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Presently, limited guidance is available to the industry on best practices for managing the integrity of weathervaning systems for floating assets. Weathervaning systems include internal and external turrets, tower yoke turrets and loading/offloading buoys. Components that make up these systems (i.e., bearings, lubrication systems, swivels, leak recovery systems, connection and release systems) are critical to the weathervaning capability of offshore Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) Systems (hereon collectively referred to as Floating Production Systems or FPS) as well as loading/offloading buoy systems. They are also critical to maintaining production and disconnection/reconnection to avoid extreme events. To maintain these complex systems, a multi-discipline offshore integrity team (e.g., process, mechanical, electrical and structural) is required. As a result of these complexities, it is often challenging for offshore operators to understand all the subsystems and manage the long-term integrity. Recognizing this limitation, the American Petroleum Institute (API) commissioned a project to develop guidance on managing the integrity of weathervaning systems. The resulting new API technical report addresses this limitation by providing information from OEMs, and operators on the various component functions, complexities, deterioration mechanisms along with guidance on typical activities required to maintain integrity. This paper describes the development, industry engagement and content of the new API guidance document for weathervaning systems integrity management (IM).

A wealth of correlational evidence suggests that Broca’s area (the left inferior frontal gyrus) plays a role in second language acquisition. With the use of highly focal non-invasive brain stimulation, evidence for a targeted brain region’s causal role in some cognitive behavior can be assessed. Over three sessions, each one week apart, we used online anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over Broca’s area during a novel foreign grammar training session. During training, participants who were naïve to Spanish were tasked with acquiring present tense conjugation rules for the three Spanish verb endings. In Session 1, we observed significant improvement in performance in two linguistic (reception and production) tasks but not in a non-linguistic (working memory) task. Sessions 2 and 3 were subject to a ceiling effect, which obscured any potentially long-lasting effects of the stimulation. We interpret these results as support for the idea that Broca’s area has languagelike specificity that is not limited to receptive or productive processes and as evidence that Broca’s area plays a causal role in foreign grammar acquisition.

Experimental psychology has long discussed the modality effect, whereby the stimulus modality significantly affects retention of the information presented. In neurolinguistics, however, the effect of stimulus modality on language processing has gained little attention. We conducted a multi-modal event-related potential (ERP) experiment on both native and non-native Spanish speakers to investigate the possibility of a neurophysiological modality effect in language processing. Using morphosyntactically violated and orthographically/phonologically violated stimuli, we elicited a robust N400 and P600 in native speakers. We showed that the N400 has consistent features across modalities, while the P600 has modality-specific features. Specifically, the auditory evoked P600 was characterized by a more gradual slope and a later peak than the visual evoked P600. We discuss this in detail along with other modality effects observed post sensory perception. Among second language (L2) learner groups, those with higher proficiency exhibited more nativelike neurophysiological responses in both modalities when compared to those with lower proficiency. We additionally observed fewer modality-specific differences in low proficiency learners than in higher proficiency learners suggesting that modality-specific specialization in language processing comes with increased proficiency. We further discuss the question of modality-specific differences in the process of neurophysiological nativization, whereby L2 learners’ ERPs become increasingly on nativelike.

Sedimentary charcoal records are widely used to reconstruct regional changes in fire regimes through time in the geological past. The Reading Palaeofire Database (RPD) represents the most comprehensive compilation of sedimentary charcoal data currently available. It contains 1673 individual charcoal records from 1480 sites worldwide, with sufficient metadata to allow for the appropriate selection of sites to address specific questions. Most of the records have new age models, made by re-calibrating the radiocarbon ages using INTCAL2020 and Bayesian age-modelling software. In this talk we will show how these data are being used to document changing fire regimes during the Late Quaternary and to explore how fire regimes have responded to changes in climate, vegetation and human activities. We will demonstrate the progress that has been made to calibrate the charcoal records and make quantitative estimates of fire properties. We will also explore how these data can be used to evaluate and benchmark process-based fire-enabled models. Finally, we will highlight opportunities to use the palaeo-record together with models to explore fire regimes and their consequences for land-surface processes, biogeochemical cycles and climate.

