Basic Human Factors Task Data Relationships in Aerospace System Design and Development Final Report, Aug. - Dec. 1965

Basic human factors task data relationships in aerospace system design and developmen

Changing Midwifery: Working Conditions and the Quality of Care

Maternity units have been expected to achieve, within constrained resources, significant improvements in the quality and continuity of care as required by government policy. While significant advances have been made, these have been achieved by drawing upon the professionalism and vocational commitment of midwives, and at the expense of their working conditions and sense of wellbeing. While this approach has, in the short term, served the purpose of increasing midwifery output within existing resource constraints, the quality of care has suffered. The increasing problems of recruitment, retention, and falling morale within the profession suggest that it is not sustainable. In the longer term, if the improvements in care achieved thus far are to be sustained, there is a need to reform midwives' working conditions and working environment. This is not to imply that the answer to the ongoing dilemmas facing the maternity services lies solely in improvements in the pay levels or pay structure for midwives. The solution is also dependent on the extent to which midwives are afforded the enhanced status and autonomy recognised as necessary for the improvement of maternity services. Furthermore, strong representation of midwives, alongside improvements in management structures and systems of communication in NHS trusts, are necessary if midwives are to be enabled to participate in decision-making and thereby effectively contribute to improvements in the quality of care.

The Contested Meaning of Labour Market Flexibility: Economic Theory and the Discourse of European Integration

This paper argues that in order to facilitate informed debate and to develop a coherent social and employment policy in Europe, it is necessary to clarify the different meanings of the term 'labour market flexibility'. It questions whether the deregulation of the labour market is an inherent component of increased flexibility. The paper then examines the EU's employment strategy and argues that it must be understood in terms of its linkages to social policy on the one hand, and the process of economic and monetary union (EMU) on the other. It suggests that a coherent alternative to neoliberal policies, of the kind apparently promised by a 'Third Way' agenda for the labour market, has yet to emerge at European level. There is a danger, instead, that the institutional arrangements for the conduct of social and economic policy (broadly conceived) within the Community are making it impossible to forge the linkages between labour standards, active labour market policy and the macroeconomic framework of the kind which are needed to renew the 'European social model'. It therefore questions whether, under present institutional conditions, the goals of Third Way advocates can be met.Labour Market Flexibility; Employment Policy; European Union

Biochemical and Biophysical Characterisation of Transcription Regulators Associated with Myosin VI

Myosin VI (MVI) is implicated in many biological processes including, cell migration, endocytosis and transcription. MVI achieves its plethora of cellular functions owing to its association with multiple binding partners. Here, two proteins associated with MVI - nuclear dot protein 52 (NDP52), a putative transcription regulator, and the established transcription factor, oestrogen receptor (ERα) - are biochemically and biophysically characterised to further elucidate the role of this motor protein in transcription. Optimisation of expression and purification conditions has enabled the successful purification of full-length ERα using BL21 E.coli. According to current literature, this is the first time this has been reported. This will set the foundation for future purification optimisation required for binding assays between MVI and ERα. NDP52 has only recently been characterised as a putative transcription co-activator, where it was shown to promote RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription by relieving the auto-inhibition of MVI. Here, novel insights into the biochemical and biophysical properties of NDP52 are presented, including DNA-binding characteristics of different structural domains using fluorescence-based binding assays. Expectedly, C- terminal DNA-binding motifs likely confer binding to double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) in vivo. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data for full-length NDP52 is also presented, providing important structural information, given that no full-length crystal structure for NDP52 is currently available. Methods such as total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, size-exclusion chromatography-multi- angle light scattering (SEC-MALS) and cryogenic super-resolution microscopy have also provided an understanding of the oligomeric state of NDP52 and its tertiary structure. Together, this evidence suggests that NDP52 functions as a parallel homodimer in vivo, which provides important structure-function insights into NDP52's role in transcriptional regulation. For instance, the parallel arrangement of the NDP52 dimer may facilitate tight binding to dsDNA, where each monomer binds either side of DNA, effectively clamping it

Cyclotella paleo-ocellata, a new centric diatom (Bacillariophyta) from Lake Kinneret (Israel)

© Czech Phycological Society (2015). Large, subfossil populations of an unknown centric, planktonic diatom were observed in a lake sediment core from Lake Kinneret (Israel), which is here described as Cyclotella paleo–ocellata sp. nov. The new taxon, which belongs to the Cyclotella ocellata species complex, is described and separated from other similar taxa (e.g., Cyclotella ocellata, Cyclotella kuetzingiana, Cyclotella polymorpha, Cyclotella paraocellata) based on a combination of the following morphological characters: valve diameter, number of orbiculi depressi (circular depressions), number of striae/10 μm, stria length, number and position of rimoportulae and the number of central and marginal fultoportulae. Cyclotella paleo–ocellata can be distinguished mainly by two prominent characteristics: (1) the number and the arrangement of the orbiculi depressi (4–8) which increase with the valve diameter and (2) the marginal fultoportulae, situated on each, every second or third costa. Since Cyclotella paleo–ocellata is at present only known from the subfossil bottom sediments of Lake Kinneret, its ecological preferences are inferred simply from the associated diatom flora

The Impact of a Multipronged Intervention to Increase School Lunch Participation among Secondary School Students in an Urban Public School District.

Introduction: Schools meals offer a critical opportunity for improving youths' diets, particularly for economically disadvantaged students. We examine the impact of a multipronged intervention to increase middle and high school students' lunch participation in an urban school district. Methods: In school years 2015-2016 through 2017-2018, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in 24 secondary schools, half (n = 12) of which received the following intervention: cafeteria redesign, additional school lunch points-of-sale (mobile carts and vending machines), and teacher education. Results: From baseline to follow-up, lunch participation dropped 4.1% in intervention and 5.1% in comparison schools (difference-in-difference 1.0%, 95% CI 0.5-1.4). The overall decline in lunch participation occurred simultaneously with a drop-in free or reduced-price meal eligibility (from 72% to 58%) across all schools, which is likely related to changing local economic conditions, including a county-wide minimum wage increase that began in summer 2015. Among students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, participation decreased 1.8% in intervention and 4.9% in comparison schools (difference-in-difference 3.1%, 95% CI: 2.5-3.7), with a larger difference-in-difference seen in high schools (5.0%, 95% CI: 4.2-5.9) than middle schools (1.8%, 95% CI: 0.8-2.6). Conclusions: While this intervention demonstrated a modest, but significant relative increase in school lunch participation, the effect was not sufficient to halt large district-wide declines in participation during this study period. Given the significant time, money, and political capital required to implement the intervention, districts should carefully consider similar investments. Broader public policies or other changes to economic conditions that affect eligibility for means-tested benefits-in this case, a strengthening local economy coupled with an increased local minimum wage-may influence school lunch participation more than school-level interventions