Problematising separated children:a policy analysis of the UK ‘Safeguarding Strategy: Unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children’

While international and national policies, strategies and legislation have been designed to address the problems of forced displacement, they also form a vital role in the discursive construction, governance and regulation of those who have been displaced. This paper critically interrogates the ‘UK Safeguarding Strategy: Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking and Refugee Children’ to highlight the ways in which unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) are implicitly constructed as a policy problem. Drawing on Foucault, and using a novel analytic method (WPR) for studying problematisation within policy, this paper moves beyond the policy definition of an unaccompanied asylum seeking child to unearth characterisations that the policy ascribes to this group of children, and in particular the conceptual boundaries established for the way society thinks about UASC. These conceptual boundaries are divisive in nature, including suspicion around routes of arrival to the UK; constructions of risk; and questions about the responsibility of providing care and of being in need of care. The significance of the paper lies in its aim to use the examination of the discursive practices of the UK’s Safeguarding Strategy as a starting point to open a broader discussion around how UASC are constructed and governed, nationally and internationally.</p

Multimodal imaging of pancreatic beta cells in vivo by targeting transmembrane protein 27 (TMEM27)

Aims/hypothesis: Non-invasive diagnostic tools specific for pancreatic beta cells will have a profound impact on our understanding of the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. The objective of this study was to use molecular imaging probes specifically targeting beta cells on human samples and animal models using state-of-the-art imaging modalities (fluorescence and PET) with preclinical and clinical perspective. Methods: We generated a monoclonal antibody, 8/9-mAb, targeting transmembrane protein 27 (TMEM27; a surface N-glycoprotein that is highly expressed on beta cells), compared its expression in human and mouse pancreas, and demonstrated beta cell-specific binding in both. In vivo imaging was performed in mice with subcutaneous insulinomas overexpressing the human TMEM27 gene, or transgenic mice with beta cell-specific hTMEM27 expression under the control of rat insulin promoter (RIP-hTMEM27-tg), using fluorescence and radioactively labelled antibody, followed by tissue ex vivo analysis and fluorescence microscopy. Results: Fluorescently labelled 8/9-mAb showed beta cell-specific staining on human and mouse pancreatic sections. Real-time PCR on islet cDNA indicated about tenfold higher expression of hTMEM27 in RIP-hTMEM27-tg mice than in humans. In vivo fluorescence and PET imaging in nude mice with insulinoma xenografts expressing hTMEM27 showed high 8/9-mAb uptake in tumours after 72h. Antibody homing was also observed in beta cells of RIP-hTMEM27-tg mice by in vivo fluorescence imaging. Ex vivo analysis of intact pancreas and fluorescence microscopy in beta cells confirmed these findings. Conclusions/interpretation: hTMEM27 constitutes an attractive target for in vivo visualisation of pancreatic beta cells. Studies in mouse insulinoma models and mice expressing hTMEM27 demonstrate the feasibility of beta cell-targeted in vivo imaging, which is attractive for preclinical investigations and holds potential in clinical diagnostic

Constructing work and subjectivities in precarious conditions: Psycho-discursive practices in young people’s interviews in Greece

Precarity is becoming the paradigmatic description of young people’s work conditions in crisis-ridden Greece, but also in other European countries. Focusing on interview data on the work experiences of young adults (18-26 years old), in urban centres of Greece, this study attempts to explore the ways in which informants account for working in precarious conditions and construct agency and subjectivity within these ways of accounting. The analysis drawing on insights from critical discursive social psychology indicates that participants construct precarious work conditions as widespread and banal a) by treating precarious work as a sine qua non condition of youth employment, b) by considering precarious work as an inherent trait of the Greek job-market, c) by considering precarious work as a necessary step on a (biographical) path leading to the desired and/or appropriate job, or d) by adopting a “there is no other alternative” accounting, representing precarious job conditions as the only alternative to unemployment. The analysis also points out the ways in which participants orient themselves to a dilemma of stake and accountability, being concerned to position themselves as effortful subjects, while they are rhetorically constructing the banal regime of precarious labour. The discussion considers the need to bring into the scope of social and political psychology the specific nuances of precarious labour. © 2016, PsychOpen. All rights reserved

