An Examination of the Feasibility of Linear Deterministic Sea Wave Prediction in Multi-Directional Seas Using Wave Profiling Radar: Theory, Simulation and Sea Trials

This is the final version of the article. Available from the American Meteorological Society via the DOI in this record.For a number of maritime tasks there is a short time period, typically only a few tens of seconds, where a critical event occurs which defines a limiting wave height for the whole operation. Examples are the recovery of fixed and rotary winged aircraft, cargo transfers, final pipe mating in fluid transfer operations and launch/recovery of small craft. The recovery of a 30 ton rescue submersible onto a mother ship in the NATO Submarine Rescue System is a prime example. In such applications short term Deterministic Sea Wave Prediction (DSWP) can play a vital role in extending the sea states under which the system can be safely deployed. DSWP also has great potential in conducting experimental sea wave research at full scale. This report explores the feasibility of using data from an experimental wave profiling radar in achieving DSWP. The report includes theory, simulation and field testing. Two forms of DSWP are employed, a fixed point system based upon a restricted set of wave directions, from which we obtain some success, and the other a fully two dimensional technique, which requires further development. The main finding is that using wave profiling radar for DSWP offers promise but requires improvements both to the spatial reliability and resolution of the wave profiling radar, and to the temporal resolution of its sweep before the technique can be considered to be viable as a usable tool.The authors acknowledge funding from the European Union FP7 and U.K. Ministry of Defence NSRS projects

Experimental and computational investigations of a normal-hole-bled supersonic boundary layer

A series of experiments have been conducted on a bleed hole array spanning the width of the Cambridge University Engineering Department supersonic wind tunnel at Mach numbers of 1.8 and 2.5. The wind tunnel was run with varying levels of suction, and the flow structure over the bleed array was subsequently mapped with a laser Doppler velocimetry system at a resolution of 0.25 hole diameters or better. The same wind-tunnel setup was simulated using the OVERFLOW Navier–Stokes equation solver. The information obtained was used primarily in qualitative comparisons of flow patterns. Overall good agreement was found in the definition of the expansion fan and barrier shock pattern produced by flow entering the normal holes, as well as three-dimensional flow patterns. Both studies agreed well in terms of measured mass flow rates, to within 1% of the boundary-layer mass flow. The presence of the barrier shock standing off the downstream edge of the bleed holes corresponded with a jet of upward flow, which may provide a mechanism for the generation of streamwise vortices.The experimental research was part funded by Lockheed Martin Corporation, under CUED RG 62670, and by US AFOSR under CUED RG 63860. Computational studies by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory through Grant UTC 13-S2 604-04-C20 through Universal Technology Corporation.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIAA via http://dx.doi.org/10.2514/1.J05395

Explaining efficient search for conjunctions of motion and form: Evidence from negative color effects

Dent, Humphreys, and Braithwaite (2011) showed substantial costs to search when a moving target shared its color with a group of ignored static distractors. The present study further explored the conditions under which such costs to performance occur. Experiment 1 tested whether the negative color-sharing effect was specific to cases in which search showed a highly serial pattern. The results showed that the negative color-sharing effect persisted in the case of a target defined as a conjunction of movement and form, even when search was highly efficient. In Experiment 2, the ease with which participants could find an odd-colored target amongst a moving group was examined. Participants searched for a moving target amongst moving and stationary distractors. In Experiment 2A, participants performed a highly serial search through a group of similarly shaped moving letters. Performance was much slower when the target shared its color with a set of ignored static distractors. The exact same displays were used in Experiment 2B; however, participants now responded "present" for targets that shared the color of the static distractors. The same targets that had previously been difficult to find were now found efficiently. The results are interpreted in a flexible framework for attentional control. Targets that are linked with irrelevant distractors by color tend to be ignored. However, this cost can be overridden by top-down control settings. © 2014 Psychonomic Society, Inc

Positive lifestyle behaviours and emotional health factors are associated with low back pain resilience

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between lifestyle behaviours, emotional health factors, and low back pain (LBP) resilience. Methods: This retrospective longitudinal study utilised 1,065 twins with a recent history of LBP from the Washington State Twin Registry. A lifestyle behaviour score was built using variables of body mass index, physical activity engagement, sleep quality, smoking status, and alcohol consumption. An emotional health score was built using variables of the absence of depressed mood, perceived stress, and active coping. The main outcome was LBP resilience, assessed as recovery (“bouncing back”), and sustainability (maintaining high levels of function despite LBP). Results: After adjusting for covariates, there was no relationship between the lifestyle behaviour score (OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.97–1.15, p = 0.218) and the emotional health score (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.98–1.19, p = 0.142) with the likelihood of recovering from LBP. There was however, evidence of a positive association between the lifestyle behaviour score (β 0.20, 95% CI 0.04–0.36, p = 0.013), the emotional health score (β 0.22, 95% CI 0.00–0.43, p = 0.049), and greater levels of sustainability. These results were confirmed by a within-pair analysis (lifestyle behaviour score: β 1.79, 95% CI 0.05–3.53, p = 0.043) and (emotional health score: β 0.52, 95% CI 0.09–0.96, p = 0.021) adjusting for genetic and early shared environmental confounding. Conclusion: Findings from this study suggest that people who adopt optimal lifestyle behaviours and positive emotional factors are more likely to be resilient and maintain high levels of function despite suffering from LBP

Magnetized Domain Walls in the Deconfined Sakai-Sugimoto Model at Finite Baryon Density

