Conducting research with young people at the margins – lessons learnt and shared through case studies in Cambodia, India, Sweden and Zambia

Building on the value of engaging with and enabling the participation of marginalised young people in research, the aim of this article was to profile practical and procedural issues faced when conducting studies with young people who experience some form of marginalisation. Drawing on observations and research experiences from four diverse case studies involving young people who were either imprisoned in Cambodia, living in informal urban communities in North India, residing in rural northern Sweden or attending school in rural Zambia, learnings were identified under three thematic areas. Firstly, a need exists to develop trusting relationships with stakeholders, and especially the participating young people, through multiple interactions. Secondly, the value of research methods that are creative and context sensitive are required to make the process equitable and meaningful for young people. Thirdly, it is important to flatten power relations between adults and young people, researchers and the researched, to maximise participation. These findings can inform future youth research in the field of global public health by detailing opportunities and challenges of engaging in research with young people on the margins to promote their participation

In vitro phosphorylation as tool for modification of silk and keratin fibrous materials

An overview is given of the recent work on in vitro enzymatic phosphorylation of silk fibroin and human hair keratin. Opposing to many chemical "conventional" approaches, enzymatic phosphorylation is in fact a mild reaction and the treatment falls within "green chemistry" approach. Silk and keratin are not phosphorylated in vivo, but in vitro. This enzyme-driven modification is a major technological breakthrough. Harsh chemical chemicals are avoided, and mild conditions make enzymatic phosphorylation a real "green chemistry" approach. The current communication presents a novel approach stating that enzyme phosphorylation may be used as a tool to modify the surface charge of biocompatible materials such as keratin and silk

Characterization of an extracellular lipase and its chaperone from Ralstonia eutropha H16

Lipase enzymes catalyze the reversible hydrolysis of triacylglycerol to fatty acids and glycerol at the lipid–water interface. The metabolically versatile Ralstonia eutropha strain H16 is capable of utilizing various molecules containing long carbon chains such as plant oil, organic acids, or Tween as its sole carbon source for growth. Global gene expression analysis revealed an upregulation of two putative lipase genes during growth on trioleate. Through analysis of growth and activity using strains with gene deletions and complementations, the extracellular lipase (encoded by the lipA gene, locus tag H16_A1322) and lipase-specific chaperone (encoded by the lipB gene, locus tag H16_A1323) produced by R. eutropha H16 was identified. Increase in gene dosage of lipA not only resulted in an increase of the extracellular lipase activity, but also reduced the lag phase during growth on palm oil. LipA is a non-specific lipase that can completely hydrolyze triacylglycerol into its corresponding free fatty acids and glycerol. Although LipA is active over a temperature range from 10 °C to 70 °C, it exhibited optimal activity at 50 °C. While R. eutropha H16 prefers a growth pH of 6.8, its extracellular lipase LipA is most active between pH 7 and 8. Cofactors are not required for lipase activity; however, EDTA and EGTA inhibited LipA activity by 83 %. Metal ions Mg[superscript 2+], Ca[superscript 2+], and Mn[superscript 2+] were found to stimulate LipA activity and relieve chelator inhibition. Certain detergents are found to improve solubility of the lipid substrate or increase lipase-lipid aggregation, as a result SDS and Triton X-100 were able to increase lipase activity by 20 % to 500 %. R. eutropha extracellular LipA activity can be hyper-increased, making the overexpression strain a potential candidate for commercial lipase production or in fermentations using plant oils as the sole carbon source.Malaysia-MIT Biotechnology Partnership Programm

Current Treatment of Endolymphatic Sac Tumor of the Temporal Bone

An endolymphatic sac tumor (ELST) is a rare, indolent but locally aggressive tumor arising in the posterior petrous ridge. Patients present with sensorineural hearing loss and tinnitus. As the tumor progresses, patients may experience vertigo, ataxia, facial nerve paresis, pain and otorrhea. Most patients present in their 4th or 5th decade with a wide age range. Patients with von Hippel–Lindau disease have an increased likelihood of developing ELST. Histologically, ELST is a low-grade adenocarcinoma. As it progresses, it destroys bone and extends into adjacent tissues. The likelihood of regional or distant metastases is remote. The optimal treatment is resection with negative margins. Patients with positive margins, gross residual disease, or unresectable tumor are treated with radiotherapy or radiosurgery. Late recurrences are common, so long follow-up is necessary to assess efficacy. The likelihood of cure depends on tumor extent and is probably in the range of 50–75%

Spectral gamma ray logging: A cost-effective method for uranium exploration

The most useful technique in uranium exploration program is undoubtedly radiometric surveys. This is due to the fact that uranium emits gamma rays ranging from as low as 47kev to 2.2Mev, which can be detected and quantified using suitable radiation detector. Combination of aerial radiometric surveys, ground examination of the detected anomalies, followed by drilling and gamma ray logging of drilled boreholes has resulted in the identification of large uranium resources. Borehole logging provides the most important subsurface information required for the uranium exploration program. An area known to contain only uranium, computed gamma ray logging with a Geiger Muller (GM) Detector rapidly gives the required subsurface radioactivity information whereas, in a heterogeneously mineralized area of uranium with thorium, logging data using GM detector may mislead to wrong interpretation. Under such condition, using the principle of gamma ray spectrometry, scintillation detector-based spectral gamma ray logging is carried out. Identifying uranium in the presence of thorium is a complex process and this paper deals with a case study on the spectral gamma ray logging carried out to locate the subsurface uraniferous zone in Pakkanadu area, Salem district of Tamil nadu, where the surface anomaly indicated the presence of high thorium content. The various limitations such as small detector size, large sample volume, high-correction factor required for quantifying the individual elements, and the study carried out for optimizing the time required for data acquisition are discussed

Manual-Based Group Intervention for Siblings and Parents of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Cambodia

AbstractSiblings of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND) are at increased risk of mental health problems. The burden on families of children with ND is exacerbated in low-income countries with limited health services and dependency on informal care systems. Yet, there is little research on family impacts of ND in non-Western settings, and no evidence-based interventions for siblings. We examined initial outcomes and feasibility of a manual-based intervention for siblings and parents of children with ND, called SIBS, delivered in Cambodia. SIBS has promising evidence from an open trial in Norway. We delivered eight groups for 52 siblings (M age = 12.7 years, SD = 2.7; 44.0% female) and 56 caregivers (M age = 43.5 years, SD = 8.5; 61.1% mothers) of 54 children with ND at the only public child mental health clinic in Cambodia. We aimed to improve sibling and parent mental health and family communication. The SIBS intervention comprises three separate sibling/parent group sessions and two joint sibling-parent dialogue sessions. Parent-reported mental health scores for siblings were higher than sibling self-report. Parent mental health problems at baseline were high, with no difference between mothers and fathers. There was significant improvement in parent mental health and parent-rated mental health for siblings from baseline to 4-month post-intervention (effect sizes d = 0.44 to 0.52). There was no change in sibling-reported mental health or family communication. Sibling- and parent-rated user satisfaction was high. We conclude that the SIBS intervention showed promise in Cambodia. However, revision of the communication component is needed.</jats:p