Interaction and Participation in Radio Plays: A Novel Approach to an Old Medium

Abstract. Radio plays have recently regained both popular interest and commercial success. Yet, listeners are not provided with either feedback channels or the ability to actively participate in this medium. The TAPE-Player concept described in the present paper extends the radio play medium by adding interactivity as well as participation to the production process. The user takes the roles of both actor and director, which includes verbal interpretation, recording, and editing the dialogues for the selected role(s) as the play’s script evolves. The creative freedom is supported by TAPE-Player’s underlying hypermedia architecture: audio clips are managed separately and combined dynamically to produce a personalised radio play. The applicability of the concept was corroborated in an empirical study. Specifically, the users welcomed the interaction via TAPE-Player’s easy-to-use interface, the creative freedom, and the substantial influence they had in producing radio plays in a personalised entertainment medium.

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Migration to freshwater increases growth rates in a facultatively catadromous tropical fish

Diadromy is a form of migration where aquatic organisms undergo regular movements between fresh and marine waters for the purposes of feeding and reproduction. Despite having arisen in independent lineages of fish, gastropod molluscs and crustaceans, the evolutionary drivers of diadromous migration remain contentious. We test a key aspect of the ‘productivity hypothesis’, which proposes that diadromy arises in response to primary productivity differentials between marine and freshwater habitats. Otolith chemistry and biochronology data are analysed in a facultatively catadromous tropical fish (barramundi, Lates calcarifer) to determine the effect of freshwater residence on growth rates. Individuals that accessed freshwater grew ~ 25% faster on average than estuarine residents in the year following migration, suggesting that catadromy provides a potential fitness advantage over non-catadromous (marine/estuarine) life histories, as predicted by the productivity hypothesis. Although diadromous barramundi exhibited faster growth than non-diadromous fish, we suggest that the relative reproductive success of diadromous and non-diadromous contingents is likely to be strongly influenced by local environmental variability such as temporal differences in river discharge, and that this may facilitate the persistence of diverse life history strategies within populations

British waterborne domestic freight (BWDF) : the waterborne freight alternative to road transport in the UK, and its role in sustainable mobility

Increasingly it has been recognised that there are many problems associated with the over-dependence on road haulage, and that along with the reality of congestion and gridlock on the EU road network, the external costs of road haulage in terms of the pollution roads inflict on society is now considered unsustainable in the long term. In response to this reality, both the EU and UK governments have developed policy advocating a transfer of freight from roads to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of water and rail. In essence this is an investigation and analysis of the economic, environmental and political issues which affect the diversion of freight from roads to water in the 21st century. Packer's 1994 "Roads to water" study examined the prospect of the viability of a significant modal switch from roads to water and highlighted a numbe of issues which he felt would adversley affect modal transfer. This thesis tests a number of these conclusions to see if they are still a barrier to conversion in 2004 as Packer suggested they were ten years earlier. This is achieved by the analysis of six different case studies, where it is felt that the traditional road haulage element could be transferred to water transport. An analysis of the pollution and external costs imposed on society by the road halulage element within these studies has been compared to an alternative BWDF option, and the results clearly show that water, in every case is considerably more environmentally friendly than road. In addition to this, the research has established a number of other results pertaining to these studies. These include the compariosn of the operation costs of both modes, the number of LGV kilometres eradicated by the modal transfer and the reduction of fuel used. The conclusion of this analysis is that, in one year, 33,594 long distance road haulage journeys could be eradicated from UK roads. It also concluded that the distance generated by long distance road haulage would reduce from 6,084,091 kms to 422,837 kms local (short distance) haulage, a reduction of 5,661,254 kms. In addition, 2,055 tonnes of fuel would be reduced to 139 tonnes saving 1,916 tonnes per annum, and road halulage pollution would fall from 9,051 tonnes per annum to 630 tonnes eradicating 8,421 tonnes of land based pollution. In terms of external costs it also concluded that the external costs imposed on society would reduce by £751,520 per annum.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

PROGRESS ON 241Am PRODUCTION FOR USE IN RADIOISOTOPE POWER SYSTEMS

Electrical power sources used in outer planet missions are a key enabling technology for data acquisition and communications. Power sources generate electricity from the thermal energy from alpha decay of the radioisotope 238Pu via thermo-electric conversion. Production of 238Pu requires specialist facilities including a nuclear reactor and reprocessing plants that are expensive to build and operate, so naturally, a more economical alternative is attractive to the industry. Within Europe 241Am is a feasible alternative to 238Pu that can provide a heat source for radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) and radioisotope heating units (RHUs). As a daughter product of 241Pu decay, 241Am is present at 1000s kg levels within the UK civil plutonium stockpile. A chemical separation process is required to extract the 241Am in a pure form and this paper describes such a process, successfully developed to the proof of concept stage.JRC.E.3-Materials researc