MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation

The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management methodologies associated with different marine safety projects. International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean management purposes. This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could be adopted for future MSUO projects

The sectional curvature remains positive when taking quotients by certain nonfree actions

We study some cases when the sectional curvature remains positive under the taking of quotients by certain nonfree isometric actions of Lie groups. We consider the actions of the groups $S^1$ and $S^3$ such that the quotient space can be endowed with a smooth structure using the fibrations $S^3/S^1{\simeq}S^2$ and $S^7/S^3\simeq S^4$. We prove that the quotient space carries a metric of positive sectional curvature, provided that the original metric has positive sectional curvature on all 2-planes orthogonal to the orbits of the action.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure. Changed the spelling of the author's nam

Microwave oven fabricated hybrid memristor devices for non-volatile memory storage

© 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd. Novel hybrid non-volatile memories made using an ultra-fast microwave heating method are reported for the first time. The devices, consisting of aligned ZnO nanorods embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate), require no forming step and exhibit reliable and reproducible bipolar resistive switching at low voltages and with low power usage. We attribute these properties to a combination of the high aspect ratio of the nanorods and the polymeric hybrid structure of the device. The extremely easy, fast and low-cost solution based method of fabrication makes possible the simple and quick production of cheap memory cells

Mean curvature flow and quasilocal mass for two-surfaces in Hamiltonian General Relativity

A family of quasilocal mass definitions that includes as special cases the Hawking mass and the Brown-York ``rest mass'' energy is derived for spacelike 2-surfaces in spacetime. The definitions involve an integral of powers of the norm of the spacetime mean curvature vector of the 2-surface, whose properties are connected with apparent horizons. In particular, for any spacelike 2-surface, the direction of mean curvature is orthogonal (dual in the normal space) to a unique normal direction in which the 2-surface has vanishing expansion in spacetime. The quasilocal mass definitions are obtained by an analysis of boundary terms arising in the gravitational ADM Hamiltonian on hypersurfaces with a spacelike 2-surface boundary, using a geometric time-flow chosen proportional to the dualized mean curvature vector field at the boundary surface. A similar analysis is made choosing a geometric rotational flow given in terms of the twist covector of the dual pair of mean curvature vector fields, which leads to a family of quasilocal angular momentum definitions involving the squared norm of the twist. The large sphere limit of these definitions is shown to yield the ADM mass and angular momentum in asymptotically flat spacetimes, while at apparent horizons a quasilocal version of the Gibbons-Penrose inequality is derived. Finally, some results concerning positivity are proved for the quasilocal masses, motivated by consideration of spacelike mean curvature flow of 2-surfaces in spacetime.Comment: Revised version, includes an analysis of null flows with applications to mass and angular momentum for apparent horizon

Wave-number Selection by Target Patterns and Side Walls in Rayleigh-Benard Convection

We present experimental results for Rayleigh-Benard convection patterns in a cylindrical container with static side-wall forcing induced by a heater. This forcing stabilized a pattern of concentric rolls (a target pattern) with the central roll (the umbilicus) at the center of the cell after a jump from the conduction to the convection state. A quasi-static increase of the control parameter (epsilon) beyond 0.8 caused the umbilicus of the pattern to move off center. As observed by others, a further quasi-static increase of epsilon up to 15.6 caused a sequence of transitions. Each transition began with the displacement of the umbilicus and then proceeded with the loss of one convection roll at the umbilicus and the return of the umbilicus to a location near the center of the cell. Alternatively, with decreasing epsilon new rolls formed at the umbilicus but large umbilicus displacements did not occur. In addition to quantitative measurements of the umbilicus displacement, we determined and analyzed the entire wave-director field of each image. The wave numbers varied in the axial direction, with minima at the umbilicus and at the cell wall and a maximum at a radial position close to 2/3 Gamma. The wave numbers at the maximum showed hysteretic jumps at the transitions, but on average agreed well with the theoretical predictions for the wave numbers selected in the far field of an infinitely extended target pattern.Comment: ReVTeX, 11 pages, 16 eps figures include

