Travel Disruption: Three Case Studies

This report draws together the findings of three studies of travel disruption and its impacts on travellers: the volcanic ash cloud which disrupted aviation in Europe in 2010, the loss of road bridges between November 2009 and April 2010 at Workington, Cumbria and the severe winter weather across the UK in the winter of 2010-2011. It proposes a six phase cycle: normality, when transport provision matches expectations drawn from experience, tickets, timetables, etc;, disruption, when the transport provision fails to meet expectations; touching the new context when travellers seek to assess how the changed conditions affect their travel plans; the revised plan, when travellers make new plans on the basis of what they know about the context, the consequences, which includes counting the cost of changed travel plans in terms of extra expenditure of time, money, effort, prolonged absences as well as any benefits emanating from the experience; reflection and incorporation whereby the experience of disruption is assimilated int the new normality; this can include trust of agents, information, travelling more prepared for disruption or being aware of new channels of information or help

Assessing the critical material constraints on low carbon infrastructure transitions

We present an assessment method to analyze whether the disruption in supply of a group of materials endangers the transition to low-carbon infrastructure. We define criticality as the combination of the potential for supply disruption and the exposure of the system of interest to that disruption. Low-carbon energy depends on multiple technologies comprised of a multitude of materials of varying criticality. Our methodology allows us to assess the simultaneous potential for supply disruption of a range of materials. Generating a specific target level of low-carbon energy implies a dynamic roll-out of technology at a specific scale. Our approach is correspondingly dynamic, and monitors the change in criticality during the transition towards a low-carbon energy goal. It is thus not limited to the quantification of criticality of a particular material at a particular point in time. We apply our method to criticality in the proposed UK energy transition as a demonstration, with a focus on neodymium use in electric vehicles. Although we anticipate that the supply disruption of neodymium will decrease, our results show the criticality of low carbon energy generation increases, as a result of increasing exposure to neodymium-reliant technologies. We present a number of potential responses to reduce the criticality through a reduction in supply disruption potential of the exposure of the UK to that disruption

Metabolic Effects of Bariatric Surgery in Mouse Models of Circadian Disruption

Background/Objectives: Mounting evidence supports a link between circadian disruption and metabolic disease. Humans with circadian disruption (for example, night-shift workers) have an increased risk of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases compared with the non-disrupted population. However, it is unclear whether the obesity and obesity-related disorders associated with circadian disruption respond to therapeutic treatments as well as individuals with other types of obesity. Subjects/Methods: Here, we test the effectiveness of the commonly used bariatric surgical procedure, Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG), in mouse models of genetic and environmental circadian disruption. Results: VSG led to a reduction in body weight and fat mass in both ClockΔ19 mutant and constant-light mouse models (PP\u3e0.05). Within circadian-disrupted models, VSG also led to improved glucose tolerance and lipid handling (P\u3c0.05). Conclusions: Together these data demonstrate that VSG is an effective treatment for the obesity associated with circadian disruption, and that the potent effects of bariatric surgery are orthogonal to circadian biology. However, as the effects of bariatric surgery are independent of circadian disruption, VSG cannot be considered a cure for circadian disruption. These data have important implications for circadian-disrupted obese patients. Moreover, these results reveal new information about the metabolic pathways governing the effects of bariatric surgery as well as of circadian disruption

Things change: Women’s and men’s marital disruption dynamics in Italy during a time of social transformations, 1970-2003

We study women’s and men’s marital disruption in Italy between 1970 and 2003. By applying an event-history analysis to the 2003 Italian variant of the Generations and Gender Survey we found that the spread of marital disruption started among middle-highly educated women. Then in recent years it appears that less educated women have also been able to dissolve their unhappy unions. Overall we can see the beginning of a reversed educational gradient from positive to negative. In contrast the trend in men’s marital disruption risk appears as a change over time common to all educational groups, although with persisting educational differentials.determinants, educational differences, event history analysis, gender difference, Italy, marital disruption

Disruptive Technologies and the Law

In the past two decades, the concept of disruptive technology has gone from theory, to buzz word, to the captivation of the popular imagination. Disruptive innovation goes beyond improving existing products; it seeks to tap unforeseen markets, create products to solve problems consumers don\u27t know that they have, and ultimately to change the face of industry. We are all the beneficiaries of disruption. Every smartphone carrying, MP3-listening, Netflix-watching consumer is taking advantage of technologies once unimaginable, but that now feel indispensable. Silicon Valley\u27s pursuit of disruption will continue to benefit and delight a world of consumers. But where disruption may once have been the secondary result of innovation, disruption has become a goal in and of itself. Today, I want to urge a cautionary note: The tech community\u27s solipsistic focus on disruption, to the exclusion of human and legal values, can be problematic. We can see these potential problems in the development of three areas: mass surveillance, 3D printing, and driverless cars

Optimization of cell disruption in Raphidocelis subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris for biomarker evaluation

Raphidocelis subcapitata and Chlorella vulgaris are bioassay microalgae with rigid cellulosic cell wall which can hinder the release of intracellular proteins often studied as toxicity biomarkers. Since cell disruption is necessary for recovering intracellular biomolecules in these organisms, this study investigated the efficiency of ultrasonication bath; ultrasonication probe; vortexer; and bead mill in disintegrating the microalgae for anti-oxidative enzyme extraction. The extent of cell disruption was evaluated and quantified using bright field microscopy. Disrupted algae appeared as ghosts. The greatest disintegration of the microalgae (83-99.6 %) was achieved using bead mill with 0.42-0.6 mm glass beads while the other methods induced little or no disruption. The degree of cell disruption using bead mill increased with exposure time, beads-solution ratio and agitation speed while larger beads caused less disruption. Findings revealed that bead milling, with specific parameters optimized, is one of the most effective methods of disintegrating the robust algal cells