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Purpose This paper aims to set out to share the reflections of safeguarding adult board managers as they worked through what is likely to be just the first wave of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on the experience of small number of safeguarding adult board managers who have provided reflections from practice. Findings This paper illustrates just some of the responses developed by safeguarding adult board managers and their boards to continue to deliver the work of safeguarding those at risk of abuse and harm in the face of unprecedented impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic on a key aspect of the safeguarding adult system in England. Originality/value The reflections reported here are not intended to offer a representative commentary on the experiences of those who oversee and manage safeguarding adults’ boards. It is intention to provide a flavour of some of the challenges and dilemmas faced and some of the creative solutions to address them used by one group of adult safeguarding practitioners.

Background Early reports suggest that most children infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (“SARS-CoV-2”) have mild symptoms. What is not known is whether children with chronic respiratory illnesses have exacerbations associated with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Methods An expert panel created a survey, which was circulated twice (in April and May 2020) to members of the Paediatric Assembly of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and via the social media of the ERS. The survey stratified patients by the following conditions: asthma, cystic fibrosis (CF), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and other respiratory conditions. Results In total 174 centres responded to at least one survey. 80 centres reported no cases, whereas 94 entered data from 945 children with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 was isolated from 49 children with asthma of whom 29 required no treatment, 19 needed supplemental oxygen and four children required mechanical ventilation. Of the 14 children with CF and COVID-19, 10 required no treatment and four had only minor symptoms. Among the nine children with BPD and COVID-19, two required no treatment, five required inpatient care and oxygen and two were admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) requiring invasive ventilation. Data were available from 33 children with other conditions and SARS-CoV-2 of whom 20 required supplemental oxygen and 11 needed noninvasive or invasive ventilation. Conclusions Within the participating centres, in children with asthma and CF, infection with SARS-CoV-2 was well tolerated, but a substantial minority of children with BPD and other conditions required ventilatory support indicating that these latter groups are at risk from SARS-CoV-2 infection., Whereas children with asthma and CF seem not to be at increased risk of severe #COVID19, a minority of children with other respiratory diseases might be at increased risk and may benefit from being shielded https://bit.ly/3fiwUXp

BACKGROUND: Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) is believed to be associated with childhood obesity, although the strength of the association is unknown. METHODS: We performed a cohort study using routine data from health screening examinations at primary school entry (5–6 years old) in Scotland, linked to a nationwide hospital admissions database. A subgroup had a further screening examination at primary school exit (11–12 years old). RESULTS: BMI was available for 597 017 children at 5 to 6 years old in school and 39 468 at 11 to 12 years old. There were 4.26 million child-years at risk for SCFE. Among children with obesity at 5 to 6 years old, 75% remained obese at 11 to 12 years old. There was a strong biological gradient between childhood BMI at 5 to 6 years old and SCFE, with the risk of disease increasing by a factor of 1.7 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–1.9) for each integer increase in BMI z score. The risk of SCFE was almost negligible among children with the lowest BMI. Those with severe obesity at 5 to 6 years old had 5.9 times greater risk of SCFE (95% CI 3.9–9.0) compared with those with a normal BMI; those with severe obesity at 11 to 12 years had 17.0 times the risk of SCFE (95% CI 5.9–49.0). CONCLUSIONS: High childhood BMI is strongly associated with SCFE. The magnitude of the association, temporal relationship, and dose response added to the plausible mechanism offer the strongest evidence available to support a causal association.

The importance of magnetic cleanliness and inflight compensation to account for fluctuations in magnetic field is a recognized concern within the space industry. Their effects must be considered, minimized, and where necessary compensated throughout the development of any spacecraft, their subsystems, and while in flight. This is just as true within the context of the laser interferometer space antenna pathfinder mission, where sensitive gravitational wave telemetry systems are vulnerable to magnetic disturbances. In collaboration with the Science and Technology Facility Council, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Bartington Instruments, and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), a compact low-noise gradiometer was developed under European Space Agency contract reference AO/1-6085/09/NL/AF. Such a versatile device will be used on the ground to assess the magnetic cleanliness of spacecraft and also inflight, to monitor changes in the local magnetic field. This paper introduces the capabilities developed by NPL, specifically for the calibration of the compact low-noise fluxgate gradiometer. The procedures used to test and calibrate the novel gradiometer will be discussed in detail, including a range of Helmholtz coils, gradient coils (used to generate known diagonal and off-diagonal gradients), and shielding techniques. These technologies were combined to establish key parameters, such as low frequency noise, offset, gain and gradient sensitivity, with specific attention given to the off-diagonal terms of the gradient tensor matrix.

Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy has been reported to be associated with childhood asthma and atopic disease. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children has reported associations between reduced umbilical cord Fe status and childhood wheeze and eczema; however, follow-up was short and lung function was not measured. In the present study, the associations between maternal Fe status during pregnancy and childhood outcomes in the first 10 years of life were investigated in a subgroup of 157 mother–child pairs from a birth cohort with complete maternal, fetal ultrasound, blood and child follow-up data. Maternal Fe intake was assessed using FFQ at 32 weeks of gestation and Hb concentrations and serum Fe status (ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor and TfR-F (transferrin receptor:ferritin) index) were measured at 11 weeks of gestation and at delivery. Maternal Fe intake, Hb concentrations and serum Fe status were found to be not associated with fetal or birth measurements. Unit increases in first-trimester maternal serum TfR concentrations (OR 1·44, 95 % CI 1·05, 1·99) and TfR-F index (OR 1·42, 95 % CI 1·10, 1·82) (i.e. decreasing Fe status) were found to be associated with an increased risk of wheeze, while unit increases in serum ferritin concentrations (i.e. increasing Fe status) were found to be associated with increases in standardised mean peak expiratory flow (PEF) (β 0·25, 95 % CI 0·09, 0·42) and forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1) (β 0·20, 95 % CI 0·08, 0·32) up to 10 years of age. Increasing maternal serum TfR-F index at delivery was found to be associated with an increased risk of atopic sensitisation (OR 1·35, 95 % CI 1·02, 1·79). The results of the present study suggest that reduced maternal Fe status during pregnancy is adversely associated with childhood wheeze, lung function and atopic sensitisation, justifying further studies on maternal Fe status and childhood asthma and atopic disease.

The unit magnetic power loss is essential for the development and optimization of soft magnetic materials for electromagnetic generators and engines. For the maintenance of the corresponding measuring systems in accordance to IEC 60404 it is necessary to compare the measurement facilities used by the NMIs involved. Since the last comparison has been accomplished in 1999 and the request for precise values for many of the actual applications is increasing in 2015 the decision was made to start a new international comparison. The work was done in the framework of the supplementary comparison 1337 EURAMET.EM.M.S2. Four NMIs of EURAMET and one NMI of COOMET took part to get information about their equipment used for the measurement of the magnetic power loss. A selection of a variety of samples was used. One grain-oriented, one homogenous Epstein-sample, one grain oriented, and one homogenous ring kernel where send to the NMIs to measure the specific power loss. After the evaluation of the data in agreement with the rules of EURAMET the results of the NMIs participating in the comparison can be judged as concerted which is an objective confirmation of the declared uncertainties. Only one partner should improve his equipment or widen the range of uncertainty. Main text To reach the main text of this paper, click on Final Report. Note that this text is that which appears in Appendix B of the BIPM key comparison database kcdb.bipm.org/. The final report has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication by the CCEM, according to the provisions of the CIPM Mutual Recognition Arrangement (CIPM MRA).

RATIONALE: Advances in spirometry measurement techniques have made it possible to obtain measurements in children as young as 3 years of age; however, in practice, application remains limited by the lack of appropriate reference data for young children, which are often based on limited population-specific samples. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to build on previous models by collating existing reference data in young children (aged 3-7 years), to produce updated prediction equations that span the preschool years and that are also linked to established reference equations for older children and adults. METHODS: The Asthma UK Collaborative initiative was established to collate lung function data from healthy young children aged 3-7 years. Collaborators included researchers with access to pulmonary function test data in healthy preschool children. Spirometry centiles were created using the LMS (Lambda-Mu-Sigma) method and extend previously published equations down to 3 years of age. MAIN RESULTS: The Asthma UK centiles charts for spirometry are based on the largest sample of healthy young Caucasian children aged 3-7 years (n=3777) from 15 centers across 11 countries and provide a continuous reference with a smooth transition into adolescence and adulthood. These equations improve existing pediatric equations by considering the between-subject variability to define a more appropriate age-dependent lower limit of normal. The collated dataset reflects a variety of equipment, measurement protocols and population characteristics and may be generalizable across different populations. CONCLUSIONS: We present prediction equations for spirometry for preschool children and provide a foundation which will facilitate continued updating.

