Welfare and warfare an uneasy mix: personal experiences of and organisational responses to emotional and mental health issues in young ex-service personnel

'Shell-shock', which is now known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), was first identified during the First World War and since this time the mental health of service personnel has been an issue of concern, particularly during times of armed conflict. This is an exploratory piece of research, the purpose of which is to provide information from a range of stakeholders, primarily ex-service personnel but also their families and welfare staff about the mental health needs of young military personnel

Assessment of western rock lobster strategic management options. How do quota management systems work in Rock Lobster Fisheries? Vol. 4

Quota management systems are now in place for the New Zealand, Tasmanian and South Australian rock lobster fisheries. New Zealand was the first to move to QMS (1989), followed by the Southern Zone of South Australia (1993), Tasmania (1998) and Northern Zone South Australia (2001). As part of a review of the system of management used for the West Coast Rock Lobster Fishery, a West Australian delegation visited New Zealand, Tasmania and South Australia in 2004 to learn more about the management systems in place for their respective rock lobster fisheries

The Floor of the Arctic Ocean in Photographs

Over 2,000 usable bottom photographs have been taken in the western Arctic Ocean. The 87 stations cover the major geomorphic provinces of this part of the Arctic Basin, including the Alpha Cordillera, Mendeleyev Ridge, and Canada Abyssal Plain as well as smaller features. The ridge and plain provinces differ markedly in their bottom characteristics. Scattered rocks, living animals and indications of bottom current are most prevalent on the ridges. Trails are most abundant on the abyssal plains. The differences are attributed to bottom current distributions and turbidity currents. Bedrock outcrops were observed on the tops of two knolls on the Mendeleyev Ridge.Le fond de l'océan Arctique en photographies. Dans la partie occidentale de l'océan Arctique, on a pris plus de 2,000 clichés du fond sous-marin. Les 87 stations couvrent les principales provinces géomorphologiques de cette partie du bassin arctique et comprennent la cordillère Alpha, la dorsale de Mendéléev et la plaine abyssale canadienne, ainsi que des reliefs de moindre importance. Les dorsales et la plaine abyssale diffèrent beaucoup dans leurs caractéristiques de fond. Sur les dorsales, des roches éparpillées, des animaux vivants et des indices de courants de fond dominent. Dans la plaine abyssale, les pistes d'animaux mains sont abondantes. On attribue ces différences à la distribution des courants de fond et aux courants de turbidité. On a observé des affleurements du soubassement sur le sommet de deux monticules de la dorsale de Mendéléev

Risk Assessment in Economic Feasibility Analysis: The Case of Ethanol Production in Texas

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of quantifying the economic viability of a proposed agribusiness under risk relative to a feasibility study which ignores risk. To achieve this objective, the economic viability of a 50 MMGPY ethanol facility in Texas is analyzed over a 10-year period in two ways: with no risk and with historical risk for prices and costs.Risk and Uncertainty,

Social Capital, Structural Conditions, and Mortality: A Study of Nonmetropolitan Counties in Mississippi

In this study, we examine the extent to which structural conditions that favor investment in social capital affect mortality across nonmetro counties in Mississippi. To this end, we focus on four county structural conditions: (1) place of residence within county boundaries, (2) civic infrastructure, (3) economic conditions, and (4) county regional location. The results clearly indicate that structural conditions that favor investment in social capital lead to lower mortality. Specifically, concentration of disadvantage conditions has an independent effect on mortality. That is, its effect operates independentIy of other structural conditions. In contrast, the effects of place of residence and civic infrastructure do not operate independently from county economic conditions. The results also indicate that county regional location has no effect on mortality across nonmetro counties in Mississippi

A Hybrid Sequencing Approach Completes the Genome Sequence of Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200

Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200 has been identified as a potential sustainable biofuel producer due to its ability to readily ferment carbohydrates to ethanol. A hybrid sequencing approach, combining Oxford Nanopore and Illumina DNA sequence reads, was applied to produce a single contiguous genome sequence of 2,911,280 bp

Towards the Use of Commercial-off-the-Shelf Small-Satellite Components for Deep-Space CubeSats: a Feasibility and Performance Analysis

The aim of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using currently available commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) small-satellites components in deep-space scenarios, studying their applicability and performance. To evaluate the performances, an asteroid fly-by mission is briefly introduced, but several of the selection criteria and ideas can be extended to other deep space mission concepts. This particular mission scenario requires to follow three main trends: miniaturization, standardization and automation. For this reason the mission represents a good test bench scenario to analyze the products of the current small-satellites industry. Once the reference mission has been defined, the preliminary ΔV is computed and the micro-propulsion system is selected. Afterwards, for several satellite subsystems the requirements are compared with the expected performance of a set of small-satellite components currently available on the market. Once the most promising hardware solutions are identified, mass and volume budgets are defined. Subsequently, drawbacks and limits of using COTS components for deep-space exploration are highlighted, focusing on the readiness level of each subsystem. Finally, recommendations are given on what methods and hardware are needed in the near future to overcome the limiting factors and to allow deep-space exploration using low-cost CubeSats

Prospective relationships between body weight and physical activity: an observational analysis from the NAVIGATOR study

Objectives: While bidirectional relationships exist between body weight and physical activity, direction of causality remains uncertain and previous studies have been limited by self-reported activity or weight and small sample size. We investigated the prospective relationships between weight and physical activity. Design: Observational analysis of data from the Nateglinide And Valsartan in Impaired Glucose Tolerance Outcomes Research (NAVIGATOR) study, a double-blinded randomised clinical trial of nateglinide and valsartan, respectively. Setting Multinational study of 9306 participants. Participants: Participants with biochemically confirmed impaired glucose tolerance had annual measurements of both weight and step count using research grade pedometers, worn for 7 days consecutively. Along with randomisation to valsartan or placebo plus nateglinide or placebo, participants took part in a lifestyle modification programme. Outcome measures: Longitudinal regression using weight as response value and physical activity as predictor value was conducted, adjusted for baseline covariates. Analysis was then repeated with physical activity as response value and weight as predictor value. Only participants with a response value preceded by at least three annual response values were included. Results: Adequate data were available for 2811 (30%) of NAVIGATOR participants. Previous weight (χ2=16.8; p<0.0001), but not change in weight (χ2=0.1; p=0.71) was inversely associated with subsequent step count, indicating lower subsequent levels of physical activity in heavier individuals. Change in step count (χ2=5.9; p=0.02) but not previous step count (χ2=0.9; p=0.34) was inversely associated with subsequent weight. However, in the context of trajectories already established for weight (χ2 for previous weight measurements 747.3; p<0.0001) and physical activity (χ2 for previous step count 432.6; p<0.0001), these effects were of limited clinical importance. Conclusions: While a prospective bidirectional relationship was observed between weight and physical activity, the magnitude of any effect was very small in the context of natural trajectories already established for these variables