Orientlib: An R Package for Orientation Data

Orientlib is an R package to facilitate working with orientation data, i.e. elements of S O(3). It provides automatic translation between different representations of orientations, including rotation matrices, quaternions, Euler angles and skew-symmetric matrices; it also has functions for fitting regression models and displaying orientations. This paper reviews simple properties of orientation data and describes Orientlib.

CoStricTor: Collaborative HTTP Strict Transport Security in Tor Browser

HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) is a widely-deployed security feature in modern web browsing. It is also, however, a potential vector for user tracking and surveillance. Tor Browser, a web browser primarily concerned with online anonymity, disables HSTS as a result of this tracking potential. We present the CoStricTor protocol which crowdsources HSTS data among Tor Browser clients. It gives Tor Browser users increased resistance to man-in-the-middle attacks without exposing them to HSTS tracking. Our protocol adapts other privacy-preserving data aggregation algorithms to share data effectively among users with strong local differential privacy guarantees. The CoStricTor protocol resists denial of service attacks by design through our innovative use of Bloom filters to represent complementary data. Our simulations show our protocol can model up to 150,000 websites, providing 10,000 upgrades to HSTS for users

Effect of nanoparticle morphologies on signal strength in photoacoustic sensing

Spherical gold nanoparticles with a plasmonic extinction peak at 532 nm and two sizes of star shaped gold nanoparticles with plasmonic extinction peaks at 532 nm and 600 nm were synthesised and introduced into tissue phantoms as exogenous absorbers. The photoacoustic signals generated from the three different nanoparticle morphologies embedded in tissue the phantoms is compared. The effect of nanoparticle concentration on the generated photoacoustic signal strength was also investigated for the spherical nanoparticles. At an excitation laser wavelength of 532 nm, the spherical gold nanoparticles were shown to produce the greatest photoacoustic response

Type 3 Functional Response of Mice to Gypsy Moth Pupae: Is It Stabilizing?

We conducted field experiments in 2002 and 2003 to determine whether the functional response of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus ) to gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar ) pupae is decelerating (e.g. type 2) or accelerating (e.g. type 3) at low pupal density. In both experiments, live gypsy moth pupae were deployed in June (prior to the appearance of natural pupae) at densities of approximately 1, 8, and 35 pupae per mouse home range in oak-forest grids in upstate New York and monitored over 10 days for signs of predation. Pupae were deployed 1.5-m high on tree boles in 2002, whereas in 2003 the three density treatments were crossed with a height treatment: ground level vs 1.5-m high. The relationship between daily predation rate (proportion of pupae eaten/day) and pupal density was significantly positive in both years, indicating an accelerating functional response. Daily predation rates on ground-level pupae were substantial in the lowest density treatment, suggesting that dense mouse populations could drive gypsy moths to extinction despite an accelerating functional response. Daily predation rates on elevated pupae increased over several days in the medium and high density treatments, suggesting a lagged shift from ground- to tree-level foraging by mice. Within the high-density treatments, predation rates on pupae showed no apparent relationship with the number of pupae on a tree. Our results disagree qualitatively with simple models of type 3 functional response, in which predation rate of prey approaches zero as prey approach extinction, and support the contention that an accelerating functional response alone may be insufficient to prevent prey extinction

Placental Growth Factor:A Promising Diagnostic Biomarker for Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy

CONTEXT: Tubal ectopic pregnancy is common but accurate diagnosis is difficult and costly. There is currently no serum test to differentiate tubal from intrauterine implantation and an effective biomarker of ectopic pregnancy would be a major clinical advance. OBJECTIVE: A key feature of successful intrauterine implantation is the establishment of a supportive vascular network and this has been associated with the activity of placental growth factor (PIGF). We hypothesized that the local decidual environment facilitates PIGF-dependent angiogenesis and that this pathway is not active in tubal implantation. We aimed to determine whether tubal implantation is manifest by an attenuation of the normal trophoblast PIGF-response and whether serum PIGF levels are different in ectopic compared to intrauterine pregnancy. DESIGN: Tissue and serum analysis. SETTING: A large UK teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Gestation-matched pregnant women undergoing surgical termination of pregnancy (viable intrauterine) (n=15), evacuation of uterus for embryonic missed miscarriage (non-viable intrauterine) (n=10) and surgery for tubal ectopic pregnancy (n=15). INTERVENTIONS: Trophoblast was examined by immunohistochemistry and quantitative RT-PCR, and serum was analyzed by ELISA. RESULTS: PIGF was localized to the cytotrophoblast cells. Expression of PIGF mRNA was reduced in trophoblast isolated from women with ectopic compared to intrauterine pregnancies (P<0.05). Serum PIGF was undetectable in women with tubal ectopic pregnancies and reduced, or undetectable, in miscarriage compared to viable intrauterine pregnancies (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Serum PIGF is a promising novel diagnostic biomarker for early pregnancy location and outcome, and large-scale studies are now required to determine its clinical utility

Outbreak of Neisseria meningitidis capsular group W among scouts returning from the World Scout Jamboree, Japan, 2015

The 23rd World Scout Jamboree was held in Japan from 28 July to 8 August 2015 and was attended by over 33,000 scouts from 162 countries. An outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease capsular group W was investigated among participants, with four confirmed cases identified in Scotland, who were all associated with one particular scout unit, and two confirmed cases in Sweden; molecular testing showed the same strain to be responsible for illness in both countries. The report describes the public health action taken to prevent further cases and the different decisions reached with respect to how wide to extend the offer of chemoprophylaxis in the two countries; in Scotland, chemoprophylaxis was offered to the unit of 40 participants to which the four cases belonged and to other close contacts of cases, while in Sweden chemoprophylaxis was offered to all those returning from the Jamboree. The report also describes the international collaboration and communication required to investigate and manage such multinational outbreaks in a timely manner

Broad Down, Devon: archaeological and other stories

publication-status: PublishedThis is a post-print, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication Journal of Material Culture, 2010, Vol. 15, Issue 3, pp. 345 - 367. Copyright © 2010 SAGE Publications. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at http://mcu.sagepub.com/content/15/3/345.shortThis article explores the knowledge construction process of an archaeological site in East Devon, UK. Bouncing off an oral historical account of the site that seems to run against scientific truth claims, the author investigates the story of how knowledge of the site has developed over the last two centuries. Building on previous work that explores the history and practice of archaeology, the article opens up questions of what counts as evidence. Then, taking a cue from more recent work that suggests a more dynamic and open-ended engagement with the landscape, the article turns to examine how the meaning of a site can be made and remade. As part of this endeavour, questions of what as well as who can ‘speak’ are examined and some space is opened up for the agency of ‘minor figures’, both human and non-human