Tumor predisposition in mice mutant for p63 and p73: Evidence for broader tumor suppressor functions for the p53 family

Summaryp63 and p73 are functionally and structurally related to the tumor suppressor p53. However, their own role in tumor suppression is unclear. Given the p53-like properties of p63 and p73, we tested whether they are involved in tumor suppression by aging mice heterozygous for mutations in all p53 family genes and scored for spontaneous tumors. We show here that p63+/−;p73+/− mice develop spontaneous tumors. Loss of p63 and p73 can also cooperate with loss of p53 in tumor development. Mice heterozygous for mutations in both p53 and p63 or p53 and p73 displayed higher tumor burden and metastasis compared to p53+/− mice. These findings provide evidence for a broader role for the p53 family than has been previously reported

Recommendations to improve physical activity among teenagers- A qualitative study with ethnic minority and European teenagers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To understand the key challenges and explore recommendations from teenagers to promote physical activity with a focus on ethnic minority children.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Focus groups with teenagers aged 16-18 of Bangladeshi, Somali or Welsh descent attending a participating school in South Wales, UK. There were seventy four participants (18 Somali, 24 Bangladeshi and 32 Welsh children) divided into 12 focus groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The boys were more positive about the benefits of exercise than the girls and felt there were not enough facilities or enough opportunity for unsupervised activity. The girls felt there was a lack of support to exercise from their family. All the children felt that attitudes to activity for teenagers needed to change, so that there was more family and community support for girls to be active and for boys to have freedom to do activities they wanted without formal supervision. It was felt that older children from all ethnic backgrounds should be involved more in delivering activities and schools needs to provide more frequent and a wider range of activities.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study takes a child-focused approach to explore how interventions should be designed to promote physical activity in youth. Interventions need to improve access to facilities but also counteract attitudes that teenagers should be studying or working and not 'hanging about' playing with friends. Thus, the value of activity for teenagers needs to be promoted not just among the teenagers but with their teachers, parents and members of the community.</p

‘It’s our anxiety that keeps them locked up’. Protection for whom? Responding to the needs of ‘at risk’ young women in Scotland

This thesis critiques the constructions of girls and young women who are in, or are considered ‘at risk’ of, secure care or custody by exploring the ways in which they are explained and understood by the practitioners who work closely with them. The research was shaped by feminist concerns and aims, and involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 50 practitioners working with young women in a range of settings related to criminal justice in Scotland: prison, secure care, social work, and third-sector community services.  A key concern of the thesis was to contribute to the growing body of knowledge and understanding about these ‘at risk’ young women. The work that exists in the Scottish, and wider UK, sector offers rich insights into different aspects of the experiences of this marginalised population, but very little of this is focused upon the role of the practitioner, or on practice that is conducted with this group of young women. In adding to this under-researched area, the thesis makes several contributions. Firstly, it supports the work of other feminist scholars through adding to the limited body of UK-specific knowledge regarding young women’s pathways into criminal justice contact. Secondly, it contributes to feminist concerns regarding the different and changing modes of social control to which young women are subjected, finding that practitioner contribution of knowledge to such discourses can serve to exacerbate the responsibility that is placed upon them in working with these young women. Thirdly, the thesis details the aspects of working practice that practitioners viewed as key to their work, and by doing so, gives context to understanding why so many practitioners describe finding young women a ‘difficult’ group with whom to work. Lastly the thesis contributes by its exploration of the personal experiences of practitioners in conducting their work, and the working environment and conditions surrounding these, which are framed in the thesis as gendered emotional labour. The thesis makes the argument that practitioners often experience difficulties not only because they are faced with hearing about or experiencing distressing stories, but because of the precarious situations that many work within, and because of the ways in which gendered risk and gendered vulnerability act as tools of governance, leaving them anxious and uncertain about their own ‘risky decisions’ in these insecure work environments

Football and domestic abuse: a literature review

Tackling domestic abuse is a key priority for the Scottish Government and its partners. There is evidence of a correlation between the occurrence of certain football matches in Scotland and increased reports of domestic abuse. There is, however, limited evidence that explains this link. This literature review was commissioned by the Scottish Government to examine existing evidence about the relationship between domestic abuse and football

Football and domestic abuse: a literature review

Presentasjon ved Lørdagsuniversitetet 17. november 2018