Dynamical models for sand ripples beneath surface waves

We introduce order parameter models for describing the dynamics of sand ripple patterns under oscillatory flow. A crucial ingredient of these models is the mass transport between adjacent ripples, which we obtain from detailed numerical simulations for a range of ripple sizes. Using this mass transport function, our models predict the existence of a stable band of wavenumbers limited by secondary instabilities. Small ripples coarsen in our models and this process leads to a sharply selected final wavenumber, in agreement with experimental observations.Comment: 9 pages. Shortened version of previous submissio

Mistakes from the HIV pandemic should inform the COVID-19 response for maternal and newborn care

Background: In an effort to prevent infants being infected with SARS-CoV-2, some governments, professional organisations, and health facilities are instituting policies that isolate newborns from their mothers and otherwise prevent or impede breastfeeding. Weighing of risks is necessary in policy development: Such policies are risky as was shown in the early response to the HIV pandemic where efforts to prevent mother to child transmission by replacing breastfeeding with infant formula feeding ultimately resulted in more infant deaths. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the risk of maternal SARS-CoV-2 transmission needs to be weighed against the protection skin-to-skin contact, maternal proximity, and breastfeeding affords infants. Conclusion: Policy makers and practitioners need to learn from the mistakes of the HIV pandemic and not undermine breastfeeding in the COVID-19 pandemic. It is clear that in order to maximise infant health and wellbeing, COVID-19 policies should support skin-to-skin contact, maternal proximity, and breastfeeding

Quantify the monthly to decadal variability of climate effects on the lower trophic levelse of shelf sea ecosystems

ECOOP WP10, Deliverable no: D10.1.2.1This report describes three studies using multi-decadal simulations of regional coupled hydrodynamics ecosystem models. These models are used to investigate the relationship between lower trophic level marine ecosystems and biogeochemistry, and the physical environment. The models considered here: POLCOMS-ERSEM Atlantic Margin Model run from 1960 to 2003 (NERC and PML) NORWECOM North Sea Model run from 1985-2006 (IMR) ECOSMO (UiB-GFI) North sea and Baltic Sea run 1980-2004 (UiB-GFI) The POLCOMS-ERSEM model is validated using in-situ data from the world ocean data centre and analysed to investigate the potential long term changes in primary production across the period 1960-2004, in the context of model open boundary conditions and drift. The model experiments demonstrate a strong sensitivity of the on-shelf primary production to the oceanic nutrient boundary conditions, suggesting cross-shelf edge nutrient fluxes provide a significant source of variability. The relationship between the model results and the North Atlantic Oscillation are also considered, demonstrating a r~0.65 correlation with on-shelf nutrients and the NAO The NORWECOM model is validated here using time series data from the Dutch coast. Correlations between model variables in a selection of ICES boxes are compared with a number of driving factors. River loads are shown to dominate coastal boxes. The relationships in open-shelf boxes are more ambiguous, although the southerly inflow is demonstrated to have an important role. The validation of the POLCOMS-ERSEM and NORWECOM models both conclude that the simulations have better skill for nutrients than chlorophyll and in open-shelf seas away from the coast. The validation of ECOSMO presented here focuses on zooplankton and comparison with data from the continuous plankton recorder, investigating six different approaches to matching CPR records with model data. Across the North Sea the mean annual cycle shows good agreement between model and CPR. There is also good correlation with along-track variability. EOF and correlation analysis is used to relate the primary production in the North Sea to atmospheric forcing parameters. The EOF patterns tend to match the distribution of summer time stratification, while the wind speed is shows the highest correlation, particularly during the onset and breakdown of stratification. This indicates the strength of cross-thermocline mixing is an important control on primary production variability. The ECOSMO model has been further developed for use in the Baltic by inclusion of nitrogen fixing cyanobacteria. These studies each demonstrate significant control of the inter-annual variability of shelf sea ecosystems through a range of external forcing vectors: oceanic through cross-shelf edge nutrient flux, terrestrial through variations in river nutrient loading, and atmospheric via the wind control of vertical mixing. Each of these vectors potentially mediates climatic variability and climate change

Utslippsfrie anleggsplasser fungerer

publishedVersio

An Overview of the Linked Data AppStore

This demo/poster paper provides an overview of a Software-as-a-Service platform prototype for data integration on the Web – The Linked Data AppStore (LD-AppStore). It builds upon Linked Data technologies, targets data scientists/engineers and data integration application developers, and aims to provide a solution for simplifying tasks such as data transformation, querying, entity extraction, data visualization, crawling, etc. This paper focuses on the overall architecture of the LD-AppStore, basic data operations supported by the current prototype, and outlines the demonstration of the prototype.publishedVersio

An Overview of the Linked Data AppStore

This demo/poster paper provides an overview of a Software-as-a-Service platform prototype for data integration on the Web – The Linked Data AppStore (LD-AppStore). It builds upon Linked Data technologies, targets data scientists/engineers and data integration application developers, and aims to provide a solution for simplifying tasks such as data transformation, querying, entity extraction, data visualization, crawling, etc. This paper focuses on the overall architecture of the LD-AppStore, basic data operations supported by the current prototype, and outlines the demonstration of the prototype.publishedVersio

A literature review and survey of childhood pneumonia etiology studies: 2000-2010.

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project is the largest multicountry etiology study of childhood pneumonia since the Board on Science and Technology in International Development studies of the 1980s. However, it is not the only recent or ongoing pneumonia etiology study, and even with seven sites, it cannot capture all epidemiologic settings in the developing world. Funding providers, researchers and policymakers rely on the best available evidence to strategically plan programs, new research directions and interventions. We aimed to describe the current landscape of recent pneumonia etiology studies in children under 5 years of age in the developed and developing world, as ascertained by a literature review of relevant studies with data since the year 2000 and a survey of researchers in the field of childhood pneumonia. We collected information on the study population, study design, case definitions, laboratory samples and methods and identified pathogens. A literature review identified 88 studies with child pneumonia etiology results. As of June 2010, our survey of researchers identified an additional 65 ongoing and recently completed child pneumonia etiology studies. This demonstrates the broad existing context into which the PERCH study must be placed. However, the landscape analysis also reveals a multiplicity of case definitions, levels of clinician involvement, facility types, specimen collection, and laboratory techniques. It reinforces the need for the standardization of methods and analyses for present and future pneumonia etiology studies in order to optimize their cumulative potential to accurately describe the microbial causes of childhood pneumonia

Effective Communication About Pregnancy, Birth, Lactation, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care:The Importance of Sexed Language

On 24 September 2021, The Lancet medical journal highlighted an article on its cover with a single sentence in large text; “Historically, the anatomy and physiology of bodies with vaginas have been neglected.” This statement, in which the word “women” was replaced with the phrase “bodies with vaginas,” is part of a trend to remove sexed terms such as “women” and “mothers” from discussions of female reproduction. The good and important intention behind these changes is sensitivity to, and acknowledgment of, the needs of people who are biologically female and yet do not consider themselves to be women because of their gender identity (1). However, these changes are often not deliberated regarding their impact on accuracy or potential for other unintended consequences. In this paper we present some background to this issue, describe various observed impacts, consider a number of potentially deleterious consequences, and suggest a way forward