Victimisation of street children in Addis Ababa: factors of resilience and susceptibility

Cross-cultural variations in conceptions of childhood are discussed, particularly with regard to child abuse and child labour. Regardless of cultural background, a universal minimum standard of child rearing is required. The street child literature is reviewed, culminating in an analysis of Ethiopian street children. Theoretically this work is informed by victimology. Concepts shared by victimology and rational choice perspective are discussed, after Fattah (1993a). Victim surveys are described, highlighting their accuracy of crime estimates. Juvenile prostitution, runaways and rape are examined, particularly with regard to their relevance in Addis Ababa. Fifty five male and 135 female street children were interviewed. Interviews with boys focused on delinquency. An age-related pattern emerged, with younger boys less likely to drink, chew khat, steal or be sexually active. Interviews with street girls focused on the differences between girls living on the streets (girls of the street), girls working on the streets (girls on the street) and a sample of homebased girls. Girls of the street come to the street come to the streets for many reasons. Conflicts with a parent or guardian account for almost 50%. They are highly vulnerable to sexual assaults, particularly those 43% who have worked as prostitutes. Girls on the street experience considerably less victimisation. Urban poor girls live in socio-economic circumstances akin to girls on the street but enjoy almost universal protection from victimisation because they do not spend time on the streets. Unprotected by the stability which a family provides, girls of the street experience high victimisation levels. Such victimisation is often the result of reliance on types of work, such as prostitution, which brings the girls into contact with exploitative adults. Resistance to such victimisation is provided by a secure place to sleep, companions, and relatively safe types of work. Such protective factors are more readily available to family based children as compared to those living independently.

Investigation of the genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis in the Irish population

Osteoporosis is a complex skeletal disorder characterized by compromised bone strength. Variation in bone mineral density (BMD) is a contributing factor. The aim of this research as to select informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in potential candidate genes from loci suggestively linked to BMD variation for fine mapping. The gene regulated by oestrogen in breast cancer 1 (GREB1), located at 2p25.1, was selected. GREB1 transcription is initiated early in the oestrogen receptor alpha regulated pathway. There was significant association between GREB1_03 and BMD variation at the lumbar spine and femoral neck (FN) in the discovery cohort. Significant association was observed between GREB1_04 and FN BMD in the replication cohort. The development and differentiation enhancing factor 2, the integrin cytoplasmic domain associated protein 1 and A-disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 were selected due to their respective roles in cell mobility and adhesion. There was no linkage or association observed between the Chr2 cluster SNPs and BMD. Two factors in bone remodelling are the attraction of bone cell precursors and endocrine regulation of the process, primarily through the action of parathyroid hormone (PTH). The C-C chemokine receptor type 3 (CCR3) encodes a CC chemokine receptor expressed in osteoclast precursors. The PTH receptor type 1 (PTHR1) encodes a G-protein coupled receptor for PTH. Association was observed between CCR3 haplotypes and BMD variation at the FN. There was no linkage or association observed between PTHR1 SNPs and BMD variation. Population genetic studies with complex phenotypes endeavour to elucidate the traits genetic architecture. This study presents evidence of association between GREB1 and BMD variation and as such, introduces GREB1 as a novel gene target for osteoporosis genetics studies. It affirms that common genomic variants in PTHR1 are not associated with BMD variation in Caucasians and supports the evidence that CCR3 may be contributing to BMD variation

Application of semi-automated strain analysis techniques and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility in fold and thrust belts

Quantitative analysis of penetrative deformation in sedimentary rocks of fold and thrust belts has largely been carried out using clast based strain analysis techniques. These methods analyse the geometric deviations from an original state that populations of clasts, or strain markers, have undergone. The characterisation of these geometric changes, or strain, in the early stages of rock deformation is not entirely straight forward. This is in part due to the paucity of information on the original state of the strain markers, but also the uncertainty of the relative rheological properties of the strain markers and their matrix during deformation, as well as the interaction of two competing fabrics, such as bedding and cleavage. Furthermore one of the single largest setbacks for accurate strain analysis has been associated with the methods themselves, they are traditionally time consuming, labour intensive and results can vary between users. A suite of semi-automated techniques have been tested and found to work very well, but in low strain environments the problems discussed above persist. Additionally these techniques have been compared to Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) analyses, which is a particularly sensitive tool for the characterisation of low strain in sedimentary lithologies.