Studies related to ocean dynamics. Task 3.2: Aircraft Field Test Program to investigate the ability of remote sensing methods to measure current/wind-wave interactions

The feasibility of remote sensing of current flows in the ocean and the remote sensing of ocean currents by backscattering cross section techniques was studied. It was established that for capillary waves, small scale currents could be accurately measured through observation of wave kinematics. Drastic modifications of waves by changing currents were noted. The development of new methods for the measurement of capillary waves are discussed. Improvement methods to resolve data processing problems are suggested

Gastrostomy uptake in motor neurone disease: a mixed-methods study of patients’ decision making

Objectives: Gastrostomy decision making is a complicated, multifaceted process for people with motor neuron disease (MND). This study explored demographic and disease-related factors that may impact on gastrostomy uptake; and reasons why people with MND accepted or declined gastrostomy, with a focus on how perceptions of swallowing and nutrition may influence decision making.Design: Prospective, cross sectional, mixed methods.Setting: An Australian multidisciplinary, specialty MND Service.Participants: 33 patients were recommended gastrostomy by the treating medical specialist. 16 of 33 were invited to participate in the prospective decision making study; of whom 10 provided informed consent.Primary and secondary outcome measures: Demographic and disease-related factors contributing to uptake are described. A stepped approach was applied to gain a comprehensive understanding of why people with MND accept or decline gastrostomy. Instruments included standardised assessments, nutrition survey and semistructured interview. Data were collected at three separate appointments, spanning a 3-week period.Results: Gastrostomy uptake was 73% following medical specialist recommendation. Participants took days, weeks or months to consider their preferences, with lengthy hospital waiting times for the procedure. Gender, site of onset and rate of disease progression were observed to contribute to uptake. Age and symptom duration did not. Integration of quantitative and qualitative data suggests that patient perceptions of swallowing and nutrition contribute to gastrostomy acceptance; however, the decision making process is heterogeneous and these factors may not be the sole or primary reasons for acceptance. Other reported factors included: reducing carer burden, improving quality of life, increasing independence, continuing participation in social outings and gaining control.Conclusions: Future research may give greater insight into how healthcare organisations can better facilitate gastrostomy decision making, to meet the needs of people living with MND. Larger, prospective, multisite studies may build on these findings to better inform clinical guidelines and minimise the impacts of delayed gastrostomy insertion

Evaluation of the Kent Serious Youth Violence Project

This report summarises the findings in relation to the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness over a period of two years and began in September 2020

Photogeneration Dynamics of a Soliton Pair in Polyacetylene

Dynamical process of the formation of a soliton pair from a photogenerated electron-hole pair in polyacetylene is studied numerically by adopting the SSH Hamiltonian. A weak local disorder is introduced in order to trigger the formation. Starting from an initial configuration with an electron at the bottom of the conduction band and a hole at the top of the valence band, separated by the Peierls gap, the time dependent Schr${\rm \ddot{o}}$ndinger equation for the electron wave functions and the equation of motion for the lattice displacements are solved numerically. After several uniform oscillations of the lattice system at the early stage, a large distortion corresponding to a pair of a soliton and an anti-soliton develops from a point which is determined by the location and type of the disorder. In some cases, two solitons run in opposite directions, leaving breather like oscillations behind, and in other cases they form a bound state emitting acoustic lattice vibrational modes.Comment: 16 pages 7 figure

Altered expression of caspases-4 and -5 during inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer : diagnostic and therapeutic potential

Caspases are a group of proteolytic enzymes involved in the co-ordination of cellular processes, including cellular homeostasis, inflammation and apoptosis. Altered activity of caspases, particularly caspase-1, has been implicated in the development of intestinal diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the involvement of two related inflammatory caspase members, caspases-4 and -5, during intestinal homeostasis and disease has not yet been established. This study demonstrates that caspases-4 and -5 are involved in IBD-associated intestinal inflammation. Furthermore, we found a clear correlation between stromal caspase-4 and -5 expression levels, inflammation and disease activity in ulcerative colitis patients. Deregulated intestinal inflammation in IBD patients is associated with an increased risk of developing CRC. We found robust expression of caspases-4 and -5 within intestinal epithelial cells, exclusively within neoplastic tissue, of colorectal tumours. An examination of adjacent normal, inflamed and tumour tissue from patients with colitis-associated CRC confirmed that stromal expression of caspases-4 and -5 is increased in inflamed and dysplastic tissue, while epithelial expression is restricted to neoplastic tissue. In addition to identifying caspases-4 and -5 as potential targets for limiting intestinal inflammation, this study has identified epithelial-expressed caspases-4 and -5 as biomarkers with diagnostic and therapeutic potential in CRC

