Quantification of channel planform change on the lower Rangitikei River, New Zealand, 1949-2007: response to management?

The Rangitikei River, a large gravel‐bed wandering river located in the North Island of New Zealand, has outstanding scenic characteristics, recreational, fisheries and wildlife habitat features. Recently concerns have been raised over the potential negative impact that perceived channel changes in the latter part of the 20th century may be having on the Rangitikei River recreational fishery. This study describes and quantifies the large‐scale morphological changes that have occurred in selected reaches of the lower Rangitikei River between 1949 and 2007. This research utilised historical aerial photography and analysis in ArcGIS® to quantify channel planform change in three reaches, encompassing ~18 km of the lower Rangitikei River. This showed that the lower Rangitikei was transformed from a multi‐channelled planform to a predominantly single‐thread wandering planform, with an associated reduction in morphological complexity and active channel width of up to 74%, between 1949 and 2007. Bank protection measures instigated under the Rangitikei River Scheme have primarily driven these changes. Gravel extraction has also contributed by enhancing channel‐floodplain disconnection and exacerbating sediment deficits. The findings of this study have implications for future management of the Rangitikei. Previous lower Rangitikei River management schemes have taken a reach‐based engineering approach with a focus on bank erosion protection and flood mitigation. This study has confirmed the lower river has responded geomorphologically to these goals of river control. However questions as to the economic and ecological sustainability of this management style may encourage river managers to consider the benefits of promoting a self‐adjusting fluvial system within a catchment‐framed management approach

Establishing the (extra)ordinary in chronic widespread pain

Sufferers of chronic illness face delegitimation of their condition and threats to their identities. One way of establishing the legitimacy of their position is for sufferers of chronic illness to emphasize the ‘ordinary’ in their accounts. Sufferers of conditions which are chronic, invisible and contested, such as chronic widespread pain, have the same, and possibly greater, need to legitimize their condition and refute allegations of ‘malingering’ or psychological instability. The article uses interviews with women with chronic widespread pain to illustrate the ways in which the invisible, subjective and everyday nature of chronic pain leads to sufferers experiencing delegitimation of their condition. It suggests that the accounts of women suffering from chronic widespread pain are constructed to portray a positive identity in the face of this experience, particularly through the emphasis on the ‘extraordinary’

Asparagine and glutamine: using hydrogen atom contacts in the choice of side-chain amide orientation

Small-probe contact dot surface analysis, with all explicit hydrogen atoms added and their van der Waals contacts included, was used to choose between the two possible orientations for each of 1554 asparagine (Asn) and glutamine (Gln) side-chain amide groups in a dataset of 100 unrelated, high-quality protein crystal structures at 0.9 to 1.7 AÊ resolution. For the movable-H groups, each connected, closed set of local H-bonds was optimized for both H-bonds and van der Waals overlaps. In addition to the Asn/Gln ``¯ips'', this process included rotation of OH, SH, NH 3, and methionine methyl H atoms, ¯ip and protonation state of histidine rings, interaction with bound ligands, and a simple model of water interactions. However, except for switching N and O identity for amide ¯ips (or N and C identity for His ¯ips), no non-H atoms were shifted. Even in these very high-quality structures, about 20 % of the Asn/Gln side-chains required a 180 ¯ip to optimize H-bonding and/o

‘Idle Devils’ and ‘Household Engineers’: Identity in Chronic Widespread Pain

Chronic widespread pain, in which pain is experienced in multiple bodily areas, is estimated to affect between 4.7% and 11.2% of the population but little is known about the experiences of this group of people. Previous research on chronic illness has offered insights into the ways in which sufferers attempt to construct new identities or maintain old ones, which may be relevant to the experience of people with chronic widespread pain. This paper is based on ongoing research which uses in-depth interviews, diaries and family member interviews to explore the experiences of this group of people. The paper uses the accounts of two men and their spouses to explore the ways in which key features of chronic widespread pain may influence identity. For Harry, the invisibility of pain raises possible accusations of ‘idleness’ or malingering, leading to attempts to maintain identity as a worker, despite the uncertainties of a chronic condition. Harry attempts to reduce the impact of his illness on his identity, through presenting himself as part of the wider group of the unemployed, leading to additional tensions. In contrast, Duncan creates a new identity as a ‘household engineer’, demonstrating his physical competence and control over aspects of his condition through performance of household chores. He, and his wife, present his pain onset as a positive opportunity to renegotiate their roles within the family. The accounts of Harry and Duncan provide insight into the experiences of living with chronic widespread pain and the different ways in which lost identities can be recreated

Troubling stoicism:Sociocultural influences and applications to health and illness behaviour

In light of the ambiguity of meanings attributed to the concept of stoicism we critically explore its use as a label to explain and describe health and illness behaviour, juxtaposing the often negative portrayals of contemporary stoicism against its classical and philosophical origins. By reflecting critically on the term ‘stoicism’, its application and dimensionality, we show how the term has evolved from classical to contemporary times in relation to changing context, and explore different understandings of the term across medical and health literature. We attend to sociocultural factors that are seen to influence the conceptualization of stoicism such as generational influences, gender and geographies. We make the assertion that by applying the label of ‘stoicism’ as it is known today, there is a danger of too readily accepting a term that masks particular health behaviours while missing an array of sociological factors that are important to how people deal with adversity arising from chronic health problems. We therefore encourage further questioning of this term. </jats:p

KinImmerse: Macromolecular VR for NMR ensembles

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In molecular applications, virtual reality (VR) and immersive virtual environments have generally been used and valued for the visual and interactive experience – to enhance intuition and communicate excitement – rather than as part of the actual research process. In contrast, this work develops a software infrastructure for research use and illustrates such use on a specific case.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The Syzygy open-source toolkit for VR software was used to write the KinImmerse program, which translates the molecular capabilities of the kinemage graphics format into software for display and manipulation in the DiVE (Duke immersive Virtual Environment) or other VR system. KinImmerse is supported by the flexible display construction and editing features in the KiNG kinemage viewer and it implements new forms of user interaction in the DiVE.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In addition to molecular visualizations and navigation, KinImmerse provides a set of research tools for manipulation, identification, co-centering of multiple models, free-form 3D annotation, and output of results. The molecular research test case analyzes the local neighborhood around an individual atom within an ensemble of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) models, enabling immersive visual comparison of the local conformation with the local NMR experimental data, including target curves for residual dipolar couplings (RDCs).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The promise of KinImmerse for production-level molecular research in the DiVE is shown by the locally co-centered RDC visualization developed there, which gave new insights now being pursued in wider data analysis.</p