Size matters: gold nanoparticles in targeted cancer drug delivery

PubMed Central

Dreaden, Erik C; Austin, Lauren A; Mackey, Megan A; El-Sayed, Mostafa A

2013-01-01

Cancer is the current leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for approximately one quarter of all deaths in the USA and UK. Nanotechnologies provide tremendous opportunities for multimodal, site-specific drug delivery to these disease sites and Au nanoparticles further offer a particularly unique set of physical, chemical and photonic properties with which to do so. This review will highlight some recent advances, by our laboratory and others, in the use of Au nanoparticles for systemic drug delivery to these malignancies and will also provide insights into their rational design, synthesis, physiological properties and clinical/preclinical applications, as well as strategies and challenges toward the clinical implementation of these constructs moving forward. PMID:22834077

Assessing the possible radiological impact of routine radiological discharges from proposed nuclear power stations in England and Wales.

PubMed

Jones, Alison; Jones, Kelly; Holmes, Sheila; Ewers, Leon; Cabianca, Tiberio

2013-03-01

The aim of this work is to assess the possible radiological impact on the population of the United Kingdom (UK) from new nuclear power stations proposed for up to eight sites in England and Wales. The radiological impact was measured in terms of collective dose to the UK, European and world populations from a single year's discharge integrated to 500 and 100 000 years and the annual dose to an average member of the UK population (known as the per-caput dose). The doses were calculated for two reactor types, UK EPR™ and AP1000™, using the annual expected discharges estimated by the designers of the reactors and assuming two reactors per site. In addition, typical individual doses to adults living close to the sites were calculated on the basis of continuous discharges for 60 years (the assumed lifetime of the reactors). The dose to a representative person (previously known as the critical group) was not calculated, as this has been done elsewhere. The assessments were carried out using the software program PC-CREAM 08(®) which implements the updated European Commission methodology for assessing the radiological impact of routine releases of radionuclides to the environment. The collective dose truncated to 500 years to the UK population was estimated to be 0.5 manSv assuming UK EPR reactors on all sites and 0.6 manSv assuming AP1000s on three sites with UK EPRs on the other sites. The most significant contribution to the collective dose to the UK population is due to the global circulation of carbon-14 released to the atmosphere. The annual dose to an average member of the UK population from all sites was calculated to be around 10 nSv y(-1) and would therefore contribute little to an individual's total radiation dose. All the calculated doses to a typical adult living near the sites assuming continuous discharges for 60 years were found to be below 1 μSv y(-1).

Magnetic Moments in the Past: developing archaeomagnetic dating in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Outram, Zoe; Batt, Catherine M.; Linford, Paul

2010-05-01

Magnetic studies of archaeological materials have a long history of development in the UK and the data produced by these studies is a key component of global models of the geomagnetic field. However, archaeomagnetic dating is not a widely used dating technique in UK archaeology, despite the potential to produce archaeologically significant information that directly relates to human activity. This often means that opportunities to improve our understanding of the past geomagnetic field are lost, because archaeologists are unaware of the potential of the method. This presentation discusses a project by the University of Bradford, UK and English Heritage to demonstrate and communicate the potential of archaeomagnetic dating of archaeological materials for routine use within the UK. The aims of the project were achieved through the production of a website and a database for all current and past archaeomagnetic studies carried out in the UK. The website provides archaeologists with the information required to consider the use of archaeomagnetic dating; including a general introduction to the technique, the features that can be sampled, the precision that can be expected from the dates and how much it costs. In addition, all archaeomagnetic studies carried out in the UK have been collated into a database, allowing similar studies to be identified on the basis of the location of the sites, the archaeological period and type of feature sampled. This clearly demonstrates how effective archaeomagnetic dating has been in different archaeological situations. The locations of the sites have been mapped using Google Earth so that studies carried out in a particular region, or from a specific time period can be easily identified. The database supports the continued development of archaeomagnetic dating in the UK, as the data required to construct the secular variation curves can be extracted easily. This allows the curves to be regularly updated following the production of new magnetic measurements. The information collated within the database will also be added to the global databases, such as MaGIC, contributing the improvement of the global models of the geomagnetic field. This project demonstrates the benefits that the presentation of clear, accessible information and increased communication with archaeologists can have on the study of the geomagnetic field. It is also hoped that similar approaches will beintroduced on a wider geographical scale in the future.

Construct Validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth UK Edition with a Referred Irish Sample: Wechsler and Cattell-Horn-Carroll Model Comparisons with 15 Subtests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canivez, Gary L.; Watkins, Marley W.; Good, Rebecca; James, Kate; James, Trevor

2017-01-01

Background: Irish educational psychologists frequently use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth UK Edition (WISC-IV[superscript UK]; Wechsler, 2004, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth UK Edition, London, UK, Harcourt Assessment) in clinical assessments of children with learning difficulties. Unfortunately, reliability…

Long-term visibility data in the UK - how does visibility vary with meteorological and pollutant parameters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ajit; Bloss, William J.; Pope, Francis D.

2016-04-01

Poor visibility can be an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to accidents particularly during winter when fogs are prevalent. The present quantitative analysis attempts to explain the influence of aerosol concentration and composition, and meteorology on long-term UK visibility. We use visibility data from eight UK meteorological stations which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Overall, most stations show a long term trend of visibility increase, which is indicative of reductions in aerosol pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, results at all sites show a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosols to scatter radiation and hence impact upon visibility. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters (e.g. relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed & direction) is also investigated. To explain the long term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, a light extinction model was constructed incorporating the concentrations and composition of historic aerosol. The lack of historic aerosol size distributions and aerosol composition data, which determine hygroscopicity and refractive index, leads to an under-constrained model. Aerosol measurements from the last 10 years are used to constrain these model parameters, and hence their historical variation can be estimated; sensitivity analyses are used to estimate errors for the time period before regular aerosol measurements are available. A good agreement is observed between modelled and measured visibility. This work has generated a unique 60 year data set with which to understand how aerosol concentration and composition has varied over the UK. The model is applicable and easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, different clean air legislation can be assessed for its effectiveness in reducing aerosol pollution. The implications for the UK will be discussed.

Construct Validity of the WISC-IV[superscript UK] with a Large Referred Irish Sample

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watkins, Marley W.; Canivez, Gary L.; James, Trevor; James, Kate; Good, Rebecca

2013-01-01

Irish educational psychologists frequently use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth U.K. Edition (WISC-IV[superscript UK]) in clinical assessments of children with learning difficulties. Unfortunately, reliability and validity studies of the WISC-IV[superscript UK] have not yet been reported. This study examined the construct…

New perspectives on the passive treatment of ferruginous circumneutral mine waters in the UK.

PubMed

Sapsford, D J

2013-11-01

This paper examines major physico-chemical processes during the passive treatment of ferruginous circumneutral drainage from abandoned coal mines in the UK. Data collected over several years of studies on mine water treatment systems shed new light on the relative importance of hydraulics, settling velocity, Fe(II) oxidation rates and cascade aeration, which, in turn, informs the design of future systems. This paper demonstrates that (1) the complex settling behaviour of Fe(III) precipitates may be described by a first-order volumetric process and that settling rate is different for different mine waters; (2) the hydraulic efficiency (ratio of time to peak tracer concentration to nominal residence time) of the settling ponds studied was widely variable at low flow rates in comparison to constructed wetlands; (3) aeration cascades contribute dissolved oxygen and lead to a rise in pH due to CO2 degassing, which are very important in reducing the required time for iron oxidation and removal; (4) for at least 10 of the 30 sites examined, modelling of the rates of Fe(II) oxidation and particulate settling reveals that removal of iron is primarily dependent on settling rate; and (5) that substantial increases in pH can be brought about by forced aeration of mine water over several hours. Findings of this study apply to the majority of coal mine water treatment sites in the UK and may have broader application to other ferruginous waters with circumneutral pH or after treatment to increase pH.

Performance of the Tinnitus Functional Index as a diagnostic instrument in a UK clinical population.

PubMed

Fackrell, Kathryn; Hall, Deborah A; Barry, Johanna G; Hoare, Derek J

2017-11-09

The Tinnitus Functional Index (TFI) has been optimised as a diagnostic tool for quantifying the functional impact of tinnitus in US veteran and civilian groups. However, the TFI has not been fully evaluated for use in other English-speaking clinical populations despite its increasingly popular uptake. Here, a prospective multi-site longitudinal validation study was conducted to evaluate psychometric properties relevant to the UK clinical population. Guided by quality criteria for the measurement properties of health-related questionnaires, we specifically evaluated three diagnostic properties relating to the degree to which the TFI (i) covers the eight dimensions proposed to be important for diagnosis, (ii) reliably distinguishes individual differences in severity of tinnitus, and (iii) reliably measures the functional impact of tinnitus. We also examine whether clinically meaningful interpretations of the scores can be produced for the UK population. Twelve National Health Service audiology clinics across the UK recruited 255 tinnitus patients to complete questionnaires at four time-intervals, from initial clinical assessment and then over a nine-month period. Patients completed the TFI, the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (THI), tinnitus case history questions, a Global rating of Perceived Problem with tinnitus and a Clinical Global Impression of perceived change in tinnitus. Baseline TFI data were used to examine the factor structure, construct validity and interpretability of the TFI. Follow-up TFI data were used to examine reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that of the eight subscales (factors) initially established for the TFI, the 'Auditory' subscale did not contribute to the overall construct 'functional impact of tinnitus', and a modified seven-factor model (TFI-22) better fit the variance in the patient scores. Both the global 25-item TFI and the global TFI-22 scores showed exceptionally high internal consistency (α ≥ 0.95), high construct validity with the THI (r = 0.80) and high test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87). Test-retest agreement however was only deemed to be borderline acceptable (89%). Receiver Operator Characteristic analysis indicated the 25-item TFI and TFI-22 has excellent ability to distinguish between different levels of impact (Area under the curve > 0.7). The TFI was confirmed to cover multiple symptom domains, measuring a multi-domain construct of tinnitus, and satisfies a range of psychometric requirements for a good clinical measure, including having excellent reliability, stability over time and sensitivity to individual differences in tinnitus severity. However, a modified seven-factor structure without the Auditory subscale (TFI-22) is recommended for calculating a global composite score for UK patients. Using patients' experience and Receiver Operator Characteristic analysis, a grading system was presented which identifies the distinct grades of tinnitus impact in the UK clinical population that is broadly comparable to the US-based system. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Gender/ed Discourses and Emotional Sub-Texts: Theorising Emotion in UK Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leathwood, Carole; Hey, Valerie

2009-01-01

This article engages with contemporary debates about the absence/presence of emotion in higher education. UK higher education has traditionally been constructed as an emotion-free zone, reflecting the dominance of Cartesian dualism with its rational/emotional, mind/body, male/female split. This construction has been challenged in recent years by…

Colonization of UK coastal realignment sites by mosquitoes: implications for design, management, and public health.

PubMed

Medlock, J M; Vaux, A G C

2013-06-01

Coastal realignment is now widely instituted in the UK as part of local flood risk management plans to compensate for the loss of European protected habitat and to mitigate the effects of sea-level rise and coastal squeeze. Coastal aquatic habitats have long been known to provide suitable habitats for brackish-water mosquitoes and historically, coastal marshes were considered to support anopheline mosquito populations that were responsible for local malaria transmission. This study surveyed the eight largest managed realignment (MRA) sites in England (Essex and the Humber) for mosquito habitats. The apparent absence of anopheline mosquitoes exploiting aquatic habitats at all of these sites suggests that the risk of malaria associated with MRA sites is currently negligible. However, three of the eight sites supported populations of two nuisance and potential arboviral vector species, Aedes detritus and Aedes caspius. The aquatic habitats that supported mosquitoes resulted from a) specific design aspects of the new sea wall (ballast to mitigate wave action and constructed saline borrow ditches) that could be designed out or managed or b) isolated pools created through silt accretion or expansion of flooded zones to neighbouring pasture. The public health risks and recommendations for management are discussed in this report. This report highlights the need for pro-active public health impact assessments prior to MRA development in consultation with the Health Protection Agency, as well as the need for a case-by-case approach to design and management to mitigate mosquito or mosquito-borne disease issues now and in the future. © 2013 The Society for Vector Ecology.

Off-site Emergency Planning at UK Nuclear Licensed Sites.

PubMed

Leonard, Paul; Thomas, Gareth

2017-04-01

Nuclear emergency planning arrangements in the UK are continually kept under review. This work proposes to outline how experience from nuclear exercises and undertaking emergency response duties can be based on radiological knowledge of specific sites and utilised in the future. In 2014, the UK regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) revised their principles for the determination of off-site emergency planning areas around nuclear sites where predetermined countermeasures and other protection measures are applied to protect those people who may be affected by a radiation emergency. The revised principles also enhanced communication from the nuclear site operators and local authorities to the public. This updated ONR's application of the UK Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 (REPPIR) http://www.hse.gov.uk/radiation/ionising/reppir.htm, which includes details of minimising potential doses to the public, as well as assessment and reassurance, linked to other concurrent risks such as flooding. ONR undertakes site-specific assessments of each operators' hazard identification and risk evaluation, which include consideration of whether the public might receive a significant radiation dose in the year following the emergency (excluding countermeasures in the first 24 hours). In defining the areas for off-site emergency planning, practical and strategic factors are then considered, which include other local non-nuclear emergency planning arrangements and experience, and whether local geographic and demographic aspects could aid public credibility and confidence. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Problematising the `Career Academic' in UK construction and engineering education: does the system want what the system gets?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pilcher, Nick; Forster, Alan; Tennant, Stuart; Murray, Mike; Craig, Nigel

2017-11-01

'Career Academics' are principally research-led, entering academia with limited or no industrial or practical experience. UK Higher Education Institutions welcome them for their potential to attain research grant funding and publish world-leading journal papers, ultimately enhancing institutional reputation. This polemical paper problematises the Career Academic around three areas: their institutional appeal; their impact on the student experience, team dynamics and broader academic functions; and current strategic policy to employ them. We also argue that recent UK Government teaching-focused initiatives will not address needs to employ practical academics, or 'Pracademics' in predominantly vocational Construction and Engineering Education. We generate questions for policy-makers, institutions and those implementing strategy. We argue that research is key, but partial rebalancing will achieve a diverse academic skill base to achieve contextualised construction and engineering education. In wider European contexts, the paper resonates with issues of academic 'drift' and provides reflection for others on the UK context.

Advanced Carbon Materials Center Established At UK

Science.gov Websites

UK Home Academics Athletics Medical Center Research Site Index Search UK University Master ] [research at UK] Advanced Carbon Materials Center Established At UK The tiny but mighty nanotube will continue to be the subject of several research projects at the University of Kentucky, thanks in part to a

A Critical Account of Employability Construction through the Eyes of Chinese Postgraduate Students in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Zhen

2013-01-01

This paper presents a multiple ("n"?=?23), longitudinal case study of the construction of personal employability by Chinese students at a UK university. It draws on the work of Brown and Hesketh to frame notions of employability in order to understand how these students engage with the international and Chinese labour markets from their…

"Right Nutrition, Right Values": The Construction of Food, Youth and Morality in the UK Government 2010-2014

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elliott, Victoria; Hore, Beth

2016-01-01

This paper presents a critical discourse analysis, situated within a broad Foucauldian framework, focusing on the construction of food and eating within the context of youth, schools and education, drawing on speeches, documents and public texts produced or sponsored by members of the UK Coalition Government (2010-2014). Michael Gove, the then…

The impact and importance of intercalibration and intercomparisons for greenhouse gas observational networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stavert, Ann; O'Doherty, Simon; Rigby, Matthew; Palmer, Paul; Stanley, Kieran; Young, Dickon; Lunt, Mark; Grant, Aoife; Pitt, Joseph; Bauguitte, Stephane; Helfter, Carole; Mullinger, Neil; Robinson, Andrew; Harris, Neil; Riddick, Stuart; Sonderfeld, Hannah; Boesch, Hartmut; Foster, Grant

2016-04-01

Motivated by the UK 2008 Climate Change Act, which requires the UK to decrease its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050, the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissons (GAUGE) project aims to better quantify UK CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions. As part of this project a UK-focused GHG observational network has been established, drawing together new and existing GHG data streams from regional to global scales. These included high-density regional studies, tall-tower sites, moving platforms (ferry and aircraft) and satellite observations. Under the project these observations will be combined with modelling approaches to better quantify and characterise UK GHG emissions and place them within a global context. This presentation will describe the efforts made to ensure that common calibration scales were used within the GAUGE project and an assessment of the intercomparability of the stationary sites and moving platforms (including 6 near surface regional focused sites, 6 tall tower sites, ferry and aircraft measurements). This assessment was undertaken using both a cylinder intercomparison program (ICP) and a comparison between co-located flask and in situ measurements. The majority of the sites agreed within the WMO comparability guidelines, however, small relative biases in CO2 and CH4 were identified at some sites. These biases generally increased with concentration, with differences up to 0.3ppm in CO2 and 3ppb CH4 observed between tall tower sites and mobile platforms, while larger biases were found at some of the regional study sites. In order to investigate the impact of biases of these types an experiment using pseudo emissions and observations was conducted. To achieve this, sets of emissions estimates for key GHG sources (e.g. for CH4 the sum of anthropogenic, biomass burning, wetlands, rice and oceans and other natural sources) were used to estimate the GHG concentrations at the GAUGE observation sites and mobile platforms via the Met office NAME model. These pseudo observations were then adjusted using a range of biases and simulated calibration offsets. Regional UK emissions were then determined based on inversions performed using the Met office NAME model and hierarchical Bayesian inversion method. Using these emissions estimates we quantified the impact of systematic site biases on derived fluxes, assessing the relevance of the WMO comparability guidelines for our UK study and highlighting the importance of rigorous inter-calibration and comparability of data streams for regional emissions estimation.

The UK Government's global partnership programme - Its achievements over the past five years and challenges ahead

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Heyes, Alan

2007-07-01

Through the Global Partnership the UK continues to make a significant contribution to improve national and global security. Over the past year the UK has continued to implement a wide range of projects across the breadth of its Global Partnership Programme. As well as ensuring the Programme is robust and capable of dealing with new challenges, the UK has cooperated with other donor countries to help them progress projects associated with submarine dismantling, scientist redirection, enhancing nuclear security and Chemical Weapons Destruction. The Global Partnership, although only five years old, has already achieved a great deal. Some 23 states, plusmore » the European Union, are now working closer together under the Global Partnership, and collectively have enhanced global regional and national security by reducing the availability of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) materials and expertise to both states of concern and terrorists. Considerable progress has already been made in, for example: - Improving the security of fissile materials, dangerous biological agents and chemical weapons stocks; - Reducing the number of sites containing radioactive materials; - Working towards closure of reactors still producing weapon-grade plutonium; - Improving nuclear safety to reduce the risks of further, Chernobyl style accidents; - Constructing facilities for destroying Chemical Weapons stocks, and starting actual destruction; - Providing sustainable employment for former WMD scientists to reduce the risk that their expertise will be misused by states or terrorists. By contributing to many of these activities, the UK has helped to make the world safer. This paper reports on the UK's practical and sustainable contribution to the Global Partnership and identifies a number of challenges that remain if it is to have a wider impact on reducing the threats from WMD material. (authors)« less

Love and desire amongst middle-class Gujarati Indians in the UK and India.

PubMed

Twamley, Katherine

2013-01-01

The paper describes findings from an ethnographic study exploring understandings of love and intimacy amongst young heterosexual middle-class Indians of Gujarati origin in the UK and India. A two-site comparative study was used to enable an understanding of how social and economic contexts shape cultural constructions of intimate relationships and sexuality. Focusing on attitudes to 'love at first sight', this paper shows that, for Indian participants, love based on physical attraction denotes a lesser kind of love. A relationship based on 'physical love' is not expected to last, since it has been formed without regard to family and status concerns. Even couples who meet outside of the arranged marriage system demonstrate the quality of their love by not having sex with one another before marriage. In the UK, however, participants view love as properly spontaneous. Love at first sight is considered desirable and demonstrates how the relationship must be based on love only, without any concern for (for example) material gain. This spontaneous love entails both physical attraction and emotional connection - an early transition to sex, usually before marriage, was seen as both desirable and inevitable.

Large microplastic particles in sediments of tributaries of the River Thames, UK - Abundance, sources and methods for effective quantification.

PubMed

Horton, Alice A; Svendsen, Claus; Williams, Richard J; Spurgeon, David J; Lahive, Elma

2017-01-15

Sewage effluent input and population were chosen as predictors of microplastic presence in sediments at four sites in the River Thames basin (UK). Large microplastic particles (1mm-4mm) were extracted using a stepwise approach to include visual extraction, flotation and identification using Raman spectroscopy. Microplastics were found at all four sites. One site had significantly higher numbers of microplastics than other sites, average 66 particles 100g -1 , 91% of which were fragments. This site was downstream of a storm drain outfall receiving urban runoff; many of the fragments at this site were determined to be derived of thermoplastic road-surface marking paints. At the remaining three sites, fibres were the dominant particle type. The most common polymers identified included polypropylene, polyester and polyarylsulphone. This study describes two major new findings: presence of microplastic particles in a UK freshwater system and identification of road marking paints as a source of microplastics. This study is the first to quantify microplastics of any size in river sediments in the UK and links their presence to terrestrial sources including sewage and road marking paints. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental aspects of large-scale wind-power systems in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robson, A.

1984-11-01

Environmental issues relating to the introduction of large, MW-scale wind turbines at land-based sites in the UK are discussed. Noise, television interference, hazards to bird life, and visual effects are considered. Areas of uncertainty are identified, but enough is known from experience elsewhere in the world to enable the first UK machines to be introduced in a safe and environementally acceptable manner. Research to establish siting criteria more clearly, and significantly increase the potential wind-energy resource is mentioned. Studies of the comparative risk of energy systems are shown to be overpessimistic for UK wind turbines.

The potential for spills and leaks of hydraulic fracturing related fluids on well sites and from road incidents.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clancy, Sarah; Worrall, Fred; Davies, Richard; Gluyas, Jon

2017-04-01

The potential growth of shale gas developments within Europe has raised concerns of the possibility of spills and leaks from shale gas sites and from liquid transportation via roads and pipelines. Data from a range of sources has been examined to estimate the likelihood of an incident. From the US, the Texas Railroad Commission and the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission have maintained records of the quantity; reasons for the spill; and reported impacts. For the UK, the Environment Agency pollution incident database and transport statistics from the UKs Department for Transport have also been analysed and used as an analogy to determine the likelihood of an incident or spill on the road. Data were used as an analogue to predict the potential number of spills and leaks that might occur at a well site, or in transport operation, under different shale gas development scenarios if fracking was to go forward in the UK. Since 2014 the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission has recorded 3874 spills in the State of Colorado, the majority of these (1941) consisted of produced water, whereas 835 recorded oil spills. Of all the spills recorded 1809 spilt more than 0.79 m3, with 1356 of these leaking outside the berm of the well site, and three sites requiring construction of an emergency pits to contain the spillage. During 2015, there were 53054 active wells; the percentage of produced oil spilt was 0.001%, whilst the percentage of produced water spilt was 0.009%. Data from the Texas Railroad Commission shows the number of reported spills over 0.16 m3 in Texas since 2009 has increased year on year, with 675 reported in 2009 and 1485 in 2015. The greatest loss each year was of crude oil, with 14176 m3 being spilt in 2015, which is equivalent to 0.0089% of the oil produced. Clean-up operations recover some of the lost fluid; however, much is left unrecovered, annually 60% of the crude oil spilt is recovered, 65% of production fluid is recovered, whereas just 30% of liquid gas is recovered. The most common cause of leakage each year is equipment failure; these results highlight the need for good regulation and maintenance onsite. The UK's Institute of Directors suggests several shale gas production scenarios for the UK and how this would influence truck movement. One of their scenarios suggests the development of well pads with 10-wells and 40 laterals (one well pad with 10 well each with 4 laterals). This type of well pad would be projected to use 544,000 m3 of water, which would generate between 11155-31288 truck movements over 20 years, or 6.1-17.1 per day if averaged over 5 years. Dairy farmers in the UK produce 11 million m3 of milk a year, which if the tanker has a capacity of 30 m3, equates to approximately 366667 milk tanker journeys a year. This study assesses the number of road incidents and milk tanker spills and predicts the likelihood of such events for fluids involved in hydraulic fracturing.

Source apportionment of speciated PM10 in the United Kingdom in 2008: Episodes and annual averages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redington, A. L.; Witham, C. S.; Hort, M. C.

2016-11-01

The Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model NAME (Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment), has been used to simulate the formation and transport of PM10 over North-West Europe in 2008. The model has been evaluated against UK measurement data and been shown to adequately represent the observed PM10 at rural and urban sites on a daily basis. The Lagrangian nature of the model allows information on the origin of pollutants (and hence their secondary products) to be retained to allow attribution of pollutants at receptor sites back to their sources. This source apportionment technique has been employed to determine whether the different components of the modelled PM10 have originated from UK, shipping, European (excluding the UK) or background sources. For the first time this has been done to evaluate the composition during periods of elevated PM10 as well as the annual average composition. The episode data were determined by selecting the model data for each hour when the corresponding measurement data was >50 μg/m3. All the modelled sites show an increase in European pollution contribution and a decrease in the background contribution in the episode case compared to the annual average. The European contribution is greatest in southern and eastern parts of the UK and decreases moving northwards and westwards. Analysis of the speciated attribution data over the selected sites reveals that for 2008, as an annual average, the top three contributors to total PM10 are UK primary PM10 (17-25%), UK origin nitrate aerosol (18-21%) and background PM10 (11-16%). Under episode conditions the top three contributors to modelled PM10 are UK origin nitrate aerosol (12-33%), European origin nitrate aerosol (11-19%) and UK primary PM10 (12-18%).

60 years of visibility data in the UK - how does visibility vary with meteorological and pollutant parameters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, A.; Bloss, W.; Pope, F.

2015-12-01

Reduced visibility can be an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to accidents particularly during the winter season when fogs are prevalent. Here, we explore the combined influence of aerosol characteristics and meteorology on long-term visibility. We use visibility data from eight meteorological stations, situated in the UK, which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Most stations show a long term trend of visibility increase, which is indicative of reductions in aerosol pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, results at all sites show a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosols to scatter radiation and hence impact upon visibility. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters (e.g. wind speed, wind direction) is also investigated. To explain the long term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, a light extinction model was constructed incorporating the concentrations and composition of historic aerosol. The lack of historic aerosol size distributions and aerosol composition data, which determine hygroscopicity and refractive index, leads to an under-constrained model. Aerosol measurements from the last 10 years are used to constrain these model parameters, and hence their historical variation can be estimated; sensitivity analyses are used to estimate errors for the time period before regular aerosol measurements are available. This work has generated a unique 60 year data set with which to understand how aerosol concentration and composition has varied over the UK. The model is applicable and easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, different clean air legislation can be assessed for its effectiveness in reducing aerosol pollution. The implications for the UK will be discussed.

Sustaining corporate class consciousness across the new liquid managerial elite in Britain.

PubMed

Davis, Aeron

2017-06-01

This article asks: how is class consciousness and cohesiveness amongst the UK business elite maintained in the twenty-first century? Elite studies traditionally sought to account for the construction and circulation of dominant ideology through exclusive education systems, institutional board interlocks and club memberships. The problem is that business elite membership of all these institutions has been steady declining in recent decades. Contemporary corporate elites now appear more mobile and fragmented in an age of globalization. However, class cohesion amongst business leaders appears as strong as ever after decades of neoliberal policy hegemony. So, how are such ideas, norms and values circulated and maintained? This study tried to answer this question drawing on a set of 30 semi-structured interviews with top UK CEOs and a demographic audit of current FTSE 100 CEOs. The findings suggest that three additional means of achieving business elite coherence have become more significant: professional business education, semi-formal but regular meeting sites, and specialist business media. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

The contaminant legacy from historic coastal landfills and their potential as sources of diffuse pollution.

PubMed

O'Shea, Francis T; Cundy, Andrew B; Spencer, Kate L

2018-03-01

Prior to modern environmental regulation landfills in low-lying coastal environments were frequently constructed without leachate control, relying on natural attenuation within inter-tidal sediments to dilute and disperse contaminants reducing environmental impact. With sea level rise and coastal erosion these sites may now pose a pollution risk, yet have received little investigation. This work examines the extent of metal contamination in saltmarsh sediments surrounding a historic landfill in the UK. Patterns of sediment metal data suggest typical anthropogenic pollution chronologies for saltmarsh sediments in industrialised nations. However, many metals were also enriched at depth in close proximity to the landfill boundary and are indicative of a historical leachate plume. Though this total metal load is low, e.g., c. 1200 and 1650kg Pb and Zn respectively, with >1000 historic landfills on flood risk or eroding coastlines in the UK this could represent a significant, yet under-investigated, source of diffuse pollution. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Constructing a National Higher Education Brand for the UK: Positional Competition and Promised Capitals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lomer, Sylvie; Papatsiba, Vassiliki; Naidoo, Rajani

2018-01-01

This article examines national branding of UK higher education, a strategic intent and action to collectively brand UK higher education with the aim to attract prospective international students, using a Bourdieusian approach to understanding promises of capitals. We trace its development between 1999 and 2014 through a sociological study, one of…

Building healthy construction workers: Their views on health, wellbeing and better workplace design.

PubMed

Eaves, S; Gyi, D E; Gibb, A G F

2016-05-01

Construction is a heavy manual industry where working into later life can be a challenge. An interview study was conducted to explore workers' understanding of their health at work and ways of making their jobs easier, safer or more comfortable. Using purposive sampling, 80 trades' workers were selected from construction sites in the UK. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and Work Ability Index were used to explore aches and pains and reducing strain on the body. A high prevalence of symptoms was reported and ratings of work ability were high. Workers were aware of the physical demands of their work and had over 250 ideas around health and wellbeing e.g. rucksacks for tools, bespoke benches, adapting PPE, and higher cost solutions e.g. mechanical lifting aids. Engagement of the workforce should be encouraged and feed into change processes in the industry to enable all workers stay fit for work for longer. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Mechanism of concave ``tafoni'' and convex ``domal shape'' formation on TRIASSIC red sandstone of some old buildings, Chester City, UK, Case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamh, G. M. E.

2005-08-01

The weathering factors act on the recent and archaeological sites through different processes based on the dominant environmental conditions. The net result of weathering is deformation of the original form of construction rock. In the current case study, the main aim is to find out the mechanism of formation of two different weathering forms recorded on many old buildings taking Chester City as a case study. The construction rock in the case study is arenitic sandstone with carbonate content ranging from 0.0 to 15.6%. The sandstone blocks are cemented together by hydraulic lime mortar that can easily be altered chemically to salts by acid rain that dominates at the study area. In case of mortar with worse geotechnical limits than the sandstone blocks, the net result is convex “domal” shape blocks, but in case of mortar with better geotechnical limits than the construction sandstone, the net result of weathering is tafoni “concave” weathering form.

Voluntarism, public engagement and the role of geoscience in radioactive waste management policy-making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilham, Nic

2014-05-01

In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, there has been a move away from previous 'technocratic' approaches to radioactive waste management (RWM). Policy-makers have recognised that for any RWM programme to succeed, sustained engagement with stakeholders and the public is necessary, and any geological repository must be constructed and operated with the willing support of the community which hosts it. This has opened up RWM policy-making and implementation to a wider range of (often contested) expert inputs, ranging across natural and social sciences, engineering and even ethics. Geoscientists and other technical specialists have found themselves drawn into debates about how various types of expertise should be prioritised, and how they should be integrated with diverse public and stakeholder perspectives. They also have a vital role to play in communicating to the public the need for geological disposal of radioactive waste, and the various aspects of geoscience which will inform the process of implementing this, from identifying potential volunteer host communities, to finding a suitable site, developing the safety case, construction of a repository, emplacement of waste, closure and subsequent monitoring. High-quality geoscience, effectively communicated, will be essential to building and maintaining public confidence throughout the many decades such projects will take. Failure to communicate effectively the relevant geoscience and its central role in the UK's radioactive waste management programme arguably contributed to West Cumbria's January 2013 decision to withdraw from the site selection process, and may discourage other communities from coming forward in future. Across countries needing to deal with their radioactive waste, this unique challenge gives an unprecedented urgency to finding ways to engage and communicate effectively with the public about geoscience.

Delivering safety

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baldwin, N.D.; Spooner, K.G.; Walkden, P.

2007-07-01

In the United Kingdom there have been significant recent changes to the management of civil nuclear liabilities. With the formation in April 2005 of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), ownership of the civil nuclear licensed sites in the UK, including the Magnox Reactor Stations, passed to this new organisation. The NDAs mission is to seek acceleration of the nuclear clean up programme and deliver increased value for money and, consequently, are driving their contractors to seek more innovative ways of performing work. British Nuclear Group manages the UK Magnox stations under contract to the NDA. This paper summarises the approachmore » being taken within its Reactor Sites business to work with suppliers to enhance working arrangements at sites, improve the delivery of decommissioning programmes and deliver improvements in safety and environmental performance. The UK Magnox stations are 1. generation gas-graphite reactors, constructed in the 1950's and 1960's. Two stations are currently still operating, three are shut-down undergoing defueling and the other five are being decommissioned. Despite the distractions of industry restructuring, an uncompromising policy of demanding improved performance in conjunction with improved safety and environmental standards has been adopted. Over the past 5 years, this policy has resulted in step-changes in performance at Reactor Sites, with increased electrical output and accelerated defueling and decommissioning. The improvements in performance have been mirrored by improvements in safety (DACR of 0 at 5 sites); environmental standards (reductions in energy and water consumption, increased waste recycling) and the overall health of the workforce (20% reduction in sickness absence). These achievements have, in turn, been recognised by external bodies, resulting in several awards, including: the world's first ISRS and IERS level 10 awards (Sizewell, 2006), the NUMEX plant maintenance award (Bradwell, 2006), numerous RoSPA awards at site and sector level and nomination, at Company level, for the RoSPA George Earle trophy for outstanding performance in Health and Safety (Reactor Sites, 2006). After 'setting the scene' and describing the challenges that the company has had to respond to, the paper explains how these improvements have been delivered. Specifically it explains the process that has been followed and the parts played by sites and suppliers to deliver improved performance. With the experience of already having transitioned several Magnox stations from operations to defueling and then to decommissioning, the paper describes the valuable experience that has been gained in achieving an optimum change process and maintaining momentum. (authors)« less

Integrated Management of all Historical, Operational and Future Decomissioning Solid ILW at Dounreay

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Graham, D.

This paper describes major components of the Dounreay Site Restoration Plan, DSRP to deal with the site's solid intermediate level waste, ILW legacy. Historic solid ILW exists in the Shaft (disposals between 1959 and 1977), the Wet Silo (operated between 1973 and 1998), and in operating engineered drummed storage. Significant further arisings are expected from future operations, post-operations clean out and decommissioning through to the completion of site restoration, expected to be complete by about 2060. The raw waste is in many solid forms and also incorporates sludge, some fissile material and hazardous chemical components. The aim of the Solidmore » ILW Project is to treat and condition all this waste to make it passively safe and in a form which can be stored for a substantial period, and then transported to the planned U.K. national deep repository for ILW disposal. The Solid ILW Project involves the construction of head works for waste retrieval operations at the Shaft and Wet Silo, a Waste Treatment Plant and a Conditioned Waste Store to hold the conditioned waste until the disposal facilities become available. In addition, there are infrastructure activities to enable the new construction: contaminated ground remediation, existing building demolition, underground and overground services diversion, sea cliff stabilization, and groundwater isolation at the Shaft.« less

Knowledge Construction and Personal Relationship: Insights about a UK University Mentoring and Coaching Service

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hargreaves, Eleanore

2010-01-01

This article examines interview data from 12 mentors/coaches and eight of their clients in order to explore a mentoring and coaching service among UK university staff. Both mentors/coaches and clients were administrative or academic employees of the Institute of Education or affiliated colleges at London University, UK. Their roles related to the…

Environmental aspects of large-scale wind-power systems in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robson, A.

1983-12-01

Environmental issues relating to the introduction of large, MW-scale wind turbines at land-based sites in the U.K. are discussed. Areas of interest include noise, television interference, hazards to bird life and visual effects. A number of areas of uncertainty are identified, but enough is known from experience elsewhere in the world to enable the first U.K. machines to be introduced in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner. Research currently under way will serve to establish siting criteria more clearly, and could significantly increase the potential wind-energy resource. Certain studies of the comparative risk of energy systems are shown to be overpessimistic for U.K. wind turbines.

Measurements of C6-C8 hydrocarbons at a UK rural site during January 1999. Site evaluation and correlations between species.

PubMed

Hopkins, J R; Barnett, C J; Lewis, A C; Seakins, P W

2003-02-01

Ambient concentrations of C6-C8 aromatic hydrocarbons and n-heptane, determined by gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection, are presented from a winter campaign during January 1999 at a rural site near Leeds. Absolute concentrations are significantly lower than those obtained from the only designated UK rural site (Harwell) in the automated UK hydrocarbon network. Both absolute and relative concentrations of hydrocarbons measured at the site have been interpreted in terms of the arriving back-trajectories. The site is subject to two main airflows during the winter months; relatively polluted air from the southwest and much cleaner air from the northwest. Ratios of hydrocarbon concentrations show evidence of significant chemical processing consistent with chemical removal by OH. Uncertainties in the ages of the trajectories prevent a reliable estimation of the average OH concentration over the trajectory. The dependence of the variance of the hydrocarbon concentrations with their lifetime with respect to removal by OH does not show the expected behaviour.

Evaluating the impacts of different measurement and model configurations on top-down estimates of UK methane emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lunt, Mark; Rigby, Matt; Manning, Alistair; O'Doherty, Simon; Stavert, Ann; Stanley, Kieran; Young, Dickon; Pitt, Joseph; Bauguitte, Stephane; Allen, Grant; Helfter, Carole; Palmer, Paul

2017-04-01

The Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) project aims to quantify the magnitude and uncertainty of key UK greenhouse gas emissions more robustly than previously achieved. Measurements of methane have been taken from a number of tall-tower and surface sites as well as mobile measurement platforms such as a research aircraft and a ferry providing regular transects off the east coast of the UK. Using the UK Met Office's atmospheric transport model, NAME, and a novel Bayesian inversion technique we present estimates of methane emissions from the UK from a number of different combinations of sites to show the robustness of the UK total emissions to network configuration. The impact on uncertainties will be discussed, focusing on the usefulness of the various measurement platforms for constraining UK emissions. We will examine the effects of observation selection and how a priori assumptions about model uncertainty can affect the emission estimates, even within a data-driven hierarchical inversion framework. Finally, we will show the impact of the resolution of the meteorology used to drive the NAME model on emissions estimates, and how to rationalise our understanding of the ability of transport models to represent reality.

Direct ethanol production from barley beta-glucan by sake yeast displaying Aspergillus oryzae beta-glucosidase and endoglucanase.

PubMed

Kotaka, Atsushi; Bando, Hiroki; Kaya, Masahiko; Kato-Murai, Michiko; Kuroda, Kouichi; Sahara, Hiroshi; Hata, Yoji; Kondo, Akihiko; Ueda, Mitsuyoshi

2008-06-01

Three beta-glucosidase- and two endoglucanase-encoding genes were cloned from Aspergillus oryzae, and their gene products were displayed on the cell surface of the sake yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae GRI-117-UK. GRI-117-UK/pUDB7 displaying beta-glucosidase AO090009000356 showed the highest activity against various substrates and efficiently produced ethanol from cellobiose. On the other hand, GRI-117-UK/pUDCB displaying endoglucanase AO090010000314 efficiently degraded barley beta-glucan to glucose and smaller cellooligosaccharides. GRI-117-UK/pUDB7CB codisplaying both beta-glucosidase AO090009000356 and endoglucanase AO090010000314 was constructed. When direct ethanol fermentation from 20 g/l barley beta-glucan as a model substrate was performed with the codisplaying strain, the ethanol concentration reached 7.94 g/l after 24 h of fermentation. The conversion ratio of ethanol from beta-glucan was 69.6% of the theoretical ethanol concentration produced from 20 g/l barley beta-glucan. These results showed that sake yeast displaying A. oryzae cellulolytic enzymes can be used to produce ethanol from cellulosic materials. Our constructs have higher ethanol production potential than the laboratory constructs previously reported.

A nonparametric significance test for sampled networks.

PubMed

Elliott, Andrew; Leicht, Elizabeth; Whitmore, Alan; Reinert, Gesine; Reed-Tsochas, Felix

2018-01-01

Our work is motivated by an interest in constructing a protein-protein interaction network that captures key features associated with Parkinson's disease. While there is an abundance of subnetwork construction methods available, it is often far from obvious which subnetwork is the most suitable starting point for further investigation. We provide a method to assess whether a subnetwork constructed from a seed list (a list of nodes known to be important in the area of interest) differs significantly from a randomly generated subnetwork. The proposed method uses a Monte Carlo approach. As different seed lists can give rise to the same subnetwork, we control for redundancy by constructing a minimal seed list as the starting point for the significance test. The null model is based on random seed lists of the same length as a minimum seed list that generates the subnetwork; in this random seed list the nodes have (approximately) the same degree distribution as the nodes in the minimum seed list. We use this null model to select subnetworks which deviate significantly from random on an appropriate set of statistics and might capture useful information for a real world protein-protein interaction network. The software used in this paper are available for download at https://sites.google.com/site/elliottande/. The software is written in Python and uses the NetworkX library. ande.elliott@gmail.com or felix.reed-tsochas@sbs.ox.ac.uk. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

A nonparametric significance test for sampled networks

PubMed Central

Leicht, Elizabeth; Whitmore, Alan; Reinert, Gesine; Reed-Tsochas, Felix

2018-01-01

Abstract Motivation Our work is motivated by an interest in constructing a protein–protein interaction network that captures key features associated with Parkinson’s disease. While there is an abundance of subnetwork construction methods available, it is often far from obvious which subnetwork is the most suitable starting point for further investigation. Results We provide a method to assess whether a subnetwork constructed from a seed list (a list of nodes known to be important in the area of interest) differs significantly from a randomly generated subnetwork. The proposed method uses a Monte Carlo approach. As different seed lists can give rise to the same subnetwork, we control for redundancy by constructing a minimal seed list as the starting point for the significance test. The null model is based on random seed lists of the same length as a minimum seed list that generates the subnetwork; in this random seed list the nodes have (approximately) the same degree distribution as the nodes in the minimum seed list. We use this null model to select subnetworks which deviate significantly from random on an appropriate set of statistics and might capture useful information for a real world protein–protein interaction network. Availability and implementation The software used in this paper are available for download at https://sites.google.com/site/elliottande/. The software is written in Python and uses the NetworkX library. Contact ande.elliott@gmail.com or felix.reed-tsochas@sbs.ox.ac.uk Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:29036452

Experience of wrong site surgery and surgical marking practices among clinicians in the UK

PubMed Central

Giles, Sally J; Rhodes, Penny; Clements, Gill; Cook, Gary A; Hayton, Ruth; Maxwell, Melanie J; Sheldon, Trevor A; Wright, John

2006-01-01

Background Little is known about the incidence of “wrong site surgery”, but the consequences of this type of medical error can be severe. Guidance from both the USA and more recently the UK has highlighted the importance of preventing error by marking patients before surgery. Objective To investigate the experiences of wrong site surgery and current marking practices among clinicians in the UK before the release of a national Correct Site Surgery Alert. Methods 38 telephone or face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with consultant surgeons in ophthalmology, orthopaedics and urology in 14 National Health Service hospitals in the UK. The interviews were coded and analysed thematically using the software package QSR Nud*ist 6. Results Most surgeons had experience of wrong site surgery, but there was no clear pattern of underlying causes. Marking practices varied considerably. Surgeons were divided on the value of marking and varied in their practices. Orthopaedic surgeons reported that they marked before surgery; however, some urologists and ophthalmologists reported that they did not. There seemed to be no formal hospital policies in place specifically relating to wrong site surgery, and there were problems associated with implementing a system of marking in some cases. The methods used to mark patients also varied. Some surgeons believed that marking was a limited method of preventing wrong site surgery and may even increase the risk of wrong site surgery. Conclusion Marking practices are variable and marking is not always used. Introducing standard guidance on marking may reduce the overall risk of wrong site surgery, especially as clinicians work at different hospital sites. However, the more specific needs of people and specialties must also be considered. PMID:17074875

Bureaucracy stifles medical research in Britain: a tale of three trials.

PubMed

Snooks, Helen; Hutchings, Hayley; Seagrove, Anne; Stewart-Brown, Sarah; Williams, John; Russell, Ian

2012-08-16

Recent developments aiming to standardise and streamline processes of gaining the necessary approvals to carry out research in the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom (UK), have resulted in lengthy and costly delays. The national UK governmental Department of Health's Research Governance Framework (RGF) for Health and Social Care requires that appropriate checks be conducted before research involving human participants, their organs, tissues or data can commence in the NHS. As a result, medical research has been subjected to increased regulation and governance, with the requirement for approvals from numerous regulatory and monitoring bodies. In addition, the processes and outcomes of the attribution of costs in NHS research have caused additional difficulties for researchers. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate, through three trial case studies, the difficulties encountered during the set-up and recruitment phases of these trials, related to gaining the necessary ethical and governance approvals and applying for NHS costs to undertake and deliver the research. Empirical evidence about delays and difficulties related to regulation and governance of medical research was gathered during the period 2009-2010 from three UK randomised controlled trials with sites in England, Wales and Scotland (1. SAFER 2- an emergency care based trial of a protocol for paramedics to refer patients directly to community based falls services; 2. COnStRUCT- a trial of two drugs for acute ulcerative colitis; and 3. Family Links - a trial of a public health intervention, a 10 week community based parenting programme). Findings and recommendations were reported in response to a call for evidence from The Academy of Medical Sciences regarding difficulties encountered in conducting medical research arising from R&D governance and regulation, to inform national policy. Difficulties and delays in navigating and gaining the appropriate approvals and NHS costs required to undertake the research were encountered in all three trials, at various points in the bureaucratic processes of ethical and research and information governance approvals. Conduct of each of the three trials was delayed by at least 12 months, with costs increasing by 30 - 40%. Whilst the three trials encountered a variety of challenges, there were common issues. The processes for gaining approvals were overly complex and differed between sites and UK countries; guidance about processes was unclear; and information regarding how to define and claim NHS costs for undertaking the research was inconsistent. The competitive advantage of a publicly funded, open access health system for undertaking health services research and clinical trials within the UK has been outweighed in recent years by stifling bureaucratic structures and processes for governance of research. The recommendations of the Academy of Medical Sciences are welcomed, and the effects of their implementation are awaited with interest. SAFER 2: ISRCTN 60481756; COnStRUCT: ISRCTN22663589; Family Links: ISRCTN 13929732.

Letters to the Editor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1995-05-01

Stirling 1994Lis Unsworth and Alexander BellSCOTVEC External Verifiers in Physical Sciences, Edinburgh, UK An elephant in the back seatJ M HathawayRetired Head of Physics, King Edward VI College, Nuneaton, UK Graphical construction of the tangent law of refractionA TanDepartment of Physics, Alabama A & M University, Normal, AL 35762, USA Measuring up to rainJim FawcettKing's School, Worcester, UK No flies on trainsCyril IsenbergUniversity of Kent at Canterbury, UK More on flies and trainsAlvin H BachmanThe City College/CUNY, NEW York, USA

site of identity work in the online Alzheimer’s support group.

PubMed

Kruk, Bartłomiej

2015-01-01

Narrative of personal experience, as a subjective interpretation of a set of events, constitutes a particularly fertile site for the construction of identity. It enables the teller to voice and (re-)organize disruptive phenomenological experiences, socialize emotions or forge interpersonal relations. Consequently, the narrator is able to access various facets of their identity and ‘bring multiple, partial selves to life’ (Ochs and Capps 1996: 19). Informed by the methods and insights of computer- mediated discourse analysis, conversation analysis and membership categorization analysis, and positioning narrative as a situated practice within social interaction, this paper scrutinizes publicly accessible data (15 forum threads) nested within a UK-based online Alzheimer’s support group to demonstrate how Alzheimer’s patients’ family caregivers co-construct their sense of self when disclosing morally delicate aspects of their identities. The analysis demonstrates that the discursive space of the online support group encourages caregivers to disclose disruptions of predicates and activities associated with the ‘family’ membership categorization device. It also shows that the medium-afforded mode of engagement enables caregivers to gradually incorporate their unveiled aversive experiences into their autobiographical flow, with the help of other participants’ responses which normalize these category disruptions.

PHYSICS EDUCATION AND THE INTERNET: A beginner's guide to a physicist starting out on an Internet journey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, Paul

1998-05-01

Thirty useful physics-related sites are listed to help get you started. I hope you will find some of the following sites of use in your teaching or good for pointing your pupils in the right direction when doing research. I have not attempted to rank or sort them in any order. However, by the time you read this issue of Physics Education some of the sites may not be available; this is the nature of the net. Those not wishing to retype each address can access them from my school's physics page (http://www.bootham.demon.co.uk/physics/links.html) or e-mail me at pkb@bootham.demon.co.uk and I can send you a document with the hypertext live links in. The new IOP sponsored 16-19 Physics project is promising great things with its own Internet site. You will be able to download information, updates, worksheets etc. Any queries about the development of this project at present can be sent to Evelyn van Dyk at: 16-19project@iop.org Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Councilhttp://www.epsrc.ac.uk Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Councilhttp://www.pparc.ac.uk American Institute of Physicshttp://www.aip.org Usenet Physics FAQ (frequently asked questions)http://www.weburbia.demon.co.uk/physics/faq.html CERNhttp://www.cern.ch/ BBC Educationhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/education/ Useful data on the Periodic Tablehttp://www.shef.ac.uk/chemistry/web-elements/ JET WWW index page:http://www.jet.uk NERC satellite station, Dundee Universityhttp://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/ The Meteorological Officehttp://www.meto.govt.uk/ The Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DChttp://www.si.edu/newstart.htm Frequently asked questions on time and frequencyhttp://www.boulder.nist.gov/timefreq/faq/faq.htm Physics newshttp://www.het.brown.edu/news/index.html TIPTOP: The Internet Pilot to Physicshttp://www.tp.umu.se/TIPTOP/ A Dictionary of Scientific Quotationshttp://naturalscience.com/dsqhome.html ScI-Journal: an on-line publication for science studentshttp://www.soton.ac.uk/~plf/ScI-Journal/ Science On-linehttp://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/sci/sol/contents.htm Physics humourhttp://quark.physics.uwo.ca/~harwood/humor12.htm Searching for someone's e-mail address?http://www.four11.com SKY publicationshttp://www.skypub.com Planet Sciencehttp://www.keysites.com New Scientisthttp://www.newscientist.com NASA links to the American space programhttp://www.nasa.gov NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratoryhttp://www.jpl.nasa.gov Hewlett-Packardhttp://www.hp.com The Bradford Schools Telescope Projecthttp://www.telescope.org/rti/nuffield/ To contact a professional societyhttp://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/society/overview.html The Schools' Physics Group: post-16 issueshttp://diana.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~pm/Physics/post16.html Sleuth search for physics and chemistryhttp://www.isleuth.com/index.shtml The Particle Adventurehttp://pdg.lbl.gov/cpep/adventure_home.html Acknowledgments I thank colleagues David Robinson and Robin Peach for their help in selecting and validating these sites and William Try, pupil at Bootham School, for preparing and maintaining the department's homepage with hypertext links. Received 21 January 1998

A Review of Attitudes towards Sharing Geotechnical Data and the use of Geospatial Data Portals in Hong Kong and the U.K.: Lessons for Europe.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patton, Ashley M.

2016-04-01

Reusing existing subsurface data can greatly cut the time and financial costs of site investigations, and reduce uncertainty regarding ground conditions that can result in delays and overspend. In Hong Kong SAR it is common practice for consultancies to deposit records in the form of factual and interpretive reports, borehole logs and laboratory test data with the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) who make this information openly available to access for future investigative works. In addition to these deposits, other datasets available at GEO include, amongst others, landslide records, aerial photographs and as-built records. These archives are the first source of information about development sites in Hong Kong and no investigation takes place without a thorough desk study. Increasingly these data are digital, and can be accessed through a GIS-based online portal. In the U.K. the British Geological Survey (BGS) acts as a custodian for geoscience data deposited by the public and private sectors on a voluntary basis, and encourages organisations to make their data publicly available through the BGS online data portals. The facility to deposit digital data via the BGS website has recently been launched and should increase uptake of data sharing in the U.K. as it becomes easier for users to batch upload records digitally. Issues regarding data ownership and confidentiality are being overcome by the establishment, in some cities, of knowledge exchange networks where members who sign up to view data are expected under the terms of membership to deposit data. This has received backing from local government in some areas. The U.K. may not have the density of existing data that Hong Kong has but as knowledge exchange gathers momentum the BGS datasets are expected to grow rapidly. In Europe there appears to be a reluctance to share data. However, escalating demand for land, greater redevelopment of brownfield sites and an ever-growing need to ensure future construction and infrastructure projects are sustainable and compliant with European environmental targets means reusing data may have a role to play in increased subsurface knowledge, the reduction of unforeseen ground conditions and ultimately saving money. Data in .ags format is particularly favourable due to its uniform nature. First-hand experience of the approach towards disseminating geospatial data in Hong Kong and the U.K. will be presented, examining the difference in attitudes regarding data sharing in the two territories, and highlighting how it benefits ground investigations and geohazard assessment with the hope that Europe can learn lessons for the future and change old habits. The different systems of data sharing used in Hong Kong and the U.K. will be discussed, and their strengths and weaknesses evaluated with the aim of fostering a methodology for sharing geoscience data within Europe that benefits from the combined successes of both approaches and builds upon existing expertise.

Relationships among Safety Climate, Safety Behavior, and Safety Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Construction Workers.

PubMed

Lyu, Sainan; Hon, Carol K H; Chan, Albert P C; Wong, Francis K W; Javed, Arshad Ali

2018-03-09

In many countries, it is common practice to attract and employ ethnic minority (EM) or migrant workers in the construction industry. This primarily occurs in order to alleviate the labor shortage caused by an aging workforce with a lack of new entrants. Statistics show that EM construction workers are more likely to have occupational fatal and nonfatal injuries than their local counterparts; however, the mechanism underlying accidents and injuries in this vulnerable population has been rarely examined. This study aims to investigate relationships among safety climate, safety behavior, and safety outcomes for EM construction workers. To this end, a theoretical research model was developed based on a comprehensive review of the current literature. In total, 289 valid questionnaires were collected face-to-face from 223 Nepalese construction workers and 56 Pakistani construction workers working on 15 construction sites in Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling was employed to validate the constructs and test the hypothesized model. Results show that there were significant positive relationships between safety climate and safety behaviors, and significant negative relationships between safety behaviors and safety outcomes for EM construction workers. This research contributes to the literature regarding EM workers by providing empirical evidence of the mechanisms by which safety climate affects safety behaviors and outcomes. It also provides insights in order to help the key stakeholders formulate safety strategies for EM workers in many areas where numerous EM workers are employed, such as in the U.S., the UK, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East.

The risk of hydraulic fracturing on public health in the UK and the UK's fracking legislation.

PubMed

Reap, Elisabeth

2015-01-01

Hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from shale rock is a new, rapidly expanding industry in the United States (US). However, there is concern that these operations could be having large negative impacts such as groundwater contamination, increased air pollution and seismic events. The United Kingdom (UK) is looking at the potential for emulating the success of 'shale gas' in the US. Differences in population density and geological conditions mean that the public health impacts recorded in the US cannot be directly extrapolated to the UK. There is limited academic literature available but findings suggest that the UK government is not fully recognising the inherent risks of hydraulic fracturing exposed by this literature. Government reports suggest a reliance on engineering solutions and better practice to overcome problems found in the US when evidence suggests that there are inherent risks and impacts that cannot be eliminated. This study applies US results to approximate the impact of one exposure pathway, inhalation of hydrocarbons by the public from operational air emissions over the 30 year lifetime of a well and finds that 7.2 extra cancer cases from exposure to air contamination would be expected in the UK if all test sites, approved test sites and test sites awaiting approval as of January 2015 went on to extract gas. In conclusion, limited assessment of the public health implications of hydraulic fracturing operations is available but the UK government appears to not be applying the precautionary principle to potentially significant legislation.

Modelling secondary organic aerosol in the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redington, A. L.; Derwent, R. G.

2013-01-01

The Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model, NAME, has been used to model the formation and transport of anthropogenic and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) over North-West Europe in 2008. The model has been tested against daily organic carbon measurements at Harwell, a rural site in southern UK, where it was able to represent adequately the observed values in summer, with some under-prediction in winter. The model has been used to look at the contribution of SOA to total measured PM10 at four selected UK sites. The site with the greatest contribution (32%) of SOA to PM10 was Auchencorth, a rural site in Scotland and least (9%) at London Bloomsbury. The biogenic SOA (BSOA) dominated over the anthropogenic SOA (ASOA) in the UK and showed a strong seasonal cycle peaking in the summer. There was also a slight summer increase in ASOA. The model has been employed to provide source attribution between UK sources and sources in the rest of Europe. The contribution from Europe was generally small but varied considerably due to meteorology. The UK component showed a seasonal cycle, peaking in the summer months. On an annual basis, considering the four measurement sites, the percentage of SOA arriving from outside the UK was least at Auchencorth (9.8%) and most at London (28.4%). Total modelled SOA had a maximum contribution of 2-3 μg m-3 as a monthly average. (It should be noted that in addition there will be a small contribution from background SOA to these figures.) Emission sensitivity studies revealed that the response of ASOA was highly non-linear, showing both positive and negative responses to a 30% reduction in all man-made NOx sources and the response was greater than 1:1 to a 30% reduction in all man-made VOC sources. BSOA showed only a small negative response to a 30% NOx reduction and no change to a 30% VOC reduction.

By land, sea and air (and space): Verifying UK methane emissions at a range of scales by integrating multiple measurement platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rigby, M. L.; Lunt, M. F.; Ganesan, A.

2015-12-01

The Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) programme and Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) network aim to quantify the magnitude and uncertainty of UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a resolution and accuracy higher than has previously been possible. The on going DECC tall tower network consists of three sites, and an eastern background site in Ireland. The GAUGE project includes instruments at two additional tall tower sites, a high-density measurement network over agricultural land in eastern England, a ferry that performs near-daily transects along the east coast of the UK, and a research aircraft that has been deployed on a campaign basis. Together with data collected by the GOSAT satellite, these data represent the GAUGE/DECC GHG measurement network that is being used to quantify UK GHG fluxes. As part of the wider GAUGE modelling efforts, we have derived methane flux estimates for the UK and northwest Europe using the UK Met Office NAME atmospheric transport model and a novel hierarchical Bayesian "trans-dimensional" inversion framework. We will show that our estimated fluxes for the UK as a whole are largely consistent between individual measurement platforms, albeit with very different uncertainties. Our novel inversion approach uses the data to objectively determine the extent to which we can further refine our national estimates to the level of large urban areas, major hotspots or larger sub-national regions. In this talk, we will outline some initial findings of the GAUGE project, tackling questions such as: At what spatial scale can we effectively derive greenhouse gas fluxes with a dense, multi-platform national network? Can we resolve individual metropolitan areas or major hotspots? What is relative impact of individual stations, platforms and network configurations on flux estimates for a country of the size of the UK? How can we effectively use multi-platform observations to cross-validate flux estimates and determine likely errors in model transport?

The potential impact of green agendas on historic river landscapes: Numerical modelling of multiple weir removal in the Derwent Valley Mills world heritage site, UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, A. J.; Coulthard, T. J.; Knight, D.

2017-09-01

The exploitation of river systems for power and navigation has commonly been achieved through the installation of a variety of in-channel obstacles of which weirs in Britain are amongst the most common. In the UK, the historic value of many of these features is recognised by planning designations and protection more commonly associated with historic buildings and other major monuments. Their construction, particularly in the north and west of Britain, has often been associated with industries such as textiles, chemicals, and mining, which have polluted waterways with heavy metals and other contaminants. The construction of weirs altered local channel gradients resulting in sedimentation upstream with the potential as well for elevated levels of contamination in sediments deposited there. For centuries these weirs have remained largely undisturbed, but as a result of the growth in hydropower and the drive to improve water quality under the European Union's Water Framework Directive, these structures are under increasing pressure to be modified or removed altogether. At present, weir modifications appear to be considered largely on an individual basis, with little focus on the wider impacts this might have on valley floor environments. Using a numerical modelling approach, this paper simulates the removal of major weirs along a 24-km stretch of the river Derwent, Derbyshire, UK, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The results suggest that although removal would not result in significant changes to the valley morphology, localised erosion would occur upstream of structures as the river readjusts its base level to new boundary conditions. Modelling indicates that sediment would also be evacuated away from the study area. In the context of the Derwent valley, this raises the potential for the remobilisation of contaminants (legacy sediments) within the wider floodplain system, which could have detrimental, long-term health and environmental implications for the river system. Worldwide, rivers have a common association with industry - being the focus of settlement and development since the earliest civilisations with channel engineering a common practice. Therefore, the conceptual issues raised by this study have global resonance and are particularly important where heritage protection is less robust and structures can be removed with little consideration of the environmental consequences.

