Consanguinity, genetics and definitions of kinship in the UK Pakistani Population

YesConsanguineous marriage is a controversial topic in many Western societies, with attention mainly focused on the health of immigrant communities from Asia and Africa. In the UK consanguinity is especially prevalent in the Pakistani community which now numbers over 1.1 million. Less attention has been paid to the influence of hereditary population stratification within Pakistani communities. In particular, biraderi (literally brotherhood) membership which denotes male lineages that largely govern marriage partner choice and hence the transmission of disease genes. The various roles played by biraderi and their relationship to other socio-occupational and kinship terms, such as caste, quom and zat, are often overlooked in health-based studies. The interchangeable use of these different kinship terms without rigorous definition can create identity uncertainty and hinders inter-study comparisons. Where feasible, standardization of terminology would be both desirable and beneficial, with biraderi the preferred default term to identify specific social and genetic relationships within the Pakistani diaspora

On Folk Devils, Moral Panics and New Wave Public Health

New wave public health places an emphasis on exhorting individuals to engage in healthy behaviour with good health being a signifier of virtuous moral standing, whereas poor health is often associated with personal moral failings. In effect, the medical is increasingly being collapsed into the moral. This approach is consistent with other aspects of contemporary neoliberal governance, but it fuels moral panics and creates folk devils. We explore the implications and dysfunctional consequences of this new wave of public health policy in the context of the latest moral panic around obesity

Improving service coordination for children with complex needs

Although recognised by policy incentives shaping children's services, research and service development for children with complex healthcare needs have received limited attention. Both health-care professionals and families of those children affected frequently report fragmented care and unmet needs in the literature. Not only is the wellbeing of the family and health of the child jeopardised, but also the lack of consistent service coordination between diagnosis, impairment, functional need or disability, directly contributes to a lack of data for the subgroup of children with complex healthcare needs. In this scoping review, key themes are identified, proposing priorities for innovation of future services. It is clear from the literature, longitudinal data analysis providing a more accessible platform for service evaluation and improvement, specialist training for key workers, and further research around definitions and classification systems, is lacking

A statistical method for determining and representing formability : innovation report

Formability, conventionally characterised by the Forming Limit Curve (FLC), is a critical measure used to define the working limit of sheet metal in a forming operation. The FLC defines the limit strain the material can undergo before failure occurs. The importance of this failure criterion means it is used at various stages in the development of automotive body panels: during material selection; during stamping simulations; and in the purchase of stamping tools before commencing serial production. To mitigate against the risk that the FLC is positioned incorrectly; that mechanical property variation between blanks causes reduced formability; and that conditions imposed by the stamping operation itself cause premature failure, a safety margin is introduced. The size of the safety margin is based on the industrial sponsor’s prior experience and attitude to risk, as opposed to an objective analysis of each of the risks posed to formability. Uncertainty around the position of an FLC arises from the dispersed limit strains that characterise the results of standardised formability tests. The aim of this research was to understand and characterise the uncertainty of the formability test, and develop a more accurate and precise method for determining and representing formability. Initial tests were carried out according to the standard ISO method, and a digital image correlation (DIC) technique was used to measure full-field strains on each specimen throughout the tests. Two observations were made. Firstly, the method of analysis advocated by the ISO standard requires subjective interpretation to define a limit strain. Secondly, the full-field strain measurements showed a “noisy” strain distribution overlaid over the expected strain field. This “noise” was significant compared to the uncertainty of the DIC instrument. A solution was developed by adopting a statistical attitude to model surface strain measurements. Strains from the beginning of deformation up to fracture were characterised by a fundamental analysis. The analysis showed that the forming limit of an individual test is statistical in nature, and that the strains’ statistical character exhibits recognisable trends that evolve from the start of the tests up to necking. A new 'time-dependent' method based on the innovative application of a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) was developed to characterise these trends, and quantify the forming limit. The GMM was used to objectively identify the locus of a localised neck; identify the onset of necking; and characterise the neck at the forming limit. Rather than selectively analysing strains in a pre-determined area of a specimen, and at a selected time of the test, the developed technique eliminates the subjectivity that is required by the current ISO-standard method. The new GMM technique describes formability as a probabilistic risk of failure. Strain measurements made on single specimens were turned into a complimentary statistical formability criterion using the logistic regression technique proposed by Strano & Colosimo (2006). Formability Maps (FMs) were constructed to show the probability of failure contours on the Forming Limit Diagram (FLD). FMs derived from the GMM provide the precise representation of formability that is missing from the FLC, and that is required to objectively interpret the risk of failure for an industrial panel. It was postulated that the presence of a surface roughness is responsible for surface strain variation because of the geometry of its asperities. Its evolution is controlled by underlying changes to the microstructure during the course of plastic deformation. A modified M-K model was used to predict the range of strains that arise from surface roughening at the forming limit. Formability predictions correspond well to FLCs drawn from ISO-standard limit strains, but less well to the FMs drawn from the GMM. It was concluded that surface roughening alone does not explain the heterogeneous strain behaviour measured in this research

Visible Difference, Stigmatising Language(s) and the Discursive Construction of Prejudices Against Others in Leeds and Warsaw

