Newcastle City Council

Abstract The assessment of transmission H2 pipelines requires consideration of H2 degradation on fracture toughness, ductility and fatigue life. Gas inhibition is a technology that could assist the integrity management of future pipelines. Oxygen has shown strong mitigating effects against H2 embrittlement in laboratory experiments. However, its effectiveness and transferability to real pipeline conditions must be understood before implementing this technology. National Gas Transmission in collaboration with ROSEN investigated the viability of oxygen inhibition. Our results showed that oxygen is effective inhibiting H2 embrittlement, increasing the fracture resistance JQ to in-air levels and reducing fatigue crack growth rates by up to an order of magnitude depending on grade, frequency and loading conditions. These findings were consistent with the observed transition from quasi-cleavage to ductile fracture surfaces. OLGA simulations identified the flow conditions necessary to maintain a safe and uniform oxygen concentration within the H2 gas stream in terms of flow velocity, mixing configurations, injection locations and intervals. A high-level model of oxygen consumption at the pipe wall was developed. If these results could be proven transferable to representative pipeline scales, the use of gas inhibitors could enable optimised network efficiency, reduce H2 adoption cost and facilitate the energy transition.

The long-stop rule, under the UK Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987, imposes a 10-year limitation period for product liability claims, providing legal certainty for manufacturers and consumers. However, this timeframe is increasingly problematic in the case of medical devices, particularly implantable ones, which can fail decades after implantation. This review considers an extension to the long-stop period for medical devices, emphasising the need for patient protection, legal clarity, and reduced clinician burden, and contrasts the current UK system with the EU’s proposed 25-year long-stop period under the recently implemented 2024 Product Liability Directive. Through case studies, including surgical mesh and orthopaedic implants, the discussion highlights the challenges posed by delayed failure modes and the resulting difficulties in seeking redress within the 10-year window. Lastly, the role of publicly funded redress schemes and the evolving legal landscape are examined, underscoring the importance of reconsidering the current statutory limitations. Extending the long-stop period, combined with the use of explant analysis to evaluate defective medical devices, is proposed as a means to enhance patient safety and align with ongoing advancements in medical technology and regulation.

This chapter sets out an overview of the history of electric vehicles (EVs) as a key transport intervention to tackle climate change and the need for charge point infrastructure to enable the transition. For us to understand, this requires a deep dive into the origins of the scientific study of climate change and the ways to tackle it through decarbonisation and net zero. This helps us then understand what is driving policy, strategy and delivery of interventions to reduce emissions. This requires an analysis of when the terms emerged historically and when societies and governments began to take climate change, and climate change action, seriously. It also requires us to understand which sectors of the economy net zero and decarbonisation were applied to first and how there gradually was a focus on transport as a key greenhouse emitter. We also must understand the origins of the international movement to tackle climate change on a global scale and the policies developed across various sectors to reduce emissions. An increasing focus was placed on the role that emissions generated by transport were having on the climate and the interventions required across different transport modes to deliver emissions reductions. This chapter will help the reader gain an understanding of all of these areas.

To achieve health equity, we must first understand health inequities. This article focuses on socioeconomic deprivation and associated barriers to accessing health care for children and their families in the UK, where, despite care being free at the point of delivery, economic barriers to health care access remain. Thematic analysis of findings from a large qualitative study with providers of secondary and tertiary pediatric care in the UK. Rapid research evaluation and appraisal lab methodology was used to analyze data and identify themes. A total of 217 staff were consulted at all levels within 9 pediatric health care providers. Barriers to health care access were categorized under 2 intersectional themes: economic barriers and system accessibility. Examples of approaches to address barriers are presented and discussed. Decision-makers, clinicians, and staff at all levels are encouraged to consider the accessibility of their services against the key themes identified in this study. To fully address equity, national policy is required to address system sensitivities and avoid unregulated approaches for certain groups/specialties widening the inequities they aim to address.

ObjectivesPupil absence rates in Newcastle are among the highest in the country. Teachers, local authority attendance officers and community partners face significant challenges. While these professionals possess tacit knowledge about the reasons behind pupil absenteeism, supporting data is lacking. MethodsWe linked data from the school census, child in need census and attendance reports for pupils in years 1-11 in Newcastle from 2020/21 to 2022/23. Using multi-level negative binomial regression models, we examined how factors like Free School Meal eligibility, Special Educational Needs, Child in Need status, and socioeconomic conditions, influence likelihood of school absence. We estimated the variation in pupil absence across Newcastle attributable to school-level factors and identified outlier schools with the highest and lowest population-adjusted absence rates for subsequent qualitative research. This research was conducted by researchers within <Redacted>, facilitating effective collaboration with local stakeholders. ResultsResults will be available at the ADR UK Conference 2025. Administrative data will be descriptively analysed and graphically displayed to characterise the school attendance challenge in Newcastle and identify trends over recent years. We will present adjusted associations between pupil factors and absence, as well as estimates of the school environment’s influence on pupil absence. The limitations of our analysis will be discussed, along with how the research was enriched through focus groups, interviews and surveys with children, families and relevant professionals. ConclusionMissing school can adversely affect mental wellbeing and educational attainment, which can impact employment opportunities and health in the long term. By identifying those at higher risk, we aim to support local stakeholder discussions and inform the development of early interventions to improve outcomes for children and their families.