Storageless and caching Tier-2 models in the UK context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cadellin Skipsey, Samuel; Dewhurst, Alastair; Crooks, David; MacMahon, Ewan; Roy, Gareth; Smith, Oliver; Mohammed, Kashif; Brew, Chris; Britton, David

2017-10-01

Operational and other pressures have lead to WLCG experiments moving increasingly to a stratified model for Tier-2 resources, where “fat” Tier-2s (“T2Ds”) and “thin” Tier-2s (“T2Cs”) provide different levels of service. In the UK, this distinction is also encouraged by the terms of the current GridPP5 funding model. In anticipation of this, testing has been performed on the implications, and potential implementation, of such a distinction in our resources. In particular, this presentation presents the results of testing of storage T2Cs, where the “thin” nature is expressed by the site having either no local data storage, or only a thin caching layer; data is streamed or copied from a “nearby” T2D when needed by jobs. In OSG, this model has been adopted successfully for CMS AAA sites; but the network topology and capacity in the USA is significantly different to that in the UK (and much of Europe). We present the result of several operational tests: the in-production University College London (UCL) site, which runs ATLAS workloads using storage at the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) site; the Oxford site, which has had scaling tests performed against T2Ds in various locations in the UK (to test network effects); and the Durham site, which has been testing the specific ATLAS caching solution of “Rucio Cache” integration with ARC’s caching layer.

Occupation and work-related ill-health in UK construction workers.

PubMed

Stocks, S J; Turner, S; McNamee, R; Carder, M; Hussey, L; Agius, R M

2011-09-01

Construction workers are at increased risk of work-related ill-health (WRI) worldwide. To compare the incidence of medically reported WRI in occupations within the UK construction industry according to job title. We calculated standardized incidence rate ratios (SRRs) using WRI cases for individual job titles returned to The Health and Occupation Reporting network by clinical specialists and UK population denominators. We counted frequencies of reported causal exposures or tasks reported by clinical specialists, occupational physicians and general practitioners. We found significantly increased incidence of WRI compared with other workers in the same major Standard Occupational Classification, i.e. workers with similar levels of qualifications, training, skills and experience, for skin neoplasia in roofers (SRR 6.3; 95% CI: 3.1-13.1), painters and decorators (2.1; 95% CI: 1.2-3.6) and labourers in building and woodworking trades (labourers, 6.6; 95% CI: 3.2-13.2); contact dermatitis in metal workers (1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7) and labourers (1.6; 95% CI: 1.1-2.3); asthma in welders (3.8; 95% CI: 2.8-5.0); musculoskeletal disorders in welders (1.7; 95% CI: 1.1-2.8), road construction operatives (6.1; 95% CI: 3.8-9.6) and labourers (2.5; 95% CI: 1.7-3.7); long latency respiratory disease (mesothelioma, pneumoconiosis, lung cancer, non-malignant pleural disease) in pipe fitters (4.5; 95% CI: 3.2-6.2), electrical workers (2.7; 95% CI: 2.4-3.2), plumbing and heating engineers (2.3; 95% CI: 1.9-2.7), carpenters and joiners (2.7; 95% CI: 2.3-3.1), scaffolders (12; 95% CI: 8-18) and labourers (3.3; 95% CI: 2.6-4.1). UK construction industry workers have significantly increased risk of WRI. These data in individual construction occupations can be used to inform appropriate targeting of occupational health resources.

Decommissioning of magnox Ltd fuel cooling pond facilities in the UK

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bertoncini, Carlo

2013-07-01

Magnox reactors were the first generation of nuclear power stations built in the UK; ten sites in total, of which, nine had wet fuel routes with cooling ponds. Five ponds are currently in a decommissioning phase; this paper will focus primarily on Hunterston-A (HNA) Site and the central programme of work which governs its management. During its operation, the Cartridge Cooling Pond at HNA was used to receive the spent fuel discharged from the Site's two reactors, it was then stored for cooling purposes prior to dispatch off site. The current decommissioning phase focusses on draining the 6500 m{sup 3}more » pond. Due to the Site's limited caesium removal facilities, a stand-alone effluent treatment plant was constructed to improve abatement and reduce the pond activity from 200 to 0.7 Bq/ml (β). This was necessary due to increased environmental standards introduced since the site had ceased generation ten years previously. Early characterisation and experience from other sites concluded that if the pond were to be drained without any treatment to the walls, doses to the Operators, during subsequent decommissioning works, would routinely be in excess of 1 mSv.hr{sup -1}(γ). An opportunity was realised within the Ponds Programme that if the surface layer of the pond walls were to be removed during drain-down, ambient dose rates would be reduced by a factor of 10; this would allow for more cost-effective decommissioning options in the future. Ultrahigh pressure water jetting was tested and proved to yield a ∼95% total-activity reduction on treated surfaces. Challenges were overcome in providing safe and secure access to Decommissioning Operators to perform this operation by means of floating platforms on the surface of the pond. As strategies to clear facilities to exemption levels are becoming both cost prohibitive and not reasonably practicable, work is now underway in the Programme to determine the optimum condition for entry into long-term quiescent storage, prior to final demolition. This paper will discuss the strategy and techniques which led to Magnox Ltd ponds to be of national and international interest to the nuclear community. (authors)« less

Sun safety in construction: a U.K. intervention study.

PubMed

Houdmont, J; Madgwick, P; Randall, R

2016-01-01

Interventions to promote sun safety in the U.K. construction sector are warranted given the high incidence of skin cancer attributable to sun exposure relative to other occupational groups. To evaluate change in sun safety knowledge and practices among construction workers in response to an educational intervention. A baseline questionnaire was administered, followed by a bespoke sector-specific DVD-based intervention. At 12-month follow-up, participants completed a further questionnaire. Analyses were conducted on a sample of 120 workers (intervention group, n = 70; comparison group, n = 50). At follow-up, the proportion of intervention group participants that reported correct sun safety knowledge was not significantly greater than at baseline. However, the intervention group demonstrated significant positive change on 9 out of 10 behavioural measures, the greatest change being use of a shade/cover when working in the sun followed by regularly checking skin for moles or unusual changes. Exposure to this intervention was linked to some specific positive changes in construction workers' self-reported sun safety practices. These findings highlight the potential for educational interventions to contribute to tackling skin cancer in the UK construction sector. The findings support the development of bespoke educational interventions for other high-risk outdoor worker groups. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

WGE: a CRISPR database for genome engineering.

PubMed

Hodgkins, Alex; Farne, Anna; Perera, Sajith; Grego, Tiago; Parry-Smith, David J; Skarnes, William C; Iyer, Vivek

2015-09-15

The rapid development of CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome editing techniques has given rise to a number of online and stand-alone tools to find and score CRISPR sites for whole genomes. Here we describe the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Genome Editing database (WGE), which uses novel methods to compute, visualize and select optimal CRISPR sites in a genome browser environment. The WGE database currently stores single and paired CRISPR sites and pre-calculated off-target information for CRISPRs located in the mouse and human exomes. Scoring and display of off-target sites is simple, and intuitive, and filters can be applied to identify high-quality CRISPR sites rapidly. WGE also provides a tool for the design and display of gene targeting vectors in the same genome browser, along with gene models, protein translation and variation tracks. WGE is open, extensible and can be set up to compute and present CRISPR sites for any genome. The WGE database is freely available at www.sanger.ac.uk/htgt/wge : vvi@sanger.ac.uk or skarnes@sanger.ac.uk Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

Problematising the "Career Academic" in UK Construction and Engineering Education: Does the System Want What the System Gets?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilcher, Nick; Forster, Alan; Tennant, Stuart; Murray, Mike; Craig, Nigel

2017-01-01

"Career Academics" are principally research-led, entering academia with limited or no industrial or practical experience. UK Higher Education Institutions welcome them for their potential to attain research grant funding and publish world-leading journal papers, ultimately enhancing institutional reputation. This polemical paper…

Gender Inequality in British and German Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pritchard, Rosalind

2007-01-01

Gender inequality exists within higher education in the UK and Germany. In the UK only 15.3% of professors in pre-and post-1992 universities were women (2003), whilst in Germany only 8.6% attained the highest grade of professorship (2003). The research uses existing data sets combined with theoretical constructs to investigate the reasons for…

Astro Academy: Principia--A Suite of Physical Science Demonstrations Conducted Aboard the ISS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McMurray, Andy

2016-01-01

Astro Academy: Principia is an education programme developed by the UK National Space Academy for the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). The Academy designed, constructed, flight-qualified and developed experimental procedures for a suite of physics and chemistry demonstration experiments that were conducted by ESA…

The Action--Reflection--Modelling (ARM) Pedagogical Approach for Teacher Education: A Malaysia-UK Project

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarvis, Joy; Dickerson, Claire; Thomas, Kit; Graham, Sally

2014-01-01

This article presents the Action--Reflection--Modelling (ARM) pedagogical approach for teacher education developed during a Malaysia-UK collaborative project to construct a Bachelor of Education (Honours) degree programme in Primary Mathematics, with English and Health and Physical Education as minor subjects. The degree programme was written…

Developing a model of midwifery mentorship for Uganda: The MOMENTUM project 2015-2017.

PubMed

Kemp, Joy; Shaw, Eleanor; Musoke, Mary Gorret

2018-04-01

MOMENTUM was a 20 month midwifery twinning project between the Royal College of Midwives UK and the Ugandan Private Midwives Association. It ran from 2015-2017 and was funded by UK-Aid through THET. MOMENTUM aimed to develop a model of mentorship for Ugandan midwifery students. The project achieved its objectives. 41 Ugandan midwives were trained as mentors following a work-based learning curriculum. 142 student midwives from 8 midwifery schools received mentorship in 7 participating clinical sites. All sites showed measured improvement in the clinical learning environment. 7 UK midwives were twinned with Ugandan counterparts and engaged in peer-exchange visits and virtual support via smart-phones. The model is context-specific and may not be replicable in other countries or professions. However it will inform midwifery education in the UK and elsewhere. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Legal Implications of Student Use of Social Networking Sites in the UK and US: Current Concerns and Lessons for the Future

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Mark R.; Lee, Barbara A.

2008-01-01

This paper provides a comparative snapshot of the current state of the law in the US and UK with respect to potential liability of university and college students for use (and misuse) of social networking sites. It reviews the limited case law on this topic, highlights the differences in the two nations' laws of defamation and the various possible…

Relationships among Safety Climate, Safety Behavior, and Safety Outcomes for Ethnic Minority Construction Workers

PubMed Central

Lyu, Sainan; Chan, Albert P. C.; Wong, Francis K. W.

2018-01-01

In many countries, it is common practice to attract and employ ethnic minority (EM) or migrant workers in the construction industry. This primarily occurs in order to alleviate the labor shortage caused by an aging workforce with a lack of new entrants. Statistics show that EM construction workers are more likely to have occupational fatal and nonfatal injuries than their local counterparts; however, the mechanism underlying accidents and injuries in this vulnerable population has been rarely examined. This study aims to investigate relationships among safety climate, safety behavior, and safety outcomes for EM construction workers. To this end, a theoretical research model was developed based on a comprehensive review of the current literature. In total, 289 valid questionnaires were collected face-to-face from 223 Nepalese construction workers and 56 Pakistani construction workers working on 15 construction sites in Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling was employed to validate the constructs and test the hypothesized model. Results show that there were significant positive relationships between safety climate and safety behaviors, and significant negative relationships between safety behaviors and safety outcomes for EM construction workers. This research contributes to the literature regarding EM workers by providing empirical evidence of the mechanisms by which safety climate affects safety behaviors and outcomes. It also provides insights in order to help the key stakeholders formulate safety strategies for EM workers in many areas where numerous EM workers are employed, such as in the U.S., the UK, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East. PMID:29522503

Current status of kilovoltage (kV) radiotherapy in the UK: installed equipment, clinical workload, physics quality control and radiation dosimetry.

PubMed

Palmer, Antony L; Pearson, Michael; Whittard, Paul; McHugh, Katie E; Eaton, David J

2016-12-01

To assess the status and practice of kilovoltage (kV) radiotherapy in the UK. 96% of the radiotherapy centres in the UK responded to a comprehensive survey. An analysis of the installed equipment base, patient numbers, clinical treatment sites, quality control (QC) testing and radiation dosimetry processes were undertaken. 73% of UK centres have at least one kV treatment unit, with 58 units installed across the UK. Although 35% of units are over 10 years old, 39% units have been installed in the last 5 years. Approximately 6000 patients are treated with kV units in the UK each year, the most common site (44%) being basal cell carcinoma. A benchmark of QC practice in the UK is presented, against which individual centres can compare their procedures, frequency of testing and acceptable tolerance values. We propose the use of internal "notification" and "suspension" levels for analysis. All surveyed centres were using recommended Codes of Practice for kV dosimetry in the UK; approximately the same number using in-air and in-water methodologies for medium energy, with two-thirds of all centres citing "clinical relevance" as the reason for choice of code. 64% of centres had hosted an external dosimetry audit within the last 3 years, with only one centre never being independently audited. The majority of centres use locally measured applicator factors and published backscatter factors for treatments. Monitor unit calculations are performed using software in only 36% of centres. A comprehensive review of current kV practice in the UK is presented. Advances in knowledge: Data and discussion on contemporary kV radiotherapy in the UK, with a particular focus on physics aspects.

Current status of kilovoltage (kV) radiotherapy in the UK: installed equipment, clinical workload, physics quality control and radiation dosimetry

PubMed Central

Pearson, Michael; Whittard, Paul; McHugh, Katie E; Eaton, David J

2016-01-01

Objective: To assess the status and practice of kilovoltage (kV) radiotherapy in the UK. Methods: 96% of the radiotherapy centres in the UK responded to a comprehensive survey. An analysis of the installed equipment base, patient numbers, clinical treatment sites, quality control (QC) testing and radiation dosimetry processes were undertaken. Results: 73% of UK centres have at least one kV treatment unit, with 58 units installed across the UK. Although 35% of units are over 10 years old, 39% units have been installed in the last 5 years. Approximately 6000 patients are treated with kV units in the UK each year, the most common site (44%) being basal cell carcinoma. A benchmark of QC practice in the UK is presented, against which individual centres can compare their procedures, frequency of testing and acceptable tolerance values. We propose the use of internal “notification” and “suspension” levels for analysis. All surveyed centres were using recommended Codes of Practice for kV dosimetry in the UK; approximately the same number using in-air and in-water methodologies for medium energy, with two-thirds of all centres citing “clinical relevance” as the reason for choice of code. 64% of centres had hosted an external dosimetry audit within the last 3 years, with only one centre never being independently audited. The majority of centres use locally measured applicator factors and published backscatter factors for treatments. Monitor unit calculations are performed using software in only 36% of centres. Conclusion: A comprehensive review of current kV practice in the UK is presented. Advances in knowledge: Data and discussion on contemporary kV radiotherapy in the UK, with a particular focus on physics aspects. PMID:27730839

Sensitivity of CO2 storage performance to varying rates and dynamic injectivity in the Bunter Sandstone, UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolster, C.; Mac Dowell, N.; Krevor, S. C.; Agada, S.

2016-12-01

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is needed for meeting legally binding greenhouse gas emissions targets in the UK (ECCC 2016). Energy systems models have been key to identifying the importance of CCS but they tend to impose few constraints on the availability and use of geologic CO2 storage reservoirs. Our aim is to develop simple models that use dynamic representations of limits on CO2 storage resources. This will allow for a first order representation of the storage reservoir for use in systems models with CCS. We use the ECLIPSE reservoir simulator and a model of the Southern North Sea Bunter Sandstone saline aquifer. We analyse reservoir performance sensitivities to scenarios of varying CO2 injection demand for a future UK low carbon energy market. With 12 injection sites, we compare the impact of injecting at a constant 2MtCO2/year per site and varying this rate by a factor of 1.8 and 0.2 cyclically every 5 and 2.5 years over 50 years of injection. The results show a maximum difference in average reservoir pressure of 3% amongst each case and a similar variation in plume migration extent. This suggests that simplified models can maintain accuracy by using average rates of injection over similar time periods. Meanwhile, by initiating injection at rates limited by pressurization at the wellhead we find that injectivity steadily increases. As a result, dynamic capacity increases. We find that instead of injecting into sites on a need basis, we can strategically inject the CO2 into 6 of the deepest sites increasing injectivity for the first 15 years by 13%. Our results show injectivity as highly dependent on reservoir heterogeneity near the injection site. Injecting 1MTCO2/year into a shallow, low permeability and porosity site instead of into a deep injection site with high permeability and porosity reduces injectivity in the first 5 years by 52%. ECCC. 2016. Future of Carbon Capture and Storage in the UK. UK Parliament House of Commons, Energy and Climate Change Committee, London: The Stationary Office Limited.

Ecological conditions of ponds situated on blast furnace slag deposits located in South Gare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Teesside, UK.

PubMed

Raper, E; Davies, S; Perkins, B; Lamb, H; Hermanson, M; Soares, A; Stephenson, T

2015-06-01

Slag, a by-product from the iron and steel industry, has a range of applications within construction and is used in wastewater treatment. Historically considered a waste material, little consideration was given to the environmental impacts of its disposal. South Gare (a Site of Special Scientific Interest) located at the mouth of the Tees estuary, UK, formed on slag deposits used to create a sea wall and make the land behind permanent. Over time, ponds formed in depressions with the water chemistry, being significantly impacted by the slag deposits. Calcium levels reached 504 mg/L, nitrate 49.0 mg/L and sulphate 1,698 mg/L. These levels were also reflected in the composition of the sediment. pH (5.10-9.90) and electrical conductivity (2,710-3,598 µS/cm) were variable but often notably high. Pb, Cu and Cd were not present within the water, whilst Zn ranged from 0.027 to 0.37 mg/L. Heavy metal levels were higher in surface sediments. Zinc was most dominant (174.3-1,310.2 mg/L) followed by Pb (9.9-431 mg/L), Cu (8.4-41.8 mg/L) and Cd (0.4-1.1 mg/L). A sediment core provided a historical overview of the ponds. The ponds were unfavourable for aquatic biodiversity and unsuitable for drinking water abstraction.

Facility shows benefit of staying single.

PubMed

Baillie, Jonathan

2010-08-01

Construction of the new 513-bed PFI-funded hospital in Pembury near Tunbridge Wells in Kent, a pound 227 million acute healthcare facility that, on its completion in the autumn of 2011, will be the UK's first to offer 100% single-bed en suite accommodation, is ahead of schedule, "thanks to excellent teamwork and careful planning". During a visit to the now rapidly emerging healthcare facility, located in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in a wooded hillside location in the Weald of Kent which Nigel Keen, general manager for the PFI project company, described as "the most attractive site for a hospital I have ever worked on", HEJ editor Jonathan Baillie met key project personnel and discussed the impressive progress made to date.

The Construction of Under-Representation in UK and Swedish Higher Education: Implications for Disabled Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weedon, Elisabet

2017-01-01

This article examines the inclusion of disabled students in the UK and Swedish higher education systems. In the United Kingdom, performance indicators focus on the participation rate of disabled students in comparison with those of non-disabled students, while in Sweden there are no specific performance indicators relating to disabled students.…

New and Not so New Horizons: Brief Encounters between UK Undergraduate Native-Speaker and Non-Native-Speaker Englishes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Juliet

2011-01-01

This paper explores the apparent contradiction between the valuing and promoting of diverse literacies in most UK HEIs, and the discursive construction of spoken native-speaker English as the medium of good grades and prestige academic knowledge. During group interviews on their experiences of university internationalisation, 38 undergraduate…

The Interpersonal World of Direct Marketing: Examining Conventions of Quality at UK Farmers' Markets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirwan, James

2006-01-01

Inherent within emerging new food supply chains (FSCs) in the UK in recent years, and in particular those based upon direct marketing, is the (re)connection of production--consumption processes and concomitantly producers and consumers. New forms of connection are apparent, as food produce is differentiated on the basis of quality constructs which…

Air quality assessment of benzo(a)pyrene from asphalt plant operation.

PubMed

Gibson, Nigel; Stewart, Robert; Rankin, Erika

2012-01-01

A study has been carried out to assess the contribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) from asphalt plant operation, utilising Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) as a marker for PAHs, to the background air concentration around asphalt plants in the UK. The purpose behind this assessment was to determine whether the use of published BaP emission factors based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methodology is appropriate in the context of the UK, especially as the EPA methodology does not give BaP emission factors for all activities. The study also aimed to improve the overall understanding of BaP emissions from asphalt plants in the UK, and determine whether site location and operation is likely to influence the contribution of PAHs to ambient air quality. In order to establish whether the use of US EPA emissions factors is appropriate, the study has compared the BaP emissions measured and calculated emissions rates from two UK sites with those estimated using US EPA emission factors. A dispersion modelling exercise was carried out to show the BaP contribution to ambient air around each site. This study showed that, as the US EPA methodology does not provide factors for all emission sources on asphalt plants, their use may give rise to over- or under-estimations, particularly where sources of BaP are temperature dependent. However, the contribution of both the estimated and measured BaP concentrations to environmental concentration were low, averaging about 0.05 ng m(-3) at the boundary of the sites, which is well below the UK BaP assessment threshold of 0.25 ng m(-3). Therefore, BaP concentrations, and hence PAH concentrations, from similar asphalt plant operations are unlikely to contribute negatively to ambient air quality.

A novel W1999S mutation and non-target site resistance impact on acetyl-CoA carboxylase inhibiting herbicides to varying degrees in a UK Lolium multiflorum population.

PubMed

Kaundun, Shiv Shankhar; Bailly, Geraldine C; Dale, Richard P; Hutchings, Sarah-Jane; McIndoe, Eddie

2013-01-01

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting herbicides are important products for the post-emergence control of grass weed species in small grain cereal crops. However, the appearance of resistance to ACCase herbicides over time has resulted in limited options for effective weed control of key species such as Lolium spp. In this study, we have used an integrated biological and molecular biology approach to investigate the mechanism of resistance to ACCase herbicides in a Lolium multiflorum Lam. from the UK (UK21). The study revealed a novel tryptophan to serine mutation at ACCase codon position 1999 impacting on ACCase inhibiting herbicides to varying degrees. The W1999S mutation confers dominant resistance to pinoxaden and partially recessive resistance to cycloxydim and sethoxydim. On the other hand, plants containing the W1999S mutation were sensitive to clethodim and tepraloxydim. Additionally population UK21 is characterised by other resistance mechanisms, very likely non non-target site based, affecting several aryloxyphenoxyproprionate (FOP) herbicides but not the practical field rate of pinoxaden. The positive identification of wild type tryptophan and mutant serine alleles at ACCase position 1999 could be readily achieved with an original DNA based derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS) assay that uses the same PCR product but two different enzymes for positively identifying the wild type tryptophan and mutant serine alleles identified here. This paper highlights intrinsic differences between ACCase inhibiting herbicides that could be exploited for controlling ryegrass populations such as UK21 characterised by compound-specific target site and non-target site resistance.

A Novel W1999S Mutation and Non-Target Site Resistance Impact on Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase Inhibiting Herbicides to Varying Degrees in a UK Lolium multiflorum Population

PubMed Central

Kaundun, Shiv Shankhar; Bailly, Geraldine C.; Dale, Richard P.; Hutchings, Sarah-Jane; McIndoe, Eddie

2013-01-01

Background Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting herbicides are important products for the post-emergence control of grass weed species in small grain cereal crops. However, the appearance of resistance to ACCase herbicides over time has resulted in limited options for effective weed control of key species such as Lolium spp. In this study, we have used an integrated biological and molecular biology approach to investigate the mechanism of resistance to ACCase herbicides in a Lolium multiflorum Lam. from the UK (UK21). Methodology/Principal Findings The study revealed a novel tryptophan to serine mutation at ACCase codon position 1999 impacting on ACCase inhibiting herbicides to varying degrees. The W1999S mutation confers dominant resistance to pinoxaden and partially recessive resistance to cycloxydim and sethoxydim. On the other hand, plants containing the W1999S mutation were sensitive to clethodim and tepraloxydim. Additionally population UK21 is characterised by other resistance mechanisms, very likely non non-target site based, affecting several aryloxyphenoxyproprionate (FOP) herbicides but not the practical field rate of pinoxaden. The positive identification of wild type tryptophan and mutant serine alleles at ACCase position 1999 could be readily achieved with an original DNA based derived cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (dCAPS) assay that uses the same PCR product but two different enzymes for positively identifying the wild type tryptophan and mutant serine alleles identified here. Conclusion/Significance This paper highlights intrinsic differences between ACCase inhibiting herbicides that could be exploited for controlling ryegrass populations such as UK21 characterised by compound-specific target site and non-target site resistance. PMID:23469130

Seasonal and diel patterns in cetacean use and foraging at a potential marine renewable energy site.

PubMed

Nuuttila, Hanna K; Bertelli, Chiara M; Mendzil, Anouska; Dearle, Nessa

2018-04-01

Marine renewable energy (MRE) developments often coincide with sites frequented by small cetaceans. To understand habitat use and assess potential impact from development, echolocation clicks were recorded with acoustic click loggers (C-PODs) in Swansea Bay, Wales (UK). General Additive Models (GAMs) were applied to assess the effects of covariates including month, hour, tidal range and temperature. Analysis of inter-click intervals allowed the identification of potential foraging events as well as patterns of presence and absence. Data revealed year-round presence of porpoise, with distinct seasonal and diel patterns. Occasional acoustic encounters of dolphins were also recorded. This study provides further evidence of the need for assessing temporal trends in cetacean presence and habitat use in areas considered for development. These findings could assist MRE companies to monitor and mitigate against disturbance from construction, operation and decommissioning activities by avoiding times when porpoise presence and foraging activity is highest in the area. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Woodland carbon code: building an evidence base for the "4 per mil" initiative in land converted to forestry.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hannam, Jacqueline; Vanguelova, Elena; West, Vicky

2017-04-01

The Woodland Carbon Code is a voluntary standard for woodland creation projects in the UK. Carbon sequestration resulting from certified projects will contribute directly to the UK's national targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). Whilst this is concerned primarily with above ground capture there is little empirical evidence of the longer term carbon sequestration potential of soils under this land use change in the UK. We present preliminary results from a resurvey of 20 sites originally sampled as part of the soil survey of England and Wales. It includes soil carbon stocks assessed within the soil profile (up to 1m depth) where sites have been converted to forestry in the last 40 years. The small number of sites (n=20) and high variability in soil type, forest type and original land use prevented detailed analysis between these different factors, but overall there was an increase in carbon concentration in the whole profile, driven primarily by an increase the surface organic layers. For all sites combined there was no significant difference in the C stocks between the two survey periods. The increase in carbon stock in the surface organic horizons tended to be offset by a decrease in the mineral subsoils (specifically in Brown Earth soils) primarily as a result of bulk density changes. There are presently insufficient measured data from a range of UK climate, land-use and soil type conditions to quantify with confidence soil C changes during afforestation. This is partly because of the difficulties of detecting relatively slow changes in spatially heterogeneous soils and also obtaining good examples of sites that have undergone documented land use change. Reviewing results from all ongoing afforestation projects in the UK will provide better quantification of the C sequestration potential of forest soils to be accounted for in the Woodland Carbon Code's overall GHG mitigation potential.

Exploring Identity Motives in Twitter Usage in Saudi Arabia and the UK.

PubMed

Selim, Heyla A; Long, Karen M; Vignoles, Vivian L

2014-01-01

This study explores identity motives for using a microblogging site (Twitter) among Internet users in Saudi Arabia and the UK. The former boasts the world's highest per capita use of Twitter, which provides a forum in which users have more opportunity for self-expression than they do in the offline world, and is not subject to the heavy censorship which the Saudi government imposes on other Internet content [1]. Approximately 5000 tweets from the period April-May 2013 were coded and analyzed, using Motivated Identity Construction Theory as a conceptual framework [2]. This theory proposes six universal identity motives of meaning, belonging, continuity, distinctiveness, efficacy, and self-esteem. We consider these motives in turn, and examine their relative prominence in an online context. Support was found for all six universal motives, but the relative prominence of motives and the ways in which they were pursued appeared to depend on the affordances of both the OSN in question, Twitter and the cultural context in which the user was posting: Saudi users appeared to seek distinctiveness, whereas for British users, belonging was a more salient motive. Themes related to meaning, efficacy, and self-esteem were detected frequently, whereas themes related to continuity were less apparent.

Hunt the Shadow Not the Substance: The Rise of the Career Academic in Construction Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tennant, Stuart; Murray, Mike; Forster, Alan; Pilcher, Nick

2015-01-01

Construction education is context-laden, navigating and reflecting the byzantine influences of period, place and person. Despite considerable rhetoric, in UK higher education and construction studies in particular the importance of contextualized teaching is being devalued. Over the past decade a growing number of new teaching staff to university…

Investigating the use of paired Uk'37 and TEX86 measurements to reconstruct past sea surface and subsurface (thermocline) temperatures (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castaneda, I. S.; Urann, B.; Phu, V.

2013-12-01

Two organic geochemical temperature proxies widely applied to marine sediments are the Uk'37 Index, based on long-chain alkenones produced by haptophyte algae, and TEX86, based on isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), produced by Thaumarchaeota. At some locations, temperature reconstructions based on Uk'37 and TEX86 are in agreement within the calibration errors of each proxy, while at other sites absolute Uk'37 and TEX86 reconstructed temperatures differ but both proxies reveal similar overall trends (e.g. Caley et al., 2011). In contrast, at other locations Uk'37 and TEX86 temperature reconstructions from the same samples yield dramatically different overall trends. Differences observed between Uk'37 and TEX86 temperature reconstructions have been attributed to a variety of factors including seasonal production biases, differences in preservation and lateral transport, and differences related to the depth habitat of the source organisms. An increasing number of studies have provided evidence that TEX86 likely reflects a subsurface water temperature in certain areas of the world's oceans and have used paired Uk'37 and TEX86 measurements to simultaneously examine sea surface and subsurface (in some cases thermocline) temperature variability (e.g. Lopes dos Santos et al., 2010; Rommerskirchen et al., 2011; Li et al., 2013). In the tropical N Atlantic, a distinctive signature of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) slowdown is anticorrelated variation between surface and subsurface water temperatures (e.g. Chang et al., 2008; Zhang et al., 2007) where sea surface temperature (SST) cooling is accompanied by shallow subsurface warming (e.g. Chang et al., 2008). Lopes dos Santos et al. (2010) examined a site in the tropical NE Atlantic where they showed that in the modern Uk'37 reflects SST while TEXH86 likely reflects a thermocline temperature. The authors noted several periods during the past 200 kyr when surface cooling and subsurface warming occurred, which they attributed to AMOC slowdown. In this study, we examine sediments from ODP site 660 (NE Atlantic), located near the site studied by Lopes dos Santos et al. (2010), and use paired Uk'37-TEXH86 temperature measurements to investigate changes in sea surface and thermocline temperature variability over the past 4 Ma. We find that following Pliocene warmth, the Uk'37 record indicates an overall cooling trend since ~2.2 Ma, superimposed on glacial-interglacial temperature fluctuations. In contrast, the TEX86 record, which yields consistently cooler temperatures in comparison to Uk'37, does not exhibit an overall cooling trend during the Pleistocene nor elevated warmth during the Pliocene. In portions of the record, anticorrelated variability between Uk'37 and TEX86 temperatures is observed, likely reflecting differences in SST and thermocline temperatures related to AMOC variability. In addition, we examine the carbon (δ13C) and deuterium (δD) isotopic composition of plant leaf waxes, proxies for vegetation type (C3 vs. C4) and precipitation amount, respectively, as several studies have demonstrated close ties between AMOC variability and hydrological conditions in N Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

MRSA – ‘Bug-Bear’ of a Surgical Practice: Reducing the Incidence of MRSA Surgical Site Infections

PubMed Central

Guyot, Andrea; Layer, Graham

2006-01-01

Adverse publicity (the ‘superbug') has demonstrated that the problem of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is prevalent in many of the country's most prestigious hospitals. The results of the mandatory UK Department of Health (DH) surveillance for early surgical site infections in orthopaedic surgery (SSIS) have been published recently for the period April 2004 to March 2005 when 41,242 operations were studied ( 28 October 2005). Infection rates were generally and gratifyingly low but 48% of surgical site infections were caused by Staph. aureus and of those 68% were MRSA. The following article will discuss the aetiology and prevention of MRSA surgical site infection. PMID:16551425

Greenhouse gas measurements from a UK network of tall towers: technical description and first results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanley, Kieran M.; Grant, Aoife; O'Doherty, Simon; Young, Dickon; Manning, Alistair J.; Stavert, Ann R.; Spain, T. Gerard; Salameh, Peter K.; Harth, Christina M.; Simmonds, Peter G.; Sturges, William T.; Oram, David E.; Derwent, Richard G.

2018-03-01

A network of three tall tower measurement stations was set up in 2012 across the United Kingdom to expand measurements made at the long-term background northern hemispheric site, Mace Head, Ireland. Reliable and precise in situ greenhouse gas (GHG) analysis systems were developed and deployed at three sites in the UK with automated instrumentation measuring a suite of GHGs. The UK Deriving Emissions linked to Climate Change (UK DECC) network uses tall (165-230 m) open-lattice telecommunications towers, which provide a convenient platform for boundary layer trace gas sampling. In this paper we describe the automated measurement system and first results from the UK DECC network for CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6, CO and H2. CO2 and CH4 are measured at all of the UK DECC sites by cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) with multiple inlet heights at two of the three tall tower sites to assess for boundary layer stratification. The short-term precisions (1σ on 1 min means) of CRDS measurements at background mole fractions for January 2012 to September 2015 is < 0.05 µmol mol-1 for CO2 and < 0.3 nmol mol-1 for CH4. Repeatability of standard injections (1σ) is < 0.03 µmol mol-1 for CO2 and < 0.3 nmol mol-1 for CH4 for the same time period. N2O and SF6 are measured at three of the sites, and CO and H2 measurements are made at two of the sites, from a single inlet height using gas chromatography (GC) with an electron capture detector (ECD), flame ionisation detector (FID) or reduction gas analyser (RGA). Repeatability of individual injections (1σ) on GC and RGA instruments between January 2012 and September 2015 for CH4, N2O, SF6, CO and H2 measurements were < 2.8 nmol mol-1, < 0.4 nmol mol-1, < 0.07 pmol mol-1, < 2 nmol mol-1 and < 3 nmol mol-1, respectively. Instrumentation in the network is fully automated and includes sensors for measuring a variety of instrumental parameters such as flow, pressures, and sampling temperatures. Automated alerts are generated and emailed to site operators when instrumental parameters are not within defined set ranges. Automated instrument shutdowns occur for critical errors such as carrier gas flow rate deviations. Results from the network give good spatial and temporal coverage of atmospheric mixing ratios within the UK since early 2012. Results also show that all measured GHGs are increasing in mole fraction over the selected reporting period and, except for SF6, exhibit a seasonal trend. CO2 and CH4 also show strong diurnal cycles, with night-time maxima and daytime minima in mole fractions.

Marvelous medicines and dangerous drugs: the representation of prescription medicine in the UK newsprint media.

PubMed

Prosser, Helen

2010-01-01

Using discourse analysis, this study examines the representation of prescription medicines in the UK newsprint media and, specifically, how the meaning and function of medicines are constructed. At the same time, it examines the extent to which the newsprint media represents a resource for health information, and considers how it may encourage or challenge faith in modern medicine and medical authority. As such, it extends analysis around concepts such as the informed patient and examines the representation of patients and doctors and the extent to which patient-doctor identities promoted in the newsprint media reflect a shift away from paternalism to negotiated encounters. Findings show the media constructs a discrete, contradictory, and frequently oversimplified set of characterizations about medicine. Moreover, it discursively constructs realities that justify and sustain medial dominance. Ideological paradigms in discourse assign patients as passive and disempowered while simultaneously privileging "expert" knowledge. This constructs a reality that marginalizes patients' participation in decision-making.

Costs and Outcomes over 36 Years of Patients with Phenylketonuria Who Do and Do Not Remain on a Phenylalanine-Restricted Diet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guest, J. F.; Bai, J. J.; Taylor, R. R.; Sladkevicius, E.; Lee, P. J.; Lachmann, R. H.

2013-01-01

Background: To quantify the costs and consequences of managing phenylketonuria (PKU) in the UK and to estimate the potential implications to the UK's National Health Service (NHS) of keeping patients on a phenylalanine-restricted diet for life. Methods: A computer-based model was constructed depicting the management of PKU patients over the first…

The Social Construction of Young People within Education Policy: Evidence from the UK's Coalition Government

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brooks, Rachel

2013-01-01

Since assuming power in May 2010, the UK's Coalition government has devoted considerable energy to formulating its policies with respect to young people. Evidence of this can be found in "Positive for youth: a new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13-19", a policy text that outlines a wide range of measures to be…

Geoelectrical monitoring of simulated subsurface leakage to support high-hazard nuclear decommissioning at the Sellafield Site, UK.

PubMed

Kuras, Oliver; Wilkinson, Paul B; Meldrum, Philip I; Oxby, Lucy S; Uhlemann, Sebastian; Chambers, Jonathan E; Binley, Andrew; Graham, James; Smith, Nicholas T; Atherton, Nick

2016-10-01

A full-scale field experiment applying 4D (3D time-lapse) cross-borehole Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) to the monitoring of simulated subsurface leakage was undertaken at a legacy nuclear waste silo at the Sellafield Site, UK. The experiment constituted the first application of geoelectrical monitoring in support of decommissioning work at a UK nuclear licensed site. Images of resistivity changes occurring since a baseline date prior to the simulated leaks revealed likely preferential pathways of silo liquor simulant flow in the vadose zone and upper groundwater system. Geophysical evidence was found to be compatible with historic contamination detected in permeable facies in sediment cores retrieved from the ERT boreholes. Results indicate that laterally discontinuous till units forming localized hydraulic barriers substantially affect flow patterns and contaminant transport in the shallow subsurface at Sellafield. We conclude that only geophysical imaging of the kind presented here has the potential to provide the detailed spatial and temporal information at the (sub-)meter scale needed to reduce the uncertainty in models of subsurface processes at nuclear sites. Copyright © 2016 British Geological Survey, NERC. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scale-dependent spatial variability in peatland lead pollution in the southern Pennines, UK.

PubMed

Rothwell, James J; Evans, Martin G; Lindsay, John B; Allott, Timothy E H

2007-01-01

Increasingly, within-site and regional comparisons of peatland lead pollution have been undertaken using the inventory approach. The peatlands of the Peak District, southern Pennines, UK, have received significant atmospheric inputs of lead over the last few hundred years. A multi-core study at three peatland sites in the Peak District demonstrates significant within-site spatial variability in industrial lead pollution. Stochastic simulations reveal that 15 peat cores are required to calculate reliable lead inventories at the within-site and within-region scale for this highly polluted area of the southern Pennines. Within-site variability in lead pollution is dominant at the within-region scale. The study demonstrates that significant errors may be associated with peatland lead inventories at sites where only a single peat core has been used to calculate an inventory. Meaningful comparisons of lead inventories at the regional or global scale can only be made if the within-site variability of lead pollution has been quantified reliably.

Infectivity and sporulation potential of Phytophthora kernoviae to select North American native plants

Treesearch

E. J. Fichtner; D. M. Rizzo; S. A. Kirk; J. F. Webber

2011-01-01

Phytophthora kernoviae exhibits comparable epidemiology to Phytophthora ramorum in invaded UK woodlands. Because both pathogens have an overlapping geographic range in the UK and often concurrently invade the same site, it is speculated that P. kernoviae may also invade North American (NA) forests...

UK and Italian EIA systems: A comparative study on management practice and performance in the construction industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bassi, Andrea, E-mail: ab395@bath.co.uk; Howard, Robert, E-mail: robhoward@constcom.demon.co.uk; Geneletti, Davide, E-mail: davide.geneletti@ing.unitn.it

This study evaluates and contrasts the management practice and the performance that characterise Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) in Italy and in the UK. The methodology relies on the investigation of six carefully selected case studies, critically reviewed by referring to EIA and project design information, as well as collecting the opinion of key project participants. The study focuses on the construction industry and on specific key sectors like infrastructure for transport and renewable energy and commercial and tourism development. A main term of reference for the analyses has been established by critically reviewing international literature so as to outline commonmore » good practice, requirements for the enhancement of sustainability principles and typically incurred drawbacks. The proposed approach enhances transfer of knowledge and of experiences between the analyzed contexts and allows the provision of guidelines for practitioners. Distinctive differences between the UK and the Italian EIA systems have been detected for pivotal phases and elements of EIA, like screening, scoping, analysis of alternatives and of potential impacts, definition of mitigation strategies, review, decision making, public participation and follow up. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The Italian and the UK Environmental Impact Assessment systems are compared. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The research is centred on the construction industry. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Issues and shortcomings are analysed by investigating six case studies. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Integration of EIA with sustainability principles is appraised. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer General guidelines are provided to assist practitioners in the two national contexts.« less

A statistical analysis of UK financial networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, J.; Nadarajah, S.

2017-04-01

In recent years, with a growing interest in big or large datasets, there has been a rise in the application of large graphs and networks to financial big data. Much of this research has focused on the construction and analysis of the network structure of stock markets, based on the relationships between stock prices. Motivated by Boginski et al. (2005), who studied the characteristics of a network structure of the US stock market, we construct network graphs of the UK stock market using same method. We fit four distributions to the degree density of the vertices from these graphs, the Pareto I, Fréchet, lognormal, and generalised Pareto distributions, and assess the goodness of fit. Our results show that the degree density of the complements of the market graphs, constructed using a negative threshold value close to zero, can be fitted well with the Fréchet and lognormal distributions.

Effects of the construction of Scroby Sands offshore wind farm on the prey base of Little tern Sternula albifrons at its most important UK colony.

PubMed

Perrow, Martin R; Gilroy, James J; Skeate, Eleanor R; Tomlinson, Mark L

2011-08-01

Despite widespread interest in the impacts of wind farms upon birds, few researchers have examined the potential for indirect or trophic (predator-prey) effects. Using surface trawls, we monitored prey abundance before and after construction of a 30 turbine offshore wind farm sited close to an internationally important colony of Little terns. Observations confirmed that young-of-the-year clupeids dominated chick diet, which trawl samples suggested were mainly herring. Multivariate modelling indicated a significant reduction in herring abundance from 2004 onwards that could not be explained by environmental factors. Intensely noisy monopile installation during the winter spawning period was suggested to be responsible. Reduced prey abundance corresponded with a significant decline in Little tern foraging success. Unprecedented egg abandonment and lack of chick hatching tentatively suggested a colony-scale response in some years. We urge a precautionary approach to the timing and duration of pile-driving activity supported with long-term targeted monitoring of sensitive receptors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Screening for learning disabilities in young adult career counseling.

PubMed

Kasler, Jon; Fawcett, Angela

2009-01-01

The Strengths and Weaknesses Academic Profile (SWAP) was constructed in Israel in response to the local need of career counselors for a valid, reliable, comprehensive, parsimonious, and computerized screening device for identifying those likely to be at risk of learning disabilities (LD). The method chosen was self-report. A set of cognitive items was written and divided into seven scales: reading, writing, attention and memory, computation, English as a foreign language (EFL), study skills, and self-image. The screening tool was validated on a research sample in Sheffield, UK, based on comparison of the results obtained from the screening with the results of standardized diagnosis of learning disabilities administered to the respondents. The questionnaire was administered to 39 students, half of them diagnosed for dyslexia and half tested and found to be free of dyslexia. Results indicate that SWAP is a reliable and valid questionnaire, with a classification power of approximately 90%. The questionnaire is now widely used in Israel, where an Internet site has been constructed to administer the questionnaire and provide immediate and direct results.

UK Preparatory School Librarians' and Teachers' Design and Use of Reading Lists: A Qualitative Study of Approaches, Perceptions, and Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scott, Rebecca; Inskip, Charles

2017-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a small-scale qualitative study that explored the perceptions of and approaches used by UK school librarians and teachers in the design and use of reading lists. The research question was: "What is the best way to construct reading lists to maximize their benefit in the school library or classroom?" The…

What do preservice teachers from the USA and the UK know about dyslexia?

PubMed

Washburn, Erin K; Binks-Cantrell, Emily S; Joshi, R Malatesha

2014-02-01

The purpose of the study was to examine the knowledge base of preservice teachers from the USA and the UK of dyslexia as a language-based learning disability. A survey (both US and UK versions) was constructed using current research-based understandings of dyslexia as a language-based learning disability. One hundred and one preservice teachers from the USA and 70 preservice teachers from the UK were administered the survey. Results indicated that participants in the two groups demonstrated some similar accurate knowledge about dyslexia as well as displaying some common misunderstandings about dyslexia. Recommendations concerning preservice teacher preparation and professional development for in-service teachers about dyslexia as well as future research directions are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Processes affecting concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) in the UK atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrison, Roy M.; Laxen, Duncan; Moorcroft, Stephen; Laxen, Kieran

2012-01-01

PM 2.5 is now subject to a limit value and exposure-reduction targets across the European Union. This has led to a rapid expansion in PM 2.5 monitoring across Europe and this paper reviews data collected in the United Kingdom in 2009. The expected gradient between rural, urban background and roadside sites is observed, although the roadside increment is generally rather small except for heavily trafficked street canyon locations. PM 2.5:PM 10 ratios decline from around 0.8 in southeast England to below 0.6 in Scotland consistent with a higher contribution of secondary particulate matter in southeast England. Average diurnal profiles of PM 2.5 differ around the UK but have a common feature in a nocturnal minimum and a peak during the morning rush hour. Central and southern UK sites also show an evening peak following a concentration reduction during the mid afternoon which is not seen at northern UK sites and is attributed to evaporation of semi-volatile components, particularly ammonium nitrate. Concentrations of PM 2.5 are typically highest in the winter months and lowest in the mid-summer consistent with better mixing and volatilisation of semi-volatile components in the warmer months of the year. Directional analysis shows a stronger association of PM 2.5 with easterly winds associated with air masses from the European mainland than with the direction of local traffic sources.

The design and content of orthodontic practise websites in the UK is suboptimal and does not correlate with search ranking.

PubMed

Patel, Annika; Cobourne, Martyn T

2015-08-01

This study investigated standards of ethical advertising; design and content; and information quality associated with UK dental practice websites offering orthodontic treatment. The World Wide Web was searched from a UK-based computer using the Google search engine combined with the term 'orthodontic braces'. The first 100 UK-based dental practice websites were pooled and saved following duplicate removal. Websites were evaluated for compliance with current General Dental Council ethical advertising guidelines; accessibility, usability, and reliability using the LIDA instrument (a validated outcome tool for healthcare website design and content evaluation); and quality of information using the DISCERN toolkit (a validated method of quality assessment for online written patient information). Nine per cent of websites demonstrated full compliance with current guidelines on ethical advertising. Mean total LIDA score was 110/144 (76%) [range: 51-135; 35-94%]. Eleven websites reached a gold standard of 90% or more for total LIDA score. Mean total DISCERN score was 48/75 (64%) [range: 19-73; 25-97%]. Five websites achieved a total DISCERN score above 90%. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients demonstrated no significant correlations between LIDA (0.1669; P = 0.4252, confidence interval [CI]: -0.2560 to 0.5362) or DISCERN (0.3572; P = 0.0796, CI: -0.0565 to 0.663) score and ranking amongst the 25 highest ranked websites. Most UK websites offering orthodontic services are not fully compliant with national guidelines relating to ethical advertising. Validated measures of website design (LIDA) and information quality (DISCERN) showed wide variation amongst sites. No correlation existed between ranking amongst the highest 25 sites and either of these measures. This investigation was limited to a subsample of UK-only websites; and whilst not representative of European-wide sites, it does suggest that in the UK at least website quality can be improved. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

UK-5 Van Allen belt radiation exposure: A special study to determine the trapped particle intensities on the UK-5 satellite with spatial mapping of the ambient flux environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stassinopoulos, E. G.

1972-01-01

Vehicle encountered electron and proton fluxes were calculated for a set of nominal UK-5 trajectories with new computational methods and new electron environment models. Temporal variations in the electron data were considered and partially accounted for. Field strength calculations were performed with an extrapolated model on the basis of linear secular variation predictions. Tabular maps for selected electron and proton energies were constructed as functions of latitude and longitude for specified altitudes. Orbital flux integration results are presented in graphical and tabular form; they are analyzed, explained, and discussed.

Development of a parent version of the Manchester-Minneapolis quality of life survey for use by parents and carers of UK children: MMQL-UK (PF)

PubMed Central

Hutchings, Hayley A; Upton, Penney; Cheung, Wai-Yee; Maddocks, Alison; Eiser, Christine; Williams, John G; Russell, Ian T; Jackson, Sonia; Jenney, Meriel EM

2008-01-01

Background Although it is now widely endorsed that children should as far as possible rate their own health related quality of life (HRQL), there are situations where proxy information on child HRQL may be useful, especially where a child is too ill or young to provide their own HRQL assessment. There is limited availability of generic HRQL scales that have a parallel child and parent version and that are reliable, valid, brief, comprehensible and suitable for use in UK populations. The aims of this study were therefore to develop and validate a parent version of the anglicised Manchester-Minneapolis Quality of Life child form (MMQL-UK (CF)) and to determine the level of association between the child and parent versions of this form. Methods This study was undertaken concurrently with the anglicisation and validation of the MMQL, a measure of HRQL developed for use with children in North America. At that time, no parent version existed, so the MMQL form for children (MMQL-UK (CF)) was used as the basis for the development of the MMQL-UK parent form (PF). The sample included a control group of healthy children and their parents and five exemplar groups; children diagnosed with asthma, diabetes or inflammatory bowel disease and their parents, children in remission from cancer and their parents and children in public care and their carers. Consistency of the MMQL-UK (PF) components were assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Validation of the parent questionnaire was undertaken by comparing MMQL-UK (PF) component scores with comparable components on the proxy PedsQL™ quality of life scales, comparing MMQL-UK (PF) component scores between parents of healthy and chronic disease children and by comparison of component scores from children and their parents or carers. Reproducibility and responsiveness were assessed by retesting parents by follow-up questionnaires. Results A total of 874 children (completing MMQL-UK (CF)) and 572 parents or carers (completing MMQL-UK (PF)) took part in the study. The internal consistency of all the MMQL-UK (PF) components exceeding the accepted criterion of 0.70 and the construct validity was good with moderate correlations being evident between comparable components of the MMQL-UK (PF) and the proxy PedsQL™. Discriminant validity was demonstrated with significant differences being identified between parents of healthy children and those with chronic conditions. Intra-class correlations exceeded 0.65 for all MMQL-UK (PF) components demonstrating good reproducibility. Weak to moderate levels of responsiveness were demonstrated for all but social functioning. The MMQL-UK (PF) showed moderate parent-child correlation with the MMQL-UK (CF) for all components. The best correlations were seen for those components measuring the same construct (Pearson's r ranged from 0.31 to 0.61, p < 0.01 for equivalent components). Conclusion The MMQL-UK (PF) showed moderate to good correlations with the MMQL-UK (CF) component scores. The MMQL-UK (PF) will be of use when comparing child and parent/carer perception of the impact of a child's condition on their HRQL or where the child is too ill or young to provide their own report. PMID:18307771

Geomorphology and the Law of Unintended Consequences (Locke, 1691): Lessons from coastal weathering and erosion at Prawle (UK) and Kaikoura (NZ)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mottershead, Derek N.; Stephenson, Wayne J.; Hemmingsen, Maree A.

2016-07-01

The sites of two field experiments based on micro-erosion metering, one in UK the other in New Zealand, were independently revisited respectively 33 and 17 years after installation. At both sites natural weathering and erosion processes had been inadvertently interrupted by the experimental works, leading to the development of new microscale landforms. These are interpreted in the context of modifications of the controls on weathering processes, leading to enhanced understanding of the processes themselves. This has lessons for the geomorphologist in maintaining a long-term watching brief over former experimental sites, lest some unintended and potentially beneficial outcome has ensued. This theme is embraced by the Law of Unintended Consequences.

'Man up!' Discursive constructions of non-drinkers among UK undergraduates.

PubMed

Conroy, Dominic; de Visser, Richard

2013-11-01

This study adopted a discursive approach to explore how not drinking alcohol (non-drinking) is construed in relation to masculine identity among 12 undergraduate interviewees. Three prominent discourses were revealed. First, non-drinking was constructed as something strange requiring explanation. Second, contradictory discourses constructed non-drinking as, simultaneously, unsociable yet reflective of greater sociability. Third, non-drinking was constructed as something which has greater negative social consequences for men than for women. Opportunities for challenging traditional gender role expectations are considered.

Fitness, Fatness and Healthism Discourse: Girls Constructing 'Healthy' Identities in School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Sheryl Laura

2018-01-01

Drawing on longitudinal, qualitative research into girls' participation in physical activity and sport in the UK, this article will explore girls' embodied constructions of 'healthy' identities. My research with girls (aged 10-13) found that over the transition to secondary school, classed and gendered healthism discourses had come to powerfully…

Higher Education Change and Its Managers: Alternative Constructions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hotho, Sabine

2013-01-01

This article is based on a case study conducted in the context of UK higher education change. The article argues that "change" is a construct created in discourses of change policy and change management, and resulting in reductivist change management discourses which may impede rather than facilitate effective change management in the…

Changing Policy Discourses: Constructing Literacy Inequalities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Mary; Pitt, Kathy

2011-01-01

This paper explores the ways in which policy discourses have constructed rationales for addressing adult literacy over the last 50 years. In particular, we examine how policy positions the literacy learner as citizen within discourses of rights and equity. Taking the case of the UK, we compare two key documents produced at different historical…

UK-based, multisite, prospective cohort study of small bowel obstruction in acute surgical services: National Audit of Small Bowel Obstruction (NASBO) protocol

PubMed Central

Sayers, Adele E; Drake, Thomas M; Hollyman, Marianne; Bradburn, Mike; Hind, Daniel; Wilson, Timothy R; Fearnhead, Nicola S; Abercrombie, John

2017-01-01

Introduction Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a common indication for emergency laparotomy in the UK, which is associated with a 90-day mortality rate of 13%. There are currently no UK clinical guidelines for the management of this condition. The aim of this multicentre prospective cohort study is to describe the burden, variation in management and associated outcomes of SBO in the UK adult population. Methods and analysis UK hospitals providing emergency general surgery are eligible to participate. This study has three components: (1) a clinical preference questionnaire to be completed by consultants providing emergency general surgical care to assesses preferences in diagnostics and therapeutic approaches, including laparoscopy and nutritional interventions; (2) site resource profile questionnaire to indicate ease of access to diagnostic services, operating theatres, nutritional support teams and postoperative support including intensive care; (3) prospective cohort study of all cases of SBO admitted during an 8-week period at participating trusts. Data on diagnostics, operative and nutritional interventions, and in-hospital mortality and morbidity will be captured, followed by data validation. Ethics and dissemination This will be conducted as a national audit of practice in conjunction with trainee research collaboratives, with support from patient representatives, surgeons, anaesthetists, gastroenterologists and a clinical trials unit. Site-specific reports will be provided to each participant site as well as an overall report to be disseminated through specialist societies. Results will be published in a formal project report endorsed by stakeholders, and in peer-reviewed scientific reports. Key findings will be debated at a focused national meeting with a view to quality improvement initiatives. PMID:28982819

UK-based, multisite, prospective cohort study of small bowel obstruction in acute surgical services: National Audit of Small Bowel Obstruction (NASBO) protocol.

PubMed

Lee, Matthew J; Sayers, Adele E; Drake, Thomas M; Hollyman, Marianne; Bradburn, Mike; Hind, Daniel; Wilson, Timothy R; Fearnhead, Nicola S

2017-10-05

Small bowel obstruction (SBO) is a common indication for emergency laparotomy in the UK, which is associated with a 90-day mortality rate of 13%. There are currently no UK clinical guidelines for the management of this condition. The aim of this multicentre prospective cohort study is to describe the burden, variation in management and associated outcomes of SBO in the UK adult population. UK hospitals providing emergency general surgery are eligible to participate. This study has three components: (1) a clinical preference questionnaire to be completed by consultants providing emergency general surgical care to assesses preferences in diagnostics and therapeutic approaches, including laparoscopy and nutritional interventions; (2) site resource profile questionnaire to indicate ease of access to diagnostic services, operating theatres, nutritional support teams and postoperative support including intensive care; (3) prospective cohort study of all cases of SBO admitted during an 8-week period at participating trusts. Data on diagnostics, operative and nutritional interventions, and in-hospital mortality and morbidity will be captured, followed by data validation. This will be conducted as a national audit of practice in conjunction with trainee research collaboratives, with support from patient representatives, surgeons, anaesthetists, gastroenterologists and a clinical trials unit. Site-specific reports will be provided to each participant site as well as an overall report to be disseminated through specialist societies. Results will be published in a formal project report endorsed by stakeholders, and in peer-reviewed scientific reports. Key findings will be debated at a focused national meeting with a view to quality improvement initiatives. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Decommissioning of the Dragon High Temperature Reactor (HTR) Located at the Former United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) Research Site at Winfrith - 13180

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Anthony A.

2013-07-01

The Dragon Reactor was constructed at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Winfrith in Dorset through the late 1950's and into the early 1960's. It was a High Temperature Gas Cooled Reactor (HTR) with helium gas coolant and graphite moderation. It operated as a fuel testing and demonstration reactor at up to 20 MW (Thermal) from 1964 until 1975, when international funding for this project was terminated. The fuel was removed from the core in 1976 and the reactor was put into Safestore. To meet the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) objective to 'drive hazard reduction' [1] itmore » is necessary to decommission and remediate all the Research Sites Restoration Ltd (RSRL) facilities. This includes the Dragon Reactor where the activated core, pressure vessel and control rods and the contaminated primary circuit (including a {sup 90}Sr source) still remain. It is essential to remove these hazards at the appropriate time and return the area occupied by the reactor to a safe condition. (author)« less

Determination of beryllium concentrations in UK ambient air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goddard, Sharon L.; Brown, Richard J. C.; Ghatora, Baljit K.

2016-12-01

Air quality monitoring of ambient air is essential to minimise the exposure of the general population to toxic substances such as heavy metals, and thus the health risks associated with them. In the UK, ambient air is already monitored under the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network for a number of heavy metals, including nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) to ensure compliance with legislative limits. However, the UK Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) has highlighted a need to limit concentrations of beryllium (Be) in air, which is not currently monitored, because of its toxicity. The aim of this work was to analyse airborne particulate matter (PM) sampled onto filter papers from the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network for quantitative, trace level beryllium determination and compare the results to the guideline concentration specified by EPAQS. Samples were prepared by microwave acid digestion in a matrix of 2% sulphuric acid and 14% nitric acid, verified by the use of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs). The digested samples were then analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The filters from the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network were tested using this procedure and the average beryllium concentration across the network for the duration of the study period was 7.87 pg m-3. The highest site average concentration was 32.0 pg m-3 at Scunthorpe Low Santon, which is significantly lower than levels that are thought to cause harm. However the highest levels were observed at sites monitoring industrial point sources, indicating that beryllium is being used and emitted, albeit at very low levels, from these point sources. Comparison with other metals concentrations and data from the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory suggests that current emissions of beryllium may be significantly overestimated.

Governing the healthy male citizen: men, masculinity and popular health in Men's Health magazine.

PubMed

Crawshaw, Paul

2007-10-01

Recent commentators have noted the potential of newer neo-liberal discourses of health care to position responsibility for the management of well-being with the individual. Often promoted through the inculcation of risk avoidance and management, such discourses are played out in myriad settings, including the popular media. Magazines are one such media site in which diverse exhortations for the achievement of health, well-being and the perfectible body are made, and Bunton [1997. Popular health, advanced liberalism and good housekeeping magazine. In A. Petersen & Bunton R. (Eds.) Foucault, health and medicine (pp. 223-247). London: Routledge] has identified 'magazine medicine' as a significant manifestation of more dedifferentiated models of health care. Recent discussions have placed men's health high on research and policy agendas, with a concomitant interest in more popular realms. The UK magazine Men's Health (MH) is indicative of these trends, and represents a site at which discourses of men, health and masculinity are constructed. Typically reflecting neo-liberal models of health, here men are constructed as active and entrepreneurial citizens able to maintain their own health and well-being through the judicious management of risk in contexts appropriate to dominant discourses of hegemonic masculinity. Data which resulted from a critical discourse analysis of a 2-year sample (21 issues) of MH are considered and findings related to medicalisation, individualisation and risk discussed. It is suggested that magazine texts such as MH reflect newer individualised models of health care and neo-liberal strategies of health governance premised upon constructing a healthy male citizen, willing and able to take responsibility for their own well-being.

NUCLEAR NEW BUILD-INTEGRATING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN RADIATION PROTECTION.

