An initial look at non-response and attrition in Understanding Society

This paper describes the extent and correlates of non-response at waves 1 and 2 of Understanding Society. We examine both household-level and individual-level non-response at wave 1. For wave 2, we examine attrition relative to wave 1 both in terms of enumerated persons and in terms of adults responding to the individual interview. We analyse separately the general population sample and the ethnic minority boost sample. We also describe attrition for the BHPS sample between wave 18 of the BHPS and wave 2 of Understanding Society, when that sample was incorporated into Understanding Society

The promoter of the human interleukin-2 gene contains two octamer-binding sites and is partially activated by the expression of Oct-2

The gene encoding interleukin-2 (IL-2) contains a sequence 52 to 326 nucleotides upstream of its transcriptional initiation site that promotes transcription in T cells that have been activated by costimulation with tetradecanoyl phorbol myristyl acetate (TPA) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA). We found that the ubiquitous transcription factor, Oct-1, bound to two previously identified motifs within the human IL-2 enhancer, centered at nucleotides -74 and -251. Each site in the IL-2 enhancer that bound Oct-1 in vitro was also required to achieve a maximal transcriptional response to TPA plus PHA in vivo. Point mutations within either the proximal or distal octamer sequences reduced the response of the enhancer to activation by 54 and 34%, respectively. Because the murine T-cell line EL4 constitutively expresses Oct-2 and requires only TPA to induce transcription of the IL-2 gene, the effect of Oct-2 expression on activation of the IL-2 promoter in Jurkat T cells was determined. Expression of Oct-2 potentiated transcription 13-fold in response to TPA plus PHA and permitted the enhancer to respond to the single stimulus of TPA. Therefore, both the signal requirements and the magnitude of the transcription response of the IL-2 promoter can be modulated by Oct-2

Electrochemiluminescent detection of methamphetamine and amphetamine

Direct detection of amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) including methylamphetamine (MA) in street samples and biological matrices without the need for pretreatment or extraction is a great challenge for forensic drug analysis. Electrochemical techniques, such as electrochemiluminescence (ECL), are promising tools for this area of analysis. This contribution focuses on the electrochemical and photochemical properties of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ nafion composite films and their subsequent use for the detection of ATS in particular MA. Under optimised conditions, the response linearly increased with the concentration over the concentration range 50 pM <[MA]< 1 mM while an equivalent dynamic range was obtained for amphetamine with a correlation coefficient of 0.9903 and 0.9948 respectively. The ECL signal was monitored at ~620 nm, representing the λmax for the [Ru(bpy)3]2+ nafion composite films. This wavelength is shifted by approximately 15 nm compared to the photoexcited λmax for the same system. The modified films were formed by direct interaction with the electrode surface without the need for surface modification or chain linkers. This is a major advantage for the fabrication of any sensor as it reduces the synthesis times resulting in more economically and cheaper production costs. This technique is simple, rapid, selective and sensitive, and shows potential for the high-throughput quantitation of ATS as well as possibilities for adaptation with other techniques such as FIA or LC systems

Understanding the information experiences of parents involved in negotiating post-separation parenting arrangements

The paper presents findings from a study into the information experiences of people needing to make post-separation parenting arrangements. Data was collected from 20 participants, through in-depth, semi-structured, telephone interviews. Thematic analysis identified five major themes: Following, Immersion, Interpersonal, History and Context which depict the information experiences of the participants. The findings can be used as an evidence base to inform the design and delivery of support and services provided by government agencies and other community groups supporting the legal information needs of individuals and families. The work extends current understandings of information experience as an object of study in the information science discipline

Positron emission tomography imaging of endometrial cancer using engineered anti-EMP2 antibody fragments.

PurposeAs imaging of the cell surface tetraspan protein epithelial membrane protein-2 (EMP2) expression in malignant tumors may provide important prognostic and predictive diagnostic information, the goal of this study is to determine if antibody fragments to EMP2 may be useful for imaging EMP2 positive tumors.ProceduresThe normal tissue distribution of EMP2 protein expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and found to be discretely expressed in both mouse and human tissues. To detect EMP2 in tumors, a recombinant human anti-EMP2 minibody (scFv-hinge-C(H)3 dimer; 80&nbsp;kDa) was designed to recognize a common epitope in mice and humans and characterized. In human tumor cell lines, the antibody binding induced EMP2 internalization and degradation, prompting the need for a residualizing imaging strategy. Following conjugation to DOTA (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N',N'″-tetraacetic acid), the minibody was radiolabeled with (64)Cu (t (1/2) = 12.7&nbsp;h) and evaluated in mice as a positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent for human EMP2-expressing endometrial tumor xenografts.ResultsThe residualizing agent, (64)Cu-DOTA anti-EMP2 minibody, achieved high uptake in endometrial cancer xenografts overexpressing EMP2 (10.2 ± 2.6, percent injected dose per gram (%ID/g) ± SD) with moderate uptake in wild-type HEC1A tumors (6.0 ± 0.1). In both cases, precise tumor delineation was observed from the PET images. In contrast, low uptake was observed with anti-EMP2 minibodies in EMP2-negative tumors (1.9 ± 0.5).ConclusionsThis new immune-PET agent may be useful for preclinical assessment of anti-EMP2 targeting in vivo. It may also have value for imaging of tumor localization and therapeutic response in patients with EMP2-positive malignancies

Health, an ageing labour force, and the economy: does health moderate the relationship between population age-structure and economic growth?

