In the context of water use for agricultural production, water footprints (WFs) have become an important sustainability indicator. To understand better the water demand for beef and sheep meat produced on pasture-based systems, a WF of individual farms is required. The main objective of this study was to determine the primary contributors to freshwater consumption up to the farm gate expressed as a volumetric WF and associated impacts for the production of 1 kg of beef and 1 kg of sheep meat from a selection of pasture-based farms for 2 consecutive years, 2014 and 2015. The WF included green water, from the consumption of soil moisture due to evapotranspiration, and blue water, from the consumption of ground and surface waters. The impact of freshwater consumption on global water stress from the production of beef and sheep meat in Ireland was also computed. The average WF of the beef farms was 8391 l/kg carcass weight (CW) of which 8222 l/kg CW was green water and 169 l/kg CW was blue water; water for the production of pasture (including silage and grass) contributed 88% to the WF, concentrate production – 10% and on-farm water use – 1%. The average stress-weighted WF of beef was 91 l H2O eq/kg CW, implying that each kg of beef produced in Ireland contributed to freshwater scarcity equivalent to the consumption of 91 l of freshwater by an average world citizen. The average WF of the sheep farms was 7672 l/kg CW of which 7635 l/kg CW was green water and 37 l/kg CW was blue water; water for the production of pasture contributed 87% to the WF, concentrate production – 12% and on-farm water use – 1%. The average stress-weighted WF was 2 l H2O eq/kg CW for sheep. This study also evaluated the sustainability of recent intensification initiatives in Ireland and found that increases in productivity were supported through an increase in green water use and higher grass yields per hectare on both beef and sheep farms.

Introduction / Innovation Concept: Insertion of an internal jugular (IJ) central venous catheter (CVC) under ultrasound guidance (USG) is a complex skill that requires considerable practice in order to achieve technical proficiency. Simulation allows novices to engage in structured and high volume repetitive practice of USG IJ CVC insertion and to work through a predictable pattern of errors prior to real patient encounters. Based on earlier work on learning curves for CVC insertion, this curriculum uses a model of simulation-based high volume deliberate practice of the fundamental skills of USG CVC insertion, and was designed with careful consideration of the conditions associated with optimal learning and improvement of performance. Methods: Eight residents (post graduate year 2) from the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Anesthesiology engaged in deliberate practice of USG CVC insertion during three two-hour sessions, at 2-week intervals. Progress of the residents was monitored with direct observation and regular hand motion analysis (HMA), which was compared to performance metrics set by a local expert. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: Students reviewed online introductory ultrasound video and articles outlining internal jugular (IJ) and femoral CVC insertion prior to the first session. Session 1 focused on ultrasound skills including knobology, transducer movement, and needle tracking. This was followed by 60 minutes of deliberate practice of the skills of USG CVC insertion on both femoral and IJ models. During sessions 2/3, students practiced complete gowning and draping using sterile technique. This was followed again by deliberate practice of the skills of USG CVC insertion on both femoral and IJ models. Students received coaching and feedback throughout all sessions, with HMA assessment of USG IJ CVC insertion at the beginning and end of each session. After three training sessions, consisting of 85 total attempts, 5/8 residents surpassed the expert benchmark for probe hand motion, 6/8 for needle hand motion, and 1/8 for total procedure time, with the remaining residents approaching the expert benchmark for each metric. Conclusion: We have successfully developed a simulation-based curriculum for USG IJ CVC placement. Residents demonstrated continuous improvement in each session, approaching or exceeding the expert benchmarks by the end of the third session.

Nine hundred and fifty-four bass were tagged, mainly by anglers, in the river estuaries and off the coasts of Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorset and Hampshire, England, in 1970 and 1971. To date 59 bass have been recaptured, 86 % by anglers, 12 % by commercial fishermen and 2 % by research vessels. Forty-seven bass were recaptured within 16 km of their release point. Of the 12 bass recaptured at a greater distance, four were taken within 90 days and had moved by an average of 1.4 km/day. From the tag returns and the length distributions of the bass tagged by areas it is concluded that bass form permanent populations in estuaries until they are 2–3 years old, when they move offshore, eventually becoming very mobile as evidenced by the long-distance movements observed.

