Controls of karst development

Many variables other than the carbonate and hydrocarbonate dissolution of limestone contribute to the development of karst landscapes. Atmospheric CO, previously thought to be the most important factor in karst evolution, has recently been relegated to a much less significant role. Biologic processes (bacterial decay…) and organic acids (humic…) have been shown to be as effective as any agents in promoting karstification. Small amounts of MgCO in a limestone greatly inhibit dissolution, yet other contaminants such as iron oxide, clay minerals, and silica seem to have little effect. The disproportionately high occurrence of karst in Mesozoic rocks maybe due to a combination of their high strength from compaction with time and high degree of "secondary permeability" caused by tectonic stresses. In general, a pure, massive, holocrystalline limestone with a high degree of jointing is considered favorable for the development of karst.No embarg

Mechanism of thermal decomposition of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) from a review of decomposition studies

A review of the literature on the flammability and decomposition of poly(oxy-1,4-phenyleneoxy-1,4-phenylenecarbonyl-1,4-phenylene) (PEEK) is presented. This paper provides an overview of the flammability of PEEK and its decomposition mechanisms. Based on this literature, mechanisms have been suggested which attempt to explain the products formed at each stage of PEEK decomposition and indicate the intermediates which should be formed at each of these stages

Automated Initiative Compliance Platform

The present disclosure describes computer-implemented systems and methods for automatically detecting non-compliant initiatives by monitoring the system and displaying non-compliant initiatives in a dashboard that shows a user the approvals that are needed for the initiative to be compliant or alerting a user that the initiative is non-compliant. A non-compliant initiative may then be automatically paused to prevent the non-compliant initiative from launching

Prospectus, January 22, 1976

P/C LONG AWAITED GYM OPENS: COBRAS OCCUPY NEW HOME - THE PIT; But I\u27m too old to be carded. ; Sorry Folks!!; Stu-Go Ruling May Ax Hopefuls; Forum: First Ike…, …then Mike; Editorial; Letters; Library alarm installed, system stops sneaks; P/C Offers Animal Care; Stu-Go election to be held in February; Vets Verify Hours; The Award Letter; Rotary Club Sponsors Tech Training Award; Football Decision Deferred by Board of Trustees; Classified; Women\u27s Programs Offer Variety; SIU, U of I designate Guest days; Forum: School\u27s Identity Is Issue; Talent Show Planned; P/C Women Cagers Open Season Tonight; Baseball Starts; Bouncing Bob\u27s Basketball Bonanza; Cobras dump Illini JV\u27s 84-75: Winners at last!; Cobra\u27s Corner; What\u27s New? Lakers Win Again, 73-55https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1976/1024/thumbnail.jp

Blurring and Bridging: The Role of Volunteers in Dementia Care within Homes and Communities

Policy makers across the political spectrum have extolled the virtues of volunteering in achieving social policy aims. Yet little is known about the role that volunteering plays in addressing one of the significant challenges of an ageing population: the provision of care and support to people with dementia. We combine organisational survey data, secondary social survey data, and in-depth interviews with people with dementia, family carers and volunteers in order to better understand the context, role and challenges in which volunteers support people with dementia. Social policies connecting volunteering and dementia care in homes and communities often remain separate and disconnected and our paper draws on the concept of policy ‘assemblages’ to suggest that dementia care is a dynamic mixture of formal and informal volunteering activities that bridge and blur traditional policy boundaries. Linking home and community environments is a key motivation, benefit and outcome for volunteers, carers and those living with dementia. The paper calls to widen the definition and investigation of volunteering in social policy to include and support informal volunteering activity

Using technology to promote social connectedness: Insights from the T&Scon project

