A growing interest in constellations of small satellites has recently emerged due to the increasing capability of these platforms and their reduced time and cost of development. However, in the absence of dedicated launch services for these systems, alternative methods for the deployment of these constellations must be considered which can take advantage of the availability of secondary-payload launch opportunities. Furthermore, a means of exploring the effects and tradeoffs in corresponding system architectures is required. This paper presents a methodology to integrate the deployment of constellations of small satellites into the wider design process for these systems. Using a method of design-space exploration, enhanced understanding of the tradespace is supported , whilst identification of system designs for development is enabled by the application of an optimisation process. To demonstrate the method, a simplified analysis framework and a multiobjective genetic algorithm are implemented for three mission case-studies with differing application. The first two cases, modelled on existing constellations, indicate the benefits of design-space exploration, and possible savings which could be made in cost, system mass, or deployment time. The third case, based on a proposed Earth observation nanosatellite constellation, focuses on deployment following launch using a secondary-payload opportunity and demonstrates the breadth of feasible solutions which may not be considered if only point-designs are generated by a priori analysis. These results indicate that the presented method can support the development of future constellations of small satellites by improving the knowledge of different deployment strategies available during the early design phases and through enhanced exploration and identification of promising design alternatives.

We have observed the G23 field of the Galaxy AndMass Assembly (GAMA) survey using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) in its commissioning phase to validate the performance of the telescope and to characterise the detected galaxy populations. This observation covers ~48 deg2 with synthesised beam of 32.7 arcsec by 17.8 arcsec at 936MHz, and ~39 deg2 with synthesised beam of 15.8 arcsec by 12.0 arcsec at 1320MHz. At both frequencies, the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) noise is ~0.1 mJy/beam. We combine these radio observations with the GAMA galaxy data, which includes spectroscopy of galaxies that are i-band selected with a magnitude limit of 19.2. Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) infrared (IR) photometry is used to determine which galaxies host an active galactic nucleus (AGN). In properties including source counts, mass distributions, and IR versus radio luminosity relation, the ASKAP-detected radio sources behave as expected. Radio galaxies have higher stellar mass and luminosity in IR, optical, and UV than other galaxies. We apply optical and IR AGN diagnostics and find that they disagree for ~30% of the galaxies in our sample. We suggest possible causes for the disagreement. Some cases can be explained by optical extinction of the AGN, but for more than half of the cases we do not find a clear explanation. Radio sources aremore likely (~6%) to have an AGN than radio quiet galaxies (~1%), but the majority of AGN are not detected in radio at this sensitivity.

Background: Insertion of an external ventricular drain (EVD) is performed to treat elevated intracranial pressure. EVD catheters are associated with complications such as EVD catheter infection (ECI), intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and suboptimal catheter placement. As part of the Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative, we sought to investigate the national rate of such complications and their risk factors. Methods: Prospective study of 273 patients from eight academic Canadian neurosurgery centres Results: Infection rate was 6% and predicted by smaller incisions and not peri-procedure antibiotics, tunneling distance, type of antiseptic used or catheter flushing (p>0.05). The mean duration of EVD was 17.7±3.7 in ECI and ventriculitis group which was significantly higher than in patients without ECI (9.4±8.1) (p=0.045). Although the risk of developing ICH was 9.3%, symptomatic ICH was rare. Pre-procedure pharmacological DVT prophylaxis predicted EVD-related ICH(OR 4.73). The rate of suboptimal catheter location was 31% and predicted by the number of passes (p=0.02), but not image guidance, level of training or catheter placement in an operating room setting (p>0.05). Conclusions: This study reports EVD complication rates and their associated risk factors observed within an academic, multicentre Canadian cohort. This information will help to identify strategies to increase the safety of this common neurosurgical procedure.

Breastfeeding may reduce obesity risk, but this association could be confounded by breastfeeding families’ characteristics. We investigated if body composition differs at birth among infants who were either exclusively breast- or formula-fed. We hypothesized the two groups would differ in body composition, even at birth, prior to their post-natal feeding experience. Healthy primiparous carrying singleton pregnancy were recruited at 15 weeks’ gestation. PEA POD® measured body composition within 72 hours of delivery and infant feeding was prospectively captured. Out of the 1,152 infants recruited, 117 (10.2%) and 239 (20.7%) went on to be either exclusively breast- or formula-fed, respectively. Breastfed infants were heavier at birth, but their percentage fat mass (FM) was lower than that of exclusively formula-fed infants (covariate adjusted β = −1.91 percentage points of FM; 95% CI −2.82 to −1.01). Differences in intra-uterine exposures, irrespective of early diet, may partly explain an infant’s obesity risk.

Accurate phase characterization of the alteration products of rad-waste requires the separation and identification of scattered individual grains from among the bulk product. These grains are typically 5 to 100 μm in size. Bulk x-ray powder diffraction will normally not detect these minor phases, and even if the phase can be detected, it often may not be identifiable. The use of the Gandolfi technique with the individual particle not only facilitates the identification, but also allows the assignment of the identification to the specific grain.

