RAS Project Evaluative Report

Report findings from university study RAS (Retain, Achieve, Succeed), a staff research programme that examines issues around a 30% achievement gap between home black and home white students. Its focus has been on the curriculum and understanding matters of diversity and accessibility within institutional delivery at UAL

Long-Term Stability of n-Alkane-in-Water Pickering Nanoemulsions: Effect of Aqueous Solubility of Droplet Phase on Ostwald Ripening

High-pressure microfluidization is used to prepare a series of oil-in-water Pickering nanoemulsions using sterically-stabilized diblock copolymer nanoparticles as the Pickering emulsifier. The droplet phase comprised either n-octane, n-decane, n-dodecane, or n-tetradecane. This series of oils enabled the effect of aqueous solubility on Ostwald ripening to be studied, which is the primary instability mechanism for such nanoemulsions. Analytical centrifugation (LUMiSizer instrument) was used to evaluate the long-term stability of these Pickering nanoemulsions over time scales of weeks/months. This technique enables convenient quantification of the fraction of growing oil droplets and confirmed that using n-octane (aqueous solubility = 0.66 mg dm–3 at 20 °C) leads to instability even over relatively short time periods. However, using n-tetradecane (aqueous solubility = 0.386 μg dm–3 at 20 °C) leads to significantly improved long-term stability with respect to Ostwald ripening, with all droplets remaining below 1 μm diameter after 6 weeks storage at 20 °C. In the case of n-dodecane, the long-term stability of these new copolymer-stabilized Pickering nanoemulsions is significantly better than the silica-stabilized Pickering nanoemulsions reported in the literature by Persson et al. (Colloids Surf., A,2014,459, 48–57). This is attributed to a much greater interfacial yield stress for the former system, as recently described in the literature (see P. J. Betramo et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.,2017,114, 10373–10378)

The Environmental Context and Function of Burnt-Mounds : New Studies of Irish Fulachtaí Fiadh

The authors acknowledge funding from The Leverhulme Trust (F/00144/AI) and assistance from a large number of individuals including; Margaret Gowen (access to sites and assistance throughout),A. Ames, H, Essex (pollen processing), S. Rouillard & R. Smith (illustrations), C. McDermott, S. Bergerbrandt, all the staff of Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd, TVAS Ireland and CRDS. Excavation works and some post-excavation analysis was paid for my Bord Gáis and the National Roads Authority (now Transport Infrastructure Ireland). Thanks also to David Smith for access to the Maureen Girling collection and assistance with identifications.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Synthesis, Characterization, and Pickering Emulsifier Performance of Anisotropic Cross-Linked Block Copolymer Worms: Effect of Aspect Ratio on Emulsion Stability in the Presence of Surfactant

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) aqueous dispersion polymerization is used to prepare epoxy-functional PGMA–P(HPMA-stat-GlyMA) diblock copolymer worms, where GMA, HPMA, and GlyMA denote glycerol monomethacrylate, 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate, and glycidyl methacrylate, respectively. The epoxy groups on the GlyMA residues were ring-opened using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in order to cross-link the worm cores via a series of hydrolysis–condensation reactions. Importantly, the worm aspect ratio can be adjusted depending on the precise conditions selected for covalent stabilization. Relatively long cross-linked worms are obtained by reaction with APTES at 20 °C, whereas much shorter worms with essentially the same copolymer composition are formed by cooling the linear worms from 20 to 4 °C prior to APTES addition. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies confirmed that the mean aspect ratio for the long worms is approximately eight times greater than that for the short worms. Aqueous electrophoresis studies indicated that both types of cross-linked worms acquired weak cationic surface charge at low pH as a result of protonation of APTES-derived secondary amine groups within the nanoparticle cores. These cross-linked worms were evaluated as emulsifiers for the stabilization of n-dodecane-in-water emulsions via high-shear homogenization at 20 °C and pH 8. Increasing the copolymer concentration led to a reduction in mean droplet diameter, indicating that APTES cross-linking was sufficient to allow the nanoparticles to adsorb intact at the oil/water interface and hence produce genuine Pickering emulsions, rather than undergo in situ dissociation to form surface-active diblock copolymer chains. In surfactant challenge studies, the relatively long worms required a thirty-fold higher concentration of a nonionic surfactant (Tween 80) to be displaced from the n-dodecane–water interface compared to the short worms. This suggests that the former nanoparticles are much more strongly adsorbed than the latter, indicating that significantly greater Pickering emulsion stability can be achieved by using highly anisotropic worms. In contrast, colloidosomes prepared by reacting the hydroxyl-functional adsorbed worms with an oil-soluble polymeric diisocyanate remained intact when exposed to high concentrations of Tween 80

