Energy storage solutions for offshore wave and tidal energy prototypes

This paper investigates the motivations for energy storage solutions for offshore Wave Energy Converters (WEC) and tidal energy prototypes. It examines the power and energy storage solutions on offer for developers to aid them during the design stage. Energy storage solutions examined include lead acid batteries, lithium ion batteries, supercapacitors, lithium ion capacitors and diesel for diesel generators. A focus is placed on key installation, operation and maintenance requirements associated with the apparent suitable technologies which are often overlooked. A case study examining a tidal developer's energy storage needs is then presented

The North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC), a student-led citizen science project: one-year retrospective, future developments, and scientific potential

The North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC) is a student-led project operated in conjunction with the University of North Dakota (UND), the LiveAuroraNetwork, and Aurorasaurus citizen science. Aurora cameras are valuable tools for aurora chasers, and scientists, providing ground-truth visual data to gauge auroral activity, yet at midlatitudes, these facilities are few in number. Deploying aurora cameras in these areas provides a valuable resource for aurora-chasing communities, but also demonstrates scientific merit as the analysis of rare phenomena, such as STEVEs, benefit from multiple geographic observations. What makes this project unique is the student initiative being based at a university observatory, the focus on dual cameras with COTS equipment, and, the emphasis on open data, a responsive community resource, and citizen science. NoDDAC employs the Sony a7s ii camera and Sony 24mm f/1.4 GM lens as a north-facing aurora video camera. A less expensive all-sky Canon T6 camera paired with a Sigma 4.5mm f/2.8 circular fisheye lens continuously captures 60-second images every two minutes. The cameras are stationed at the Martens Observatory operated by the department of physics and astrophysics at UND (48.1oN). Specialized housings from the LiveAuroraNetwork weatherproof both cameras and proprietary IPTimelapse software allows images to be uploaded to a web server and analyzed. The LiveAuroraNetwork hosts the image streams from both cameras on their website and mobile app. When aurora is detected by the IPTimelapse software, the NoDDAC twitter account will post a short clip of the display to alert aurora chasers. These cameras will be shown on the Aurorasaurus auroral oval map along with other citizen scientist observations. Image data are archived and made open source, abiding by the FAIR data use principles. The north-facing camera records video, which will allow for small auroral features to be studied using Zooniverse-style image analysis citizen science efforts. In the first half of 2021, the cameras successfully detected aurora on over 20 occasions, including overhead aurora and STEVE, and rare noctilucent clouds. This presentation will reflect on the first year of NoDDAC, outline a timeline for NoDDAC’s future, and open the floor for collaborations with other citizen science efforts.https://commons.und.edu/as-showcase/1007/thumbnail.jp

Anti-cholinergic burden and patient related clinical outcomes in an emergency general surgical setting

We acknowledge the support of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London (BC).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

City centre rough sleeping and street activity: project report

VOICES, Expert Citizens and Staffordshire University have collaborated on a research project which aims to help inform the debate locally about perceived city centre homelessness and anti-social behaviour. This is with a view to further inform the development of positive city centre solutions which recognise the needs of people who are engaged in street activity alongside those who live, work and shop in the city centre. This report presents and discusses the findings from stakeholders and core participants (those perceived to be homeless). It concludes with nine recommendations and a stakeholder action plan

Amplification of the quasi-two day wave through nonlinear interaction with the migrating diurnal tide

We present a case study of the non-linear interaction between the quasi-two day wave (Q2DW) and the migrating diurnal tide based on global synoptic meridional wind fields for January 2006 and January 2008 from a high-altitude data assimilation/forecast system. We find large quasi-two day wave amplitudes, small diurnal tide amplitudes, and phase locking of the Q2DW with the diurnal cycle during January 2006. In January 2008 the amplitudes of the Q2DW were much smaller, with no evidence of phase locking, while the tidal amplitudes were larger than in the 2006 case. Space-time spectral analysis reveals an enhancement in a diurnal zonal wavenumber 6 feature in the January 2006 case, which can be attributed to a non-linear interaction between the Q2DW and migrating diurnal tide. The relatively strong summer easterly jet in the extratropical upper mesosphere during early January 2006 appears to have created conditions favoring this interaction.J. P. McCormack, S. D. Eckermann, K. W. Hoppel, and R. A. Vincen

Association football and the representation of homosexuality by the print media: a case study of Anton Hysén

In March 2011 Anton Hysén (a semi-professional footballer currently playing in the Swedish fourth division) became only the second association football (soccer) player of any professional disposition to publicly declare his homosexuality whilst still playing the game. This article provides a textual analysis of the print media’s reaction to Hysén coming out and examines whether, in 2011, they portray more inclusive notions towards homosexuality than they did in 1990 when British footballer Justin Fashanu came out. The results advance inclusive masculinity theory as a number of print media sources (mostly British) interview Hysén in the weeks immediately after he came out and publish articles that challenge homophobia. Highlighting a change since 1990, a significant number of articles stress the need for the key stakeholders in football (players, fans, clubs, agents, the authorities and the media) to accept gay players

Dose response of the 16p11.2 distal copy number variant on intracranial volume and basal ganglia.

