Analysis of the SL-1 Accident Using RELAPS5-3D

On January 3, 1961, at the National Reactor Testing Station, in Idaho Falls, Idaho, the Stationary Low Power Reactor No. 1 (SL-1) experienced a major nuclear excursion, killing three people, and destroying the reactor core. The SL-1 reactor, a 3 MW{sub t} boiling water reactor, was shut down and undergoing routine maintenance work at the time. This paper presents an analysis of the SL-1 reactor excursion using the RELAP5-3D thermal-hydraulic and nuclear analysis code, with the intent of simulating the accident from the point of reactivity insertion to destruction and vaporization of the fuel. Results are presented, along with a discussion of sensitivity to some reactor and transient parameters (many of the details are only known with a high level of uncertainty)

Exclusionary employment in Britain’s broken labour market

There is growing evidence of the problematic nature of the UK’s ‘flexible labour market’ with rising levels of in-work poverty and insecurity. Yet successive Governments have stressed that paid work is the route to inclusion, focussing attention on the divide between employed and unemployed. Past efforts to measure social exclusion have tended to make the same distinction. The aim of this paper is to apply Levitas et al’s (2007) framework to assess levels of exclusionary employment, i.e. exclusion arising directly from an individual’s labour market situation. Using data from the Poverty and Social Exclusion UK survey, results show that one in three adults in paid work is in poverty, or in insecure or poor quality employment. One third of this group have not seen any progression in their labour market situation in the last five years. The policy focus needs to shift from ‘Broken Britain’ to Britain’s broken labour market

Two become one : the integration of male and female labour markets in the English and Welsh coalfields

Two become one: the integration of male and female labour markets in the English and Welsh Coalfields, Regional Studies. This paper explores the extent to which the labour markets for men and women are becoming integrated as a single entity. It does so in the specific context of the English and Welsh coalfields, where major job losses in the coal industry fell almost exclusively on men. Using data from 1981 to 2008, the paper presents ‘labour market accounts’ for the coalfields that reveal changing female labour force participation and employment, and it compares these trends with those among men in the same places. Evidence emerges of two relatively independent labour markets – male and female – operating in the 1980s in the same geographic space. However, over time a degree of integration appears to have occurred. As a result, women increasingly have to compete with men for the same jobs and a greater proportion of new job opportunities in the former coalfields are now going to men

A randomized placebo-controlled study on the effect of nifedipine on coronary endothelial function and plaque formation in patients with coronary artery disease: the ENCORE II study†

Aims Endothelial dysfunction and plaque formation are features of atherosclerosis. Inhibition of L-type calcium channels or HMG-CoA pathway improves endothelial function and reduces plaque size. Thus, we investigated in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) the effects of a calcium antagonist on coronary endothelial function and plaque size. Methods and results In 454 patients undergoing PCI, acetylcholine (10−6 to 10−4 M) was infused in a coronary segment without significant CAD. Changes in coronary diameter were measured and an intravascular ultrasound examination (IVUS) was performed. On top of statin therapy, patients were randomized in a double-blind fashion to placebo or nifedipine GITS 30-60 mg/day and followed for 18-24 months. Blood pressure was lower on nifedipine than on placebo by 5.8/2.1 mmHg (P < 0.001) as was total and LDL cholesterol (4.8 mg/dL; P = 0.495), while HDL was higher (3.6 mg/dL; P = 0.026). In the most constricting segment, nifedipine reduced vasoconstriction to acetylcholine (14.0% vs. placebo 7.7%; P < 0.0088). The percentage change in plaque volume with nifedipine and placebo, respectively, was 1.0 and 1.9%, ns. Conclusion The ENCORE II trial demonstrates in a multi-centre setting that calcium channel blockade with nifedipine for up to 2 years improves coronary endothelial function on top of statin treatment, but did not show an effect of nifedipine on plaque volum

Racism, anti-racist practice and social work: articulating the teaching and learning experiences of Black social workers

