Search

This paper evaluates a unique, transdisciplinary participatory research and knowledge exchange methodology developed in the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project and offers it as a transferable framework for others engaging stakeholders and systemic connections with environmental risk. Drought in the UK is a complex, diffuse and hidden risk, involving multiple stakeholders and systemic connections across diverse sectors. Historically, drought risk management has been underpinned by specialist science and technology implemented by statutory stakeholders. This paper critically evaluates the social learning from a longitudinal research process that involved co-working with seven river catchment-based, multi-stakeholder groups. The DRY project was a creative experiment in bringing drought science and stories into the same space, aiming to reveal different knowledges—specialist science, practical sector-level insight, and local knowledge—as a new evidence base to support better decision-making in UK drought risk management. An evaluative multi-method research methodology was overlaid on this process, using surveys, within meeting reflective evaluations, and summative semi-structured narrative interviews. This paper reflects on participant experiences of the ‘open’ scientific modelling development, ‘storying’ approaches, and their iterative interaction. It outlines the enablers, inhibitors and required support for this engagement process, which aimed to facilitate integration of different forms of knowledge as evidence, with social and sustainability learning among diverse stakeholders at its core. The process offered opportunity for valuable experiential learning as researchers of the nuanced impacts of intersecting factors on participatory place-based methods. It showed that similar approaches to science-narrative dialogic processes can play out locally to integrate aspects of social and sustainability learning in different ways. This sustainability learning provided a valuable platform for creative multi-stakeholder scenario-ing possible drought futures for increased local climate resilience. It then proposes a transferable research framework that promotes participatory, place-based, narrative-science knowledge exchange for building local capital for managing systemic environmental risk.

Alpha-pinene (AP), produced by pine trees and other plants, is the main component of turpentine and is used as a fragrance and flavor ingredient. Exposure occurs via the use of personal care and household cleaning products and in the lumber industry. Despite widespread exposure, toxicity data for AP are limited. The objective of this work was to develop and validate a method to quantitate AP in rodent blood and mammary glands, in support of toxicokinetic and toxicology studies of AP. The method uses 100 µL of blood or $\sim$100 mg of mammary gland with analysis by headspace (HS) gas chromatography--mass spectrometry. The samples are diluted with internal standard (2H3-AP, IS) and sealed in HS vials; mammary glands are homogenized within the vial. The vials are equilibrated briefly at 60°C before a HS sample is analyzed. The method was validated in Sprague Dawley rat blood over the range 5–500 ng/mL and mammary gland over the range 100–5,000 ng/g. The method was linear (r ≥ 0.99), accurate (mean relative error (RE) ≤ ±13.4%) and precise (relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤ 7.1%) in both matrices. Recoveries incorporating IS were ≥88.7% at all concentrations in both tissues. Standards as high as 1,500 ng/mL in blood and 20,000 ng/g in mammary gland could be analyzed using lower injection volume or extrapolating the calibration curve beyond the upper limit of quantitation (mean %RE ≤ ±18.7; %RSD ≤ 2.2). Loss of AP occurred during overnight autosampler storage as well as frozen storage in as few as 15 days, but incorporation of IS prior to storage corrected for the loss such that calculated concentrations were within 84.7–117% of day 0 concentrations following frozen storage up to ≥32 days in both matrices. Matrix evaluation was performed in Hsd:Sprague Dawley®SD® rat and B6C3F1 mouse blood and mammary glands (mean %RE ≤ ±9.2; %RSD ≤ 4.3). These data demonstrate that the method is suitable for determination of AP in rodent blood and mammary glands.