Most species-specific conservation efforts require estimates of population size to establish priorities and to monitor management activities. Yet obtaining reliable estimates of animal populations is often difficult, especially given time and funding limitations experienced by many research programmes. Consequently, there is a great need for practical methods to provide indices of animal density. Ideally, accurate estimates of populations would be obtained through mark-recapture data collected from recognizable individuals over multiple censuses that cover the entire population range. Such data are rarely available, so conservation biologists have no alternative but to resort to analyses of less perfect data, ranging from permanent-point censuses from cameras through to transect data on sightings and spoor encounters. The importance of census and monitoring data makes the development, and validation, of new techniques a priority. Because we do not live in a perfect world, there is a need to develop methods that can give an estimate of population sizes. It would be naïve to assume that these will give hugely accurate estimates of population size, but these techniques can prove useful in identifying areas that are likely to benefit from conservation action.

The monitoring and management of species depends on reliable population estimates, and this can be both difficult and very costly for cryptic large vertebrates that live in forested habitats. Recently developed camera trapping techniques have already been shown to be an effective means of making mark-recapture estimates of individually identifiable animals (e.g. tigers). Camera traps also provide a new method for surveying animal abundance. Through computer simulations, and an analysis of the rates of camera trap capture from 19 studies of tigers across the species' range, we show that the number of camera days/tiger photograph correlates with independent estimates of tiger density. This statistic does not rely on individual identity and is particularly useful for estimating the population density of species that are not individually identifiable. Finally, we used the comparison between observed trapping rates and the computer simulations to estimate the minimum effort required to determine that tigers, or other species, do not exist in an area, a measure that is critical for conservation planning.

Were drugs in use in prehistory? Recent claims for the use of hallucinogenic substances have been made, and caused a stir. However, new work on a Scottish Neolithic ceremonial site suggests archaeologists (and the media) may have been jumping to the wrong conclusions!

A rabbit antiserum was raised against a synthetic peptide corresponding to a region near the N-terminus of the Haemonchus contortus inhibitory amino acid receptor subunit, HG1. The antiserum recognized a recombinant form of the N-terminal domain of the subunit on Western blots and reacted with the ventral nerve cord of H. contortus in immunofluorescence experiments. Immunofluorescence was also detected in specific head neurons of H. contortus: these were tentatively identified as ring motor- and inter-neurons, plus a possible sensory neuron equivalent to the AQR cell of Caenorhabditis elegans. In the roundworm Ascaris suum, immunoreactivity was limited to the muscle arms, the post-synaptic component of the neuromuscular junction. The possible ligand of receptors containing the HG1 subunit is discussed in the light of this expression pattern.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha power has been demonstrated to be inversely related to mental activity and has subsequently been used as an indirect measure of brain activation. The thalamus has been proposed as an important site for modulation of rhythmic alpha activity. Studies in animals have suggested that cortical alpha rhythms are correlated with alpha rhythms in the thalamus. However, little empirical evidence exists for this relation in humans. In the current study, resting EEG and a fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan were measured during the same experimental session. Over a 30-min period, average EEG alpha power across 28 electrodes from 27 participants was robustly inversely correlated with glucose metabolic activity in the thalamus. These data provide the first evidence for a relation between alpha EEG power and thalamic activity in humans.

A reproducible method for the estimation of volumes of small tissue samples was needed to allow comparison of the biological activity of tissue explants and to relate symptom improvement to procedures such as adenoidectomy or polypectomy. Holdens apparatus, which utilizes fluid displacement between two chambers, was compared to displacement in a 20 ml syringe. Two observers made four readings each on 20 tissue samples (range 0.37 to 4.70 ml) using both methods for comparison.

