Mapping inshore fishing activity using aerial, land, and vessel-based sighting information

Information on the distribution and intensity of inshore fishing activity is needed to inform marine spatial planning and to assess fisheries interactions with the environment and other industries. Although fishing vessels under 15 m (overall length) account for 98.4% (2011 value) by the number of the European fleet, information on inshore fishing activity in Europe is very limited as there is no statutory satellite monitoring of smaller vessels (<15 m length before 2012, <12 m thereafter). Here, we develop, present, and apply a method which uses sightings-per-unit-effort (SPUE) estimates calculated from fisheries enforcement data to describe the distribution and intensity of inshore fishing activity off the coasts of England and Wales. For the larger inshore vessels, the SPUE estimates of activity were validated with vessel monitoring system (VMS) data and showed good agreement at the scale of analysis. Fishing activity estimates from SPUE are presented with an assessment of uncertainty, to account for spatial differences in enforcement activity. Our estimates of the distribution and intensity of inshore fishing activity and will complement estimates of offshore fishing activity based on VMS

Fibroblast migration and collagen deposition during dermal wound healing: mathematical modelling and clinical implications,

The extent to which collagen alignment occurs during dermal wound healing determines the severity of scar tissue formation. We have modelled this using a multiscale approach, in which extracellular materials, for example collagen and fibrin, are modelled as continua, while fibroblasts are considered as discrete units. Within this model framework, we have explored the effects that different parameters have on the alignment process, and we have used the model to investigate how manipulation of transforming growth factor-β levels can reduce scar tissue formation. We briefly review this body of work, then extend the modelling framework to investigate the role played by leucocyte signalling in wound repair. To this end, fibroblast migration and collagen deposition within both the wound region and healthy peripheral tissue are considered. Trajectories of individual fibroblasts are determined as they migrate towards the wound region under the combined influence of collagen/fibrin alignment and gradients in a paracrine chemoattractant produced by leucocytes. The effects of a number of different physiological and cellular parameters upon the collagen alignment and repair integrity are assessed. These parameters include fibroblast concentration, cellular speed, fibroblast sensitivity to chemoattractant concentration and chemoattractant diffusion coefficient. Our results show that chemoattractant gradients lead to increased collagen alignment at the interface between the wound and the healthy tissue. Results show that there is a trade-off between wound integrity and the degree of scarring. The former is found to be optimized under conditions of a large chemoattractant diffusion coefficient, while the latter can be minimized when repair takes place in the presence of a competitive inhibitor to chemoattractants

Post-Combustion and Pre-Combustion CO2 Capture Solid Sorbents

Combustion of fossil fuels is one of the major sources of the greenhouse gas CO2. Pressure swing adsorption/sorption (PSA/PSS) and temperature swing adsorption/sorption (TSA/TSS) are some of the potential techniques that could be utilized for removal of CO2 from fuel gas streams. It is very important to develop sorbents to remove CO2 from fuel gas streams that are applicable for a wide range of temperatures. NETL researchers have developed novel CO2 capture sorbents for low, moderate, and high temperature applications. A novel liquid impregnated solid sorbent was developed for CO2 removal in the temperature range of ambient to 60 °C. The sorbent is regenerable at 60 – 80 °C. The sorbent formulations were prepared to be suitable for various reactor configurations (i.e., fixed and fluidized bed). Minimum fluidization gas velocities were also determined. Multi-cycle tests conducted in an atmospheric bench scale reactor with simulated flue gas indicated that the sorbent retains its CO2 sorption capacity with a CO2 removal efficiency of approximately 99% and was unaffected by presence of water vapor. The sorbent was subsequently commercially prepared by Süd Chemie to determine the viability of the sorbent for mass production. Subsequent testing showed that the commercially-synthesized sorbent possesses the same properties as the lab-synthesized equivalent. An innovative solid sorbent containing mixture of alkali earth and alkali compounds was developed for CO2 removal at 200 – 315°C from high pressure gas streams suitable for IGCC systems. The sorbent showed very high capacity for CO2 removal from a gas streams containing 28% CO2 at 200 °C and at 20 atm during a lab scale reactor test. This sorbent can be regenerated at 20 atm and at 375 °C utilizing a gas stream containing steam. High pressure enhanced the CO2 sorption process. Bench scale testing showed consistent capacities and regenerability. A unique high temperature solid sorbent was developed for CO2 capture at temperatures of 500 – 700°C. Bench scale testing of the sorbent yielded very high CO2 capture capacity from a gas stream containing 10% CO2, 30% H2, 15% H2O, and 25% He. Regeneration of the sorbent is possible at 800 – 900 °C

Nanoscale surface domain formation on the +z face of lithium niobate by pulsed UV laser illumination

