Tackling child sexual exploitation: a study of current practice in London

This report was commissioned by London Councils and the London Safeguarding Children Board and written by Beckett, H; Firmin, C; Hynes, P and Pearce JIn autumn 2013, London Councils commissioned a team of researchers from the University of Bedfordshire to map current responses to child sexual exploitation (CSE) across London. This summary report presents an overview of the key findings of the study; please refer to the full report for further details on, and context to, the study.1 The study was conducted in October / November 2013. The findings are drawn from an in-depth quantitative survey (completed by 30 London boroughs and local safeguarding children boards) and eight semi-structured interviews with statutory and voluntary sector providers. The report provides a snapshot of current responses to CSE across London, in relation to: Local scoping of the issue; Local policies and procedures; Training and awareness raising; Identification and early intervention (re. victims and perpetrators); Responding to cases of CSE (re. victims and perpetrators); and Overarching reflections on progress and challenges. Although there is still much progress to be made, the report encouragingly demonstrates that significant work is underway within this field, with pertinent learning emerging from a number of different boroughs

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome during Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond: A Review of Midwifery Care Considerations

Досліджено вплив умов поліморфного перетворення заліза ( 0,06 %С) на його деформацію в атмосфері водню. Проаналізовано можливі механізми формозміни при динамічній надпластичност

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome during Pregnancy, Birth and Beyond: A Review of Midwifery Care Considerations

The Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes (EDS) are an underdiagnosed group of conditions with implications and risks associated with childbearing. Those with EDS suggest that healthcare professionals have a lack of awareness in this area, and consequently describe delays in access to appropriate healthcare services. This paper draws on the existing international evidence available to present evidence-based care considerations for childbearing women with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) throughout the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal periods. Care considerations are also offered in relation to the care of the newborn infant. The management of hEDS in childbearing women and babies can be complex. Findings point to the need for a multidisciplinary approach to formulating individualised care plans in partnership with women. In understanding the evidence in relation to this issue, midwives will be better able to practice evidence-based and woman-centred care

Sexual exploitation and its impact on developing sexualities and sexual relationships: the need for contextual social work interventions

This article considers how young people’s developing sexualities are influenced by extra-familial social and cultural contexts, particularly in relation to experiences of sexual violence. It draws upon young people’s voices to illustrate the choices they make when they encounter, or engage with, exploitative contexts. Utilising the cumulative evidence base of our studies into sexual exploitation, trafficking and violence over the past ten years, we employ Bourdieu’s theory of the interplay between structure and agency to elucidate the relationship between young people’s choices and abusive social environments. When navigating or engaging with exploitative contexts, young people’s sexualities can be distorted through abusive normalising processes; coercive practices; professional attitudes which condone abuse; and/or structural inequalities that call for survivalist behaviours amongst young people. In exploring this social model of consent, we highlight the need to move beyond one to one (1:1) social work practices to engage with situations, contexts and relationships that disrupt young people’s developing sexualities. Such an adaptation of social work practice would adopt principles of ‘contextual safeguarding’ and we conclude by offering illustrations of interventions that have begun to explore this developmental pathway

Physics and performance of InGaAs quantum dot lasers

Quantum dot lasers are becoming increasingly technologically important. It is therefore essential to understand the factors affecting their current performance and be able to predict future performance. The gain and unamplified spontaneous emission spectra have been measured for a selection of quantum dot devices and a quantum well device. The quotient of the gain and spontaneous emission spectra were used to calculate the PF spectra and investigate the carrier distribution within the devices. Whilst the quantum well device and devices with one or three layers of dots exhibited characteristics consistent with Fermi-Dirac statistics, devices with more layers dots produced an unusual set of spectra, determined to be due to a non-thermal distribution of carriers in the ground state by looking at the unamplified spontaneous emission spectra. A model was developed to investigate the effects of non-thermal carrier distributions on the calculated PF spectra. From this it was deduced that it was possible to use a fit of a thermal PF to the excited state PF to calibrate the measured unamplified spontaneous emission spectra. The resultant PF, gain and spontaneous emission spectra are sensitive to the exact balance between the homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadenings. This calibration was used to calculate the radiative current densities and compare the radiative efficiencies of different structures, including both Dots-in-Well (DWELL) and standard dot structures. There was no large difference in efficiency found due to improved carrier injection in the DWELL structures. Calculated gain-radiative current density curves were used to predict the minimum transparency and threshold current densities that may be possible in the future. It is clear that the limits of quantum dot device performance have not yet been reached and that a factor of 1.7 improvement in threshold current density over state of the art devices could be achieved, even without reduced inhomogeneous broadening.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

De la vulnerabilidad a la resiliencia: mejorar la respuesta humanitaria

Las lecciones aprendidas a partir de las respuestas a la crisis de desplazamiento siria pueden aportar información para debates más amplios sobre cómo elaborar respuestas que aborden mejor la vulnerabilidad, apoyen la resiliencia e incluyan a mujeres, niños y jóvenes desplazados en toda su diversidad

DEVELOPMENT OF ANTIBODIES AND CHARACTERISATION OF THE HUMORAL IMMUNE RESPONSES IN A SURROGATE ANIMAL MODEL FOR HEPATITIS C VIRUS (HCV)

PhDHepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has become a global public health concern with over 130 million people chronically infected and over 350,000 deaths every year from HCV-related liver diseases. GB virus-B (GBV-B) infection in tamarins is a surrogate model for acute HCV infection. Whilst HCV infection commonly leads to chronicity, GBV-B is naturally cleared. To better understand this natural clearance, this project aimed to study the associated humoral immune response to GBV-B. Additionally, GBV-B-specific antibodies were produced with the aim of characterising the pathology of the virus. Previously, there was no available GBV-B neutralisation assay to identify antibodies in this animal model. Therefore, a GBV-B neutralisation assay, based on a method that is known to be successful for the closely-related HCV, was developed. This method involved producing pseudotyped retroviral particles (PV) expressing the GBV-B envelope that could infect a human hepatocarcinoma cell line. GBV-B PV production was confirmed by western blotting. Future studies can now test archived tamarin sera in this assay for the presence of neutralising antibodies. Neutralising antibodies found through this model could be epitope mapped, and incorporated into HCV vaccine design strategies. To study the pathology of GBV-B infection, GBV-B-specific antibodies were also produced using two techniques in parallel- classical hybridoma technology and ribosome display. Antibodies targeting the nucleocapsid core protein of GBV-B have been previously detected in tamarins and served as the target for production of GBV-B antibodies using both aforementioned technologies. GBV-B core-specific antibodies were successfully isolated using both technologies and can now be used in downstream techniques, such as immunohistochemistry, to characterise the pathology of GBV-B infection thereby further validating the use of the animal model.NIBSC Studentship programm