This research has been supported by the Leverhulme Trust (grant no. RC-2018-023), the European Research Council (grant no. 694481), the German Research Foundation (grant no. FE-1096/6-1), the Swiss Government Excellence Postdoctoral Scholarships (grant no. FIRECO 2016.0310), the National Science Centre of Poland (grant no. 2015/17/B/ST10/01656), the SCIEX Scholarship Fund (grant no. PSPB-013/2010), and the Estonian Research Council (grant no. MOBJD313)., Sedimentary charcoal records are widely used to reconstruct regional changes in fire regimes through time in the geological past. Existing global compilations are not geographically comprehensive and do not provide consistent metadata for all sites. Furthermore, the age models provided for these records are not harmonised and many are based on older calibrations of the radiocarbon ages. These issues limit the use of existing compilations for research into past fire regimes. Here, we present an expanded database of charcoal records, accompanied by new age models based on recalibration of radiocarbon ages using IntCal20 and Bayesian age-modelling software. We document the structure and contents of the database, the construction of the age models, and the quality control measures applied. We also record the expansion of geographical coverage relative to previous charcoal compilations and the expansion of metadata that can be used to inform analyses. This first version of the Reading Palaeofire Database contains 1676 records (entities) from 1480 sites worldwide. The database (RPDv1b – Harrison et al., 2021) is available at https://doi.org/10.17864/1947.000345., Leverhulme Trust RC-2018-023, European Research Council (ERC) European Commission 694481, German Research Foundation (DFG) FE-1096/6-1, Swiss Government Excellence Postdoctoral Scholarships FIRECO 2016.0310, SCIEX Scholarship Fund PSPB-013/2010, Estonian Research Council MOBJD313

Sedimentary charcoal records are widely used to reconstruct regional changes in fire regimes through time in the geological past. Existing global compilations are not geographically comprehensive and do not provide consistent metadata for all sites. Furthermore, the age models provided for these records are not harmonised and many are based on older calibrations of the radiocarbon ages. These issues limit the use of existing compilations for research into past fire regimes. Here, we present an expanded database of charcoal records, accompanied by new age models based on recalibration of radiocarbon ages using INTCAL2020 and Bayesian age-modelling software. We document the structure and contents of the database, the construction of the age models, and the quality control measures applied. We also record the expansion of geographical coverage relative to previous charcoal compilations and the expansion of metadata that can be used to inform analyses. This first version of the Reading Palaeofire Database contains 1681 records (entities) from 1477 sites worldwide. The database (DOI: 10.17864/1947.319) is available from https://researchdata.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/319.

As an end-member of terrestrial planet formation, Mercury holds unique clues about the original distribution of elements in the earliest stages of solar system development and how planets and exoplanets form and evolve in close proximity to their host stars. The importance of in situ measurements via a landed mission to Mercury was recognized by the 2013–2022 Decadal Survey, and again with its selection for a Planetary Mission Concept Study in support of the 2023–2032 Decadal Survey. Mercury is the only inner planet unexplored by a landed spacecraft; landing on Mercury is uniquely challenging due to the large $\Delta\mathrm{V}$ requirements and extreme thermal environment for such a mission. This paper describes the mission concept design that meets those challenges by leveraging recent technology advances including increased launch vehicle performance capability, further development and use of solar electric propulsion (SEP), and Next-Generation radioisotope thermoelectric generator (NextGen RTG) development. These advances enable a New-Frontiers-class mission concept which achieves one full Mercury year (∼88 Earth days) of surface operations with an 11-instrument, high-heritage payload that is delivered to a landing site within Mercury's widely distributed low-reflectance material, and addresses science goals encompassing geochemistry, geophysics, the Mercury space environment, and geology. The mission concept presented here addresses the primary challenges of a Mercury Lander mission with a four-stage design that launches on an expendable Falcon Heavy vehicle. Mass savings are enabled through jettisoning of stages prior to large burns and optimization of propulsion systems for each phase: cruise, orbit, initial descent, and landing. The flight system utilizes an SEP cruise stage to reach Mercury and jettisons this stage prior to the Mercury orbit insertion (MOI) burn. MOI and orbit-lowering maneuvers are executed with a large bipropellant propulsion system on an orbital stage. During the orbital phase, a narrow-angle camera acquires images for final selection of a low-hazard landing zone within the region of interest. The orbital stage is jettisoned just prior to descent. A solid rocket motor (SRM) descent stage executes the braking burn, and final landing is performed following SRM burnout and jettison with the Lander's bipropellant propulsion system and continuous LIDAR operations to support hazard detection. Landing occurs at dusk to meet thermal requirements, permitting ∼30 hours of sunlight for initial observations. The NextGen RTG powered lander continues operations through the Mercury night. Direct-to-Earth (DTE) communication is available for the initial three weeks of landed operations, unavailable for the following six weeks, and resumes for the final month. Thermal conditions exceed lander operating temperatures shortly after sunrise, ending operations. A total of ∼11 GB of data are returned to Earth.

