Development of drive mechanisms for communicaton satellites

A distinguished pedigree is an important asset in the development of Aerospace mechanisms. Four drives recently developed for communication satellites are outgrowths of a previously-proven drive configuration. Pedigree by itself, however is not enough to generate success. Inevitably, design changes which are thought to be minor, are generally introduced to fine tune the pedigreed hardware to meet particular requirements of a specific new application. Such design changes are often viewed too casually and are not thoroughly tested in the early development stages of the program. Two areas of design change are described on the solar array drive applied to the Japanese Broadcast Satellite which led to subsequent problems during the development phase of the program. The methods applied to establish the cause and the solution of these problems are described as well as the testing approach adapted to prevent similar occurrences on the current Communication Satellite Program, The Defense System Communications Satellite III

A soil-landscape model for southern Mahurangi Forest, Northland

Exotic plantation forestry has a productive area of about 75 000 ha in Northland (L. Cannon, personal communication). Forestry is thus an important land use of both economic and environmental significance in Northland as well as elsewhere in New Zealand. Therefore, it is of considerable importance that forestlands be managed sustainably by employing approaches such as site-specific management. The establishment of site-specific forest management practices requires information regarding the distribution of key soil properties (Turvey and Poutsma, 1980). Quantitative modelling to predict key soil properties of sustainable forestry from observable landscape features may be a cost-effective approach to mapping forestlands. We are investigating the efficacy of such an approach within Mahurangi Forest, Northland

A soil-landscape model for Mahurangi Forest, Northland, New Zealand

Exotic plantation forestry is an important land use of both economic and environmental significance in Northland and elsewhere in New Zealand. It is therefore of considerable importance that forestlands be managed sustainably by employing approaches such as site-specific management. The establishment of site-specific forest management practices requires information regarding the distribution of key soil properties (Turvey and Poutsma, 1980). Quantitative modelling to predict key soil properties from landscape features may be an effective approach to mapping forestlands. A study investigating the efficacy of such an approach is being conducted within Mahurangi Forest, Northland, New Zealand. As a pilot to the study, a detailed qualitative soil-landscape model was developed in order to gain a greater understanding of the soil-landscape relationships and soil pattern of the area. The qualitative soil-landscape model developed in the pilot study is presented here

DVT Surveillance Program in the ICU: Analysis of Cost-Effectiveness

Background Venous Thrombo-embolism (VTE – Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and/or pulmonary embolism (PE) – in traumatized patients causes significant morbidity and mortality. The current study evaluates the effectiveness of DVT surveillance in reducing PE, and performs a cost-effectiveness analysis. Methods All traumatized patients admitted to the adult ICU underwent twice weekly DVT surveillance by bilateral lower extremity venous Duplex examination (48-month surveillance period – SP). The rates of DVT and PE were recorded and compared to the rates observed in the 36-month pre-surveillance period (PSP). All patients in both periods received mechanical and pharmacologic prophylaxis unless contraindicated. Total costs – diagnostic, therapeutic and surveillance – for both periods were recorded and the incremental cost for each Quality Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gained was calculated. Results 4234 patients were eligible (PSP – 1422 and SP – 2812). Rate of DVT in SP (2.8%) was significantly higher than in PSP (1.3%) – p Conclusions Surveillance of traumatized ICU patients increases DVT detection and reduces PE incidence. Costs in terms of QALY gained compares favorably with other interventions accepted by society

In utero antihypertensive medication exposure and neonatal outcomes : A data linkage cohort study

We acknowledge the support from the Farr Institute @ Scotland. The Farr Institute @ Scotland is supported by a 10-funder consortium: Arthritis Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the National Institute of Health Research, the National Institute for Social Care and Health Research (Welsh Assembly Government), the Chief Scientist Office (Scottish Government Health Directorates), the Wellcome Trust, (MRC grant number MR/K007017/1).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Educational and health outcomes of children and adolescents receiving antidepressant medication : Scotland-wide retrospective record linkage cohort study of 766 237 schoolchildren

Funding Health Data Research UK (grant reference number MR/S003800/1). Acknowledgements The study was sponsored by Health Data Research UK (www.hdruk.ac.uk), which is a joint investment led by the Medical Research Council, together with the National Institute for Health Research (England), the Chief Scientist Office (Scotland), Health and Care Research Wales, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and Wellcome (grant reference number MR/S003800/1). The sponsor and funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript; or decision to submit the manuscript for publication. This study formed part of a wider PhD thesis undertaken by the lead author within the University of Glasgow and was published in 2017. Certain sections of this paper appear in the thesis, which is accessible and downloadable from the following link: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8594/1/2017flemingphd.pdf. Author Contributions J.P.P. had the original concept. All authors agreed the study design. D.C. and A.K. provided data and undertook record linkage. M.F. and D.F.M. undertook the statistical analyses. All authors interpreted the results. M.F. and J.P.P. drafted the manuscript and all other authors contributed revisions. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript. M.F. is guarantor for the study. Approvals The authors applied for permission to access, link and analyse these data and undertook mandatory training in data protection, IT security and information governance. Therefore, the datasets generated and analysed during the study are not publicly available. The study was approved by the National Health Service Privacy Advisory Committee and covered by a data-processing agreement between Glasgow University and ISD, and a data-sharing agreement between Glasgow University and ScotXed. All data were linked by the Electronic Data Research and Innovation Service (eDRIS), part of NHS National Services Scotland. Ethics The NHS West of Scotland Research Ethics Service confirmed that formal NHS ethics approval was not required, since the study involved anonymized extracts of routinely collected data with an acceptably negligible risk of identification. Conflict of interest: None declaredPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Educational and health outcomes of children and adolescents receiving antiepileptic medication : Scotland-wide record linkage study of 766 244 schoolchildren

Acknowledgements The study was sponsored by Health Data Research UK (www.hdruk.ac.uk) which is a joint investment led by the Medical Research Council, together with the National Institute for Health Research (England), the Chief Scientist Office (Scotland), Health and Care Research Wales, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and Wellcome. This study formed part of a wider PhD thesis undertaken by the lead author within the University of Glasgow, which was published in 2017. Therefore, certain sections of this paper appear in the thesis, which is accessible and downloadable from the following link: http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8594/1/2017flemingphd.pdf. Funding The study was sponsored by Health Data Research UK. The sponsor and funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review or approval of the manuscript, or decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Availability of data and materials The authors applied for permission to access, link and analyse these data and undertook mandatory training in data protection, IT security and information governance. Therefore, the datasets generated and analysed during the study are not publicly available.Peer reviewedPublisher PD