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What reproductive justice brings to and requires of The Feminist Economics Project
No full textDespite evidence of a growing interest in reproductive justice (RJ) among feminist economists, this interest is nascent. To avoid RJ becoming a buzzword and losing its political and critical edge, it is important to fully grasp what the RJ framework means and brings to research. This Dialogue aims to create a space where the possibility of an interdisciplinary, transnational exchange of knowledge and ideas could be explored and encouraged. It presents four views about what it means to adopt and commit to the RJ framework in feminist research. One of the contributors was trained as an economist and the remaining contributors trained in other disciplines. The contributions discuss directly or show by example how research guided by the RJ framework can contribute to the development of an ethical and effective transformative response to an increasingly oppressive policy trajectory in the current historical moment.</p
LnDOTA releasing probes for luminescence and magnetic resonance imaging
No full textLanthanide complexes of DOTA monoesters bearing nitrobenzyl and nitroimidazole groups are shown to be converted to the corresponding DOTA complexes under chemical and enzymatic conditions, giving rise to favorable changes in the luminescence properties of the europium and terbium complexes and relaxometric properties of the gadolinium complexes. The nitroimidazole complexes are converted more rapidly than their nitrobenzyl and benzyl analogues. We propose that activation of these complexes may occur by ester cleavage rather than nitro reduction and fragmentation since complexes bearing a simple benzyl group may also be cleaved under the same conditions, albeit more slowly.</p
Reverse engineering high-level resistance to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in Plutella xylostella reveals a hormonal regulatory feedback pathway
No full textDecoding the molecular mechanisms of insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins is crucial for the sustainable utilization of Bt-based bioinsecticides and transgenic crops. Our previous studies showed that a hormone-responsive transcription factor FOXO binds to an inserted short interspersed nuclear element (SINE, named SE2), causing MAP4K4 overexpression and resistance to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in Plutella xylostella. Furthermore, titers of two upstream signaling hormones (20-hydroxyecdysone and juvenile hormone) were also found to be elevated in the resistant strain, but it was unclear whether this was due to natural variation or a feedback pathway. Here, we established a homozygous knock-in strain (SE2-KI) using a reverse genetic approach to insert the SE2 retrotransposon into the MAP4K4 promoter of a Cry1Ac-susceptible strain. The SE2 insertion induced MAP4K4 overexpression, which in turn caused a downregulation of midgut receptors and an identical resistance phenotype to that seen in the evolved resistant strain. Moreover, SE2 insertion significantly increased the levels of two insect hormones providing definitive evidence for a positive feedback regulatory pathway. This study unveils an as yet uncharacterized hormonal regulatory feedback pathway orchestrating Cry1Ac resistance in P. xylostella, providing new insights into the molecular basis of Bt resistance and informing suitable field resistance management strategies.</p
Data for paper: Masked Divalent Reactivity of Heterobimetallic Lanthanide Isocarbonyl Complexes
No full textData for paper published in Angewandte Chemie (30.10.2025)CIF files for all compouds.check_CIF files for all compounds.EPR spectroscopy data.Magnetic measurements.NMR spectroscopy data.UV/vis spectroscopy data.AbstractA new rare-earth reduction system is described in which trivalent yttrium and dysprosium react as though present in their unstable divalent oxidation state. This masked divalent reactivity is achieved using the isocarbonyl-bridged dimers [(M)(μ-Fp)]2 (M=Y, 1Y; M=Dy, 1Dy; Cpttt=1,2,4-C5tBu3H2; Fp=CpFe(CO)2), where the reducing electrons originate from the bridging [Fp]− ligands. The reactivity of 1Y and 1Dy is showcased by reducing the N-heterocycles 2,2′-bipyridyl (bipy), phenazine (phnz) and hexaazatrinaphthylene (HAN) to give corresponding mono-, di- and tri-metallic rare-earth complexes, respectively, with the heterocyclic ligands present in their singly, doubly and triply reduced forms, respectively. The dynamic magnetic properties of the dysprosium compounds are described. Compound 1Dy is a single-molecule magnet (SMM) with an appreciable energy barrier of 449(17) cm−1, whereas [(Dy)2(μ-phnz)] (3Dy) is not an SMM because of a strong, competing equatorial crystal field. Surprisingly, [(Dy)3(HAN)] (4Dy) is also not an SMM, the origins of which are traced to the impact of the tert-butyl substituents on the dysprosium centre and its interaction with the radical [HAN]3− ligand.</p
