Some steady and oscillating airfoil test results, including the effects of sweep, from the tunnel spanning wing

A large scale tunnel spanning wing was built and tested. The model can be operated as either a swept or unswept wing and can be tested in steady state or oscillated sinusoidally in pitch about its quarter chord. Data is taken at mid-span with an internal 6-component balance and is also obtained from miniature pressure transducers distributed near the center span region. A description is given of the system and a brief discussion of some of the steady and unsteady results obtained to date. These are the steady load behavior to Mach numbers of approximately 1.1 and unsteady loads, including drag, at a reduced frequency of approximately 0.1

Reproductive Failure in UK Harbour Porpoises Phocoena phocoena : Legacy of Pollutant Exposure?

This research was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the Seventh European Community Framework Programme (Project Cetacean-stressors, PIOF-GA-2010-276145 to PDJ and SM). Additional funding was provided through the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) (Grants SSFA/2008 and SSFA / ASCOBANS / 2010 / 5 to SM). Analysis of Scottish reproductive and teeth samples was funded by the EC-funded BIOCET project (BIOaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in small CETaceans in European waters: transport pathways and impact on reproduction, grant EVK3-2000-00027 to GJP), and Marine Scotland (GJP). Samples examined in this research were collected under the collaborative Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (http://ukstrandings.org/), which is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the UK’s Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales (http://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/Defaul​t.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=No​ne&Completed=0&ProjectID=15331) (grants to PDJ, RD). UK Defra also funded the chemical analysis under a service-level agreement with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (grants to RJL, JB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Drivers of taxonomic bias in conservation research : a global analysis of terrestrial mammals

Scientific knowledge of species and the ecosystems they inhabit is the cornerstone of modern conservation. However, research effort is not spread evenly among taxa (taxonomic bias), which may constrain capacity to identify conservation risk and to implement effective responses. Addressing such biases requires an understanding of factors that promote or constrain the use of a particular species in research projects. To this end, we quantified conservation science knowledge of the world's extant non-marine mammal species (n = 4108) based on the number of published documents in journals indexed on Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science (TM). We use an innovative hurdle model approach to assess the relative importance of several ecological, biogeographical and cultural factors for explaining variation in research production between species. The most important variable explaining the presence/absence of conservation research was scientific capacity of countries within the range of the species, followed by body mass and years since the taxonomic description. Research volume (more than one document) was strongly associated with number of years since the data describing on that species, followed by scientific capacity within the range of species, high body mass and invasiveness. The threat status was weakly associated to explain the presence/absence and research volume in conservation research. These results can be interpreted as a consequence of the dynamic interplay between the perceived need for conservation research about a species and its appropriateness as a target of research. As anticipated, the scientific capacity of the countries where a species is found is a strong driver of conservation research bias, reflecting the high variation in conservation research funding and human resources between countries. Our study suggests that this bias could be most effectively reduced by a combination of investing in pioneering research, targeted funding and supporting research in countries with low scientific capacity and high biodiversity.Peer reviewe

More than sense of place? Exploring the emotional dimension of rural tourism experiences

It is widely suggested that participation in rural tourism is underpinned by a sense of rural place or “rurality”. However, although nature and the countryside have long been recognised as a source of spiritual or emotional fulfilment, few have explored the extent to which tourism, itself often claimed to be a sacred experience, offers an emotional/spiritual dimension in the rural context. This paper addresses that literature gap. Using in-depth interviews with rural tourists in the English Lake District, it explores the extent to which, within respondents’ individual understanding of spirituality, a relationship exists between sense of place and deeper, emotional experiences and, especially, whether participation in rural tourism may induce spiritual or emotional responses. The research revealed that all respondents felt a strong attachment to the Lake District; similarly, and irrespective of their openness to spirituality, engaging in rural tourism activities resulted in highly emotive experiences for all respondents, the description/interpretation of such experiences being determined by individual “beliefs”. However, sense of place was not a prerequisite to emotional or spiritual experiences. Being in and engaging with the landscape � effectively becoming part of it � especially through physical activity is fundamental to emotional responses

MAD water: integrating modular, adaptive, and decentralized approaches for water security in the climate change era

Centralized water infrastructure has, over the last century, brought safe and reliable drinking water to much of the world. But climate change, combined with aging and underfunded infrastructure, is increasingly testing the limits of—and reversing gains made by—this approach. To address these growing strains and gaps, we must assess and advance alternatives to centralized water provision and sanitation. The water literature is rife with examples of systems that are neither centralized nor networked, yet meet water needs of local communities in important ways, including: informal and hybrid water systems, decentralized water provision, community-based water management, small drinking water systems, point-of-use treatment, small-scale water vendors, and packaged water. Our work builds on these literatures by proposing a convergence approach that can integrate and explore the benefits and challenges of modular, adaptive, and decentralized (“MAD”) water provision and sanitation, often foregrounding important advances in engineering technology. We further provide frameworks to evaluate justice, economic feasibility, governance, human health, and environmental sustainability as key parameters of MAD water system performance

