Lime and Ice Project : an overview of the geology and geomorphology of part of the Hambleton and Howardian Hills for the North York Moors National Park Authority

This report provides an overview of the geology and landscape that characterises the Hambleton Hills and part of the Howardian Hills that together comprise the North York Moors National Park Authority (NYMNPA) ‘Lime and Ice’ project area. This outreach and community project is centred on the Sutton Bank Visitor Centre and aims to inform and excite visitors about the geology and landscape of this beautiful area. Underpinning an understanding of the natural history and the development of the area is an appreciation of the geological evolution of the Jurassic bedrock geology (‘lime’) and the impact of the last ice-age (‘ice’) that left a thin veneer of overlying glacial deposits over part of the area. A 200 million year geological history that records ancient shallow seas, rivers and deltas, major earth movements and the later impact of major glaciations, especially the last ice-age, is brought to life here to illustrate the dynamic Earth history and our more recent influence on the landscape. The report covers the geographic scope of the ‘Lime and Ice’ Project area (Section 1) which includes part of the North York Moors National Park, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Coxwold-Gilling gap sandwiched between these designated areas. An overview of the geomorphology of the area (Section 2) comprising the upland moors of the Hambletons Hills, the low ground below the main escarpment and the rolling Howardian Hills sets the scene. The main part of the report (Section 3) describes the geological history and resources of the Jurassic rocks in the area in the context of the wider Cleveland (Yorkshire) Basin, with special reference to the local outcrops and landscape features. This is followed by a description of the influence of the last ice-age and subsequent post-glacial mass movement features that have sculpted and moulded the landscape that we appreciate today. The later sections cover the major Earth movements that have folded, faulted (displaced) and uplifted the rocks during the last 200 million years (Section 4) and the Section 5 provides an overview of our human exploitation of the natural geological resources of the area. A bibliography of source material and further reading is provided. Technical and/or geological terms are highlighted by grey shading; these may require further explanation for the nonspecialist in a Glossary depending on the knowledge of the intended audience and advice from the NYMNPA

Semantic memory is impaired in both dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT): a comparative neuropsychological study and literature review

OBJECTIVE---To test the hypothesis that semantic impairment is present in both patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and those with dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT). METHODS---A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tasks designed to assess semantic memory, visuoperceptual function, verbal fluency, and recognition memory was given to groups of patients with DLB (n=10), DAT (n=10) matched pairwise for age and mini mental state examination (MMSE), and age matched normal controls (n=15). RESULTS---Both DLB and DAT groups exhibited impaired performance across the range of tasks designed to assess semantic memory. Whereas patients with DAT showed equivalent comprehension of written words and picture stimuli, patients with DLB demonstrated more severe semantic deficits for pictures than words. As in previous studies, patients with DLB but not those with DAT were found to have impaired visuoperceptual functioning. Letter and category fluency were equally reduced for the patients with DLB whereas performance on letter fluency was significantly better in the DAT group. Recognition memory for faces and words was impaired in both groups. CONCLUSIONS---Semantic impairment is not limited to patients with DAT. Patients with DLB exhibit particular problems when required to access meaning from pictures that is most likely to arise from a combination of semantic and visuoperceptual impairments

An oncogenic role for sphingosine kinase 2

While both human sphingosine kinases (SK1 and SK2) catalyze the generation of the pleiotropic signaling lipid sphingosine 1-phosphate, these enzymes appear to be functionally distinct. SK1 has well described roles in promoting cell survival, proliferation and neoplastic transformation. The roles of SK2, and its contribution to cancer, however, are much less clear. Some studies have suggested an antiproliferative/ pro-apoptotic function for SK2, while others indicate it has a prosurvival role and its inhibition can have anti-cancer effects. Our analysis of gene expression data revealed that SK2 is upregulated in many human cancers, but only to a small extent (up to 2.5-fold over normal tissue). Based on these findings, we examined the effect of different levels of cellular SK2 and showed that high-level overexpression reduced cell proliferation and survival, and increased cellular ceramide levels. In contrast, however, low-level SK2 overexpression promoted cell survival and proliferation, and induced neoplastic transformation in vivo. These findings coincided with decreased nuclear localization and increased plasma membrane localization of SK2, as well as increases in extracellular S1P formation. Hence, we have shown for the first time that SK2 can have a direct role in promoting oncogenesis, supporting the use of SK2-specific inhibitors as anti-cancer agents.Heidi A. Neubauer, Duyen H. Pham, Julia R. Zebol, Paul A.B. Moretti, Amanda L. Peterson, Tamara M. Leclercq, Huasheng Chan, Jason A. Powell, Melissa R. Pitman, Michael S. Samuel, Claudine S. Bonder, Darren J. Creek, Briony L. Gliddon and Stuart M. Pitso

A Multiclassifier Approach for Drill Wear Prediction

Classification methods have been widely used during last years in order to predict patterns and trends of interest in data. In present paper, a multiclassifier approach that combines the output of some of the most popular data mining algorithms is shown. The approach is based on voting criteria, by estimating the confidence distributions of each algorithm individually and combining them according to three different methods: confidence voting, weighted voting and majority voting. To illustrate its applicability in a real problem, the drill wear detection in machine-tool sector is addressed. In this study, the accuracy obtained by each isolated classifier is compared with the performance of the multiclassifier when characterizing the patterns of interest involved in the drilling process and predicting the drill wear. Experimental results show that, in general, false positives obtained by the classifiers can be slightly reduced by using the multiclassifier approach

Randomized controlled trial of intraoperative goal-directed fluid therapy in aerobically fit and unfit patients having major colorectal surgery.

