Longitudinal study of local authority child and family social workers (wave 1) Findings from a 5 year study of local authority child and family social workers in England.

The longitudinal study investigates recruitment, retention and career progression in local authority child and family social work over 5 years. This is the first of 5 reports. It provides workforce information for employers and policy makers. Topics covered in this report include: •entry routes into local authority child and family social work •current employment and career history •workplace wellbeing •management, supervision and working environment •job satisfaction •career progression and future career plan

PHIDL: Python CAD layout and geometry creation for nanolithography

Computer-aided design (CAD) has become a critical element in the creation of nanopatterned structures and devices. In particular, with the increased adoption of easy-to-learn programming languages like Python there has been a significant rise in the amount of lithographic geometries generated through scripting and programming. However, there are currently unaddressed gaps in usability for open-source CAD tools -- especially those in the GDSII design space -- that prevent wider adoption by scientists and students who might otherwise benefit from scripted design. For example, constructing relations between adjacent geometries is often much more difficult than necessary -- spacing a resonator structure a few micrometers from a readout structure often requires manually-coding the placement arithmetic. While inconveniences like this can be overcome by writing custom functions, they are often significant barriers to entry for new users or those less familiar with programming. To help streamline the design process and reduce barrier to entry for scripting designs, we have developed PHIDL, an open-source GDSII-based CAD tool for Python 2 and 3

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of cardiac amyloidosis defined by mass spectrometry-based proteomics in an Australian cohort.

Cardiac amyloidosis has a very poor prognosis, but it is the nature of the involved precursor protein that ultimately dictates treatment and survival. We report the clinical characteristics and survival of 47 cardiac amyloid patients across 2 Australian centres including 39 patients evaluated for definitive amyloid subtype utilising laser microdissection and tandem mass spectrometry (LMD-MS). A quarter of patients (n=12) were classified as wild type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt), 33 patients as light or heavy chain amyloidosis (AL or AH), and 2 as hereditary mutant transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv). Greater left ventricular hypertrophy (IV septum 22 vs. 15 mm, p=0.005) and history of cardiac arrhythmia (75% vs. 31%, p=0.016) were significantly associated with ATTRwt patients compared with AL/AH patients. AL patients demonstrated significantly shorter median survival compared to ATTRwt patients (3.5 vs. 37 months, (P=0.007)). New York heart association (NYHA) class III-IV symptoms or plasma cells ≥ 10% at diagnosis, were the only independent predictors of worse survival in AL patients on multivariate analysis. In the era of novel therapies for both AL amyloid and ATTR, identification of the correct amyloid subtype is essential in making therapeutic decisions and providing accurate prognostic information to patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

A superconducting-nanowire 3-terminal electronic device

In existing superconducting electronic systems, Josephson junctions play a central role in processing and transmitting small-amplitude electrical signals. However, Josephson-junction-based devices have a number of limitations including: (1) sensitivity to magnetic fields, (2) limited gain, (3) inability to drive large impedances, and (4) difficulty in controlling the junction critical current (which depends sensitively on sub-Angstrom-scale thickness variation of the tunneling barrier). Here we present a nanowire-based superconducting electronic device, which we call the nanocryotron (nTron), that does not rely on Josephson junctions and can be patterned from a single thin film of superconducting material with conventional electron-beam lithography. The nTron is a 3-terminal, T-shaped planar device with a gain of ~20 that is capable of driving impedances of more than 100 k{\Omega}, and operates in typical ambient magnetic fields at temperatures of 4.2K. The device uses a localized, Joule-heated hotspot formed in the gate to modulate current flow in a perpendicular superconducting channel. We have characterized the nTron, matched it to a theoretical framework, and applied it both as a digital logic element in a half-adder circuit, and as a digital amplifier for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors pulses. The nTron has immediate applications in classical and quantum communications, photon sensing and astronomy, and its performance characteristics make it compatible with existing superconducting technologies. Furthermore, because the hotspot effect occurs in all known superconductors, we expect the design to be extensible to other materials, providing a path to digital logic, switching, and amplification in high-temperature superconductors

Ultrafast Electric Field-induced Phase Transition in Bulk Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 under High Intensity Terahertz Irradiation

“This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in ACS Photonics, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsphotonics.0c01559”Ultrafast polarization switching is being considered for the next generation of ferroelectric based devices. Recently, the dynamics of the field-induced transitions associated with this switching have been difficult to explore, due to technological limitations. The advent of terahertz (THz) technology has now allowed for the study of these dynamic processes on the picosecond (ps) scale. In this paper, intense terahertz (THz) pulses were used as a high-frequency electric field to investigate ultrafast switching in the relaxor ferroelectric, Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3. Transient atomic-scale responses, which were evident as changes in reflectivity, were captured by THz probing. The high energy THz pulses induce an increase in reflectivity, associated with an ultrafast field-induced phase transition from a weakly polar phase (Cc) to a strongly polar phase (R3c) within 20 ps at 200 K. This phase transition was confirmed using X-ray powder diffraction and by electrical measurements which showed a decrease in the frequency dispersion of relative permittivity at low frequencies

Quality of Life Changes Following Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation and Participation in a Mixed-Type, Moderate-intensity, Exercise Program

Summary:The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the impact of undertaking peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBST) on quality of life (QoL), and to determine the effect of participating in a mixed-type, moderate-intensity exercise program on QoL. It was also an objective to determine the relationship between peak aerobic capacity and QoL in PBST patients. QoL was assessed via the CARES questionnaire and peak aerobic capacity by a maximal graded treadmill test, pretransplant (PI), post transplant (PII) and following a 12-week intervention period (PIII). At PII, 12 patients were divided equally into a control or exercise intervention group. Undergoing a PBST was associated with a statistically but not clinically significant decline in QoL (P<0.05). Following the intervention, exercising patients demonstrated an improved QoL when compared with pretransplant ratings (P<0.01) and nonexercising transplant patients (P<0.05). Moreover, peak aerobic capacity and QoL were correlated (P<0.05). The findings demonstrated that exercise participation following oncology treatment is associated with a reduction in the number and severity of endorsed problems, which in turn leads to improvements in global, physical and psychosocial QoL. Furthermore, a relationship between fitness and QoL exists, with those experiencing higher levels of fitness also demonstrating higher QoL.Bone Marrow Transplantation (2004) 33, 553-558. doi:10.1038/sj.bmt.1704378 Published online 12 January 200

Developing a digital intervention for cancer survivors: an evidence-, theory- and person-based approach

This paper illustrates a rigorous approach to developing digital interventions using an evidence-, theory- and person-based approach. Intervention planning included a rapid scoping review which identified cancer survivors’ needs, including barriers and facilitators to intervention success. Review evidence (N=49 papers) informed the intervention’s Guiding Principles, theory-based behavioural analysis and logic model. The intervention was optimised based on feedback on a prototype intervention through interviews (N=96) with cancer survivors and focus groups with NHS staff and cancer charity workers (N=31). Interviews with cancer survivors highlighted barriers to engagement, such as concerns about physical activity worsening fatigue. Focus groups highlighted concerns about support appointment length and how to support distressed participants. Feedback informed intervention modifications, to maximise acceptability, feasibility and likelihood of behaviour change. Our systematic method for understanding user views enabled us to anticipate and address important barriers to engagement. This methodology may be useful to others developing digital interventions