A two-way analysis of variance for replicated data gave an F ratio of 0.6885 (df 19; p>0.8) for Holden's apparatus, and an F ratio of 1.4307 (df 19; p>0.1) for the 20 ml syringe. The standard error of the mean for repeated readings on the same sample by an observer was 0.001 ml for Holden's apparatus and 0.014 ml for the syringe method. For accurate estimation of small tissue volumes within 0.01 ml we recommend Holden's apparatus.

A requirement exists in the aeronautical industry for measuring temperature non-invasively in critical components, such as the turbine disc in an operating engine. Neutron diffraction, unique among nuclear techniques, offers the possibility of measuring both temperature and strain within an operating engine by virtue of the high penetration of neutrons through industrial materials. Static diffraction experiments on Waspaloy and Ti6A14V showed, by comparison with thermocouples, that both the diffraction peak position and the peak intensity can measure the tempeiaturc to within ±6 K aL 800 K. Measurements on a rotating Waspaloy disc, heated from its rim, showed that temperature gradients could be determined accurately by lattice parameter measurements. The large grain size in Waspaloy prevented accurate peak intensity measurements in this dynamic test. Finally, the structures within a small Pratt & Whitney engine in its equatorial plane were mapped by mounting the engine on an X-Y translator on the diffractometer and moving it through a grid of positions. Possible future directions in the field will be discussed.

Sleeve coldworking (SCW) is a mechanical process used in the aircraft industry to strengthen fastener holes of structural parts. By cold-expanding the holes, compressive residual stresses and a high dislocation density are introduced around the holes, the effect of which is to counteract the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracks and thus increase the fatigue life of the parts. The knowledge of residual stress due to SCW is therefore crucial for assessing the fatigue properties of a treated part. In this study, residual stresses were investigated, by employing neutron and X-ray diffraction methods, in a lug specimen that was sleeve coldworked and fatigued.

The specimen had been used for testing the influence of the SCW process on fatigue life and crack propagation behaviour under constant amplitude or variable amplitude cyclic loading.

We report the optical properties of C60 determined from the variable angle ellipsometry and near normal incidence reflection / transmission (R.T) experiments, and of M6C60 from the R, T experiments. The measurements were performed on thin films (d∼1000 Å) of C60 and M6C60 deposited on both Si(100) and suprasil substrates. The onset for strong absorption across the HOMO-LUMO gap in CgQ is measured to be -2.3 eV, slightly larger than the gap values obtained from the x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron-energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) experiments. The observed peak positions in ε2(ω) for M6C60 and C60 compares well with the recent band structure calculations and suggests that the M6C60 compounds exhibit only a weak hybridization between the C60 and M states.

The Raman-active modes of solid films of MxC60 (x-0, 6; M=K, Rb, Cs) and K3C60 have been studied experimentally. The mode-activity is dominated by intraball interactions, and the effect of the M + ions on the C60 spectrum is observed to be almost insensitive to the radius or mass of the alkali metal. Tangential modes of solid C60 are observed to soften in M660 by -60 cm−1, which can be attributed to a charge-transfer-induced elongation of the intraball bond lengths, similar to that observed in graphite intercalation compounds. Conversely, the radial modes are found to upshift slightly, indicating that a competing mechanism counteracts the effect of the bond elongation. For K3C60, six Raman lines have been observed in which the lowest frequency mode exhibits a Breit-Wigner-Fano lineshape, indicating a coupling between the lowest frequency Hq-derived intramolecular modes of C60 and a broad Raman-active continuum with the same symmetry lying lower in frequency.

The axial and tangential components of residual strain have been measured through the region of an electron beam weld in Zr 2.5 wt.% Nb tube. Marked changes in grain orientation in the tube occur as far away as 10 mm from the weld-centre. In particular a large fraction of the grains which had an [0002] direction aligned tangentially in the original tube were reoriented with this direction aligned axially. These grains showed high (5 x 10-4) tensile strain. Compressive strains (-5 to - 10 x I0-4) were measured in the region 5 - 10 mm from the weld-centre in those grains with [1010] directioný aligned axially. The hoop straint vary from tensile (maximum 5 x 10-4) to compressive (maximum -5 x 10-4) as a function of distance from the weld centre.