Fast Track Children's Hearings Pilot : Final Report of the Evaluation of the Pilot

The Scottish Executive decided that a Fast Track approach to the children's hearings system would be introduced in early 2003 on a pilot basis in selected parts of Scotland. The aim was to improve practice and outcomes with respect to the ways that the hearings system and associated services dealt with young people who persistently offend. Particular objectives were to: • reduce the time taken both overall and at each stage of decision-making • promote more comprehensive assessments which include appraisals of offending risk • ensure that all young people who persistently offend and who require an appropriate programme have access to one • reduce re-offending rates as a result of the concerted efforts made in such cases

More haste, less speed? : an evaluation of fast track policies to tackle persistent youth offending in Scotland

In 2003 the Scottish Executive introduced a new 'Fast Track' policy on a pilot basis, which was intended to speed up the processing of persistent youth offending cases and reduce rates of persistent offending. Additional resources were provided to promote access to dedicated programmes, as well as quicker assessment, report delivery and decision making. This paper, based on a multi-stranded comparative evaluation, describes how the policy was welcomed by a wide range of practitioners, decision makers and managers involved with children's hearings who mostly thought it was a positive innovation consistent with the hearing system's commitment to a welfare-based approach. 'Fast Track' cases were handled more quickly than others. After two years, however, the policy was discontinued, largely because of negative evidence about re-offending

Women in Local Government: The Pakistan Experience

This article looks at women's representation in local government in Pakistan, focusing particularly on the introduction of a quota setting 33 per cent of the seats for women brought in under General Musharraf's Devolution of Power Plan in 2000. The article suggests that establishing a direct correlation between a woman's quota and regime type is problematic. It demonstrates a complex pattern of interaction on the issue by both the military and civilian regimes in Pakistan. Policies which have been brought in, informed both by political pragmatism and ideological continuity, have been wide ranging and almost contradictory in nature. The article also highlights the importance of the roles of NGOs and women activists in providing capacity building and support for mobilising women both as candidates and as voters. It shows that women's struggles at grassroots can bring achievements even in spaces where patriarchal norms rule, but these pathways to political empowerment are uneven and unpredictable

Headache and pregnancy. a systematic review

This systematic review summarizes the existing data on headache and pregnancy with a scope on clinical headache phenotypes, treatment of headaches in pregnancy and effects of headache medications on the child during pregnancy and breastfeeding, headache related complications, and diagnostics of headache in pregnancy. Headache during pregnancy can be both primary and secondary, and in the last case can be a symptom of a life-threatening condition. The most common secondary headaches are stroke, cerebral venous thrombosis, subarachnoid hemorrhage, pituitary tumor, choriocarcinoma, eclampsia, preeclampsia, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome. Migraine is a risk factor for pregnancy complications, particularly vascular events. Data regarding other primary headache conditions are still scarce. Early diagnostics of the disease manifested by headache is important for mother and fetus life. It is especially important to identify "red flag symptoms" suggesting that headache is a symptom of a serious disease. In order to exclude a secondary headache additional studies can be necessary: electroencephalography, ultrasound of the vessels of the head and neck, brain MRI and MR angiography with contrast ophthalmoscopy and lumbar puncture. During pregnancy and breastfeeding the preferred therapeutic strategy for the treatment of primary headaches should always be a non-pharmacological one. Treatment should not be postponed as an undermanaged headache can lead to stress, sleep deprivation, depression and poor nutritional intake that in turn can have negative consequences for both mother and baby. Therefore, if non-pharmacological interventions seem inadequate, a well-considered choice should be made concerning the use of medication, taking into account all the benefits and possible risks

Male and female sex hormones in primary headaches

Background: The three primary headaches, tension-type headache, migraine and cluster headache, occur in both genders, but all seem to have a sex-specific prevalence. These gender differences suggest that both male and female sex hormones could have an influence on the course of primary headaches. This review aims to summarise the most relevant and recent literature on this topic. Methods: Two independent reviewers searched PUBMED in a systematic manner. Search strings were composed using the terms LH, FSH, progesteron, estrogen, DHEA, prolactin, testosterone, androgen, headach, migrain, "tension type" or cluster. A timeframe was set limiting the search to articles published in the last 20 years, after January 1st 1997. Results: Migraine tends to follow a classic temporal pattern throughout a woman's life corresponding to the fluctuation of estrogen in the different reproductive stages. The estrogen withdrawal hypothesis forms the basis for most of the assumptions made on this behalf. The role of other hormones as well as the importance of sex hormones in other primary headaches is far less studied. Conclusion: The available literature mainly covers the role of sex hormones in migraine in women. Detailed studies especially in the elderly of both sexes and in cluster headache and tension-type headache are warranted to fully elucidate the role of these hormones in all primary headaches

Rural road management in Botswana

This paper discusses the management of rural roads in Chobe in Botswana, which are mainly tertiary and access roads. These roads are low-volume roads and mostly gravelled. It was observed that the maintenance management of these roads was based on engineering judgement through visual inspection all over the country, without having any economic or technical analysis. Therefore, a comprehensive pavement management system for rural roads' maintenance is needed in Chobe and also in all the council areas of Botswana, which would consist of data collection, database, use of the Highway Development and Management Model to undertake efficient decision making project preparation, funding, implementation and feedback. A partial implementation of pavement management system in Chobe has been highlighted in this paper. The present analysis reveals that total demand for the road network in Chobe was 41·29 million pula, the backlog was 34·86 million pula and the first-year backlog demand was 20·63 million pula. Furthermore, the analysis found the long-term periodic maintenance strategy for the network at 6·43 million pula when there is no backlog. This huge backlog indicates that roads are not being maintained appropriately. The paper also estimates current road asset value in Chobe at 55·48 million pula. Finally, the paper recommends several solutions for the efficient preservation of road assets in Botswana