October 1957, and the successful launch of Sputnik 1 into Earth orbit, marked the dawn of the Space Age. The first of the 'fellow travellers' - humanity's first artificial satellite - orbited for a mere three months before re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, though its mission paved the way for an era of exploration that has endured to the present day. For many, a world without satellites would be a difficult one to imagine. As a society, we have become reliant on them for a vast array of services and applications. With a divine view of large swathes of the Earth's surface, and the ability to relay signals around its curvature, satellites have enabled the fast transfer of data on a global scale, bypassing the challenges associated with ground-based broadcasting, long-distance wiring, and so on. Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) satellites have revolutionised transportation by land, air, and sea, while weather satellites enable scientists to monitor and warn of large-scale phenomena as they develop in near real-time. Satellites have extended the frontiers of observation: looking outwards, astronomers are able to circumvent the Earth's atmosphere to look deeper into the cosmos than ever before; looking inwards, patterns and processes that feed into general circulation models can be monitored on a range of timescales, improving our understanding of climate change. Satellites, and the services they provide, are not going to disappear any time soon. That said, threats to satellite safety do exist, and it is important that they be addressed as soon as possible to avoid long-lasting damage to operations in the space domain. Nearly sixty-five years on from the advent of human activity in space, I chart the evolution of the orbital debris environment and review latest efforts to make space operations more sustainable., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures - Invited review for Astronomy & Geophysics (RAS Journals) - Accepted for publication in Volume 63, Issue 2

Sit-stand desks are popular however many people have standing-induced low back pain (LBP). People with LBP have fewer standing weight shifts compared with back-healthy people. Participants were classified as standing-tolerant or intolerant. Participants were provided sit-stand desks for 12 weeks. Participants were assigned to intervention (graded standing exposure and exercise) or control (no instruction) conditions. Participants reported weekly sitting time and average/worst LBP. Standing weight shifts and LBP were re-assessed post-intervention. All groups decreased sitting time (range: 30-50%) over 12 weeks. Sitting time and average LBP were correlated in all standing-intolerant individuals, worst LBP and sitting time were correlated for intervention group only. All standing-intolerant individuals increased standing weight shifts and decreased LBP after 12-weeks. Standing-intolerant individuals benefitted from 12-weeks of sit-stand desk use regardless of intervention. Motivated individuals with standing-induced LBP may increase standing tolerance with sit-stand desk use. Additional benefits may exist when structured guidance is provided.

