Conceptualising and prototyping a decision support system for safer urban unmanned aerial vehicle operations

Currently, there is limited discourse surrounding the safe operational planning of UAVs within complex multi-stakeholder urban environments. This paper conceptualises a methodology for prototyping a decision support system for urban UAV flight operations planning. The proposition is based on integrating urban 3-dimensional data with the physical factors of UAV flight operations. A simulated, holistic understanding of UAV usage in urban space emerges, enabling better informed decisions by planners around safe flight operations. The feasibility, applicability and benefits of the decision support system and associated policy implications for urban planners and UAV users are discussed scoping further development of this approach

The Role of Vitamin D and Vitamin D Receptor in Immunity to Leishmania major Infection

Vitamin D signaling modulates a variety of immune responses. Here, we assessed the role of vitamin D in immunity to experimental leishmaniasis infection in vitamin D receptor-deficient mice (VDRKO). We observed that VDRKO mice on a genetically resistant background have decreased Leishmania major-induced lesion development compared to wild-type (WT) mice; additionally, parasite loads in infected dermis were significantly lower at the height of infection. Enzymatic depletion of the active form of vitamin D mimics the ablation of VDR resulting in an increased resistance to L. major. Conversely, VDRKO or vitamin D-deficient mice on the susceptible Th2-biased background had no change in susceptibility. These studies indicate vitamin D deficiency, either through the ablation of VDR or elimination of its ligand, 1,25D3, leads to an increase resistance to L. major infection but only in a host that is predisposed for Th-1 immune responses

Fingerprinting coal-derived gases from the UK

The large-scale extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons in the United States has led to fears of methane contamination of shallow groundwaters. Differentiating between the deep gas released during extraction (shale gas, coal bed methane and underground coal gasification) and natural shallow-sourced methane is imperative for the monitoring and managing of environmental risks related to the extraction process. Here, for the first time, we present measurements of the major gas, and stable and noble gas isotope composition of coal bed methane (CBM) from central Scotland and coal mine methane (CMM) from central England, UK. The molecular (C1/(C2+C3) = 21 to 120) and stable isotope compositions (δ13CCH4 = -39.5 to -51.1‰; δDCH4 = -163 to -238‰) indicate a thermogenic origin for the methane. They are distinct from the majority of shallow-sourced gases in UK. Both sample suites exhibit high He concentrations (338 to 2980 ppmv) that are considerably above atmospheric and groundwater levels. Simple modelling shows that these high 4He concentrations cannot be solely derived from in situ production since coal deposition, and hence the majority is derived from the surrounding crust. The Scottish CBM contains a resolvable mantle He, Ne and Ar contribution that may originate from melts in the deep crust, demonstrating the UK coals have acted as a store for deep volatiles for 10s of millions of years. The high 4He in the coal-derived gases has the potential to be used as a novel diagnostic fingerprint to track fugitive release of deep methane from future unconventional gas extraction operations in the UK

Implementing community-based participatory research among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness: A qualitative study

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an approach that involves community members in research, not as research participants, but as partners. However, few studies have examined CBPR projects conducted among African Americans with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). This article focuses specifically on the Inspiring Change (IC) model, which includes a leadership trio comprised of an academic researcher, health service provider and an African American with lived experience of SPMI. Our purpose is to investigate how the IC model shapes not only how research is conducted but how research is understood and experienced by the community. We achieve this purpose by (1) describing an innovative CBPR model and pilot projects that involved African Americans with SPMI in all stages of the research project; and (2) presenting findings from qualitative interviews conducted with CBPR team members about strengths, challenges and leadership particular to this model of CBPR, an area rarely explored in CBPR literature. With the guidance of an advisory board and the manualised IC curriculum, two CBPR teams initiated and conducted nine-month long research projects focusing on health disparities for African Americans with SPMI. Members of the two CBPR teams (n = 13), which included individuals with lived experience, service providers and researchers, completed qualitative interviews. Benefits of CBPR projects included opportunities to learn, a sense of purpose in helping others and increased trust of research participants. Challenges pertained to disorganisation of leadership, lack of transparency with compensation, time pressures and interpersonal conflicts. These challenges highlight the importance of preparing and supporting those from both academic and lived experience backgrounds in skills necessary to thrive in leadership roles for CBPR projects. &nbsp

Spatial Degrees of Freedom in Everett Quantum Mechanics

Stapp claims that, when spatial degrees of freedom are taken into account, Everett quantum mechanics is ambiguous due to a "core basis problem." To examine an aspect of this claim I generalize the ideal measurement model to include translational degrees of freedom for both the measured system and the measuring apparatus. Analysis of this generalized model using the Everett interpretation in the Heisenberg picture shows that it makes unambiguous predictions for the possible results of measurements and their respective probabilities. The presence of translational degrees of freedom for the measuring apparatus affects the probabilities of measurement outcomes in the same way that a mixed state for the measured system would. Examination of a measurement scenario involving several observers illustrates the consistency of the model with perceived spatial localization of the measuring apparatus.Comment: 34 pp., no figs. Introduction, discussion revised. Material tangential to main point remove

