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• The first large-scale field trial of microcapsule-based self-healing concrete in the UK. • Microcapsules were developed and implemented in concrete on site. • Self-healing process was demonstrated both in field and laboratory assessment. • Crack width and depth and permeability reduction and strength recovery was achieved. Maintaining the health and reliability of our infrastructure is of strategic importance. The current state of the UK infrastructure, and the associated huge costs of inspection, maintenance, repair and eventual replacement, is not sustainable and is no longer environmentally viable. The design of infrastructure, mainly concrete, remains traditional and poor material performance continues to be the main cause of deterioration and failure in our infrastructure systems. Biomimetic materials, that emulate natural biological systems in their ability to self-healing, provide an exciting and plausible solution. Embedding cementitious materials with in-built capabilities to sense and respond to their environmental triggers could potentially eliminate all external interventions and deliver a resilience infrastructure. The work presented in this paper forms part of a national initiative that has been developing biomimetic cementitious infrastructure materials which culminated in the first large-scale field trials of self-healing concrete in the UK testing four different but complementary technologies that were developed. This paper focuses on one self-healing technology, namely microcapsules, which contain a healing agent that is released on their rupture as a result of crack propagation. The paper will present details of the microcapsules used, their implementation in concrete and in the field trials and time-related, field and laboratory, assessment of the self-healing process. It also highlights challenges faced and improvements that are now on-going to produce the next generation of the microcapsule self-healing cementitious system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flooding is one of the costliest hazards in the United Kingdom. A large part of the annual flood damage is caused by surface water flooding that is a direct result of intense rainfall. Traditional catchment-based approaches to flood prediction are not applicable for surface water floods. However, given sufficiently accurate forecasts of rainfall intensity, with sufficient lead time, actions can be taken to reduce their impact. These actions require reliable information about severity and areas at risk that is clear and easily interpreted. The accuracy requirements, in particular, are very challenging, as they relate to prediction of intensities that occur only infrequently and that typically affect only small areas. In this paper, forecasts of intense rainfall from a new convection-permitting ensemble prediction system are evaluated using radar observations of intense rain and surface water flooding reports. An urban flooding case that occurred in Edinburgh in 2011 is first investigated and then a broader look is taken at performance through a 3-month period during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. Conclusions are drawn about the value of the ensemble and the particular means of presenting the forecasts, and areas requiring further work are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduling surgical specialties in a medical facility is a very complex process. The choice of schedules and resource availability impact directly on the number of patients treated by specialty, cancellations, wait times, and the overall performance of the system. In this paper we present a system-wide model developed to allow management to explore tradeoffs between OR availability, bed capacity, surgeons' booking privileges, and wait lists. We developed a mixed integer programming model to schedule surgical blocks for each specialty into ORs and applied it to the hospitals in a British Columbia Health Authority, considering OR time availability and post-surgical resource constraints. The results offer promising insights into resource optimization and wait list management, showing that without increasing post-surgical resources hospitals could handle more cases by scheduling specialties differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Mobile technology and applications offer a new approach to personalised care for older people. Hear Me Now (HMN), developed by Maldaba Ltd, is an application for smartphones and tablets. Although originally conceived and co-produced by individuals with learning disabilities and their supporters, anecdotal evidence from specialist practitioners indicated that older people with chronic health conditions and frailty might also benefit from use of the HMN app. This feasibility study sought to explore whether older people could use the HMN app and examine their usage. The aim of this feasibility study was to explore whether older people could use HMN and to examine their usage of this application. Design/methodology/approach: A purposive sample of six individuals (M = 4; F = 2) aged between 65 and 90 years was recruited for the study. Following training, the participants used HMN at home for different purposes over three months. Concurrently, the participants took part in an online interview every three weeks (N = 5 interviews). They also completed the Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire during Weeks 1 and 12 and the system usability scale during Week 12 to assess usability of HMN. Findings: The participants used the HMN app for a range of purposes and indicated that their confidence and skills increased when using HMN. Though the participants reported diverse experiences of using HMN for different purposes, it was clear the majority considered this app helpful in managing daily life and their health conditions; however, they also experienced barriers in its use such as dexterity and visual problems. Research limitations/implications: This is a small feasibility study that was restricted to older people using the HMN app. Though valuable insights were obtained from the participants, the evidence that older people could use HMN to support their personal activities and to self-manage health conditions remains anecdotal. Further research is therefore warranted following adaptation of HMN for use by older people. Originality/value: This study indicates that patient self-management apps such as HMN have the potential to enable older adults with long-term health conditions to play an active role in managing their condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Police command and control centres are the main point of contact for the public who require help. Like other areas of UK public services, police forces are set targets for their performance. Some of these targets relate to the speed at which they respond to calls for assistance from the public. In this paper we share our experience in improving the performance of command and control centres of a UK Police Force; a project which started as a classical simulation exercise and ended up with a significant reorganization in a UK Police Force. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been an increase in the knowledge of, and need for, high-speed non-invasive monitoring of infrastructure. The various technologies involved, ground penetrating radar (GPR), infrared thermography, conductivity, etc. are becoming widely accepted as proven techniques to determine the condition of various structures from bridges and retaining walls to highways and railway lines.This paper will discuss the various applications of GPR and infrared thermography on the UK infrastructure, with concentration on the high-speed applications of these non-invasive techniques. This will lead into the limitations both on the style of the survey and the maximum speed obtainable while still recording sensible data. Calculations are undertaken to obtain the maximum speed of a radar survey as well as an infrared survey. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nutrient profiling systems are powerful tools for public health initiatives, as they aim at categorising foods according to their nutritional quality. The British Food Standards Agency (FSA) nutrient profiling system (FSA score) has been validated in a British food database, but the application of the model in other contexts has not yet been evaluated. The objective of the present study was to assess the application of the British FSA score in a French food composition database. Foods from the French NutriNet-Santé study food composition table were categorised according to their FSA score using the Office of Communication (OfCom) cut-off value (‘healthier’ ≤ 4 for foods and ≤ 1 for beverages; ‘less healthy’ >4 for foods and >1 for beverages) and distribution cut-offs (quintiles for foods, quartiles for beverages). Foods were also categorised according to the food groups used for the French Programme National Nutrition Santé (PNNS) recommendations. Foods were weighted according to their relative consumption in a sample drawn from the NutriNet-Santé study (n 4225), representative of the French population. Classification of foods according to the OfCom cut-offs was consistent with food groups described in the PNNS: 97·8 % of fruit and vegetables, 90·4 % of cereals and potatoes and only 3·8 % of sugary snacks were considered as ‘healthier’. Moreover, variability in the FSA score allowed for a discrimination between subcategories in the same food group, confirming the possibility of using the FSA score as a multiple category system, for example as a basis for front-of-pack nutrition labelling. Application of the FSA score in the French context would adequately complement current public health recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The impressive development in global multi-region input–output (IO) databases is accompanied by an increase in applications published in the scientific literature. However, it is not obvious whether the insights gained from these studies have indeed been used in political decision-making. We ask whether and to what extent there is policy uptake of results from environmentally extended multi-region IO (EE-MRIO) models and how it may be improved. We identify unique characteristics of such models not inherent to other approaches. We then present evidence from the UK showing that a policy process around consumption-based accounting for greenhouse gas emissions and resource use has evolved that is based on results from EE-MRIO modelling. This suggests that specific, policy-relevant information that would be impossible to obtain otherwise can be generated with the help of EE-MRIO models. Our analysis is limited to environmental applications of global MRIO models and to government policies in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]