Co-design under the Bauhaus of the Seas Light-house Project: a New European Bauhaus case study in Lisbon and Oeiras
No full textThe Bauhaus of the Seas (BoS) is one of the Lighthouse projects of the New European Bauhaus initiative (NEB). The project promotes the application of the NEB values – sustainable, beautiful, together – to develop locally grounded De-monstrator Pilots and focus cities’ attention on the future of the oceans. A co-design approach is being applied in a series of participatory sessions with stake-holders, including nature/ecosystem experts, cultural institutions, local authori-ties and civic organizations, aiming at a consolidated collaborative approach. In this report we present the results from the co-design processes under develop-ment in Oeiras and Lisbon – two coastal territories involved in the BoS. Our findings reveal that co-designing in a multi-stakeholder participatory process pre-sents challenges, ranging from the discomfort of working in bottom-up decision-making settings to the difficulty of amplifying underrepresented voices, as well as the ethical, philosophical and practical challenges of involving other-than-human beings.</p
[Abstract] Changing epidemiology and trends in incidence of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in Scotland: An analysis of the national cancer registration data, 1971-2020
No full textIntroduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common haematological malignancy in children (aged 0-14 years), accounting for about 25% of all childhood cancers. The highest incidence in observed in developed countries in Europe, North America and Oceania. The disease is relatively more common in males than females, with a M:F ratio of about 1.3-1.5:1. The aetiology of ALL is not well understood – this includes genetic (e.g. Down’s syndrome) and environmental (e.g. exposure to high levels of ionizing radiation) factors and the ‘delayed infection/population mixing hypotheses. We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study to examine whether there have been changes in the epidemiology of ALL in Scotland during the past five decades.Material and method: Individual-level, national (population-based) cancer registration data for patients diagnosed with childhood (age 0-14 years) ALL (ICD-10 code, C91.0) in Scotland from 1970-2020 were obtained from the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland. Average annual incidence rates were calculated by gender during the 10 five-year time periods (1971-75 to 2016-20). The percentage (%) change in the incidence rates in each gender was calculated as the change in the average annual incidence rate from the first (1971-75) to the last time period (2016-20). The average annual percentage change (i.e. year-on-year increase in incidence rates during 1971-2020) was estimated using the slope of the linear trend line fitted to the incidence rates by year of diagnosis.Results and discussion: During the 50-year study period (1971-2020), a total of 2,951 new cases of childhood (age, 0-14 years) ALL were registered in Scotland (56.5% males, 43.5% females). The average annual incidence rates increased by about 56% in males (from 2.7/100,000 children in 1971-75 to 4.2/100,000 in 2016-20), and about 95% in females (from 2.1/100,000 in 1970-75 to 4.1/100,000 in 2016-20). The average annual percentage change in incidence rate was 1.2% in males and 1.6% in females.Conclusions: It appears that there has been a small but steady increase in the incidence of childhood ALL in Scotland during the past 5 decades. Some of this increase may be due to the improvement in diagnostic procedures during this period. Although generally the disease is more common in males, our study showed that the incidence rates in recent years have become similar in both genders (4.2/100,000 vs. 4.1/100,000). There was also a much higher increase in the incidence rates in females than in males (95% vs. 56%) over the study period. This unexpected relatively greater increase in incidence in female children needs further investigation.</p
Innovating in the time of Covid: adapting services for young people experiencing extra-familial risks and harms’
