The international collision regulations in the context of international law and the municipal law of the United Kingdom and of South Africa: a critical analysis

The object of this paper is to examine one aspect of safety at sea, namely, the prevention of collisions, and to consider in this regard the role of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. our concern is primarily with the regulatory and preventative aspects of the law (in both the, international and municipal spheres) and not so much with private law aspects, in so far as the latter are concerned with the determination of rights and liabilities as between individuals. This is not to say that private law is irrelevant for our purposes: in the first place, the Collision Regulations are usually considered by the courts in the context of delictual actions in private law, and these cases therefore constitute the most important source of judicial interpretation of the Regulations; secondly, since the Collision Regulations do play a part in the determination of civil liability, the role of private law as an indirect means of enforcement of the Regulations cannot be ignored. The Collision Regulations are of interest from a number of points of view. Firstly, they are of interest in the context of public international law: they are intended to regulate navigation at an international level, and being the product of agreement between states; also, the regulations give rise to questions of state jurisdiction. Secondly, the regulations are important in the context of municipal law; here we are concerned with the manner in which the regulations are enforced. Two states have been singled out for consideration in this regard: the Republic of South Africa, and the United Kingdom, on account of the historical role played by it in collision prevention, and also on account of the close links between the relevant law of that state and of South Africa. The experience and practice of the United Kingdom provides a useful guide and model for South Africa, and is relevant also for comparative purposes. Thirdly, the Regulations are, of course, of vital importance to the mariner. Finally, in a peripheral fashion, the Regulations are of interest to the legal historian, as they represent the legal response to a set of circumstances as they changed over the centuries

Development and Validation of the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory

Background: Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among elderly people, although infrequently the subject of systematic research in this age group. One important limitation is the lack of a widely accepted instrument to measure dimensional anxiety in both normal old people and old people with mental health problems seen in various settings. Accordingly, we developed and tested of a short scale to measure anxiety in older people. Methods:We generated a large number of potential items de novo and by reference to existing anxiety scales, and then reduced the number of items to 60 through consultation with a reference group consisting of psychologists, psychiatrists and normal elderly people. We then tested the psychometric properties of these 60 items in 452 normal old people and 46 patients attending a psychogeriatric service. We were able to reduce the number of items to 20. We chose a 1-week perspective and a dichotomous response scale. Results: Cronbach's alpha for the 20-item Geriatric Anxiety Inventory (GAI) was 0.91 among normal elderly people and 0.93 in the psychogeriatric sample. Concurrent validity with a variety of other measures was demonstrated in both the normal sample and the psychogeriatric sample. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability were found to be excellent. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated a cut-point of 10/11 for the detection of DSM-IV Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in the psychogeriatric sample, with 83% of patients correctly classified with a specificity of 84% and a sensitivity of 75%. Conclusions: The GAI is a new 20-item self-report or nurse-administered scale that measures dimensional anxiety in elderly people. It has sound psychometric properties. Initial clinical testing indicates that it is able to discriminate between those with and without any anxiety disorder and between those with and without DSM-IV GAD

Evaluation of two lyophilized molecular assays to rapidly detect foot-and-mouth disease virus directly from clinical samples in field settings

Accurate, timely diagnosis is essential for the control, monitoring and eradication of foot‐and‐mouth disease (FMD). Clinical samples from suspect cases are normally tested at reference laboratories. However, transport of samples to these centralized facilities can be a lengthy process that can impose delays on critical decision making. These concerns have motivated work to evaluate simple‐to‐use technologies, including molecular‐based diagnostic platforms, that can be deployed closer to suspect cases of FMD. In this context, FMD virus (FMDV)‐specific reverse transcription loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (RT‐LAMP) and real‐time RT‐PCR (rRT‐PCR) assays, compatible with simple sample preparation methods and in situ visualization, have been developed which share equivalent analytical sensitivity with laboratory‐based rRT‐PCR. However, the lack of robust ‘ready‐to‐use kits’ that utilize stabilized reagents limits the deployment of these tests into field settings. To address this gap, this study describes the performance of lyophilized rRT‐PCR and RT‐LAMP assays to detect FMDV. Both of these assays are compatible with the use of fluorescence to monitor amplification in real‐time, and for the RT‐LAMP assays end point detection could also be achieved using molecular lateral flow devices. Lyophilization of reagents did not adversely affect the performance of the assays. Importantly, when these assays were deployed into challenging laboratory and field settings within East Africa they proved to be reliable in their ability to detect FMDV in a range of clinical samples from acutely infected as well as convalescent cattle. These data support the use of highly sensitive molecular assays into field settings for simple and rapid detection of FMDV

