fib Model Code 2020 – Durability Design and Through Life Management of New and Existing Structures

Work has recently started in fib (Fédération Internationale du Béton) on the preparation of a new fib Model Code for Concrete Structures, under the working title of Model Code 2020 (MC2020). This will be a single code dealing with both new and existing concrete structures, that is both the design of new structures and all the activities associated with the assessment, interventions and the through-life management and care of existing concrete structures. Numerous goals relating to durability and service life design have been identified, including that ideally MC2020 should incorporate: • Better models for deterioration processes addressing issues such as propagation stage deterioration, deterioration processes not currently addressed in fib MC2010, the influence of cracking and the existence of a wider range of aggressive service environments and situations than previously considered. • Improved models for service life prediction / estimation • Models for ‘repaired’ structures / intervention behaviour • Reliability requirements for new and existing structures • Consideration of the use and value of monitoring data / the level of knowledge available for decision making in the through-life management and care of concrete structures. The paper provides background to the work being undertaken in each of these areas

Examining an alcohol health worker service's patient coverage.

Alcohol health workers (AHWs) have been found to be effective at reducing alcohol-related hospital admissions, but there is still a paucity of evidence in keys areas. This was the first study to investigate what percentage of patients referred to an AHW service by alcohol screening tools are actually seen by the AHWs. The study-based in a large teaching hospital in the north of England-also investigated the impact of social deprivation on service usage. Research data came from a patient database and semi-structured interviews with AHWs. Further research is required to better understand the 'harm paradox' of patients' differential susceptibility to alcohol-related harm and how this might impact AHW service patient flow

Sensitivity to radiation-induced chromosome damage may be a marker of genetic predisposition in young head and neck cancer patients

We previously showed that levels of chromosome damage induced by ionizing radiation were, on average, higher in G 2 and G 0 lymphocytes of breast cancer patients than of normal healthy controls, but that there was no correlation between the results in the two assays. We proposed that enhanced sensitivity to G 2 or G 0 irradiation was a marker of low-penetrance predisposition to breast cancer, and have recently demonstrated heritability of sensitivity in families of breast cancer cases. We have now applied these assays to patients with head and neck cancers, for whom there is epidemiological evidence of inherited predisposition in addition to environmental causes. The mean frequency of radiation-induced G 2 aberrations was higher in the 42 patients than in 27 normal controls, but not significantly so. However, cases less than 45 years old were significantly more sensitive than normals of the same age range (P = 0.046), whereas there was no difference between patients and normals of less than 45 years. Also, there was an inverse correlation between G 2 sensitivity and age for patients but not for normals. Radiation-induced micronuclei in G 0 cells were more frequent in 49 patients than in 31 normals (P = 0.056) but, as with the G 2 assay, the greatest difference was seen between early-onset patients and young normals. Again there was an inverse correlation with age for patients but not for normals. Six patients with enhanced toxicity to radiotherapy were G 2 tested and four other such patients were G 0 tested; levels of chromosome damage were not significantly greater than in patients with normal reactions. Both assays were used on 64 individuals (39 patients, 25 normals) and there was no significant correlation between the results. We suggest that a proportion of early-onset head and neck cancer patients are genetically predisposed and that each of the two assays detects a different subset of these cases. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Localisation of the human hSuv3p helicase in the mitochondrial matrix and its preferential unwinding of dsDNA

We characterised the human hSuv3p protein belonging to the family of NTPases/helicases. In yeast mitochondria the hSUV3 orthologue is a component of the degradosome complex and participates in mtRNA turnover and processing, while in Caenorhabditis elegans the hSUV3 orthologue is necessary for viability of early embryos. Using immunofluorescence analysis, an in vitro mitochondrial uptake assay and sub‐fractionation of human mitochondria we show hSuv3p to be a soluble protein localised in the mitochondrial matrix. We expressed and purified recombinant hSuv3p protein from a bacterial expression system. The purified enzyme was capable of hydrolysing ATP with a Km of 41.9 µM and the activity was only modestly stimulated by polynucleotides. hSuv3p unwound partly hybridised dsRNA and dsDNA structures with a very strong preference for the latter. The presented analysis of the hSuv3p NTPase/helicase suggests that new functions of the protein have been acquired in the course of evolution

