Volcanoes cause a wide range of hazardous phenomena. Close to volcanic vents, hazards can be highly dangerous and destructive and include pyroclastic flows and surges, ballistic projectiles, lava flows, lahars, thick ashfalls, and gas and aerosol emissions. Direct health impacts include trauma, burns, and exacerbation of respiratory diseases. Far-reaching volcanic hazards include volcanic ashfalls, gas and aerosol dispersion, and lahars. Within Oceania, the island arc countries of Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, and New Zealand are the most at-risk from volcanic activity. Since 1500ad, approximately 10,000 lives have been lost due to volcanic activity across Oceania, with 39 lives lost since 2000. While volcano monitoring and surveillance save lives, residual risks remain from small, sudden, unheralded eruptions, such as the December 9, 2019 eruption of Whakaari/White Island volcano, New Zealand which has a death toll of 21 at the time of writing. Widespread volcanic ashfalls can affect the habitability of downwind communities by contaminating water supplies, damaging crops and buildings, and degrading indoor and outdoor air quality, as well as disrupting transport and communication networks and access to health services. While the fatality rate due to volcanic eruptions may be low, far greater numbers of people may be affected by volcanic activity with approximately 100,000 people in PNG and Vanuatu displaced since 2000. It is challenging to manage health impacts for displaced people, particularly in low-income countries where events such as eruptions occur against a background of low, variable vaccination rates, high prevalence of infectious diseases, poor sanitation infrastructure, and poor nutritional status. As a case study, the 2017-2018 eruption of Ambae volcano, Vanuatu caused no casualties but triggered two separate mandatory off-island evacuations of the entire population of approximately 11,700 people. On the neighboring island of Santo, a health disaster response was coordinated by local government and provided acute care when evacuees arrived. Involving primary care clinicians in this setting enhanced local capacity for health care provision and allowed for an improved understanding of the impact of displacement on evacuee communities.

We present an overview of the survey for radio emission from active stars that has been in progress for the last six years using the observatories at Fleurs, Molonglo, Parkes and Tidbinbilla. The role of complementary optical observations at the Anglo-Australian Observatory, Mount Burnett, Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories and Mount Tamborine are also outlined. We describe the different types of star that have been included in our survey and discuss some of the problems in making the radio observations.

The behavior of marine-terminating ice sheets, such as the West Antarctic ice sheet, is of interest due to the possibility of rapid grounding-line retreat and consequent catastrophic loss of ice. Critical to modeling this behavior is a choice of basal rheology, where the most popular approach is to relate the ice-sheet velocity to a power-law function of basal stress. Recent experiments, however, suggest that near-grounding line tills exhibit Coulomb friction behavior. Here we address how Coulomb conditions modify ice-sheet profiles and stability criteria. The basal rheology necessarily transitions to Coulomb friction near the grounding line, due to low effective stresses, leading to changes in ice-sheet properties within a narrow boundary layer. Ice-sheet profiles ‘taper off’ towards a flatter upper surface, compared with the power-law case, and basal stresses vanish at the grounding line, consistent with observations. In the Coulomb case, the grounding-line ice flux also depends more strongly on flotation ice thickness, which implies that ice sheets are more sensitive to climate perturbations. Furthermore, with Coulomb friction, the ice sheet grounds stably in shallower water than with a power-law rheology. This implies that smaller perturbations are required to push the grounding line into regions of negative bed slope, where it would become unstable. These results have important implications for ice-sheet stability in a warming climate.

In the past 15 years in Canada, as in other nations, the mental health of veterans has emerged as a key concern for both government and the public. As mental health service enhancement unfolded, the need for wider population studies became apparent. This paper describes the renewal of services and key findings from national surveys of serving personnel and veterans.

A variable frequency ferroelectric polarisation measurement system has been designed and built at the UK's Diamond Light Source. The electric field induced phase transitions in Pb(Zr1−xTix)O3 (PZT) have been used to test the facility via in-situ measurements of electric polarisation and XRD. Stroboscopic and real time data collection methods on polycrystalline samples were employed as a function of frequency to determine the dynamic ferroelectric response. The system has been shown to deliver XRD patterns of good statistical quality measured over 40 points of a ferroelectric PE loop. The system is now available on station I11 as a user facility at the Diamond Light Source.

