Service provider difficulties in operationalising coercive control

We examined perspectives of social workers, police officers, and specialist domestic abuse practitioners about their perceived ability and organizational readiness to respond effectively to incidents of coercive and controlling behavior. Interviews revealed intervention and risk assessment strategies structured around an outdated, maladaptive concept of domestic abuse as an unambiguous and violent event and frontline services that lacked appreciation of the power dynamics inherent in controlling relationships. The analysis demonstrates how lack of definitional clarity around nonphysical domestic abuse can increase the use of discretion by frontline services and, by extension, increase the discounting of coercive control by pressured frontline officers

Holocaust tourism: education or exploitation?

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the ethics of holocaust tourism as a niche market which is becoming very commercialised due to the growing demand for such activities at certain locations and to examine the motivating factors for tourists visiting these destinations. Holocaust sites, a number of which were commissioned for memorial after the liberation during World War II to memorialise those lost and act as an educational resource. The main aim of this research is to explore whether holocaust tourism can be seen as education or exploitation. This will be investigated through a site visit to a holocaust tourism destination in Germany (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Berlin) and a survey to identify those who engage in holocaust tourism, their motivations for doing so, and the outcome of their visits. Finally, this research study will provide results on the ethics of holocaust tourism and its educational value through a review of the academic research as well as the opinions of those who have or will engage in holocaust tourism. One of the main conclusions is that both primary participants and secondary authors spoke of how when visiting these sites, you create a connection to the destination and the sense of what occurred at the location is undeniable

Geographical mapping of a multifocal thyroid tumour using genetic alteration analysis & miRNA profiling

Abstract Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) frequently presents as multiple tumour-foci within a single thyroid gland or pluriform, with synchronous tumours comprising different histological variants, raising questions regarding its clonality. Among the genetic aberrations described in PTC, the BRAF V600E mutation and ret/PTC activation occur most commonly. Several studies have investigated the genetic alteration status of multifocal thyroid tumours, with discordant results. To address the question of clonality this study examined disparate geographical and morphological areas from a single PTC (classic PTC, insular and anaplastic foci, and tumour cells adjacent to vascular invasion and lymphocytic infiltrate) for the presence of ret/PTC 1 or BRAF mutations. Moreover, we wanted to investigate the consistency of miRNA signatures within disparate areas of a tumour, and geographical data was further correlated with expression profiles of 330 different miRNAs. Putative miRNA gene targets were predicted for differentially regulated miRNAs and immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue sections in an effort to investigate phenotypic variations in microvascular density (MVD), and cytokeratin and p53 protein expression levels. Results All of the morphological areas proved negative for ret/PTC 1 rearrangement. Two distinct foci with classic morphology harboured the BRAF mutation. All other regions, including the insular and anaplastic areas were negative for the mutation. MiRNA profiles were found to distinguish tumours containing the BRAF mutation from the other tumour types, and to differentiate between the more aggressive insular & anaplastic tumours, and the classic variant. Our data corroborated miRNAs previously discovered in this carcinoma, and additional miRNAs linked to various processes involved in tumour growth and proliferation. Conclusion The initial genetic alteration analysis indicated that pluriform PTC did not necessarily evolve from classic PTC progenitor foci. Analysis of miRNA profiles however provided an interesting variation on the clonality question. While hierarchical clustering analysis of miRNA expression supported the hypothesis that discrete areas did not evolve from clonal expansion of tumour cells, it did not exclude the possibility of independent mutational events suggesting both phenomena might occur simultaneously within a tumour to enhance cancer progression in geographical micro-environments within a tumour.</p

DNA sequence of human chromosome 17 and analysis of rearrangement in the human lineage

Chromosome 17 is unusual among the human chromosomes in many respects. It is the largest human autosome with orthology to only a single mouse chromosome1, mapping entirely to the distal half of mouse chromosome 11. Chromosome 17 is rich in protein-coding genes, having the second highest gene density in the genome2,3. It is also enriched in segmental duplications, ranking third in density among the autosomes4. Here we report a finished sequence for human chromosome 17, as well as a structural comparison with the finished sequence for mouse chromosome 11, the first finished mouse chromosome. Comparison of the orthologous regions reveals striking differences. In contrast to the typical pattern seen in mammalian evolution5,6, the human sequence has undergone extensive intrachromosomal rearrangement, whereas the mouse sequence has been remarkably stable. Moreover, although the human sequence has a high density of segmental duplication, the mouse sequence has a very low density. Notably, these segmental duplications correspond closely to the sites of structural rearrangement, demonstrating a link between duplication and rearrangement. Examination of the main classes of duplicated segments provides insight into the dynamics underlying expansion of chromosome-specific, low-copy repeats in the human genome

Genome sequence of Aedes aegypti, a major arbovirus vector

We present a draft sequence of the genome of Aedes aegypti, the primary vector for yellow fever and dengue fever, which at approximately 1376 million base pairs is about 5 times the size of the genome of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. Nearly 50% of the Ae. aegypti genome consists of transposable elements. These contribute to a factor of approximately 4 to 6 increase in average gene length and in sizes of intergenic regions relative to An. gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster. Nonetheless, chromosomal synteny is generally maintained among all three insects, although conservation of orthologous gene order is higher (by a factor of approximately 2) between the mosquito species than between either of them and the fruit fly. An increase in genes encoding odorant binding, cytochrome P450, and cuticle domains relative to An. gambiae suggests that members of these protein families underpin some of the biological differences between the two mosquito species