Defence research and genetic engineering: Fears and dissociation in the 1970s

This paper examines the implications for British defence research of the discovery of techniques to genetically engineer organisms in the early 1970s. While we argue that there is no evidence that the UK in the 1970s exploited genetic engineering techniques as a source of new weapons or defences, there were two consequences, which we call disassociations. First, the Microbiological Research Establishment, at Porton Down, was divorced from direct military patronage. In doing so, the governance of genetic engineering was influenced. Second, the concerns about the military potential of genetic engineering were subject to publicity management, and were dampened by invoking the provisions of the Biological Weapons Convention

The Dutch version of the Child Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory:validation in a clinical sample and a school sample

With the inclusion of trauma-related cognitions in the DSM-5 criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the assessment of these cognitions has become essential. Therefore, valid tools for the assessment of these cognitions are warranted

Evaluation of the initial implementation of a nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme in primary care: A multimethod study

Objectives The Australian Government funded a nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme to improve visual outcomes for people with diabetes. This study examined the benefits and barriers of the programme, image interpretation pathways and assessed the characteristics of people who had their fundus photos graded by a telereading service which was available as a part of the programme. Design Multimethod: survey and retrospective review of referral forms. Setting Twenty-two primary healthcare facilities from urban, regional, rural and remote areas of Australia, and one telereading service operated by a referral-only eye clinic in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Participants Twenty-seven primary healthcare workers out of 110 contacted completed a survey, and 145 patient referrals were reviewed. Results Manifest qualitative content analysis showed that primary healthcare workers reported that the benefits of the screening programme included improved patient outcomes and increased awareness and knowledge of diabetic retinopathy. Barriers related to staffing issues and limited referral pathways. Image grading was performed by a variety of primary healthcare workers, with one responder indicating the utilisation of a diabetic retinopathy reading service. Of the people with fundus photos graded by the reading service, 26.2% were reported to have diabetes. Overall, 12.3% of eyes were diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. Photo quality was rated as excellent in 46.2% of photos. Referral to an optometrist for diabetic retinopathy was recommended in 4.1% of cases, and to an ophthalmologist in 6.9% of cases. Conclusions This nationwide diabetic retinopathy screening programme was perceived to increase access to diabetic retinopathy screening in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia. The telereading service has diagnosed diabetic retinopathy and other ocular pathologies in images it has received. Key barriers, such as access to ophthalmologists and optometrists, must be overcome to improve visual outcomes

Stakeholder perspectives on the cost requirements of Small Modular Reactors

This paper is in closed access until 11th Dec 2019.© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The cost of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is an important influence on the future commercial success of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). At the early design stage, the cost requirements of SMRs can be derived from an analysis of the factors driving the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). It is often much later into the development process before customers are engaged and their cost requirements are known, by which time key design decisions which influence the lifecycle cost have already been locked-in. A clear understanding is required of the cost priorities for the key stakeholders who are to invest in the SMR. This paper presents a novel approach to ranking the relative importance of different cost factors used to calculate the LCOE. Using a dynamic stakeholder analysis, the key decision-makers for each stage of the SMR product lifecycle are identified. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with pair-wise comparisons obtained from nuclear cost experts is employed to rank the different factors in terms of their relative importance on the commercial success of a near-term deployable SMR. Each expert provides a different set of rankings, although project financing cost is consistently the most important for the successful commercial deployment of the SMR. The approach presented in this paper can be used as a verification method for any power generation technology to provide confidence that cost requirements are adequately captured to design for life cycle cost competitiveness from the perspective of different stakeholders

Stakeholder perspectives on the cost requirements of Small Modular Reactors

The cost of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is an important influence on the future commercial success of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). At the early design stage, the cost requirements of SMRs can be derived from an analysis of the factors driving the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). It is often much later into the development process before customers are engaged and their cost requirements are known, by which time key design decisions which influence the lifecycle cost have already been locked-in. A clear understanding is required of the cost priorities for the key stakeholders who are to invest in the SMR. This paper presents a novel approach to ranking the relative importance of different cost factors used to calculate the LCOE. Using a dynamic stakeholder analysis, the key decision-makers for each stage of the SMR product lifecycle are identified. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with pair-wise comparisons obtained from nuclear cost experts is employed to rank the different factors in terms of their relative importance on the commercial success of a near-term deployable SMR. Each expert provides a different set of rankings, although project financing cost is consistently the most important for the successful commercial deployment of the SMR. The approach presented in this paper can be used as a verification method for any power generation technology to provide confidence that cost requirements are adequately captured to design for life cycle cost competitiveness from the perspective of different stakeholders.</p

A randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial of megestrol acetate or dexamethasone in treating symptomatic anorexia in people with advanced cancer

This multi-site, double blind, parallel arm, fixed dose, randomised placebo controlled phase III study compared megestrol acetate 480 mg/day with dexamethasone 4 mg/day for their net effects on appetite in people with cancer anorexia. Patients with advanced cancer and anorexia for ≥ 2 weeks with a score ≤ 4 (0-10 numeric rating scale (NRS) 0 = no appetite, 10 = best possible appetite) were recruited. Participants received megestrol 480 mg or dexamethasone 4 mg or placebo daily for up to 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were at day 7. Responders were defined as having a ≥ 25% improvement in NRS over baseline. There were 190 people randomised (megestrol acetate n = 61; dexamethasone n = 67, placebo n = 62). At week 1 (primary endpoint), 79·3% in the megestrol group, 65·5% in the dexamethasone group and 58·5% in the placebo group (p = 0.067) were responders. No differences in performance status or quality of life were reported. Treatment emergent adverse events were frequent (90·4% of participants), and included altered mood and insomnia. Hyperglycemia and deep vein thromboses were more frequent when on dexamethasone than the other two arms. There was no difference in groups between the three arms, with no benefit seen over placebo with anorexia improving in all arms.Trail registration: The trial was registered on 19/08/2008 with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12608000405314)

