Thinking about the Future: Young People in Low-Income Families

This paper examines the orientations to the future of young people living in low-income families in the U.K. and Portugal following the 2008 Global Financial Crisis and the contexts in which they are socially reproduced. It is based on data from comparative research on families and food poverty, funded by the European Research Council. The study focused on parents and young people aged 11–16 living in low-income families in three European countries (the U.K., Portugal and Norway); only the U.K. and Portuguese data were analysed here. Given the study was concerned with the consequences of low income for food insecurity, we primarily sought to understand how young people manage in the present; however, the project also affords a theoretical and methodological opportunity to explore young people’s thoughts about the future as they begin to transition to adulthood. We found that, when asked about the future, young people responded in different ways: some said they did not think about the future; others mentioned their dreams, but considered them unrealisable. while others expressed hopes that were more concrete and achievable. Precarity constrained the control that young people and their families exercised over their lives. We argue that young people’s aspirations and time horizons are framed in relation to the present and the temporalities of the life course, the public discourses to which they are subjected and the limited access of their families to resources provided by the labour market and the state

School meals as a resource for low-income families in three European countries: a comparative case approach

In the context of successive global crises and rising household food insecurity in wealthy European countries there is renewed attention to the role of school meals as a welfare intervention. However, little is known about the extent to which school meals are a resource for low-income families living in different contexts. Drawing on a mixed methods study of food in low-income families in three European countries, this paper adopts a realist ontological stance and an embedded case study approach to address this question. The research concerns low-income families with children aged 11–15 years in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis in the UK, Portugal and Norway. Based on a comparative, multi-layered analysis of macro-, meso- and micro-level contexts, we argue that publicly funded, nutritious school meals protect children from the direct effects of poverty on their food security, whilst underfunded and weakly regulated school food provision compounds children’s experiences of disadvantage and exclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for public policies that conceptualise school meals as a collective resource, like education, to which young people as bearers of the right to food are entitled.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Keresletfüggő-e az emberkereskedelem?

A tanulmányban bemutatott kutatás eredményei szerint három összefüggő tényező döntő fontosságú a sok migráns háztartási- és szexmunkás által megtapasztalt kizsákmányoló viszonyok magyarázatában: a) a munkaerőpiac azon szegmenseinek szabályozatlan jellege, amelyekben dolgoznak; b) a kizsákmányolható munka bőséges kínálata; c) a munkáltatók és kliensek viselkedését szabályozó társadalmi normák erőssége és rugalmassága. Bármely szabályozatlan piac folyamatos expanziója valószínűleg igényli és elősegíti a védtelen munka kizsákmányolását. A fizetett szex és a háztartási munka is különleges piaci szegmens, abban az értelemben, hogy a politika és a társadalom is kényelmetlennek érzi azokat, akik munkásként vagy fogyasztóként-munkáltatóként adnak és vesznek rajta. A hatékony szabályozás hiánya a szexmunkában és háztartási munkában is egyike azoknak a tényezőknek, amelyek elősegítik az olyan környezet kialakulását, melyben lehetővé és kifizetődővé válik a nem szabad munka használata

Urine and Plasma Metabolome of Healthy Adults Consuming the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Diet: A Randomized Pilot Feeding Study

We aimed to identify plasma and urine metabolites altered by the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet in a post-hoc analysis of a pilot feeding trial. Twenty adult participants with un-medicated hypertension consumed a Control diet for one week followed by 2 weeks of random assignment to either Control or DASH diet. Non-missing fasting plasma (n = 56) and 24-h urine (n = 40) were used to profile metabolites using untargeted gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Linear models were used to compare metabolite levels between the groups. In urine, 19 identifiable untargeted metabolites differed between groups at p < 0.05. These included a variety of phenolic acids and their microbial metabolites that were higher during the DASH diet, with many at false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted p < 0.2. In plasma, eight identifiable untargeted metabolites were different at p < 0.05, but only gamma-tocopherol was significantly lower on DASH at FDR adjusted p < 0.2. The results provide insights into the mechanisms of benefit of the DASH diet

Upconversion Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Mechanism, and Applications in Sensing