The 1980s saw the rise of the public understanding of science, as a movement and as a research field. The decade also saw the goal of K-12 science instruction reoriented toward the promotion of scientific literacy for all students. This paper explores the subsequent relationship of these two movements. It examines debates over K-12 science curricular reform, with particular focus on “civic scientific literacy,” the introduction of science, technology, and society (STS) issues into classrooms, and the gradual retreat from STS-oriented reforms. It discusses how those debates may have been influenced by findings from the public understanding of science, and argues that educational debates themselves provide an important resource for probing larger issues of public understanding.

Background: Asthma is often associated with atopy. Cluster analysis shows the prevalence of atopy varies in different phenotypic groups of asthma from 50-90% but no longitudinal studies have assessed how this changes throughout childhood [1]. Our aim was to assess whether atopy precedes an asthma diagnosis, what proportion of asthmatics is atopic at different ages and how these change during childhood, to help decipher the link between the two. Methods: We collected data from a longitudinal birth cohort of 253 subjects, the Perth Infant Asthma Follow up study. A detailed respiratory questionnaire, lung function and skin prick testing were performed at 1, 6 and 12 months, 6, 11, 18 and 24 years. Asthma was physician diagnosed only and atopy was defined by a positive skin prick test. Results: The percentage of asthmatics with atopy rose from 50% at 6 years to 100% at 24 years. Of those with atopic asthma and full sequential data, an atopy diagnosis preceded that of asthma in 45% of cases (n=21) and both were diagnosed in the same time period in 55% (n=26). This was not significantly different. Of those with a history of asthma at 24 years, 90% (n=60) had been diagnosed by 11 years. All subjects with onset of asthma after 11 years of age were atopic. Atopy was less frequent in those with early transient asthma than persistant asthma after 6 years of age (65% vs 80%, p=0.045). Conclusion: The prevalence of atopy is higher in young adult asthmatics than as young children. Both diseases were diagnosed at a similar age in more than 50% of cases, suggesting a common predecessor, rather than a causal relationship. Haldar, P., et al., Cluster analysis and clinical asthma phenotypes. AMJRCCM 2008. 178 (3):218-24.

The analysis of technoscientific regulatory controversies is now an established genre within science studies, with a small but important methodological and meta-literature. That literature has only rarely noted how published accounts of particular controversies inevitably employ narrational strategies, including decisions about emplotment, time-frames, character-motivation, and the use of tropes, to endow these stories with political and epistemological meaning. In an exercise designed to recover these narrational elements and promote narrative consciousness, this paper presents two separate accounts of a single important controversy: Canada's recent regulatory experience with the Monsanto Corporation's recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST). The discussion points out the different narrational strategies employed in each account, and analyses how these strategies interact with explicit or theory-based interpretive approaches to determine how the accounts contribute to `public moral argument' about regulatory affairs. It concludes with broader speculations on the advantages that a greater reliance on narrative form has to offer the field of controversy-analysis and science studies in general.

