Public perceptions of tidal energy: Can you predict social acceptability across coastal communities in England?

Early consideration of potential societal issues faced by the nascent tidal industry is important to facilitate public engagement and potentially avoid levels of conflict that have arisen within other renewable energy sectors; general expressions of public support (as reported in national-scale attitude surveys) do not always translate into approval for local developments. It is a very appealing idea that the likely response of different types of communities to marine energy developments can be mapped and used to support planning. This study examined the attitudes of 963 people in South West England to hypothetical local tidal energy projects, analysing the results both by geographic location and according to the coastal community typology developed for England by the Marine Management Organisation. With the exception of age, demographic variables had little influence on the level of opposition to tidal energy, which instead was affected more by factors such as attitudes towards tidal energy in general (in particular its likely environmental impact), activities undertaken at the coast, and place attachment. These significant factors are typically not captured by the national census data used to determine community types. Any predictions about the acceptability of energy projects made as a result of community mapping based on demographic variables will not be a substitute for thorough public engagement and consultation, which should centre on the implications of tidal developments for the environment

Rational and Winnicottian wellbeing 'at work'

The idea that that the wellbeing of employees should be of concern to managers and employers has long been considered within management thought. From the paternal ideals of the 19th century social reformers to the current purveyors of happiness in the workplace, the need to mediate the demands of constantly increasing pressure on productivity has generated many organisational effects. This paper highlights the conflicts triggered when management seeks to assist teachers to become more efficient and productive as strategic human resources, rather than professional teachers and educators involved in the production of the next generation of citizens. Following a year-long study into staff relationships within a school this paper develops a line of analysis using the concept of the ‘good enough mother’ (Winnicott, 1971) to highlight a site of conflict. It is suggested that a lack of understanding by the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) of the school toward the support sought by the teachers involved in ‘front line’ work with pupils is part of this conflict situation. The focus by the SLT on wellbeing techniques to assist the teachers toward a more rational ‘bottom line’ set of outcomes has the effect of increasing the distance of understanding between teachers and managers

Moderate hypothermia within 6 h of birth plus inhaled xenon versus moderate hypothermia alone after birth asphyxia (TOBY-Xe): a proof-of-concept, open-label, randomised controlled trial

Background Moderate cooling after birth asphyxia is associated with substantial reductions in death and disability, but additional therapies might provide further benefit. We assessed whether the addition of xenon gas, a promising novel therapy, after the initiation of hypothermia for birth asphyxia would result in further improvement. Methods Total Body hypothermia plus Xenon (TOBY-Xe) was a proof-of-concept, randomised, open-label, parallel-group trial done at four intensive-care neonatal units in the UK. Eligible infants were 36–43 weeks of gestational age, had signs of moderate to severe encephalopathy and moderately or severely abnormal background activity for at least 30 min or seizures as shown by amplitude-integrated EEG (aEEG), and had one of the following: Apgar score of 5 or less 10 min after birth, continued need for resuscitation 10 min after birth, or acidosis within 1 h of birth. Participants were allocated in a 1:1 ratio by use of a secure web-based computer-generated randomisation sequence within 12 h of birth to cooling to a rectal temperature of 33·5°C for 72 h (standard treatment) or to cooling in combination with 30% inhaled xenon for 24 h started immediately after randomisation. The primary outcomes were reduction in lactate to N-acetyl aspartate ratio in the thalamus and in preserved fractional anisotropy in the posterior limb of the internal capsule, measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy and MRI, respectively, within 15 days of birth. The investigator assessing these outcomes was masked to allocation. Analysis was by intention to treat. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00934700, and with ISRCTN, as ISRCTN08886155. Findings The study was done from Jan 31, 2012, to Sept 30, 2014. We enrolled 92 infants, 46 of whom were randomly assigned to cooling only and 46 to xenon plus cooling. 37 infants in the cooling only group and 41 in the cooling plus xenon group underwent magnetic resonance assessments and were included in the analysis of the primary outcomes. We noted no significant differences in lactate to N-acetyl aspartate ratio in the thalamus (geometric mean ratio 1·09, 95% CI 0·90 to 1·32) or fractional anisotropy (mean difference −0·01, 95% CI −0·03 to 0·02) in the posterior limb of the internal capsule between the two groups. Nine infants died in the cooling group and 11 in the xenon group. Two adverse events were reported in the xenon group: subcutaneous fat necrosis and transient desaturation during the MRI. No serious adverse events were recorded. Interpretation Administration of xenon within the delayed timeframe used in this trial is feasible and apparently safe, but is unlikely to enhance the neuroprotective effect of cooling after birth asphyxia

