Evidence-based models of policing to protect children from sexual exploitation

This research, carried out between 2015 and 2017 was undertaken by a team at the International Centre: Researching child sexual exploitation, trafficking and violence at the University of Bedfordshire. The International Centre has an established reputation for child-centred research and recently completed an initiative joint funded by the Home Office, Higher Education Funding Council for England and College of Policing to improve and share learning on policing child sexual exploitation (CSE) (see website https://www.uobcsepolicinghub.org.uk/). The original overarching aim of this research project was “to improve multi-agency work with police to prevent child sexual exploitation”. It was funded by KPMG Foundation and Norfolk Constabulary, supported by The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Lead for Child Protection and Abuse Investigation. This research is the first study of its kind. It is the first to document examples of current operating models of police responses to CSE in England and Wales; the first to attempt to draw out summaries of how features of policing improve disruption and prosecution of offenders; and the first study to assess the features of CSE policing responses in relation to the outcomes for victims. The research involved interviewing police officers and civilian staff including researchers and analysts from CSE teams across eight selected study forces in England

Barnardo’s ReachOut: final evaluation report March 2019

ReachOut is a preventative child sexual exploitation (CSE) project established in 2016 under a partnership funding agreement between Barnardo’s, the KPMG Foundation, Department for Education, Communities and Local Government and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC). An independent evaluation was commissioned from the University of Bedfordshire with DMSS Research both to evaluate the impact of the project and to provide ongoing learning and feedback. A diverse staff team was recruited from a range of professional backgrounds including criminal justice, social work and youth work. There have been three main strands of work undertaken by ReachOut in order to achieve its aims: •Outreach work to raise awareness and provide support to children and young people in their communities  •Healthy relationship education in schools and other settings •Direct support for children and young people identified as at risk of CSE. These have operated at three levels of prevention: universal, including outreach at community events across Rotherham, helping to convey the message  that CSE is relevant to everyone; primary prevention, including education work in schools reaching over 2000 children and young people; targeted prevention with groups and communities identified as potentially more vulnerable to CSE as well as direct work with around 300 individual children and young people. Over the course of the three years, evaluators have carried out interviews with ReachOut staff and managers and representatives from external agencies; observed sessions of delivery; interviewed samples of young people and parents; analysed feedback questionnaires from school students and staff; reviewed project monitoring and samples of case records

Service evaluation of weight outcomes as a function of initial BMI in 34,271 adults referred to a primary care/commercial weight management partnership scheme

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Intervention fidelity in the definitive cluster randomised controlled trial of the Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP) trial: findings from the process evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The Healthy Lifestyles Programme (HeLP) was a novel school-located intervention for 9-10 year olds, designed to prevent obesity by changing patterns of child behaviour through the creation of supportive school and home environments using dynamic and creative delivery methods. This paper reports on both the quantitative and qualitative data regarding the implementation of the HeLP intervention in the definitive cluster randomised controlled trial, which was part of the wider process evaluation. METHODS: Mixed methods were used to collect data on intervention uptake, fidelity of delivery in terms of content and quality of delivery of the intervention, as well as school and child engagement with the programme. Data were collected using registers of attendance, observations and checklists, field notes, focus groups with children and semi-structured interviews with teachers. Qualitative data were analysed thematically and quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: All 16 intervention schools received a complete or near complete programme (94-100%), which was delivered in the spirit in which it had been designed. Of the 676 children in the intervention schools, over 90% of children participated in each phase of HeLP; 92% of children across the socio-economic spectrum were deemed to be engaged with HeLP and qualitative data revealed a high level of enjoyment by all children, particularly to the interactive drama workshops. Further evidence of child engagment with the programme was demonstrated by children's clear understanding of programme messages around marketing, moderation and food labelling. Thirteen of the intervention schools were deemed to be fully engaged with HeLP and qualitative data revealed a high level of teacher 'buy in', due to the programme's compatability with the National Curriculum, level of teacher support and use of innovative and creative delivery methods by external drama practitioners. CONCLUSION: Our trial shows that it is possible to successfully scale up complex school-based interventions, engage schools and children across the socio-economic spectrum and deliver an intervention as designed. As programme integrity was maintained throughout the HeLP trial, across all intervention schools, we can be confident that the trial findings are a true reflection of the effectiveness of the intervention, enabling policy recommendations to be made. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN15811706

Absolut “copper catalyzation perfected”; robust living polymerization of NIPAM : Guinness is good for SET-LRP

The controlled polymerization of N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) is reported in a range of international beers, wine, ciders and spirits utilizing Cu(0)-mediated living radical polymerization (SET-LRP). Highly active Cu(0) is first formed in situ by the rapid disproportionation of [Cu(I)(Me6-Tren)Br] in the commercial water–alcohol mixtures. Rapid, yet highly controlled, radical polymerization follows (Đ values as low as 1.05) despite the numerous chemicals of diverse functionality present in these solvents e.g. alpha acids, sugars, phenols, terpenoids, flavonoids, tannins, metallo-complexes, anethole etc. The results herein demonstrate the robust nature of the aqueous SET-LRP protocol, underlining its ability to operate efficiently in a wide range of complex chemical environments

Multi-omics of the gut microbial ecosystem in inflammatory bowel diseases.

Inflammatory bowel diseases, which include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, affect several million individuals worldwide. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are complex diseases that are heterogeneous at the clinical, immunological, molecular, genetic, and microbial levels. Individual contributing factors have been the focus of extensive research. As part of the Integrative Human Microbiome Project (HMP2 or iHMP), we followed 132 subjects for one year each to generate integrated longitudinal molecular profiles of host and microbial activity during disease (up to 24 time points each; in total 2,965 stool, biopsy, and blood specimens). Here we present the results, which provide a comprehensive view of functional dysbiosis in the gut microbiome during inflammatory bowel disease activity. We demonstrate a characteristic increase in facultative anaerobes at the expense of obligate anaerobes, as well as molecular disruptions in microbial transcription (for example, among clostridia), metabolite pools (acylcarnitines, bile acids, and short-chain fatty acids), and levels of antibodies in host serum. Periods of disease activity were also marked by increases in temporal variability, with characteristic taxonomic, functional, and biochemical shifts. Finally, integrative analysis identified microbial, biochemical, and host factors central to this dysregulation. The study's infrastructure resources, results, and data, which are available through the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Multi'omics Database ( http://ibdmdb.org ), provide the most comprehensive description to date of host and microbial activities in inflammatory bowel diseases