Towards the ‘Big Society’: What role for neighbourhood working? Evidence from a comparative European study

Under the New Labour government, the neighbourhood emerged prominently as a site for policy interventions and as a space for civic activity, resulting in the widespread establishment of neighbourhood-level structures for decision-making and service delivery. The future existence and utility of these arrangements is now unclear under the Coalition government's Big Society proposals and fiscal austerity measures. On the one hand, sub-local governance structures might be seen as promoting central-to-local and local-to-community devolution of decision-making. On the other, they might be seen as layers of expensive bureaucracy standing in the way of bottom-up community action. Arguably the current value and future role of these structures in facilitating the Big Society will depend on how they are constituted and with what purpose. There are many local variations. In this paper we look at three case studies, in England, France and the Netherlands, to learn how different approaches to neighbourhood working have facilitated and constrained civic participation and action. Drawing on the work of Lowndes and Sullivan (2008) we show how the achievement of civic objectives can be hampered in structures set up primarily to achieve social, economic and political goals, partly because of (remediable) flaws in civic engagement but partly because of the inherent tensions between these objectives in relation to issues of spatial scale and the constitution and function of neighbourhood structures. The purpose of neighbourhood structures needs to be clearly thought through. We also note a distinction between 'invited' and 'popular' spaces for citizen involvement, the latter being created by citizens themselves. 'Invited' spaces have tended to dominate to date, and the Coalition's agenda suggests a fundamental shift to 'popular' spaces. However we conclude that the Big Society will require neighbourhood working to be both invited and popular. Citizen participation cannot always replace local government - sometimes it requires its support and stimulation. The challenge for local authorities is to reconstitute 'invited' spaces (not to abolish them) and at the same time to facilitate 'popular' spaces for neighbourhood working.Big Society, local government, neighbourhood, neighbourhood management, community

Linking high school students' achievement goal orientations with their competence beliefs and their perception of teachers' emotional support during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract : Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents have experienced limitations in their everyday activities. Consequently, their mental health has become an area of concern. However, there has been much less of a focus on the factors and mechanisms contributing to how they have approached their various academic activities during the pandemic. The current study fills this gap by investigating associations between adolescents’ competence beliefs and perception of teachers’ emotional support and their achievement goals (mastery, performance, and work avoidance) at the onset of the second wave of this pandemic in Canada. Participants were 90 Canadian high school adolescents in grades 9 and 10 and they were surveyed in November of 2020. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and mediation analyses. Among the most salient results, competence beliefs were found to predict achievement goals, above and beyond teachers’ emotional support, and these beliefs were significantly and positively associated with mastery and performance orientation, and marginally and negatively associated with work avoidance orientation. Results also showed that competence beliefs mediated the association between teachers’ emotional support and the mastery goal orientation. These findings are discussed in light of relevant pre-pandemic evidence about the role of competence beliefs and teachers’ emotional support on achievement goal orientations

High-Throughput Drug Screening Identifies a Potent Wnt Inhibitor that Promotes Airway Basal Stem Cell Homeostasis.

Mechanisms underpinning airway epithelial homeostatic maintenance and ways to prevent its dysregulation remain elusive. Herein, we identify that β-catenin phosphorylated at Y489 (p-β-cateninY489) emerges during human squamous lung cancer progression. This led us to develop a model of airway basal stem cell (ABSC) hyperproliferation by driving Wnt/β-catenin signaling, resulting in a morphology that resembles premalignant lesions and loss of ciliated cell differentiation. To identify small molecules that could reverse this process, we performed a high-throughput drug screen for inhibitors of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Our studies unveil Wnt inhibitor compound 1 (WIC1), which suppresses T-cell factor/lymphoid enhancer-binding factor (TCF/LEF) activity, reduces ABSC proliferation, induces ciliated cell differentiation, and decreases nuclear p-β-cateninY489. Collectively, our work elucidates a dysregulated Wnt/p-β-cateninY489 axis in lung premalignancy that can be modeled in vitro and identifies a Wnt/β-catenin inhibitor that promotes airway homeostasis. WIC1 may therefore serve as a tool compound in regenerative medicine studies with implications for restoring normal airway homeostasis after injury

Discovery of a Wide Planetary-mass Companion to the Young M3 Star GU Psc

We present the discovery of a comoving planetary-mass companion ~42" (~2000 AU) from a young M3 star, GU Psc, a likely member of the young AB Doradus Moving Group (ABDMG). The companion was first identified via its distinctively red i − z color (>3.5) through a survey made with Gemini-S/GMOS. Follow-up Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope/WIRCam near-infrared (NIR) imaging, Gemini-N/GNIRS NIR spectroscopy and Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer photometry indicate a spectral type of T3.5 ± 1 and reveal signs of low gravity which we attribute to youth. Keck/Adaptive Optics NIR observations did not resolve the companion as a binary. A comparison with atmosphere models indicates T_eff = 1000–1100 K and log g = 4.5–5.0. Based on evolution models, this temperature corresponds to a mass of 9–13  M_Jup for the age of ABDMG (70–130 Myr). The relatively well-constrained age of this companion and its very large angular separation to its host star will allow its thorough characterization and will make it a valuable comparison for planetary-mass companions that will be uncovered by forthcoming planet-finder instruments such as Gemini Planet Imager and SPHERE

Probing potassium in the atmosphere of HD 80606b with tunable filter transit spectrophotometry from the Gran Telescopio Canarias

