Modeling the initiation of others into injection drug use, using data from 2,500 injectors surveyed in Scotland during 2008-2009

The prevalence of injection drug use has been of especial interest for assessment of the impact of blood-borne viruses. However, the incidence of injection drug use has been underresearched. Our 2-fold aim in this study was to estimate 1) how many other persons, per annum, an injection drug user (IDU) has the equivalent of full responsibility (EFR) for initiating into injection drug use and 2) the consequences for IDUs' replacement rate. EFR initiation rates are strongly associated with incarceration history, so that our analysis of IDUs' replacement rate must incorporate when, in their injecting career, IDUs were first incarcerated. To do so, we have first to estimate piecewise constant incarceration rates in conjunction with EFR initiation rates, which are then combined with rates of cessation from injecting to model IDUs' replacement rate over their injecting career, analogous to the reproduction number of an epidemic model. We apply our approach to Scotland's IDUs, using over 2,500 anonymous injector participants who were interviewed in Scotland's Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative during 2008-2009. Our approach was made possible by the inclusion of key questions about initiations. Finally, we extend our model to include an immediate quit rate, as a reasoned compensation for higher-than-expected replacement rates, and we estimate how high initiates' quit rate should be for IDUs' replacement rate to be 1

A design research framework to inform policy in Irish higher education

   The landscape of higher education in Ireland is changing. In 2011, the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 was launched providing a blueprint for its future development. Part of this ongoing process will see the implementation of performance funding in the sector. Performance funding directly links state institutional funding to institutional performance as indicated by performance outcomes in key predetermined areas. This may impact significantly on design research funding and inquiry in higher education. As a practice which has developed to a significant extent outside of the university; design values, methodologies and requisites fundamental to its progression do not always align well with those of traditional academia and may not be reflected within the current strategic discussions. The focus of this research article is the implementation of performance funding within the Irish higher education sector, and its potential impact on design research funding and development, with the ensuing need for designers to articulate clearly the value of design research and its methodological approachITERATIONSpeer-reviewe

Proceedings of the Conference on Safety, Fuels, and Core Design in Large Fast Power Reactors : October 11-14, 1965 /

This volume contains the proceedings of the second in a series of annual topical conferences sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on various specific aspects of fast reactor science and technology. The first conference, which was held in October 1963, was entitled "Breeding, Economics, and Safety in large Fast Power Reactors." The proceedings of that conference were issued as ANL-6702. Nor conference was held in 1964 because the Third International Geneva Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy had been scheduled for that year. In October 1959, a related conference entitled "The Physics of Breeding" was held at Argonne. The proceedings of that conference was issued as ANL-6122.Operated by the University of Chicago under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38 with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.Second in a series of annual topical conferences sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on various specific aspects of fast reactor science and technology.Includes bibliographical references.Session 8-B: Mostly sodium boiling. pp. 875.Session 8-A: Fission products, reactions and interactions. pp. 830.Session 7-B: Other systems and concepts. pp. 751.Session 7-A: Maximum accident and containment. pp. 641.Session 6-B: Mostly reactivity coefficients. pp. 553.Session 6-A: Fuels and fuel behavior. pp. 497.Session 5-B: Mostly reactivity coefficients. pp. 413.Session 5-A: Fuels and fuel behavior. pp. 289.Session 4. Discussion of papers among panel. pp. 261.Session 3. Panel on safety of large last power reactors. pp. 157.Session 2. Fast reactor concepts. pp. 85.Session 1. Physics uncertainties and safety issues. pp. 3.This volume contains the proceedings of the second in a series of annual topical conferences sponsored by Argonne National Laboratory and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission on various specific aspects of fast reactor science and technology. The first conference, which was held in October 1963, was entitled "Breeding, Economics, and Safety in large Fast Power Reactors." The proceedings of that conference were issued as ANL-6702. Nor conference was held in 1964 because the Third International Geneva Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy had been scheduled for that year. In October 1959, a related conference entitled "The Physics of Breeding" was held at Argonne. The proceedings of that conference was issued as ANL-6122.Mode of access: Internet