Participatory politics, environmental journalism and newspaper campaigns

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Journalism Studies, 13(2), 210 - 225, 2012, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/1461670X.2011.646398.This article explores the extent to which approaches to participatory politics might offer a more useful alternative to understanding the role of environmental journalism in a society where the old certainties have collapsed, only to be replaced by acute uncertainty. This uncertainty not only generates acute public anxiety about risks, it has also undermined confidence in the validity of long-standing premises about the ideal role of the media in society and journalistic professionalism. The consequence, this article argues, is that aspirations of objective reportage are outdated and ill-equipped to deal with many of the new risk stories environmental journalism covers. It is not a redrawing of boundaries that is needed but a wholesale relocation of our frameworks into approaches better suited to the socio-political conditions and uncertainties of late modernity. The exploration of participatory approaches is an attempt to suggest one way this might be done

The retinoid agonist Tazarotene promotes angiogenesis and wound healing

Therapeutic angiogenesis is a major goal ofregenerative medicine, but no clinically approved small molecule exists that enhancesnew blood vessel formation. Here we show, using a phenotype-driven high-content imaging screen of an annotated chemical library of 1280 bioactive small molecules, that the retinoid agonist Tazarotene, enhances in vitroangiogenesis, promoting branching morphogenesis, and tubule remodeling. The pro-angiogenic phenotype is mediated by Retinoic Acid Receptor (RAR) but not Retinoic X Receptor(RXR) activation, and is characterized by secretion of the pro-angiogenic factors Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF), Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGFA), Plasminogen Activator, Urokinase (PLAU) and Placental Growth Factor (PGF), and reduced secretion of the antiangiogenic factor Pentraxin-3 (PTX3) from adjacent fibroblasts. In vivo, Tazarotene enhanced the growth of mature and functional microvessels in Matrigel implants and wound healing models, and increased blood flow. Notably, in ear punch wound healing model, Tazarotene promoted tissue repair characterized by rapid ear punch closure with normal-appearing skin containing new hair follicles, and maturing collagen fibers. Our study suggests that Tazarotene, an FDA-approved small molecule, could be potentially exploited for therapeutic applications in neovascularization and wound healing

Effects of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on the pharmacology of rat conduit and resistance intrapulmonary arteries

Abstract Background Poor control of blood glucose in diabetes is known to promote vascular dysfunction and hypertension. Diabetes was recently shown to be linked to an increased prevalence of pulmonary hypertension. The aim of this study was to determine how the pharmacological reactivity of intrapulmonary arteries is altered in a rat model of diabetes. Methods Diabetes was induced in rats by the β-cell toxin, streptozotocin (STZ, 60 mg/kg), and isolated conduit and resistance intrapulmonary arteries studied 3–4 months later. Isometric tension responses to the vasoconstrictors phenylephrine, serotonin and PGF2α, and the vasodilators carbachol and glyceryl trinitrate, were compared in STZ-treated rats and age-matched controls. Results STZ-induced diabetes significantly blunted the maximum response of conduit, but not resistance pulmonary arteries to phenylephrine and serotonin, without a change in pEC50. Agonist responses were differentially reduced, with serotonin (46% smaller) affected more than phenylephrine (32% smaller) and responses to PGF2α unaltered. Vasoconstriction caused by K+-induced depolarisation remained normal in diabetic rats. Endothelium-dependent dilation to carbachol and endothelium-independent dilation to glyceryl trinitrate were also unaffected. Conclusion The small resistance pulmonary arteries are relatively resistant to STZ-induced diabetes. The impaired constrictor responsiveness of conduit vessels was agonist dependent, suggesting possible loss of receptor expression or function. The observed effects cannot account for pulmonary hypertension in diabetes, rather the impaired reactivity to vasoconstrictors would counteract the development of pulmonary hypertensive disease.</p

The justice system is still failing victims and survivors of sexual violence

The number of rape cases being dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) continues to sharply decline. The CPS charged, prosecuted and convicted fewer cases despite more alleged rapes being recorded by police in the year to March 2019. This data shows charged cases fell by 38%; prosecutions dropped by 33%; and convictions declined 27% (Crown Prosecution Service, 2019). However, alleged rapes recorded by the police increased by 9% in the same period. In effect, there were three convictions for every 100 rape cases recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year to March 2019

Phenotype-based high-content chemical library screening identifies small molecules that enhance endothelial cell branching and tubulogenesis

