Spherulite formation in obsidian lavas in the Aeolian Islands, Italy

The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge Andy Tindle (The Open University) for assistance with EMP analyses, and Richard Darton and David Evans (Keele University) for assistance with XRD and Prof Alun Vaughan and Nicola Freebody (University of Southampton) with Raman analyses. LAB is grateful to Sophie Blanchard for support with MATLAB. The authors acknowledge support from Keele University, and grants from the Mineralogical Society (UK and Ireland) and Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group. The authors thank Silvio Mollo and Francesca Forni for their detailed and helpful comments.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Emplacement of the Rocche Rosse rhyolite lava flow (Lipari, Aeolian Islands)

The authors acknowledge Airbus Defence and Space for providing satellite imagery, financial support from Keele University and fieldwork grants from the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland and the Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group. LAB wishes to thank Leanne Patrick and James Watling for fieldwork assistance. The authors are grateful for the thorough and constructive comments from Guido Giordano and an anonymous reviewer, as well as the careful editorial handling of Kathy Cashman and Andrew Harris, which greatly improved this manuscript. Open access via Springer CompactPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Materials for Product Design

The realisation of any product depends on the manipulation of appropriate materials. Materials and manufacturing processes must be selected in relation to the required service performance, the available manufacturing resources and the acceptable cost. Designers need to understand the implications of these choices and be sensitive to the forms their products must take if they are to avoid unnecessary compromises between aesthetic requirements and efficient production. Traditionally it may have been acceptable for designers to hand over 'concept designs' to production engineers to modify as necessary, but a more holistic approach to design development is now expected. The educational experiences of undergraduates on the Design and Technology three year degree programme should enable them to participate fully in a modern integrated approach to product design

Materials for product design

The realisation of any product depends on the manipulation of appropriate materials. Materials and manufacturing processes must be selected in relation to the required service performance, the available manufacturing resources and the acceptable cost. Designers need to understand the implications of these choices and be sensitive to the forms their products must take if they are to avoid unnecessary compromises between aesthetic requirements and efficient production. Traditionally it may have been acceptable for designers to hand over 'concept designs' to production engineers to modify as necessary, but a more holistic approach to design development is now expected. The educational experiences of undergraduates on the Design and Technology three year degree programme should enable them to participate fully in a modern integrated approach to product design

The Effect of Substructure on Mass Estimates of Galaxies

Large galaxies are thought to form hierarchically, from the accretion and disruption of many smaller galaxies. Such a scenario should naturally lead to galactic phase-space distributions containing some degree of substructure. We examine the errors in mass estimates of galaxies and their dark halos made using the projected phase-space distribution of a tracer population (such as a globular cluster system or planetary nebulae) due to falsely assuming that the tracers are distributed randomly. The level of this uncertainty is assessed by applying a standard mass estimator to samples drawn from 11 random realizations of galaxy halos containing levels of substructure consistent with current models of structure formation. We find that substructure will distort our mass estimates by up to ~20% - a negligible error compared to statistical and measurement errors in current derivations of masses for our own and other galaxies. However, this represents a fundamental limit to the accuracy of any future mass estimates made under the assumption that the tracer population is distributed randomly, regardless of the size of the sample or the accuracy of the measurements.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Astrophysical Journal, in pres

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE AXIAL SPINE TO KICKING BIOMECHANICS IN THE DIPPING KICK AMONG ELITE SOCCER PLAYERS

The aim of this study was to develop normative data for thoracic, lumbar and pelvic range of motion (ROM) during a soccer dipping kick among five NCAA Division I and high-level youth soccer players, comparing successful and unsuccessful kicks. The “dipping” kick is a complex, skill whereby a player strikes the ball so that it initially rises, but due to its top spin subsequently “dips” toward the intended target. From a repeated measures, cross-sectional design, successful kicks had a lower thoracic rotation at ball contact and average maximum thoracic rotation at 31.1±26.5º compared to the average maximum value for unsuccessful kicks at 43.7±28.6º, although not statistically significant. This study suggests that twisting the thoracic spine away from the target in an effort to “whip” and dip the ball may be suboptimal. The thoracic spine is more in line with the pelvis in successful kicks