Loneliness and social isolation can affect anyone, with policymakers recognising the impact of isolation on individual wellbeing and public health. In 2018 the Scottish Government set out its approach to tackling social isolation in A Connected Scotland, a national strategy to achieve a Scotland “where individuals and communities are more connected, and everyone has the opportunity to develop meaningful relationships regardless of age, stage, circumstances, or identity.” A priority of the strategy is to create opportunities for people to connect, with a specific commitment to work with older age groups to “understand how digital technology can add value to their lives in a way that is meaningful”, informing wider work to deliver the Scottish Government’s Digital Strategy for Scotland. The Technology and Social Connectedness (T&Scon) project explored the potential of technology to support social connectedness for adults living in Scotland, producing a toolkit to provide guidance for individuals and organisations on the use of digital technology in building and maintaining social connections. This briefing paper, drawing on the project’s key findings and recommendations, provides a summary of key information for policymakers and practitioners in Scotland, and further afield. Its findings will be of particular interest to those who are developing new ways of keeping in touch, as the risk of social isolation becomes more pronounced in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. Key findings A wide range of UK and international technology-based and technology-enabled services exist, designed to support social connectedness, targeted at different adult age user groups. Most technologies used in this way are intended for people living at home although there are technologies in use and in development for the care home sector. Data from the Healthy Ageing in Scotland (HAGIS) study revealed patterns of social connectedness among people over the age of 50 living across Scotland. Patterns of technology use across different groups suggest that those who are least socially connected may also be those least likely to utilise technology to connect with others. Careful evaluation of the target user group is an important factor in the successful adoption of technology-based solutions, breaking down assumptions about who uses technology and who doesn’t, and understanding the risks and opportunities of using technology for this purpose.Briefing based on: T&SCon: Technology and Social Connectedness, Final Report, available online at http://www.tec.sco

Discounting the Recommendations of the Second Panel on Cost-Effectiveness in Health and Medicine

Twenty years ago, the "Panel on Cost-effectiveness in Health and Medicine" published a landmark text setting out appropriate methods for conducting cost-effectiveness analyses of health technologies. In the two decades since, the methods used for economic evaluations have advanced substantially. Recently, a "second panel" (hereafter "the panel") was convened to update the text and its recommendations were published in November 2016. The purpose of this paper is to critique the panel's updated guidance regarding the discounting of costs and health effects. The advances in discounting methodology since the first panel include greater theoretical clarity regarding the specification of discount rates, how these rates vary with the analytical perspective chosen, and whether the healthcare budget is constrained. More specifically, there has been an important resolution of the debate regarding the conditions under which differential discounting of costs and health effects is appropriate. We show that the panel's recommendations are inconsistent with this recent literature. Importantly, the panel's departures from previously published findings do not arise from an alternative interpretation of theory; rather, we demonstrate that this is due to fundamental errors in methodology and logic. The panel also failed to conduct a formal review of relevant empirical evidence. We provide a number of suggestions for how the panel's recommendations could be improved in future.Access provided by IREL Consortium c/o Maynooth University The Library Maynooth Universit

NICE's Discounting Review: Clear Thinking on Rational Revision Meets Obstacle of Industrial Interests

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recently published a review of discounting practice and theory as part of a consultation on its current methods guidelines. The review examines the case for revision or retention of current methods. The changes considered include eliminating favourable rates in certain special cases and the reduction of the base-case rate for costs and health effects from 3.5 to 1.5%. The review also notes the potential need to reduce the cost-effectiveness threshold to accommodate a discount rate reduction, explaining that an agreement between the UK government and the pharmaceutical industry proscribes changing NICE's threshold range until the end of 2023. We believe NICE should be commended for a useful overview of the existing literature and relevant issues. We firmly endorse NICE's view that favourable discount rates are not a good way to apply a preference for certain interventions. Similarly, we support the option of reducing the discount rate to 1.5%, which better accords with real government borrowing costs. We suggest further work to clarify the appropriate theoretical basis for the NICE's social discount rate and the sensitivity of the threshold to changes in discounting. The prospects of a necessary discount rate reduction appear to depend on whether a threshold reduction can be achieved within NICE's current range or if the range itself must be revised downwards. NICE has usefully informed the debate around discount rates. Ultimately, the path to a methodologically consistent and evidence-based revision of discounting depends on whether NICE needs to adjust the threshold too and if it is free to do so.Access provided by IREL Consortium c/o Maynooth University The Library Maynooth Universit