Implications of nanotechnology for the agri-food industry: Opportunities, benefits and risks

Nanotechnology has emerged as a technological advancement that could develop and transform the entire agri-food sector, with the potential to increase agricultural productivity, food security and economic growth for industries. Though as still a relatively new concept there are concerns over its safety, regulation and acceptance by the industry and consumers. This review set out to address the implications of nanotechnology for the agri-food industry by examining the potential benefits, risks and opportunities. Existing scientific gaps in knowledge are believed to be a prohibitive factor in addition to uncertainties in the level of awareness and attitudes towards the use of nanotechnology by the industry.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for arteriovenous malformations, Part 3: outcome predictors and risks after repeat radiosurgery:outcome predictors and risks after repeat radiosurgery

The object of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and risks of repeat stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for incompletely obliterated cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).

Therapeutic revascularisation of ischaemic tissue. The opportunities and challenges for therapy using vascular stem/ progenitor cells

Ischaemia-related diseases such as peripheral artery disease and coronary heart disease constitute a major issue in medicine as they affect millions of individuals each year and represent a considerable economic burden to healthcare systems. If the underlying ischaemia is not sufficiently resolved it can lead to tissue damage, with subsequent cell death. Treating such diseases remains difficult and several strategies have been used to stimulate the growth of blood vessels and promote regeneration of ischaemic tissues, such as the use of recombinant proteins and gene therapy. Although these approaches remain promising, they have limitations and results from clinical trials using these methods have had limited success. Recently, there has been growing interest in the therapeutic potential of using a cell-based approach to treat vasodegenerative disorders. In vascular medicine, various stem cells and adult progenitors have been highlighted as having a vasoreparative role in ischaemic tissues. This review will examine the clinical potential of several stem and progenitor cells that may be utilised to regenerate defunct or damaged vasculature and restore blood flow to the ischaemic tissue. In particular, we focus on the therapeutic potential of endothelial progenitor cells as an exciting new option for the treatment of ischaemic diseases. © 2012 BioMed Central Ltd

The opportunities and limitations of using CFD in the development of wave energy converters

Most Wave Energy Converters (WECs) being developed are fundamentally different from known marine structures. Limited experience is a fundamental challenge for the design, especially issues concerning load assumptions and power estimates. Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) CFD methods are being used successfully in many areas of marine engineering. They have been shown to accurately simulate many hydrodynamic effects and are a helpful tool for investigating complex flows. The major drawback is the significant computational power required and the associated overhead with pre and post-processing. This paper presents the challenges and advantages in the application of RANS CFD methods in the design process of a wave energy converter and compares the time, labour and ultimately financial requirements for obtaining practical results.

Mediterranean diet interventions to prevent cognitive decline-opportunities and challenges

Cognitive decline has a profound impact on the health and quality of life of older people and their caregivers. Exploring mechanisms to delay cognitive decline has become an urgent economic priority, given the projected changes in population demographics. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies suggest that adherence to a Mediterranean Diet (MD) is associated with reduced cognitive decline, but such an observation needs to be tested in randomised controlled trials. Intervention evidence is currently limited, and future studies need to be adequately powered, with careful attention given to choice of participants, outcomes being assessed, study duration and strategies to achieve compliance. Alongside these studies, consideration has to be given to how best promote and encourage dietary change in older people in general, and particularly in those experiencing the early stages of cognitive decline, as there may be specific factors that need to be considered when designing lifestyle behaviour change interventions in this group.

Deliberative Democracy in Northern Ireland: Opportunities and challenges for consensus in a consociational system

The 1998 Multiparty Agreement established a consociational system that contains within it an explicit dualism: unionist/nationalist, north and south of Ireland, and British and Irish. But although this formula has facilitated relatively stable and devolved governance, it is based on a distorted representation of a society in which there are much more complex divisions and, indeed, many common problems. Citizen-led efforts towards deliberative democracy since the 1980s have demonstrated both the will and the capacity for alternative, consensual political expressions. This chapter examines the challenges and opportunities facing these citizen-led initiatives in a political environment which, despite the significant decline in violence and terror, seems stubbornly resistant to the idea of broadening the various means of democratic participation.

Speaking Out Online:The Benefits and Risks of Speaking About Sexual Violence for Young People

Speaking out about sexual violence has been a fundamental part of feminist politics since the 1970s. The practice of narrating experiences of violence, either publicly or to friends and family aims to combat the culture of silence and stigmatisation that surrounds sexual violence while also helping individuals to gain a sense of empowerment and connect with other survivors. However, speaking out also contains inherent risks, especially for young people. Survivors may meet with stigmatising or disbelieving responses, and they may lose control over who knows their story and the way in which it is told and retold.
These risks and benefits are altered, and potentially exacerbated, in an online environment. While social media may increase survivors’ ability to contact and connect with others with similar experiences it also makes it harder to control when and how their story is shared. The disjuncture between online and offline environments may also increase feelings of stigmatisation and isolation.
There is a need to explore the specific risks and benefits of speaking out online given both young people’s extensive use of social media for social interactions and the increasing tendency for support and educational services targeted at young people to make use of social media and online environments. This paper draws on literature and some preliminary research to consider both risks and benefits of speaking out online and to open a conversation about the creation of supportive spaces and mechanisms for young people to speak about sexual violence in online environments.

Application of SNPs for population genetics of nonmodel organisms:new opportunities and challenges

Recent improvements in the speed, cost and accuracy of next generation sequencing are revolutionizing the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). SNPs are increasingly being used as an addition to the molecular ecology toolkit in nonmodel organisms, but their efficient use remains challenging. Here, we discuss common issues when employing SNP markers, including the high numbers of markers typically employed, the effects of ascertainment bias and the inclusion of nonneutral loci in a marker panel. We provide a critique of considerations specifically associated with the application and population genetic analysis of SNPs in nonmodel taxa, focusing specifically on some of the most commonly applied methods.

‘New’ migrant identities: unravelling opportunities and restrictions

Labour and capital mobility from globalisation has given rise to significant increases in the reliance of migrant labour in established gateways, but also in new migration destinations. Many aspects of migrant incorporation in new migration destinations have received some attention, not least regarding employer and employee relations. Less attention has been focused on the construction of migrant as a marker of identification, although identities, particularly regarding gender and ethnicity, in the workplace have received considerable attention. This article aims to illuminate knowledge on how migration produces social change thereby responding to a call from Batnitzky et al. (2009, p. 1290) for additional attention on what ‘the practical and symbolic effects of migration are as people move across different structures and institutions of social control….’ Mindful of Goffman’s (1969, 1983) emphasis on individual interactions and experiences, it examines what it means to be a migrant in terms of everyday encounters and experiences. It investigates the array and interplay of internal and external processes that create migrant identities and the implications of this for social integration.

The paper argues that one of the paradoxes of globalisation, and of the associated increased levels of migrant labour, is the construction of the migrant identity that ultimately impedes social integration. It shows how the application of migrant identity (internally and externally) bestows a particular status that affects (options for) individual behaviour and subsequent actions and outcomes. The paper argues that while migrants value the migrant identity status because of the benefits that it brings, this status can also cause high levels of dissatisfaction among migrants and it can exclude migrants from wider benefits of full citizenship. Migrants have individual identification processes, but external forces, including social structures and institutions, also affect migrant identity. These forces help to shape individual expectations and standards, contributing to identity interruption and dissonance.

The paper is structured as follows: it uses social identity theory as a means of understanding what it is to be a ‘migrant’ in a new destination, while simultaneously recognising the inevitability of this generic label - migrants are an extremely heterogeneous group, made up of individuals with different experiences, values and so forth. The analysis considers the significance of context and of social interactions, thus paying attention to how identity is constructed and performed by the individual and also assigned by others. Empirical evidence is used to examine how having a migrant status affects individual prospects. The paper evaluates the extent to which patterns and processes of migration present an opportunity for social change, positive or negative.