Quantitative evaluation of settlement sustainability policy (QESSP); forward planning for 26 Irish settlements

peer-reviewedUrban areas are increasingly associated with negative environmental impacts due to concentrated resource consumption; however urban areas also offer economies of scale in terms of service provision. There is no accepted mechanism to aid decision-makers in policy selection to determine where to promote population growth or how to select settlement specific policies to improve sustainability of urban areas. There is strong political desire for methods assessing policy implementation impact on overall sustainability targets, but this has proved challenging, as views on the meaning of sustainability vary, and methods developed satisfying scientists' needs for rigor are deemed too complex and inadequately transparent by decision-makers. Sustainability measurement is vital to check whether a new policy, decision or technical innovation is helpful in enhancing sustainability. By 2055 estimates indicate that 75 percent of the world population will live in urban areas, highlighting the importance of promoting low cost policy decisions providing greatest environmental benefit, with short implementation timescale. This paper describes an evidence-based method developed and piloted to address these drivers and provide a decision support system for planners and policy-makers developed for Irish settlements with population range 500-20,000, which may have application elsewhere.PUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe

Muscle recruitment patterns during the prone leg extension

BACKGROUND: The prone leg extension (PLE) is a clinical test used to evaluate the function of the lumbopelvis. It has been theorized that a normal and consistent pattern of muscle activation exists. Previous research has found two contradictory patterns of muscle activation during PLE in normal individuals. One study shows an almost simultaneous activation of the lower erector spinae and hamstring muscle group with a delayed activation of the gluteus maximus, while the second describes the order of activation being ipsilateral erector spinae (to the leg being extended), hamstrings, contralateral erector spinae and gluteus maximus. Due to the different conclusions from these two studies and the lack of quantified muscle onset times, expressed in absolute time this study attempted to quantify the muscle onset times (in milliseconds) during the prone leg extension, while noting if a consistent order of activation exists and whether a timing relationship also exists between the gluteus maximus and contralateral latissimus dorsi. METHODS: 10 asymptomatic males (Average height: 175.2 cm (SD 6.5), Average Weight 75.9 kg (SD 6.5), Average Age: 27.1(SD 1.28)) and 4 asymptomatic females (Average height 164.5 (SD 2.9), weight: 56.2 (SD 8.9), Average Age: 25 (SD 1)) performed the prone leg extension task while the myoelectric signal was recorded from the bilateral lower erector spinae, gluteus maximus and hamstring muscle groups. Activation onsets were determined from the rectified EMG signal relative to the onset of the hamstrings muscle group. RESULTS: No consistent recruitment patterns were detected for prone leg extension among the hamstring muscle group and the erector spinae. However, a consistent delay in the Gluteus Maximus firing of approximately 370 ms after the first muscle activated was found. Five out of 14 asymptomatic subjects showed a delay in gluteus maximus firing exceeding the average delay found in previous research of subjects considered to have a dysfunctional firing pattern. CONCLUSION: A consistent pattern of activation was not found. Variability was seen across subjects. These findings suggest the PLE is not sufficient for a diagnostic test due to the notable physiological variation. An overlap between normal and potentially abnormal activation patterns may exist

How Common are the Magellanic Clouds?

We introduce a probabilistic approach to the problem of counting dwarf satellites around host galaxies in databases with limited redshift information. This technique is used to investigate the occurrence of satellites with luminosities similar to the Magellanic Clouds around hosts with properties similar to the Milky Way in the object catalog of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Our analysis uses data from SDSS Data Release 7, selecting candidate Milky-Way-like hosts from the spectroscopic catalog and candidate analogs of the Magellanic Clouds from the photometric catalog. Our principal result is the probability for a Milky-Way-like galaxy to host N_{sat} close satellites with luminosities similar to the Magellanic Clouds. We find that 81 percent of galaxies like the Milky Way are have no such satellites within a radius of 150 kpc, 11 percent have one, and only 3.5 percent of hosts have two. The probabilities are robust to changes in host and satellite selection criteria, background-estimation technique, and survey depth. These results demonstrate that the Milky Way has significantly more satellites than a typical galaxy of its luminosity; this fact is useful for understanding the larger cosmological context of our home galaxy.Comment: Updated to match published version. Added referenc