Monitoring Macroalgae in the Great Bay Estuary for 2014

Four more intertidal fixed transect sites were added to the long5term macroalgal monitoring array, resulting in a total of eight sites for the Great Bay Estuary. Monitoring results from 2014 show high levels of cover of nuisance green and red algae (Ulva and Gracilaria, respectively) at all sites except near the mouth of the Estuary. Seasonal sampling of algal cover confirmed earlier work that showed mid5summer accumulations of green algae (primarily Ulva)lactuca) were largely replaced in late summer and fall by red algae (two species of Graciliaria, one native and the other introduced). A determination of whether intertidal macroalgal populations are increasing over time will require a longer time series and would likely benefit from historical analysis of earlier collections of intertidal macroalgae. To this end, a method for analysis of historical photographs was developed

Macroalgal Monitoring in the Great Bay Estuary: 2018 Annual Report

Since 2013, the abundance and taxa of intertidal macroalgae have been assessed at fixed locations throughout the Great Bay Estuary in New Hampshire. Algal abundance may be influenced by environmental conditions such as nutrient levels, water temperature, light and invasive species. Therefore, abundance of different algal groups can provide insights into the overall health of the estuary and signal ecological change. In 2018, intertidal abundance data for percentage cover and biomass were collected, as planned, from five of the eight sites. For the first time, subtidal sampling arrays were also incorporated at all four sites in Great Bay proper to monitor macroalgae at lower elevations and to collect data on eelgrass communities coexisting with the algae

Position Reconstruction in Drift Chambers operated with Xe, CO2 (15%)

We present measurements of position and angular resolution of drift chambers operated with a Xe,CO$_2$(15%) mixture. The results are compared to Monte Carlo simulations and important systematic effects, in particular the dispersive nature of the absorption of transition radiation and non-linearities, are discussed. The measurements were carried out with prototype drift chambers of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector, but our findings can be generalized to other drift chambers with similar geometry, where the electron drift is perpendicular to the wire planes.Comment: 30 pages, 18 figure

The Suaineadh Project : a stepping stone towards the deployment of large flexible structures in space

The Suaineadh project aims at testing the controlled deployment and stabilization of space web. The deployment system is based on a simple yet ingenious control of the centrifugal force that will pull each of the four daughters sections apart. The four daughters are attached onto the four corners of a square web, and will be released from their initial stowed configuration attached to a central hub. Enclosed in the central hub is a specifically designed spinning reaction wheel that controls the rotational speed with a closed loop control fed by measurements from an onboard inertial measurement sensor. Five other such sensors located within the web and central hub provide information on the surface curvature of the web, and progression of the deployment. Suaineadh is currently at an advanced stage of development: all the components are manufactured with the subsystems integrated and are presently awaiting full integration and testing. This paper will present the current status of the Suaineadh project and the results of the most recent set of tests. In particular, the paper will cover the overall mechanical design of the system, the electrical and sensor assemblies, the communication and power systems and the spinning wheel with its control system

Participation in voluntary and community organisations in the United Kingdom and the influences on the self-management of long-term conditions

Voluntary and community organisations (VCOs) have health benefits for those who attend and are viewed as having the potential to support long-term condition management. However, existing community-level understandings of participation do not explain the involvement with VCOs at an individual level, or the nature of support, which may elicit health benefits. Framing active participation as ‘doing and experiencing’, the aim of this qualitative study was to explore why people with long-term vascular conditions join VCOs, maintain their membership and what prevents participation. Twenty participants, self-diagnosed as having diabetes, chronic heart disease or chronic kidney disease, were purposefully sampled and recruited from a range of VCOs in the North West of England identified from a mapping of local organisations. In semi-structured interviews, we explored the nature of their participation. Analysis was thematic and iterative involving a continual reflection on the data. People gave various reasons for joining groups. These included health and well-being, the need for social contact and pursuing a particular hobby. Barriers to participation included temporal and spatial barriers and those associated with group dynamics. Members maintained their membership on the basis of an identity and sense of belonging to the group, developing close relationships within it and the availability of support and trust. Participants joined community groups often in response to a health-related event. Our findings demonstrate the ways in which the social contact associated with continued participation in VCOs is seen as helping with long-term condition management. Interventions designed at improving chronic illness management might usefully consider the role of VCOs

Space charge in drift chambers operated with the Xe,CO2(15%) mixture

Using prototype modules of the ALICE Transition Radiation Detector we investigate space charge effects and the dependence of the pion rejection performance on the incident angle of the ionizing particle. The average pulse height distributions in the drift chambers operated with the Xe,CO2(15%) mixture provide quantitative information on the gas gain reduction due to space charge accumulating during the drift of the primary ionization. Our results demonstrate that the pion rejection performance of a TRD is better for tracks which are not at normal incidence to the anode wires. We present detailed simulations of detector signals, which reproduce the measurements and lend strong support to our interpretation of the measurements in terms of space charge effects.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Nucl.Instrum.Meth. A. Data files available at http://www-alice.gsi.de/tr

