Quality of Service for Information Access

Information is available in many forms from different sources, in distributed locations; access to information is supported by networks of varying performance; the cost of accessing and transporting the information varies for both the source and the transport route. Users who vary in their preferences, background knowledge required to interpret the information and motivation for accessing it, gather information to perform many different tasks. This position paper outlines some of these variations in information provision and access, and explores the impact these variations have on the user’s task performance, and the possibilities they make available to adapt the user interface for the presentation of information

New hurdles for translational research

New guidelines for the collection and use of human tissues for research will impose new requirements on researchers to seek ethical approval and patient consent. This extends to the use of surplus tissue, such as breast cancer excision biopsies, which, until recently, have been regarded as having been 'abandoned' by the patient. This article argues that some of these new constraints provide hurdles to translational research that are unnecessary for patient protection. This is particularly significant when emerging technologies are expected to elicit major advances in clinical cancer research

Devising a Resilience Rating System For Charities & The Non-Profit Sector

One of the sectoral issues that COVID has shone a light on is that whilst social investors, grant funders and sector support organisations acquire detailed data about the activities they have commissioned individually, they do not have access to a similar level of data about the wider sectors in which they are operating. �This report was written in the first 4 weeks of lockdown in 2020 and developed a framework for assessing financial resilience of Third Sector Organisations

Effect of processing variables and bulk composition on the surface composition of spray dried powders of a model food system

Abstract The surface compositions of food powders created from spray drying solutions containing various ratios of sodium caseinate, maltodextrin and soya oil have been analysed by Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis. The results show significant enrichment of oil at the surface of particles compared to the bulk phase and, when the non-oil components only are considered, a significant surface enrichment of sodium caseinate also. The degree of surface enrichment of both oil and sodium caseinate was found to increase with decreasing bulk levels of the respective components. Surface enrichment of oil was also affected by processing conditions (emulsion drop size and drying temperature), but surface enrichment of sodium caseinate was relatively insensitive to these. The presence of "pock marks" on the particle surfaces strongly suggests that the surface oil was caused by rupturing of emulsion droplets at the surface as the surrounding matrix contracts and hardens

p53 gene aberrations in non-small-cell lung carcinomas from a smoking population.

We examined 46 non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs) for the presence of p53 mutations in exons 4-9, positive p53 immunostaining and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the TP53 locus. p53 mutations were detected in 13 tumour samples (28.3%), whereas overexpression of the p53 protein was found in 30 of 45 (67%) samples. Allelic loss was found in 9 of 38 (23.6%) informative cases. The statistical analysis revealed no significant correlation between p53 mutations and clinicopathological data, although mutations appear to occur more frequently in squamous cell carcinomas (7 of 18) than in adenocarcinomas (2 of 15). All but three individuals in this study group smoked. In contrast to previous reports, we found a higher prevalence of GC-->AT transitions than of GC-->TA transversions, as expected in a smoking population. A trend was found between p53-positive immunostaining and a history of heavy smoking (76-126 pack-years) and was inversely correlated with allelic deletion (LOH) at the TP53 locus. Eight of the 12 NSCLCs containing p53 mutations also had concomitant p53 overexpression, and it is of specific note that three of the four tumours containing p53 'mutations' with no overexpression of the p53 protein had either insertions or deletions in the p53 gene. No correlation was found between p53 mutations and fractional allele loss or ras mutations. p53 mutations in this Merseyside population in the UK do not appear to be as common as in other reports for NSCLC and exhibit predominance of GC-->AT transitions preferentially at non-CpG sites, suggesting that other carcinogens in addition to those in tobacco smoke may be involved in NSCLC in the Merseyside area of the UK

Renewable energy in remote communities

This article is the result of a competitively tendered University-funded project, this brings together two major Government Policy areas: sustainable communities and use of carbon fuels, and is aimed at influencing the policy debate on the difficulties of linking remote communities to renewable energy production because of poor distribution networks. Linkage with the Sustainable Communities agenda is an essential ingredient, as the proposal is that the renewable energy technologies will be installed and maintained by the communities themselves

Towards good practice guidelines for the contour method of residual stress measurement

Accurate measurement of residual stress in metallic components using the contour method relies on the achievement of a good quality cut, on the appropriate measurement of the deformed cut surface and on the robust analysis of the measured data. There is currently no published standard or code of practice for the contour method. As a first step towards such a standard, this study draws on research investigations addressing the three main steps in the method: how best to cut the specimens; how to measure the deformation contour of the cut surface; and how to analyse the data. Good practice guidance is provided throughout the text accompanied by more detailed observations and advice tabulated in Appendi