In the mid 1990s a Black practice teacher programme was established in Manchester and Merseyside with the primary aim to increase the number of Black practice teachers in social work organisations, and in turn provide a supportive and encouraging learning environment for Black student social workers whilst on placement. In the north‐west of England research has been undertaken, to establish the quality of the practice teaching and student learning taking place with Black practice teachers and students. This paper is an exploration of the ideas generated within the placement process that particularly focused on the discourse of racism and ant‐racist practice. Black students and practice teachers explain their understanding of racism and anti‐racist practice within social work. From the research, the paper will critique some of the ideas concerning anti‐racism. In particular, it will question whether anti‐racist social work practice needs to be re‐evaluated in the light of a context with new migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. It will concluded, by arguing that whilst the terms anti‐racism, Black and Minority Ethnic have resonance as a form of political strategic essentialism, it is important to develop more positive representations in the future

Locating mathematics within post-16 vocational education in England

The political importance of mathematics in post-16 education is clear. Far less clear is how mathematics does and should relate to vocational education. Successive mathematics curricula (e.g. core skills, key skills) have been developed in England with vocational learners in mind. Meanwhile, general mathematics qualifications remain largely disconnected from vocational learning. Following a brief historical survey of mathematics within vocational education, the paper presents findings from a nested case study of student groups in three large Further Education colleges in England. The primary unit of analysis herein is student groups learning Functional Mathematics in two vocational areas: construction and hairdressing. We show how approaches to organising teaching, developing connected curricula and classroom pedagogy tend to isolate or integrate mathematics from/with the vocational experience. Integrated approaches are shown to impact positively on student engagement and attitudes to learning mathematics. The paper concludes by discussing the potential impact of academic qualifications displacing vocationally relevant mathematics

The grammar of administrative justice values

The debate concerning administrative justice in the UK often involves reliance upon a certain set of values. Examples of such values include openness, confidentiality, timeliness, transparency, secrecy, fairness, efficiency, accountability, user-friendliness, consistency, participation, rationality and equal treatment. These values are often deployed, both in academic and policy contexts, without much precision. This produces confusion which can hamper debate. This article therefore argues there is a need to reflect on how these oft-used values are deployed, and consider the particular concerns which underlie them. In this sense, this article suggests there is a need to refine the grammar of administrative justice. This argument is demonstrated through an extended analysis of the value of ‘user-friendliness’: a site of emerging disagreement in recent years. It proposes that an important distinction must be drawn between two understandings of the value: the ‘accessibility’ and ‘consumerist’ understandings. This article concludes by suggesting that, going forward, it is important to consider whether the use of abstractions is helpful at all in administrative law and justice debates

