Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the relationship between counter-terrorism and protecting human rights. These observations are based on the lead author's experiences of working in numerous countries as a human rights specialist and former British Diplomat. These countries included Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, various parts of Africa and the Far East. The paper includes a discussion around defining human rights and terrorism, the challenges and implications that terrorism poses to the state as well as highlighting key legislation to outline the crucial balance between rights and counter-terrorism powers

Hydrological Outlook UK; seasonal river flow forecasts using rainfall forecasts

Hydrological predictions in the UK are strongly influenced by both rainfall and antecedent soil conditions. The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) and Scottish Flood Forecasting Service (SFFS) operationally issue flood alerts and warnings, however these typically apply only days to weeks ahead. There was a desire to produce a more long-term (seasonal) forecast of the water situation for flooding and drought periods similar to that produced in countries such as the USA and Australia. The Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) along with a number of partners have developed a long-range hydrological forecast for the UK. The Hydrological Outlook UK (www.hydoutuk.net) is the first operational forecast system for the UK that delivers monthly outlooks of the water situation for both river flow and groundwater levels. It brings together information on current and forecast weather conditions, soil moisture, river flows and groundwater levels, and uses a number of modelling approaches to explore possible future hydrological conditions. It is based on merging three complementary methods: (i) a statistical method based on river flow analogues and persistence, (ii) a Streamflow Ensemble Prediction System applied to selected catchments and boreholes; and (iii) a national hydrological forecast driven by an ensemble of 1 and 3 month-ahead rainfall forecasts from the UK Met Office’s GloSea5 model. Here we focus on the national scale hydrological forecasts, showing an example of the seasonal river flow forecasts and how they contribute to the Hydrological Outlooks UK monthly summary. The output from the different modelling methods and the summary are publicly available and used each month by government agencies, practitioners and academics alongside other sources of information such as flood warnings, meteorological forecasts and water situation reports

Understanding recovery from a family perspective: a survey of life in recovery for families

A growing body of research describes how the lives of dependent drinkers can change as they move from active addiction to recovery. The Life in Recovery surveys in the US, UK, Australia, Canada and South Africa all reveal marked improvements in physical and psychological health, family functioning, employment and education, reductions in crime and community engagement (Best, 2014; Best et al, 2015). However, no surveys have, until now, assessed the experience of recovery from the perspective of family members. For family members, recovery is experienced in two senses. They observe the journey of the recovering drinker; however, they also embark on their own journey of change as a consequence of their experiences. The work presented here attempts to describe both aspects

The UK Life in Recovery Survey 2015 : the first national UK survey of addiction recovery experiences

This report contains some of the first insights into how recovery has transformed the lives of many people in the UK. It is hoped that documenting the pathways to recovery and the benefits that recovery can infer on individuals, families and communities contained in this report can be used to inform policy makers about what promotes and enables recovery, and the pathways and timings of key recovery milestones. The key messages from the UK Life in Recovery survey 2015 are that recovery is attainable, is sustainable and is beneficial to a range of individuals and groups. Finally, that advancing our knowledge of recovery will reduce the stigma and discrimination that many in active addiction and recovery experience

Identifying Needs and Implementing Organizational Change to Improve Retention of Early-Career Agents

Retention of agents is important for the growth and stability of Cooperative Extension. A study of early-career agents in Virginia Cooperative Extension identified specific areas in which organizational change could be made to improve agent fit in the organization and long-term retention. As a result, numerous changes have been made, particularly associated with existing agents but also in work with prospective agents. Although this article relates specifically to Virginia, the challenges and solutions identified may be relevant to other programs and to national professional development organizations

Right Turn Veteran-Specific Recovery Service: 5 site evaluation pilot: Interim report

The Right Turn project works with the ex-service personnel community in recovery from substance misuse. This report presents the interim findings from a two-year evaluation on the impact on health and wellbeing outcomes on military veterans engaging in this innovative peer-focussed recovery service. The evaluation is designed around a structured quantitative data collection process using an established repeat measure design and utilises qualitative methodologies to explore both the life experiences of this veteran cohort and to take account of their own perceptions of the model of services they feel they require. This report suggests that the military veteran community experience distinct barriers to accessing main stream health and wellbeing services. Alongside comorbidity issues, management of chronic physical conditions and social isolation, this report demonstrates that this cohort's own previous military conditioning forms a further barrier to accessing support services. This report contains recommendations to inform generic support staff when encountering veterans within health and wellbeing settings

The value landscape in ecosystem services : value, value wherefore art thou value?

