Experimentation and modelling of near field explosions

Repeatable experimental results and numerical work has shown that using the Jones-Wilkins-Lee (JWL) equation of state (EOS) will give very accurate results of peak pressures and impulse delivered to a rigid target at large scaled distances. However, recent experiments/numerical modelling at small scaled distances show that the JWL will overpredict peak pressures and impulse due to the assumption of (near) instantaneous energy release from detonation. The results of this experimental/numerical study are presented herein. In the experimental work PE4 spheres at two different scaled distances have been tested using an array of Hopkinson Pressure Bars (HPB) at specific points on a rigid target to measure the local pressure-time histories. From the HPB measurements, it appears that below certain scaled distances there are chemical-physical mechanisms that do not have sufficient time to contribute to the energy driving the loading mechanisms, explaining the over-prediction of the JWL. Importantly though, the experimental results show that at very small scaled distances (0.172 m/kg1/3) the test to test percentage variation is very low (5.1%); whilst at larger scaled distances (0.819 m/kg1/3) it is much higher (23.1%). This paper presents a model which describes the process by which experimental results move from repeatable to variable to repeatable as scaled distance increases from the extreme near field to far field

sscMap: An extensible Java application for connecting small-molecule drugs using gene-expression signatures

Background: Connectivity mapping is a process to recognize novel pharmacological and toxicological properties in small molecules by comparing their gene expression signatures with others in a database. A simple and robust method for connectivity mapping with increased specificity and sensitivity was recently developed, and its utility demonstrated using experimentally derived gene signatures. Results: This paper introduces sscMap (statistically significant connections' map), a Java application designed to undertake connectivity mapping tasks using the recently published method. The software is bundled with a default collection of reference gene-expression profiles based on the publicly available dataset from the Broad Institute Connectivity Map 02, which includes data from over 7000 Affymetrix microarrays, for over 1000 small-molecule compounds, and 6100 treatment instances in 5 human cell lines. In addition, the application allows users to add their custom collections of reference profiles and is applicable to a wide range of other 'omics technologies. Conclusions: The utility of sscMap is two fold. First, it serves to make statistically significant connections between a user-supplied gene signature and the 6100 core reference profiles based on the Broad Institute expanded dataset. Second, it allows users to apply the same improved method to custom-built reference profiles which can be added to the database for future referencing. The software can be freely downloaded from http://purl.oclc.org/NET/sscMapComment: 3 pages, 1 table, 1 eps figur

A simple and robust method for connecting small-molecule drugs using gene-expression signatures

Interaction of a drug or chemical with a biological system can result in a gene-expression profile or signature characteristic of the event. Using a suitably robust algorithm these signatures can potentially be used to connect molecules with similar pharmacological or toxicological properties. The Connectivity Map was a novel concept and innovative tool first introduced by Lamb et al to connect small molecules, genes, and diseases using genomic signatures [Lamb et al (2006), Science 313, 1929-1935]. However, the Connectivity Map had some limitations, particularly there was no effective safeguard against false connections if the observed connections were considered on an individual-by-individual basis. Further when several connections to the same small-molecule compound were viewed as a set, the implicit null hypothesis tested was not the most relevant one for the discovery of real connections. Here we propose a simple and robust method for constructing the reference gene-expression profiles and a new connection scoring scheme, which importantly allows the valuation of statistical significance of all the connections observed. We tested the new method with the two example gene-signatures (HDAC inhibitors and Estrogens) used by Lamb et al and also a new gene signature of immunosuppressive drugs. Our testing with this new method shows that it achieves a higher level of specificity and sensitivity than the original method. For example, our method successfully identified raloxifene and tamoxifen as having significant anti-estrogen effects, while Lamb et al's Connectivity Map failed to identify these. With these properties our new method has potential use in drug development for the recognition of pharmacological and toxicological properties in new drug candidates.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, and 2 tables; supplementary data supplied as a ZIP fil

Finite element simulation of plates under non-uniform blast loads using a point-load method: Buried explosives

There are two primary challenges associated with assessing the adequacy of a protective structure to resist explosive events: firstly the spatial variation of load acting on a target must be predicted to a sufficient level of accuracy; secondly, the response of the target to this load must also be quantified. When a high explosive is shallowly buried in soil, the added confinement given by the geotechnical material results in a blast which is predominantly directed vertically. This imparts an extremely high magnitude, spatially non-uniform load on the target structure. A recently commissioned experimental rig designed by the authors has enabled direct measurements of the blast load resulting from buried explosive events. These direct measurements have been processed using an in-house interpolation routine which evaluates the load acting over a regular grid of points. These loads can then be applied as the nodal-point loads in a finite element model. This paper presents results from a series of experiments where a free-flying plate was suspended above a shallow buried explosive. Dynamic and residual deformations are compared with finite element simulations of plates using the experimentally recorded, and interpolated, nodal point-loads. The results show very good agreement and highlight the use of this method for evaluating the efficacy of targets subjected to non-uniform blast loads

