Outreach at the match: a cautionary tale

John Baruch, Ulrich Kolb, Helen Fraser and Jen Heyes share some of the pitfalls they encountered when combining outreach with football; they advocate a different sort of wow factor

The Fruit of the Tree of Life : an evaluative study of the 'Tree of Life', a psychosocial support tool with Narrative Practice ideas, offered to unaccompanied child refugees

Background: Norway accepts many unaccompanied child refugees each year. This group makes up one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of mental health. The Tree of Life is a psychosocial tool based on narrative practices that uses the different parts of the tree to represent the different aspects of our lives. According to a literature review, there are no published studies evaluating treatment given to this group. Aim and research question: This study uses both a hermeneutic-phenomenological approach and a deconstructive approach. The intention is to focus on the experiences of the unaccompanied child refugees during The Tree of Life. Dominant discourse are also identified which is important when working cross-culturally. Finally a number of important findings about translation are discussed, further sensitising us to cross-cultural treatment. Method: Multiple methods have been employed: Qualitative interview of seven informants, two Tree of Life workshops have been attended and observed and a focus group has been held with some of the facilitators of the Tree of Life. Result: The Tree of Life is a tool that helps unaccompanied child refugees to create alternative life-stories. It gives them a future perspective which helps to give their lives meaning. Working in groups with these individuals helps them to build much needed networks, helping them feel connected and a sense of belonging. Working with translators is a complicated process; it is important for mental health care workers to be aware of the pitfalls, and understand how they can better prepare themselves and the translators before they embark on an intervention together. Conclusion: The results confirm that the use of The Tree of Life has a positive effect on the mental health of unaccompanied child refugees. It further helps us understand what aspects are important to these individuals as they re-establish their existence in their host country. The study highlights some important aspects with cross-cultural treatment, while at the same time removing some of the “unattainable-ness” that is sometimes encountered in cases involving different cultures. Keywords: Tree of Life psychosocial tool, narrative therapy, hermeneutical-phenomenological, Antonovsky, Foucault, discourse analysis, translatio

The magic in the (extra)ordinary: Intensive validation to recalibrate the life-worlds of adolescents exposed to abuse

This qualitative case study aimed to explore environmental circumstances and inter-actional processes that appeared to be relevant for the dynamics of resilience in ado-lescents exposed to child abuse. Fieldwork at a learning and coping centre forchildren and their families was combined with semi-structured interviews with ado-lescent participants aged 12 to 18 years. A critical realist approach was used tounpack what has been called the‘ordinary magic’of resilience. We found thatinten-sively validating qualitiesof both theenvironmentandrelationshipsseemed to be driv-ing components for resilience. Borrowing ideas from the sociometer theory, wepropose that particularly the consistent intensiveness may offer arecalibrationof theadolescents' immediate life-worlds, in terms of how they perceive the people theymeet and the environments they step into. In keeping with the transactional-ecological model of resilience, we suggest that such a recalibration leads to alteredsocial agency that becomes visible through their immediate social participation.publishedVersio

The netrin receptor DCC is required in the pubertal organization of mesocortical dopamine circuitry

Netrins are guidance cues involvedinneural connectivity.Wehave shownthat the netrin-1 receptor DCC (deletedin colorectal cancer) is involvedinthefunctionalorganizationofthemesocorticolimbic dopamine(DA)system.Adult micewithaheterozygousloss-of-function mutation in dcc exhibit changes in indexes of DA function, including DA-related behaviors. These phenotypes are only observed after puberty,acritical periodinthe maturationofthe mesocortical DAprojection. Here, weexamined whether dcc heterozygous mice exhibit structural changes in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) DA synaptic connectivity, before and after puberty. Stereological counts of tyrosine-hydroxylase (TH)-positive varicosities were increased in the cingulate 1 and prelimbic regions of the pregenual mPFC. dcc heterozygous mice also exhibited alterations in the size, complexity, and dendritic spine density of mPFC layer V pyramidal neuron basilar dendritic arbors. Remarkably, these presynaptic and postsynaptic partner phenotypes were not observed in juvenile mice, suggesting that DCC selectively influences the extensive branching and synaptic differentiation that occurs in the maturing mPFC DA circuitatpuberty.Immunolabelingexperimentsinwild-typemice demonstratedthat DCCissegregatedtoTH-positivefibersinnervating the nucleus accumbens, with only scarce DCC labeling in mPFC TH-positive fibers. Netrin had an inverted target expression pattern. Thus, DCC-mediated netrin-1 signaling may influence the formation/maintenance of mesocorticolimbic DA topography. In support of this, we report that dcc heterozygous mice exhibit a twofold increase in the density of mPFC DCC/TH-positive varicosities. Our results implicate DCC-mediated netrin-1 signaling in the establishment of mPFC DA circuitry during puberty

