The dairy cow model ‘Molly’ is a mixed discrete event-continuous system model that simulates feeding, metabolism and lactation of dairy cows. Decades of model development have resulted in a valuable tool in dairy science. Due to the deprecation of the ACSL (Advanced Continuous Simulation Language) programming language, Molly has been translated into C++. This paper describes the translation process and discusses the advantages of the new implementation, one of which is the ability to run Molly within RStudio, a popular integrated development environment (IDE) for data science.

Wind-driven snow redistribution can increase the spatial heterogeneity of snow accumulation on ice caps and ice sheets, and may prove crucial for the initiation and survival of glaciers in areas of marginal glaciation. We present a snowdrift model (Snow_Blow), which extends and improves the model of Purves, Mackaness and Sugden (1999, Journal of Quaternary Science 14, 313–321). The model calculates spatial variations in relative snow accumulation that result from variations in topography, using a digital elevation model (DEM) and wind direction as inputs. Improvements include snow redistribution using a flux routing algorithm, DEM resolution independence and the addition of a slope curvature component. This paper tests Snow_Blow in Antarctica (a modern environment) and reveals its potential for application in palaeoenvironmental settings, where input meteorological data are unavailable and difficult to estimate. Specifically, Snow_Blow is applied to the Ellsworth Mountains in West Antarctica where ablation is considered to be predominantly related to wind erosion processes. We find that Snow_Blow is able to replicate well the existing distribution of accumulating snow and snow erosion as recorded in and around Blue Ice Areas. Lastly, a variety of model parameters are tested, including depositional distance and erosion vs wind speed, to provide the most likely input parameters for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

With now over 50 million people worldwide with dementia (Prince et al., 2013), there are almost certainly well over 100 million people with cognitive concerns and many of these will attend their health professional keen to know what is going on. We need those without intensive training in this field to be more confident and correct in their diagnosis when such a concerned person turns up. Many simple diagnostic tests have been proposed and some assessed – these include the walk and talk (divided attention) test (those who stop when asked a question while walking may be cognitively impaired) (Lamoth et al., 2011), the clock drawing test (Brodaty and Moore, 1997), the “handbag” sign (those clutching their personal possessions are more likely to be cognitively impaired) and the “hippopotamus sign” (calling the rhinoceros, in those tests that include this, a hippopotamus). Simple screening tests have been extensively validated and are important to the clinician in formulating a diagnosis (Lorentz et al., 2002). The “head-turning” and the “attended with/alone” signs are frequently observed, and many clinicians assessing such individuals would be well aware of them and probably even unknowingly factor them into their diagnosis. In this issue, Pinar Soysal and colleagues (Soysal et al., 2017) have evaluated these signs and, in those older people attending with cognitive concerns, found they had quite good diagnostic value. They were not very specific but showed good sensitivity and negative predictive value. Indeed, at the recent Alzheimer's Association International Conference in London there were several posters evaluating “soft but simple” signs although not all performed as expected – one group found gait actually sped up in those with cognitive impairment that were asked a question.

Stranded in Jamaica for a year in AD 1503, Christopher Columbus and crew became reliant on the Taíno village of Maima for provisions. Recent archaeological survey and excavations at this site document a sizeable hillside settlement established early in the White Marl period of Jamaican culture history with continued occupation up to Spanish contact. Beginning by 13th to 14th century AD, the people at Maima expanded their settlement capacity across the hillslope through construction of house terraces and platforms employing large volumes of limestone rock and gravel fill. Archaeological excavation on these features has exposed at least one circular, center-pole Taíno house with a surprisingly limited floor space. A review of Jamaican archaeology suggests both hillside terracing and small house form is characteristic of Jamaican Taíno village configuration more broadly. This pattern stands in contrast to other areas of Taíno settlement in the Caribbean, and to the small number of Spanish chronicles in which Taíno villages and houses are described.

Luminescence methods were used to date a palaeoenvironmental coastal exposure on Stronsay, Orkney. The section consists of glacial sediments that are overlain by intercalated peats and windblown sands, implying varying past environmental conditions. Rapid luminescence characterisation was undertaken using screening methods in combination with quantitative dating of selected samples, providing information on depositional processes and chronology. A temporal discontinuity between the glacial sediments and later peats encompasses the period associated with an important Mesolithic site located inland, and implies erosional episodes. The onset of blanket bog formation on Stronsay dates to 3760±330 yrs BP, consistent with observations elsewhere in Orkney and northern Scotland. Periods of enhanced aeolian activity on Stronsay occurred in the late Bronze Age (2700±265 yrs BP) and at the beginning of the Little Ice Age (650±75 yrs BP). Recent periods of sand deposition in the 19th and 20th centuries (AD 1865±20 and 1960±5) correspond to periods of known historic storminess. These results add to an expanding catalogue of data on sand movements throughout the Holocene in Orkney, and set a framework to interpret the evolution of nearby archaeological and natural landscapes from prehistoric to modern times.