Transgenerational disruption of functional 5-HT1AR-induced connectivity in the adult mouse brain by traumatic stress in early life

Traumatic stress in early life is a strong risk factor for psychiatric disorders that can affect individuals across several generations. Although the underlying mechanisms have been proposed to implicate serotonergic transmission in the brain, the neural circuits involved remain poorly delineated. Using pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging in mice, we demonstrate that traumatic stress in postnatal life alters 5-HT1A receptor-evoked local and global functions in both, the exposed animals and their progeny when adult. Disrupted functional connectivity is consistent across generations and match limbic circuits implicated in mood disorders, but also networks not previously linked to traumatic stress. These findings underscore the neurobiology and functional mapping of transgenerational effects of early life experiences

Hybrid small animal imaging system combining magnetic resonance imaging with fluorescence tomography using single photon avalanche diode detectors

The high sensitivity of fluorescence imaging enables the detection of molecular processes in living organisms. However, diffuse light propagation in tissue prevents accurate recovery of tomographic information on fluorophore distribution for structures embedded deeper than 0.5 mm. Combining optical with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides an accurate anatomical reference for fluorescence imaging data and thereby enables the correlation of molecular with high quality structural/functional information. We describe an integrated system for small animal imaging incorporating a noncontact fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) system into an MRI detector. By adopting a free laser beam design geometrical constraints imposed by the use of optical fibers could be avoided allowing for flexible fluorescence excitation schemes. Photon detection based on a single-photon avalanche diode array enabled simultaneous FMT/MRI measurements without interference between modalities. In vitro characterization revealed good spatial accuracy of FMT data and accurate quantification of dye concentrations. Feasibility of FMT/MRI was demonstrated in vivo by simultaneous assessment of protease activity and tumor morphology in murine colon cancer xenografts

Multimodal imaging of pancreatic beta cells in vivo by targeting transmembrane protein 27 (TMEM27)

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Non-invasive diagnostic tools specific for pancreatic beta cells will have a profound impact on our understanding of the pathophysiology of metabolic diseases such as diabetes. The objective of this study was to use molecular imaging probes specifically targeting beta cells on human samples and animal models using state-of-the-art imaging modalities (fluorescence and PET) with preclinical and clinical perspective. METHODS: We generated a monoclonal antibody, 8/9-mAb, targeting transmembrane protein 27 (TMEM27; a surface N-glycoprotein that is highly expressed on beta cells), compared its expression in human and mouse pancreas, and demonstrated beta cell-specific binding in both. In vivo imaging was performed in mice with subcutaneous insulinomas overexpressing the human TMEM27 gene, or transgenic mice with beta cell-specific hTMEM27 expression under the control of rat insulin promoter (RIP-hTMEM27-tg), using fluorescence and radioactively labelled antibody, followed by tissue ex vivo analysis and fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS: Fluorescently labelled 8/9-mAb showed beta cell-specific staining on human and mouse pancreatic sections. Real-time PCR on islet cDNA indicated about tenfold higher expression of hTMEM27 in RIP-hTMEM27-tg mice than in humans. In vivo fluorescence and PET imaging in nude mice with insulinoma xenografts expressing hTMEM27 showed high 8/9-mAb uptake in tumours after 72 h. Antibody homing was also observed in beta cells of RIP-hTMEM27-tg mice by in vivo fluorescence imaging. Ex vivo analysis of intact pancreas and fluorescence microscopy in beta cells confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: hTMEM27 constitutes an attractive target for in vivo visualisation of pancreatic beta cells. Studies in mouse insulinoma models and mice expressing hTMEM27 demonstrate the feasibility of beta cell-targeted in vivo imaging, which is attractive for preclinical investigations and holds potential in clinical diagnostics. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-012-2605-2) contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material, which is available to authorised users