For decades, researchers have tried to understand how to guide students to both pursue and excel in a career in the fields science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Recently, creativity has been recognized as being important in STEM-based fields and some researchers have even suggested a shift from STEM to STEAM to account for the artistic side of science ( Boy, 2013 ; Henriksen, 2014 ). Creative capacities augment scientific endeavors given the role these capacities play in problem-solving and innovation. Our work focuses on identifying a method to improve both creativity and spatial abilities, as spatial ability predicts the likelihood to succeed in a STEM field ( Wai et al., 2009 ). Some scientists found that making computer games provides students with an introduction to computer science and technology through an engaging, self-driven platform. While this technique has been successful in sparking interest in STEM careers ( Javidi & Sheybani, 2010 ; Robertson & Howells, 2008 ), little research has been conducted on how it impacts STEM success. We examined if game-making could lead to cognitive improvement in creativity and spatial abilities in addition to its attitudinal effects. Using a longitudinal, pretest/post-test design, we found that making levels in Portal 2 improved creative and spatial abilities over a control. Participants who made levels also reported being more interested and confident in a variety of STEM-related activities. We conclude that game-making can be used as an engaging way to not only encourage students to pursue, but prepare them to succeed in STEM careers.

This paper seeks to illuminate the multiple ways in which South–South collaboration may reorganize knowledge production and learning processes across scales and beyond the unilateral transfer of expertise. Drawing on empirical evidence from a knowledge exchange partnership between water and sanitation operators in Salta, Argentina, and Brasília, Brazil, we provide a grounded, contextual account of the partnership to examine what was learned, under what circumstances, and with what potential effects. We contend that common claims by proponents of South–South cooperation around the centrality of shared geopolitical history are not enough to understand South–South cooperation at the project level. At this scale, we find that other forms of proximity, including organizational, linguistic, technological, and cultural, also matter in shaping the constitution of collaborative partnerships and the forms of learning that occur through them. In the case that we examine, partners’ multiple shared proximities resulted in a subversion of traditional mentor–mentee relations and emergence of a process of mutual learning. Further, we suggest that flows of knowledge in the partnership can be characterized across a learning spectrum, from technical and processual learning to experiential understanding and self-reflection, each with different consequences for institutional and material change at different scales. Crucially, such forms of learning bolstered participants’ bargaining power for implementing improvements at home and fostered advances in operators’ tactical thinking.

