‘How Steep is Now’ at ASCUS Exhibition

Title of Output : ‘How Steep is Now’ Author ASCUS, Polarcap (Liz Adamson and Graeme Todd) Dr Mark HuxhamDate of Output 2012Type of Output: FilmLocation Gazi Kenya ,Kyoto Japan ,Shanghai ChinaVenue ASCUS Project SpaceURL or DOI (if available) http://ascus.org.uk/This project is cross- disciplinary, originated by Liz Adamson, Graeme Todd, UoE and marine biologist Dr Mark Huxham, Napier University. It bridges the communication gap between science and the understanding of the general public concerning the subject of climate change. It uses local data from different communities across the world, gathered in the form of video interviews to build up a more global perspective that informs even the most sceptical viewer. The importance of this project lies in its inclusiveness and its mission to involve as many people across race, gender and social class, giving equal weight to all. The result is a work that is engaging, informative and effective. <br/

Adaptation and Re-Use of Spacecraft Power System Models for the Constellation Program

NASA's Constellation Program is embarking on a new era of space exploration, returning to the Moon and beyond. The Constellation architecture will consist of a number of new spacecraft elements, including the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Altair lunar lander, and the Ares family of launch vehicles. Each of these new spacecraft elements will need an electric power system, and those power systems will need to be designed to fulfill unique mission objectives and to survive the unique environments encountered on a lunar exploration mission. As with any new spacecraft power system development, preliminary design work will rely heavily on analysis to select the proper power technologies, size the power system components, and predict the system performance throughout the required mission profile. Constellation projects have the advantage of leveraging power system modeling developments from other recent programs such as the International Space Station (ISS) and the Mars Exploration Program. These programs have developed mature power system modeling tools, which can be quickly modified to meet the unique needs of Constellation, and thus provide a rapid capability for detailed power system modeling that otherwise would not exist

Rail Stations as Locations for Commercial Property Development: the Implications for Dublin

Throughout Europe there are many examples of the redevelopment of rail stations to include significant commercial development as well as the rebuilding of the stations themselves. In Ireland such development is in its infancy with the only major mixed station/commercial development to date being the concourse and office development at Connolly Station in Dublin. The potential of stations for commercial development may be limited by their location, the limited extent and capacity of the rail network and the attitude of the property industry to these locations. However, the potential of these locations in Dublin City may be about to change. The unprecedented economic growth of recent years has led to ever worsening traffic congestion in the city. It is accepted that an efficient public transport system is essential to the survival and economic well being of the city. The proposed investment of £2.2 billion in public transport in the Greater Dublin Area under the National Development Plan will see a significant expansion in the capacity and extent of the city’s rail network up to 2016. This greatly expanded rail system will form the backbone of the public transport network in Dublin. This will increase the importance of stations as access point to the city especially in the city centre, the principal employment and cultural area of the city and the focal point for the rail network. This in turn may result in a reappraisal of these locations form a commercial property standpoint. However, the nature of development at stations presents unique problems including possible higher than normal costs which affect the viability of development at these locations. The increasing attractiveness of the station as a location for commercial development will have to produce returns adequate to offset the additional costs and other risks

Effects of a ketogenic diet during pregnancy on embryonic growth in the mouse

BACKGROUND: The increasing use of the ketogenic diet (KD), particularly by women of child-bearing age, raises a question about its suitability during gestation. To date, no studies have thoroughly investigated the direct implications of a gestational ketogenic diet on embryonic development. METHODS: To fill this knowledge gap we imaged CD-1 mouse embryos whose mothers were fed either a Standard Diet (SD) or a KD 30 days prior to, as well as during gestation. Images were collected at embryonic days (E) 13.5 using Optical Projection Tomography (OPT) and at E17.5 using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). RESULTS: An anatomical comparison of the SD and KD embryos revealed that at E13.5 the average KD embryo was volumetrically larger, possessed a relatively larger heart but smaller brain, and had a smaller pharynx, cervical spinal cord, hypothalamus, midbrain, and pons, compared with the average SD embryo. At E17.5 the KD embryo was found to be volumetrically smaller with a relatively smaller heart and thymus, but with enlarged cervical spine, thalamus, midbrain and pons. CONCLUSION: A ketogenic diet during gestation results in alterations in embryonic organ growth. Such alterations may be associated with organ dysfunction and potentially behavioral changes in postnatal life

Can't play, won't play : longitudinal changes in perceived barriers to participation in sports clubs across the child-adolescent transition

Participation in sports is associated with numerous physical and psychosocial health benefits, however, participation declines with age, and knowledge of perceived barriers to participation in children is lacking. This longitudinal study of children and adolescents aimed to use the ecological model of physical activity to assess changes in barriers to participation in sports clubs to identify age- and weight-specific targets for intervention

The Influence of International on Union Firm Hiring and Worker Union Choice

Union opposition to free trade policies suggests that international trade damages the union movement. Previous research has found little relationship between union wages and international trade. However, greater trade may hinder unions by reducing the likelihood that workers enter the union sector. A bivariate partial observability probit model is used to predict union choice with respect to risk aversion, union strategic behavior, and product market effects of trade. The model estimates the probability of workers entering the union sector queue and the probability of being hired from the union queue. The results suggest that trade has had some adverse effects on union choice, but it is exports rather than imports that have the greatest negative impact on unions. Sectorial results show that high technology sector workers have a high likelihood of union choice, ceteris paribus, which acts to offset the adverse impact of trade. Finally, the empirical evidence implies that most of the determination of individual union status is due to firm behavior, not due to characteristics of the individual worker

