Supporting security-oriented, inter-disciplinary research: crossing the social, clinical and geospatial domains

How many people have had a chronic disease for longer than 5-years in Scotland? How has this impacted upon their choices of employment? Are there any geographical clusters in Scotland where a high-incidence of patients with such long-term illness can be found? How does the life expectancy of such individuals compare with the national averages? Such questions are important to understand the health of nations and the best ways in which health care should be delivered and measured for their impact and success. In tackling such research questions, e-Infrastructures need to provide tailored, secure access to an extensible range of distributed resources including primary and secondary e-Health clinical data; social science data, and geospatial data sets amongst numerous others. In this paper we describe the security models underlying these e-Infrastructures and demonstrate their implementation in supporting secure, federated access to a variety of distributed and heterogeneous data sets exploiting the results of a variety of projects at the National e-Science Centre (NeSC) at the University of Glasgow

Liquid–liquid equilibrium in polymer–fullerene mixtures; an in situ neutron reflectivity study

The composition profiles of a series of model polystyrene/fullerene bilayers are measured, before, during and after thermal annealing, using in situ neutron reflectometry. In combination with grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction measurements, these experiments, which quantify layer compositions as a function of molecular weight using changes in both scattering length density and layer thickness, extend and corroborate recent measurements on ex situ annealed samples and demonstrate that the composition profiles rapidly formed in these systems correspond to two co-existing liquid–liquid phases in thermodynamic equilibrium. The measurements also demonstrate a clear and systematic onset temperature for diffusion of the fullerenes into the PS layer that correlates with the known glass-transition temperatures of both the polymer (as a function of molecular weight) and the fullerene, revealing that the molecular mobility of the fullerenes in these systems is controlled by the intrinsic mobility of the fullerenes themselves and the ability of the polymer to plasticise the fullerenes at the interface. Over the temperature range investigated (up to 145 °C), measurements of equilibrated composition profiles as a function of temperature (during gradual cooling) reveal no significant changes in composition profile, other than those associated with the known thermal expansion/contraction of polystyrene thin-films

A ‘criminal personas’ approach to countering criminal creativity

This paper describes a pilot study of a ‘criminal personas’ approach to countering criminal creativity. The value of the personas approach has been assessed by comparing the identification of criminal opportunity, through ‘traditional’ brainstorming and then through ‘criminal personas’ brainstorming The method involved brainstorm sessions with Computer Forensics Practitioners and with Product Designers, where they were required to generate criminal scenarios, select the most serious criminal opportunities, and propose means of countering them. The findings indicated that there was merit in further research in the development and application of the ‘criminal personas’ approach. The generation of criminal opportunity ideas and proposal of counter criminal solutions were both greater when the brainstorm approach involved the group responding through their given criminal personas

Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme

This study examined whether expectancy of ergogenicity of a commonly used nutritional supplement (sodium bicarbonate; NaHCO3) influenced subsequent high-intensity cycling capacity. Eight recreationally active males (age, 21 ± 1 years; body mass, 75 ± 8 kg; height, 178 ± 4 cm; WPEAK = 205 ± 22 W) performed a graded incremental test to assess peak power output (WPEAK), one familiarisation trial and two experimental trials. Experimental trials consisted of cycling at 100% WPEAK to volitional exhaustion (TLIM) 60 min after ingesting either a placebo (PLA: 0.1 g·kg(-1) sodium chloride (NaCl), 4 mL·kg(-1) tap water, and 1 mL·kg(-1) squash) or a sham placebo (SHAM: 0.1 g·kg(-1) NaCl, 4 mL·kg(-1) carbonated water, and 1 mL·kg(-1) squash). SHAM aimed to replicate the previously reported symptoms of gut fullness (GF) and abdominal discomfort (AD) associated with NaHCO3 ingestion. Treatments were administered double blind and accompanied by written scripts designed to remain neutral (PLA) or induce expectancy of ergogenicity (SHAM). After SHAM mean TLIM increased by 9.5% compared to PLA (461 ± 148 s versus 421 ± 150 s; P = 0.048, d = 0.3). Ratings of GF and AD were mild but ~1 unit higher post-ingestion for SHAM. After 3 min TLIM overall ratings of perceived exertion were 1.4 ± 1.3 units lower for SHAM compared to PLA (P = 0.020, d = 0.6). There were no differences between treatments for blood lactate, blood glucose, or heart rate. In summary, ergogenicity after NaHCO3 ingestion may be influenced by expectancy, which mediates perception of effort during subsequent exercise. The observed ergogenicity with SHAM did not affect our measures of cardiorespiratory physiology or metabolic flux.University of Derby Departmental Teaching Budge

