Asteroid Belt Meteoroid Hazard Study

Mathematical models for probability of successful traverse of asteroid belt or zero penetration of spacecraft shiel

‘BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM’: BALL ROTATION IN THE CURVED FOOTBALL KICK

The objectives of this study were to quantify the 3D angular velocity and spin axes of a curved versus straight kick for goal in football. A 12 camera 250 Hz 3D Vicon motion analysis system recorded 4 semi-professional soccer players, as they performed 5 straight (S) and 10 curved (C) kicks. While the velocity of the ball was similar for both kicks (~20 m.s-1), spin rate was significantly different (S=22.6 rad.s-1; C=36.4 rad.s-1). While the level of spin for the straight kick was surprising, the elevation angle of its spin axis was significantly lower in the straight compared with curved kicks (S=30.4°; C=62.6°

Visualisation Tools for Multi-Perspective, Cross-Sector, Long-Term Infrastructure Performance Evaluation

Across different infrastructure sectors there are systems that help to monitor the current and near-future operation and performance of a particular system. Whilst Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are critical to maintaining acceptable levels of functionality, they do not provide insights over the longer timescales across which strategic investment decisions play out. To understand how individual or multiple, interdependent, infrastructure sectors perform over longer timescales, capacity/demand modelling is required. However, the outputs of such models are often a complex high-dimensionality result-set, and this complexity is further compounded when crosssector evaluation is required. To maximise utility of such models, tools are required that can process and present key outputs. In this paper we describe the development of prototype tools for infrastructure performance evaluation in relation to different strategic decisions and the complex outputs generated from capacity and demand models of five infrastructure sectors (energy, water, waste water, solid waste, transport) investigated within the UK Infrastructure Transitions Research Consortium (ITRC). By constructing tools that expose various dimensions of the model outputs, a user is able to take greater control over the knowledge discovery process

QUALITATIVE BIOMECHANICS FOR COACHING

Session Information: Coaches must apply principles of biomechanics in their qualitative judgments of the technique used by athletes. These judgments can have a major influence on performance and injury risk. This session will focus on the most effective use of qualitative biomechanical analyses and video replay software. Several scholars who have experience teaching qualitative biomechanical analysis to future coaches will present, followed by a question and answer session. Schedule of Presentations: Dr. Knudson will introduce the session and provide a brief overview of qualitative biomechanical analysis. 11:00 – 11:15 Dr. Alderson will present sport injury models as they apply to assessment, intervention and rehabilitation of common injuries in cricket, tennis and running. Relevant qualitative and quantitative 2D features of SiliconCoach that can be utilised by a coach to potentially reduce injury incidence will be presented. 11:15 – 11:45 Dr. Bahamonde will present how qualitative analysis can be used to teach biomechanics concepts to physical education and coaching students. Movement examples from tennis, soccer and track field and meaningful features of Hu-m-an software will be illustrated. Hu-m-an is unique in that it was developed with a specific teaching-learning focus. 11:45 – 12:15 Dr. Bird will present biomechanical core concepts as a “common language” to evaluate and improve all human movements. The core concepts are visually observable, but meaningful features of Dartfish will be illustrated to enhance what is seen by both the coach and the mover. Movement examples from golf, resistance training, basketball, and other sports will be presented. 12:15 – 12:45 Discussion: 12:45 – 13:00 This will provide an opportunity for delegates to ask specific questions relating to any of the presenters

THE APPLICATION OF A SPORT-SPECIFIC 3D STEREOSCOPIC STIMULUS TO EXAMINE PRE-PLANNING TIME AND GAZE CHARACTERISTICS DURING EVASIVE SIDE-STEPPING MANOEUVRES

It is well established that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are serious, debilitating and costly for an individual, while also creating a significant public health burden at a societal level. ACL injuries occur when inappropriate external loads are applied to the knee and most commonly occur during the performance of a side-stepping (Ssg) manoeuvre (Besier et al., 2001a). Previous laboratory based investigations of evasive Ssg have employed generic light or mannequin visual stimuli in an effort to simulate the time and space constraints experienced by athletes, in the preparation and execution of the Ssg manoeuvre (Besier et al., 2001b; Besier et al., 2003; Mclean et al., 2004). However, a possible outcome of attempts to impose these constraints in lab environments is that the use of unrealistic visual stimuli may not accurately reflect or identify the relationship of the perceptual demands of the task with injury risk variables, during a sidestep in game based situations. This study proposes that the presentation of a three dimensional (3D) stereoscopic stimulus (3DSS), featuring a 3D video based sport specific reconstruction of an opposing defender(s) simulating a tackle, may improve the ecological validity of laboratory based investigations. Additionally, the incorporation of the 3DSS tool with eye tracking will allow for the subject’s gaze characteristics (fixations, durations on the 3DSS image) to be assessed. The general aims of this study were to: Technical • develop a 3DSS that delivers realistic sport-specific constraints to footballers during evasive Ssg manoeuvres, • create 3DSS scenarios that incorporate realistic game based variations of imposed time and space constraints (e.g. 3DSS tackle scenarios with one or two defenders), • develop an interface and protocol that integrates the 3DSS system with a commercial eye tracking system (ASL Eye Tracking Recorder), for the purpose of quantifying the lab based subject’s gaze characteristics on the projected stimulus during a Ssg manoeuvre, Experimental • identify differences in biomechanical variables (kinematic, kinetic and neuromuscular) associated with increased injury risk during Ssg manoeuvres, using a traditional light (light emitting diode) based stimulus (LBSS) compared with a 3DSS stimuli

