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Human trafficking of children and young people:a framework for creating stable and positive futures
Get PDFHuman trafficking of children and young people is a major concern yet there is limited research on the lived experiences of those affected and even less on their post-trafficking aspirations, strengths and capabilities. This book argues that human trafficking and/or exploitation should be seen as child abuse rather than viewed through immigration or criminal justice lenses. It draws on new research from outcomes of two participatory studies with young people affected by human trafficking. The first study focuses on the development of a Creating Stable Futures Positive Outcomes Framework (CSF-POF), centred around children’s rights and based on the views of young people themselves. The second details how this framework was implemented for the first time with young people through an outcomes evaluation of the Independent Child Trafficking Guardianship (ICTG) service in England and Wales. An invaluable text, this book guides policy makers, practitioners, local authority professionals and voluntary sector organisations working to protect children and young people from human trafficking and helping them to move forwards positively following abuse.</p
Biomarkers of frailty
No full textNumerous biomarkers have been proposed to identify the multisystemic age-related syndrome of frailty. Nevertheless, due to its intricate pathophysiology and the lack of a consensus on a comprehensive and universally accepted definition, identifying a single biomarker or set of biomarkers that definitively characterize frailty, its prognosis, and the response to treatment remains challenging. This review examines the principal laboratory biomarkers associated with pathways closely linked to frailty, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, metabolic and endocrine alterations, among others, plus a summary of imaging biomarkers. Given the multifactorial nature of frailty, it is becoming increasingly imperative to evaluate the role of biomarker sets and the combination of laboratory and imaging biomarkers with the clinical criteria for the diagnosis and prognosis of the different frailty-related outcomes, addressing a crucial need in routine clinical practice.</p
Therapeutic practice as transmaterial worlding
No full textTransmaterial Worlding (Simon & Salter, 2019, 2020) is a way of engaging people-in-context through actively working on not separating people from the multi-layered, temporal, interconnected worlds affecting them. We recognize that for those of us living in countries influenced by and promoting capitalism, dissociation may be inevitable and a contributing factor to people's struggles. We offer examples of transmaterial worlding questions and activities which address complexities for individuals and communities and connect them with wider systems of influence. Transmaterial worlding as a theory and an activity offers a fluid, responsive approach for postmodern practice. Transmaterial worlding is an ideological premise of how we create social and material worlds with activities designed to enable well-being and challenge social injustice. It shows and addresses power relations between human and beyond-human actors. It supports practitioners who seek to challenge colonial structures and develop therapeutic spaces and activities that reflect the changing needs of communities and our environment and decenter human systems. All matter is understood as living, as having an ecological role and rights. We extend Barad's concept of “worlding” (2007) and draw on new materialism, social construction, and Indigenous studies to develop therapeutic practice for a world in panmorphic crisis (Simon, 2021).</p
Effects of the μ-opioid peptide and nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide receptor agonist BU08028 on cocaine self-administration in male rhesus monkeys
No full textCocaine use disorder (CUD) persists as a major public health concern. The lack of US Food and Drug Administration–approved pharmacotherapies for CUD underscores the critical need for developing novel pharmacological treatments. Evidence from rodent models indicates that stimulating brain receptors for the nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide can decrease self-administration of abused drugs, including cocaine. In the present study, effects of the buprenorphine analog (2S)-2-[(5R,6R,7R,14S)-N-cyclopropylmethyl-4,5-epoxy-6,14-ethano-3-hydroxy-6 methoxy morphinan- 7-yl]-3,3-dimethylpentan-2-ol (BU08028), an agonist at both μ-opioid peptide and NOP receptors, were characterized in a nonhuman primate model of CUD. Ten male rhesus monkeys responded under a multiple schedule consisting of a fixed-ratio 5 schedule of food pellet delivery followed by a fixed-ratio 30 schedule of intravenous injections of cocaine (0.003–0.1 mg/kg) on a separate manipulandum. After characterizing the effects of acutely administered BU08028 (0.003–0.17 mg/kg, i.v; n = 8), the drug was administered chronically in 4 monkeys using a translational model of pharmacotherapy evaluation. BU08028 was studied during self-administration of a lower (0.01 mg/kg per injection) and a higher (0.1 mg/kg per injection) cocaine dose. BU08028 acutely enhanced the reinforcing effects of cocaine in most monkeys. However, when given chronically, BU08028 decreased the reinforcing effects of the low cocaine dose for several weeks without the development of tolerance, almost no hypersalivation and only transient decreases in food-maintained responding. Self-administration of the higher cocaine dose was unaffected. These data support the development of bifunctional agonists as novel pharmacotherapies for less severe forms of CUD. Significance Statement: Drugs that stimulate μ-opioid peptide and nociceptin/orphanin FQ peptide receptors have shown promise as cocaine use disorder pharmacotherapies in rodent models. In monkeys, chronic treatment with BU08028 decreased cocaine reinforcement in most subjects.</p