We report observations of HD 80606 using the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) and the OSIRIS tunable filter imager. We acquired very-high-precision, narrow-band photometry in four bandpasses around the K I absorption feature during the January 2010 transit of HD 80606b and during out-of-transit observations conducted in January and April of 2010. We obtained differential photometric precisions of \sim 2.08e-4 for the in-transit flux ratio measured at 769.91-nm, which probes the K I line core. We find no significant difference in the in-transit flux ratio between observations at 768.76 and 769.91 nm. Yet, we find a difference of \sim 8.09 \pm 2.88e-4 between these observations and observations at a longer wavelength that probes the K I wing (777.36 nm). While the presence of red noise in the transit data has a non-negligible effect on the uncertainties in the flux ratio, the 777.36-769.91 nm colour during transit shows no effects from red noise and also indicates a significant colour change, with a mean value of \sim 8.99\pm0.62e-4. This large change in the colour is equivalent to a \sim 4.2% change in the apparent planetary radius with wavelength, which is much larger than the atmospheric scale height. This implies the observations probed the atmosphere at very low pressures as well as a dramatic change in the pressure at which the slant optical depth reaches unity between \sim770 and 777 nm. We hypothesize that the excess absorption may be due to K I in a high-speed wind being driven from the exoplanet's exosphere. We discuss the viability of this and alternative interpretations, including stellar limb darkening, starspots, and effects from Earth's atmosphere. We strongly encourage follow-up observations of HD 80606b to confirm the signal measured here. Finally, we discuss the future prospects for exoplanet characterization using tunable filter spectrophotometry.Comment: Accepted to MNRAS; revised version includes some major updates; now 21 pages, with 14 figures and 9 table

Depletion and activation of mucosal CD4 T cells in HIV infected women with HPV-associated lesions of the cervix uteri

Background: The burden of HPV-associated premalignant and malignant cervical lesions remains high in HIV+ women even under ART treatment. In order to identify possible underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms, we studied activation and HIV co-receptor expression in cervical T-cell populations in relation to HIV, HPV and cervical lesion status. Methods Cervical cytobrush (n = 468: 253 HIV- and 215 HIV+;71% on ART) and blood (in a subset of 39 women) was collected from women in Mbeya, Tanzania. Clinical data on HIV and HPV infection, as well as ART status was collected. T cell populations were characterized using multiparametric flow cytometry-based on their expression of markers for cellular activation (HLA-DR), and memory (CD45RO), as well as HIV co-receptors (CCR5, alpha(4)beta(7)). Results Cervical and blood T cells differed significantly, with higher frequencies of T cells expressing CD45RO, as well as the HIV co-receptors CCR5 and alpha(4)beta(7)in the cervical mucosa. The skewed CD4/CD8 T cell ratio in blood of HIV+ women was mirrored in the cervical mucosa and HPV co-infection was linked to lower levels of mucosal CD4 T cells in HIV+ women (%median: 22 vs 32;p = 0.04). In addition, HIV and HPV infection, and especially HPV-associated cervical lesions were linked to significantly higher frequencies of HLA-DR+ CD4 and CD8 T cells (p-values < 0.05). Interestingly, HPV infection did not significantly alter frequencies of CCR5+ or alpha(4)beta(7)+ CD4 T cells. Conclusion The increased proportion of activated cervical T cells associated with HPV and HIV infection, as well as HPV-associated lesions, together with the HIV-induced depletion of cervical CD4 T cells, may increase the risk for HPV infection, associated premalignant lesions and cancer in HIV+ women. Further, high levels of activated CD4 T cells associated with HPV and HPV-associated lesions could contribute to a higher susceptibility to HIV in HPV infected women

Prenatal Diagnosis of Bilateral Ectrodactyly and Radial Agenesis Associated with Trisomy 10 Mosaicism

Ectrodactyly or split hand and foot malformations (SHFMs) are rare malformations of the limbs, characterized by median cles of the hands and feet, syndactyly, and aplasia and/or hypoplasia of the phalanges. ey represent a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder, with both sporadic and familial cases. Most of the genomic rearrangements identi�ed to date in some forms of SHFM are autosomal dominant traits, involving various chromosome regions. Bilateral radial ray defects comprise also a large heterogenous group of disorders, including trisomy 18, Fanconi anemia, and thrombocytopenia-absent-radius syndrome, not commonly associated with ectrodactyly. e present paper describes a case of ectrodactyly associated with bilateral radial ray defects, diagnosed in the �rst trimester of pregnancy, in a fetus affected by trisomy 10. Only four cases of sporadic and isolated ectrodactyly, diagnosed by ultrasonography between 14 and 22 weeks&apos; gestation, have been reported. To our knowledge, the present case is the �rst report of mosaic trisomy 10 associated with SHFM and radial aplasia. Trisomy 10 is a rare lethal chromosomal abnormality, most frequently found in abortion products. Only six liveborn mosaic trisomy 10 infants, with severe malformations, dead in early infancy, have been reported. A severe clinical syndrome can be de�ned, comprising ear abnormalities, cle lip/palate, malformations of eyes, heart, and kidneys, and deformity of hands and feet and most oen associated with death neonatally or in early infancy

Exoplanet Diversity in the Era of Space-based Direct Imaging Missions

This whitepaper discusses the diversity of exoplanets that could be detected by future observations, so that comparative exoplanetology can be performed in the upcoming era of large space-based flagship missions. The primary focus will be on characterizing Earth-like worlds around Sun-like stars. However, we will also be able to characterize companion planets in the system simultaneously. This will not only provide a contextual picture with regards to our Solar system, but also presents a unique opportunity to observe size dependent planetary atmospheres at different orbital distances. We propose a preliminary scheme based on chemical behavior of gases and condensates in a planet's atmosphere that classifies them with respect to planetary radius and incident stellar flux.Comment: A white paper submitted to the National Academy of Sciences Exoplanet Science Strateg