Evolution from a hinge actuator mechanism to an antenna deployment mechanism for use on the European large communications satellite (L-SAT/OLYMPUS)

The evolution of an Antenna Deployment Mechanism (ADM) from a Hinge Actuator Mechanism (HAM) is described as it pertains to the deployment of large satellite antennas. Design analysis and mechanical tests are examined in detail

Interrogating Michel Foucault’s counter-conduct: theorising the subjects and practices of resistance in global politics

Resistance, and its study, is on the rise: visible and politically discernible practices of dissent against sovereignty ad economic exploitation, such as protesting, agitating and occupying have received increased analytical attention in the past decade. This special issue provides much needed systematic attention to less visible practices of resistance or those not manifested in expressly political registers. It focuses on attempts to inventively modify, resist or escape the ways in which we are governed by interrogating critically the politics and ethics of resistance to ‘power that conducts’, expressed through Foucault’s notion of ‘counter- conduct.’ The contributions first, theoretically interrogate, develop, and refine the concept of ‘counter-conduct(s)’, offering a major statement its importance for both the study of resistance and also its place in Foucault’s work. Second, they provide inter/multi-disciplinary empirical investigations of counter-conduct in numerous thematic areas and spaces of global politics. Third, they explicitly reflect on variable and contingent forms of counter-conduct, examining its close relationship with conducting power. Finally, the special issue concertedly considers issues of methodology and method emerging from the study of counter-conduct and how these also recalibrate the study of governing power itself

Controls on the spatial distribution of oceanic <i>δ</i>¹³C_DIC

We describe the design and evaluation of a large ensemble of coupled climate–carbon cycle simulations with the Earth system model of intermediate complexity GENIE. This ensemble has been designed for application to a range of carbon cycle questions, including the causes of late- Quaternary fluctuations in atmospheric CO2. Here we evaluate the ensemble by applying it to a transient experiment over the recent industrial era (1858 to 2008 AD). We employ singular vector decomposition and principal component emulation to investigate the spatial modes of ensemble variability of oceanic dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) δ13C, considering both the spun-up pre-industrial state and the transient change. These analyses allow us to separate the natural (preindustrial) and anthropogenic controls on the δ13CDIC distribution. We apply the same dimensionally reduced emulation techniques to consider the drivers of the spatial uncertainty in anthropogenic DIC. We show that the sources of uncertainty related to the uptake of anthropogenic δ13CDIC and DIC are quite distinct. Uncertainty in anthropogenic δ13C uptake is controlled by air–sea gas exchange, which explains 63% of modelled variance. This mode of variability is largely absent from the ensemble variability in CO2 uptake, which is rather driven by uncertainties in thermocline ventilation rates. Although the need to account for air–sea gas exchange is well known, these results suggest that, to leading order, uncertainties in the ocean uptake of anthropogenic 13C and CO2 are governed by very different processes. This illustrates the difficulties in reconstructing one from the other, and furthermore highlights the need for careful targeting of both δ13CDIC and DIC observations to better constrain the ocean sink of anthropogenic CO2

Doing Biopolitics Differently? Radical Potential in the Post-2015 MDG and SDG Debates

Post print On institutional repository or subject-based repository after a 18 months embargo, withdraw

Valproate is an anti-androgen and anti-progestin

Anti-convulsant treatment is associated with a high prevalence of reproductive dysfunction compared with age-matched non-epileptics. We examined the widely used anti-convulsants valproate (VPA) and carbamazepine (CBZ) for steroidal bioactivity using a yeast-based steroid receptor-β-galactosidase reporter assay for the androgen receptor (AR), progesterone receptor (PR) or estrogen receptor (ER). Bioassays were performed (a) to detect agonist activity by exposing yeast to 100 μM CBZ or VPA or (b) to detect antagonist activity by exposing yeast stimulated with testosterone (5 × 10-9 M, AR), progesterone (1.6 × 10-9 M, PR) or estradiol (2.6 × 10-11 M, ER) together with either VPA or CBZ for 4 (PR) or 16 (AR, ER) hours. VPA showed dose-dependent (1-800 μM) inhibition of progesterone-induced PR- and testosterone-induced AR activity but had no ER antagonist bioactivity and no significant PR, AR or ER agonist bioactivity. VPA also showed a dose-dependent (1-200 μM) blockade of DHT's suppression of AR-mediated NF-κB activation in human mammalian cells. By contrast, CBZ had no significant PR, AR or ER agonist or AR and ER antagonist bioactivity but at the highest concentration tested (800 μM) it did antagonize PR activity. We conclude that VPA is a non-steroidal antagonist for human AR and PR but not ER. VPA's androgen and progesterone antagonism at concentrations within therapeutic blood levels (350-700 μM) seems likely to contribute to the frequency of reproductive endocrine disturbances among patients treated with VPA. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Use of a retrospective methodology to examine the process of care surrounding serious medical events in HIV-positive patients: a feasibility study

Introduction: Co-morbidities are increasingly common amongst people living with HIV (PLWH) as they age. There is no evidence regarding models of care. We aimed to assess feasibility of a novel methodology to investigate care processes for serious medical events in PLWH. Method: The method was based on the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD). Data were extracted from medical records and questionnaires completed by General Practitioners (GPs), HIV physicians, and non-HIV specialist physicians. A panel reviewed anonymised cases and gave feedback on the review process. Results: Eleven out of 13 patients consented to the study. Questionnaires were completed by 64% of HIV physicians, 67% of non-HIV specialist physicians and 55% of GPs. The IRP advised improvement in the methodology including data presentation and timing. Conclusion: This method was acceptable to patients and secondary care physicians. Further work is needed to the improve GP responses and facilitate IRP