Upconversion is an optical process that involves the conversion of lower-energy photons into higher-energy photons. It has been extensively studied since mid-1960s and widely applied in optical devices. Over the past decade, high-quality rare earth-doped upconversion nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized with the rapid development of nanotechnology and are becoming more prominent in biological sciences. The synthesis methods are usually phase-based processes, such as thermal decomposition, hydrothermal reaction, and ionic liquids-based synthesis. The main difference between upconversion nanoparticles and other nanomaterials is that they can emit visible light under near infrared irradiation. The near infrared irradiation leads to low autofluorescence, less scattering and absorption, and deep penetration in biological samples. In this review, the synthesis of upconversion nanoparticles and the mechanisms of upconversion process will be discussed, followed by their applications in different areas, especially in the biological field for biosensing

Estrogen and Progestogen Correlates of the Structure of Female Copulation Calls in Semi-Free-Ranging Barbary Macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

Females of many Old World primates produce conspicuous vocalizations in combination with copulations. Indirect evidence exists that in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus), the structure of these copulation calls is related to changes in reproductive hormone levels. However, the structure of these calls does not vary significantly around the timing of ovulation when estrogen and progestogen levels show marked changes. We here aimed to clarify this paradox by investigating how the steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone are related to changes in the acoustic structure of copulation calls. We collected data on semi-free-ranging Barbary macaques in Gibraltar and at La Forêt des Singes in Rocamadour, France. We determined estrogen and progestogen concentrations from fecal samples and combined them with a fine-grained structural analysis of female copulation calls (N = 775 calls of 11 females). Our analysis indicates a time lag of 3 d between changes in fecal hormone levels, adjusted for the excretion lag time, and in the acoustic structure of copulation calls. Specifically, we found that estrogen increased the duration and frequency of the calls, whereas progestogen had an antagonistic effect. Importantly, however, variation in acoustic variables did not track short-term changes such as the peak in estrogen occurring around the timing of ovulation. Taken together, our results help to explain why female Barbary macaque copulation calls are related to changes in hormone levels but fail to indicate the fertile phase

Health, education, and social care provision after diagnosis of childhood visual disability

Aim: To investigate the health, education, and social care provision for children newly diagnosed with visual disability.Method: This was a national prospective study, the British Childhood Visual Impairment and Blindness Study 2 (BCVIS2), ascertaining new diagnoses of visual impairment or severe visual impairment and blindness (SVIBL), or equivalent vi-sion. Data collection was performed by managing clinicians up to 1-year follow-up, and included health and developmental needs, and health, education, and social care provision.Results: BCVIS2 identified 784 children newly diagnosed with visual impairment/SVIBL (313 with visual impairment, 471 with SVIBL). Most children had associated systemic disorders (559 [71%], 167 [54%] with visual impairment, and 392 [84%] with SVIBL). Care from multidisciplinary teams was provided for 549 children (70%). Two-thirds (515) had not received an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). Fewer children with visual impairment had seen a specialist teacher (SVIBL 35%, visual impairment 28%, χ2p < 0.001), or had an EHCP (11% vs 7%, χ2p < 0 . 01).Interpretation: Families need additional support from managing clinicians to access recommended complex interventions such as the use of multidisciplinary teams and educational support. This need is pressing, as the population of children with visual impairment/SVIBL is expected to grow in size and complexity.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Genetic analyses of the electrocardiographic QT interval and its components identify additional loci and pathways

The QT interval is an electrocardiographic measure representing the sum of ventricular depolarization and repolarization, estimated by QRS duration and JT interval, respectively. QT interval abnormalities are associated with potentially fatal ventricular arrhythmia. Using genome-wide multi-ancestry analyses (&gt;250,000 individuals) we identify 177, 156 and 121 independent loci for QT, JT and QRS, respectively, including a male-specific X-chromosome locus. Using gene-based rare-variant methods, we identify associations with Mendelian disease genes. Enrichments are observed in established pathways for QT and JT, and previously unreported genes indicated in insulin-receptor signalling and cardiac energy metabolism. In contrast for QRS, connective tissue components and processes for cell growth and extracellular matrix interactions are significantly enriched. We demonstrate polygenic risk score associations with atrial fibrillation, conduction disease and sudden cardiac death. Prioritization of druggable genes highlight potential therapeutic targets for arrhythmia. Together, these results substantially advance our understanding of the genetic architecture of ventricular depolarization and repolarization