Thermal-infrared imaging observations spanning more than three decades from the VISIR instrument on the VLT, COMICS on Subaru and archived observations from NASA IRTF are used to characterise Saturn’s seasonal changes. Radiative transfer modelling (using NEMESIS [8]) provides the northern hemisphere temperature progression of the atmosphere over 15 years (2005-2020), both during and beyond the Cassini mission. Comparisons with a record of temperature variability from Cassini/CIRS measurements [10] establish the ability to replicate ground-based observations with CIRS temperature and composition inputs to NEMESIS. Imaging observations taken one Saturn year apart (1989-2018) show the limited extent of the interannual variability of Saturn’s northern hemisphere climate. Further comparisons from VISIR observations in 2017 and COMICS in 2020 show the seasonal progression of Saturn since the demise of Cassini. We characterize the seasonal atmospheric temperature progression of Saturn over the course of a full Saturnian year for the first time. Introduction With the culmination of Cassini's unprecedented 13-year exploration of the Saturn system in September 2017, and with no future missions currently scheduled to visit the ringed world, the requirement to build on Cassini's discoveries now falls upon Earth-based observatories. Mid-infrared observations have been used to characterise features such as the extreme temperatures within an enormous storm system in 2011 [1,6], the cyclic variations in temperatures and winds associated with the 'Quasi-Periodic Oscillation' (QPO) in the equatorial stratosphere [2] and the onset of a seasonal warm polar vortex over the northern summer pole [3]. Saturn's axial tilt of 27º subjects its atmosphere to seasonal shifts in insolation [4], the effects of which are most significant at the gas giant's poles. The north pole emerged from northern spring equinox in 2009 (planetocentric solar longitude Ls=0º), and northern summer solstice in May 2017 (Ls=90º), providing Earth-based observers with their best visibility of the north polar region since 1987, with its warm central cyclone and long-lived hexagonal wave [5,6]. Studying these interconnected phenomena within Saturn's atmosphere (particularly those that evolve with time in a cyclic fashion) requires regular temporal sampling throughout Saturn's long 29.5-year orbit. We present here a showcase of research from the wealth of archived observations from VLT/VISIR and Subaru/COMICS since 2005, as well as infrared imagery obtained from NASA/IRTF throughout the 1980s. 1.1 Temperature progression Methane (CH4) is used to determine stratospheric temperatures due to its even distribution across the planet. Figure 1 shows the changes in the stratospheric and tropospheric conditions as seen by VISIR over 3 years; these images are representative of a range of filters between 7-20 µm. We probe changes in the atmospheric 2D temperature brightness distribution across the planet disc in VISIR and COMICS observations taken from April 2005 (Ls=303.6º) to July 2020 (Ls=124.6º); thereby discerning the spatial variability as well as temporal (figure 2). VISIR observations concurrent with the Cassini/CIRS observations are used to cross-check the time-series from Cassini, which can be extended beyond the end-of-mission with the newer VISIR and COMICS observations. These profiles provide a new measure of long-term temperature variability in the context of an established model. 1.2 Interannual Variability VISIR imaging from September 2017 have provided a unique opportunity, as they were acquired nearly one Saturn year apart from the 1989 observations of Gezari et al, (1989) [7], which were the first images of Saturn in the mid-IR to be taken with a 2D detector, rather than raster scanning. Examining the differences in brightness temperatures and composition indicate limited interannual variation for Saturn’s northern hemisphere (Figure 3). This also provides unique insight into the timescale of Saturn’s equatorial stratospheric oscillation which will be contrasted with a previously suggested biennial cycle [2]. The seasonal temperature progression measured in Section 1.1 also enables us to place this interannual variability in a wider context and provides further opportunity for insightful comparison with the comparatively shorter-term temperature variability. Figure 1: VISIR observations from P95-102 sensing the troposphere (right) and stratosphere (left). Polar warming is evident in the stratosphere; but is considerably smaller than that seen during southern summer and in the historical record of the 1980s. The warm polar hexagon is seen at the north pole, the first such observation from the ground. Work to remove residual striping is ongoing and has been successfully applied to the 2017 images. 2015-16 images have been published by Fletcher et al., 2017 [2]. (a) (b) Figure 2: (a) The latitudinal brightness temperature progression of COMICS and VISIR ground-based observations from 2005 (dark blue) to 2017 (dark red), (b) the latitudinal brightness temperature progression of CIRS observations (from Fletcher et al, 2009) from 2005 (dark blue) to 2017 (dark red). Figure 3: A comparison of a latitudinal brightness temperature profile sampled from a 12.4µm observation (of Gezari et al. 1989) in red and a latitudinal bright temperature profile from a synthetic image generated using the temperatures and composition from CIRS observations in 2017 shown in black. The contrast between these profiles shows the degree of interannual variability at 12.4µm. Acknowledgements This research is funded by a European Research Council consolidated grant under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant agreement 723890. We would like to thank co-author Mael Es-Sayeh for his significant contribution to this research. References [1] Fletcher et al., 2012, Icarus 221, p560-586 [2] Fletcher et al., 2017, Nature Astronomy, 1, p765-770 [3] Fletcher et al. 2015, Icarus. 251, 131-153 [4] Fletcher et al., 2015, https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.05690 [5] Fletcher et al., 2008, Science. 319, 79-81 [6] Fouchet et al., 2016, Icarus, 277, p196-214 [7] Gezari et al., 1989, Nature, 342, 777–780 [8] Irwin et al. 2008, JQSRT 109:1136-1150 [9] Orton et al., 2008, Nature 453, p198 [10] Fletcher et al. 2009, Icarus 200, 154-175