The state of women in the media: Representation, coverage and framing of women in East African media

This research examined the representation of women in East African news media organisations and the coverage and framing of women in top East African newspapers, TV and digital platforms. The study is premised on existent literature on the intricate interplay between media framing, coverage dynamics, and the representation of women in newsrooms’ workforce, given the consequential role all these play in shaping public perceptions of gender issues and shifting norms. Through a comprehensive methodology that incorporated content analysis, document analysis and interviews on the responsibilities and assigned roles of women in media organisations, the research presents findings from a content analysis of six newspapers, six TV stations, seven digital publishers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and 54, 65 and 81 news media organisations from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania respectively whose documents and programming were analysed

Phylogeography of the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata): distinct evolutionary lineages and hybridization with the Asian small clawed otter (Aonyx cinereus)

We investigated the phylogeography of the smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) to determine its spatial genetic structure for aiding an adaptive conservation management of the species. Fifty eight modern and 11 archival (dated 1882–1970) otters sampled from Iraq to Malaysian Borneo were genotyped (mtDNA Cytochrome-b, 10 microsatellite DNA loci). Moreover, 16 Aonyx cinereus (Asian small-clawed otter) and seven Lutra lutra (Eurasian otter) were sequenced to increase information available for phylogenetic reconstructions. As reported in previous studies, we found that L. perspicillata, A. cinereus and A. capensis (African clawless otter) grouped in a clade sister to the genus Lutra, with L. perspicillata and A. cinereus being reciprocally monophyletic. Within L. perspicillata, we uncovered three Evolutionarily Significant Units and proved that L. p. maxwelli is not only endemic to Iraq but also the most recent subspecies. We suggest a revision of the distribution range limits of easternmost L. perspicillata subspecies. We show that smooth-coated otters in Singapore are L. perspicillata x A. cinereus hybrids with A. cinereus mtDNA, the first reported case of hybridization in the wild among otters. This result also provides evidence supporting the inclusion of L. perspicillata and A. cinereus in the genus Amblonyx, thus avoiding the paraphyly of the genus Aonyx

Why Give Birth in Health Facility? Users' and Providers' Accounts of Poor Quality of Birth Care in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, half of all pregnant women access a health facility for delivery. The proportion receiving skilled care at birth is even lower. In order to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, the government has set out to increase health facility deliveries by skilled care. The aim of this study was to describe the weaknesses in the provision of acceptable and adequate quality care through the accounts of women who have suffered obstetric fistula, nurse-midwives at both BEmOC and CEmOC health facilities and local community members. Semi-structured interviews involving 16 women affected by obstetric fistula and five nurse-midwives at maternity wards at both BEmOC and CEmOC health facilities, and Focus Group Discussions with husbands and community members were conducted between October 2008 and February 2010 at Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation in Tanzania and Temeke hospitals in Dar es Salaam, and Mpwapwa district in Dodoma region. Health care users and health providers experienced poor quality caring and working environments in the health facilities. Women in labour lacked support, experienced neglect, as well as physical and verbal abuse. Nurse-midwives lacked supportive supervision, supplies and also seemed to lack motivation. There was a consensus among women who have suffered serious birth injuries and nurse midwives staffing both BEmOC and CEmOC maternity wards that the quality of care offered to women in birth was inadequate. While the birth accounts of women pointed to failure of care, the nurses described a situation of disempowerment. The bad birth care experiences of women undermine the reputation of the health care system, lower community expectations of facility birth, and sustain high rates of home deliveries. The only way to increase the rate of skilled attendance at birth in the current Tanzanian context is to make facility birth a safer alternative than home birth. The findings from this study indicate that there is a long way to go

Carbon nanodots in endothelial cells and C57BL/6 mice: a study of toxicity and anti-inflammatory effect

The advancement of therapy for cardiovascular disease (CVD) is paramount to public health, as it is the leading global cause of mortality [1]. Nanomedicine provides new opportunities in the ongoing efforts to reduce the economic and healthcare consequences of CVD. Carbon nanodots (CNDs) green-synthesized from microwave pyrolysis of ethylenediamine and citric acid are spherical, ~3 nm in diameter, and possess exceptional hydrophilic, biocompatible, fluorescent, and anti-oxidant properties. However, there is no current report on how these CNDs affect the cardiovascular system, particularly their potential in mediating endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease (CVD). As a known biomarker of inflammation, Oxidized-LDL (Ox-LDL) induces inflammatory gene expression and monocyte extravasation that leads to atherosclerotic development. This study examines the role of CNDs in mediating Ox-LDL induced inflammation in human microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1). Our results demonstrate that CNDs can reduce Ox-LDL induced monocyte adhesion in HMEC-1s, which demonstrates their anti-inflammatory effects. The relative gene expression of the cytokine interleukin-8 (IL-8) was reduced by the addition of CNDs, which implies their action in mediating monocyte recruitment to the site of inflammation. While reactive oxygen species (ROS) perform many essential functions, their overproduction disrupts cellular oxidative balance, induces EC dysfunction, and leads to an inflammatory state. Studying the action of CNDs through Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy showed direct superoxide and hydroxyl radical-scavenging by CNDs. This result implies that the anti-inflammatory effects of CNDs seen in vitro are attributed to their direct scavenging of ROS. Furthermore, CNDs were found to ameliorate the cytotoxicity caused by Ox-LDL in HMEC-1s. Viability assays showed CNDs were not cytotoxic at measured concentrations to HMEC-1s in vitro. Animal studies involving mice did not show any morphological or physical changes between the CND and control groups. These collective results demonstrate the potential of CNDs to reduce inflammation and cytotoxicity caused by Ox-LDL in HMEC-1s, which implies their use in the development of novel therapy for cardiovascular disease