The spatial distribution of spring and summer populations of the potato flea beetle, Epitrix cucumeris (Harris) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), on potatoes (“Superior” variety) was studied in 1987 and 1988. Slopes of the regression of mean crowding on the mean number of adults per plant were not significantly different from 1.0 except for summer populations in 1988. The y-intercepts of these regression equations were not significantly different from 0, suggesting that adults of the potato flea beetle are not aggregated. The ratios of mean crowding to mean number of adults per plant were 0.81 for spring populations and 1.02 for summer populations, also indicating that the populations were not highly aggregated. With a level of precision of 0.25, 10 samples per plot were appropriate when more than 2.8 adults per plant were present in the spring and when more than 7.2 adults per plant were present in the summer.

Eventing competitions in Great Britain (GB) comprise three disciplines, each split into four grades, yielding 12 discipline-grade traits. As there is a demand for tools to estimate (co)variance matrices with a large number of traits, the aim of this work was to investigate different methods to produce large (co)variance matrices using GB eventing data. Data from 1999 to 2008 were used and penalty points were converted to normal scores. A sire model was utilised to estimate fixed effects of gender, age and class, and random effects of sire, horse and rider. Three methods were used to estimate (co)variance matrices. Method 1 used a method based on Gibbs sampling and data augmentation and imputation. Methods 2a and 2b combined sub-matrices from bivariate analyses; one took samples from a multivariate Normal distribution defined by the covariance matrix from each bivariate analysis, then analysed these data in a 12-trait multivariate analysis; the other replaced negative eigenvalues in the matrix with positive values to obtain a positive definite (co)variance matrix. A formal comparison of models could not be conducted; however, estimates from all methods, particularly Methods 2a/2b, were in reasonable agreement. The computational requirements of Method 1 were much less compared with Methods 2a or 2b. Method 2a heritability estimates were as follows: for dressage 7.2% to 9.0%, for show jumping 8.9% to 16.2% and for cross-country 1.3% to 1.4%. Method 1 heritability estimates were higher for the advanced grades, particularly for dressage (17.1%) and show jumping (22.6%). Irrespective of the model, genetic correlations between grades, for dressage and show jumping, were positive, high and significant, ranging from 0.59 to 0.99 for Method 2a and 0.78 to 0.95 for Method 1. For cross-country, using Method 2a, genetic correlations were only significant between novice and pre-novice (0.75); however, using Method 1 estimates were all significant and low to moderate (0.36 to 0.70). Between-discipline correlations were all low and of mixed sign. All methods produced positive definite 12 × 12 (co)variance matrices, suitable for the prediction of breeding values. Method 1 benefits from much reduced computational requirements, and by performing a true multivariate analysis.

A study investigating the flow around a cylinder rolling or sliding on a wall has been undertaken in two and three dimensions. The cylinder motion is specified from a set of five discrete rotation rates, ranging from prograde through to retrograde rolling. A Reynolds number range of 20–500 is considered. The effects of the nearby wall and the imposed body motion on the wake structure and dominant wake transitions have been determined. Prograde rolling is shown to destabilize the wake flow, while retrograde rotation delays the onset of unsteady flow to Reynolds numbers well above those observed for a cylinder in an unbounded flow.

Two-dimensional simulations show the presence of two recirculation zones in the steady wake, the lengths of which increase approximately linearly with the Reynolds number. Values of the lift and drag coefficient are also reported for the steady flow regime. Results from a linear stability analysis show that the wake initially undergoes a regular bifurcation from a steady two-dimensional flow to a steady three-dimensional wake for all rotation rates. The critical Reynolds number Rec of transition and the spanwise wavelength of the dominant mode are shown to be highly dependent on, but smoothly varying with, the rotation rate of the cylinder. Varying the rotation from prograde to retrograde rolling acts to increase the value of Rec and decrease the preferred wavelength. The structure of the fully evolved wake mode is then established through three-dimensional simulations. In fact it is found that at Reynolds numbers only marginally (~5%) above critical, the three-dimensional simulations indicate that the saturated state becomes time dependent, although at least initially, this does not result in a significant change to the mode structure. It is only at higher Reynolds numbers that the wake undergoes a transition to vortex shedding.