Research often suggests that population ageing will be detrimental for the economy due to increased labour market exits and lost productivity, however the role of population health and disability at older ages is not well established. We estimate the relationship between the size of the older working age population and economic growth across 180 countries from 1990 to 2017 to explore whether a healthy older working age population, as measured by age-specific Years Lived with Disability (YLDs), can moderate the relationship between an ageing labour force and real per capita GDP growth. Using country and year fixed effects models, we find that although an increase in the 55–69 year old share of the total population is associated with a reduction in real per capita GDP growth, the decline in economic growth is moderated if the population at that age is in good health. To demonstrate the magnitude of effects, we present model predicted real per capita GDP growth for a selection of countries from 2020 through 2100 comparing the 2017 country-specific baseline YLD rate to a simulated 5% improvement in YLDs. Our findings demonstrate that economic slowdowns attributable to population ageing are avoidable through policy interventions supporting healthy and active ageing

Outsourcing labour to the cloud

Various forms of open sourcing to the online population are establishing themselves as cheap, effective methods of getting work done. These have revolutionised the traditional methods for innovation and have contributed to the enrichment of the concept of 'open innovation'. To date, the literature concerning this emerging topic has been spread across a diverse number of media, disciplines and academic journals. This paper attempts for the first time to survey the emerging phenomenon of open outsourcing of work to the internet using 'cloud computing'. The paper describes the volunteer origins and recent commercialisation of this business service. It then surveys the current platforms, applications and academic literature. Based on this, a generic classification for crowdsourcing tasks and a number of performance metrics are proposed. After discussing strengths and limitations, the paper concludes with an agenda for academic research in this new area

FGD By-Products as an Agronomic Lime Substitute: A Case Study

The following analysis is based upon the potential use of dry FGO byproduct as an agricultural lime substitute. In order to make this case study comparison, representative farms are developed in two regions of Ohio, and depict average agricultural liming practices for these regions. These geographic regions, northwest and northeast quadrants of the state, are expected to be representative of all farms in the specified region. Thus, represent the average farm operation in that region. These two geographic regions account for 60 percent of the agricultural lime usage in Ohio: 34 percent of Ohio agricultural lime is used in the northwestern region, and 26 percent in the northeastern region. These regions also represent extremes in market conditions for agricultural lime and the FGO by-product: in contrast to the northeast region, the northwest region tends to have higher soil pH, lower agricultural lime application rates, closer distances to limestone quarries, and farther distances to potential FGD sources. Given these characteristics, the northwest region would appear to present weaker market opportunities for the dry FGD by-product than would the northeastern region. This preliminary comparison of representative farms points to potential problems in marketing dry FGD by-products in agricultural markets. First, the potential market for dry FGD by-products in agriculture is limited since it is to serve as a substitute for agricultural lime. While agricultural lime is used widely, demand for the product is unlikely to grow dramatically in the future. Second, both agricultural lime and dry FGD by-product are bulky materials, and transportation is the most significant component of the total cost. Since total neutralizing power (TNP) of the dry FGO by-product is less than that of agricultural lime, use of the dry FGD by-product requires relatively more bulk or quantity to be hauled and spread. Third, dry FGD byproduct's use on agricultural land may be feasible on cropland near its source (electric power plants); however, it may not be economically competitive with agricultural lime on cropland more distant from potential source(s) this byproduct

The long-term effectiveness of refusal conversion procedures on longitudinal surveys

Survey organisations often attempt to convert sample members who refuse to take part in a survey. Persuasive techniques are used in an effort to get the refusers to change their mind and agree to an interview. This is done in order to improve response rate and, possibly, to reduce non-response bias. However, refusal conversion attempts are expensive and must be justified. Previous studies of the effects of refusal conversion attempts are few and have been restricted to cross-sectional surveys. The criteria for success of a refusal conversion attempt are different in the case of a longitudinal survey, where for many purposes the researcher requires complete data over multiple waves. This paper uses data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) from 1994 to 2002 to assess the long term effectiveness of refusal conversion procedures in terms of sample sizes, sample composition and data quality