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This study examines the interactions between correctional officers and prisoners during transport between prisons, from the staff's perspective, based on a thematic analysis of 14 interviews with transport officers in Sweden. The three central themes in their stories regarding their work – namely, disciplinary discretion, interaction and compassion – were analysed by following the process of picking up the prisoner, interacting during the ride, and reflecting on the core components of the work. Correctional officers aim to work stepwise in building alliances, understand the prisoners' perspective and use discretionary discipline in verbal interactions to avoid physical violence. This facilitates a calm environment and smooth execution of the task, while also ensuring the officers' well-being. The results are in line with what is known from prison work and also reflect differences due to the limited space and time spent in transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child participation and agency are vital elements in child protection. Ensuring child participation can contribute to successful interventions. Social workers are often the central agents in ensuring that children participate in matters concerning them and that the best interest of the child principle is adhered to in these matters. The aim of this study is thus to understand if and how social work education in South Africa and Sweden teaches child participation in child protection work. We study curricula for social work programmes in three South African and two Swedish universities. Results indicate broad themes of similar content in curricula in both countries and both indicate gaps in terms of in-depth training in child protection, as well as children to a very low degree are regarded as agents. Students are not explicitly trained to encourage child participation. Further research can show whether and how such knowledge is developed in practice and how the social work programmes can prepare the students for such development. If social workers should be able to promote child participation, regard them as active agents and support them in developing resilience, they need to have that perspective in their fundamental training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses children’s citizenship by linking the dimensions of being, becoming and belonging to the concept of lived citizenship in the context of contact person and contact family interventions. Drawing on empirical research from Finland and Sweden, the article elaborates on how to identify if, and if so, how, children’s lived citizenship is constructed in contact person and contact family interventions and to what extent these constructions leave room for children’s perspectives. The results of the study indicate that contact person and contact family interventions contribute to the construction of children’s citizenship in various ways that include the perspectives on children and childhood of being, becoming and belonging. However, children’s active participation often seems to be governed by adults. Thus, giving greater attention to children’s intergenerational connections, i.e., adults’ roles in forming children’s citizenship, is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional objectives of investigations of infectious disease outbreaks are to identify ways to control ongoing outbreaks and to prevent future outbreaks. However, a paucity of epidemiologic and ecologic knowledge hampers [...]

This study explores the role of immigration and racialization in creating the first Swedish victim support centre in the early 1980s. The study is based on a qualitative content analysis of the archives of Victim Support Södertälje, the first lasting Swedish victim support centre, from 1983 to 1990. While many of the centre's activities focused on crime prevention, it defined crime and victimization as the province of immigrant communities in Södertälje, and, notably, as outside—and aberrant from—the imagined racial community of Sweden. Thus, victim support centres were one of the mechanisms to continue to defend the ideals of the Swedish welfare state, but to do so in ways that prevented incursions within Swedish racial homogeneity from the outside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop effective and accurate typing of strains of Francisella tularensis, a potent human pathogen and a putative bioterrorist agent, we combined analysis of insertiondeletion (indel) markers with multiple-locus variable-number [...]

Analysis of unidirectional genomic deletion events and single nucleotide variations suggested that the four subspecies of Francisella tularensis have evolved by vertical descent. The analysis indicated an evolutionary scenario where the highly virulent F. tularensis subsp. tularensis (type A) appeared before the less virulent F. tularensis subsp. holarctica (type B). Compared to their virulent progenitors, attenuated strains of F. tularensis exhibited specific unidirectional gene losses.

