Annual Report provides relevant and current information on the health and impact of the sector. The report draws from over a decade of quarterly public opinion polling of San Diego residents and a survey of local nonprofit leaders, combined with the latest nonprofit data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the California Employment Development Department (EDD). This year’s data document a thriving nonprofit sector that is very much in need of ongoing support to sustain and enhance its capacity to address the pressing problems facing our region.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-stateofnp/1019/thumbnail.jp

2020 Annual Report: State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy in San Diego

The year 2020 has become one of reckoning – as a time for reflection and hindsight about how we got to this point of crisis, as well as one for envisioning a new path forward. As the pandemic shows no sign of abating, the disruption wrought by COVID-19 is broad and deep for nonprofits, their leaders, and constituents. The 2020 State of Nonprofit and Philanthropy Report synthesizes findings from three nonprofit leader surveys (including COVID-19 impacts surveys), public opinion polling, and other sources of nonprofit data to provide the most up to date and holistic picture of this essential sector. The story that emerges is both hopeful and concerning. Some nonprofits have adapted quickly by finding new ways to collaborate, leveraging capacity, and more effectively advocating together for those they serve. Yet, other nonprofits struggle to bridge digital divides and regain their financial footing. San Diego’s nonprofit sector is home to a wide variety of organizations.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-stateofnp/1016/thumbnail.jp

Valuing Academic Perspectives

First paragraph: This report summarises a number of evaluative studies carried out in the neighbourhood of Wester Hailes, Edinburgh in the summer of 2014 by a team of academics, as part of a wider Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Connected Communities project Valuing Different Perspectives (VDP).1 The overall project sought to use a range of evaluative perspectives to the study of a number of previous AHRC Connected Communities projects: Community Hacking 2.0, Ladders to the Clouds, and the Communities Within Spaces of Flows projects.2 The projects produced diverse outputs for the local community: a totem pole; a social history walking "code book"; wall plaques (in preparation); the renewal of the local newspaper The Wester Hailes Sentinel as an online ‘hyper-local' news source, The Digital Sentinel; and a local partnership called Our Place in Time. The earlier Connected Communities projects also supported the local housing association (Prospect Community Housing [PCHA]) in continuing their use of the social history Facebook page From There to Here

2022 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Annual Report

The 2022 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Annual Report presents findings from ten years of quarterly public opinion polling (San Diego Residents Survey) and nearly 250 survey responses from local nonprofit leaders (Nonprofit Leaders Survey) combined with the latest nonprofit data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the California Employment Development Department (EDD). Taken together, these data provide a holistic snapshot of San Diego’s nonprofit sector in 2022, summarizing its social and economic contributions to our region, highlighting potential opportunities for greater impact, and drawing our attention to trends which could threaten the nonprofit sector in the future. This year’s report finds San Diego County nonprofits are well positioned to innovate to meet challenging community needs and advance the quality of life in our region.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-stateofnp/1018/thumbnail.jp

Clusters of Adaptive Evolution in the Human Genome

Considerable work has been devoted to identifying regions of the human genome that have been subjected to recent positive selection. Although detailed follow-up studies of putatively selected regions are critical for a deeper understanding of human evolutionary history, such studies have received comparably less attention. Recently, we have shown that ALMS1 has been the target of recent positive selection acting on standing variation in Eurasian populations. Here, we describe a careful follow-up analysis of genetic variation across the ALMS1 region, which unexpectedly revealed a cluster of substrates of positive selection. Specifically, through the analysis of SNP data from the HapMap and Human Genome Diversity Project–Centre d’Etude du Polymorphisme Humain samples as well sequence data from the region, we find compelling evidence for three independent and distinct signals of recent positive selection across this 3 Mb region surrounding ALMS1. Moreover, we analyzed the HapMap data to identify other putative clusters of independent selective events and conservatively discovered 19 additional clusters of adaptive evolution. This work has important implications for the interpretation of genome-scans for positive selection in humans and more broadly contributes to a better understanding of how recent positive selection has shaped genetic variation across the human genome

Unprecedented Disruption: COVID-19 Impact on San Diego Nonprofits

Nonprofit organizations are often on the frontlines of crisis, serving as a critical partner to government in sustaining our community safety net and quality of life. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many local nonprofits are experiencing increased demands for services, yet have been hindered or completely cut off from responding due to stay at home orders, revenue loss, and physical distancing. In an effort to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on local nonprofits’ ability to meet their communities’ needs, The University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Institute has been surveying nonprofit leaders since March 2020. This report documents findings from the second survey of nonprofit leaders administered between April 21-27, 2020. A total of 381 nonprofit leaders representing both small and large nonprofits from a variety of subsectors responded to the second survey. While the survey was a convenience sample, the results are similar to the actual composition of the nonprofit sector except for an overrepresentation of arts and culture and environment and an underrepresentation of education. In terms of budget size, the smallest nonprofits (revenue under $50K) were underrepresented and the largest nonprofits (revenue$5 Million+) were overrepresented.https://digital.sandiego.edu/npi-npissues/1004/thumbnail.jp

Doing and evaluating community research - A process and outcomes approach for communities and researchers

First paragraph: This guide aims to help community partners and academics maximise the benefits of research that is coproduced between communities and academic researchers based in a university. It is divided into three parts: - Learning points - The research story - themes and lessons - How to evaluate The text is hyperlinked for easy access for those who are reading the electronic version. The page numbers in the learning points above take you to the relevant text, as does the underlined text in this section