Social circumstances reports for mental health review tribunals under 2008 practice direction, section E

The provision of a Social Circumstance Report is regulatory requirement since October 2008. There has been some disquiet over the quality and suitability of these reports and this article sets out clearly the purpose, structure and content of such reports. The importance of a comprehensive up-to-date report cannot be overstated

Biomineralization and bioinspired synthesis of ceria and transition metal-oxide solid solution nanocrystals

Biomineralization is an intriguing approach to the synthesis of functional inorganic materials for energy applications whereby biological systems are engineered to mineralize inorganic materials and control their structure over multiple length scales under mild reaction conditions. Herein we demonstrate a single enzyme mediated biomineralization route to synthesize crystalline, catalytically active, quantum confined ceria (CeO2-x) and ceria-zirconia (Ce1-yZryO2-x) nanocrystals and a bio-inspired ligand mediated method for the synthesis of copper doped ceria (Ce1-yCuyO2-x) and gallium oxide. In contrast to typical synthesis routes, the crystalline oxide nanoparticles are formed at room temperature from an otherwise inert aqueous solution. An engineered form of silicatein, rCeSi, as a single enzyme not only catalyzes the direct biomineralization of the nanocrystalline oxides, but also serves as a templating agent to control their morphological structure. The biomineralized nanocrystals of less than 3 nm in diameter are catalytically active towards carbon monoxide oxidation following an oxidative annealing step to remove carbonaceous residue. The introduction of zirconia into the nanocrystals leads to an increase in Ce(III) concentration, associated catalytic activity, and the thermal stability of the nanocrystals.Our ligand mediated synthesis of crystalline oxide is enabled through ligand exchange prior to pH adjustment to prevent the precipitation of the hydroxide phase. By producing particles at room temperature, dopant exsolution and particle growth by sintering can be minimized and/or controlled. Using our methodology, copper dopant concentrations of up to 35 mol % could be produced in 1.7 nm diameter ceria nanocrystals. The resulting materials showed high catalytic activity towards both the water gas shift reaction (WGS) and CO oxidation, with improved performance following the trend of increasing copper content. In comparison to pure ceria nanocrystals, the WGS activation energy decreased from 89.0 to 49.2 kJ mol-1 and the CO oxidation light-off temperature decreased from 262 to 159°C at a space velocity of 25,000 h-1 upon doping with 35 mol % copper. Using this ligand mediated synthesis gallium oxide nanocrystals can also be produced with crystal sizes of 2.7 ± 0.5 nm. These gallium oxide crystals when used with an Al2O3 support show activity towards the ethane dehydrogenation reaction and show reduced deactivation due to coke when compared to a TiO2 supported catalyst. Reaction with platinum and gallium oxide nanocrystals supported on alumina reached 26% and maintained 11% conversion after 48 hours (at 500°C and WHSV = 0.5 h-1). Our results show the complementary effect of gallium oxide nanoparticles on alumina when utilized in platinum dehydrogenation system. This effect is due to the ability of gallium oxide on alumina to limit coke build-up

Social circumstance reports for mental health tribunals - Part 1

Advice on the provision of a social circumstance report (SCR)for Mental Health Tribunals, which was made a regulatory requirement in England in 2007. This part looks at the legal background and ws published in Legal Action June 201

Liver fibrosis markers and all cause mortality in people with type 2 diabetes:a population based study (The Ayrshire Diabetes Outcomes Cohort (ADOC) Study)

<br/

Changes in the Structural Properties of the UCL in Collegiate Baseball Pitchers

Perhaps the most serious injury for a baseball pitcher is a full tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in their throwing arm. Full tears of the UCL require surgical reconstruction if the athlete hopes to return to throwing at the same level. The UCL, which is the primary stabilizer of the medial elbow, is exposed to high valgus stresses during the baseball pitching motion. Very few studies have performed pre- and post-season ultrasound imaging to measure the properties of the UCL, and none have performed mid-season imaging at regular intervals in order to track changes in the UCL. There is a need for better understanding of the changes which take place in the UCL of baseball pitchers prior to suffering a significant injury to the UCL in their throwing arm in order to help decrease the alarming rate of UCL tears in baseball pitchers. The primary purpose of this study was to examine changes in the structural properties of the UCL and medial elbow in NCAA Division I collegiate baseball pitchers over the course of a season. The secondary purpose of this research was to determine if relationships exist between recent throwing load, upper body resistance training, and perceived medial elbow stiffness with any observed changes in the structural properties of the UCL and medial elbow. To evaluate these purposes, we performed biweekly ultrasound imaging on 12 healthy collegiate baseball pitchers throughout the course of a collegiate baseball season. Four structural properties of the UCL were measured for each imaging session, including the length and thickness of the ligament, UCL space, and the ulnohumeral gap. Participants completed questionnaires reporting their pitching and resistance training workload, as well as perceived elbow stiffness variables in order to evaluate any potential correlations between changes in the UCL and these self-reported metrics. The results of the imaging sessions displayed significant bilateral differences in UCL properties at the pre- and post-season timepoints, and significant changes in the properties of the UCL in the participants' throwing arms compared to the pre-season imaging session. Our results did not show any significant changes between biweekly imaging sessions for any of the structural properties of the UCL in the throwing arms of our participants. The results of this study demonstrate the continued need for a new method of measuring the health of a baseball pitcher's throwing arm, specifically the UCL, in order to determine when throughout a season, and the factors that lead to, a pitcher being at an elevated risk of tearing the UCL. Such information would be helpful to the coaching, training, and medical staffs involved with high level baseball, who attempt to aid pitchers in remaining healthy and increasing their pitching performance