The magnetized pure pion gradient ($\mathcal{5}\phi$) phase in the deconfined Sakai-Sugimoto model is explored at zero and finite temperature. We found that the temperature has very small effects on the phase. The thermodynamical properties of the phase shows that the excitations behave like a scalar solitonic free particles. By comparing the free energy of the pion gradient phase to the competing multiquark-pion gradient (MQ-$\mathcal{5}\phi$) phase, it becomes apparent that the pure pion gradient is less thermodynamically preferred than the MQ-$\mathcal{5}\phi$ phase. However, in the parameter space where the baryonic chemical potential is smaller than the onset value of the multiquark, the dominating magnetized nuclear matter is the pion gradient phase.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Hospital bed capacity and usage across secondary healthcare providers in England during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive analysis

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we describe the pattern of bed occupancy across England during the peak of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Descriptive survey. SETTING: All non-specialist secondary care providers in England from 27 March27to 5 June 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Acute (non-specialist) trusts with a type 1 (ie, 24 hours/day, consultant-led) accident and emergency department (n=125), Nightingale (field) hospitals (n=7) and independent sector secondary care providers (n=195). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two thresholds for 'safe occupancy' were used: 85% as per the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and 92% as per NHS Improvement. RESULTS: At peak availability, there were 2711 additional beds compatible with mechanical ventilation across England, reflecting a 53% increase in capacity, and occupancy never exceeded 62%. A consequence of the repurposing of beds meant that at the trough there were 8.7% (8508) fewer general and acute beds across England, but occupancy never exceeded 72%. The closest to full occupancy of general and acute bed (surge) capacity that any trust in England reached was 99.8% . For beds compatible with mechanical ventilation there were 326 trust-days (3.7%) spent above 85% of surge capacity and 154 trust-days (1.8%) spent above 92%. 23 trusts spent a cumulative 81 days at 100% saturation of their surge ventilator bed capacity (median number of days per trust=1, range: 1-17). However, only three sustainability and transformation partnerships (aggregates of geographically co-located trusts) reached 100% saturation of their mechanical ventilation beds. CONCLUSIONS: Throughout the first wave of the pandemic, an adequate supply of all bed types existed at a national level. However, due to an unequal distribution of bed utilisation, many trusts spent a significant period operating above 'safe-occupancy' thresholds despite substantial capacity in geographically co-located trusts, a key operational issue to address in preparing for future waves

The Use of a 3D Printer in Pre-operative Planning for a Patient Requiring Acetabular Reconstructive Surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical management of acetabular fractures is often highly complex, and a successful outcome depends upon an appreciation of the fracture pattern and the most appropriate approach to reduce and hold it. Currently, computed tomography (CT) images are used in conjunction with plain x-rays to identify the main fracture components and their spatial relationship to one another, and as such surgeons still have to make decisions based upon their ability to visualise the fracture from the images available. 3D printers have now become widely available and inexpensive, and can be used to rapidly produce life-size models based on CT scans of an individual patient. The availability of patient specific, accurate and detailed models of complex acetabular fractures can aid planning of surgical management on a patient specific basis. CASE REPORT: This report describes the use of a 3D printer to create a life-size model reconstruction of the pelvis of a 48 year old male patient who sustained a left sided associated both column acetabular fracture following a motorbike accident in the Sahara Desert. The model allowed visualisation of the multiple fracture fragments and their relative displacements. The tactile feedback allowed assessment of the different fracture fragments. The relative displacement of the quadrilateral plate and posterior column fragments could be assessed and the surgeon felt that these would be amenable to reduction from an ilioinguinal approach. An anatomic reduction was achieved and was held with the application of a pelvic brim plate with 2 screws lagging the posterior column/quadrilateral plate fragment. CONCLUSION: There are previous examples of 3D models being used in orthopaedic surgery through the use of rapid prototyping, however this method is usually expensive and time consuming. Advances in 3D printer technology offer surgeons a number of advantages when treating these complex fractures. With the ever-increasing economy, ease of use and speed of additive processing, the possible applications of this technology within orthopaedic surgery are numerous. Given the possible applications of this technology, and its ever increasing availability, we feel that its use can only improve patient outcomes and so should be explored further for use in orthopaedic surgery

Netrin-1-Mediated Axon Guidance in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells Overexpressing Neurogenin-1

Stem cell therapy holds great promise for treating neurodegenerative disease, but major barriers to effective therapeutic strategies remain. A complete understanding of the derived phenotype is required for predicting cell response once introduced into the host tissue. We sought to identify major axonal guidance cues present in neurons derived from the transient overexpression of neurogenin-1 (Neurog1) in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Neurog1 upregulated the netrin-1 axon guidance receptors DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer) and neogenin (NEO1). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed a 2-fold increase in NEO1 mRNA and a 36-fold increase in DCC mRNA in Neurog1-induced compared with control ESCs. Immunohistochemistry indicated that DCC was primarily expressed on cells positive for the neuronal marker TUJ1. DCC was preferentially localized to the cell soma and growth-cones of induced neurons. In contrast, NEO1 expression showed less specificity, labeling both TUJ1-positive and TUJ1-negative cells as well as uninduced control cells. Axonal outgrowth was directed preferentially toward aggregates of HEK293 cells secreting a recombinant active fragment of netrin-1. These data indicate that DCC and NEO1 are downstream products of Neurog1 and may guide the integration of Neurog1-induced ESCs with target cells secreting netrin-1. Differential expression profiles for netrin receptors could indicate different roles for this guidance cue on neuronal and non-neuronal cells.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98473/1/scd%2E2011%2E0437.pd