Urinary tract infections in healthy women: a revolution in management?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Urinary infection in otherwise healthy women has largely been a straightforward matter of diagnosis by identifying bacteria in the urine, and then cure by appropriate antibiotics. Recent research has shown this to be over-simplified. Evaluation of methods of self-management of symptoms has been neglected.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Firstly trial data show that women with what used to called 'urethral syndrome' (urinary symptoms but sterile urine) obtain relief from antibiotics. Other trial data have shown a surprisingly large placebo effect from the resolution of symptoms among women who feel their care has been 'positive'. In addition, data published this month in <it>BMC Medicine </it>show that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs provide symptom relief to women with conventional infections (positive urine bacteriology) as much as antibiotics.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These recent findings provide an opportunity to consider how clinicians might change practice, and sets a new research agenda. We need to know (1) whether the effect of NSAIDs is replicable; (2) why some women in previous trials have had more symptoms if not treated with antibiotics sooner; (3) whether NSAIDs and antibiotics have an additive effect on relieving symptoms; (4) how we can harness the placebo effect better to assist out patients with this distressing and common complaint.</p> <p>See research article <url>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/8/30</url></p

Vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus in a home health-care patient.

In June 2000, vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus (VISA) was isolated from a 27-year-old home health-care patient following a complicated cholecystectomy. Two VISA strains were identified with identical MICs to all antimicrobials tested except oxacillin and with closely related pulsed-field gel electrophoresis types. The patient was treated successfully with antimicrobial therapy, biliary drainage, and reconstruction. Standard precautions in the home health setting appear successful in preventing transmission

Policy-making tool for optimization of transit priority lanes in urban network

Transit improvement is an effective way to relieve traffic congestion and decrease greenhouse gas emissions. Improvement can be in the form of new facilities or giving on-road priority to transit. Although construction of off-road mass transit is not always viable, giving priority to transit can be a low-cost alternative. A framework is introduced for optimization of bus priority at the network level. The framework identifies links on which a bus lane should be located. Allocation of a lane to transit vehicles would increase the utility of transit, although this can be a disadvantage to auto traffic. The approach balances the impact on all stakeholders. Automobile advocates would like to increase traffic road space, and the total travel time of users and total emissions of the network could be reduced by a stronger priority scheme. A bilevel optimization is applied that encompasses an objective function at the upper level and a mode choice, a traffic assignment, and a transit assignment model at the lower level. The proposed optimization helps transport authorities to quantify the outcomes of various strategies of transit priority. A detailed sensitivity analysis is carried out on the relative weight of each factor in the objective function. The proposed framework can also be applied in the context of high-occupancy-vehicle lanes and heavy-vehicle priority lanes

Thermo-tectonic history of the Junggar Alatau within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (SE Kazakhstan, NW China): insights from integrated apatite U/Pb, fission track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology

The Junggar Alatau forms the northern extent of the Tian Shan within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) at the border of SE Kazakhstan and NW China. This study presents the PalaeozoiceMesozoic post-collisional thermo-tectonic history of this frontier locality using an integrated approach based on three apatite geo-/thermochronometers: apatite UePb, fission track and (UeTh)/He. The apatite UePb dates record CarboniferousePermian post-magmatic cooling ages for the sampled granitoids, reflecting the progressive closure of the Palaeo-Asian Ocean. The apatite fission track (AFT) data record (partial) preservation of the late Palaeozoic cooling ages, supplemented by limited evidence for Late Triassic (w230e210 Ma) cooling and a more prominent record of (late) Early Cretaceous (w150e110 Ma) cooling. The apatite (UeTh)/He age results are consistent with the (late) Early Cretaceous AFT data, revealing a period of fast cooling at that time in resulting thermal history models. This Cretaceous rapid cooling signal is only observed for samples taken along the major NWeSE orientated shear zone that dissects the study area (the Central Kazakhstan Fault Zone), while Permian and Triassic cooling signals are preserved in low-relief areas, distal to this structure. This distinct geographical trend with respect to the shear zone, suggests that fault reactivation triggered the Cretaceous rapid cooling, which can be linked to a phase of slab-rollback and associated extension in the distant Tethys Ocean. Similar conclusions were drawn for thermochronology studies along other major NWeSE orientated shear zones in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, suggesting a regional phase of Cretaceous exhumation in response to fault reactivation at that time.S. Glorie, A. Otasevic, J. Gillespie, G. Jepson, M. Danišík, F.I. Zhimulev, D. Gurevich, Z. Zhang, D. Song, W. Xia