The aim of this article was to develop the understanding of discretion in compulsory care for youth and the influence of emotional aspects in developing a collective discretionary practice. The empirical material consists of group interviews with staff at these institutions. The theoretical concepts of emotional labour and emotional energy are used to understand discretion and face-to-face interaction in this specific setting. The results show how the staff navigate between rigidity and flexibility in order to uphold institutional rules, whilst also being able to meet youths' different needs in specific situations in a personal, yet not private, manner. Professionalism is understood as providing a caring distance, in other words, a temporary emotional involvement with the youth. The staffs' reasoning and understanding of their work show how to manage emotional labour in a setting where the youth can be seen as both dangerous and vulnerable. The emotional energy is primarily connected to the long-lasting relation amongst staff and not to the youth, and hence, it is of primary importance to form a shared collective discretionary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Recent advances in sequencing technologies offer promising tools for generating large numbers of genomes, larger typing databases and improved mapping of environmental bacterial diversity. However, DNA-based methods for the detection of Francisella were developed with limited knowledge about genetic diversity. This, together with the high sequence identity between several Francisella species, means there is a high risk of false identification and detection of the highly virulent pathogen Francisella tularensis. Moreover, phylogenetic reconstructions using single or limited numbers of marker sequences often result in incorrect tree topologies and inferred evolutionary distances. The recent growth in publicly accessible whole-genome sequences now allows evaluation of published genetic markers to determine optimal combinations of markers that minimise both time and laboratory costs. Results In the present study, we evaluated 38 previously published DNA markers and the corresponding PCR primers against 42 genomes representing the currently known diversity of the genus Francisella. The results highlight that PCR assays for Francisella tularensis are often complicated by low specificity, resulting in a high probability of false positives. A method to select a set of one to seven markers for obtaining optimal phylogenetic resolution or diagnostic accuracy is presented. Conclusions Current multiple-locus sequence-typing systems and detection assays of Francisella, could be improved by redesigning some of the primers and reselecting typing markers. The use of only a few optimally selected sequence-typing markers allows construction of phylogenetic topologies with almost the same accuracy as topologies based on whole-genome sequences.

Abstract Background Prior to this study, relatively few strains of Francisella had been genome-sequenced. Previously published Francisella genome sequences were largely restricted to the zoonotic agent F. tularensis. Only limited data were available for other members of the Francisella genus, including F. philomiragia, an opportunistic pathogen of humans, F. noatunensis, a serious pathogen of farmed fish, and other less well described endosymbiotic species. Results We determined the phylogenetic relationships of all known Francisella species, including some for which the phylogenetic positions were previously uncertain. The genus Francisella could be divided into two main genetic clades: one included F. tularensis, F. novicida, F. hispaniensis and Wolbachia persica, and another included F. philomiragia and F. noatunensis. Some Francisella species were found to have significant recombination frequencies. However, the fish pathogen F. noatunensis subsp. noatunensis was an exception due to it exhibiting a highly clonal population structure similar to the human pathogen F. tularensis. Conclusions The genus Francisella can be divided into two main genetic clades occupying both terrestrial and marine habitats. However, our analyses suggest that the ancestral Francisella species originated in a marine habitat. The observed genome to genome variation in gene content and IS elements of different species supports the view that similar evolutionary paths of host adaptation developed independently in F. tularensis (infecting mammals) and F. noatunensis subsp. noatunensis (infecting fish).

This article aims to describe and analyse the policy work by Sweden's largest victim support organization – the Swedish Association for Victim Support (BOJ) – in the area of violence against women. The article is based on a study of BOJ's national archive and interviews with key figures in the organization. We analysed the material within the context of contemporary governing political ideas in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, particularly concerning violence against women. We argue that BOJ is both a creation and a creator of its time. BOJ gained a position in a changing welfare state and has adhered to contemporary governing ideas over time. At the same time, BOJ has helped silence structural discourses around violence against women in relation to both class and gender by supporting the notion that considered abused women to be crime victims, and not as women first and foremost. Going forward, it is essential to ask whether defining abused women principally as 'victims of crime' is helpful or harmful. If we adjust how violence against women is perceived, the solutions will change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses human rights discourses and practices in Sweden's largest victim support and advocacy organisation– Victim Support Sweden. The study is based on the organisation's national archive and interviews with key representatives. The article shows that Victim Support Sweden has been consistent in what they say and do in relation to human rights. From start it has argued in line with the principles in Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), that all human beings are equal and it have not polarised victims and offenders. Later the organisation developed amore nuanced understanding of victimisation and focused on so-called "vulnerable victims;"one of the categories mentioned in Article 2 of UDHR. The results of this article contradict the assumption that victim support organisations are part of a conservative political agenda. This highlights the need to counter balance the domination of Anglophone literature in the field of victim support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including offender supervision practice, visual methods to capture probation work, and daily activities of prisoners.

