Short-Term Climate Changes and Coastal Erosion, Barrow, Alaska

Records of shoreline and bluff positions in the vicinity of Barrow, Alaska, have been obtained from aerial photographs and taped measurements for intervals between 1948 and 1969. Although the source material in the bluffs is frozen and masses of pure ice are present, temperature and rainfall data fail to show any marked correlation with the retreat of the bluff face or with the retreat of the fronting or downdrift beaches. Removal of beach material for construction and frequency of storms from the west do show a relationship. Recorded retreats of the bluffs up to 3 m per year and of the beaches up to 4 m per year have resulted where there has been excessive beach borrow or where a series of severe storms have attacked the coast

Shoreline Processes near Barrow, Alaska: A Comparison of the Normal and the Catastrophic

The normal average yearly net transport of sediment along the Alaska coast west of Pt Barrow to the NE is 10,000 yd³, to the east of Barrow, 9,500 yd³. An Oct 1963 storm with gusts of up to 75 mi/hr, over an ice-free ocean, produced 10-ft waves and a storm surge of 11-12 ft; it moved >200,000 yd³ sediment, caused coastal flooding and >$3 million damage. If climate is warming, such storms can be expected more frequently. The normal daily tide at Barrow is about 6 in (except in storm) and an additional monthly variation of about 5 in. Storm tides of several feet are caused by rise of sea level under a low pressure area and by onshore wind. Ice damps waves and wave-generated currents. Freeze-up occurs 2 Sept- 19 Dec, breakup 17-23 July. Even when considered open and navigable, the water may have scattered ice near Barrow and sea ice a few mi offshore, which would act as a damper of waves. The northern Alaska coast is one of transgression, with the recent dominant action of coastal submergence. The gravel along beaches cannot be replaced by natural processes without a large amount of erosion. It should be left in place as protection.Évolution du rivage près de Barrow, Alaska : comparaison entre le normal et le catastrophique. Entre 1948 et 1952, des études sur le mouvement des sédiments le long de la côte de l'Alaska, à l'ouest de Point Barrow, ont indiqué un transport annuel moyen normal vers le nord-est de 10,000 yards cubes (7645 m³). Des études analogues entreprises en 1958 indiquaient un mouvement vers le sud-est de 9,500 yards cubes (7263 m³).Le 3 octobre 1963, une tempête, accompagnée de rafales atteignant 75 milles à l'heure (120 kmh) souffla sur l'océan libre de glace et vint frapper la côte. Des vagues estimées à 10 pieds (2,05 m), renforcées d'une vague de fond causée par la tempête et haute de 11 à 12 pieds (3,35-3,65 m), inondèrent les régions côtières et causèrent pour plus de millions de dollars de dégâts. Cette tempête – probablement une tempête de "deux siècles" – déplaça plus de 200,000 yards cubes (152,900 m³) de sédiments, soit le transport normal de vingt années. Si le climat est véritablement en train de se réchauffer, il faut s'attendre à ce que de telles tempêtes se produisent plus fréquemment. Les constructions voisines de la côte devront donc être prévues en conséquence

Integrated agricultural riparian stewardship in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds

The Stillaguamish and Snohomish River watersheds are regionally important to the health of Puget Sound and the Salish Sea and in particular for the recovery of salmon. The habitat gains needed to achieve salmon recovery in these watersheds include much of the agricultural landscape in Snohomish County, a situation that often results in conflicts between salmon recovery and agricultural communities. The Snohomish Conservation District’s National Estuary Program-funded Integrated Riparian Stewardship project is one of several efforts aimed at simultaneously achieving agricultural land preservation and salmon habitat protection and restoration in one of the fastest growing counties in the United States, where pressures from development and climate change threaten both salmon recovery and agriculture, and where agricultural property owners may feel salmon recovery efforts impact their livelihood and way of life. The District and project partners undertook a planning and protection/restoration initiative to identify, protect, and restore high priority riparian agricultural and rural lands in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds. The District developed an Action Plan that identifies high priority areas for reach-scale riparian protection and restoration and outlines a comprehensive riparian zone management approach for three focus areas in the Stillaguamish and Snohomish watersheds. The Action Plan integrates existing geomorphic, habitat, hydrologic, and water quality studies to identify reaches and parcels on which to purchase conservation easements and complete habitat restoration projects in order to protect or enhance cold water inflows, restore salmon habitat, and improve or protect hydrologic processes. The District is currently implementing the Action Plan. We will share our experience with a precision outreach strategy and our successes in leveraging the easement program with grant funding and the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and other grant funding to secure landowner cooperation and achieve reach-scale riparian zone management. Partners include Snohomish County, Washington Department of Ecology, Forterra, and NOAA Restoration Center