An analysis of the three-dimensional transition indicates that it is unlikely to be due to a centrifugal instability despite the superficial similarity to the flow over a backward-facing step, for which the transition mechanism has been speculated to be centrifugal. However, the attached elongated recirculation region and distribution of the spanwise perturbation vorticity field, and the similarity of these features with those of the flow through a partially blocked channel, suggest the possibility that the mechanism is elliptic in nature. Some analysis which supports this conjecture is undertaken.

A numerical and experimental investigation is reported for the flow around a rolling sphere when moving adjacent to a plane wall. The dimensionless rotation rate of the sphere is varied from forward to reversed rolling and the resulting wake modes are found to be strongly dependent on the value of this parameter. Results are reported for the Reynolds number range 100 < Re < 350, which has been shown to capture the unsteady transitions in the wake. Over this range of Reynolds number, both steady and unsteady wake modes are observed. As the sphere undergoes forward rolling, the wake displays similarities to the flow behind an isolated sphere in a free stream. As the Reynolds number of the flow increases, hairpin vortices form and are shed over the surface of the sphere. However, for cases with reversed rotation, the wake takes the form of two distinct streamwise vortices that form around the sides of the body. These streamwise structures in the wake undergo a transition to a new unsteady mode as the Reynolds number increases. During the evolution of this unsteady mode, the streamwise vortices form an out-of-phase spiral pair. Four primary wake modes are identified and a very good qualitative agreement is observed between the numerical and experimental results. The numerical simulations also reveal the existence of an additional unsteady mode that is found to be unstable to small perturbations in the flow.

Over a 3-year period 900 m3/ha of copper-rich pig slurry were spread during the growing season on a 0·6 ha permanent grassland sward and the grass continually grazed off each season with the same sheep. A total of 47 kg Cu/ha were applied to the area and this increased the EDTA-extractable copper in the topsoil. Herbage copper concentrations clearly showed that sheep grazing the area were continually exposed to high concentrations, and that most of the copper was present as surface contamination. Large quantities of copper were excreted in the sheep faeces indicating that copper passed through the animal.

Monthly blood samples from the sheep showed that the enzyme glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) concentrations were slightly higher than those in sheep grazing an area which received no copper over the same period. By the end of the second season (October 1971) over 2000 i.u. GOT/1 were recorded in some sheep grazing the slurry treated area indicating severe liver breakdown at that time. However, during the winter when the sheep were inwintered, serum GOT concentrations decreased considerably. In the final grazing season a 0·2 ha area received monthly applications of copper sulphate instead of slurry. All sheep were slaughtered in November 1972 for post-mortem examination. There was little difference in the copper concentrations in the liver and kidneys of the sheep grazing the control and the slurry areas, although the sheep which grazed the copper sulphate area in the final season had higher concentrations.

As no sheep died from chronic copper poisoning during the course of the investigation there would appear to be little or no danger to the health of sheep from grazing land which is receiving pig slurry at rates which supply less than 16 kg Cu/ha/year.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of Magnetic Resonance Guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) compared with alternative treatments for uterine fibroids in the United States.

Methods: We used techniques of decision analysis and data from secondary sources to develop and estimate an economic model of the management of uterine fibroids among premenopausal women. Patients in the model receive treatment with MRgFUS, uterine artery embolization (UAE), abdominal myomectomy, hysterectomy, or pharmacotherapy. The model predicts total costs (including subsequent procedures) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) for each treatment strategy over a lifetime horizon, discounted at 3 percent, from a societal perspective. Data on treatment efficacy and safety were obtained from published and unpublished studies. Costs (2005 US$) were obtained from an analysis of a large administrative database and other secondary sources. Lost productivity costs were included in the base-case analysis, but excluded in a sensitivity analysis.

Results: UAE was associated with the most QALYs (17.39), followed by MRgFUS (17.36), myomectomy (17.31), hysterectomy (17.18), and pharmacotherapy (16.70). Pharmacotherapy was the least costly strategy ($9,200 per patient), followed by hysterectomy ($19,800), MRgFUS ($27,300), UAE ($28,900), and myomectomy ($35,100). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (cost per QALY gained) were $21,800 for hysterectomy, $41,400 for MRgFUS, and $54,200 for UAE; myomectomy was more costly and less effective than both MRgFUS and UAE. Results were sensitive to MRgFUS recurrence rates, MRgFUS procedure costs, and assumptions about quality of life following hysterectomy.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that MRgFUS is in the range of currently accepted criteria for cost-effectiveness, along with hysterectomy and UAE.

