Stability of hexagonal solidification patterns

We investigate the dynamics of cellular solidification patterns using three-dimensional phase-field simulations. The cells can organize into stable hexagonal patterns or exhibit unsteady evolutions. We identify the relevant secondary instabilities of regular hexagonal arrays and find that the stability boundaries depend significantly on the strength of crystalline anisotropy. We also find multiplet states that can be reached by applying well-defined perturbations to a pre-existing hexagonal array.Comment: Minor changes, mainly in introduction and conclusion, one reference adde

Disposable labour, passive victim, active threat: migrant/non-migrant othering in three British television documentaries

This article analyses discourses about migration within three documentaries that were broadcast on terrestrial British television in January 2014: The Truth about Immigration in the UK and The Hidden World of Britain’s Immigrants, both broadcast on BBC 2, and Episode 2 of Benefits Street, broadcast on Channel 4. The methodology involved a detailed analysis of the documentaries, situated within a Marxist analysis of British capitalism, the capitalist crisis, and the economic and political position of migrants. Amidst the contradictions and complexities that were identified within these documentaries, representations of 'migrants' can be grouped into three categories: disposable labour; passive victim; and active threat. We argue these discursive roles reflect and reinforce capitalist exploitation, by constructing 'migrants' as a mutable 'other' to divide the working class

Forty-Year Analysis of Colonoscopic Surveillance Program for Neoplasia in Ulcerative Colitis: An Updated Overview

C.R.C. was funded by the Derek Willoughby Fund for Inflammatory Research. A.L.H. and T.A.G. were funded by Higher Education Funding Council of England

Lanthanide(III) complexes of rhodamine-DO3A conjugates as agents for dual-modal imaging

Two novel dual-modal MRI/optical probes based on a rhodamine-DO3A conjugate have been prepared. The bis aqua-Gd(III) complex Gd.L1 and mono aqua-Gd(III) complex Gd.L2 behave as dual-modal imaging probes (r1 = 8.5 and 3.8 mM-1s-1 for Gd.L1 and Gd.L2 respectively; λex = 560 nm and λem = 580 nm for both complexes). The rhodamine fragment is pH sensitive and upon lowering of pH an increase in fluorescence intensity is observed as the spirolactam ring opens to give the highly fluorescent form of the molecule. The ligands are bimodal when coordinated to Tb(III) ions, inducing fluorescence from both the lanthanide center and the rhodamine fluorophore, on two independent time-frames. Confocal imaging experiments were carried out to establish the localization of Gd.L2 in HEK cells. Co-localisation with MitoTracker® Green confirmed that Gd.L2 compartmentalizes in the mitochondria. Gd.L2 was also evaluated as an MRI probe for imaging tumors in BALB/c nude mice bearing M21 xenografts. A 36.5% decrease in T1 within the tumor was observed 30 minutes post injection showing that Gd.L2 is preferentially up taken in the tumor. Gd.L2 is the first small molecule MR/fluorescent dual-modal imaging agent to display an off-on pH switch upon its preferential uptake within the more acidic micro-environment of tumor cells

Use of Residential Care in Europe for Children Aged Under Three: Some Lessons from Neurobiology

This critical commentary reviews the research into the use of residential care for children aged under three years and looks at some of the explanations that can be found for this in neurobiology. There continue to be high numbers and rates of these vulnerable children in institutions not only in the former Soviet states, but also in Western Europe. The new research provides strong evidence on the negative consequences for these children, particularly for those who remain in institutional care beyond the age of six months. Explanations from neurobiology sit well beside understandings drawn from attachment theory and start to show the mechanisms for this and also the ability of the brain to compensate

Knowledge transfer and exchange: a look at the literature in relation to research and policy

Within the field of health policy, there have been widespread calls for the increased or improved use of evidence within policy making. This reflects an ambition to deliver better policy in terms of outcomes, resource efficiency and effectiveness, and a belief that this can be achieved through utilising the available evidence to inform and guide decision making. For those tasked with improving the uptake of a piece or body of evidence, for policy makers aiming to improve their evidence use, or for researches investigating this question, a number of conceptual questions remain on how to actually achieve this, such as: What should count as evidence for policy making? Who should govern (or steer) the use of research evidence for policy? What is ‘good evidence’ for decision making? What is the ‘good use’ of evidence from a governance perspective? How is research knowledge typically translated into policy? How can one ‘improve’ the use or uptake of evidence in policy making? The GRIP-Health Project is a 5 year, European Research Council supported programme of work that aims to improve the use of research evidence in health policy through undertaking research on the political aspects of health policy making and evidence use. The project has developed a number of working papers that engage with some of these topics.1 This current paper is concerned with the last two of the questions listed above, specifically reviewing key aspects of Knowledge Transfer and Exchange (KTE) related to getting research into policy and practice. While the health sector is increasingly motivated by a desire to get research evidence into policy, outside the field of health there is a much broader body of work that is specifically concerned with how evidence and knowledge are transferred, translated, or taken up by different policy actors. Various theories attempt to establish how KTE works, the contextual factors that influence the process, and how to achieve maximum impact for relevant bodies of evidence. Acronyms and terminology used in this field vary accordingly, and can include knowledge transfer, knowledge translation, knowledge management, and knowledge brokering. These various terms have been grouped together under the rubric ‘K*’ by some authors to reflect the multiple overlapping terms 2 Prior working papers in this series deal with aspects of: Stewardship of health evidence; hierarches and appropriateness of evidence; and institutional approaches to evidence uptake research. Working papers and other outputs of the programme are available at the GRIP-Health website http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/groups/griphealth/resources/index.html 3 (c.f. Shaxson et al., 2012). However, in this paper, we use the term KTE to refer to the general body of literature focused on issues of knowledge production, dissemination, uptake and use in policymaking. As the body of work on KTE is extensive, it was decided not to attempt a complete or systematic review of the literature. There are, however, several papers which attempt to synthesise the existing literature or systematically review elements of the KTE field. These reviews provide a starting point for mapping the field to help inform efforts to improve the use of research evidence in policy. The current paper therefore has two objectives. First, it summarises and synthesises a set of identified KTE review papers in order to undertake a comparison of their similarities and their differences on the main areas they cover, to provide a basic mapping of key KTE concepts. After this, it then explores some key themes that emerge from the KTE literature which are of particular relevance to the GRIP-Health programme and other researchers or stakeholders who are tasked with improving evidence uptake

Mapping the future of academic libraries: A report for SCONUL

Academic libraries currently operate within and contribute to a rapidly changing environment. Being aware of what is changing and ensuring that libraries can continue to play a useful role in higher education (HE) is a profound ongoing challenge. This report aims to help in addressing that challenge. It considers library futures over the next decade, a formidable but important undertaking. We have based our analysis on a mixed-methods research project involving a review of the literature, in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholders both within and beyond the library community, and a survey of library staff. We report our indings as well as providing relection on their implications for libraries and their future