Longitudinal study of local authority child and family social workers (wave 1) Findings from a 5 year study of local authority child and family social workers in England.

The longitudinal study investigates recruitment, retention and career progression in local authority child and family social work over 5 years. This is the first of 5 reports. It provides workforce information for employers and policy makers. Topics covered in this report include: •entry routes into local authority child and family social work •current employment and career history •workplace wellbeing •management, supervision and working environment •job satisfaction •career progression and future career plan

PHIDL: Python CAD layout and geometry creation for nanolithography

Computer-aided design (CAD) has become a critical element in the creation of nanopatterned structures and devices. In particular, with the increased adoption of easy-to-learn programming languages like Python there has been a significant rise in the amount of lithographic geometries generated through scripting and programming. However, there are currently unaddressed gaps in usability for open-source CAD tools -- especially those in the GDSII design space -- that prevent wider adoption by scientists and students who might otherwise benefit from scripted design. For example, constructing relations between adjacent geometries is often much more difficult than necessary -- spacing a resonator structure a few micrometers from a readout structure often requires manually-coding the placement arithmetic. While inconveniences like this can be overcome by writing custom functions, they are often significant barriers to entry for new users or those less familiar with programming. To help streamline the design process and reduce barrier to entry for scripting designs, we have developed PHIDL, an open-source GDSII-based CAD tool for Python 2 and 3

A superconducting-nanowire 3-terminal electronic device

In existing superconducting electronic systems, Josephson junctions play a central role in processing and transmitting small-amplitude electrical signals. However, Josephson-junction-based devices have a number of limitations including: (1) sensitivity to magnetic fields, (2) limited gain, (3) inability to drive large impedances, and (4) difficulty in controlling the junction critical current (which depends sensitively on sub-Angstrom-scale thickness variation of the tunneling barrier). Here we present a nanowire-based superconducting electronic device, which we call the nanocryotron (nTron), that does not rely on Josephson junctions and can be patterned from a single thin film of superconducting material with conventional electron-beam lithography. The nTron is a 3-terminal, T-shaped planar device with a gain of ~20 that is capable of driving impedances of more than 100 k{\Omega}, and operates in typical ambient magnetic fields at temperatures of 4.2K. The device uses a localized, Joule-heated hotspot formed in the gate to modulate current flow in a perpendicular superconducting channel. We have characterized the nTron, matched it to a theoretical framework, and applied it both as a digital logic element in a half-adder circuit, and as a digital amplifier for superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors pulses. The nTron has immediate applications in classical and quantum communications, photon sensing and astronomy, and its performance characteristics make it compatible with existing superconducting technologies. Furthermore, because the hotspot effect occurs in all known superconductors, we expect the design to be extensible to other materials, providing a path to digital logic, switching, and amplification in high-temperature superconductors

Comprehensive Investigation of the Caveolin 2 Gene: Resequencing and Association for Kidney Transplant Outcomes

Caveolae are plasma membrane structures formed from a complex of the proteins caveolin-1 and caveolin-2. Caveolae interact with pro-inflammatory cytokines and are dysregulated in fibrotic disease. Although caveolae are present infrequently in healthy kidneys, they are abundant during kidney injury. An association has been identified between a CAV1 gene variant and long term kidney transplant survival. Chronic, gradual decline in transplant function is a persistent problem in kidney transplantation. The aetiology of this is diverse but fibrosis within the transplanted organ is the common end point. This study is the first to investigate the association of CAV2 gene variants with kidney transplant outcomes. Genomic DNA from donors and recipients of 575 kidney transplants performed in Belfast was investigated for common variation in CAV2 using a tag SNP approach. The CAV2 SNP rs13221869 was nominally significant for kidney transplant failure. Validation was sought in an independent group of kidney transplant donors and recipients from Dublin, Ireland using a second genotyping technology. Due to the unexpected absence of rs13221869 from this cohort, the CAV2 gene was resequenced. One novel SNP and a novel insertion/deletion in CAV2 were identified; rs13221869 is located in a repetitive region and was not a true variant in resequenced populations. CAV2 is a plausible candidate gene for association with kidney transplant outcomes given its proximity to CAV1 and its role in attenuating fibrosis. This study does not support an association between CAV2 variation and kidney transplant survival. Further analysis of CAV2 should be undertaken with an awareness of the sequence complexities and genetic variants highlighted by this study

Palliative care specialists' perceptions concerning referral of haematology patients to their services : findings from a qualitative study

Background: Haematological malignancies (leukaemias, lymphomas and myeloma) are complex cancers that are relatively common, affect all ages and have divergent outcomes. Although the symptom burden of these diseases is comparable to other cancers, patients do not access specialist palliative care (SPC) services as often as those with other cancers. To determine the reasons for this, we asked SPC practitioners about their perspectives regarding the barriers and facilitators influencing haematology patient referrals. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study, set within the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) Haematological Malignancy Research Network (HMRN: www.hmrn.org), a population-based cohort in the North of England. In-depth, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 SPC doctors and nurses working in hospital, community and hospice settings between 2012 and 2014. Interviews were digitally audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed for thematic content using the ‘Framework’ method. Results: Study participants identified a range of barriers and facilitators influencing the referral of patients with haematological malignancies to SPC services. Barriers included: the characteristics and pathways of haematological malignancies; the close patient/haematology team relationship; lack of role clarity; late end of life discussions and SPC referrals; policy issues; and organisational issues. The main facilitators identified were: establishment of interdisciplinary working patterns (co-working) and enhanced understanding of roles; timely discussions with patients and early SPC referral; access to information platforms able to support information sharing; and use of indicators to ‘flag’ patients’ needs for SPC. Collaboration between haematology and SPC was perceived as beneficial and desirable, and was said to be increasing over time. Conclusions: This is the first UK study to explore SPC practitioners’ perceptions concerning haematology patient referrals. Numerous factors were found to influence the likelihood of referral, some of which related to the organisation and delivery of SPC services, so were amenable to change, and others relating to the complex and unique characteristics and pathways of haematological cancers. Further research is needed to assess the extent to which palliative care is provided by haematology doctors and nurses and other generalists and ways in which clinical uncertainty could be used as a trigger, rather than a barrier, to referral. Keywords: Cancer, Leukaemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma, Haematology, Specialist palliative care, End of life, Hospice, Qualitativ

Large-area NbN superconducting nanowire avalanche photon detectors with saturated detection efficiency

Superconducting circuits comprising SNSPDs placed in parallel—superconducting nanowire avalanche photodetectors, or SNAPs—have previously been demonstrated to improve the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by increasing the critical current. In this work, we employ a 2-SNAP superconducting circuit with narrow (40 nm) niobium nitride (NbN) nanowires to improve the system detection efficiency to near-IR photons while maintaining high SNR. Additionally, while previous 2-SNAP demonstrations have added external choke inductance to stabilize the avalanching photocurrent, we show that the external inductance can be entirely folded into the active area by cascading 2-SNAP devices in series to produce a greatly increased active area. We fabricated series-2-SNAP (s2-SNAP) circuits with a nanowire length of 20 μm with cascades of 2-SNAPs providing the choke inductance necessary for SNAP operation. We observed that (1) the detection efficiency saturated at high bias currents, and (2) the 40 nm 2-SNAP circuit critical current was approximately twice that for a 40 nm non-SNAP configuration.United States. Dept. of Defense. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research & Engineering (United States. Air Force Contract FA8721-05-C-0002