No full textThis paper explores how seven organisations from the children's social care sector in England adapted their service during the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions to better meet the needs of young people experiencing extra-familial risks and harms. Particularly, it focuses on these organisations' experience of attempting to transform services in a unique crisis context and considers what insights this situated study offers into the processes of innovation and practice improvement in the sector. Twelve respondents from these seven organisations participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed both narratively and thematically. Six of these participants were interviewed longitudinally over 6 months, enabling consideration of barriers encountered within their innovation journeys and the factors and conditions that facilitated the process. From these, three longitudinal narrative accounts were selected, highlighting themes emblematic of the overall dataset. The findings indicate that, unencumbered by the usual constraints of bureaucracy, organisations could adapt service provision with unprecedented speed, to respond in more youth-centred and welfare-oriented ways to young people's needs. Rapid cycles of iterative development in response to young people's feedback suggested a surprising potential for agility and responsivity in the children's services sector, raising questions about whether and how this might be mobilised outside of crisis conditions.</p
Practices and practitioners
No full textDefining who and exactly what constituted ‘magical practices and practitioners’ in the early modern period is not a simple task, precisely because the question of how these categories should be defined – and therefore identified and eliminated – vexed theologians, rulers, jurists, moralists, as well as everyday lay people. The issue of defining magic and magical practitioners was paramount in the years 1500-1750 because this was the age of the ‘witch craze’, where an estimated 100,000 people were tried for witchcraft, and approximately 40,000-50,000 were executed for this crime (Levack 2013: 5). Magic was increasingly seen as diabolical, and magical practitioners were increasingly vulnerable to an accusation of witchcraft (that is not to say, though, that all – or even most – accused witches did practice magic). The way that witchcraft was defined, identified, and treated by the authorities therefore had implications for all magical practices and practitioners in the early modern period, and magic and witchcraft thus need to be examined hand in hand. </p
Voyages of Discovery: Balancing Leadership, Control, and Capabilities in Megaproject Delivery
No full textOver the last decade there have been significant advances in our understanding of how delivery models enable megaproject innovation. Despite this, megaprojects often misbehave and struggle to take advantage of opportunities to innovate because control and leadership practices crowd it out. In this chapter we return to Albert Hirschman and his Voyage of Discovery principle and Latitude concept of project governance. Hirschman was a major proponent of innovation and observed the importance of a spirit of enterprise during the execution of large development projects. However, he did not elaborate on how the capacity to innovate might be mobilized in specific project contexts. This chapter extends these ideas by examining the literature on megaproject capabilities and the delivery model architectures that enable innovation during megaproject execution. We then examine the literature on the complementary roles that megaproject control and leadership can play in balancing and driving innovative responses to complexity and uncertainty. We conclude that there is a need for further research in this area.</p
Disco as community, space and memorialisation: Jimmy Somerville fights AIDS in 4 albums
No full textThis chapter outlines the resonances of Jimmy Somerville’s career, and examines the significance of disco for marking a gay history, and memorializing the past. Somerville was designated an unusual role in the music industry. He was for many officially the gayest musician in the UK. He was regularly referred to as the most high-profile gay pop star, and his first band Bronski Beat were the “first real gay group in the history of pop.” His repertoire established the politics of a gay canon delivered through the cover version, marking the importance of gay liberation’s Sylvester, and that of Judy Garland, honoring disco and showtunes. In the fight against AIDS, remixes and covers were themselves acts of memorialization and awareness raising. Somerville left traces of disco’s importance (as sound, heritage, and space) in the Hall Carpenter archives and oral history project, the music and gay press, popular accounts of the 1980s, the IBA, BFI, BBC, and in the basement of the Gay’s the Word bookshop. Thus, he acts as a tour guide around the variety of grassroots responses to HIV and AIDS, raising funds, awareness, campaigning, counseling, and supporting friends and family.</p