The NASA Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a technology demonstration mission that will test the kinetic impactor technique on a binary near-Earth asteroid system, Didymos. Didymos is an ideal target, since the 780 m primary, Didymos A, is well characterized, and the 163 m secondary, Didymos B, is sufficiently small to allow measurement of the kinetic deflection. Didymos also represents the population of Near Earth Objects that are the asteroids most likely to pose a near-term threat to Earth. Scheduled to launch in June 2021, the DART spacecraft will autonomously intercept Didymos B in October 2022, altering the orbit period of Didymos B with respect to Didymos A. The impact will occur when the Earth-Didymos range is close enough to allow observation by Earth-based optical and radio telescopes. The spacecraft will be guided to the impact by its on-board autonomous real-time system Small-body Maneuvering Autonomous Real-Time Navigation (SMART Nav). In addition, DART is carrying a 6U CubeSat provided by Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI). The CubeSat will provide imagery documentation of the impact, as well as in situ observation of the impact site and resultant ejecta plume. The development is currently in Phase C, with mission Critical Design Review (CDR) planned for summer 2019. It is a substantial challenge to navigate the DART spacecraft to a hypervelocity impact with the Didymos secondary. The DART spacecraft will carry an ion propulsion system with the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster Commercial (NEXT-C)engine, which provides flexibility in trajectory design to achieve the desired Didymos arrival conditions. The trajectory maximizes the asteroid deflection with an arrival velocity of 6 km/s relative to Didymos-B, while maintaining a proximity to Earth that allows both observation of the impact, and sufficient communication gain to recover imagery of the target upon the approach. Additionally, NEXT-C allows the mission an opportunity to fly by another asteroid and characterize SMART Nav performance seven months prior to its use for the Didymos impact. The DART spacecraft carries 22 m2 solar arrays to generate the ~3.5 kW needed to power the NEXT-C engine. These long arrays introduce substantial flexible body motion to the spacecraft. This motion must be managed carefully to maintain the DART narrow angle camera on the target asteroid, even while performing the necessary autonomous ΔV maneuvers required to intercept the target. Guidance to Didymos B is further complicated by having to switch targets late in the approach, as SMART Nav must target the primary asteroid initially, as the secondary is too small to be resolved by the narrow angle camera until ~1 hour prior to impact. Shadowing of both primary and secondary set by arrival lighting makes it challenging to impact at the center of Didymos B. The spacecraft streams images back to Earth in real time, up until impact.

Climate change is leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, putting years of progress in developing countries at risk. The emerging discourse at the international policy level calls for a ‘resilience-based’ response to climate adaptation and infrastructure planning. This paper reviews the relevance of resilience theory in the context of infrastructure in developing countries and finds that ‘resilience thinking’ offers a way to improve engineers’ understanding of the adaptation needs of vulnerable communities. The paper develops a conceptual framework based on resilience thinking, and applies it to the case of a vulnerable coastal community in Honduras where primary fieldwork was undertaken to assess infrastructure planning. The analysis exposes the unintended consequences of traditional planning that exacerbates climate vulnerability and adversely impacts the long-term preparedness of vulnerable communities. Civil engineering scholars and practitioners concerned with sustainable development in developing countries may gain a superior understanding of climate adaptation by integrating resilience thinking into infrastructure planning.

Carrier-based linear transport sputter deposition systems are routinely used in the silicon photovoltaic (PV) cell industry owing to the demonstrated usefulness of such systems in the High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) of silicon PV cells, where throughputs of thousands of wafers per hour are expected, and where Cost-of-Ownership (COO) differences of pennies per PV wafer can make or break a manufacturer. The metals being sputter deposited for silicon PV cells are typically some combination of Ti, TiW, Al, and Cu — the same materials that the Advanced Packaging industry uses for barrier/seed structures in Cu Redistribution Layers (RDL). In Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging (FOWLP) today, cluster tool architectures from front-end semiconductor fabrication are the Process-of-Record (POR) configuration for RDL barrier and seed deposition. We present here details about barrier/seed layer processes for Fan-Out RDL developed on a carrier-based linear transport Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) system, including metal film uniformity, sheet resistance, and film adhesion results for both 300mm round fan-out wafers and for 600mm × 600mm square fan-out panels. We also present our analysis of system throughput, PVD target utilization, and overall COO, as compared to the metrics characteristic of a typical PVD cluster tool.

While most adaptation actions occur at the local level, there is an absence of commitment at the international level to channel adaptation finance to local communities. Without such a commitment, there is a risk that climate finance will continue to support top-down, centralized activities that may struggle to address the needs of vulnerable communities. This paper explores ways in which community-based adaptation is presently being mainstreamed through the multilateral funds that are used to channel adaptation finance under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change process, and points to two promising examples that demonstrate this. The first is the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environmental Facility, an established modality through which community organizations can access finance to manage their adaptation needs. The second is the direct access modality of the Adaptation Fund, which devolves decision-making power from multilateral agencies towards the national and local levels. A...

