Pilgrimmage to Holland

May 2005 marked the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. A large number of Canadian veterans travelled to Holland to mark the occasion, remember the good times and honour their comrades who never made it home. Among the many returning veterans was George Blackburn who served as a FOO (forward observation officer) with 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery throughout the course of the campaign in Northwest Europe. Blackburn has written an award-winning trilogy about his wartime experiences, The Guns of Normandy (1995), The Guns of Victory (1996) and Where the Hell are the Guns? (1997). The following article is excerpted from a letter sent to Terry Copp in June 2005

Book Excerpt: \u3cem\u3eThe Guns of Normandy: A Soldier’s Eye View of France\u3c/em\u3e

Editor’s Note: Everyone who studies the land battles of the Second World War knows that artillery was the principle weapon employed by the Allied armies, but the gunners rarely receive the attention they deserve in narratives of the campaign. George Blackburn has written a book, The Guns of Normandy which restores the gunners to their rightful place. CMH is proud to publish two chapters from this book to announce that our Autumn issue will include an excerption from Mr. Blackburn’s forthcoming sequel. Chapter 15 takes up the story on 12 July 1944 as 4th Field Regiment is committed to support 4th Canadian Infantry Brigade west of Caen

The Pyrenees : a description of summer life at french watering places

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Travelling in Spain in the present day

Apéndice con distancias, hoteles, etc.Tel

Internationalisation: Global Issues

There is much to be done to help Australian SMEs raise their game in the international marketplace. Evidence shows a weak international performance by SMEs, but also grounds for optimism. In terms of government policy interventions, we recommend: A targeted approach, aimed at those SMEs that seek to internationalise but have not yet done so, and those that are already exporting and seek to expand their international reach into new markets A higher priority on facilitating SME exports in the six most internationally active industries, including ‘mining’, ‘agriculture’, ‘manufacturing’, ‘wholesale’, ‘information media’, and ‘professional’ Greater emphasis on encouraging small and self-employed firms to participate in foreign markets by providing targeted export incentives, support for network and international collaboration, business matching opportunities, and facilitating access to finance Increased support for growth and innovation to boost the number of exporters and accelerate their international activities More support for SMEs in terms of detailed information provision, such as tailored advice and a mentoring program for firms internationalising in different geographical markets, in-depth discussion forums and network events

Student entrepreneurship in Great Britain 2016: intentions and activities

Overall, this GUESSS study provides in-depth analyses of students’ entrepreneurial intentions and activities. It shows that students in British universities have a range of career intentions and experiences, and how university, family and social settings can influence entrepreneurial choices and aspirations. Furthermore, the analysis reveals some notable gender differences in the entrepreneurial spirit and activities amongst students. It also highlights the potential of non-British students to contribute to the entrepreneurial activities in Britain, providing new evidence for the debates on entrepreneurship and immigration

Detecting gas flares and estimating flaring volumes at individual flow stations using MODIS data.

Gas flaring has gained global recognition as a prominent agent of pollution, leading to the establishment of the Global Gas Flaring Reduction (GGFR) initiative, which requires an objective means of monitoring flaring activity. Because auditable information on flaring activity is difficult to obtain there have recently been attempts to detect flares using satellite imagery, typically at global scales. However, to adequately assess the environmental and health impacts of flaring from local to regional scales, it is important that we have a means of acquiring information on the location of individual active flaring sites and the volume of gas combusted at these sites. In this study we developed an approach to the retrieval of such information using nighttime MODIS thermal imagery. The MODIS flare detection technique (MODET) and the MODIS flare volume estimation technique (MOVET) both exploit the absolute and contextual radiometric response of flare sites. The levels of detection accuracy and estimation error were quantified using independent observations of flare location and volume. The MODET and MOVET were applied to an archive of MODIS data spanning 2000–2014 covering the Niger Delta, Nigeria, a significant global hotspot of flaring activity. The results demonstrate the substantial spatial and temporal variability in gas flaring across the region, between states and between onshore and offshore sites. Thus, whilst the estimated total volume of gas flared in the region over the study period is large (350 Billion Cubic Metres), the heterogeneity in the flaring indicates that the impacts of such flares will be highly variable in space and time. In this context, the MODET and MOVET offer a consistent and objective means of monitoring flaring activity over an appropriate range of scales and it is now important that their robustness and transferability is tested in other oil-producing regions of the world

Part A: Challenge testing microbial loads on treated and untreated soft medical fabrics/ Part B: Challenge testing Marlux Medical silver embedded versus untreated privacy curtains

