Confidence modelling in DiGMapGB-50 for customer needs

This report reviews and tests recent internal research on establishing an efficient, reliable method of creating an indicator layer of confidence in the DiGMapGB-50 data, using expert elicitation. This report provides an overview of work from earlier studies by the BGS with a follow up test based on recommendations (Lee, et al., 2011). The focus of this study was the development and implementation of the follow up procedure which is described in detail. Recommendations for further development of the methodology are provided alongside a proposed way forward

The use of cartograms for BGS data and information representation

Cartograms are shown to be superior to both choropleth maps and bar charts, as they are designed to deliver geospatial statistics effectively and efficiently. This report presents the results of research in establishing the potential for the use of area cartograms for science information delivery. The research involved establishing an overview of all the types of cartogram used; noting the types of data used in their creation and identifying similar sources of data that may prove appropriate for use in cartograms. Test examples were created and presented along with an evaluation as to their effectiveness and efficiency in communicating spatially orientated datasets. The work was carried out as part of the Data Representation and Presentation project for the Geospatial Capture and Solutions team. This forms part of a wider research project investigating new ways in which BGS can display science and information more effectively to a broad range of audiences

User guide for the GeoSure Insurance Product (version 7)

The GeoSure Insurance Product (GIP) provides the potential insurance risk due to natural ground movement. It incorporates the combined effects of the 6 GeoSure hazards on (low-rise) buildings and links these to a postcode database – the Derived Postcode Database. A series of GIS (Geographical Information System) maps show the most significant hazard areas. The ground movement, or subsidence, hazards included are landslides, shrink-swell clays, soluble rocks, running sands, compressible ground and collapsible deposits. This document accompanies the latest Version 7 release (May 2015) of the GeoSure Insurance Product and included Derived Postcode Database

User guide for the Biosphere Isotope Domains GB (Version 1) dataset and web portal

This report is a user guide for the Biosphere Isotope Domains GB (V1) dataset, which includes (1) a GIS layer for strontium, sulphur and oxygen isotopes (2) datasets of strontium and sulphur isotope measurements from samples across the Great Britain - published separately and available via BGS and (3) a web portal for viewing and querying the data. A description of the data, methodology and assumptions used in the construction of the Biosphere Isotope Domains GB map is included in the associated publications for strontium (Evans, 2018) and sulphur (Chenery, 2018). The primary application of such datasets is for determining the provenance of skeletal material; although the data may also be of use in modern traceability studies of fauna and flora

Risk maps for evaluation of water-quality monitoring requirements in England & Wales

This report details the steps taken in the process of producing risk (hazard) maps for chemical parameters listed in the European Commission Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption and the national Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations that implement the requirements of the directive for drinking water in England and Wales. Amendments to 98/83/EC set out in Directive 2015/1787 provide the terms for reduced monitoring requirements by European Member States for drinking water where evidence indicates that waterquality risk is low. On the basis of the Water Safety Plan approach of the World Health Organization, DWI requires mapping of available data on raw-water sources in England and Wales to provide an evaluation of spatial distributions of the listed chemical parameters and their concentration ranges as evidence of risk for drinking water. An evaluation of temporal variability was also required to assess evidence for any trends to aid with decision making on future drinkingwater monitoring requirements. Data for an agreed list of 27 chemical parameters were collated, screened, evaluated and mapped, with surface water and groundwater being treated separately. This report details the data sources and steps taken to collate, evaluate, process and map them. Risk maps produced for individual parameters include expected values and 95th percentiles of measured values relative to the prescribed concentration or value (PCV) at any given location. The methodology employed required prediction of the entire statistical distribution of each parameter at each prediction location so that both expected value and percentile values for each parameter could be determined. This required the use of a statistical model to represent the variation of the data. The produced risk maps are produced for water-quality data analysed over the last three years, in line with the requirements of the 2015/1787 Directive. The correspondence between the two layers is an indication of the spatial data availability and the strength of correlation between measurements from nearby sites. The maps are presented in ArcGIS with additional explanatory layers comprising open-source data for coastline, multiscaled atlases, postcode sectors, place names, simplified geology, Environment Agency region boundaries and local authority boundaries as points of reference. The GIS is presented as a separate mxd file. The maps have inevitable limitations derived from inability to guarantee complete elimination of errors from the cleaned datasets, paucity of data for some parameters, spatial and temporal variability of available data for others, variable spreads of surface-water drainage or aquifers, variable detection limits for some trace elements, and for groundwaters, variable chemistry with depth, especially for concealed and/or stacked aquifers. Nonetheless, the maps provide an estimate of the current best-available spatial distributions for parameters for surface water and groundwater to aid DWI in assessing drinking-water risks and determining monitoring requirements, in line with Directive 2015/1787. It is anticipated that the maps will be used alongside available sitespecific water-quality monitoring data and site risk assessments for decision making in the context of the Directive. Temporal variability of raw water chemical data have also been assessed. As temporal trends vary significantly spatially for individual parameters and between parameters, recommendations for timescales of map revision are difficult to make. As a pragmatic recommendation, a mapping renewal interval on the order of 10 years is considered appropriate. In the case of amendments to the statutory PCVs in the meantime, remapping is possible using the existing rasters and relating to the revised threshold values