The Simplex Algorithm for the Rapid Identification of Operating Conditions During Early Bioprocess Development: Case Studies in FAb' Precipitation and Multimodal Chromatography

This study describes a data-driven algorithm as a rapid alternative to conventional Design of Experiments (DoE) approaches for identifying feasible operating conditions during early bioprocess development. In general, DoE methods involve fitting regression models to experimental data, but if model fitness is inadequate then further experimentation is required to gain more confidence in the location of an optimum. This can be undesirable during very early process development when feedstock is in limited supply and especially if a significant percentage of the tested conditions are ultimately found to be sub-optimal. An alternative approach involves focusing solely upon the feasible regions by using the knowledge gained from each condition to direct the choice of subsequent test locations that lead towards an optimum. To illustrate the principle, this study describes the application of the Simplex algorithm which uses accumulated knowledge from previous test points to direct the choice of successive conditions towards better regions. The method is illustrated by two case studies; a two variable precipitation example investigating how salt concentration and pH affect FAb' recovery from E. coli homogenate and a three-variable chromatography example identifying the optimal pH and concentrations of two salts in an elution buffer used to recover ovine antibody bound to a multimodal cation exchange matrix. Two-level and face-centered central composite regression models were constructed for each study and statistical analysis showed that they provided a poor fit to the data, necessitating additional experimentation to confirm the robust regions of the search space. By comparison, the Simplex algorithm identified a good operating point using 50% and 70% fewer conditions for the precipitation and chromatography studies, respectively. Hence, data-driven approaches have significant potential for early process development when material supply is at a premium

Experimental observation of the breaking and recombination of single Cooper pairs

We observe the real-time breaking of single Cooper pairs by monitoring the radio-frequency impedance of a superconducting double quantum dot. The Cooper pair breaking rate in the microscale islands of our device decreases as temperature is reduced, saturating at 2 kHz for temperatures beneath 100 mK. In addition, we measure in real-time the quasiparticle recombination into Cooper pairs. Analysis of the recombination rates shows that, in contrast to bulk lms, a multi-stage recombination pathway is followed.A.J.F. would like to acknowledge the Hitachi Research fellowship, support from Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory and support from the EPSRC grant EP/H016872/1. B.W.L. is supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. F.A.P. would like to thank the Leverhulme Trust for fi nancial support.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from APS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.14050

Long-term perspectives on terrestrial and aquatic carbon cycling from palaeolimnology

Lakes are active processors and collectors of carbon (C) and thus recognized as quantitatively important within the terrestrial C cycle. Better integration of palaeolimnology (lake sediment core analyses) with limnological C budgeting approaches has the potential to enhance understanding of lacustrine C processing and sequestration. Palaeolimnology simultaneously assimilates materials from across lake habitats, terrestrial watersheds, and airsheds to provide a uniquely broad overview of the terrestrial-atmospheric-aquatic linkages across different spatial scales. The examination of past changes over decadal–millennial timescales via palaeolimnology can inform understanding and prediction of future changes in C cycling. With a particular, but not exclusive, focus on northern latitudes we examine the methodological approaches of palaeolimnology, focusing on how relatively standard and well-tested techniques might be applied to address questions of relevance to the C cycle. We consider how palaeolimnology, limnology, and sedimentation studies might be linked to provide more quantitative and holistic estimates of lake C cycling and budgets. Finally, we use palaeolimnological examples to consider how changes such as terrestrial vegetation shifts, permafrost thaw, the formation of new lakes and reservoirs, hydrological modification of inorganic C processing, land use change, soil erosion and disruption to global nitrogen and phosphorus cycles might influence lake C cycling

