New Democratic Audit e-collection: Should the UK lower the voting age to 16?

Today Democratic Audit releases a new e-collection of pieces which debate the merits of whether to lower the UK’s age of enfranchisement from 18 to 16. Featuring expert contributions from campaigners, academics, and politicians, our aim is to heighten the level debate on this proposal. In introducing the report, the co-editors of the report, Richard Berry and Sean Kippin put the case for the change, and argue that a better standard of debate is sorely required

The young today may be the first cohort to experience large-scale precarity

The 2008 crisis crystallised the trend towards ‘precarious’ labour market conditions – stagnation in earnings growth, skills under-utilisation, labour market ‘hollowing out’, and the emergence of ‘gig economy’ practices – which disproportionately affect young people. Insecure employment is not new, especially in lower-skilled occupations, although it may have reached a new peak since the crisis. Indeed, two decades ago, Richard Sennett warned of ‘flexible capitalism’, wherein uncertainty and instability were becoming ‘woven into the everyday practices of a vigorous capitalism’

Young people and the post-crisis precarity: the abnormality of the 'new normal'

Craig Berry and Sean McDaniel draw upon research with focus groups and an online community exercise to examine the attitudes of young people in relation to the apparent 'normalisation' of precarity in the post-2008 economy. They find that although young people recognise the abnormality of labour market conditions, they nevertheless fail to see value in conventional forms of trade union organisation

Using The Balanced Scorecard To Reform University Policing: An Illustrative Example

Since the death of George Floyd, protestors nationwide have called for police reform, including on college campuses. This paper provides an illustrative example of how a balanced scorecard approach was utilized in the strategic reform of a campus police department. The study highlights how decision-makers can integrate the balanced scorecard’s use to successfully reform the campus police department and to create buy-in throughout the process

Molecular biology of amitraz resistance in cattle ticks of the genus Rhipicephalus

Amitraz is an important product for the control of cattle ticks around the world. In comparison with other products for the control of ticks, it is quite affordable and it has a rapid knock-down effect. It binds with and activates adrenergic neuro-receptors of animals and it inhibits the action of monoamine oxidases (MAO). Resistance to amitraz has been documented in Rhipicephalus microplus, R. decoloratus and R. appendiculatus. Four mechanisms of resistance have been proposed, each of which is supported by evidence but none of which has been definitively confirmed as the cause of resistance in the field. The proposed mechanisms include genetic target site insensitivity in two G protein-coupled receptors, the beta-adrenergic octopamine receptor (BAOR) and the octopamine/tyramine receptor (OCT/Tyr), increased expression or activity of monoamine oxidases and increased expression or activity of the ATP binding cassette transporter

Clinical vignette: Methamphetamine-associated decompression hematuria

Methamphetamine is a psychoactive CNS stimulant who illicit use is increasing in prevalence in the United States. While the symptoms of acute intoxication have been well-described, symptoms related to withdrawal are numerous and continue to be described. This abstract describes a case of severe, symptomatic hematuria whose multifactorial etiology is believed to be related to both the direct effects of acute methamphetamine use in addition to the bodys withdrawal response. The patient is a 38-year-old male with a prior history of isolated nephrolithiasis who presented to the emergency department following the acute onset of dyspnea progressing to vision changes and syncope. Further workup revealed a hemoglobin of 6.6 g/dL. The patient admitted to longstanding inhaled methamphetamine use, with his last use four days prior to his emergency department visit. The patient also described a three-day history of gross hematuria and passing large blood clots in his urine. CT imaging demonstrated no evidence of nephrolithiasis, but was remarkable for bladder changes consistent with obstructive uropathy. The patient was appropriately transfused and placed on continuous bladder irrigation and had a rapid resolution of his hematuria. After a negative workup regarding causes of bladder obstruction, the patient endorsed that he had used methamphetamine for several years, which consistently resulted in urinary retention, which he attempted to treat with tamsulosin that was obtained from a friend without a prescription. He additionally endorsed that he would consistently experience gross hematuria that spontaneously resolved after several days whenever he abstained from methamphetamine for 1-2 days. The patient was discharged home with a prescription for tamsulosin per urology recommendations. He was seen for follow-up in the urology clinic. Despite non-compliance with tamsulosin, he had abstained from any additional methamphetamine use and had complete resolution of his symptoms. He declined further evaluation with cystoscopy. Several months later, the patient began using methamphetamine again and returned to the emergency department with urinary retention, which was again accompanied by resolution and decompression hematuria after several days abstaining from methamphetamine.\u2

Prototype Development of an Image Capturing Device for Field Use

Real-time ultrasound technology is now being used by many researchers and technicians for evaluating livestock composition, especially in beef and swine. The digitally captured ultrasound images are analyzed for fat thickness, ribeye crosssectional area, and percentage intramuscular fat (IMFAT). ISU researchers and ultrasound technicians have realized that the current method of capturing images using a regular portable PC has many problems including frequent failures in the field. ISU has developed a prototype device, called ÒBlackBoxÓ, that allows one to capture and store images in the field without frequent problems encountered with the regular PC. The primary goals of the design were to use minimal components and an easy to use software to capture images in the field. For field use, the BlackBox is a rugged unit with easy push-button operation. It will meet the demands of seedstock ultrasound scanning for later analysis by the technician or by a centralized processing center. It should also prove to be a useful tool for feedlot chute-side application