Flax composites demonstrate superior damping properties to conventional fibres. These materials are already being utilised in some products but the mechanical properties they exhibit are too low for many structural applications. Hybridization of flax with higher strength fibres has been shown to yield materials, which balance damping and load carrying capabilities alongside improved environmental credentials for flax/carbon hybrids. However, the most used composite material is E-glass but the current literature does not facilitate the prediction of damping properties for these hybrid composites, where it is expected that they will behave differently due to the difference in material properties. The woven flax and E-glass fibres specimens embedded with epoxy resin are manufactured via resin infusion to understand the damping and mechanical properties possible from an industrial process and the dominant factors affecting them, rather than the relationships between individual variables and these properties. These experiments allow the hybrids to be profiled for the first time and it is observed that hybridization of flax and E-glass fibres results in an increase in damping, from 1.97% to 2.63% for the best hybrid, especially when the flax plies are placed on the outer skin, however the compromise in tensile properties is significant, from 473.28 MPa to 166.53 MPa.

Glass structures are often used in industries utilising large structural topologies. These structures are typically manufactured by post-curing subcomponents together, using a chopped strand mat layer at the interface. To predict failure of these joints requires an accurate assessment of the material and fracture properties. In this paper two industrially manufactured top-hat stiffened panels are tested to determine the fracture behaviour at the component level. This highlights that the variability seen in fracture properties at coupon level is less evident in structural component response. Then a previously developed set of material properties is used to accurately model the structural response, crack initiation and debonding of the panels under four point bend using Finite Element Analysis which gives final failure at 6.2 kN and a 4.4% error compared to the experimental results which exhibits final failure at 5.94 kN. The specific fracture properties tested and R curve are shown to be critical in assessing crack initiation and propagation with considerable error, 14.5%, provided by data assumed from the literature.

Alpha-pinene is a monoterpene found in the oil of coniferous trees and has a wide variety of applications. Alpha-pinene oxide (APO) is a potential reactive metabolite of alpha-pinene in rodents. The objective of this work is to validate a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method to quantitate APO in rat and mouse blood and mammary glands in support of studies investigating the toxicity and toxicokinetic behavior of alpha-pinene. The method was validated in male Sprague Dawley rat blood over the concentration range of 5–250 ng/mL. Matrix standard curves were linear (r ≥ 0.99), and accuracy (percent relative error, %RE) was ≤±15% for standards at all levels. Intra- and interday precision (percent relative standard deviation, %RSD) and accuracy (%RE) were evaluated at three concentration levels (10, 50 and 200 ng/mL) and were ≤6.3% and ≤±5.4%, respectively. The limit of detection, determined from the SD of the limit of quantitation (5 ng/mL), was 1.06 ng/mL. Standards as high as 25,000 ng/mL could be accurately quantified after diluting to the validated range (%RE ≤ ±7.1%; %RSD ≤ 5.8%). APO was stable in rat blood for at least 70 days in frozen storage (−80°C). APO could accurately be quantified in male and female Hsd:Sprague Dawley® SD® rat and B6C3F1 mouse blood (mean %RE ≤ ±5.3%; %RSD ≤ 7.8%) and female B6C3F1 and Sprague Dawley rat mammary glands (mean %RE ≤ ±14.6%; %RSD ≤ 8.1%) using a primary matrix standard curve. These results demonstrate that the method is suitable for the analysis of APO in rodent blood and mammary glands generated from toxicokinetic and toxicology studies.

The COSMOS-UK observation network has been providing field scale soil moisture and hydrometeorological measurements across the UK since 2013. At the time of publication a total of 51 COSMOS-UK sites have been established, each delivering high temporal resolution data in near-real time. Each site utilises a cosmic-ray neutron sensor, which counts fast neutrons at the land surface. These measurements are used to derive field scale near-surface soil water content, which can provide unique insight for science, industry, and agriculture by filling a scale gap between localised point soil moisture and large-scale satellite soil moisture datasets. Additional soil physics and meteorological measurements are made by the COSMOS-UK network including precipitation, air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, soil heat flux, wind speed and direction, and components of incoming and outgoing radiation. These near-real time observational data can be used to improve the performance of hydrological models, validate remote sensing products, improve hydro-meteorological forecasting and underpin applications across a range of other scientific fields. The most recent version of the COSMOS-UK dataset is publically available at https://doi.org/10.5285/37702a54-b7a4-40ff-b62e-d14b161b69ca (Stanley et al., 2020).