Obesity-related perivascular adipose tissue damage is reversed by sustained weight loss in the rat

Objective – Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) exerts an anticontractile effect in response to various vasoconstrictor agonists and this is lost in obesity. A recent study reported that bariatric surgery reverses the damaging effects of obesity on PVAT function. However, PVAT function has not been characterised following weight loss induced by caloric restriction, which is often the first line treatment for obesity. Approach and Results – Contractility studies were performed using wire myography on small mesenteric arteries with and without PVAT from control, diet-induced obese, calorie restricted and sustained weight loss rats. Changes in the PVAT environment were assessed using immunohistochemistry. PVAT from healthy animals elicited an anticontractile effect in response to norepinephrine. This was abolished in diet-induced obesity through a mechanism involving increased local TNFα and reduced nitric oxide bioavailability within PVAT. Sustained weight loss led to improvement in PVAT function associated with restoration of adipocyte size, reduced TNFα and increased nitric oxide synthase function. This was associated with reversal of obesity-induced hypertension and normalisation of plasma adipokine levels, including leptin and insulin. Conclusions – We have shown that diet-induced weight loss reverses obesity-induced PVAT damage through a mechanism involving reduced inflammation and increased nitric oxide synthase activity within PVAT. These data reveal inflammation and nitric oxide synthase, particularly eNOS, as potential targets for the treatment of PVAT dysfunction associated with obesity and the metabolic syndrome

The gravity duals of SO/USp superconformal quivers

We study the gravity duals of SO/USp superconformal quiver gauge theories realized by M5-branes wrapping on a Riemann surface ("G-curve") together with a Z_2-quotient. When the G-curve has no punctures, the gravity solutions are classified by the genus g of the G-curve and the torsion part of the four-form flux G_4. We also find that there is an interesting relation between anomaly contributions from two mysterious theories: T_{SO(2N)} theory with SO(2N)^3 flavor symmetry and \tilde{T}_{SO(2N)} theory with SO(2N) x USp(2N-2)^2 flavor symmetry. The dual gravity solutions for various SO/USp-type tails are also studied.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures; v2 minor corrections, typos corrected, Figure 13 replaced, references adde

Apparent mass of small children: Experimental measurements

A test facility and protocol were developed for measuring the seated, vertical, whole-body vibration response of small children of less than 18 kg in mass over the frequency range from 1 to 45 Hz. The facility and protocol adhered to the human vibration testing guidelines of BS7085 and to current codes of ethics for research involving children. Additional procedures were also developed which are not currently defined in the guidelines, including the integral involvement of the parents and steps taken to maximize child happiness. Eight children were tested at amplitudes of 0.8 and 1.2 m/s2 using band-limited, Gaussian, white noise acceleration signals defined over the frequency interval from 1 to 50 Hz. Driving point apparent mass modulus and phase curves were determined for all eight children at both test amplitudes. All results presented a single, principal, anti-resonance, and were similar to data reported for primates and for adult humans seated in an automotive posture which provided backrest support. The mean frequency of the apparent mass peak was 6.25 Hz for the small children, as compared to values between 6.5 - 8.5 Hz for small primates and values between 6.5 - 8.6 Hz for adults seated with backrest support. The peak value of the mean, normalized, apparent mass was 1.54 for the children, which compares to values from 1.19 to 1.45 reported in the literature for small primates and 1.28 for adults seated with backrest support. ISO standard 5982, which specifies a mean, normalized, apparent mass modulus peak of 1.50 at a frequency of 4.0 Hz for adults seated without backrest support, provides significant differences