A1_1 Bruce Almighty: Moon Wrangler

In the film Bruce Almighty, starring Jim Carrey, as a romantic gesture he erases the clouds in the sky and draws the Moon closer to the Earth, using an invisible lasso. In this paper we have calculated 2.1x10^27N would be needed to pull the Moon towards the Earth. We have also discussed the ramifications of changing the Moon's distance from the Earth with tides rising to a height of 12.0m

A1_7 That's No Exoplanet!

As the Death Star II passes in front of the star of the Endor system, it could be detected using the methods of transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy, commonly used to discover exoplanets. We find that theDeath Star II would cause a 1.3x10^-6% drop in the flux from the star, and cause the star to have a radial velocity of 1.9x10^-12ms^-1, undetectable with current technology

A1_6 Ali G Cracks The Safe

Ali G sets up an elaborate plan to break into a safe - he links a series of cars together via their batteries to a human chain, to carry an electric current along, break into a safe and retrieve a video tape. We found the current needed to melt the lock of the safe to break it to be 7.98x10^5 A. The current calculated that reaches the safe in the scenario is 4.59x10^-5 A, therefore it would not be possible to break into the safe via the method used in the film

A1_2 One Punch Man - Speed Test

Saitama, the hero of "One Punch Man" has seemingly immeasurable strength and speed. We attempt to quantify his speed from a scene in which he jumps from the Moon to the Earth. We calculated Saitama's velocity during this action as 6.7% of the speed of light, and that his collision with the Earth would create a crater of 600m in diameter. This is comparable to a Near-Earth Object impact of 8 on the Torino Scale

A1_3 Dinosaur In-dial-gestion

In this paper we investigate the attenuation of sound waves originating from a ringing mobile phone, as they travel outwards from the stomach of a Spinosaurus, in order to determine whether they could act as a warning of the approaching dinosaur. Calculating the intensity lost crossing between the various media in the dinosaur's body, as well as air outside of the dinosaur, we determined this would not be possible. We calculated that the intensity of the phone ringing would be -19.6 dB when it reached their ears, which puts it just below the range of human hearing

Vertex-Connectivity for Node Failure Identification in Boolean Network Tomography

In this paper we study the node failure identification problem in undirected graphs by means of Boolean Network Tomography. We argue that vertex connectivity plays a central role. We show tight bounds on the maximal identifiability in a particular class of graphs, the Line of Sight networks. We prove slightly weaker bounds on arbitrary networks. Finally we initiate the study of maximal identifiability in random networks. We focus on two models: the classical Erdős-Rényi model, and that of Random Regular graphs. The framework proposed in the paper allows a probabilistic analysis of the identifiability in random networks giving a tradeoff between the number of monitors to place and the maximal identifiability

Longitudinal observational study investigating outcome measures for clinical trials in inclusion body myositis.

OBJECTIVE: To describe decline in muscle strength and physical function in patients with sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM). METHODS: Manual muscle testing (MMT), quantitative muscle testing (QMT) and disability scoring using the IBM Functional Rating Scale (IBMFRS) were undertaken for 181 patients for up to 7.3 years. The relationship between MMT, QMT and IBMFRS composite scores and time from onset were examined using linear mixed effects models adjusted for gender and age of disease onset. Adaptive LASSO regression analysis was used to identify muscle groups that best predicted the time elapsed from onset. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to evaluate time to use of a mobility aid. RESULTS: Multilevel modelling of change in percentage MMT, QMT and IBMFRS score over time yielded an average decline of 3.7% (95% CI 3.1% to 4.3%), 3.8% (95% CI 2.7% to 4.9%) and 6.3% (95% CI 5.5% to 7.2%) per year, respectively. The decline, however, was not linear, with steeper decline in the initial years. Older age of onset was associated with a more rapid IBMFRS decline (p=0.007), but did not influence the rate of MMT/QMT decline. Combination of selected muscle groups allowed for generation of single measures of patient progress (MMT and QMT factors). Median (IQR) time to using a mobility aid was 5.4 (3.6-9.2) years, significantly affected by greater age of onset (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.09, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: This prospective observational study represents the largest IBM cohort to date. Measures of patient progress evaluated in this study accurately predict disease progression in a reliable and useful way to be used in trial design