AbstractObservations from the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) on NASA’s IRTF and the VISIR instrument on the VLT are used to characterize the Saturn’s seasonal changes. Radiative transfer modelling (using NEMESIS [8]) provides the northern hemisphere temperature progression of the atmosphere over 10 years, both during and beyond the Cassini mission. Comparisons between imaging observations taken one Saturn year apart (1989-2018) show the extent of the interannual variability of Saturn’s northern hemisphere climate for the first time.1. IntroductionWith the culmination of Cassini's unprecedented 13-year exploration of the Saturn system in September 2017, and with no future missions currently scheduled to visit the ringed world, the requirement to build upon Cassini's discoveries now falls upon Earth-based observatories. Mid-infrared observations have been used to characterise features such as the extreme temperatures within an enormous storm system in 2011 [1,6], the cyclic variations in temperatures and winds associated with the 'Quasi-Periodic Oscillation' (QPO) in the equatorial stratosphere [2] and the onset of a seasonal warm polar vortex over the northern summer pole [3].Saturn's axial tilt of 27º subjects its atmosphere to seasonal shifts in insolation [4], the effects of which are most significant at the gas giant's poles. The north pole emerged from northern spring equinox in 2009 (planetocentric solar longitude Ls=0º), and northern summer solstice in May 2017 (Ls=90º), providing Earth-based observers with their best visibility of the north polar region since 1987, with its warm central cyclone and long-lived hexagonal wave [5,6].Studying these interconnected phenomena within Saturn's atmosphere (particularly those that evolve with time in a cyclic fashion) requires regular temporal sampling throughout Saturn's long 29.5-year orbit. We present here a showcase of research from the wealth of archived observations from both TEXES and VISIR obtained over the past decade.1.1 Temperature progressionMethane (CH4) is used to determine stratospheric temperatures due to its even distribution across the planet, as well as its well understood emissive behavior. Figure 1 shows the visible changes in the stratospheric and tropospheric conditions as seen by VISIR over 3 years; these images are representative of a range of filters between 7-20 µm, which can be stacked and inverted to derive the 3D temperature distribution in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. Using this technique, we probe changes in the atmospheric 3D temperature distribution across the planet disc in VISIR observations taken from April 2008 (Ls=343º) to July 2018 (Ls=102º); thereby discerning the spatial variability as well as temporal. VISIR observations concurrent with the Cassini/CIRS observations will be used to cross-check the time-series from Cassini, which can be extended beyond the end-of-mission with the newer VISIR observations. These profiles will provide a new measure of long-term temperature variability in the context of an established model.1.2 Interannual VariabilitySpectroscopic maps of the northern summer hemisphere from TEXES instrument on the IRTF collected in September 2018 have provided a unique opportunity, as they were acquired exactly one Saturn year apart from the 1989 observations of Gezari et al, (1989) [7], which were the first ever 2D images of Saturn in the mid-IR. Examining the differences in brightness temperatures and composition will indicate the extent of any interannual variation for Saturn’s northern hemisphere. This study will also provide unique insight into the timescale of the QPO which will be contrasted with a previously suggested biennial cycle [2]. The seasonal temperature progression measured in Section 1.1 also enables us to place this interannual variability in a wider context and provides further opportunity for insightful comparison with the comparatively shorter-term temperature variability.Figure 1: VISIR observations from P95-102 sensing the troposphere (right) and stratosphere (left). Polar warming is evident in the stratosphere; but is considerably smaller than that seen during southern summer and in the historical record of the 1980s. The warm polar hexagon is seen at the north pole, the first such observation from the ground. Work to remove residual striping is ongoing and has been successfully applied to the 2017 images. 2015-16 images have been published by Fletcher et al., 2017 [2].AcknowledgementsThis research is funded by a European Research Council consolidated grant under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, grant agreement 723890. We would like to thank co-author Mael Es-Sayeh for his significant contribution to this research.References[1] Fletcher et al., 2012, Icarus 221, p560-586[2] Fletcher et al., 2017, Nature Astronomy, 1, p765-770[3] Fletcher et al. 2015, Icarus. 251, 131-153[4] Fletcher et al., 2015, https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.05690[5] Fletcher et al., 2008, Science. 319, 79-81[6] Fouchet et al., 2016, Icarus, 277, p196-214[7] Gezari et al., 1989, Nature, 342, 777–780[8] Irwin et al. 2008, JQSRT 109:1136-1150[9] Orton et al., 2008, Nature 453, p198

