Ethnicity, gender and household effects on becoming NEET: an intersectional analysis

Surprisingly little attention has been given to an integrated understanding of the interaction between ethnicity, gender and parental household’s employment status affecting young people’s educational and labour market outcomes. Drawing on data from Understanding Society, the article compares youth probabilities of becoming NEET (not in employment, education or training) in the UK, focusing on the outcomes for young men and women from different ethnic groups and from four types of ‘households of origin’: workless, one-earner, single-parent-earner and two-earner. The article shows that while, on average, young people with workless parents have a higher likelihood of becoming NEET compared to individuals from households with at least one employed parent, this does not apply universally to all ethnic minority groups, nor equally to young men and women. Having workless parents is much less detrimental for second-generation Indian and African men, and for second-generation Bangladeshi men and women, than for white British individuals. An intersectional analysis illustrates the universal and differentiated effects of disadvantage among youth

GravEn: Software for the simulation of gravitational wave detector network response

Physically motivated gravitational wave signals are needed in order to study the behaviour and efficacy of different data analysis methods seeking their detection. GravEn, short for Gravitational-wave Engine, is a MATLAB software package that simulates the sampled response of a gravitational wave detector to incident gravitational waves. Incident waves can be specified in a data file or chosen from among a group of pre-programmed types commonly used for establishing the detection efficiency of analysis methods used for LIGO data analysis. Every aspect of a desired signal can be specified, such as start time of the simulation (including inter-sample start times), wave amplitude, source orientation to line of sight, location of the source in the sky, etc. Supported interferometric detectors include LIGO, GEO, Virgo and TAMA.Comment: 10 Pages, 3 Figures, Presented at the 10th Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop (GWDAW-10), 14-17 December 2005 at the University of Texas, Brownsvill

Agronomic performance of acid-based liquid fertilisers on winter wheat.

End of Project ReportIn the early 90’s, a new and novel means (liquid Flex system) of crop fertilisation was launched on the Irish market which was capable of supplying the crop’s total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and trace element requirement in liquid form, formulated to meet specific crop requirements. This system included novel chemistry, untested under Irish conditions and with little specific reference in the scientific literature. The chemistry of the liquid Flex system consists of an acid-based material. Stable compounds i.e. urea sulphate, urea phosphate and urea-metal complexes are formed by the reaction of urea with sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid and metal salts, respectively. Interest in these materials has been generated because they possess a number of physical and chemical characteristics, which, in theory, should be beneficial. However, the ability of the Flex system to effectively supply nutrients to the plant has not been researched. A field and greenhouse experimental programme was carried out over the three seasons, 1996-1998 to compare acid-base/urea-metal complexes with conventional fertilisers and to investigate whether this unconventional chemistry could lead to increased biological efficiency. The trial programme evaluated the Flex system, both as individual components and as a complete fertiliser. In field comparisons, formulation of P as urea phosphate gave similar results to conventional granular superphosphate in terms of grain yield, recovery of P by the crop and grain quality, regardless of soil type. This was supported by the results from the greenhouse experiment. In field comparisons of the main soil-applied liquid Flex source of N, i.e. N24 (urea with the addition of a standard level of acid and metal salts) with conventional N formulations, N24 gave poorer performance than CAN and granular urea in warm dry conditions due to insufficient inhibition to substantially reduce ammonia volatilisation. In wet conditions, the slow release of N from inhibited urea may have reduced the potential loss from leaching or denitrification, and led to a better performance than CAN or urea. The additional product of the Flex system, i.e. liquid Flex urea - N18 (urea with the addition of metal salts), applied as a foliar spray, was no more efficient than liquid urea as a late N source. The Flex urea had the disadvantage that it gave higher scorch levels than conventional liquid urea. When flag leaf scorch was excessive, grain yield was affected and quality suffered, with reduced grain and hectolitre weights. Where early application of P may have been critical to obtain maximum response, the N that accompanied the early application of P as urea phosphate was most likely lost through leaching. The application of large quantities of K in any one application with the liquid system was restricted due to solubility problems, which ultimately resulted in delayed application in soils with low K levels. The Flex system does not lead to increased biological efficiency. However, as farms get bigger and greater emphasis is placed on the reduction of water and air pollution, the liquid Flex system may become attractive because of its practical advantages in handling, storage and application and the ability to tailor-make specific formulations for given crop requirements

Total avulsion of an osseointegrated screw

The close union achieved between pure grade titanium and healthy bone makes dislocation a rare event. We report the case of the total avulsion of an apparently well-integrated implant from a healthy mastoid bon