The molecular epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in six cities in Britain and Ireland

The authors sequenced the p17 coding regions of the gag gene from 211 patients infected either through injecting drug use (IDU) or by sexual intercourse between men from six cities in Scotland, N. England, N. Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. All sequences were of subtype 5. Phylogenetic analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity in the sequences from homosexual men. In contrast, sequence from over 80% of IDUs formed a relatively tight cluster, distinct both from those of published isolates and of the gay men. There was no large-scale clustering of sequences by city in either risk group, although a number of close associations between pairs of individuals were observed. From the known date of the HIV-1 epidemic among IDUs in Edinburgh, the rate of sequence divergence at synonymous sites is estimated to be about 0.8%. On this basis it has been estimated that the date of divergence of the sequences among homosexual men to be about 1975, which may correspond to the origin of the B subtype epidemic

Signal and System Approximation from General Measurements

In this paper we analyze the behavior of system approximation processes for stable linear time-invariant (LTI) systems and signals in the Paley-Wiener space PW_\pi^1. We consider approximation processes, where the input signal is not directly used to generate the system output, but instead a sequence of numbers is used that is generated from the input signal by measurement functionals. We consider classical sampling which corresponds to a pointwise evaluation of the signal, as well as several more general measurement functionals. We show that a stable system approximation is not possible for pointwise sampling, because there exist signals and systems such that the approximation process diverges. This remains true even with oversampling. However, if more general measurement functionals are considered, a stable approximation is possible if oversampling is used. Further, we show that without oversampling we have divergence for a large class of practically relevant measurement procedures.Comment: This paper will be published as part of the book "New Perspectives on Approximation and Sampling Theory - Festschrift in honor of Paul Butzer's 85th birthday" in the Applied and Numerical Harmonic Analysis Series, Birkhauser (Springer-Verlag). Parts of this work have been presented at the IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing 2014 (ICASSP 2014

Percolating Reaction-Diffusion Waves (PERWAVES) — Sounding Rocket Combustion Experiments

Percolating reaction–diffusion waves in disordered random media are encountered in many branches of modern science, ranging from physics and biology to material science and combustion. Most disordered reaction–diffusion systems, however, have complex morphologies and reaction kinetics that complicate the study of the dynamics. Flames in suspensions of heterogeneously reacting metal-fuel particles is a rare example of a reaction–diffusion wave with a simple structure formed by point-like heat sources having well-defined ignition temperature thresholds and combustion times. Particle sedimentation and natural convection can be suppressed in the free-fall conditions of sounding rocket experiments, enabling the properties of percolating flames in suspensions to be observed, studied, and compared with emerging theoretical models. The current paper describes the design of the European Space Agency PERWAVES microgravity combustion apparatus, built by the Airbus Defense and Space team from Bremen in collaboration with the scientific research teams from McGill University and the Technical University of Eindhoven, and discusses the results of two sounding-rocket flight experiments. The apparatus allows multiple flame experiments in quartz glass tubes filled with uniform suspensions of 25-micron iron particles in oxygen/xenon gas mixtures. The experiments performed during the MAXUS-9 (April 2017) and TEXUS-56 (November 2019) sounding rocket flights have confirmed flame propagation in the discrete mode, which is a pre-requisite for percolating-flame behavior, and have allowed observation of the flame structure in the vicinity of the propagation threshold

