BACKGROUND Proper assessment of the harms caused by the misuse of drugs can inform policy makers in health, policing, and social care. We aimed to apply multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) modelling to a range of drug harms in the UK. METHODS Members of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, including two invited specialists, met in a 1-day interactive workshop to score 20 drugs on...

A combined finite/ discrete element method is presented for modelling of composite specimens subjected to dynamic/impact loadings. The main task is set on developing an algorithm for simulation of potential bonding and debonding/delamination phenomena during impact or general dynamic loading conditions. In addition, full fracture analysis can also be performed. The proposed approach adopts a ge...

This report summarises the cooperative research program on stable tearing between DSTO and CEAT. The main objective was to study the conditions under which aircraft materials fracture by stable tearing and to develop a predictive capability for the process under operational conditions. The experiments on both CCT and CT specimens were to assist in validation of numerical modelling. Tear bands w...

Elastic singularities such as crack tips, when in motion through a medium that is itself vibrating, are subject to forces orthogonal to the direction of motion and thus impossible to determine by energy considerations alone. This fact is used to propose a universal scenario, in which three dimension-ality is essential, for the dynamic instability of fast cracks in thin brittle materials. The dy...

In 2004, a team comprised of researchers and service providers launched the Safer Crack Use, Outreach, Research and Education (SCORE) project in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The project was aimed at developing a better understanding of the harms associated with crack cocaine smoking and determining the feasibility of introducing specific harm reduction strategie...