Increased dispositional optimism in conservation professionals

Optimism in conservation, and its potential impact on conservation practice, has been the focus of considerable recent attention. Dispositional optimism is the tendency to have positive expectations for the future, and previous research on optimism has focused particularly on the relationship between optimism and positive health outcomes. This research has concluded that optimism is generally a positive trait that can help people address problems, and set and achieve their goals. These characteristics may also be beneficial in conservation contexts. Using the revised Life Orientation Test, we measure dispositional optimism in conservation professionals to assess whether they are more or less optimistic than individuals who do not work in conservation, and whether there are differences in dispositional optimism between conservation professionals. We find that conservation professionals in the UK are more optimistic than a comparator sample of UK residents. Within conservation professionals, we do not find differences in dispositional optimism with age, gender, country of residence, employer, employment status, whether an individual thinks of themselves as a conservation biologist, or years working in conservation. We find weak evidence for lower dispositional optimism in conservation professionals working in Europe, Africa and South America. The most commonly expressed motivation for working in conservation was a feeling of love or connection, but we found no relationship between motivations and dispositional optimism. We did find that conservation professionals with higher dispositional optimism were more likely to be optimistic about the future of conservation, although no more likely to be optimistic about three specific conservation issues. Greater optimism in conservation professionals has important implications for conservation practice—optimists could benefit the success of the projects they work on, and benefit from the resilience that optimism provides, in a difficult sector where success is uncertain

Healthcare disparities for women hospitalised with myocardial infarction and angina

Ischaemic heart disease persists as the leading global cause of death. Myocardial infarction (MI) accounts for a large proportion of death due to cardiovascular disease. Between 2007 and 2016, age-sex standardised mortality for MI in Scotland has fallen by 42.5% from 129 to 74 per 100,000 population – a trend also apparent in other countries. Despite improvements in survival, considerable disparities exist according to sexin terms of delivery of guideline-recommended treatments and outcomes following MI suggesting women may be disadvantaged. Use of high-sensitivity troponin assays with sex-specific thresholds increases the detection of MI in women. However, women are less likely to undergo percutaneous coronary revascularisation (PCI) and are more often subject to underutilisation of evidence-based secondary preventative pharmacotherapy. Differences in adoption of invasive management may, in part, be explained by a perception held by clinicians and patients that outcomes are worse for women receiving PCI, as well as differences in symptoms and baseline risk profile which may impact clinical decision-making. Adverse events post-MI, including cardiogenic shock, heart failure and death, remain more common in women than in men, most notably in those with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Whether sex remains an independent predictor of adverse events despite adjustments for the higher risk-profile of women, notably age, is less clear. We hypothesised that sex-related differences in demographics and comorbidity underpin disparities in management and outcomes of women and men hospitalised with MI or angina. We investigated this hypothesis by analysis of a contemporary secondary care electronic registry (e-Registry) using electronic patient records (EPRs) for patients admitted to a complex regional healthcare network.PostprintPeer reviewe

Personal traits predict conservationists’ optimism about outcomes for nature

In the face of unprecedented biodiversity loss, the belief that conservation goals can be met could play an important role in ensuring they are fulfilled. We asked conservationists how optimistic they felt about key biodiversity outcomes over the next 10 years; 2341 people familiar with conservation in 144 countries responded. Respondents expressed optimism that enabling conditions for conservation would improve but felt pressures would continue, and the state of biodiversity was unlikely to get better. Respondents with greater general optimism about life, at early-career stages, and working in practice and policy (compared to academia) reported higher conservation optimism. But most of our biodiversity and conservation status indicators were not associated with conservation optimism. Unbounded optimism without appropriate action would be misguided in the face of growing threats to biodiversity. However, supporting those struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel could help sustain efforts to overcome these threats