Osteoarthritis (OA) can be debilitating and career-ending for horses. Current treatments offer temporary and symptomatic relief, but potentially deleterious side effects. Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNC) are a rich source of macrophage progenitors that are anti-inflammatory and promote inflammation resolution. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of intra-articular BMNC therapy to improve clinical signs of naturally occurring equine OA. Horses presenting with clinical and radiographic evidence of moderate OA in a single joint were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: saline (negative control), triamcinolone (positive control), or BMNC (treatment group). Horses were subjectively and objectively evaluated for lameness and synovial fluid collected (cytology and cytokine/growth factor quantification) at 0, 7, and 21 days post-injection. Data were analyzed using General Estimating Equations with significance set at P

While Medieval Studies is a global discipline with experts spread across the world, academics and general audiences in the Global North are often unaware of the research and projects undertaken by their counterparts in the Global South. In this interview, James Blake Wiener speaks to Dr. Gimena del Rio Riande who works as a researcher with the Institute of Bibliographic Research and Textual Criticism at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Gimena is a tireless advocate for medieval studies across Latin America and for the digital humanities as an open field of research.

The abundance of deuterium in giant planet atmospheres provides constraints on the reservoirs of ices incorporated into these worlds during their formation and evolution. Motivated by discrepancies in the measured deuterium-hydrogen ratio (D/H) on Jupiter and Saturn, we present a new measurement of the D/H ratio in methane for Saturn from ground-based measurements. We analysed a spectral cube (covering 1151-1160 cm$^{-1}$ from 6 February 2013) from the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) on NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) where emission lines from both methane and deuterated methane are well resolved. Our estimate of the D/H ratio in stratospheric methane, $1.65_{-0.21}^{+0.27} \times 10^{-5}$ is in agreement with results derived from Cassini CIRS and ISO/SWS observations, confirming the unexpectedly low CH$_{3}$D abundance. Assuming a fractionation factor of $1.34 \pm 0.19$ we derive a hydrogen D/H of $1.23_{-0.23}^{+0.27} \times 10^{-5}$. This value remains lower than previous tropospheric hydrogen D/H measurements of (i) Saturn $2.10 (\pm 0.13) \times 10^{-5}$, (ii) Jupiter $2.6 (\pm 0.7) \times 10^{-5}$ and (iii) the proto-solar hydrogen D/H of $2.1 (\pm 0.5) \times 10^{-5}$, suggesting that the fractionation factor may not be appropriate for stratospheric methane, or that the D/H ratio in Saturn's stratosphere is not representative of the bulk of the planet., 9 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

