Towards a framework for cooperation:spatial public diplomacy on the island of Ireland

European spatial planning arguments advocate a blend of strategic thinking, coordination and related initiatives to promote and secure territorial cohesion. These ambitions embrace a set of normative agendas around economic, social and environmental convergence, competitiveness, policy coordination and efficient infrastructure provision across space. In practice, territorial management then involves devising interventions across inter-connecting scales of governance which comprise complex agency relations, differentiated places and defined communities. In transnational contexts, attempts to foster appropriate spatial governance arrangements and relations across sovereign borders necessitate re-crafting planning and development cultures and service delivery practices to advance territorial cohesion. Transnational working necessarily involves cooperation across an extended range of institutions, interests, influences and potential actors. This paper examines attempts to secure bi-lateral commitment to a joint planning framework for the two distinct territories on the island of Ireland. Specifically, it traces the formal and informal activities involved in the development of the 2013 Framework for Cooperation between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Informed by ideas of cross-border regionalism, it discusses the necessary spatial public diplomacy involved in the social reconstruction of strategic spatial planning to improve policy coordination and cross-border working

Substrate stiffness and VE-cadherin mechano-transduction coordinate to regulate endothelial monolayer integrity.

The vascular endothelium is subject to diverse mechanical cues that regulate vascular endothelial barrier function. In addition to rigidity sensing through integrin adhesions, mechanical perturbations such as changes in fluid shear stress can also activate force transduction signals at intercellular junctions. This study investigated how extracellular matrix rigidity and intercellular force transduction, activated by vascular endothelial cadherin, coordinate to regulate the integrity of endothelial monolayers. Studies used complementary mechanical measurements of endothelial monolayers grown on patterned substrates of variable stiffness. Specifically perturbing VE-cadherin receptors activated intercellular force transduction signals that increased integrin-dependent cell contractility and disrupted cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesions. Further investigations of the impact of substrate rigidity on force transduction signaling demonstrated how cells integrate extracellular mechanics cues and intercellular force transduction signals, to regulate endothelial integrity and global tissue mechanics. VE-cadherin specific signaling increased focal adhesion remodeling and cell contractility, while sustaining the overall mechanical equilibrium at the mesoscale. Conversely, increased substrate rigidity exacerbates the disruptive effects of intercellular force transduction signals, by increasing heterogeneity in monolayer stress distributions. The results provide new insights into how substrate stiffness and intercellular force transduction coordinate to regulate endothelial monolayer integrity

Higher Education in Nigeria: Challenges and Suggestions

Nigerian higher education is plagued with many challenges. This paper discusses the various challenges facing higher education in Nigeria. To do this end, the researchers employed the use of secondary data. These data were sourced from online and print materials. Inadequate funding, corruption, inadequate infrastructural facilities, shortage of academic staff, Strike actions, Brain-drain, poor research, weak administrators and insecurity. To resolve the challenges facing higher education in Nigeria, the following have been recommended: adequate funding of higher education, employment of more academic staff, provision of adequate infrastructural facilities, motivation of academic staff, appointment of qualified administrators, fight all forms of corruption in higher institutions, provision of adequate security in all higher institutions and implementation all agreement with union groups

The Road to “Severe Obesity”: Weight Loss Surgery Candidates Talk About Their Histories of Weight Gain

Much research focuses on the causes of weight gain, but few studies examine the perspectives of those who have been categorized as “severely obese.” This paper discusses the findings of 54 interviews with weight loss surgery candidates in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. We explore participants’ perspectives on their histories of weight gain, focusing on their explanations for weight gain as well as the emotions surrounding their weight gain experiences. We find that the dominant individualized, medicalized construction of obesity both (1) adds to the burden of blame for weight loss surgery candidates, with potential emotional health implications, and (2) overlooks key social determinants of health

Assessment of political officeholders’ attitudes towards educational planning in federal capital territory, Abuja, Nigeria.

Introduction: The attitudes of political officeholder towards educational planning in Nigeria is not encouraging and this is affecting the entire educational system. Purpose: This purpose of this paper is to assess the political officeholder attitudes towards planning of education in FCT. Methodology: The survey design was used for the study. Random sampling technique was employed to select the respondents while questionnaire was adopted for data collection, test re-test method was used to determine the reliability of the instrument. This study used SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) soft for data analysis. The data collected was cleansed by the researchers who removed the unwanted data. The results were analyzed using percentage, mean and standard deviation and chi-square method. Result: The results revealed that there was significant relationship between the attitudes of political officeholders and poor planning of education in FCT.   Finding: The finding revealed that the majorities of the respondents disagreed that political officeholders have positive attitude toward educational planning, majorities of the respondents disagreed that adequately funding are provided for educational planning. It was also  discovered that majorities of the respondents disagreed that political officeholders are support the capacity development of educational planners and 100% of the respondents disagreed that political officeholders are providing necessary planning tools for educational planner to plan education. Recommendation: The government should appoint people with passion for educational development and political officeholders should develop positive attitude toward educational planning in FCT by allocating adequate funds for educational planning