Children\u27s perceptions of the factors helping them to be resilient to sedentary lifestyles

Despite the increased risk of sedentary lifestyles associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, some children living in disadvantaged areas display 'resilience' to unhealthy behaviours whereby they manage to engage in regular physical activity and avoid high levels of screen time. It is important to understand what is helping these children to do well. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 'resilient' children regarding factors that assist them to engage in high levels of physical activity and low screen time. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 38 children (7-13 years) living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in urban and rural areas of Victoria, Australia. Themes that emerged relating to physical activity included: parental support and encouragement of physical activity, having a supportive physical environment and having friends to be active with. Themes relating to screen time included: individual preferences to be active, knowledge of health risks associated with sedentary behaviour, having a home environment supportive of physical activity and parental rules. The results provide valuable insights regarding factors that may help children living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods to be physically active and reduce their screen time and may inform future studies targeting this important population group.Jenny Veitch, Lauren Arundell, Clare Hume and Kylie Bal

Feature Improvement and Cost Reduction of Baitcasting Fishing Reels for Emerging Markets

Baitcasting fishing reels are a challenging product to sell to new users in emerging markets. Their complex and less-than-intuitive design make them poor candidates for a novice fisherman selecting his or her first fishing reel. Based upon manufacturer constraints and design requirements, our team lowered the price point and improved the usability of the Okuma Cerros baitcasting fishing reel to make it more appealing to a wider range of consumers, especially in emerging markets. This project resulted in a three-phase redesign: reducing cost via alternative materials and replacing bearings with bushings; prototyping a simplified cast control system; and proposing an improved user interface

Phase diagram and structural diversity of the densest binary sphere packings

The densest binary sphere packings have historically been very difficult to determine. The only rigorously known packings in the alpha-x plane of sphere radius ratio alpha and relative concentration x are at the Kepler limit alpha = 1, where packings are monodisperse. Utilizing an implementation of the Torquato-Jiao sphere-packing algorithm [S. Torquato and Y. Jiao, Phys. Rev. E 82, 061302 (2010)], we present the most comprehensive determination to date of the phase diagram in (alpha,x) for the densest binary sphere packings. Unexpectedly, we find many distinct new densest packings.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters on August 9th, 201

Human rhinovirus-induced inflammatory responses are inhibited by phosphatidylserine containing liposomes

Human rhinovirus (HRV) infections are major contributors to the healthcare burden associated with acute exacerbations of chronic airway disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Cellular responses to HRV are mediated through pattern recognition receptors that may in part signal from membrane microdomains. We previously found Toll-like receptor signaling is reduced, by targeting membrane microdomains with a specific liposomal phosphatidylserine species, 1-stearoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (SAPS). Here we explored the ability of this approach to target a clinically important pathogen. We determined the biochemical and biophysical properties and stability of SAPS liposomes and studied their ability to modulate rhinovirus-induced inflammation, measured by cytokine production, and rhinovirus replication in both immortalized and normal primary bronchial epithelial cells. SAPS liposomes rapidly partitioned throughout the plasma membrane and internal cellular membranes of epithelial cells. Uptake of liposomes did not cause cell death, but was associated with markedly reduced inflammatory responses to rhinovirus, at the expense of only modest non-significant increases in viral replication, and without impairment of interferon receptor signaling. Thus using liposomes of phosphatidylserine to target membrane microdomains is a feasible mechanism for modulating rhinovirus-induced signaling, and potentially a prototypic new therapy for viral-mediated inflammation

