Radiation from a Charge Uniformly Accelerated for All Time

A recent paper of Singal [Gen. Rel. Grav. 27 (1995), 953-967] argues that a uniformly accelerated particle does not radiate, in contradiction to the consensus of the research literature over the past 30 years. This note points out some questionable aspects of Singal's argument and shows how similar calculations can lead to the opposite conclusion.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, to appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio

A qualitative study of older adults’ experiences of transitioning from secure forensic services – The TOPS Study

This was presented at the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care Lunchtime Research Seminar. The presentation discusses the current findings of Phase 1 and 2 of the TOPS study

Growing older in secure mental health care: the user experience

Background: The proportion of older adults using secure forensic psychiatric services is rising. Research is needed to examine the experience of older service users and evidence how adult services can adapt to meet their needs. Aim: To explore user experiences of being an older adult in secure forensic services. Methods: Thematic analysis of interviews and observations of weekly routines conducted with fifteen service users aged 50 and over residing in a low and medium secure NHS unit in England. Results: User experiences of ageing and age-related needs are reported using five themes: age-related identities; ward environments; participation in activities; management of physical health; and ageing futures. Older adults living with people their own age reported more social integration than those on wards dominated by younger adults. Most wished to self-manage their physical health needs with the support of primary care staff. Older adults were reluctant to identify as “old” or “vulnerable”. Some older adults downplayed their changing care needs. Conclusions: Placement of older people in adult secure services requires awareness of the age balance of the ward. A culture of inclusivity, sensitivity and respect for older persons’ agency is key to collaboratively meeting additional care needs and discharge planning

Trajectories for the 1976 - 1980 Grand Tour opportunities. Volume 3 - Trajectory data for alternate Grand Tour missions

Tabulating trajectory data for alternate Grand Tour missions from earth for period 1976 to 198

Genetic algorithms with elitism-based immigrants for changing optimization problems

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.Addressing dynamic optimization problems has been a challenging task for the genetic algorithm community. Over the years, several approaches have been developed into genetic algorithms to enhance their performance in dynamic environments. One major approach is to maintain the diversity of the population, e.g., via random immigrants. This paper proposes an elitism-based immigrants scheme for genetic algorithms in dynamic environments. In the scheme, the elite from previous generation is used as the base to create immigrants via mutation to replace the worst individuals in the current population. This way, the introduced immigrants are more adapted to the changing environment. This paper also proposes a hybrid scheme that combines the elitism-based immigrants scheme with traditional random immigrants scheme to deal with significant changes. The experimental results show that the proposed elitism-based and hybrid immigrants schemes efficiently improve the performance of genetic algorithms in dynamic environments

Triggered memory-based swarm optimization in dynamic environments

This is a post-print version of this article - Copyright @ 2007 Springer-VerlagIn recent years, there has been an increasing concern from the evolutionary computation community on dynamic optimization problems since many real-world optimization problems are time-varying. In this paper, a triggered memory scheme is introduced into the particle swarm optimization to deal with dynamic environments. The triggered memory scheme enhances traditional memory scheme with a triggered memory generator. Experimental study over a benchmark dynamic problem shows that the triggered memory-based particle swarm optimization algorithm has stronger robustness and adaptability than traditional particle swarm optimization algorithms, both with and without traditional memory scheme, for dynamic optimization problems

Ground measurements of shock-wave pressure for fighter airplanes flying at very low altitudes and comments on associated response phenomena

Ground measurements of shock wave pressure for fighter aircraft at very low altitude

Study to assess the effect of a structured communication approach on quality of life in secure mental health settings (Comquol): study protocol for a pilot cluster randomized trial

Background Forensic mental health services have largely ignored examining patients’ views on the nature of the service offered to them. A structured communication approach (DIALOG) has been developed with the aim of placing the patient’s perspective of their care at the heart of the discussions between patients and clinicians. The effectiveness of the structured communication approach in community mental health services has been demonstrated but no trial taken place in a secure psychiatric setting. This pilot study is evaluating a six-month intervention combining DIALOG with principles of Solution Focused Therapy (SFT) on quality of life in medium secure settings. Methods/design A cluster randomized controlled trial design is being employed to conduct a 36 months pilot study. Participants are recruited from six medium secure in–patient services with 48 patients in the intervention group and 48 in the control group. The intervention uses a structured communication approach. It comprises of six meetings between patient and nurse over held once a month a six month period. During each meeting patients rate their satisfaction with a range of life and treatment domains with responses displayed on a tablet. The rating is followed by a discussion on how to improve the current situation in those domains identified by the patient. Assessments take place prior to the intervention (baseline), at 6 months (post intervention) and at 12 months (follow-up). The primary outcome is self reported Quality of Life. Discussion: The study aims to a) establish the feasibility of the trial design as the basis for determining the viability of a large full-scale trial, b) determine the variability of the outcomes of interest (quality of life, levels of satisfaction, disturbance, ward climate, and engagement with services) c) estimate the costs of the intervention and d) refine the intervention following the outcome of the study based upon the experiences of the nurses and patients. The intervention allows patients to have a greater say in how they are treated and targets care on areas that patients identify as important to them. It is intended to establish systems that support meaningful patient (and carer) involvement and participation. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN34145189 Keywords: Comquol, DIALOG, Forensic, Mental Health, Quality of Life, Solution Focused Brief Therapy

