Long-term Employment and the Restructuring of the Labour Market in Europe

There is a widespread view that the permanent employment, associated with traditional employment patterns, has been fundamentally undermined with the advent of the ‘new economy’. Industrial restructuring and occupational change is said to have given rise to more precarious forms of employment characterized by insecure short-term jobs. Such widely held public perceptions are challenged by the analyses of long-term employment and industrial, occupational and compositional change in the European workforce. Contrary to the positions of Beck, Castells and Sennet and a host of high-profile commentators, the statistical evidence strongly suggests that contemporary labour market change in the European Union is moving in the opposite direction with significant increase in longterm employment across the member states

Herbs and the FDA: Current Regulation, Problems and Suggestions for Change

In this paper, I will discuss the current treatment of herbal products under DSHEA and describe some of the risks of herbal products. I will also talk about current FDA responses to these risks and provide some suggestions for ways in which the federal government could better protect consumers by regulating the marketing of herbal products

Rethinking damaged cognition: an expert opinion on cognitive rehabilitation

Cognition is frequently damaged by acquired brain injury (ABI). Impaired thinking is both a symptom in its own right and also a barrier to recovery by impacting their insight and awareness and their engagement with rehabilitation. Here we consider the aims, mechanisms and contexts when the goal is to improve cognitive function in patients with ABI

The cost to see the Wizard: buy-ins and trade-offs in neurological rehabilitation

This scientific commentary refers to ‘A decision-neuroscientific intervention to improve cognitive recovery after stroke’ by Studer et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awab128)

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) ≥2.5mU/l in early pregnancy: prevalence and subsequent outcomes

Objective: There remains controversy over how women with abnormal thyroid function tests in pregnancy should be classified. In this study we assessed the proportion of women with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) ≥ 2.5 mU/l in a large obstetric cohort, and examined how many have gone on to develop thyroid disease in the years since their pregnancy. Study design: 4643 women were recruited and samples taken in early pregnancy between 2007 and 2010. Thyroid function tests were analysed in 2014; in women with raised TSH computerised health records and prescription databases were used to identify thyroid disease detected since pregnancy. Results: 58 women (1.5%) had a TSH over 5 mU/l and 396 women (10.3%) had TSH between 2.5 and 5 mU/l. Women with TSH > 5mU/l delivered infants of lower birthweight than those with TSH < 2.5 mU/l; there were no other differences in obstetric outcomes between the groups. Of those who have had thyroid tests since their pregnancy, 78% of those with TSH > 5 mU/l and 19% of those with TSH between 2.5 and 5 mU/l have gone on to be diagnosed with thyroid disease. Conclusions: Using a TSH cut-off of 2.5 mU/l in keeping with European and US guidelines means that over 12% of women in this cohort would be classified as having subclinical hypothyroidism. Treatment and monitoring of these women would have major implications for planning of obstetric services

Machine Learning in Falls Prediction; A cognition-based predictor of falls for the acute neurological in-patient population

Background Information: Falls are associated with high direct and indirect costs, and significant morbidity and mortality for patients. Pathological falls are usually a result of a compromised motor system, and/or cognition. Very little research has been conducted on predicting falls based on this premise. Aims: To demonstrate that cognitive and motor tests can be used to create a robust predictive tool for falls. Methods: Three tests of attention and executive function (Stroop, Trail Making, and Semantic Fluency), a measure of physical function (Walk-12), a series of questions (concerning recent falls, surgery and physical function) and demographic information were collected from a cohort of 323 patients at a tertiary neurological center. The principal outcome was a fall during the in-patient stay (n = 54). Data-driven, predictive modelling was employed to identify the statistical modelling strategies which are most accurate in predicting falls, and which yield the most parsimonious models of clinical relevance. Results: The Trail test was identified as the best predictor of falls. Moreover, addition of any others variables, to the results of the Trail test did not improve the prediction (Wilcoxon signed-rank p < .001). The best statistical strategy for predicting falls was the random forest (Wilcoxon signed-rank p < .001), based solely on results of the Trail test. Tuning of the model results in the following optimized values: 68% (+- 7.7) sensitivity, 90% (+- 2.3) specificity, with a positive predictive value of 60%, when the relevant data is available. Conclusion: Predictive modelling has identified a simple yet powerful machine learning prediction strategy based on a single clinical test, the Trail test. Predictive evaluation shows this strategy to be robust, suggesting predictive modelling and machine learning as the standard for future predictive tools