Detection and modeling techniques for the monitoring of harmful algal blooms: a systematic literature review
Get PDFHarmful algal blooms (HABs) are caused by naturally occurring species of phytoplankton that generate toxins that can harm humans and aquatic animals. Although these HABs have been present in our waters, recent anthropogenic activities have made their occurrence more frequent and erratic. Due to the increasing number of poisonous and blooming species in water bodies worldwide, there is a need for more effective systems to mitigate their effect. A systematic review was conducted to evaluate and understand the various detection and modeling techniques used for HABs in the marine environment, largely focusing on the aquaculture and fisheries sectors. Our investigation identified 2338 papers published from January 2000 to April 2024 from reputable databases. After screening for eligibility using predetermined criteria, 74 eligible studies were found and categorized into pigment-based technology, morphological-based technology, and nucleic acid technology. Additionally, only seven studies applied modeling approaches to forecast harmful blooms by employing pigment-based technology and offline learning models. Early warning systems are crucial for managing HABs, since it is the first step toward implementing mitigation strategies. However, there is a greater need for real-time in situ analysis geared toward identifying microalgae species that can proactively manage this threat and protect aquaculture and fisheries resources.<br/
Global consensus on optimal exercise recommendations for enhancing healthy longevity in older adults (ICFSR)
Get PDFAging, a universal and inevitable process, is characterized by a progressive accumulation of physiological alterations and functional decline over time, leading to increased vulnerability to diseases and ultimately mortality as age advances. Lifestyle factors, notably physical activity (PA) and exercise, significantly modulate aging phenotypes. Physical activity and exercise can prevent or ameliorate lifestyle-related diseases, extend health span, enhance physical function, and reduce the burden of non-communicable chronic diseases including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, and chronic respiratory diseases as well as premature mortality. Physical activity influences the cellular and molecular drivers of biological aging, slowing aging rates—a foundational aspect of geroscience. Thus, PA serves both as preventive medicine and therapeutic agent in pathological states. Sub-optimal PA levels correlate with increased disease prevalence in aging populations. Structured exercise prescriptions should therefore be customized and monitored like any other medical treatment, considering the dose-response relationships and specific adaptations necessary for intended outcomes. Current guidelines recommend a multifaceted exercise regimen that includes aerobic, resistance, balance, and flexibility training through structured and incidental (integrated lifestyle) activities. Tailored exercise programs have proven effective in helping older adults maintain their functional capacities, extending their health span, and enhancing their quality of life. Particularly important are anabolic exercises, such as Progressive resistance training (PRT), which are indispensable for maintaining or improving functional capacity in older adults, particularly those with frailty, sarcopenia or osteoporosis, or those hospitalized or in residential aged care. Multicomponent exercise interventions that include cognitive tasks significantly enhance the hallmarks of frailty (low body mass, strength, mobility, PA level, and energy) and cognitive function, thus preventing falls and optimizing functional capacity during aging. Importantly, PA/exercise displays dose-response characteristics and varies between individuals, necessitating personalized modalities tailored to specific medical conditions. Precision in exercise prescriptions remains a significant area of further research, given the global impact of aging and broad effects of PA. Economic analyses underscore the cost benefits of exercise programs, justifying broader integration into health care for older adults. However, despite these benefits, exercise is far from fully integrated into medical practice for older people. Many healthcare professionals, including geriatricians, need more training to incorporate exercise directly into patient care, whether in settings including hospitals, outpatient clinics, or residential care. Education about the use of exercise as isolated or adjunctive treatment for geriatric syndromes and chronic diseases would do much to ease the problems of polypharmacy and widespread prescription of potentially inappropriate medications. This intersection of prescriptive practices and PA/exercise offers a promising approach to enhance the well-being of older adults. An integrated strategy that combines exercise prescriptions with pharmacotherapy would optimize the vitality and functional independence of older people whilst minimizing adverse drug reactions. This consensus provides the rationale for the integration of PA into health promotion, disease prevention, and management strategies for older adults. Guidelines are included for specific modalities and dosages of exercise with proven efficacy in randomized controlled trials. Descriptions of the beneficial physiological changes, attenuation of aging phenotypes, and role of exercise in chronic disease and disability management in older adults are provided. The use of exercise in cardiometabolic disease, cancer, musculoskeletal conditions, frailty, sarcopenia, and neuropsychological health is emphasized. Recommendations to bridge existing knowledge and implementation gaps and fully integrate PA into the mainstream of geriatric care are provided. Particular attention is paid to the need for personalized medicine as it applies to exercise and geroscience, given the inter-individual variability in adaptation to exercise demonstrated in older adult cohorts. Overall, this consensus provides a foundation for applying and extending the current knowledge base of exercise as medicine for an aging population to optimize health span and quality of life.</p
