The cosmic ray spectrum above 10(17) eV

The final analysis of the data obtained by the Sydney University Giant Airshower Recorder (SUGAR) is presented. The data has been reanalysed to take into account the effects of afterpulsing in the photomultiplier tubes. Event data was used to produce a spectrum of equivalent vertical muon number and from this a model dependent primary energy spectrum was obtained. These spectra show good evidence for the Ankle: a flattening at 10(19) eV. There is no sign of the cut-off which would be expected from the effects of the universal black body radiation

Changing Farming Systems – Financial Implications for Farming Businesses

Future prosperity of farming businesses depends not only on immediate prospects, but also on the capability to adapt to changing circumstances. In looking to the future, farm managers need to assess where the current farming system is taking them, and whether changing to an alternative farming system might be more profitable. There are various techniques for assessing the profitability of alternative farming systems, but frequently the cost of transition is overlooked. The financial consequences of transition to a new farming system are assessed for two case study farms using a spreadsheet tool (STEP), developed by the authors. The tool assists farm managers in assessing the risk of transition strategies as well as comparing rotations.Farm Management,

Ion Beam Mixing in Ag-Pd Alloys

Ion beam mixing during 750 keV Kr+ irradiation at 80 K was measured on a series of Ag‐Pd alloys using Au marker atoms. The mixing in pure Ag was the greatest and it decreased monotonically with increasing Pd content, being a factor of 10 higher in pure Ag than in pure Pd. This large difference in mixing cannot be explained by the difference in cohesion energy between Ag and Pd in the thermodynamic model of ion beam mixing proposed by Johnson et al. [W. L. Johnson, Y. T. Cheng, M. Van Rossum, and M‐A. Nicolet, Nucl. Instrum. Methods B 7/8, 657 (1985)]. An alternative model based on local melting in the cascade is shown to account for the ion beam mixing results in Ag and Pd

Multiple roles of phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C isozymes.

Phosphoinositide-specific phospholipase C is an effector molecule in the signal transduction process. It generates two second messengers, inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate and diacylglycerol from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Currently, thirteen mammal PLC isozymes have been identified, and they are divided into six groups: PLC-beta, -gamma, -delta, -epsilon, -zeta and -eta. Sequence analysis studies demonstrated that each isozyme has more than one alternative splicing variant. PLC isozymes contain the X and Y domains that are responsible for catalytic activity. Several other domains including the PH domain, the C2 domain and EF hand motifs are involved in various biological functions of PLC isozymes as signaling proteins. The distribution of PLC isozymes is tissue and organ specific. Recent studies on isolated cells and knockout mice depleted of PLC isozymes have revealed their distinct phenotypes. Given the specificity in distribution and cellular localization, it is clear that each PLC isozyme bears a unique function in the modulation of physiological responses. In this review, we discuss the structural organization, enzymatic properties and molecular diversity of PLC splicing variants and study functional and physiological roles of each isozyme

Policing the community together: the impact of technology on citizen engagement

Despite broad and often varied underlying definitions, a common theme throughout community and neighbourhood policing strategies establishes the need to target improvements in the relationship and level of engagement between the police and the communities they serve. Community policing approaches have long underpinned a desire to move away from reactive policing models towards those which establish a more proactive philosophy, responsive to the wants and needs of the community. The near ubiquitous proliferation of smartphones and other ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) means they are often seen as a vector through which initiatives of all kinds can instil a culture of proactive engagement with their respective stakeholder communities. This paper builds upon existing research which suggests that technologies for crime prevention should be designed to support communications and problem-solving rather than used simply as a means to disseminate information, unpacking a number of the core concepts that are considered central to participation and effective engagement; social capital, public participation and social and digital inclusion. Moreover, examples of wider initiatives are comparatively discussed, not just those associated with community policing, which target the engagement of communities through the use of technology, and more specifically mobile applications, before reflecting on the empirical evidence and experiences gleaned through the EU H2020 funded ‘UNITY’ project, a project that sought to establish effective strategies for engagement between police and citizen communities

Manipulation of drugs to achieve the required dose is intrinsic to paediatric practice but is not supported by guidelines or evidence

Background: A lack of age-appropriate formulations can make it difficult to administer medicines to children. A manipulation of the dosage form may be required to achieve the required dose. This study aimed to describe medicines that are manipulated to achieve the required dose in paediatric practice.Method: A structured, undisguised observational study and postal survey. The observational study investigated drug manipulations occurring in clinical practice across three sites. The questionnaire, administered to a sample of paediatric nurses throughout the UK, surveyed manipulations conducted and nurses' experiences and views.Results: The observational study identified 310 manipulations, of which 62% involved tablets, 21% were intravenous drugs and 10% were sachets. Of the 54 observed manipulations 40 involved tablets with 65% of the tablets being cut and 30% dispersed to obtain a smaller dose. 188 manipulations were reported by questionnaire respondents, of these 46% involved tablets, 12% were intravenous drugs, and 12% were nebuliser solutions. Manipulations were predominantly, but not exclusively, identified in specialist clinical areas with more highly dependent patients. Questionnaire respondents were concerned about the accuracy of the dose achieved following manipulations and the lack of practice guidance.Conclusion: Manipulations to achieve the required dose occur throughout paediatric in-patient settings. The impact of manipulations on the efficacy of the drugs, the accuracy of the dose and any adverse effects on patients is not known. There is a need to develop evidence-based guidance for manipulations of medicines in children

Quantisation without Gauge Fixing: Avoiding Gribov Ambiguities through the Physical Projector

The quantisation of gauge invariant systems usually proceeds through some gauge fixing procedure of one type or another. Typically for most cases, such gauge fixings are plagued by Gribov ambiguities, while it is only for an admissible gauge fixing that the correct dynamical description of the system is represented, especially with regards to non perturbative phenomena. However, any gauge fixing procedure whatsoever may be avoided altogether, by using rather a recently proposed new approach based on the projection operator onto physical gauge invariant states only, which is necessarily free on any such issues. These different aspects of gauge invariant systems are explicitely analysed within a solvable U(1) gauge invariant quantum mechanical model related to the dimensional reduction of Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 22 pages, no figures, plain LaTeX fil

SimSchool: An Opportunity for Using Serious Gaming for Training Teachers in Rural Areas

This article examines the use of simSchool as a training tool for educators working with students with special needs in rural districts. SimSchool is a game which emulates a classroom utilizing a virtual environment. The theory supporting simSchool is explored and current research associated with simSchool is reviewed. The issues surrounding retaining quality special educators in rural districts are discussed. The potential for using simSchool for working with rural special education teachers is explored

Incidence, characteristics and risk factors of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized children - a prospective observational cohort study of 6,601 admissions

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an important cause of harm in children. Current data are incomplete due to methodological differences between studies: only half of all studies provide drug data, incidence rates vary (0.6% to 16.8%) and very few studies provide data on causality, severity and risk factors of pediatric ADRs. We aimed to determine the incidence of ADRs in hospitalized children, to characterize these ADRs in terms of type, drug etiology, causality and severity and to identify risk factors