When rare earth permanent magnets such as NdFeB, or in the future their technically equivalent replacements, are used in the motors of electric vehicles the properties need to be known for the conditions of use in order to optimise the efficiency of the motor and increase the range of the electric vehicle. A Pulse Field Magnetometer measurement method based on measuring the properties of permanent magnets in air has been developed and provides considerable advantages over existing standard methods, such as the ability to measure the actual geometries used and at operating temperatures experienced within the motor. However, for this method to be accepted by the electric vehicle manufacturers, and in particular the motor supply chain, it is necessary to establish the agreement with the standard methods of measurement. An International Electrotechnical Committee, Technical Committee 68, comparison on the measurement of the magnetic properties of permanent magnets is presented and the achieved International agreement is established. Measurements were performed on 6 NdFeB magnets with intrinsic coercivities ranging from 1000 to 2600 kA/m by 8 institutes based in China, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the UK. During the last 2 decades, many variations of a Pulsed Field Magnetometer (PFM) have been developed, all of which are capable of determining the full BH curve in as little as 100 ms. By comparing measurements made using an internationally accepted electromagnet (closed-circuit) method and the pulsed field (open-circuit) methods, the influence of the dynamic effects of the latter could be investigated and established. For the quantities such as remanence, Br, magnetic flux density coercivity, HcB and energy product, BHmax the measurements agree within the combined uncertainties. However, for the intrinsic coercivity, HcJ, the dependence on the speed at which the magnetic field is reversed was found to be significant with the largest changes in value occurring as a DC measurement condition is approached. For the supply chain to adopt the PFM as a standard method the accuracy of the method needs to be established at an uncertainty level that allows the significant benefits of this technique to be fully realized. The metrology this involves is performed by National Measurement Institutes and in the UK this is one of the roles of NPL. The measurements being performed at NPL to calibrate a 50 mm bore PFM commissioned in August 2013 will be introduced and early results presented.

Graft-versus-host disease remains as a significant sequela in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation patients. Reports of oral presentations of cytomegalovirus infection in this patient population are rare. Although the usual manifestation of oral cytomegalovirus is mucosal ulceration, we report a case that we believe reflects a dynamic among graft-versus-host disease, cytomegalovirus, and the use of cyclosporin A, commonly used as an immunosuppressive agent in bone marrow transplantation.

By the mid-1980s nucleic-acid based methods were penetrating the farthest reaches of biological science, triggering rivalries among practitioners, altering relationships among subfields, and transforming the research front. This article delivers a "bottom up" analysis of that transformation at work in one important area of biological science, plant pathology, by tracing the "molecularization" of efforts to understand and control one notorious plant disease—the late blight of potatoes. It mobilizes the research literature of late blight science as a tool through which to trace the changing typography of the research front from 1983 to 2003. During these years molecularization intensified the traditional fragmentation of the late blight research community, even as it dramatically integrated study of the causal organism into broader areas of biology. In these decades the pathogen responsible for late blight, the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, was discovered to be undergoing massive, frightening, and still largely unexplained genetic diversification—a circumstance that lends the episode examined here an urgency that reinforces its historiographical significance as a casestudy in the molecularization of the biological sciences.

The so-called “digital gender divide” has encouraged studies attempting to demonstrate the co-production of gender and information technology. Vivian Lagesen has criticized many of these attempts for failing to provide fully symmetrical accounts. Here we describe and analyze beliefs and practices concerning computers, gender, and technology evinced by managers in a network of public sites (Community Access Centers) created to provide community access to digital technology in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. From those results, we argue, among other conclusions, that distinguishing more carefully between the gendered uses of new technologies and the gendered forms of attraction associated with them produces a more fully realized and more perfectly symmetric understanding of how gender and communications technologies are co-produced. We show that the concepts of actor-network theory facilitate that analysis, and so interpret the study as supporting and extending Lagesen’s program.

Hypertension is a common feature of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and constitutes a major risk factor for accelerated cardiovascular disease and premature death. While a reduction in the incidence and severity of hypertension is one potential benefit of kidney transplantation, hypertension often remains as a problem after transplantation, even in recipients of wellfunctioning allografts. Despite many studies of the underlying etiologic factors, the mechanisms implicated in post-transplant hypertension are still incompletely understood. A number of variables, including status of the diseased native kidneys, steriod therapy, rejection, recurrence of original disease, activation of the renin-angiotensin system, sodium and calcium metabolism, and transplant renal artery stenosis may play a role in the etiology of hypertension after transplantation. Patients with persistent high blood pressure for more than 3 months after transplantation should be thoroughly investigated, with controlled sodium intake so that proper medical or surgical therapy can be implemented. Since sodium restriction, radionuclide renal scanning, renin levels, or responses to saralasin or captopril may not provide a clear index of various possibilities, an accurate differential diagnosis my also require invasive procedures such as arteriography and/or renal biopsy.