Climate Change Impacts on Future Wave Climate around the UK

Understanding the changes in future storm wave climate is crucial for coastal managers and planners to make informed decisions required for sustainable coastal management and for the renewable energy industry. To investigate potential future changes to storm climate around the UK, global wave model outputs of two time slice experiments were analysed with 1979–2009 representing present conditions and 2075–2100 representing the future climate. Three WaveNet buoy sites around the United Kingdom, which represent diverse site conditions and have long datasets, were chosen for this study. A storm event definition (Dissanayake et al., 2015) was used to separate meteorologically-independent storm events from wave data, which in turn allowed storm wave characteristics to be analysed. Model outputs were validated through a comparison of the modelled storm data with observed storm data for overlapping periods. Although no consistent trends across all future clusters were observed, there were no significant increases in storm wave height, storm count or storm power in the future, at least according to the global wave projection results provided by the chosen model

The Diet of Prisoners in England

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to establish whether the meals provided by the prison service enable prisoners to follow government guidelines on nutrition and healthy eating, and the extent to which they do so. Design/methodology/approach – A total of eight prisons, four male (category A, B and C), two female and two young offenders’ institutes were randomly identified and visited. Data collection involved taking three days of cyclical menus, the institution’s recipes and methods and standard or average portion sizes to calculate the mean nutrient composition of standard, healthy, vegetarian/vegan and Halal menus. Menus were also analysed to establish how well they conformed to the “Balance of Good Health”. Findings – Results show that, with the exception of some nutrients, prisoners have access to and are able to choose a nutritionally balanced diet and in the main do so. All prisons have attempted to make available menus that conform to the Balance of Good Health model; however, in some cases, choice is hampered, primarily because menus have not been annotated accurately; some dishes are not always as healthy as they might or could be; and prisoners in most cases do not actually understand what constitutes a healthy balanced diet. Originality/value – There is a paucity of data on prison food service and as such this original work adds to the body of knowledge in the field

Computational modelling of morphodynamic response of a macro-tidal beach to future climate variabilities

Global climate variabilities have the potential to impact many coastlines around the world, and can have detrimental effects on the stability of coastlines and their function as natural coastal defenses. This paper investigates the impacts of future extreme storms and sea level rise on morphodynamics of the macro-tidal Sefton Coast, UK, taking a process-based model as a tool to simulate a snap-shot of future beach change during storms. Sefton Coast represents one of the largest dune systems in the UK where frontal dunes function as a natural barrier against extreme conditions. Future storm conditions were determined from global predictions of future waves at the end of the twenty first century. Future sea levels were determined based on climate change allowances set by the UK Environment Agency (EA), while future surge conditions were determined based on the guidelines also provided by EA.A nested numerical modelling approach, that combined a regional scale model with a local scale model with high resolution, is used. The modelling suite was first validated against measured waves, water levels and beach change, before using it to simulate morphodynamic change from numerous statistically significant ‘future’ storm conditions. Future storm-induced morphodynamic change of the Sefton coast was then compared with that from the present storms. The results reveal that this beach will experience significant climate change driven impacts where dune retreat during storms will be considerably higher in future. The results also reveal that due to the shape of the beach and its orientation to predominant wave approach direction, there will be a strong longshore variability of morphodynamic response to storms. It was also found that the water level in front of the dune (and hence surge and future sea level rise) is the most critical factor that determines beach erosion during a storm

High-resolution wave data for improving marine habitat suitability models

Habitat suitability modelling (HSM) is a tool that is increasingly being used to help guide decision making for conservation management. It can also be used to focus efforts of restoration in our oceans. To improve on model performance, the best available environmental data along with species distribution data are needed. Marine habitats tend to have ecological niches defined by physical environmental conditions and of particular importance for shallow water species is wave energy. In this study we examined the relative improvements to HSM outputs that could be achieved by producing high-resolution Delft-3D modelled wave height data to see if model predictions at a fine-scale can be improved. Seagrasses were used as an exemplar and comparisons at fine-scale showed considerable differences in the area predicted suitable for seagrass growth and greatly increased the importance of waves as a predictor variable when compared with open-source low resolution wave energy data

Recommended Patient-Reported Core Set of Symptoms to Measure in Prostate Cancer Treatment Trials

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) Symptom Management and Health-Related Quality of Life Steering Committee convened four working groups to recommend core sets of patient-reported outcomes to be routinely incorporated in clinical trials. The Prostate Cancer Working Group included physicians, researchers, and a patient advocate. The group’s process included 1) a systematic literature review to determine the prevalence and severity of symptoms, 2) a multistakeholder meeting sponsored by the NCI to review the evidence and build consensus, and 3) a postmeeting expert panel synthesis of findings to finalize recommendations. Five domains were recommended for localized prostate cancer: urinary incontinence, urinary obstruction and irritation, bowel-related symptoms, sexual dysfunction, and hormonal symptoms. Four domains were recommended for advanced prostate cancer: pain, fatigue, mental well-being, and physical well-being. Additional domains for consideration include decisional regret, satisfaction with care, and anxiety related to prostate cancer. These recommendations have been endorsed by the NCI for implementation

