Whether-Weather

The WhetherWeather project is a comprehensive weather and traffic forecasting system that provides real-time insights and predictions. It utilizes Python programming language and various data sources, including Inrix data for traffic information and weather data from Meteostat. The system employs machine learning techniques, specifically XGBoost, to train models on historical data. Once trained, the models can accurately forecast traffic conditions based on weather data. To visualize the results, a Flask API is available, allowing users to access the system\u27s functionalities through a web interface. For more information and to access the WhetherWeather website, visit WhetherWeather.org

The characterisation of the organic material in Ontong Java Plateau tuff as an analogue for the search for fossil life on Earth and Mars

PhD ThesisDistinctive microtubules in glassy volcaniclastic shards can be observed within tuff from the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP_13), which have been suggested to be putative ichnofossils and could serve as analogues for the types of samples that may be encountered on Mars. Argon cluster ion beam etching and ultraviolet/ozone cleaning were evaluated as methods for decontaminating geological samples prior to analysis. Xray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were conducted on a sample of OJP_13 tuff. The comparative efficiency of conventional pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py-GC/MS) and pyGC/MS with tetramethylammonium hydroxide, also called thermal hydrolysis and methylation-GC/MS (THM-GC/MS) to detect and identify the organic material in OJP_13 samples was assessed. Measurements of the carbon and nitrogen chemistry in OJP_13 were made using XPS, and this was compared to the data that was obtained by THMGC/MS. The XPS analysis demonstrated that organic material was concentrated in the perimeter of the glass shards. Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging demonstrated that the organic material was associated with micro-fractures in the surrounding matrix and in the devitrified glass textures in the perimeter of the shard. The analysis was conducted on OJP samples from different strata and basalts from other regions, which did not contain the tubular features. This demonstrated that nitrogenous organic material was not specific to the OJP_13 sample that contained the microtubules but appeared to occur throughout the OJP tuff. THM-GC/MS and XPS analyses were conducted on artificially decomposed plant biopolymers. The composition of the organic material in OJP tuff was similar to that of decomposed chitin. It was proposed that a component of the organic material in OJP could be the remnants of a chitinous organism. The presence of chitin implied that fungi could have produced the microtubular textures. Additionally, during this investigation, it was observed that carbonaceous films on the surfaces of minerals are thermally stable and are therefore undetectable by py-GC/MS. These films may be responsible for the non-biological synthesis of complex organic compoundsThe Leverhulme Trade Charities Trus

Politically motivated former prisoner groups: community activism and conflict transformation

Aims and objectives: This study represents the first sustained quantitative and qualitative attempt to involve both Republicans and Loyalists in an investigation of the impact of imprisonment and the role of politically motivated former prisoners in the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the project is to examine the ways in which groups of former prisoners are involved in peace-building and conflict transformation work and to evaluate the constraints and impediments placed upon their activities by the effects of the imprisonment process, politically motivated release and residual criminalisation. In pursuing the evaluation of the role of politically motivated former prisoners working within and without their own communities, the research has six specific objectives: To trace the evolution and development of former prisoner groups; To evaluate the impacts of imprisonment and release on the personal lives of former prisoners; To assess the constraints imposed on former prisoners as agents of change by the residual criminalisation arising from their status; To determine the potential of the former prisoner community in challenging intra-community tensions and evaluate their potential and actual contribution to conflict transformation at the inter-community level; To compare and contrast the effectiveness of Loyalist and Republican former prisoners as agents of change within their own communities; To explore the notion of former prisoners as agents of social and communal transformation within broader political processes through grounding the knowledge and practical experience of the former prisoner community within the broader conceptual context of conflict transformation

Religious morality - work and wealth: The relevance of religiously based moral principles to commercial activities in Australia

The corporate collapses that have occurred in Australia and elsewhere in recent years are of major importance not only to investors and creditors, but to all of those who are interested in and concerned with the conduct of commercial activities. It was inevitable that attention would focus on causes, questions being asked as to the conduct and behaviour of those responsible for the control of the corporate activities. It is to the latter that the discussion yet to follow in this thesis is directed. It is maintained that if the relevant executives had been guided by and had applied ethical conduct religiously based, that is, religiously derived norms of behaviour, in their commercial decision-making process that the errors of judgement that led, at least in part, to the financial failures might not have occurred. The discussion raises issues of morality, of business morality, and the extent to which recognition of the relevance of the tenets of religious morality can play a part in influencing good corporate governance. The question is asked, can a company's Code of Conduct be structured in such a way that it provides assistance to the executive, management personnel and other employees on moral issues at a time when they are called upon to make difficult ethical decisions? Moral and ethical considerations can be identified, but unless the individual has confidence in their relevance to a particular situation, they may well be put aside or disregarded when a decision is being made. A process needs to be found for incorporating in them material which becomes part and parcel of a corporate ethos or mentality, something that is a point of reference for good governance. If there is to be an expressed morality which impinges on commercial behaviour, it should be a morality of belief and of persuasion. It should be sufficient to motivate an individual in the conduct of the affairs over which that person has control or influence, to pass it on and communicate it to others in a convincing way. For this is the lesson of history. The ideas of a vocation and the infinite worth of each and every person, have seeped into and been absorbed by 'Western' consciousness. The source of the beliefs, deeply held and demonstrated, is Judaism and Christianity. The thesis seeks to obtain insight into the concept of morality and ethical standards in order to ascertain how best they can be aligned with economic activity

