Availability, outage, and capacity of spatially correlated, Australasian free-space optical networks

Network capacity and reliability for free space optical communication (FSOC) is strongly driven by ground station availability, dominated by local cloud cover causing an outage, and how availability relations between stations produce network diversity. We combine remote sensing data and novel methods to provide a generalised framework for assessing and optimising optical ground station networks. This work is guided by an example network of eight Australian and New Zealand optical communication ground stations which would span approximately $60^\circ$ in longitude and $20^\circ$ in latitude. Utilising time-dependent cloud cover data from five satellites, we present a detailed analysis determining the availability and diversity of the network, finding the Australasian region is well-suited for an optical network with a 69% average site availability and low spatial cloud cover correlations. Employing methods from computational neuroscience, we provide a Monte Carlo method for sampling the joint probability distribution of site availabilities for an arbitrarily sized and point-wise correlated network of ground stations. Furthermore, we develop a general heuristic for site selection under availability and correlation optimisations, and combine this with orbital propagation simulations to compare the data capacity between optimised networks and the example network. We show that the example network may be capable of providing tens of terabits per day to a LEO satellite, and up to 99.97% reliability to GEO satellites. We therefore use the Australasian region to demonstrate novel, generalised tools for assessing and optimising FSOC ground station networks, and additionally, the suitability of the region for hosting such a network.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Optical Communications and Networking. 16 pages, 16 figure

Ab initio study of the modification of elastic properties of alpha-iron by hydrostatic strain and by hydrogen interstitials

The effect of hydrostatic strain and of interstitial hydrogen on the elastic properties of $\alpha$-iron is investigated using \textit{ab initio} density-functional theory calculations. We find that the cubic elastic constants and the polycrystalline elastic moduli to a good approximation decrease linearly with increasing hydrogen concentration. This net strength reduction can be partitioned into a strengthening electronic effect which is overcome by a softening volumetric effect. The calculated hydrogen-dependent elastic constants are used to determine the polycrystalline elastic moduli and anisotropic elastic shear moduli. For the key slip planes in $\alpha$-iron, $[1\bar{1}0]$ and $[11\bar{2}]$, we find a shear modulus reduction of approximately 1.6% per at.% H.Comment: Updated first part of 1009.378

Anger, anxiety and corruption perceptions: Evidence from France

British Academy grant SG-101785

Intravenous leiomyomatosis of the uterus with extension to the right heart

A 42-year-old woman admitted with debilitation and engorgement both lower extremities. Transthoracic two-dimensional echocardiography, abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography revealed a lobulated pelvic mass, a mass within right internal iliac vein, both common iliac vein, as well as the inferior vena cava, extending into the right atrium. In addition, echocardiography and abdominal ultrasound showed the tumor of right atrium and inferior vena cave has no stalk and has well-demarcated borders with the wall of right atrium and inferior vena cave. Hence, the presumptive diagnosis of IVL was made by echocardiography and abdominal ultrasound and the presumptive diagnosis of sarcoma with invasion in right internal iliac vein, both common iliac vein, the inferior vena cava, as well as the right atrium was made by multi-detector-row computerized tomography. The patient underwent a one-stage combined multidisciplinary thoraco-abdominal operation under general anaesthetic. Subsequently the pathologic report confirmed IVL

The electroretinogram:a useful tool for evaluating age-related macular disease?

With an ageing population, the number of age-related macular disease (ARMD) cases will inevitably rise. This gives greater impetus for the need to identify the disease earlier and assess treatments to slow disease progression. Differing electroretinogram (ERG) modalities have been reviewed in relation to the objective assessment of retinal function in ARMD and for monitoring the effectiveness of clinical interventions. Conflicting results have been found with regard to the efficacy of ERG findings in the investigation of ARMD in previous years. The newer multifocal ERG paradigm provides spatial topographical information about retinal function in ARMD. It has shown promising results in monitoring effectiveness of clinical interventions and studies are continuing in this area. Better knowledge of retinal function in ARMD may lead to enhanced treatments at each phase of the disease

How should Oxygen Supplementation Be Guided by Pulse Oximetry in Children: Do We Know the Level?

Supplemental oxygen is one of the most commonly prescribed therapies to children in hospital, but one of the least studied therapeutics. This review considers oxygen from a range of perspectives; discovery and early use; estimation of oxygenation in the human body—both clinically and by medical device; the effects of illness on oxygen utilization; the cellular consequences of low oxygen; and finally, how clinical studies currently inform our approach to targeting supplementing oxygen in those with lower than normal oxygen saturation

Is intuitive eating the same as flexible dietary control? Their links to each other and well-being could provide an answer

Researchers have found that rigid dietary control is connected to higher psychological distress, including disordered and disinhibited eating. Two approaches have been touted by certain scholars and/or health organizations as healthier alternatives: intuitive eating and flexible control—yet these approaches have not been compared in terms of their shared variance with one another and psychological well-being (adjustment and distress). The present study explored these connections among 382 community women and men. Findings revealed that intuitive eating and flexible control are inversely related constructs. Intuitive eating was related to lower rigid control, lower psychological distress, higher psychological adjustment, and lower BMI. In contrast, flexible control was strongly related in a positive direction to rigid control, and was unrelated to distress, adjustment, and BMI. Further, intuitive eating incrementally contributed unique variance to the well-being measures after controlling for both flexible and rigid control. Flexible control was positively associated with psychological adjustment and inversely associated with distress and BMI only when its shared variance with rigid control was extracted. Collectively, these results suggest that intuitive eating is not the same phenomenon as flexible control, and that flexible control demonstrated substantial overlap and entanglement with rigid control, precluding the clarity, validity, and utility of flexible control as a construct. Discussion addresses the implications of this distinction between intuitive eating and flexible control for the promotion of healthy eating attitudes and behaviors