Re-Calibration of the UK Large Scale Gap Test

2005 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil K. Bourne ◽  
Gary A. Cooper ◽  
Stephen J. Burley ◽  
Virgil Fung ◽  
Ron Hollands
Keyword(s):  
The Uk ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 1055-1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolaas Molenaar ◽  
Marita Felder

ABSTRACT Dolomite is a common and volumetrically important mineral in many siliciclastic sandstones, including Permian Rotliegend sandstones (the Slochteren Formation). These sandstones form extensive gas reservoirs in the Southern Permian Basin in the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and the UK. The reservoir quality of these sandstones is negatively influenced by the content and distribution of dolomite. The origin and the stratigraphic distribution of the dolomite is not yet fully understood. The aim of this study is to identify the origin of carbonate. The main methods used to achieve those aims are a combination of thin-section petrography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM and EDX), and XRD analyses. The present study shows that the typical dispersed occurrence of the dolomite is a consequence of dispersed detrital carbonate grains that served both as nuclei and source for authigenic dolomite cement. The dolomite cement formed syntaxial outgrowths and overgrowths around detrital carbonate grains. The study also shows that dolomite cement, often in combination with ankerite and siderite, precipitated during burial after mechanical compaction. Most of the carbonate grains consisted of dolomite before deposition. The carbonate grains were affected by compaction and pressure dissolution, and commonly have no well-defined outlines anymore. The distribution of dolomite cement in the Rotliegend sandstones was controlled by the presence of stable carbonate grains. Due to the restricted and variable content of carbonate grains and their dispersed occurrence, the cement is also dispersed and the degree of cementation heterogeneous. Our findings have important implications on diagenesis modeling. The presence of detrital carbonate excludes the need for external supply by any large-scale advective flow of diagenetic fluids. By knowing that the carbonate source is local and related to detrital grains instead of being externally derived from an unknown source, the presence of carbonate cement can be linked to a paleogeographic and sedimentological model.


Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. eabf2946
Author(s):  
Louis du Plessis ◽  
John T. McCrone ◽  
Alexander E. Zarebski ◽  
Verity Hill ◽  
Christopher Ruis ◽  
...  

The UK’s COVID-19 epidemic during early 2020 was one of world’s largest and unusually well represented by virus genomic sampling. Here we reveal the fine-scale genetic lineage structure of this epidemic through analysis of 50,887 SARS-CoV-2 genomes, including 26,181 from the UK sampled throughout the country’s first wave of infection. Using large-scale phylogenetic analyses, combined with epidemiological and travel data, we quantify the size, spatio-temporal origins and persistence of genetically-distinct UK transmission lineages. Rapid fluctuations in virus importation rates resulted in >1000 lineages; those introduced prior to national lockdown tended to be larger and more dispersed. Lineage importation and regional lineage diversity declined after lockdown, while lineage elimination was size-dependent. We discuss the implications of our genetic perspective on transmission dynamics for COVID-19 epidemiology and control.


Author(s):  
Prasad Nagakumar ◽  
Ceri-Louise Chadwick ◽  
Andrew Bush ◽  
Atul Gupta

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-COV-2 virus fortunately resulted in few children suffering from severe disease. However, the collateral effects on the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have had significant detrimental effects on children affected and young people. There are also some positive impacts in the form of reduced prevalence of viral bronchiolitis. The new strain of SARS-COV-2 identified recently in the UK appears to have increased transmissibility to children. However, there are no large vaccine trials set up in children to evaluate safety and efficacy. In this short communication, we review the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people. We highlight the need for urgent strategies to mitigate the risks to children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is Known:• Children and young people account for <2% of all COVID-19 hospital admissions• The collateral impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people is devastating• Significant reduction in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the southern hemisphere What is New:• The public health measures to reduce COVID-19 infection may have also resulted in near elimination of influenza and RSV infections across the globe• A COVID-19 vaccine has been licensed for adults. However, large scale vaccine studies are yet to be initiated although there is emerging evidence of the new SARS-COV-2 strain spreading more rapidly though young people.• Children and young people continue to bear the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Adams ◽  
Ian D. Hodge ◽  
Nicholas A. Macgregor ◽  
Lindsey C. Sandbrook
Keyword(s):  

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Fowler ◽  
R. Rollinson ◽  
P. French

All good quality trials of psychological interventions need to check formally that therapists have used the techniques prescribed in the published therapy manuals, and that the therapy has been carried out competently. This paper reviews methods of assessing adherence and competence used in recent large-scale trials of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) for psychosis in the UK carried out by our research groups. A combination of the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale and specific versions of the Cognitive Therapy for Psychosis Adherence Scales provides an optimal assessment of adherence and competence. Careful assessment of the competence and adherence can help identify the procedures actually carried out with individuals within trials. The basic use of such assessments is to provide an external check on treatment fidelity on a sample of sessions. Such assessment can also provide the first step towards moving research towards making sense of CBT for psychosis as a complex intervention and identifying which techniques work for which problems of people with psychosis, at which stages of disorder?