In vivo cranial bone strain and bite force in the agamid lizard Uromastyx geyri

In vivo bone strain data are the most direct evidence of deformation and strain regimes in the vertebrate cranium during feeding and can provide important insights into skull morphology. Strain data have been collected during feeding across a wide range of mammals; in contrast, in vivo cranial bone strain data have been collected from few sauropsid taxa. Here we present bone strain data recorded from the jugal of the herbivorous agamid lizard Uromastyx geyri along with simultaneously recorded bite force. Principal and shear strain magnitudes in Uromastyx geyri were lower than cranial bone strains recorded in Alligator mississippiensis, but higher than those reported from herbivorous mammals. Our results suggest that variations in principal strain orientations in the facial skeleton are largely due to differences in feeding behavior and bite location, whereas food type has little impact on strain orientations. Furthermore, mean principal strain orientations differ between male and female Uromastyx during feeding, potentially because of sexual dimorphism in skull morphology

Precise calibration of LIGO test mass actuators using photon radiation pressure

Precise calibration of kilometer-scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors is crucial for source localization and waveform reconstruction. A technique that uses the radiation pressure of a power-modulated auxiliary laser to induce calibrated displacements of one of the ~10 kg arm cavity mirrors, a so-called photon calibrator, has been demonstrated previously and has recently been implemented on the LIGO detectors. In this article, we discuss the inherent precision and accuracy of the LIGO photon calibrators and several improvements that have been developed to reduce the estimated voice coil actuator calibration uncertainties to less than 2 percent (1-sigma). These improvements include accounting for rotation-induced apparent length variations caused by interferometer and photon calibrator beam centering offsets, absolute laser power measurement using temperature-controlled InGaAs photodetectors mounted on integrating spheres and calibrated by NIST, minimizing errors induced by localized elastic deformation of the mirror surface by using a two-beam configuration with the photon calibrator beams symmetrically displaced about the center of the optic, and simultaneously actuating the test mass with voice coil actuators and the photon calibrator to minimize fluctuations caused by the changing interferometer response. The photon calibrator is able to operate in the most sensitive interferometer configuration, and is expected to become a primary calibration method for future gravitational wave searches.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit

Precise calibration of LIGO test mass actuators using photon radiation pressure

Precise calibration of kilometer-scale interferometric gravitational wave detectors is crucial for source localization and waveform reconstruction. A technique that uses the radiation pressure of a power-modulated auxiliary laser to induce calibrated displacements of one of the ~10 kg arm cavity mirrors, a so-called photon calibrator, has been demonstrated previously and has recently been implemented on the LIGO detectors. In this article, we discuss the inherent precision and accuracy of the LIGO photon calibrators and several improvements that have been developed to reduce the estimated voice coil actuator calibration uncertainties to less than 2 percent (1-sigma). These improvements include accounting for rotation-induced apparent length variations caused by interferometer and photon calibrator beam centering offsets, absolute laser power measurement using temperature-controlled InGaAs photodetectors mounted on integrating spheres and calibrated by NIST, minimizing errors induced by localized elastic deformation of the mirror surface by using a two-beam configuration with the photon calibrator beams symmetrically displaced about the center of the optic, and simultaneously actuating the test mass with voice coil actuators and the photon calibrator to minimize fluctuations caused by the changing interferometer response. The photon calibrator is able to operate in the most sensitive interferometer configuration, and is expected to become a primary calibration method for future gravitational wave searches.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Classical and Quantum Gravit

The disappearance of the "revolving door" patient in Scottish general practice: successful policies

<b>Background</b> We describe the health of "revolving door" patients in general practice in Scotland, estimate changes in their number over the timescale of the study, and explore reasons for changes, particularly related to NHS and government policy.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> A mixed methods predominantly qualitative study, using a grounded theory approach, set in Scottish general practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with professional key informants, 6 Practitioner Services staff who administer the GP registration system and 6 GPs with managerial or clinical experience of working with "revolving door" patients. Descriptive statistical analysis and qualitative analysis of patient removal episodes linked with routine hospital admissions, outpatient appointments, drug misuse treatment episodes and deaths were carried out with cohorts of "revolving door" patients identified from 1999 to 2005 in Scotland.<p></p> <b>Results</b> A "revolving door" patient is removed 4 or more times from GP lists in 7 years. Patients had complex health issues including substance misuse, psychiatric and physical health problems and were at high risk of dying. There was a dramatic reduction in the number of "revolving door" patients during the course of the study.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> "Revolving door" patients in general practice had significant health problems. Their numbers have reduced dramatically since 2004 and this probably resulted from improved drug treatment services, pressure from professional bodies to reduce patient removals and the positive ethical regulatory and financial climate of the 2004 GMS GP contract. This is a positive development for the NHS