Emergent organization and responsive technologies in crisis: Creating connections or enabling divides

I articulate and employ a situational boundary-making approach to study the emergence of organization and technology at a shelter during Hurricane Katrina. My analysis of qualitative data shows how emergent organization occurred at the shelter as situational entanglements consisting of three main elements: a salient moment in time, key actors, and boundary-making practices. Key actors' responses to salient moments in time enacted both distinction and dependency between organizational and technological actors, resulting in a divided organization. This analysis extends emergent approaches by showing how organization and technology are situationally organized and emerges through the (in)determinacy of meaning. Implications are also discussed for disaster managers to assess the success and failure of technology during a response. © The Author(s) 2012

Teachers Creating Safe School Environments: Prevention of Elementary Student-to-Student Bullying

Student-to-student bullying is still a current issue within elementary schools nationwide. Educators are often unaware, improperly trained and/or unwilling to help in student bullying incidences. Without training or willingness, teachers often are driven into silence and inaction, effectively putting the wellbeing of students at risk. The present study examines this topic through previous literature, gathers data to raise further awareness and better understanding of this issue, and provides proactive bullying prevention strategies for teachers. The present study collects data quantitatively and qualitatively with the conduction of surveys and personal interviews of pre-service and veteran educators respectively. Findings reveal increasing efforts to address student bullying, and evidence suggests pre-service and veteran teachers are still underprepared to handle student bullying. There remains ongoing need for further research to provide best methods of bullying prevention for all students involved in order to bring about positive and lasting change

Mapping of modifiable barriers and facilitators of medication adherence in bipolar disorder to the Theoretical Domains Framework: a systematic review protocol

Introduction: People with bipolar disorder require long-term treatment but it is estimated that 40% of these people do not adhere to prescribed medication regimens. Non-adherence increases the risk of relapse, hospitalisation and suicide. Some evidence syntheses report barriers to mental health treatment adherence but rarely delineate between modifiable and non-modifiable barriers. They also fail to distinguish between the patients’ perspective and that of other stakeholders such as clinicians despite of their different understanding and priorities about adherence. Facilitators of adherence, which are also important for informing adherence intervention design, are also lacking from syntheses and few syntheses focus on medications for bipolar disorder. This systematic review aims to identify modifiable barriers and facilitators (determinants) of medication adherence in bipolar disorder. We also plan to report determinants of medication adherence from perspectives of patients, carers, healthcare professionals and other third parties. A unique feature of this systematic review in the context of mental health is the use of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to organise the literature identified determinants of medication adherence. Methods and analysis: The protocol adheres to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols and ENhancing Transparency in REporting the synthesis of Qualitative research (ENTREQ) guidelines. This review will include both qualitative and quantitative primary studies exploring determinants of medication adherence in bipolar disorder. We will search the following databases using a preplanned strategy: CINAHL, Cochrane Library (CENTRAL), Embase, LiLACS, Medline, PsychINFO, PubMed without date restrictions. We will report the quality of included studies. We will use framework synthesis using the TDF as an a priori ‘framework’. We will map the literature identified modifiable determinants to the domains of TDF. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication. PROSPERO registration number:CRD42018096306

Articulating ‘public interest’ through complexity theory

The ‘Public interest’, even if viewed with ambiguity or scepticism, has been one of the primary means by which various professional roles of planners have been justified. Many objections to the concept have been advanced by writers in planning academia. Notwithstanding these, ‘public interest’ continues to be mobilised, to justify, defend or argue for planning interventions and reforms. This has led to arguments that planning will have to adopt and recognise some form of public interest in practice to legitimise itself.. This paper explores current debates around public interest and social justice and advances a vision of the public interest informed by complexity theory. The empirical context of the paper is the poverty alleviation programme, the Kudumbashree project in Kerala, India

Accurate point defect energy levels from non-empirical screened range-separated hybrid functionals: The case of native vacancies in ZnO

We use density functional theory (DFT) with non-empirically tuned screened range-separated hybrid (SRSH) functionals to calculate the electronic properties of native zinc and oxygen vacancy point defects in ZnO, and we predict their defect levels for thermal and optical transitions in excellent agreement with available experiments and prior calculations that use empirical hybrid functionals. The ability of this non-empirical first-principles framework to accurately predict quantities of relevance to both bulk- and defect-level spectroscopy enables high-accuracy DFT calculations with non-empirical hybrid functionals for defect physics, at a reduced computational cost