A Review of Wearable Sensor Systems to Monitor Plantar Loading in the Assessment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Diabetes is highly prevalent throughout the world and imposes a high economic cost on countries at all income levels. Foot ulceration is one devastating consequence of diabetes, which can lead to amputation and mortality. Clinical assessment of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is currently subjective and limited, impeding effective diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Studies have shown that pressure and shear stress at the plantar surface of the foot plays an important role in the development of DFUs. Quantification of these could provide an improved means of assessment of the risk of developing DFUs. However, commercially-available sensing technology can only measure plantar pressures, neglecting shear stresses and thus limiting their clinical utility. Research into new sensor systems which can measure both plantar pressure and shear stresses are thus critical. Our aim in this paper is to provide the reader with an overview of recent advances in plantar pressure and stress sensing and offer insights into future needs in this critical area of healthcare. Firstly, we use current clinical understanding as the basis to define requirements for wearable sensor systems capable of assessing DFU. Secondly, we review the fundamental sensing technologies employed in this field and investigate the capabilities of the resultant wearable systems, including both commercial and research-grade equipment. Finally, we discuss research trends, ongoing challenges and future opportunities for improved sensing technologies to monitor plantar loading in the diabetic foot

An inductive force sensor for in-shoe plantar normal and shear load measurement

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a severe global public health issue. Plantar normal and shear load are believed to play an important role in the development of foot ulcers and could be a valuable indicator to improve assessment of DFUs. However, despite their promise, plantar load measurements currently have limited clinical application, primarily due to the lack of reliable measurement techniques particularly for shear load measurements. In this paper we report on the design and evaluation of a novel tri-axis force sensor to measure both normal and shear load on the foot’s plantar surface simultaneously. The sensor consists of a group of inductive sensing coils above which a conductive target is placed on a hyperelastic elastomer. Movement of the target under load affects the coil inductances which are measured and digitized by an embedded system. Using a computational finite element model, we investigated the influence of sensing coil form and configuration on sensor performance. A sensor configured with four-square coils and maximal turns provided the best performance for plantar load measurements. A prototype was fabricated and calibrated using a neural network to map the non-linear relationship between the sensor output and the applied tri-axis load. Experimental evaluation indicates that the tri-axis sensor can effectively detect shear load of �16 N and normal load up to 105 N (RMS errors: 1.05 N and 1.73 N respectively) with a high performance. Overall, this sensor provides a promising basis for plantar normal and shear load measurement which are crucial for improved assessment of DFU

Design of a Digital Triaxial Force Sensor for Plantar Load Measurements

Measurement of load information on the plantar (lower) surface of the foot can provide valuable insights to help identify pathologies like diabetic foot ulcers. Studies have shown that both plantar pressure and shear stress play an important role in foot disorders, especially ulcer formation. However, in this context shear stress is much less studied in comparison with pressure distribution, mainly due to the lack of reliable measurement technologies. In this paper, we propose a triaxial force sensor for measuring plantar loading. The sensor consists of an array of sensing coils combined with an elastomeric spacer and a conductive target. Under loading, the sensor demonstrates differential variations in inductance which are digitized by built-in conditioning circuitry and decoupled. A 3D finite element (FE) model was developed for the system as a design tool. This was validated experimentally and demonstrated a high agreement to the results. In experimental evaluation with multiaxial loading the sensor showed precise operation over the operating range (RMSE: 0.05 N for shear (-1.5 N - 1.5 N) and 0.70 N for normal force (0-13 N) measurements). The FE model was then used to investigate the effect of undesirable tilting of the target. The results indicated that it is important to minimize the tilting of the target for robust operation in real-world scenarios

Propagation of HF radio waves over northerly paths: measurements,simulation and systems aspects

Large deviations in the direction of arrival of ionospherically propagating radio signals from the Great Circle Path (GCP) have serious implications for the planning and operation of communications and radiolocation systems operating within the HF-band. Very large deviations are particularly prevalent in the polar and sub-auroral regions where signals often arrive at the receiver with bearings displaced from the great circle direction by up to ±100° or more. Measurements made over several paths are presented in this paper, and the principle causes of off-great circle propagation outlined. Significant progress has been made in modelling the propagation effects and work is now in hand to incorporate the results into tools to aid the planning and operation of HF radio systems operating at northerly latitudes