A model of horse mussel reef formation in the Bay of Fundy based on population growth and geological processes

From a total of 14 geological sediment provinces recognized in the Bay of Fundy only five: sand with bioherms, gravel/cobble, gravel /scallop bed, mottled gravel and glacio-marine mud were found to have significant populations of the horse mussel, Modiolus modiolus. Valve increment measures of annual growth rings in the early years of life of populations of these Bay of Fundy horse mussels, suggest that growth rates vary with the geological province where they are found. Horse mussel populations grow fastest on sand with bioherms, closely followed by those growing on gravel/scallop bed; the slowest growing are found on gravel/ cobble and mottled gravel geological provinces. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data have been collected in an area of mussel reefs in the central part of the Bay of Fundy. The data indicates that the mussel reefs (bioherms) tend to occur on the eastern side of small, gravel covered, glacial ridges on the seabed and form a variety of single and multiple, long and short reefs that rise above the seabed up to 3 m high. They are always associated with sand in transport at the seabed in a variety of bedforms. A conceptual model of formation and location is presented that considers: current velocity and turbulence, well-mixed water masses, seabed morphology, sediment distribution and sediment transport, as causative factors. RÉSUMÉ D’un total de 14 classes de sédiments géologiques reconnues dans la baie de Fundy, seulement cinq (biohermes, gravier/galets, gravier/fond de pétoncle, gravier tacheté et boue glacio-marine) renfermaient des populations importantes de modiole Modiolus modiolus. Les mesures de l’augmentation valvaire des cernes d’accroissement annuels durant les premières années de vie des populations de modioles dans la baie de Fundy indiqueraient que les taux de croissance varient selon la classe de sédiment géologique où ils se trouvent. Les populations de modioles croissent plus rapidement dans le sable renfermant des biohermes, et la croissance est presque aussi grande chez les modioles présents dans les classes de sédiments composées de gravier/fond de pétoncles; la croissance la plus lente a été observée dans les classes de sédiments géologiques composées de gravier/galets et de gravier tacheté. Des données ont été recueillies au moyen de la bathymétrie par secteurs et de la rétrodiffusion dans une zone de récifs de moules de la partie centrale de la baie de Fundy. Les données indiquent que les récifs de moules (biohermes) semblent se former sur le côté est de petites crêtes glaciaires recouvertes de gravier sur le plancher sous‑marin, et qu’ils forment divers récifs uniques et multiples, longs et courts, qui s’élèvent sur le plancher sous-marin jusqu’à une hauteur de trois mètres. Ils sont toujours associés avec le sable déplacé sur le plancher sous-marin dans diverses morphologies de fond. On présente un modèle conceptuel de la formation et de l’emplacement qui considère comme facteurs de causalité les éléments suivants : la vitesse et la turbulence actuelles, les masses d’eau homogènes, la morphologie du plancher sous-marin, la répartition des sédiments et les transports sédimentaires. [Traduit par la redaction

Restarting a prisoner's life onto a supportive path leading to RESETtlement in the community: The RESET Study

Executive Summary The potential of not having secure accommodation upon release from prison is a major problem for prisoners with mental health needs. This study focused on evaluating an intervention that supported prisoners upon their release from prison with the primary objective being to support them in finding accommodation release from prison service. In September, 2019 there were 83,518 prisoners detained in England and Wales (Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, 2019). The period of transition from prison to the community has been acknowledged as a confusing and chaotic experience for many which is intensified by being homeless. A recent survey ascertained that 36% of people found rough sleeping had previously been in prison (CHAIN, 2018). Being homeless is viewed as a major factor in the likelihood of reoffending (Homeless Link, 2018) and not engaging with support services (health services, GP services, welfare benefits) (Williamson, 2007). It has been estimated that over 90% of prisoners have one or more psychiatric disorders (psychosis, neurosis, personality disorder, hazardous drinking and drug dependency). The period directly before and following release from prison is a highly stressful and isolating experience that exacerbates mental health problems (Theurer & Lovell, 2008; The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, 2017). Hopkins & Thornicroft (2014) have also reported that prisoners with mental health problems have twenty-nine times the rate of all-cause mortality during the first two weeks after release compared to the general population and are 8.3 times more likely to commit suicide in the twelve months following release from prison compared to the general population. Hancock et al (2018) has proposed that secure housing is the most important factor in ensuring a positive transition from prison to the community for people with mental health problems due to: • It is impossible to address mental health support and treatment before a person has stable accommodation • without housing they are lost to care. If someone does not have a fixed address, they are difficult to locate and connect with which makes it hard to provide support • housing helps break a cycle of returning to poor previous relationships and routines Providing support for prisoners with mental health needs upon their release has the potential to be an important factor in helping reintegrate this cohort into the community through helping to find secure accommodation, improving health and wellbeing, engaging with services, re-establishing contacts with family and friends and reducing reoffending. The Bradley Report (2009) noted if prisoners receive the support they need inside prisons, they were more likely to engage with services outside prison. The report added for the resettlement of prisoners with mental health needs into the community to be successful, it was important to ensure that the engagement that had started in prisons continued once prisoners leave the prison gate. However, the evidence for the effectiveness of existing services approaches is limited. Hopkin et al (2018) undertook a systematic review examining interventions for prisoners with diagnosed mental health conditions that targeted the transition period between prison and the community. Thirteen studies were found (with only two in the UK). The conclusions drawn were that there was some evidence that the interventions examined could improve contact between service users and mental health and other services. However, evidence that it reduced reoffending was equivocal and none on of the studies had examined whether the intervention improved access to secure accommodation. During the period of the study, the standard care package offered to prisoners upon their release was based on the government’s Transforming Rehabilitation strategy aimed to reduce reoffending and to provide a seamless transition between prison and the community by developing “Through the Gate” services (Ministry of Justice, 2013). The Through the Gate service was delivered by the newly commissioned local Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) to help prisoners maintain or find accommodation; aid with finance, benefits and debt; and to support them to enter education, training and employment. It has been noted that prisoners with mental health needs present different challenges, have multiple and complex needs and require a more focused approach than the support provided by the CRCs. In addition, limitations in the amount of support and assistance offered to prisoners with mental health needs and, in particular, the lack of planning and arrangements for suitable accommodation were identified by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation reports (HMIP, 2019). To provide intensive support to those who had offended but also have identified mental health needs, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust commissioned Clarion Housing (at the time known as Centra) and Nacro to provide a resettlement service for prisoners with mental health needs upon their release; the Supporting Prisoners upon Release Service (RESET) Intervention service. Clarion Housing worked from HMP Elmley, HMP Rochester and HMP Stamford Hill, while Nacro and Clarion Housing operated in London from HMP ISIS, HMP Belmarsh and HMP Thameside. The threshold for meeting the criteria for receiving support was that service users must have had limited community support in place, high rates of reoffending, and meet at least step 3 on the Oxleas stepped care model. The RESET service was based on the principles of the Critical Time Intervention (CTI) approach. CTI is a structured, time limited intervention developed in the USA in the 1990s to prevent recurrent homelessness in transient individuals with severe and mental illness moving from hospital care into the community. In CTI, case managers provided support for up to nine months to strengthen times with family, friends and service providers and to provide practical and emotional support during the transition in to the community. Studies had found significantly reduced number of homelessness for those users receiving CTI (Susser et al, 1997). The main elements of the RESET service were: • A short-term (12 week) support service to prisoners with an identified level of mental health need • The focus was in obtaining appropriate safe and secure accommodation, access to welfare benefits, re-engagement with health services and strengthening links with family and community support services • Referrals to the service were made through the Mental Health Inreach team at each prison • Work began before release to develop rapport with service user, to try to secure accommodation, and start to fill out necessary paperwork • On the day of release, the support co-ordinator would meet the service user at the gate • The main aim in first day is to ensure the individual has some form of housing • Any released prisoner would be escorted to all crucial appointments on the day, such as probation and local authority housing • Support was provided to ensure that the service users had all the essentials for the first few days i.e. correct medication, scripts and planned appointments • The support co-ordinator worked intensively during the first week of service users release and then gradually reduced their level of contact The overall aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the RESET service. The specified objectives were to examine the: • Participants’ housing situation • Rate of reoffending • Number of hospital admissions • Number on maintained benefits • Number of contacts with mental health and GP services • Level of engagement with services • Number in employment or education • The service user’s views of the RESET servic