The composition of egg yolks and neonates of the viviparous lizard, Pseudemoia pagenstecheri, one of the most placentotrophic reptiles studied to date, are described. Neonates (43.3 ± 5.2 mg) have twice the dry mass of the initial eggs (22.0 ± 1.9 mg). The protein content of neonates (29.1 ± 1.1 mg) is more than twice that of eggs (12.2 ± 1.1 mg), while the energy content (908.1 ± 107.4 J) is 1.6 times higher than that of the egg (565.0 ± 42.9 J). The energy densities of eggs (27.5 kJ g−1) and neonates (23.1 ± 0.3 kJ g−1) are similar to the energy densities of eggs and neonates of oviparous species. The total ash per neonate (4.1 ± 0.4 mg) is three times greater than that of the egg contents (1.4 ± 0.2). Neonates contain significantly more calcium, sodium and potassium, but not magnesium, than do eggs. Thus, the placenta has a quantitatively important role in supplying nutrients for the embryo. The proportions of triacylglycerol (66%), phospholipid (19%), and free cholesterol (5%) in the eggs are similar to those in eggs of birds and crocodilians, but the proportion of cholesteryl esters (7%) is much higher in eggs of P. pagenstecheri. The proportion of docosahexaenoic acid in the egg phospholipid is relatively low (1.4%) but rises to 5.4% in the neonate. The eggs contain vitamin E (mainly in the form of α-tocopherol) and vitamin A, but no detectable carotenoids. The overall composition of the eggs is not substantially different from that of oviparous species, suggesting that the small egg size relative to neonate size is a result of a reduction in egg size rather than modification by omission of some nutrients from the yolk. The pattern of placental nutrient provision of P. pagenstecheri contains both an obligate and a facultative component suggesting that enhancement of offspring quality through facultative placentotrophy is a general characteristic of placental reptiles independent of pattern of embryonic nutrient provision.

Protein accretion curves were derived using food intake, growth and body composition data from a total of 320 pigs, which comprised castrated males and gilts from five genotypes. The 32 pigs from each genotype/sex subclass were offered ad libitum a series of isoenergetic diets (13·8 MJ metabolizable energy per kg) designed to provide a non-limiting intake of nutrients and to allow maximum protein deposition rates. Four pigs from each subclass weren slaughtered at each of the live weights (kg) 25, 44, 65, 85, 100, 115, 130 and 150. Daily food intake (dF/dt) was described as an increasing exponential function of age (t), live weight (W) as an increasing exponential function of cumulative food consumed (F), and protein weight (Pr) as an allometric function of live weight (W). The rate of protein accretion in the body of pigs [d(Pr)/dt] was calculated as d(Pr)/dt = (dF/dt).(dW/dF).(dPr)/dW). Bootstrap procedures were used to estimate standard errors for the food intake, growth and compositional parameters and to obtain the confidence bands for the dependent variables (dF/dt, W, Pr and d(Pt)/dt).

Protein accretion rate as a function of live weight was curvilinear, increasing to a maximum, then decreasing with increasing live weight. There were significant differences between subclasses in the maximum rate of protein accretion, although there was no relationship between this rate and the live weight, stage of maturity, or age at which maximum protein accretion occurred. Describing protein accretion as a multiplicative function of food intake, food efficiency and the partitioning of nutrients in the body allowed changes in the magnitude and shape of the protein accretion curve to be ascribed to one, or a combination, of the above mechanisms.

Measurements by photoemission spectroscopy have shown that the chemical environments of alkaline earth cations in HTSC compounds are different from the environments of these ions in the prototype perovskite structures. A recently discovered HTSC compound (Pb2Sr2Ca0.5Y0.5Cu3O8) exhibits the exceptional feature of having a typical HTSC signature for Sr, while Ca shows a perovskite-like signature. The crystal-chemical features of the relevant compounds have been correlated with these observations. These correlations may be indicative of inter-layer electronic interactions.