The replication of tobacco necrosis virus in cowpen leaf protoplasts

Imperial Users onl

The Place of Risk Management in Financial Institutions

The purpose of this paper is to address two issues. It defines the appropriate role played by institutions in the financial sector and focuses on the role of risk management in firms that use their own balance sheets to provide financial products. A key objective is to explain when risks are better transferred to the purchaser of the assets issued or created by the financial institution and when the risks of these financial products are best absorbed by the firm itself. However, once these risks are absorbed, they must be efficiently managed. So, a second part of the current analysis develops a framework for efficient and effective risk management for those risks which the firm chooses to manage within its balance sheet. The goal of this activity is to achieve the highest value added from the risk management undertaken.

Adjustment of Parents of Children with Asthma or Type 1 Diabetes

Adjustment of parents of children with a chronic illness is an under-researched area, particularly using qualitative methodology. This is the case in relation to all chronic childhood illnesses, including asthma and Type 1 diabetes. These two illnesses are both increasing in prevalence and are highly relevant exemplars of illnesses that have a significant daily impact on the lives of children, parents and families. A mixed categorical / non-categorical approach was taken in this study, which has the advantage of highlighting both illness-specific and general features of parents’ experience of the child’s illness. Understanding these similarities and differences will help clinicians to focus parent and family support appropriately and also will help stimulate and inform future research efforts. Two further issues that influenced the aims of this study are the lack of theoretical coherence and poor clarity with regard to the meaning of parental adjustment and factors that influence it. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the adjustment of parents of children with asthma or Type 1 diabetes, and through this, to develop new theory about parents’ adjustment. This theory was intended to help explain the parents’ experience of adjustment and identify factors relevant to their adjustment outcomes. A grounded theory approach was used, set within a constructivist paradigm. The purposive sample included 32 mothers, 7 fathers and one grandmother of a child with asthma or Type 1 diabetes. Findings from observations of three multi-disciplinary team meetings following clinics and interviews with three specialist nurses and a support group leader contributed to refinements made to the parent semi-structured interview schedule. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to investigate respondents’ perspectives in relation to their experience of the child’s illness and illness episodes, and the effects on their own and family life. Data were analysed using thematic analysis, guided by principles of grounded theory such as constant comparison. NVivo qualitative data analysis software was used to assist in the data analysis process. A new theory was developed, which incorporates a dynamic model, reflecting how parents experience adjustment in the face of new events over the course of time, in many facets of their personal life, as a parent, and in family life. The four steps of goals, events, processes and outcomes reflect findings that arose during the empirical analysis, which was organised around four major dimensions of the parents’ experiences. The theoretical model developed in this study is a useful framework for future research and clinical practice, offering a coherent framework for a field of research that is very disparate in objectives and theoretical orientation. Clinicians may use the model as a basis of exploring parents’ adjustment, not only in relation to illness-specific issues, but also in relation to supporting the development and use of coping resources and assessing whether the parents’ goals are being met in other aspects of their lives. It is a model that can be used by the multi-professional health and social care team, which could be beneficial for integrated care of the child and family

Investigation of immiscible systems and potential applications

The droplet coalescence kinetics at 0 g and 1 g were considered for two systems which contained liquid droplets in a host liquid. One of these (Al-In) typified a system containing a liquid phase miscibility gap and the order (oil-water) a mixture of two essentially insoluble liquids. A number of coalescence mechanisms potentially prominent at low g in this system were analyzed and explanations are presented for the observed unusual stability of the emulsion. Ground base experiments were conducted on the coalescence of In droplets in and Al-In alloy during cooling through the miscibility gap at different cooling rates. These were in qualitative agreement with the computer simulation. Potential applications for systems with liquid phase miscibility gaps were explored. Possibilities included superconductors, electrical contact materials, superplastic materials, catalysts, magnetic materials, and others. The role of space processing in their production was also analyzed

Modelling tidal energy extraction in a depth-averaged coastal domain

An extension of actuator disc theory is used to describe the properties of a tidal energy device, or row of tidal energy devices, within a depth-averaged numerical model. This approach allows a direct link to be made between an actual tidal device and its equivalent momentum sink in a depth-averaged domain. Extended actuator disc theory also leads to a measure of efficiency for an energy device in a tidal stream of finite Froude number, where efficiency is defined as the ratio of power extracted by one or more tidal devices to the total power removed from the tidal stream. To demonstrate the use of actuator disc theory in a depth-averaged model, tidal flow in a simple channel is approximated using the shallow water equations and the results are compared with the published analytical solutions. © 2010 © The Institution of Engineering and Technology

Jobseekers Regime and Flexible New Deal, the Six Month Offer and Support for the Newly Unemployed evaluations: An early process study

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AgroCycle – developing a circular economy in agriculture

Continuing population growth and increasing consumption are driving global food demand, with agricultural activity expanding to keep pace. The modern agricultural system is wasteful, with Europe generating some 700 million tonnes of agrifood (agricultural and food) waste each year. The Agricultural Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems (ACSES) at Harper Adams University is involved in a major research and innovation project (AgroCycle) on the application of the ‘circular economy’ across the agri-food sector. In the context of the agrifood chain, the ‘circular economy’ aims to reduce waste while also making best use of the ‘wastes’ produced by using economically viable processes and procedures to increase their value . Led by University College Dublin, AgroCycle is a Horizon 2020 collaborative project with 26 partners. AgroCycle will address such opportunities directly by implementation of the ‘circular economy’ across the agri-food sector. The authors will present (a) a summary of the AgroCycle project and (b) the role played by Harper Adams in the project in evaluating the potential for small-scale anaerobic digestion (AD) technology that can be applied on farm to provide local heat, energy and nutrient recovery from mixed agricultural wastes

Flexible New Deal evaluation: customer survey and qualitative research findings

by Sandra Vegeris, Lorna Adams, Katie Oldfield, Christine Bertram, Rosemary Davidson, Lucia Durante, Catherine Riley and Kim Vowden This report presents qualitative and quantitative research findings from an evaluation of the Flexible New Deal (FND), Phase 1 of which was introduced in October 2009 in 28 Jobcentre Plus districts in England, Scotland and Wales. The research consisted of qualitative research into customer and provider experiences of FND delivery and a quantitative survey of customer experiences of FND in Phase 1 areas compared with customers at the same point in their claims experiencing the former Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) regime and New Deals in Phase 2 areas. Comparisons between the two areas provide an indication of FND services in contrast to JSA/New Deal services but they do not constitute an impact assessment. This is the fourth in a series of evaluation reports aiming to understand experiences of the Jobseekers Regime and Flexible New Deal (JRFND) from the point of view of customers, Jobcentre Plus staff and provider staff, and establish the extent to which JRFND leads to additional customer employment outcomes