Becoming Queer Here: Integration and Adaptation Experiences of Sexual Minority Refugees in Toronto

Since the early 1990s Canada has become a primary destination for individuals who make refugee claims on the basis of sexual orientation persecution. However, until recently, there was little research focusing on this growing component of Canadian urban queer communities and their experiences of the refugee claim process, and their integration and adaptation to Canadian society. This paper, based on interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugee claimants and participation in LGBT newcomer support groups in Toronto, explores the formal and informal processes, spaces and practices through which LGBT refugee claimants learn about the Canadian nation-state, citizenship and queer identities and communities, and in so doing enter a space/moment of becoming a ‘becoming’ refugee as they learn the social, cultural, and bureaucratic processes and norms of the Canadian refugee apparatus

The application of design of experiments (DoE) reaction optimisation and solvent selection in the development of new synthetic chemistry

This article outlines the benefits of using 'Design of Experiments' (DoE) optimisation during the development of new synthetic methodology. A particularly important factor in the development of new chemical reactions is the choice of solvent which can often drastically alter the efficiency and selectivity of a process. Whilst solvent optimisation is usually done in a non-systematic way based upon a chemist's intuition and previous laboratory experience, we illustrate how optimisation of the solvent for a reaction can be carried out by using a 'map of solvent space' in a DoE optimisation. A new solvent map has been developed specifically for optimisation of new chemical reactions using principle component analysis (PCA) incorporating 136 solvents with a wide range of properties. The new solvent map has been used to identify safer alternatives to toxic/hazardous solvents, and also in the optimisation of an SNAr reaction

Becoming Queer Here: Integration and Adaptation Experiences of Sexual Minority Refugees in Toronto

Abstract Since the early 1990s Canada has become a primary destination for individuals who make refugee claims o

Turing instabilities in a mathematical model for signaling networks

GTPase molecules are important regulators in cells that continuously run through an activation/deactivation and membrane-attachment/membrane-detachment cycle. Activated GTPase is able to localize in parts of the membranes and to induce cell polarity. As feedback loops contribute to the GTPase cycle and as the coupling between membrane-bound and cytoplasmic processes introduces different diffusion coefficients a Turing mechanism is a natural candidate for this symmetry breaking. We formulate a mathematical model that couples a reaction-diffusion system in the inner volume to a reaction-diffusion system on the membrane via a flux condition and an attachment/detachment law at the membrane. We present a reduction to a simpler non-local reaction-diffusion model and perform a stability analysis and numerical simulations for this reduction. Our model in principle does support Turing instabilities but only if the lateral diffusion of inactivated GTPase is much faster than the diffusion of activated GTPase.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures; The final publication is available at http://www.springerlink.com http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00285-011-0495-

Population exposure to alcohol and junk food advertising during the 2018 FIFA world cup: implications for public health

Background: Advertising alcoholic drinks and food high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) is a driver of alcohol use and HFSS consumption, among children and young people. Whilst advertising legislation and broadcasting regulation protect children from alcohol and HFSS imagery, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which attracted a global audience, was sponsored and partnered by alcohol and HFSS brands. This study investigated the exposure of viewers to HFSS and alcohol imagery in a selection of group matches, and the final match, of the FIFA 2018 World Cup. Methods: The frequency and duration of appearances (to the nearest second) of branding from two sponsors (McDonald’s and Budweiser), one official partner (Coca-Cola) and the official sports drink (Powerade) were recorded during all active play in live coverage of a sample of 13 matches (Six in Group A, which included the host nation, Russia, which has stringent alcohol promotion regulations in place; six in Group G, which featured England; and the final) broadcast in the UK. We used census and viewing data to calculate gross and per capita impressions generated by this imagery in the UK population. Results: The 13 matches included 1262 min of active play and a total of 1806 appearances of alcohol and HFSS food advertisements, delivering approximately 7.5 billion branded HFSS impressions, including 759 million to children (age < 16 years), and 3.3 billion alcohol impressions, including 385 million to children, in the UK. Appearances of HFSS and alcohol brands were not statistically different between the games in either group. Conclusion: UK advertising legislation and broadcasting regulations intended to prevent exposure to alcohol and HFSS imagery and advertising in UK television was circumvented completely by sponsorship arrangements in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Preventing this exposure therefore requires revision of existing advertising and broadcasting controls to include sponsorship

Structural and Electronic Effects of X-ray Irradiation on Prototypical [M(COD)Cl]₂ Catalysts

X-ray characterization techniques are invaluable for probing material characteristics and properties, and have been instrumental in discoveries across materials research. However, there is a current lack of understanding of how X-ray-induced effects manifest in small molecular crystals. This is of particular concern as new X-ray sources with ever-increasing brilliance are developed. In this paper, systematic studies of X-ray–matter interactions are reported on two industrially important catalysts, [Ir(COD)Cl]2 and [Rh(COD)Cl]2, exposed to radiation in X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments. From these complementary techniques, changes to structure, chemical environments, and electronic structure are observed as a function of X-ray exposure, allowing comparisons of stability to be made between the two catalysts. Radiation dose is estimated using recent developments to the RADDOSE-3D software for small molecules and applied to powder XRD and XPS experiments. Further insights into the electronic structure of the catalysts and changes occurring as a result of the irradiation are drawn from density functional theory (DFT). The techniques combined here offer much needed insight into the X-ray-induced effects in transition-metal catalysts and, consequently, their intrinsic stabilities. There is enormous potential to extend the application of these methods to other small molecular systems of scientific or industrial relevance

