Comparative phylogenetic analysis of vitellogenin in species of cyst and root-knot nematodes

© KONINKLIJKE BRILL NV, LEIDEN, 2023. This is the accepted manuscript version of an article which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1163/15685411-bja10232Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN) are an economically important group of crop pests and are oviparous animals; all nutrients required to develop and ensure the survival of their unhatched progeny need to be deposited within the egg, including proteins. The most abundant protein deposited is vitellin, formed of a precursor protein vitellogenin, which has roles in transporting lipids, providing amino acids and influencing post-embryonic development. The genes encoding vitellogenin have been well studied in Caenorhabditis elegans, but little is known about vitellogenin in PPN. Using the vitellogenin gene sequences from C. elegans, homologous sequences in the genomes of some economically important cyst and root-knot nematodes were identified and hypothetical vitellogenin genes were predicted. Protein domains were then determined. Sequences were aligned using MUSCLE and then used to construct phylogenetic trees using the maximum likelihood method. With the availability of genomic data and use of online local alignment tools, the vitellogenin encoding genes from C. elegans could be aligned to PPN genomes. All predicted genes contained the same protein domains as C. elegans; Vitellogenin-N, vitellogenin open beta-sheet and von Willebrand factor domain type D. The constructed phylogenetic tree clustered the species into four groups: root-knot nematodes, two cyst nematode groups and Caenorhabditis species. By determining the hypothetical vitellogenin genes in PPN and inferring their relationships, this could form a potential basis to understand further the role of vitellogenin in cyst and root-knot nematodes.Peer reviewe

What Role for Citizens? Evolving Engagement in Quadruple Helix Smart District Initiatives

Globally, smart city initiatives are becoming increasingly ubiquitous elements of complex, sociotechnical urban systems. While there is general agreement that cities cannot be smart without citizen involvement, the motivations, means, and mechanisms for engaging citizens remain contested. In response, this article asks what the role of citizens is in two recently established smart districts within the wider Smart Dublin programme: Smart Sandyford, a business district, and Smart Balbriggan, a town north of Dublin with Ireland's most ethnically diverse and youthful population. Using multiple methods (online and in-person interviews, site visits, a focus group, and participant observation), this article specifically examines how the "quadruple helix," a popular concept within innovation studies and one that is adopted in promotional materials by Dublin's emerging smart districts, is used by key actors as an overarching framing device for activities. It finds that, to date, the quadruple helix concept is being applied simplistically and uncritically, without attention to pre-existing and persistent patterns of uneven power and influence between the different actors involved. As such it risks inhibiting rather than supporting meaningful citizen engagement for smart and sustainable places that both smart districts articulate as a key driver of their activities

Trainee therapists' experiences of supervision during training:a meta-synthesis

Purpose Supervision is typically mandatory for therapists in training and plays an important role in their professional development. A number of qualitative studies have considered specific aspects of supervision. This systematic review aimed to synthesize these studies' findings and explore the experience and impact of supervision for trainee therapists. Methods A systematic search of the literature was conducted, and inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied. This led to a sample of 15 qualitative studies, with which a meta-synthesis was conducted. Results The meta-synthesis led to four key concepts: supervision as a learning opportunity, the supervisory relationship, power in supervision and the impact of supervision. These themes explored helpful and unhelpful aspects of supervision, including some concerns regarding the evaluation of supervision. Conclusions Supervision can effectively support trainee therapists in their personal and professional development. However, it can also lead to feelings of distress and self-doubt. Supervisors need to consider the power differential within supervision and attend to different factors within the supervisory relationship.  Key Practitioner Message Supervision can encourage personal and professional development, but it can also have a detrimental impact on trainee therapists' well-being, and consequently their clinical work and clients' experiences. Supervisees may not disclose unhelpful events or impacts from supervision, for fear of negative evaluation. Evaluation of supervisors should be facilitated and encouraged, to maintain good practice

Go home? the politics of immigration controversies

"The 2013 Go Home vans marked a turning point in government-sponsored communication designed to demonstrate control and toughness on immigration. In this study, the authors explore the effects of this toughness: on policy, public debate, pro-migrant and anti-racist activism, and on the everyday lives of people in Britain. Bringing together an authorial team of eight respected social researchers, alongside the voices of community organisations, policy makers, migrants and citizens, and with an afterword by journalist Kiri Kankhwende, this is an important intervention in one of the most heated social issues of our time.

Writing Motherhood for Contemporary Performance: Three Plays and Thesis

This dissertation investigates the vexed relation between motherhood, creativity and survival through three self-authored plays, two of which I also performed. The first play, This is Not a Festival, is set in 1985 and examines my area of research through the single traveller mother of Danni, charting her and son Leaf’s recovery after a vicious police attack has left them homeless and traumatised; the second, Githa, is a historical biography piece based on the life of twentieth century dramatist Githa Sowerby (1876-1970) whose playwriting career was thwarted by unplanned motherhood at the outbreak of the First World War; the third, Within This Landscape, is an autobiographical exploration of my own maternal heritage and is a homage to my own mother, an artist who died unexpectedly when I was still a child. I contextualise these plays within a historical time span which extends from the 1880s to the present and explore questions of identity, artistic fulfilment, economic independence and domestic confinement for women and ask what has changed or not changed for mothers battling to define themselves in their own right