In order to increase adaptive capacity and empower people to cope with their changing environment, it is imperative to develop decision-support tools that help people understand and respond to challenges and opportunities. Some such tools have emerged in response to social and economic shifts in light of anticipated climatic change. Climate change will play out at the local level, and adaptive behaviours will be influenced by local resources and knowledge. Community-based insights are essential building blocks for effective planning. However, in order to mainstream and scale up adaptation, it is useful to have mechanisms for evaluating the benefits and costs of candidate adaptation strategies. This article reviews relevant literature and presents an argument in favour of using various modelling tools directed at these considerations. The authors also provide evidence for the balancing of qualitative and quantitative elements in assessments of programme proposals considered for financing through mechanisms...

A growing number of cities are preparing for climate change impacts by developing adaptation plans. However, little is known about how these plans and their implementation affect the vulnerability of the urban poor. We critically assess initiatives in eight cities worldwide and find that land use planning for climate adaptation can exacerbate socio-spatial inequalities across diverse developmental and environmental conditions. We argue that urban adaptation injustices fall into two categories: acts of commission, when interventions negatively affect or displace poor communities, and acts of omission, when they protect and prioritize elite groups at the expense of the urban poor.

OBJECTIVE: Present and evaluate the currently available literature reporting on the effectiveness of adenotonsillectomy (T/A) in treating obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in uncomplicated pediatric patients.STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis of the reduction of the polysomnogram (PSG)-measured Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI events/hour) resulting from T/A and the overall success rate of T/A in normalizing PSG measurements (%).RESULTS: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Mean sample size was 28. All were case series (level 4 evidence). The summary change in AHI was a reduction of 13.92 events per hour (random effects model 95% CI 10.05–17.79, P < 0.001) from T/A. The summary success rate of T/A in normalizing PSG was 82.9% (random effects model 95% CI 76.2%–89.5%, P < 0.001).CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: T/A is effective in the treatment of OSAHS. However, success rates are far below 100%, which could have far-reaching pediatric public health con...

A whole-body bone scan was performed to search for undetected fractures in forty-eight patients who had multiple injuries or a head injury, or both, and who were less than twenty-two years old. The study took place from January 1991 to July 1992. Radiographs had been made of all areas of suspected skeletal trauma at the time of admission. Follow-up plain radiographs were made of all areas where unexpected abnormal tracer activity was noted. Forty-two of these areas were noted in eighteen skeletally immature patients and fifty-two, in twelve skeletally mature patients. Nineteen previously unrecognized fractures were identified in the subsequent radiographic analysis. Four skeletally immature and two skeletally mature patients had an alteration in treatment on the basis of the identification of a previously undiagnosed injury. Each of these six patients had a cast applied. A fracture was identified three weeks or more after the injury in two skeletally mature patients. These fractures would have been treated (one with a cast and the other with open reduction and internal fixation) if they had been diagnosed earlier. We believe that this analysis demonstrates the usefulness of technetium radionucleotide bone-imaging, as an adjuvant to the orthopaedic examination, in the identification of undiagnosed musculoskeletal injuries in a patient who is less that twenty-two years old and who has sustained a head injury or multiple injuries, or both.

This article describes the anatomy and embryology of the thyroid and parathyroid glands and the recurrent laryngeal nerve, discussing how the anatomy affects function and dysfunction of the glands.

Neurotransmitter release at many central synapses is initiated by an influx of calcium ions through P/Q-type calcium channels1,2, which are densely localized in nerve terminals3. Because neurotransmitter release is proportional to the fourth power of calcium concentration4,5, regulation of its entry can profoundly influence neurotransmission. N- and P/Q-type calcium channels are inhibited by G proteins6,7, and recent evidence indicates feedback regulation of P/Q-type channels by calcium8. Although calcium-dependent inactivation of L-type channels is well documented9,10,11, little is known about how calcium modulates P/Q-type channels. Here we report a calcium-dependent interaction between calmodulin and a novel site in the carboxy-terminal domain of the α1A subunit of P/Q-type channels. In the presence of low concentrations of intracellular calcium chelators, calcium influx through P/Q-type channels enhances channel inactivation, increases recovery from inactivation and produces a long-lasting facilitation of the calcium current. These effects are prevented by overexpression of a calmodulin-binding inhibitor peptide and by deletion of the calmodulin-binding domain. Our results reveal an unexpected association of Ca2+/calmodulin with P/Q-type calcium channels that may contribute to calcium-dependent synaptic plasticity.

An acetate-enriched methanogenic culture was assayed for nutritional stimulation by nickel in combination with other inorganic and organic nutrients, i.e. iron, cobalt, yeast extract, riboflavin and vitamin B12. Acetate was automatically maintained at 2–3 g l−1 by a pH Stat system so that substrate was not limiting. In the absence of nickel, the specific acetate utilization rates were in the range of 2–4.6 g acetate g−1 VSS day−1. In the presence of nickel, this rate was as high as 10 and when both nickel and yeast extract were supplemented this rate temporarily increased to 12–15 g acetate g−1 VSS day−1 . The maximum acetate utilization rate was observed to be 51 g l−1 day−1 as compared to 3.3 g l−1 day−1 for conventional high-rate digestion. Daily phosphate additions were required to sustain these high acetate utilization rates. An acetate utilization rate of 20–30 g l−1 day−1 was maintained for over 25 days. Microscopic examination of the culture revealed a predominance of a sarcina whenever stimulation was noted.

U-Tube aeration has received considerable attention recently as part of a modification of the activated sludge process called “Deep Shaft” treatment. Presently there is only limited data on aeration characteristics of deep U-Tubes showing the effect of velocity, depth and gas/water injection ratios. This study determined the increase in dissolved oxygen, the oxygen absorption efficiency and the head loss across a 0.1 m diameter U-Tube for the following parameters: Velocity 0.9, 1.4, 1.8 m/s Depth 12, 30, 61, 103 m. Oxygen 4, 7 1/2, 25 percent O2/water ratio Air 5, 15, 25 percent air/water ratio Tap water was passed through the system for all of the above parametric conditions. In addition, 5 mg/1 of an anionic detergent was injected into the tap water to simulate domestic wastewater as recommended by the British. Also, in other tests, 100 mg/1 of Bentonite clay was injected into the tap water to simulate the colloids in domestic wastewater which provide nuclei for effervescence of supersaturated dissolved gases. Air injection at 25% air/water ratio indicated considerable improvement in Δ D. O. Using tap water a change from 30 to 61 m. depth caused the Δ D. O. to increase from 11 mg/1 to 17 mg/1. When pure oxygen was injected, however, at 25% oxygen/water ratio at 30 m. depth, the Δ D. O. was 68 mg/1 and increased to 95 mg/1 at 61 m. Negligible increases were noted in Δ D. O. at 103 m. depth. Over the velocity range investigated (0.9 to 1.8 m/s) there was no significant effect on Δ D.O. The maximum absorption efficiency for pure oxygen at 7.5% O2/water was observed to be 52% in the 103 meter deep U-Tube, demonstrating that the U-Tube requires capture and recycle of the off-gases if it is to be used in an efficient manner as the absorption system for an oxygen activated sludge system. The maximum oxygen transfer economy with air injection was 4 kg O2/kw-hr with 15% air/water injection ratio at 61 m. depth producing an effluent containing 21 mg/1 D.O. (Δ D. O. = 15 mg/1 220% saturation). The estimated total cost, amortization and operation, per ton of oxygen absorbed from air would be $23/ton of oxygen compared with $42/ton of oxygen using surface aerators which can produce only 2 to 4 mg/1 of D.O. in the discharge. The estimated total cost to absorb commercial oxygen at 90% absorption efficiency was $6.50/ton. Deep U-Tubes offer excellent potential as energy and cost efficient oxygen transfer systems. However, the optimal depth appears to be approximately 40 to 60 m. for air injection and 25 to 60 m. for oxygen.