UK Parliament Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee Flooding Inquiry: Written Evidence from Dr Kate Smith et al. (FLO0043)

This submission presents the research conducted within the Energy and Environment Institute at the University of Hull. Our work demonstrates that hazards represented by flooding have multiple dimensions, and that solutions to them need to take these complex inter-relationships into account. The research described below covers both the physical and social impacts of flooding; the recommendations that follow from our work are based on our understanding that flood risk management needs to expand across land-water boundaries at the full range of spatial, temporal and societal scales. Responding to each of the terms of reference in turn, our data shows that the response to flooding needs to start changing now in order to ensure the resilience of our communities, businesses and infrastructure in the future

Physical modelling of water, fauna and flora: knowledge gaps, avenues for future research and infrastructural needs

peer reviewedPhysical modelling is a key tool for generating understanding of the complex interactions between aquatic organisms and hydraulics, which is important for management of aquatic environments under environmental change and our ability to exploit ecosystem services. Many aspects of this field remain poorly understood and the use of physical models within eco-hydraulics requires advancement in methodological application and substantive understanding. This paper presents a review of the emergent themes from a workshop tasked with identifying the future infrastructure requirements of the next generation of eco-hydraulics researchers. The identified themes are: abiotic factors, adaptation, complexity and feedback, variation, and scale and scaling. The paper examines these themes and identifies how progress on each of them is key to existing and future eðorts to progress our knowledge of eco-hydraulic interactions. Examples are drawn from studies on biofilms, plants, and sessile and mobile fauna in shallow water fluvial and marine environments. Examples of research gaps and directions for educational, infrastructural and technological advance are also presented.PISCES work package of HYDRALAB FP

Bias in mean velocities and noise in variances and covariances measured using a multistatic acoustic profiler: The Nortek Vectrino Profiler

This paper compiles the technical characteristics and operating principles of the Nortek Vectrino Profiler and reviews previously reported user experiences. A series of experiments are then presented that investigate instrument behaviour and performance, with a particular focus on variations within the profile. First, controlled tests investigate the sensitivity of acoustic amplitude (and Signal-to-Noise Ratio, SNR) and pulse-to-pulse correlation coefficient, R2, to seeding concentration and cell geometry. Second, a novel methodology that systematically shifts profiling cells through a single absolute vertical position investigates the sensitivity of mean velocities, SNR and noise to: (a). emitted sound intensity and the presence (or absence) of acoustic seeding; and (b). varying flow rates under ideal acoustic seeding conditions. A new solution is derived to quantify the noise affecting the two orthogonal tristatic systems of the Vectrino Profiler and its contribution to components of the Reynolds stress tensor. Results suggest that for the Vectrino Profiler: 1. optimum acoustic seeding concentrations are ~3,000 to 6,000 mg L-1; 2. mean velocity magnitudes are biased by variable amounts in proximal cells but are consistently underestimated in distal cells; 3. noise varies parabolically with a minimum around the "sweet spot", 50 mm below the transceiver; 4. the receiver beams only intersect at the sweet spot and diverge nearer to and further from the transceiver. This divergence significantly reduces the size of the sampled area away from the sweet spot, reducing data quality; 5. the most reliable velocity data will normally be collected in the region between approximately 43 and 61 mm below the transceiver

The Swift Ultra-Violet/Optical Telescope

The UV/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is one of three instruments flying aboard the Swift Gamma-ray Observatory. It is designed to capture the early (approximately 1 minute) UV and optical photons from the afterglow of gamma-ray bursts in the 170-600 nm band as well as long term observations of these afterglows. This is accomplished through the use of UV and optical broadband filters and grisms. The UVOT has a modified Ritchey-Chretien design with micro-channel plate intensified charged-coupled device detectors that record the arrival time of individual photons and provide sub-arcsecond positioning of sources. We discuss some of the science to be pursued by the UVOT and the overall design of the instrument.Comment: 55 Pages, 28 Figures, To be published in Space Science Review

LEARN: A multi-centre, cross-sectional evaluation of Urology teaching in UK medical schools

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the status of UK undergraduate urology teaching against the British Association of Urological Surgeons (BAUS) Undergraduate Syllabus for Urology. Secondary objectives included evaluating the type and quantity of teaching provided, the reported performance rate of General Medical Council (GMC)-mandated urological procedures, and the proportion of undergraduates considering urology as a career. MATERIALS AND METHODS: LEARN was a national multicentre cross-sectional study. Year 2 to Year 5 medical students and FY1 doctors were invited to complete a survey between 3rd October and 20th December 2020, retrospectively assessing the urology teaching received to date. Results are reported according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E-Surveys (CHERRIES). RESULTS: 7,063/8,346 (84.6%) responses from all 39 UK medical schools were included; 1,127/7,063 (16.0%) were from Foundation Year (FY) 1 doctors, who reported that the most frequently taught topics in undergraduate training were on urinary tract infection (96.5%), acute kidney injury (95.9%) and haematuria (94.4%). The most infrequently taught topics were male urinary incontinence (59.4%), male infertility (52.4%) and erectile dysfunction (43.8%). Male and female catheterisation on patients as undergraduates was performed by 92.1% and 73.0% of FY1 doctors respectively, and 16.9% had considered a career in urology. Theory based teaching was mainly prevalent in the early years of medical school, with clinical skills teaching, and clinical placements in the later years of medical school. 20.1% of FY1 doctors reported no undergraduate clinical attachment in urology. CONCLUSION: LEARN is the largest ever evaluation of undergraduate urology teaching. In the UK, teaching seemed satisfactory as evaluated by the BAUS undergraduate syllabus. However, many students report having no clinical attachments in Urology and some newly qualified doctors report never having inserted a catheter, which is a GMC mandated requirement. We recommend a greater emphasis on undergraduate clinical exposure to urology and stricter adherence to GMC mandated procedures

Mitochondrial abnormalities in Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease: can mitochondria be targeted therapeutically?

Mitochondrial abnormalities have been identified as a central mechanism in multiple neurodegenerative diseases and, therefore, the mitochondria have been explored as a therapeutic target. This review will focus on the evidence for mitochondrial abnormalities in the two most common neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. In addition, we discuss the main strategies which have been explored in these diseases to target the mitochondria for therapeutic purposes, focusing on mitochondrially targeted antioxidants, peptides, modulators of mitochondrial dynamics and phenotypic screening outcomes

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Connectionist models of cognition

Book synopsis: This book is a definitive reference source for the growing, increasingly more important, and interdisciplinary field of computational cognitive modeling, that is, computational psychology. It combines breadth of coverage with definitive statements by leading scientists in this field. Research in computational cognitive modeling explores the essence of cognition through developing detailed, process-based understanding by specifying computational mechanisms, structures, and processes. Computational models provide both conceptual clarity and precision at the same time. This book substantiates this approach through overviews and many examples