A social and economic history of the Blackmount Deer Forest, Argyllshire, 1815-1900

Scottish deer forests are mainly a Highland phenomenon. Many were formed during the nineteenth century when proprietors benefited from their economic marketability as 'sporting estates'. The Blackmount area was a forest, under the ownership of the Campbells of Glenorchy, since the fifteenth century. Situated in one of the most mountainous ranges of the west Highlands, its function was to serve as a hunting reserve for both that family and their aristocratic peers, whilst being protected by foresters from poachers and trespassers. The earlier Forest of Corrie Ba ceased to exist during the later eighteenth century when sheep farming became the predominant land use there. Blackmount Forest was re-formed anew in 1820 due to an economic recession after the Napoleonic Wars terminated. This thesis identifies the social, political, economic, geographical and environmental reasons for Blackmount Forest's creation, growth and continued existence. It questions if this was for leisure alone or for a commercial ethos adopted by landlords of other forests. The Forest expanded during the nineteenth century, gaining national recognition, especially in the 1840s-1850s and thereafter. However, the Campbells of Breadalbane faced internal and external challenges and criticisms, several of a legal nature. The family were long established, in the Scottish aristocracy, with extensive estates in the west-central Highlands. The retained Blackmount for themselves, excepting the period 1863-1885 when it was let out wholesale. The thesis also identifies its social impact upon the locality, and the extent to which this forest may have influenced others coming into existence later that century

Sheath and mating ability measurements and their interrelationships in Santa Gertrudis bulls

Santa Gertrudis bulls were asessed for sheath characteristics which may influence their performance in a serving capacity test. There was a poor relationship between sheath depth and width and the number of mounts and serves that a bull achieves. Of the traits recorded the 'rosette score' ( conformation of the umbilicus) was negatively correlated with serving ability. The mean number of effective serves was 0.9, 1.5 and 1.4 for 2yr and 3 yr old bulls respectively

Nitrogen and environmental factors influencing macadamia quality

Applications of nitrogen fertiliser in macadamia orchards remain high, despite indications that optimum yields and quality are obtained at a lower rate. This 6-year study examined the effect on quality of 230, 690 and 1150 g nitrogen/tree . year, applied in April (floral initiation), in April and June (inflorescence development), in April, June and November (rapid nut growth and premature nut drop), in April, June, November and January (nut maturation/oil accumulation) or monthly. Higher rates of nitrogen increased kernel recovery by 1% in 5 years out of 6. In 1 year only, 4 or more split applications of the medium and high rates of nitrogen increased kernel recovery by up to 1.6%. These increases were insufficient to compensate for depressed yields (17% lower) at high nitrogen. In good years, when yields were above average, kernel recovery tended to be high and in years with poor yields, kernel recovery tended to be low except when nuts were small. Moderate summer—early autumn rainfall of about 100 mm/month was associated with high kernel recovery whereas very heavy rainfall (>200 mm/month) during this period was detrimental. The percentage of first grade kernels was influenced most by season but was negatively correlated with the rate of nitrogen. Impurities, including immature, deformed, mouldy and insect-damaged kernels, were lowest at low rates of nitrogen and highest during wet harvest seasons. Time of nitrogen application had no significant effect on yield, kernel recovery, the percentage of first-grade kernels or impurities. For sustained high yield and quality, 355 g nitrogen, or 0.8 kg urea/tree.year, applied in April—June is indicated. Agronomic and economic advantages of reducing rates of nitrogen applied to macadamia orchards are enhanced by increasingly important environmental considerations. Multiple regression analyses indicated that the rate, strategy and timing of nitrogen application, rainfall, temperature, flushing and litterfall were correlated with kernel recovery and first-grade kernels but more work is needed to elucidate the significance of these factors