A CFD based procedure for airspace integration of small unmanned aircraft within congested areas

Future integration of small unmanned aircraft within an urban airspace requires an a posteriori understanding of the building-induced aerodynamics which could negatively impact on vehicle performance. Moving away from generalised building formations, we model the centre of the city of Glasgow using Star-CCMþ, a commercial CFD package. After establishing a critical turbulent kinetic energy for our vehicle, we analyse the CFD results to determine how best to operate a small unmanned aircraft within this environment. As discovered in a previous study, the spatial distribution of turbulence increases with altitude. It was recommended then that UAVs operate at the minimal allowable altitude within a congested area. As the flow characteristics in an environment are similar, regardless of inlet velocity, we can determine areas within a city which will have consistently low or high values of turbulent kinetic energy. As the distribution of turbulence is dependent on prevailing wind directions, some directions are more favourable than others, even if the wind speed is unchanging. Moving forward we should aim to gather more information about integrated aircraft and how they respond to turbulence in a congested area

Identifying Clusters in Bayesian Disease Mapping

Disease mapping is the field of spatial epidemiology interested in estimating the spatial pattern in disease risk across $n$ areal units. One aim is to identify units exhibiting elevated disease risks, so that public health interventions can be made. Bayesian hierarchical models with a spatially smooth conditional autoregressive prior are used for this purpose, but they cannot identify the spatial extent of high-risk clusters. Therefore we propose a two stage solution to this problem, with the first stage being a spatially adjusted hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm. This algorithm is applied to data prior to the study period, and produces $n$ potential cluster structures for the disease data. The second stage fits a separate Poisson log-linear model to the study data for each cluster structure, which allows for step-changes in risk where two clusters meet. The most appropriate cluster structure is chosen by model comparison techniques, specifically by minimising the Deviance Information Criterion. The efficacy of the methodology is established by a simulation study, and is illustrated by a study of respiratory disease risk in Glasgow, Scotland

Bayesian cluster detection via adjacency modelling

Disease mapping aims to estimate the spatial pattern in disease risk across an area, identifying units which have elevated disease risk. Existing methods use Bayesian hierarchical models with spatially smooth conditional autoregressive priors to estimate risk, but these methods are unable to identify the geographical extent of spatially contiguous high-risk clusters of areal units. Our proposed solution to this problem is a two-stage approach, which produces a set of potential cluster structures for the data and then chooses the optimal structure via a Bayesian hierarchical model. The first stage uses a spatially adjusted hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm. The second stage fits a Poisson log-linear model to the data to estimate the optimal cluster structure and the spatial pattern in disease risk. The methodology was applied to a study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in local authorities in England, where a number of high risk clusters were identified

Spatial clustering of average risks and risk trends in Bayesian disease mapping

Spatiotemporal disease mapping focuses on estimating the spatial pattern in disease risk across a set of nonoverlapping areal units over a fixed period of time. The key aim of such research is to identify areas that have a high average level of disease risk or where disease risk is increasing over time, thus allowing public health interventions to be focused on these areas. Such aims are well suited to the statistical approach of clustering, and while much research has been done in this area in a purely spatial setting, only a handful of approaches have focused on spatiotemporal clustering of disease risk. Therefore, this paper outlines a new modeling approach for clustering spatiotemporal disease risk data, by clustering areas based on both their mean risk levels and the behavior of their temporal trends. The efficacy of the methodology is established by a simulation study, and is illustrated by a study of respiratory disease risk in Glasgow, Scotland

The influence of psychiatric morbidity on return to paid work after stroke in younger adults: The auckland regional community stroke (ARCOS) study, 2002 to 2003

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE-: Few data exist on the determinants of return to paid work after stroke, yet participation in employment is vital to a person's mental well-being and role in society. This study aimed to determine the frequency and determinants of return to work, in particular the effect of early psychiatric morbidity, in a population-based study of stroke survivors. METHODS-: The third Auckland Regional Community Stroke (ARCOS) study was a prospective, population-based, stroke incidence study undertaken in Auckland, New Zealand during 2002 to 2003. After a baseline assessment early after stroke, data were collected on all survivors at 1 and 6 months follow-up. Multiple variable logistic regression was used to determine predictors of return to paid work. Data are reported with odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS-: Among 1423 patients registered with first-ever strokes, there were 210 previously in paid employment who survived to 6 months, of whom 155 (74%) completed the GHQ-28 and 112 (53%) had returned to paid work. Among those cognitively competent, psychiatric morbidity at 28 days was a strong independent predictor of not returning to work (Odds Ratio 0.39; 95% CI 0.22 to 0.80). Non-New Zealand European ethnicity (OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.91), prior part-time, as opposed to full-time, employment 0.36 (0.15 to 0.89), and not being functionally independent soon after the stroke 0.28 (0.13 to 0.59) were the other independent age- and gender-adjusted predictors of not successfully returning to paid work. CONCLUSIONS-: About half of previously employed people return to paid employment after stroke, with psychiatric morbidity and physical disability being independent, yet potentially treatable, determinants of this outcome. Appropriate management of both emotional and physical sequelae would appear necessary for optimizing recovery and return to work in younger adults after stroke

Dispensing with the consent of a non-entitled spouse.

Discusses the right given to a non-owning spouse to occupy the matrimonial home under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 and in particular s.7 which allows the court to dispense with the non-owning spouse's consent to dealings with the matrimonial home. Draws attention to problems associated with s.7 and attempts to resolve them by the amendments in the Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006

Extinction of leases confusione.

Investigates whether the Scots law doctrine of confusio, which operates to extinguish an obligation, applies where a landlord acquires a tenant's right under a lease, or vice versa. Considers issues raised by the application of the doctrine of confusio to leases

Unilateral permission and prescriptive acquisition: a Scottish perspective.

It is common for a legal system to allow a person, in certain circumstances, to gain ownership of land by possessing it for a period of time. This is certainly true of both Scotland and England, although what is precisely required for possession to be established may differ on particular points between the two. One point on which the two may differ is the effect of a unilateral permission to occupy that is given to someone currently occupying the land without any right to be there. This point has most recently been considered from the point of view of English law in Smith v Molyneaux [2016] UKPC 35, [2017] 1 P & CR 7. In this paper, that case and the issues it raises are considered from the point of view of Scots law. It is found that this point raises more general questions about the nature of the mental element of possession, the state of mind with which one must occupy the property in order to be considered a possessor

Delivery of goods in the custody of a third party: operation and basis.

In this article, Craig Anderson examines the historical origins and current law of the Scottish rules concerning how delivery of goods in the custody of a third party may be validly effected by transferor to transferee. The author suggests that the form of constructive delivery permitted by law is best analysed as an assignation of the transferor's personal right against the custodier. On this argument, the custodier then ceases to hold the goods for the transferor and begins to hold them for the transferee. As a result, the transferee acquires civil possession of the goods and delivery is complete