Abstract Background. In the United Kingdom, local government is well-placed to conduct and apply research about the wider determinants of health. However, local authorities often lack sufficient research infrastructure to support research capacity, capability and culture. Since 2022, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded 30 Health Determinants Research Collaborations (HDRCs) to develop this infrastructure. HDRCs are hosted by local authorities collaborating with universities and other partners to strengthen a culture of evidence-informed decision making. HDRCs are conducting local evaluations, including baseline assessments of local authority research capacity, capability and culture. Methods. A national peer-support group was formed to support shared learning among teams evaluating HDRCs. Here, as embedded evaluators from 10 HDRCs, we present reflections on the planning, delivery, and interpretation of baseline assessments. Reflections were gathered via group discussions and written submissions. All 10 HDRC baseline assessments explored local authority research capacity, capability and culture, and two also studied early HDRC team collaboration. Results. Competing priorities during early HDRC implementation called for pragmatic and timely baseline assessment methods. Most HDRCs developed baseline surveys, though interviews and focus groups were conducted by some. Despite similar aims, methods varied substantially according to local contexts. Evaluators often adapted existing validated survey tools, e.g., from health settings, as none were identified for use across local government. Definitions of research also ranged from academic definitions to broader notions of evidence. Useful insights were gathered across diverse samples to aid implementation locally, however low response rates were received to all-staff surveys and heterogenous approaches limited comparison across HDRCs. Findings contributed to recommendations for evaluating and developing HDRC activities (e.g., communications and training provisions) appropriate for local authorities with stretched resources. Where measured, collaborations were functioning well, with recommendations to enhance communication. Conclusions. The early contexts and challenges of HDRCs influenced pragmatic baseline assessments. Methods were often chosen to capture baseline contexts rapidly, and they will be refined and complemented by additional evaluation methods as HDRCs progress. Developing new validated measures and an agreed definition of research for local authorities may strengthen understanding of research capacity, capability and culture across local government.

Ribbon collision is a process that can rapidly disturb the symmetry of subduction zones. Previous studies have demonstrated how ribbon collision causes rotation at the surface and contortion in the slab, but have focused on the surface kinematics. We use three-dimensional mechanical models to investigate how the dynamic evolution of ribbon collision perturbs the strain and stress field at the surface, the deformation style in the slab and the force balance in intra-plate regions. In our numerical simulations, we vary the angle between the trench and the ribbon to explore the slab response to ribbons colliding at different orientations. Our numerical simulations show that ribbon collision causes significant heterogeneity of stress, strain rate and vorticity in both the overriding and subducting plates surface and the slab. Slab deformation shows compartmentalization into low and high strain-rate regions around a high vorticity zone, with strain-rate variations of up to an order of magnitude occurring in the along-strike and down-dip directions. In the context of our idealised oceanic-continental subduction system, the simulations show that intra-plate stresses are affected to a similar degree by buoyancy contrasts (i.e. gravitational potential energy variations), slab-pull and ribbon collision. This partitioning allows for significant heterogeneity in the intra-plate stress regime. This work highlights how the rapid changes in strain-rate within the slab, caused by ribbon collision, can explain the seismicity gaps observed in collisional margins, which are often interpreted as slab-tears.

The authors for this article represent public health, clinical paediatrics, medical sociology, and psychology, and together present an argument for why those in the UK should be concerned about the rise in vaping and vaping-associated nicotine dependence in those under the age of 18. The piece draws together the latest evidence in this area and calls for dedicated services for those who are nicotine dependent as a result of their vape usage, and who are currently overlooked.

Health inequalities are where we see differences in health across the population, and between different groups in society, that are systematic, unfair and avoidable (1). They need a long-term systemic response to support people to value their health and wellbeing (2). These social, economic environmental, cultural and commercial factors, known as the wider determinants of health, are unequally distributed across the UK population (3). This is despite numerous attempts to address them at a local, national and internationally (4, 5).