This article describes the process of professionalisation in the field of social regulation in Sweden. The aim is to analyse how the state by legislation created the (semi)profession of social workers for local social services and thus for social regulation by public administration. This role was based on one originally created for the legal professions involving tasks performed by volunteers. Through the development of new organisations, social workers developed an important role as employed social investigators. Even though changes in legislation have made room for professional development, the legal professions were not given the central role in the field. In the 1960s and '70s, more social workers were educated, the importance of social investigation was highlighted, and volunteers became subordinated to paid social workers. In these ways, social workers grew as an organizational occupation that gained (semi)professional status in the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An emphasis on risk assessment has been introduced in the instructions guiding pre-sentence reports in Sweden. Since this focus indicates an organizational aspiration to risk management, we examined how pre-sentence assessments are made and especially how probation officers relate to risk assessments. Our results show that probation officers do not act in accordance with the guidelines; they tend to focus on offender needs and social situations more than risk factors, and the reports still resemble the previous social reports based on clinical assessments. This article is based on an analysis of 1320 pre-sentence reports, along with 18 individual interviews and 6 focus groups with probation officers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior to this study, relatively few strains of Francisella had been genome-sequenced. Previously published Francisella genome sequences were largely restricted to the zoonotic agent F. tularensis. Only limited data were available for other members of the Francisella genus, including F. philomiragia, an opportunistic pathogen of humans, F. noatunensis, a serious pathogen of farmed fish, and other less well described endosymbiotic species. Results: We determined the phylogenetic relationships of all known Francisella species, including some for which the phylogenetic positions were previously uncertain. The genus Francisella could be divided into two main genetic clades: one included F. tularensis, F. novicida, F. hispaniensis and Wolbachia persica, and another included F. philomiragia and F. noatunensis. Some Francisella species were found to have significant recombination frequencies. However, the fish pathogen F. noatunensis subsp. noatunensis was an exception due to it exhibiting a highly clonal population structure similar to the human pathogen F. tularensis. Conclusions: The genus Francisella can be divided into two main genetic clades occupying both terrestrial and marine habitats. However, our analyses suggest that the ancestral Francisella species originated in a marine habitat.The observed genome to genome variation in gene content and IS elements of different species supports the view that similar evolutionary paths of host adaptation developed independently in F. tularensis (infecting mammals) and F. noatunensis subsp. noatunensis (infecting fish). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swedish Prison and Probation Service has been influenced by the 'What Works' agenda since the late 1990's and an orientation towards risk and risk management has gradually become visible in the organization. But there is, within the probation service, a discrepancy between two types of logics - an organizational logic and a professional logic. Although guidelines prescribe the use of risk-assessment tools, they are in reality seldom used by practitioners. Through an examination of the reasons given by the probation officers who expressed doubts or concerns about the risk-concept, we question whether this could be seen as signs of resistance based on professional logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article social work in Swedish criminal justice is explored and described. The starting point is a description of the welfare state and the social development in Sweden during the 20th century. In this context, a post-industrial welfare state in transition towards selectivity, social workers are educated at universities and work in public organizations. Even so, their profession is vague and social workers are highly depending on their organizations. One of these organizations is the Prison and Probation Service where social workers are employed as probation officers. Probation officers are more or less like other social workers, but they work in an organization where control is obvious. They work with a caring power and strive to make offenders do the right choices and make the right decisions. It is the social workers, as actors for their organization and thereby for the state, they have the preferential right to assess and plan for offenders. Most often they manage to do this, but there are also examples on how offenders can resist probation and make social workers frustrated for not being able to perform their task, and act as being good and helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The F. tularensis type A strain FSC198 from Slovakia and a second strain FSC043, which has attenuated virulence, are both considered to be derivatives of the North American F. tularensis type A strain SCHU S4. These strains have been propagated under different conditions: the FSC198 has undergone natural propagation in the environment, while the strain FSC043 has been cultivated on artificial media in laboratories. Here, we have compared the genome sequences of FSC198, FSC043, and SCHU S4 to explore the possibility that the contrasting propagation conditions may have resulted in different mutational patterns. We found four insertion/deletion events (INDELs) in the strain FSC043, as compared to the SCHU S4, while no single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) were identified. This result contrasts with previously reported findings for the strain FSC198, where eight SNPs and three VNTR differences, but no INDELs exist as compared to the SCHU S4 strain. The mutations detected in the laboratory and naturally propagated type A strains, respectively, demonstrate distinct patterns supporting that analysis of mutational spectra might be a useful tool to reveal differences in past growth conditions. Such information may be useful to identify leads in a microbial forensic investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust, rapid and flexible real-time PCR assay for hierarchical genetic typing of clinical and environmental isolates of Francisella is presented. Typing markers were found by multiple genome and gene comparisons, from which 23 canonical single nucleotide polymorphisms (canSNPs) and 11 canonical insertion-deletion mutations (canINDELs) were selected to provide phylogenetic guidelines for classification from genus to isolate level. The specificity of the developed assay, which uses 68 wells of a 96-well real-time PCR format with a detection limit of 100 pg DNA, was assessed using 62 Francisella isolates of diverse genetic and geographical origins. It was then successfully used for typing 14 F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates obtained from tularemia patients in Sweden in 2008 and five more genetically diverse Francisella isolates of global origins. When applied to human ulcer specimens for direct pathogen detection the results were incomplete due to scarcity of DNA, but sufficient markers were identified to detect fine-resolution differences among F. tularensis subsp. holarctica isolates causing infection in the patients. In contrast to other real-time PCR assays for Francisella, which are typically designed for specific detection of a species, subspecies, or strain, this type of assay can be easily tailored to provide appropriate phylogenetic and/or geographical resolution to meet the objectives of the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to understand how social workers and volunteers, people who see themselves as wanting to 'do good', justify the controlling actions they carry out in their everyday practice. They work in organizations that control and regulate the lives of people, while at the same time striving to carry out supportive actions. How, then, do they see themselves, their role and their identity? This is explored through narratives from social workers and volunteers in three organizations in Sweden: victim support, a social services team working with people with drug problems and a probation service. From the narratives of social workers, volunteers and their clients, collected by the author for previous studies, different ways of coping with 'caring power', the combination of care and control, are revealed. Both social workers' and volunteers' self-identity is understood to be associated primarily with their wish to see themselves as good people, and far less with their actions in the name of their organization. When control is implicit, as in victim support, social workers and volunteers can ignore the controlling aspects of their role. When care and control are obviously combined, as in the social services, they split their understanding so that the individual social worker is regarded as being good, while the organization represents the controlling function. In the probation service, where control is central, social workers and volunteers rewrite their controlling function so that even here they act as good people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Francisella tularensis is a potent mammalian pathogen well adapted to intracellular habitats, whereas F. novicida and F. philomiragia are less virulent in mammals and appear to have less specialized lifecycles. We explored adaptations within the genus that may be linked to increased host association, as follows. First, we determined the genome sequence of F. tularensis subsp. mediasiatica, the only subspecies that had not been previously sequenced. This genome, and those of 12 other F. tularensis isolates, were then compared to the genomes of F. novicida (three isolates) and F. philomiragia (one isolate). Signs of homologous recombination were found in ~19.2% of F. novicida and F. philomiragia genes, but none among F. tularensis genomes. In addition, random insertions of insertion sequence elements appear to have provided raw materials for secondary adaptive mutations in F. tularensis, e.g. for duplication of the Francisella Pathogenicity Island and multiplication of a putative glycosyl transferase gene. Further, the five major genetic branches of F. tularensis seem to have converged along independent routes towards a common gene set via independent losses of gene functions. Our observations suggest that despite an average nucleotide identity of >97%, F. tularensis and F. novicida have evolved as two distinct population lineages, the former characterized by clonal structure with weak purifying selection, the latter by more frequent recombination and strong purifying selection. F. tularensis and F. novicida could be considered the same bacterial species, given their high similarity, but based on the evolutionary analyses described in this work we propose retaining separate species names. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyse how social workers in the social services describe crime victims and their role in supporting these victims. Based on focus groups with social workers in the social services, it is established that social workers discriminate between a categorical understanding of crime victims and an assessment of individuals in need. The categorical understanding of crime victims is connected to weakness and innocence, and the discussions are constructed with a focus on women and children. However, when the social workers move beyond this idea and describe individual victims of crime they have met, they attribute a more complicated picture and acknowledge the complexity of crime and victimization. The social workers give themselves a vague role regarding support to victims of crime. They consider themselves as able to connect individuals in need with helping resources, but they do not regard themselves as resources in this area. According to the social workers, an individual should not receive support from the social services just because he or she is categorized by them as a victim of crime. One conclusion is that the category 'crime victims' has not gained acceptance among the social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Francisella tularensis is one of the most infectious human pathogens known. In the past, both the former Soviet Union and the US had programs to develop weapons containing the bacterium. We report the complete genome sequence of a highly virulent isolate of F. tularensis (1,892,819 bp). The sequence uncovers previously uncharacterized genes encoding type IV pili, a surface polysaccharide and iron-acquisition systems. Several virulence-associated genes were located in a putative pathogenicity