Part A: Background. It is recognised that traditional linen curtains are fomites for infectious disease in healthcare environments, to which it is likely that these curtains contribute to the astronomical cost of healthcare associated infections (HAIs) every year. Therefore, to address this issue antimicrobial textiles have been developed. These textiles come embedded with a variety of different antimicrobial polymers. The way in which these antimicrobial polymers are incorporated into the textile differs depending upon the type of textile used. The antimicrobial textiles have to pass industry tests, these comparative tests are designed to show significant reductions in microbial loads compared to standard fabrics. This article aims to review the evidence of the effectiveness of antimicrobial textiles in reducing disease transmission in a clinical setting and how this is achieved. Methodology. Google Scholar, Pubmed, National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) and Springer Link were searched for publications concerning the survival and transmission of pathogenic microorganisms on antimicrobial textiles compared to linen or disposable alternatives. Results. Many studies specify that there is a significant reduction in the survival of microbes on antimicrobial textiles. This reduction in survival was very dependent on the type and combination of antimicrobial polymers being used. It has been concluded that when in combination the reduction of microbial survival was significant for use in a clinical setting, versus insignificant when a single antimicrobial polymer is used. Studies investigating the use of various metal nanoparticles in combination with antimicrobial polymers concluded that depending on their shape and size they will have a dramatic effect on microbial survival and increase the time to first contamination. Emerging studies have illustrated that the industry tests require additional parameters to ensure that the antimicrobial curtains are to be effective in a clinical setting. Other studies demonstrate unsuccessful reductions of microbes via industrial laundering of linen curtains, resulting in rehanging of contaminated curtains. Conclusions. There is a significant need to further test the effectiveness of antimicrobial textiles to see whether they successfully reduce microbial carriage. This will be achieved by focusing on the modes of transmission. In addition, healthcare protocols and studies for laundering linen curtains highlights that it is an outdated method for infection control. This is because of inadequate and varying changing times. Investigations have highlighted that implementing hospital curtains can alleviate costs additional associated with changing and laundering curtains whilst also reducing disease transmission. Part B: Objective: A comparative study to determine the antibacterial activity of Marlux Medical silver embedded curtain versus the same untreated material, with the addition of simulated aerosol and touch transmission methods using a uniquely developed procedure in-line with ISO20743 and ISO22196. Design: A unique challenge test model replicable to a clinical setting, including aerosol and touch transmission as a study with a duration of 6 weeks. Setting: The study was performed ex situ in a category II laboratory at the University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus. Method: All equipment and solutions were prepared as described in ISO20473. Test organisms include Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Cultures were confirmed prior to use by growth on selective agar. A unique methodology was developed and evaluated in comparison with the ISO20473 ‘transfer method’ as a control. Further modifications to the method were made to simulate aerosol and touch transmission as part of the unique methodology. Results: When tested against S. aureus and E. faecalis, the curtains passed the ISO20473 standard for ‘antibacterial activity’, both producing <2 log10 reduction. However, when the curtains were tested using P. aeruginosa, the curtains did not pass any of the ISO standards, indicating that the treated curtain had insufficient antibacterial activity against this organism. With the unique simulated transfer methods, the highest reduction in microbial load recorded was 1.92 log10 and the lowest showing 0.07 log10, suggesting that the method of transfer can profoundly affect microbial survival

Forest disturbance and regeneration: a mosaic of discrete gap dynamics and open matrix regimes?

Question: Recent research in boreal forest suggests that an ‘open matrix’ model may be more appropriate than the traditional model of spatially discrete gap dynamics for describing forest disturbance and regeneration, but what is the evidence from temperate broad-leaved deciduous forests concerning the prevalence of these alternative models? Location: Semi-natural temperate broad-leaved deciduous forest in southern England. Methods: Multi-temporal LiDAR data were used to monitor the changes in tree canopy height and canopy gaps over a 10-yr period for a 130-ha area of forest. Gap dynamics were characterized by quantifying gap creation, expansion, contraction and closure. By identifying the types and rates of canopy height transitions, areas of gap contraction and closure were attributed to the processes of lateral crown growth or vertical regeneration. Results: Across the study site there was a zonation in canopy and gap properties and their dynamics. Many areas of the forest had the characteristics of open wood-pasture dominated by large, complex gaps being maintained under a regime of chronic disturbance. In these areas, several characteristics of the gap dynamics indicated that regeneration was restricted and this may be attributable to spatially-focused overgrazing by large herbivores. In contrast, other areas were characterized by high, closed canopy forest with small, discrete gaps where gap creation and infill were balanced. Conclusions: At the landscape-scale broad-leaved deciduous forests contain a spatial mosaic of zones, which conform to different models of disturbance and regeneration dynamics; discrete gap dynamics and open matrix regimes are juxtaposed. It is now important to elucidate the abiotic factors and biotic interactions that determine the spatio-temporal distribution of the different regimes and to examine whether such a ‘regime mosaic’ model is applicable in other forest types