https://www.talkaboutx.net/ * Presentation contains sensitive content that some listeners may find disturbing. This project researches the part gender roles played in the experiences of Jewish women during the Holocaust. Specifically, this work investigates how gender roles changed and were used to adapt to the circumstances these women found themselves in. Though gender has become an increasingly used lens for understanding the Holocaust, the implications of traditional gender roles on the experiences of women and how these roles were forced to change and adapt is not a point often discussed and is often forced into a dichotomy. This work explores, through use of oral and written testimony, how gender roles took on new meaning and significance as they were both challenged and reinforced by the Nazis. This research has important implications on how we understand women as experiencers of genocide rather than just witnesses. This is becoming increasingly relevant as evidence of the genocide taking place against the Uyghurs mounts which shows that the genocide is taking place through prevention of births. In other words, women’s bodies are the frontlines of this genocide. It is therefore vital that women’s roles within their communities are understood within the human rights context.

https://www.talkaboutx.net/ The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis was responsible for 1.2 million deaths in 2019 and the mortality rate is predicted to increase to 10 million by 2050, if no action is taken. AMR arises when microbes evolve resistance to antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics. The major contributor to this crisis is bacteria which can be sub-divided into two groups, based on the presence of an outer membrane. Cell membranes act as a barrier to substances exiting/entering cells and are also present in plant and animal cells. Gram-negative bacteria possess a double membrane; an outer and inner membrane, whilst gram-positive bacteria do not. There are certain components present within the outer membrane that are integral in conferring drug resistance to gram-negative bacteria, making it incredibly difficult to develop new antimicrobials against them. These components can be modified through mutations or replaced all together which prevents antimicrobials from binding to their correct substrates, inhibiting their uptake into bacterial cells. Recently there has been an increased focus placed on the bacterial outer membrane, leading to significant advances in the development of new antimicrobials that are active against gram-negative bacteria. My research showed that newly developed drugs were able to kill or inhibit growth of clinically significant bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and many others, in the laboratory and in living animal models. This research is essential for slowing down progression of the AMR crisis; to significantly reduce mortality rates and provide effective treatment for individuals infected with resistant bacteria.

https://www.talkaboutx.net/

https://www.talkaboutx.net/

https://www.talkaboutx.net/

https://www.talkaboutx.net/ Do you think you belong at university? Has COVID-19 changed this? When thinking about the student experience one of the most prevalent aspects is how deeply a student feels they are part of their university. Pre-pandemic research consistently stated that students with a higher sense of belonging to their university report better mental wellbeing. With student mental health in crisis, there has been an influx of interventions that target sense of belonging to improve student mental health. Additionally, although it is not yet fully known how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed things, research is showing a marked decline in students' mental wellbeing during the pandemic. This study investigates students’ mental health by studying the relationship between the sense of belonging to a university and COVID-19 concern and the impact they each had on mental health. An online questionnaire measuring sense of belonging to university, COVID-19 concern, and mental health was self-administered by UK undergraduate students during the Omicron variant wave in the UK. These scores were analysed to investigate how sense of belonging and COVID-19 concern can predict different mental health conditions. Results suggest that there is no relationship between COVID-19 concern and sense of belonging. It was also found that those with higher COVID-19 concern and a lower sense of belonging to university have worsened mental health. These findings will be crucial for universities, enhancing the development of their current student support mechanisms as well as informing their responses to future pandemics.

https://www.talkaboutx.net/

https://www.talkaboutx.net/