Ecosystem services has risen to become one of the preeminent global policy discourses framing the way we conceive and articulate environment–society relations, integral to the form and function of a number of far-reaching international policies such as the Aichi 2020 Biodiversity Targets and the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals. Value; its pursuit, definition, quantification, monetization, multiplicity and uncertainty, both in terms of meaning and attribution, is fundamental to the economic foundations of ecosystem services and a core feature driving its inclusion across multiple policy domains such as environmental management and conservation. Distilling current knowledge and developments in this arena are thus highly prescient. In this article, we cast a critical eye over the evidence base and aim to provide a comprehensive synthesis of what values are, why they are important and the methodological approaches employed to elicit them (including their pros and cons and the arguments for and against). We also illustrate the current ecosystem service value landscape, highlight some of the fundamental challenges in discerning and applying values, and outline future research activities. In so doing, we further advance ecosystem valuation discourse, contribute to wider debates linking ecosystem services and sustainability and strengthen connections between ecosystem services and environmental policy

Imaging Atherosclerosis.

Advances in atherosclerosis imaging technology and research have provided a range of diagnostic tools to characterize high-risk plaque in vivo; however, these important vascular imaging methods additionally promise great scientific and translational applications beyond this quest. When combined with conventional anatomic- and hemodynamic-based assessments of disease severity, cross-sectional multimodal imaging incorporating molecular probes and other novel noninvasive techniques can add detailed interrogation of plaque composition, activity, and overall disease burden. In the catheterization laboratory, intravascular imaging provides unparalleled access to the world beneath the plaque surface, allowing tissue characterization and measurement of cap thickness with micrometer spatial resolution. Atherosclerosis imaging captures key data that reveal snapshots into underlying biology, which can test our understanding of fundamental research questions and shape our approach toward patient management. Imaging can also be used to quantify response to therapeutic interventions and ultimately help predict cardiovascular risk. Although there are undeniable barriers to clinical translation, many of these hold-ups might soon be surpassed by rapidly evolving innovations to improve image acquisition, coregistration, motion correction, and reduce radiation exposure. This article provides a comprehensive review of current and experimental atherosclerosis imaging methods and their uses in research and potential for translation to the clinic.J.M.T. is supported by a Wellcome Trust research training fellowship (104492/Z/14/Z). M.D is supported by the British Heart Foundation (FS/14/78/31020). N.R.E. is supported by a research training fellowship from the Dunhill Medical Trust (RTF44/0114). A.J.B. is supported by the British Heart Foundation. J.H.F.R. is part-supported by the HEFCE, the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the British Heart Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the American Heart Association via http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.115.30624

Right Turn Veteran-Specific Recovery Service: 5 site evaluation pilot : Interim report

The Right Turn project works with the ex-service personnel community in recovery from substance misuse. This report presents the interim findings from a two-year evaluation on the impact on health and wellbeing outcomes on military veterans engaging in this innovative peer-focussed recovery service. The evaluation is designed around a structured quantitative data collection process using an established repeat measure design and utilises qualitative methodologies to explore both the life experiences of this veteran cohort and to take account of their own perceptions of the model of services they feel they require. This report suggests that the military veteran community experience distinct barriers to accessing main stream health and wellbeing services. Alongside comorbidity issues, management of chronic physical conditions and social isolation, this report demonstrates that this cohort's own previous military conditioning forms a further barrier to accessing support services. This report contains recommendations to inform generic support staff when encountering veterans within health and wellbeing settings

NMR Reveals Functionally Relevant Thermally Induced Structural Changes within the Native Ensemble of G-CSF.

Structure-function relationships in proteins refer to a trade-off between stability and bioactivity, molded by evolution of the molecule. Identifying which protein amino acid residues jeopardize global or local stability for the benefit of bioactivity would reveal residues pivotal to this structure-function trade-off. Here, we use 15N-1H heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to probe the microenvironment and dynamics of residues in granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) through thermal perturbation. From this analysis, we identified four residues (G4, A6, T133, and Q134) that we classed as significant to global stability, given that they all experienced large environmental and dynamic changes and were closely correlated to each other in their NMR characteristics. Additionally, we observe that roughly four structural clusters are subject to localized conformational changes or partial unfolding prior to global unfolding at higher temperature. Combining NMR observables with structure relaxation methods reveals that these structural clusters concentrate around loop AB (binding site III inclusive). This loop has been previously implicated in conformational changes that result in an aggregation prone state of G-CSF. Residues H43, V48, and S63 appear to be pivotal to an opening motion of loop AB, a change that is possibly also important for function. Hence, we present here an approach to profiling residues in order to highlight their potential roles in the two vital characteristics of proteins: stability and bioactivity