Preliminary report on the CTS transient event counter performance through the 1976 spring eclipse season

The transient event counter (TEC), senses and counts transients having a voltage rise of greater than five volts in three separate wire harnesses: the attitude control harness, the solar array instrumentation harness and the solar array power harness. The operational characteristics of TEC are defined and the preliminary results obtained through the first 90 days of operation including the spring 1976 eclipse season are presented. The results show that the Communications Technology Satellite was charged to the point where discharges occurred. The discharge induced transients did not cause any anomalous events in spacecraft operation. The data indicate that discharges can occur at any time during the day without preference to any local time quadrant. The number of discharges occurring in the one second sample interval are greater than anticipated. The compilation and review of the data is continuing

Children’s experience of domestic abuse and criminality: A literature review

This report looks at children’s experiences of domestic abuse and their criminality, including childhood criminal exploitation, serious youth violence and offending behaviour

Students Creating Change

The article presents Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) experience of introducing and embedding an innovative whole-University student engagement initiative into a small, traditional, University. The article describes the development of an institutional wide ‘students creating change’ scheme where staff and students were coached and supported to research and create change to the learning opportunities and experiences for students. The scheme also includes the development of a ‘students creating change’ framework, designed to identify and embed institutional enhancement in student representation, ensure that the Learning, Teaching, and Assessment Strategy is meeting the needs of students, and embed student engagement as a key part of the student experience. The article highlights the challenges, benefits, lessons learned and approaches to gaining the support and participation of the Students’ Union, student body, senior University leaders and academic and professional services staff in the process

Are vitiligo treatments cost-effective? A systematic review

Vitiligo is characterised by well demarcated, cutaneous, macular depigmentation, with worldwide prevalence estimated to be between 0.2-1.8% [1]. Vitiligo treatments aim to encourage re-pigmentation and include topical corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors and NB-UVB phototherapy. Camouflage can also be prescribed to help mask the appearance of vitiligo, although this is frequently only prescribed for the face

Lower limb cellulitis: low diagnostic accuracy and underdiagnosis of risk factors

Accurate diagnosis and recognition of predisposing factors has been shown to be challenging in lower limb cellulitis. Assessment of 1746 consecutive cellulitis patients presenting to a UK university hospital showed increasing overdiagnosis with only 31.9% of referred patients with confirmed lower-limb cellulitis between 2015-2018. Recognition of at least one predisposing factor increased from 61% to 89% following introduction of more specific screening questions. This identified a need for better primary care dermatology education and the benefit of a proforma with specific screening questions for reversible predisposing factors for lower limb cellulitis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Beneficial effect of ustekinumab in familial pityriasis rubra pilaris with a new missense mutation in CARD14

Pityriasis rubra pilaris (PRP) represents a group of rare chronic inflammatory skin disorders in which ~1 in 20 affected individuals show autosomal dominant inheritance. In such cases, there may be gain-of-function mutations in CARD14, encoding caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 14 (CARD14) that activates the non-canonical nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, thereby promoting cutaneous inflammation. Here, we report a mother and son with PRP due to a new missense mutation in CARD14 and describe the beneficial clinical effects of ustekinumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukins-12 and -23, in both subjects. A 49 year-old female and her 20 year-old son had lifelong, generalised, patchy erythematous scale with a few islands of sparing, as well as minor nail ridging and mild palmoplantar keratoderma, features consistent with generalised PRP. Topical steroids, phototherapy and oral retinoids proved ineffective therapies. Following informed consent, Sanger sequencing of CARD14 in both individuals revealed a new heterozygous single nucleotide transversion in exon 16, c.356T>G, resulting in the missense mutation, p.Met119Arg. Ustekinumab, at a dose of 45mg every 12 weeks, brought about a significant physical and emotional improvement in both the mother and son within a few days of the initial dose, which was sustained on maintenance dosing. This report highlights the therapeutic potential of biologics that downregulate NF-kB signalling in familial PRP with mutations in CARD14. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Light-emitting poly(dendrimers)

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) have great potential for displays and lighting applications. For large area displays the ideal materials would be both phosphorescent and solution processible. These requirements mean that the materials need to be able to be patterned and the most advanced method for forming pixelated displays is inkjet printing. Light-emitting phosphorescent dendrimers have given high efficiency monochrome displays with the emitting layer deposited by spin-coating. However, the viscosity of the dendrimer solutions is insufficient for inkjet printing. We report the development of a new class of light-emitting materials, namely poly(dendrimers) in which a green emissive phosphorescent dendrimer is attached to a poly(styrene) backbone. Free radical polymerization of a dendrimer-styrene monomer gave a poly(dendrimer) with a weight average molecular weight of 24000 and a polydispersity of 3.6. A dilute Solution of the dendrimer had a viscosity 15% higher than the neat solvent. Comparison of the photophysical studies of the poly(dendrimer) versus a model monomer dendrimer showed that the PL spectrum was broader and red-shifted, and the PL quantum yield around 50% lower. This was attributed to intermolecular interactions of the emissive dendrimers, which are held closely together oil the polymer backbone

Life-Cycle Consumption Patterns at Older Ages in the United States and the United Kingdom: Can Medical Expenditures Explain the Difference?

This paper documents significantly steeper declines in nondurable expenditures at older ages in the United Kingdom compared to the United States, in spite of income paths being similar. Several possible causes are explored, including different employment paths, housing ownership and expenses, levels and paths of health status, number of household members, and out-of-pocket medical expenditures. Among all the potential explanations considered, those relating to health care—differences in levels and age paths in medical expenses and medical expenditure risk—can fully account for the steeper declines in nondurable consumption in the United Kingdom compared to the United States

Indicators of relative completeness of the glacial record of the Port Askaig Formation, Garvellach Islands, Scotland

The Port Askaig Formation (PAF) is a diamictite-bearing succession in the Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland that provides an excellent archive of a Cryogenian glaciation in the Garvellach Islands and Islay, Argyll. The formation is ∼1100 m thick, comprises 5 members and includes 47 diamictite beds, interbedded with siltstones, dolostones and sandstones. Here we document seven features of the PAF that indicate its relative stratigraphic completeness. There are gradual, progressive changes up-section in the lithologies of the diamictites, their interbeds, and clast lithologies. The sharp basal surfaces of the diamictites each show the same, repeated pattern of environmental change, from non-glacial to glacial. Many of the top surfaces of the diamictites show evidence of periglacial conditions. The succession in the PAF records a total of 76 climatically-related stratigraphic episodes: 28 glacial episodes, 25 periglacial episodes and 23 non-glacial episodes. Parts of Member 1 (Diamictites 1–12 and Diamictites 16–18) and Member 2 (Diamictite 31 to the base of Member 3) are most compete on the east coast of Garbh Eileach. The PAF in the Garvellach Islands occurs within a succession that is several kilometres thick, as newly revealed by sea-floor mapping. Compared with other Cryogenian and Phanerozoic glacial successions, the PAF is exceptional in its combination of formation thickness, the number of climatically-related stratigraphic episodes, and the considerable thickness of its host supergroup. Furthermore, these indicators of relative stratigraphic completeness provide evidence that the base of the PAF on the east coast of Garbh Eileach is a succession without a major break in deposition, supporting the account of the strata at and below the base of the PAF in the companion article by Fairchild et al. (2018)