Microsupercapacitors (MSCs) are miniaturized energy storage devices that can be integrated in an on-chip platform as a component of a power supply for Internet of things’ sensors. Integration of these on-chip MSCs require them to be fabricated through CMOS compatible fabrication techniques such as spin coating. One of the biggest challenges in spin coated MSCs is the poor surface adhesion. In this work, we present a CMOS compatible electrode deposition process with enhanced adhesion and retention for reduced graphene oxide (rGO) using spin coating. In order to improve the adhesion and surface uniformity of the deposited electrode material, the surface of Si/SiO2 wafers was subjected to roughening through Fe nanoparticle formation. A 4 nm thick Fe layer deposition substantially magnified the average mean surface roughness of the substrates. In comparison with substrates without the Fe deposition, the treated ones have more than 300% improvement in surface coverage and rGO mass retention after sonication testing. These results suggest that the surface roughening has a positive influence on electrode deposition via a spin-coating method.

With the recent discovery of a dozen dusty star-forming galaxies and around 30 quasars at z > 5 that are hyper-luminous in the infrared (μ LIR > 1013 L⊙, where μ is a lensing magnification factor), the possibility has opened up for SPICA, the proposed ESA M5 mid-/far-infrared mission, to extend its spectroscopic studies toward the epoch of reionisation and beyond. In this paper, we examine the feasibility and scientific potential of such observations with SPICA’s far-infrared spectrometer SAFARI, which will probe a spectral range (35–230 μm) that will be unexplored by ALMA and JWST. Our simulations show that SAFARI is capable of delivering good-quality spectra for hyper-luminous infrared galaxies at z = 5 − 10, allowing us to sample spectral features in the rest-frame mid-infrared and to investigate a host of key scientific issues, such as the relative importance of star formation versus AGN, the hardness of the radiation field, the level of chemical enrichment, and the properties of the molecular gas. From a broader perspective, SAFARI offers the potential to open up a new frontier in the study of the early Universe, providing access to uniquely powerful spectral features for probing first-generation objects, such as the key cooling lines of low-metallicity or metal-free forming galaxies (fine-structure and H2 lines) and emission features of solid compounds freshly synthesised by Population III supernovae. Ultimately, SAFARI’s ability to explore the high-redshift Universe will be determined by the availability of sufficiently bright targets (whether intrinsically luminous or gravitationally lensed). With its launch expected around 2030, SPICA is ideally positioned to take full advantage of upcoming wide-field surveys such as LSST, SKA, Euclid, and WFIRST, which are likely to provide extraordinary targets for SAFARI.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of older adults participating in a creative visual arts program at a residential care facility in Victoria, British Columbia. A narrative inquiry approach was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with 10 residents and three program staff in addition to the systematic observations of program activities and an arts exhibit. The findings reveal the program fostered a sense of community among participants and enhanced their sense of self-worth as artists. A public art exhibition at a community centre underlined the value of residents’ artwork and gave meaning and purpose to their involvement in the program. Findings show the importance of arts programs in fostering creativity in later life and illustrate how people living in institutions can experience multiple dimensions of the self through artistic forms of expression. This study highlights the need to increase access to arts programs for individuals living in residential care.

We describe the motivation and design details of the ‘Phase II’ upgrade of the Murchison Widefield Array radio telescope. The expansion doubles to 256 the number of antenna tiles deployed in the array. The new antenna tiles enhance the capabilities of the Murchison Widefield Array in several key science areas. Seventy-two of the new tiles are deployed in a regular configuration near the existing array core. These new tiles enhance the surface brightness sensitivity of the array and will improve the ability of the Murchison Widefield Array to estimate the slope of the Epoch of Reionisation power spectrum by a factor of ∼3.5. The remaining 56 tiles are deployed on long baselines, doubling the maximum baseline of the array and improving the array u, v coverage. The improved imaging capabilities will provide an order of magnitude improvement in the noise floor of Murchison Widefield Array continuum images. The upgrade retains all of the features that have underpinned the Murchison Widefield Array’s success (large field of view, snapshot image quality, and pointing agility) and boosts the scientific potential with enhanced imaging capabilities and by enabling new calibration strategies.

High- $Z$ impurities in magnetic-confinement devices are prone to develop density variations on the flux surface, which can significantly affect their transport. In this paper, we generalize earlier analytic stellarator calculations of the neoclassical radial impurity flux in the mixed-collisionality regime (collisional impurities and low-collisionality bulk ions) to include the effect of such flux-surface variations. We find that only in the homogeneous density case is the transport of highly collisional impurities (in the Pfirsch–Schlüter regime) independent of the radial electric field. We study these effects for a Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) vacuum field, with simple analytic models for the potential perturbation, under the assumption that the impurity density is given by a Boltzmann response to a perturbed potential. In the W7-X case studied, we find that larger amplitude potential perturbations cause the radial electric field to dominate the transport of the impurities. In addition, we find that classical impurity transport can be larger than the neoclassical transport in W7-X.