LAPORAN KEGIATAN INDIVIDU PRAKTIK PENGALAMAN LAPANGAN (PPL) DI SMK SAHID SURAKARTA TAHUN 2014

SMK Sahid Surakarta yang beralamatkan di Jl. Yosodipuro No. 87 Surakarta. SMK Sahid Surakarta adalah sekolah kejuruan yang merupakan salah satu lokasi KKN – PPL UNY 2014. KKN-PPL dilaksanakan selama 2,5 bulan pada tanggal 1 Juli 2014 hingga pada tanggal 22 September 2014. Kegiatan KKN meliputi pelaksanaan program yang telah direncanakan dan untuk kegiatan PPL meliputi praktik mengajar dan pembuatan RPP, media pembelajaran, dan administrasi guru. Tujuan dari kegiatan KKN adalah untuk mengembangkan kemandirian dan menerapkan keahlian yang dimiliki serta kegiatan untuk bersosialisasi dengan orang lain. Tujuan dari kegiatan PPL adalah untuk mengembangkan teori yang telah didapat selama perkuliahan, dan untuk mengembangkan diri menumbuhkan kemampuan sebagai bekal untuk menjadi tenaga pendidik di masa yang akan datang. Setiap mahasiswa PPL sudah ditentukan guru pembimbing oleh sekolah. Guru pembimbing tersebut akan memonitoring mahasiswa PPL selama mengajar di kelas. Namun,sebelum mengajar,mahasiswa wajib membuat perangkat pembelajaran yang meliputi RPP dan media pembelajaran yang di konsultasikan kepada guru pembimbing. Penulis mengajar secara Individu pada mata pelajaran Hidangan Kesempatan Khusus dan Fusion Food di kelas XII JB 1,2 dan Pengetahuan Bahan Makanan di kelas X JB 1,2. Berbagai media pembelajaran sudah disumbangkan dalam berbagai bentuk agar dapat lebih membantu proses KBM di SMK Sahid Surakarta. Media tersebut juga akan lebih mempermudah guru dalam mengaja

Fission possible: understanding the cost of nuclear power

The cost of nuclear power has been debated ever since the build of the first plant at Calder Hall. Despite crippling construction delays in the 1970s and 80s, nuclear new build is again considered to meet both future demand growth and CO2 reduction targets. UK suppliers could produce around 45% of the high value components, with the potential to enter international export markets. Initially estimated at £9bn, to £16bn after Fukushima, with the most recent estimate at £24.5bn, Hinkley Point C will be the pilot build for new nuclear. The question remains, can the UK build a nuclear power station economically? The research aims to provide a methodology for estimating the cost of future nuclear build projects. This paper will review cost drivers for historic nuclear build, prior to and after their construction. Based on this analysis the paper will critique the current methodology and provide direction for the research

Stakeholder perspectives on the cost requirements of small modular reactors

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The cost of a nuclear power plant (NPP) is an important influence on the future commercial success of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). At the early design stage, the cost requirements of SMRs can be derived from an analysis of the factors driving the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). It is often much later into the development process before customers are engaged and their cost requirements are known, by which time key design decisions which influence the lifecycle cost have already been locked-in. A clear understanding is required of the cost priorities for the key stakeholders who are to invest in the SMR. This paper presents a novel approach to ranking the relative importance of different cost factors used to calculate the LCOE. Using a dynamic stakeholder analysis, the key decision-makers for each stage of the SMR product lifecycle are identified. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with pair-wise comparisons obtained from nuclear cost experts is employed to rank the different factors in terms of their relative importance on the commercial success of a near-term deployable SMR. Each expert provides a different set of rankings, although project financing cost is consistently the most important for the successful commercial deployment of the SMR. The approach presented in this paper can be used as a verification method for any power generation technology to provide confidence that cost requirements are adequately captured to design for life cycle cost competitiveness from the perspective of different stakeholders

Increased expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in human pituitary tumors

PURPOSE: Subsets of pituitary tumors exhibit an aggressive clinical courses and recur despite surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Because modulation of the immune response through inhibition of T-cell checkpoints has led to durable clinical responses in multiple malignancies, we explored whether pituitary adenomas express immune-related biomarkers that could suggest suitability for immunotherapy. Specifically, programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has emerged as a potential biomarker whose expression may portend more favorable responses to immune checkpoint blockade therapies. We thus investigated the expression of PD-L1 in pituitary adenomas. METHODS: PD-L1 RNA and protein expression were evaluated in 48 pituitary tumors, including functioning and non-functioning adenomas as well as atypical and recurrent tumors. Tumor infiltrating lymphocyte populations were also assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Pituitary tumors express variable levels of PD-L1 transcript and protein. PD-L1 RNA and protein expression were significantly increased in functioning (growth hormone and prolactin-expressing) pituitary adenomas compared to non-functioning (null cell and silent gonadotroph) adenomas. Moreover, primary pituitary adenomas harbored higher levels of PD-L1 mRNA compared to recurrent tumors. Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes were observed in all pituitary tumors and were positively correlated with increased PD-L1 expression, particularly in the functional subtypes. CONCLUSIONS: Human pituitary adenomas harbor PD-L1 across subtypes, with significantly higher expression in functioning adenomas compared to non-functioning adenomas. This expression is accompanied by the presence of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. These findings suggest the existence of an immune response to pituitary tumors and raise the possibility of considering checkpoint blockade immunotherapy in cases refractory to conventional management