This paper presents a series of model experiments on the current-induced motions of a 1:40 scale lifeboat at a single point mooring (SPM). The influence upon vessel and buoy motion of the mooring configuration factors of (a) three mooring line (hawser) lengths, (b) four buoy shapes and (c) two buoy sizes have been investigated. A motion tracking algorithm was successfully employed and validated against data from an inertial measuring unit allowing small scale testing without the influence of instrument cabling. The results show that the dominant translational motion, of the model lifeboat at a SPM, is sway and the rotational motion is yaw, with double pendulum-like fishtailing behaviour prevalent. Increasing the hawser length, when no buoy was present, resulted in an increase in the vessel's sway velocity. No significant effects on vessel motion were observed from changes in the shape of the 1:40 and 1:20 scale buoys. However, the presence and increasing size of the buoy was found to increase the sway velocity of the buoy and reduce the motions of the model lifeboat. These results suggest that changes in buoy size influence the motions of the model lifeboat which may enable mooring efficacy to be improved.

This article describes a copy of a Pigouchet book of hours for the use of Rome, dated 8 August 1497 (ISTC ih00387000). The copy includes a page-long note by the Antwerp-based monk and librarian Joannes Petrus Reyns (1722–1801), summarizing his attempts to discover something of the book’s history. This edition is notable for the various changes made to the title-page of six of the eight surviving copies: these changes are collated in this note.

Many marine species exhibit capabilities that would be desirable for manmade systems operating in the maritime environment. However, without detracting from the potential, if bioinspiration is to prove beneficial, it is important to have a consistent set of metrics that allow fair comparison, without bias, when comparing the performance of engineered and biological systems. In this study we focus on deriving an unbiased metric of performance applicable to marine animals and engineered subsea vehicles for one of the most fundamental of properties; that of the energy cost of locomotion. We present a rational analytical model of the physics behind the total energy cost of locomotion applicable to both biological and engineered autonomous underwater marine systems. This model proposes the use of an equivalent spheroid efficiency as a fair metric to compare engineered and biological systems. The model is then utilised to identify how changes in mass, speed, spheroid efficiency and hotel load impact the performance of the system.

A screening of different hardeners derived from cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) was performed; they were compared to a conventional hardener in an epoxy resin system for composite production by infusion process. All samples were submitted to different post-curing processes before tensile strength and moisture uptake were evaluated. It was observed that the use of CNSL hardeners produced cured epoxies similar in Young’s Modulus (YM) to the conventional hardener with a lower moisture uptake however, the hardeners resulting in a low YM had a marked reduction in moisture uptake. Studies of the post-curing process showed that the moisture uptake of the conventional system can be improved but, depending on the temperature applied, the process can be detrimental to the CNSL hardeners, provided that moisture uptake was increased after post-curing. The results indicate that biobased content can be introduced to a conventional epoxy resin system by replacing the conventional hardener commonly used by a sustainable one derived from cashew nut shell liquid with an additional moisture uptake reduction.

It is vital to be able to rapidly assess damaged ship structures. This ensures the safety of personnel and facilitation of the most effective repair or recovery. Interframe progressive collapse analysis has been used as a method for rapid assessment for vessels but its suitability for application to damaged vessels has been questioned, due to the limited failure modes assessed and modelling assumptions required when implementing the method. To reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of the recovery of a damaged vessel, it will be important to more accurately assess the structure by determining the correct failure mode. This paper presents a study on the use of progressive collapse analysis to model damaged box girders which assesses the structure across multiple frame boundaries. The study shows that while progressive collapse analysis can be applied in the assessment of damaged box girders, implementing the newly proposed assessment allows greater accuracy in the calculation of the collapse strength through capture of the true mode of failure. This new method will allow the effects of the damage on surrounding structure to be captured which can influence the deflection shapes that will lead to collapse of the structure.

Natural fibres exhibit improved sustainability and similar mechanical properties to E-glass. However, for laminates there is a larger difference in properties and limited assessments of structural components. An analytical method for grillages is developed which is generally shown to predict the stress to within 5% of an FEA model. The simulations demonstrate a change in structural response between flax and carbon, with flax demonstrating higher stresses than expected for the lower Young’s modulus for the same topology. Flax is shown to be more sensitive to transverse Young’s modulus than standard composites and a better characterisation of this property is required.