The environmental context and function of Burnt-Mounds: new studies of Irish Fulachtaí Fiadh

Burnt mounds, or fulachtaí fiadh as they are known in Ireland, are probably the most common prehistoric site type in Ireland and Britain. Typically Middle–Late Bronze Age in age (although both earlier and later examples are known), they are artefact-poor and rarely associated with settlements. The function of these sites has been much debated with the most commonly cited uses being for cooking, as steam baths or saunas, for brewing, tanning, or textile processing. A number of major infrastructural development schemes in Ireland in the years 2002–2007 revealed remarkable numbers of these mounds often associated with wood-lined troughs, many of which were extremely well-preserved. This afforded an opportunity to investigate them as landscape features using environmental techniques – specifically plant macrofossils and charcoal, pollen, beetles, and multi-element analyses. This paper summarises the results from eight sites from Ireland and compares them with burnt mound sites in Great Britain. The fulachtaí fiadh which are generally in clusters, are all groundwater-fed by springs, along floodplains and at the bases of slopes. The sites are associated with the clearance of wet woodland for fuel; most had evidence of nearby agriculture and all revealed low levels of grazing. Multi-element analysis at two sites revealed elevated heavy metal concentrations suggesting that off-site soil, ash or urine had been used in the trough. Overall the evidence suggests that the most likely function for these sites is textile production involving both cleaning and/or dyeing of wool and/or natural plant fibres and as a functionally related activity to hide cleaning and tanning. Whilst further research is clearly needed to confirm if fulachtaí fiadh are part of the ‘textile revolution’ we should also recognise their important role in the rapid deforestation of the wetter parts of primary woodland and the expansion of agriculture into marginal areas during the Irish and British Bronze Ages

Which patients with ES-SCLC are most likely to benefit from more aggressive radiotherapy: A secondary analysis of the Phase III CREST trial

Introduction: In ES-SCLC patients with residual intrathoracic disease after first-line chemotherapy, the addition of thoracic radiotherapy reduces the risk of intrathoracic recurrence, and improves 2-year survival. To identify patient subgroups for future trials investigating higher dose (extra)thoracic radiotherapy, we investigated the prognostic importance of number and sites of metastases in patients included in the CREST trial. Materials/methods: Additional data on sites and numbers of metastases were collected from individual records of 260 patients from the top 9 recruiting centers in the randomized CREST trial (53% of 495 study patients), which compared thoracic radiotherapy (TRT) to no TRT in ES-SCLC patients after any response to chemotherapy. All patients received prophylactic cranial irradiation. Results: The clinical characteristics and outcomes of the 260 patients analyzed here did not differ significantly from that of the other 235 patients included in the CREST trial, except that fewer patients had a WHO = 0 performance status (24% vs 45%), and a higher proportion had WHO = 2 (15% vs 5%; p <0.0001). No distant metastases were recorded in 5%, 39% had metastases confined to one organ, 34% to two, and 22% to three or more organ sites. Metastases were present in the liver (47%), bone (40%), lung (28%), extrathoracic (non-supraclavicular) lymph nodes (19%), supraclavicular nodes (18%), adrenals (17%) and other sites (12%). The OS (p = 0.02) and PFS (p = 0.04) were significantly better in patients with 2 or fewer metastases, with OS significantly worse if liver (p = 0.03) and/or bone metastases (p= 0.04) were present. Discussion: This analysis of patients recruited from the top 9 accruing centers in the CREST trial suggests that future studies evaluating more intensive thoracic and extra-thoracic radiotherapy in ES-SCLC should focus on patients with fewer than 3 distant metastases. (C) 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Cohort Randomised Controlled Trial of a Multifaceted Podiatry Intervention for the Prevention of Falls in Older People (The REFORM Trial)