Single-crystal congruent lithium niobate samples have been illuminated on the +z crystal face by pulsed ultraviolet laser wavelengths below (248 nm) and around (298-329 nm) the absorption edge. Following exposure, etching with hydrofluoric acid reveals highly regular precise domain-like features of widths ~150-300 nm, exhibiting distinct three-fold symmetry. Examination of illuminated unetched areas by scanning force microscopy shows a corresponding contrast in piezoelectric response. These observations indicate the formation of nanoscale ferroelectric surface domains, whose depth has been measured via focused ion beam milling to be ~2 micron. We envisage this direct optical poling technique as a viable route to precision domain-engineered structures for waveguide and other surface applications

Hypertension in mice lacking 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2

Deficiency of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11β-HSD2) in humans leads to the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess (SAME), in which cortisol illicitly occupies mineralocorticoid receptors, causing sodium retention, hypokalemia, and hypertension. However, the disorder is usually incompletely corrected by suppression of cortisol, suggesting additional and irreversible changes, perhaps in the kidney. To examine this further, we produced mice with targeted disruption of the 11β-HSD2 gene. Homozygous mutant mice (11β-HSD2(–/–)) appear normal at birth, but ∼50% show motor weakness and die within 48 hours. Both male and female survivors are fertile but exhibit hypokalemia, hypotonic polyuria, and apparent mineralocorticoid activity of corticosterone. Young adult 11β-HSD2(–/–) mice are markedly hypertensive, with a mean arterial blood pressure of 146 ± 2 mmHg, compared with 121 ± 2 mmHg in wild-type controls and 114 ± 4 mmHg in heterozygotes. The epithelium of the distal tubule of the nephron shows striking hypertrophy and hyperplasia. These histological changes do not readily reverse with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism in adulthood. Thus, 11β-HSD2(–/–) mice demonstrate the major features of SAME, providing a unique rodent model to study the molecular mechanisms of kidney resetting leading to hypertension. J. Clin. Invest. 103:683–689 (1999

Path Integral Variational Methods for Strongly Correlated Systems

We introduce a new approach to highly correlated systems which generalizes the Fermi Hypernetted Chain and Correlated Basis Function techniques. While the latter approaches can only be applied to systems for which a nonrelativistic wave function can be defined, the new approach is based on the variation of a trial hamiltonian within a path integral framework and thus can also be applied to relativistic and field theoretical problems. We derive a diagrammatic scheme for the new approach and show how a particular choice of the trial hamiltonian corresponds exactly to the use of a Jastrow correlated ansatz for the wave function in the Fermi Hypernetted Chain approach. We show how our new approach can be used to find upper bounds to ground state energies in systems which the FHNC cannot handle, including those described by an energy-dependent effective hamiltonian. We demonstrate our approach by applying it to a quantum field theoretical system of interacting pions and nucleons.Comment: 35 RevTeX pages, 7 separated ps figures available on reques

Failing boys and moral panics: perspectives on the underachievement debate

The paper re-examines the underachievement debate from the perspective of the ‘discourse of derision’ that surrounds much writing in this area. It considers the contradictions and inconsistencies which underpin much of the discourse – from a reinterpretation of examination scores, to the conflation of the concepts of ‘under’ and ‘low’ achievement and finally to the lack of consensus on a means of defining and measuring the term underachievement. In doing so, this paper suggests a more innovative approach for understanding, re-evaluating and perhaps rejecting the notion of underachievement

Hydrogen accommodation in Zr second phase particles: Implications for H pick-up and hydriding of Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4

Ab-initio computer simulations have been used to predict the energies associated with the accommodation of H atoms at interstitial sites in {\alpha}, {\beta}-Zr and Zr.M intermetallics formed with common alloying additions (M = Cr, Fe, Ni). Intermetallics that relate to the Zr2(Ni,Fe) second phase particles (SPPs) found in Zircaloy-2 exhibit favourable solution enthalpies for H. The intermetallic phases that relate to the Zr(Cr,Fe)2 SPPs, found predominantly in Zircaloy-4, do not offer favourable sites for interstitial H. It is proposed that Zr(Cr,Fe)2 particles may act as bridges for the migration of H through the oxide layer, whilst the Zr2(Ni,Fe)-type particles will trap the migrating H until these are dissolved or fully oxidised

Self-Consistent Quasi-Particle RPA for the Description of Superfluid Fermi Systems

Self-Consistent Quasi-Particle RPA (SCQRPA) is for the first time applied to a more level pairing case. Various filling situations and values for the coupling constant are considered. Very encouraging results in comparison with the exact solution of the model are obtained. The nature of the low lying mode in SCQRPA is identified. The strong reduction of the number fluctuation in SCQRPA vs BCS is pointed out. The transition from superfluidity to the normal fluid case is carefully investigated.Comment: 23 pages, 18 figures and 1 table, submitted to Phys. Rev.