PubMed

Haemmerli, Valentin; Bryant, Peter A; Cole, Peter

2017-04-01

Across the world, we are seeing a resurgence in Nuclear New Build. In the UK alone, plans are under way for the construction of 10 new reactors, using 4 different reactor designs all of which are to be provided by foreign vendors, and operated by 3 newly formed licensees within the UK. As these new licensees embark on the task of establishing themselves and progressing the design and build of these reactors, there are challenges faced in integrating the Radiation Protection Requirements and Culture from the various Foreign Investors and Vendors into the UK 'Context'. The following paper identifies the origin of the Radiation Protection Requirements within the UK and foreign investor/vendor countries, in an attempt to integrate them into the UK licensing and approval process. Thus, allowing due credit to be taken for the regulatory regime of the foreign countries where these reactors originate. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Radon mitigation in domestic properties and its health implications--a comparison between during-construction and post-construction radon reduction.

PubMed

Groves-Kirkby, C J; Denman, A R; Phillips, P S; Crockett, R G M; Woolridge, A C; Tornberg, R

2006-05-01

Although United Kingdom (UK) Building Regulations applicable to houses constructed since 1992 in Radon Affected Areas address the health issues arising from the presence of radon in domestic properties and specify the installation of radon-mitigation measures during construction, no legislative requirement currently exists for monitoring the effectiveness of such remediation once construction is completed and the houses are occupied. To assess the relative effectiveness of During-Construction radon reduction and Post-Construction remediation, radon concentration data from houses constructed before and after 1992 in Northamptonshire, UK, a designated Radon Affected Area, was analysed. Post-Construction remediation of 73 pre-1992 houses using conventional fan-assisted sump technology proved to be extremely effective, with radon concentrations reduced to the Action Level, or below, in all cases. Of 64 houses constructed since 1992 in a well-defined geographical area, and known to have had radon-barrier membranes installed during construction, 11% exhibited radon concentrations in excess of the Action Level. This compares with the estimated average for all houses in the same area of 17%, suggesting that, in some 60% of the houses surveyed, installation of a membrane has not resulted in reduction of mean annual radon concentrations to below the Action Level. Detailed comparison of the two data sets reveals marked differences in the degree of mitigation achieved by remediation. There is therefore an ongoing need for research to resolve definitively the issue of radon mitigation and to define truly effective anti-radon measures, readily installed in domestic properties at the time of construction. It is therefore recommended that mandatory testing be introduced for all new houses in Radon Affected Areas.

46 CFR 154.1440 - Antidotes.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... SELF-PROPELLED VESSELS CARRYING BULK LIQUEFIED GASES Design, Construction and Equipment Safety... Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods, printed by IMO, London, U.K. for the cargoes being...

Constructing Knowledge: The Case of Leisure Management in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pitchford, Andy; Bacon, William

2005-01-01

Models of curricula development in higher education pay scant attention to the role of self-interested actors in the construction of knowledge. Rather, it is assumed that curricula develop on the basis of fission within disciplines, fusion between fields, the exertion of pressure by the state or other stakeholders, or the development of knowledge…

Beyond Cultural Learning and Preserving Psychological Well-Being: Chinese International Students' Constructions of Intercultural Adjustment from an Emotion Management Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zheng, Weijia

2017-01-01

This paper reports an ethnographic study of a group of Chinese international students' emotion-management experiences in intercultural adjustment in a UK university context. Drawing on a social constructionist paradigm, it investigates students' constructions of their emotion-management strategies, and the effects of social interactions on the…

Insights into the abundance and diversity of abyssal megafauna in a polymetallic-nodule region in the eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone

PubMed Central

Amon, Diva J.; Ziegler, Amanda F.; Dahlgren, Thomas G.; Glover, Adrian G.; Goineau, Aurélie; Gooday, Andrew J.; Wiklund, Helena; Smith, Craig R.

2016-01-01

There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules in the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the Pacific. Nonetheless, benthic communities in this region remain poorly known. The ABYSSLINE Project is conducting benthic biological baseline surveys for the UK Seabed Resources Ltd. exploration contract area (UK-1) in the CCZ. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle, we surveyed megafauna at four sites within a 900 km2 stratum in the UK-1 contract area, and at a site ~250 km east of the UK-1 area, allowing us to make the first estimates of abundance and diversity. We distinguished 170 morphotypes within the UK-1 contract area but species-richness estimators suggest this could be as high as 229. Megafaunal abundance averaged 1.48 ind. m−2. Seven of 12 collected metazoan species were new to science, and four belonged to new genera. Approximately half of the morphotypes occurred only on polymetallic nodules. There were weak, but statistically significant, positive correlations between megafaunal and nodule abundance. Eastern-CCZ megafaunal diversity is high relative to two abyssal datasets from other regions, however comparisons with CCZ and DISCOL datasets are problematic given the lack of standardised methods and taxonomy. We postulate that CCZ megafaunal diversity is driven in part by habitat heterogeneity. PMID:27470484

Characterisation and source attribution of the semi-volatile organic content of atmospheric particles and associated vapour phase in Birmingham, UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrad, Stuart; Hassoun, Suzanne; Callén Romero, María. S.; Harrison, Roy M.

Concentrations of n-alkanes, petroleum biomarkers such as hopanes and steranes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), dicarboxylic acids, and selected oxygenated PAH were separately determined in total suspended particulate matter and associated vapour phase in ambient air in Birmingham, UK. Samples were taken simultaneously at two locations on 24 separate occasions every 1-2 weeks between August 1999 and August 2000. Site A was 10 m from a busy road, 800 m from site B that was located within the "green space" of the University of Birmingham campus. Despite some differences in concentrations of some compounds, data from this study is in line with that reported in London, UK and in California. Differences between Sites A and B in both concentrations and carbon preference indices are consistent with greater traffic inputs at Site A, with some evidence of an appreciable biogenic input of n-alkanols and n-alkanes at the less-traffic influenced and more vegetated Site B. The biogenic input at Site B appears greater in the spring and summer months and suggests that biogenic emissions are appreciable even in British urban areas. Secondary formation mechanisms for some compounds including dicarboxylic acids and oxygenated PAH like fluoren-9-one are indicated by the lack of any significant intersite difference in concentrations. Intersite differences in concentrations provide new evidence that while petroleum biomarkers arise predominantly from local traffic, regional as well as local sources play an important rôle for the higher molecular weight PAH which exist predominantly in the particle phase.

Gendering attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a discursive analysis of UK newspaper stories.

PubMed

Horton-Salway, Mary

2013-08-01

Discursive psychology is used to study the gendering of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in UK national newspapers in the period of 2009-2011. The analysis examines how gendering is embedded in causal attributions and identity constructions. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is portrayed as a predominantly male phenomenon with representations of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder being gendered through extreme stories about victims, villains or heroes that depict boys and men as marginalised, exceptional or dangerous. There is also a focus on mothers as the spokespersons and caretakers for parenting and family health while fathers are rendered more invisible. This contributes to our understanding of how attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is constructed in the media using a range of gendered representations that draw on cultural stereotypes familiar in Western societies.

Strategies to enhance waste minimization and energy conservation within organizations: a case study from the UK construction sector.

PubMed

Jones, Jo; Jackson, Janet; Tudor, Terry; Bates, Margaret

2012-09-01

Strategies for enhancing environmental management are a key focus for the government in the UK. Using a manufacturing company from the construction sector as a case study, this paper evaluates selected interventionist techniques, including environmental teams, awareness raising and staff training to improve environmental performance. The study employed a range of methods including questionnaire surveys and audits of energy consumption and generation of waste to examine the outcomes of the selected techniques. The results suggest that initially environmental management was not a focus for either the employees or the company. However, as a result of employing the techniques, the company was able to reduce energy consumption, increase recycling rates and achieve costs savings in excess of £132,000.

Fracking in the UK press: threat dynamics in an unfolding debate.

PubMed

Jaspal, Rusi; Nerlich, Brigitte

2014-04-01

Shale gas is a novel source of fossil fuel which is extracted by induced hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking". This article examines the socio-political dimension of fracking as manifested in the UK press at three key temporal points in the debate on the practice. Three newspaper corpora were analysed qualitatively using Thematic Analysis and Social Representations Theory. Three overarching themes are discussed: "April-May 2011: from Optimism to Scepticism"; "November 2011: (De-) Constructing and Re-Constructing Risk and Danger"; "April 2012: consolidating Social Representations of Fracking". In this article, we examine the emergence of and inter-relations between competing social representations, discuss the dynamics of threat positioning and show how threat can be re-construed in order to serve particular socio-political ends in the debate on fracking.

A note on the proposed UK VHF radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, A. J.

1984-01-01

The proposal for the establishment of a VHF radar in the UK is still under active consideration, although for financial reasons no start has yet been made on an installation. Several changes have been made to the scheme as described and these are listed. (1) The initial installation will be suitable for stratosphere-troposphere (ST) operation only using 64 antennas and 2 power modules. (2) An existing site is being examined on the west coast of Wales, which because it is a former Loran ground station is provided with the buildings, power and communications facilities to enable a radar to be assembled much more quickly than a green field site would allow. Because the site is not within a mountain valley as originally intended, careful early attention will have to be given to the possible problems of local interference and sea-surface returns. (3) Preliminary discussions with the UK licensing authorities suggest that a frequency of 47 MHz is more likely than 50 MHz. (4) Minor changes are planned in the antenna array connection scheme of the 400-element mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) array to allow more precise sidelobe suppression to be achieved in the receive mode.

Re-Writing the Construction History of Boughton House (northamptonshire, Uk) with the Help of DOCU-TOOLS®

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schuster, J. C.

2017-08-01

The tablet-based software docu-tools digitize the documentation of buildings, simplifies construction and facility management and the data analysis in building and construction-history research. As a plan-based software, `pins' can be set to record data (images, audio, text etc.), each data point containing a time and date stamp. Once a pin is set and information recorded, it can never be deleted from the system, creating clear contentious-free documentation. Reports to any/all data recorded can immediately be generated through various templates in order to share, document, analyze and archive the information gathered. The software both digitizes building condition assessment, as well as simplifies the fully documented management and solving of problems and monitoring of a building. Used both in the construction industry and for documenting and analyzing historic buildings, docu-tools is a versatile and flexible tool that has become integral to my work as a building historian working on the conservation and curating of the historic built environment in Europe. I used the software at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, UK, during a one-year research project into the construction history of the building. The details of how docu-tools was used during this project will be discussed in this paper.

Project SEARCH UK - Evaluating Its Employment Outcomes.

PubMed

Kaehne, Axel

2016-11-01

The study reports the findings of an evaluation of Project SEARCH UK. The programme develops internships for young people with intellectual disabilities who are about to leave school or college. The aim of the evaluation was to investigate at what rate Project SEARCH provided employment opportunities to participants. The evaluation obtained data from all sites operational in the UK at the time of evaluation (n = 17) and analysed employment outcomes. Data were available for 315 young people (n = 315) in the programme and pay and other employment related data were available for a subsample. The results of the analysis suggest that Project SEARCH achieves on average employment rates of around 50 per cent. Project SEARCH UK represents a valuable addition to the supported employment provision in the UK. Its unique model should inform discussions around best practice in supported employment. Implications for other supported employment programmes are discussed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of the footprint and carrying capacity of oil and gas well sites: the implications for limiting hydrocarbon resources.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clancy, Sarah; Worrall, Fred; Davies, Richard; Gluyas, Jon

2017-04-01

The rapid growth of shale gas developments within the United States and the possibility of developments within Europe have raised concerns about the impact and potential environmental cost. In this study we estimated the likely physical footprint of well pads if shale gas or oil developments were to go forward in Europe and used these estimates to understand the impact upon existing infrastructure; the carrying capacity of the environment and how this may limit the proportion of resources that are accessible estimates. Conventional well pads in UK, The Netherlands and Poland were examined. For the existing UK conventional well pads the current minimum setback from a building for a currently producing well was measured. To assess the carrying capacity of the land surface, well pads, of the average well pad footprint, with recommended setbacks, were randomly placed into the licensed blocks covering the Bowland Shale, UK, and the extent to which they would interact or disrupt existing infrastructure assessed. The average conventional well site footprints were: 10800 m2 (1.08 ha) in the UK; 44600 m2 (4.46 ha) in The Netherlands; and 3000 m2 (0.30 ha) in Poland. The average area per well was: 541 m^2/well (0.05 ha/well) for the UK; 2870 m^2/well (0.29 ha/well) for Poland; and 6370 m^2/well (0.64 ha/well) for The Netherlands. Average access road lengths were: 230 m in the UK; 250 m in Poland; and 310 m in The Netherlands. The minimum setback from a building for a currently producing well was 21 m and 46 m from a house, though the mean setback was 329 and 447 m, respectively. When the surface and sub-surface footprints were considered our approach found that the carrying capacity of the sites and the restrictions from infrastructure over the currently licensed blocks covering the Bowland Shale (UK) was between 5 and 42%, with a mean of 26%. Using Cuadrilla's predicted recoverable reserves estimate of 8.5 x 10^11 m3 for the Bowland Basin, the carrying capacity of the surface and the likely maximum accessible gas reserves would be limited by the surface carrying capacity to 2.21 x 10^11 m^3.

Implications for the UK of solar-power satellites /s.p.s/ as an energy source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shelton, R. M.

1980-01-01

The solar power satellite concept which would make the sun's radiation available on earth as a source of energy, is discussed. Attention is given to the concept currently under evaluation in the USA, and also in Europe, though to a lesser extent. The advantages and problems associated with its adoption by the UK as a major source of electrical energy are discussed. The discussion covers topics such as sizing, reference system, and construction, costs, and problem areas.

The INSPIRE Project: Using the "Unknown" to Co-Construct a Training Course on Humanistic Counselling in Afghanistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berdondini, Lucia; Grieve, Sandra; Kaveh, Ali

2014-01-01

This article details a collaborative project between the University of Strathclyde (UK) and the University of Herat (Afghanistan). The aim was to co-construct a model of training, based on humanistic approaches, in order to enhance counselling services in Afghanistan and to establish counselling training at the University of Herat. Two groups of…

Applicability of Non-Modular Assessment in Construction Management and Allied Undergraduate Programmes: Perspective of the Academics Involved

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wedawatta, Gayan

2018-01-01

Undergraduate programmes on construction management and other closely related built environment disciplines are currently taught and assessed on a modular basis. This is the case in the UK and in many other countries globally. However, it can be argued that professionally oriented programmes like these are better assessed on a non-modular basis,…

Constructions of Mathematicians in Popular Culture and Learners' Narratives: A Study of Mathematical and Non-Mathematical Subjectivities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moreau, Marie-Pierre; Mendick, Heather; Epstein, Debbie

2010-01-01

In this paper, based on a project funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council considering how people position themselves in relation to popular representations of mathematics and mathematicians, we explore constructions of mathematicians in popular culture and the ways learners make meanings from these. Drawing on an analysis of popular…

Issues in cross-cultural validity: example from the adaptation, reliability, and validity testing of a Turkish version of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire.

PubMed

Küçükdeveci, Ayse A; Sahin, Hülya; Ataman, Sebnem; Griffiths, Bridget; Tennant, Alan

2004-02-15

Guidelines have been established for cross-cultural adaptation of outcome measures. However, invariance across cultures must also be demonstrated through analysis of Differential Item Functioning (DIF). This is tested in the context of a Turkish adaptation of the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Internal construct validity of the adapted HAQ is assessed by Rasch analysis; reliability, by internal consistency and the intraclass correlation coefficient; external construct validity, by association with impairments and American College of Rheumatology functional stages. Cross-cultural validity is tested through DIF by comparison with data from the UK version of the HAQ. The adapted version of the HAQ demonstrated good internal construct validity through fit of the data to the Rasch model (mean item fit 0.205; SD 0.998). Reliability was excellent (alpha = 0.97) and external construct validity was confirmed by expected associations. DIF for culture was found in only 1 item. Cross-cultural validity was found to be sufficient for use in international studies between the UK and Turkey. Future adaptation of instruments should include analysis of DIF at the field testing stage in the adaptation process.

The OptIPuter microscopy demonstrator: enabling science through a transatlantic lightpath

PubMed Central

Ellisman, M.; Hutton, T.; Kirkland, A.; Lin, A.; Lin, C.; Molina, T.; Peltier, S.; Singh, R.; Tang, K.; Trefethen, A.E.; Wallom, D.C.H.; Xiong, X.

2009-01-01

The OptIPuter microscopy demonstrator project has been designed to enable concurrent and remote usage of world-class electron microscopes located in Oxford and San Diego. The project has constructed a network consisting of microscopes and computational and data resources that are all connected by a dedicated network infrastructure using the UK Lightpath and US Starlight systems. Key science drivers include examples from both materials and biological science. The resulting system is now a permanent link between the Oxford and San Diego microscopy centres. This will form the basis of further projects between the sites and expansion of the types of systems that can be remotely controlled, including optical, as well as electron, microscopy. Other improvements will include the updating of the Microsoft cluster software to the high performance computing (HPC) server 2008, which includes the HPC basic profile implementation that will enable the development of interoperable clients. PMID:19487201

The OptIPuter microscopy demonstrator: enabling science through a transatlantic lightpath.

PubMed

Ellisman, M; Hutton, T; Kirkland, A; Lin, A; Lin, C; Molina, T; Peltier, S; Singh, R; Tang, K; Trefethen, A E; Wallom, D C H; Xiong, X

2009-07-13

The OptIPuter microscopy demonstrator project has been designed to enable concurrent and remote usage of world-class electron microscopes located in Oxford and San Diego. The project has constructed a network consisting of microscopes and computational and data resources that are all connected by a dedicated network infrastructure using the UK Lightpath and US Starlight systems. Key science drivers include examples from both materials and biological science. The resulting system is now a permanent link between the Oxford and San Diego microscopy centres. This will form the basis of further projects between the sites and expansion of the types of systems that can be remotely controlled, including optical, as well as electron, microscopy. Other improvements will include the updating of the Microsoft cluster software to the high performance computing (HPC) server 2008, which includes the HPC basic profile implementation that will enable the development of interoperable clients.

Design and construction of coal/biomass to liquids (CBTL) process development unit (PDU) at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Placido, Andrew; Liu, Kunlei; Challman, Don

This report describes a first phase of a project to design, construct and commission an integrated coal/biomass-to-liquids facility at a capacity of 1 bbl. /day at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER) – specifically for construction of the building and upstream process units for feed handling, gasification, and gas cleaning, conditioning and compression. The deliverables from the operation of this pilot plant [when fully equipped with the downstream process units] will be firstly the liquid FT products and finished fuels which are of interest to UK-CAER’s academic, government and industrial research partners. The facility will producemore » research quantities of FT liquids and finished fuels for subsequent Fuel Quality Testing, Performance and Acceptability. Moreover, the facility is expected to be employed for a range of research and investigations related to: Feed Preparation, Characteristics and Quality; Coal and Biomass Gasification; Gas Clean-up/ Conditioning; Gas Conversion by FT Synthesis; Product Work-up and Refining; Systems Analysis and Integration; and Scale-up and Demonstration. Environmental Considerations - particularly how to manage and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from CBTL facilities and from use of the fuels - will be a primary research objectives. Such a facility has required significant lead time for environmental review, architectural/building construction, and EPC services. UK, with DOE support, has advanced the facility in several important ways. These include: a formal EA/FONSI, and permits and approvals; construction of a building; selection of a range of technologies and vendors; and completion of the upstream process units. The results of this project are the FEED and detailed engineering studies, the alternate configurations and the as-built plant - its equipment and capabilities for future research and demonstration and its adaptability for re-purposing to meet other needs. These are described in some detail in this report, along with lessons learned.« less

A case study of machinery maintenance protocols and procedures within the UK utilities sector.

PubMed

Edwards, David J; Love, Peter E D

2016-08-01

Failure to conduct periodic fixed-time-to (or scheduled) maintenance on off-highway plant and equipment represents a significant health and safety hazard and major litigation risk for utility contractors completing service excavation and reinstatement works on public highways. Mini-excavators are a ubiquitous mobile plant item used for such tasks and have recently been responsible for several major injuries and fatalities involving workers and members of the public in the United Kingdom (UK). The research utilises the method of triangulation to examine the maintenance practices of utility contractors in the UK. Findings from the research reveal that a combination of prevailing market forces and internal 'company' pressures have inadvertently removed knowledgeable and trained operators, site foremen and managerial supervisors from hands-on maintenance inspections. Rather, 'virtual' maintenance protocols and procedures are adopted by head office but rarely fully implemented on-site. The research concludes with pragmatic recommendations and direction for future research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The UK Ion Thruster System and a Proposed Future Programme.

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-05-01

design and constructional features 13 1.2.3 The hollow cathode assembly 14 1.2.4 Isolators 16 1.2.5 Vaporisers 17 1.2.6 The neutraliser system 19 1.2.7... constructed and integrated with the thrus ter by MSDS Ltd)3, and is now undergoing modifications in light of the more recent experience gained in operating...measurements of virtuall y all the materials emitted by the thruster. The latter requirement has necessitated the construction of a complex system of probes

The rationale for simple approaches for sustainability assessment and management in contaminated land practice.

PubMed

Bardos, R Paul; Bone, Brian D; Boyle, Richard; Evans, Frank; Harries, Nicola D; Howard, Trevor; Smith, Jonathan W N

2016-09-01

The scale of land-contamination problems, and of the responses to them, makes achieving sustainability in contaminated land remediation an important objective. The Sustainable Remediation Forum in the UK (SuRF-UK) was established in 2007 to support more sustainable remediation practice in the UK. The current international interest in 'sustainable remediation' has achieved a fairly rapid consensus on concepts, descriptions and definitions for sustainable remediation, which are now being incorporated into an ISO standard. However the sustainability assessment methods being used remain diverse with a range of (mainly) semi-quantitative and quantitative approaches and tools developed, or in development. Sustainability assessment is site specific and subjective. It depends on the inclusion of a wide range of considerations across different stakeholder perspectives. Taking a tiered approach to sustainability assessment offers important advantages, starting from a qualitative assessment and moving through to semi-quantitative and quantitative assessments on an 'as required' basis only. It is also clear that there are a number of 'easy wins' that could improve performance against sustainability criteria right across the site management process. SuRF-UK has provided a checklist of 'sustainable management practices' that describes some of these. This paper provides the rationale for, and an outline of, and recently published SuRF-UK guidance on preparing for and framing sustainability assessments; carrying out qualitative sustainability assessment; and simple good management practices to improve sustainability across contaminated land management activities. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Five-year clinical evaluation of zirconia-based bridges in patients in UK general dental practices.

PubMed

Burke, F J T; Crisp, R J; Cowan, A J; Lamb, J; Thompson, O; Tulloch, N

2013-11-01

This study reported the results at 5 years of fixed-fixed all-ceramic bridges, constructed in a yttria oxide stabilized tetragonal zirconium oxide polycrystal (Y-TZP) substructure, placed in adult patients in UK general dental practices. Four UK general dental practitioners recruited patients who required fixed bridgework and, after obtaining informed written consent, appropriate clinical and radiographic assessments were completed. The teeth were prepared and bridges constructed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Each bridge was reviewed annually within 3 months of the anniversary of its placement by a calibrated examiner, together with the clinician who had placed the restoration, using modified USPHS criteria. Of the 41 bridges originally placed, 33 bridges were examined at 5 years. All Y-TZP frameworks were intact and no bridge retainers had debonded. Eight chipping fractures in the veneering ceramic were noted over the 5-year period. In five cases the patients were unaware of these and these cases were polished. Of the remaining three cases, in one a repair was attempted but was unsuccessful, but the bridge remained in satisfactory service. However, in the case involving a chipping fracture of the mesial-incisal angle of a central incisor, it was considered that replacement of the bridge was necessary. 97% (n=32) of the 33 Lava Y-TZP fixed-fixed bridges, evaluated in patients attending UK general dental practices, were found to be performing satisfactorily. The use of Y-TZP frameworks holds promise. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Can the benefits of physical seabed restoration justify the costs? An assessment of a disused aggregate extraction site off the Thames Estuary, UK.

PubMed

Cooper, Keith; Burdon, Daryl; Atkins, Jonathan P; Weiss, Laura; Somerfield, Paul; Elliott, Michael; Turner, Kerry; Ware, Suzanne; Vivian, Chris

2013-10-15

Physical and biological seabed impacts can persist long after the cessation of marine aggregate dredging. Whilst small-scale experimental studies have shown that it may be possible to mitigate such impacts, it is unclear whether the costs of restoration are justified on an industrial scale. Here we explore this question using a case study off the Thames Estuary, UK. By understanding the nature and scale of persistent impacts, we identify possible techniques to restore the physical properties of the seabed, and the costs and the likelihood of success. An analysis of the ecosystem services and goods/benefits produced by the site is used to determine whether intervention is justified. Whilst a comparison of costs and benefits at this site suggests restoration would not be warranted, the analysis is site-specific. We emphasise the need to better define what is, and is not, an acceptable seabed condition post-dredging. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Repeated detection of European bat lyssavirus type 2 in dead bats found at a single roost site in the UK.

PubMed

Banyard, Ashley C; Johnson, N; Voller, K; Hicks, D; Nunez, A; Hartley, M; Fooks, A R

2009-01-01

In August 2007, European bat lyssavirus type 2 (EBLV-2) was isolated from a Daubenton's bat found at Stokesay Castle. In September 2008, another bat from the same vicinity of Stokesay Castle also tested positive for EBLV-2. This is the first occurrence of repeated detection of EBLV-2 from a single site. Here, we report the detection of low levels of viral RNA in various bat organs by qRT-PCR and detection of viral antigen by immunohistochemistry. We also report sequence data from both cases and compare data with those derived from other EBLV-2 isolations in the UK.

The UK wave energy resource

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, A. J. B.

1980-10-01

Previous estimates of wave energy around the United Kingdom have been made by extrapolating measurements from a few sites to the whole UK seaboard. Here directional wave spectra are used from a numerical wave model developed by the Meteorological Office to make estimates which are verified where possible by observation. It is concluded that around 30 GW of power is available for capture by wave energy converters: when estimates of converter spacing and efficiency are considered an average of about 7 GW of electrical power could be supplied. This resource estimate is smaller than previous ones, though consistent with them when factors such as the directional properties of waves and the likelihood that converters will be sited near coasts are included.

The adoption of sustainable remediation behaviour in the US and UK: a cross country comparison and determinant analysis.

PubMed

Hou, Deyi; Al-Tabbaa, Abir; Guthrie, Peter

2014-08-15

The sustainable remediation concept, aimed at maximizing the net environmental, social, and economic benefits in contaminated site remediation, is being increasingly recognized by industry, governments, and academia. However, there is limited understanding of actual sustainable behaviour being adopted and the determinants of such sustainable behaviour. The present study identified 27 sustainable practices in remediation. An online questionnaire survey was used to rank and compare them in the US (n=112) and the UK (n=54). The study also rated ten promoting factors, nine barriers, and 17 types of stakeholders' influences. Subsequently, factor analysis and general linear models were used to determine the effects of internal characteristics (i.e. country, organizational characteristics, professional role, personal experience and belief) and external forces (i.e. promoting factors, barriers, and stakeholder influences). It was found that US and UK practitioners adopted many sustainable practices to similar extents. Both US and UK practitioners perceived the most effectively adopted sustainable practices to be reducing the risk to site workers, protecting groundwater and surface water, and reducing the risk to the local community. Comparing the two countries, we found that the US adopted innovative in-situ remediation more effectively; while the UK adopted reuse, recycling, and minimizing material usage more effectively. As for the overall determinants of sustainable remediation, the country of origin was found not to be a significant determinant. Instead, organizational policy was found to be the most important internal characteristic. It had a significant positive effect on reducing distant environmental impact, sustainable resource usage, and reducing remediation cost and time (p<0.01). Customer competitive pressure was found to be the most extensively significant external force. In comparison, perceived stakeholder influence, especially that of primary stakeholders (site owner, regulator, and primary consultant), did not appear to have as extensive a correlation with the adoption of sustainability as one would expect. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

40 CFR 62.14356 - Compliance schedules and increments of progress.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... POLLUTANTS Federal Plan Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills That Commenced Construction Prior to...) to initiate on-site construction or initiate on-site installation of emission collection and/or control equipment. (3) Initiate on-site construction: Initiate on-site construction or initiate on-site...

40 CFR 62.14356 - Compliance schedules and increments of progress.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... POLLUTANTS Federal Plan Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills That Commenced Construction Prior to...) to initiate on-site construction or initiate on-site installation of emission collection and/or control equipment. (3) Initiate on-site construction: Initiate on-site construction or initiate on-site...

The Installation of Satellite Modems on SEIS-UK Supported Remote Seismic Deployments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horleston, A. C.; Brisbourne, A.; Hawthorn, D.

2006-12-01

SEIS-UK, as the UK's NERC funded national seismic equipment facility, is frequently involved in large, often remote, temporary seismic networks (running for up to 2 years). Up till now all these deployments have been managed solely by on-site maintenance but now SEIS-UK is investing in a number of satellite modems. The Michrosat 2400 OEM Modems, provided by Wireless Innovations Ltd, will be integrated within Guralp DCM data-logger units and will be used to provide regular state-of-health reports from remote networks. They will also provide the user the facility to communicate with the deployed systems, apply configuration changes and request system re-boots. This should lead to less instrument down-time and allow for more focussed site visits and thus, hopefully, reduce the cost (and servicing time) of remote installations. The Michrosat Modems are relatively low-powered and draw a maximum current of 2.5A (at 4.4v) for a few microseconds when initialising a call, dropping to bursts of approximately 1A when transmitting. This makes them ideally suited to temporary deployments relying on solar charged battery power. We will present examples of the configuration and typical deployment of the modems and the types of data transmitted.

Review of Offshore Wind Farm Impact Monitoring and Mitigation with Regard to Marine Mammals.

PubMed

Verfuss, Ursula K; Sparling, Carol E; Arnot, Charlie; Judd, Adrian; Coyle, Michael

2016-01-01

Monitoring and mitigation reports from 19 UK and 9 other European Union (EU) offshore wind farm (OWF) developments were reviewed, providing a synthesis of the evidence associated with the observed environmental impact on marine mammals. UK licensing conditions were largely concerned with mitigation measures reducing the risk of physical and auditory injury from pile driving. At the other EU sites, impact monitoring was conducted along with mitigation measures. Noise-mitigation measures were developed and tested in UK and German waters in German government-financed projects. We highlight some of the review's findings and lessons learned with regard to noise impact on marine mammals.

Mass mortalities in bivalve populations: A review of the edible cockle Cerastoderma edule (L.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burdon, Daryl; Callaway, Ruth; Elliott, Michael; Smith, Tim; Wither, Andrew

2014-10-01

Mass mortalities in bivalve populations have long been of particular concern, especially when the species supports a commercial fishery or is of conservation interest. Here we consider the evidence of mass mortalities of the edible cockle, Cerastoderma edule (L.). Through the construction of a conceptual model eight potential factors (or groups of factors) which may cause mass mortalities are identified and reviewed. These include: food limitation; density; oxygen depletion and organic loadings; temperature and salinity; parasites, pathogens and commensals; toxicants and other persistent pollutants; predation, and changes in sediment, suspended solids, topography and bathymetry. The interplay between factors in recognized and discussed based on evidence mainly from the published literature relating to temperate edible cockle beds. Anecdotal evidence is also reported from a structured survey of site-specific evidence provided by fisheries managers in England and Wales. Case studies from the UK and Europe indicate that there is often no single, clear generic cause of mass mortalities in cockle populations. The importance of linked site-specific scientific investigations and laboratory-based experiments to fill the gaps in our current understanding of mass mortalities in bivalve species is highlighted as necessary to take account of both local extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

Genetic and serological diversity of Flavobacterium psychrophilum isolates from salmonids in United Kingdom.

PubMed

Ngo, Thao P H; Bartie, Kerry L; Thompson, Kim D; Verner-Jeffreys, David W; Hoare, Rowena; Adams, Alexandra

2017-03-01

Flavobacterium psychrophilum is one of the most important bacterial pathogens affecting cultured rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and is increasingly causing problems in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) hatcheries. Little is known about the heterogeneity of F. psychrophilum isolates on UK salmonid farms. A total of 315 F. psychrophilum isolates, 293 of which were collected from 27 sites within the UK, were characterised using four genotyping methods and a serotyping scheme. A high strain diversity was identified among the isolates with 54 pulsotypes, ten (GTG) 5 -PCR types, two 16S rRNA allele lineages, seven plasmid profiles and three serotypes. Seven PFGE groups and 27 singletons were formed at a band similarity of 80%. PFGE group P (n=75) was found to be numerically predominant in eight sites within the UK. Two major PFGE clusters and 13 outliers were found at the band similarity of 40%. The predominant profileobserved within the F. psychrophilum isolates examined was PFGE cluster II - (GTG) 5 -PCR type r1-16S rRNA lineage II - serotype Th (70/156 isolates examined, 45%). Co-existence of genetically and serologically heterogeneous isolates within each farm was detected, confounding the ability to control RTFS outbreaks. The occurrence over time (up to 11 years) of F. psychrophilum pulsotypes in three representative sites (Scot I, Scot III and Scot V) within Scotland was examined, potentially providing important epidemiological data for farm management and the development of site-specific vaccines. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Understanding constructive feedback: a commitment between teachers and students for academic and professional development.

PubMed

Hamid, Yasir; Mahmood, Sajid

2010-03-01

This review highlights the need in the Pakistani medical education system for teachers and students to be able to: define constructive feedback; provide constructive feedback; identify standards for constructive feedback; identify a suitable model for the provision of constructive feedback and evaluate the use of constructive feedback. For the purpose of literature review we had defined the key word glossary as: feedback, constructive feedback, teaching constructive feedback, models for feedback, models for constructive feedback and giving and receiving feedback. The data bases for the search include: Medline (EBSCO), Web of Knowledge, SCOPUS, TRIP, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, U.K. Pubmed Central, ZETOC, University of Dundee Library catalogue, SCIRUS (Elsevier) and Google Scholar. This article states that the Pakistani medical schools do not reflect on or use the benefits of the constructive feedback process. The discussion about constructive feedback suggests that in the context of Pakistan, constructive feedback will facilitate the teaching and learning activities.

Modelling the long-range transport of secondary PM 10 to the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malcolm, A. L.; Derwent, R. G.; Maryon, R. H.

The fine fraction of airborne particulate matter (PM 10) is known to be harmful to human health. In order to establish how current air quality standards can best be met now and in the future, it is necessary to understand the cause of PM 10 episodes. The UK Met Office's dispersion model, NAME, has been used to model hourly concentrations of sulphate aerosol for 1996 at a number of UK locations. The model output has been compared with measured values of PM 10 or sulphate aerosol at these sites and used to provide attribution information. In particular two large PM 10 episodes in March and July 1996 have been studied. The March episode has been shown to be the result of imported pollution from outside the UK, whereas the July case was dominated by UK emissions. This work highlights the need to consider trans-boundary pollution when setting air quality standards and when making policy decisions on emissions.

Investments in cancer research awarded to UK institutions and the global burden of cancer 2000–2013: a systematic analysis

PubMed Central

Maruthappu, Mahiben; Head, Michael G; Zhou, Charlie D; Gilbert, Barnabas J; El-Harasis, Majd A; Raine, Rosalind; Fitchett, Joseph R; Atun, Rifat

2017-01-01

Objectives To systematically categorise cancer research investment awarded to United Kingdom (UK) institutions in the period 2000–2013 and to estimate research investment relative to disease burden as measured by mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). Design Systematic analysis of all open-access data. Setting and participants Public and philanthropic funding to all UK cancer research institutions, 2000–2013. Main outcome measures Number and financial value of cancer research investments reported in 2013 UK pounds (UK£). Mortality, DALYs and YLDs data were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease Study. A compound metric was adapted to estimate research investment relative to disease burden as measured by mortality, DALYs and YLDs. Results We identified 4299 funded studies with a total research investment of £2.4 billion. The highest fundings by anatomical sites were haematological, breast, prostate, colorectal and ovarian cancers. Relative to disease burden as determined by a compound metric combining mortality, DALYs and YLDs, gender-specific cancers were found to be highest funded—the five sites that received the most funding were prostate, ovarian, breast, mesothelioma and testicular cancer; the least well-funded sites were liver, thyroid, lung, upper gastrointestinal (GI) and bladder. Preclinical science accounted for 66.2% of award numbers and 62.2% of all funding. The top five areas of primary research focus by funding were pathogenesis, drug therapy, diagnostic, screening and monitoring, women's health and immunology. The largest individual funder was the Medical Research Council. In combination, the five lowest funded site-specific cancers relative to disease burden account for 47.9%, 44.3% and 20.4% of worldwide cancer mortality, DALYs and YLDs. Conclusions Research funding for cancer is not allocated according to relative disease burden. These findings are in line with earlier published studies. Funding agencies and industry should openly document their research investments to improve better targeting of research investment. PMID:28428185

Interpreting intraplate tectonics for seismic hazard: a UK historical perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musson, R. M. W.

2012-04-01

It is notoriously difficult to construct seismic source models for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment in intraplate areas on the basis of geological information, and many practitioners have given up the task in favour of purely seismicity-based models. This risks losing potentially valuable information in regions where the earthquake catalogue is short compared to the seismic cycle. It is interesting to survey how attitudes to this issue have evolved over the past 30 years. This paper takes the UK as an example, and traces the evolution of seismic source models through generations of hazard studies. It is found that in the UK, while the earliest studies did not consider regional tectonics in any way, there has been a gradual evolution towards more tectonically based models. Experience in other countries, of course, may differ.

‘It's trying to manage the work’: a qualitative evaluation of recruitment processes within a UK multicentre trial

PubMed Central

Skea, Zoë Christina; Treweek, Shaun; Gillies, Katie

2017-01-01

Objectives To explore trial site staff's perceptions regarding barriers and facilitators to local recruitment. Design Qualitative semi-structured interviews with a range of trial site staff from four trial sites in the UK. Interviews were analysed thematically to identify common themes across sites, barriers that could be addressed and facilitators that could be shared with other sites. Participants 11 members of staff from four trial sites: clinical grant Co-applicant (n=1); Principal Investigators (n=3); Consultant Urologist (n=1); Research Nurses (n=5); Research Assistant (n=1). Setting Embedded within an ongoing randomised controlled trial (the TISU trial). TISU is a UK multicentre trial comparing therapeutic interventions for ureteric stones. Results Our study draws attention to the initial and ongoing burden of trial work that is involved throughout the duration of a clinical trial. In terms of building and sustaining a research culture, trial staff described the ongoing work of engagement that was required to ensure that clinical staff were both educated and motivated to help with the process of identifying and screening potential participants. Having adequate and sufficient organisational and staffing resources was highlighted as being a necessary prerequisite to successful recruitment both in terms of accessing potentially eligible patients and being able to maximise recruitment after patient identification. The nature of the research study design can also potentially generate challenging communicative work for recruiting staff which can prove particularly problematic. Conclusions Our paper adds to existing research highlighting the importance of the hidden and complex work that is involved in clinical trial recruitment. Those designing and supporting the operationalisation of clinical trials must recognise and support the mitigation of this ‘work’. While much of the work is likely to be contextually sensitive at the level of local sites and for individual trials, some aspects are ubiquitous issues for delivery of trials more generally. Trial registration number ISRCTN No 92289221; Pre-results. PMID:28801422

NPL scoops £25m for advanced metrology centre

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh Chadha, Kulvinder

2013-03-01

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in Teddington, UK, is to receive £25m towards the construction of an Advanced Metrology Laboratory (AML) that will contain up to 20 labs and be complete by 2017.

Acting discursively: the development of UK organic food and farming policy networks.

PubMed

TOMLINSON, Isobel Jane

2010-01-01

This paper documents the early evolution of UK organic food and farming policy networks and locates this empirical focus in a theoretical context concerned with understanding the contemporary policy-making process. While policy networks have emerged as a widely acknowledged empirical manifestation of governance, debate continues as to the concept's explanatory utility and usefulness in situations of network and policy transformation since, historically, policy networks have been applied to "static" circumstances. Recognizing this criticism, and in drawing on an interpretivist perspective, this paper sees policy networks as enacted by individual actors whose beliefs and actions construct the nature of the network. It seeks to make links between the characteristics of the policy network and the policy outcomes through the identification of discursively constructed "storylines" that form a tool for consensus building in networks. This study analyses the functioning of the organic policy networks through the discursive actions of policy-network actors.

For a Revival of Feminist Consciousness-Raising: Horizontal Transformation of Epistemologies and Transgression of Neoliberal Timespace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Firth, Rhiannon; Robinson, Andrew

2016-01-01

This paper looks back on the methodology and experience of feminist consciousness-raising (CR) in the 1970s, in relation to the current re-emergence of feminism. It constructs an argument that a new wave of CR is desirable so as to construct new forms of feminist pedagogy and activism. The paper will argue that contemporary feminism in the UK and…

The Situated Aspect of Creativity in Communicative Events: How Do Children Design Web Pages Together?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernandez-Cardenas, Juan Manuel

2008-01-01

This paper looks at the collaborative construction of web pages in History by a Year-4 group of children in a primary school in the UK. The aim of this paper is to find out: (a) How did children interpret their involvement in this literacy practice? (b) How the construction of web pages was interactionally accomplished? and (c) How can creativity…

The impact of occupational health and safety regulations on prevention through design in construction projects: Perspectives from Spain and the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Martínez-Aires, María Dolores; Rubio Gámez, María Carmen; Gibb, Alistair

2015-01-01

Since the mid-1990 s, Prevention through Design (PtD) has become increasingly prevalent in the built environment. The acceptance of PtD has largely been due to the removal or reduction of risks during the execution phase of construction projects. European States have had the added impetus of national legislation. This paper analyzes the influence of European Union Directive 92/57/EEC on occupational safety and health injury prevention in the project design phase. Qualitative methods comprised individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a panel of experts. Sixty individuals from construction and related professions (architects, engineers, constructors, developers, and other construction experts) answered 17 key questions to establish national perceptions of the effectiveness of Directive 92/57/EEC in Spain and the United Kingdom (UK). The implementation of PtD in the project design phase in the UK is clearer since the regulations explicitly state the obligations of project designers as well as those of the coordinator. Interviews with Spanish experts show that, in Spain, the prevention culture is less frequently realized. The most significant differences between the European Directive and national regulations which influence PtD are linked to the Health and Safety Coordinator, and Health and Safety documents.

How Can Lean Construction Improve the Daily Schedule of A Construction Manager?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binninger, Marco; Dlouhy, Janosch; Schneider, Johannes; Haghsheno, Shervin

2017-10-01

The outcome of construction projects highly depends on effective management. The site manager is responsible for the site, and has a key role in executing construction projects. Especially this position has a wide range of tasks and a high volume of workload, which has to be carried out in a high pressure and high stress environment. Chaotic construction processes often create these working conditions. Lean Construction can help to organize the construction site in a better way and automatically supports the site manager.

Agronomic assessment of the wheat semi-dwarfing gene Rht8 in contrasting nitrogen treatments and water regimes

PubMed Central

Kowalski, Ania M.; Gooding, Mike; Ferrante, Ariel; Slafer, Gustavo A.; Orford, Simon; Gasperini, Debora; Griffiths, Simon

2016-01-01

Reduced height 8 (Rht8) is the main alternative to the GA-insensitive Rht alleles in hot and dry environments where it reduces plant height without yield penalty. The potential of Rht8 in northern-European wheat breeding remains unclear, since the close linkage with the photoperiod-insensitive allele Ppd-D1a is unfavourable in the relatively cool summers. In the present study, two near-isogenic lines (NILs) contrasting for the Rht8/tall allele from Mara in a UK-adapted and photoperiod-sensitive wheat variety were evaluated in trials with varying nitrogen fertiliser (N) treatments and water regimes across sites in the UK and Spain. The Rht8 introgression was associated with a robust height reduction of 11% regardless of N treatment and water regime and the Rht8 NIL was more resistant to root-lodging at agronomically-relevant N levels than the tall NIL. In the UK with reduced solar radiation over the growing season than the site in Spain, the Rht8 NIL showed a 10% yield penalty at standard agronomic N levels due to concomitant reduction in grain number and spike number whereas grain weight and harvest index were not significantly different to the tall NIL. The yield penalty associated with the Rht8 introgression was overcome at low N and in irrigated conditions in the UK, and in the high-temperature site in Spain. Decreased spike length and constant spikelet number in the Rht8 NIL resulted in spike compaction of 15%, independent of N and water regime. The genetic interval of Rht8 overlaps with the compactum gene on 2DS, raising the possibility of the same causative gene. Further genetic dissection of these loci is required. PMID:27212788

Occupational fatality risks in the United States and the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Mendeloff, John; Staetsky, Laura

2014-01-01

There are very few careful studies of differences in occupational fatality rates across countries, much less studies that try to account for those differences. We compare the rate of work injury fatalities (excluding deaths due to highway motor vehicle crashes and those due to violence) identified by the US Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in recent years with the number reported to the Health and Safety Executive in the United Kingdom (UK) and by other European Union (EU) members through Eurostat. In 2010, the fatality rate in the UK was about 1/3 the rate in the US. In construction the rate was about ¼ the US rate, a difference that had grown substantially since the 1990s. Several other EU members had rates almost as low as the UK rate. Across EU countries, lower rates were associated with high-level management attention to safety issues and to in-house preparation of "risk assessments." Although work fatality rates have declined in the US, fatality rates are much lower and have declined faster in recent years in the UK. Efforts to find out the reasons for the much better UK outcomes could be productive. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

10 CFR 36.15 - Start of construction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Requirements § 36.15 Start of construction. The applicant may not begin construction of a new irradiator prior... work, purchase of a site, site surveys or soil testing, site preparation, site excavation, construction... license with respect to the requirements of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and rules...

The UK waste input-output table: Linking waste generation to the UK economy.

PubMed

Salemdeeb, Ramy; Al-Tabbaa, Abir; Reynolds, Christian

2016-10-01

In order to achieve a circular economy, there must be a greater understanding of the links between economic activity and waste generation. This study introduces the first version of the UK waste input-output table that could be used to quantify both direct and indirect waste arisings across the supply chain. The proposed waste input-output table features 21 industrial sectors and 34 waste types and is for the 2010 time-period. Using the waste input-output table, the study results quantitatively confirm that sectors with a long supply chain (i.e. manufacturing and services sectors) have higher indirect waste generation rates compared with industrial primary sectors (e.g. mining and quarrying) and sectors with a shorter supply chain (e.g. construction). Results also reveal that the construction, mining and quarrying sectors have the highest waste generation rates, 742 and 694 tonne per £1m of final demand, respectively. Owing to the aggregated format of the first version of the waste input-output, the model does not address the relationship between waste generation and recycling activities. Therefore, an updated version of the waste input-output table is expected be developed considering this issue. Consequently, the expanded model would lead to a better understanding of waste and resource flows in the supply chain. © The Author(s) 2016.

Like a prayer: the role of spirituality and religion for people living with HIV in the UK.

PubMed

Ridge, Damien; Williams, Ian; Anderson, Jane; Elford, Jonathan

2008-04-01

Over 40,000 people are now living with diagnosed HIV in the UK. There is, however, uncertainty about how people with HIV use religion or spirituality to cope with their infection. Adopting a modified grounded theory approach, we analysed individual and group interviews with the people most affected by HIV in the UK: black African heterosexual men and women and gay men (mostly white). For the majority of black African heterosexual men and women in our study, religion was extremely important. We found that gay men in the study were less religious than black Africans, although many were spiritual in some way. Black African individuals constructed their spiritual narratives as largely Christian or collective, while gay men described more individualistic or 'New Age' approaches. We developed a six-level heuristic device to examine the ways in which prayer and meditation were deployed in narratives to modulate subjective wellbeing. These were: (i) creating a dialogue with an absent counsellor; (ii) constructing a compassionate 'life scheme'; (iii) interrupting rumination; (iv) establishing mindfulness; (v) promoting positive thinking, and (vi) getting results. That people with HIV report specific subjective benefits from prayer or meditation presents a challenge to secular healthcare professionals and sociologists.

The Use of Ground Penetrating Radar to extend the Results of Archaeological Excavation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Utsi, E.

2009-04-01

The condition of the Romano-British archaeological site in Wortley, Gloucestershire, UK is typical of sites of the period in that it has been heavily robbed out since it first fell into disuse. Building materials taken from the site have been re-used over the centuries to construct other local buildings. This makes both preservation of the extant remains and interpretation of the excavation problematic. Following the accidental discovery of the site in the 1980s, a programme of excavation was set in place. This excavation was run as a practical archaeological training school and, as a result, a wide range of archaeological and geophysical techniques were applied to the site. This included the introduction of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The preliminary results of the first GPR used on site were not entirely satisfactory which led to the development of a new radar in the early 1990s, specifically developed for use on archaeological sites. The excavation and GPR results were published in a series of excavation reports [1] [2]. It was not possible to excavate fully for two reasons. Firstly the site crossed present day ownership boundaries and secondly the ownership of the excavation area changed. At this point the excavation was summarily terminated. In 2007, permission was given by the owner of an adjacent property to carry out a GPR survey over their land in order to derive additional information, if possible. An area survey was carried out in May 2007 with reduced transect spacing [3]. The radar data showed similar patterning to that of the original investigation i.e. substantial remains which had been subject to a high degree of post-occupational attrition. Time slices from the radar survey were matched to the principal excavation plans. It proved possible to deduce the full extent of certain partially excavated features, notably the courtyard and bath house. It was also possible to demonstrate that one part of the adjacent property did not contain similar archaeological material. The GPR survey has added significantly to the excavation results and hence to the potential interpretation of the site. Since it will not be possible either to continue the former excavation or to investigate the adjacent land, the information provided by the radar provides a unique insight. [1] Utsi, V (1988) "Ground Radar" in ‘Excavation of a Romano-British Villa at Wortley, Gloucs.' University of Keele Department of Adult & Continuing Education, Keele, 4th interim report. [2] Utsi, V & Utsi, E (1989) "Ground radar survey" in ‘Excavation of a Romano-British Villa at Wortley, Gloucs.' University of Keele, Department of Adult & Continuing Education, Keele, 5th interim report. [3] Utsi Electronics Ltd (2007) "Ground Penetrating Radar Survey of Part of Wortley Romano-British Villa" report to David Wilson, Director, Archaeological Excavation Training School, Cambridge UK.

Evaluation of Glyphosate, Flumioxazin and Imazamox against Japanese Knotweed s. l.

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

DEFRA). 2003. Review of non-native species policy. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London, UK. http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4010...Simmers and Lee 1997). The site consists of three distinct ecological zones (aquatic, wetland and upland) and is utilized by more than 200 species ...of resident and migratory birds (Andrle 1986, Simmers and Lee 1997). Approximately 46 acres of Times Beach has been designated as a state wetland by

Transition from clinician to academic: an interview study of the experiences of UK and Australian Registered Nurses.

PubMed

Logan, Patricia A; Gallimore, David; Jordan, Sue

2016-03-01

The aim of this study was to explore and compare the experiences of nurses in Australia and the UK as they moved from clinical practice into higher education institutions. When nurse education moved from hospitals into higher education institutions, the roles and career pathways of nurse educators changed. The design method used in this study was qualitative interview study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 14 nurse educators, seven in Australia and seven in the UK, in 2011-2012. Thematic analysis of the transcripts was undertaken and triangulated with automated content and thematic analysis by Leximancer© software. Nurse academics in Australia and the UK voiced similar enthusiasms and concerns. These coalesced around four emergent themes: adapting to change, external pressures, teaching and progress up the academic ladder. The Leximancer© analysis for both sites ranked 'research' as the primary theme, linked with 'time', 'University' and 'nursing' on both sites. Respondents were aware of the importance of research to career progression in universities, but most prioritized their teaching and clinical commitments for the sake of their organizations. Most respondents were supported in their doctoral studies, but the absence of postdoctoral research teams, mentors and role models was striking. Additional support is needed to ensure that nurse academics are able to pursue research beyond doctoral level. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy: What can we learn for public health from UK newsprint coverage of key claim-makers in the policy debate?

PubMed Central

Hilton, Shona; Wood, Karen; Patterson, Chris; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal

2014-01-01

On May 24th 2012, Scotland passed the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Bill. Minimum unit pricing (MUP) is an intervention that raises the price of the cheapest alcohol to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. There is a growing literature on industry's influence in policymaking and media representations of policies, but relatively little about frames used by key claim-makers in the public MUP policy debate. This study elucidates the dynamic interplay between key claim-makers to identify lessons for policy advocacy in the media in the UK and internationally. Content analysis was conducted on 262 articles from seven UK and three Scottish national newspapers between 1st May 2011 and 31st May 2012, retrieved from electronic databases. Advocates' and critics' constructions of the alcohol problem and MUP were examined. Advocates depicted the problem as primarily driven by cheap alcohol and marketing, while critics' constructions focused on youth binge drinkers and dependent drinkers. Advocates justified support by citing the intervention's targeted design, but critics denounced the policy as illegal, likely to encourage illicit trade, unsupported by evidence and likely to be ineffective, while harming the responsible majority, low-income consumers and businesses. Critics' arguments were consistent over time, and single statements often encompassed multiple rationales. This study presents advocates with several important lessons for promoting policies in the media. Firstly, it may be useful to shift focus away from young binge drinkers and heavy drinkers, towards population-level over-consumption. Secondly, advocates might focus on presenting the policy as part of a wider package of alcohol policies. Thirdly, emphasis on the success of recent public health policies could help portray the UK and Scotland as world leaders in tackling culturally embedded health and social problems through policy; highlighting past successes when presenting future policies may be a valuable tactic both within the UK and internationally. PMID:24565153

Implications for alcohol minimum unit pricing advocacy: what can we learn for public health from UK newsprint coverage of key claim-makers in the policy debate?

PubMed

Hilton, Shona; Wood, Karen; Patterson, Chris; Katikireddi, Srinivasa Vittal

2014-02-01

On May 24th 2012, Scotland passed the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Bill. Minimum unit pricing (MUP) is an intervention that raises the price of the cheapest alcohol to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. There is a growing literature on industry's influence in policymaking and media representations of policies, but relatively little about frames used by key claim-makers in the public MUP policy debate. This study elucidates the dynamic interplay between key claim-makers to identify lessons for policy advocacy in the media in the UK and internationally. Content analysis was conducted on 262 articles from seven UK and three Scottish national newspapers between 1st May 2011 and 31st May 2012, retrieved from electronic databases. Advocates' and critics' constructions of the alcohol problem and MUP were examined. Advocates depicted the problem as primarily driven by cheap alcohol and marketing, while critics' constructions focused on youth binge drinkers and dependent drinkers. Advocates justified support by citing the intervention's targeted design, but critics denounced the policy as illegal, likely to encourage illicit trade, unsupported by evidence and likely to be ineffective, while harming the responsible majority, low-income consumers and businesses. Critics' arguments were consistent over time, and single statements often encompassed multiple rationales. This study presents advocates with several important lessons for promoting policies in the media. Firstly, it may be useful to shift focus away from young binge drinkers and heavy drinkers, towards population-level over-consumption. Secondly, advocates might focus on presenting the policy as part of a wider package of alcohol policies. Thirdly, emphasis on the success of recent public health policies could help portray the UK and Scotland as world leaders in tackling culturally embedded health and social problems through policy; highlighting past successes when presenting future policies may be a valuable tactic both within the UK and internationally. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding the NAO from Iberian and UK paleoclimate records. The NAOSIPUK project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Alix, Antonio; Toney, Jaime L.; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Slaymark, Charlotte; José Ramos-Román, Maria; Camuera, Jon; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Anderson, R. Scott

2017-04-01

The main goal of the NAOSIPUK project was to understand the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during the Holocene, because the NAO is one major climate mode influencing climate patterns across Europe, and therefore, economy and society (Hurrell, 1995). We analysed several sedimentary records in two regions with opposing NAO responses. Our sedimentary surface survey from numerous lakes and bogs, led to further investigation of four records in the southern Iberian Peninsula and three in the central/northern UK. Past environments of the different sites were analysed using pollen and charcoal analysis, organic and inorganic geochemistry analyses, and sedimentary and geophysical surveys were performed. This work compares general environmental trends in both regions as deduced from the organic matter from bulk sediment to get an idea of the organic matter source, as well as specific organic compounds extracted from the sediment, such as leaf waxes (n-alkanes), algae-related compounds (diols and alkenones), and bacteria-related compounds (hopanes), to specify the sources of the organic matter, environmental temperature ranges, as well as hydrological changes. Our preliminary results show that the palaeoenvironmental indices developed from n-alkanes agree with the variations deduced from the carbon and nitrogen atomic ratios, as well as the carbon isotopic composition from bulk sediments in southern Iberia records. Interestingly, these indices show that some locations display opposite trends from one another, and are used to distinguish regional versus local effects of climate change, human impacts, and aeolian dust inputs. During the late Holocene solar forcing and NAO fluctuations are the main drivers of the environmental evolution in most of the Iberian and UK sites. However, we do detect the influence of the NAO in the temperatures oscillations of the studied sites in southern Iberia. This influence is much more important in the north/central UK sites. The regional comparison between north/central UK and southern Iberia shows a more stable middle Holocene (from ˜7.0 to ˜5.0 cal ky BP) at higher latitudes. On the other hand, the environmental and climatic changes in southern Spain are abrupt during this period. This might be related to the beginning or increasing influence of the NAO during the middle Holocene, which is coeval with a change in the precipitation source in this area. The UK records mainly show abrupt environmental changes between 4.5 and 4.0 cal ky BP and during the last millennia. These environmental changes are especially abrupt in both areas during the last one-hundred years, agreeing with the regional and global industrial development. References Hurrell, J.W., 1995. Decadal Trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional Temperatures and Precipitation. Science 269, 676-679. NAOSIPUK. http://www.naosipuk.org. Last access: 9th January 2017.

Highway runoff quality in Ireland.

PubMed

Berhanu Desta, Mesfin; Bruen, Michael; Higgins, Neil; Johnston, Paul

2007-04-01

Highway runoff has been identified as a significant source of contaminants that impact on the receiving aquatic environment. Several studies have been completed documenting the characteristics of highway runoff and its implication to the receiving water in the UK and elsewhere. However, very little information is available for Ireland. The objective of this study was to determine the quality of highway runoff from major Irish roads under the current road drainage design and maintenance practice. Four sites were selected from the M4 and the M7 motorways outside Dublin. Automatic samplers and continuous monitoring devices were deployed to sample and monitor the runoff quality and quantity. More than 42 storm events were sampled and analysed for the heavy metals Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn, 16 US EPA specified PAHs, volatile organic compounds including MTBE, and a number of conventional pollutants. All samples were analysed based on the Standard Methods. Significant quantities of solids and heavy metals were detected at all sites. PAHs were not detected very often, but when detected the values were different from quantities observed in UK highways. The heavy metal concentrations were strongly related to the total suspended solids concentrations, which has a useful implication for runoff management strategies. No strong relationship was discovered between pollutant concentrations and event characteristics such as rainfall intensity, antecedent dry days (ADD), or rainfall depth (volume). This study has demonstrated that runoff from Irish motorways was not any cleaner than in the UK although the traffic volume at the monitored sites was relatively smaller. This calls for a site specific investigation of highway runoff quality before adopting a given management strategy.

Sensitivity of UK butterflies to local climatic extremes: which life stages are most at risk?

PubMed

McDermott Long, Osgur; Warren, Rachel; Price, Jeff; Brereton, Tom M; Botham, Marc S; Franco, Aldina M A

2017-01-01

There is growing recognition as to the importance of extreme climatic events (ECEs) in determining changes in species populations. In fact, it is often the extent of climate variability that determines a population's ability to persist at a given site. This study examined the impact of ECEs on the resident UK butterfly species (n = 41) over a 37-year period. The study investigated the sensitivity of butterflies to four extremes (drought, extreme precipitation, extreme heat and extreme cold), identified at the site level, across each species' life stages. Variations in the vulnerability of butterflies at the site level were also compared based on three life-history traits (voltinism, habitat requirement and range). This is the first study to examine the effects of ECEs at the site level across all life stages of a butterfly, identifying sensitive life stages and unravelling the role life-history traits play in species sensitivity to ECEs. Butterfly population changes were found to be primarily driven by temperature extremes. Extreme heat was detrimental during overwintering periods and beneficial during adult periods and extreme cold had opposite impacts on both of these life stages. Previously undocumented detrimental effects were identified for extreme precipitation during the pupal life stage for univoltine species. Generalists were found to have significantly more negative associations with ECEs than specialists. With future projections of warmer, wetter winters and more severe weather events, UK butterflies could come under severe pressure given the findings of this study. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2016 British Ecological Society.

Colonization of a newly constructed urban wetland by mosquitoes in England: implications for nuisance and vector species.

PubMed

Medlock, Jolyon M; Vaux, Alexander G C

2014-12-01

Urban wetlands are being created in the UK as part of sustainable urban drainage strategies, to create wetland habitats lost during development, to provide a habitat for protected species, and to increase the public's access to 'blue-space' for the improvement of health and well-being. Sewage treatment reedbeds are also being incorporated into newly constructed wetlands to offer an alternative approach to dealing with sewage. This field study aims to provide the first UK evidence of how such newly constructed aquatic habitats are colonized by mosquitoes. A number of new aquatic habitats were surveyed for immature mosquitoes every fortnight over the first two years following wetland construction. The majority of mosquitoes collected were Culex sp. and were significantly associated with the sewage treatment reedbed system, particularly following storm events and sewage inflow. Other more natural aquatic habitats that were subject to cycles of drying and re-wetting contributed the majority of the remaining mosquitoes colonizing. Colonization of permanent habitats was slow, particularly where fluctuations in water levels inhibited emergent vegetation growth. It is recommended that during the planning process for newly constructed wetlands consideration is given on a case-by-case basis to the impact of mosquitoes, either as a cause of nuisance or as potential vectors. Although ornithophagic Culex dominated in this wetland, their potential role as enzootic West Nile virus vectors should not be overlooked. © 2014 The Society for Vector Ecology.

The application of micro UAV in construction project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaamin, Masiri; Razali, Siti Nooraiin Mohd; Ahmad, Nor Farah Atiqah; Bukari, Saifullizan Mohd; Ngadiman, Norhayati; Kadir, Aslila Abd; Hamid, Nor Baizura

2017-10-01

In every outstanding construction project, there is definitely have an effective construction management. Construction management allows a construction project to be implemented according to plan. Every construction project must have a progress development works that is usually created by the site engineer. Documenting the progress of works is one of the requirements in construction management. In a progress report it is necessarily have a visual image as an evidence. The conventional method used for photographing on the construction site is by using common digital camera which is has few setback comparing to Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). Besides, site engineer always have a current issues involving limitation of monitoring on high reach point and entire view of the construction site. The purpose of this paper is to provide a concise review of Micro UAV technology in monitoring the progress on construction site through visualization approach. The aims of this study are to replace the conventional method of photographing on construction site using Micro UAV which can portray the whole view of the building, especially on high reach point and allows to produce better images, videos and 3D model and also facilitating site engineer to monitor works in progress. The Micro UAV was flown around the building construction according to the Ground Control Points (GCPs) to capture images and record videos. The images taken from Micro UAV have been processed generate 3D model and were analysed to visualize the building construction as well as monitoring the construction progress work and provides immediate reliable data for project estimation. It has been proven that by using Micro UAV, a better images and videos can give a better overview of the construction site and monitor any defects on high reach point building structures. Not to be forgotten, with Micro UAV the construction site progress is more efficiently tracked and kept on the schedule.

Quantifying UK emissions of carbon dioxide using an integrative measurement strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzi, S.; Palmer, P.

2015-12-01

The main objective of the Greenhouse gAs Uk and Global Emissions (GAUGE) programme is to quantify the magnitude and uncertainty of CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes from the UK. GAUGE builds on the tall tower network established by the UK Government to estimate fluxes from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The GAUGE measurement programme includes two additional tall tower sites (one in North Yorkshire and one downwind of London); regular measurements of CO2 and CH4 isotopologues; instrumentation installed on a ferry that travels daily along the eastern coast of the UK from Scotland to Belgium; a research aircraft that has been deployed on a campaign basis; and a high-density network over East Anglia that is primarily focused on the agricultural sector. We have also included satellite observations from the Japanese Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) through ongoing activities within the UK National Centre for Earth Observation. In this presentation, we will present new CO2 flux estimates for the UK inferred from GAUGE measurements using a nested, high-resolution (25 km) version of the GEOS-Chem atmospheric transport model and an ensemble Kalman filter. We will present our current best estimate for CO2 fluxes and a preliminary assessment of the efficacy of individual GAUGE data sources to spatially resolve CO2 flux estimates over the UK. We will also discuss how flux estimates inferred from the different models used within GAUGE can help to assess the role of transport model error and to determine an ensemble CO2 flux estimate for the UK.

10 CFR 50.55 - Conditions of construction permits, early site permits, combined licenses, and manufacturing...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Conditions of construction permits, early site permits... Licenses and Construction Permits § 50.55 Conditions of construction permits, early site permits, combined... conditions; each early site permit is subject to the terms and conditions in paragraph (f) of this section...

A discourse analysis of the construction of mental illness in two UK newspapers from 1985-2000.

PubMed

Paterson, Brodie

2007-10-01

This study explored the discourse of mental illness contained within two UK newspapers over a 15-year period, excluding those stories that mentioned any reference to a diagnosis. Using frame analysis, a form of discourse analysis, ten distinct frames were identified and classified into "stories." These ten stories were categorized as: foreign, legal, drug, feature, trauma, tragedy, community care tragedy, social policy, inquiry report, and sports/celebrity stories. Each frame is described and the potential influence of such frames on both social policy and nursing practice is discussed.

Feasibility of using routinely collected inpatient data to monitor quality and inform choice: a case study using the UK inflammatory bowel disease audit

PubMed Central

Roberts, Stephen E; Williams, John G; Cohen, David R; Akbari, Ashley; Groves, Sam; Button, Lori A

2011-01-01

Objective To assess the utility and cost of using routinely collected inpatient data for large-scale audit. Design Comparison of audit data items collected nationally in a designed audit of inflammatory bowel disease (UK IBD audit) with routinely collected inpatient data; surveys of audit sites to compare costs. Setting National Health Service hospitals across England, Wales and Northern Ireland that participated in the UK IBD audit. Patients Patients in the UK IBD audit. Interventions None. Main outcome measures Percentage agreement between designed audit data items collected for the UK IBD audit and routine inpatient data items; costs of conducting the designed UK IBD audit and the routine data audit. Results There were very high matching rates between the designed audit data and routine data for a small subset of basic important information collected in the UK IBD audit, including mortality; major surgery; dates of admission, surgery, discharge and death; principal diagnoses; and sociodemographic patient characteristics. There were lower matching rates for other items, including source of admission, primary reason for admission, most comorbidities, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy. Routine data did not cover most detailed information collected in the UK IBD audit. Using routine data was much less costly than collecting designed audit data. Conclusion Although valuable for large population-based studies, and less costly than designed data, routine inpatient data are not suitable for the evaluation of individual patient care within a designed audit. PMID:28839601

Growth of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin ex. Steudel in mine water treatment wetlands: effects of metal and nutrient uptake.

PubMed

Batty, Lesley C; Younger, Paul L

2004-11-01

The abandoned mine of Shilbottle Colliery, Northumberland, UK is an example of acidic spoil heap discharge that contains elevated levels of many metals. Aerobic wetlands planted with the common reed, Phragmites australis, were constructed at the site to treat surface runoff from the spoil heap. The presence of a perched water table within the spoil heap resulted in the lower wetlands receiving acidic metal contaminated water from within the spoil heap while the upper wetland receives alkaline, uncontaminated surface runoff from the revegetated spoil. This unique situation enabled the comparison of metal uptake and growth of plants used in treatment schemes in two cognate wetlands. Results indicated a significant difference in plant growth between the two wetlands in terms of shoot height and seed production. Analyses of metal and nutrient concentrations within plant tissues provided the basis for three hypotheses to explain these differences: (i) the toxic effects of high levels of metals in shoot tissues, (ii) the inhibition of Ca (an essential nutrient) uptake by the presence of metals and H+ ions, and (iii) low concentrations of bioavailable nitrogen sources resulting in nitrogen deficiency. This has important implications for the engineering of constructed wetlands in terms of the potential success of plant establishment and vegetation development.

A cost comparison of traditional drainage and SUDS in Scotland.

PubMed

Duffy, A; Jefferies, C; Waddell, G; Shanks, G; Blackwood, D; Watkins, A

2008-01-01

The Dunfermline Eastern Expansion (DEX) is a 350 ha mixed development which commenced in 1996. Downstream water quality and flooding issues necessitated a holistic approach to drainage planning and the site has become a European showcase for the application of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS). However, there is minimal data available regarding the real costs of operating and maintaining SUDS to ensure they continue to perform as per their design function. This remains one of the primary barriers to the uptake and adoption of SUDS. This paper reports on what is understood to be the only study in the UK where actual costs of constructing and maintaining SUDS have been compared to an equivalent traditional drainage solution. To compare SUDS costs with traditional drainage, capital and maintenance costs of underground storage chambers of analogous storage volumes were estimated. A whole life costing methodology was then applied to data gathered. The main objective was to produce a reliable and robust cost comparison between SUDS and traditional drainage. The cost analysis is supportive of SUDS and indicates that well designed and maintained SUDS are more cost effective to construct, and cost less to maintain than traditional drainage solutions which are unable to meet the environmental requirements of current legislation. (c) IWA Publishing 2008.

Bringing Back a Healthy Buzz? Invertebrate Parasites and Reintroductions: A Case Study in Bumblebees.

PubMed

Brown, Mark J F; Sainsbury, Anthony W; Vaughan-Higgins, Rebecca J; Measures, Gavin H; Jones, Catherine M; Gammans, Nikki

2017-03-01

Reintroductions can play a key role in the conservation of endangered species. Parasites may impact reintroductions, both positively and negatively, but few case studies of how to manage parasites during reintroductions exist. Bumblebees are in decline at regional and global scales, and reintroductions can be used to re-establish extinct local populations. Here we report on how the risks associated with parasites are being managed in an ongoing reintroduction of the short-haired bumblebee, Bombus subterraneus, to the UK. Disease risk analysis was conducted and disease risk management plans constructed to design a capture-quarantine-release system that minimised the impacts on both the bumblebees and on their natural parasites. Given that bumblebee parasites are (i) generalists, (ii) geographically ubiquitous, and (iii) show evidence of local adaptation, the disease risk management plan was designed to limit the co-introduction of parasites from the source population in Sweden to the destination site in the UK. Results suggest that this process at best eliminated, or at least severely curtailed the co-introduction of parasites, and ongoing updates of the plan enabled minimization of impacts on natural host-parasite dynamics in the Swedish source population. This study suggests that methods designed for reintroductions of vertebrate species can be successfully applied to invertebrates. Future reintroductions of invertebrates where the parasite fauna is less well known should take advantage of next-generation barcoding and multiple survey years prior to the start of reintroductions, to develop comprehensive disease risk management plans.

Framing obesity in UK policy from the Blair years, 1997-2015: the persistence of individualistic approaches despite overwhelming evidence of societal and economic factors, and the need for collective responsibility.

PubMed

Ulijaszek, Stanley J; McLennan, Amy K

2016-05-01

Since 1997, and despite several political changes, obesity policy in the UK has overwhelmingly framed obesity as a problem of individual responsibility. Reports, policies and interventions have emphasized that it is the responsibility of individual consumers to make personal changes to reduce obesity. The Foresight Report 'Tackling Obesities: Future Choices' (2007) attempted to reframe obesity as a complex problem that required multiple sites of intervention well beyond the range of personal responsibility. This framing formed the basis for policy and coincided with increasing acknowledgement of the complex nature of obesity in obesity research. Yet policy and interventions developed following Foresight, such as the Change4Life social marketing campaign, targeted individual consumer behaviour. With the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government of 2011, intervention shifted to corporate and individual responsibility, making corporations voluntarily responsible for motivating individual consumers to change. This article examines shifts in the framing of obesity from a problem of individual responsibility, towards collective responsibility, and back to the individual in UK government reports, policies and interventions between 1997 and 2015. We show that UK obesity policies reflect the landscape of policymakers, advisors, political pressures and values, as much as, if not more than, the landscape of evidence. The view that the individual should be the central site for obesity prevention and intervention has remained central to the political framing of population-level obesity, despite strong evidence contrary to this. Power dynamics in obesity governance processes have remained unchallenged by the UK government, and individualistic framing of obesity policy continues to offer the path of least resistance. © 2016 World Obesity.

A critical review of hydrological data collection for assessing preservation risk for urban waterlogged archaeology: A case study from the City of York, UK.

PubMed

Holden, Joseph; Howard, Andy J; West, L Jared; Maxfield, Eleanor; Panter, Ian; Oxley, John

2009-08-01

Environmental change caused by urban development, possibly augmented by climate change, may result in accelerated decay of in situ archaeological resources. Damage may be related to changes in hydrological processes. Such archaeological resources have to be considered in environmental planning. In this paper we highlight the need for improved hydrological data from urban archaeological sites using the case study of the City of York, UK, arguably one of the most well studied and well preserved urban archaeological environments globally. We suggest that the quality of hydrological data collected during routine surveys and experimental work must be improved and standardised in order for us to produce reliable archaeological risk models for urban sites.

Enhancement of the thrombolytic efficacy of prourokinase by lys-plasminogen in a dog model of arterial thrombosis.

PubMed

Badylak, S F; Voytik, S L; Henkin, J; Burke, S E; Sasahara, A A; Simmons, A

1991-05-01

Current findings suggest that the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy may be limited by the availability of active forms of plasminogen at the thrombus site. The purpose of this study was to determine if the systemic administration of 0.5 mg kg-1 glu-plasminogen (glu-plg) or 0.5 mg kg-1 lys-plasminogen (lys-plg) could safely increase the efficacy of a single intravenous bolus injection of 50,000 U kg-1 prourokinase (proUK) in a dog model of arterial thrombosis. Thrombolysis was measured by monitoring the continuous decrement of 125I-gamma emissions from a radiolabeled thrombus. Reflow was evaluated by direct visual examination. Forty dogs (mean wt 10.3 +/- 2 kg) were randomly sorted into 4 groups of 10 each. The dogs in each group were given either saline plus saline, saline plus proUK, glu-plg plus proUK, or lys-plg plus proUK 60 minutes after formation of an occlusive arterial thrombus. Ninety minutes after drug administration the dogs receiving saline plus proUK, glu-plg plus proUK, and the lys-plg plus proUK showed greater thrombolysis (41%, 43%, and 66%, respectively) than the control (saline plus saline) group (15%, P less than 0.01). The lys-plg plus proUK treatment caused greater lysis than the saline plus proUK or the glu-plg plus proUK treatment (P less than 0.05). All of the dogs (10/10) receiving lys-plg plus proUK had patent vessels at the end of the 90 minute monitoring period, whereas only 4/10 and 5/10 vessels were patent in the saline plus proUK and glu-plg plus proUK groups, respectively. None of the dogs in the saline plus saline group had patent vessels. No significant changes were observed in the various coagulation parameters tested for any of the 4 treatment groups. The results show that lys-plg can safely increase the thrombolytic efficacy of proUK.

Investigation and demonstration of turbidity reduction in stormwater runoff for Oklahoma highway construction sites : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-12-01

The Environmental protection Agency (USEPA) has issued new requirements on the construction industry to control the discharge of pollutants from the sites. The construction effluent guidelines or ELGs require construction sites to reduce the pollu...

The EMBL-EBI bioinformatics web and programmatic tools framework.

PubMed

Li, Weizhong; Cowley, Andrew; Uludag, Mahmut; Gur, Tamer; McWilliam, Hamish; Squizzato, Silvano; Park, Young Mi; Buso, Nicola; Lopez, Rodrigo

2015-07-01

Since 2009 the EMBL-EBI Job Dispatcher framework has provided free access to a range of mainstream sequence analysis applications. These include sequence similarity search services (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/sss/) such as BLAST, FASTA and PSI-Search, multiple sequence alignment tools (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/msa/) such as Clustal Omega, MAFFT and T-Coffee, and other sequence analysis tools (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/pfa/) such as InterProScan. Through these services users can search mainstream sequence databases such as ENA, UniProt and Ensembl Genomes, utilising a uniform web interface or systematically through Web Services interfaces (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/webservices/) using common programming languages, and obtain enriched results with novel visualisations. Integration with EBI Search (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ebisearch/) and the dbfetch retrieval service (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/dbfetch/) further expands the usefulness of the framework. New tools and updates such as NCBI BLAST+, InterProScan 5 and PfamScan, new categories such as RNA analysis tools (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/Tools/rna/), new databases such as ENA non-coding, WormBase ParaSite, Pfam and Rfam, and new workflow methods, together with the retirement of depreciated services, ensure that the framework remains relevant to today's biological community. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Population structure and genetic diversity of the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis in Bristol, UK.

PubMed

Hawksworth, Joseph; Levy, Max; Smale, Chloe; Cheung, Dean; Whittle, Alice; Longhurst, Denise; Muir, Peter; Gibson, Wendy

2015-08-01

The protozoan parasite Trichomonas vaginalis is the causative agent of trichomoniasis, an extremely common, but non-life-threatening, sexually-transmitted disease throughout the world. Recent population genetics studies of T. vaginalis have detected high genetic diversity and revealed a two-type population structure, associated with phenotypic differences in sensitivity to metronidazole, the drug commonly used for treatment, and presence of T. vaginalis virus. There is currently a lack of data on UK isolates; most isolates examined to date are from the US. Here we used a recently described system for multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of T. vaginalis to study diversity of clinical isolates from Bristol, UK. We used MLST to characterise 23 clinical isolates of T. vaginalis collected from female patients during 2013. Seven housekeeping genes were PCR-amplified for each isolate and sequenced. The concatenated sequences were then compared with data from other MLST-characterised isolates available from http://tvaginalis.mlst.net/ to analyse the population structure and construct phylogenetic trees. Among the 23 isolates from the Bristol population of T. vaginalis, we found 23 polymorphic nucleotide sites, 25 different alleles and 19 sequence types (genotypes). Most isolates had a unique genotype, in agreement with the high levels of heterogeneity observed elsewhere in the world. A two-type population structure was evident from population genetic analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction split the isolates into two major clades. Tests for recombination in the Bristol population of T. vaginalis gave conflicting results, suggesting overall a clonal pattern of reproduction. We conclude that the Bristol population of T. vaginalis parasites conforms to the two-type population structure found in most other regions of the world. We found the MLST scheme to be an efficient genotyping method. The online MLST database provides a useful repository and resource that will prove invaluable in future studies linking the genetics of T. vaginalis with the clinical manifestation of trichomoniasis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultured allogeneic keratinocyte sheets accelerate healing compared to Op-site treatment of donor sites in burns.

PubMed

Duinslaeger, L A; Verbeken, G; Vanhalle, S; Vanderkelen, A

1997-01-01

Donor site treatment is a crucial issue in the treatment of extensive burns. In this single-blind, randomized study treatment of donor sites with a polyurethane dressing, Op-Site (Smith & Nephew, York, U.K.) is compared to treatment with allogeneic cultured keratinocyte sheets. Results show a mean healing time of 6.7 days with use of cultured keratinocyte sheets compared to mean healing time of 13.6 days with Op-Site treatment. Also, improvement in the comfort of patients as the result of less exudate formation and pain attenuation was noted.

NEWS: Web's wonders!

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-07-01

Introducing this month's collection of useful websites for physics teachers. If you have any suggestions for this column then please send them to us at ped@ioppublishing.co.uk Dave Pickersgill has drawn our attention to the following: www.sheffcol.ac.uk/links/ which has annotated, classified and searchable links to over 1700 educational sites. Included are around 500 science links. Members of the American Association of Physics Teachers were recently informed of a website for those hoping to arouse interest and knowledge of astronomy in their students. Space.com, a comprehensive space news website, had launched `spaceKids', a new channel specifically targeted at children complete with a gallery of space images, space and science news, stories, a space question and answer section hosted by a team of science teachers, interactive games, weekly polls and competitions. The website can be found at www.spacekids.com Those fascinated by all aspects of nuclear fusion should take a look at the General Atomics educational site: FusionEd.gat.com as well as the national site fusion.gat.com/PlasmaOutreach

The application of consequence models in risk assessment: A regulator`s view

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nussey, C.; Carter, D.A.; Cassidy, K.

1995-12-31

Quantified risk assessment (QRA) is a technique for aiding decision making. The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) uses QRA in the Major Hazards (MH) area to formulate advice to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) on the siting of MH installations and the development of land in the vicinity of existing MH installations. The region around UK MH sites within which LPAs are required to consult HSE on land-use planning matters (i.e. the Consultation Distance (CD)) is increasingly being redefined by adopting a risk based approach. The authors are now in the process of conducting or updated site specific QRAs tomore » redefine CDs. This process enables them to identify risk reduction measures and discuss them with companies, taking into consideration the ALARP--as low as is reasonably practicable--philosophy. The paper outlines the basis of the QRAs and the role of consequence assessment models and procedures in this process, and illustrates by examples the setting of CDs and the application of the ALARP philosophy.« less

Model simulations of cooking organic aerosol (COA) over the UK using estimates of emissions based on measurements at two sites in London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ots, Riinu; Vieno, Massimo; Allan, James D.; Reis, Stefan; Nemitz, Eiko; Young, Dominique E.; Coe, Hugh; Di Marco, Chiara; Detournay, Anais; Mackenzie, Ian A.; Green, David C.; Heal, Mathew R.

2016-11-01

Cooking organic aerosol (COA) is currently not included in European emission inventories. However, recent positive matrix factorization (PMF) analyses of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements have suggested important contributions of COA in several European cities. In this study, emissions of COA were estimated for the UK, based on hourly AMS measurements of COA made at two sites in London (a kerbside site in central London and an urban background site in a residential area close to central London) for the full calendar year of 2012 during the Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) campaign. Iteration of COA emissions estimates and subsequent evaluation and sensitivity experiments were conducted with the EMEP4UK atmospheric chemistry transport modelling system with a horizontal resolution of 5 km × 5 km. The spatial distribution of these emissions was based on workday population density derived from the 2011 census data. The estimated UK annual COA emission was 7.4 Gg per year, which is an almost 10 % addition to the officially reported UK national total anthropogenic emissions of PM2.5 (82 Gg in 2012), corresponding to 320 mg person-1 day-1 on average. Weekday and weekend diurnal variation in COA emissions were also based on the AMS measurements. Modelled concentrations of COA were then independently evaluated against AMS-derived COA measurements from another city and time period (Manchester, January-February 2007), as well as with COA estimated by a chemical mass balance model of measurements for a 2-week period at the Harwell rural site (˜ 80 km west of central London). The modelled annual average contribution of COA to ambient particulate matter (PM) in central London was between 1 and 2 µg m-3 (˜ 20 % of total measured OA1) and between 0.5 and 0.7 µg m-3 in other major cities in England (Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds). It was also shown that cities smaller than London can have a central hotspot of population density of smaller area than the computational grid cell, in which case higher localized COA concentrations than modelled here may be expected. Modelled COA concentrations dropped rapidly outside of major urban areas (annual average of 0.12 µg m-3 for the Harwell location), indicating that although COA can be a notable component in urban air, it does not have a significant effect on PM concentrations on rural areas. The possibility that the AMS-PMF apportionment measurements overestimate COA concentrations by up to a factor of 2 is discussed. Since COA is a primary emission, any downward adjustments in COA emissions would lead to a proportional linear downward scaling in the absolute magnitudes of COA concentrations simulated in the model.

Exploring How and Why Young People Use Social Networking Sites

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Laura

2018-01-01

Upcoming statutory UK government guidance for keeping children safe in education reflects the use of social media, which is one of the most common activities undertaken by young people. This study explores how and why young people are using social networking sites (SNS) and whether there are age or gender differences. A key feature of the study…

Formula Manufacturers' Web Sites: Are They Really Non-Compliant Advertisements?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunter, Barrie; Dickinson, Roger; Matthews, Julian; Cole, Jennifer

2013-01-01

Purpose: In the UK, advertising of infant formula products direct to consumers is not permitted. These products must be used on the recommendation of suitably qualified health or medical professionals. The aim of this study is to examine formula manufacturers' web sites to ascertain whether these are used as alternative forms of advertising that…

Community Indicators: A Framework for Observing and Supporting Community Activity on Cloudworks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galley, Rebecca; Conole, Gráinne; Alevizou, Panagiota

2014-01-01

Cloudworks (Cloudworks.ac.uk) is a social networking site designed for sharing, finding and discussing learning and teaching ideas and experiences. Design and development of the site has been based on an iterative analysis, development and implementation approach, underpinned by ongoing research and evaluation. To this end, we have been seeking to…

Examining the feasibility of an economic analysis of dyadic developmental psychotherapy for children with maltreatment associated psychiatric problems in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Boyer, Nicole R S; Boyd, Kathleen A; Turner-Halliday, Fiona; Watson, Nicholas; Minnis, Helen

2014-12-10

Children with maltreatment associated psychiatric problems are at increased risk of developing behavioural or mental health disorders. Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) was proposed as treatment for children with maltreatment histories in the USA, however, being new to the UK little is known of its effectiveness or cost-effectiveness. As part of an exploratory study, this paper explores the feasibility of undertaking economic analysis of DDP in the UK. Feasibility for economic analysis was determined by ensuring such analysis could meet key criteria for economic evaluation. Phone interviews were conducted with professionals (therapists trained and accredited or in the process of becoming accredited DDP practitioners). Three models were developed to represent alternative methods of DDP service delivery. Once appropriate comparators were determined, economic scenarios were constructed. Cost analyses were undertaken from a societal perspective. Finally, appropriate outcome measurement was explored through clinical opinion, literature and further discussions with clinical experts. Three DDP models were constructed: DDP Full-Basic, DDP Home-Based and DDP Long-Term. Two potential comparator interventions were identified and defined as Consultation with Carers and Individual Psychotherapy. Costs of intervention completion per case were estimated to be: £6,700 (DDP Full-Basic), £7,100 (Consultations with Carers), £7,200 (DDP Home-Based), £11,400 (Individual Psychotherapy) and £14,500 (DDP Long-Term). None of the models of service delivery were found to currently measure effectiveness consistently. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was deemed an appropriate primary outcome measure, however, it does not cover all disorders DDP intends to treat and the SDQ is not a direct measure of health gain. Inclusion of quality of life measurement is required for comprehensive economic analysis. Economic analysis of DDP in the UK is feasible if vital next steps are taken to measure intervention outcomes consistently, ideally with a quality of life measurement. An economic analysis using the models constructed could determine the potential cost-effectiveness of DDP in the UK and identify the most efficient mode of service delivery.

A before-after control-impact assessment to understand the potential impacts of highway construction noise and activity on an endangered songbird.

PubMed

Long, Ashley M; Colón, Melanie R; Bosman, Jessica L; Robinson, Dianne H; Pruett, Hannah L; McFarland, Tiffany M; Mathewson, Heather A; Szewczak, Joseph M; Newnam, J Cal; Morrison, Michael L

2017-01-01

Anthropogenic noise associated with highway construction and operation can have individual- and population-level consequences for wildlife (e.g., reduced densities, decreased reproductive success, behavioral changes). We used a before-after control-impact study design to examine the potential impacts of highway construction and traffic noise on endangered golden-cheeked warblers ( Setophaga chrysoparia ; hereafter warbler) in urban Texas. We mapped and monitored warbler territories before (2009-2011), during (2012-2013), and after (2014) highway construction at three study sites: a treatment site exposed to highway construction and traffic noise, a control site exposed only to traffic noise, and a second control site exposed to neither highway construction or traffic noise. We measured noise levels at varying distances from the highway at sites exposed to construction and traffic noise. We examined how highway construction and traffic noise influenced warbler territory density, territory placement, productivity, and song characteristics. In addition, we conducted a playback experiment within study sites to evaluate acute behavioral responses to highway construction noises. Noise decreased with increasing distance from the highways. However, noise did not differ between the construction and traffic noise sites or across time. Warbler territory density increased over time at all study sites, and we found no differences in warbler territory placement, productivity, behavior, or song characteristics that we can attribute to highway construction or traffic noise. As such, we found no evidence to suggest that highway construction or traffic noise had a negative effect on warblers during our study. Because human population growth will require recurring improvements to transportation infrastructure, understanding wildlife responses to anthropogenic noise associated with the construction and operation of roads is essential for effective management and recovery of prioritized species.

Can linear regression modeling help clinicians in the interpretation of genotypic resistance data? An application to derive a lopinavir-score.

PubMed

Cozzi-Lepri, Alessandro; Prosperi, Mattia C F; Kjær, Jesper; Dunn, David; Paredes, Roger; Sabin, Caroline A; Lundgren, Jens D; Phillips, Andrew N; Pillay, Deenan

2011-01-01

The question of whether a score for a specific antiretroviral (e.g. lopinavir/r in this analysis) that improves prediction of viral load response given by existing expert-based interpretation systems (IS) could be derived from analyzing the correlation between genotypic data and virological response using statistical methods remains largely unanswered. We used the data of the patients from the UK Collaborative HIV Cohort (UK CHIC) Study for whom genotypic data were stored in the UK HIV Drug Resistance Database (UK HDRD) to construct a training/validation dataset of treatment change episodes (TCE). We used the average square error (ASE) on a 10-fold cross-validation and on a test dataset (the EuroSIDA TCE database) to compare the performance of a newly derived lopinavir/r score with that of the 3 most widely used expert-based interpretation rules (ANRS, HIVDB and Rega). Our analysis identified mutations V82A, I54V, K20I and I62V, which were associated with reduced viral response and mutations I15V and V91S which determined lopinavir/r hypersensitivity. All models performed equally well (ASE on test ranging between 1.1 and 1.3, p = 0.34). We fully explored the potential of linear regression to construct a simple predictive model for lopinavir/r-based TCE. Although, the performance of our proposed score was similar to that of already existing IS, previously unrecognized lopinavir/r-associated mutations were identified. The analysis illustrates an approach of validation of expert-based IS that could be used in the future for other antiretrovirals and in other settings outside HIV research.

Biodiversity characterisation and hydrodynamic consequences of marine fouling communities on marine renewable energy infrastructure in the Orkney Islands Archipelago, Scotland, UK.

PubMed

Want, Andrew; Crawford, Rebecca; Kakkonen, Jenni; Kiddie, Greg; Miller, Susan; Harris, Robert E; Porter, Joanne S

2017-08-01

As part of ongoing commitments to produce electricity from renewable energy sources in Scotland, Orkney waters have been targeted for potential large-scale deployment of wave and tidal energy converting devices. Orkney has a well-developed infrastructure supporting the marine energy industry; recently enhanced by the construction of additional piers. A major concern to marine industries is biofouling on submerged structures, including energy converters and measurement instrumentation. In this study, the marine energy infrastructure and instrumentation were surveyed to characterise the biofouling. Fouling communities varied between deployment habitats; key species were identified allowing recommendations for scheduling device maintenance and preventing spread of invasive organisms. A method to measure the impact of biofouling on hydrodynamic response is described and applied to data from a wave-monitoring buoy deployed at a test site in Orkney. The results are discussed in relation to the accuracy of the measurement resources for power generation. Further applications are suggested for future testing in other scenarios, including tidal energy.

Effects of urbanization, construction activity, management practices, and impoundments on suspended-sediment transport in Johnson County, northeast Kansas, February 2006 through November 2008

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lee, Casey J.; Ziegler, Andrew C.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Johnson County, Kansas, Stormwater Management Program, investigated the effects of urbanization, construction activity, management practices, and impoundments on suspended-sediment transport in Johnson County from February 2006 through November 2008. Streamgages and continuous turbidity sensors were operated at 15 sites within the urbanizing 57-square-mile Mill Creek Basin, and 4 sites downstream from the other largest basins (49 to 66 square miles) in Johnson County. The largest sediment yields in Johnson County were observed downstream from basins with increased construction activity. Sediment yields attributed to the largest (68 acre) active construction site in the study area were 9,300 tons per square mile in 2007 and 12,200 tons per square mile in 2008; 5 to 55 times larger than yields observed at other sampling sites. However, given erodible soils and steep slopes at this site, sediment yields were relatively small compared to the range in historic values from construction sites without erosion and sediment controls in the United States (2,300 to 140,000 tons per square mile). Downstream from this construction site, a sediment forebay and wetland were constructed in series upstream from Shawnee Mission Lake, a 120-acre reservoir within Shawnee Mission Park. Although the original intent of the sediment forebay and constructed wetland were unrelated to upstream construction, they were nonetheless evaluated in 2008 to characterize sediment removal before stream entry into the lake. The sediment forebay was estimated to reduce 33 percent of sediment transported to the lake, whereas the wetland did not appear to decrease downstream sediment transport. Comparisons of time-series data and relations between turbidity and sediment concentration indicate that larger silt-sized particles were deposited within the sediment forebay, whereas smaller silt and clay-sized sediments were transported through the wetland and into the lake. Data collected at sites up and downstream from the constructed wetland indicated that hydraulic retention alone did not substantially reduce sediment loading to Shawnee Mission Lake. Mean-daily turbidity values at sampling sites downstream from basins with increased construction activity were compared to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency turbidity criteria designed to reduce discharge of pollutants from construction sites. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency numeric turbidity criteria specifies that effluent from construction sites greater than 20 acres not exceed a mean-daily turbidity value of 280 nephelometric turbidity units beginning in 2011; this criteria will apply to sites greater than 10 acres beginning in 2014. Although numeric criteria would not have been applicable to data from sampling sites in Johnson County because they were not directly downstream from construction sites and because individual states still have to determine additional details as to how this criteria will be enforced, comparisons were made to characterize the potential of construction site effluent in Johnson County to exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criteria, even under extensive erosion and sediment controls. Numeric criteria were exceeded at sampling sites downstream from basins with increased construction activity for multiple days during the study period, potentially indicating the need for additional erosion and sediment controls and (or) treatment to bring discharges from construction sites into compliance with future numeric turbidity criteria. Among sampling sites in the Mill Creek Basin, sediment yields from the urbanizing Clear Creek Basin were approximately 2 to 3 times those from older, more stable urban or rural basins. Sediments eroded from construction sites adjacent to or surrounding streams appear to be more readily transported downstream, whereas sediments eroded from construction sites in headwater areas are more likely to

Investments in cancer research awarded to UK institutions and the global burden of cancer 2000-2013: a systematic analysis.

PubMed

Maruthappu, Mahiben; Head, Michael G; Zhou, Charlie D; Gilbert, Barnabas J; El-Harasis, Majd A; Raine, Rosalind; Fitchett, Joseph R; Atun, Rifat

2017-04-20

To systematically categorise cancer research investment awarded to United Kingdom (UK) institutions in the period 2000-2013 and to estimate research investment relative to disease burden as measured by mortality, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years lived with disability (YLDs). Systematic analysis of all open-access data. Public and philanthropic funding to all UK cancer research institutions, 2000-2013. Number and financial value of cancer research investments reported in 2013 UK pounds (UK£). Mortality, DALYs and YLDs data were acquired from the Global Burden of Disease Study. A compound metric was adapted to estimate research investment relative to disease burden as measured by mortality, DALYs and YLDs. We identified 4299 funded studies with a total research investment of £2.4 billion. The highest fundings by anatomical sites were haematological, breast, prostate, colorectal and ovarian cancers. Relative to disease burden as determined by a compound metric combining mortality, DALYs and YLDs, gender-specific cancers were found to be highest funded-the five sites that received the most funding were prostate, ovarian, breast, mesothelioma and testicular cancer; the least well-funded sites were liver, thyroid, lung, upper gastrointestinal (GI) and bladder. Preclinical science accounted for 66.2% of award numbers and 62.2% of all funding. The top five areas of primary research focus by funding were pathogenesis, drug therapy, diagnostic, screening and monitoring, women's health and immunology. The largest individual funder was the Medical Research Council. In combination, the five lowest funded site-specific cancers relative to disease burden account for 47.9%, 44.3% and 20.4% of worldwide cancer mortality, DALYs and YLDs. Research funding for cancer is not allocated according to relative disease burden. These findings are in line with earlier published studies. Funding agencies and industry should openly document their research investments to improve better targeting of research investment. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

The Elum Project: A Network of UK Sites to Understand Land-Use Transitions to Bioenergy and Their Implications for Greenhouse Gas Balance and Carbon Cycling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Z. M.; Alberti, G.; Bottoms, E.; Rowe, R.; Parmar, K.; Marshall, R.; Elias, D.; Smith, P.; Dondini, M.; Pogson, M.; Richards, M.; Finch, J.; Ineson, P.; Keane, B.; Perks, M.; Wilkinson, M.; Yamulki, S.; Donnison, I.; Farrar, K.; Massey, A.; McCalmont, J.; Drewer, J.; Sohi, S.; McNamara, N.; Taylor, G.

2014-12-01

Rising anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions coupled with an increasing need to address energy security are resulting in the development of cleaner, more sustainable alternatives to traditional fossil fuel sources. Bioenergy crops have been proposed to be able to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as provide increased energy security. The aim of this project is to assess the impact of land conversion to second generation non-food bioenergy crops on GHG balance for several land use transitions, including from arable, grassland and forest. A network of 6 sites was established across the UK to assess the processes underpinning GHG balance and to provide input data to a model being used to assess the sustainability of different land use transitions. Monthly analysis of soil GHGs shows that carbon dioxide contributes most to the global warming potential of these bioenergy crops, irrespective of transition. Nitrous oxide emissions were low for all crops except arable cropping and methane emissions were very low for all sites. Nearly all sites have shown a significant decrease in CO2 flux from the control land use. Eddy flux approaches, coupled with soil assessments show that for the transition from grassland to SRC willow there is a significant reduction in GHG emissions from soil and a negative net ecosystem exchange due to increased GPP and ecosystem respiration. These results suggest for this land use transition to bioenergy in a UK specific context, there may be a net benefit for ecosystem GHG exchange of transition to bioenergy Finally we are developing a meta-modelling tool to allow land use managers to make location-specific, informed decisions about land use change to bioenergy. This work is based on the Ecosystem Land Use Modelling & Soil Carbon GHG Flux Trial (ELUM) project, which was commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). This project is co-ordinated by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (www.elum.ac.uk).

Modelling carbonaceous aerosol from residential solid fuel burning with different assumptions for emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ots, Riinu; Heal, Mathew R.; Young, Dominique E.; Williams, Leah R.; Allan, James D.; Nemitz, Eiko; Di Marco, Chiara; Detournay, Anais; Xu, Lu; Ng, Nga L.; Coe, Hugh; Herndon, Scott C.; Mackenzie, Ian A.; Green, David C.; Kuenen, Jeroen J. P.; Reis, Stefan; Vieno, Massimo

2018-04-01

Evidence is accumulating that emissions of primary particulate matter (PM) from residential wood and coal combustion in the UK may be underestimated and/or spatially misclassified. In this study, different assumptions for the spatial distribution and total emission of PM from solid fuel (wood and coal) burning in the UK were tested using an atmospheric chemical transport model. Modelled concentrations of the PM components were compared with measurements from aerosol mass spectrometers at four sites in central and Greater London (ClearfLo campaign, 2012), as well as with measurements from the UK black carbon network.The two main alternative emission scenarios modelled were Base4x and combRedist. For Base4x, officially reported PM2.5 from the residential and other non-industrial combustion source sector were increased by a factor of four. For the combRedist experiment, half of the baseline emissions from this same source were redistributed by residential population density to simulate the effect of allocating some emissions to the smoke control areas (that are assumed in the national inventory to have no emissions from this source). The Base4x scenario yielded better daily and hourly correlations with measurements than the combRedist scenario for year-long comparisons of the solid fuel organic aerosol (SFOA) component at the two London sites. However, the latter scenario better captured mean measured concentrations across all four sites. A third experiment, Redist - all emissions redistributed linearly to population density, is also presented as an indicator of the maximum concentrations an assumption like this could yield.The modelled elemental carbon (EC) concentrations derived from the combRedist experiments also compared well with seasonal average concentrations of black carbon observed across the network of UK sites. Together, the two model scenario simulations of SFOA and EC suggest both that residential solid fuel emissions may be higher than inventory estimates and that the spatial distribution of residential solid fuel burning emissions, particularly in smoke control areas, needs re-evaluation. The model results also suggest the assumed temporal profiles for residential emissions may require review to place greater emphasis on evening (including discretionary) solid fuel burning.

How do directors of public health perceive leadership?

PubMed

McAreav, M J; Alimo-Metcalfe, B; Connelly, J

2001-01-01

This study examines how directors of public health (DsPH) perceive effective leadership. Kelly's repertory grid technique is used. A total of 13 out of a possible 14 DsPH in one NHS region of England were interviewed. Qualitative and quantitative analysis were carried out. The findings show that male DsPH (n = 8) rate their leadership ability more highly than do female DsPH (n = 5). Qualitative analysis produced a number of categories of constructs, some of which are perceived to be indicative of effective leadership, these being "working for others", "personal attributes", "vision and innovation" and "courage and integrity" Some categories appear to be applicable only to the UK (or to public health) and not to the existing dominant US models of leadership. In general, DsPH perceptions of effective leadership converge with current theories; most specifically the UK-based theories. This study therefore refutes any simple extrapolation of US theories of leadership to UK health organisations.

Quality and content of dental practice websites.

PubMed

Nichols, L C; Hassall, D

2011-04-09

To investigate the quality and content of dental practice websites by constructing an audit framework based on regulations, guidance and expert advice, and applying this framework to a random sample of UK dental practices' websites. An audit framework was constructed and in-depth data collected from a random sample of 150 UK dental practices. Thirty-five percent of dental practices in this study were found to have websites. Compliance with rules and regulations regarding dental practice websites was generally poor. Use of advised content for practice promotion was variable. Many websites were poorly optimised. Eighty-nine percent of the websites advertised tooth whitening, despite the issues surrounding its legality; 25% of the websites advertised Botox even though advertising of prescription only medicines is illegal. Some websites gave misleading information about the specialist status of their dentists. Those responsible for dental practice websites need to be aware of a wide range of regulations and guidance, and are advised to follow expert advice on content and optimisation in order to maximise the potential of their websites.

'It's trying to manage the work': a qualitative evaluation of recruitment processes within a UK multicentre trial.

PubMed

Skea, Zoë Christina; Treweek, Shaun; Gillies, Katie

2017-08-11

To explore trial site staff's perceptions regarding barriers and facilitators to local recruitment. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with a range of trial site staff from four trial sites in the UK. Interviews were analysed thematically to identify common themes across sites, barriers that could be addressed and facilitators that could be shared with other sites. 11 members of staff from four trial sites: clinical grant Co-applicant (n=1); Principal Investigators (n=3); Consultant Urologist (n=1); Research Nurses (n=5); Research Assistant (n=1). Embedded within an ongoing randomised controlled trial (the TISU trial). TISU is a UK multicentre trial comparing therapeutic interventions for ureteric stones. Our study draws attention to the initial and ongoing burden of trial work that is involved throughout the duration of a clinical trial. In terms of building and sustaining a research culture, trial staff described the ongoing work of engagement that was required to ensure that clinical staff were both educated and motivated to help with the process of identifying and screening potential participants. Having adequate and sufficient organisational and staffing resources was highlighted as being a necessary prerequisite to successful recruitment both in terms of accessing potentially eligible patients and being able to maximise recruitment after patient identification. The nature of the research study design can also potentially generate challenging communicative work for recruiting staff which can prove particularly problematic. Our paper adds to existing research highlighting the importance of the hidden and complex work that is involved in clinical trial recruitment. Those designing and supporting the operationalisation of clinical trials must recognise and support the mitigation of this 'work'. While much of the work is likely to be contextually sensitive at the level of local sites and for individual trials, some aspects are ubiquitous issues for delivery of trials more generally. ISRCTN No 92289221; Pre-results. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

New culturing studies of various haptophyte algae: The role of phylogeny on the alkenone paleothermometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker Karega, I. I.; Juhl, A. R.; D'Andrea, W. J.

2016-02-01

Alkenone paleothermometry (via the UK37 and UK'37 indices) is widely used to reconstruct sea surface temperature and, more recently, lake water temperature. Genetic analyses indicate that there is a diversity of different alkenone-producing lacustrine haptophytes, and differences among UK37-temperature calibrations suggest that unique calibrations might be required to quantify past temperature variation from individual lakes. The only term needed to quantify UK37-inferred temperature relative to a reference period (e.g., modern temperature, or 20th Century mean temperature) is the slope of the calibration regression: UK37-temperature sensitivity (i.e., the change in UK37 per °C temperature change). Here, we present new data developed by culturing four different species of alkenone-producing haptophyte algae across a range of temperatures (6-30 °C) and light levels (20-200 µE). The simultaneous culture of four distinct species allows direct comparison of the absolute quantities of alkenones and alkenoates, as well as other lipids, produced by different species of haptophytes under identical environmental conditions. Our results indicate that algal growth rate, when controlled by light intensity, has no impact on UK37 values. As expected, we find that growth temperature controls both the degree of alkenone unsaturation and the relative production of alkenones vs. alkenoates in all four species. Importantly, comparison of the four UK37-temperature calibrations resulting from our experiments with preexisting calibrations supports the hypothesis that UK37-temperature sensitivity is controlled by phylogeny. Therefore, even in the absence of a site-specific calibration, this term can be used to quantify past temperature variation from lake sediments if the genetic identity of the lake's alkenone-producer is known.

Ethical, legal and professional issues arising from social media coverage by UK Helicopter Emergency Medical Services.

PubMed

Steele, Sarah; Adcock, Christopher; Steel, Alistair

2016-01-01

Social media (SoMe) are gaining increasing acceptance among, and use by, healthcare service deliverers and workers. UK Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) use SoMe to deliver service information and to fundraise, among other purposes. This article examines UK HEMS use of SoMe between January and February 2014 to determine the extent of adoption and to highlight trends in use. The database of the Association of Air Ambulances, crosschecked with UK Emergency Aviation, was used to identify flying, charitable UK HEMS. This search identified 28 UK HEMS, of which 24 services met the criteria for selection for review. Using information harvested from the public domain, we then systematically documented SoMe use by the services. SoMe use by UK HEMS is extensive but not uniform. All selected UK HEMS maintained websites with blogs, as well as Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia and JustGiving profiles, with the majority of services using Ebay for Charity, LinkedIn and YouTube. Some HEMS also held a presence on Pinterest, Google+, Instagram and Flickr, with a minority of services maintaining their own Rich Site Summary (RSS) feed. The SoMe adopted, while varied, allowed for increased, and different forms of, information delivery by HEMS to the public, often in real time. Such use, though, risks breaching patient confidentiality and data protection requirements, especially when information is viewed cumulatively across platforms. There is an urgent need for the continued development of guidance in this unique setting to protect patients while UK HEMS promote and fundraise for their charitable activities. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Efficient occupancy model-fitting for extensive citizen-science data.

PubMed

Dennis, Emily B; Morgan, Byron J T; Freeman, Stephen N; Ridout, Martin S; Brereton, Tom M; Fox, Richard; Powney, Gary D; Roy, David B

2017-01-01

Appropriate large-scale citizen-science data present important new opportunities for biodiversity modelling, due in part to the wide spatial coverage of information. Recently proposed occupancy modelling approaches naturally incorporate random effects in order to account for annual variation in the composition of sites surveyed. In turn this leads to Bayesian analysis and model fitting, which are typically extremely time consuming. Motivated by presence-only records of occurrence from the UK Butterflies for the New Millennium data base, we present an alternative approach, in which site variation is described in a standard way through logistic regression on relevant environmental covariates. This allows efficient occupancy model-fitting using classical inference, which is easily achieved using standard computers. This is especially important when models need to be fitted each year, typically for many different species, as with British butterflies for example. Using both real and simulated data we demonstrate that the two approaches, with and without random effects, can result in similar conclusions regarding trends. There are many advantages to classical model-fitting, including the ability to compare a range of alternative models, identify appropriate covariates and assess model fit, using standard tools of maximum likelihood. In addition, modelling in terms of covariates provides opportunities for understanding the ecological processes that are in operation. We show that there is even greater potential; the classical approach allows us to construct regional indices simply, which indicate how changes in occupancy typically vary over a species' range. In addition we are also able to construct dynamic occupancy maps, which provide a novel, modern tool for examining temporal changes in species distribution. These new developments may be applied to a wide range of taxa, and are valuable at a time of climate change. They also have the potential to motivate citizen scientists.

Efficient occupancy model-fitting for extensive citizen-science data

PubMed Central

Morgan, Byron J. T.; Freeman, Stephen N.; Ridout, Martin S.; Brereton, Tom M.; Fox, Richard; Powney, Gary D.; Roy, David B.

2017-01-01

Appropriate large-scale citizen-science data present important new opportunities for biodiversity modelling, due in part to the wide spatial coverage of information. Recently proposed occupancy modelling approaches naturally incorporate random effects in order to account for annual variation in the composition of sites surveyed. In turn this leads to Bayesian analysis and model fitting, which are typically extremely time consuming. Motivated by presence-only records of occurrence from the UK Butterflies for the New Millennium data base, we present an alternative approach, in which site variation is described in a standard way through logistic regression on relevant environmental covariates. This allows efficient occupancy model-fitting using classical inference, which is easily achieved using standard computers. This is especially important when models need to be fitted each year, typically for many different species, as with British butterflies for example. Using both real and simulated data we demonstrate that the two approaches, with and without random effects, can result in similar conclusions regarding trends. There are many advantages to classical model-fitting, including the ability to compare a range of alternative models, identify appropriate covariates and assess model fit, using standard tools of maximum likelihood. In addition, modelling in terms of covariates provides opportunities for understanding the ecological processes that are in operation. We show that there is even greater potential; the classical approach allows us to construct regional indices simply, which indicate how changes in occupancy typically vary over a species’ range. In addition we are also able to construct dynamic occupancy maps, which provide a novel, modern tool for examining temporal changes in species distribution. These new developments may be applied to a wide range of taxa, and are valuable at a time of climate change. They also have the potential to motivate citizen scientists. PMID:28328937

Silicon concentrations in UK surface waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neal, Colin; Neal, Margaret; Reynolds, Brian; Maberly, Stephen C.; May, Linda; Ferrier, Robert C.; Smith, Jennifer; Parker, Julie E.

2005-03-01

This paper describes the variations in silicon concentrations in UK waters for a wide range of catchment systems (near pristine, rural, and agricultural and urban impacted systems). The paper largely concerns silicon levels in streams, rivers and lakes based on extensive data collected as part of several research and monitoring initiatives of national and international standing. For a detailed study of an upland catchment in mid-Wales, information on atmospheric inputs and groundwater chemistries is provided to supply background information to cross link to the surface water chemistry. Several hundred streams/rivers and lakes are dealt with within the study, dealing with the main types of freshwater riverine and lacustrine environments. The streams/rivers vary from small ephemeral runoff to the major rivers of the UK. The geographical location of sites vary from local sites in mid-Wales, to regional studies across Scotland, to the major eastern UK rivers entering the North Sea and to acid sensitive upland sites across Wales, the English Lake District, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The surface waters range in silicon concentration from 0 to 19 mg-Si l -1 (average for individual sites vary between 0.7 and 7.6 mg-Si l -1) and there are some clear variations which link to two primary processes (1) the relative inputs of groundwaters enriched in silicon and near surface waters more depleted in silicon and (2) plankton uptake of silicon during the summer months under baseflow conditions. Thermodynamic analysis reveals that the waters are approximately saturated with respect to either quartz or chalcedony except for two circumstances when undersaturation occurs. Firstly, undersaturation occurs at pH less than 5.5 in the upland areas and this is because the waters are mainly sourced from the acidic organic soils which are depleted in inorganic minerals. Secondly, undersaturation occurs in the lowland rivers when biological activity is at its highest and this leads to silicon removal from the water column. Quartz equilibrium can be approached (at pH>5.5) mainly within the upland systems which are not aquifer recharge dominated. However, for the lowland systems that are groundwater recharge dominated, it is chalcedony saturation which is approached, and such saturation is often observed within groundwaters. Similar patterns of undersaturation in response to biological uptake are seen in lakes and the extent of silicon depletion increases with biological productivity. Chalcedony oversaturation can occur for some UK rivers under baseflow conditions and this probably links to a higher rate of weathering.

On the detection and attribution of gravity waves generated by the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Internal gravity waves are generated as adjustment radiation whenever a sudden change in forcing causes the atmosphere to depart from its large-scale balanced state. Such a forcing anomaly occurs during a solar eclipse, when the Moon’s shadow cools part of the Earth’s surface. The resulting atmospheric gravity waves are associated with pressure and temperature perturbations, which in principle are detectable both at the surface and aloft. In this study, surface pressure and temperature data from two UK sites at Reading and Lerwick are examined for eclipse-driven gravity wave perturbations during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse over northwest Europe. Radiosonde wind data from the same two sites are also analysed using a moving parcel analysis method, to determine the periodicities of the waves aloft. On this occasion, the perturbations both at the surface and aloft are found not to be confidently attributable to eclipse-driven gravity waves. We conclude that the complex synoptic weather conditions over the UK at the time of this particular eclipse helped to mask any eclipse-driven gravity waves. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse’. PMID:27550763

On the detection and attribution of gravity waves generated by the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse.

PubMed

Marlton, G J; Williams, P D; Nicoll, K A

2016-09-28

Internal gravity waves are generated as adjustment radiation whenever a sudden change in forcing causes the atmosphere to depart from its large-scale balanced state. Such a forcing anomaly occurs during a solar eclipse, when the Moon's shadow cools part of the Earth's surface. The resulting atmospheric gravity waves are associated with pressure and temperature perturbations, which in principle are detectable both at the surface and aloft. In this study, surface pressure and temperature data from two UK sites at Reading and Lerwick are examined for eclipse-driven gravity wave perturbations during the 20 March 2015 solar eclipse over northwest Europe. Radiosonde wind data from the same two sites are also analysed using a moving parcel analysis method, to determine the periodicities of the waves aloft. On this occasion, the perturbations both at the surface and aloft are found not to be confidently attributable to eclipse-driven gravity waves. We conclude that the complex synoptic weather conditions over the UK at the time of this particular eclipse helped to mask any eclipse-driven gravity waves.This article is part of the themed issue 'Atmospheric effects of solar eclipses stimulated by the 2015 UK eclipse'. © 2016 The Authors.

The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS): normative data and latent structure in a large non-clinical sample.

PubMed

Crawford, John R; Henry, Julie D

2003-06-01

To provide UK normative data for the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) and test its convergent, discriminant and construct validity. Cross-sectional, correlational and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The DASS was administered to a non-clinical sample, broadly representative of the general adult UK population (N = 1,771) in terms of demographic variables. Competing models of the latent structure of the DASS were derived from theoretical and empirical sources and evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. Correlational analysis was used to determine the influence of demographic variables on DASS scores. The convergent and discriminant validity of the measure was examined through correlating the measure with two other measures of depression and anxiety (the HADS and the sAD), and a measure of positive and negative affectivity (the PANAS). The best fitting model (CFI =.93) of the latent structure of the DASS consisted of three correlated factors corresponding to the depression, anxiety and stress scales with correlated error permitted between items comprising the DASS subscales. Demographic variables had only very modest influences on DASS scores. The reliability of the DASS was excellent, and the measure possessed adequate convergent and discriminant validity Conclusions: The DASS is a reliable and valid measure of the constructs it was intended to assess. The utility of this measure for UK clinicians is enhanced by the provision of large sample normative data.

The Internal Consistency and Validity of the Vaccination Attitudes Examination Scale: A Replication Study.

PubMed

Wood, Louise; Smith, Michael; Miller, Christopher B; O'Carroll, Ronan E

2018-06-19

Vaccinations are important preventative health behaviors. The recently developed Vaccination Attitudes Examination (VAX) Scale aims to measure the reasons behind refusal/hesitancy regarding vaccinations. The aim of this replication study is to conduct an independent test of the newly developed VAX Scale in the UK. We tested (a) internal consistency (Cronbach's α); (b) convergent validity by assessing its relationships with beliefs about medication, medical mistrust, and perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) construct validity by testing how well the VAX Scale discriminated between vaccinators and nonvaccinators. A sample of 243 UK adults completed the VAX Scale, the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire, the Perceived Sensitivity to Medicines Scale, and the Medical Mistrust Index, in addition to demographics of age, gender, education levels, and social deprivation. Participants were asked (a) whether they received an influenza vaccination in the past year and (b) if they had a young child, whether they had vaccinated the young child against influenza in the past year. The VAX (a) demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .92); (b) was positively correlated with medical mistrust and beliefs about medicines, and less strongly correlated with perceived sensitivity to medicines; and (c) successfully differentiated parental influenza vaccinators from nonvaccinators. The VAX demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity, and construct validity in an independent UK sample. It appears to be a useful measure to help us understand the health beliefs that promote or deter vaccination behavior.

'It should be the most natural thing in the world': exploring first-time mothers' breastfeeding difficulties in the UK using audio-diaries and interviews.

PubMed

Williamson, Iain; Leeming, Dawn; Lyttle, Steven; Johnson, Sally

2012-10-01

Breastfeeding is a practice which is promoted and scrutinized in the UK and internationally. In this paper, we use interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the experiences of eight British first-time mothers who struggled with breastfeeding in the early post-partum period. Participants kept audio-diary accounts of their infant feeding experiences across a 7-day period immediately following the birth of their infant and took part in related semi-structured interviews a few days after completion of the diary. The overarching theme identified was of a tension between the participants' lived, embodied experience of struggling to breastfeed and the cultural construction of breastfeeding as 'natural' and trouble-free. Participants reported particular difficulties interpreting the pain they experienced during feeds and their emerging maternal identities were threatened, often fluctuating considerably from feed to feed. We discuss some of the implications for breastfeeding promotion and argue for greater awareness and understanding of breastfeeding difficulties so that breastfeeding women are less likely to interpret these as a personal shortcoming in a manner which disempowers them. We also advocate the need to address proximal and distal influences around the breastfeeding dyad and, in particular, to consider the broader cultural context in the UK where breastfeeding is routinely promoted yet often constructed as a shameful act if performed in the public arena. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

10 CFR Appendix D to Subpart D of... - Classes of Actions That Normally Require EISs

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... average megawatts or more over a 12 month period. This applies to power marketing operations and to siting... Systems D2. Siting/construction/operation/decommissioning of nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities D3. Siting/construction/operation/decommissioning of uranium enrichment facilities D4. Siting/construction...

Defining the Role of Geoarchaeology in Managing Past Industrial Landscapes with Global Heritage Value: A UK Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, Andy

2014-05-01

Historically, the location of cultural heritage has often been intimately linked to the natural landscape since physiography has played a significant factor in determining the position of sites. Moreover, the distribution and availability of geological resources such as coal, limestone and metal ores has been critical to the development of heavy industries that kindled the 'Industrial Revolution'. Paradoxically, however, many of these advantageous physiographic and geological characteristics, which were essential to past industrial development, also occur in environments where geomorphological and geological processes are most sensitive to climate change, particularly changing flood frequency and magnitude in valley floors. In addition to the changing energy levels of natural geomorphological processes, a common problem has been the release of industrial contaminants, which exacerbate the potential effects of landscape degradation and can also pose a risk to human health. For over 30 years, empirical research by the geomorphological community in the UK has documented the impact of past industrial processes, focusing on levels of contamination and transfer of sediments within the natural system. In contrast, the archaeological community has largely ignored this important research, instead focusing on the repair and preservation of industrial remains and mining histories. With the threats posed by future climate change and the implementation of more rigorous pollution control via the Water Framework Directive, there is a need for archaeologists to think beyond the environs of any immediate industrial site and to consider the remains within the context of the wider landscape. Using examples from across the UK, including a number of World Heritage Sites, this paper will explore the contribution that the geoarchaeological community can make towards the wider management of industrial sites in the context of future climate change.

Inspection of Construction Works According to Polish Construction Law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czemplik, A.

2015-11-01

Construction regulations are still different in many European countries, even though the European Union directives have unified many acts for construction works and construction products in the member countries. The scheme of the construction process presented in the paper could be valid for most countries, despite of detailed regulations of legal systems. The number of construction regulations to be followed in order to get the Construction Permit in Poland is rather big, so the time between the start of the investment process and the day when the Construction Permit is issued could be several months. Only licensed professional engineers can play the role of site managers, site inspectors and designers, registered for the given construction project. Duties and responsibilities (civil liability) of these engineers are strictly defined by regulations. The obligatory inspection of construction works should be executed by the licensed site inspectors. Moreover, the works can be incidentally inspected by Authority, banks, insurance companies or designers. Foreign designers and foreign site engineers in order to be allowed by respective Authority to play official roles on Polish construction sites should present documents proving that they can do the same jobs in their countries as per regulations obligatory there.

Birds of the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel: their current status and key environmental issues.

PubMed

Burton, N H K; Musgrove, A J; Rehfisch, M M; Clark, N A

2010-01-01

The Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel encompass a number of designated sites supporting populations of waterbirds and seabirds that are of national or international importance, including the Severn Estuary and Burry Inlet Special Protection Areas (SPAs)/Ramsar Sites and Carmarthen Bay, the UK's first marine SPA. Here, we provide an overview of the present numbers and trends of the waterbirds and seabirds using these sites, updating previous reviews undertaken prior to these designations. We further provide a summary of the main issues that have affected the status of the area's bird populations. Declines in the numbers of waders on the Severn Estuary and the southwest over the last two decades have been linked to climate change. The Sea Empress oil-spill impacted both breeding seabirds and the wintering Common Scoters in Carmarthen Bay, though numbers of the latter recovered 3years after the spill. At the Burry Inlet, Oystercatcher numbers have fallen over the last 25years and considerable research has been undertaken into the conflict with cockle and mussel fisheries. A long-term study at Cardiff Bay, at the mouth of the Severn, revealed a significant impact on the survival of Redshanks following its impoundment and has helped to further understanding of responses of waterbirds to estuarine habitat loss. The potential impacts of the construction of a tidal power scheme on the Severn Estuary are also discussed. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

InterProScan 5: genome-scale protein function classification

PubMed Central

Jones, Philip; Binns, David; Chang, Hsin-Yu; Fraser, Matthew; Li, Weizhong; McAnulla, Craig; McWilliam, Hamish; Maslen, John; Mitchell, Alex; Nuka, Gift; Pesseat, Sebastien; Quinn, Antony F.; Sangrador-Vegas, Amaia; Scheremetjew, Maxim; Yong, Siew-Yit; Lopez, Rodrigo; Hunter, Sarah

2014-01-01

Motivation: Robust large-scale sequence analysis is a major challenge in modern genomic science, where biologists are frequently trying to characterize many millions of sequences. Here, we describe a new Java-based architecture for the widely used protein function prediction software package InterProScan. Developments include improvements and additions to the outputs of the software and the complete reimplementation of the software framework, resulting in a flexible and stable system that is able to use both multiprocessor machines and/or conventional clusters to achieve scalable distributed data analysis. InterProScan is freely available for download from the EMBl-EBI FTP site and the open source code is hosted at Google Code. Availability and implementation: InterProScan is distributed via FTP at ftp://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/software/unix/iprscan/5/ and the source code is available from http://code.google.com/p/interproscan/. Contact: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/support or interhelp@ebi.ac.uk or mitchell@ebi.ac.uk PMID:24451626

Professional conduct among registered nurses in the use of online social networking sites.