Development of sedentary behavior across childhood and adolescence : longitudinal analysis of the Gateshead Millennium Study

Background In many parts of the world policy and research interventions to modify sedentary behavior of children and adolescents are now being developed. However, the evidence to inform these interventions (e.g. how sedentary behavior changes across childhood and adolescence) is limited. This study aimed to assess longitudinal changes in sedentary behavior, and examine the degree of tracking of sedentary behavior from age 7y to 15y. Methods Participants were part of the Gateshead Millennium Study cohort. Measures were made at age 7y (n = 507), 9y (n = 510), 12y (n = 425) and 15y (n = 310). Participants were asked to wear an ActiGraph GT1M and accelerometer epochs were defined as sedentary when recorded counts were ≤25 counts/15 s. Differences in sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation were examined using the Friedman test. Tracking was examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficients and trajectories over time were assessed using multilevel linear spline modelling. Results Median daily sedentary time increased from 51.3 % of waking hours at 7y to 74.2 % at 15y. Sedentary fragmentation decreased from 7y to 15y. The median number of breaks/hour decreased from 8.6 to 4.1 breaks/hour and the median bout duration at 50 % of the cumulative sedentary time increased from 2.4 min to 6.4 min from 7y to 15y. Tracking of sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation was moderate from 7y to 15y however, the rate of change differed with the steepest increases/decreases seen between 9y and 12y. Conclusion In this study, sedentary time was high and increased to almost 75 % of waking hours at 15y. Sedentary behavior became substantially less fragmented as children grew older. The largest changes in sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation occurred between 9y to 12y, a period which spans the transition to secondary school. These results can be used to inform future interventions aiming to change sedentary behavior

Saccadic Eye Movement Characteristics in Adult Niemann-Pick Type C Disease: Relationships with Disease Severity and Brain Structural Measures

Niemann-Pick Type C disease (NPC) is a rare genetic disorder of lipid metabolism. A parameter related to horizontal saccadic peak velocity was one of the primary outcome measures in the clinical trial assessing miglustat as a treatment for NPC. Neuropathology is widespread in NPC, however, and could be expected to affect other saccadic parameters. We compared horizontal saccadic velocity, latency, gain, antisaccade error percentage and self-paced saccade generation in 9 adult NPC patients to data from 10 age-matched controls. These saccadic measures were correlated with appropriate MRI-derived brain structural measures (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontal eye fields, supplemental eye fields, parietal eye fields, pons, midbrain and cerebellar vermis) and with measures of disease severity and duration. The best discriminators between groups were reflexive saccade gain and the two volitional saccade measures. Gain was also the strongest correlate with disease severity and duration. Most of the saccadic measures showed strongly significant correlations with neurophysiologically appropriate brain regions. While our patient sample is small, the apparent specificity of these relationships suggests that as new diagnostic methods and treatments become available for NPC, a broader range of saccadic measures may be useful tools for the assessment of disease progression and treatment efficacy.No external funding was received for this study. JCLL self-funded computational, travel and accommodation costs to conduct his component of this research in Melbourne

Individual Characteristics, Spatial Labor Market Differences, and Amenity Influences on Nonmetro/Metro Migration Patterns

Previous studies of the linkage of national and regional labor markets have focused on aggregate employment growth and migration. By focusing on the separate effects of national and regional labor market economic conditions on wages, this study differs from much of the previous literature. In particular, this paper will extend the previous literature in two key directions. First, it will explore whether local economic activity and location-specific amenities have different effects on metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area wages. Second, it will determine how regional labor markets and locality amenities affect metro and non-metro migration of workers. These issues will be explored using 1979-1996 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data merged with local labor market measures of amenities and economic conditions. In this preliminary draft, we explore the differential impact of amenities and local economic conditions on wages for metro versus non-metro workers in the 1988-1993 NLSY sample. Our findings suggest that there are differences in returns to human capital when comparing urban and rural workers. Moreover, compensating differentials for location-specific amenities and local labor market conditions also appear to depend on metro versus non-metro residence. Similarly, locality amenities and labor market conditions primarily influence both metro and non-metro migration decisions

Are Worker\u27s Wages Driven by National or Local Factors?

Previous studies of the linkage of national and regional labor markets have focused on aggregate employment growth and migration. By focusing on the separate effects of national and regional labor market economic conditions on wages, this study differs from much of the previous literature. In particular, this paper will extend the previous literature in two key directions. First, it will explore whether local economic activity and location-specific amenities have different effects on metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area wages. Second, it will determine whether these effects on workers varied by education level between metro and nonmetro workers. These issues will be explored using 1988-1993 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data merged with local labor market measures of amenities and economic conditions. In this preliminary draft, we explore the differential impact of amenities and local economic conditions on wages for metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan workers. Our findings suggest that there are differences in returns to human capital when comparing metro and nonmetro workers. Moreover, compensating differentials for location-specific amenities, and local labor market conditions also appear to depend on metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan residence. Future research will extend the model to consider addition variations for skilled and unskilled workers