Needing a new programme : why is union membership so low among software workers?

In terms of employee characteristics, software workers represent a particularly fascinating and important group of workers to explore in terms of their behaviour towards unions. They represent an expanding cohort of so-called knowledge workers in the UK and other countries, many possessing considerable latent power through their proximity to and involvement with electronic means of production and accumulation. An early study of technical workers' unionism by Smith (1987) provides evidence that computer personnel possess at least some of Batstone et al's (1978) four potential sources of industrial power, namely: skill scarcity, strategic position, immediate impact on production, and potential to create uncertainty (Smith 1987: 104). Other writers, however, have hinted that software workers are no less immune to management pressures to routinise and Taylorise their work than are any other group of skilled workers (Kraft and Dubnoff 1986; Beirne et al 1998). Software workers also enjoy familiarity with information technology, an increasingly effective tool in organising union membership both in the USA (Fiorito et al 2002) and the UK (Diamond and Freeman 2002)

Berg adder (Bitis atropos): An unusual case of acute poisoning

A 5-year-old boy presented to hospital with mild local cytotoxic and severe neurotoxic symptoms. The neurotoxic symptoms included ptosis, fixed dilated pupils and flaccid paralysis with respiratory failure. Mild hyponatraemia was also a clinical feature. After various unsuccessful treatment options were followed, the Tygerberg Poison Information Centre was contacted and a diagnosis of berg adder bite was made. Berg adder bites are uncommon and therefore not usually considered in the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with an unexplained clinical picture. A timeous poison information helpline consultation is recommended in this situation

High pressure diamond-like liquid carbon

We report density-functional based molecular dynamics simulations, that show that, with increasing pressure, liquid carbon undergoes a gradual transformation from a liquid with local three-fold coordination to a 'diamond-like' liquid. We demonstrate that this unusual structural change is well reproduced by an empirical bond order potential with isotropic long range interactions, supplemented by torsional terms. In contrast, state-of-the-art short-range bond-order potentials do not reproduce this diamond structure. This suggests that a correct description of long-range interactions is crucial for a unified description of the solid and liquid phases of carbon.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Quantum Conductance in Silver Nanowires: correlation between atomic structure and transport properties

We have analyzed the atomic arrangements and quantum conductance of silver nanowires generated by mechanical elongation. The surface properties of Ag induce unexpected structural properties, as for example, predominance of high aspect ratio rod-like wires. The structural behavior was used to understand the Ag quantum conductance data and the proposed correlation was confirmed by means of theoretical calculations. These results emphasize that the conductance of metal point contacts is determined by the preferred atomic structures and, that atomistic descriptions are essential to interpret the quantum transport behavior of metal nanostructures.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Meat, fish, and ovarian cancer risk: Results from 2 Australian case-control studies, a systematic review, and meta-analysis

Background: Variation in meat and fish intakes has been associated with a risk of some cancers, but evidence for ovarian cancer is limited and inconsistent. Objective: We examined the association between intakes of total meat, red meat, processed meat, poultry, and fish and ovarian cancer risk. Design: Data came from 2 Australian population-based case-control studies conducted 10 y apart. Analyses included a total of 2049 cases and 2191 control subjects. We obtained dietary information via a food-frequency questionnaire. We estimated multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for each study by using logistic regression and combined results of the 2 studies by using random-effects models. We also assembled the published evidence in a systematic review and meta-analysis. Results: Although there was no association between total or red meat intake and ovarian cancer risk, women with the highest intake of processed meat had a significantly increased risk of ovarian cancer in the 2 case-control studies (combined OR: 1.18; 95 CI: 1.15, 1.21) and the meta-analysis 7 studies; pooled relative risk (RR): 1.20; 95% CI: 1.07, 1.34. In contrast, a frequent intake of poultry was associated with borderline significant reductions in risk in the 2 case-control studies (combined OR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.67, 1.03) and the meta-analysis including 7 additional studies (pooled RR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.79, 1.01). High fish intake was associated with a significantly reduced risk in the 2 case-control studies (combined OR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.94) and a smaller borderline significant reduction in the meta-analysis (6 additional studies; pooled RR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.68, 1.03). Conclusion: Our results suggest that low consumption of processed meat and higher consumption of poultry and fish may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer. © 2010 American Society for Nutrition

Genetic and genomic analysis of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in older adults reveals a distinct profile of abnormalities: analysis of 210 patients from the UKALL14 and UKALL60+ clinical trials

Despite being predominantly a childhood disease, the incidence of ALL has a second peak in adults aged 60 years and over. These older adults fare extremely poorly with existing treatment strategies and very few studies have undertaken a comprehensive genetic and genomic characterisation to improve prognosis in this age group. We performed cytogenetic, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array and next generation sequencing (NGS) analyses on samples from 210 patients aged ≥60 years from the UKALL14 and UKALL60+ clinical trials. BCR-ABL1 positive disease was present in 26% (55/210) of patients, followed by low hypodiploidy/near triploidy in 13% (28/210). Cytogenetically cryptic rearrangements in CRLF2, ZNF384 and MEF2D were detected in 5%, 1% and 1% of patients respectively. Copy number abnormalities were common and deletions in ALL driver genes were seen in 77% of cases. IKZF1 deletion was present in 51% (40/78) of samples tested and the IKZF1plus profile identified in over a third (28/77) of BCP-ALL cases. The genetic good risk abnormalities high hyperdiploidy (n=2), ETV6-RUNX1 (no cases) and ERG deletion (no cases) were exceptionally rare in this cohort. RAS pathway mutations were seen in 17% (4/23) of screened samples. KDM6A abnormalities, including biallelic deletions, were discovered in 5% (4/78) of SNP array and 9% (2/23) of NGS samples, and represent a novel, potentially therapeutically actionable lesions using EZH2 inhibitors. Outcome remained poor with five-year event-free (EFS) and overall survival (OS) rates of 17% and 24% respectively across the cohort indicating a need for novel therapeutic strategies

LENDA, a Low Energy Neutron Detector Array for experiments with radioactive beams in inverse kinematics

The Low Energy Neutron Detector Array (LENDA) is a neutron time-of-flight (TOF) spectrometer developed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab- oratory (NSCL) for use in inverse kinematics experiments with rare isotope beams. Its design has been motivated by the need to study the spin-isospin response of unstable nuclei using (p, n) charge-exchange reactions at intermediate energies (> 100 MeV/u). It can be used, however, for any reaction study that involves emission of low energy neutrons (150 keV - 10 MeV). The array consists of 24 plastic scintillator bars and is capable of registering the recoiling neutron energy and angle with high detection efficiency. The neutron energy is determined by the time-of-flight technique, while the position of interaction is deduced using the timing and energy information from the two photomultipliers of each bar. A simple test setup utilizing radioactive sources has been used to characterize the array. Results of test measurements are compared with simulations. A neutron energy threshold of < 150 keV, an intrinsic time (position) resolution of \sim 400 ps (\sim 6 cm) and an efficiency > 20 % for neutrons below 4 MeV have been obtained.Comment: Version accepted for publication in Nucl. Instr. Methods A. Revised text, 2 new figures added (one in section 4 and one in section 7

In-vivo T-cell depleted reduced-intensity conditioned allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in first remission: results from the prospective, single-arm evaluation of the UKALL14 trial