Risk Factors for Stunting in Children under the Age of 5 in Rural Guatemalan Highlands

Background: Previously, a study conducted by UNICEF found that malnutrition affects approximately 80% of the indigenous children in Guatemala. Objective: Identify prevalence and risk factors for stunted growth in communities surrounding Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Methods: Height-for-age measurements of children under the age of five, N = 84, determined stunting prevalence and presumed burden of malnutrition in this region of the Guatemalan highlands. Mothers of a subset of this sample, N = 29, were interviewed to assess factors contributing to stunting. Analysis assessed the following risk factors: inadequate nutrition, increased infectious disease risk, high rate self-report illness, inadequate breastfeeding, and inadequate utilization of prenatal care. Findings: The majority of children under the age of five were stunted (65.6%) and likely malnourished. ANOVA analysis showed significant differences in mean height-for-age Z scores (HAZs) between groups with and without adequate nutrition (F = 7.069, p = 0.013), as well has with and without high rates of self-report illness (F = 6.894, p = 0.014). Both groups with inadequate nutrition (mean HAZs = –2.9, 95% CI = [–3.58, –2.24]) and high rates of self-report illness (mean HAZs = –2.8, 95% CI = [–3.13, –2.38]) had mean HAZs that are indicative of stunting. No other risk factors were associated with stunting. Conclusion: These pilot study results offer methods by which to obtain baseline data for assessing nutritional and public health interventions to improve stunting and malnutrition status as well as the health outcomes of children in rural, indigenous communities

Spectral and polarization effects in deterministically nonperiodic multilayers containing optically anisotropic and gyrotropic materials

Influence of material anisotropy and gyrotropy on optical properties of fractal multilayer nanostructures is theoretically investigated. Gyrotropy is found to uniformly rotate the output polarization for bi-isotropic multilayers of arbitrary geometrical structure without any changes in transmission spectra. When introduced in a polarization splitter based on a birefringent fractal multilayer, isotropic gyrotropy is found to resonantly alter output polarizations without shifting of transmission peak frequencies. The design of frequency-selective absorptionless polarizers for polarization-sensitive integrated optics is outlined

Closely Related G-Protein-Coupled Receptors Use Multiple And Distinct Domains On G-Protein Α-Subunits For Selective Coupling

The molecular basis of selectivity in G-protein receptor coupling has been explored by comparing the abilities of G-protein heterotrimers containing chimeric Galpha subunits, comprised of various regions of Gi1alpha, Gtalpha, and Gqalpha, to stabilize the high affinity agonist binding state of serotonin, adenosine, and muscarinic receptors. The data indicate that multiple and distinct determinants of selectivity exist for individual receptors. While the A1 adenosine receptor does not distinguish between Gi1alpha and Gtalpha sequences, the 5-HT1A and 5-HT1B serotonin and M2 muscarinic receptors can couple with Gi1 but not Gt. It is possible to distinguish domains that eliminate coupling and are defined as critical, from those that impair coupling and are defined as important. Domains within the N terminus, alpha4-helix, and alpha4-helix-alpha4/beta6-loop of Gi1alpha are involved in 5-HT and M2 receptor interactions. Chimeric Gi1alpha/Gqalpha subunits verify the critical role of the Galpha C terminus in receptor coupling, however, the individual receptors differ in the C-terminal amino acids required for coupling. Furthermore, the EC50 for interactions with Gi1 differ among the individual receptors. These results suggest that coupling selectivity ultimately involves subtle and cooperative interactions among various domains on both the G-protein and the associated receptor as well as the G-protein concentration