Future Island-Island Impact Cards:Digitally Crafting the Brockley Axe

ChallengeRathlin Island possesses historically and culturally significant unique artefacts. However, challenges relating to ownership and preservation can limit public access. This project investigates the potential of digital twins to enhance the accessibility of these precious artefacts for educational purposes.ApproachThis project developed an authentic virtual experience of crafting and manipulating the Brockley Axe within it’s hypothesised historical context, collaborating with the Green family who own this artefact. The methodology integrated historical documentation on porcellanite axe production, VR, and digital twins to facilitate an immersive and authentic educational experience.OutcomesThe project delivered an immersive VR experience instructing users on the creation of a porcellanite Neolithic axe. Centred on a digital twin of the Brockley Axe, the experience is available in two formats: one using hand tracking for natural interaction, the other using VR controllers to provide haptic feedback. An accurate 3D printed replica was produced with weighted infills (Length 310mm: Weight 2.962kg).LearningsThis research facilitated essential learning regarding diverse creative pipelines and the significance of integrating authentically produced digital twins. Furthermore, it involved obtaining user experience feedback from stakeholders, including Rathlin Island residents, academics, and museum representatives, alongside the development of relationships with prospective museum and island stakeholders.ImpactThis project culminated in an immersive experience recreating a Neolithic axe, offering a model for designing educational engagements with rare artefacts. It demonstrates how virtual production can solve preservation challenges and support the integration of historically significant objects into museum, community, and educational settings through accessible, interactive digital experiences.<br/

Spectra and anisotropy during GLE # 4 on 19 November 1949 derived using historical records

Abstract A methodological study of solar energetic particles provides the necessary basis to understand the mechanisms of their acceleration and propagation in interplanetary space. According to the current paradigm, following solar eruptive processes, such as solar flares and/or coronal mass ejections, solar ions can be accelerated to high energies. In most cases, the energy of the accelerated solar ions is several tens of MeV/n, yet in some cases, it exceeds 100 MeV/n and occasionally reaches the GeV/n range. In the latter case, the energy is sufficient for solar ions to generate an atmospheric cascade in the Earth’s atmosphere with secondary particles reaching the ground and registered by ground-based detectors. This particular class of events is known as ground-level enhancements (GLEs). At present, 73 GLEs in total have been detected, starting with the Forbush first observations in 1942. The first three events were registered only by ionization chambers; the fourth event was recorded by ionization chambers, muon telescopes, and a non-standard neutron monitor. Using the historical records of ionization chambers, namely their count-rate increases, and a state-of-the-art model, we assessed the spectra of GLE # 4 that occurred on 19 November 1949. We employed a method adapted from neutron monitor data analysis, that is, modelling the ionization chamber responses and other detectors and optimization over the experimental count rate increases. Hence, we assessed the GLE # 4 spectra, hgere presenting preliminary results.Abstract A methodological study of solar energetic particles provides the necessary basis to understand the mechanisms of their acceleration and propagation in interplanetary space. According to the current paradigm, following solar eruptive processes, such as solar flares and/or coronal mass ejections, solar ions can be accelerated to high energies. In most cases, the energy of the accelerated solar ions is several tens of MeV/n, yet in some cases, it exceeds 100 MeV/n and occasionally reaches the GeV/n range. In the latter case, the energy is sufficient for solar ions to generate an atmospheric cascade in the Earth’s atmosphere with secondary particles reaching the ground and registered by ground-based detectors. This particular class of events is known as ground-level enhancements (GLEs). At present, 73 GLEs in total have been detected, starting with the Forbush first observations in 1942. The first three events were registered only by ionization chambers; the fourth event was recorded by ionization chambers, muon telescopes, and a non-standard neutron monitor. Using the historical records of ionization chambers, namely their count-rate increases, and a state-of-the-art model, we assessed the spectra of GLE # 4 that occurred on 19 November 1949. We employed a method adapted from neutron monitor data analysis, that is, modelling the ionization chamber responses and other detectors and optimization over the experimental count rate increases. Hence, we assessed the GLE # 4 spectra, hgere presenting preliminary results