Transfer of training in an academic leadership development program for program coordinators

The higher education sector has increasingly begun to pay more attention to academic leadership. This qualitative study explores how such an investment in a 20-week leadership development program influenced the behaviour of 10 academic staff in the role of program coordinator 6 to 12 months following participation in the program. Otherwise known as program directors or department chairs, academic staff in this role are responsible for coordinating and leading degree courses or programs. Leadership learning and changes in the behaviour of program coordinators was evident, particularly in regard to building influence, communicating more effectively and managing upwards. Improved confidence in their ability to perform the role was a lasting outcome and the use of peer learning and coaching was an important part of the success of the intervention. However, workload factors, succession planning and orientation were seen to be factors that impact on leadership development in this role. The findings suggest that participation in well designed academic leadership programs can result in a lasting transfer of training for program coordinators

R1507, an Anti-Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Receptor (IGF-1R) Antibody, and EWS/FLI-1 siRNA in Ewing's Sarcoma: Convergence at the IGF/IGFR/Akt Axis

A subset of patients with Ewing's sarcoma responds to anti-insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) antibodies. Mechanisms of sensitivity and resistance are unknown. We investigated whether an anti-IGF-1R antibody acts via a pathway that could also be suppressed by small interfering (si) RNA against the EWS/FLI-1 fusion protein, the hallmark of Ewing's sarcoma. The growth of two Ewing's sarcoma cell lines (TC-32 and TC-71) was inhibited by the fully human anti-IGF-1R antibody, R1507 (clonogenic and MTT assays). TC-32 and TC-71 cells express high levels of IGF-2, while RD-ES and A4573 Ewing's cell lines, which were less responsive to R1507 in our assays, express low or undetectable IGF-2, respectively. TC-71 cells also expressed high levels of IGF-1R, and R1507 decreased steady-state levels of this receptor by internalization/degradation, an effect which was associated with a decrease in p-IGF-1R, p-IRS-1, and p-Akt. EWS/FLI-1 siRNA also decreased p-Akt, due to its ability to increase IGF-BP3 levels and subsequently decrease IGF-1 and IGF-2 levels, thus inhibiting signaling through p-IGF-1R. This inhibition correlated with growth suppression and apoptosis. The attenuation of Akt activation was confirmed in TC-71 and HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney) cells by transfecting them with IGF-1R siRNA. We conclude that antibodies and siRNA to IGF-1R, as well as siRNA to EWS/FLI-1, act via intersecting IGF/IGF-1R signals that suppress a common point in this pathway, namely the phosphorylation of Akt

The GRAVITY+ Project: Towards All-sky, Faint-Science, High-Contrast Near-Infrared Interferometry at the VLTI

The GRAVITY instrument has been revolutionary for near-infrared interferometry by pushing sensitivity and precision to previously unknown limits. With the upgrade of GRAVITY and the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in GRAVITY+, these limits will be pushed even further, with vastly improved sky coverage, as well as faint-science and high-contrast capabilities. This upgrade includes the implementation of wide-field off-axis fringe-tracking, new adaptive optics systems on all Unit Telescopes, and laser guide stars in an upgraded facility. GRAVITY+ will open up the sky to the measurement of black hole masses across cosmic time in hundreds of active galactic nuclei, use the faint stars in the Galactic centre to probe General Relativity, and enable the characterisation of dozens of young exoplanets to study their formation, bearing the promise of another scientific revolution to come at the VLTI.Comment: Published in the ESO Messenge

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good