The case for inclusive area profiling applied in geographic information systems

This paper introduces the history and role of consultation processes of contemporary planning and, after presenting the popularity and criticisms of different practices including communities in urban decision making, it explores how rational planning tools like the geographic information system (GIS) could be exploited to reshape consultation and formally include subjective data in traditional area profiling. Focusing on the popular consultation tool of community mapping, primary and secondary research methods (a literature review, seven interviews to planners and two observational studies) identified seven different problems with contemporary community mapping: spatial and temporal scale, generalisation, integration, representativeness, accessibility, relatedness and visualisation. The conceptualisation, physical modelling and testing of a new community mapping procedure ‘Submap’ is then used to address these problems and discuss (a) the strengths and limitations of formalising community mapping activities for area profiling in GIS and (b) the role of pragmatic research in promoting inclusive practices in contemporary planning

A place for integration : refugee experiences in two English cities

This paper seeks to inject an appreciation of place into analysis of refugee integration. A framework of integration sensitive to interactions between people and places is operationalised to facilitate the systematic comparison of the refugee integration process in different places. In particular, this paper explores variations in key indicators of integration within a cohort of refugees arriving into the UK from the same country of origin (Iraq), at the same time, granted the same legal status and afforded a similar package of support and assistance but settled in two cities in England (Hull and Sheffield). Variations in the integration experiences of refugees in the two cities are spotlighted and related to the contextual, compositional and collective aspects of the places into which they were settled. The findings highlight the importance of recognising that refugee integration is grounded and embodied in space and place and that despite proceeding under the same general operative processes can evolve in distinctive ways in different places

Race at the margins: A Critical Race Theory perspective on race equality in UK planning.

Despite evidence of the growing ethnic diversity of British cities and its impact on urban governance, the issue of racial equality in UK planning remains marginal, at best, to mainstream planning activity. This paper uses Critical Race Theory (CRT) to consider the reasons why the ‘race’ and planning agenda continues to stall. CRT, it is argued, offers a compelling account of why changes in practice over time have been patchy at best, and have sometimes gone into reverse

Determination of stable reference genes for RT-qPCR expression data in mechanistic pain studies on pig dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord

RNA expression levels for genes of interest must be normalised with appropriate reference or “housekeeping” genes that are stably expressed across samples and treatments. This study determined the most stable reference genes from a panel of 6 porcine candidate genes: beta actin (ACTB), beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), eukaryotic elongation factor 1 gamma-like protein (eEF-1), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), succinate dehydrogenase complex subunit A (SDHA), Ubiquitin C (UBC) in sacral dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord samples collected from 16 tail docked pigs (2/3rds of tail amputated) 1, 4, 8 and 16 weeks after tail injury (4 pigs/time point). Total RNA from pooled samples was measured by SYBRgreen real-time quantitative PCR. Cycle threshold values were analysed using geNorm, BestKeeper and NormFinder PCR analysis software. Average expression stability and pairwise variation values were calculated for each candidate reference gene. GeNorm analysis identified the most stable genes for normalisation of gene expression data to be GAPDH > eEF-1 > UBC > B2M > ACTB > SDHA for dorsal root ganglia and ACTB > SDHA > UBC > B2M > GAPDH > eEF-1 for spinal cord samples. Expression stability estimates were verified by BestKeeper and NormFinder analysis. Expression stability varied between genes within and between tissues. Validation of most stably expressed reference genes was performed by normalisation of calcitonin gene related polypeptide beta (CALCB). The results show similar patterns of CALCB expression when the best reference genes selected by all three programs were used. GAPDH, eEF-1 and UBC are suitable reference genes for porcine dorsal root ganglia samples, whereas ACTB, SDHA and UBC are more appropriate for spinal cord samples

Multi-step tail biting outbreak intervention protocols for pigs housed on slatted floors

Solutions are needed to keep pigs under commercial conditions without tail biting outbreaks (TBOs). However, as TBOs are inevitable even in well managed farms, it is crucial to know how to manage TBOs when they occur. We evaluated the effectiveness of multi-step intervention protocols to control TBOs. Across 96 pens (1,248 undocked pigs) managed on fully-slatted floors, 40 TBOs were recorded (≥3 out of 12–14 pigs, with fresh tail wounds). When an outbreak was identified, either the biters or victims were removed or enrichment (3 ropes) was added. If the intervention failed, another intervention was randomly used until all 3 interventions had been deployed once. Fifty percent of TBOs were controlled after one intervention, 30% after 2–3 interventions, and 20% remained uncontrolled. A high proportion of biters/victims per pen reduced intervention success, more so than the type of intervention. When only one intervention was used, adding ropes was the fastest method to overcome TBOs. Removed biters and victims were successfully reintroduced within 14 days back to their home pens. In conclusion, 80% of TBO were successfully controlled, within on average 18.4 ± 1.7 days, using one or multiple cost-effective intervention strategies

Development and validation of a multiplex fluorescent microsphere immunoassay assay for detection of porcine cytokines

Cytokines are cell signalling proteins that mediate a number of different physiological responses. The accurate measurement of cytokine profiles is important for a variety of diagnostic and prognostic scenarios in relation to animal health and welfare. Simultaneous quantification of cytokine profiles in a single sample is now possible using fluorescent microsphere immunoassays (FMIA). We describe the development and validation of a novel multiplex assay using the Bio-Plex® 200 system to quantify cytokines in five different porcine tissues (brain, placenta, synovial tissue and fluid, plasma). The cytokine profiles are both tissue, and research hypothesis, -dependent but include Interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), Interleukin-4 (IL-4), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Interleukin-10 (IL-10) and Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α).This methods paper is reported in two parts: the development of a FMIA for porcine tissues and validation of pre-treatment for optimal cytokine recovery in porcine brain, placenta, synovial tissue and plasma. Validation steps are critical in ensuring an assay is suitable for novel sample types