Scoring system for renal pathology in Fabry disease: report of the International Study Group of Fabry Nephropathy (ISGFN)

Background. In Fabry nephropathy, alpha-galactosidase deficiency leads to accumulation of glycosphingolipids in all kidney cell types, proteinuria and progressive loss of kidney function. Methods. An international working group of nephrologists from 11 Fabry centres identified adult Fabry patients, and pathologists scored histologic changes on renal biopsies. A standardized scoring system was developed with a modified Delphi technique assessing 59 Fabry nephropathy cases. Each case was scored independently of clinical information by at least three pathologists with an average final score reported. Results. We assessed 35 males (mean age 36.4 years) and 24 females (43.9 years) who mostly had clinically mild Fabry nephropathy. The average serum creatinine was 1.3mg/dl (114.9 μmol/l); estimated glomerular filtration rate was 81.7 ml/min/1.73 m2 and urine protein to creatinine ratio was 1.08 g/g (122.0 mg/mmol). Males had greater podocyte vacuolization on light microscopy (mean score) and glycosphingolipid inclusions on semi-thin sections than females. Males also had significantly more proximal tubule, peritubular capillary and vascular intimal inclusions. Arteriolar hyalinosis was similar, but females had significantly more arterial hyalinosis. Chronic kidney disease stage correlated with arterial and glomerular sclerosis scores. Significant changes, including segmental and global sclerosis, and interstitial fibrosis were seen even in patients with stage 1-2 chronic kidney disease with minimal proteinuria. Conclusions. The development of a standardized scoring system of both disease-specific lesions, i.e. lipid deposition related, and general lesions of progression, i.e. fibrosis and sclerosis, showed a spectrum of histologic appearances even in early clinical stage of Fabry nephropathy. These findings support the role of kidney biopsy in the baseline evaluation of Fabry nephropathy, even with mild clinical disease. The scoring system will be useful for longitudinal assessment of prognosis and responses to therapy for Fabry nephropath

Sequence Homology at the Breakpoint and Clinical Phenotype of Mitochondrial DNA Deletion Syndromes

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions are a common cause of mitochondrial disorders. Large mtDNA deletions can lead to a broad spectrum of clinical features with different age of onset, ranging from mild mitochondrial myopathies (MM), progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO), and Kearns-Sayre syndrome (KSS), to severe Pearson syndrome. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular signatures surrounding the deletion breakpoints and their association with the clinical phenotype and age at onset. MtDNA deletions in 67 patients were characterized using array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) followed by PCR-sequencing of the deletion junctions. Sequence homology including both perfect and imperfect short repeats flanking the deletion regions were analyzed and correlated with clinical features and patients' age group. In all age groups, there was a significant increase in sequence homology flanking the deletion compared to mtDNA background. The youngest patient group (<6 years old) showed a diffused pattern of deletion distribution in size and locations, with a significantly lower sequence homology flanking the deletion, and the highest percentage of deletion mutant heteroplasmy. The older age groups showed rather discrete pattern of deletions with 44% of all patients over 6 years old carrying the most common 5 kb mtDNA deletion, which was found mostly in muscle specimens (22/41). Only 15% (3/20) of the young patients (<6 years old) carry the 5 kb common deletion, which is usually present in blood rather than muscle. This group of patients predominantly (16 out of 17) exhibit multisystem disorder and/or Pearson syndrome, while older patients had predominantly neuromuscular manifestations including KSS, PEO, and MM. In conclusion, sequence homology at the deletion flanking regions is a consistent feature of mtDNA deletions. Decreased levels of sequence homology and increased levels of deletion mutant heteroplasmy appear to correlate with earlier onset and more severe disease with multisystem involvement

Search for CP Violation in the Decay Z -> b (b bar) g

About three million hadronic decays of the Z collected by ALEPH in the years 1991-1994 are used to search for anomalous CP violation beyond the Standard Model in the decay Z -> b \bar{b} g. The study is performed by analyzing angular correlations between the two quarks and the gluon in three-jet events and by measuring the differential two-jet rate. No signal of CP violation is found. For the combinations of anomalous CP violating couplings, ${\hat{h}}_b = {\hat{h}}_{Ab}g_{Vb}-{\hat{h}}_{Vb}g_{Ab}$ and $h^{\ast}_b = \sqrt{\hat{h}_{Vb}^{2}+\hat{h}_{Ab}^{2}}$, limits of \hat{h}_b < 0.59$and$h^{\ast}_{b} < 3.02$ are given at 95\% CL.Comment: 8 pages, 1 postscript figure, uses here.sty, epsfig.st