Contact and Culture: Mechanisms of Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and Israel

In Northern Ireland and Israel schools have long been recognised as key sites for addressing the problems of poor intergroup relations (see Dunn, 1990; Murray, 1985). The developments of integrated schools which welcome members of the main communities have been regarded as a key development which is likely to be instrumental in promoting more harmonious relations. Although the schools have been regarded in the media as a ‘good news story’ the qualitative processes through which teachers within these schools foster reconciliation is not always clear. The purpose of this chapter is thus to explore this question by drawing on contact theory and interviews with teachers in Northern Ireland and Israel.

Extinction risk from climate change

Climate change over the past ,30 years has produced numerous shifts in the distributions and abundances of species1,2 and has been implicated in one species-level extinction3. Using projections of species’ distributions for future climate scenarios, we assess extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. Exploring three approaches in which the estimated probability of extinction shows a powerlaw relationship with geographical range size, we predict, on the basis of mid-range climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15–37% of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be ‘committed to extinction’. When the average of the three methods and two dispersal scenarios is taken, minimal climate-warming scenarios produce lower projections of species committed to extinction (,18%) than mid-range (,24%) and maximum change (,35%) scenarios. These estimates show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse

Peanut allergy and allergic airways inflammation.

Asthma is a major risk cofactor for anaphylactic deaths in children with peanut allergy. Peanut allergy is generally thought to be a lifelong condition, but some children outgrow their coexistent asthma. It has recently been shown that children who have ‘outgrown’ their asthma symptoms may have ongoing eosinophilic airways inflammation. The need for regular inhaled corticosteroid treatment in peanut allergic children and adolescents who have outgrown their asthma is however unclear. The aims of our study were to look at fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels (FeNO), as a non-invasive marker of eosinophilic airways inflammation, in peanut allergic children and assess whether children with outgrown asthma had elevated levels. Children with peanut allergy were recruited at two pediatric allergy clinics in Belfast, UK. Exhaled nitric oxide levels (FeNO) were measured using the Niox Mino in all children. Of the 101 peanut allergic children who consented for enrolment in the study, 94 were successfully able to use the NIOX Mino. Age range was 4–15 yr (median 10 yr); 61% were boys. Thirty (32%) had never wheezed, 37 (39%) had current treated asthma, 20 (21%) had at least 1 wheezing episode within the last year but were not taking any regular asthma medication (wheeze no treatment), and 7 (7%) had outgrown asthma. All children with outgrown asthma had elevated levels of FeNO (>35 ppb), and 75% of children defined as ‘wheeze no treatment’ had elevated FeNO levels (>35 ppb). Outgrown asthma and children defined as ‘wheeze no treatment’ had higher levels of FeNO than those with no history of wheeze or current treated asthma (p = 0.003). In children with peanut allergy, we found that those who had outgrown asthma had elevated FeNO levels in keeping with ongoing eosinophilic airways inflammation.