The Impact of Vegetation Structure and Spatial Heterogeneity on Invertebrate Biodiversity Within Upland Landscapes

Livestock grazing influences vegetation structure and composition at both the patch and wider landscape scale (Milne et al., 1998), and this may have effects on upland invertebrate communities, which in turn influence bird abundance and distribution (Fuller & Gough, 1999; Cole et al., 2002). Of particular importance are open grasslands and wet flushes where invertebrates are abundant and more accessible to birds. However, there have been few studies of invertebrates associated with upland habitats, and most of these have focused on heather moorland, blanket bog, or very fine-scaled structure within grasslands (Dennis et al. 1997; 1998; 2001). This study addresses the relationship between upland invertebrate biodiversity and the spatial and structural diversity of vegetation

Future Island-Island Impact Cards:Submersible Experience

ChallengeRathlin Island receives 50,000 visitors yearly, creating challenges for preserving its natural and cultural heritage while meeting accessibility needs. This project explores how immersive and virtual technologies can improve access to remote areas, raise awareness of sustainability and plastic pollution, and inspire positive environmental behaviours through engaging, game-based experiences. ApproachThis project uses photogrammetry, LIDAR, and Gaussian Splatting to 3D scan Rathlin’s key sites, creating digital twins for the Green Digital Transition. It includes co-design with stakeholders to ensure authentic representation of the island’s ecosystem and community, culminating in a VR submersible experience of the Rathlin seabed.OutcomesPlastic debris collected by Rathlin Stickybeak has been digitised, archived with provenance data, and integrated into a VR submersible experience. The current prototype phase incorporates island scans, potential shipwrecks, and seabed topography. Future development will include endemic marine wildlife and refined seabed representation. LearningsThe project delivered insights into sustainable digital twin production, defining efficient 3D scanning methods using photogrammetry, LIDAR, and Gaussian Splatting which was tested on the NI-HPC system for ethical AI training. Narrative, animation, and gamification helped researchers understand plastic pollution’s impact on Rathlin’s ecosystems and its broader global significance. ImpactThe VR submersible experience is expected to deliver impactful R&amp;D outcomes, guiding sustainable digital content creation. It addresses ethical AI and 3D digital twin use for education, media production, and museums. It supports the Green Digital Transition by enabling access to remote areas and promoting sustainable plastic use via in-game narratives

Coherent Versus Incoherent Ladar Detection at 2.09 μm

A 2.09-μm ladar system is built to compare coherent to incoherent detection. The 2.09-μm wavelength is of interest because of its high atmospheric transmission and because it is eyesafe. The 2.09-μm system presented is capable of either a coherent or incoherent operational mode, is tunable in a small region around 2.09 μm, and is being used to look at the statistical nature of the ladar return pulses for typical glint and speckle targets. To compare coherent to incoherent detection the probability of detection is investigated as the primary performance criterion of interest. The probability of detection is dependent on both the probability of false alarm and the probability density function, representing the signal current output from the detector. These probability distributions are different for each detection technique and for each type of target. Furthermore, the probability of detection and the probability of false alarm are both functions of the dominating noise source(s) in the system. A description of the theoretical expectations of this system along with the setup of the ladar system and how it is being used to collect data for both coherent and incoherent detection is presented

"The extreme penalty of the law": mercy and the death penalty as aspects of state power in colonial Nyasaland, c. 1903-47