The goal of therapeutic angiogenesis is enhancing new vessel growth that can effectively provide blood supply to ischemic tissues. The endothelial cellular process such as establishment of new connections, branching and tubulogenesis are essential aspects in the growing of a functional vascular network. With the aim of identifying novel small molecule enhancers of these aspects during angiogenesis, we used endothelial tube formation assay to develop an automated assay that enables high-throughput/content screening of small molecule libraries. Methods: The assay is automated and miniaturized into a 384-well format enabling to profile a library of 1280 Pharmacologically Active Compounds (LOPAC1280) for their angiogenic activity. The screen was conducted in duplicate at a final compound concentration of 10 μM using primary Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells. Following cell fixation and staining, the plates were imaged using a high content microscopy system (Operetta). The images were processed and analyzed using fully-automated Metamorph image analysis software. Results: The screen resulted in an initial active compound list of 74 inhibitors and 14 enhancers. Hit characterization revealed 8 enhancer small molecules that reproducibly increased significantly both branching points and total tubule length in a dose dependent manner with low micromolar range (EC50<10μM). Among enhancer hits, there were: GBR-12909 (dopamine reuptake inhibitor), SB 202190 (p38 MAP kinase inhibitor), and Y-27632 (ROCK inhibitor). Moreover, the effect of enhancer hits was examined on multiple cellular aspects of angiogenesis: cell adhesion, proliferation, motility and 3D endothelial sprouting. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that high-throughput/content approach provides a powerful tool to identify new potential targets or to prioritize therapeutic agent candidates for in vivo and clinical testing of pro-angiogenic therapies for ischemic diseases

Effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing HIV acquisition and transmission among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in high income settings: A systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: HIV transmission continues among gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (GBMSM), with those who are younger, or recent migrants, or of minority ethnicity or who are gender diverse remaining at increased risk. We aimed to identify and describe recent studies evaluating the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions for GBMSM in high income countries. METHODS: We searched ten electronic databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs), conducted in high income settings, and published since 2013 to update a previous systematic review (Stromdahl et al, 2015). We predefined four outcome measures of interest: 1) HIV incidence 2) STI incidence 3) condomless anal intercourse (CLAI) (or measure of CLAI) and 4) number of sexual partners. We used the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (UK) Quality Appraisal of Intervention Studies tool to assess the quality of papers included in the review. As the trials contained a range of effect measures (e.g. odds ratio, risk difference) comparing the arms in the RCTs, we converted them into standardized effect sizes (SES) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: We identified 39 original papers reporting 37 studies. Five intervention types were identified: one-to-one counselling (15 papers), group interventions (7 papers), online interventions (9 papers), Contingency Management for substance use (2 papers) and Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) (6 papers). The quality of the studies was mixed with over a third of studies rated as high quality and 11% rated as poor quality. There was some evidence that one-to-one counselling, group interventions (4-10 participants per group) and online (individual) interventions could be effective for reducing HIV transmission risk behaviours such as condomless anal intercourse. PrEP was the only intervention that was consistently effective at reducing HIV incidence. CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic review of the recent evidence that we were able to analyse indicates that PrEP is the most effective intervention for reducing HIV acquisition among GBMSM. Targeted and culturally tailored behavioural interventions for sub-populations of GBMSM vulnerable to HIV infection and other STIs should also be considered, particularly for GBMSM who cannot access or decline to use PrEP

Search for squarks and gluinos with the ATLAS detector in final states with jets and missing transverse momentum using √s=8 TeV proton-proton collision data

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing high-p T jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded in 2012 by the ATLAS experiment in s√=8 TeV proton-proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider, with a total integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1. Results are interpreted in a variety of simplified and specific supersymmetry-breaking models assuming that R-parity is conserved and that the lightest neutralino is the lightest supersymmetric particle. An exclusion limit at the 95% confidence level on the mass of the gluino is set at 1330 GeV for a simplified model incorporating only a gluino and the lightest neutralino. For a simplified model involving the strong production of first- and second-generation squarks, squark masses below 850 GeV (440 GeV) are excluded for a massless lightest neutralino, assuming mass degenerate (single light-flavour) squarks. In mSUGRA/CMSSM models with tan β = 30, A 0 = −2m 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded for masses below 1700 GeV. Additional limits are set for non-universal Higgs mass models with gaugino mediation and for simplified models involving the pair production of gluinos, each decaying to a top squark and a top quark, with the top squark decaying to a charm quark and a neutralino. These limits extend the region of supersymmetric parameter space excluded by previous searches with the ATLAS detector

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT