MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation

The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG) reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management methodologies associated with different marine safety projects. International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean management purposes. This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could be adopted for future MSUO projects

A Progressive Approach to Content Generation

Abstract. PCG approaches are commonly categorised as constructive, generate-and-test or search-based. Each of these approaches has its distinctive advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, we propose an approach to Content Generation (CG) – in particular level generation – that combines the advantages of construc-tive and search-based approaches thus providing a fast, flexible and reliable way of generating diverse content of high quality. In our framework, CG is seen from a new perspective which differentiates between two main aspects of the game-play experience, namely the order of the in-game interactions and the associated level design. The framework first generates timelines following the search-based paradigm. Timelines are game-independent and they reflect the rhythmic feel of the levels. A progressive, constructive-based approach is then implemented to evaluate timelines by mapping them into level designs. The framework is applied for the generation of puzzles for the Cut the Rope game and the results in terms of performance, expressivity and controllability are characterised and discussed.

Microwave oven fabricated hybrid memristor devices for non-volatile memory storage

© 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd. Novel hybrid non-volatile memories made using an ultra-fast microwave heating method are reported for the first time. The devices, consisting of aligned ZnO nanorods embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate), require no forming step and exhibit reliable and reproducible bipolar resistive switching at low voltages and with low power usage. We attribute these properties to a combination of the high aspect ratio of the nanorods and the polymeric hybrid structure of the device. The extremely easy, fast and low-cost solution based method of fabrication makes possible the simple and quick production of cheap memory cells

The sectional curvature remains positive when taking quotients by certain nonfree actions

We study some cases when the sectional curvature remains positive under the taking of quotients by certain nonfree isometric actions of Lie groups. We consider the actions of the groups $S^1$ and $S^3$ such that the quotient space can be endowed with a smooth structure using the fibrations $S^3/S^1{\simeq}S^2$ and $S^7/S^3\simeq S^4$. We prove that the quotient space carries a metric of positive sectional curvature, provided that the original metric has positive sectional curvature on all 2-planes orthogonal to the orbits of the action.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure. Changed the spelling of the author's nam

Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013

Abstract Background Despite its Gallic name, the French Bulldog is a breed of both British and French origin that was first recognised by The Kennel Club in 1906. The French Bulldog has demonstrated recent rapid rises in Kennel Club registrations and is now (2017) the second most commonly registered pedigree breed in the UK. However, the breed has been reported to be predisposed to several disorders including ocular, respiratory, neurological and dermatological problems. The VetCompass™ Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass™ clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography and common disorders of the general population of French Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK. Results French Bulldogs comprised 2228 (0.49%) of 445,557 study dogs under veterinary care during 2013. Annual proportional birth rates showed that the proportional ownership of French Bulldog puppies rose steeply from 0.02% of the annual birth cohort attending VetCompass™ practices in 2003 to 1.46% in 2013. The median age of the French Bulldogs overall was 1.3 years (IQR 0.6–2.5, range 0.0–13.0). The most common colours of French Bulldogs were brindle (solid or main) (32.36%) and fawn (solid or main) (29.9%). Of the 2228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care during 2013, 1612 (72.4%) had at least one disorder recorded. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders recorded were otitis externa (14.0%, 95% CI: 12.6–15.5), diarrhoea (7.5%, 95% CI: 6.4–8.7), conjunctivitis (3.2%, 95% CI: 2.5–4.0), nails overlong (3.1%, 95% CI% 2.4–3.9) and skin fold dermatitis (3.0%, 95% CI% 2.3–3.8). The most prevalent disorder groups were cutaneous (17.9%, 95% CI: 16.3–19.6), enteropathy (16.7%, 95% CI: 15.2–18.3), aural (16.3%, 95% CI: 14.8–17.9), upper respiratory tract (12.7%, 95% CI: 11.3–14.1) and ophthalmological (10.5%, 95% CI: 9.3–11.9). Conclusions Ownership of French Bulldogs in the UK is rising steeply. This means that the disorder profiles reported in this study reflect a current young UK population and are likely to shift as this cohort ages. Otitis externa, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis were the most common disorders in French Bulldogs. Identification of health priorities based on VetCompass™ data can support evidence–based reforms to improve health and welfare within the breed

Serial diverse imagining task: A new remedy for bedtime complaints of worrying and other sleep-disruptive mental activity

Introduction: A racing mind, worries, and uncontrollable thoughts are common bedtime complaints among poor sleepers. Beaudoin created a Serial Diverse Imagining task (SDIT) that can be used at bedtime to divert attention away from sleep interfering thoughts, An app randomly presents recordings of relatively concrete words one at a time with an 8-second interval between recordings during which the person creates and maintains a mental image of the word until the next recording prompts the next image and so on. Our study is an experimental test of SDIT compared to the standard treatment of Structured Problem-solving (SP) and to the combination of both treatments. A key feature of SP is that it must be done earlier than bedtime and requires about 15 minutes to do it.  SDIT, which is done at bedtime, does not have those constraints.  Method: 154 university students (137 female) who complained of excessive cognitive pre-sleep arousal were randomly assigned to receive SDIT, SP, or both.  At baseline, they completed Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale (Somatic and Cognitive), Sleep Quality Scale, Glasgow Sleep Effort Scale and Sleep Hygiene Index.  Depending on the measure, participants redid it one week and/or one month after starting the intervention.  (They also completed sleep diaries and appraisals of the interventions, which are omitted due to space). Results: Repeated measures ANOVAs indicated that cognitive and somatic pre-sleep arousal , sleep effort, and sleep quality improved significantly relative to baseline (p  < .001; Partial η2 = .43 to .71) even though sleep hygiene worsened ( p  < .001; Partial η2 =  .23). The latter finding is not unexpected because the baseline was done at the start of the academic term before the onset of academic pressures. The fact that we found sleep and arousal improvements in this context are notable. Conclusion: Beaudoin’s Serial Diverse  Imagining Task (SDIT) was as effective as Structured Problem-Solving (SP) in reducing pre-sleep arousal, sleep effort, and poor sleep quality.  One advantage of SDIT is that it can be done at bedtime, unlike SP.&nbsp