Background The outcome of chemotherapy in patients older than 40 years with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is poor and myeloablative allogeneic haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) has a high transplant-related mortality (TRM) in this age cohort. The aim of this study was to assess the activity and safety of reduced-intensity conditioned allogeneic HSCT in this patient population. Methods This was a single-arm, prospective study within the UKALL14 trial done in 46 centres in the UK, which recruited patients to the transplantation substudy. Participants in UKALL14 had B-cell or T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, were aged 25–65 years (BCR-ABL1-negative) or 18–65 years (BCR-ABL1-positive), and for this subcohort had a fit, matched sibling donor or an 8 out of 8 allelic matched unrelated donor (HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA-C, and HLA-DR). On June 20, 2014, the protocol was amended to allow 7 out of 8 matched unrelated donors if the patient had high risk cytogenetics or was minimal residual disease (MRD)-positive after the second induction course. Patients were given fludarabine, melphalan, and alemtuzumab (FMA; intravenous fludarabine 30 mg/m2 on days –6 to –2, melphalan 140 mg/m2 on day –2, and alemtuzumab 30 mg on day –1 [sibling donor] and days –2 and –1 [unrelated donor]) before allogeneic HSCT (aged ≥41 years patient pathway). Donor lymphocyte infusions were given from 6 months for mixed chimerism or MRD. The primary endpoint was event-free survival and secondary and transplantation-specific endpoints included overall survival, relapse incidence, TRM, and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01085617. Findings From Feb 22, 2011, to July 26, 2018, 249 patients (236 aged ≥41 years and 13 younger than 41 years) considered unfit for a myeloablative allograft received an FMA reduced-intensity conditioned HSCT. 138 (55%) patients were male and 111 (45%) were female. 88 (35%) participants received transplantations from a sibling donor and 160 (64%) received transplantations from unrelated donors. 211 (85%) participants had B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. High-risk cytogenetics were present in 43 (22%) and another 63 (25%) participants were BCR-ABL1-positive. At median follow-up of 49 months (IQR 36–70), 4-year event-free survival was 46·8% (95% CI 40·1–53·2) and 4-year overall survival was 54·8% (48·0–61·2). 4-year cumulative incidence of relapse was 33·6% (27·9–40·2) and 4-year TRM was 19·6% (15·1–25·3). 27 (56%) of 48 patients with TRM had infection as the named cause of death. Seven (15%) of 48 patients had fungal infections, 13 (27%) patients had bacterial infections (six gram-negative), and 11 (23%) had viral infections (three cytomegalovirus and two Epstein-Barr virus). Acute GVHD grade 2–4 occurred in 29 (12%) of 247 patients and grade 3–4 occurred in 12 (5%) patients. Chronic GVHD incidence was 84 (37%) of 228 patients (50 [22%] had extensive chronic GVHD). 49 (30%) of 162 patients had detectable end-of-induction MRD, which portended worse outcomes with event-free survival (HR 2·40 [95% CI 1·46–3·93]) and time-to-relapse (HR 2·41 [1·29–4·48]). Interpretation FMA reduced-intensity conditioned allogeneic HSCT in older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in first complete remission provided good disease control with moderate GVHD, resulting in better-than-expected event-free survival and overall survival in this high-risk population. Strategies to reduce infection-related TRM will further improve outcomes. Funding Cancer Research UK

Measurement of the Bs0→J/ψKS0B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0 branching fraction

The $B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ branching fraction is measured in a data sample corresponding to 0.41$fb^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector at the LHC. This channel is sensitive to the penguin contributions affecting the sin2$\beta$ measurement from $B^0\to J/\psi K_S^0$ The time-integrated branching fraction is measured to be $BF(B_s^0\to J/\psi K_S^0)=(1.83\pm0.28)\times10^{-5}$. This is the most precise measurement to date

Model-independent search for CP violation in D0→K−K+π−π+ and D0→π−π+π+π− decays

A search for CP violation in the phase-space structures of D0 and View the MathML source decays to the final states K−K+π−π+ and π−π+π+π− is presented. The search is carried out with a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1 collected in 2011 by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV. For the K−K+π−π+ final state, the four-body phase space is divided into 32 bins, each bin with approximately 1800 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 9.1%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 6.5% observed. The phase space of the π−π+π+π− final state is partitioned into 128 bins, each bin with approximately 2500 decays. The p-value under the hypothesis of no CP violation is 41%, and in no bin is a CP asymmetry greater than 5.5% observed. All results are consistent with the hypothesis of no CP violation at the current sensitivity