Tracing injected CO2 in the Cranfield enhanced oil recovery field (MS, USA) using He, Ne and Ar isotopes

The He, Ne and Ar isotopic composition of gases collected in 2009 and 2012 from 13 production wells, injection wells and the CO2 supply pipeline at the Cranfield CO2-enhanced oil recovery field (MS, USA) have been measured in order to determine the extent to which they trace the fate of injected CO2 in the reservoir. In the absence of samples of CO2 pre-injection reservoir gas we use the Ne isotope composition of the production and injection well gases to determine the isotopic composition of the natural gas. The noble gas isotopes display binary mixing trends between the injected CO2 and a CH4-rich natural gas that is characterised by radiogenic He, Ne and Ar isotope ratios. 3He/4He and 40Ar*/4He ratios (where 40Ar* represents the non-atmospheric 40Ar) display coherent relationships with CO2 concentrations that can be used to trace and quantify the injected CO2 in an engineered site over a sustained period of injection. The presence of a small amount of air-derived Ar, from a non-atmospheric source, in many gas samples rules out using 40Ar/36Ar to track the injected CO2. The noble gases identify the loss of a significant proportion of the CO2 from the gas phase sampled by five production wells in 2009. Using 3He/4He and 40Ar*/4He ratios to reconstruct the major gas composition, it appears that between 22% and 96% of the CO2 has been lost in individual wells. This study demonstrates that the naturally occurring noble gases have the potential to trace the fate and quantify the sequestration of CO2 at injection sites

α/β-Hydrolase Domain 6 Deletion Induces Adipose Browning and Prevents Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

SummarySuppression of α/β-domain hydrolase-6 (ABHD6), a monoacylglycerol (MAG) hydrolase, promotes glucose-stimulated insulin secretion by pancreatic β cells. We report here that high-fat-diet-fed ABHD6-KO mice show modestly reduced food intake, decreased body weight gain and glycemia, improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, and enhanced locomotor activity. ABHD6-KO mice also show increased energy expenditure, cold-induced thermogenesis, brown adipose UCP1 expression, fatty acid oxidation, and white adipose browning. Adipose browning and cold-induced thermogenesis are replicated by the ABHD6 inhibitor WWL70 and by antisense oligonucleotides targeting ABHD6. Our evidence suggests that one mechanism by which the lipolysis derived 1-MAG signals intrinsic and cell-autonomous adipose browning is via PPARα and PPARγ activation, and that ABHD6 regulates adipose browning by controlling signal competent 1-MAG levels. Thus, ABHD6 regulates energy homeostasis, brown adipose function, and white adipose browning and is a potential therapeutic target for obesity and type 2 diabetes

Spatially heterogeneous argon-isotope systematics and apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in perlitised obsidian

In situ laser ablation Ar-isotope analyses of variably hydrated and devitrified obsidian from the ~ 27 Ma Cochetopa Dome, San Juan, USA, reveal complex interplay between degassing of initial Ar and absorption of atmospheric Ar. These processes have locally modified the Ar-isotope composition of the obsidian and led to spurious, spatially-heterogeneous Ar-isotope and 40Ar/39Ar age data. Small perlite beads exhibit older apparent Ar-ages at the rims than the cores. This is interpreted as an apparent excess of 40Ar at the rims, produced either by a) diffusion of excess 40Ar into the bead during flushing of the lava with excess 40Ar-bearing volcanic gas, or by b) isotopic fractionation during degassing of initial Ar, causing preferential loss of 36Ar over 40Ar at the bead rims. The second interpretation is favoured by a relative enrichment of 36Ar in the core of a perlite bead along a microlite-free (poorly degassed) flow band, and by a lack of age variation in a larger, fresh, well-degassed perlite bead. These isotopic gradients were later overprinted during glass hydration by absorption of Ar with near-atmospheric composition, resulting in elevated 36Ar and reduced radiogenic 40Ar* yields at the rims of perlite beads. These complex interactions essentially represent the mixing of three distinct Ar reservoirs: initial trapped Ar that may or may not be fractionated, an isotopically atmospheric Ar component introduced during hydration, and radiogenic 40Ar*. Such reservoir mixing is the underlying reason for poor correlations on isotope correlation diagrams and the difficulties in validating the composition of the non-radiogenic Ar component. We thus suggest that high 36Ar yields are a combination of the incomplete degassing of initial (possibly magmatic) Ar and the gain of Ar during interaction between the obsidian and meteoric/atmospheric fluids. Our analyses emphasise the challenging nature of 40Ar/39Ar dating obsidian samples, but also point to possible solutions by careful sample characterisation and selection of highly degassed samples