BACKGROUND: Falls are a major cause of morbidity among older people. A multifaceted podiatry intervention may reduce the risk of falling. This study evaluated such an intervention. DESIGN: Pragmatic cohort randomised controlled trial in England and Ireland. 1010 participants were randomised (493 to the Intervention group and 517 to Usual Care) to either: a podiatry intervention, including foot and ankle exercises, foot orthoses and, if required, new footwear, and a falls prevention leaflet or usual podiatry treatment plus a falls prevention leaflet. The primary outcome was the incidence rate of self-reported falls per participant in the 12 months following randomisation. Secondary outcomes included: proportion of fallers and those reporting multiple falls, time to first fall, fear of falling, Frenchay Activities Index, Geriatric Depression Scale, foot pain, health related quality of life, and cost-effectiveness. RESULTS: In the primary analysis were 484 (98.2%) intervention and 507 (98.1%) control participants. There was a small, non statistically significant reduction in the incidence rate of falls in the intervention group (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.73 to 1.05, p = 0.16). The proportion of participants experiencing a fall was lower (49.7 vs 54.9%, adjusted odds ratio 0.78, 95% CI 0.60 to 1.00, p = 0.05) as was the proportion experiencing two or more falls (27.6% vs 34.6%, adjusted odds ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.52 to 0.90, p = 0.01). There was an increase (p = 0.02) in foot pain for the intervention group. There were no statistically significant differences in other outcomes. The intervention was more costly but marginally more beneficial in terms of health-related quality of life (mean quality adjusted life year (QALY) difference 0.0129, 95% CI -0.0050 to 0.0314) and had a 65% probability of being cost-effective at a threshold of £30,000 per QALY gained. CONCLUSION: There was a small reduction in falls. The intervention may be cost-effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN ISRCTN68240461

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Cost-Effectiveness Modeling of Surgery Plus Adjuvant Endocrine Therapy Versus Primary Endocrine Therapy Alone in UK Women Aged 70 and Over With Early Breast Cancer

Objectives: Approximately 20% of UK women aged 70+ with early breast cancer receive primary endocrine therapy (PET) instead of surgery. PET reduces surgical morbidity but with some survival decrement. To complement and utilize a treatment dependent prognostic model, we investigated the cost-effectiveness of surgery plus adjuvant therapies versus PET for women with varying health and fitness, identifying subgroups for which each treatment is cost-effective. Methods: Survival outcomes from a statistical model, and published data on recurrence, were combined with data from a large, multicenter, prospective cohort study of over 3400 UK women aged 70+ with early breast cancer and median 52-month follow-up, to populate a probabilistic economic model. This model evaluated the cost-effectiveness of surgery plus adjuvant therapies relative to PET for 24 illustrative subgroups: Age {70, 80, 90} × Nodal status {FALSE (F), TRUE (T)} × Comorbidity score {0, 1, 2, 3+}. Results: For a 70-year-old with no lymph node involvement and no comorbidities (70, F, 0), surgery plus adjuvant therapies was cheaper and more effective than PET. For other subgroups, surgery plus adjuvant therapies was more effective but more expensive. Surgery plus adjuvant therapies was not cost-effective for 4 of the 24 subgroups: (90, F, 2), (90, F, 3), (90, T, 2), (90, T, 3). Conclusion: From a UK perspective, surgery plus adjuvant therapies is clinically effective and cost-effective for most women aged 70+ with early breast cancer. Cost-effectiveness reduces with age and comorbidities, and for women over 90 with multiple comorbidities, there is little cost benefit and a negative impact on quality of life