BACKGROUND: Intraoperative fluid therapy regimens using oesophageal Doppler monitoring (ODM) to optimize stroke volume (SV) (goal-directed fluid therapy, GDT) have been associated with a reduction in length of stay (LOS) and complication rates after major surgery. We hypothesized that intraoperative GDT would reduce the time to surgical readiness for discharge (RfD) of patients having major elective colorectal surgery but that this effect might be less marked in aerobically fit patients. METHODS: In this double-blinded controlled trial, 179 patients undergoing major open or laparoscopic colorectal surgery were characterized as aerobically 'fit' (n=123) or 'unfit' (n=56) on the basis of their performance during a cardiopulmonary exercise test. Within these fitness strata, patients were randomized to receive a standard fluid regimen with or without ODM-guided intraoperative GDT. RESULTS: GDT patients received an average of 1360 ml of additional intraoperative colloid. The mean cardiac index and SV at skin closure were significantly higher in the GDT group than in controls. Times to RfD and LOS were longer in GDT than control patients but did not reach statistical significance (median 6.8 vs 4.9 days, P=0.09, and median 8.8 vs 6.7 days, P=0.09, respectively). Fit GDT patients had an increased RfD (median 7.0 vs 4.7 days; P=0.01) and LOS (median 8.8 vs 6.0 days; P=0.01) compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative SV optimization conferred no additional benefit over standard fluid therapy. In an aerobically fit subgroup of patients, GDT was associated with detrimental effects on the primary outcome. TRIAL REGISTRY: UK NIHR CRN 7285, ISRCTN 14680495. http://public.ukcrn.org.uk/Search/StudyDetail.aspx?StudyID=7285

"Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging." Insights from a series of special interest group meetings held at the International Society for Autism Research 2016-2017

A special interest group (SIG) entitled "Older Adults with ASD: The Consequences of Aging" was held at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) annual meetings in 2016 and 2017. The SIG and subsequent meetings brought together, for the first time, international delegates who were members of the autistic community, researchers, practitioners and service providers. Based on aging autism research that is already underway in UK, Europe, Australia and North America, discussions focussed on conceptualising the parameters of aging when referring to autism, and the measures that are appropriate to use with older adults when considering diagnostic assessment, cognitive factors and quality of life in older age. Thus, the aim of this SIG was to progress the research agenda on current and future directions for autism research in the context of aging. A global issue on how to define 'aging' when referring to ASD was at the forefront of discussions. The ‘aging’ concept can in principle refer to all developmental transitions. However, in this paper we focus on the cognitive and physical changes that take place from mid-life onwards. Accordingly, it was agreed that aging and ASD research should focus on adults over the age of 50 years, given the high rates of co-occurring physical and mental health concerns and increased risk of premature death in some individuals. Moreover, very little is known about the cognitive change, care needs and outcomes of autistic adults beyond this age. Discussions on the topics of diagnostic and cognitive assessments, and of quality of life and well-being were explored through shared knowledge about which measures are currently being used and which background questions should be asked to obtain comprehensive and informative developmental and medical histories. Accordingly, a survey was completed by SIG delegates who were representatives of international research groups across four continents, and who are currently conducting studies with older autistic adults. Considerable overlap was identified across different research groups in measures of both autism and quality of life, which pointed to combining data and shared learnings as the logical next step. Regarding the background questions that were asked, the different research groups covered similar topics but the groups differed in the way these questions were formulated when working with autistic adults across a range of cognitive abilities. It became clear that continued input from individuals on the autism spectrum is important to ensure that questionnaires used in ongoing and future are accessible and understandable for people across the whole autistic spectrum, including those with limited verbal abilities

A Comparison of Two Averaging Techniques with an Application to Growth Empirics

Empirical growth research faces a high degree of model uncertainty. Apart from the neoclassical growth model, many new (endogenous) growth models have been proposed. This causes a lack of robustness of the parameter estimates and makes the determination of the key determinants of growth hazardous. The current paper deals with the fundamental issue of parameter estimation under model uncertainty, and compares the performance of various model averaging techniques. In particular, it contrasts Bayesian model averaging (BMA) — currently one of the standard methods used in growth empirics — with weighted-average least squares (WALS), a method that has not previously been applied in this context.

Analysis of steady-state and pulsed operating regimes for controlled thermonuclear reactors with very large power ratings

The operating regimes of large CTR's are identified and examined for cases of steady-state and pulsed operation. Several technological benefits of these large reactors are determined: (1) low maximum magnetic field strength requirements (25 to 50 percent less than for 5000 MW(th) reactors), (2) high n tau products (10$sup 15$ to 10$sup 17$ sec/cm$sup 3$) with associated high burn- up fractions (10 to 50 percent), (3) relatively little problem with impurity build-up, and (4) long confinement times (50 to 500 seconds). The advantages of pulsed operation are also discussed: (1) smaller problem with impurities than in the steady-state case, (2) alleviation of any possible fueling difficulties, and (3) no problem with control of temperature in the pulsed reactor based on a simple control function model incorporating a finite delay time. (auth

Steady-state plasma and reactor parameters for elliptical cross section tokamaks with very large power ratings

In previous studies only circular cross section reactor plasmas were considered. The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of elliptical plasma cross sections. Several technological benefits have been determined. Maximum magnetic field strength requirements are 30 to 65 percent less than for 5000 MW (th) reactors and may be as much as 40 percent less than for circular cross section reactors of comparable size. Very large n tau values are found (10$sup 15$ to 10$sup 17$ sec/cm$sup 3$), which produce large burn-up fractions (15 to 60 percent). There is relatively little problem with impurity build-up. Long confinement times (60 to 500 seconds) are found. Finally, the elliptical cross section reactors exhibit a major toroidal radius reduction of as large as 30 percent over circular reactors operating at comparable power levels. (auth