Application of the penalty coupling method for the analysis of blood vessels

Due to the significant health and economic impact of blood vessel diseases on modern society, its analysis is becoming of increasing importance for the medical sciences. The complexity of the vascular system, its dynamics and material characteristics all make it an ideal candidate for analysis through fluid structure interaction (FSI) simulations. FSI is a relatively new approach in numerical analysis and enables the multi-physical analysis of problems, yielding a higher accuracy of results than could be possible when using a single physics code to analyse the same category of problems. This paper introduces the concepts behind the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation using the penalty coupling method. It moves on to present a validation case and compares it to available simulation results from the literature using a different FSI method. Results were found to correspond well to the comparison case as well as basic theory

Water use and water availability constraints to decarbonised electricity systems

Analysis of numerous low carbon electricity strategies have been shown to have very divergent water requirements, normally needed for cooling of thermoelectric power stations. Our regional river-basin scale analysis of water use for future UK electricity strategies shows that, whilst in the majority of cases freshwater use is expected to decline, pathways with high levels of carbon capture and storage (CCS) will result in significantly elevated and concentrated water demands in a few key river basins. Furthermore, these growing demands are compared to both current water availability, and our expected regional water availability under the impacts of climate change. We identify key freshwater constraints to electricity strategies with high levels of CCS and show how these risks may be mitigated with higher levels of hybrid cooling and alternative cooling water sources

Revitalising audit and feedback to improve patient care

Healthcare systems face challenges in tackling variations in patient care and outcomes. Audit and feedback aim to improve patient care by reviewing clinical performance against explicit standards and directing action towards areas not meeting those standards. It is a widely used foundational component of quality improvement, included in around 60 national clinical audit programmes in the United Kingdom. Ironically, there is currently a gap between what audit and feedback can achieve and what they actually deliver, whether led locally or nationally. Several national audits have been successful in driving improvement and reducing variations in care, such as for stroke and lung cancer, but progress is also slower than hoped for in other aspects of care (table 1). Audit and feedback have a chequered past.6 Clinicians might feel threatened rather than supported by top-down feedback and rightly question whether rewards outweigh efforts invested in poorly designed audit. Healthcare organisations have limited resources to support and act on audit and feedback. Dysfunctional clinical and managerial relationships undermine effective responses to feedback, particularly when it is not clearly part of an integrated approach to quality assurance and improvement. Unsurprisingly, the full potential of audit and feedback has not been realised

A Phase 1 Randomized, Placebo-controlled, Observer-blinded Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of Inactivated Streptococcus pneumoniae Whole-cell Vaccine in Adults

BACKGROUND: Broadly protective pneumococcal vaccines that are affordable for low-resource countries are needed. Streptococcus pneumoniae whole cell vaccine (wSp) is an investigational vaccine that contains killed cells from a nonencapsulated strain of S. pneumoniae (SPn) with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. Studies in mice demonstrated protection against nasopharyngeal carriage (T-cell-mediated) and invasive pneumococcal disease (antibody-mediated). The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1 study was to assess safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of wSp in healthy adults. METHODS: Forty-two participants were randomized into 3 dose cohorts to receive 0.1, 0.3, or 0.6 mg of wSp or saline intramuscularly. Participants received a 3-dose vaccination schedule spaced by 4-week intervals. Postvaccination assessments included solicited reactogenicity events through day 7, blood chemistry and hematology assessments at day 7, and adverse events (AEs) through day 84. Participants were monitored for serum antibody and peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine responses to pneumococcal antigens. A 6-month telephone follow-up was completed to assess for any additional AEs. RESULTS: wSp was safe and well tolerated. Reactogenicity was acceptable and no untoward safety signals were observed. wSp elicited potentially clinically significant rises (defined arbitrarily as at least a 2-fold rise) in immunoglobulin G responses to multiple pneumococcal antigens, including pneumococcal surface protein A and pneumolysin. Functional antibody responses were observed with the highest dose of wSp (0.6 mg). Increases in T-cell cytokine responses, including interleukin 17A, were also seen among wSp vaccines. CONCLUSIONS: wSp was safe and well tolerated in healthy US adults, eliciting pneumococcal antigen-specific antibody and T-cell cytokine responses

Fluctuation-driven capacity distribution in complex networks

Maximizing robustness and minimizing cost are common objectives in the design of infrastructure networks. However, most infrastructure networks evolve and operate in a highly decentralized fashion, which may significantly impact the allocation of resources across the system. Here, we investigate this question by focusing on the relation between capacity and load in different types of real-world communication and transportation networks. We find strong empirical evidence that the actual capacity of the network elements tends to be similar to the maximum available capacity, if the cost is not strongly constraining. As more weight is given to the cost, however, the capacity approaches the load nonlinearly. In particular, all systems analyzed show larger unoccupied portions of the capacities on network elements subjected to smaller loads, which is in sharp contrast with the assumptions involved in (linear) models proposed in previous theoretical studies. We describe the observed behavior of the capacity-load relation as a function of the relative importance of the cost by using a model that optimizes capacities to cope with network traffic fluctuations. These results suggest that infrastructure systems have evolved under pressure to minimize local failures, but not necessarily global failures that can be caused by the spread of local damage through cascading processes