Wake interaction and power production of variable height model wind farms

Understanding wake dynamics is an ongoing research topic in wind energy, since wakes have considerable effects on the power production when wind turbines are placed in a wind farm. Wind tunnel experiments have been conducted to study the wake to wake interaction in a model wind farm in tandem with measurements of the extracted power. The aim is to investigate how alternating mast height influences the interaction of the wakes and the power production. Via the use of stereo-particle image velocimetry, the flow field was obtained in the first and last rows of the wind turbine array as a basis of comparison. It was found that downstream of the exit row wind turbine, the power was increased by 25% in the case of a staggered height configuration. This is partly due to the fact that the taller turbines reach into a flow area with a softened velocity gradient. Another aspect is that the wake downstream of a tall wind turbine to some extent passes above the standard height wind turbine. Overall the experiments show that the velocity field downstream of the exit row changes considerably when the mast height is alternating

Acupuncture treatment for pain: systematic review of randomised clinical trials with acupuncture, placebo acupuncture, and no acupuncture groups

Objectives To study the analgesic effect of acupuncture and placebo acupuncture and to explore whether the type of the placebo acupuncture is associated with the estimated effect of acupuncture

Geographic variation in diagnostic and treatment interval, cancer stage and mortality among colorectal patients : an international comparison between Denmark and Scotland using data-linked cohorts

FUNDING This project was conducted without external funding and with the support of the Data Safe Haven (DaSH) of the University of Aberdeen and Statistics Denmark. Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge Dr Vicky Munro and Dr Joanne Lumsden from the Aberdeen Centre of Data Health Science who worked with the authors in preparing the Scottish Data for Transfer to Statistic Denmark. We also acknowledge Statistics Denmark for hosting the combined dataset for analysis and Kaare Rud Flarup for help with data management. We also acknowledge Professor Lesley Anderson and Dr Lisa Iversen for providing comments on the manuscript.Peer reviewedPostprin

Selection of reliable biomarkers from PCR array analyses using relative distance computational model: Methodology and proof-of-concept study

10.1371/journal.pone.0083954PLoS ONE812-POLN

Employing Dietary Comparators to Perform Risk Assessments for Anti-Androgens Without Using Animal Data

This study investigated the use of androgen receptor (AR) reporter gene assay data in a non-animal exposure-led risk assessment in which in vitro anti-androgenic activity and exposure data were put into context using a naturally occurring comparator substance with a history of dietary consumption. First, several dietary components were screened to identify which selectively interfered with AR signaling in vitro, using the AR CALUX® test. The IC50 values from these dose-response data together with measured or predicted human exposure levels were used to calculate exposure:activity ratios (EARs) for the dietary components and a number of other well-known anti-androgenic substances. Both diindolylmethane (DIM) and resveratrol are specifically-acting dietary anti-androgens. The EARs for several anti-androgens were therefore expressed relative to the EAR of DIM, and how this ‘dietary comparator ratio’ (DCR) approach may be used to make safety decisions was assessed using an exposure-led case study for an anti-androgenic botanical ingredient. This highlights a pragmatic approach which allows novel chemical exposures to be put into context against dietary exposures to natural anti-androgenic substances. The DCR approach may have utility for other modes of action where appropriate comparators can be identified

Spatial extent and historical context of North Sea oxygen depletion in August 2010

Prompted by recent observations of seasonal low dissolved oxygen from two moorings in the North Sea, a hydrographic survey in August 2010 mapped the spatial extent of summer oxygen depletion. Typical near-bed dissolved oxygen saturations in the stratified regions of the North Sea were 75–80 % while the well-mixed regions of the southern North Sea reached 90 %. Two regions of strong thermal stratification, the area between the Dooley and Central North Sea Currents and the area known as the Oyster Grounds, had oxygen saturations as low as 65 and 70 % (200 and 180 µmol dm-3) respectively. Low dissolved oxygen was apparent in regions characterised by low advection, high stratification, elevated organic matter production from the spring bloom and a deep chlorophyll maximum. Historical data over the last century from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea oceanographic database highlight an increase in seasonal oxygen depletion and a warming over the past 20 years. The 2010 survey is consistent with, and reinforces, the signal of recent depleted oxygen at key locations seen in the (albeit sparse) historical data