Implementing innovatory transport measures:What local authorities in the UK say about their problems and requirements

There is a growing emphasis on the need to secure an integrated transport system that both serves the needs of the economy and that contributes to a wider sustainability agenda which includes prudent use of natural resources and equitable access to jobs and facilities. Although the UK government has not set specific targets for emission reduction or accessibility for the transport sector, all local highway authorities in England are now required to set out five year programmes with commitments on progress on four national shared priorities, which include the reduction of polluting emissions from transport and improved public transport. Transport practitioners have a key role to ensure that the foundations are laid now for the transport sector to be in a position to offer an integrated, resource efficient transport system in urban areas. Research has indicated that the principal barriers to achieving more sustainable transport strategies are poor policy integration and coordination, counterproductive institutional roles, unsupportive regulatory frameworks, weaknesses in pricing, poor data quality and quantity, limited public support and lack of political resolve. This paper reports on a study examining the efficacy of the decision support tools available to local transport officers to achieve more sustainable transport options in 16 local authorities in the UK. Results from two questionnaires and a series of follow-up interviews are combined over a four year period to identify where significant support to transport officers is needed. The results suggest that technical and financial support is still necessary in the development, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation of integrated, sustainable, urban travel strategies

Beyond money : relating local school taxation to family and community risk

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 25, 2007)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.State school finance systems have typically required some local tax effort to determine how to dole out state funds to provide equitable and adequate educational opportunities for K-12 students. As state-level systems have moved away from tax-driven formulas to student needs, local revenue requirements remain. However, no study has examined the potential links between a family, community and economic risk factors that affect a student's educational opportunity and local taxation choices. This study focuses on school district taxation choices before and during the implementation of Missouri's 1993 tax-rate driven formula. The tax-rate formula required a minimum incentive levy of $2.75 per$100 of assessed valuation, and this study shows school district voters responded. Previously, some groups had effects on district taxation who subsequently lost the ability to affect local taxation levels under a tax-rate driven formula. These links between community, family and economic risk factors and the state's local revenue requirements are crucially important to the success of achieving equitable and adequate fund distribution and merit further research and policy recommendations.Includes bibliographical reference

Predictive habitat modelling as a tool to assess the change in distribution and extent of an OSPAR priority habitat under an increased ocean temperature scenario:consequences for marine protected area networks and management

The aims of this study were to determine the extent and distribution of an OSPAR priority habitat under current baseline ocean temperatures; to illustrate the prospect for habitat loss under a changing ocean temperature scenario; and to demonstrate the potential application of predictive habitat mapping in "future-proofing" conservation and biodiversity management. Maxent modelling and GIS environmental envelope analysis of the biogenic bed forming species, Modiolus modiolus was carried out. The Maxent model was tested and validated using 75%/25% training/test occurrence records and validated against two sampling biases (the whole study area and a 20km buffer). The model was compared to the envelope analysis and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Area Under the curve; AUC) was evaluated. The performance of the Maxent model was rated as 'good' to 'excellent' on all replicated runs and low variation in the runs was recorded from the AUC values. The extent of "most suitable", "less suitable" and "unsuitable" habitat was calculated for the baseline year (2009) and the projected increased ocean temperature scenarios (2030, 2050, 2080 and 2100). A loss of 100% of "most suitable" habitat was reported by 2080. Maintaining a suitable level of protection of marine habitats/species of conservation importance may require management of the decline and migration rather than maintenance of present extent. Methods applied in this study provide the initial application of a plausible "conservation management tool"

Adaptive management, international co-operation and planning for marine conservation hotspots in a changing climate

Acknowledgements This work received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland) and their support is gratefully acknowledged. MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (Grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Beyond Money: Relating Local School Taxation to Family and Community Risk

State school finance formulas moved from tax-driven to student needs, while local community taxation requirements remain. However, no study has examined links between student needs risk factors affecting educational opportunity and local taxation choices. Using regression analyses, this study asked: Are local school district taxation levies related to community, family and economic factors? Using eleven years of financial data to examine Missouri's 1993 tax-rate driven formula this study shows community and family risk factors are related to taxation. Some groups that had prior effects on taxation lost this ability under a tax-rate driven formula. As a result, a state's fixed taxation requirement without regard for local risk can potentially harm constitutionally protected educational opportunity, particularly in new student needs formulas that move away from equalizing local taxation and wealth

