Advantages of ice crystal growth experiments in a low gravity environment

The effects of convective fluid motions and mechanical supports on ice crystal growth in experiments conducted on earth can be inferred from studies conducted in their absence in a low-gravity environment. Current experimental results indicate the effects may be significant

Care planning for aggression management in a specialist secure mental health service:user involvement

This paper describes an audit of prevention and management of violence and aggression care plans and incident reporting forms which aimed to: (i) report the compliance rate of completion of care plans; (ii) identify the extent to which patients contribute to and agree with their care plan; (iii) describe de-escalation methods documented in care plans; and (iv) ascertain the extent to which the de-escalation methods described in the care plan are recorded as having been attempted in the event of an incident. Care plans and incident report forms were examined for all patients in men's and women's mental health care pathways who were involved in aggressive incidents between May and October 2012. In total, 539 incidents were examined, involving 147 patients and 121 care plans. There was no care plan in place at the time of 151 incidents giving a compliance rate of 72%. It was documented that 40% of patients had contributed to their care plans. Thematic analysis of de-escalation methods documented in the care plans revealed five de-escalation themes: staff interventions, interactions, space/quiet, activities and patient strategies/skills. A sixth category, coercive strategies, was also documented. Evidence of adherence to de-escalation elements of the care plan was documented in 58% of incidents. The reasons for the low compliance rate and very low documentation of patient involvement need further investigation. The inclusion of coercive strategies within de-escalation documentation suggests that some staff fundamentally misunderstand de-escalation

Microphysics and Radiative Properties of Cirrus: Instrumentation and Analysis

This section summarizes the scientific questions which originated with participation in FIRE II in Coffeyville KA, evolved through participation in several field projects related to FIRE and culminated in participation in FIRE III in the Arctic in March / May 1998. It is noted that many of the ideas generated in FIRE II 1992 - 1995 and published under the grant involving the role of CCN in cirrus formation have been followed through in this grant and have also been central in the ideas for work under the SUCCESS project and the laboratory work currently supported by NSF

A Simplified Layered Beam Approach for Predicting Ply Drop Delamination in Thick Composite Laminates

The prediction of delamination onset is a challenging task in the design of thick tapered composite laminates, where multiple ply terminations (“drop-offs”) are present. This paper addresses the development of a global-local finite element-based design approach for tapered laminates, whereby layered Timoshenko beam models are employed to predict delamination initiation from individual drop-offs. This modelling strategy provides a fast and conservative method for evaluating the strength of tapered composite laminates. Parametric test cases are presented in order to validate the methodology and understand its limitations. Finally, the application of the tool to a relatively thick tapered composite test specimen comprising multiple ply-drops is demonstrated

Effects of soil structure complexity to root growth of plants with contrasting root architecture

This study was funded by the Scottish Food Security Alliance a partnership between the University of Aberdeen, University of Dundee and The James Hutton Institute. We thank all people that contributed to this work. In particular, Rong Qu, Dhin Md Islam, Dr. Stewart J Chalmers, Annette Raffan and Jaime Buckingham for providing technical support.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Timing of Strike-Slip Deformation Along the Storstrømmen Shear Zone, Greenland Caledonides: U–Pb Zircon and Titanite Geochronology