Sintering of calcium phosphates with a femtosecond pulsed laser for hard tissue engineering

The authors acknowledge support from the sponsors of this work; the EPSRC LUMIN (EP/K020234/1) and EU-Marie-Curie-IAPP LUSTRE (324538) projects.Direct laser sintering on hard tissues is likely to open new pathways for personalised medicine. To minimise irradiation damage of the surrounding soft tissues, lasers operating at wavelengths that are ‘safe’ for the tissues and biomaterials with improved optical properties are required. In this work laser sintering is demonstrated with the use of an ultrafast, femtosecond (100 fs) pulsed laser operating at a wavelength of 1045 nm and two existing calcium phosphate minerals (brushite and hydroxyapatite) which have been improved after doping with iron (10 mol%). Femtosecond laser irradiation caused transformation of the Fe3+-doped brushite and Fe3+-doped HAp samples into β-calcium pyrophosphate and calcium-iron-phosphate, respectively, with simultaneous evidence for microstructural sintering and densification. After estimating the temperature profile at the surface of the samples we suggest that soft tissues over 500 μm from the irradiated zone would be safe from thermal damage. This novel laser processing provides a means to control the phase constitution and the morphology of the finished surfaces. The porous structure of β-pyrophosphate might be suitable for applications in bone regeneration by supporting osteogenic cell activity while, the densified Fe3+-rich calcium-iron-phosphate may be promising for applications like dental enamel restoration.PostprintPeer reviewe

Adherence to a Mediterranean diet and Alzheimer's disease risk in an Australian population

The Mediterranean diet (MeDi), due to its correlation with a low morbidity and mortality for many chronic diseases, has been widely recognised as a healthy eating model. We aimed to investigate, in a cross-sectional study, the association between adherence to a MeDi and risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a large, elderly, Australian cohort. Subjects in the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle Study of Ageing cohort (723 healthy controls (HC), 98 MCI and 149 AD participants) completed the Cancer Council of Victoria Food Frequency Questionnaire. Adherence to the MeDi (0- to 9-point scale with higher scores indicating higher adherence) was the main predictor of AD and MCI status in multinominal logistic regression models that were adjusted for cohort age, sex, country of birth, education, apolipoprotein E genotype, total caloric intake, current smoking status, body mass index, history of diabetes, hypertension, angina, heart attack and stroke. There was a significant difference in adherence to the MeDi between HC and AD subjects (P < 0.001), and in adherence between HC and MCI subjects (P < 0.05). MeDi is associated with change in Mini-Mental State Examination score over an 18-month time period (P < 0.05) in HCs. We conclude that in this Australian cohort, AD and MCI participants had a lower adherence to the MeDi than HC participants.S Gardener, Y Gu, S R Rainey-Smith, J B Keogh, P M Clifton, S L Mathieson, K Taddei, A Mondal, V K Ward, N Scarmeas, M Barnes, K A Ellis, R Head, C L Masters, D Ames, S L Macaulay, C C Rowe, C Szoeke and R N Martins for the AIBL Research Grou

Early postnatal EEG features of perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke with seizures

Background: Stroke is the second most common cause of seizures in term neonates and is associated with abnormal long-term neurodevelopmental outcome in some cases. Objective: To aid diagnosis earlier in the postnatal period, our aim was to describe the characteristic EEG patterns in term neonates with perinatal arterial ischaemic stroke (PAIS) seizures. Design: Retrospective observational study. Patients: Neonates >37 weeks born between 2003 and 2011 in two hospitals. Method: Continuous multichannel video-EEG was used to analyze the background patterns and characteristics of seizures. Each EEG was assessed for continuity, symmetry, characteristic features and sleep cycling; morphology of electrographic seizures was also examined. Each seizure was categorized as electrographic-only or electroclinical; the percentage of seizure events for each seizure type was also summarized. Results: Nine neonates with PAIS seizures and EEG monitoring were identified. While EEG continuity was present in all cases, the background pattern showed suppression over the infarcted side; this was quite marked (>50% amplitude reduction) when the lesion was large. Characteristic unilateral bursts of theta activity with sharp or spike waves intermixed were seen in all cases. Sleep cycling was generally present but was more disturbed over the infarcted side. Seizures demonstrated a characteristic pattern; focal sharp waves/spike-polyspikes were seen at frequency of 1-2 Hz and phase reversal over the central region was common. Electrographic-only seizure events were more frequent compared to electroclinical seizure events (78 vs 22%). Conclusions: Focal electrographic and electroclinical seizures with ipsilateral suppression of the background activity and focal sharp waves are strong indicators of PAIS. Approximately 80% of seizure events were the result of clinically unsuspected seizures in neonates with PAIS. Prolonged and continuous multichannel video-EEG monitoring is advocated for adequate seizure surveillance