We explored whether supported (SJE) or coordinated joint engagement (CJE) between mothers recruited from the community and their 24-month-old children who were slow-to-talk at 18 months old were associated with child language scores at ages 24, 36, and 48 months (n = 197). We further explored whether SJE or CJE modified the concurrent positive associations between maternal responsive behaviours and language scores. Previous research has shown that SJE, maternal expansions, imitations, and responsive questions were associated with better language scores. Our main finding was that SJE but not CJE was consistently positively associated with 24- and 36-month-old expressive and receptive language scores, but not with 48-month-old language scores. SJE modified how expansions and imitations, but not responsive questions, were associated with language scores; the associations were evident in all but the highest levels of SJE. Further research is necessary to test these findings in other samples before clinical recommendations can be made.

Background: External ventricular drain (EVD) insertion is a common neurosurgical procedure performed in patients with life-threatening conditions, but can be associated with complications. The objectives of this study are to evaluate data on national practice patterns and complications rates in order to optimize clinical care Methods: The Canadian Neurosurgery Research Collaborative conducted a prospective multi-centre registry of patients undergoing EVD insertions at Canadian residency programs Results: In this interim analysis, 4 sites had recruited 46 patients (mean age: 53.9 years, male:female 2:1). Most EVD insertions occurred outside of the operating theatre, using free-hand technique, and performed by junior neurosurgery residents (R1-R3). The catheter tip was in the ipsilateral frontal horn or body of the lateral ventricle in 76% of cases. Suboptimally placed catheters did not have higher rates of short-term occlusion. EVD-related hemorrhage occurred in 6.5% (3/45) with only 1 symptomatic patient. EVD-related infection occurred in 13% (6/46) at a mean of 6 days and was associated with longer duration of CSF drainage (P=0.039; OR: 1.13) Conclusions: Interim results indicate rates of EVD-related complications may be higher than previously thought. This study will continue to recruit patients to confirm these findings and determine specific risk factors associated with them

Introduction: Situational awareness (SA) is essential for maintenance of scene safety and effective resource allocation in mass casualty incidents (MCI). Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) can potentially enhance SA with real-time visual feedback during chaotic and evolving or inaccessible events. The purpose of this study was to test the ability of paramedics to use UAV video from a simulated MCI to identify scene hazards, initiate patient triage, and designate key operational locations. Methods: A simulated MCI, including fifteen patients of varying acuity (blast type injuries), plus four hazards, was created on a college campus. The scene was surveyed by UAV capturing video of all patients, hazards, surrounding buildings and streets. Attendees of a provincial paramedic meeting were invited to participate. Participants received a lecture on SALT Triage and the principles of MCI scene management. Next, they watched the UAV video footage. Participants were directed to sort patients according to SALT Triage step one, identify injuries, and localize the patients within the campus. Additionally, they were asked to select a start point for SALT Triage step two, identify and locate hazards, and designate locations for an Incident Command Post, Treatment Area, Transport Area and Access/Egress routes. Summary statistics were performed and a linear regression model was used to assess relationships between demographic variables and both patient triage and localization. Results: Ninety-six individuals participated. Mean age was 35 years (SD 11), 46% (44) were female, and 49% (47) were Primary Care Paramedics. Most participants (80 (84%)) correctly sorted at least 12 of 15 patients. Increased age was associated with decreased triage accuracy [-0.04(-0.07,-0.01);p=0.031]. Fifty-two (54%) were able to localize 12 or more of the 15 patients to a 27x 20m grid area. Advanced paramedic certification, and local residency were associated with improved patient localization [2.47(0.23,4.72);p=0.031], [-3.36(-5.61,-1.1);p=0.004]. The majority of participants (78 (81%)) chose an acceptable location to start SALT triage step two and 84% (80) identified at least three of four hazards. Approximately half (53 (55%)) of participants designated four or more of five key operational areas in appropriate locations. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the potential of UAV technology to remotely provide emergency responders with SA in a MCI. Additional research is required to further investigate optimal strategies to deploy UAVs in this context.

Oxidative stress occurs when antioxidant defence mechanisms are overwhelmed by free radicals and may lead to damage to DNA, which has been implicated in processes such as ageing and cancer. The Comet assay allows detection of oxidative DNA damage in individual cells. As horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) have been shown to demonstrate low antioxidant status and oxidative stress, we hypothesised that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of horses with RAO would demonstrate increases in DNA damage following natural allergen challenge.

Six horses (mean age 15 years, range 8-23 years) diagnosed with RAO (in remission) and 6 healthy breed matched controls (mean age 9 years, range 5-15 years) were studied. Blood samples were collected 7 days prior to challenge and immediately and 3 days after stabling on mouldy hay and straw for 24h. All animals were kept at grass prior to and after the challenge period. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed and neutrophil counts determined.