Sheep blowflies strike out!

Woolgrowers are constantly concerned that the sheep blowfly may be able to breed in sheep or other animal carcasses. David Cook, Ian Dadour and Ernis Steiner report on an experiment that answers that question once and for all

Energy Efficient Servers

Computer scienc

Energy Efficient Servers: Blueprints for Data Center Optimization

Energy Efficient Servers: Blueprints for Data Center Optimization introduces engineers and IT professionals to the power management technologies and techniques used in energy efficient servers. The book includes a deep examination of different features used in processors, memory, interconnects, I/O devices, and other platform components. It outlines the power and performance impact of these features and the role firmware and software play in initialization and control. Using examples from cloud, HPC, and enterprise environments, the book demonstrates how various power management technologies are utilized across a range of server utilization. It teaches the reader how to monitor, analyze, and optimize their environment to best suit their needs. It shares optimization techniques used by data center administrators and system optimization experts at the world’s most advanced data centers

The magnetic resonance imaging subset of the mngu0 articulatory corpus

Author version contains correctly encoded (Unicode) fonts and attached multimedia content.International audienceThis paper announces the availability of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) subset of the mngu0 corpus, a collection of articulatory speech data from one speaker containing different modalities. This subset comprises volumetric MRI scans of the speaker's vocal tract during sustained production of vowels and consonants, as well as dynamic mid-sagittal scans of repetitive consonant-vowel (CV) syllable production. For reference, high-quality acoustic recordings of the speech material are also available. The raw data are made freely available for research purposes

Energy Efficient Servers

Computer scienc

Western flower thrips

Western flower thrips (Franklinislla occidentalis Pergands) is a serious pest of floral and vegetable crops. From its original habitat in western USA it has now spread throughout North America, Mexico, New Zealand and Europe. David Cook, Ian Dadour, Ernis Steiner and Brett Scourse outline its biology and the control options available

Refined energy-balance modelling of a supraglacial pond, Langtang Khola, Nepal

Supraglacial ponds on debris-covered glaciers present a mechanism of atmosphere/glacier energy transfer that is poorly studied, and only conceptually included in mass-balance studies of Debris-covered glaciers. This research advances previous efforts to develop a model of mass and energy balance for supraglacial ponds by applying a free-convection approach to account for energy exchanges at the subaqueous bare-ice surfaces. We develop the model using field data from a pond on Lirung Glacier, Nepal, that was monitored during the 2013 and 2014 monsoon periods. Sensitivity testing is performed for several key parameters, and alternative melt algorithms are compared with the model. The pond acts as a significant recipient of energy for the glacier system, and actively participates in the glacier’s hydrologic system during the monsoon. Melt rates are 2–4 cm d–1 (total of 98.5 m3 over the study period) for bare ice in contact with the pond, and <1 mm d–1 (total of 10.6 m3) for the saturated debris zone. The majority of absorbed atmospheric energy leaves the pond system through englacial conduits, delivering sufficient energy to melt 2612m3 additional ice over the study period (38.4 m3 d–1). Such melting might be expected to lead to subsidence of the glacier surface. Supraglacial ponds efficiently convey atmospheric energy to the glacier’s interior and rapidly promote the downwasting process.This research was enabled by PhD studentship funding from the Gates Cambridge Trust. Fieldwork was supported by the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) High Mountain Glacier Watershed Programs Climber-Scientist Grant (CCRDCS0010), Swiss National Science Foundation project UNCOMUN (SNF 200021L146761), Trinity College, Cambridge, the B.B. Roberts Fund and the Philip Lake and William Vaughn Lewis Fund.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the International Glaciological Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.3189/2016AoG71A42

Liječenje hiperlipidemije u bolesnika s vrlo visokim i ekstremno visokim rizikom u Hrvatskoj