Open access article.Capital punishment was the pinnacle of the colonial judicial system and its use of state violence, but has previously been neglected as a topic of historical research in Africa. This article is based on the case files and legal records of over 800 capital trials – predominantly for murder – dating between 1900 and 1947. It outlines the functioning of the legal system in Nyasaland and the tensions between “violence” and “humanitarianism” in the use and reform of the death penalty. Capital punishment was a political penalty as much as a judicial punishment, with both didactic and deterrent functions: it operated through mercy and the sparing of condemned lives as well as through executions. Mercy in Nyasaland was consistent with colonial political objectives and cultural values: it was decided not only on the facts of cases, but according to British conceptions of “justice”, “order”, “criminality”, and “African” behaviour. This article analyses the use of mercy in Nyasaland to provide a lens on the nature of colonial governance, and the tensions between African and colonial understandings of violence.Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) and the Beit Fund, University of Oxfor

Star formation rates in Lyman break galaxies: radio stacking of LBGs in the COSMOS field and the sub-μ\muJy radio source population

We present an analysis of the radio properties of large samples of Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at $z \sim 3$, 4, and 5 from the COSMOS field. The median stacking analysis yields a statistical detection of the $z \sim 3$ LBGs (U-band drop-outs), with a 1.4 GHz flux density of $0.90 \pm 0.21 \mu$Jy. The stacked emission is unresolved, with a size $< 1"$, or a physical size $< 8$kpc. The total star formation rate implied by this radio luminosity is $31\pm 7$ $M_\odot$ year$^{-1}$, based on the radio-FIR correlation in low redshift star forming galaxies. The star formation rate derived from a similar analysis of the UV luminosities is 17 $M_\odot$ year$^{-1}$, without any correction for UV dust attenuation. The simplest conclusion is that the dust attenuation factor is 1.8 at UV wavelengths. However, this factor is considerably smaller than the standard attenuation factor $\sim 5$, normally assumed for LBGs. We discuss potential reasons for this discrepancy, including the possibility that the dust attenuation factor at $z \ge 3$ is smaller than at lower redshifts. Conversely, the radio luminosity for a given star formation rate may be systematically lower at very high redshift. Two possible causes for a suppressed radio luminosity are: (i) increased inverse Compton cooling of the relativistic electron population due to scattering off the increasing CMB at high redshift, or (ii) cosmic ray diffusion from systematically smaller galaxies. The radio detections of individual sources are consistent with a radio-loud AGN fraction of 0.3%. One source is identified as a very dusty, extreme starburst galaxy (a 'submm galaxy').Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures AASTEX, to appear in Ap

Landscape, colonization and life history : their effects on genetic diversity in four sympatric species inhabiting a dendritic system

Funding: Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS), which is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) (O.E.G.).To what degree are patterns of genetic structure in fragmented systems the result of contemporary landscape vs. history? We examined the distribution of genetic diversity as a function of colonization history and contemporary landscape in four fish species inhabiting a hierarchically fragmented, unaltered system, the Kogaluk drainage (Labrador): lake trout, longnose sucker, round whitefish, and lake chub. The footprint of colonization history was still observable in the three species where this issue was examined regardless of the generations since their arrival. ABC analyses suggest colonization took place from the southwest. The species exhibit similar diversity patterns despite different Nes and generation intervals. Contemporary gene flow was largely negligible except for gene flow from a centrally located lake. These results suggest landscape has driven colonization history, which still has influence on genetic structuring. The species are widespread. Understanding how they behave in the pristine Kogaluk provides a baseline against which to evaluate how other anthropogenically perturbed systems are performing. Improved understanding of historical and contemporary processes is required to fully explain diversity patterns in complex metapopulationsPostprintPeer reviewe

Motor control or graded activity exercises for chronic low back pain? A randomised controlled trial

Background: Chronic low back pain remains a major health problem in Australia and around the world. Unfortunately the majority of treatments for this condition produce small effects because not all patients respond to each treatment. It appears that only 25-50% of patients respond to exercise. The two most popular types of exercise for low back pain are graded activity and motor control exercises. At present however, there are no guidelines to help clinicians select the best treatment for a patient. As a result, time and money are wasted on treatments which ultimately fail to help the patient