Airborne Laser Hydrography

Airborne laser hydrography is an emerging technology which has the potential of performing large amounts of bathymetric surveys rapidly and inexpensively. The accuracy, applicability, and economics of laser bathymetric surveying are discussed. The characteristics of a scanning laser bathymetric system being developed under direction of the United States’ Defense Mapping Agency are presented

The dynamism of salt crust patterns on playas

Playas are common in arid environments and can be major sources of mineral dust that can influence global climate. These landforms typically form crusts that limit evaporation and dust emission, modify surface erosivity and erodibility, and can lead to over prediction or under prediction of (1) dust-emission potential and (2) water and heat fluxes in energy balance modeling. Through terrestrial laser scanning measurements of part of the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana (a Southern Hemisphere playa that emits significant amounts of dust), we show that over weeks, months, and a year, the shapes of these surfaces change considerably (ridge thrusting of >30 mm/week) and can switch among continuous, ridged, and degraded patterns. Ridged pattern development changes the measured aerodynamic roughness of the surface (as much as 3 mm/week). The dynamic nature of these crusted surfaces must be accounted for in dust entrainment and moisture balance formulae to improve regional and global climate models

Assessment, treatment and prevention of vitamin D deficiency.

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among various groups in the UK, and can result from insufficient sunlight exposure and dietary intake. There is a population-wide recommendation of 10 micrograms (400 international units) of vitamin D per day, with a daily supplement advised. However, supplement use is often suboptimal, compounding the risk of deficiency. Long-term vitamin D deficiency can cause rickets in children and osteomalacia or osteoporosis in adults. Therefore, it is important that nurses recognise which groups are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency and understand how to assess people's vitamin D status. Nurses also need to be able to support the prevention and treatment of low vitamin D levels, which typically involves supplementation and lifestyle changes

International Benchmarking Review of UK Physical Geography

Physical geography in the UK is extraordinarily rich and diverse. It provides insights into processes and forms in the natural environment, including climate and atmosphere, geomorphology and landscape, biogeography and ecosystems, hydrology and water science, oceans and soils. The use, application and development of technologies, including Earth observation, GIS, and geochronological tools, are integral parts of contemporary physical geography. This report is the first to compile evidence on the health and influence of UK physical geography. It uses documented evidence, most of which is in the public domain, to describe the nature and demand for physical geography in schools, the shape and size of physical geography in universities, the achievements and global influence of UK physical geography and its academic community, and the aspirations and skillsets offered by the next generation of physical geographers. Physical geography brings a unique spatial perspective, and the capability to integrate across scales and subdisciplinary systems. It links to aspects of environmental science, mathematics, physics and life sciences. It sets intellectual agendas both within and beyond geography, and leads eminent international collaborative research programmes. The ‘de-siloing’ of science in the 21st century in response to big ‘whole world’ societal-environment challenges demonstrates the value of approaches which have always been integral to UK physical geography. UK physical geography is international in outlook, is world-leading in many subareas, and influences the discipline worldwide. This is achieved through many routes including: international research partnerships; the training given to overseas students in UK geography departments, particularly at graduate level; and the roles played by UK-based academics in international professional bodies, international journal editorships and major conferences. UK physical geography research is funded from diverse sources and punches well above its weight in terms of success rates at the UK Research Councils. In the last decade, European funding has also been vital in supporting UK physical geography research. New substantial funding opportunities are emerging including through the UK’s Global Challenges ResearchFund and Industrial Strategy, which physical geography is well placed to engage with.Additionally, the opportunities for postgraduate doctoral research in physical geography have been enhanced with the advent of the UK Research Council doctoral training programmes. The future of physical geography is bright. It is witnessing a resurgence in popularity in schools in England. Curriculum changes, increasing physical geography’s presence within A-Levels in England and Wales, are positive developments, as are a greater emphasis on fieldwork, individual project work and data skills. These provide opportunities for physical geography to bolster its position within the discipline in schools and beyond. The situation is not consistent across the UK; it is hoped that changes can be made in the content of Scottish Highers that leads to greater balance in the content of physical and human geography. At university, physical geography is a popular and growing subject choice and attracts some of the highest-calibre students to its undergraduate degrees. As well as being taught in UK university geography undergraduate programmes, physical geography is widespread in other degree structures and departments. Successful course delivery is contingent upon institutions providing appropriate access to laboratory facilities, fieldwork opportunities and quantitative training. Physical geography undergraduates perform well in their degrees, express high level of courses satisfaction, and have excellent employment outcomes compared to many disciplines. The independent review of this report by a panel of eminent overseas experts confirms that “it is beyond doubt that UK physical geography is a leading force worldwide as evidenced by all the metrics discussed in this report”. Nonetheless, there are challenges, detailed within the report, that need to be addressed to enhance the scientific academic and public presence, inclusivity, resourcing, autonomy, and global reputation of UK physical geography. It is recommended that a working group representative of constituent bodies within UK physical geography, led by the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) (RGS-IBG), is set up to take forward the ssues associated with thesechallenges

