Characterisation of UK and Irish Cold-Pressed Rapeseed Oils in Relation to Quality Indices and Constituents.

Cold-pressed rapeseed oil (CPRSO) is produced when seeds from an oilseed rape crop are mechanically crushed whilst at a low temperature. CPRSO’s popularity is rapidly expanding and is now produced in most Northern European countries including both N.Ireland and ROI. The CPRSO industry is still relatively new and therefore not as widely researched as other high quality oils. Fifteen CPRSO from The UK, Ireland and France were examined to determine characteristic differences between the oils. Two samples of extra-virgin olive oil and two samples of refined rapeseed oil were also included in the investigation to assess performance against market competitors. The antioxidant potential of the oils was assessed using the ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays. Both unexpectedly showed that refined rapeseed oil had the highest potential whilst there was significant difference between many of the CPRSO’s. The acid value (ACOS method Cd 3d-63) ranged widely from 0.47-3.41. To predict the stability during storage, an accelerated oxidation test was carried out where the oils were placed in an oven (60°C) and peroxide value was monitored. The results showed extra-virgin olive oil underwent the least oxidation during the trial. The refined rapeseed oil suffered the worst levels of oxidation whilst the CPRSO’s performed similarly but with some variation. Fatty acid composition was investigated with GC-MS and some of the major fatty acids were found to differ significantly between producers. Minor compound analysis was achieved with extraction and identification through HPLC. All results are critically discussed and compared to relevant published studies.

Single- and two-mode quantumness at a beam splitter

In the context of bipartite bosonic systems, two notions of classicality of correlations can be defined: P-classicality, based on the properties of the Glauber-Sudarshan P-function; and C-classicality, based on the entropic quantum discord. It has been shown that these two notions are maximally inequivalent in a static (metric) sense -- as they coincide only on a set of states of zero measure. We extend and reinforce quantitatively this inequivalence by addressing the dynamical relation between these types of non-classicality in a paradigmatic quantum-optical setting: the linear mixing at a beam splitter of a single-mode Gaussian state with a thermal reference state. Specifically, we show that almost all P-classical input states generate outputs that are not C-classical. Indeed, for the case of zero thermal reference photons, the more P-classical resources at the input the less C-classicality at the output. In addition, we show that the P-classicality at the input -- as quantified by the non-classical depth -- does instead determine quantitatively the potential of generating output entanglement. This endows the non-classical depth with a new operational interpretation: it gives the maximum number of thermal reference photons that can be mixed at a beam splitter without destroying the output entanglement.

Holocene vegetation change in relation to fire and volcanic events in Jilin, Northeastern China

Volatiles erupted from large-scale explosive volcanic activities have a significant impact on climate and environmental changes. As an important ecological factor, the occurrence of fire is affected by vegetation cover, and fire can feed back into both vegetation and climatic change. The causes of fire events are diverse; and can include volcanic eruptions. The amount of charcoal in sediment sequences is related to the frequency and intensity of fire, and hence under good preservation conditions fire history can be reconstructed from fossil charcoal abundance. Until now, little research on the role of fire has been carried out in northeastern China. In this study, through research on charcoal and tephra shards from Gushantun and Hanlongwan, Holocene vegetation change in relation to fire and volcanic events in Jilin, Northeastern China, was investigated. Where tephra shards are present in Gushantun it is associated with low level of both conifers and broadleaved trees, and is also associated with a pronounced charcoal peak. This suggests forest cover was greatly reduced from a fire caused by an eruption of the Tianchi volcano. We also detected one tephra layer in Hanlongwan, which also has the almost same depth with low level forest pollen values and one charcoal peak. This was caused probably by an eruption of the Jinlongdingzi volcano.

Low Fidelity Simulation as a Mechanism to Enhance Midwifery Students’ Confidence in Relation to Emergency Obstetric Training

Simulation offers a safe opportunity for students to practice clinical procedures without exposure and risk of harm to real patients (Partin et al, 2011). Simulation is recognised to increase students’ confidence in their ability to make critical decisions (McCaughey and Traynor, 2010). Within Queen’s University Belfast, simulation for obstetric emergency training based on the ethos of ‘Practical Obstetric Multi-Professional Training[PROMPT]’ (Draycott et al, 2008) has been developed for midwifery students and is now uniquely embedded within the pre-registration curriculum. An important aspect of the PROMPT training is the use of low fidelity simulation as opposed to high tech support (Crofts et al, 2008). Studies have reflected that low fidelity simulation can be an effective tool for promoting student confidence (Tosterud, 2013; Hughes et al, 2013). Students are given the opportunity to experience obstetric emergencies within a safe environment and evaluation has indicated that students feel safe and have an increase in confidence and self-efficacy. The immediacy of the feedback offered by simulated situations encourages an exploration of beliefs and attitudes, particularly with peers, promoting a deeper sense of learning (Stoneham and Feltham, 2009).This paper will discuss why low fidelity simulation can effectively enhance the student experience and promote self-efficacy.

Understanding Risk: Contributions from the Journal of Risk and Governance

During recent years, news headlines have been rife with criticisms of the risk management practices of public and private sector entities. These criticisms have often been accompanied by calls for greater transparency in the way government entities manage risks and communicate dangers to the public. Similarly, in the private sector, the internationalisation of economic activity has heightened concerns over the potential adverse implications of mismanagement and financial scandals, and has led to calls for greater regulation and supervision. While the responses of public sector agencies and private sector actors to these challenges have differed, they share a common acknowledgement that effective governance relies on the pro-active identification, assessment, and management of risks as well as appropriate regulatory frameworks.

This edited book covers a number of divergent topics illustrating the emergence of several novel themes in the area of economic and social risks. As a communality, these novel themes relate to the complexity in which human activity in this late stage of capitalist development is embedded. This risk-generating complexity, in turn, can be observed at several levels, including workplace hazards, governance problems within the private sector or the intersection between public and private, and in relation to the economic risks faced by larger entities such as national governments.

On the diversity of superluminous supernovae: ejected mass as the dominant factor

We assemble a sample of 24 hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae(SLSNe). Parameterizing the light-curve shape through rise and declinetime-scales shows that the two are highly correlated. Magnetar-poweredmodels can reproduce the correlation, with the diversity in rise anddecline rates driven by the diffusion time-scale. Circumstellarinteraction models can exhibit a similar rise-decline relation, but onlyfor a narrow range of densities, which may be problematic for thesemodels. We find that SLSNe are approximately 3.5 mag brighter and havelight curves three times broader than SNe Ibc, but that the intrinsicshapes are similar. There are a number of SLSNe with particularly broadlight curves, possibly indicating two progenitor channels, butstatistical tests do not cleanly separate two populations. The generalspectral evolution is also presented. Velocities measured from Fe II aresimilar for SLSNe and SNe Ibc, suggesting that diffusion timedifferences are dominated by mass or opacity. Flat velocity evolution inmost SLSNe suggests a dense shell of ejecta. If opacities in SLSNe aresimilar to other SNe Ibc, the average ejected mass is higher by a factor2-3. Assuming κ = 0.1 cm2 g-1, we estimate amean (median) SLSN ejecta mass of 10 M⊙ (6M⊙), with a range of 3-30 M⊙. Doubling theassumed opacity brings the masses closer to normal SNe Ibc, but with ahigh-mass tail. The most probable mechanism for generating SLSNe seemsto be the core collapse of a very massive hydrogen-poor star, forming amillisecond magnetar.