island, which was duplicated in the genome. More than 10% of the putative coding sequences contained insertion-deletion or substitution mutations and seemed to be deteriorating. The genome is rich in IS elements, including IS630 Tc-1 mariner family transposons, which are not expected in a prokaryote. We used a computational method for predicting metabolic pathways and found an unexpectedly high proportion of disrupted pathways, explaining the fastidious nutritional requirements of the bacterium. The loss of biosynthetic pathways indicates that F. tularensis is an obligate host-dependent bacterium in its natural life cycle. Our results have implications for our understanding of how highly virulent human pathogens evolve and will expedite strategies to combat them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses t:he prison and probation organisation in Sweden. The changes in the organisation and the shifts in combinations of supportive and punitive aspects are presented in a brief historical description of the development from the early 19th century to the late 20th century. The Swedish prison and probation service is described in terms of its organisation, professionals and main ideology. Finally, the effects, or rather, the problem of evaluating the effects, of the most recent re-organisation, in 1998, is discussed in the light of, on the one hand, support and help and, on the other hand, punishment and control. The conclusion is that the causes and effects of the changes are difficult to pinpoint, but that the Swedish prison and probation service has gone through a major shift to an integrated organisation where punitive ideas predominate over ideas of help and support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p58/ERGIC-53 is a calcium-dependent animal lectin that acts as a cargo receptor, binding to a set of glycoproteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transporting them to the Golgi complex. It is similar in structure to calcium-dependent leguminous lectins. We have determined the structure of the carbohydrate-recognition domain of p58/ERGIC-53 in its calcium-bound form. The structure reveals localized but large conformational changes in relation to the previously determined metal ion-free structure, mapping mostly to the ligand-binding site. It reveals the presence of two calcium ion-binding sites located 6 A˚ apart, one of which has no equivalent in the plant lectins. The second metal ion-binding site present in that class of lectins, binding Mn2+, is absent from p58/ERGIC-53. The absence of a short loop in the ligand-binding site in this protein suggests that it has adapted to optimally bind the high-mannose Man8(GlcNAc)2 glycan common to glycoproteins at the ER exit stage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article the caring power in the Swedish probation service is discussed. By exploring the history of probation, formed since the early 19 th century, the structure that is constructed through human interaction and that defines the role of helper and helped is shown. Within this structure, different interpretations exist and different stories are told. This variation is highlighted through stories of support and control, told by social workers and clients. The purpose is to show that different aspects occur in different relationships, and that different discourses co-exist in a structure of caring power. Caring power is a way of exercising power through kindness. Support and control are different interpretations of the actions taken within the probation service and they are both part of the caring power. When the relationship between the social worker and the client is based on mutual understanding, the caring power can function and stories about the supportive aspects are told. When there is no mutual understanding, the actors tell stories about control. That way the caring power always exists, and depending on the relationship between the actors involved, we regard it in different ways. When the actors unite in their task, only the supportive aspects are shown, but when the actors cannot unite, the power is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the degradation of a set of long peptldes (9–30 amino acids) from the nucleoprotein of influenza A. In common for all these peptlde8 is the core sequence NH2-Ser-Arg- Tyr-Trp-Ala-lle-Arg-Thr-Arg-COOH, NP383–391, known as an antigenic peptide specific for the HLA B27 class I antigen. We show that this peptide Is generated by enriched cytosolic proteasomes of two sizes, 20S and 12S. The 12S proteasome is the precursor, the preproteasome, to the 20S mature proteasome as shown by pulse-chase experiment and Is most likely responsible for the proteolytic activIty in the 12S region. Cleavage at the N-terminus is distinct and restricted to residue 383, independent of the N-terminal extension of the peptide. The C-terminus is generated via cleavage at three sites. Intermediate and final peptide products were identlf led by mass spectrometry. Finally, we show that the NP383–391 peptide generated by proteasomes in vitro is functional inasmuch as it possesses the ability to stimulate assembly of in vitro translated HLA-B27 antigens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p58/ERGIC-53 is a mammalian calcium-dependent lectin that serves as a glycoprotein-sorting receptor between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the Golgi complex. It is a type I transmembrane protein with two lumenal domains, one of which is a carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) and homologous to leguminous lectins. The CRD of p58, the rat homologue of human ERGIC-53, was overexpressed in insect cells and Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized using Li2SO4 as a precipitant. The crystals belong to space group I222, with unit-cell parameters a = 49.6, b = 86.1, c = 128.1 Å, and contain one molecule per asymmetric unit, corresponding to a packing density of 2.4 ų Da-1 Knowledge of the structure of p58/ERGIC-53 will provide a starting model for understanding receptor-mediated glycoprotein sorting between the ER and the Golgi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we report the complete, accurate 1.89-Mb genome sequence of Francisella tularensis subsp. holarctica strain FSC200, isolated in 1998 in the Swedish municipality Ljuidal, which is in an area where tularemia is highly endemic. This genome is important because strain FSC200 has been extensively used for functional and genetic studies of Francisella and is well-characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]