PubMed

Levati, Sara

2014-10-01

To explore the use of Facebook by Registered Nurses (RNs) in Italy and the United Kingdom (UK), focusing on the disclosure of personal and professional information. The use of online social network sites among medical students and doctors is posing new ethical challenges to the profession. To date, little research has explored the use of online social networking sites among nurses. A cross-national survey. Data were assessed on 124 nurses' profile pages, readily available without viewing restrictions. Content analysis and inferential statistics were undertaken to describe usage and identify similarities and differences between the two country-groups of nurses. Data were collected between December 2011-January 2012. Overall, UK and Italian RNs showed a similar use of the online platform, tending to disclose personal pictures, home town and current home location, as well as updates and comments related to personal and work-related activities. A statistically significant higher proportion of nurses in Italy disclosed their sexual orientation. In both groups, a few cases were observed of potentially unprofessional content in relation to the use of alcohol, nudity and material of a salacious nature. Although most of the UK and Italy RNs appear to be aware of the risks posed by their online exposure, their online activity indicates the blurring of their personal and professional lives; this is posing new ethical, legal and professional challenges to members of the nursing profession. Further research and debate is encouraged at national and international level. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dealing responsibly with the alcohol industry in London.

PubMed

McCambridge, Jim

2012-01-01

The 2012 UK Government's Alcohol Strategy for England and Wales has been welcomed broadly and resulted only in muted criticism within the UK public health community. This is despite strong continuities with previous alcohol industry constructions of the nature of the problem and preferred policy responses. This is probably because the strategy shows progress on the public health lobby's key issue of pricing of alcohol beverages. There are, however, many problems with the wider content of the strategy, showing little interest in much needed industry regulation other than on price, and an absence of commitment to investment in research. Some dilemmas posed for the research community are discussed.

DOD Residential Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Demonstration Program. Volume 2. Summary of Fiscal Year 2001-2003 Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-09-01

history . The fuel cell was sited between the student cafeteria and the Campbell Hall Com- bined Services ROTC Building. The fuel cell installation...produced many of the Beatles 1970s recordings. This facility was selected to host the UK PEM demonstration project from a selection of four potential sites

41 CFR 102-76.55 - What sustainable development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... construction of new facilities, which include— (a) Optimizing site potential; (b) Minimizing non-renewable... development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities... Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities? In keeping with the...

41 CFR 102-76.55 - What sustainable development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... construction of new facilities, which include— (a) Optimizing site potential; (b) Minimizing non-renewable... development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities... Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities? In keeping with the...

41 CFR 102-76.55 - What sustainable development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... construction of new facilities, which include— (a) Optimizing site potential; (b) Minimizing non-renewable... development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities... Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities? In keeping with the...

41 CFR 102-76.55 - What sustainable development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... construction of new facilities, which include— (a) Optimizing site potential; (b) Minimizing non-renewable... development principles must Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities... Federal agencies apply to the siting, design, and construction of new facilities? In keeping with the...

Attributing spatial and temporal changes in soil C in the UK to environmental drivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Amy; Cosby, Bernard; Quin, Sam; Henrys, Pete; Robinson, David; Emmett, Bridget

2015-04-01

The largest terrestrial pool of carbon is found in soils. Understanding how soil C responds to drivers of change (land use and management, atmospheric deposition, climate change) and how these responses are modified by inherent soil properties is crucial if we are to manage soils more sustainably in the future. Here we attempt to attribute spatial and temporal changes in UK soil C to environmental drivers using data from the UK Countryside Survey (CS), a national soil survey across England, Scotland and Wales repeated in 1978, 1998 and 2007. A mixed model approach was used to model soil C concentration (g C kg-1) and density (t C ha-1) and their absolute changes for the time periods 1978-1998, 1998-2007 and 1978-2007 across the CS sites using a variety of explanatory variables: soil (parent material, pH, moisture, Olsen-P, Shannon Diversity Index); atmospheric deposition (nitrogen and sulphur); climate (growing degree days and rain); and land use (aggregate vegetation class). Spatially, prediction of soil C concentration was good; soil moisture, pH, vegetation class and dominant grain size were all significant predictors. Field capacity also appeared to be important; however this data was only collected for a fraction of sites. N% was also strongly related to soil C concentration and density, as would be expected due to coupling of C and N in soil OM pools. Although N may drive soil C through impact on plant productivity, this cannot be separated from correlated C and N losses with OM decomposition, and hence N was not included as a driver for modelling. Predictive power for C density is not as strong as for concentration, which may reflect nonlinear relationships not represented by the modelling approach. Temporally, change in soil C is more difficult to explain, and model predictive power was lower. Change in soil pH was important in explaining change in C concentration and density, along with change in atmospheric deposition; decrease in deposition and associated soil acidity (increase in pH) was associated with a decrease in soil C concentration and density. Change in soil moisture or rainfall was also important. Inherent soil and site properties such as soil texture, vegetation class and parent material appeared to contribute most to the prediction of soil C change through modulation of the relationship between change in soil C and change in pH. Including anthropogenic and natural drivers in models of soil C stocks and changes in the UK enables assessment of the relative importance of each across the UK CS sites, however interactions among the drivers are more difficult to disentangle. Given the statistical significance of a number of drivers and soil variables in predicting soil C stocks and changes in the UK, it is important that these continue to be measured to allow better model development and more reliable predictions of future soil C conditions.

Dominance of international 'high-risk clones' among metallo-β-lactamase-producing Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the UK.

PubMed

Wright, Laura L; Turton, Jane F; Livermore, David M; Hopkins, Katie L; Woodford, Neil

2015-01-01

Carbapenem-resistant isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa producing metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are increasingly reported worldwide and often belong to particular 'high-risk clones'. This study aimed to characterize a comprehensive collection of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates referred to the UK national reference laboratory from multiple UK laboratories over a 10 year period. Isolates were referred to the UK national reference laboratory between 2003 and 2012 for investigation of resistance mechanisms and/or outbreaks. MBL genes were detected by PCR. Typing was carried out by nine-locus variable-number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis and MLST. MBL-producing P. aeruginosa isolates were referred from 267 source patients and 89 UK laboratories. The most common isolation sites were urine (24%), respiratory (18%), wounds (17%) and blood (13%). VIM-type MBLs predominated (91% of all MBLs found), but a few IMP- and NDM-type enzymes were also identified. Diverse VNTR types were seen, but 86% of isolates belonged to six major complexes. MLST of representative isolates from each complex showed that they corresponded to STs 111, 233, 235, 357, 654 and 773, respectively. Isolates belonging to these complexes were received from between 9 and 25 UK referring laboratories each. The incidence of MBL-producing P. aeruginosa is increasing in the UK. The majority of these isolates belong to several 'high-risk clones', which have been previously reported internationally as host clones of MBLs. © Crown copyright 2014.

Turbidity monitoring equipment and methodology evaluation at MDOT construction sites.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-12-01

State Study 261 is a continuation of State study 225, "Turbidity Monitoring at Select : MDOT Construction Sites", which was successful in establishing baseline stream data : at several active construction sites. State Study 261 focused on the equipme...

Assessment of methodologies for analysis of the dungeness B accidental aircraft crash risk.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

LaChance, Jeffrey L.; Hansen, Clifford W.

2010-09-01

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has requested Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to review the aircraft crash methodology for nuclear facilities that are being used in the United Kingdom (UK). The scope of the work included a review of one method utilized in the UK for assessing the potential for accidental airplane crashes into nuclear facilities (Task 1) and a comparison of the UK methodology against similar International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE), and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) methods (Task 2). Based on the conclusions from Tasks 1 and 2, an additionalmore » Task 3 would provide an assessment of a site-specific crash frequency for the Dungeness B facility using one of the other methodologies. This report documents the results of Task 2. The comparison of the different methods was performed for the three primary contributors to aircraft crash risk at the Dungeness B site: airfield related crashes, crashes below airways, and background crashes. The methods and data specified in each methodology were compared for each of these risk contributors, differences in the methodologies were identified, and the importance of these differences was qualitatively and quantitatively assessed. The bases for each of the methods and the data used were considered in this assessment process. A comparison of the treatment of the consequences of the aircraft crashes was not included in this assessment because the frequency of crashes into critical structures is currently low based on the existing Dungeness B assessment. Although the comparison found substantial differences between the UK and the three alternative methodologies (IAEA, NRC, and DOE) this assessment concludes that use of any of these alternative methodologies would not change the conclusions reached for the Dungeness B site. Performance of Task 3 is thus not recommended.« less

Construct validity of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth UK Edition with a referred Irish sample: Wechsler and Cattell-Horn-Carroll model comparisons with 15 subtests.

PubMed

Canivez, Gary L; Watkins, Marley W; Good, Rebecca; James, Kate; James, Trevor

2017-09-01

Irish educational psychologists frequently use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth UK Edition (WISC-IV UK ; Wechsler, 2004, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth UK Edition, London, UK, Harcourt Assessment) in clinical assessments of children with learning difficulties. Unfortunately, reliability and validity studies of the WISC-IV UK standardization sample have not yet been reported. Watkins et al. (2013, International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, 1, 102) found support for a bifactor structure with a large sample (N = 794) of Irish children who were administered the 10 WISC-IV UK core subtests in clinical assessments of learning difficulties and dominance of general intelligence. Because only 10 subtests were available, Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC; McGrew, 1997, 2005, Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests, and issues, New York, NY: Guilford; Schneider & McGrew, 2012, Contemporary intellectual assessment: Theories, tests, and issues, New York, NY, Guilford Press) models could not be tested and compared. The present study utilized confirmatory factor analyses to test the latent factor structure of the WISC-IV UK with a sample of 245 Irish children administered all 15 WISC-IV UK subtests in evaluations assessing learning difficulties in order to examine CHC- and Wechsler-based models. One through five, oblique first-order factor models and higher order versus bifactor models were examined and compared using CFA. Meaningful differences in fit statistics were not observed between the Wechsler and CHC representations of higher-order or bifactor models. In all four structures, general intelligence accounted for the largest portions of explained common variance, whereas group factors accounted for small to miniscule portions of explained common variance. Omega-hierarchical subscale coefficients indicated that unit-weighted composites that would be generated by WISC-IV UK group factors (Wechsler or CHC) would contain little unique variance and thus be of little value. These results were similar to those from other investigations, further demonstrating the replication of the WISC-IV factor structure across cultures and the importance of focusing primary interpretation on the FSIQ. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

The (mis)management of migrant nurses in the UK: a sociological study.

PubMed

Adhikari, Radha; Melia, Kath M

2015-04-01

To examine Nepali migrant nurses' professional life in the UK. In the late 1990 s the UK experienced an acute nursing shortage. Within a decade over 1000 Nepali nurses migrated to the UK. A multi-sited ethnographic approach was chosen for this study. Between 2006 and 2009, 21 in-depth interviews with Nepali nurses were conducted in the UK using snowballing sampling. Nepali migrant nurses are highly qualified and experienced in specialised areas such as critical care, management and education. However, these nurses end up working in the long-term care sector, providing personal care for elderly people - an area commonly described by migrant nurses as British Bottom Care (BBC). This means that migrant nurses lack career choices and professional development opportunities, causing them frustration and lack of job satisfaction. International nurse migration is an inevitable part of globalisation in health. Nurse managers and policy makers need to explore ways to make better use of the talents of the migrant workforce. We offer a management strategy to bring policies for the migrant workforce into line with the wider workforce plans by supporting nurses in finding jobs relevant to their expertise and providing career pathways. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Performance of the JULES land surface model for UK Biogenic VOC emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayman, Garry; Comyn-Platt, Edward; Vieno, Massimo; Langford, Ben

2017-04-01

Emissions of biogenic non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are important for air quality and tropospheric composition. Through their contribution to the production of tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), biogenic VOCs indirectly contribute to climate forcing and climate feedbacks [1]. Biogenic VOCs encompass a wide range of compounds and are produced by plants for growth, development, reproduction, defence and communication [2]. There are both biological and physico-chemical controls on emissions [3]. Only a few of the many biogenic VOCs are of wider interest and only two or three (isoprene and the monoterpenes, α- and β-pinene) are represented in chemical transport models. We use the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), the UK community land surface model, to estimate biogenic VOC emission fluxes. JULES is a process-based model that describes the water, energy and carbon balances and includes temperature, moisture and carbon stores [4, 5]. JULES currently provides emission fluxes of the 4 largest groups of biogenic VOCs: isoprene, terpenes, methanol and acetone. The JULES isoprene scheme uses gross primary productivity (GPP), leaf internal carbon and the leaf temperature as a proxy for the electron requirement for isoprene synthesis [6]. In this study, we compare JULES biogenic VOC emission estimates of isoprene and terepenes with (a) flux measurements made at selected sites in the UK and Europe and (b) gridded estimates for the UK from the EMEP/EMEP4UK atmospheric chemical transport model [7, 8], using site-specific or EMEP4UK driving meteorological data, respectively. We compare the UK-scale emission estimates with literature estimates. We generally find good agreement in the comparisons but the estimates are sensitive to the choice of the base or reference emission potentials. References (1) Unger, 2014: Geophys. Res. Lett., 41, 8563, doi:10.1002/2014GL061616; (2) Laothawornkitkul et al., 2009: New Phytol., 183, 27, doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02859.x; (3) Grote and Niinemets, 2008: Plant Biol., 10, 8, doi:10.1055/s-2007-964975; (4) Best et al., 2011: Geosci. Model Dev., 4, 677, doi:10.5194/gmd-4-677-2011; (5) Clark et al., 2011: Geosci. Model Dev., 4, 701, doi:10.5194/gmd-4-701-2011; (6) Pacifico et al., 2011: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 4371, doi:10.5194/acp-11-4371-2011; [7] Simpson et al., 2012: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 7825, doi: 10.5194/acp-12-7825-2012; [8] Vieno et al., 2016: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 265, doi: 10.5194/acp-16-265-2016.

Fermilab Today

Science.gov Websites

all the animal species that were present in pre-European times," Walton said. One reason for the Cern in Geneva. The latest test has seen particle physics grid sites in the UK exchanging data at high

Habit, identity, and repetitive action: a prospective study of binge-drinking in UK students.

PubMed

Gardner, Benjamin; de Bruijn, Gert-Jan; Lally, Phillippa

2012-09-01

Repeated action can lead to the formation of habits and identification as 'the kind of person' that performs the behaviour. This has led to the suggestion that identity-relevance is a facet of habit. This study explores conceptual overlap between habit and identity, and examines where the two constructs fit into an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) model of binge-drinking among university students. Prospective, questionnaire-based correlational design. A total of 167 UK university students completed baseline measures of past behaviour, self-identity, the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI), and TPB constructs. One week later, 128 participants completed a follow-up behaviour measure. Factor analyses of the SRHI and four identity items revealed two correlated but distinct factors, relating to habit and identity, respectively. Hierarchical regression analyses of intention and behaviour showed that identity contributed over and above TPB constructs to the prediction of intention, whereas habit predicted behaviour directly, and interacted with intentions in predicting behaviour. Habits unexpectedly strengthened the intention-behaviour relation, such that strong intenders were more likely to binge-drink where they also had strong habits. Identity and habit are conceptually discrete and impact differently on binge-drinking. Findings have implications for habit theory and measurement. Recommendations for student alcohol consumption reduction initiatives are offered. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

The Construction of Academic Time: Sub/Contracting Academic Labour in Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hey, Valerie

2001-01-01

Offers a poststructuralist analysis of the UK higher education sector's academic division of labor, exploring some new contradictions from a contract researcher's standpoint. Raises political, social, and methodological questions about these divisions by exploring their class and gender dimensions. Too many academics remain silent about adverse…

Concealed/Revealed

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parsons, Kate

2005-01-01

This article deals with a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary approach to sculpture in a practice-based PhD. The research centred on context in relationship to the Giriama Commemorative Grave Posts of Kenya and my art practice in the UK. This heuristic investigation culminated in the construction of wall and floor fragments relating to vernacular…

Using Upper Layer Weights to Efficiently Construct and Train Feedforward Neural Networks Executing Backpropagation

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-01

algorithm is utilized by Belue, Steppe, & Bauer and Kocur , et al. (Belue, Steppe, & Bauer, April 1996) ( Kocur , et al., 1996). Bacauskiene and...Society. Cardiff, UK. Kocur , C., Roger, S., Myers, L., Burns, T., Hoffmeister, J., Bauer, K., et al. (1996). Using neural networks to select

Constructing Identities: Female Head Teachers' Perceptions and Experiences in the Primary Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Deborah

2017-01-01

This article presents research undertaken with female headteachers in UK primary schools and explores several influential discourses in relation to female headteachers' identities. It considers themes inherent in women's narratives as they reflect upon their professional lives and discusses various identities inhabited by female leaders which…

Dialogic Teaching: Rethinking Language Use during Literature Discussions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reznitskaya, Alina

2012-01-01

Dialogic teaching--a pedagogical approach that involves students in a collaborative construction of meaning and is characterized by shared control over the key aspects of classroom discourse--has been largely advocated by contemporary research and theory. However, studies in the US and UK continue to document the persistence of monologic…

New Patterns of Collaboration and Rivalry in the US and European Defense and Aerospace Industries

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-19

of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (DASA) of Germany, Aerospatiale Matra of France, and Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) of Spain. Its statutory...of the Cobham company of the UK) at its Bridgeport, West Virginia, plant. EADS also anticipates constructing a facility near the Sargent-Fletcher

10 CFR 433.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction... FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS § 433.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] ...

10 CFR 433.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction... FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS § 433.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] ...

10 CFR 433.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction... FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS § 433.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] ...

10 CFR 2.104 - Notice of hearing.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... work authorization, construction permit, early site permit, or combined license for a facility of the... work authorization, construction permit, early site permit, or combined license for a facility of the... hearing concerning an application for a limited work authorization, construction permit, early site permit...

Prospects for Groundwater Drought Termination in the UK in 2017-18

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parry, S.; McKenzie, A.; Prudhomme, C.; Wilby, R.; Wood, P.

2017-12-01

The recovery of groundwater levels towards the end of a drought can lag behind surface water stores such as reservoirs or snowpack - as was the case for California in 2016/17. Groundwater replenishment is an important precursor to the ending of water restrictions, and an improved understanding of the range of plausible groundwater recovery scenarios would be useful for a range of stakeholders, including water managers, farmers and businesses. A method for characterising drought termination in hydrological data is applied systematically here to long time series of groundwater levels (some from the mid-1800s) for the UK. This analysis capitalises on the comprehensive perspective of post-drought recovery in the historical record to provide various outlooks of recovery in groundwater levels over seasonal to multi-year timeframes and to better understand how present conditions are likely to evolve. Rainfall deficiencies in the UK since summer 2016 limited replenishment during the 2016/17 winter recharge season. As a consequence, groundwater levels in south-east England were notably below normal in summer 2017. The possibility of an abrupt termination as occurred in 2012 can already be excluded, and extrapolating recent patterns suggests that very gradual recoveries may be underway. At many sites, normal conditions are not expected to return during 2017, and later still for sites in less responsive aquifers. This is supported by the multi-year drought durations typically found in the historical record, much more prolonged than those observed during the currently developing event. The rainfall rates that have driven historical drought termination events are also assessed for their likelihood across a range of timeframes and start months. Overall results underline the importance of the typical recharge season during the wetter winter half-year in averting multi-year groundwater drought events that would threaten water resources in the populous south-east of the UK. The approach adopted in this study could complement existing operational tools which provide outlooks for groundwater levels over seasonal to annual timescales, such as the UK Hydrological Outlook. The drought termination metrics are also applicable to surface water and hydrological contexts beyond the UK.

A national-scale analysis of the impacts of drought on water quality in UK rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coxon, G.; Howden, N. J. K.; Freer, J. E.; Whitehead, P. G.; Bussi, G.

2015-12-01

Impacts of droughts on water quality qre difficult to quanitify but are essential to manage ecosystems and maintain public water supply. During drought, river water quality is significantly changed by increased residence times, reduced dilution and enhanced biogeochemical processes. But, the impact severity varies between catchments and depends on multiple factors including the sensitivity of the river to drought conditions, anthropogenic influences in the catchment and different delivery patterns of key nutrient, contaminant and mineral sources. A key constraint is data availability for key water quality parameters such that impacts of drought periods on certain determinands can be identified. We use national-scale water quality monitoring data to investigate the impacts of drought periods on water quality in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK Water Quality Sampling Harmonised Monitoring Scheme (HMS) dataset consists of >200 UK sites with weekly to monthly sampling of many water quality variables over the past 40 years. This covers several major UK droughts in 1975-1976, 1983-1984,1989-1992, 1995 and 2003, which cover severity, spatial and temporal extent, and how this affects the temporal impact of the drought on water quality. Several key water quality parameters, including water temperature, nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, orthophosphate, chlorophyll and pesticides, are selected from the database. These were chosen based on their availability for many of the sites, high sampling resolution and importance to the drinking water function and ecological status of the river. The water quality time series were then analysed to investigate whether water quality during droughts deviated significantly from non-drought periods and examined how the results varied spatially, for different drought periods and for different water quality parameters. Our results show that there is no simple conclusion as to the effects of drought on water quality in UK rivers; impacts are diverse both in terms of timing, magnitude and duration. We consider several scenarios in which management interventions may alleviate water quality pressures, and discuss how the many interacting factors need to be better characterised to support detailed mechanistic models to improve our process understanding.

An assessment of the footprint and carrying capacity of oil and gas well sites: The implications for limiting hydrocarbon reserves.

PubMed

Clancy, S A; Worrall, F; Davies, R J; Gluyas, J G

2018-03-15

We estimate the likely physical footprint of well pads if shale gas or oil developments were to go forward in Europe and used these estimates to understand their impact upon existing infrastructure (e.g. roads, buildings), the carrying capacity of the environment, and how the proportion of extractable resources maybe limited. Using visual imagery, we calculate the average conventional well site footprints to be 10,800m 2 in the UK, 44,600m 2 in The Netherlands and 3000m 2 in Poland. The average area per well is 541m 2 /well in the UK, 6370m 2 /well in The Netherlands, and 2870m 2 /well in Poland. Average access road lengths are 230m in the UK, 310m in The Netherlands and 250m in Poland. To assess the carrying capacity of the land surface, well pads of the average footprint, with recommended setbacks, were placed randomly into the licensed blocks covering the Bowland Shale, UK. The extent to which they interacted or disrupted existing infrastructure was then assessed. For the UK, the direct footprint would have a 33% probability of interacting with immovable infrastructure, but this would rise to 73% if a 152m setback was used, and 91% for a 609m setback. The minimum setbacks from a currently producing well in the UK were calculated to be 21m and 46m from a non-residential and residential property respectively, with mean setbacks of 329m and 447m, respectively. When the surface and sub-surface footprints were considered, the carrying capacity within the licensed blocks was between 5 and 42%, with a mean of 26%. Using previously predicted technically recoverable reserves of 8.5×10 11 m 3 for the Bowland Basin and a recovery factor of 26%, the likely maximum accessible gas reserves would be limited by the surface carrying capacity to 2.21×10 11 m 3 . Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cultural stereotypes of women from South Asian communities: mental health care professionals' explanations for patterns of suicide and depression.

PubMed

Burr, J

2002-09-01

Low rates of treated depression and high rates of suicide in women from some South Asian communities are evident in epidemiological studies in the UK. It is argued here that explanations for these apparent differences are likely to be located in stereotypes of repressive South Asian cultures. This small scale study, utilising focus groups and individual interviews, sought to explore the construction of cultural stereotypes within mental health discourse with specific reference to stereotypes of women from South Asian communities. Mental health carers from a UK inner city area of relatively high social deprivation were targeted. Focus groups were conducted with a range of mental health care professionals who worked in both inpatient and outpatient mental health care services. In addition, individual interviews were conducted with consultant psychiatrists and General Practitioners. Extensive reference is made in this paper to the content of focus groups and interviews and how health carer's knowledge about and experience of South Asian cultures and caring for women from these communities was contextualised. Mental health care professionals constructed cultural difference in terms of fixed and immutable categories which operated to inferiorise Britain's South Asian communities. It is argued that their knowledge is constructed upon stereotypes of western culture as superior to a construction of eastern cultures as repressive, patriarchal and inferior to a western cultural ideal. Ultimately, it is argued that these stereotypes become incorporated as 'fact' and have the potential to misdirect diagnosis and therefore, also misdirect treatment pathways.

Ecological studies related to the construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility on the Savannah River Site. Annual report, FY-1991 and FY-1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scott, D.E.; Chazel, A.C.; Pechmann, J.H.K.

1993-06-01

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) was built on the Savannah River Site (SRS) during the mid-1980`s. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) has completed 14 years of ecological studies related to the construction of the DWPF complex. Prior to construction, the 600-acre site (S-Area) contained a Carolina bay and the headwaters of a stream. Research conducted by the SREL has focused primarily on four questions related to these wetlands: (1) Prior to construction, what fauna and flora were present at the DWPF site and at similar, yet undisturbed, alternative sites? (2) By comparing the Carolina bay at the DWPFmore » site (Sun Bay) with an undisturbed control Carolina bay (Rainbow Bay), what effect is construction having on the organisms that inhabited the DWPF site? (3) By comparing control streams with streams on the periphery of the DWPF site, what effect is construction having on the peripheral streams? (4) How effective have efforts been to lessen the impacts of construction, both with respect to erosion control measures and the construction of ``refuge ponds`` as alternative breeding sites for amphibians that formerly bred at Sun Bay? Through the long-term census-taking of biota at the DWPF site and Rainbow Bay, SREL has begun to evaluate the impact of construction on the biota and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. Similarly, the effects of erosion from the DWPF site on the water quality of S-Area peripheral streams are being assessed. This research provides supporting data relevant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Executive Orders 11988 (Floodplain Management) and 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), and United States Department of Energy (DOE) Guidelines for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetland Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR 1022).« less

Design of turbidity controls for Oklahoma highway construction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

The Environmental protection Agency (USEPA) has issued new requirements on the construction : industry to control the discharge of pollutants from the sites. The construction effluent guidelines or : ELGs require construction sites to reduce the p...

Transitions to material efficiency in the UK steel economy.

PubMed

Allwood, Julian M

2013-03-13

Steel production is energy intensive so already has achieved impressive levels of energy efficiency. If the emissions associated with steel must be reduced in line with the requirements of the UK Climate Change Act, demand for new steel must be reduced. The strategies of 'material efficiency' aim to achieve such a reduction, while delivering the same final services. To meet the emissions targets set into UK law, UK consumption of steel must be reduced to 30 per cent of present levels by 2050. Previous work has revealed six strategies that could contribute to this target, and this paper presents an approximate analysis of the required transition. A macro-economic analysis of steel in the UK shows that while the steel industry is relatively small, the construction and manufacturing sectors are large, and it would be politically unacceptable to pursue options that lead to a major contraction in other sectors. Alternative business models are therefore required, and these are explored through four representative products--one for each final sector with particular emphasis given to options for reducing product weight, and extending product life. Preliminary evidence on the triggers that would lead to customers preferring these options is presented and organized in order to predict required policy measures. The estimated analysis of transitions explored in this paper is used to define target questions for future research in the area.

Estimation of groundwater recharge to chalk and sandstone aquifers using simple soil models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ragab, R.; Finch, J.; Harding, R.

1997-03-01

On the assumption that the water draining below the root zone is potentially available for groundwater recharge, two current UK methods for estimating annual groundwater recharge have been compared with a new soil model using data from four sites under permanent grass in the UK: two sites representative of the Chalk aquifer at Bridgest Farm (Hampshire) and Fleam Dyke (Cambridgeshire), and two sites on the Triassic sandstone at Bicton College (Devon) and Bacon Hall (Shropshire). A Four Root Layers Model (FRLM), the Penman-Grindley model and the UK Meteorological Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System (MORECS) were used. The new soil model was run with potential evaporation as input both from the MORECS and from the Penman-Monteith equation. The models were run for the Chalk sites both with and without a bypass flow of 15% of rainfall. Bypass was not considered for the sandstone sites. The performance of the models was tested against neutron probes measurements of soil moisture deficits. In addition, the annual groundwater recharge estimated from the models was compared with the published values obtained from the 'zero flux plane' method. Generally, the Penman-Grindley model was more successful in predicting the time for soil to return to its field capacity than in predicting the magnitude of the soil moisture deficit. The annual groundwater recharge was predicted with reasonable accuracy. The MORECS relatively tended to overestimate the soil moisture deficits and to delay the time at which the soil returns to its field capacity. The consequences were underestimates of annual groundwater recharge, owing either to the higher values of potential evaporation calculated from the MORECS or tothe high available water capacity values associated with the soils under consideration. The new soil model (FRLM) predicts the soil moisture deficits successfully and hence is reliable in estimating the annual groundwater recharge. The model is capable of doing this with potential evaporation input calculated either from the MORECS or from the Penman-Monteith equation. The model also demonstrated that the inclusion of 15% of rainfall as bypass flow is viable for Chalk sites.

The possible role of soils in the global cycling of PCBs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lead, W.A.; Jones, K.C.; Steinnes, E.

Archived soil and humus samples collected between 1950 and 1974 from 50 remote sites across the U.K. have been analyzed for a range of PCB congeners. The same sites have been revisited and contemporary samples taken. Results show increasing {Sigma}PCB concentrations up until the late 1960s after which there has been a dramatic reduction in the soil {Sigma}PCB concentration. These trends are indicative of the changes in use of these compounds over time. There are also temporal changes in the congener profiles, with the percentage contribution of the heavier homologue groups (hepta and octa -chlorinated) increasing. Samples of contemporary humusmore » from 12 rural Norwegian sites have also been screened for a range of congeners and the results compared with those of the U.K. soils and humus samples. Results for the Norway/U.K. comparison and the trends in the congener profiles for the archived/contemporary soil comparison suggest that PCBs are volatilizing from temperate areas and undergoing long range transport and subsequent global fractionation.« less

Soil geochemical analyses as an indication of metal working at the excavation of a house in the Roman City at Silchester (UK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, S. R.; Fulford, M.; Ciarke, A.; Pearson, C.

2003-05-01

Silchesteris the site of a major late Iron Age and Roman town (Calleva Atrebatum), situated in northern Hampshire (England (UK)) and occupied between the late first century BC and the fifth or sixth century AD. Extensive evidence of the nature of the buildings and the plan of the town was obtained from excavations undertaken between 1890 and 1909. The purpose of this study was to use soil geochemical analyses to reinforce the archaeological evidence particularly with reference to potential metal working at the site Soil analysis has been used previously to distinguish different functions or land use activity over a site and to aid identification and interpretation of settlement features (Entwistle et al., 2000). Samples were taken from two areas of the excavation on a l-metre grid. Firstly from an area of some 500 square metres from contexts of late first/early second century AD date throughout the entirety of a large “town house” (House 1) from which there was prima facie evidence of metalworking.

Britain Approaches ESO about Installation of Major New Telescope at Paranal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2000-02-01

The Executive Board of the UK Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope (VISTA) project announced today [1] that it is aiming at the installation of a new and powerful astronomical telescope at the ESO Paranal Observatory (Chile). This 4-metre telescope is a specialised wide-angle facility equipped with powerful cameras and efficient detectors that will enable it to obtain deep images of large sky areas in short time. These survey observations will be made in several wavebands in the optical and, in particular, the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum. VISTA will become the largest and most effective telescope of its type when it enters into operation in 2004. It is a project of a consortium of 18 UK universities [2]. Construction is expected to start in spring 2000. Funding of the project was announced in May 1999, as one of the first allocations from the "Joint Infrastructure Fund (JIF)", an initiative of the UK Government's Department of Trade and Industry, the Wellcome Trust, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. ESO's Director General, Dr. Catherine Cesarsky , is very pleased with this decision. She received a mandate from the ESO Council in December 1999 to negotiate a contract with the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) , acting on behalf of the VISTA Executive Board, for the installation of VISTA at Paranal and now looks forward to settle the associated legal and operational details with her British counterparts at good pace. "The installation of VISTA at Paranal will be of great benefit to all European astronomers", she says. "The placement of a survey telescope of this size next to ESO's VLT, the world's largest optical telescope, opens a plethora of exciting opportunities for joint research projects. Deep observations with VISTA, especially in infrared wavebands, will provide a most valuable, first census of large regions of space. This will most certainly lead to the discoveries of many new and interesting celestial objects which can then be studied in much more detail with the many specialised instruments at the powerful VLT Unit Telescopes." ESO, the European Southern Observatory, has eight member states, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. The United Kingdom participated actively in the early discussions in the 1950's about the establishment of ESO, but later elected not to join, mainly because of its access to other southern astronomical facilities in Australia and South Africa. ESO already possesses a smaller survey instrument at the La Silla Observatory (Chile), with the optical Wide-Field Imager at the ESO/MPG 2.2-m telescope. In addition, the 2.6-m VLT Survey Telescope (VST) with the 16kx16k OmegaCam camera will be installed at Paranal in 2002. It will operate in the visual region of the spectrum and, together with VISTA's infrared capability, ensure unequalled sky- and wavelength coverage from one observing site. Notes [1] The announcement was made in a PPARC Press Release, available at http://www.pparc.ac.uk and at the AlphaGalileo site. [2] Universities in the VISTA Consortium are (in alphabetical order) Birmingham, Cambridge, Cardiff, Durham, Edinburgh, Hertfordshire, Keele, Central Lancashire, Leicester, Liverpool John Moores, Nottingham, Oxford, Queen Mary & Westfield College, Queen's University Belfast, St Andrews, Southampton, Sussex, University College London.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Halliwell, Stephen

Radioactive waste materials, including Transuranic (TRU) wastes from laboratories have been stored below ground in large containments at a number of sites in the US DOE Complex, and at nuclear sites in Europe. These containments are generally referred to as caissons or shafts. The containments are in a range of sizes and depths below grade. The caissons at the DOE's Hanford site are cylindrical, of the order of 2,500 mm in diameter, 3,050 mm in height and are buried about 6,000 mm below grade. One type of caisson is made out of corrugated pipe, whereas others are made of concretemore » with standard re-bar. However, the larger shafts in the UK are of the order of 4,600 mm in diameter, 53,500 mm deep, and 12,000 below grade. This paper describes the R and D work and testing activities performed to date to evaluate the concept of in-ground size reduction and stabilization of the contents of large containments similar to those at Hanford. In practice, the height of the Test Facility provided for a test cell that was approximately 22' deep. That prevented a 'full scale mockup' test in the sense that the Hanford Caisson configuration would be an identical replication. Therefore, the project was conducted in two phases. The first phase tested a simulated Caisson with surrogate contents, and part of a Chute section, and the second phase tested a full chute section. These tests were performed at VJ Technologies Test Facility located in East Haven, CT, as part of the Proof of Design Concept program for studying the feasibility of an in-situ grout/grind/mix/stabilize technology for the remediation of four caissons at the 618-11 Burial Ground at US Department of Energy Hanford Site. The test site was constructed such that multiple testing areas were provided for the evaluation of various tools, equipment and procedures under conditions that simulated the Hanford site, with representative soils and layout dimensions. (authors)« less

The Differing Site Conditions Clause: Time for a Change

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-30

the character provided for in the contract. The provision of the standard construction contract utilized by agencies of the Federal Government which...unanticipated conditions otherwise attendant upon the performance of construction work.’ Differing site conditions pose a major concern to all I McNulty, "Changed...Conditions (Differing Site Conditions) and Misrepresentations Under Government Construction Contracts" in Construction Contract Changes, Changed

Assessment of karst activity at highway construction sites using the electrical resistivity method (Greene and Jefferson Counties, Missouri).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-11-01

Two-dimensional (2-D) electrical resistivity data were acquired across and in proximity to active sinkholes at two Missouri : Department of Transportation (MoDOT) highway-construction sites. Construction site #1 is located in Greene County, Missouri;...

48 CFR 49.105-4 - Cleanup of construction site.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Cleanup of construction site. 49.105-4 Section 49.105-4 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS General Principles 49.105-4 Cleanup of construction site. In...

Quantifying Construction Site Sediment Discharge Risk and Treatment Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrell, L.; Beighley, R. E.

2006-12-01

Dealing with soil erosion and sediment transport can be a significant challenge during the construction process due to the potentially large spatial and temporal extent and conditions of bare soils. Best Management Practices (BMP) are commonly used to eliminate or reduce offsite discharge of sediment. However, few efforts have investigated the time varying risk of sediment discharge from construction sites, which often have dynamic soil conditions and the potential for less than optimal BMP installations. The goal of this research is to improve the design, implementation and effectiveness of sediment and erosion control at construction sites using site specific, temporal distributions of sediment discharge risk. Sediment risk is determined from individual factors leading to sediment expert, such as rainfall frequency, the adequacy of BMP installations, and the extent and duration of bare soil conditions. This research specifically focuses on quantifying: (a) the effectiveness of temporary sediment and control erosion control BMPs in preventing, containing, and/or treating construction site sediment discharge at varying levels of "proper" installation, and (b) sediment discharge potential from construction sites during different phases of construction, (ex., disturbed earth operations). BMPs are evaluated at selected construction sites in southern California and at the Soil Erosion Research Laboratory (SERL) in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at San Diego State University. SERL experiments are performed on a 3-m by 10-m tilting soil bed with soil depths up to 1 meter, slopes ranging from 0 to 50 percent, and rainfall rates up to 150 mm/hr (6 in/hr). BMP performance is assessed based on experiments where BMPs are installed per manufacture specifications, potential less than optimal installations, and no treatment conditions. Soil conditions are also varied to represent site conditions during different phases of construction (i.e., loose lifts, stock piles, temporary roads, finished grade, others). Preliminary site monitoring, experimental results, and a conceptual model for estimating the time depend risk of sediment discharge over the duration of a construction project are presented.

Toxic marine microalgae and shellfish poisoning in the British isles: history, review of epidemiology, and future implications

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

The relationship between toxic marine microalgae species and climate change has become a high profile and well discussed topic in recent years, with research focusing on the possible future impacts of changing hydrological conditions on Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species around the world. However, there is very little literature concerning the epidemiology of these species on marine organisms and human health. Here, we examine the current state of toxic microalgae species around the UK, in two ways: first we describe the key toxic syndromes and gather together the disparate reported data on their epidemiology from UK records and monitoring procedures. Secondly, using NHS hospital admissions and GP records from Wales, we attempt to quantify the incidence of shellfish poisoning from an independent source. We show that within the UK, outbreaks of shellfish poisoning are rare but occurring on a yearly basis in different regions and affecting a diverse range of molluscan shellfish and other marine organisms. We also show that the abundance of a species does not necessarily correlate to the rate of toxic events. Based on routine hospital records, the numbers of shellfish poisonings in the UK are very low, but the identification of the toxin involved, or even a confirmation of a poisoning event is extremely difficult to diagnose. An effective shellfish monitoring system, which shuts down aquaculture sites when toxins exceed regularity limits, has clearly prevented serious impact to human health, and remains the only viable means of monitoring the potential threat to human health. However, the closure of these sites has an adverse economic impact, and the monitoring system does not include all toxic plankton. The possible geographic spreading of toxic microalgae species is therefore a concern, as warmer waters in the Atlantic could suit several species with southern biogeographical affinities enabling them to occupy the coastal regions of the UK, but which are not yet monitored or considered to be detrimental. PMID:21645342

Natural Capital - putting a value on geological sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunlop, Lesley

2017-04-01

Natural Capital is a mechanism through which a value can be placed on nature allowing it to be considered alongside other assets. When the Government of the United Kingdom produced a Natural Environment White Paper (The Natural Choice: securing the value of nature) in 2012 there was no direct mention of geosites, geoheritage or geodiversity. One ambition of the Natural Environment White Paper was to stop environmental degradation and to rebuild natural capital and to value it. Whilst landscapes are mentioned in the paper geodiversity is not directly and this has been problematic for funding and recognition within the UK. Natural Capital is being used as the basis for many of the environmental reviews therefore it is essential that geodiversity can be included within this. The Natural Capital Committee defines natural capital as 'those elements of the natural environment which provide valuable goods and services to people'. In the main, these goods and services are related to ecology/biodiversity rather than to the full range of natural capital. Specifically, the values associated with abiotic nature (geodiversity) are frequently undervalued or ignored. The English Geodiversity Forum have been producing case studies as to how this might be done for different locations and this paper will present the work of this and how a value can be attributed to geodiversity. For example links to tourism and recreation within areas such as the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the Black Country proposed Geopark are easy to place a value on but it is more difficult with educational, scientific sites. Using an ecosystems services and biodiversity analogies this paper presents a framework that can be adopted for evaluation of geological sites. Defra (2015) The state of natural capital: protecting and improving natural capital for prosperity and wellbeing. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, 73 pages https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/516725/ncc-state-natural-capital-third-report.pdf English Nature (2006) The social and economic value of the UK's geodiversity, Research Report 709, English Nature. HMG (2011) The natural choice: securing the value of nature, Her Majesty's Stationary Office. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-natural-choice-securing-the-value-of-nature Lawton, J.H., Brotherton, P.N.M., Brown, V.K., Elphick, C., Fitter, A.H., Forshaw, J., Haddow, R.W., Hilborne, S., Leafe, R.N., Mace, G.M., Southgate, M.P., Sutherland, W.A., Tew, T.E., Varley, J., & Wynne, G.R. (2010) Making Space for Nature: a review of England's wildlife sites and ecological network. Report to Defra.

Critical management practices influencing on-site waste minimization in construction projects.

PubMed

Ajayi, Saheed O; Oyedele, Lukumon O; Bilal, Muhammad; Akinade, Olugbenga O; Alaka, Hafiz A; Owolabi, Hakeem A

2017-01-01

As a result of increasing recognition of effective site management as the strategic approach for achieving the required performance in construction projects, this study seeks to identify the key site management practices that are requisite for construction waste minimization. A mixed methods approach, involving field study and survey research were used as means of data collection. After confirmation of construct validity and reliability of scale, data analysis was carried out through a combination of Kruskal-Wallis test, descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis. The study suggests that site management functions could significantly reduce waste generation through strict adherence to project drawings, and by ensuring fewer or no design changes during construction process. Provision of waste skips for specific materials and maximisation of on-site reuse of materials are also found to be among the key factors for engendering waste minimization. The result of factor analysis suggests four factors underlying on-site waste management practices with 96.093% of total variance. These measures include contractual provisions for waste minimization, waste segregation, maximisation of materials reuse and effective logistic management. Strategies through which each of the underlying measures could be achieved are further discussed in the paper. Findings of this study would assist construction site managers and other site operatives in reducing waste generated by construction activities. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Flood defence in the Blackwater Estuary, Essex, UK: the impact of sedimentological and geochemical changes on salt marsh development in the Tollesbury Managed Realignment site.

PubMed

Chang, Y H; Scrimshaw, M D; Macleod, C L; Lester, J N

2001-06-01

Recent changes in the UK's coastal defence strategy have resulted in the introduction of Managed Realignment (MR), a technique which attempts to establish salt marshes on low-lying coastal farmland. This work investigates the impact of MR, in particular on the interactions between sediment movement, changes in heavy metal concentrations and salt marsh development. Pre- and post-inundation samples were collected and analysed between 1995 and 1997. Sediment transport patterns (1996) demonstrated that sediment particles were distributed by tides around the site, resulting in a change in the spatial distribution of the metals which was related to the sediment particle size distribution. Despite the presence of some metal contaminants found within the MR site, vegetated salt marsh has developed since 1997. However, heavy metals such as Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn exhibited relative depletion in the sediment developing with salt marsh in 1997, which is in agreement with data indicating that concentrations of metals within sediments is related to frequency of tidal inundation. During initial development of the site, sediment transport was the main factor controlling metal distribution, however, subsequently the frequency of tidal inundation became the most significant factor. Further work may allow for prediction of how future MR sites will develop with respect to redistribution of sediments and subsequent transport of contaminants in the dissolved phase.

10 CFR 435.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] 435.6 Section 435.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS...-Rise Residential Buildings. § 435.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction...

10 CFR 435.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] 435.6 Section 435.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS...-Rise Residential Buildings. § 435.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction...

10 CFR 435.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] 435.6 Section 435.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS...-Rise Residential Buildings. § 435.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction...

75 FR 879 - National Semiconductor Corporation Arlington Manufacturing Site Including On-Site Leased Workers...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-01-06

... Foods, Allied Barton Security, ASIL, ASML and Construction Mechanical Systems Arlington, TX; Amended... leased workers from ASML and Construction Mechanical Systems were employed on-site at the Arlington... Department is amending the certification to include workers leased from ASML and Construction Mechanical...

A case study on the feasibility and performance of an UWB-AoA real time location system for resources management of civil construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mok, Esmond; Xia, Linyuan; Retscher, Guenther; Tian, Hui

2010-06-01

The application of integrated satellite and modern wireless positioning technologies for ubiquitous real-time resources management in large scale civil engineering projects can greatly optimize the time and cost in the construction process, and is now the trend for modern construction project management. As the outdoor conditions of most civil construction sites are open to sky, satellite positioning with the popularly used Global Positioning System (GPS) has been proved to be very efficient and effective. However, the condition in indoor and underground construction site is very complicated due to the fact that different construction activities would be carried out in different congested areas, involving heavy construction plant, equipment, professionals and technical personnel. Nowadays different emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi and ZigBee can be adopted for position and tracking in indoor environments. Nevertheless, under the very complicated construction site conditions these technologies may fail due to movement of human resources and construction plant, variation of metrological conditions, and serious multipath effects of signals. It is considered that Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology is more suitable for indoor construction site environments. In this paper, a case study on the attempt of integrating GPS with Ubisense Real-time Location System (RTLS) for resources management in an underground railway construction site is discussed. Laboratory and field tests have shown that the RTLS can provide better resources management capability in terms of positioning accuracy and stability than Wi-Fi and ZigBee technologies under complicated construction environments. The test results show that the system can normally achieve better than 15 cm accuracy, and better than 1 m under adverse geometrical site condition. However, the high instrumental set up cost and the requirement for high quality data transmission cable for high precision time synchronization between sensors may deter wide application of similar system for resources management in construction sites.

Dangerous (toxic) atmospheres in UK wood pellet and wood chip fuel storage.

PubMed

Simpson, Andrew T; Hemingway, Michael A; Seymour, Cliff

2016-09-01

There is growing use of wood pellet and wood chip boilers in the UK. Elsewhere fatalities have been reported, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning following entry into wood pellet storage areas. The aim of this work was to obtain information on how safely these two fuels are being stored in the UK. Site visits were made to six small-scale boiler systems and one large-scale pellet warehouse, to assess storage practice, risk management systems and controls, user knowledge, and potential for exposure to dangerous atmospheres. Real time measurements were made of gases in the store rooms and during laboratory tests on pellets and chips. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted and the microbiological content of the fuel was also determined. Knowledge of the hazards associated with these fuels, including confined space entry, was found to be limited at the smaller sites, but greater at the large pellet warehouse. There has been limited risk communication between companies supplying and maintaining boilers, those manufacturing and supplying fuel, and users. Risk is controlled by restricting access to the store rooms with locked entries; some store rooms have warning signs and carbon monoxide alarms. Nevertheless, some store rooms are accessed for inspection and maintenance. Laboratory tests showed that potentially dangerous atmospheres of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, with depleted levels of oxygen may be generated by these fuels, but this was not observed at the sites visited. Unplanned ventilation within store rooms was thought to be reducing the build-up of dangerous atmospheres. Microbiological contamination was confined to wood chips.

Dangerous (toxic) atmospheres in UK wood pellet and wood chip fuel storage

PubMed Central

Simpson, Andrew T.; Hemingway, Michael A.; Seymour, Cliff

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT There is growing use of wood pellet and wood chip boilers in the UK. Elsewhere fatalities have been reported, caused by carbon monoxide poisoning following entry into wood pellet storage areas. The aim of this work was to obtain information on how safely these two fuels are being stored in the UK. Site visits were made to six small-scale boiler systems and one large-scale pellet warehouse, to assess storage practice, risk management systems and controls, user knowledge, and potential for exposure to dangerous atmospheres. Real time measurements were made of gases in the store rooms and during laboratory tests on pellets and chips. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted and the microbiological content of the fuel was also determined. Knowledge of the hazards associated with these fuels, including confined space entry, was found to be limited at the smaller sites, but greater at the large pellet warehouse. There has been limited risk communication between companies supplying and maintaining boilers, those manufacturing and supplying fuel, and users. Risk is controlled by restricting access to the store rooms with locked entries; some store rooms have warning signs and carbon monoxide alarms. Nevertheless, some store rooms are accessed for inspection and maintenance. Laboratory tests showed that potentially dangerous atmospheres of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, with depleted levels of oxygen may be generated by these fuels, but this was not observed at the sites visited. Unplanned ventilation within store rooms was thought to be reducing the build-up of dangerous atmospheres. Microbiological contamination was confined to wood chips. PMID:27030057

Exposure of children and adolescents to alcohol marketing on social media websites.

PubMed

Winpenny, Eleanor M; Marteau, Theresa M; Nolte, Ellen

2014-01-01

In 2011, online marketing became the largest marketing channel in the UK, overtaking television for the first time. This study aimed to describe the exposure of children and young adults to alcohol marketing on social media websites in the UK. We used commercially available data on the three most used social media websites among young people in the UK, from December 2010 to May 2011. We analysed by age (6-14 years; 15-24 years) and gender the reach (proportion of internet users who used the site in each month) and impressions (number of individual pages viewed on the site in each month) for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We further analysed case studies of five alcohol brands to assess the marketer-generated brand content available on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in February and March 2012. Facebook was the social media site with the highest reach, with an average monthly reach of 89% of males and 91% of females aged 15-24. YouTube had a similar average monthly reach while Twitter had a considerably lower usage in the age groups studied. All five of the alcohol brands studied maintained a Facebook page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, with varying levels of user engagement. Facebook pages could not be accessed by an under-18 user, but in most cases YouTube content and Twitter content could be accessed by those of all ages. The rise in online marketing of alcohol and the high use of social media websites by young people suggests that this is an area requiring further monitoring and regulation.

Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powell, Abigail; Dainty, Andrew; Bagilhole, Barbara

2012-12-01

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.

Explicit and Implicit Subject Bias in the "ABS Journal Quality Guide"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoepner, Andreas G. F.; Unerman, Jeffrey

2012-01-01

This paper addresses issues raised in two recent papers published in this journal about the UK "Association of Business Schools' Journal Quality Guide (ABS Guide)". While much of the debate about journal rankings in general, and the "ABS Guide" in particular, has focused on the construction, power and (mis)use of these…

A Socio-Cognitive Approach to Knowledge Construction in Design Studio through Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kocaturk, Tuba

2017-01-01

This paper results from an educational research project that was undertaken by the School of Architecture, at the University of Liverpool funded by the Higher Education Academy in UK. The research explored technology driven shifts in architectural design studio education, identified their cognitive effects on design learning and developed an…

Curriculum Online? Exploring the Political and Commercial Construction of the UK Digital Learning Marketplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Selwyn, Neil

2007-01-01

Government support for the production and consumption of educational software is now a key element of New Labour's education technology drive. At present much attention is being directed towards marketing "digital learning" to an educational sector traditionally wary of technological innovation. In an effort to understand the social…

Masculinity, Subjectivity and Neoliberalism in Men's Accounts of Migration and Higher Educational Participation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burke, Penny Jane

2011-01-01

In this article, I explore men's educational experiences and aspirations in the context of UK policy discourses of widening participation and migration. Critiquing discourses that oversimplify gendered access to higher education, I develop an analysis of the impact of masculine subjectivities on processes of subjective construction in relation to…

Doubting Learning Outcomes in Higher Education Contexts: From Performativity towards Emergence and Negotiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Addison, Nicholas

2014-01-01

Learning Outcomes models, particularly constructive alignment, are the default 'theoretical' tool underpinning HE curriculum design in the UK despite continuing doubts as to their efficacy. With reference to the literature, this article summarises the history of the Learning Outcomes movement and charts the perceived benefits and deficits of…

Students' Perceptions of BIM Education in the Higher Education Sector: A UK and US Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelbourn, M.; Macdonald, J.; McCuen, T.; Lee, S.

2017-01-01

The use of building information modelling (BIM) has increased in the global architecture, engineering, construction and owner-operated (AECO) industries. This increased use has contributed to a recognition by project stakeholders of its importance across the building life cycle, leading higher education institutions to rethink their AECO…

Self-Perceived Employability: Construction and Initial Validation of a Scale for University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rothwell, Andrew; Herbert, Ian; Rothwell, Frances

2008-01-01

This paper reports the development of a research instrument to examine the expectations and self-perceptions of employability of business undergraduates (bachelor degree students) in three UK universities, and examines relationships with other measures. The scale was found to have a satisfactory internal reliability coefficient for an untested…

Transition to Postgraduate Study: Postgraduate Ecological Systems and Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tobbell, Jane; O'Donnell, Victoria L.

2013-01-01

This paper explores and examines the distal and proximal systems which construct social science postgraduate study in the UK and analyses the emergent identities of postgraduate students as they negotiate the multiple and interacting practices in their transition to study. The data represent part of a one-year research project, funded by the…

Creativity-Based Assessment and Neural Understandings: A Discussion and Case Study Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penaluna, Andrew; Coates, Jackie; Penaluna, Kathryn

2010-01-01

Purpose: Enabling entrepreneurial creativity is a key aim of UK Government; however, there is a dearth of constructively aligned models of teaching and assessment. This paper aims to introduce design-based pedagogies and to highlight cognitive approaches that develop innovative mindsets; it seeks to indicate their propensity for adoption in…

I'm a Reddie and a Christian! Identity Negotiations amongst First-Year University Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen-Collinson, Jacquelyn; Brown, Rebecca

2012-01-01

Currently, there exists relatively scant sociological research on the identities of first-year UK university students, and specifically those holding a strong Christian identity. Employing a symbolic interactionist framework, this article explores issues of identity construction amongst a group of first-year undergraduate students based at a UK…

Meeting the Challenge of Limited Literacy Resources for Adolescents and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Michelle F.; Moni, Karen B.

2008-01-01

For adolescents and adults with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (or, in the UK, learning disabilities or learning difficulties), the achievement of successful engagement with, and construction of meaning from, texts necessitates the implementation and use of specifically designed and adapted teaching strategies and resources. The…

An audit of alcohol brand websites.

PubMed

Gordon, Ross

2011-11-01

The study investigated the nature and content of alcohol brand websites in the UK. The research involved an audit of the websites of the 10 leading alcohol brands by sales in the UK across four categories: lager, spirits, Flavoured Alcoholic Beverages and cider/perry. Each site was visited twice over a 1-month period with site features and content recorded using a pro-forma. The content of websites was then reviewed against the regulatory codes governing broadcast advertising of alcohol. It was found that 27 of 40 leading alcohol brands had a dedicated website. Sites featured sophisticated content, including sports and music sections, games, downloads and competitions. Case studies of two brand websites demonstrate the range of content features on such sites. A review of the application of regulatory codes covering traditional advertising found some content may breach the codes. Study findings illustrate the sophisticated range of content accessible on alcohol brand websites. When applying regulatory codes covering traditional alcohol marketing channels it is apparent that some content on alcohol brand websites would breach the codes. This suggests the regulation of alcohol brand websites may be an issue requiring attention from policymakers. Further research in this area would help inform this process. © 2010 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Observed trends in ambient concentrations of C 2-C 8 hydrocarbons in the United Kingdom over the period from 1993 to 2004

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dollard, G. J.; Dumitrean, P.; Telling, S.; Dixon, J.; Derwent, R. G.

Hourly measurements of up to 26 C 2-C 8 hydrocarbons have been made at eight urban background sites, three urban-industrial sites, a kerbside and a rural site in the UK from 1993 onwards up until the end of December 2004. Average annual mean benzene and 1,3-butadiene concentrations at urban background locations have declined at about -20% per year and the observed declines have exactly mimicked the inferred declines in benzene and 1,3-butadiene emissions over the same period. Ninety-day rolling mean concentrations of ethylene, propylene, n- and i-butane, n- and i-pentane, isoprene and propane at urban and rural sites have also declined steadily by between -10% and -30% per year. Rolling mean concentrations of acetylene, 2- and 3-methylpentane, n-hexane, n-heptane, cis- and trans-but-2-ene, cis- and trans-pent-2-ene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-, m- and p-xylene at a roadside location in London have all declined at between -14% and -21% per year. These declines demonstrate that motor vehicle exhaust catalysts and evaporative canisters have effectively and efficiently controlled vehicular emissions of hydrocarbons in the UK. Urban ethane concentrations arising largely from natural gas leakage have remained largely unchanged over this same period.

The British HIV Association national audit on the management of subjects co-infected with HIV and hepatitis B/C.

PubMed

Garvey, L; Curtis, H; Brook, G

2011-03-01

The aim of this work was to survey current service provision and adherence to the British HIV Association (BHIVA) guidelines for the management of HIV and hepatitis B/C co-infected patients in the UK. Sites were invited to complete a survey of local care arrangements for co-infected patients. A case-note audit of all co-infected attendees during a six-month period in 2009 was performed. Data including demographics, clinical parameters, hepatitis disease status, antiretroviral and hepatitis B/C therapy were collected. Using BHIVA guidelines as audit standards, the proportion of sites and subjects meeting each standard was calculated. One-hundred and forty sites (75%) responded and data from 973 eligible co-infected patients were submitted. Approximately a third of sites reported not re-checking hepatitis serology or vaccination titres annually. Of all co-infected patients, 122 (13%) were neither vaccinated nor immune to hepatitis A and 26 (5%) of patients with hepatitis C were neither vaccinated nor naturally immune to hepatitis B. Of HBsAg-positive subjects, 25 (6%) were receiving lamivudine as the sole drug with antihepatitis B activity. In the UK, the management of HIV and hepatitis B/C co-infection remains highly variable. Optimizing the care of this high-risk patient group is a priority.

Assessment of the living and workplace health and safety conditions of site-resident construction workers in Tehran, Iran.

PubMed

Mohseni, Peyman Hossein; Farshad, Ali Asghar; Mirkazemi, Roksana; Orak, Rouhangiz Jamshidi

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess living and workplace safety conditions of construction workers in Tehran, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 construction sites in a municipal area of Tehran whose municipal building permits were issued in 2011. Data on ventilation, workplace safety and hygiene were collected by direct observation and interviews with site foremen. Noise levels were estimated from 10 sound-level-meter stations in the municipality area. Lack of ventilation in the workers' rooms was abundant. Bathrooms were unhygienic and minimum requirements such as lighting and ventilation did not exist in 80% of the cases. In nearly 50% of large construction sites, sewage and garbage disposal were inappropriate. Elevator safety was poor at all sites and no measures for fall prevention were present in over 88% of active construction sites. This study showed that the mean 24-h equivalent continuous sound level Leq was over 70 dB in 80% of the sites during weekdays. The results of this study revealed poor health and safety living and working conditions of construction workers in Tehran.

10 CFR 50.90 - Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

..., or early site permit. 50.90 Section 50.90 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DOMESTIC LICENSING OF....90 Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit. Whenever a holder of a license, including a construction permit and operating license under this part, and an early...

10 CFR 50.90 - Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

..., or early site permit. 50.90 Section 50.90 Energy NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION DOMESTIC LICENSING OF....90 Application for amendment of license, construction permit, or early site permit. Whenever a holder of a license, including a construction permit and operating license under this part, and an early...

Fall hazard control observed on residential construction sites.

PubMed

Kaskutas, Vicki; Dale, Ann Marie; Nolan, James; Patterson, Dennis; Lipscomb, Hester J; Evanoff, Bradley

2009-06-01

Falls are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the construction industry. This study measured fall hazards at residential construction sites. Trained carpenters administered the St. Louis Audit of Fall Risks and interviewed carpenters. The prevalence of fall prevention practices meeting safety criteria was counted and correlations explored. We identified a high prevalence of fall hazards at the 197 residential sites audited. Roof sheathing met safety criteria most consistently (81%) and truss setting least consistently (28%). Use of personal fall arrest and monitoring of unguarded floor openings were rare. Safer performance on several scales was correlated. Construction sites of large-sized contractors were generally safer than smaller contractors. Apprentice carpenters were less familiar with their employers' fall prevention plan than experienced workers. Safety could be improved with consistent use of recognized fall prevention practices at residential construction sites.

E-consult implementation: lessons learned using consolidated framework for implementation research.