The Storstrømmen shear zone (SSZ) in the Greenland Caledonides is widely interpreted to have formed in a transpressional regime during sinistral, oblique collision between Baltica and Laurentia in the Silurian to Devonian. New mapping of the SSZ at Sanddal documents a 100 m thick, greenschistfacies mylonite zone cutting the eclogite to amphibolite-facies gneiss complex. We present U–Pb ion probe geochronology on zircon and titanite from a variety of lithologies that shows the SSZ was active from late Devonian to the Carboniferous (at least until 350 Ma). The age of thrusting in the foreland is not well known, but must be younger than the age of eclogite-facies metamorphism at ~400 Ma. It is, therefore, possible that contraction is the same age as strike-slip motion, and that transpression is a viable model. The timing of the SSZ is synchronous with dextral strike-slip displacement on the Germania Land deformation zone. Simultaneous displacement on sinistral and dextral, conjugate shear zones suggests that the SSZ is part of a strikeslip fault system that led to lateral escape of material northward (present day coordinates) during the waning stages of plate convergence between Laurentia and Baltica.SOMMAIRELa zone de cisaillement de Storstrømmen (SSZ) dans les Calédonides du Groenland est généralement comprise comme ayant été formée durant un régime de transpression sénestre lors de la collision oblique entre Baltica et Laurentie, du Silurien au Dévonien.  Une nouvelle cartographie de la SSZ à Sanddal décrit une zone de 100 m d’épaisseur de mylonite au faciès des schistes verts qui recoupe un complexe de gneiss au faciès éclogite à amphibolite.  Notre analyse géochronologique par sonde ionique U-Pb sur zircon et titanite sur diverses lithologies, montre que la SSZ a été active de la fin du Dévonien jusqu’au Carbonifère (au moins jusqu’à 350 Ma).  L’âge du chevauchement dans l’avant-pays n’est pas bien connue, mais il doit être plus jeune que le métamorphisme au faciès d’éclogite à ~400 Ma.  Il est donc possible que la contraction soit du même âge que le mouvement de coulissage, et que la transpression soit un modèle viable.  La chronologie de la SSZ est synchrone au mouvement de coulissage dextre de la zone de déformation de Germania Land.  Les déplacements simultanés, sénestre et dextre, sur des zones de cisaillement conjuguées permettent de penser que la SSZ fait partie d’un système de décrochement qui a engendré une éjection latérale de matériau vers le nord (selon les coordonnées actuelles) durant les stades de convergence des plaques Laurentie et Baltica

Soil moisture content measurement using optical fiber long period gratings

The use of an optical fibre long period grating (LPG) as a soil moisture sensor is reported. Characterization of the device in both clay and sandy soils revealed a sensitivity to moisture levels in the range 10-50%, and the results were compared with the output from a Theta probe, the standard soil moisture sensor, which measures the impedance of the soil. © (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only

The Cow in the Room: Public Knowledge of the Links Between Dietary Choices and Health and Environmental Impacts

Issue Addressed: This paper describes results of a survey comparing people’s knowledge of health and environmental impacts of dietary choices. Dietary choice is one of the key ways in which individuals can reduce their environmental impact in relation to water use and greenhouse gas emissions but this may not be widely known amongst the public due to limited press coverage.Methods: A street intercept survey was conducted asking open ended questions on how people can help the environment, maintain or improve health and basic demographics. The sample size was 107 with a refusal rate of 51%.Results: Only 3.2% of the sample made a link between dietary choice and environmental impact whereas 85.6% of the sample referred to dietary choice in relation to personal health. Transport options and keeping active were popular responses to both health and environmental categories.Conclusions: It seems that very few people are aware that the livestock sector is the second largest contributor to equivalent greenhouse gas emissions and one of the largest users of fresh water. Reduction in red meat consumption could have both important positive health and environmental impacts

Neutrophil Priming by Cytokines in Patients With Obstructive Jaundice

Patients with obstructive jaundice frequently suffer postoperative complications. We have investigated the relationship of obstructive jaundice to the neutrophil oxidase response and the “priming” of the response by the cytokines TNFα, interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, and IL-8. On stimulation with f-met-leuphe (fmlp), the respiratory burst in neutrophils from jaundiced patients was greatly increased compared with controls (p < 0.01), jaundiced patients having the highest respiratory burst levels were those with the poorest prognosis. Neutrophils from controls were primed by all the cytokines tested, whereas “jaundiced” cells were primed only by IL-1, and not by TNFα, IL-6, or IL-8, which in fact produced slight inhibition. We conclude that neutrophils from obstructive jaundiced patients have raised oxidative responses which may be due to “pre-priming” in vivo by cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-8, or TNFα. This exaggeration of the oxidative response in circulating neutrophils may contribute to the peri-operate complications of patients with obstructive jaundice