Implementing Lanier's patents for stable, safe and economical ultra-short wing vacu- and para-planes

Backyard Technology are interested in aspects of aircraft design described by Edward H Lanier in a series of six patents obtained from 1930 to 1933. Lanier's overall aim was to provide an exceptionally stable aeroplane that would both fly normally and recover from undesirable attitudes without pilot aid. Backyard Technology were specifically interested in Lanier's idea of creating a vacuum cavity in the wing by replacing a section of the upper skin of the wing with a series of angled slats, believing that this wing design would give superior lift and stability compared to typical wing designs

Tsunami risk modelling for Australia: understanding the impact of data

Modelling the impacts from tsunami events is a complex task. A simplification is obtained by taking a hybrid approach where two different models are combined: relatively simple and fast models are used for simulating the tsunami event and the wave propagation through open water. The impact from tsunami inundation is simulated with another type of model which is suitable for resolving the details of the run-up process and the resulting inundation. The inundation modelling is conducted using the ANUGA model which is a result of collaboration between the Australian National University and Geoscience Australia. It solves the 2D nonlinear shallow water wave equations using a finite volume method. One of the critical requirements for reliable inundation modelling is an accurate model of the earth's surface that extends from the open ocean through the inter-tidal zone into the onshore areas to be studied. Production of a sufficiently accurate elevation model is a complex and difficult process made more difficult because the available elevation data inevitably will come from a number of different sources and will have a range of vintages, resolutions and reliability. There are two questions that arise when data is requested. The first deals with the true variability of the topography. Obviously, a flat surface needn’t be sampled nearly as finely as a highly convoluted surface. The second question relates to sensitivity; how are error bars derived for the impact results if the error bars on each elevation point is known? ANUGA solves the 2D nonlinear shallow water wave equations using a finite volume method and typical models can take days of computational time, so proper sensitivity analyses are often prohibitively expensive in terms of computational resources. The main aim of this project was therefore to understand the uncertainties in the outputs of the inundation model based on possible uncertainty in the input data

Stress effects of silica particles in a semiconductor package molding compound

The stresses induced on a silicon chip encased in an epoxy compound are considered due to absorption of moisture and the presence of silica particles in the coating. A range of different approaches are considered including a one-dimensional model for the curvature due to the absorption of water in a bi-lateral sheet, numerical simulations for the stress at the molding compound-silicon die interface and a two-dimensional model in the complex plane

The effect of surface tension on free surface flow induced by a point sink in a fluid of finite depth

Solutions are presented to the problem of steady, axisymmetric flow of an inviscid fluid into a point sink. The fluid is of finite depth and has a free surface. Two numerical schemes, a spectral method and an integral equation approach, are implemented to confirm results for the maximum-flow-rate steady solution for each configuration. The effects of surface tension and sink depth are included and constitute the new component of the work. Surface tension has the effect of increasing the maximum flow rate at which steady-state solutions can exist

Towards hydrogen energy: progress on catalysts for water splitting

This article reviews some of the recent work by fellows and associates of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at Monash University and the University of Wollongong, as well as their collaborators, in the field of water oxidation and reduction catalysts. This work is focussed on the production of hydrogen for a hydrogen-based energy technology. Topics include: (1) the role and apparent relevance of the cubane-like structure of the Photosystem II Water Oxidation Complex (PSII-WOC) in non-biological homogeneous and heterogeneous water oxidation catalysts, (2) light-activated conducting polymer catalysts for both water oxidation and reduction, and (3) porphyrin-based light harvesters and catalysts

MICL controls inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis

Acknowledgments We thank G Milne, D MacCallum, S Hardison, G Wilson, C Wallace, S Hadebe and A Richmond for assistance; H. El-Gabalawy for tissues and the animal facility staff for the care of our animals. Flow cytometry was undertaken in the Iain Fraser Cytometry Centre, University of Aberdeen. Funding: GDB was funded by the Wellcome Trust and MRC (UK). AA and CDB are supported by the Arthritis Research UK Tissue Engineering Centre (grant 19429). This study makes use of data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. A full list of the investigators who contributed to the generation of the data is available from http://www.wtccc.org.uk, and was funded by the Wellcome Trust (076113). MJGF was funded by The Arthritis Society and the Canadian Arthritis Network and J-ML by a scholarship from the Canadian Arthritis Network.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Genetic Sharing with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors and Diabetes Reveals Novel Bone Mineral Density Loci.

Bone Mineral Density (BMD) is a highly heritable trait, but genome-wide association studies have identified few genetic risk factors. Epidemiological studies suggest associations between BMD and several traits and diseases, but the nature of the suggestive comorbidity is still unknown. We used a novel genetic pleiotropy-informed conditional False Discovery Rate (FDR) method to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMD by leveraging cardiovascular disease (CVD) associated disorders and metabolic traits. By conditioning on SNPs associated with the CVD-related phenotypes, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, triglycerides and waist hip ratio, we identified 65 novel independent BMD loci (26 with femoral neck BMD and 47 with lumbar spine BMD) at conditional FDR < 0.01. Many of the loci were confirmed in genetic expression studies. Genes validated at the mRNA levels were characteristic for the osteoblast/osteocyte lineage, Wnt signaling pathway and bone metabolism. The results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms of variability in BMD, and a better understanding of the genetic underpinnings of clinical comorbidity

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms