Green Shores –Moving Ahead with Soft Armoring Options

An overview of the Green Shores program. Green Shores was developed in BC for marine shorelines with a focus on commercial properties. The Green Shores Coastal Development Rating System (CDRS) pilot project and case studies from three coastal projects will be highlighted. The presentation will provide opportunity to discuss lessons learned from the Green Shores CDRS certification process and SCBC\u27s work coastal communities as well as next steps for Green Shores in BC and beyond

Development of a 1.5-tonne niobium gravitational radiational antenna

Copyright @ American Institute of PhysicsA 1.5‐tonne Nb gravitational radiation antenna is described. Problems associated with a noncontacting magnetically levitated parametric upconverter transducer are discussed, and a system using a bonded microwave reentrant cavity and bonded mechanical impedance transformer is described and analyzed in detail. It is shown that such an antenna can be expected to achieve a noise temperature of ∼1 mK. An ultralow phase noise tunable microwave source for the transducer pump signal is described, as well as precision bonding techniques which yield a mechanical positioning accuracy of 10−6 m, and a reproducibility of 10−8 m.The research was supported by the Australian Research Grants Scheme and the Australian Telecommunications and Electronics Research Board

Telemetry system driven by radiation power for use in gravitational wave detectors

2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

The Origin of Black Hole Entropy in String Theory

I review some recent work in which the quantum states of string theory which are associated with certain black holes have been identified and counted. For large black holes, the number of states turns out to be precisely the exponential of the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy. This provides a statistical origin for black hole thermodynamics in the context of a potential quantum theory of gravity.Comment: 18 pages (To appear in the proceedings of the Pacific Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Seoul, Korea, February 1-6, 1996.

Data-as-a-Service Platform for Delivering Healthy Lifestyle and Preventive Medicine: Concept and Structure of the DAPHNE Project

Background: Overweight and obesity is related to many health problems and diseases. The current obesity epidemic, which is a major health problem, is closely related to a lack of physical activity, high levels of sedentary behavior, and increased energy intake; with evidence to show increasing incidence of these issues in the younger population. Tackling obesity and its comorbid conditions requires a holistic approach encompassing attention on physical activity, healthy diet, and behavioral activation in order to enable and maintain meaningful and long-term weight loss and weight maintenance. Objective: The objective of the Data-as-a-Service Platform for Healthy Lifestyle and Preventive Medicine (DAPHNE) project is to develop a breakthrough information communications technology (ICT) platform for tracking health, weight, physical activity, diet, lifestyle, and psychological components within health care systems, whereby the platform and clinical support is linked. Methods: The DAPHNE platform aims to deliver personalized guidance services for lifestyle management to the citizen/patient by means of (1) advanced sensors and mobile phone apps to acquire and store continuous/real-time data on lifestyle aspects, behavior, and surrounding environment; (2) individual models to monitor their health and fitness status; (3) intelligent data processing for the recognition of behavioral trends; and (4) specific services for personalized guidance on healthy lifestyle and disease prevention. It is well known that weight loss and maintenance of weight loss are particularly difficult. This tool will address some of the issues found with conventional treatment/advice in that it will collect data in real time, thereby reducing reliability issues known with recalling events once they have passed and will also allow adjustment of behavior through timely support and recommendations sent through the platform without the necessity of formal one-to-one visits between patient and clinician. Patient motivation/compliance is a particular issue with conventional weight loss regimes; DAPHNE aims to increase the individuals’ awareness of their own behavior and fosters their accountability. Results: The project has been funded and the research work has started. Results for the validation of the different components is due imminently. Conclusions: In contrast with previous existing solutions, the DAPHNE project tackles the obesity problem from a clinical point of view, designing the different interfaces for its use by patients (adults and children), physicians, and caregivers. A specific design for children and adolescent patients treated for obesity has been followed, guided by pediatric physicians at hospitals in Europe. The final clinical validation of the DAPHNE platform will be carried out in different European hospitals, testing the platform in both adolescents and adults

Criminal and Noncriminal Psychopathy: The Devil is in the Detail

Brooks, NS ORCiD: 0000-0003-1784-099XPsychopathy is prevalent and problematic in criminal populations, but is also found to be present in noncriminal populations. In 1992, Robert Hare declared that psychopaths may also “be found in the boardroom”, which has since been followed by an interest in the issue of noncriminal, or even successful, psychopathy. In this chapter, the paradox of criminal and noncriminal psychopathy is discussed with specific attention given to the similarities and differences that account for psychopathic personality across contexts. That psychopathy is a condition typified by a constellation of traits and behaviours requires wider research across diverse populations, and thus the streams of research related to criminal and noncriminal psychopathy are presented and the implications of these contrasting streams are explored

Intestinal barrier dysfunction plays an integral role in arthritis pathology and can be targeted to ameliorate disease