Specialist palliative care: Current and future service challenges

Introduction/Background: Those working in palliative care face several current challenges, including: to reach beyond cancer and the physical to other dimensions of care; to start much earlier than at terminal stages of illness; to extend from specialist services to generalists; and to support primary carers. Research Question: How well does the Calvary Health Care Bethlehem (CHCB) model of specialist palliative care tackle these challenges? Methodology: We conducted a mixed‐method, multi‐perspective study in which thirty palliative care patients and their nominated carers and health care professionals (HCPs) were interviewed over a six month period. HCPs also participated in focus groups. Results were analysed using a thematic content analysis framework. HCP accounts of the CHCB service were used to construct a narrative description of the CHCB model of specialist palliative care. Policy Implications: Recent policy reports from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission and the Productivity Commission’s draft report Caring for Older Australians advocated greater use of coordination and teamwork in palliative care. This study helps define what this might mean in practice

Landsat 9 Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) Mission Success Approach

No abstract availabl

Phosphorylation of the VP16 transcriptional activator protein during herpes simplex virus infection and mutational analysis of putative phosphorylation sites

AbstractVP16 is a virion phosphoprotein of herpes simplex virus and a transcriptional activator of the viral immediate-early (IE) genes. We identified four novel VP16 phosphorylation sites (Ser18, Ser353, Ser411, and Ser452) at late times in infection but found no evidence of phosphorylation of Ser375, a residue reportedly phosphorylated when VP16 is expressed from a transfected plasmid. A virus carrying a Ser375Ala mutation of VP16 was viable in cell culture but with a slow growth rate. The association of the mutant VP16 protein with IE gene promoters and subsequent IE gene expression was markedly reduced during infection, consistent with prior transfection and in vitro results. Surprisingly, the association of Oct-1 with IE promoters was also diminished during infection by the mutant strain. We propose that Ser375 is important for the interaction of VP16 with Oct-1, and that the interaction is required to enable both proteins to bind to IE promoters

The elusive gene for keratolytic winter erythema

Keratolytic winter erythema (KWE), also known as Oudtshoorn skin disease, is characterised by a cyclical disruption of normal epidermal keratinisation affecting primarily the palmoplantar skin with peeling of the palms and soles, which is worse in the winter. It is a rare monogenic, autosomal dominant condition of unknown cause. However, due to a founder effect, it occurs at a prevalence of 1/7 200 among South African Afrikaans-speakers. In the mid-1980s, samples were collected from affected families for a linkage study to pinpoint the location of the KWE gene. A genome-wide linkage analysis, using microsatellite markers, identified the KWE critical region on chromosome 8p23.1-p22. Subsequent genetic studies focused on screening candidate genes in this critical region; however, no pathogenic mutations that segregated exclusively with KWE were identified. The cathepsin B (CTSB) and farnesyl-diphosphate farnesyltransferase 1 (FDFT1) genes revealed no potentially pathogenic variants, nor did they show differential gene expression in affected skin. Mutation detection in additional candidate genes also failed to identify the KWE-associated variant, suggesting that the causal variant may be in an uncharacterised functional region. Bioinformatic analysis revealed highly conserved regions within the KWE critical region and a custom tiling array was designed to cover this region and to search for copy number variation. Although the study did not identify a variant that segregates exclusively with KWE, it provided valuable insight into the complex KWE-linked region. Next-generation sequencing approaches are being used to comb the region, but the causal variant for this interesting hyperkeratotic palmoplantar phenotype still remains elusive.

Pengaruh Perceived Service Quality Terhadap Unibrand Performance Melalui Satisfaction Pada Universitas Swasta

This study refers to an earlier study that has been done by Sultan & Wong (2014). The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of Perceived Service Quality on the UniBrand Performance through Satisfaction in Private Universities. The design of this research is hypothesis testing using primary data obtained by distributing questionnaires directly to the 200 respondents who were active students of Private Universities in Jakarta. The analytical method used is Structure Equation Model (SEM). The result of this research conclude that there is a significant and positive relation between Perceived Service Quality and Satisfaction. There is a significant and positive relation between Satisfaction and UniBrand Performance. There is a significant and positive relation between Perceived Service Quality and UniBrand Performance