PubMed

Haverhals, Leah M; Sayre, George; Helfrich, Christian D; Battaglia, Catherine; Aron, David; Stevenson, Lauren D; Kirsh, Susan; Ho, Michael; Lowery, Julie

2015-12-01

In 2011, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) implemented electronic consults (e-consults) as an alternative to in-person specialty visits to improve access and reduce travel for veterans. We conducted an evaluation to understand variation in the use of the new e-consult mechanism and the causes of variable implementation, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Qualitative case studies of 3 high- and 5 low-implementation e-consult pilot sites. Participants included e-consult site leaders, primary care providers, specialists, and support staff identified using a modified snowball sample. We used a 3-step approach, with a structured survey of e-consult site leaders to identify key constructs, based on the CFIR. We then conducted open-ended interviews, focused on key constructs, with all participants. Finally, we produced structured, site-level ratings of CFIR constructs and compared them between high- and low-implementation sites. Site leaders identified 14 initial constructs. We conducted 37 interviews, from which 4 CFIR constructs distinguished high implementation e-consult sites: compatibility, networks and communications, training, and access to knowledge and information. For example, illustrating compatibility, a specialist at a high-implementation site reported that the site changed the order of consult options so that all specialties listed e-consults first to maintain consistency. High-implementation sites also exhibited greater agreement on constructs. By using the CFIR to analyze results, we facilitate future synthesis with other findings, and we better identify common patterns of implementation determinants common across settings.

Organs and organisations: Situating ethics in organ donation after circulatory death in the UK.

PubMed

Cooper, Jessie

2018-05-25

Controlled organ donation after circulatory death (DCD) has recently been revived in the UK, as part of attempts to increase organ donation rates. The re-introduction of DCD has subsequently become the focus of bioethical controversy, since it necessitates intervening in the care of dying patients to obtain quality donor organs. Transplant policy responses to these concerns have generated new legal and ethical guidelines to address uncertainties around DCD, producing claims that the UK has overcome' the ethical challenge of DCD. In contrast, by drawing on Lynch's call to 'respecify' ethics, this paper argues that ethics in DCD cannot be reduced to abstract directives for practice, but, instead, are composed and dealt with as an organisational problem. To do this, I utilise data from an ethnographic study examining the production of the 'minority ethnic organ donor' within UK organ donation settings; in particular, the data pertains to a case hospital which was in the process of developing a DCD programme during the period of fieldwork. Findings show that the ethics of DCD are encountered as practical sets of problems, constructed in relation to particular institutional locales. I describe how these issues are worked-around by creating conditions to make DCD organisationally possible, and through the animation of standard procedures into acceptable forms of practice. I argue that ethics in DCD go far beyond normative bioethical principles, to encompass concerns around: the reputation of hospital Trusts, public perceptions of organ donation, the welfare of potential donor families, and challenges to the work of health professionals caring for dying patients. The paper enriches understanding of ethics in science and medicine by showing how ethics are assembled and negotiated as a practical-organisational concern, and calls for further examination of how DCD gets constructed as a potential problem and is made to happen in practice. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Methodology of Interactive Parametric Modelling of Construction Site Facilities in BIM Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlovská, Mária; Čabala, Jozef; Struková, Zuzana

2014-11-01

Information technology is becoming a strong tool in different industries, including construction. The recent trend of buildings designing is leading up to creation of the most comprehensive virtual building model (Building Information Model) in order to solve all the problems relating to the project as early as in the designing phase. Building information modelling is a new way of approaching to the design of building projects documentation. Currently, the building site layout as a part of the building design documents has a very little support in the BIM environment. Recently, the research of designing the construction process conditions has centred on improvement of general practice in planning and on new approaches to construction site layout planning. The state of art in field of designing the construction process conditions indicated an unexplored problem related to connection of knowledge system with construction site facilities (CSF) layout through interactive modelling. The goal of the paper is to present the methodology for execution of 3D construction site facility allocation model (3D CSF-IAM), based on principles of parametric and interactive modelling.

Strategy to Ensure Institutional Control Implementation at Superfund Sites

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This document sets forth EPA’s strategy (Strategy) for ensuring that institutional controls (ICs) are successfully implemented at Superfund sites, with an emphasis on evaluating ICs at sites where all construction of all remedies is complete (construction complete sites).

Dew point temperature affects ascospore release of allergenic genus Leptosphaeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadyś, Magdalena; Kaczmarek, Joanna; Grinn-Gofron, Agnieszka; Rodinkova, Victoria; Prikhodko, Alex; Bilous, Elena; Strzelczak, Agnieszka; Herbert, Robert J.; Jedryczka, Malgorzata

2018-06-01

The genus Leptosphaeria contains numerous fungi that cause the symptoms of asthma and also parasitize wild and crop plants. In search of a robust and universal forecast model, the ascospore concentration in air was measured and weather data recorded from 1 March to 31 October between 2006 and 2012. The experiment was conducted in three European countries of the temperate climate, i.e., Ukraine, Poland, and the UK. Out of over 150 forecast models produced using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multivariate regression trees (MRTs), we selected the best model for each site, as well as for joint two-site combinations. The performance of all computed models was tested against records from 1 year which had not been used for model construction. The statistical analysis of the fungal spore data was supported by a comprehensive study of both climate and land cover within a 30-km radius from the air sampler location. High-performance forecasting models were obtained for individual sites, showing that the local micro-climate plays a decisive role in biology of the fungi. Based on the previous epidemiological studies, we hypothesized that dew point temperature (DPT) would be a critical factor in the models. The impact of DPT was confirmed only by one of the final best neural models, but the MRT analyses, similarly to the Spearman's rank test, indicated the importance of DPT in all but one of the studied cases and in half of them ranked it as a fundamental factor. This work applies artificial neural modeling to predict the Leptosphaeria airborne spore concentration in urban areas for the first time.

Dew point temperature affects ascospore release of allergenic genus Leptosphaeria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadyś, Magdalena; Kaczmarek, Joanna; Grinn-Gofron, Agnieszka; Rodinkova, Victoria; Prikhodko, Alex; Bilous, Elena; Strzelczak, Agnieszka; Herbert, Robert J.; Jedryczka, Malgorzata

2018-01-01

The genus Leptosphaeria contains numerous fungi that cause the symptoms of asthma and also parasitize wild and crop plants. In search of a robust and universal forecast model, the ascospore concentration in air was measured and weather data recorded from 1 March to 31 October between 2006 and 2012. The experiment was conducted in three European countries of the temperate climate, i.e., Ukraine, Poland, and the UK. Out of over 150 forecast models produced using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multivariate regression trees (MRTs), we selected the best model for each site, as well as for joint two-site combinations. The performance of all computed models was tested against records from 1 year which had not been used for model construction. The statistical analysis of the fungal spore data was supported by a comprehensive study of both climate and land cover within a 30-km radius from the air sampler location. High-performance forecasting models were obtained for individual sites, showing that the local micro-climate plays a decisive role in biology of the fungi. Based on the previous epidemiological studies, we hypothesized that dew point temperature (DPT) would be a critical factor in the models. The impact of DPT was confirmed only by one of the final best neural models, but the MRT analyses, similarly to the Spearman's rank test, indicated the importance of DPT in all but one of the studied cases and in half of them ranked it as a fundamental factor. This work applies artificial neural modeling to predict the Leptosphaeria airborne spore concentration in urban areas for the first time.

Dew point temperature affects ascospore release of allergenic genus Leptosphaeria.

PubMed

Sadyś, Magdalena; Kaczmarek, Joanna; Grinn-Gofron, Agnieszka; Rodinkova, Victoria; Prikhodko, Alex; Bilous, Elena; Strzelczak, Agnieszka; Herbert, Robert J; Jedryczka, Malgorzata

2018-06-01

The genus Leptosphaeria contains numerous fungi that cause the symptoms of asthma and also parasitize wild and crop plants. In search of a robust and universal forecast model, the ascospore concentration in air was measured and weather data recorded from 1 March to 31 October between 2006 and 2012. The experiment was conducted in three European countries of the temperate climate, i.e., Ukraine, Poland, and the UK. Out of over 150 forecast models produced using artificial neural networks (ANNs) and multivariate regression trees (MRTs), we selected the best model for each site, as well as for joint two-site combinations. The performance of all computed models was tested against records from 1 year which had not been used for model construction. The statistical analysis of the fungal spore data was supported by a comprehensive study of both climate and land cover within a 30-km radius from the air sampler location. High-performance forecasting models were obtained for individual sites, showing that the local micro-climate plays a decisive role in biology of the fungi. Based on the previous epidemiological studies, we hypothesized that dew point temperature (DPT) would be a critical factor in the models. The impact of DPT was confirmed only by one of the final best neural models, but the MRT analyses, similarly to the Spearman's rank test, indicated the importance of DPT in all but one of the studied cases and in half of them ranked it as a fundamental factor. This work applies artificial neural modeling to predict the Leptosphaeria airborne spore concentration in urban areas for the first time.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Benda, Gary; Hayes, David; Gorham, Ron

The NDA participated in a panel session 31B on Wednesday afternoon starting at 3:15. The NDA is a non-departmental public body, set up in April 2005 under the Energy Act 2004 to take strategic responsibility for the UK's nuclear legacy. Details of their organization and history are located on their web site at www.nda.gov.uk. Also copies of their Power Point presentations made at WM'06 are available on their web site. Their core objective is to ensure that the 20 civil public sector nuclear sites under our ownership are decommissioned and cleaned up safely, securely, cost effectively and in ways thatmore » protect the environment for this and future generations. They lead the development of a unified and coherent decommissioning strategy, working in partnership with regulators and site licensees to achieve best value, optimum impact on local communities, and the highest environmental standards. The NDA's main task is the decommissioning and clean up of civil nuclear sites. If the Government decides it is necessary, however, the Energy Act 2004 allows the NDA to take responsibility for sites currently operated by, or on behalf of, the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Resources will then be transferred from the MoD to meet the costs of clean up. The NDA made a number of presentations to allow conference delegates the opportunity to understand some of the major aspects of their work and to interact with NDA staff. These included the following topics and gave opportunity for audience discussion: - A brief presentation to update on progress by the NDA; - Outline of low level waste management and the prioritisation process; - Discussion of the competition schedule related to low level waste management and the Drigg site. The following presentations and handout were delivered in various sessions of the conference as noted below and are available on their web page including the WM'06 Plenary Session presentation by Sir Anthony Cleaver, Chairman of the NDA. During Session 31B, the following Power Point presentations were made. NDA Overview by David Hayes, Director of Special Projects National M and O Contractor Work Prioritisation Process by Mark Wareing, including topics on: - Need for prioritisation; - Development of the process; - Using the process as a measure of progress. Competition by Ron Gorham, Head of Procurement, including topics on: - The current model; - What NDA are actually competing; - The acquisition process; - NDA aspirations for competition; - NDA aspirations from the market. Low Level Waste Contracting in the UK by Adrian Simper, Expenditure and Programme Strategy Manager, including topics on: - Low Level Waste: NDA responsibilities, Definitions, Arisings; - Proposed NDA Procurement for LLW Management: Scope, Contracting approach, Timetable. The NDA responded to questions from the audience and also announced that the NDA will be holding a special Industry Day for potential contractors interested in the first NDA competition - the Low Level Waste Repository near Drigg in Cumbria. The event is scheduled on the 25-26 April 2006 with more details on their web site at www.nda.gov.uk. (authors)« less

Removal of ammoniacal nitrogen from landfill leachate by irrigation onto vegetated treatment planes.

PubMed

Tyrrel, S F; Leeds-Harrison, P B; Harrison, K S

2002-01-01

Leachate is a contaminated liquor resulting from the disposal of solid and liquid wastes at landfill sites that must be treated before discharge. Vegetated leachate treatment planes have been used at landfill sites in the UK but have received little scientific attention. This paper describes studies of model leachate treatment planes with a focus on the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N). Small-scale and field-scale experimental treatment planes were constructed. filled with clay loam soil and vegetated with grass (Agrostis stolonifera). Landfill leachate was applied at hydraulic loading rates ranging from 17-217l/m2/d. An exponential relationship was used to characterise the pattern of NH3-N removal. No relationship was observed between the hydraulic loading rate and the NH3-N removal rate constants (R2 = 0.0039). The daily specific NH3-N mass removal rate was found to be linearly related to the NH3-N concentration at the start of that day of treatment (R2 = 0.35). Possible causes of variation in the rate of NH3-N removal between experiments are discussed. A simple inorganic nitrogen balance indicated that the mass of N-H3-N and NO2-N removed was not accounted for by NO3-N production. Explanations for this apparent nitrogen deficit are discussed.

Integrating Building Information Modeling and Health and Safety for Onsite Construction

PubMed Central

Ganah, Abdulkadir; John, Godfaurd A.

2014-01-01

Background Health and safety (H&S) on a construction site can either make or break a contractor, if not properly managed. The usage of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for H&S on construction execution has the potential to augment practitioner understanding of their sites, and by so doing reduce the probability of accidents. This research explores BIM usage within the construction industry in relation to H&S communication. Methods In addition to an extensive literature review, a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather information on the embedment of H&S planning with the BIM environment for site practitioners. Results The analysis of responses indicated that BIM will enhance the current approach of H&S planning for construction site personnel. Conclusion From the survey, toolbox talk will have to be integrated with the BIM environment, because it is the predominantly used procedure for enhancing H&S issues within construction sites. The advantage is that personnel can visually understand H&S issues as work progresses during the toolbox talk onsite. PMID:25830069

Integrating building information modeling and health and safety for onsite construction.

PubMed

Ganah, Abdulkadir; John, Godfaurd A

2015-03-01

Health and safety (H&S) on a construction site can either make or break a contractor, if not properly managed. The usage of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for H&S on construction execution has the potential to augment practitioner understanding of their sites, and by so doing reduce the probability of accidents. This research explores BIM usage within the construction industry in relation to H&S communication. In addition to an extensive literature review, a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather information on the embedment of H&S planning with the BIM environment for site practitioners. The analysis of responses indicated that BIM will enhance the current approach of H&S planning for construction site personnel. From the survey, toolbox talk will have to be integrated with the BIM environment, because it is the predominantly used procedure for enhancing H&S issues within construction sites. The advantage is that personnel can visually understand H&S issues as work progresses during the toolbox talk onsite.

Mental Constructions and Constructions of Web Sites: Learner and Teacher Points of View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hazzan, Orit

2004-01-01

This research focuses on knowledge and ways in which knowledge may be constructed in the learner's mind. Specifically, it addresses the Web as a cognitive supporter for learning, organising and constructing a new domain of knowledge. In particular, the research analyses student reflection on constructing web sites. The analysis is based on an…

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) Data-Treatment Chemicals, Construction Materials, Transportation, On-site Equipment, and other Processes for Use in Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis (SEFA): Revised Addition

EPA Science Inventory

This report estimates environmental emission factors (EmF) for key chemicals, construction and treatment materials, transportation/on-site equipment, and other processes used at remediation sites. The basis for chemical, construction, and treatment material EmFs is life cycle inv...

Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) Data-Treatment Chemicals, Construction Materials, Transportation, On-site Equipment, and Other Processes for Use in Spreadsheets for Environmental Footprint Analysis (SEFA)

EPA Science Inventory

This report estimates environmental emission factors (EmF) for key chemicals, construction and treatment materials, transportation/on-site equipment, and other processes used at remediation sites. The basis for chemical, construction, and treatment material EmFs is life cycle inv...

Making the Most of Your School Site. School Buildings Planning, Design, and Construction Series No. 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, John H.

A school construction guide offers key personnel in school development projects information on the complex task of master planning and construction of schools in Australia. This chapter of the guide provides advice on site selection covering selection criteria; traffic issues; and site services, such as water, power, and sewer. Additionally…

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based `natural' flood management in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dadson, Simon J.; Hall, Jim W.; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P.; Lane, Stuart N.; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-03-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based `natural' flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based 'natural' flood management in the UK.

PubMed

Dadson, Simon J; Hall, Jim W; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P; Lane, Stuart N; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-03-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based 'natural' flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material.

Measuring Air Quality in a Construction Site Biotope Using the AQM-65 Analyser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ioana-Alina, Creţan; Nicoleta, Nemeș

2017-10-01

Activities related to the execution of construction works often exert pressure on the quality of environmental factors in adjacent habitat. In various stages of realization of the works if is the opening of the building site and access roads, borrow pits and the storage, or the construction itself, all the related activities will cause harm in various degrees of vegetation on the construction site and its surroundings. Large areas are rendered non-productive and, although they should be restored for use in the same place or elsewhere, sometimes they can lose their natural habitat baseline. The paper is presenting a case study of air quality monitoring using the AQM 65 analyser for a construction site located near Timisoara locality, Timis County, Romania.

Dependence in Alzheimer's disease and service use costs, quality of life, and caregiver burden: the DADE study.

PubMed

Jones, Roy W; Romeo, Renee; Trigg, Richard; Knapp, Martin; Sato, Azusa; King, Derek; Niecko, Timothy; Lacey, Loretto

2015-03-01

Most models determining how patient and caregiver characteristics and costs change with Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression focus on one aspect, for example, cognition. AD is inadequately defined by a single domain; tracking progression by focusing on a single aspect may mean other important aspects are insufficiently addressed. Dependence has been proposed as a better marker for following disease progression. This was a cross-sectional observational study (18 UK sites). Two hundred forty-nine community or institutionalized patients, with possible/probable AD, Mini-Mental State Examination (3-26), and a knowledgeable informant participated. Significant associations noted between dependence (Dependence Scale [DS]) and clinical measures of severity (cognition, function, and behavior). Bivariate and multivariate models demonstrated significant associations between DS and service use cost, patient quality of life, and caregiver perceived burden. The construct of dependence may help to translate the combined impact of changes in cognition, function, and behavior into a more readily interpretable form. The DS is useful for assessing patients with AD in clinical trials/research. Copyright © 2015 The Alzheimer's Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Ecological risk assessment of dam construction for terrestrial plant species in middle reach of Lancangjiang River, Southwest China].

PubMed

Li, Xiao-Yan; Dong, Shi-Kui; Liu, Shi-Liang; Peng, Ming-Chun; Li, Jin-Peng; Zhao, Qing-He; Zhang, Zhao-Ling

2012-08-01

Taking the surrounding areas of Xiaowan Reservoir in the middle reach of Lancangjiang River as study area, and based on the vegetation investigation at three sites including electricity transmission area (site 1), electricity-transfer substation and roadsides to the substation (site 2), and emigration area (site 3) in 1997 (before dam construction), another investigation was conducted on the vegetation composition, plant coverage, and dominant species at the same sites in 2010 (after dam construction), aimed to evaluate the ecological risk of the dam construction for the terrestrial plant species in middle reach of Lancangjiang River. There was an obvious difference in the summed dominance ratio of dominant species at the three sites before and after the dam construction. According the types of species (dominant and non-dominant species) and the changes of plant dominance, the ecological risk (ER) for the plant species was categorized into 0 to IV, i.e., no or extremely low ecological risk (0), low ecological risk (I), medium ecological risk (II), high ecological risk (III), and extremely high ecological risk (IV). As affected by the dam construction, the majority of the species were at ER III, and a few species were at ER IV. The percentage of the plant species at ER III and ER IV at site 3 was higher than that at sites 1 and 2. The decrease or loss of native plants and the increase of alien or invasive plants were the major ecological risks caused by the dam construction. Effective protection strategies should be adopted to mitigate the ecological risk of the dam construction for the terrestrial plants at species level.

Coupled carbon-nitrogen land surface modelling for UK agricultural landscapes using JULES and JULES-ECOSSE-FUN (JEF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comyn-Platt, Edward; Clark, Douglas; Blyth, Eleanor

2016-04-01

The UK is required to provide accurate estimates of the UK greenhouse gas (GHG; CO2, CH4 and N2O) emissions for the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). Process based land surface models (LSMs), such as the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), attempt to provide such estimates based on environmental (e.g. land use and soil type) and meteorological conditions. The standard release of JULES focusses on the water and carbon cycles, however, it has long been suggested that a coupled carbon-nitrogen scheme could enhance simulations. This is of particular importance when estimating agricultural emission inventories where the carbon cycle is effectively managed via the human application of nitrogen based fertilizers. JULES-ECOSSE-FUN (JEF) links JULES with the Estimation of Carbon in Organic Soils - Sequestration and Emission (ECOSSE) model and the Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen (FUN) model as a means of simulating C:N coupling. This work presents simulations from the standard release of JULES and the most recent incarnation of the JEF coupled system at the point and field scale. Various configurations of JULES and JEF were calibrated and fine-tuned based on comparisons with observations from three UK field campaigns (Crichton, Harwood Forest and Brattleby) specifically chosen to represent the managed vegetation types that cover the UK. The campaigns included flux tower and chamber measurements of CO2, CH4 and N2O amongst other meteorological parameters and records of land management such as application of fertilizer and harvest date at the agricultural sites. Based on the results of these comparisons, JULES and/or JEF will be used to provide simulations on the regional and national scales in order to provide improved estimates of the total UK emission inventory.

UK population norms for the modified dental anxiety scale with percentile calculator: adult dental health survey 2009 results

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background A recent UK population survey of oral health included questions to assess dental anxiety to provide mean and prevalence estimates of this important psychological construct. Methods A two-stage cluster sample was used for the survey across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The survey took place between October-December 2009, and January-April 2010. All interviewers were trained on survey procedures. Within the 7,233 households sampled there were 13,509 adults who were asked to participate in the survey and 11,382 participated (84%). Results The scale was reliable and showed some evidence of unidimensionality. Estimated proportion of participants with high dental anxiety (cut-off score = 19) was 11.6%. Percentiles and confidence intervals were presented and can be estimated for individual patients across various age ranges and gender using an on-line tool. Conclusions The largest reported data set on the MDAS from a representative UK sample was presented. The scale’s psychometrics is supportive for the routine assessment of patient dental anxiety to compare against a number of major demographic groups categorised by age and sex. Practitioners within the UK have a resource to estimate the rarity of a particular patient’s level of dental anxiety, with confidence intervals, when using the on-line percentile calculator. PMID:23799962

"Learning to Assess" and "Assessing to Learn": The Construction of Knowledge about Assistive Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Folkes, Clare; Carmichael, Patrick

2006-01-01

A key role in the development and deployment of Assistive Technology solutions is that of the "assessor-consultant". Assessor-consultants for the UK-based charity Abilitynet work with clients to develop customized computer-based assistive technology systems and draw on a range of shared knowledge from the assessor-consultant community.…

Gendered Transitions, Career Identities and Possible Selves: The Case of Engineering Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papafilippou, Vanda; Bentley, Laura

2017-01-01

This article, drawing upon the Paired Peers project, a longitudinal qualitative study (n = 90), examines how seven UK engineering graduates, four women and three men, construct their career identities during the transitionary period from university to work. It explores how gender and the occupational cultures that reside within the sector, and the…

Implementing the Liquid Curriculum: The Impact of Virtual World Learning on Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steils, Nicole; Tombs, Gemma; Mawer, Matt; Savin-Baden, Maggi; Wimpenny, Katherine

2015-01-01

This paper presents findings from a large-scale study which explored the socio-political impact of teaching and learning in virtual worlds on UK higher education. Three key themes emerged with regard to constructing curricula for virtual world teaching and learning, namely designing courses, framing practice and locating specific student needs.…

The Process of Teaching and Learning about Reflection: Research Insights from Professional Nurse Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bulman, Chris; Lathlean, Judith; Gobbi, Mary

2014-01-01

The study aimed to investigate the process of reflection in professional nurse education and the part it played in a teaching and learning context. The research focused on the social construction of reflection within a post-registration, palliative care programme, accessed by nurses, in the United Kingdom (UK). Through an interpretive ethnographic…

The Patchwork Text Assessment--An Integral Component of Constructive Alignment Curriculum Methodology to Support Healthcare Leadership Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leigh, J. A.; Rutherford, J.; Wild, J.; Cappleman, J.; Hynes, C.

2013-01-01

Background: A responsive and innovative postgraduate programme curriculum that produces an effective and competent multi professional healthcare leader whom can lead within the United Kingdom (UK) and international healthcare context offers a promising approach to contributing towards the challenging global healthcare agenda. Aims: The aim of the…

Profiles of British Muslim Identity: Adolescent Girls in Birmingham

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hutnik, Nimmi; Street, Rebecca Coran

2010-01-01

By asking students to fill in 10 statements beginning with "I am..." and a further 10 statements beginning with "I am not..." we constructed profiles of British Muslim ethnic and national identity. Participants were 108 British Muslim girls of mean age 12.6 years studying in a single sex girls' school in Birmingham, UK. Using…

Making Training More Cognitively Effective: Making Videos Interactive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherrett, Tom; Wills, Gary; Price, Joe; Maynard, Sarah; Dror, Itiel E.

2009-01-01

The cost of health and safety (H&S) failures to the UK industry is currently estimated at up to 6.5 billion British Pounds per annum, with the construction sector suffering unacceptably high levels of work-related incidents. Better H&S education across all skill levels in the industry is seen as an integral part of any solution.…

Improving Performance through HEI-Industry Engagements in the Built Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Underwood, Jason; Williams, Aled; Thurairajah, Niraj

2009-01-01

The poor performance and inefficiencies of the construction industry are well recognized and documented. Through a variety of combined industry and government initiatives there has been a continual expression in the UK over the last decade of the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of the industry to improve its performance. A major…

Integrating Conceptions of Scaffolding and Co-Construction to Enhance Parental Involvement in the Pre-Nursery of a British International School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brinn, Michelle

2016-01-01

Whilst many practitioners value positive and effective working relationships with parents, enhancing home-school interactions can be complex, especially within highly diverse contexts. Within the UK, partnership working with parents is widely advocated. However, there may exist subtle, but crucial differences between interactions that…

The Transformative Potential of International Service-Learning at a University with a Christian Foundation in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bamber, Phil

2011-01-01

This article draws upon the findings of a study at Liverpool Hope University (LHU) into the transformative nature of International Service-Learning (ISL) experiences for student participants. This research is concerned with the implications of these findings for professional practice, in particular how ISL is constructed in Higher Education policy…

Gender, Visible Bodies and Schooling: Cultural Pathologies of Childhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paechter, Carrie

2011-01-01

In this paper, I consider two interrelated problems. The first concerns the issues and difficulties involved in studying how children think about their bodies, in the schooling setting. The second involves an attempt to bring together a series of phenomena around which gendered media and social panics are being constructed in the UK and elsewhere.…

The U.K. Information Technology Conference Held in Hampton, VA on March 19-22, 1990

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-29

is the systems and the card is the subject of further research; made of decision tables or loop constructs, sofware fails. however, the method used in...general terms, problems that and maxima in the horizontal and vertical directions and might be encountered during the incorporation of a ncu- some

The Coming of Post-Institutional Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, David

2015-01-01

This piece offers two stories and attempts a contrast between them. These are about how UK higher education responded to the economic crisis of the 1970s, and about how it is shaping up in response to the banking crisis of 2008 and its global ramifications. The first is constructed around the rise and fall of "public sector higher…

Rural Development and the Regional State: Denying Multifunctional Agriculture in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marsden, Terry; Sonnino, Roberta

2008-01-01

Under the emerging rural development paradigm, we argue that to be multifunctional an activity must add income to agriculture, it must contribute to the construction of a new agricultural sector that corresponds to the needs of the wider society and it must reconfigure rural resources in ways that lead to wider rural development benefits. By…

Argumentative and Trustworthy Scholars: The Construction of Academic Staff at Research-Intensive Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKenna, Sioux; Boughey, Chrissie

2014-01-01

Research-intensive universities, such as the Russell Group in the UK, the Ivy League Colleges in the USA and the Sandstone Universities in Australia, enjoy particular status in the higher education landscape. They are, however, also often associated with social elitism and selectivity, and this has led to critique as higher education systems seek…

You Are Who I Say You Are: The Rhetorical Construction of Identity in the Operating Theatre

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bleakley, Alan

2006-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to show that narrative close call reporting is one strand of an ongoing collaborative inquiry project with 300 staff aiming to improve teamwork in operating theatres in a large UK hospital. How teams deal with close calls ("accidents waiting to happen") reveals resourcefulness but exposes flaws, including…

The role of alcohol in constructing gender & class identities among young women in the age of social media.

PubMed

Lennox, Jemma; Emslie, Carol; Sweeting, Helen; Lyons, Antonia

2018-05-04

Research suggests young women view drinking as a pleasurable aspect of their social lives but that they face challenges in engaging in a traditionally 'masculine' behaviour whilst maintaining a desirable 'femininity'. Social network sites such as Facebook make socialising visible to a wide audience. This paper explores how young people discuss young women's drinking practices, and how young women construct their identities through alcohol consumption and its display on social media. We conducted 21 friendship-based focus groups (both mixed and single sex) with young adults aged 18-29 years and 13 individual interviews with a subset of focus group respondents centred on their Facebook practices. We recruited a purposive sample in Glasgow, Scotland (UK) which included 'middle class' (defined as students and those in professional jobs) and 'working class' respondents (employed in manual/service sector jobs), who participated in a range of venues in the night time economy. Young women's discussions revealed a difficult 'balancing act' between demonstrating an 'up for it' sexy (but not too sexy) femininity through their drinking and appearance, while still retaining control and respectability. This 'balancing act' was particularly precarious for working class women, who appeared to be judged more harshly than middle class women both online and offline. While a gendered double standard around appearance and alcohol consumption is not new, a wider online audience can now observe and comment on how women look and behave. Social structures such as gender and social class remain central to the construction of identity both online and offline. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Building the green way.

PubMed

Lockwood, Charles

2006-06-01

Just five or six years ago, the term "green building" evoked visions of barefoot, tie-dyed, granola-munching denizens. There's been a large shift in perception. Of course, green buildings are still known for conserving natural resources by, for example, minimizing on-site grading, using alternative materials, and recycling construction waste. But people now see the financial advantages as well. Well-designed green buildings yield lower utility costs, greater employee productivity, less absenteeism, and stronger attraction and retention of workers than standard buildings do. Green materials, mechanical systems, and furnishings have become more widely available and considerably less expensive than they used to be-often cheaper than their standard counterparts. So building green is no longer a pricey experiment; just about any company can do it on a standard budget by following the ten rules outlined by the author. Reliable building-rating systems like the U.S. Green Building Council's rigorous Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program have done much to underscore the benefits of green construction. LEED evaluates buildings and awards points in several areas, such as water efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Other rating programs include the UK's BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) and Australia's Green Star. Green construction is not simply getting more respect; it is rapidly becoming a necessity as corporations push it fully into the mainstream over the next five to ten years. In fact, the author says, the owners of standard buildings face massive obsolescence. To avoid this problem, they should carry out green renovations. Corporations no longer have an excuse for eschewing environmental and economic sustainability. They have at their disposal tools proven to lower overhead costs, improve productivity, and strengthen the bottom line.

Participatory Training to Improve Safety and Health in Small Construction Sites in Some Countries in Asia: Development and Application of the WISCON Training Program.

PubMed

Kawakami, Tsuyoshi

2016-08-01

A participatory training program, Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites, was developed to provide practical support measures to the small construction sector. Managers and workers from selected small sites were interviewed about their occupational safety and health risks. The Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites training program comprised a 45-item action checklist, photos, and illustrations showing local examples and group work methods. Pilot training workshops were carried out with workers and employers in Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Participants subsequently planned, and using locally available low-cost materials, implemented their own improvements such as hand-made hand trucks to carry heavy materials, removal of projecting nails from timber materials, and fences to protect roof workers from falling. Local Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites trainers consisting of government officials, workers, employers, and nongovernment organization representatives were then trained to implement the Work Improvement in Small Construction Sites training widely. Keys to success were easy-to-apply training tools aiming at immediate, low-cost improvements, and collaboration with various local people's networks. © The Author(s) 2016.

54. CLEARANCE OF SITE PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION OF BREAKER BUILDING, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

54. CLEARANCE OF SITE PRIOR TO CONSTRUCTION OF BREAKER BUILDING, AND CONSTRUCTION OF EMBANKMENT FOR RAILROAD SPUR. c.1898 (AKZO No. A-3) - Avery Island Salt Works, Akzo Salt Incorporated, Avery Island, Iberia Parish, LA

A UK portrait of wind-induced undercatch in rainfall measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pollock, Michael; Quinn, Paul; O'Donnell, Greg; Colli, Matteo; Dutton, Mark; Black, Andrew; Wilkinson, Mark; Kilsby, Chris; Stagnaro, Mattia; Lanza, Luca; O'Connell, Enda

2017-04-01

Rainfall is vital to life; civilisation depends upon it. Changing local and regional rainfall regimes toward more intense storm events (e.g. in the UK), increases the existing challenge of accurately measuring and modelling rainfall. Data from rain gauges, often considered to provide the most accurate practicable measure of precipitation at a point in space in time, play a critical role. They are used for, inter alia, flood forecasting and flood risk management; radar calibration and numerical weather prediction models; urban planning and drainage; and water resource management and hydrological modelling. Despite the key importance of these measurements, they remain susceptible to fundamental sources of systematic error which are often not considered when rainfall data are used. Inaccuracies in measurements are compounded in modelling applications by producing potentially misleading or incorrect results; it is therefore of great importance to understand and present uncertainty in observations. Standard practice is to mount rain gauges above the ground surface. This configuration obstructs the prevailing wind which causes an acceleration of airflow above the orifice. Precipitation is deflected away from the orifice and lands 'downstream' of the area represented by the gauge measurement, reducing its collection efficiency (CE). This phenomenon is commonly referred to as 'wind-induced undercatch'. The physical shape of a gauge bears a significant impact on its CE. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations are used to investigate how different shapes of precipitation gauge are affected by the wind. CFD modelling is supported by high-resolution field measurements at several exposed 'Hydro-Met' research stations in the UK. These sites are occupied by rain gauges which are scrutinised in the CFD analyses. The reference measurements at all sites are made within a WMO reference pit, where the rain gauge is mounted with its orifice at ground level and surrounded by an appropriate grid structure. 'Undercatch' exhibited within UK storms, not captured by operational gauge networks in the UK, is quantified and presented in this study. Results from CFD modelling and the field studies show that gauge shape and mounting height significantly affect the extent of the undercatch. 'Aerodynamic' gauges following a 'champagne flute' or a 'funnel' profile were demonstrated by both to have significant advantages over conventional gauge shapes, in terms of improving the CE. This study presents the latest analyses, and proposes the possible extent of rainfall underestimation within the UK, with particular reference to its hydrology.

Stream Phosphorus Dynamics Along a Suburbanizing Gradient in Southern Ontario, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duval, T. P.

2017-12-01

While it is well known that urban streams are subject to impaired water quality relative to natural analogues, far less research has been directed at stream water quality during the process of (sub-) urbanization. This study determines the role of housing construction activities in Brampton, Canada on the concentration and flux of phosphorus (P) of a headwater stream. Prior to development the stream was engineered with a riffle-pool sequence, riparian plantings, and a floodplain corridor that was lined with sediment fencing. Stream sites were sampled daily over a period of six months at locations representing varying stages of subdivision completion (upper site -active construction; middle site -finished construction and natural vegetation; lower site -finished construction and active construction). A nearby urban stream site developed ten years prior to this study was selected as a reference site. There were no differences in total phosphorus (TP) levels or flux between the suburbanizing and urban streams; however, the forms of P differed between sites. The urban stream TP load was dominated by particulate phosphorus (PP) while suburbanizing stream P was mainly in the dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) form. The importance of DOP to TP flux increased with the onset of the growing season. TP levels in all stream segments frequently exceeded provincial water quality guidelines during storm events but were generally low during baseflow conditions. During storm events PP and total suspended solid levels in the suburbanizing stream reached levels of the urban stream due to sediment fence failure at several locations along the construction-hillslope interface. Along the suburbanizing gradient, the hydrological connection to a mid-reach zone of no-construction activity / fallow field and native forest resulted in significantly lower P levels than the upper suburbanizing stream site. This suggests that stream channel design features as well as timing of construction activities and the hydrological connection between the stream and construction projects all contribute to downstream export of nutrients and ultimately stream water quality.

Turbidity monitoring at select MDOT construction sites.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

The objective of this project was to establish baseline turbidity conditions at select construction : sites by establishing a water quality monitoring program and documenting MDOT approved : BMPs on site. In 2009 the United States Environmental Prote...

Exposure of Children and Adolescents to Alcohol Marketing on Social Media Websites

PubMed Central

Winpenny, Eleanor M.; Marteau, Theresa M.; Nolte, Ellen

2014-01-01

Aims: In 2011, online marketing became the largest marketing channel in the UK, overtaking television for the first time. This study aimed to describe the exposure of children and young adults to alcohol marketing on social media websites in the UK. Methods: We used commercially available data on the three most used social media websites among young people in the UK, from December 2010 to May 2011. We analysed by age (6–14 years; 15–24 years) and gender the reach (proportion of internet users who used the site in each month) and impressions (number of individual pages viewed on the site in each month) for Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We further analysed case studies of five alcohol brands to assess the marketer-generated brand content available on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in February and March 2012. Results: Facebook was the social media site with the highest reach, with an average monthly reach of 89% of males and 91% of females aged 15–24. YouTube had a similar average monthly reach while Twitter had a considerably lower usage in the age groups studied. All five of the alcohol brands studied maintained a Facebook page, Twitter page and YouTube channel, with varying levels of user engagement. Facebook pages could not be accessed by an under-18 user, but in most cases YouTube content and Twitter content could be accessed by those of all ages. Conclusion: The rise in online marketing of alcohol and the high use of social media websites by young people suggests that this is an area requiring further monitoring and regulation. PMID:24293506

HCV treatment rates and sustained viral response among people who inject drugs in seven UK sites: real world results and modelling of treatment impact.

PubMed

Martin, N K; Foster, G R; Vilar, J; Ryder, S; Cramp, M E; Gordon, F; Dillon, J F; Craine, N; Busse, H; Clements, A; Hutchinson, S J; Ustianowski, A; Ramsay, M; Goldberg, D J; Irving, W; Hope, V; De Angelis, D; Lyons, M; Vickerman, P; Hickman, M

2015-04-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral treatment for people who inject drugs (PWID) could prevent onwards transmission and reduce chronic prevalence. We assessed current PWID treatment rates in seven UK settings and projected the potential impact of current and scaled-up treatment on HCV chronic prevalence. Data on number of PWID treated and sustained viral response rates (SVR) were collected from seven UK settings: Bristol (37-48% HCV chronic prevalence among PWID), East London (37-48%), Manchester (48-56%), Nottingham (37-44%), Plymouth (30-37%), Dundee (20-27%) and North Wales (27-33%). A model of HCV transmission among PWID projected the 10-year impact of (i) current treatment rates and SVR (ii) scale-up with interferon-free direct acting antivirals (IFN-free DAAs) with 90% SVR. Treatment rates varied from <5 to over 25 per 1000 PWID. Pooled intention-to-treat SVR for PWID were 45% genotypes 1/4 [95%CI 33-57%] and 61% genotypes 2/3 [95%CI 47-76%]. Projections of chronic HCV prevalence among PWID after 10 years of current levels of treatment overlapped substantially with current HCV prevalence estimates. Scaling-up treatment to 26/1000 PWID annually (achieved already in two sites) with IFN-free DAAs could achieve an observable absolute reduction in HCV chronic prevalence of at least 15% among PWID in all sites and greater than a halving in chronic HCV in Plymouth, Dundee and North Wales within a decade. Current treatment rates among PWID are unlikely to achieve observable reductions in HCV chronic prevalence over the next 10 years. Achievable scale-up, however, could lead to substantial reductions in HCV chronic prevalence. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Viral Hepatitis Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

HCV treatment rates and sustained viral response among people who inject drugs in seven UK sites: real world results and modelling of treatment impact

PubMed Central

Martin, N K; Foster, G R; Vilar, J; Ryder, S; E Cramp, M; Gordon, F; Dillon, J F; Craine, N; Busse, H; Clements, A; Hutchinson, S J; Ustianowski, A; Ramsay, M; Goldberg, D J; Irving, W; Hope, V; De Angelis, D; Lyons, M; Vickerman, P; Hickman, M

2015-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) antiviral treatment for people who inject drugs (PWID) could prevent onwards transmission and reduce chronic prevalence. We assessed current PWID treatment rates in seven UK settings and projected the potential impact of current and scaled-up treatment on HCV chronic prevalence. Data on number of PWID treated and sustained viral response rates (SVR) were collected from seven UK settings: Bristol (37–48% HCV chronic prevalence among PWID), East London (37–48%), Manchester (48–56%), Nottingham (37–44%), Plymouth (30–37%), Dundee (20–27%) and North Wales (27–33%). A model of HCV transmission among PWID projected the 10-year impact of (i) current treatment rates and SVR (ii) scale-up with interferon-free direct acting antivirals (IFN-free DAAs) with 90% SVR. Treatment rates varied from <5 to over 25 per 1000 PWID. Pooled intention-to-treat SVR for PWID were 45% genotypes 1/4 [95%CI 33–57%] and 61% genotypes 2/3 [95%CI 47–76%]. Projections of chronic HCV prevalence among PWID after 10 years of current levels of treatment overlapped substantially with current HCV prevalence estimates. Scaling-up treatment to 26/1000 PWID annually (achieved already in two sites) with IFN-free DAAs could achieve an observable absolute reduction in HCV chronic prevalence of at least 15% among PWID in all sites and greater than a halving in chronic HCV in Plymouth, Dundee and North Wales within a decade. Current treatment rates among PWID are unlikely to achieve observable reductions in HCV chronic prevalence over the next 10 years. Achievable scale-up, however, could lead to substantial reductions in HCV chronic prevalence. PMID:25288193

An evaluation of general practice websites in the UK.

PubMed

Howitt, Alistair; Clement, Sarah; de Lusignan, Simon; Thiru, Krish; Goodwin, Daryl; Wells, Sally

2002-10-01

General practice websites are an emerging phenomenon, but there have been few critical evaluations of their content. Previously developed rating instruments to assess medical websites have been criticized for failing to report their reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to develop a rating instrument for assessing UK general practice websites, and then to evaluate them critically. The STaRNet Website Assessment Tool (SWAT) was developed listing criteria that general practice websites may meet, which was then used to evaluate a random sample of websites drawn from an electronic database. A second assessor rated a subsample of the sites to assess the tool's inter-rater reliability. The setting was an information technology group of a general practice research network using a random sample of 108 websites identified from the database. The main outcome measures were identification of rating criteria and frequency counts from the website rating instrument. Ninety (93.3%) sites were accessible, of which 84 were UK general practice websites. Criteria most frequently met were those describing the scope of the website and their functionality. Apart from e-mail to practices, criteria related to electronic communication were rarely met. Criteria relating to the quality of information were least often met. Inter-rater reliability kappa values for the items in the tool ranged from -0.06 to 1.0 (mean 0.59). Values were >0.6 for 15 out of 25 criteria assessed in 40 sites which were rated by two assessors. General practice websites offer a wide range of information. They are technically satisfactory, but do not exploit fully the potential for electronic doctor-patient communication. The quality of information they provide is poor. The instrument may be developed as a template for general practices producing or revising their own websites.

Effects of organizational complexity and resources on construction site risk.

PubMed

Forteza, Francisco J; Carretero-Gómez, Jose M; Sesé, Albert

2017-09-01

Our research is aimed at studying the relationship between risk level and organizational complexity and resources on constructions sites. Our general hypothesis is that site complexity increases risk, whereas more resources of the structure decrease risk. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) approach was adopted to validate our theoretical model. To develop our study, 957 building sites in Spain were visited and assessed in 2003-2009. All needed data were obtained using a specific tool developed by the authors to assess site risk, structure and resources (Construction Sites Risk Assessment Tool, or CONSRAT). This tool operationalizes the variables to fit our model, specifically, via a site risk index (SRI) and 10 organizational variables. Our random sample is composed largely of small building sites with general high levels of risk, moderate complexity, and low resources on site. The model obtained adequate fit, and results showed empirical evidence that the factors of complexity and resources can be considered predictors of site risk level. Consequently, these results can help companies, managers of construction and regulators to identify which organizational aspects should be improved to prevent risks on sites and consequently accidents. Copyright © 2017 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement of attitudes of U.K. dental practitioners to core job constructs.

PubMed

Harris, R V; Ashcroft, A; Burnside, G; Dancer, J M; Smith, D; Grieveson, B

2009-03-01

To develop a measure to identify dental practitioner attitudes towards core job dimensions relating to job satisfaction and motivation and to test this against practice characteristics and provider attributes of U.K. practitioners. an 83-item questionnaire was developed from open-ended interviews with practitioners and use of items in previously used dentist job satisfaction questionnaires. This was subsequently sent to 684 practitioners. Item analysis reduced the item pool to 40 items and factor analysis (PCA) was undertaken. 440 (64%) dentists responded. Factor analysis resulted in six factors being identified as distinguishable job dimensions, overall Cronbach's alpha = 0.88. The factors were: 'restriction in being able to provide quality care (F1)', 'respect from being a dentist (F2)', 'control of work (F3)', 'running a practice (F4)', 'clinical skills (F5)', and 'caring for patients (F6)'. All six factors were correlated with a global job satisfaction score, although F1 was most strongly related (r = 0.60). Regression model analysis revealed that 'whether the dentist worked within the National Health Service or wholly or partly in the private sector' (p < 0.001), 'time since qualification' (p = 0.009), and the position of the dentist within the practice (whether a practice owner or associate dentist), (p = 0.047) were predictive of this factor. Six core job constructs of U.K. practitioners have been identified, together with several practice characteristics and practitioner attributes which predict these factors. The study demonstrates the importance of refining measures of dentists' job satisfaction to take account of the culture and the system in which the practitioner works.

A discourse and Foucauldian analysis of nurses health beliefs: implications for nurse education.

PubMed

Chambers, Derek; Narayanasamy, Aru

2008-02-01

The aim of this study was to investigate nurses' constructions of health in order to determine what influence these have on their health education practices and their implications for nurse education. Burgeoning literature on health promotion claim that health promotion is central to nursing practice. This is a role that has grown in the context of a rapidly ageing population, emergence of new diseases and variants of old diseases, ecological and environmental concerns and apparent social fragmentation. Within the United Kingdom this has led to nurses being identified by agencies, such as the UK government, as having a leading role to play in what has become the 'holy grail' of patient lifestyle change. But this role has been based on the seemingly uncritical assumption that the UK nurse education system engenders the necessary knowledge, attitude and skills required by nurses for them to effectively promote lifestyle choices. This study draws upon discourse and Foucauldian social analysis to uncover, through nurses' narratives, how they construct health and enact their health education practices. Twelve newly registered UK nurses were interviewed using hierarchical focused interviews. Data were analysed using discourse analysis. The process of discourse analysis unearthed two opposing value positions held without any feeling of contradiction by respondents: a holistic view--the role-based/public account, and a victim blaming view--personal agency/private account. This dual set of values raises important concerns over the teaching of health promotion. Nurse education may need to revise its approach to health promotion by taking into account the power of private accounts of health promotion that prevail among some nurses.

National Dam Safety Program. Martindale Dam (NDI Number PA-00444, PennDER Number 11-17), Ohio River Basin, Trout Run, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Phase I Inspection Report.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-08-01

0025 UNCLASSIFIED NL m -hmmII hhh~ENDhE~E EEEEL~ ___ OHIO RIVER BASIN TROUT RUN, CAMBRIA COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NOI No. PA 00444 ~LEVEL tPennDER No. 11-17...COUNTY, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA NDI No. PA 00444 PennDER No. 11-17 --PHASE--I -INSPECT-I ON--REPRT m - i-’ JNATIONAL.DAM. AFETY PROGRAM I,.ti/t UK...Construction History - The dam was designed by Andrew B. Crichton , Civil and Mining Engineer, Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The dam was constructed in 1909 and 1910

Measurements of Operational Wind Turbine Noise in UK Waters.

PubMed

Cheesman, Samuel

2016-01-01

The effects of wind farm operational noise have not been addressed to the same extent as their construction methods such as piling and drilling of the foundations despite their long operational lifetimes compared with weeks of construction. The results of five postconstruction underwater sound-monitoring surveys on wind farms located throughout the waters of the British Isles are discussed. These wind farms consist of differing turbine power outputs, from 3 to 3.6 MW, and differing numbers of turbines. This work presents an overview of the results obtained and discusses both the levels and frequency components of the sound in several metrics.

Water soluble aerosols and gases at a UK background site - Part 1: Controls of PM2.5 and PM10 aerosol composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twigg, M. M.; Di Marco, C. F.; Leeson, S.; van Dijk, N.; Jones, M. R.; Leith, I. D.; Morrison, E.; Coyle, M.; Proost, R.; Peeters, A. N. M.; Lemon, E.; Frelink, T.; Braban, C. F.; Nemitz, E.; Cape, J. N.

2015-07-01

There is limited availability of long-term, high temporal resolution, chemically speciated aerosol measurements which can provide further insight into the health and environmental impacts of particulate matter. The Monitor for AeRosols and Gases (MARGA, Applikon B.V., NL) allows for the characterisation of the inorganic components of PM10 and PM_{2.5 (NH4+, NO3-, SO42-, Cl-, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and inorganic reactive gases (NH3, SO2, HCl, HONO and HNO3) at hourly resolution. The following study presents 6.5 years (June 2006 to December 2012) of quasi-continuous observations of PM2.5 and PM10 using the MARGA at the UK EMEP supersite, Auchencorth Moss, SE Scotland. Auchencorth Moss was found to be representative of a remote European site with average total water soluble inorganic mass of PM2.5 of 3.82 μg m-3. Anthropogenically derived secondary inorganic aerosols (sum of NH4+, NO3- and nss-SO42-) were the dominating species (63 %) of PM2.5. In terms of equivalent concentrations, NH4+ provided the single largest contribution to PM2.5 fraction in all seasons. Sea salt was the main component (73 %) of the PMcoarse fraction (PM10-PM2.5), though NO3- was also found to make a relatively large contribution to the measured mass (17 %) providing evidence of considerable processing of sea salt in the coarse mode. There was on occasions evidence of aerosol from combustion events being transported to the site in 2012 as high K+ concentrations (deviating from the known ratio in sea salt) coincided with increases in black carbon at the site. Pollution events in PM10 (defined as concentrations > 12 μg m-3) were on average dominated by NH4+ and NO3-, where smaller loadings at the site tended to be dominated by sea salt. As with other western European sites, the charge balance of the inorganic components resolved were biased towards cations, suggesting the aerosol was basic or more likely that organic acids contributed to the charge balance. This study demonstrates the UK background atmospheric composition is primarily driven by meteorology with sea salt dominating air masses from the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic, whereas secondary inorganic aerosols tended to dominate air masses from continental Europe.}

Complex physiological traits as biomarkers of the sub-lethal toxicological effects of pollutant exposure in fishes.

PubMed

McKenzie, D J; Garofalo, E; Winter, M J; Ceradini, S; Verweij, F; Day, N; Hayes, R; van der Oost, R; Butler, P J; Chipman, J K; Taylor, E W

2007-11-29

Complex physiological traits, such as routine aerobic metabolic rate or exercise performance, are indicators of the functional integrity of fish that can reveal sub-lethal toxicological effects of aquatic pollutants. These traits have proved valuable in laboratory investigations of the sub-lethal effects of heavy metals, ammonia and various xenobiotics. It is not known, however, whether they can also function as biomarkers of the complex potential range of effects upon overall functional integrity caused by exposure to mixtures of chemicals in polluted natural environments. The current study used portable swimming respirometers to compare exercise performance and respiratory metabolism of fish exposed in cages for three weeks to either clean or polluted sites on three urban European river systems: the river Lambro, Milan, Italy; the rivers Blythe, Cole and Tame, Birmingham, UK; and the river Amstel, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The UK and Italian rivers were variously polluted with high levels of both bioavailable heavy metals and organics, and the Amstel by mixtures of bioavailable organics at high concentrations. In both the UK and Italy, indigenous chub (Leuciscus cephalus) exposed to clean or polluted sites swam equally well in an initial performance test, but the chub from polluted sites could not repeat this performance after a brief recovery interval. These animals were unable to raise the metabolic rate and allocate oxygen towards exercise in the second trial, an effect confirmed in successive campaigns in Italy. Swimming performance was therefore a biomarker indicator of pollutant exposure in chub exposed at these sites. Exposure to polluted sites on the river Amstel did not affect the repeat swimming performance of cultured cloned carp (Cyprinus carpio), indicating either a species-specific tolerance or relative absence of heavy metals. However, measurements of oxygen uptake during swimming revealed increased rates of routine aerobic metabolism in both chub and carp at polluted sites in all of the rivers studied, indicating a sub-lethal metabolic loading effect. Therefore, the physiological traits of exercise performance and metabolic rate have potential as biomarkers of the overall sub-lethal toxic effects of exposure to complex mixtures of pollutants in rivers, and may also provide insight into why fish do not colonize some polluted environments.

226. Early construction on section 2A1. This was the site ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

226. Early construction on section 2-A-1. This was the site of the first construction on the Blue Ride Parkway. - Blue Ridge Parkway, Between Shenandoah National Park & Great Smoky Mountains, Asheville, Buncombe County, NC

Mapping patient pathways and estimating resource use for point of care versus standard testing and treatment of chlamydia and gonorrhoea in genitourinary medicine clinics in the UK.

PubMed

Adams, Elisabeth J; Ehrlich, Alice; Turner, Katherine M E; Shah, Kunj; Macleod, John; Goldenberg, Simon; Meray, Robin K; Pearce, Vikki; Horner, Patrick

2014-07-23

We aimed to explore patient pathways using a chlamydia/gonorrhoea point-of-care (POC) nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), and estimate and compare the costs of the proposed POC pathways with the current pathways using standard laboratory-based NAAT testing. Workshops were conducted with healthcare professionals at four sexual health clinics representing diverse models of care in the UK. They mapped out current pathways that used chlamydia/gonorrhoea tests, and constructed new pathways using a POC NAAT. Healthcare professionals' time was assessed in each pathway. The proposed POC pathways were then priced using a model built in Microsoft Excel, and compared to previously published costs for pathways using standard NAAT-based testing in an off-site laboratory. Pathways using a POC NAAT for asymptomatic and symptomatic patients and chlamydia/gonorrhoea-only tests were shorter and less expensive than most of the current pathways. Notably, we estimate that POC testing as part of a sexual health screen for symptomatic patients, or as stand-alone chlamydia/gonorrhoea testing, could reduce costs per patient by as much as £16 or £6, respectively. In both cases, healthcare professionals' time would be reduced by approximately 10 min per patient. POC testing for chlamydia/gonorrhoea in a clinical setting may reduce costs and clinician time, and may lead to more appropriate and quicker care for patients. Further study is warranted on how to best implement POC testing in clinics, and on the broader clinical and cost implications of this technology. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Specialist integrated haematological malignancy diagnostic services: an Activity Based Cost (ABC) analysis of a networked laboratory service model.

PubMed

Dalley, C; Basarir, H; Wright, J G; Fernando, M; Pearson, D; Ward, S E; Thokula, P; Krishnankutty, A; Wilson, G; Dalton, A; Talley, P; Barnett, D; Hughes, D; Porter, N R; Reilly, J T; Snowden, J A

2015-04-01

Specialist Integrated Haematological Malignancy Diagnostic Services (SIHMDS) were introduced as a standard of care within the UK National Health Service to reduce diagnostic error and improve clinical outcomes. Two broad models of service delivery have become established: 'co-located' services operating from a single-site and 'networked' services, with geographically separated laboratories linked by common management and information systems. Detailed systematic cost analysis has never been published on any established SIHMDS model. We used Activity Based Costing (ABC) to construct a cost model for our regional 'networked' SIHMDS covering a two-million population based on activity in 2011. Overall estimated annual running costs were £1 056 260 per annum (£733 400 excluding consultant costs), with individual running costs for diagnosis, staging, disease monitoring and end of treatment assessment components of £723 138, £55 302, £184 152 and £94 134 per annum, respectively. The cost distribution by department was 28.5% for haematology, 29.5% for histopathology and 42% for genetics laboratories. Costs of the diagnostic pathways varied considerably; pathways for myelodysplastic syndromes and lymphoma were the most expensive and the pathways for essential thrombocythaemia and polycythaemia vera being the least. ABC analysis enables estimation of running costs of a SIHMDS model comprised of 'networked' laboratories. Similar cost analyses for other SIHMDS models covering varying populations are warranted to optimise quality and cost-effectiveness in delivery of modern haemato-oncology diagnostic services in the UK as well as internationally. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

10 CFR Appendix N to Part 50 - Standardization of Nuclear Power Plant Designs: Permits To Construct and Licenses To Operate...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites N Appendix N... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites Section 101... nuclear power reactors of essentially the same design to be located at different sites. 1 1 If the design...

10 CFR Appendix N to Part 50 - Standardization of Nuclear Power Plant Designs: Permits To Construct and Licenses To Operate...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites N Appendix N... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites Section 101... nuclear power reactors of essentially the same design to be located at different sites. 1 1 If the design...

10 CFR Appendix N to Part 50 - Standardization of Nuclear Power Plant Designs: Permits To Construct and Licenses To Operate...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites N Appendix N... Construct and Licenses To Operate Nuclear Power Reactors of Identical Design at Multiple Sites Section 101... nuclear power reactors of essentially the same design to be located at different sites. 1 1 If the design...

Occurrence and risk assessment of organophosphorus and brominated flame retardants in the River Aire (UK).

PubMed

Cristale, Joyce; Katsoyiannis, Athanasios; Sweetman, Andrew J; Jones, Kevin C; Lacorte, Silvia

2013-08-01

This study presents the occurrence and risk of PBDEs, new brominated and organophosphorus flame retardants along a river affected by urban and industrial pressures (River Aire, UK). Tris(2-choroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(2-chloro-1-methylethyl) phosphate (TCPP), tris[2-chloro-1-(chloromethyl)ethyl] phosphate (TDCP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) were detected in all samples, with TCPP present at the highest concentrations, ranging from 113 to 26,050 ng L⁻¹. BDE-209 was detected in most of the sampled sites, ranging from 17 to 295 ng L⁻¹, while hexabromobenzene (HBB) and pentabromoethyl benzene (PBEB) were seldom detected. A risk quotients based on predicted no effect concentrations (PNEC) and flame retardants water concentration proved significant risk for adverse effects for algae, Daphnia and fish in sites close to industrial and urban sewage discharges. This study provides a protocol for the risk estimation of priority and new generation flame retardants based on river concentrations and toxicological values. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geostatistical modeling of riparian forest microclimate and its implications for sampling

USGS Publications Warehouse

Eskelson, B.N.I.; Anderson, P.D.; Hagar, J.C.; Temesgen, H.

2011-01-01

Predictive models of microclimate under various site conditions in forested headwater stream - riparian areas are poorly developed, and sampling designs for characterizing underlying riparian microclimate gradients are sparse. We used riparian microclimate data collected at eight headwater streams in the Oregon Coast Range to compare ordinary kriging (OK), universal kriging (UK), and kriging with external drift (KED) for point prediction of mean maximum air temperature (Tair). Several topographic and forest structure characteristics were considered as site-specific parameters. Height above stream and distance to stream were the most important covariates in the KED models, which outperformed OK and UK in terms of root mean square error. Sample patterns were optimized based on the kriging variance and the weighted means of shortest distance criterion using the simulated annealing algorithm. The optimized sample patterns outperformed systematic sample patterns in terms of mean kriging variance mainly for small sample sizes. These findings suggest methods for increasing efficiency of microclimate monitoring in riparian areas.

The ability of indigenous micro-organisms to degrade isoproturon, atrazine and mecoprop within aerobic UK aquifer systems.

PubMed

Johnson, Andrew C; White, Craig; Bhardwaj, C Lal; Dixon, Andy

2003-12-01

The potential for the herbicides isoproturon, atrazine and mecoprop to degrade in the major UK aquifers of chalk, sandstone and limestone was studied using laboratory microcosms spiked at 100 microg litre(-1). Significant mecoprop degradation was only observed in sandstone groundwater samples. Atrazine transformation, based on the formation of metabolites, did occur in most groundwater samples, but only at a rate of 1-3% per year. A potential to degrade isoproturon was observed in groundwater samples from each of the aquifer types, with the most rapid and consistent degradation occurring at the sandstone field site. Biodegradation was confirmed by the formation of monodesmethyl- and didesmethyl-isoproturon. Isoproturon degradation potential rates obtained from the groundwater microcosms could not be correlated with either dissolved organic carbon or numbers of bacteria in the groundwater. It was noted that the ability of the groundwater at a field site to degrade a pesticide was not related to performance of the soil above.

Studies on Labour Safety in Construction Sites

PubMed Central

Kanchana, S.; Sivaprakash, P.; Joseph, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Construction industry has accomplished extensive growth worldwide particularly in past few decades. For a construction project to be successful, safety of the structures as well as that of the personnel is of utmost importance. The safety issues are to be considered right from the design stage till the completion and handing over of the structure. Construction industry employs skilled and unskilled labourers subject to construction site accidents and health risks. A proper coordination between contractors, clients, and workforce is needed for safe work conditions which are very much lacking in Indian construction companies. Though labour safety laws are available, the numerous accidents taking place at construction sites are continuing. Management commitment towards health and safety of the workers is also lagging. A detailed literature study was carried out to understand the causes of accidents, preventive measures, and development of safe work environment. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey, which was distributed among various categories of construction workers in Kerala region. The paper examines and discusses in detail the total working hours, work shifts, nativity of the workers, number of accidents, and type of injuries taking place in small and large construction sites. PMID:26839916

Studies on Labour Safety in Construction Sites.

PubMed

Kanchana, S; Sivaprakash, P; Joseph, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Construction industry has accomplished extensive growth worldwide particularly in past few decades. For a construction project to be successful, safety of the structures as well as that of the personnel is of utmost importance. The safety issues are to be considered right from the design stage till the completion and handing over of the structure. Construction industry employs skilled and unskilled labourers subject to construction site accidents and health risks. A proper coordination between contractors, clients, and workforce is needed for safe work conditions which are very much lacking in Indian construction companies. Though labour safety laws are available, the numerous accidents taking place at construction sites are continuing. Management commitment towards health and safety of the workers is also lagging. A detailed literature study was carried out to understand the causes of accidents, preventive measures, and development of safe work environment. This paper presents the results of a questionnaire survey, which was distributed among various categories of construction workers in Kerala region. The paper examines and discusses in detail the total working hours, work shifts, nativity of the workers, number of accidents, and type of injuries taking place in small and large construction sites.

The STARLINK software collection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Penny, A. J.; Wallace, P. T.; Sherman, J. C.; Terret, D. L.

1993-12-01

A demonstration will be given of some recent Starlink software. STARLINK is: a network of computers used by UK astronomers; a collection of programs for the calibration and analysis of astronomical data; a team of people giving hardware, software and administrative support. The Starlink Project has been in operation since 1980 to provide UK astronomers with interactive image processing and data reduction facilities. There are now Starlink computer systems at 25 UK locations, serving about 1500 registered users. The Starlink software collection now has about 25 major packages covering a wide range of astronomical data reduction and analysis techniques, as well as many smaller programs and utilities. At the core of most of the packages is a common `software environment', which provides many of the functions which applications need and offers standardized methods of structuring and accessing data. The software environment simplifies programming and support, and makes it easy to use different packages for different stages of the data reduction. Users see a consistent style, and can mix applications without hitting problems of differing data formats. The Project group coordinates the writing and distribution of this software collection, which is Unix based. Outside the UK, Starlink is used at a large number of places, which range from installations at major UK telescopes, which are Starlink-compatible and managed like Starlink sites, to individuals who run only small parts of the Starlink software collection.

Robust Segmentation of Planar and Linear Features of Terrestrial Laser Scanner Point Clouds Acquired from Construction Sites.

PubMed

Maalek, Reza; Lichti, Derek D; Ruwanpura, Janaka Y

2018-03-08

Automated segmentation of planar and linear features of point clouds acquired from construction sites is essential for the automatic extraction of building construction elements such as columns, beams and slabs. However, many planar and linear segmentation methods use scene-dependent similarity thresholds that may not provide generalizable solutions for all environments. In addition, outliers exist in construction site point clouds due to data artefacts caused by moving objects, occlusions and dust. To address these concerns, a novel method for robust classification and segmentation of planar and linear features is proposed. First, coplanar and collinear points are classified through a robust principal components analysis procedure. The classified points are then grouped using a new robust clustering method, the robust complete linkage method. A robust method is also proposed to extract the points of flat-slab floors and/or ceilings independent of the aforementioned stages to improve computational efficiency. The applicability of the proposed method is evaluated in eight datasets acquired from a complex laboratory environment and two construction sites at the University of Calgary. The precision, recall, and accuracy of the segmentation at both construction sites were 96.8%, 97.7% and 95%, respectively. These results demonstrate the suitability of the proposed method for robust segmentation of planar and linear features of contaminated datasets, such as those collected from construction sites.

Robust Segmentation of Planar and Linear Features of Terrestrial Laser Scanner Point Clouds Acquired from Construction Sites

PubMed Central

Maalek, Reza; Lichti, Derek D; Ruwanpura, Janaka Y

2018-01-01

Automated segmentation of planar and linear features of point clouds acquired from construction sites is essential for the automatic extraction of building construction elements such as columns, beams and slabs. However, many planar and linear segmentation methods use scene-dependent similarity thresholds that may not provide generalizable solutions for all environments. In addition, outliers exist in construction site point clouds due to data artefacts caused by moving objects, occlusions and dust. To address these concerns, a novel method for robust classification and segmentation of planar and linear features is proposed. First, coplanar and collinear points are classified through a robust principal components analysis procedure. The classified points are then grouped using a new robust clustering method, the robust complete linkage method. A robust method is also proposed to extract the points of flat-slab floors and/or ceilings independent of the aforementioned stages to improve computational efficiency. The applicability of the proposed method is evaluated in eight datasets acquired from a complex laboratory environment and two construction sites at the University of Calgary. The precision, recall, and accuracy of the segmentation at both construction sites were 96.8%, 97.7% and 95%, respectively. These results demonstrate the suitability of the proposed method for robust segmentation of planar and linear features of contaminated datasets, such as those collected from construction sites. PMID:29518062

Event-based soil loss models for construction sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trenouth, William R.; Gharabaghi, Bahram

2015-05-01

The elevated rates of soil erosion stemming from land clearing and grading activities during urban development, can result in excessive amounts of eroded sediments entering waterways and causing harm to the biota living therein. However, construction site event-based soil loss simulations - required for reliable design of erosion and sediment controls - are one of the most uncertain types of hydrologic models. This study presents models with improved degree of accuracy to advance the design of erosion and sediment controls for construction sites. The new models are developed using multiple linear regression (MLR) on event-based permutations of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and artificial neural networks (ANN). These models were developed using surface runoff monitoring datasets obtained from three sites - Greensborough, Cookstown, and Alcona - in Ontario and datasets mined from the literature for three additional sites - Treynor, Iowa, Coshocton, Ohio and Cordoba, Spain. The predictive MLR and ANN models can serve as both diagnostic and design tools for the effective sizing of erosion and sediment controls on active construction sites, and can be used for dynamic scenario forecasting when considering rapidly changing land use conditions during various phases of construction.

Protocol for a mixed-methods study on leader-based interventions in construction contractors' safety commitments.

PubMed

Pedersen, Betina Holbaek; Dyreborg, Johnny; Kines, Pete; Mikkelsen, Kim Lyngby; Hannerz, Harald; Andersen, Dorte Raaby; Spangenberg, Søren

2010-06-01

Owing to high injury rates, safety interventions are needed in the construction industry. Evidence-based interventions tailored to this industry are, however, scarce. Leader-based safety interventions have proven more effective than worker-based interventions in other industries. To test a leader-based safety intervention for construction sites. The intervention consists of encouraging safety coordinators to provide feedback on work safety to the client and line management. The intention is to increase communication and interactions regarding safety within the line management and between the client and the senior management. It is hypothesised that this, in turn, will lead to increased communication and interaction about safety between management and coworkers as well as an increased on-site safety level. A group-randomised double-blinded case study of six Danish construction sites (three intervention sites and three control sites). The recruitment of the construction sites is performed continuously from January 2010 to June 2010. The investigation of each site lasts 20 continuous weeks. Confirmatory statistical analysis is used to test if the safety level increased, and if the probability of safety communications between management and coworkers increases as a consequence of the intervention. The data collection will be blinded. Qualitative methods are used to evaluate if communication and interactions about safety at all managerial levels, including the client, increase. (1) The proportion of safety-related communications out of all studied communications between management and coworkers. (2) The safety level index of the construction sites.

Assessment of Land and Water Resource Implications of the UK 2050 Carbon Plan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konadu, D. D.; Sobral Mourao, Z.; Skelton, S.; Lupton, R.

2015-12-01

The UK Carbon Plan presents four low-carbon energy system pathways that achieves 80% GHG emission targets by 2050, stipulated in the UK Climate Change Act (2008). However, some of the energy technologies prescribed under these pathways are land and water intensive; but would the increase demand for land and water under these pathways lead to increased competition and stress on agricultural land, and water resources in the UK? To answer the above question, this study uses an integrated modelling approach, ForeseerTM, which characterises the interdependencies and evaluates the land and water requirement for the pathways, based on scenarios of power plant location, and the energy crop yield projections. The outcome is compared with sustainable limits of resource appropriation to assess potential stresses and competition for water and land by other sectors of the economy. The results show the Carbon Plan pathways have low overall impacts on UK water resources, but agricultural land use and food production could be significantly impacted. The impact on agricultural land use is shown to be mainly driven by projections for transport decarbonisation via indigenously sourced biofuels. On the other hand, the impact on water resources is mainly associated with increased inland thermal electricity generation capacity, which would compete with other industrial and public water demands. The results highlight the need for a critical appraisal of UK's long term low-carbon energy system planning, in particular bioenergy sourcing strategy, and the siting of thermal power generation in order to avert potential resource stress and competition.

A vector auto-regressive model for onshore and offshore wind synthesis incorporating meteorological model information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, D.; Bell, K. R. W.; McMillan, D.; Infield, D.

2014-05-01

The growth of wind power production in the electricity portfolio is striving to meet ambitious targets set, for example by the EU, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. Huge investments are now being made in new offshore wind farms around UK coastal waters that will have a major impact on the GB electrical supply. Representations of the UK wind field in syntheses which capture the inherent structure and correlations between different locations including offshore sites are required. Here, Vector Auto-Regressive (VAR) models are presented and extended in a novel way to incorporate offshore time series from a pan-European meteorological model called COSMO, with onshore wind speeds from the MIDAS dataset provided by the British Atmospheric Data Centre. Forecasting ability onshore is shown to be improved with the inclusion of the offshore sites with improvements of up to 25% in RMS error at 6 h ahead. In addition, the VAR model is used to synthesise time series of wind at each offshore site, which are then used to estimate wind farm capacity factors at the sites in question. These are then compared with estimates of capacity factors derived from the work of Hawkins et al. (2011). A good degree of agreement is established indicating that this synthesis tool should be useful in power system impact studies.

Nuclear power: Siting and safety

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Openshaw, S.

1986-01-01

By 2030, half, or even two-thirds, of all electricity may be generated by nuclear power. Major reactor accidents are still expected to be rare occurrences, but nuclear safety is largely a matter of faith. Terrorist attacks, sabotage, and human error could cause a significant accident. Reactor siting can offer an additional, design-independent margin of safety. Remote geographical sites for new plants would minimize health risks, protect the industry from negative changes in public opinion concerning nuclear energy, and improve long-term public acceptance of nuclear power. U.K. siting practices usually do not consider the contribution to safety that could be obtainedmore » from remote sites. This book discusses the present trends of siting policies of nuclear power and their design-independent margin of safety.« less

Inferring the most probable maps of underground utilities using Bayesian mapping model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilal, Muhammad; Khan, Wasiq; Muggleton, Jennifer; Rustighi, Emiliano; Jenks, Hugo; Pennock, Steve R.; Atkins, Phil R.; Cohn, Anthony

2018-03-01

Mapping the Underworld (MTU), a major initiative in the UK, is focused on addressing social, environmental and economic consequences raised from the inability to locate buried underground utilities (such as pipes and cables) by developing a multi-sensor mobile device. The aim of MTU device is to locate different types of buried assets in real time with the use of automated data processing techniques and statutory records. The statutory records, even though typically being inaccurate and incomplete, provide useful prior information on what is buried under the ground and where. However, the integration of information from multiple sensors (raw data) with these qualitative maps and their visualization is challenging and requires the implementation of robust machine learning/data fusion approaches. An approach for automated creation of revised maps was developed as a Bayesian Mapping model in this paper by integrating the knowledge extracted from sensors raw data and available statutory records. The combination of statutory records with the hypotheses from sensors was for initial estimation of what might be found underground and roughly where. The maps were (re)constructed using automated image segmentation techniques for hypotheses extraction and Bayesian classification techniques for segment-manhole connections. The model consisting of image segmentation algorithm and various Bayesian classification techniques (segment recognition and expectation maximization (EM) algorithm) provided robust performance on various simulated as well as real sites in terms of predicting linear/non-linear segments and constructing refined 2D/3D maps.

Nursing work in NHS Direct: constructing a nursing identity in the call-centre environment.

PubMed

Snelgrove, Sherrill Ray

2009-12-01

The introduction of nurse-led telephone helplines for patients to have access to information and advice has led to the development of a new kind of practise for nurses. This study focuses on the ways NHS Direct (NHSD) nurses construct a nursing identity and shape their work in a call-centre environment. The empirical findings are drawn from a study investigating the impact of NHSD on professional nursing issues that was part of a wider evaluation of the service in South Wales, UK. Data were gathered from responses to free text questions included in a questionnaire sent to nurses in three NHSD sites. Further data were collected from focus groups held with NHSD nurses. The nurses defend their identity as nurses rather than call-centre workers. The discourses of the nurses show a strong alignment with the traditional values of nursing, encompassing holistic and empathetic practise that has moved with the nurses across locales. We argue that the nurses frame a nursing identity in NHSD around the importance of previous experience and claim to practise holistic nursing. However, the development of new skills and adaptation of old skills in response to the demand of NHSD work challenges normative notions of traditional 'hands-on' models of practise and indicates a possible movement towards a cognitive model of nursing based upon knowledge, analytical and communication skills that reflects the transformative and dynamic nature of professional identity and boundaries.

A lacustrine GDGT-temperature calibration from the Scandinavian Arctic to Antarctic: Renewed potential for the application of GDGT-paleothermometry in lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pearson, Emma J.; Juggins, Steve; Talbot, Helen M.; Weckström, Jan; Rosén, Peter; Ryves, David B.; Roberts, Stephen J.; Schmidt, Roland

2011-10-01

Quantitative climate reconstructions are fundamental to understand long-term trends in natural climate variability and to test climate models used to predict future climate change. Recent advances in molecular geochemistry have led to calibrations using glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), a group of temperature-sensitive membrane lipids found in Archaea and bacteria. GDGTs have been used to construct temperature indices for oceans (TEX 86 index) and soils (MBT/CBT index). The aim of this study is to examine GDGT-temperature relationships and assess the potential of constructing a GDGT-based palaeo-thermometer for lakes. We examine GDGT-temperature relationships using core top sediments from 90 lakes across a north-south transect from the Scandinavian Arctic to Antarctica including sites from Finland, Sweden, Siberia, the UK, Austria, Turkey, Ethiopia, Uganda, Chile, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. We examine a suite of 15 GDGTs, including compounds used in the TEX 86 and MBT/CBT indices and reflecting the broad range of GDGT inputs to small lake systems. GDGTs are present in varying proportions in all lakes examined. The TEX 86 index is not applicable to our sites because of the large relative proportions of soil derived and methanogenic components. Similarly, the MBT/CBT index is also not applicable and predicts temperatures considerably lower than those measured. We examine relationships between individual GDGT compounds and temperature, pH, conductivity and water depth. Temperature accounts for a large and statistically independent fraction of variation in branched GDGT composition. We propose a GDGT-temperature regression model with high accuracy and precision ( R2 = 0.88; RMSE = 2.0 °C; RMSEP = 2.1 °C) for use in lakes based on a subset of branched GDGT compounds and highlight the potential of this new method for reconstructing past temperatures using lake sediments.

Food risks and consumer trust. Avian influenza and the knowing and non-knowing on UK shopping floors.

PubMed

de Krom, Michiel P M M; Mol, Arthur P J

2010-12-01

Irrespective of major food crises in the 2000s consumer trust in food seems to remain high in Western Europe. Transparent information provision to consumers on food risks is a central strategy of the EU, its Member States and private food providers to build food trust among consumers. But can the interpretation of such information by consumers explain high levels of trust in food safety? Following recent outbreaks of avian influenza in the UK, this paper investigates the constitution of food trust among UK poultry consumers by focusing on the place where consumer decisions are made: the shopping floor. In-store qualitative interviews with consumers of a variety of poultry products at different shops are used to reveal the use of information in constructing trust. Besides on knowledge inducted from information provision, trust depends as much on consumer strategies to handle non-knowing of food risks. Three main forms of trust relations are distinguished, which together at a system level result in high levels of consumer trust in food. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heath Beliefs of UK South Asians Related to Lifestyle Diseases: A Review of Qualitative Literature

PubMed Central

Lucas, Anna; Murray, Esther

2013-01-01

Objective. To review available qualitative evidence in the literature for health beliefs and perceptions specific to UK South Asian adults. Exploring available insight into the social and cultural constructs underlying perceptions related to health behaviours and lifestyle-related disease. Methods. A search of central databases and ethnic minority research groups was augmented by hand-searching of reference lists. For included studies, quality was assessed using a predetermined checklist followed by metaethnography to synthesise the findings, using both reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis to look at factors impacting uptake of health behaviours. Results. A total of 10 papers varying in design and of good quality were included in the review. Cultural and social norms strongly influenced physical activity incidence and motivation as well as the ability to engage in healthy eating practices. Conclusions. These qualitative studies provide insight into approaches to health among UK South Asians in view of their social and cultural norms. Acknowledgement of their approach to lifestyle behaviours may assist acceptability of interventions and delivery of lifestyle advice by health professionals. PMID:23476751

Cross-cultural sex differences in situational triggers of aggressive responses.

PubMed

Zajenkowska, Anna; Mylonas, Kostas; Lawrence, Claire; Konopka, Karolina; Rajchert, Joanna

2014-10-01

This paper examines male and female individual differences in situational triggers of aggressive responses (STAR) in three countries as well as cross-cultural sex differences in trait aggression (aggression questionnaire, AQ). Convenience sampling was employed (university students) for the descriptive correlational study (Poland N = 300, 63% female, mean age 21.86, SD = 2.12; UK N = 196, 60% female, mean age 20.48, SD = 3.79; Greece N = 299, 57% female, mean age 20.71, SD = 4.42). The results showed that the STAR scale is an equivalent construct across all three countries. Overall, females were more sensitive to both provocation (SP) and frustration (SF) than males. When controlling for trait aggression, Polish and Greek females scored similarly in SP and higher than UK females. No sex differences in SP or SF were found in the UK sample. Additionally, Polish participants scored the highest in SP. Furthermore, when trait aggression was removed, the Greek participants were most sensitive to frustration, whereas Polish and English participants' SF did not differ. We discuss the results with regard to intercultural differences between investigated countries. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Heath beliefs of UK South Asians related to lifestyle diseases: a review of qualitative literature.

PubMed

Lucas, Anna; Murray, Esther; Kinra, Sanjay

2013-01-01

To review available qualitative evidence in the literature for health beliefs and perceptions specific to UK South Asian adults. Exploring available insight into the social and cultural constructs underlying perceptions related to health behaviours and lifestyle-related disease. A search of central databases and ethnic minority research groups was augmented by hand-searching of reference lists. For included studies, quality was assessed using a predetermined checklist followed by metaethnography to synthesise the findings, using both reciprocal translation and line-of-argument synthesis to look at factors impacting uptake of health behaviours. A total of 10 papers varying in design and of good quality were included in the review. Cultural and social norms strongly influenced physical activity incidence and motivation as well as the ability to engage in healthy eating practices. These qualitative studies provide insight into approaches to health among UK South Asians in view of their social and cultural norms. Acknowledgement of their approach to lifestyle behaviours may assist acceptability of interventions and delivery of lifestyle advice by health professionals.

Dangerous Spaces, Dangerous Memories, Dangerous Emotions: Informal Education and Heteronormativity--A Manchester UK Youth Work Vignette

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batsleer, Janet

2012-01-01

This article makes a connection between youth work spaces, emotions and some elements of memory, exploring the construction of spaces dangerous for social justice in both meanings of the term "dangerous for". It investigates the contribution to social justice of lesbian and gay youth work and other non-heteronormative youth work in a…

An Exploration of the Development of Academic Identity in a School of Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Elizabeth; Roberts, Amanda; Rees, Mary; Read, Mary

2014-01-01

This paper explores the complex processes involved in the self-construction of academic identity in a UK School of Education. Building on seminal literature in this field and drawing on the research of four academics, it begins by discussing teacher educators' varying perceptions of the need to re-configure their identity to meet the expectations…

Putting Literacy Attainment Data in Context: Examining the Past in Search of the Present

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Gemma

2014-01-01

This article examines the construction and design of literacy attainment data in the English school system in two different historical periods: the 1860s and the 1950s. These periods represent contrasting moments in the history of education in the UK when school structures and the governance of education varied, as did the design and…

Unlocking the Potential to Influence Government Skills Policy: A Case Study of the UK Construction Industry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Arthur; Raiden, Ani; Naylor, Gerald

2008-01-01

Despite a series of national policy initiatives aimed at addressing skills shortages in a number of sectors, little evidence of longer-term change is apparent. This paper examines concerns expressed by small businesses that their local views are not sought or considered when national training policies and initiatives are either being developed or…

Designing and Constructing an Exemplar Zero Carbon Primary School in the City of Exeter, United Kingdom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatchell, Arthur

2012-01-01

The United Kingdom's (UK) 2008 Budget announced the government's ambition that all new non-domestic buildings should be zero carbon from 2016. In order to take this goal forward, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) established the Zero Carbon Task Force (ZCTF); its objective was to advise on how England can achieve this…

Seeking Researcher Identity through the Co-Construction and Representation of Young People's Narratives of Identity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kearns, Sarah

2012-01-01

This paper tells the story of how a model of action research was used to examine my own development and emerging identity as a researcher through the Master of Research programme at my employing university in Scotland. It is located within a context of increasing expectations on academics within vocational training departments of UK universities…

Running into Trouble: Constructions of Danger and Risk in Girls' Access to Outdoor Space and Physical Activity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clark, Sheryl

2015-01-01

This paper considers girls' participation in running and other outdoor physical activities in their local areas in London, UK. The paper is concerned with the operation of risk discourses in and around this participation and looks at the way that such discourses impacted on girls' opportunities to take part in physical activities that required…

The Ideological Construction of a New Form of Digital Exclusion: Computer Science as Latin or Total Deus Ex Machina?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rudd, Tim

2013-01-01

This paper offers a critical analysis of the UK coalition Government's educational computing policies. It argues that such policies must be viewed in relation to the broader ideological intent underpinning their development and the neo liberal orientation that seeks to further privatise and marketise education. In examining the related…

Examining the social construction of surveillance: A critical issue for health visitors and public health nurses working with mothers and children.

PubMed

Peckover, Sue; Aston, Megan

2018-01-01

To critically examine surveillance practices of health visitors (HV) in the UK and public health nurses (PHNs) in Canada. The practice and meaning of surveillance shifts and changes depending on the context and intent of relationships between mothers and HVs or PHNs. We present the context and practice of HVs in the UK and PHNs in Canada and provide a comprehensive literature review regarding surveillance of mothers within public health systems. We then present our critique of the meaning and practice of surveillance across different settings. Concepts from Foucault and discourse analysis are used to critically examine and discuss the meaning of surveillance. Surveillance is a complex concept that shifts meaning and is socially and institutionally constructed through relations of power. Healthcare providers need to understand the different meanings and practices associated with surveillance to effectively inform practice. Healthcare providers should be aware of how their positions of expert and privilege within healthcare systems affect relationships with mothers. A more comprehensive understanding of personal, social and institutional aspects of surveillance will provide opportunities to reflect upon and change practices that are supportive of mothers and their families. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Research on website construction based on website group platform of Chengdu sport institution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Zunyu

2018-04-01

This paper describes the necessity of website construction based on the website group of Chengdu sport institute, and discusses the technical features of the website group, Based on the website group platform architecture, the key technologies such as Web Service, AJAX, RSS and other key technologies are used to realize the construction of the website. Based on the website group platform architecture of the site, it effectively solves the information isolated island between the sites, and realizes the information sharing and resource integration. It is also more convenient that site and other sites have composed of site group integrated operation and maintenance.

Occupational health and safety in the Moroccan construction sites: preliminary diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarik, Bakeli; Adil, Hafidi Alaoui

2018-05-01

Managing occupational health and safety on Moroccan construction sector represents the first step for projects' success. In fact, by avoiding accidents, all the related direct and indirect costs and delays can be prevented. That leads to an important question always asked by any project manager: what are the factors responsible for accidents? How can they be avoided? Through this research, the aim is to go through these questions, to contribute in occupational health and safety principles understanding, to identify construction accidentology and risk management opportunities and to approach the case of Moroccan construction sites by an accurate diagnosis. The approach is to make researchers, managers, stakeholders and deciders aware about the criticality of construction sites health and safety situation. And, to do the first step for a scientific research project in relation with health and safety in the Moroccan construction sector. For this, the paper will study the related state of art namely about construction sites accidents causation, and will focus on Reason's `Swiss cheese' model and its utilization for Moroccan construction sites health and safety diagnosis. The research will end with an estimation of an accidents fatality rate in the Moroccan construction sector and a benchmarking with the international rates. Finally, conclusions will be presented about the necessity of Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) implementation, which shall cover all risk levels, and insure, at the same time, that the necessary defenses against accidents are on place.

Safety in numbers 4: The relationship between exposure to authentic and didactic environments and nursing students' learning of medication dosage calculation problem solving knowledge and skills.

PubMed

Weeks, Keith W; Clochesy, John M; Hutton, B Meriel; Moseley, Laurie

2013-03-01

Advancing the art and science of education practice requires a robust evaluation of the relationship between students' exposure to learning and assessment environments and the development of their cognitive competence (knowing that and why) and functional competence (know-how and skills). Healthcare education translation research requires specific education technology assessments and evaluations that consist of quantitative analyses of empirical data and qualitative evaluations of the lived student experience of the education journey and schemata construction (Weeks et al., 2013a). This paper focuses on the outcomes of UK PhD and USA post-doctorate experimental research. We evaluated the relationship between exposure to traditional didactic methods of education, prototypes of an authentic medication dosage calculation problem-solving (MDC-PS) environment and nursing students' construction of conceptual and calculation competence in medication dosage calculation problem-solving skills. Empirical outcomes from both UK and USA programmes of research identified highly significant differences in the construction of conceptual and calculation competence in MDC-PS following exposure to the authentic learning environment to that following exposure to traditional didactic transmission methods of education (p < 0.001). This research highlighted that for many students exposure to authentic learning environments is an essential first step in the development of conceptual and calculation competence and relevant schemata construction (internal representations of the relationship between the features of authentic dosage problems and calculation functions); and how authentic environments more ably support all cognitive (learning) styles in mathematics than traditional didactic methods of education. Functional competence evaluations are addressed in Macdonald et al. (2013) and Weeks et al. (2013e). Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Robust Classification and Segmentation of Planar and Linear Features for Construction Site Progress Monitoring and Structural Dimension Compliance Control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maalek, R.; Lichti, D. D.; Ruwanpura, J.

2015-08-01

The application of terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) on construction sites for automating construction progress monitoring and controlling structural dimension compliance is growing markedly. However, current research in construction management relies on the planned building information model (BIM) to assign the accumulated point clouds to their corresponding structural elements, which may not be reliable in cases where the dimensions of the as-built structure differ from those of the planned model and/or the planned model is not available with sufficient detail. In addition outliers exist in construction site datasets due to data artefacts caused by moving objects, occlusions and dust. In order to overcome the aforementioned limitations, a novel method for robust classification and segmentation of planar and linear features is proposed to reduce the effects of outliers present in the LiDAR data collected from construction sites. First, coplanar and collinear points are classified through a robust principal components analysis procedure. The classified points are then grouped using a robust clustering method. A method is also proposed to robustly extract the points belonging to the flat-slab floors and/or ceilings without performing the aforementioned stages in order to preserve computational efficiency. The applicability of the proposed method is investigated in two scenarios, namely, a laboratory with 30 million points and an actual construction site with over 150 million points. The results obtained by the two experiments validate the suitability of the proposed method for robust segmentation of planar and linear features in contaminated datasets, such as those collected from construction sites.

On the prevailing construction waste recycling practices: a South East Queensland study.

PubMed

Tam, Vivian W Y; Kotrayothar, Duangthidar; Loo, Yew-Chaye

2009-03-01

Waste generated from construction and building demolition work constitutes about 68% of all solid waste generated each year in South East Queensland. Consequently, it has created a serious waste management problem. The State Governments of Victoria and New South Wales have been encouraging the use of recycled materials from construction and related waste; they have also promulgated specifications for their use. In Queensland, however, similar regulations are not anticipated in the near future, which explains the lack of funded research conducted in this important arena. This paper presents an evaluation of the prevailing waste recycling practices in Queensland. Nine sites were visited, including two construction sites, three demolition sites, three recycling plants and one landfill in South East Queensland. The difficulties encountered by the recycling programme operators and their associates at these sites are described and the benefits of recycling construction materials are presented. One of the major barriers is that the local councils disallow the use of recycled materials in new construction work. To help rectify these impediments to recycling, recommendations are given to increase the use of recycled construction waste in South East Queensland.

A case of laryngeal cancer induced by exposure to asbestos in a construction site supervisor.

PubMed

Roh, Sooyong; Park, Soyong; Tae, Gyeong; Song, Jaechul

2016-01-01

Construction site supervisors are exposed to many chemicals, dusts, and metals including asbestos. Asbestos is a hazardous chemical that is carcinogenic. Laryngeal cancer is not a rare disease in Korea. The most common causes of this disease are tobacco and alcohol, and representative occupational cause is asbestos. However, up to now, no case of laryngeal cancer induced by asbestos has been reported in Korea. In this study, we report such a case in a construction site supervisor. A 60-year-old man who had been experiencing hoarseness for 2 months was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. The pathologic diagnosis was squamous cell carcinoma in situ, based on examination of a biopsy specimen obtained by resection of the lesion. The patient had been exposed to asbestos for 38 years at construction sites where he worked until diagnosed with laryngeal cancer. He had been exposed to asbestos when demolishing buildings and inspecting materials. The patient in this case worked with construction materials including asbestos and supervised construction for 38 years, and was thus exposed to asbestos at construction sites. Much of the asbestos was highly concentrated especially during demolition processes. We therefore consider the laryngeal cancer of this patient to be a work-related disease.

Overview of hybrid fiber-coaxial network deployment in the deregulated UK environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cox, Alan L.

1995-11-01

Cable operators in the U.K. enjoy unprecedented license to construct networks and operate cable TV and telecommunications services within their franchise areas. In general, operators have built hybrid-fiber-coax (HFC) networks for cable TV in parallel with fiber-copper-pair networks for telephony. The commonly used network architectures are reviewed, together with their present and future capacities. Despite this dual-technology approach, there is considerable interest in the integration of telephony services onto the HFC network and the development of new interactive services for which HFC may be more suitable than copper pairs. Certain technological and commercial developments may have considerable significance for HFC networks and their operators. These include the digitalization of TV distribution and the rising demand for high-rate digital access lines. Possible scenarios are discussed.

Smoke and Mirrors: U.K. Newspaper Representations of Intimate Partner Domestic Violence.

PubMed

Lloyd, Michele; Ramon, Shula

2017-01-01

News media are in a position to project certain perspectives on domestic violence while marginalizing others, which has implications for public understanding and policy development. This study applies discourse analysis to articles on domestic violence in two U.K. national daily newspapers published in 2001-2002 and 2011-2012 to evaluate evidence of change over a 10-year time span. The research examines how discourses of domestic violence are constructed through newspaper representations of victims, predominantly women, and perpetrators, predominantly men. Although one of the newspapers adopts a respectful position toward women, the textual and visual techniques adopted by the other reveal a tendency for blaming the victim and sexualizing violence related to perceptions of "deserving" or "undeserving" women victims. © The Author(s) 2016.

London 2012: occupational health in the construction programme.

PubMed

Waterman, Lawrence

2007-05-01

This article explores the approach to occupational health in the UK construction industry in both broad and narrow contexts. The construction programme for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games includes the creation of a large urban park in east London containing many sports venues and served by enhanced infrastructure. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), responsible for the construction programme, is developing plans that seek to assure the health of the thousands of workers who will be engaged in this work. Such plans are not being drafted in a vacuum. In addition to considerable consultation with stakeholders the ODA is also drawing on some of the exciting work that has been undertaken in occupational health in recent years. In particular, the move from a focus on technical health services provided by 'experts' to an acceptance that health issues should be managed within employing organizations. Understanding this broad context provides a solid basis for analysing the specific proposals for occupational support during the Olympic Park construction.

Contamination from historic metal mines and the need for non-invasive remediation techniques: a case study from Southwest England.

PubMed

Rieuwerts, J S; Austin, S; Harris, E A

2009-01-01

The UK is legally required by the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) to improve the environmental quality of inland and coastal waters in the coming years. Historic metal mine sites are recognised as an important source of some of the elements on the WFD priority chemicals list. Despite their contamination potential, such sites are valued for their heritage and for other cultural and scientific reasons. Remediating historic mining areas to control the contamination of stream waters, whilst also preserving the integrity of the mine site, is a challenge but might be achieved by novel forms of remediation. In this study, we have carried out environmental monitoring at a historic, and culturally-sensitive, lead-silver mine site in southwest England and have undertaken a pilot experiment to investigate the potential for a novel, non-invasive remediation method at the site. Concentrations of Pb and Zn in mine spoil were clearly elevated with geometric mean concentrations of 6,888 and 710 microg g(-1), respectively. Mean concentrations of Pb in stream waters were between 21 and 54 microg l(-1), in exceedance of the WFD environmental quality standard (EQS) of 7.2 microg l(-1) (annual average). Mean Zn concentrations in water were between 30 and 97 microg l(-1), compared to the UK EQS of 66.5 microg l(-1) (average). Stream sediments within, and downstream from, the mining site were similarly elevated, indicating transport of mine waste particles into and within the stream. We undertook a simple trial to investigate the potential of hydroxyapatite, in the form of bonemeal, to passively remove the Pb and Zn, from the stream waters. After percolating through bonemeal in a leaching column, 96-99% of the dissolved Pb and Zn in stream water samples was removed.

A Solid Foundation: Key Capacities of Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmer, Matt; Blair, Amy; Gerber, Allison

2012-01-01

This publication shares research from site visits conducted to construction pre-apprenticeship programs in Baltimore, Hartford, Milwaukee and Portland (OR). Findings from the site visits, which included interviews and focus groups with pre-apprenticeship program staff, public officials, philanthropic leaders, construction industry leaders and…

Patterns, rates and possible causes of saltmarsh erosion in the Greater Thames area (UK)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Wal, Daphne; Pye, Kenneth

2004-08-01

The estuary-dominated coast of the Greater Thames in England has experienced rapid lateral erosion and internal dissection of saltmarshes. This paper provides an overview of saltmarsh development in this area, and re-examines the role of environmental and human forcing factors. It draws on documentary evidence, including historical maps, survey data and time-series data of forcing factors. Lateral marsh retreat began in the 19th century in the Medway and Blackwater Estuaries, followed by other estuaries in the Greater Thames region at the beginning of the 20th century. The outer estuaries and the wider parts of the inner estuaries especially have experienced erosion. Erosion has been modest in wave-sheltered areas, e.g., the Colne and the inner Crouch. In the 1960s and, more widely, the 1970s, a phase of rapid erosion took place, with erosion rates of up to ca. 16 ha year -1 per site, notably along the open coast of Dengie and Foulness, and in the Blackwater and Thames Estuaries. At all sites, vertical sediment accretion was well able to keep up with sea level rise over the past century. Evidence indicates that there may have been several causes for the erosion of saltmarshes. These are notably land claim and embankment construction (increasing the tidal range and current velocities) and a continuous rise of, especially, high and extreme water levels. The latest episode of rapid erosion in the 1970s is largely attributed to changes in the wind/wave climate. For example, erosion at wave-exposed sites coincided with a peak in high magnitude waves combined with a high incidence of southeasterly waves. The study shows that many factors, including natural forcing factors and human activities, have to be taken into account when explaining saltmarsh development.

Construction of SO(5)⊃SO(3) spherical harmonics and Clebsch-Gordan coefficients

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caprio, M. A.; Rowe, D. J.; Welsh, T. A.

2009-07-01

The SO(5)⊃SO(3) spherical harmonics form a natural basis for expansion of nuclear collective model angular wave functions. They underlie the recently-proposed algebraic method for diagonalization of the nuclear collective model Hamiltonian in an SU(1,1)×SO(5) basis. We present a computer code for explicit construction of the SO(5)⊃SO(3) spherical harmonics and use them to compute the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients needed for collective model calculations in an SO(3)-coupled basis. With these Clebsch-Gordan coefficients it becomes possible to compute the matrix elements of collective model observables by purely algebraic methods. Program summaryProgram title: GammaHarmonic Catalogue identifier: AECY_v1_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AECY_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 346 421 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 16 037 234 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Mathematica 6 Computer: Any which supports Mathematica Operating system: Any which supports Mathematica; tested under Microsoft Windows XP and Linux Classification: 4.2 Nature of problem: Explicit construction of SO(5) ⊃ SO(3) spherical harmonics on S. Evaluation of SO(3)-reduced matrix elements and SO(5) ⊃ SO(3) Clebsch-Gordan coefficients (isoscalar factors). Solution method: Construction of SO(5) ⊃ SO(3) spherical harmonics by orthonormalization, obtained from a generating set of functions, according to the method of Rowe, Turner, and Repka [1]. Matrix elements and Clebsch-Gordan coefficients follow by construction and integration of SO(3) scalar products. Running time: Depends strongly on the maximum SO(5) and SO(3) representation labels involved. A few minutes for the calculation in the Mathematica notebook. References: [1] D.J. Rowe, P.S. Turner, J. Repka, J. Math. Phys. 45 (2004) 2761.

UK asbestos imports and mortality due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PubMed

Barber, C M; Wiggans, R E; Young, C; Fishwick, D

2016-03-01

Previous studies have demonstrated that the rising mortality due to mesothelioma and asbestosis can be predicted from historic asbestos usage. Mortality due to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is also rising, without any apparent explanation. To compare mortality due to these conditions and examine the relationship between mortality and national asbestos imports. Mortality data for IPF and asbestosis in England and Wales were available from the Office for National Statistics. Data for mesothelioma deaths in England and Wales and historic UK asbestos import data were available from the Health & Safety Executive. The numbers of annual deaths due to each condition were plotted separately by gender, against UK asbestos imports 48 years earlier. Linear regression models were constructed. For mesothelioma and IPF, there was a significant linear relationship between the number of male and female deaths each year and historic UK asbestos imports. For asbestosis mortality, a similar relationship was found for male but not female deaths. The annual numbers of deaths due to asbestosis in both sexes were lower than for IPF and mesothelioma. The strength of the association between IPF mortality and historic asbestos imports was similar to that seen in an established asbestos-related disease, i.e. mesothelioma. This finding could in part be explained by diagnostic difficulties in separating asbestosis from IPF and highlights the need for a more accurate method of assessing lifetime occupational asbestos exposure. © Crown copyright 2015.

A parallel algorithm for Hamiltonian matrix construction in electron-molecule collision calculations: MPI-SCATCI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Refaie, Ahmed F.; Tennyson, Jonathan

2017-12-01

Construction and diagonalization of the Hamiltonian matrix is the rate-limiting step in most low-energy electron - molecule collision calculations. Tennyson (1996) implemented a novel algorithm for Hamiltonian construction which took advantage of the structure of the wavefunction in such calculations. This algorithm is re-engineered to make use of modern computer architectures and the use of appropriate diagonalizers is considered. Test calculations demonstrate that significant speed-ups can be gained using multiple CPUs. This opens the way to calculations which consider higher collision energies, larger molecules and / or more target states. The methodology, which is implemented as part of the UK molecular R-matrix codes (UKRMol and UKRMol+) can also be used for studies of bound molecular Rydberg states, photoionization and positron-molecule collisions.

Effective leadership within hospice and specialist palliative care units.

PubMed

Barker, L

2000-01-01

In this study the Repertory Grid interview technique was used to investigate constructs of leadership held by a group of male and female senior managers from within hospice and Specialist Palliative Care Units (SPCUs) in the UK. The themes that emerged were compared with those from existing research models of leadership. Men and women in these roles describe different constructs of effective leadership. The women's constructs that emerged were predominantly transformational, whilst the men's were predominantly transactional. Themes were also identified in this study, which differed from previous studied, i.e. those of political and environment awareness and the valuing of others' views regardless of their status. These themes do not feature highly in other research, and may be in response to the environment within which hospice and specialist palliative care functions.

Facework on Facebook as a New Literacy Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davies, Julia

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on 25 UK teenagers' language and literacy practices on Facebook; it draws on data from interviews as well as from Facebook "walls". To explore whether Facebook provides opportunities for new literacy practices through text-making, the research considers how teenagers use the site to present themselves and "do…

Language Policies and "New" Migration in Officially Bilingual Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tunger, Verena; Mar-Molinero, Clare; Paffey, Darren; Vigers, Dick; Barlog, Cecylia

2010-01-01

This paper explores the implications of new patterns of migration (temporary, circular) for national and regional language policies in officially bilingual areas. Contrasting urban and rural sites in the UK (Wales), Spain (Valencia) and Switzerland (Grisons), it examines the dominant discourses regarding "national" (both in the formal…

Home Learning and the Educational Marketplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scanlon, Margaret; Buckingham, David

2004-01-01

UK government policy has increasingly emphasised the importance of learning in the home; and commercial companies have not been slow to respond. There is now a growing demand for out-of-school learning products and services, including study guides, early learning materials, educational web sites and private tuition. However the commercialisation…

Effective Delivery of Therapeutic Interventions: Findings from Four Site Visits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atkinson, Cathy; Squires, Garry; Bragg, Joanna; Wasilewski, David; Muscutt, Janet

2013-01-01

This project follows a survey into the role of UK educational psychologists (EPs) in delivering therapeutic interventions to children and young people. Four educational psychology services (EPSs) that identified themselves as providing effective therapeutic practice were selected on the basis of their qualitative responses to the survey. Site…

Power increase at first ProCure21 project.

PubMed

2007-06-01

Throughout the UK, hospitals are embarking on new-build programmes to meet the needs of growing communities. However, site acreage and accommodation are often already under pressure, as Dale Power Solutions found when it was commissioned to increase standby power availability at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

Video and Computer Technologies for Extended-Campus Programming.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sagan, Edgar L.; And Others

This paper discusses video and computer technologies for extended-campus programming (courses and programs at off-campus sites). The first section provides an overview of the distance education program at the University of Kentucky (UK), and highlights the improved access to graduate and professional programs, advances in technology, funding,…

Use Of Statistical Tools To Evaluate The Reductive Dechlorination Of High Levels Of TCE In Microcosm Studies

EPA Science Inventory

A large, multi-laboratory microcosm study was performed to select amendments for supporting reductive dechlorination of high levels of trichloroethylene (TCE) found at an industrial site in the United Kingdom (UK) containing dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) TCE. The study ...

Genetics Home Reference: isolated growth hormone deficiency

MedlinePlus

... hormone deficiency type III Patient Support and Advocacy Resources (3 links) Human Growth Foundation Little People UK The MAGIC Foundation ... Reviewed : February 2012 Published : June 26, 2018 The resources on this site should not be used as a substitute ... Department of Health & Human Services National Institutes of Health National Library of ...

Methods for preventing ASR in new construction: results of field exposure sites.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-12-01

As part of the FHWA ASR Development and Deployment Program, two sites were built to study ASR in new concrete construction. Concrete blocks were produced with a range of aggregates and cementitious materials and placed on outdoor exposure sites at th...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

10 CFR 960.5-2-10 - Hydrology.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... OF ENERGY GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PRELIMINARY SCREENING OF POTENTIAL SITES FOR A NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and Closure § 960.5-2-10... site will (1) be compatible with the activities required for repository construction, operation, and...

Quantitative assessment of historical coastal landfill contamination using in-situ field portable XRF (FPXRF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Shea, Francis; Spencer, Kate; Brasington, James

2014-05-01

Historically, waste was deposited on low value, easily accessible coastal land (e.g. marsh land). Within England and Wales alone, there are over 5000 historical landfills situated within coastal areas at risk of flooding at a 1 in 100 year return period (Environment Agency, 2012). Historical sites were constructed prior to relevant legislation, and have no basal or side wall engineering, and the waste constituents are mostly unknown. In theory, contaminant concentrations should be reduced through natural attenuation as the leachate plume migrates through surrounding fine-grained inter-tidal sediments before reaching receptor waters. However, erosion resulting from rising sea level and increased storm intensity may re-distribute these sediments and release associated contaminants into the estuarine and coastal environment. The diffuse discharge from these sites has not been quantified and this presents a problem for those landfill managers who are required to complete EIAs. An earlier detailed field campaign at Newlands landfill site, on the Thames Estuary, UK identified a sub-surface (~2m depth) contaminant plume extending c. 20 m from the landfill boundary into surrounding fine-grained saltmarsh sediments. These saltmarsh sediments are risk of being eroded releasing their contaminant load to the Thames Estuary. The aims of this work were to; 1) assess whether this plume is representative of other historical landfills with similar characteristics and 2) to develop a rapid screening methodology using field portable XRF that could be used to identify potential risk of other coastal landfill sites. GIS was used to select landfill sites of similar age, hydrological regime and sedimentary setting in the UK, for comparison. Collection of sediment samples and analysis by ICP OES is expensive and time-consuming, therefore cores were extracted and analysed with a Niton Goldd XRF in-situ. Contaminant data were available immediately and the sampling strategy could be adapted in the field to determine the presence, location and extent of the sub-surface contaminant plume. Although XRF analysis has gained acceptance in the study of in-situ metal contamination (Kalnicky and Singhvi 2001; Martin Peinado et al. 2010) field moisture content and sample heterogeneity can suppress X-ray signals. Therefore, sediment samples were also collected and returned to the laboratory and analysed by ICP OES for comparison. Both wet and dry certified reference materials were also analysed in the laboratory using XRF and ICP OES to observe the impact of moisture content and to produce a correction factor allowing quantitative data to be collected in the field. In-situ raw XRF data identified the location of contamination plumes in the field in agreement with ICP data, although the data were systematically suppressed compared to ICP data, under-estimating the levels of contamination. Applying a correction factor for moisture content provided accurate measurements of concentration. The use of field portable XRF with the application of a moisture content correction factor enables the rapid screening of sediment fronting coastal landfill sites, goes some way towards providing a national baseline dataset and can contribute to the development of risk assessments.

A restatement of the natural science evidence concerning catchment-based ‘natural’ flood management in the UK

PubMed Central

Hall, Jim W.; Murgatroyd, Anna; Acreman, Mike; Bates, Paul; Beven, Keith; Heathwaite, Louise; Holden, Joseph; Holman, Ian P.; Lane, Stuart N.; O'Connell, Enda; Penning-Rowsell, Edmund; Reynard, Nick; Sear, David; Thorne, Colin; Wilby, Rob

2017-01-01

Flooding is a very costly natural hazard in the UK and is expected to increase further under future climate change scenarios. Flood defences are commonly deployed to protect communities and property from flooding, but in recent years flood management policy has looked towards solutions that seek to mitigate flood risk at flood-prone sites through targeted interventions throughout the catchment, sometimes using techniques which involve working with natural processes. This paper describes a project to provide a succinct summary of the natural science evidence base concerning the effectiveness of catchment-based ‘natural’ flood management in the UK. The evidence summary is designed to be read by an informed but not technically specialist audience. Each evidence statement is placed into one of four categories describing the nature of the underlying information. The evidence summary forms the appendix to this paper and an annotated bibliography is provided in the electronic supplementary material. PMID:28413336

Abstract‐to‐publication ratio for papers presented at scientific meetings: a quality marker for UK emergency medicine research

PubMed Central

Macmillan, Craig D; Moore, Anthony K; Cook, Ronald J; Pedley, David K

2007-01-01

Objectives To determine the publication rate of abstracts presented by UK emergency physicians at major emergency medicine meetings, and to identify the site of publication of papers. Method All abstracts presented to the annual scientific meetings of both the British Association of Emergency Medicine and the Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine between 2001 and 2002 were identified retrospectively from conference programmes. To identify whether the work relating to the abstract had been published in a peer‐reviewed journal, the Medline database (Ovid interface) was searched using the first and last authors as well as key words from the abstract. Results Of the 404 abstracts identified, 124 (30%) had been published as full articles. For abstracts presented in the oral sessions, 83 (57%) resulted in publication. A range of journals accepted papers for publication. Conclusion The abstract‐to‐publication ratio for UK emergency medicine is lower than for other specialties, but broadly similar to emergency medicine in the US and Australia. PMID:17513542

High profile backing for GS1 drive.

PubMed

Hodgson, Glen

2016-09-01

At the 2016 GS1 UK Healthcare Conference in London, delegates heard from speakers including Pat Mills, the Department of Health's commercial director, on the ongoing work to embed GS1 standards throughout the NHS in England in line with the DH's eProcurement Strategy, published in April 2014. This mandated that any service or product procured by an English NHS acute Trust comply with the standards--one of the most obvious representations of which is on barcodes--'to enable Trusts to manage their non-pay spending by adopting master procurement data, automating the exchange of such data, and benchmarking their procurement against other Trusts and healthcare providers'. One of six 'demonstrator site' Trusts to provide a speaker at the 2016 GS1 UK national conference to report on their progress to date was Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. Shortly after, HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, spoke to the Trust's associate director, Commercial and Procurement, Chris Slater, and to head of Healthcare at GS1 UK, Glen Hodgson.

Into the Dark Domain: The UK Web Archive as a Source for the Contemporary History of Public Health

PubMed Central

Gorsky, Martin

2015-01-01

With the migration of the written record from paper to digital format, archivists and historians must urgently consider how web content should be conserved, retrieved and analysed. The British Library has recently acquired a large number of UK domain websites, captured 1996–2010, which is colloquially termed the Dark Domain Archive while technical issues surrounding user access are resolved. This article reports the results of an invited pilot project that explores methodological issues surrounding use of this archive. It asks how the relationship between UK public health and local government was represented on the web, drawing on the ‘declinist’ historiography to frame its questions. It points up some difficulties in developing an aggregate picture of web content due to duplication of sites. It also highlights their potential for thematic and discourse analysis, using both text and image, illustrated through an argument about the contradictory rationale for public health policy under New Labour. PMID:26217072

Sources and Resources Into the Dark Domain: The UK Web Archive as a Source for the Contemporary History of Public Health.

PubMed

Gorsky, Martin

2015-08-01

With the migration of the written record from paper to digital format, archivists and historians must urgently consider how web content should be conserved, retrieved and analysed. The British Library has recently acquired a large number of UK domain websites, captured 1996-2010, which is colloquially termed the Dark Domain Archive while technical issues surrounding user access are resolved. This article reports the results of an invited pilot project that explores methodological issues surrounding use of this archive. It asks how the relationship between UK public health and local government was represented on the web, drawing on the 'declinist' historiography to frame its questions. It points up some difficulties in developing an aggregate picture of web content due to duplication of sites. It also highlights their potential for thematic and discourse analysis, using both text and image, illustrated through an argument about the contradictory rationale for public health policy under New Labour.

Analysis of Material Handling Safety in Construction Sites and Countermeasures for Effective Enhancement

PubMed Central

Anil Kumar, C. N.; Sakthivel, M.; Elangovan, R. K.; Arularasu, M.

2015-01-01

One of many hazardous workplaces includes the construction sites as they involve several dangerous tasks. Many studies have revealed that material handling equipment is a major cause of accidents at these sites. Though safety measures are being followed and monitored continuously, accident rates are still high as either workers are unaware of hazards or the safety regulations are not being strictly followed. This paper analyses the safety management systems at construction sites through means of questionnaire surveys with employees, specifically referring to safety of material handling equipment. Based on results of the questionnaire surveys, two construction sites were selected for a safety education program targeting worker safety related to material handling equipment. Knowledge levels of the workers were gathered before and after the program and results obtained were subjected to a t-test analysis to mark significance level of the conducted safety education program. PMID:26446572

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 960.5-2-8 - Surface characteristics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... NUCLEAR WASTE REPOSITORY Preclosure Guidelines Ease and Cost of Siting, Construction, Operation, and... repository siting, construction, operation, and closure. (b) Favorable conditions. (1) Generally flat terrain...

10 CFR 433.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] 433.6 Section 433.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL...

Roads and Airfields I (Programed Instruction). Engineer Subcourse 64-9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Army Engineer School, Fort Belvoir, VA.

The document is a programed text for a correspondence course in the planning, construction, and maintenance of military roads and airfields. There are seven lessons: construction requirements and design criteria; road reconnaissance and site selection; airfield reconnaissance and site selection; layout procedures, construction staking, and field…

10 CFR 433.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved] 433.6 Section 433.6 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL AND MULTI-FAMILY HIGH-RISE RESIDENTIAL...

Lower Velocity Sites Improve the Tidal-Stream Energy Resource

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robins, P. E.; Lewis, M. J.; Neill, S. P.; Hashemi, M. R.; Stephenson, G.

2015-12-01

It is essential that developers have detailed knowledge of the tidal-stream energy resource. ROMS hydrodynamic models (~1 km resolution) of key areas in northwest Europe, were used to examine the spatial and temporal distribution of the tidal-stream resource. Currently, sites with peak spring tide velocities (M2 and S2 constituents) in excess of 2.5 m/s and water depths between 25 and 50 m are preferred. When assuming this so-called "1st generation" criteria, a limited resource with limited scope for long-term sustainability of the industry was calculated for the Irish Sea; a key area for UK development. Selecting sites that also included 20% lower velocities (>2 m/s) and deeper water locations (>25m) resulted in a seven-fold increase in the available resource (for the Irish Sea). Although new engineering challenges will be encountered (e.g. more wave exposed locations) by developing these 2nd generation tidal-stream energy sites (>2m/s and >25m), some oceanographic challenges would be improved. For example, the flood-ebb tidal flow is not typically rectilinear at 1st generation UK sites (a mean error from rectilinear of ~20° in this assumption), which is reduced to near-rectilinear flow (˜3° error) when including 2nd generation sites. Analysis of our northwest European model revealed more phase diversity is offered by developing lower tidal energy sites, allowing firm and constant electricity generation. Moreover, at 1st generation sites, we calculate significant, and unaccounted, variability in annual practical power generation. For example, mean peak spring tidal velocities can under-estimate the annual practical resource by up to 25%, for regions experiencing similar mean peak spring tidal velocities, due to the ratio of M2 and S2, together with the influence of other tidal constituents, such as K1 and O1. Therefore, based on prevalence, firm power and engineering challengers, we find a strong case for developing lower flow technologies.

Exploring Language Choice and Identity Construction in "In-Between" Sites: Ethnic Media and Community Languages Schools in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rubino, Antonia; Cruickshank, Ken

2016-01-01

Australian research on immigrant languages has paid little attention to interactional approaches to language alternation as identity construction, and sites other than the family and the mainstream school. We argue for the need of studies that take into account a wider range of sites, in particular "community" sites, and adopt…

10 CFR 2.604 - Notice of hearing on application for early review of site suitability issues in construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Notice of hearing on application for early review of site... Applicable to Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability Issues in Connection With an Application for a... Limited Work Authorizations Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability-Construction Permit § 2.604 Notice...

10 CFR 2.604 - Notice of hearing on application for early review of site suitability issues in construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Notice of hearing on application for early review of site... Applicable to Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability Issues in Connection With an Application for a... Limited Work Authorizations Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability-Construction Permit § 2.604 Notice...

10 CFR 2.604 - Notice of hearing on application for early review of site suitability issues in construction...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Notice of hearing on application for early review of site... Applicable to Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability Issues in Connection With an Application for a... Limited Work Authorizations Early Partial Decisions on Site Suitability-Construction Permit § 2.604 Notice...

Environmental projects, volume 10. Environmental assessment: New 34-meter antenna at Apollo site

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex (GDSCC) is part of NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), one of the world's largest and most sensitive scientific telecommunications and radio navigation networks. A detailed description of the GDSCC is presented. At present the Venus Station has an unused 9-meter antenna and a 26-meter (85 ft) antenna known as DSS-13. Construction of a new 34-meter (111.5 ft) antenna at the Venus site is under way to replace the present DSS-13 26-meter antenna. The proposed construction at the Apollo Site of a new, high efficiency, 34-meter, multifrequency beam waveguide-type antenna to replace the aging, 20-year old, DSS-12 34-meter antenna located at the Echo Site is analyzed. This new 34-meter antenna, to be constructed at the Apollo Site and to be known as DSS-18, will be of a design similar to the new DSS-13 34-meter antenna now being constructed at the Venus Site. When the new 34-meter antenna is completed and operational at the Apollo Site (planned for 1993), the old DSS-12 34-meter antenna at the Echo Site will be decommissioned, dismantled, and removed.

A reflective qualitative appreciative inquiry approach to restoring compassionate care deficits at one United Kingdom health care site.

PubMed

McSherry, Robert; Timmins, Fiona; de Vries, Jan M A; McSherry, Wilfred

2018-06-22

Following declining health care practices at one UK health care site the subsequent and much publicized Francis Report made several far-reaching recommendations aimed at recovering optimal levels of care including stringent monitoring of practice. The aftermath of these deliberations have had resounding consequences for quality care both nationally and internationally. A reflective qualitative appreciative qualitative inquiry using a hybrid approach combining case study and thematic analysis outlines the development and analysis of a solution-focused intervention aimed at restoring staff confidence and optimal care levels at one key UK hospital site. Personal diaries were used to collect data. Data were analysed using descriptive thematic analysis. The implications of the five emerging themes and the 10-step approach used are discussed in the context of understanding care erosion and ways to effect organisational change. A novel approach to addressing care deficits, which provides a promising bottom-up approach, initiated by health care policy makers is suggested for use in other health care settings when concerns about care arise. It is anticipated this approach will prove useful for nurse managers, particularly in relation to finding positive solutions to addressing problems that surround potential failing standards of care in hospitals. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Investigating the scale of structural controls on chlorinated hydrocarbon distributions in the fractured-porous unsaturated zone of a sandstone aquifer in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, Adrian; Stuart, Marianne; Cheney, Colin; Jones, Neil; Moss, Richard

2006-12-01

Contaminant migration behaviour in the unsaturated zone of a fractured porous aquifer is discussed in the context of a study site in Cheshire, UK. The site is situated on gently dipping sandstones, adjacent to a linear lagoon historically used to dispose of industrial wastes containing chlorinated solvents. Two cores of more than 100 m length were recovered and measurements of chlorinated hydrocarbons (CHCs), inorganic chemistry, lithology, fracturing and aquifer properties were made. The results show that selecting an appropriate vertical sampling density is crucial both to providing an understanding of contaminant pathways and distinguishing whether CHCs are present in the aqueous or non-aqueous phase. The spacing of such sampling should be on a similar scale to the heterogeneity that controls water and contaminant movement. For some sections of the Permo-Triassic aquifer, significant changes in lithology and permeability occur over vertical distances of less than 1 m and samples need to be collected at this interval, otherwise considerable resolution is lost, potentially leading to erroneous interpretation of data. At this site, although CHC concentrations were high, the consistent ratio of the two main components of the plume (tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene) provided evidence of movement in the aqueous phase rather than in dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL).

Megafauna of the UKSRL exploration contract area and eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean: Annelida, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Chordata, Ctenophora, Mollusca.

PubMed

Amon, Diva J; Ziegler, Amanda F; Drazen, Jeffrey C; Grischenko, Andrei V; Leitner, Astrid B; Lindsay, Dhugal J; Voight, Janet R; Wicksten, Mary K; Young, Craig M; Smith, Craig R

2017-01-01

There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Despite having been the focus of environmental studies for decades, the benthic megafauna of the CCZ remain poorly known. To predict and manage the environmental impacts of mining in the CCZ, baseline knowledge of the megafauna is essential. The ABYSSLINE Project has conducted benthic biological baseline surveys in the UK Seabed Resources Ltd polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area (UK-1). Prior to ABYSSLINE research cruises in 2013 and 2015, no biological studies had been done in this area of the eastern CCZ. Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (as well as several other pieces of equipment), the megafauna within the UK Seabed Resources Ltd exploration contract area (UK-1) and at a site ~250 km east of the UK-1 area were surveyed, allowing us to make the first estimates of megafaunal morphospecies richness from the imagery collected. Here, we present an atlas of the abyssal annelid, arthropod, bryozoan, chordate, ctenophore and molluscan megafauna observed and collected during the ABYSSLINE cruises to the UK-1 polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area in the CCZ. There appear to be at least 55 distinct morphospecies (8 Annelida, 12 Arthropoda, 4 Bryozoa, 22 Chordata, 5 Ctenophora, and 4 Mollusca) identified mostly by morphology but also using molecular barcoding for a limited number of animals that were collected. This atlas will aid the synthesis of megafaunal presence/absence data collected by contractors, scientists and other stakeholders undertaking work in the CCZ, ultimately helping to decipher the biogeography of the megafauna in this threatened habitat.