The Rise and Fall, and the Rise (Again) of Feminist Research in Music: 'What Goes Around Comes Around'

This article reports from a two-phase study that involved an analysis of the extant literature followed by a three-part survey answered by seventy-one women composers. Through these theoretical and empirical data, the authors explore the relationship between gender and music’s symbolic and cultural capital. Bourdieu’s theory of the habitus is employed to understand the gendered experiences of the female composers who participated in the survey. The article suggests that these female composers have different investments in gender but that, overall, they reinforce the male habitus given that the female habitus occupies a subordinate position in relation to that of the male. The findings of the study also suggest a connection between contemporary feminism and the attitudes towards gender held by the participants. The article concludes that female composers classify themselves, and others, according to gendered norms and that these perpetuate the social order in music in which the male norm dominates

TESS Delivers Five New Hot Giant Planets Orbiting Bright Stars from the Full-frame Images

We present the discovery and characterization of five hot and warm Jupiters - TOI-628 b (TIC 281408474; HD 288842), TOI-640 b (TIC 147977348), TOI-1333 b (TIC 395171208, BD+47 3521A), TOI-1478 b (TIC 409794137), and TOI-1601 b (TIC 139375960) - based on data from NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The five planets were identified from the full-frame images and were confirmed through a series of photometric and spectroscopic follow-up observations by the TESS Follow-up Observing Program Working Group. The planets are all Jovian size (R P = 1.01-1.77 R J) and have masses that range from 0.85 to 6.33 M J. The host stars of these systems have F and G spectral types (5595 ≤ T eff ≤ 6460 K) and are all relatively bright (9.5 1.7 R J, possibly a result of its host star's evolution) and resides on an orbit with a period longer than 5 days. TOI-628 b is the most massive, hot Jupiter discovered to date by TESS with a measured mass of 6.31-0.30+0.28 M J and a statistically significant, nonzero orbital eccentricity of e = 0.074-0.022+0.021. This planet would not have had enough time to circularize through tidal forces from our analysis, suggesting that it might be remnant eccentricity from its migration. The longest-period planet in this sample, TOI-1478 b (P = 10.18 days), is a warm Jupiter in a circular orbit around a near-solar analog. NASA's TESS mission is continuing to increase the sample of well-characterized hot and warm Jupiters, complementing its primary mission goals

Tocilizumab in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effects of tocilizumab in adult patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 with both hypoxia and systemic inflammation. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. Those trial participants with hypoxia (oxygen saturation <92% on air or requiring oxygen therapy) and evidence of systemic inflammation (C-reactive protein ≥75 mg/L) were eligible for random assignment in a 1:1 ratio to usual standard of care alone versus usual standard of care plus tocilizumab at a dose of 400 mg–800 mg (depending on weight) given intravenously. A second dose could be given 12–24 h later if the patient's condition had not improved. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. The trial is registered with ISRCTN (50189673) and ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04381936). Findings: Between April 23, 2020, and Jan 24, 2021, 4116 adults of 21 550 patients enrolled into the RECOVERY trial were included in the assessment of tocilizumab, including 3385 (82%) patients receiving systemic corticosteroids. Overall, 621 (31%) of the 2022 patients allocated tocilizumab and 729 (35%) of the 2094 patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days (rate ratio 0·85; 95% CI 0·76–0·94; p=0·0028). Consistent results were seen in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including those receiving systemic corticosteroids. Patients allocated to tocilizumab were more likely to be discharged from hospital within 28 days (57% vs 50%; rate ratio 1·22; 1·12–1·33; p<0·0001). Among those not receiving invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, patients allocated tocilizumab were less likely to reach the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilation or death (35% vs 42%; risk ratio 0·84; 95% CI 0·77–0·92; p<0·0001). Interpretation: In hospitalised COVID-19 patients with hypoxia and systemic inflammation, tocilizumab improved survival and other clinical outcomes. These benefits were seen regardless of the amount of respiratory support and were additional to the benefits of systemic corticosteroids. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Cartogram and Choropleth communicative effectiveness: participant test results 2015.

These are the results obtained from an empirical test looking at the communicative effectiveness between two types of two dimensional (2D) map formats: The Choropleth map, and the Cartogram. Participants were interviewed and observed individually during the procedure. 72 volunteer participants completed the test over the period between; October 2014 - January 2015, using maps produced from iGeology, and mySoil mobile app usage data in the Greater London area of the United Kingdom. The results contain the recorded measurements of spatial accuracy, and the time taken for each participant to answers 3 test questions. A post-test qualitative reaction of each participants’ preference between the two map types is recorded, along with their gender, age, visual impediments, and self-assessed map reading ability