A systematic review of naturalistic interventions in refugee populations

Naturalistic interventions with refugee populations examine outcomes following mental health interventions in existing refugee service organisations. The current review aimed to examine outcomes of naturalistic interventions and quality of the naturalistic intervention literature in refugee populations with the view to highlight the strengths and limitations of naturalistic intervention studies. Database search was conducted using the search terms ‘refugee’, ‘asylum seeker’, ‘treatment’, ‘therapy’ and ‘intervention. No date limitations were applied, but searches were limited to articles written in English. Seven studies were identified that assessed the outcome of naturalistic interventions on adult refugees or asylum seekers in a country of resettlement using quantitative outcome measures. Results showed significant variation in the outcomes of naturalistic intervention studies, with a trend towards showing decreased symptomatology at post-intervention. However, conclusions are limited by methodological problems of the studies reviewed, particularly poor documentation of intervention methods and lack of control in the design of naturalistic intervention studies. Further examination of outcomes following naturalistic interventions is needed with studies which focus on increasing the rigour of the outcome assessment process

Planning a cluster randomized trial with unequal cluster sizes: practical issues involving continuous outcomes

BACKGROUND: Cluster randomization design is increasingly used for the evaluation of health-care, screeening or educational interventions. At the planning stage, sample size calculations usually consider an average cluster size without taking into account any potential imbalance in cluster size. However, there may exist high discrepancies in cluster sizes. METHODS: We performed simulations to study the impact of an imbalance in cluster size on power. We determined by simulations to which extent four methods proposed to adapt the sample size calculations to a pre-specified imbalance in cluster size could lead to adequately powered trials. RESULTS: We showed that an imbalance in cluster size can be of high influence on the power in the case of severe imbalance, particularly if the number of clusters is low and/or the intraclass correlation coefficient is high. In the case of a severe imbalance, our simulations confirmed that the minimum variance weights correction of the variation inflaction factor (VIF) used in the sample size calculations has the best properties. CONCLUSION: Publication of cluster sizes is important to assess the real power of the trial which was conducted and to help designing future trials. We derived an adaptation of the VIF from the minimum variance weights correction to be used in case the imbalance can be a priori formulated such as "a proportion (γ) of clusters actually recruit a proportion (τ) of subjects to be included (γ ≤ τ)"

Determining the date of diagnosis – is it a simple matter? The impact of different approaches to dating diagnosis on estimates of delayed care for ovarian cancer in UK primary care

Background Studies of cancer incidence and early management will increasingly draw on routine electronic patient records. However, data may be incomplete or inaccurate. We developed a generalisable strategy for investigating presenting symptoms and delays in diagnosis using ovarian cancer as an example. Methods The General Practice Research Database was used to investigate the time between first report of symptom and diagnosis of 344 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 01/06/2002 and 31/05/2008. Effects of possible inaccuracies in dating of diagnosis on the frequencies and timing of the most commonly reported symptoms were investigated using four increasingly inclusive definitions of first diagnosis/suspicion: 1. "Definite diagnosis" 2. "Ambiguous diagnosis" 3. "First treatment or complication suggesting pre-existing diagnosis", 4 "First relevant test or referral". Results The most commonly coded symptoms before a definite diagnosis of ovarian cancer, were abdominal pain (41%), urogenital problems(25%), abdominal distension (24%), constipation/change in bowel habits (23%) with 70% of cases reporting at least one of these. The median time between first reporting each of these symptoms and diagnosis was 13, 21, 9.5 and 8.5 weeks respectively. 19% had a code for definitions 2 or 3 prior to definite diagnosis and 73% a code for 4. However, the proportion with symptoms and the delays were similar for all four definitions except 4, where the median delay was 8, 8, 3, 10 and 0 weeks respectively. Conclusion Symptoms recorded in the General Practice Research Database are similar to those reported in the literature, although their frequency is lower than in studies based on self-report. Generalisable strategies for exploring the impact of recording practice on date of diagnosis in electronic patient records are recommended, and studies which date diagnoses in GP records need to present sensitivity analyses based on investigation, referral and diagnosis data. Free text information may be essential in obtaining accurate estimates of incidence, and for accurate dating of diagnoses

Specific staining of human chromosomes in Chinese hamster x man hybrid cell lines demonstrates interphase chromosome territories

In spite of Carl Rabl's (1885) and Theodor Boveri's (1909) early hypothesis that chromosomes occupy discrete territories or domains within the interphase nucleus, evidence in favor pf this hypothesis has been limited and indirect so far in higher plants and animals. The alternative possibility that the chromatin fiber of single chromosomes might be extended throughout the major part of even the whole interphase nucleus has been considered for many years. In the latter case, chromosomes would only exist as discrete chromatin bodies during mitosis but not during interphase. Both possibilities are compatible with Boveri's well established paradigm of chromosome individuality. Here we show that an active human X chromosome contained as the only human chromosome in a Chinese hamster x man hybrid cell line can be visualized both in metaphse plates and in interphase nuclei after in situ hybridization with either 3H- or biotin-labeled human genomic DNA. We demonstrate that this chromosome is organized as a distinct chromatin body throughout interphase. In addition, evidence for the territorial organization of human chromosomes is also presented for another hybrid cell line containing several autosomes and the human X chromosome. These findings are discussed in the context of our present knowledge of the organization and topography of interphase chromosomes. General applications of a strategy aimed at specific staining of individual chromosomes in experimental and clinical cytogenetics are briefly considered