Circadian Rhythms: Hijacking the Cyanobacterial Clock

SummaryUsing basic research to advance a practical application, a recent study demonstrates that the circadian clock in cyanobacteria can be ‘reprogrammed’ to improve yields of heterologous protein production — a green future surely beckons

Solution-processed bilayer photovoltaic devices with nematic liquid crystals

The cross-linking of polymerisable liquid crystalline semiconductors is a promising approach to solution-processable, multilayer, organic photovoltaics. Here we demonstrate an organic bilayer photovoltaic with an insoluble electron-donating layer formed by cross-linking a nematic reactive mesogen. We investigate a range of perylene diimide (PDI) materials, some of which are liquid crystalline, as the overlying electron acceptor layer. We find that carrier mobility of the acceptor materials is enhanced by liquid crystallinity and that mobility limits the performance of photovoltaic devices. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis

Magnification relations for Kerr lensing and testing Cosmic Censorship

A Kerr black hole with mass parameter m and angular momentum parameter a acting as a gravitational lens gives rise to two images in the weak field limit. We study the corresponding magnification relations, namely the signed and absolute magnification sums and the centroid up to post-Newtonian order. We show that there are post-Newtonian corrections to the total absolute magnification and centroid proportional to a/m, which is in contrast to the spherically symmetric case where such corrections vanish. Hence we also propose a new set of lensing observables for the two images involving these corrections, which should allow measuring a/m with gravitational lensing. In fact, the resolution capabilities needed to observe this for the Galactic black hole should in principle be accessible to current and near-future instrumentation. Since a/m >1 indicates a naked singularity, a most interesting application would be a test of the Cosmic Censorship conjecture. The technique used to derive the image properties is based on the degeneracy of the Kerr lens and a suitably displaced Schwarzschild lens at post-Newtonian order. A simple physical explanation for this degeneracy is also given.Comment: 13 pages, version 2: references added, minor changes. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013

Abstract Background Despite its Gallic name, the French Bulldog is a breed of both British and French origin that was first recognised by The Kennel Club in 1906. The French Bulldog has demonstrated recent rapid rises in Kennel Club registrations and is now (2017) the second most commonly registered pedigree breed in the UK. However, the breed has been reported to be predisposed to several disorders including ocular, respiratory, neurological and dermatological problems. The VetCompass™ Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass™ clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography and common disorders of the general population of French Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK. Results French Bulldogs comprised 2228 (0.49%) of 445,557 study dogs under veterinary care during 2013. Annual proportional birth rates showed that the proportional ownership of French Bulldog puppies rose steeply from 0.02% of the annual birth cohort attending VetCompass™ practices in 2003 to 1.46% in 2013. The median age of the French Bulldogs overall was 1.3 years (IQR 0.6–2.5, range 0.0–13.0). The most common colours of French Bulldogs were brindle (solid or main) (32.36%) and fawn (solid or main) (29.9%). Of the 2228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care during 2013, 1612 (72.4%) had at least one disorder recorded. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders recorded were otitis externa (14.0%, 95% CI: 12.6–15.5), diarrhoea (7.5%, 95% CI: 6.4–8.7), conjunctivitis (3.2%, 95% CI: 2.5–4.0), nails overlong (3.1%, 95% CI% 2.4–3.9) and skin fold dermatitis (3.0%, 95% CI% 2.3–3.8). The most prevalent disorder groups were cutaneous (17.9%, 95% CI: 16.3–19.6), enteropathy (16.7%, 95% CI: 15.2–18.3), aural (16.3%, 95% CI: 14.8–17.9), upper respiratory tract (12.7%, 95% CI: 11.3–14.1) and ophthalmological (10.5%, 95% CI: 9.3–11.9). Conclusions Ownership of French Bulldogs in the UK is rising steeply. This means that the disorder profiles reported in this study reflect a current young UK population and are likely to shift as this cohort ages. Otitis externa, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis were the most common disorders in French Bulldogs. Identification of health priorities based on VetCompass™ data can support evidence–based reforms to improve health and welfare within the breed