Our observational study evaluated current management of elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL -C) in adult secondary prevention patients (all very high risk (VHR) by European guidelines) attending specialist clinics across Croatia. Data were collected retrospectively from patient records for the preceding 12 months. The subset judged to be at extreme risk (ER ; American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) criteria; n=48) were compared with the remaining patients (VHR group; n=41). All patients were receiving statins (75.6% VHR/81.3% ER at high-intensity), with only a minority receiving concomitant lipid-lowering treatment (7.3% VHR/16.7% ER ). Median (Q1, Q3) LDL -C levels at the last visit were 1.9 (1.6, 2.4) mmol/L for VHR and 2.1 (1.5, 3.1) mmol/L for ER , with only 41.5% (95% CI 26.3-57.9) of VHR patients and 27.1% (15.3-41.9) of ER patients attaining their LDL -C targets (<1.8 mmol/L and <1.42 mmol/L, respectively). Thus, we found that a substantial proportion of VHR and ER secondary prevention patients being treated across Croatia had LDL -C levels exceeding the targets recommended in the European and newer AACE guidelines, but not all were receiving high-intensity statins. Identification of ER patients and their lipid patterns may help optimize usage of high-intensity statin treatment, alone or along with newer treatments, for better control of elevated LDL -C.Ova opservacijska studija analizirala je trenutno liječenje povišenih vrijednosti LDL kolesterola (LDL-C) u bolesnika koji su liječeni zbog hiperlipidemije u okviru sekundarne prevencije (prema europskim smjernicama svi su pripadali u skupinu bolesnika s vrlo visokim rizikom) i kontrolirali su se kod specijalista diljem Hrvatske. Podaci su prikupljeni retrospektivno tijekom 12 mjeseci iz bolesničke medicinske dokumentacije. Skupina bolesnika za koju je procijenjeno da je u ekstremno visokom riziku (ER ; AACE kriteriji; n=48) uspoređivana je sa skupinom s visokim rizikom (VHR skupina; n=41). Svi bolesnici su primali statine (75,6% bolesnika s VHR/81,3% bolesnika s ER liječeno je visokim dozama statina), dok je manjina bolesnika istodobno primala i drugu terapiju za snižavanje lipida (7,3% VHR/ER 16,7%). Kod posljednjeg posjeta medijan vrijednosti LDL -C (Q1, Q3) u skupini VHR iznosio je 1,9 (1,6, 2,4) mmol/L, dok je u skupini ER iznosio 2,1 (1,5, 3,1) mmol/L. Samo 41,5% (95% CI 26,3-57,9) bolesnika s VHR i 27,1% (15,3-41,9) bolesnika s ER imali su razine LDL -C unutar ciljne razine (<1,8 mmol/L i <1,42 mmol L). Rezultati studije pokazuju kako unatoč mjerama sekundarne prevencije velik broj visokorizičnih bolesnika i bolesnika s ekstremnim rizikom ima razine LDL -C koje premašuju ciljne vrijednosti preporučene u europskim i novijim AACE smjernicama, ali usprkos navedenom mnogi bolesnici nisu liječeni statinima u visokoj dozi. Identifikacija bolesnika s ekstremnim rizikom i njihovih lipidnih obrazaca mogla bi povećati upotrebu visokih doza statina, samostalno ili u kombinaciji s novijim lijekovima, radi bolje kontrole povišenog LDL-C

Evaluation and application of static headspace-multicapillary column-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry for complex sample analysis.

An evaluation of static headspace-multicapillary column-gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (SHS-MCC-GC-IMS) has been undertaken to assess its applicability for the determination of 32 volatile compounds (VCs). The key experimental variables of sample incubation time and temperature have been evaluated alongside the MCC-GC variables of column polarity, syringe temperature, injection temperature, injection volume, column temperature and carrier gas flow rate coupled with the IMS variables of temperature and drift gas flow rate. This evaluation resulted in six sets of experimental variables being required to separate the 32 VCs. The optimum experimental variables for SHS-MCC-GC-IMS, the retention time and drift time operating parameters were determined; to normalise the operating parameters, the relative drift time and normalised reduced ion mobility for each VC were determined. In addition, a full theoretical explanation is provided on the formation of the monomer, dimer and trimer of a VC. The optimum operating condition for each VC calibration data was obtained alongside limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantitation (LOQ) values. Typical detection limits ranged from 0.1ng bis(methylthio)methane, ethylbutanoate and (E)-2-nonenal to 472ng isovaleric acid with correlation coefficient (R(2)) data ranging from 0.9793 (for the dimer of octanal) through to 0.9990 (for isobutyric acid). Finally, the developed protocols were applied to the analysis of malodour in sock samples. Initial work involved spiking an inert matrix and sock samples with appropriate concentrations of eight VCs. The average recovery from the inert matrix was 101±18% (n=8), while recoveries from the sock samples were lower, that is, 54±30% (n=8) for sock type 1 and 78±24% (n=6) for sock type 2. Finally, SHS-MCC-GC-IMS was applied to sock malodour in a field trial based on 11 volunteers (mixed gender) over a 3-week period. By applying the SHS-MCC-GC-IMS database, four VCs were identified and quantified: ammonia, dimethyl disulphide, dimethyl trisulphide and butyric acid. A link was identified between the presence of high ammonia and dimethyl disulphide concentrations and a high malodour odour grading, that is, ≥ 6. Statistical analysis did not find any correlation between the occurrence of dimethyl disulphide and participant gender