Relative amounts of antagonistic splicing factors, hnRNP A1 and ASF/SF2, change during neoplastic lung growth: implications for pre-mRNA processing

Pre-mRNA processing is an important mechanism for globally modifying cellular protein composition during tumorigenesis. To understand this process during lung cancer, expression of two key pre-mRNA alternative splicing factors was compared in a mouse model of early lung carcinogenesis and during regenerative growth following reversible lung injury. Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A1 and alternative splicing factor/splicing factor 2 (ASF/SF2) act antagonistically to modulate splice site selection. Both hnRNP A1 and ASF/SF2 contents rose in adenomas and during injury-induced hyperplasia compared to control lungs, as measured by immunoblotting. While both proteins increased similarly during compensatory hyperplasia, hnRNP A1 increased to a much greater extent than ASF/SF2 in tumors, resulting in a 6-fold increase of the hnRNP A1 to ASF/SF2 ratio. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that hnRNP A1 localized exclusively within tumor nuclei, while ASF/SF2 appeared in cytoplasm and/or nuclei, depending on the growth pattern of the tumor cells. We also demonstrated cancer-associated changes in the pre-mRNA alternative splicing of CD44, a membrane glycoprotein involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. hnRNP A1 and ASF/SF2 expression is thus differentially altered in neoplastic lung cells by mechanisms that do not strictly arise from increased cell division. These changes are influenced by tumor histology and may be associated with production of variant CD44 mRNA isoforms

Foldwatch:using origami-inspired paper prototypes to explore the extension of output space in smartwatches

Smartwatches are highly portable, ubiquitous devices, allowing rich interaction at a small scale. However, the display size can hinder user engagement, limit information display, and presentation style. Most research focuses on exploring ways in which the interaction area of smartwatches can be extended, although this mainly entails simple fold-out displays or additional screens. Conversely, added weight and size can hinder the wearable experience. In response, we took inspiration from origami and explored the design space for new types of lightweight, highly foldable smartwatch, by developing complex paper-prototypes which demonstrate novel ways of extending screen space. We collected data on potential input and output interaction with complex folded smartwatch displays during workshops with expert and non-expert users, discovering application ideas and additional input/output functionality. These insights were used to produce and evaluate a concept video for the FoldWatch prototype

Enabling low-carbon development in poor countries

The challenges associated with achieving sustainable development goals and stabilizing the world’s climate cannot be solved without significant efforts by developing and newly-emerging countries. With respect to climate change mitigation, the main challenge for developing countries lies in avoiding future emissions and lock-ins into emission-intensive technologies, rather than reducing today’s emissions. While first best policy instruments like carbon prices could prevent increasing carbonization, those policies are often rejected by developing countries out of a concern for negative repercussions on development and long-term growth. In addition, policy environments in developing countries impose particular challenges for regulatory policy aiming to incentivize climate change mitigation and sustainable development. This chapter first discusses how climate policy could potentially interact with sustainable development and economic growth. It focuses, in particular, on the role of industrial sector development. The chapter then continues by discussing how effective policy could be designed, specifically taking developing country circumstances into account

A prospectus for future geomorphological investigation of the Namib Sand Sea

The Namib Sand Sea in southern Africa offers an ideal location in which to consider general questions about the evolution of sand seas, about the fluxes of sand through contemporary dune fields and about the patterns of dune form that are created. This paper aims to provide a concise account of the approaches and techniques that are currently being used and will be used in the future to address these questions. The paper considers the techniques employed to investigate wind climate, the morphometry of the dunes, the internal structure of dune sediments, the age of the dunes and the potential to model dune development