Carriers of large recurrent copy number variants (CNVs) have a higher risk of developing neurodevelopmental disorders. The 16p11.2 distal CNV predisposes carriers to e.g., autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. We compared subcortical brain volumes of 12 16p11.2 distal deletion and 12 duplication carriers to 6882 non-carriers from the large-scale brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging collaboration, ENIGMA-CNV. After stringent CNV calling procedures, and standardized FreeSurfer image analysis, we found negative dose-response associations with copy number on intracranial volume and on regional caudate, pallidum and putamen volumes (β = -0.71 to -1.37; P < 0.0005). In an independent sample, consistent results were obtained, with significant effects in the pallidum (β = -0.95, P = 0.0042). The two data sets combined showed significant negative dose-response for the accumbens, caudate, pallidum, putamen and ICV (P = 0.0032, 8.9 × 10-6, 1.7 × 10-9, 3.5 × 10-12 and 1.0 × 10-4, respectively). Full scale IQ was lower in both deletion and duplication carriers compared to non-carriers. This is the first brain MRI study of the impact of the 16p11.2 distal CNV, and we demonstrate a specific effect on subcortical brain structures, suggesting a neuropathological pattern underlying the neurodevelopmental syndromes

Properties that influence business process management maturity and its effect on organizational performance

Abstract BPM maturity is a measure to evaluate how professionally an organization manages its business processes. Previous research provides evidence that higher BPM maturity leads to better performance of processes and of the organization as a whole. It also claims that different organizations should strive for different levels of maturity, depending on their properties. This paper presents an empirical investigation of these claims, based on a sample of 120 organizations and looking at a selection of organizational properties. Our results reveal that higher BPM maturity contributes to better performance, but only up to a point. Interestingly, it contradicts the popular belief that higher innovativeness is associated with lower BPM maturity, rather showing that higher innovativeness is associated with higher BPM maturity. In addition, the paper shows that companies in different regions have a different level of BPM maturity. These findings can be used as a benchmark and a motivation for organizations to increase their BPM maturity

Long-Term Toxicity and Health-Related Quality of Life After Adjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy or Radiation Therapy Alone for High-Risk Endometrial Cancer in the Randomized PORTEC-3 Trial

PURPOSE: The survival results of the PORTEC-3 trial showed a significant improvement in both overall and failure-free survival with chemoradiation therapy versus pelvic radiation therapy alone. The present analysis was performed to compare long-term adverse events (AE) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). METHODS AND MATERIALS: In the study, 660 women with high-risk endometrial cancer were randomly assigned to receive chemoradiation therapy (2 concurrent cycles of cisplatin followed by 4 cycles of carboplatin/paclitaxel) or radiation therapy alone. Toxicity was graded using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0. HRQOL was measured using EORTC QLQ-C30 and CX24/OV28 subscales and compared with normative data. An as-treated analysis was performed. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 74.6 months; 574 (87%) patients were evaluable for HRQOL. At 5 years, grade ≥2 AE were scored for 78 (38%) patients who had received chemoradiation therapy versus 46 (24%) who had received radiation therapy alone (P = .008). Grade 3 AE did not differ significantly between the groups (8% vs 5%, P = .18) at 5 years, and only one new late grade 4 toxicity had been reported. At 3 and 5 years, sensory neuropathy toxicity grade ≥2 persisted after chemoradiation therapy in 6% (vs 0% after radiation therapy, P < .001) and more patients reported significant tingling or numbness at HRQOL (27% vs 8%, P < .001 at 3 years; 24% vs 9%, P = .002 at 5 years). Up to 3 years, more patients who had chemoradiation therapy reported limb weakness (21% vs 5%, P < .001) and lower physical (79 vs 87, P < .001) and role functioning (78 vs 88, P < .001) scores. Both treatment groups reported similar long-term global health/quality of life scores, which were better than those of the normative population. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a long-lasting, clinically relevant, negative impact of chemoradiation therapy on toxicity and HRQOL, most importantly persistent peripheral sensory neuropathy. Physical and role functioning impairments were seen until 3 years. These long-term data are essential for patient information and shared decision-making regarding adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk endometrial cancer

SP-A binds alpha(1)-antitrypsin in vitro and reduces the association rate constant for neutrophil elastase

BACKGROUND: α1-antitrypsin and surfactant protein-A (SP-A) are major lung defense proteins. With the hypothesis that SP-A could bind α1-antitrypsin, we designed a series of in vitro experiments aimed at investigating the nature and consequences of such an interaction. METHODS AND RESULTS: At an α1-antitrypsin:SP-A molar ratio of 1:1, the interaction resulted in a calcium-dependent decrease of 84.6% in the association rate constant of α1-antitrypsin for neutrophil elastase. The findings were similar when SP-A was coupled with the Z variant of α1-antitrypsin. The carbohydrate recognition domain of SP-A appeared to be a major determinant of the interaction, by recognizing α1-antitrypsin carbohydrate chains. However, binding of SP-A carbohydrate chains to the α1-antitrypsin amino acid backbone and interaction between carbohydrates of both proteins are also possible. Gel filtration chromatography and turnover per inactivation experiments indicated that one part of SP-A binds several molar parts of α1-antitrypsin. CONCLUSION: We conclude that the binding of SP-A to α1-antitrypsin results in a decrease of the inhibition of neutrophil elastase. This interaction could have potential implications in the physiologic regulation of α1-antitrypsin activity, in the pathogenesis of pulmonary emphysema, and in the defense against infectious agents