Spatial patterns of phylogenetic diversity

Ecologists and conservation biologists have historically used species–area and distance–decay relationships as tools to predict the spatial distribution of biodiversity and the impact of habitat loss on biodiversity. These tools treat each species as evolutionarily equivalent, yet the importance of species' evolutionary history in their ecology and conservation is becoming increasingly evident. Here, we provide theoretical predictions for phylogenetic analogues of the species–area and distance–decay relationships. We use a random model of community assembly and a spatially explicit flora dataset collected in four Mediterranean-type regions to provide theoretical predictions for the increase in phylogenetic diversity – the total phylogenetic branch-length separating a set of species – with increasing area and the decay in phylogenetic similarity with geographic separation. These developments may ultimately provide insights into the evolution and assembly of biological communities, and guide the selection of protected areas

Grain boundary pinning and glassy dynamics in stripe phases

We study numerically and analytically the coarsening of stripe phases in two spatial dimensions, and show that transient configurations do not achieve long ranged orientational order but rather evolve into glassy configurations with very slow dynamics. In the absence of thermal fluctuations, defects such as grain boundaries become pinned in an effective periodic potential that is induced by the underlying periodicity of the stripe pattern itself. Pinning arises without quenched disorder from the non-adiabatic coupling between the slowly varying envelope of the order parameter around a defect, and its fast variation over the stripe wavelength. The characteristic size of ordered domains asymptotes to a finite value $R_g \sim \lambda_0\ \epsilon^{-1/2}\exp(|a|/\sqrt{\epsilon})$, where$\epsilon\ll 1$is the dimensionless distance away from threshold,$\lambda_0$the stripe wavelength, and$a$ a constant of order unity. Random fluctuations allow defect motion to resume until a new characteristic scale is reached, function of the intensity of the fluctuations. We finally discuss the relationship between defect pinning and the coarsening laws obtained in the intermediate time regime.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Corrected version with one new figur

The effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children and adolescents: an evidence synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a substantial social problem that affects large numbers of children and young people in the UK, resulting in a range of significant short- and long-term psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVES: To synthesise evidence of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions addressing the adverse consequences of child maltreatment. STUDY DESIGN: For effectiveness, we included any controlled study. Other study designs were considered for economic decision modelling. For acceptability, we included any study that asked participants for their views. PARTICIPANTS: Children and young people up to 24 years 11 months, who had experienced maltreatment before the age of 17 years 11 months. INTERVENTIONS: Any psychosocial intervention provided in any setting aiming to address the consequences of maltreatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress [particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, and self-harm], behaviour, social functioning, quality of life and acceptability. METHODS: Young Persons and Professional Advisory Groups guided the project, which was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration and NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance. Departures from the published protocol were recorded and explained. Meta-analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses of available data were undertaken where possible. RESULTS: We identified 198 effectiveness studies (including 62 randomised trials); six economic evaluations (five using trial data and one decision-analytic model); and 73 studies investigating treatment acceptability. Pooled data on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for sexual abuse suggested post-treatment reductions in PTSD [standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.44 (95% CI -4.43 to -1.53)], depression [mean difference -2.83 (95% CI -4.53 to -1.13)] and anxiety [SMD -0.23 (95% CI -0.03 to -0.42)]. No differences were observed for post-treatment sexualised behaviour, externalising behaviour, behaviour management skills of parents, or parental support to the child. Findings from attachment-focused interventions suggested improvements in secure attachment [odds ratio 0.14 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.70)] and reductions in disorganised behaviour [SMD 0.23 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.42)], but no differences in avoidant attachment or externalising behaviour. Few studies addressed the role of caregivers, or the impact of the therapist-child relationship. Economic evaluations suffered methodological limitations and provided conflicting results. As a result, decision-analytic modelling was not possible, but cost-effectiveness analysis using effectiveness data from meta-analyses was undertaken for the most promising intervention: CBT for sexual abuse. Analyses of the cost-effectiveness of CBT were limited by the lack of cost data beyond the cost of CBT itself. CONCLUSIONS: It is not possible to draw firm conclusions about which interventions are effective for children with different maltreatment profiles, which are of no benefit or are harmful, and which factors encourage people to seek therapy, accept the offer of therapy and actively engage with therapy. Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions. LIMITATIONS: Studies were largely conducted outside the UK. The heterogeneity of outcomes and measures seriously impacted on the ability to conduct meta-analyses. FUTURE WORK: Studies are needed that assess the effectiveness of interventions within a UK context, which address the wider effects of maltreatment, as well as specific clinical outcomes. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013003889. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme