Comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments, First Report (Final) (Incapacity for Work)

This is the first report of the study of comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult ‘incapacity’ social welfare payments. The purpose of the research is to examine systems for medical/disability assessment and review used in other comparable jurisdictions for assessing entitlement to social welfare illness and disability payments, and to draw key learning for the Irish system

Comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. Second report (Carers)

Purpose of the report: This is the second report of the study of comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments. This report considers assessment systems for carer payments in relation to disability status of an adult cared-for person. The purpose of the research, as set out in the RFT,is to examine systems for medical/disability assessment and review used in other comparable jurisdictions and to draw key learning for the Irish system.Methodology: The research looks at assessment systems for adult carers payments in a number of OECD countries, using 1) a review of relevant literature (including review of various online academic databases and legal databases) 2) access to online information from social security authorities and others 3) review of detailed evaluations of assessment systems (where these are available) 4)contacts with key informants in the chosen countries. The researchers first carried out a rapid review of assessment systems in a range of OECD countries (see Initial Review). On the basis of this study it was agreed to focus the research on Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nova Scotia (Canada) and the United Kingdom (UK).Structure of the report: In chapter 2, we provide a short overview of issues concerning support for carers drawing on the available literature. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the assessment systems in the five jurisdictions. Finally chapter 4 discusses the relevance of the findings to the Irish system.The detailed country reports are set out in the Annexes

Hair and salivary cortisol and their relationship with lifestyle, mood and cognitive outcomes in premanifest Huntington’s disease

Salivary cortisol dysrhythmias have been reported in some, but not all studies assessing hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis function in Huntington’s disease (HD). These differences are presumed to be due to environmental influences on temporal salivary cortisol measurement. Further exploration of HPA-axis function using a more stable and longer-term measure, such as hair cortisol, is needed to confirm earlier findings. This study aimed to evaluate hair and salivary cortisol concentrations and their associations with clinical and lifestyle outcomes in individuals with premanifest HD (n = 26) compared to healthy controls (n = 14). Participants provided saliva and hair samples and data were collected on clinical disease outcomes, mood, cognition, physical activity, cognitive reserve, sleep quality and social network size to investigate relationships between clinical and lifestyle outcomes and cortisol concentrations. Hair and salivary cortisol concentrations did not significantly differ between the premanifest HD and control groups. No significant associations were observed between hair or salivary cortisol concentrations and cognitive, mood or lifestyle outcomes. However, hair cortisol concentrations were significantly associated with disease outcomes in individuals with premanifest HD. Significant associations between hair cortisol concentrations and measures of disease burden and onset may suggest a potential disease marker and should be explored longitudinally in a larger sample of individuals with HD

Comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult social welfare payments, First Report (Final) (Incapacity for Work)

This is the first report of the study of comparative systems of assessment of illness or disability for the purposes of adult ‘incapacity’ social welfare payments. The purpose of the research is to examine systems for medical/disability assessment and review used in other comparable jurisdictions for assessing entitlement to social welfare illness and disability payments, and to draw key learning for the Irish system

Linking Redox Processes and Black Shale Resource Potential

Black shales, such as the Mississippian (~330 Ma) Bowland Shale Formation, are targets for unconventional hydrocarbon exploration in the UK and in equivalents across Europe. Despite this interest, global decarbonisation, by definition, will either require; (1) complete replacement of natural gas with renewables and nuclear power generation, or; (2) moderate to limited natural gas use globally or locally, for example as a ‘bridge fuel’, as a source for hydrogen via steam reformation, or coupled to carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Any of these scenarios will increase the demand for transition metals such as V, Co and Ni, key elements used for energy storage and as catalysts in steam reformation. Black shales in general can host ore-grade enrichments in these metals, although the exact resource potential of UK Mississippian black shales remains unresolved. We integrate comprehensive sedimentological and geochemical data from three sections through the Bowland Shale in the Craven Basin (Lancashire, UK) to explore the links between controls on hydrocarbon and metal prospectivity. The Bowland Shale at these sites is a highly heterogeneous and complex ~120 m thick succession comprising carbonate-rich, siliceous and siliciclastic, argillaceous mudstones. These sedimentary facies developed in response to a combination of high-frequency (~111 kyr) sea level changes, fault activity at the basin margins and linkage with the nearby prograding Pendle delta system. Palaeoredox proxies such as Fe-speciation, redox-sensitive trace elements and S isotope analysis from extracted pyrite (δ34Spy) demonstrate intervals associated with metal enrichment were deposited under anoxic and at least intermittently euxinic (sulphidic) bottom water conditions. Trace element enrichment ‘V scores’ (sum of V+Mo+Se+Ni+Zn in ppm) indicate the greatest enrichments in these key transition metals and non-metals are associated with deposition under strongly sulphidic conditions during marine transgressions. V scores in these intervals are often >400 ppm and sometimes >1000 ppm. These bulk enrichments are comparable to stratiform low-grade ores such as the Upper Mudstone Member of the Devonian Popovich Formation (Nevada, USA). Hosts for these metals likely include solid sulphides such as pyrite, organic matter and possibly phosphates or carbonates. Critically, a process of switching between ferruginous and euxinic conditions in anoxic porewaters, termed ‘redox oscillation’, is recognised by a distinctive redox-sensitive trace element enrichment pattern, particularly competition between V and Ni metalation. Redox oscillation operated during periods of reduced sea level, where an increased supply of reactive Fe to the basin promoted development of intermittently ferruginous conditions in bottom waters and early diagenetic porewaters. Therefore the distribution of many redox-sensitive elements through the Bowland Shale is predictable. If these elements can be efficiently extracted from the mineral or organic hosts, UK Mississippian black shales may represent a significant resource. This work also improves understanding of the potential for co-extraction of metals during hydraulic fracturing, or during remediation of waste water. Future work will seek to understand which minerals or organic compounds host these redox-sensitive trace elements

Emergent Behaviors in a Deterministic Model of the Human Uterus

A cellular automaton designed to mimic the geometry, and physiologic function of the human uterus in labor produces patterns of activity which provide insight into how the human uterus functions in the birth process.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/16/Movie1.mp4http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/15/Movie3.mp4http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/14/Movie2.mp4http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/13/uterus02.jpghttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/12/m56x45.tifhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/11/montage1.tifhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/10/melchart-grid.tifhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/9/Barclay Figure 8.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/8/Barclay Figure 7.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/7/Barclay Figure 6.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/6/Barclay Figure 5.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/5/Barclay Figure 4.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/4/Barclay Figure 3.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/3/Barclay Figure 2.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/2/Barclay Figure 1.dochttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64344/1/Manuscript.do

Student diversity and student voice conceptualisations in five European countries: Implications for including all students in schools

This article analyses the ways in which notions of student diversity and student voice are defined in five European countries, two terms directly related to notions of inclusion. In so doing, it examines links between the two terms, noting that, often, they are used in international research without acknowledging the ways that they are defined within particular national contexts. Using literature and policy documents from five countries (i.e. Austria, Denmark, England, Portugal and Spain), the article highlights similarities as well as differences in the various contexts. Through the analysis of these texts, the paper concludes that diversity is conceptualised in five ways, although there is occasionally overlap of different conceptualisations in some of the countries. Meanwhile, the term 'student voice' is a term that is not used in some of the countries' policies. Instead, other terms that relate to student voice, such as 'participation', are used. The paper discusses the implications of these varied understandings for the promotion of the inclusion of all students in schools.Erasmus+ Key Action 2, School Education Strategic Partnerships 2017-1-UK01-KA201-036665info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Label-free segmentation of co-cultured cells on a nanotopographical gradient

The function and fate of cells is influenced by many different factors, one of which is surface topography of the support culture substrate. Systematic studies of nanotopography and cell response have typically been limited to single cell types and a small set of topographical variations. Here, we show a radical expansion of experimental throughput using automated detection, measurement, and classification of co-cultured cells on a nanopillar array where feature height changes continuously from planar to 250 nm over 9 mm. Individual cells are identified and characterized by more than 200 descriptors, which are used to construct a set of rules for label-free segmentation into individual cell types. Using this approach we can achieve label-free segmentation with 84% confidence across large image data sets and suggest optimized surface parameters for nanostructuring of implant devices such as vascular stents

Donor power and the news:The influence of foundation funding on international public service journalism

How does donor funding affect the independence, role-perceptions and ideology of the journalism it supports? We begin to answer this increasingly important but under-researched question with a year-long case study of the humanitarian newswire IRIN as it transitioned from being funded by the United Nations to a private foundation, run by a Malaysian billionaire. Using content analysis, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic research we document the changes that occurred in IRIN’s outputs, target audience and public service values and the complex interplay of influences which produced these changes. We find that, in this case, donor power operated entirely indirectly and always in concert with the dominant professional values within IRIN. In doing so, this case study highlights the importance of journalistic agency and contextual variables in the journalist-donor relationship, as well as the potential significance of contradictory dynamics. We also use this case to test whether Benson, Hesserus and Sedel’s model of media owner power can help to explain the workings of donor power