The expectations and aspirations of a late-career professional woman

NoThis article presents a powerful account of one late-career woman's lived experiences. Little is known about women who continue professional careers into their 50s and beyond. Here insights are offered into her aspirations and expectations, as she reflects upon a career fragmented by gendered caring responsibilities and the implications of ageism and sexism together with health and body for her late-career phase. The narrative enhances understanding of the intersection of age and gender in a context where masculine career norms dominate. It also offers a reflection upon the implications of these themes for late-career women and their employing organizations more generally

The value of carbon sequestration and storage in coastal habitats

Coastal margin habitats are globally significant in terms of their capacity to sequester and store carbon, but their continuing decline, due to environmental change and human land use decisions, is reducing their capacity to provide this ecosystem service. In this paper the UK is used as a case study area to develop methodologies to quantify and value the ecosystem service of blue carbon sequestration and storage in coastal margin habitats. Changes in UK coastal habitat area between 1900 and 2060 are documented, the long term stocks of carbon stored by these habitats are calculated, and the capacity of these habitats to sequester CO2 is detailed. Changes in value of the carbon sequestration service of coastal habitats are then projected for 2000–2060 under two scenarios, the maintenance of the current state of the habitat and the continuation of current trends of habitat loss. If coastal habitats are maintained at their current extent, their sequestration capacity over the period 2000–2060 is valued to be in the region of £1 billion UK sterling (3.5% discount rate). However, if current trends of habitat loss continue, the capacity of the coastal habitats both to sequester and store CO2 will be significantly reduced, with a reduction in value of around £0.25 billion UK sterling (2000–2060; 3.5% discount rate). If loss-trends due to sea level rise or land reclamation worsen, this loss in value will be greater. This case study provides valuable site specific information, but also highlights global issues regarding the quantification and valuation of carbon sequestration and storage. Whilst our ability to value ecosystem services is improving, considerable uncertainty remains. If such ecosystem valuations are to be incorporated with confidence into national and global policy and legislative frameworks, it is necessary to address this uncertainty. Recommendations to achieve this are outlined

Towards the development of data governance standards for using clinical free-text data in health research: a position paper

Background: Free-text clinical data (such as outpatient letters or nursing notes) represent a vast, untapped source of rich information that, if more accessible for research, would clarify and supplement information coded in structured data fields. Data usually need to be de-identified or anonymised before they can be reused for research, but there is a lack of established guidelines to govern effective de-identification and use of free-text information and avoid damaging data utility as a by-product. / Objective: We set out to work towards data governance standards to integrate with existing frameworks for personal data use, to enable free-text data to be used safely for research for patient/public benefit. / Methods: We outlined (UK) data protection legislation and regulations for context, and conducted a rapid literature review and UK-based case studies to explore data governance models used in working with free-text data. We also engaged with stakeholders including text mining researchers and the general public to explore perceived barriers and solutions in working with clinical free-text. / Results: We propose a set of recommendations, including the need: for authoritative guidance on data governance for the reuse of free-text data; to ensure public transparency in data flows and uses; to treat de-identified free-text as potentially identifiable with use limited to accredited data safe-havens; and, to commit to a culture of continuous improvement to understand the relationships between efficacy of de-identification and re-identification risks, so this can be communicated to all stakeholders. / Conclusions: By drawing together the findings of a combination of activities, our unique study has added new knowledge towards the development of data governance standards for the reuse of clinical free-text data for secondary purposes. Whilst working in accord with existing data governance frameworks, there is a need for further work to take forward the recommendations we have proposed, with commitment and investment, to assure and expand the safe reuse of clinical free-text data for public benefit

Scaling up research on family justice using large-scale administrative data: an invitation to the socio-legal community

This article outlines the value of administrative data for family justice research. Although socio-legal scholars have extended their research beyond purely theoretical or doctrinal analyses, studies using large-scale digital datasets remain few in number. As new opportunities arise to link large-scale administrative datasets across health, education, welfare and justice, it is vital that the community of family justice researchers and analysts are supported to deliver research based on entire service or family court populations. In this context, this article provides a definition of administrative data, before outlining the potential of single, linked or blended administrative data sets for family justice research. The remaining sections of the article speak to questions that are pertinent to this particular academic community, including the distinctive contribution of the socio-legal scholar to interdisciplinary teams and the place of data providers in collaborative research. Drawing on the sociological concept of ‘publics’, the final section considers the multiple interest groups whose social licence must be secured, when personal records are used to understand the relationship between law and family life

Detecting Transits in Sparsely Sampled Surveys

The small sizes of low mass stars in principle provide an opportunity to find Earth-like planets and "super-Earths" in habitable zones via transits. Large area synoptic surveys like Pan-STARRS and LSST will observe large numbers of low mass stars, albeit with widely spaced (sparse) time sampling relative to the planets' periods and transit durations. We present simple analytical equations that can be used to estimate the feasibility of a survey by setting upper limits to the number of transiting planets that will be detected. We use Monte Carlo simulations to find upper limits for the number of transiting planets that may be discovered in the Pan-STARRS Medium Deep and 3-pi surveys. Our search for transiting planets and M-dwarf eclipsing binaries in the SDSS-II supernova data is used to illustrate the problems (and successes) in using sparsely sampled surveys.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, published in Proceedings of the Conference on Classification and Discovery in Large Astronomical Surveys, 200

