An evaluation of structures suitable for emergency storage in tropical countries (ODNRI Bulletin No. 10)

The bulletin provides technical, economic and managerial assessment of emergency storage systems. It is based on investigations conducted by ODNRI and on information provided by users from the World Food Programme and five relief agencies. Where the priority was provision of food shelters quickly and easily, with facilities for rapid relocation, users favoured a combination of tarpaulins, tents and plastic-covered metal frame structures . Where the priority was security/ease of management, traditional warehouses or frameless modular structures were superior, more permanent and had a lower annual cost after four years of use. In either case if stores could be provided locally this was generally preferable - for reasons of speed and economy - to provision of imported stores, of which there are a number of well-tested types. Part I of the bulletin provides background, research and tables showing operational comparisons, capital costs, procurement times, packed weights and annual costs for the main store types. Recommendations for research on design of stores capable of resisting tropical wind loads and on bumper crop storage are made. Part II summarizes the results in Part I and provides for users/donors/ governments: (a) a practical decision tree for choosing a store, (b) a method for calculating store capacity, and (c) a catalogue of suppliers giving product details for freight, costs and telex numbers. Suppliers of pallets are included

Post-Newtonian SPH calculations of binary neutron star coalescence. II. Binary mass ratio, equation of state, and spin dependence

Using our new Post-Newtonian SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) code, we study the final coalescence and merging of neutron star (NS) binaries. We vary the stiffness of the equation of state (EOS) as well as the initial binary mass ratio and stellar spins. Results are compared to those of Newtonian calculations, with and without the inclusion of the gravitational radiation reaction. We find a much steeper decrease in the gravity wave peak strain and luminosity with decreasing mass ratio than would be predicted by simple point-mass formulae. For NS with softer EOS (which we model as simple $\Gamma=2$ polytropes) we find a stronger gravity wave emission, with a different morphology than for stiffer EOS (modeled as $\Gamma=3$ polytropes as in our previous work). We also calculate the coalescence of NS binaries with an irrotational initial condition, and find that the gravity wave signal is relatively suppressed compared to the synchronized case, but shows a very significant second peak of emission. Mass shedding is also greatly reduced, and occurs via a different mechanism than in the synchronized case. We discuss the implications of our results for gravity wave astronomy with laser interferometers such as LIGO, and for theoretical models of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) based on NS mergers.Comment: RevTeX, 38 pages, 24 figures, Minor Corrections, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Incidents during out-of-hospital patient transportation

Publisher's copy made available with the permission of the publisher © Australian Society of AnaesthetistsOut-of-hospital patient transportation (retrieval) of critically ill patients occurs within highly complex environments. Adverse events are not uncommon. Incident monitoring provides a means to better understand such events. The aim of this study was to characterize incidents occurring during retrieval to provide a basis for developing corrective strategies. Four organizations contributed 125 reports, documenting 272 incidents; 91% of forms documented incidents as preventable. Incidents related to equipment (37%), patient care (26%), transport operations (11%), interpersonal communication (9%), planning or preparation (9%), retrieval staff (7%) and tasking (2%). Incidents occurred during patient transport to the receiving facility (26%), at patient origin (26%), during patient loading (20%), at the retrieval service base (18%) and receiving facility (9%). Contributing factors were system-based for 54% and human-based for 42%. Haste (7.5%), equipment malfunctioning (7.2%) or missing (5.5%), failure to check (5.8%) and pressure to proceed (5.2%) were the most frequent contributing factors. Harm was documented in 59% of incidents with one death. Minimizing factors were good crew skills/teamwork (42%), checking equipment (17%) and patient (8%), patient monitors (15%), good luck (14%) and good interpersonal communication (4%). Incident monitoring provides sufficient insight into retrieval incidents to be a useful quality improvement tool for retrieval services. Information gathered suggested improvements in retrieval equipment design and use of alternative power sources, the use of pro formae for equipment checking, patient assessment, preparation for transportation and information transfer. Lessons from incidents in other areas applicable to retrieval should be linked for analysis with retrieval incidents.A. Flabouris, W. B. Runciman, B. Levingshttp://www.aaic.net.au/Article.asp?D=200530

Post-Newtonian SPH calculations of binary neutron star coalescence. I. Method and first results

We present the first results from our Post-Newtonian (PN) Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) code, which has been used to study the coalescence of binary neutron star (NS) systems. The Lagrangian particle-based code incorporates consistently all lowest-order (1PN) relativistic effects, as well as gravitational radiation reaction, the lowest-order dissipative term in general relativity. We test our code on sequences of single NS models of varying compactness, and we discuss ways to make PN simulations more relevant to realistic NS models. We also present a PN SPH relaxation procedure for constructing equilibrium models of synchronized binaries, and we use these equilibrium models as initial conditions for our dynamical calculations of binary coalescence. Though unphysical, since tidal synchronization is not expected in NS binaries, these initial conditions allow us to compare our PN work with previous Newtonian results. We compare calculations with and without 1PN effects, for NS with stiff equations of state, modeled as polytropes with $\Gamma=3$. We find that 1PN effects can play a major role in the coalescence, accelerating the final inspiral and causing a significant misalignment in the binary just prior to final merging. In addition, the character of the gravitational wave signal is altered dramatically, showing strong modulation of the exponentially decaying waveform near the end of the merger. We also discuss briefly the implications of our results for models of gamma-ray bursts at cosmological distances.Comment: RevTeX, 37 pages, 17 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. D, minor corrections onl

On gravitational waves emitted by an ensemble of rotating neutron stars

We study the possibility to detect the gravitational wave background generated by all the neutron stars in the Galaxy with only one gravitational wave interferometric detector. The proposed strategy consists in squaring the detector's output and searching for a sidereal modulation. The shape of the squared signal is computed for a disk and a halo distribution of neutron stars. The required noise stability of the interferometric detector is discussed. We argue that a possible population of old neutron stars, originating from a high stellar formation rate at the birth of the Galaxy and not emitting as radio pulsars, could be detected by the proposed technique in the low frequency range of interferometric experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 2 PostScript figures, RevTeX, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Role of the microbiome in regulating bone metabolism and susceptibility to osteoporosis

The human microbiota functions at the interface between diet, medication-use, lifestyle, host immune development and health. It is therefore closely aligned with many of the recognised modifiable factors that influence bone mass accrual in the young, and bone maintenance and skeletal decline in older populations. While understanding of the relationship between micro-organisms and bone health is still in its infancy, two decades of broader microbiome research and discovery supports a role of the human gut microbiome in the regulation of bone metabolism and pathogenesis of osteoporosis as well as its prevention and treatment. Pre-clinical research has demonstrated biological interactions between the microbiome and bone metabolism. Furthermore, observational studies and randomized clinical trials have indicated that therapeutic manipulation of the microbiota by oral administration of probiotics may influence bone turnover and prevent bone loss in humans. In this paper, we summarize the content, discussion and conclusions of a workshop held by the Osteoporosis and Bone Research Academy of the Royal Osteoporosis Society in October, 2020. We provide a detailed review of the literature examining the relationship between the microbiota and bone health in animal models and in humans, as well as formulating the agenda for key research priorities required to advance this field. We also underscore the potential pitfalls in this research field that should be avoided and provide methodological recommendations to facilitate bridging the gap from promising concept to a potential cause and intervention target for osteoporosis

Blocking FSH induces thermogenic adipose tissue and reduces body fat

Functional Genomics of Systemic Disorder