Examination of Firearms and Forensics in Europe and aCross Territories: Final Report

The purpose of this project was to assess the nature and prevalence of GEC across Europe, and to examine the potential for reduction through policing, legislation, and the use of ballistic information sharing. More specifically, the questions addressed by this project are: 1) What is the nature, prevalence and impact of gun crime in Europe? 2) What are the challenges of implementing policies to prevent and mitigate the impact of gun crime? 3) What are the emerging threats to current and future gun crime policy? 4) How can gun crime be effectively policed, and what are the challenges for police organisations? 5) How is ballistics intelligence currently used in Baltic and EU countries? 6) Does ballistic intelligence provide evidence, beyond that provided by the INTERPOL Ballistic Information Network (IBIN) that crime guns do travel across EU borders? 7) Can ballistic intelligence facilitate cross-border co-operation and communication about GEC and lead to greater crime linkage detection and solution

Extraordinarily high leaf selenium to sulfur ratios define ‘se-accumulator’ plants

Background and Aims: Selenium (Se) and sulfur (S) exhibit similar chemical properties. In flowering plants (angiosperms) selenate and sulfate are acquired and assimilated by common transport and metabolic pathways. It is hypothesized that most angiosperm species show little or no discrimination in the accumulation of Se and S in leaves when their roots are supplied a mixture of selenate and sulfate, but some, termed Se-accumulator plants, selectively accumulate Se in preference to S under these conditions. Methods: This paper surveys Se and S accumulation in leaves of 39 angiosperm species, chosen to represent the range of plant Se accumulation phenotypes, grown hydroponically under identical conditions. Results: The data show that, when supplied a mixture of selenate and sulfate: (1) plant species differ in both their leaf Se ([Se]leaf) and leaf S ([S]leaf) concentrations; (2) most angiosperms show little discrimination for the accumulation of Se and S in their leaves and, in non-accumulator plants, [Se]leaf and [S]leaf are highly correlated; (3) [Se]leaf in Se-accumulator plants is significantly greater than in other angiosperms, but [S]leaf, although high, is within the range expected for angiosperms in general; and (4) the Se/S quotient in leaves of Se-accumulator plants is significantly higher than in leaves of other angiosperms. Conclusion: The traits of extraordinarily high [Se]leaf and leaf Se/S quotients define the distinct elemental composition of Se-accumulator plants

Insight, Inclusion, Impact Women's Involvement Worker Toolkit: learning from experience at Anawim

Service user involvement has become an essential element for many organisations looking to meet the needs of their clients through including them as active participants in making decisions about aspects of the organisation that affect their life. Service user involvement involves partnership between the organisation and the service users to influence policy and improve service delivery. Developing this collaborative approach between service providers and service users in the development of service delivery, is crucial for any organisation which is looking to empower women. Successfully engaging service users in these processes needs effective planning, management and review. One approach is to employ a Service User involvement Worker. This toolkit has been prepared to help organisations looking to support their clients through establishing a Service User Involvement Worker role, based on the experience of Anawim, a registered charity based in Birmingham that provides a variety of support services to a client group of women who have a range of complex and often overlapping needs. The toolkit aims to: - Support organisations wanting to establish a Women’s Involvement Worker role. - Share the experience of how a Women’s Involvement Worker can engage with the women and support them to have a voice and actively contribute to life within the organisation and beyond. - Provide guidance and ideas about how to do service user involvement well

A meta-analysis of type 1 diabetes mellitus, all-cause and cause-specific mortality

A meta-analysis of type 1 diabetes mellitus, all-cause and cause-specific mortalit

Observations on the distribution of chlorinated hydrocarbons in Atlantic Ocean organisms

Industrial polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) and the DDT family (t-DDT) were measured in several species of organisms collected from the open Atlantic Ocean between 66°N and 35°S latitude. All the organisms had higher concentrations of PCBs than t-DDT. Many trophic levels were represented in the collections, but the analytical data offer no support for food chain magnification among gilled organisms...

