To what extent has the adoption of flexible mobile working transformed staff operations within Cheshire East Council ICT strategy?

For many years Central Government has investigated ways in which to streamline Local Government Authorities (LGA), in order to provide better value services to its citizens. Following a Local Government Review (LGR) of two-tier councils, six district councils and one County Council were merged to form two unitary councils; namely Cheshire West and Chester Council and Cheshire East Council. This study investigates the extent of staff operation transformation following the adoption of flexible mobile working initiatives within the Cheshire East Council ICT Strategy. The adoption of such initiatives allows the organisation to tackle issues of accommodation, staff well-being and service delivery. To do this, the researcher uses a mixture of inductive and deductive approaches (supported by a contemporary literature review and a conceptual model), in order to investigate the research aim. Following a phenomenological philosophy, the researcher “seeks an understanding of human behaviour” (Hagyard & Keenan, 2006; Saunders et al, 2009, p. 116) to support the investigation into the extent of staff operation transformation. The data collection for this study is achieved through a research strategy of a survey approach, in which the researcher employs the use of two questionnaires distributed to two groups of respondents. Employing the methodological considerations from Chapter 3 leads the researcher to believe that the extent of staff operation transformation at this stage (year 1) is substantial. The researcher deduces this as the majority of employees adapt their work practices to suit working in a flexible, mobile manner. Staff efficiency is increased, their work-life balance is improved, and, they now have a choice of where they work from. In addition, the organisation benefits from tangible changes, such as reduced sickness absence, reduced overall travel costs, and improved use of existing office space. However, at the end of this report, in order to improve the benefits realised thus far, the researcher presents seven recommendations, to further promote the adoption of flexible mobile working within the organisation

A33 shows similar sensitivity to but is more specific than CDX2 as an immunomarker of colorectal carcinoma

Aims: CDX2 is widely used as a sensitive and specific immunomarker for colorectal carcinoma (CRC) but neither this sensitivity nor specificity is absolute. This study is the first known comparison of CDX1 and A33 against CDX2 as immunomarkers for CRC. Methods and Results: As a pilot study, whole sections of 51 cases of liver metastatic carcinoma of different origins - colorectum (n=32), breast (n=3), oesophagogastric tract (n=4), lung (n=3), pancreas (n=8), and prostate (n=1) - were immunostained with CDX1, CDX2 and A33. Compared with CDX1, A33 showed higher sensitivity as a CRC immunomarker, greater interobserver reproducibility for assessment of expression, and less background cross-reactivity. Therefore, only A33 was compared with CDX2 for a tissue microarray-based study of primary adenocarcinomas of different origin: CRC (n=55), liver deposits of metastatic CRC (n=60), breast (n=101), lung (n=40), oesophagogastric tract (n=134), ovary (n= 67), pancreas (n= 77), and prostate (n= 56). Combining the whole section and TMA cases of CRC, A33 had a sensitivity of 95.9% and CDX2 a sensitivity of 97.2%. Combining all the whole section and TMA cases of non-colorectal carcinomas, A33 showed 85.4% specificity as a marker of CRC compared to CDX2 which showed a specificity of 64.3%. The higher specificity of A33 as a colorectal carcinoma immunomarker compared with CDX2 was particularly seen amongst pancreatic and ovarian carcinomas. Further, unlike with CDX2, none of the prostatic and lung carcinomas studied showed A33 positivity. Conclusions: A33 shows similar sensitivity to but is more specific than CDX2 as an immunomarker of CRC

Low-grade regional metamorphism of paleozoic rocks in the Midland valley of Scotland

Low-grade burial metamorphism in the Midland Valley of Scotland, has been investigated with reference to the Silurian sediments and to the Carboniferous volcanics. In the Silurian sediments, facies definitive phyllosilicates are absent. Thin-section examination indicates that cementation was early and despite strong deformation, the lack of cleavage is related to the isotropic dispersal of domains during burial. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction define clay mineral assemblages which characterize the transformation of montmorillonite to illite during burial. Illite crystallinity, bo and conodont alteration, show values consistent with this transformation and are indicative of diagenetic/anchizone conditions. Metamorphism is related to Siluro-Devonian syn-sedimentary burial. Despite tentative links between the Midland Valley and the Southern Uplands during the Llandovery, the relative simplicity of the burial metamorphic sequence in the former region suggests that the Silurian trough became palaeo-geographically distinct. The Carboniferous volcanics have undergone burial metamorphism in the zeolite facies, which occurred once the bulk of the lavas had been extruded, and following burial beneath the Central and Ayrshire Basins. Alteration was dominated by hydrothermal processes and has resulted in the production of early greenstones, later burial metamorphic zones and palaeo-geothermal plumes. Seven zones have been defined upon the distribution of amygdale minerals. Thin-section examination however divides the zeolite facies in the Midland Valley into an upper analcime and a lower laumontite zone. Mineralogical assemblages are conducive with metamorphism at a) Pfluid = 2-4 kb at 200 °C and b) Pfluid = 2 kb at 350-420 °C, for the zeolite zones and the palaeo-geothermal plumes respectively. These values are compatible with burial depth estimates, with homogenization temperatures in fluid inclusions and with calcite-water fractionation temperatures. Water/rock ratios indicate that metamorphism was related to the flow of seawater and meteoric water through the volcanic sequences. Evidence for episodic boiling in fluid inclusions indicates fluid convection occurred, and was related to fracturing associated with a change from a lithostatic to a hydrostatic pressure regime. Seismic pumping was related to fracturing and to renewed magmatic activity in shallow chambers beneath the Midland Valley

Weak KAM aspects of convex Hamilton-Jacobi equations with Neumann type boundary conditions

We establish the stability under the formations of infimum and of convex combinations of subsolutions of convex Hamilton-Jacobi equations, some comparison and existence results for convex and coercive Hamilton-Jacobi equations with the Neumann type boundary condition as well as existence results for the Skorokhod problem. We define the Aubry-Mather set associated with the Neumann type boundary problem and establish some properties of the Aubry-Mather set including the existence results for the ``calibrated'' extremals for the corresponding action functional (or variational problem).Comment: 39 pages, 1 figur

Disaggregating the Relative Influence of Genetic, Environmental and Individual Factors on LCL and HDL Cholesterols and BMI for a Sample of African American (AA) Mothers and Daughters

There are many reports about the associations between blood lipids, body mass index (BMI) and dietary cholesterol intakes both within the individual and between related individuals. The purpose of this descriptive research project was to investigate the relationships between LDL and HDL cholesterols, body mass index and dietary cholesterol intakes for a sample of African American (AA) mothers and their daughters and to attempt to separate the contribution of genetic versus environmental factors. Mother and daughter participants (n =42 and 66, respectively) were 12-14-hours fasted when blood samples were drawn, heights and weights measured, and 24 hour food recalls completed

Nanoparticle-Loaded Hydrogel for the Light-Activated Release and Photothermal Enhancement of Antimicrobial Peptides

Rising concerns over multidrug resistant bacteria have necessitated an expansion to the current antimicrobial arsenal and forced the development of novel delivery strategies that enhance the efficacy of existing treatments. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a promising antibiotic alternative that physically disrupts the membrane of bacteria resulting in rapid bactericidal activity, however clinical translation of AMPs has been hindered by their susceptibility to protease degradation. Through the co-loading of liposomes encapsulating a model AMP, IRIKIRIK-CONH2 (IK8), and gold nanorods (AuNRs) into a poly(ethylene) glycol (PEG) hydrogel we have demonstrated the ability to protect encapsulated materials from proteolysis and provide the first instance of triggered release of AMPs. Laser irradiation at 860 nm, at 2.1 W cm-2, for 10 mins led to the photothermal triggered release of IK8, resulting in bactericidal activity against Gram-negative Pseudonomas aeruginosa and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus. Furthermore, by increasing the laser intensity to 2.4 W cm-2 we have shown the thermal enhancement of AMP activity. The photothermal triggered release, and enhancement of AMP efficacy, was demonstrated to treat two rounds of fresh S. aureus, indicating the therapeutic gel has the potential for multiple rounds of treatment. Taken together, this novel therapeutic hydrogel system demonstrates stimuli-responsive release of AMPs with photothermal enhanced antimicrobial efficacy in order to treat pathogenic bacteria

Non-Milk Extrinsic Sugars Intake and Food and Nutrient Consumption Patterns among Adolescents in the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey, Years 2008–16

The revised guidelines from the Department of Health (DoH) in the UK state that mean population intakes of free sugars should be below 5% of the total energy (TE) consumption of the British population. However, very few studies have assessed the impact of this recommendation on diet quality in the UK. We explored the dietary patterns and intakes of micronutrients of British adolescents with low intakes of non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) (similar to free sugars but not equal, with slight differences in the categorisation of fruit sugars from dried, stewed or canned fruit and smoothies), using the National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme, years 1–8 (NDNS RP). The sample included 2587 adolescents aged 11–18 years. Four percent (112) of adolescents reported consuming 5% or lower NMES as a proportion of TE. The odds of being categorised as a low-sugar consumer in adolescents (≤5% TE from NMES) were significantly lower with higher intakes of sweetened drinks, fruit juice, cakes, biscuits, sugar and sweet spreads, chocolate confectionery and sugar confectionery, and significantly higher with higher intakes of pasta and rice, wholemeal and brown bread, and fish. Across the five categories of NMES intakes, micronutrient intakes were lowest for those consuming either ≤5% TE or more than 20% TE from NMES, and optimal for those consuming between 10–15% of energy from NMES. These findings confirm the difficulties of meeting the free sugars recommended intake for adolescents. Care needs to be taken to ensure that an adequate consumption of micronutrients is achieved in those adhering to the revised guidelines on free sugars