Author(s):  
Christopher Cammies ◽  
David Mytton ◽  
Rosemary Crichton

AbstractAquaponics is a food production system which connects recirculating aquaculture (fish) to hydroponics (plants) systems. Although aquaponics has the potential to improve soil conditions by reducing erosion and nutrient loss and has been shown to reduce food production related carbon emissions by up to 73%, few commercial aquaponics projects in the EU and UK have been successful. Key barriers to commercial success are insufficient initial investment, an uncertain and complex regulatory environment, and the lack of projects operating on a large scale able to demonstrate profitability. In this paper, we use the UK as a case study to discuss the legal and economic barriers to the success of commercial aquaponics in the EU. We also propose three policies: (1) making aquaponics eligible for the new system of Environmental Land Management grants; (2) making aquaponics eligible for organic certification; and (3) clarifying and streamlining the aquaponics licence application process. The UK’s departure from the EU presents a unique opportunity to review agricultural regulations and subsidies, which in turn could provide evidence that similar reforms are needed in the EU.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Gould ◽  
Lesley Lewis ◽  
Lowri Evans ◽  
Leanne Greening ◽  
Holly Howe-Davies ◽  
...  

Within the context of reopening society in the summer of 2021, as the UK moved away from ’lockdown,’ the Government of Wales piloted the return on organised ‘mass gatherings’ of people at a number of test events. Behavioral observations were made at two of the test events to support this process. The research was particularly interested in four key factors: How (1) context within a venue, (2) environmental design, (3) staffing and social norms, and (4) time across an event, affected personal protective behaviors of social distancing, face covering use, and hand hygiene. Data collection was undertaken by trained observers across the above factors. Findings suggest that adherence of attendees was generally high, but with clear indications that levels were shaped in a systematic way by the environment, situational cues, and the passage of time during the events. Some instances of large-scale non-adherence to personal protective behaviors were documented. Overall, there were three main situations where behavioral adherence broke down, under conditions where: (1) staff were not present; (2) there was a lack of environmental signalling (including physical interventions or communications); and (3) later into the events when circumstances were less constrained and individuals appeared less cognitively vigilant. Behavioral observations at events can add precision and identify critical risk situations where/when extra effort is required. The findings suggest a liberal paternal approach whereby state authorities, health authorities and other key organisations can help nudge individuals towards COVID-safe behaviors. Finally, an individual’s intentions are not always matched by their actions, and so behavioral insights can help identify situations and contexts where people are most likely to require additional support to ensure COVID-19 personal protective behaviors are followed and hence protecting themselves and others.


2009 ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Tess Ridge ◽  
Jane Millar

- Analysis of poverty dynamics based on large-scale survey data shows that there is limited mobility across the income distribution for most individuals and families. Some people may get better-off over the lifecourse, as their careers develop and wages rise, but overall most poor people do not become very rich and most rich people do not become very poor. Lone parents are at high risk of poverty in the UK, but this poverty risk is reduced for those who are in employment and who receive state financial support through Tax Credits to supplement their wages. This article reports on longitudinal qualitative research which has involved repeat interviews with lone mothers and their children over a period of three to four years. The analysis here explores the experiences of sustaining employment while living on a low, but complex, income and highlights the challenges faced in seeking financial security in this context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Lambert ◽  
Dean Wilkinson

Purpose The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus and subsequent COVID-19 illness has had a major impact on all levels of society internationally. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on prison staff and prisoners in England and Wales is unknown. Testing for COVID-19 both asymptomatic and symptomatic, as well as for antibodies, to date, has been minimal. The purpose of this paper is to explore the widespread testing of COVID-19 in prisons poses philosophical and ethical questions around trust, efficacy and ethicacy. Design/methodology/approach This paper is both descriptive, providing an overview of the widespread testing of COVID-19 in prisoners in England and Wales, and conceptual in that it discusses and argues the issues associated with large-scale testing. This paper provides a discussion, using comparative studies, of the issues associated with large-scale testing of prisoners across the prison estate in England and Wales (120 prisons). The issues identified in this paper are contextualised through the lens of COVID-19, but they are equally transferrable to epidemiological studies of any pandemic. Given the prevalence of COVID-19 globally and the lack of information about its spread in prisons, at the time of writing this paper, there is a programme of asymptomatic testing of prisoners. However, there remains a paucity of data on the spread of COVID-19 in prisons because of the progress with the ongoing testing programme. Findings The authors argue that the widespread testing of prisoners requires careful consideration of the details regarding who is included in testing, how consent is gained and how tests are administered. This paper outlines and argues the importance of considering the complex nuance of power relationships within the prison system, among prisoner officers, medical staff and prisoners and the detrimental consequences. Practical implications The widespread testing of COVID-19 presents ethical and practical challenges. Careful planning is required when considering the ethics of who should be included in COVID-19 testing, how consent will be gained, who and how tests will be administered and very practical challenges around the recording and assigning of COVID-19 test kits inside the prison. The current system for the general population requires scanning of barcodes and registration using a mobile number; these facilities are not permitted inside a prison. Originality/value This paper looks at the issues associated with mass testing of prisoners for COVID-19. According to the authors’ knowledge, there has not been any research that looks at the issues of testing either in the UK or internationally. The literature available details countries’ responses to the pandemic rather and scientific papers on the development of vaccines. Therefore, this paper is an original review of some of the practicalities that need to be addressed to ensure that testing can be as successful as possible.


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