Caveolin-1 and Altered Neuregulin Signaling Contribute to the Pathophysiological Progression of Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for details.OBJECTIVE Evaluate if Erb B2 activation and the loss of caveolin-1 (Cav1) contribute to the pathophysiological progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Cav1 knockout and wild-type C57BL/6 mice were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin, and changes in motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), mechanical and thermal hypoalgesia, Erb B2 phosphorylation (pErb B2), and epidermal nerve fiber density were assessed. The contribution of Erb B2 to DPN was assessed using the Erb B2 inhibitors PKI 166 and erlotinib and a conditional bitransgenic mouse that expressed a constitutively active form of Erb B2 in myelinated Schwann cells (SCs). RESULTS Diabetic mice exhibited decreased MNCV and mechanical and thermal sensitivity, but the extent of these deficits was more severe in diabetic Cav1 knockout mice. Diabetes increased pErb B2 levels in both genotypes, but the absence of Cav1 correlated with a greater increase in pErb B2. Erb B2 activation contributed to the mechanical hypoalgesia and MNCV deficits in both diabetic genotypes because treatment with erlotinib or PKI 166 improved these indexes of DPN. Similarly, induction of a constitutively active Erb B2 in myelinated SCs was sufficient to decrease MNCV and induce a mechanical hypoalgesia in the absence of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS Increased Erb B2 activity contributes to specific indexes of DPN, and Cav1 may be an endogenous regulator of Erb B2 signaling. Altered Erb B2 signaling is a novel mechanism that contributes to SC dysfunction in diabetes, and inhibiting Erb B2 may ameliorate deficits of tactile sensitivity in DPN. Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a common complication of diabetes (1). Although hyperglycemia is the definitive cause of DPN (2), the vascular, glial, and neuronal damage that underlies the progressive axonopathy in DPN has a complex biochemical etiology involving oxidative stress (3,4), protein glycation (5), protein kinase C activation (6), polyol synthesis (7), and the hexosamine pathway (8). Altered neurotrophic support also contributes to sensory neuron dysfunction in DPN (9), but whether diabetes may alter growth factor signaling in Schwann cells (SCs), which also undergo substantial degeneration in diabetes, is poorly defined. Neuregulins are growth factors that control SC growth, survival, and differentiation via their interaction with Erb B receptors (10). Although Erb B2 signaling promotes developmental myelination and is clearly trophic for SCs, pharmacological evidence supports that pathologic activation of Erb B2 after axotomy (11) or infection with leprosy bacilli (12) is sufficient to induce SC dedifferentiation and demyelination. Additionally, genetic evidence supports that Erb B2 can promote the development of sensory neuropathies independent of diabetes because expression of a dominant-negative Erb B4 in nonmyelinating (13) or myelinating (14) SCs induced a temperature or mechanical sensory neuropathy, respectively. Given the contribution of Erb B2 to the degeneration of SCs, endogenous proteins that regulate Erb B2 activity may influence the development of certain aspects of sensory neuropathies. The interaction of Erb B2 with the protein caveolin-1 (Cav1) inhibits the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor (15). Cav1 is highly expressed in mature, myelinated SCs (16), and we have shown that prolonged hyperglycemia promoted the downregulation of Cav1 in SCs of sciatic nerve (17). Cav1 may regulate Erb B2 signaling in SCs because its forced downregulation was sufficient to enhance neuregulin-induced demyelination of SC–dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron cocultures (18). However, it is unknown whether an increase in Erb B2 activity may contribute to the pathophysiological development of DPN and if changes in Cav1 expression may alter Erb B2 activation in diabetic nerve. In the current study, we demonstrate that diabetic Cav1 knockout mice showed an increased activation of Erb B2 and developed greater motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) deficits relative to their wild-type counterparts. Inhibition of Erb B2 with two structurally diverse inhibitors corrected the MNCV deficits and mechanical hypoalgesia evident after 6 or 15 weeks of diabetes. Also, induction of a constitutively active Erb B2 in myelinated SCs of adult mice was sufficient to recapitulate the MNCV and mechanical sensitivity deficits observed in the diabetic mice. These studies provide the first evidence that activation of Erb B2 contributes to deficits associated with myelinated fiber function in diabetic nerve and suggest that Cav1 may serve as an endogenous regulator of Erb B2.This work was supported by grants from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NS-054847 and DK-073594)

Teachers’ knowledge and experiences of Information Advice and Guidance: some implications for the current policy context in England

Good information and career guidance about what post-compulsory educational routes are available and where these routes lead is important in ensuring that young people make choices that are most appropriate to their needs and aspirations. Yet the Association of School and College Leaders (2011) express fears that future provision will be inadequate. This paper reports the findings from an on-line survey of 300 secondary school teachers, and follow up telephone interviews with 18 in the South East of England which explored teachers’ experiences of delivering post-compulsory educational and career guidance and their knowledge and confidence in doing so. Results suggest that teachers lack confidence in delivering information, advice and guidance outside their own area of specialism and experience. In particular, teachers knew little in relation to alternative local provision of post-16 education and lacked knowledge of more non-traditional, vocational routes. This paper will therefore raises important policy considerations with respect to supporting teachers’ knowledge, ability and confidence in delivering information in relation to future pathways and career guidance

'Let the Right Ones In!': Widening Participation, Academic Writing and the Standards Debate in Higher Education

This paper challenges the frequently expressed concern, post-1992, that widening participation (WP) has contributed to a general ‘dumbing down’ of higher education in English universities *(Burke, 2005; Leathwood, 2010). In particular, it explores the implications of a long-standing ‘moral panic’ (Cohen, 1972) about the poor quality of students’ academic writing, particularly in the ‘new’ universities, which have been raised in various academic reports and countless media articles. A vampire metaphor is used throughout the paper to highlight ways in which assumptions about these falling standards in undergraduates’ academic writing feed on the foundations of a longstanding, albeit implicit, distrust of the growth in the sector on elitist, ideological grounds. The second half of the paper investigates how academic writing practices, whilst difficult to define, nonetheless wield a ‘disciplinary power’ (Foucault, 1980), over lecturers and students in the academy. This includes a discussion about how a situated, New Literacy Studies (NLS) approach to academic writing development challenges the view that students’ academic writing standards are falling. In contrast, the paper suggests that all universities have a responsibility to acknowledge and develop the different literacies that students, especially widening participation students, bring with them to university. (193