Salmonella is the second most commonly reported human foodborne pathogen in England and Wales, and antimicrobial-resistant strains of Salmonella are an increasing problem in both human and veterinary medicine. In this work we used a generalized linear spatial model to estimate the spatial and temporal patterns of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella Typhimurium in England and Wales. Of the antimicrobials considered we found a common peak in the probability that an S. Typhimurium incident will show resistance to a given antimicrobial in late spring and in mid to late autumn; however, for one of the antimicrobials (streptomycin) there was a sharp drop, over the last 18 months of the period of investigation, in the probability of resistance. We also found a higher probability of resistance in North Wales which is consistent across the antimicrobials considered. This information contributes to our understanding of the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella.

We present Spitzer spectroscopy of the recurrent nova RS Ophiuchi obtained on several occasions between 2006 and 2009. The spectra show variability in the silicate dust features at 9.7 μm and 18 μm, which form in the wind of the red giant in the system. We fit the spectra with Dusty models and find changes in the dust temperature, due to changes in the luminosity of the central source. The mass-loss rate of the secondary is a few 10−7M⊙yr−1, typical of a red giant of its type.

Clearly defined distal tephras are rare in rockshelter sediment records. Crvena Stijena, a Palaeolithic site in Montenegro, contains one of the longest (> 20 m) rockshelter sediment records in Europe with deposits ranging in age from Middle Pleistocene to mid-Holocene. A distinctive tephra is clearly exposed within the well stratified record approximately 6.5 m below the present land surface. We present geochemical data to confirm that this tephra is a distal equivalent of the Campanian Ignimbrite deposits and a product of the largest Late Pleistocene eruption in Europe. Originating in the Campanian volcanic province of southwest Italy, this tephra has been independently dated to 39.3 ka. It is a highly significant chronostratigraphic marker for southern Europe. Macrostratigraphic and microstratigraphic observations, allied with detailed particle size data, show that the tephra layer is in a primary depositional context and was transported into the rockshelter by aeolian processes. This site is unique because the tephra forms an abrupt boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic records. Before they can be used as chronostratigraphic markers in rockshelter and cave-mouth environments, it is essential to establish the stratigraphic integrity of distal tephras and the mechanisms and pathways involved in their transport and deposition.

A classical nova outburst arises from a thermonuclear runaway in the hydrogen-rich material accreted onto the surface of a white dwarf in a binary system. These explosions can produce copious amounts of heavy element enriched material that are ejected violently into the surrounding interstellar medium. In some novae, conditions in the ejecta are suitable for the formation of dust of various compositions, including silicates, amorphous carbon, silicon carbide, and hydrocarbons. Multiple dust grain types are sometimes produced in the same system. CO formation in novae may not reach saturation, thus invalidating the usual paradigm in which the C:O ratio determines the dust species. A few novae, such as V705 Cas and DZ Cru, have exhibited emission features near 6, 8, and 11 μmthat are similar to “Unidentified Infrared” (UIR) features, but with significant differences in position and band structure. Here, we present Spitzer IRS spectra of two recent dusty novae, V2361 Cyg and V2362 Cyg, that harbor similar peculiar emission structures superimposed on features arising from carbonaceous grains. In other astronomical objects, such as star forming regions and young stellar objects, emission peaks at 6.2, 7.7, and 11.3 μmhave been associated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) complexes. We suggest that hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) may be the source of these features in novae based upon the spectral behavior of the emission features and the conditions under which the dust formed.

The effect of applied magnetic fields on the deformation of a biocompatible hydrophobic ferrofluid drop suspended in a viscous medium is investigated numerically and compared with experimental data. A numerical formulation for the time-dependent simulation of magnetohydrodynamics of two immiscible non-conducting fluids is used with a volume-of-fluid scheme for fully deformable interfaces. Analytical formulae for ellipsoidal drops and near-spheroidal drops are reviewed and developed for code validation. At low magnetic fields, both the experimental and numerical results follow the asymptotic small deformation theory. The value of interfacial tension is deduced from an optimal fit of a numerically simulated shape with the experimentally obtained drop shape, and appears to be a constant for low applied magnetic fields. At high magnetic fields, on the other hand, experimental measurements deviate from numerical results if a constant interfacial tension is implemented. The difference can be represented as a dependence of apparent interfacial tension on the magnetic field. This idea is investigated computationally by varying the interfacial tension as a function of the applied magnetic field and by comparing the drop shapes with experimental data until a perfect match is found. This estimation method provides a consistent correlation for the variation in interfacial tension at high magnetic fields. A conclusion section provides a discussion of physical effects which may influence the microstructure and contribute to the reported observations.