A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Family Pseudonocardiaceae and the Genera Actinokineospora and Saccharothrix with 16s rRNA Sequences and a Proposal To Combine the Genera Amycolata and Pseudonocardia in an Emended Genus Pseudonocardia

The 16S rRNAs of 15 species of actinomycetes belonging to the genera Actinokineospora and Saccharothrix and the family Pseudonocardiaceae, including Amycolatopsis, Amycolata, Pseudonocardia, Saccharomonospora, and Saccharopolyspora species, were sequenced by using reverse transcriptase. The sequences were analyzed along with the sequences of reference actinomycetes by using distance matrix and parsimony methods. The wall chemotype IV genus Actinokineospora was found to be closely related to species of the genus Saccharothrix which have chemotype III walls. Together, these two genera formed a clade which was closely related to members of the family Pseudonocardiaceae which have chemotype IV walls. However, the phylogenetic branching pattern did not unambiguously resolve whether the members of all three taxa should be placed in a single family. We suggest, therefore, that the genera Actinokineospora and Saccharothrix should remain outside the family Pseudonocardiaceae until additional sequence or phenotypic data are available to decide the issue. The sequences of species belonging to the genera Amycolata and Pseudonocardia were always recovered as a mixed group in phylogenetic trees, and we propose that these organisms should be classified in an emended genus Pseudonocardia. This proposal is strongly supported by previously published lipid, ribosomal protein, and ultrastructure data

Shoot yield drives phosphorus use efficiency in Brassica oleracea and correlates with root architecture traits

The environmental and financial costs of using inorganic phosphate fertilizers to maintain crop yield and quality are high. Breeding crops that acquire and use phosphorus (P) more efficiently could reduce these costs. The variation in shoot P concentration (shoot-P) and various measures of P use efficiency (PUE) were quantified among 355 Brassica oleracea L. accessions, 74 current commercial cultivars, and 90 doubled haploid (DH) mapping lines from a reference genetic mapping population. Accessions were grown at two or more external P concentrations in glasshouse experiments; commercial and DH accessions were also grown in replicated field experiments. Within the substantial species-wide diversity observed for shoot-P and various measures of PUE in B. oleracea, current commercial cultivars have greater PUE than would be expected by chance. This may be a consequence of breeding for increased yield, which is a significant component of most measures of PUE, or early establishment. Root development and architecture correlate with PUE; in particular, lateral root number, length, and growth rate. Significant quantitative trait loci associated with shoot-P and PUE occur on chromosomes C3 and C7. These data provide information to initiate breeding programmes to improve PUE in B. oleracea

Transatlantic developmental migrations of loggerhead sea turtles demonstrated by mtDNA sequence analysis

Molecular markers based on mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region se quences were used to test the hypothesis that juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in pelagic habitats of the eastern Atlantic are derived from nesting populations in the western Atlantic. We compared mtDNA haplotypes from 131 pelagic juvenile turtles (79 from the Azores and 52 from Madeira) to mtDNA haplotypes observed in major nesting colonies of the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. A subset of 121 pelagic samples (92%) contained haplotypes that match mtDNA sequences observed in nesting colonies. Maximum likelihood analyses (UCON, SHADRACQ) estimate that 100% of these pelagic juveniles are from the nesting populations in the southeastern United States and adjacent Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Estimated contributions from nesting populations in south Florida (0.71, 0.72), northern Florida to North Carolina (0.19, 0.17), and Quintana Roo, Mexico (0.11, 0.10) are consistent with the relative size of these nesting aggregates. No contribution was detected from nesting colonies in the Mediterranean (Greece) or South Atlantic (Brazil), although samples sizes are insufficient to exclude these locations with finality. The link between west Atlantic nesting colonies and east Atlantic feeding grounds provides a more complete scientific basis for assessing the impact of subadult mortality in oceanic fisheries. Demographic models for loggerhead turtles in the western Atlantic can now be improved by incorporating growth and mortality data from juvenile turtles in pelagic habitats. These data demonstrate that the appropriate scale for loggerhead turtle conservation efforts is vastly larger than the current scale of management plans based on political boundaries.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reviews

The following publications have been reviewed by the mentioned authors;Design and Technology Frames - reviewed by Mark HudsonDiscoveries - reviewed by Melanie FasciatoProgressio in Primary Design and Technology - reviewed by Rob BowenPrimary Design and Technology: Introducing Birds and Conservation to the Curriculum - reviewed by Bridget A. EganFood Tables and Labelling - reviewed by Jonty KinsellaExploring Materials CD-ROM Education Pack - reviewed by Chris SnellSkills in Resistant Materials Technology - reviewed by Mark HudsonDo3D - reviewed by Les PorterDesign and Technology Textiles Foundation Course - reviewed by Helen WilsonFocus on Plastics - reviewed by Chris SnellUnderstanding Industrial Practices in Textiles Technology - reviewed by Jenny JupeDyson Education Box - reviewed by Jenny JupeEdison 3.0 - reviewed by Jean Allma