A submerged and buried Mesolithic site off Svanemøllen Harbor, Copenhagen, Denmark:acoustic detection (Human-Altered Lithic Detection) and verification by means of coring
Get PDFTeledyne Chirp III high-resolution seismic data were acquired over a three-year period at a water depth of 6.0–9.0 m, with a clear concentration of acoustic “haystack” features, in the dredged Svanemøllen Harbor, Copenhagen. The recordings show haystacks related to preserved shallow basins and rivers in the paleo-coastal setting. Eleven short vibrocores were retrieved below these pronounced haystacks and a sandy interval, underlain by clayey till and overlain by harbor mud, which represent the basin configuration. Two cores contained four pieces of knapped flint in the sandy interval (statistical density of around 230 pieces per square meter), while the remaining cores did not reach the desired depth. Finite Element (FE) modeling revealed that the small pieces of knapped flint were resonant and that the acoustic impedance of the flint was high. The Svanemøllen Harbor site is a hitherto unknown buried Stone Age site, and this is the first time ever that an unknown submerged, buried Stone Age site has been acoustically detected (using Teledyne Chirp III), verified by means of coring and modeled using FE modeling. The Innomar and Geopulse data acquired at the site did not register any haystacks. Due to the global sea level rise after the Last Glacial Maximum, a significant part of the world’s submerged Stone Age sites must be expected to be buried in seafloor sediments.</p
Professionalisation of health psychology
No full textThe route to the professionalisation of health psychology has had many roads. For those working within health psychology, and for others with an interest in it, professional events, publications, and training assist the advancement of the science and its translation into policy and practice. Professional networks can also strengthen the identity of health psychology, offering a home to those with an interest in the area. This chapter will discuss professional meetings, events, conferences, and networks of health psychology, alongside networks wider than health psychology that have evolved to facilitate interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary working and professionalisation. Key publications, including journals and newsletters, will be evaluated with an international lens on dissemination of health psychology. Training from professional societies and networks in relation to accredited routes in the field and continuing professional development (CPD) will be further discussed, and links to more formalised practice-based organisations such as the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) in the United Kingdom will be explored. The chapter will conclude with a discussion on the challenges to the professionalisation of health psychology, accompanied by potential solutions and examples of successes to date
Employee organisational commitment and corporate environmental sustainability practices: mediating role of organisation innovation culture
Get PDFThe growing concerns about climate change have seen global leaders and the international community launch diverse initiatives, deals and reforms in an attempt to combat its negative impact. In response to these initiatives, corporates are increasingly prioritising environmental sustainability practices, such as reducing resource use, recycling and redesigning products and services to transition to sustainable operations, as a means of promoting trust and credibility, increasing their reputation and protecting the planet. However, the extant literature does not provide a clear understanding of the determinants of promoting corporate environmental sustainability practices (CESPs). Thus, drawing upon both resource-based views (RBVs) of the firm and the economic views of neo-institutional theory (NIT), this study examined the role of employee organisational commitment (EOC) and organisation innovation culture (IC) in promoting CESP. This quantitative study collected the required data through a questionnaire survey of senior to mid-level managers of a total of 201 Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE)-listed and non-listed firms. A two-step structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, employing SmartPLS, was followed to test the study's hypothesised associations. The findings provide evidence of a direct association between EOC and CESP and an indirect association through IC. Our findings are robust as alternative models were developed and tested based on different control and instrumental variables relating to organisational characteristics. The findings of the study contribute to the environmental sustainability literature by providing empirical evidence of the importance of EOC and IC in promoting CESP. Further, the findings inform managers, governments, foreign investors and other stakeholders on the importance of building EOC and developing suitable cultural practices within an organisation that promote CESP
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