There is a growing interest in – and urgency around – the understanding of cultural difference in and across European societies. Language matters crucially to how difference is perceived and conceptualised. Against this backdrop, the consequences of encountering difference through language still require research. In response to this need, this chapter looks into the use of prejudiced terms addressing difference with respect to axes of gendered ethnicity/religion (Muslim men) and gendered class (male underclass) in two European cities. In doing so, it traces the vernacular embedding of perceptions of specifically coded difference in Poland and the UK. As such, it explores how the same categories of difference are discursively produced in two national contexts and enquires in what ways perceptions differ, overlap or refer to an increasingly global discursive framework

Inequality, exclusion and infant mortality: listening to bereaved mothers

yesThis chapter will examine issues of social justice by focussing on social exclusion and infant mortality. Infant mortality is defined as the death of a live born child before its first birthday. Social exclusion and infant mortality are both important areas of policy debate in the UK and globally (1).We will examine how far they are linked and will focus on ethnic minority populations with higher than average rates of infant mortality. The chapter continues by considering a small group of women who have experienced the death of an infant and who have come together in a group called HOPE. We ask how their experience might inform our understanding of the needs of women at the time of childbirth and in the weeks immediately following it. Their experiences illuminate how feelings of exclusion, and injustice, can be manifest in and through the structures and processes of engaging with health care professionals. The potential to promote social justice and enhance inclusion via listening to the voices of those who have had this experience of loss is considere

Differential interactions of Falcarinol combined with anti-tumour agents on cellular proliferation and apoptosis in human lymphoid leukaemia cell lines

Leukaemia is the most common childhood cancer, and whilst recent advances in therapy have improved survival, current treatments are still limited by their side effects. Thus, new therapies are urgently needed, this study investigated the effects of Falcarinol, a polyacetylene isolated from carrots (Daucus carota) in combination with chemotherapy agents, anti-cancer agents and other apoptosis inducers. Inhibition of cellular proliferation and induction of apoptosis were investigated in three human lymphoid Leukaemia cell lines. Cellular proliferation was determined via ATP quantification using the Cell Titer Glo assay. Induction of apoptosis was investigated using caspase 3 activity assay and confirmed by nuclear morphology using Hoechst 33342. The study demonstrated that CCRF-CEM cells failed to induce synergistic response with any of the investigated chemotherapies, but importantly no inhibition was observed either. Jurkat cells showed a significant synergistic induction of apoptosis following joint treatment with Falcarinol and a Death Receptor 5 agonist (DR5), whereas CCRF-CEM cells showed only an additive response. Conversely within MOLT-3 cells Falcarinol partially inhibited the induction of apoptosis by DR5 agonist although this failed to reach significance. However MOLT-3 cells demonstrated synergistic induction of apoptosis when Falcarinol was combined with either Bortezomib (proteosome inhibitor), or Sulforaphane (histone deacetylase inhibitor). Identification of interactions between natural bioactive compounds with anti-cancer drugs may provide new pathways to target cancerous cells. Furthermore, since some combinations enhance apoptosis but some inhibit apoptosis it may be important to consider these interactions for dietary advice during therapy

Disciplinary and pastoral power, food and poverty in late-modernity

Using a Foucauldian perspective, we explicate the systems of power which shape the lives of women in or at risk of ‘food poverty’. We develop a theoretical framework of power for analyses of contemporary food poverty, which we apply to data from focus groups with women on low incomes in two cities in the north of England. Our data underlines the repressive power of the state as well as the broader chronicity of state surveillance. We argue that, while disciplinary and pastoral power may characterise the majority of food banks, alternative logics of mutual aid are evident within some food aid providers. We underline the power of governmental discourse in constituting gendered subjectivities and find that the most potent form of coercion is derived from self-regulation. The article closes by exploring possibilities for praxis via discursive resistance

Is ethnic density associated with health in a context of social disadvantage? Findings from the Born in Bradford cohort.

YesObjectives In this study we aimed to test the associations between area-level ethnic density and health for Pakistani and White British residents of Bradford, England. Design The sample consisted of 8610 mothers and infant taking part in the Born in Bradford cohort. Ethnic density was measured as the percentage of Pakistani, White British or South Asian residents living in a Lower Super Output Area. Health outcomes included birth weight, preterm birth and smoking during pregnancy. Associations between ethnic density and health were tested in multilevel regression models, adjusted for individual covariates and area deprivation. Results In the Pakistani sample, higher ethnic density was associated with lower birth weight (b -0.82, 95% CI -1.63; -0.02), and higher South Asian density was associated with a lower probability of smoking during pregnancy (OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.98; 1.00). Pakistani women in areas with 50-70% South Asian residents were less likely to smoke than those living in areas with less than 10% South Asian residents (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.16;0.97). In the White British sample, neither birth weight nor preterm birth was associated with ethnic density. The probability of smoking during pregnancy was lower in areas with 10-29.99% compared to < 10% South Asian density (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.64; 0.98). Conclusion In this sample, ethnic density was associated with lower odds of smoking during pregnancy but not with higher birth weight or lower odds of preterm birth. Possibly, high levels of social disadvantage inhibit positive effects of ethnic density on health.Hall Dorman studentship , also Wellcome and NIH

On folk devils, moral panics and new wave public health

YesNew wave public health places an emphasis on exhorting individuals to engage in healthy behaviour with good health being a signifier of virtuous moral standing, whereas poor health is often associated with personal moral failings. In effect, the medical is increasingly being collapsed into the moral. This approach is consistent with other aspects of contemporary neoliberal governance, but it fuels moral panics and creates folk devils. We explore the implications and dysfunctional consequences of this new wave of public health policy in the context of the latest moral panic around obesity