The M Dwarf GJ 436 and its Neptune-Mass Planet

We determine stellar parameters for the M dwarf GJ 436 that hosts a Neptune-mass planet. We employ primarily spectral modeling at low and high resolution, examining the agreement between model and observed optical spectra of five comparison stars of type, M0-M3. Modeling high resolution optical spectra suffers from uncertainties in TiO transitions, affecting the predicted strengths of both atomic and molecular lines in M dwarfs. The determination of Teff, gravity, and metallicity from optical spectra remains at ~10%. As molecules provide opacity both in lines and as an effective continuum, determing molecular transition parameters remains a challenge facing models such as the PHOENIX series, best verified with high resolution and spectrophotometric spectra. Our analysis of GJ 436 yields an effective temperature of Teff = 3350 +/- 300 K and a mass of 0.44 Msun. New Doppler measurements for GJ 436 with a precision of 3 m/s taken during 6 years improve the Keplerian model of the planet, giving a minimum mass, M sin i = 0.0713 Mjup = 22.6 Mearth, period, P = 2.6439 d, and e = 0.16 +/- 0.02. The noncircular orbit contrasts with the tidally circularized orbits of all close-in exoplanets, implying either ongoing pumping of eccentricity by a more distant companion, or a higher Q value for this low-mass planet. The velocities indeed reveal a long term trend, indicating a possible distant companion.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, accepted to PAS

Nickel Exposure Reduces Enterobactin Production in Escherichia Coli

Escherichia coli is a well- studied bacterium that can be found in many niches, such as industrial wastewater, where the concentration of nickel can rise to low- millimolar levels. Recent studies show that nickel exposure can repress pyochelin or induce pyo-verdine siderophore production in Pseudomonas aueroginosa. Understanding the mo-lecular cross- talk between siderophore production, metal homeostasis, and metal toxicity in microorganisms is critical for designing bioremediation strategies for metal- contaminated sites. Here, we show that high- nickel exposure prolongs lag phase duration as a result of low- intracellular iron levels in E. coli. Although E. coli cells respond to low- intracellular iron during nickel stress by maintaining high expres-sion of iron uptake systems such as fepA, the demand for iron is not met due to a lack of siderophores in the extracellular medium during nickel stress. Taken together, these results indicate that nickel inhibits iron accumulation in E. coli by reducing the presence of enterobactin in the extracellular medium

Shifts in honeybee foraging reveal historical changes in floral resources

Decreasing floral resources as a result of habitat loss is one of the key factors in the decline of pollinating insects worldwide. Understanding which plants pollinators use is vital to inform the provision of appropriate floral resources to help prevent pollinator loss. Using a globally important pollinator, the honeybee, we show how changes in agricultural intensification, crop use and the spread of invasive species, have altered the nectar and pollen sources available in the UK. Using DNA metabarcoding, we analysed 441 honey samples from 2017 and compared these to a nationwide survey of honey samples from 1952. We reveal that shifts in major plants foraged by honeybees are driven by changes in the availability of these plants within the landscape. Improved grasslands are the most widespread habitat type in the UK, and management changes within this habitat have the greatest potential to increase floral resource availability

Linking pre- and post-adoption records for research in anonymised form in a data safe haven:

Introduction: The long-term health and wellbeing of adoptees is under-researched. One reason for this has been limited data accessibility regarding the adoption process, and another is a practice common in some UK jurisdictions of changing the NHS number (or equivalent) at adoption, as part of creating the new identity. The SAIL Databank holds data from the Wales Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass Cymru), together with children’s social care data, and can link these with routine health and administrative data in anonymised form. However, because the linkage key at SAIL is based on an encryption of the NHS number, working with pre- and post-adoption records for longitudinal research remains a major challenge. We set out to explore the legal implications of, and social support for, linking these records for use in anonymised form for longitudinal research. Methods: We reviewed the main legislation and regulations governing the use of data about adoptees in England and Wales. We gauged support for a social licence in Wales by carrying out interviews with individuals who had been involved in the adoptions process, and by engaging with general public groups for their views. We drew out the main emerging themes and, in combination with the review, propose a way forward. Results: The legal review indicated that there are provisions in the Family Procedure Rules (England and Wales) and the General Data Protection Regulation that can be relied upon for the lawful processing of adoption data into anonymised form for research. The main points of concern about linking pre- and post-adoption records were privacy, data security, the need to limit the number of organisations involved in data sharing, and re-identification risk. The over-riding message was favourable with longitudinal research seen as strongly beneficial. Conclusion: This study has indicated that in Wales, there is no legal impediment, nor major objection from individuals involved in the adoptions process, as well as the general public for the use of adoption data in anonymised form, in a data safe haven. This includes the linkage of pre- and post‑adoption records to enable novel longitudinal research to take place. The provisos were that robust safeguards must be in place, and that the research should aim to benefit adoptees and to improve policy and practice. We conclude that it is reasonable to proceed with caution to develop practical ways to link pre- and post‑adoption records in a data safe haven