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High-temperature superconductors (HTS) could enable high-field magnets stronger than is possible with Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn, but two challenges have so far been the low engineering critical current density JE, especially in high-current cables, and the danger of quenches. Most HTS magnets made so far have been made out of REBCO coated conductor. Here we demonstrate stable, reliable and training-quench-free performance of Bi-2212 racetrack coils wound with a Rutherford cable fabricated from wires made with a new precursor powder. These round multifilamentary wires exhibited a record JE up to 950 A/mm2 at 30 T at 4.2 K. These coils carried up to 8.6 kA while generating 3.5 T at 4.2 K at a JE of 1020 A/mm2. Different from the unpredictable training performance of Nb-Ti and Nb3Sn magnets, these Bi-2212 magnets showed no training quenches and entered the flux flow state in a stable manner before thermal runaway and quench occurred. Also different from Nb-Ti, Nb3Sn, and REBCO magnets for which localized thermal runaways occur at unpredictable locations, the quenches of Bi-2212 magnets consistently occurred in the high field regions over a long conductor length. These characteristics make quench detection simple, enabling safe protection, and suggest a new paradigm of constructing quench-predictable superconducting magnets from Bi-2212.

Avian ceca, a pair of blind sacs arising from the junction of the ileum and colon, are homologous to the cecum in mammals. Cecal size is hypothesized to depend on dietary proclivities and pressures, with faunivorous species having short ceca, whereas herbivorous species have long ceca. Previous tests of this hypothesis, however, did not account for phylogenetic pseudoreplication among closely related taxa. We collated published data on cecal length, dietary category, flying ability, and body mass from 155 avian taxa. Character states were mapped onto a phylogenetic framework, and the permutation tail probability test was used to detect phylogenetic signal in each character. Phylogenetic signal is significant among the characters. As with the cecoappendicular complex in mammals, closely-related birds tend to have similar cecal length. To account for phylogenetic pseudoreplication, we performed phylogenetic generalized least squares regression on cecal length and body mass with dietary category, superordinal-level clade, and flying ability as cofactors. The best-fitting regression model supports the dietary hypothesis for the avian cecum. Among sampled birds of comparable body mass, mean cecal length is significantly longer in herbivorous species than in carnivorous ones (p = 0.008), presumably allowing the extraction of nutrients without the burden of fermenting bulky masses of dietary fiber. Exceptions to this trend, however, suggest that avian ceca are functionally complex and may have additional roles in water balance and nitrogen recycling.

The global custody transfer market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) has grown at a strong pace in the last decade and use of LNG as transport fuel has considerable environmental benefits. The quantity of LNG is traded on the basis of energy transferred, calculated from volume, density and gross calorific value. High-speed, accurate density measurement is therefore of significant commercial value. The electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) device described in this paper has the potential to measure the LNG density rapidly, on-line at a moderate cost. Continuous monitoring of variation in LNG density during dynamic LNG flow measurement also gives a good indication of change in fluid quality and thus onset of boiling which is known to affect measurement accuracy. ECT is a leading candidate to be explored for online density measurements through measurement of electrical permittivity, as in addition to average value, it offers the image of permittivity across the whole flow conduit, allowing localised bubbles, boiling or other variations to be identified and measured. We report here experiments to explore the use of ECT in cryogenic applications. An 8-electrode test ECT sensor was designed, built and tested in laboratory conditions and then in liquid nitrogen. The resolution and imaging capability in cryogenic conditions are shown to be comparable to that under laboratory conditions. The experiments reported here use liquid nitrogen as an analogue fluid, but the results presented are believed to be representative of many cryogenic fluids. Although the use of ECT has been widely reported in the literature for multiphase flows in general, its use has not previously been reported for cryogenic flows. This paper offers proof of principle for ECT cryogenic multi-phase density and flow measurement. Dielectric constant is strongly linked to fluid density, and the ECT sensor design tested here shows an estimated measurement of the relative permittivity of liquid nitrogen of 1.45 with a standard measurement error of 0.034. Measurement stability at cryogenic conditions gave an rms variation of output under static conditions of better than 0.001 relative permittivity units even though it was unguarded and only a single electrode ring. The primary errors are associated with the unguarded nature of the test sensor, which was primarily designed as a proof of concept and material demonstrator. In addition, such an ECT sensor would provide clear images of any gas in the liquid and give a good estimation of the concentration and velocity of the gas bubbles. The scope of this work is to provide a proof of concept of the cryogenic ECT sensor.

Iron–iron hydrogenase model compounds have potential as hydrogen producing catalysts that are inexpensive and environmentally friendly. Many of these model compounds are dependent on light for activity but little is know about the photochemical intermediates or products that are formed and catalytically important. The photochemistry of μ-pdt-[Fe(CO) 2 CN] 2 2− ( 2 ) is explored in acetonitrile and spectral changes in the IR support lost of CN−. UV–Vis spectroscopy was used to determine quantum yields for the disappearance of 2 , which was found to be 0.38 ± 0.04 in acetonitrile when irradiated with 365 nm light under nitrogen.

The threat posed by lead (Pb) in soil for pediatric populations continues to be a public health issue. In long-established residential areas, a principal source of Pb in soil is likely to be old Pb-based paint originating from building surfaces. The health hazard posed by Pb from paint in soil will likely depend on quantity of paint incorporated, its Pb-mineral composition, whether the Pb is locked in some other material and the paint residence time in the soil (degree of aging). Here the relative bioavailability (RBA) of Pb in different types of Pb-bearing paint has been assessed. Tests were performed with individual paints, with paints mixed with a low-Pb soil, and with paints mixed with soil and the biogenic phosphate apatite II. Thirteen Pb-bearing paint samples were ground and passed through 250- and 100-µm screens. Samples nominally

Slugs are intermittent structures observed in horizontal co-current gas-liquid two-phase flow. Published data examining horizontal flow indicate the existence of intermittent sub-flow patterns. There is limited work performed on the study of this sub-categorisation. This paper presents a method, exploiting non-intrusive Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) measurements, to assess and to characterise the spatial and temporal features of horizontal gas-oil flow. A logic-based algorithm is proposed to automatically identify and classify flow regimes. This algorithm uses the spatial distribution of the phases, based on measurements of the intrinsic dielectric properties of the fluids. The measurements were performed at the NEL UK national standard multiphase flow loop using a high-speed dual-plane ECT sensor array. The ECT measurements identified intermittent liquid structures with a sustained gas-core in the central region of the pipe cross-section with outer features analogous to those of liquid slugs. Assessment of the frequency and time span of the periodic structures showed that gas-core slugs are, typically, shorter than full slug structures but are more frequent for the same given time period. For both flow structures, the mixture velocity was a determinant factor, with gas-core slugs dominating the flow at higher velocities. The experimental work led to the modification of existing flow pattern transition models. The modified flow regime maps suggested in this study aim to widen the applicability of the results by enabling the prediction of gas-core slug flow for similar experimental and operating conditions. The present work comprises the initial steps towards automatic flow regime identification in multiphase flow metering. Automatic flow regime recognition has the potential to lead to better process control and improved accuracy in production allocation.

Dryland alluvial successions across interior South Africa are a focus of pedosedimentary research because they provide insights into past hydrogeomorphic changes and improve our understanding of allogenic and autogenic controls on fluvial system behaviour. This paper focuses on an alluvial succession preserved within the Wilgerbosch River, on the Great Escarpment, South Africa. The pedosedimentary architecture of a calcretized palaeosol formed within an abandoned MIS 3 (51–39 ka) floodplain was investigated using grain size, micromorphological, XRD and mineral magnetic analyses. The primary controls on pedogenesis are inferred and the impacts of their products on subsequent landscape development outlined. The biologically-dominated calcrete micromorphology is consistent with the rhizogenic calcrete variety, which together with XRD, grain size and soil magnetic data provides evidence for a palustrine palaeowetland system. Palustrine wetland systems have been documented across interior South Africa, but the formation of rhizogenic calcretes in association with these systems has, to our knowledge, not been reported previously. We interpret these palaeowetlands to have resulted from basin-wide hydrogeomorphic adjustments, rather than localised discontinuous channel and floodout processes. Magnetic enhancement of the soil column overlying the calcrete compared to the overlying floodplain deposits is indicative of moister climate conditions at ~51 ka relative to ~39 ka. We hypothesise that the longevity of geomorphic quiescence, coupled with relatively moist climate conditions in early MIS 3 resulted in enhanced soil CaCO3 accumulation. The resultant cementation of this abandoned floodplain deposit accounts for an alluvial record that is dominated by older rather than younger (e.g. Holocene) deposits, despite the narrow valley context (

Background:Patient activation describes the skills, abilities and confidence someone uses to actively manage their health. Patient activation abilities in rheumatology are unclear, and there is little knowledge about factors that explain variation in patient activation. Therefore, understanding these factors can contribute to the development of appropriate, rheumatology-specific interventions targeting activation. The Patient Activation Measure (PAM) captures patient activation and provides people with both a score and a level to describe how able they are to actively manage their health.Objectives:To explore longitudinal changes to patient activation (measured using the PAM) (Hibbardet al., 2005), and the PAM’s associations with related constructs (including self-efficacy, health literacy and health beliefs) in a sample of participants with inflammatory arthritis.Methods:A postal survey was administered at two time points that were nine months apart. This survey captured the PAM and a range of clinical, demographic and psychosocial variables in a sample of rheumatology patients from 6 NHS sites in England. The measures included in the survey had been selected based on both theory and prior qualitative research and the survey pack was designed in collaboration with a patient partner. Following data collection, candidate variables for a multiple regression analysis were initially identified using univariable analysis. These variables were included in a forced entry multiple regression at each time point, and the variables that were statistically significant contributors at a 0.1 level were included in the final models. Changes to PAM scores over time were investigated using a Wilcoxon matched-pair signed rank test.Results:251 participants completed the first survey and 154 participants completed both full surveys. Self-efficacy, illness beliefs, health literacy and health locus of control were consistently associated with variance in PAM scores. The first three factors were also predictive of variance in PAM levels. With the 154 participants who fully completed both surveys, there was a statistically significant difference in participants’ PAM scores between the two surveys.Conclusion:The findings suggest factors that may be targets for interventions that aim to increase patient activation. The changes to PAM scores across the data collection period also suggest that when using the PAM as a clinical tool, healthcare professionals would benefit from incorporating regular reviews and preparations for any increases or reductions in patient activation.References:[1]Hibbard, J.H., Mahoney, E.R., Stockard, J. and Tusler, M. (2005) Development and testing of a short form of the patient activation measure.Health Services Research. 40 (6 I), pp. 1918–1930.Disclosure of Interests:Bethan Jones Speakers bureau: Honorarium for Lilly in their work with the British Society of Rheumatology for the delivery of 2 webinars due to be held on 30th January 2020., Andrew Hunt: None declared, Sarah Hewlett Grant/research support from: Received independent learning grant from Pfizer for the STRIDE project. However, the work has been completed and the grant closed, Diana Harcourt: None declared, Emma Dures Grant/research support from: Independent Learning Grant from Pfizer, combined funding for a research fellow from Celgene, Abbvie and Novartis, Paid instructor for: A fee from Novartis to deliver training to nurses.

Emergent properties of natural biomaterials result from the collective effects of nanoscale interactions among ordered and disordered domains. Here, using recombinant sequence design, we have created a set of partially ordered polypeptides to study emergent hierarchical structures by precisely encoding nanoscale order-disorder interactions. These materials, which combine the stimuli-responsiveness of disordered elastin-like polypeptides and the structural stability of polyalanine helices, are thermally responsive with tunable thermal hysteresis and the ability to reversibly form porous, viscoelastic networks above threshold temperatures. Through coarse-grain simulations, we show that hysteresis arises from physical crosslinking due to mesoscale phase separation of ordered and disordered domains. On injection of partially ordered polypeptides designed to transition at body temperature, they form stable, porous scaffolds that rapidly integrate into surrounding tissue with minimal inflammation and a high degree of vascularization. Sequence-level modulation of structural order and disorder is an untapped principle for the design of functional protein-based biomaterials.

Background We sought to determine the role of abdominal reirradiation for patients presenting with recurrent or new primary gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. At our institution, we have established a hyperfractionated, accelerated reirradiation regimen consisting of 39 Gray (Gy) in 26 twice-daily fractions. Although this regimen is used frequently in the pelvis, we sought to determine its toxicity and efficacy for abdominal tumors. Methods Twenty-four patients who received abdominal reirradiation with a hyperfractionated, accelerated approach from 2000 to 2017 were identified. Overall survival (OS) and local progression-free survival (LPFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Several patient, tumor and treatment characteristics were evaluated on univariate analyses for association with OS and LPFS using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results Of the twenty-four patients identified, the majority (n = 11, 46%) had pancreatic adenocarcinoma as their primary disease but also included upper GI adenocarcinoma (n = 4), colon adenocarcinoma (n = 3), hepatobiliary cancers (n = 4) and other malignancies (n = 2). The majority of patients received 45–50.4Gy in 1.8Gy fractions as their initial abdominal radiation course. The median reirradiation dose was 39Gy in 26 twice-daily fractions with a minimum six hour interval. The median [interquartile range (IQR)] interval between the courses of radiotherapy was 28 [18.6–38.9] months. Only palliative reirradiation intent was associated with decreased OS. While colon adenocarcinoma primary was significantly associated with increased LPFS, the sample size was small (n = 3). The 1-yr rate of LPFS was 38%. The median [IQR] duration of freedom from local progression was 8 [3.8–19.2] months. The 1-year OS was 50% and the median (IQR) OS was 14 [6.3–19.6] months. Thirteen patients (54%) had acute side effects with one patient experiencing G3 nausea and one experiencing a G4 bleed; the remaining patients experienced G1-G2 symptoms. Conclusion Hyperfractionated, accelerated reirradiation to the abdomen was relatively well-tolerated but provided limited local control to recurrent or second primary abdominal malignancies. Reirradiation could play a role in treating these patients with palliative or curative intent, but alternative strategies for delivering increased biologically effective dose should be further explored.

Objective This comprehensive literature review summarizes reports on emergency department (ED) use by youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Data sources We conducted a systematic search of the PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and EMBASE databases (1985-2016), limited to studies published in English. The following search terms were used: autism, autistic, Asperger, emergency department/room/physician/doctor/treatment/medicine, childhood developmental disorders (pervasive), and emergencies. Study selection Our search found 332 articles, of which 12 specifically addressed ED services in ASD youth. Data extraction Abstracts or full text articles were reviewed for relevance. Case reports, review articles, and studies that reported on adults only or that included youth and adults but did not stratify results by age were excluded. Results Youth (aged 0-17 years) with ASD were up to 30 times more likely to present to the ED than youth without ASD. Individuals with ASD who visited the ED were older, more likely to have public insurance, and more likely to have nonurgent ED visits. For youth with ASD, up to 13% of visits were for behavioral or psychiatric problems, whereas for youth without ASD less than 2% were for psychiatric problems. ASD youth were more likely to present for externalizing problems or psychotic symptoms. Youth with ASD were also likely to have repeat visits to the ED and more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric unit or medical floor than youth without ASD. Conclusions This review found significant gaps in the literature related to ED service use by youth with ASD. More research is needed to avoid unnecessary ED utilization and hospitalization, reduce medical costs, and improve outcome for youth with ASD.

Background: Patient activation is an increasingly referenced concept in the self management of long term physical conditions. It refers to someone’s ability to take an active role in self-managing their health. There has been a substantial increase in the number of studies trailing interventions targeting patient activation in a variety of formats. The findings from this review will contribute to maximising the impact of current rheumatology interventions, and to increase the understanding of patient activation to develop a framework to describe its core components within a rheumatology context. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of interventions targeting patient activation in people with long-term conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: Studies that were randomised control trials of interventions targeting patient activation in adults with long term physical conditions were included in the review. PsycINFO, Medline, AMED, CINAHL, and ProQuest were searched during January 2017, as well as a variety of grey literature locations, snowballing and hand-searching to identify potential studies for inclusion. The Cochrane Collaboration’s Risk of Bias Tool was used to determine the methodological quality of included studies, and any differences were resolved by the two reviewers. Authors were contacted if any additional information was required to extract data or to clarify risk of bias. Results: 17 papers were included in the review. There was a great deal of heterogeneity in the types of interventions available targeting patient activation in a variety of populations, and a meta-analysis was not possible as a result. Interventions were delivered via face to face, telephone, internet and resource-based approaches. The studies also included a mix of group and individually delivered interventions. Outcome measures used also varied, including both direct and proxy measures for patient activation. The findings suggest that in studies with interventions that are more structured, there appear to be a trend towards differences in patient activation scores between groups in favour of the intervention. It is possible that these increases in patient activation may occur with an increase in health literacy, as the literature suggests an association between the two constructs. This is discussed in terms of a proposed model for patient activation for rheumatology. Conclusions: There is some initial evidence for the benefit of increasing structure in interventions targeting patient activation. There is no evidence for a medium of delivery that is most effective in people with long term conditions. Studies would benefit from reporting information about engagement and adherence to interventions to understand the mechanisms behind engaged participants becoming more active in managing their health. There is a need for increased research into patient activation within Rheumatology. Disclosure of Interest: None declared

Scandate cathodes have long attracted attention due to their higher emission current density, apparent low work function, and anticipated improved longevity comparing to conventional cathodes. However, scandate cathodes have not been applied as extensively as their potential would imply, due to many unresolved issues, one of them being the non-uniformity of emission from the cathode surface. One possible reason for this, namely uneven distribution of scandia on tungsten, is investigated here. By comparing the initial microstructure of tungsten- scandia powder to resulting sintered pellets, we have discovered that more complete scandia coverage corresponds to a larger number of scandia particles distributed on sintered tungsten. Nearly all samples, when prepared as sintered pellets, exhibited a work function of 5.1 eV, as measured with a Kelvin probe.

We have used electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) to instrument a demonstration tank containing kerosene and have successfully demonstrated that ECT can, in real time, (i) measure propellant mass to better than 1% of total in a range of gravity fields, (ii) image propellant distribution, and (iii) accurately track propellant centre of mass (CoM). We have shown that the ability to track CoM enables the determination of slosh forces, and we argue that this will result in disruptive changes in a propellant tank design and use in a spacecraft. Ground testing together with real-time slosh force data will allow an improved tank design to minimize and mitigate slosh forces, while at the same time keeping the tank mass to a minimum. Fully instrumented Smart Tanks will be able to provide force vector inputs to a spacecraft inertial navigation system; this in turn will (i) eliminate or reduce navigational errors, (ii) reduce wait time for uncertain slosh settling, since actual slosh forces will be known, and (iii) simplify slosh control hardware, hence reducing overall mass. ECT may be well suited to space borne liquid measurement applications. Measurements are independent of and unaffected by orientation or levels of g. The electronics and sensor arrays can be low in mass, and critically, the technique does not dissipate heat into the propellant, which makes it intrinsically safe and suitable for cryogenic liquids. Because of the limitations of operating in earth-bound gravity, it has not been possible to check the exact numerical accuracy of the slosh force acting on the vessel. We are therefore in the process of undertaking a further project to (i) build a prototype integrated “Smart Tank for Space”, (ii) undertake slosh tests in zero or microgravity, (iii) develop the system for commercial ground testing, and (iv) qualify ECT for use in space.

Interest in cohort effects in mortality data has increased dramatically in recent years, with much of the research focused on extensions of the Lee–Carter model incorporating cohort parameters. However, some studies find that these models are not robust to changes in the data or fitting algorithm, which limits their suitability for many purposes. It has been suggested that these robustness problems may be the result of an unresolved identifiability issue. In this paper, after investigating systemically the robustness of cohort extensions of the Lee–Carter model and the convergence of the algorithms used to fit it to data, we demonstrate the existence of such an identifiability issue and propose an additional approximate identifiability constraint which solves many of the problems found.

The Permian–Triassic mass extinction is postulated to be related to the rapid volcanism that produced the Siberian flood basalt (Traps). Unrelated volcanic eruptions producing several episodes of ash falls synchronous with the Siberian Traps are found in South China and Australia. Such regional eruptions could have caused wildfires, burning of coal deposits, and the dispersion of coal fly ash. These eruptions introduced a major influx of carbon into the atmosphere and oceans that can be recognized in the wall structure of foraminiferal tests present in survival populations in the boundary interval strata. Analysis of free specimens of foraminifers recovered from residues of conodont samples taken at a Permian–Triassic boundary section at Lung Cam in northern Vietnam has revealed the presence of a significant amount of elemental carbon, along with oxygen and silica, in their test wall structure, but an absence of calcium carbonate. These foraminifers, identified as Rectocornuspira kalhori, Cornuspira mahaj...

In this paper, a workflow consisting of a pico-second laser tool followed by a broad argon beam tool is proposed as a solution for extremely large area preparation with surfaces suitable for SEM and FIB based analysis directly after polishing in the broad argon beam tool. Results are presented discussing the advantages of this workflow in terms of speed, size and quality of the surface for electron microscopy analysis. The use of the broad argon beam tool to complete the process produces near perfect interfaces especially compared to mechanical preparation techniques on the multilayers with vastly different properties found in advanced packages. Additionally, the tool can be used for backside thinning and reducing front side delayering.

The gravity model of Dowd et al. (2011) was introduced in order to achieve coherent projections of mortality between two related populations. However, this model as originally formulated is not well-identified since it gives projections which depend on the arbitrary identifiability constraints imposed on the underlying mortality model when fitting it to data. In this paper, we discuss how the gravity model can be modified to give well-identified projections of mortality rates and how this result can be generalised to more complicated mortality models.

For many pension schemes, a shortage of data limits their ability to use sophisticated stochastic mortality models to assess and manage their exposure to longevity risk. In this study, we develop a mortality model designed for such pension schemes, which compares the evolution of mortality rates in a sub-population with that observed in a larger reference population. We apply this approach to data from the CMI Self-Administered Pension Scheme study, using U.K. population data as a reference. We then use the approach to investigate the potential differences in the evolution of mortality rates between these two populations and find that, in many practical situations, basis risk is much less of a problem than is commonly believed.

The Tabu Search (TS) metaheuristic has been proposed for K-Means clustering as an alternative to Lloyd's algorithm, which for all its ease of implementation and fast runtime, has the major drawback of being trapped at local optima. While the TS approach can yield superior performance, it involves a high computational complexity. Moreover, the difficulty in parameter selection in the existing TS approach does not make it any more attractive. This paper presents an alternative, low-complexity formulation of the TS optimization procedure for K-Means clustering. This approach does not require many parameter settings. We initially constrain the centers to points in the dataset. We then aim at evolving these centers using a unique neighborhood structure that makes use of gradient information of the objective function. This results in an efficient exploration of the search space, after which the means are refined. The proposed scheme is implemented in MATLAB and tested on four real-world datasets, and it achieves a significant improvement over the existing TS approach in terms of the intra cluster sum of squares and computational time., Comment: World Conference on Engineering and Computer Science

Interest in identifying a geological marker signifying the starting point for the Anthropocene has prompted an exploration of the stratigraphic record of inorganic particulates generated by industrial activities. Magnetic measurements of recent lake sediments and ombrotrophic peats are here used to reconstruct the history of deposition of inorganic fly-ash spheres resulting mainly from solid fuel combustion and metal smelting. The chronologies used have been based on moss-increment counting, radioisotope dating and pollen analysis. The sites come from the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and North America. In several cases where detailed chronologies of both fly-ash deposition and local industry can be compared, the sequence of concentration-linked magnetic measurements appears to capture accurately the record of industrial development despite incontrovertible evidence from other peat-based records for some selective dissolution of magnetic minerals. The dates at which magnetic concentration increases begin range from the 16th century in the peat profiles around the head of Morecambe Bay, South Cumbria, in North-West England where early iron manufacture using charcoal-fuelled bloomery hearths is well documented, to the mid-20th century at the remotest sites in Arctic Scandinavia. The lake sediment profiles used here come mainly from the United Kingdom and, in most cases, they date increases to the late 19th century or the first decades of the 20th century. Any attempt to use the magnetic record of fly-ash deposition in lake sediments and/or peats to mark the date chosen as the onset of the Anthropocene would require careful choice of site location and archive, bearing in mind the issue of selective magnetic mineral dissolution.

A new species of Thismia from New South Wales. A new species, Thismia megalongensis, is described, illustrated and compared with other Australian species. A key to Australian species of Thismia is included. Habitat details, the conservation status, and phylogenetic affinities of the new species are discussed.

Electrical capacitance tomography has a well-established reputation as a research tool and has been used in a number of industrial applications including dry solids flows, gas–liquid flows, and wet gas flows. Electrical capacitance tomography can give detailed flow structure information that has been experimentally validated against other techniques. Here, we focus on its use for measuring the detailed flow structure and overall mass flowrate of dispersed dry solids in gravity-drop flows. Electrical capacitance tomography–based flowmeters capable of being mass-produced and deployed into the commercial industrial environment are being developed, and prototypes are available, but none are yet in full-scale manufacture. Sensors of this type are being designed for applications in milling, power generation, and pneumatic transport. The same sensor technology may also be applied to measurements of gas–liquid flows in oilfield applications.

State-supported programs providing loans and scholarships in exchange for service in under-served areas provide an important source of financial support for medical students while encouraging them to select careers in primary care. The purpose of this research was to seek a better understanding of these often unheralded but important state sources of support, and learn if they have continued to grow in the twenty-first century. Administrative data were obtained on state-supported programs operating in 2008 that provided financial support to students, resident or practicing physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, dentists, and licensed mental healthcare providers in exchange for service in an underserved area. The authors identified numbers, types of state-supported programs, program workforce strength, and features of state programs. In 2008, 75 state programs, operating in 37 states, collectively had 5113 program participants under contract. Loan repayment programs (n = 42, 56%) were the most common type of state-supported programs. Practitioners signed initial contracts in 2008 totaled 1173, with more non-physicians (n = 681, 58%) signing initial contracts than physicians (n = 492, 42%). Additionally, 2803 practitioners were serving in programs in 2008. Field placement was also slightly greater among non-physicians in 2008 (n = 1433, 51%) than physicians (n = 1370, 49%). State support-for-service programs remains an important source of financial assistance for those willing to make service commitments in underserved areas. Moreover, these programs continue to increase in size, even amidst the economic malaise, and provide an obligated primary care workforce in underserved areas.

Magnetic Induction Tomography (MIT) is an imaging technology that measures changes in the electric properties of a sample located within the imaging region. Measurement of low conductivity contrasts such as biological tissue or ionised water flow in pipelines requires highly accurate systems due to the small amplitude of the measured signals. Optimisation of the sensors results in enhanced MIT performance. Geometric characteristics of MIT sensors impact the intensity of the electromagnetic field, and the inductive coupling between a) the sensors and b) the sensors and the medium. Three correlation models are derived here to help developers predict the relative performance of MIT systems for a given set of coil characteristics. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses are performed on a dataset from Finite Element Method (FEM) simulations to validate the significant relationship between the sensor geometry and three performance parameters. Correlations models are provided for prediction of induced voltage level, eddy currents and system sensitivity relative to the geometric characteristics of the sensors. The performance of the computed models is validated using a dataset of 180 coil designs and four electrical conductivities values. Predictions from the developed correlations are compared to reference data from simulations. Errors estimated for the predicted performance parameters together with the variance for each correlation are presented. The predicted data fitted the reference values within ±15%, showing reasonable accuracy of the models and a balanced variance-bias trade-off. It has been found that the performance of MIT systems is largely affected by the coil dimensions and the number of turns, as well as by the coil shape and wire diameter to a lesser degree.

Increasingly, Android smartphones are becoming more pervasive within the government and industry, despite the limited ways to detect malicious applications installed to these phones' operating systems. Although enterprise security mechanisms are being developed for use on Android devices, these methods cannot detect previously unknown malicious applications. As more sensitive enterprise information becomes available and accessible on these smartphones, the risk of data loss inherently increases. A malicious application's actions could potentially leave sensitive data exposed with little recourse. Without an effective corporate monitoring solution in place for these mobile devices, organizations will continue to lack the ability to determine when a compromise has occurred. This paper presents research that applies traditional digital forensic techniques to remotely monitor and audit Android smartphones. The smartphone sends changed file system data to a remote server, allowing for expensive forensic processing and the offline application of traditional tools and techniques rarely applied to the mobile environment. The research aims at ascertaining new ways of identifying malicious Android applications and ultimately attempts to improve the state of enterprise smartphone monitoring. An on-phone client, server, database, and analysis framework was developed and tested using real mobile malware. The results are promising that the developed detection techniques identify changes to important system partitions; recognize file system changes, including file deletions; and find persistence and triggering mechanisms in newly installed applications. It is believed that these detection techniques should be performed by enterprises to identify malicious applications affecting their phone infrastructure.

© 2017 The Authors. Journal of Biogeography Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Aim: Achlorophyllous mycoheterotrophic plants and mycorrhizal fungi often have highly specific interactions that potentially limit the plants’ distribution and diversification potential. However, specificity in biotic interactions may differ considerably over a species’ distribution range and therefore interactions need to be studied over their entire range to assess their evolution in space and time. The present study investigates the biogeographical history of the interaction between five closely related mycoheterotrophic Thismia species and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi over the distribution range of the plant species. Location: Temperate south-east Australia and New Zealand. Methods: Phylogenetic relationships of Thismia (nrITS and mtcob) and their arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (partial nrSSU) were reconstructed based on data from 65 plant specimens. The diversification times in Thismia were estimated with a Bayesian relaxed clock approach using a Dioscoreales framework (nrSSU, mtatp1, mtmatR, mtnad1 b-c). Ancestral geographical ranges were reconstructed using a maximum likelihood approach. The same approach was used to reconstruct ancestral mycorrhizal associations. Results: Our analysis shows that Thismia plants have highly specific, phylogenetically conserved and evolutionarily persistent interactions with Rhizophagus fungi. Nevertheless, Thismia was able to diversify and radiate recently due to the wide geographical distribution of the host fungi. In addition, we find that although the mycorrhizal interactions of this clade of mycoheterotrophs are strictly bound to a fungal lineage, host switches remain possible. Main conclusions: In this clade of closely related mycoheterotrophs, dependency on highly specific fungal interactions is the result of phylogenetic niche conservatism, acting over at least 12 million years. Nevertheless, plants that are dependent on highly specific fungal interactions have ample opportunities to disperse and radiate over the geographical range of their hosts. Our study highlights the need to link the ecology and evolution of species interactions over broad geographical and evolutionary scales for understanding mycorrhizal interactions. ispartof: Journal of Biogeography vol:44 issue:8 pages:1869-1879 status: published

The adverse health effects resulting from exposure to contaminated soil on internally displaced populations in Mitrovica, Kosovo can be determined by how the potentially harmful elements are bound in the soils. Certainly this was the case for Pb, present at concentrations ranging from 624 to 46,900 mg/kg, and at bioaccessibilities ranging

Since the introduction of micro total analytical systems (μTASs), significant advances have been made toward development of lab-on-a-chip platforms capable of performing complex biological assays that can revolutionize public health, among other applications. However, use of these platforms in low-resource environments (e.g. developing countries) has yet to be realized as the majority of technologies used to control microfluidic flow rely on off-device hardware with non-negligible size, cost, power requirements and skill/training to operate. In this paper we describe a magnetic-adhesive based valve that is simple to construct and operate, and can be used to control fluid flow and store reagents within a microfluidic device. The design consists of a port connecting two chambers on different planes in the device that is closed by a neodymium disk magnet seated on a thin ring of adhesive. Bringing an external magnet into contact with the outer surface of the device unseats and displaces the valve magnet from the adhesive ring, exposing the port. Using this configuration, we demonstrate on-device reagent storage and on-demand transport and reaction of contents between chambers. This design requires no power or external instrumentation to operate, is extremely low cost ($0.20 materials cost per valve), can be used by individuals with no technical training, and requires only a hand-held magnet to actuate. Additionally, valve actuation does not compromise the integrity of the completely sealed microfluidic device, increasing safety for the operator when toxic or harmful substances are contained within. This valve concept has the potential to simplify design of μTASs, facilitating development of lab-on-a-chip systems that may be practical for use in point-of-care and low-resource settings.

A description is given of how Focal Point Gallery’s (FPG) new building (in Southend-on-Sea, Essex) was conceived in terms of its practical effectiveness in addressing tensions between local and global, utopian, social and political thought, through the commissioning of permanent and temporary artworks – by Marc Camille Chaimowicz, Scott King, Mike Nelson, Elizabeth Price, Allen Rupperberg, Tris Vonna-Michell and Lawrence Weiner – via an ethical curatorial approach involving affirmative modes of criticality. This includes an account of distribution strategies used for FPG’s printed publicity as an artistic program in its own right, and the various platforms, channels and spaces of editorial circulation that informed this curatorial approach.

This report attempts to assess the advantages and disadvantages of medical underwriting and its potential impact on the bulk annuity market generally. We start by looking at the theoretical justifications for using underwriting, in terms of whether more data leads to lower prices on average, both in the wider context of insurance and then as applied to medical underwriting in bulk annuity policies in particular. The rest of the report then discusses the evolution of medically-underwritten bulk annuities to date and the competitive pressures currently operating in the marketplace; the factors needing to be considered when deciding whether to purchase a medically-underwritten bulk annuity; the processes involved in a medically-underwritten transaction, in terms of collecting the data and deciding which insurer to work with; and the potential evolution of the bulk annuity market generally in the foreseeable future, and the impact of medical underwriting within that.

For many pension schemes, a shortage of data limits their abilityto use sophisticated stochastic mortality models to assess and managetheir longevity risk. In this study, we develop a relative model formortality, which compares the evolution of mortality rates in a sub-population with that observed in a larger reference population. Weapply this relative approach to data from the CMI Self-AdministeredPension Scheme study, using UK population data as a reference. Wethen use the relative approach to investigate the potential differencesin the evolution of mortality rates between these two populations andfind that, in many practical situations, basis risk is much less of aproblem than is commonly believed.

Associations between Pb, Zn, Fe and Mn in soils and indoor dusts in urban Syracuse, NY have been investigated at different levels of spatial aggregation. The concentrations of these elements of interest (EOI) in 3566 soil samples were mapped across the city to investigate variations in concentration potentially associated with specific city locations. Indoor floor dust loadings for the EOI determined at 433 residences were mapped in a similar fashion. Pearson product correlation coefficients at different levels of soil sample aggregation (individual sampling points, block group averages, and census tract (CT) averages), consistently demonstrated a strong correlation between soil Pb and Zn concentrations. Correlations between Pb and both Fe and Mn soil concentrations were also significant. However, the correlation between the Fe and Mn floor dust loadings was much stronger than that for soil, as were the correlations between the Pb and both the Fe and Mn dust loadings. The correlation between the Fe and Zn floor dust loadings was far less significant. Surprisingly, most of the correlations between the paired EOI in the dusts and soils at the individual homes were mostly not statistically significant. The two correlations of any significance, and these were between the Pb in soil and the Pb in the dust, and between Pb in dust and Zn in soil. The strongest association was between Pb concentration in soil and Pb loading in dust which suggests that Pb in soil is a major source for Pb in indoor dust in urban Syracuse. Differences in the concentrations between the Pb in soil and dust implied the possibility of an indoor source of Pb in a number of the homes. Levels of Pb in dust aggregated at the CT level correlated with a range of socioeconomic variables. Census tracts of lower socioeconomic status also had higher average dust loadings in homes. Not only did soil Pb apparently have a significant influence on indoor dust Pb but socioeconomic status was also a significantly associated.

The Syracuse, NY, AUDIT (Assessment of Urban Dwellings for Indoor Toxics) study was designed to quantify asthma agent levels in the inner-city homes of a birth cohort whose mothers had a diagnosis of asthma. Risk of exposure to particulate matter (PM), particle number and tobacco smoke was assessed in 103 infants' homes. Repeat measurements were made in 44% of the homes. Infants also were examined on a quarterly basis during the first year of life to monitor their respiratory health and urine cotinine levels. Overall geometric mean (GM) values for PM2.5 of 21.2 μg/m3 and for PM10 of 31.8 μg/m3 were recorded in homes at visit 1. GM values for PM2.5 and PM10 in smoking homes were higher at 26.3 and 37.7 μg/m3, while values in non-smoking homes were 12.7 and 21.2 μg/m3 respectively. Fifty-four percent of mothers (55/103) smoked at some point in pregnancy (39% smoked throughout pregnancy). Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure occurred in 68% of homes during the infants' first year. Significant to this study was the size- and time-resolved monitoring of PM at 140 home visits and the classification of PM count data. PM number counts ranged from continuously low levels (little indoor activity) to continuously high counts (constant indoor activity), and recorded apparent instances of prolonged repeated cigarette smoking. Wheezing in the first year of life was recorded for 38% of the infants (39/103). Adjusted logistic regression modeling demonstrated that elevated levels of indoor PM2.5 (≥15 μg/m3) were a significant risk factor for infant wheezing after controlling for infant gender, mothers' age and education level, season of home visit and presence of carpeting (OR 4.21; 95% CI 1.36–13.03; p=0.013). An elevated level of the nicotine metabolite cotinine in infant urine also was associated with infant wheezing after adjusting for infant gender, mothers' age and education level (OR 5.10; 95% CI 0.96–27.24; p=0.057). ETS exposure was pervasive in the AUDIT cohort and a risk for developing infants in this urban population. Keywords: Particulate matter, Infants, Asthma, Smoking, Inner-city