A Comparison of Cognitive Function in Former Rugby Union Players Compared with Former Non-Contact-Sport Players and the Impact of Concussion History

Aim: This study investigated differences in cognitive function between former rugby and non-contact-sport players, and assessed the association between concussion history and cognitive function. Methods: Overall, 366 former players (mean ± standard deviation [SD] age 43.3 ± 8.2 years) were recruited from October 2012 to April 2014. Engagement in sport, general health, sports injuries and concussion history, and demographic information were obtained from an online self-report questionnaire. Cognitive functioning was assessed using the online CNS Vital Signs neuropsychological test battery. Cohen’s d effect size statistics were calculated for comparisons across player groups, concussion groups (one or more self-reported concussions versus no concussions) and between those groups with CNS Vital Signs age-matched norms (US norms). Individual differences within groups were represented as SDs. Results: The elite-rugby group (n = 103) performed worse on tests of complex attention, processing speed, executive functioning, and cognitive flexibility than the non-contact-sport group (n = 65), and worse than the community-rugby group (n = 193) on complex attention. The community-rugby group performed worse than the non-contact group on executive functioning and cognitive flexibility. Compared with US norms, all three former player groups performed worse on verbal memory and reaction time; rugby groups performed worse on processing speed, cognitive flexibility and executive functioning; and the community-rugby group performed worse on composite memory. The community-rugby group and non-contact-sport group performed slightly better than US norms on complex attention, as did the elite-rugby group for motor speed. All three player groups had greater individual differences than US norms on composite memory, verbal memory and reaction time. The elite-rugby group had greater individual differences on processing speed and complex attention, and the community-rugby group had greater individual differences on psychomotor speed and motor speed. The average number of concussions recalled per player was greater for elite rugby and community rugby than non-contact sport. Former players who recalled one or more concussions (elite rugby, 85 %; community rugby, 77 %; non-contact sport, 23 %) had worse scores on cognitive flexibility, executive functioning, and complex attention than players who did not recall experiencing a concussion. Conclusions: Past participation in rugby or a history of concussion were associated with small to moderate neurocognitive deficits (as indicated by worse CNS Vital Signs scores) in athletes post retirement from competitive sport

Cognitive behavioural therapy combined with physical activity behavioural modification strategies during pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD

Introduction: Patients with COPD who exhibit elevated levels of anxiety and/or depression are typically less able to improve symptoms and physical activity (PA) levels following a programme of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR). Objective: To provide proof of concept that offering an intervention comprising cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) alongside PA behavioural modification strategies (BPA) during PR is more effective in improving PA outcomes compared to PR and CBT alone. Methods: Thirty-two patients with COPD (mean±SD: FEV1: 42±14% predicted) were assigned 1:1 to receive PR+CBT+BPA or PR+CBT. BPA comprised motivational interviews, step count monitoring, feedback using a pedometer and goal setting. Assessments included accelerometer-derived steps/day, movement intensity, 6MWD and HADS scores. Results: The magnitude of improvement across PA outcomes was greater for the PR+CBT+BPA compared to the PR+CBT intervention (by 828 steps/day (p=0.029) and by 8039 vector magnitude units (p=0.042), respectively). Compared to PR and CBT alone, the PR+CBT+BPA intervention induced greater clinically meaningful improvements in HADS anxiety scores (by -2 units [95% CI -4 to 1 units]) and 6MWD (by 3320 m). Conclusions: Providing anxious and/or depressed patients with COPD with a combined intervention of CBT and BPA during PR, presents more favourable improvements in PA outcome measures compared to CBT alone during PR

The fables of pity: Rousseau, Mandeville and the animal-fable

Copyright @ 2012 Edinburgh University PressPrompted by Derrida’s work on the animal-fable in eighteenth-century debates about political power, this article examines the role played by the fiction of the animal in thinking of pity as either a natural virtue (in Rousseau’s Second Discourse) or as a natural passion (in Mandeville’s The Fable of the Bees). The war of fables between Rousseau and Mandeville – and their hostile reception by Samuel Johnson and Adam Smith – reinforce that the animal-fable illustrates not so much the proper of man as the possibilities and limitations of a moral philosophy that is unable to address the political realities of the state