Magnetic impurity resonance states and symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in iron-based superconductors

We investigate the effect of magnetic impurities on the local quasiparticle density of states (LDOS) in iron-based superconductors. Employing the two-orbital model where 3$d$ electron and hole conduction bands are hybridizing with the localized $f$-orbital of the impurity spin, we investigate how various symmetries of the superconducting gap and its nodal structure influence the quasiparticle excitations and impurity bound states. We show that the bound states behave qualitatively different for each symmetry. Most importantly we find that the impurity-induced bound states can be used to identify the nodal structure of the extended s-wave symmetry ($S^{\pm}$) that is actively discussed in ferropnictides.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, theory part is extended, figures are replace

Neither predator nor prey:What trafficking discourses miss about masculinities, mobility and work

Within trafficking discourses, men appear as predatory and exploitative, while boys appear as victims. This flattens the complexities of social life and obscures the ways that constructs of masculinity frame the trajectories of labour migrants and their brokers. This article challenges those discourses, drawing on research with two groups of labour migrants characterized as ‘victims of trafficking’, as well as with ‘traffickers’ who help them to move and work. The first are adolescents moving from Benin to the gravel quarries of Abeokuta, Nigeria. The second are adults from across West Africa who have made the illegal journey to Italy, where they live in ‘ghettos’ and work as gang labourers on harvests. In each case, migrants and their brokers come from the same or similar communities; (shared) ideals of masculinity structure their mobility and labour. Gendered transitions towards adulthood, the pressure to attain riches and status and a duty of responsibility to those younger and less successful are important. A focus on their masculinities takes us beyond ‘victim-perpetrator’ dyads.</p

A randomised, double-blinded comparison between subcutaneous rush and intralympathic allergen immunotherapy induction in atopic dogs

BackgroundAtopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most common skin diseases in small animal practice. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is the only curative treatment for the disease, and oral, subcutaneous and intralymphatic administration of allergens are commonly employed. ObjectivesTo compare the efficacy of AIT following an induction phase with intralymphatic injections (ILIT) or rush immunotherapy (RIT). AnimalsFifty privately owned dogs with AD. Materials and MethodsIn a double-blinded study, dogs were randomly assigned to either four monthly ILIT of allergen extract or RIT with five injections administered subcutaneously at hourly intervals on the first day. They were assessed by validated scores;Canine Atopic Dermatitis Lesion Index (CADLI) and pruritus Visual Analog Scale (PVAS) at the beginning of the study and after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. The latter were performed daily for 7 days before each revisit. Medication scores and a total clinical score were calculated and compared between each group and time point. ResultsThere was no significant difference in CADLI and PVAS scores, or CADLI and medication scores between groups at any of the time points. A significant improvement with both ILIT and RIT was seen in total and pruritus scores, respectively. An owner global assessment of good-to-excellent treatment efficacy was seen in 40% of the dogs;total scores improved by 27% and 35% in the RIT and ILIT group, respectively. Adverse effects were not seen. Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceInduction of AIT can be conducted either as RIT or ILIT with no loss in efficacy

On our own terms : the working conditions of internet-based sex workers in the UK

The sex industry is increasingly operated through online technologies, whether this is selling services online through webcam or advertising, marketing or organising sex work through the Internet and digital technologies. Using data from a survey of 240 internet-based sex workers (members of the National Ugly Mug reporting scheme in the UK), we discuss the working conditions of this type of work. We look at the basic working patterns, trajectories and everyday experiences of doing sex work via an online medium and the impact this has on the lives of sex workers. For instance, we look at levels of control individuals have over their working conditions, prices, clientele and services sold, and discuss how this is mediated online and placed in relation to job satisfaction. The second key finding is the experience of different forms of crimes individuals are exposed to such as harassment and blackmail via the new technologies. We explore the relationship internet-based sex workers have with the police and discuss how current laws in the UK have detrimental effects in terms of safety and access to justice. These findings are placed in the context of the changing landscape of sex markets as the digital turn determines the nature of the majority of commercial sex encounters. These findings contribute significantly to the populist coercion/choice political debates by demonstrating levels and types of agency and autonomy experienced by some sex workers despite working in a criminalized, precarious and sometimes dangerous context

Experiencing stigma as sex work researchers in professional and personal lives

Researchers have demonstrated the challenges associated with sex work research; negotiating the stigma attached to its subject matter, the perceived dangerousness of participants, and the barriers faced in reaching hidden populations. By reflecting upon our separate research experiences and drawing upon a body of reflexive sex work research, this article explores how, as sex work researchers, we experienced stigma not only in our professional roles as researchers, but also in our personal lives. We apply Goffman's (1968) notion of stigma by association; and consider how stigma often associated with prostitution became transposed onto us. In particular, we compare and contrast our separate experiences of conducting sex work research to demonstrate our similar experiences of stigma by association

Assembly defects of human tRNA splicing endonuclease contribute to impaired pre-tRNA processing in pontocerebellar hypoplasia

Mutations within subunits of the tRNA splicing endonuclease complex (TSEN) are associated with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH). Here the authors show that tRNA intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from inactive heterodimers, and provide evidence that modulation of TSEN stability may contribute to PCH phenotypes.Introns of human transfer RNA precursors (pre-tRNAs) are excised by the tRNA splicing endonuclease TSEN in complex with the RNA kinase CLP1. Mutations in TSEN/CLP1 occur in patients with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), however, their role in the disease is unclear. Here, we show that intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from inactive heterodimers independently of CLP1. Splice site recognition involves the mature domain and the anticodon-intron base pair of pre-tRNAs. The 2.1-angstrom resolution X-ray crystal structure of a TSEN15-34 heterodimer and differential scanning fluorimetry analyses show that PCH mutations cause thermal destabilization. While endonuclease activity in recombinant mutant TSEN is unaltered, we observe assembly defects and reduced pre-tRNA cleavage activity resulting in an imbalanced pre-tRNA pool in PCH patient-derived fibroblasts. Our work defines the molecular principles of intron excision in humans and provides evidence that modulation of TSEN stability may contribute to PCH phenotypes.Genetics of disease, diagnosis and treatmen

Female Perpetrators in Internal Child Trafficking in China: An empirical study

Through an empirical study, this article explores the overall profile of female traffickers of children in China and their role and performance in the trafficking processes. Its contribution to the human-trafficking literature lies in its focus on female perpetrators in particular. The article provides an overview of the international literature on female traffickers as well as contemporary knowledge about internal child trafficking in China. Empirical data from incarcerated traffickers suggest that portraying female traffickers as active players of criminal networks obscures the structural problems affecting female child traffickers. The short-term result is that the problems of female offenders are ignored, and the long-term impact is policy making that is disconnected from the lived experiences of an important population. From a gender perspective, this study suggests that female child traffickers are offenders as well as victims of social and gender inequalities in China’s reform era. This study also proposes that internal child trafficking in China should be brought in the international and Anglo-American debates surrounding human trafficking

Just married: the synergy between feminist criminology and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework

This article is a theoretical treatment of feminist epistemology of crime, which advocates the centrality of gender as a theoretical starting point for the investigating of digital crimes. It does so by exploring the synergy between the feminist perspectives and the Tripartite Cybercrime Framework (TCF) (which argues that three possible factors motivate cybercrimes – socioeconomic, psychosocial, and geopolitical) to critique mainstream criminology and the meaning of the term “cybercrime”. Additionally, the article examines gender gaps in online harassment, cyber‐bullying, cyber‐fraud, revenge porn, and cyber‐stalking to demonstrate that who is victimised, why, and to what effect are the critical starting points for the analysis of the connections between gender and crimes. In turn, it uses the lens of intersectionality to acknowledge that, while conceptions of gender and crime interact, they intersect with other categories (e.g., sexuality) to provide additional layers of explanation. To nuance the utilitarian value of the synergy between the TCF and the feminist perspectives, the focus shifts to a recent case study (which compared socioeconomic and psychosocial cybercrimes). The article concludes that, while online and offline lives are inextricably intertwined, the victimisations in psychosocial cybercrimes may be more gendered than in socioeconomic cybercrimes. These contributions align the TCF to the feminist epistemology of crime in their attempt to move gender analysis of digital crimes “from margin to centre”