The impact of pictorial health warnings on purchases of sugary drinks for children: A randomized controlled trial

Background Pictorial warnings on tobacco products are promising for motivating behavior change, but few studies have examined pictorial warnings for sugary drinks, especially in naturalistic environments. This study aimed to examine the impact of pictorial warnings on parents' purchases of sugary drinks for their children in a naturalistic store laboratory. Methods and findings Parents of children ages 2 to 12 (n = 325, 25% identifying as Black, 20% Hispanic) completed a shopping task in a naturalistic store laboratory in North Carolina. Participants were randomly assigned to a pictorial warnings arm (sugary drinks displayed pictorial health warnings about type 2 diabetes and heart damage) or a control arm (sugary drinks displayed a barcode label). Parents selected 1 beverage and 1 snack for their child, as well as 1 household good; one of these items was selected for them to purchase and take home. The primary outcome was whether parents purchased a sugary drink for their child. Secondary outcomes included reactions to the trial labels, attitudes toward sugary drinks, and intentions to serve their child sugary drinks. Pictorial warnings led to a 17-percentage point reduction in purchases of sugary drinks (95% CI for reduction: 7% to 27%), with 45% of parents in the control arm buying a sugary drink for their child compared to 28% in the pictorial warning arm (p = 0.002). The impact of pictorial warnings on purchases did not differ by any of the 13 participant characteristics examined (e.g., race/ethnicity, income, education, and age of child). Pictorial warnings also led to lower calories (kcal), purchased from sugary drinks (82 kcal in the control arm versus 52 kcal in the pictorial warnings arm, p = 0.003). Moreover, pictorial warnings led to lower intentions to serve sugary drinks to their child, feeling more in control of healthy eating decisions, greater thinking about the harms of sugary drinks, stronger negative emotional reactions, greater anticipated social interactions, lower perceived healthfulness of sugary drinks for their child, and greater injunctive norms to limit sugary drinks for their child (all p 0.05). Conclusions Pictorial warnings reduced parents' purchases of sugary drinks for their children in this naturalistic trial. Warnings on sugary drinks are a promising policy approach to reduce sugary drink purchasing in the US

Climate change refugia for the flora and fauna of England

A variety of evidence suggests that species have, in the past, been able to withstand the effects of climatic change in localised environments known as refugia, where specific environmental conditions acted as a buffer against broader-scale climatic changes. Therefore, an important question for conservation is whether refugia might exist under current and future anthropogenic climate change. If there are areas that are likely to remain relatively climatically stable and so enable species to persist despite climate change making surrounding areas unsuitable, identifying and protecting these places will be an important part of future conservation strategies. This report is part of a project that is investigating this question. The report was commissioned to identify the characteristics of potential refugia, to investigate evidence for the existence of contemporary refugia by analysing patterns of local persistence and disappearance of over 1000 species across a range of taxa, and to identify sites in England with the potential to function as refugia for different taxonomic groups at a range of spatial scales

Interfacial width and phase equilibrium in polymer-fullerene thin-films

Domain composition and interfacial structure are critical factors in organic photovoltaic performance. Here, we report neutron reflectivity, grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements of polymer/fullerene thin-films to test a hypothesis that these partially miscible blends rapidly develop composition profiles consisting of co-existing phases in liquid-liquid equilibrium. We study a range of polymer molecular weights between 2 and 300 kg mol−1, annealing temperatures between 120 and 170 oC, and timescales up to 10 min, yielding over 50 distinct measurement conditions. Model bilayers of fullerene-derivatives and polystyrene enable a rigorous examination of theoretical predictions of the effect of polymer mass and interaction parameter on the compositions, ϕ, and interfacial width, w, of the coexistent phases. We independently measure ϕ and w and find that both Flory-Huggins mean-field-theory and key aspects of self-consistent-field-theory are remarkably consistent with experiment. Our findings pave the way for predictive composition and interface design in organic photovoltaics based on simple experimental measurements and equilibrium thermodynamic theory