Background: Evidence suggests an important role for gut-microbiota dysbiosis in the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The link between changes in gut bacteria and the development of joint inflammation is missing. Here, we address whether there are changes to the gut environment and how they contribute to arthritis pathogenesis. Methods: We analyzed changes in markers of gut permeability, damage, and inflammation in peripheral blood and serum of RA patients. Serum, intestines, and lymphoid organs isolated from K/BxN mice with spontaneous arthritis or from wild-type, genetically modified interleukin (IL)-10R−/− or claudin-8−/− mice with induced arthritis were analyzed by immunofluorescence/histology, ELISA, and flow cytometry. Findings: RA patients display increased levels of serum markers of gut permeability and damage and cellular gut-homing markers, both parameters positively correlating with disease severity. Arthritic mice display increased gut permeability from early stages of disease, as well as bacterial translocation, inflammatory gut damage, increases in interferon γ (IFNγ)+ and decreases in IL-10+ intestinal-infiltrating leukocyte frequency, and reduced intestinal epithelial IL-10R expression. Mechanistically, both arthritogenic bacteria and leukocytes are required to disrupt gut-barrier integrity. We show that exposing intestinal organoids to IFNγ reduces IL-10R expression by epithelial cells and that mice lacking epithelial IL-10R display increased intestinal permeability and exacerbated arthritis. Claudin-8−/− mice with constitutively increased gut permeability also develop worse joint disease. Treatment of mice with AT-1001, a molecule that prevents development of gut permeability, ameliorates arthritis. Conclusions: We suggest that breakdown of gut-barrier integrity contributes to arthritis development and propose restoration of gut-barrier homeostasis as a new therapeutic approach for RA

Sideband Cooling Micromechanical Motion to the Quantum Ground State

The advent of laser cooling techniques revolutionized the study of many atomic-scale systems. This has fueled progress towards quantum computers by preparing trapped ions in their motional ground state, and generating new states of matter by achieving Bose-Einstein condensation of atomic vapors. Analogous cooling techniques provide a general and flexible method for preparing macroscopic objects in their motional ground state, bringing the powerful technology of micromechanics into the quantum regime. Cavity opto- or electro-mechanical systems achieve sideband cooling through the strong interaction between light and motion. However, entering the quantum regime, less than a single quantum of motion, has been elusive because sideband cooling has not sufficiently overwhelmed the coupling of mechanical systems to their hot environments. Here, we demonstrate sideband cooling of the motion of a micromechanical oscillator to the quantum ground state. Entering the quantum regime requires a large electromechanical interaction, which is achieved by embedding a micromechanical membrane into a superconducting microwave resonant circuit. In order to verify the cooling of the membrane motion into the quantum regime, we perform a near quantum-limited measurement of the microwave field, resolving this motion a factor of 5.1 from the Heisenberg limit. Furthermore, our device exhibits strong-coupling allowing coherent exchange of microwave photons and mechanical phonons. Simultaneously achieving strong coupling, ground state preparation and efficient measurement sets the stage for rapid advances in the control and detection of non-classical states of motion, possibly even testing quantum theory itself in the unexplored region of larger size and mass.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Search for gravitational waves from Scorpius X-1 in the second Advanced LIGO observing run with an improved hidden Markov model

We present results from a semicoherent search for continuous gravitational waves from the low-mass X-ray binary Scorpius X-1, using a hidden Markov model (HMM) to track spin wandering. This search improves on previous HMM-based searches of LIGO data by using an improved frequency domain matched filter, the $\mathcal{J}$-statistic, and by analysing data from Advanced LIGO's second observing run. In the frequency range searched, from $60$ to $650\,\mathrm{Hz}$, we find no evidence of gravitational radiation. At $194.6\,\mathrm{Hz}$, the most sensitive search frequency, we report an upper limit on gravitational wave strain (at 95\% confidence) of $h_0^{95\%} = 3.47 \times 10^{-25}$ when marginalising over source inclination angle. This is the most sensitive search for Scorpius X-1, to date, that is specifically designed to be robust in the presence of spin wandering

Serologic testing for symptomatic coccidioidomycosis in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed hosts

Serologic studies are an important diagnostic tool in the clinical evaluation and follow-up of persons with coccidioidomycosis. Numerous types of serologic tests are available, including immunodiffusion, enzyme immunoassay, and complement fixation. We conducted a retrospective review of the results of 1,797 serologic tests spanning 12 months from the onset of coccidioidomycosis in 298 immunocompetent and 62 immunosuppressed persons with symptomatic infection. Using the onset of symptoms as a reference point, we plotted the positive or negative serologic results over time for both groups. Compared with the immunocompetent group, immunosuppressed persons had lower rates of seropositivity for every type of test during the first year after onset of symptoms for coccidioidomycosis, although many results did not achieve statistical significance. Combining the results of these tests increased the sensitivity of the serologic evaluation in immunocompromised patients. Immunosuppressed persons have the ability to mount a serologic response to coccidioidomycosis, but in some circumstances, multiple methods may be required to improve detection