Labrador retrievers under primary veterinary care in the UK: demography, mortality and disorders

Abstract Background Labrador retrievers are reportedly predisposed to many disorders but accurate prevalence information relating to the general population are lacking. This study aimed to describe demography, mortality and commonly recorded diseases in Labrador retrievers under UK veterinary care. Methods The VetCompass™ programme collects electronic patient record data on dogs attending UK primary-care veterinary practices. Demographic analysis covered all33,320 Labrador retrievers in the VetCompass™ database under veterinary care during 2013 while disorder and mortality data were extracted from a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) of these dogs. Results Of the Labrador retrievers with information available, 15,427 (46.4%) were female and 15,252 (53.6%) were male. Females were more likely to be neutered than males (59.7% versus 54.8%, P <  0.001). The overall mean adult bodyweight was 33.0 kg (SD 6.1). Adult males were heavier (35.2 kg, SD 5.9 kg) than adult females (30.4 kg, SD 5.2 kg) (P <  0.001). The median longevity of Labrador retrievers overall was 12.0 years (IQR 9.9–13.8, range 0.0–16.0). The most common recorded colours were black (44.6%), yellow (27.8%) and liver/chocolate (reported from hereon as chocolate) (23.8%). The median longevity of non-chocolate coloured dogs (n = 139, 12.1 years, IQR 10.2–13.9, range 0.0–16.0) was longer than for chocolate coloured animals (n = 34, 10.7 years, IQR 9.0–12.4, range 3.8–15.5) (P = 0.028). Of a random sample of 2074 (6.2%) Labrador retrievers under care in 2013 that had full disorder data extracted, 1277 (61.6%) had at least one disorder recorded. The total number of dogs who died at any date during the study was 176. The most prevalent disorders recorded were otitis externa (n = 215, prevalence 10.4%, 95% CI: 9.1–11.8), overweight/obesity (183, 8.8%, 95% CI: 7.6–10.1) and degenerative joint disease (115, 5.5%, 95% CI: 4.6–6.6). Overweight/obesity was not statistically significantly associated with neutering in females (8.3% of entire versus 12.5% of neutered, P = 0.065) but was associated with neutering in males (4.1% of entire versus 11.4% of neutered, P < 0.001). The prevalence of otitis externa in black dogs was 12.8%, in yellow dogs it was 17.0% but, in chocolate dogs, it rose to 23.4% (P < 0.001). Similarly, the prevalence of pyo-traumatic dermatitis in black dogs was 1.1%, in yellow dogs it was 1.6% but in chocolate dogs it rose to 4.0% (P = 0.011). Conclusions The current study assists prioritisation of health issues within Labrador retrievers. The most common disorders were overweight/obesity, otitis externa and degenerative joint disease. Males were significantly heavier females. These results can alert prospective owners to potential health issues and inform breed-specific wellness checks

Development and Design of Energy Efficient Oil-Flooded Screw Compressors

It is estimated that about 17% of the world's generated power is used for compression. Thus all, even minor improvement of the efficiency of compressors will substantially reduce CO2 emission. This paper presents development of family of energy efficient oil-flooded screw compressors for Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Ltd. The developmental techniques adopted to improve efficiency such as introduction of superior 'N' rotor profile, rotor clearance management, performance calculation using 3D CCM (Computational Continuum Mechanics), direct parametric interface to CAD (Computer Aided Design), which contains bearing selection for complete 3D solid modelling. Also, contemporary prototyping and experimental investigation is supported by the fully computerised data acquisition and processing. The cumulative improvement of all these elements of the design process resulted in a very efficient machine which guarantees the competitive position of Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Limited in the screw compressor market

Normal Levels of Sox9 Expression in the Developing Mouse Testis Depend on the TES/TESCO Enhancer, but This Does Not Act Alone

During mouse sex determination, transient expression of the Y-linked gene Sry up-regulates its direct target gene Sox9, via a 3.2 kb testis specific enhancer of Sox9 (TES), which includes a core 1.4 kb element, TESCO. SOX9 activity leads to differentiation of Sertoli cells, rather than granulosa cells from the bipotential supporting cell precursor lineage. Here, we present functional analysis of TES/TESCO, using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing in mice. Deletion of TESCO or TES reduced Sox9 expression levels in XY fetal gonads to 60 or 45% respectively relative to wild type gonads, and reduced expression of the SOX9 target Amh. Although human patients heterozygous for null mutations in SOX9, which are assumed to have 50% of normal expression, often show XY female sex reversal, mice deleted for one copy of Sox9 do not. Consistent with this, we did not observe sex reversal in either TESCO-/- or TES-/- XY embryos or adult mice. However, embryos carrying both a conditional Sox9 null allele and the TES deletion developed ovotestes. Quantitative analysis of these revealed levels of 23% expression of Sox9 compared to wild type, and a significant increase in the expression of the granulosa cell marker Foxl2. This indicates that the threshold in mice where sex reversal begins to be seen is about half that of the ~50% levels predicted in humans. Our results demonstrate that TES/TESCO is a crucial enhancer regulating Sox9 expression in the gonad, but point to the existence of additional enhancers that act redundantly