Megafauna of the UKSRL exploration contract area and eastern Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the Pacific Ocean: Annelida, Arthropoda, Bryozoa, Chordata, Ctenophora, Mollusca

PubMed Central

Ziegler, Amanda F; Drazen, Jeffrey C; Grischenko, Andrei V; Leitner, Astrid B; Lindsay, Dhugal J; Voight, Janet R; Wicksten, Mary K; Young, Craig M; Smith, Craig R

2017-01-01

Abstract Background There is growing interest in mining polymetallic nodules from the abyssal Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Despite having been the focus of environmental studies for decades, the benthic megafauna of the CCZ remain poorly known. To predict and manage the environmental impacts of mining in the CCZ, baseline knowledge of the megafauna is essential. The ABYSSLINE Project has conducted benthic biological baseline surveys in the UK Seabed Resources Ltd polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area (UK-1). Prior to ABYSSLINE research cruises in 2013 and 2015, no biological studies had been done in this area of the eastern CCZ. New information Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (as well as several other pieces of equipment), the megafauna within the UK Seabed Resources Ltd exploration contract area (UK-1) and at a site ~250 km east of the UK-1 area were surveyed, allowing us to make the first estimates of megafaunal morphospecies richness from the imagery collected. Here, we present an atlas of the abyssal annelid, arthropod, bryozoan, chordate, ctenophore and molluscan megafauna observed and collected during the ABYSSLINE cruises to the UK-1 polymetallic-nodule exploration contract area in the CCZ. There appear to be at least 55 distinct morphospecies (8 Annelida, 12 Arthropoda, 4 Bryozoa, 22 Chordata, 5 Ctenophora, and 4 Mollusca) identified mostly by morphology but also using molecular barcoding for a limited number of animals that were collected. This atlas will aid the synthesis of megafaunal presence/absence data collected by contractors, scientists and other stakeholders undertaking work in the CCZ, ultimately helping to decipher the biogeography of the megafauna in this threatened habitat. PMID:28874906

Can large surveys conducted on highly selected populations provide valid information on the epidemiology of common health conditions? An analysis of UK Biobank data on musculoskeletal pain

PubMed Central

Macfarlane, Gary J; Beasley, Marcus; Smith, Blair H; Jones, Gareth T; Macfarlane, Tatiana V

2015-01-01

Introduction: Biobank-type studies are typically large but have very low participation rates. It has been suggested that these studies may provide biased estimates of prevalence but are likely to provide valid estimates of association. We test these hypotheses using data collected on pain in a large Biobank study in the United Kingdom. Methods: UK Biobank recruited 503,325 persons aged 40–69 years (participation rate 5.5%). Participants completed questionnaires, including pain, lifestyle and environment factors. As a comparison, we used both a large population study of pain (MUSICIAN: n = 8847, aged: 40–69 years) conducted 2008–2009 and the National Child Development study (NCDS) which recruited all persons in Great Britain born during one week of 1958 and followed them up at age 44 years (n = 9377). Results: ‘Any pain’ (UK Biobank 61.0%; MUSICIAN 63.9%), chronic pain (42.9%, 52.2%) and site-specific musculoskeletal pain (back 26.2%, 29.7%; shoulder/neck 23.3%, 25.3%) were generally similar in UK Biobank and MUSICIAN. The prevalence of chronic pain and most regional musculoskeletal pains in UK Biobank were all within 2% of that in NCDS. Conclusion: UK Biobank has provided estimates of the prevalence of pain which are similar to those from previous large-scale studies, although a formal comparison of the estimates cannot be made. It has also confirmed known associations with the reporting of pain. Despite its very low participation rate, such a study provides the opportunity to investigate novel exposure–pain relationships and investigate rarer exposures and characteristics to further our knowledge of the epidemiology of pain. PMID:26526341

Assessment of the Availability, Cost, and Motivations for Use over Time of the New Psychoactive Substances-Benzodiazepines Diclazepam, Flubromazepam, and Pyrazolam-in the UK.

PubMed

Abouchedid, Rachelle; Gilks, Thea; Dargan, Paul I; Archer, John R H; Wood, David M

2018-06-01

There has been increasing interest in the availability of non-prescription benzodiazepines and their sale as new psychoactive substances. We wanted to determine UK availability from Internet suppliers and motivations for use of three benzodiazepines (diclazepam, flubromazepam, and pyrazolam). In November 2014 and March 2016, using the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction Snapshot Methodology, Internet search engines ( google.co.uk , uk. yahoo.com and ask.com.uk ) were searched using the terms 'buy diclazepam', 'buy flubromazepam' and 'buy pyrazolam'. Threads from drug-user forums ( bluelight.org , drugs-forum.com , erowid.org , legalhighsforum.com ) were analysed using a general inductive approach. Data were converted into price per gram/pellet to allow cost comparisons and to determine motivations for use. There was an increase in websites selling these benzodiazepines between 2014 and 2016: diclazepam (49 in 2014 to 55 in 2016), pyrazolam (33 to 35), and flubromazepam (39 to 45). Thirty-eight (63.3%) sites were based in the UK/Europe. Drugs were sold as pellets (49 websites, 81.7%), powder (19, 31.7%), and blotters (1, 1.7%). Pill forms were not available, and one (1.7%) website sold diclazepam/flubromazepam in liquid form. The cost reduced with increasing purchase quantities. Main motivations for use included anxiolysis, management of benzodiazepine withdrawal, sedation/sleep aid, and management of stimulant withdrawal. These three benzodiazepines are widely available online, most commonly as pellets, and are (mis)used for a number of reasons. This study could be used to support triangulation of data from other sources to inform harm minimisation strategies.

Life-threatening methemoglobinemia after unintentional ingestion of antifreeze admixtures containing sodium nitrite in the construction sites.

PubMed

Sohn, C H; Seo, D W; Ryoo, S M; Lee, J H; Kim, W Y; Lim, K S; Oh, B J

2014-01-01

Construction workers are exposed to a wide variety of health hazards such as poisoning at the construction sites. Various forms of poisoning incidents in construction workers have been reported. However, studies on methemoglobinemia caused by unintentional ingestion of antifreeze admixtures containing sodium nitrite at the construction sites have not been reported yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate life-threatening methemoglobinemia after unintentional ingestion of antifreeze admixtures containing sodium nitrite at the construction sites and describe similar incidents involving ingestion of antifreeze admixtures in Korea. Retrospective observational case series study on patients with methemoglobinemia after unintentional ingestion of antifreeze admixtures containing sodium nitrite admitted to the emergency department (ED) from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2012 and cases reported to the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) was performed. Results. Six victims were admitted to our ED. They had methemoglobin levels ranging from 32.4% to 71.5% and all of them recovered after receiving one (2 mg/kg) or two doses infusion of methylene blue. From the data of the KOSHA, six incidents that caused 27 victims were identified. Of 27 victims, five were included in the ED cases. For all incidents, antifreeze admixtures were not contained in their original containers and all new containers did not have a new label. All workers mistook antifreeze admixtures for water. Among the 28 victims included in this study, four died. Unintentional ingestion of antifreeze admixtures containing sodium nitrite at the construction sites can cause life-threatening methemoglobinemia. There is a need to store and label potentially hazardous materials properly to avoid unintentional ingestion at the construction sites.

Ecological studies related to construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility on the Savannah River Site. Annual report, FY 1993

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1994-11-01

Construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) on the Savannah River Site (SRS) began during FY-1984. The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) has completed 15 years of ecological studies related to the construction of the DWPF complex. Prior to construction, the 600-acre site (S-Area) contained a Carolina bay and the headwaters of a stream. Through the long-term census taking of biota at the DWPF site and Rainbow Bay, SREL has been evaluating the impact of construction on the biota and the effectiveness of mitigation efforts. similarly, the effects of erosion from the DWPF site on the water quality ofmore » S-Area peripheral streams are being assessed. This research provides supporting data relevant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, Executive orders 11988 (Floodplain Management) and 11990 (Protection of Wetlands), and United States Department of Energy (DOE) Guidelines for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetland Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR 1022).« less

A statistical intercomparison between "urban" and "rural" precipitation chemistry data from greater Manchester and two nearby secondary national network sites in the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, David S.; Longhurst, James W. S.

Precipitation chemistry data from a dense urban monitoring network in Greater Manchester, northwest England, were compared with interpolated values from the U.K. secondary national acid deposition monitoring network for the year 1988. Differences were found to be small. However, when data from individual sites from the Greater Manchester network were compared with data from the two nearest secondary national network sites, significant differences were found using simple and complex statistical analyses. Precipitation chemistry at rural sites could be similar to that at urban sites, but the sources of some ions were thought to be different. The synoptic-scale gradients of precipitation chemistry, as shown by the secondary national network, also accounted for some of the differences.

Systematic analysis of funding awarded to institutions in the United Kingdom for infectious disease research, 1997-2010.

PubMed

Head, Michael G; Fitchett, Joseph R; Moore, David Aj; Atun, Rifat

2015-03-01

This study aimed to assess the research investments made to UK institutions for all infectious disease research and identify the direction of spend by institution. Systematic analysis. Databases and websites were systematically searched for information on relevant studies funded for the period 1997-2010. UK institutions carrying out infectious disease research. None. Twenty academic institutions receiving greatest sum investments across infection are included here, also NHS sites, Sanger Institute, Health Protection Agency and the Medical Research Council. We measured total funding, median award size, disease areas and position of research along the R&D value chain. Included institutions accounted for £2.1 billion across 5003 studies. Imperial College and University of Oxford received the most investment. Imperial College led the most studies. The Liverpool and London Schools of Tropical Medicine had highest median award size, whereas the NHS sites combined had many smaller studies. Sum NHS funding appears to be declining over time, whilst university income is relatively stable. Several institutions concentrate almost exclusively on pre-clinical research. In some areas, there is clearly a leading institution, e.g. Aberdeen and mycology research or UCL and antimicrobial resistance. UK institutions carry out research across a wide range of infectious disease areas. This analysis can identify centres of excellence and help inform future resource allocation for research priorities. Institutions can use this analysis for establishing expertise within their groups, identifying external collaborators and informing local research strategy.

A comparative assessment of waste incinerators in the UK.

PubMed

Nixon, J D; Wright, D G; Dey, P K; Ghosh, S K; Davies, P A

2013-11-01

The uptake in Europe of Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator plants has increased rapidly in recent years. In the UK, 25 municipal waste incinerators with energy recovery are now in operation; however, their waste supply chains and business practices vary significantly. With over a hundred more plant developments being considered it is important to establish best business practices for ensuring efficient environmental and operational performance. By reviewing the 25 plants we identify four suitable case study plants to compare technologies (moving grate, fluidised bed and rotary kiln), plant economics and operations. Using data collected from annual reports and through interviews and site visits we provide recommendations for improving the supply chain for waste incinerators and highlight the current issues and challenges faced by the industry. We find that plants using moving grate have a high availability of 87-92%. However, compared to the fluidised bed and rotary kiln, quantities of bottom ash and emissions of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide are high. The uptake of integrated recycling practices, combined heat and power, and post incineration non-ferrous metal collections needs to be increased among EfW incinerators in the UK. We conclude that one of the major difficulties encountered by waste facilities is the appropriate selection of technology, capacity, site, waste suppliers and heat consumers. This study will be of particular value to EfW plant developers, government authorities and researchers working within the sector of waste management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ManUniCast: A Community Weather and Air-Quality Forecasting Teaching Portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schultz, David M.; Anderson, Stuart; Fairman, Jonathan G.; Lowe, Douglas; McFiggans, Gordon; Lee, Elsa; Seo-Zindy, Ryo

2014-05-01

Manunicast was borne out of the needs of our teaching program: students were entering a world where environmental prediction via numerical model was an essential skill, but were not exposed to the production or output of such models. Our site is an educational testbed to explain to students and the public how weather, air-quality, and air-chemistry forecasts are made using real-time predictions as examples. As far as we know, this site provides the first freely available real-time predictions for the UK. We perform two simulations a day over three domains using the most popular, freely available, community atmospheric mesoscale and chemistry models WRF-ARW and WRF-Chem: 1. a WRF-ARW domain over the North Atlantic and western Europe (20-km horizontal grid spacing) 2. a WRF-ARW domain over the UK and Ireland (4-km grid spacing, nested within the 20-km domain) 3. a WRF-Chem domain over the UK and Ireland (12-km grid spacing) Called ManUniCast (Manchester University Forecast), we offer a suite of products from horizontal maps, time series at stations (meteograms), skew-T-logp charts, and cross sections to help students better visualize the weather and the relationships between the various fields more effectively, specifically through the ability to overlay and fade between different plotted products. This presentation discusses how we funded and built ManUniCast, the struggles we faced, and its use in our classes.

Phosphorus flux due to Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in an oligotrophic upland stream: effects of management and demography

Treesearch

Keith H. Nislow; John D. Armstrong; Simon McKelvey

2004-01-01

Little is known concerning the role of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in the transport of nutrients to and from river systems. We used demographic data from the River Bran, an oligotrophic river in Scotland, UK, to construct a budget for the transport of phosphorus (P) and applied it to investigate the effects of management strategies and demographic...

Reading in the Gaps and Lacks: (De)Constructing Masculinity in Louis Sachar's "Holes"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wannamaker, Annette

2006-01-01

Louis Sachar's novel "Holes" (US, 1998; UK, 2000) has received much praise from both critics and child readers, who love the complex tall tale he has woven about two boys whose lives are connected by fate and an almost magical legacy of ancestral curses and obligations. Because the novel is not (on many levels) realistic, and relies heavily on…

A Case-Study of One Teacher's Use of an Interactive Whiteboard System to Support Knowledge Co-Construction in the History Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deaney, Rosemary; Chapman, Arthur; Hennessy, Sara

2009-01-01

Interactive whiteboards (IWBs) have rapidly become an integral feature of many classrooms across the UK and elsewhere, but debate continues regarding the pedagogical implications of their use. This article reports on an in-depth case-study from the wider T-MEDIA project (Teacher Mediation of Subject Learning with ICT: a Multimedia Approach). A key…

Community Music: History and Current Practice, Its Constructions of "Community", Digital Turns and Future Soundings, an Arts and Humanities Research Council Research Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKay, George; Higham, Ben

2012-01-01

The United Kingdom has been a pivotal national player within the development of community music practice. There are elements of cultural and debatably pedagogic innovations in community music. These have to date only partly been articulated and historicized within academic research. This report, funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research…

Epibenthic assessment of a renewable tidal energy site.

PubMed

Sheehan, Emma V; Gall, Sarah C; Cousens, Sophie L; Attrill, Martin J

2013-01-01

Concern over global climate change as a result of fossil fuel use has resulted in energy production from renewable sources. Marine renewable energy devices provide clean electricity but can also cause physical disturbance to the local environment. There is a considerable paucity of ecological data at potential marine renewable energy sites that is needed to assess potential future impacts and allow optimal siting of devices. Here, we provide a baseline benthic survey for the Big Russel in Guernsey, UK, a potential site for tidal energy development. To assess the suitability of proposed sites for marine renewable energy in the Big Russel and to identify potential control sites, we compared species assemblages and habitat types. This baseline survey can be used to select control habitats to compare and monitor the benthic communities after installation of the device and contribute towards the optimal siting of any future installation.

A comparison of top-down and bottom-up carbon dioxide fluxes in the UK using a multi-platform measurement network.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, Emily; Rigby, Matt; O'Doherty, Simon; Stavert, Ann; Lunt, Mark; Nemitz, Eiko; Helfter, Carole; Allen, Grant; Pitt, Joe; Bauguitte, Stéphane; Levy, Pete; van Oijen, Marcel; Williams, Mat; Smallman, Luke; Palmer, Paul

2016-04-01

Having a comprehensive understanding, on a countrywide scale, of both biogenic and anthropogenic CO2 emissions is essential for knowing how best to reduce anthropogenic emissions and for understanding how the terrestrial biosphere is responding to global fossil fuel emissions. Whilst anthropogenic CO2 flux estimates are fairly well constrained, fluxes from biogenic sources are not. This work will help to verify existing anthropogenic emissions inventories and give a better understanding of biosphere - atmosphere CO2 exchange. Using an innovative top-down inversion scheme; a hierarchical Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo approach with reversible jump "trans-dimensional" basis function selection, we aim to find emissions estimates for biogenic and anthropogenic sources simultaneously. Our approach allows flux uncertainties to be derived more comprehensively than previous methods, and allows the resolved spatial scales in the solution to be determined using the data. We use atmospheric CO2 mole fraction data from the UK Deriving Emissions related to Climate Change (DECC) and Greenhouse gAs UK and Global Emissions (GAUGE) projects. The network comprises of 6 tall tower sites, flight campaigns and a ferry transect along the east coast, and enables us to derive high-resolution monthly flux estimates across the UK and Ireland for the period 2013-2015. We have derived UK total fluxes of 675 PIC 78 Tg/yr during January 2014 (seasonal maximum) and 23 PIC 96 Tg/yr during May 2014 (seasonal minimum). Our disaggregated anthropogenic and biogenic flux estimates are compared to a new high-resolution time resolved anthropogenic inventory that will underpin future UNFCCC reports by the UK, and to DALEC carbon cycle model. This allows us to identify where significant differences exist between these "bottom-up" and "top-down" flux estimates and suggest reasons for discrepancies. We will highlight the strengths and limitations of the UK's CO2 emissions verification infrastructure at present and outline improvements that could be made in the future.

Estimating the incidence, prevalence and true cost of asthma in the UK: secondary analysis of national stand-alone and linked databases in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales—a study protocol

PubMed Central

Mukherjee, Mome; Gupta, Ramyani; Farr, Angela; Heaven, Martin; Stoddart, Andrew; Nwaru, Bright I; Fitzsimmons, Deborah; Chamberlain, George; Bandyopadhyay, Amrita; Fischbacher, Colin; Dibben, Christopher; Shields, Michael; Phillips, Ceri; Strachan, David; Davies, Gwyneth; McKinstry, Brian; Sheikh, Aziz

2014-01-01

Introduction Asthma is now one of the most common long-term conditions in the UK. It is therefore important to develop a comprehensive appreciation of the healthcare and societal costs in order to inform decisions on care provision and planning. We plan to build on our earlier estimates of national prevalence and costs from asthma by filling the data gaps previously identified in relation to healthcare and broadening the field of enquiry to include societal costs. This work will provide the first UK-wide estimates of the costs of asthma. In the context of asthma for the UK and its member countries (ie, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), we seek to: (1) produce a detailed overview of estimates of incidence, prevalence and healthcare utilisation; (2) estimate health and societal costs; (3) identify any remaining information gaps and explore the feasibility of filling these and (4) provide insights into future research that has the potential to inform changes in policy leading to the provision of more cost-effective care. Methods and analysis Secondary analyses of data from national health surveys, primary care, prescribing, emergency care, hospital, mortality and administrative data sources will be undertaken to estimate prevalence, healthcare utilisation and outcomes from asthma. Data linkages and economic modelling will be undertaken in an attempt to populate data gaps and estimate costs. Separate prevalence and cost estimates will be calculated for each of the UK-member countries and these will then be aggregated to generate UK-wide estimates. Ethics and dissemination Approvals have been obtained from the NHS Scotland Information Services Division's Privacy Advisory Committee, the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Collaboration Review System, the NHS South-East Scotland Research Ethics Service and The University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. We will produce a report for Asthma-UK, submit papers to peer-reviewed journals and construct an interactive map. PMID:25371419

Estimating the incidence, prevalence and true cost of asthma in the UK: secondary analysis of national stand-alone and linked databases in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales-a study protocol.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Mome; Gupta, Ramyani; Farr, Angela; Heaven, Martin; Stoddart, Andrew; Nwaru, Bright I; Fitzsimmons, Deborah; Chamberlain, George; Bandyopadhyay, Amrita; Fischbacher, Colin; Dibben, Christopher; Shields, Michael; Phillips, Ceri; Strachan, David; Davies, Gwyneth; McKinstry, Brian; Sheikh, Aziz

2014-11-04

Asthma is now one of the most common long-term conditions in the UK. It is therefore important to develop a comprehensive appreciation of the healthcare and societal costs in order to inform decisions on care provision and planning. We plan to build on our earlier estimates of national prevalence and costs from asthma by filling the data gaps previously identified in relation to healthcare and broadening the field of enquiry to include societal costs. This work will provide the first UK-wide estimates of the costs of asthma. In the context of asthma for the UK and its member countries (ie, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales), we seek to: (1) produce a detailed overview of estimates of incidence, prevalence and healthcare utilisation; (2) estimate health and societal costs; (3) identify any remaining information gaps and explore the feasibility of filling these and (4) provide insights into future research that has the potential to inform changes in policy leading to the provision of more cost-effective care. Secondary analyses of data from national health surveys, primary care, prescribing, emergency care, hospital, mortality and administrative data sources will be undertaken to estimate prevalence, healthcare utilisation and outcomes from asthma. Data linkages and economic modelling will be undertaken in an attempt to populate data gaps and estimate costs. Separate prevalence and cost estimates will be calculated for each of the UK-member countries and these will then be aggregated to generate UK-wide estimates. Approvals have been obtained from the NHS Scotland Information Services Division's Privacy Advisory Committee, the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Collaboration Review System, the NHS South-East Scotland Research Ethics Service and The University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee. We will produce a report for Asthma-UK, submit papers to peer-reviewed journals and construct an interactive map. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

40 CFR 60.1115 - What is a siting analysis?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Waste Combustion Units for Which Construction is Commenced After August 30, 1999 or for Which... § 60.1115 What is a siting analysis? The siting analysis addresses how your municipal waste combustion... environmental and social costs resulting from its location and construction. The analysis must also consider...

Cost-effectiveness of using Polyheal compared with surgery in the management of chronic wounds with exposed bones and/or tendons due to trauma in France, Germany and the UK.

PubMed

Guest, Julian F; Sladkevicius, Erikas; Panca, Monica

2015-02-01

The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of Polyheal compared with surgery in treating chronic wounds with exposed bones and/or tendons (EB&T) due to trauma in France, Germany and the UK, from the perspective of the payers. Decision models were constructed depicting the management of chronic wounds with EB&T and spanned the period up to healing or up to 1 year. The models considered the decision by a plastic surgeon to treat these wounds with Polyheal or surgery and was used to estimate the relative cost-effectiveness of Polyheal at 2010/2011 prices. Using Polyheal instead of surgery is expected to increase the probability of healing from 0·93 to 0·98 and lead to a total health-care cost of €7984, €7517 and €8860 per patient in France, Germany and the UK, respectively. Management with surgery is expected to lead to a total health-care cost of €12 300, €18 137 and €11 330 per patient in France, Germany and the UK, respectively. Hence, initial treatment with Polyheal instead of surgery is expected to lead to a 5% improvement in the probability of healing and a substantial decrease in health-care costs of 35%, 59% and 22% in France, Germany and the UK, respectively. Within the models' limitations, Polyheal potentially affords the public health-care system in France, Germany and the UK a cost-effective treatment for chronic wounds with EB&T due to trauma, when compared with surgery. However, this will be dependent on Polyheal's healing rate in clinical practice when it becomes routinely available. © 2013 The Authors. International Wound Journal © 2013 Medicalhelplines.com Inc and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of low impact development construction on pollutant process of road-deposited sediments and associated heavy metals.

PubMed

Ma, Yukun; Gong, Manli; Zhao, Hongtao; Li, Xuyong

2018-02-01

Intense Low-Impact Development (LID) construction in China could lead to increasingly severe stormwater and receiving water pollution due to the lack of appropriate regulation for mitigating pollution from LID construction. Samples of road-deposited sediments (RDS) were collected from 50 study sites at seven LID construction stages and four road hierarchies to analyze the pollution process and determine the size of the region influenced by LID construction. Six heavy metals were analyzed, and the RDS index model was adopted to estimate the potential heavy metal load washed off by stormwater runoff. Analysis of variance revealed that the excavation and gravel filling of rain gardens and excavation of porous pavements were critical LID construction stages that contributed the largest masses of RDS per unit area to road surfaces. Although the concentration of heavy metals at LID construction sites was lower than at sites without LID construction, the load of heavy metals washed off from LID construction was much higher. In addition, the sizes of regions influenced by accumulated RDS from LID construction descended in the following order: arterial road (600-775m)>collector road (150-200m)>access road (100-150m)>laneway (20-30m). According to the characteristics of LID construction at the study sites, the potential total solid loads in stormwater throughout China were estimated to reach 36,694t by 2020 and 146,777t by 2030. According to the results of analysis, several recommendations are provided for designing LID construction regulations to mitigate stormwater pollution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The siting of UK nuclear reactors.

PubMed

Grimston, Malcolm; Nuttall, William J; Vaughan, Geoff

2014-06-01

Choosing a suitable site for a nuclear power station requires the consideration and balancing of several factors. Some 'physical' site characteristics, such as the local climate and the potential for seismic activity, will be generic to all reactors designs, while others, such as the availability of cooling water, the area of land required and geological conditions capable of sustaining the weight of the reactor and other buildings will to an extent be dependent on the particular design of reactor chosen (or alternatively the reactor design chosen may to an extent be dependent on the characteristics of an available site). However, one particularly interesting tension is a human and demographic one. On the one hand it is beneficial to place nuclear stations close to centres of population, to reduce transmission losses and other costs (including to the local environment) of transporting electricity over large distances from generator to consumer. On the other it is advantageous to place nuclear stations some distance away from such population centres in order to minimise the potential human consequences of a major release of radioactive materials in the (extremely unlikely) event of a major nuclear accident, not only in terms of direct exposure but also concerning the management of emergency planning, notably evacuation.This paper considers the emergence of policies aimed at managing this tension in the UK. In the first phase of nuclear development (roughly speaking 1945-1965) there was a highly cautious attitude, with installations being placed in remote rural locations with very low population density. The second phase (1965-1985) saw a more relaxed approach, allowing the development of AGR nuclear power stations (which with concrete pressure vessels were regarded as significantly safer) closer to population centres (in 'semi-urban' locations, notably at Hartlepool and Heysham). In the third phase (1985-2005) there was very little new nuclear development, Sizewell B (the first and so far only PWR power reactor in the UK) being colocated with an early Magnox station on the rural Suffolk coast. Renewed interest in nuclear new build from 2005 onward led to a number of sites being identified for new reactors before 2025, all having previously hosted nuclear stations and including the semi-urban locations of the 1960s and 1970s. Finally, some speculative comments are made as to what a 'fifth phase' starting in 2025 might look like.

Using the NAME Lagrangian Particle Dispersion model, and aircraft measurements to assess the accuracy of trace gas emission inventories from the U.K.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Sullivan, D. A.; Harrison, M.; Ploson, D.; Oram, D.; Reeves, C.

2007-12-01

A top-down approach using a combination of aircraft data and atmospheric dispersion modelling has been used to estimate emissions for 24 halogenated trace gases from the United Kingdom. This has been done using data collected during AMPEP/FLUXEX, a U.K based measurement campaign which took place between April and September 2005. The primary objective relating to this work was to make direct airborne measurements of concentration enhancements within the boundary layer arising from anthropogenic pollution events, and then to use mass balance methods to determine an emission flux. This was done by analysing Whole Air Samples (WAS) collected in the boundary layer upwind and downwind of the UK at frequent intervals around the coast using the technique of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS). Emissions were then calculated using a simple box-model approach and also using NAME (Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment) which is a Lagrangian particle model using 3 hourly 3D meteorology fields from the Met Office Unified Model. By using such an approach it is also possible to identify the most likely main source regions in the UK for the compounds measured. Among the trace gases studied are many which through their effects on stratospheric ozone, and their large radiative forcing have a direct impact on global climate such as CFC's 11, 12, 113 and 114, HCFC's 21, 22, 141b and 142b, HFC's 134a and 152a, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide and carbon tetrachloride. Also the emissions of some short lived gases with have direct effects on human health, such as tetrachloroethene, and trichloroethene, have been derived. The UK emissions estimates calculated from this experimental and modelling work are compared with bottom-up and other top-down emission inventories for the UK and Europe. It was found that the estimates from this study were often higher than those in bottom-up emission inventories derived from industry. In addition for a number of trace gases, for example HCFC-21 and the HFC's, there are no accurate emissions estimates available due to privacy laws which in the UK restrict the availability of the production and sales data required to construct bottom-up emission inventories. Therefore for some of the compounds included in this study, this work provides the first available estimate of UK emissions.

Plio-Pleistocene Sea Surface Temperature Variability As Measured by Different Proxies - A Cautionary Tale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawrence, K. T.; Woodard, S. C.; Castañeda, I. S.; deMenocal, P. B.; Peterson, L.; Rosenthal, Y.; Bochner, L.; Gorbey, D. B.; Mauriello, H.

2016-12-01

Conflicting interpretations from the application of different sea surface temperature (SST) proxies seeking to characterize past climate conditions of the same region have given rise to a number of controversies about key elements of Pliocene climate. Thus, a detailed look at whether or not different temperature proxies yield consistent results is warranted. Here, we examine Pliocene climate variability at the orbital scale reporting new alkenone-derived SST estimates from ODP Site 1088 (South Atlantic) and ODP Site 846 (Eastern Equatorial Pacific). Using these novel datasets and previously published records from a variety of different sites in a variety of localities, we further examine the consistency of Plio-Pleistocene SST variability and orbital signatures from faunal, Mg/Ca, and TEX86 SST records relative to Uk'37 SST records. We find that many companion SST records produce very similar mean trends and standard deviations as well as absolute temperature estimates that are generally within error of each other. Our analysis also suggests that many companion records, with a few notable exceptions, capture the same dominant Milankovitch periodicities and produce phase estimates relative to benthic oxygen isotope estimates that are within error of each other. However, marked structural differences occur between different proxy records on glacial-interglacial timescales in Uk'37 versus Mg/Ca comparisons and some Uk'37 versus TEX86 comparisons. Therefore, the temperature estimates of individual glacial-interglacial cycles may vary significantly when a specific time slice is explored. Our preliminary investigation suggests that whether or not climate records derived from different paleothermometers yield consistent results depends on the timescale being explored and the study site, which reflects key factors such as seasonality, ecology, and diagenetic regime. Additional work that explores the underlying causes of the differences observed among proxies and uses a more systematic approach to directly compare the results from different paleothermometers is required. Until we have a better and broader sense of where/when proxies perform consistently, we recommend caution in treating SST records from different proxies as interchangeable.

47 CFR 90.769 - Construction and implementation of Phase II nationwide licenses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... (a) A nationwide licensee must construct a sufficient number of base stations (i.e., base stations... their authorized channels at all of their base stations or fixed stations. [69 FR 75173, Dec. 15, 2004] ... will not be converted to individual, site-by-site authorizations for already constructed stations. (d...

25 CFR 1000.240 - What construction programs included in an AFA are subject to this subpart?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., coordination, responsibility for the construction project, day-to-day on-site management on site-management and administration of the project, which may include cost management, project budgeting, project scheduling and... Tribal, facilities and projects. (b) The following programs and activities are not construction programs...

78 FR 23837 - Cranes and Derricks in Construction: Underground Construction and Demolition

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-23

... report here the results for the entire heavy-and-civil engineering sector and the entire site... in this final rule because employers included in the heavy-and-civil engineering sector, or the site... final rule. This final rule affects two construction sectors: NAICS 237990 (Other Heavy and Civil...

Evaluation of a nutrient-based diet quality index in UK young children and investigation into the diet quality of consumers of formula and infant foods.

PubMed

Verger, Eric O; Eussen, Simone; Holmes, Bridget A

2016-07-01

To adapt and evaluate a nutrient-based diet quality index (PANDiet) for UK young children and to determine the nutritional adequacy of their diets according to consumption of young child formula (YCF) and commercial infant foods (CIF). Content and construct validity of the PANDiet were assessed by studying associations between the PANDiet and its components, energy intake, food intakes, and child and maternal characteristics. Four groups of children were defined according to their intake of YCF and CIF: (i) no consumption; (ii) consumption of YCF; (iii) consumption of CIF; and (iv) consumption of YCF and CIF. Child and maternal characteristics, PANDiet scores and food intakes of these four groups were compared. Secondary analysis of data from the UK Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children (DNSIYC, 2011). Young children (n 1152) aged 12-18 months. The PANDiet was adapted to the UK based on twenty-five nutrients. A lower PANDiet score was linked to lower intakes of YCF, CIF, vegetables and fruits. Determinants of having a lower score were being older, having siblings and having a younger mother with a lower educational level. Compared with children consuming neither YCF nor CIF, PANDiet scores were higher in children consuming CIF (+1·4), children consuming YCF (+7·2) and children consuming YCF and CIF (+7·8; all P<0·001). The PANDiet is a valid indicator of the nutrient adequacy of the diet of UK young children. Consuming CIF was not found to be associated with lower nutritional adequacy whereas consuming YCF was associated with higher nutritional adequacy.

Windstorms and Insured Loss in the UK: Modelling the Present and the Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hewston, R.; Dorling, S.; Viner, D.

2006-12-01

Worldwide, the costs of catastrophic weather events have increased dramatically in recent years, with average annual insured losses rising from a negligible level in 1950 to over $10bn in 2005 (Munich Re 2006). When losses from non-catastrophic weather related events are included this figure is doubled. A similar trend is exhibited in the UK with claims totalling over £6bn for the period 1998-2003, more than twice the value for the previous five years (Dlugolecki 2004). More than 70% of this loss is associated with storms. Extratropical cyclones are the main source of wind damage in the UK. In this research, a windstorm model is constructed to simulate patterns of insured loss associated with wind damage in the UK. Observed daily maximum wind gust speeds and a variety of socioeconomic datasets are utilised in a GIS generated model, which is verified against actual domestic property insurance claims data from two major insurance providers. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme events which are anticipated to accompany climate change in the UK will have a direct affect on general insurance, with the greatest impact expected to be on property insurance (Dlugolecki 2004). A range of experiments will be run using Regional Climate Model output data, in conjunction with the windstorm model, to simulate possible future losses resulting from climate change, assuming no alteration to the vulnerability of the building stock. Losses for the periods 2020-2050 and 2070- 2100 will be simulated under the various IPCC emissions scenarios. Munich Re (2006). Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2005. Munich, Munich Re: 52. Dlugolecki, A. (2004). A Changing Climate for Insurance - A summary report for Chief Executives and Policymakers, Association of British Insurers

Lessons from local engagement in Latin American health systems.

PubMed

Meads, Geoffrey D; Griffiths, Frances E; Goode, Sarah D; Iwami, Michiyo

2007-12-01

To examine the management of recent policies for stronger patient and public involvement in Latin American health systems, identifying common features and describing local practice examples of relevance to the UK. Participation is a core principle of many contemporary policies for health system reform. In Latin America, as in the UK, it is frequently associated with innovations in primary care services and their organizational developments. This shared interest in alternative models of local engagement offers new opportunities for collaborative research and policy development. Commissioned by UK policy makers, a 4-year research programme was designed to promote exchanges with international counterparts focusing on how modern reform policies are being implemented. The selected countries possessed comparable principles and timeframes for their reforms. A series of individual country case studies were undertaken. Data were drawn from literature and documentary reviews; semi-structured interviews with national policy makers and expert advisers; and with management representatives at local exemplar sites. The aggregate data were subjected to thematic analysis applying a model for sustainable development. Six common factors were identified in Latin American policies for stronger patient and public involvement. From these the most significant transferable learning for the UK relates to the position and status of professions and non-governmental agencies. Illustrative case exemplars were located in each of the eight countries studied.

Modelling coastal processes and morphological changes of the UK east coast in support of coastal decision-making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaorong; Leonardi, Nicoletta; Brown, Jennifer; Plater, Andy

2017-04-01

The coastline of Eastern England is home to about one quarter of the UK's coastal habitats, including intertidal salt marshes, tidal flats and sand dunes. These geomorphic features are of great importance to the local wildlife, global biodiversity, marine environment and human society and economy. Due to sea-level rise and the occurrence of extreme weather conditions, the coastline of Eastern England is under high risk of erosion and recession, which could lead to tidal inundation of sites such as the RSPB Minsmere Reserve and power generation infrastructure at Sizewell. This research responds to the need for sustainable shoreline management plans of the UK east coast through sensitivity studies at the Dunwich-Sizewell area, Suffolk, UK. Particular interest is on the long-term morphodynamic response of the study area to possible environmental variations associated with global climate change. Key coastal processes, i.e. current, waves and sediment transport, and morphological evolution are studied using a process-based numerical model under the following scenarios: current mean sea level + calm wave conditions, current mean sea level + storms, sea level rise + calm wave conditions, and sea level rise + storms, all with a 'do nothing' management plan which allows the coastal environment to exist and respond dynamically. As a further aspect of this research, rules will be generalized for reduced-complexity, system-based modelling. Alternative management plans, including 'managed realignment' and 'advance the line', are also investigated in this research under the same environmental forcing scenarios, for the purposes of protection of infrastructure of national importance and conservation of wetland habitats. Both 'hard' and 'soft' engineering options, such as groynes and beach nourishment respectively, are considered. A more ecohydrological option which utilizes aquatic plant communities for wave energy dissipation and sediment trapping is also studied. The last option requires the numerical models to be modified based on understandings obtained through analysis of on-site observations and laboratory measurements.

Reconstructing the origin and transmission dynamics of the 1967–68 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in the United Kingdom☆

PubMed Central

Wright, Caroline F.; Knowles, Nick J.; Di Nardo, Antonello; Paton, David J.; Haydon, Daniel T.; King, Donald P.

2013-01-01

A large epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in the United Kingdom (UK) over a seven month period in Northwest England from late 1967 to the summer of 1968. This was preceded by a number of smaller FMD outbreaks in the country, two in 1967, in Hampshire and Warwickshire and one in Northumberland during 1966. The causative agent of all four events was identified as FMD virus (FMDV) serotype O and the source of the large epidemic was attributed to infected bone marrow in lamb products imported from Argentina. However, the diagnostic tools available at the time were unable to entirely rule out connections with the earlier UK FMD outbreaks, as well as other potential sources from Europe. The aim of this study was to apply molecular sequencing to investigate the likely source of this epidemic using VP1 region and full genome (FG) sequences determined directly from clinical epithelium samples (n = 13) or cell culture isolates (n = 6), from this and contemporary outbreaks in the UK, Europe and South America. Analysis of the VP1 sequences provided evidence for at least three separate incursions of FMDV into the UK including one independent introduction that was responsible for the main 1967/68 epidemic. Analysis of FG sequences from the main 1967/68 outbreak (n = 10) revealed nucleotide substitutions at 94 genomic sites providing evidence for the linear accumulation of nucleotide substitutions (rate = 2.42 × 10−5 nt substitutions/site/day). However, there were five samples where this linear relationship was absent, indicating evolutional dormancy of the virus, presumably outside a host. These results help define the evolutionary dynamics of FMDV during an epidemic and contribute to the knowledge and understanding from which to base future outbreak control strategies. PMID:24035793

Drivers for spatial, temporal and long-term trends in atmospheric ammonia and ammonium in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Yuk S.; Braban, Christine F.; Dragosits, Ulrike; Dore, Anthony J.; Simmons, Ivan; van Dijk, Netty; Poskitt, Janet; Dos Santos Pereira, Gloria; Keenan, Patrick O.; Conolly, Christopher; Vincent, Keith; Smith, Rognvald I.; Heal, Mathew R.; Sutton, Mark A.

2018-01-01

A unique long-term dataset from the UK National Ammonia Monitoring Network (NAMN) is used here to assess spatial, seasonal and long-term variability in atmospheric ammonia (NH3: 1998-2014) and particulate ammonium (NH4+: 1999-2014) across the UK. Extensive spatial heterogeneity in NH3 concentrations is observed, with lowest annual mean concentrations at remote sites (< 0.2 µg m-3) and highest in the areas with intensive agriculture (up to 22 µg m-3), while NH4+ concentrations show less spatial variability (e.g. range of 0.14 to 1.8 µg m-3 annual mean in 2005). Temporally, NH3 concentrations are influenced by environmental conditions and local emission sources. In particular, peak NH3 concentrations are observed in summer at background sites (defined by 5 km grid average NH3 emissions < 1 kg N ha-1 yr-1) and in areas dominated by sheep farming, driven by increased volatilization of NH3 in warmer summer temperatures. In areas where cattle, pig and poultry farming is dominant, the largest NH3 concentrations are in spring and autumn, matching periods of manure application to fields. By contrast, peak concentrations of NH4+ aerosol occur in spring, associated with long-range transboundary sources. An estimated decrease in NH3 emissions by 16 % between 1998 and 2014 was reported by the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory. Annually averaged NH3 data from NAMN sites operational over the same period (n = 59) show an indicative downward trend, although the reduction in NH3 concentrations is smaller and non-significant: Mann-Kendall (MK), -6.3 %; linear regression (LR), -3.1 %. In areas dominated by pig and poultry farming, a significant reduction in NH3 concentrations between 1998 and 2014 (MK: -22 %; LR: -21 %, annually averaged NH3) is consistent with, but not as large as the decrease in estimated NH3 emissions from this sector over the same period (-39 %). By contrast, in cattle-dominated areas there is a slight upward trend (non-significant) in NH3 concentrations (MK: +12 %; LR: +3.6 %, annually averaged NH3), despite the estimated decline in NH3 emissions from this sector since 1998 (-11 %). At background and sheep-dominated sites, NH3 concentrations increased over the monitoring period. These increases (non-significant) at background (MK: +17 %; LR: +13 %, annually averaged data) and sheep-dominated sites (MK: +15 %; LR: +19 %, annually averaged data) would be consistent with the concomitant reduction in SO2 emissions over the same period, leading to a longer atmospheric lifetime of NH3, thereby increasing NH3 concentrations in remote areas. The observations for NH3 concentrations not decreasing as fast as estimated emission trends are consistent with a larger downward trend in annual particulate NH4+ concentrations (1999-2014: MK: -47 %; LR: -49 %, p < 0.01, n = 23), associated with a lower formation of particulate NH4+ in the atmosphere from gas phase NH3.

Water soluble aerosols and gases at a UK background site - Part 1: Controls of PM2.5 and PM10 aerosol composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twigg, M. M.; Di Marco, C. F.; Leeson, S.; van Dijk, N.; Jones, M. R.; Leith, I. D.; Morrison, E.; Coyle, M.; Proost, R.; Peeters, A. N. M.; Lemon, E.; Frelink, T.; Braban, C. F.; Nemitz, E.; Cape, J. N.

2015-02-01

There is limited availability of long-term, high temporal resolution, chemically speciated aerosol measurements, which can lead to further insight into the health and environmental impacts of particulate matter. The Monitor for AeRosols and Gases (MARGA, Applikon B.V., NL) allows characterisation of the inorganic components of PM10 and PM2.5 (NH4+, NO3-, SO42-, Cl-, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and inorganic reactive gases (NH3, SO2, HCl, HONO and HNO3) at hourly resolution. The following study presents 6.5 years (June 2006 to December 2012) of quasi-continuous observations of PM2.5 and PM10 using the MARGA at the UK EMEP "Supersite", Auchencorth Moss, SE Scotland. Auchencorth Moss was found to be representative of a remote European site with average total water soluble inorganic mass of PM2.5 of 3.82 μg m-3. Anthropogenically derived secondary inorganic aerosols (sum of NH4+, NO3- and nss-SO42-), were the dominating species (63%) of PM2.5. In terms of equivalent concentrations, NH4+ provided the single largest contribution to PM2.5 fraction in all seasons. Sea salt, was the main component (73%) of the PMcoarse fraction (PM10-PM2.5), though NO3- was also found to make a relatively large contribution to the measured mass (17%) as providing evidence of considerable processing of sea salt in the coarse mode. There was on occasions evidence of aerosol from combustion events being transported to the site in 2012 as high K+ concentrations (deviating from the known ratio in sea salt) coincided with increases in black carbon at the site. Pollution events in PM10 (defined as concentrations > 12 μg m-3) were on average dominated by NH4+ and NO3-, where as smaller loadings at the site tended to be dominated by sea salt. As with other Western European sites, the charge balance of the inorganic components resolved were biased towards cations, suggesting the aerosol was basic or more likely, that organic acids contributed to the charge balance. This study demonstrates the UK background atmospheric composition is primarily driven by meteorology with sea salt dominating air masses from the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic, whereas secondary inorganic aerosols tended to dominate air masses from continental Europe.

Construct-level predictive validity of educational attainment and intellectual aptitude tests in medical student selection: meta-regression of six UK longitudinal studies.

PubMed

McManus, I C; Dewberry, Chris; Nicholson, Sandra; Dowell, Jonathan S; Woolf, Katherine; Potts, Henry W W

2013-11-14

Measures used for medical student selection should predict future performance during training. A problem for any selection study is that predictor-outcome correlations are known only in those who have been selected, whereas selectors need to know how measures would predict in the entire pool of applicants. That problem of interpretation can be solved by calculating construct-level predictive validity, an estimate of true predictor-outcome correlation across the range of applicant abilities. Construct-level predictive validities were calculated in six cohort studies of medical student selection and training (student entry, 1972 to 2009) for a range of predictors, including A-levels, General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs)/O-levels, and aptitude tests (AH5 and UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)). Outcomes included undergraduate basic medical science and finals assessments, as well as postgraduate measures of Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP(UK)) performance and entry in the Specialist Register. Construct-level predictive validity was calculated with the method of Hunter, Schmidt and Le (2006), adapted to correct for right-censorship of examination results due to grade inflation. Meta-regression analyzed 57 separate predictor-outcome correlations (POCs) and construct-level predictive validities (CLPVs). Mean CLPVs are substantially higher (.450) than mean POCs (.171). Mean CLPVs for first-year examinations, were high for A-levels (.809; CI: .501 to .935), and lower for GCSEs/O-levels (.332; CI: .024 to .583) and UKCAT (mean = .245; CI: .207 to .276). A-levels had higher CLPVs for all undergraduate and postgraduate assessments than did GCSEs/O-levels and intellectual aptitude tests. CLPVs of educational attainment measures decline somewhat during training, but continue to predict postgraduate performance. Intellectual aptitude tests have lower CLPVs than A-levels or GCSEs/O-levels. Educational attainment has strong CLPVs for undergraduate and postgraduate performance, accounting for perhaps 65% of true variance in first year performance. Such CLPVs justify the use of educational attainment measure in selection, but also raise a key theoretical question concerning the remaining 35% of variance (and measurement error, range restriction and right-censorship have been taken into account). Just as in astrophysics, 'dark matter' and 'dark energy' are posited to balance various theoretical equations, so medical student selection must also have its 'dark variance', whose nature is not yet properly characterized, but explains a third of the variation in performance during training. Some variance probably relates to factors which are unpredictable at selection, such as illness or other life events, but some is probably also associated with factors such as personality, motivation or study skills.

Construct-level predictive validity of educational attainment and intellectual aptitude tests in medical student selection: meta-regression of six UK longitudinal studies

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Measures used for medical student selection should predict future performance during training. A problem for any selection study is that predictor-outcome correlations are known only in those who have been selected, whereas selectors need to know how measures would predict in the entire pool of applicants. That problem of interpretation can be solved by calculating construct-level predictive validity, an estimate of true predictor-outcome correlation across the range of applicant abilities. Methods Construct-level predictive validities were calculated in six cohort studies of medical student selection and training (student entry, 1972 to 2009) for a range of predictors, including A-levels, General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs)/O-levels, and aptitude tests (AH5 and UK Clinical Aptitude Test (UKCAT)). Outcomes included undergraduate basic medical science and finals assessments, as well as postgraduate measures of Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP(UK)) performance and entry in the Specialist Register. Construct-level predictive validity was calculated with the method of Hunter, Schmidt and Le (2006), adapted to correct for right-censorship of examination results due to grade inflation. Results Meta-regression analyzed 57 separate predictor-outcome correlations (POCs) and construct-level predictive validities (CLPVs). Mean CLPVs are substantially higher (.450) than mean POCs (.171). Mean CLPVs for first-year examinations, were high for A-levels (.809; CI: .501 to .935), and lower for GCSEs/O-levels (.332; CI: .024 to .583) and UKCAT (mean = .245; CI: .207 to .276). A-levels had higher CLPVs for all undergraduate and postgraduate assessments than did GCSEs/O-levels and intellectual aptitude tests. CLPVs of educational attainment measures decline somewhat during training, but continue to predict postgraduate performance. Intellectual aptitude tests have lower CLPVs than A-levels or GCSEs/O-levels. Conclusions Educational attainment has strong CLPVs for undergraduate and postgraduate performance, accounting for perhaps 65% of true variance in first year performance. Such CLPVs justify the use of educational attainment measure in selection, but also raise a key theoretical question concerning the remaining 35% of variance (and measurement error, range restriction and right-censorship have been taken into account). Just as in astrophysics, ‘dark matter’ and ‘dark energy’ are posited to balance various theoretical equations, so medical student selection must also have its ‘dark variance’, whose nature is not yet properly characterized, but explains a third of the variation in performance during training. Some variance probably relates to factors which are unpredictable at selection, such as illness or other life events, but some is probably also associated with factors such as personality, motivation or study skills. PMID:24229353

10 CFR 435.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... FOR NEW FEDERAL LOW-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Mandatory Energy Efficiency Standards for Federal Low-Rise Residential Buildings. § 435.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction...

10 CFR 435.6 - Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction. [Reserved

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... FOR NEW FEDERAL LOW-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Mandatory Energy Efficiency Standards for Federal Low-Rise Residential Buildings. § 435.6 Sustainable principles for siting, design and construction...

Mind the gap: TB trends in the USA and the UK, 2000-2011.

PubMed

Nnadi, Chimeremma D; Anderson, Laura F; Armstrong, Lori R; Stagg, Helen R; Pedrazzoli, Debora; Pratt, Robert; Heilig, Charles M; Abubakar, Ibrahim; Moonan, Patrick K

2016-04-01

TB remains a major public health concern, even in low-incidence countries like the USA and the UK. Over the last two decades, cases of TB reported in the USA have declined, while they have increased substantially in the UK. We examined factors associated with this divergence in TB trends between the two countries. We analysed all cases of TB reported to the US and UK national TB surveillance systems from 1 January 2000 through 31 December 2011. Negative binominal regression was used to assess potential demographic, clinical and risk factor variables associated with differences in observed trends. A total of 259,609 cases were reported. From 2000 to 2011, annual TB incidence rates declined from 5.8 to 3.4 cases per 100,000 in the USA, whereas in the UK, TB incidence increased from 11.4 to 14.4 cases per 100,000. The majority of cases in both the USA (56%) and the UK (64%) were among foreign-born persons. The number of foreign-born cases reported in the USA declined by 15% (7731 in 2000 to 6564 in 2011) while native-born cases fell by 54% (8442 in 2000 to 3883 in 2011). In contrast, the number of foreign-born cases reported in the UK increased by 80% (3380 in 2000 to 6088 in 2011), while the number of native-born cases remained largely unchanged (2158 in 2000 to 2137 in 2011). In an adjusted negative binomial regression model, significant differences in trend were associated with sex, age, race/ethnicity, site of disease, HIV status and previous history of TB (p<0.01). Among the foreign-born, significant differences in trend were also associated with time since UK or US entry (p<0.01). To achieve TB elimination in the UK, a re-evaluation of current TB control policies and practices with a focus on foreign-born are needed. In the USA, maintaining and strengthening control practices are necessary to sustain the progress made over the last 20 years. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Conference Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doherty, Cait

2009-01-01

This article summarizes an original conference, organised by the Child Care Research Forum (http://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/ccrf/), which brought together experts from all over Northern Ireland to showcase some of the wealth of research with children and young people that is going on in the country today. Developed around the six high-level outcomes of…

Online Information 96. Proceedings of the International Online Information Meeting (20th, London, England, UK, December 3-5, 1996).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raitt, David I., Ed.; Jeapes, Ben, Ed.

This proceedings volume contains 68 papers. Subjects addressed include: access to information; the future of information managers/librarians; intelligent agents; changing roles of library users; disintermediation; Internet review sites; World Wide Web (WWW) search engines; Java; online searching; future of online education; integrated information…

Bullying amongst University Students in the UK

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowie, Helen; Myers, Carrie-Anne

2014-01-01

This study with 20 university students examined perspectives in three different participant roles: the perpetrator, the target and the bystander. The purpose of the exercise was to resolve the outcome of an alleged incident of cyberbullying using a social network site via the means of a restorative conference. The findings suggest that the power…

Distribution and etiology of aerial stem infections of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae at three woodland sites in the U.K.

Treesearch

Anna Brown; Clive Brasier; Sandra Denman; Joan Rose; Susan Kirk; Joan Webber

2006-01-01

Phytophthora ramorum and P . kernoviae sp. nov are recently introduced, invasive pathogens in woodlands in southern Britain. P. kernoviae is a newly discovered taxon, previously referred to as Phytophthora taxon C. Both species aggressively infect foliage and shoots of understory rhododendrons...

Translanguaging and the Body

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackledge, Adrian; Creese, Angela

2017-01-01

This article reports communicative interactions with a focus on the body as a dimension of the semiotic repertoire. The research context is a four-year, multi-site linguistic ethnography which investigates how people communicate in superdiverse cities in the UK. In the setting of a butcher's stall in a city market we consider three interactions at…

Critical Success Factors for E-Learning and Institutional Change--Some Organisational Perspectives on Campus-Wide E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Su

2007-01-01

Computer technology has been harnessed for education in UK universities ever since the first computers for research were installed at 10 selected sites in 1957. Subsequently, real costs have fallen dramatically. Processing power has increased; network and communications infrastructure has proliferated, and information has become unimaginably…

The contribution to future flood risk in the Severn Estuary from extreme sea level rise due to ice sheet mass loss

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinn, N.; Bates, P. D.; Siddall, M.

2013-12-01

The rate at which sea levels will rise in the coming century is of great interest to decision makers tasked with developing mitigation policies to cope with the risk of coastal inundation. Accurate estimates of future sea levels are vital in the provision of effective policy. Recent reports from UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) suggest that mean sea levels in the UK may rise by as much as 80 cm by 2100; however, a great deal of uncertainty surrounds model predictions, particularly the contribution from ice sheets responding to climatic warming. For this reason, the application of semi-empirical modelling approaches for sea level rise predictions has increased of late, the results from which suggest that the rate of sea level rise may be greater than previously thought, exceeding 1 m by 2100. Furthermore, studies in the Red Sea indicate that rapid sea level rise beyond 1m per century has occurred in the past. In light of such research, the latest UKCIP assessment has included a H++ scenario for sea level rise in the UK of up to 1.9 m which is defined as improbable but, crucially, physically plausible. The significance of such low-probability sea level rise scenarios upon the estimation of future flood risk is assessed using the Somerset levels (UK) as a case study. A simple asymmetric probability distribution is constructed to include sea level rise scenarios of up to 1.9 m by 2100 which are added to a current 1:200 year event water level to force a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model of coastal inundation. From the resulting ensemble predictions an estimation of risk by 2100 is established. The results indicate that although the likelihood of extreme sea level rise due to rapid ice sheet mass loss is low, the resulting hazard can be large, resulting in a significant (27%) increase to the projected annual risk. Furthermore, current defence construction guidelines for the coming century in the UK are expected to account for 95% of the sea level rise distribution presented in this research, while the larger, low probability scenarios beyond this level are estimated to contribute a residual annual risk of approximately £0.45 million. These findings clearly demonstrate that uncertainty in future sea level rise is a vital component of coastal flood risk, and therefore, needs to be accounted for by decision makers when considering mitigation policies related to coastal flooding.

Regulatory requirements in the good manufacturing practice production of an epithelial cell graft for ocular surface reconstruction.

PubMed

Sheth-Shah, Radhika; Vernon, Amanda J; Seetharaman, Shankar; Neale, Michael H; Daniels, Julie T

2016-04-01

In the past decade, stem cell therapy has been increasingly employed for the treatment of various diseases. Subsequently, there has been a great interest in the manufacture of stem cells under good manufacturing practice, which is required by law for their use in humans. The cells for sight Stem Cell Therapy Research Unit, based at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, delivers somatic cell-based and tissue-engineered therapies to patients suffering from blinding eye diseases at Moorfields Eye Hospital (London, UK). The following article is based on our experience in the conception, design, construction, validation and manufacturing within a good manufacturing practice manufacturing facility based in the UK. As such the regulations can be extrapolated to the 28 members stated within the EU. However, the principles may have a broad relevance outside the EU.

The impact of the business cycle on occupational injuries in the UK.

PubMed

Davies, Rhys; Jones, Paul; Nuñez, Imanol

2009-07-01

This paper investigates the cyclical fluctuations in rates of workplace injury for the UK from 1986 to 2005. Time series analysis shows that, in aggregate terms, the rate of minor injuries is pro-cyclical whilst the rate of major injury is not affected by the level of economic activity. Analysis by sector reveals that cyclical fluctuations are sharper in the construction and manufacturing sectors. Using panel data, we find that fluctuations in both the rates of minor and major injury are related to the level of new hiring and the ratio of actual to usual hours worked. However, only minor injuries are related to variables that control for workers' bargaining power. The analysis demonstrates the importance of both compositional effects and individual reporting behaviour to understanding cyclical variations in workplace injury rates.

First solar radio spectrometer deployed in Scotland, UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monstein, Christian

2012-10-01

A new Callisto solar radio spectrometer system has recently been installed and set into operation at Acre Road Observatory, a facility of University of Glasgow, Scotland UK. There has been an Observatory associated with Glasgow University since 1757, and they presently occupy two different sites. The main observatory ('Acre Road') is close to the Garscube Estate on the outskirts of the city of Glasgow. The outstation ('Cochno', housing the big 20 inch Grubb Parsons telescope) is located farther out at a darker site in the Kilpatrick Hills. The Acre Road Observatory comprises teaching and research labs, a workshop, the main dome housing the 16 inch Meade, the solar dome, presently housing the 12 inch Meade, a transit house containing the transit telescope, a 3m HI radio telescope and a 408 MHz pulsar telescope. They also have 10 and 8 inch Meade telescopes and several 5 inch Celestron instruments. There is a small planetarium beneath the solar dome. The new Callisto instrument is mainly foreseen for scientific solar burst observations as well as for student projects and for 'bad-weather' outreach activities.

KSC-2012-6405

NASA Image and Video Library

2012-09-20

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a groundbreaking was held to mark the start of construction on the Antenna Test Bed Array for the Ka-Band Objects Observation and Monitoring, or Ka-BOOM system. Using ceremonial shovels to mark the site, from left are Michael Le, lead design engineer and construction manager Sue Vingris, Cape Design Engineer Co. project manager Kannan Rengarajan, chief executive officer of Cape Design Engineer Co. Lutfi Mized, president of Cape Design Engineer Co. David Roelandt, construction site superintendent with Cape Design Engineer Co. Marc Seibert, NASA project manager Michael Miller, NASA project manager Peter Aragona, KSC’s Electromagnetic Lab manager Stacy Hopper, KSCs master planning supervisor Dr. Bary Geldzabler, NASA chief scientist and KSC’s Chief Technologist Karen Thompson. The construction site is near the former Vertical Processing Facility, which has been demolished. Workers will begin construction on the pile foundations for the 40-foot-diameter dish antenna arrays and their associated utilities, and prepare the site for the operations command center facility. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser

A Neophyte Constructs a Web Site: Lessons Learned.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bent, Devin

1998-01-01

A political science professor at James Madison University (VA) constructed a Web page to support an undergraduate course in government. This article defines Web-site goals and audience, reviews other sites, and discusses organization of Web links and technical choices for HTML editor, page layout and use of image, audio, and video files. Stresses…

The morphological development of newly inundated intertidal areas: the mechanisms driving the early evolution of an estuarine environment designed and constructed by humans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dale, Jonathan; Burgess, Heidi; Cundy, Andrew

2017-04-01

Intertidal saltmarsh and mudflat habitats are of global importance due to the ecosystem, economic and cultural services they provide. These services include wildlife habitat provision and species diversity, immobilisation of pollutants and protection from coastal flooding. Saltmarsh and mudflat environments are, however, being lost and degraded due to erosion caused by rising sea levels and increased storminess. These losses are exacerbated by anthropogenic influences including land reclamation, increased coastal development and the construction of coastal flood defences which prevent the landwards migration of saltmarsh and mudflat environments, resulting in coastal squeeze. To compensate for saltmarsh and mudflat losses areas of the coastal hinterland are being inundated by breaching defences and constructing new defences inland, thus extending or constructing new estuarine environments; a processes known as de-embankment or managed realignment. Morphological engineering and landscaping within managed realignment sites prior to site inundation varies depending on the aims of the scheme. However, there is a shortage of data on the morphological evolution within these sites post site inundation impeding the ability of coastal engineers to effectively design and construct future sites. To date there has been a focus on the colonisation of marine macro fauna and flora within newly inundated managed realignment sites, which can be relatively rapid and easily quantified. Little is known of the morphological evolution in response to altered sedimentary processes, its driving mechanisms and therefore the success and ecological sustainability of these sites. This study evaluates the post-inundation morphological development of the largest open coast managed realignment site in Europe, at Medmerry on the south coast of the United Kingdom. Inundated in September 2013, the Medmerry Managed Realignment Site consists of a mosaic of former agricultural land and areas of lower elevation excavated during site construction, drained by a series of natural and engineered channels. Results indicate different rates and patterns of sedimentation and resulting morphology across the site. Near the breach continuous sedimentation of > 15cm over a 1 year period was measured, compared to rhythmic periods of accretion and erosion inland. These variations have been related to site design, former land-use and different sediment sources. The evolution of developing creek networks, formed by pluvial action and sediment "piping", are controlled by unconformities found in the sub-surface sediment related to Holocene site evolution. Analysis of the sedimentary processes and subsequent morphological development of these areas provides a new insight into coastal and estuarine evolution in an anthropogenically designed and constructed estuarine environment.