Google Maps to collect spatial responses in a survey environment

This paper examines the use of Google Maps-based tools to collect spatial responses from participants during academic research surveys conducted via the Internet. Using two recent examples from the University of East Anglia it discusses the online survey context and how Google Maps was used, issues surrounding the technical implementation of these tools, processing and use of the collected data, and concludes with considerations for future research that might employ similar methods

Barriers to and Facilitators of the Consumption of Animal-Based Protein-Rich Foods in Older Adults.

Protein intakes in the older population can be lower than recommended for good health, and while reasons for low protein intakes can be provided, little work has attempted to investigate these reasons in relation to actual intakes, and so identify those of likely greatest impact when designing interventions. Questionnaires assessing: usual consumption of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products; agreement/disagreement with reasons for the consumption/non-consumption of these foods; and several demographic and lifestyle characteristics; were sent to 1000 UK community-dwelling adults aged 65 years and over. In total, 351 returned questionnaires, representative of the UK older population for gender and age, were suitable for analysis. Different factors were important for consumption of the four food groups, but similarities were also found. These similarities likely reflect issues of particular concern to both the consumption of animal-based protein-rich foods and the consumption of these foods by older adults. Taken together, these findings suggest intakes to be explained by, and thus that strategies for increasing consumption should focus on: increasing liking/tastiness; improving convenience and the effort required for food preparation and consumption; minimizing spoilage and wastage; and improving perceptions of affordability or value for money; freshness; and the healthiness of protein-rich foods

The design and fabrication of microstrip omnidirectional array antennas for aerospace applications

A microstrip antenna design concept was developed that will provide quasi-omnidirectional radiation pattern characteristics about cylindrical and conical aerospace structures. L-band and S-band antenna arrays were designed, fabricated, and, in some cases, flight tested for rocket, satellite, and aircraft drone applications. Each type of array design is discussed along with a thermal cover design that was required for the sounding rocket applications

An Analysis of the Technical and Economic Potential for Mid-Scale Distributed Wind

This report examines the status, restrainers, drivers, and estimated development potential of mid-scale (10 kW to 5000 kW) distributed wind projects. This segment of the wind market has not enjoyed the same growth that central-station wind has experienced. The purpose of this report is to analyze why, and to assess the market potential for this technology under current market and policy conditions. As discussed in section 2, one of the most significant barriers to the development of distributed wind is a general scarcity of turbine choices and turbine inventory available for purchase. Most turbine manufacturers have scaled back their involvement in the mid-scale market segments in favor of larger turbines suitable for large, central-station wind farms. Those distributed-scale turbines that are available are often relatively expensive (on a $/kW basis), hard to order in single units or small lots, and suffer from long delivery delays. Section 3 discusses various other factors—both positive and negative—that affect the viability of distributed wind. In addition to the product scarcity described in section 2, distributed wind is challenged by relatively poor productivity (compared with more modern large turbines), siting issues, burdensome interconnection rules, aesthetic concerns, and fragmented state rules regarding net metering. Several other factors favor distributed wind: areas of high and rising retail electricity prices, increasingly favorable public policies, and greater community interest in the environmental and economic benefits of renewable energy. As examined in section 4, the study evaluated the economic potential for distributed wind in the contiguous United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. The analysis began with a GIS screening process to eliminate areas that are technically impractical for distributed wind. Sites were eliminated in areas where: • Elevation was too high; • Slope was too steep; • Population density was too great; • Wind Power Class was less than 2; and • Areas legally excluded from wind-power development, such as national parks. After screening out ineligible sites, more than 3.6 million surviving sites were evaluated to determine whether distributed wind would be financially feasible. Certain customer types were excluded from the study, such as agricultural, construction companies, and military facilities, because they lacked data necessary for the analysis. The financial model considered: • Wind resources; • Wholesale and retail power prices; • Renewable Energy Credit (REC) prices; • Customer type (community wind, commercial, industrial, or public facility); • Project size; • Turbine technical and financial characteristics; • Onsite and offsite energy use; and • Incentives. The results varied significantly by customer class. Overall, the study showed that 67,100 out of the 3,611,655 sites/areas that were analyzed for economic viability yielded a positive net present value under current market conditions and policies and including all applicable state and federal incentives. To assess the potential of new technology, two virtual wind turbines—the NREL 250 and NREL 500—were included in the analysis. These virtual turbines were compared to existing 250 kW and 500 kW turbines. Overall, the study showed that 204,677 sites analyzed had positive net present values with the virtual turbines compared with 10,407 economically successful projects with existing 250 kW and 500 kW turbines. These numbers do not include the application of capped state and federal incentives. The following crucial changes could expand distributed wind development into the future. • Improvements in technology; • Reductions in cost; • Greater productivity at lower wind speeds; and • Greater policy support

An Analysis of the Technical and Economic Potential for Mid-Scale Distributed Wind

This report examines the status, restrainers, drivers, and estimated development potential of mid-scale (10 kW to 5000 kW) distributed wind projects. This segment of the wind market has not enjoyed the same growth that central-station wind has experienced. The purpose of this report is to analyze why, and to assess the market potential for this technology under current market and policy conditions. As discussed in section 2, one of the most significant barriers to the development of distributed wind is a general scarcity of turbine choices and turbine inventory available for purchase. Most turbine manufacturers have scaled back their involvement in the mid-scale market segments in favor of larger turbines suitable for large, central-station wind farms. Those distributed-scale turbines that are available are often relatively expensive (on a $/kW basis), hard to order in single units or small lots, and suffer from long delivery delays. Section 3 discusses various other factors—both positive and negative—that affect the viability of distributed wind. In addition to the product scarcity described in section 2, distributed wind is challenged by relatively poor productivity (compared with more modern large turbines), siting issues, burdensome interconnection rules, aesthetic concerns, and fragmented state rules regarding net metering. Several other factors favor distributed wind: areas of high and rising retail electricity prices, increasingly favorable public policies, and greater community interest in the environmental and economic benefits of renewable energy. As examined in section 4, the study evaluated the economic potential for distributed wind in the contiguous United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. The analysis began with a GIS screening process to eliminate areas that are technically impractical for distributed wind. Sites were eliminated in areas where: • Elevation was too high; • Slope was too steep; • Population density was too great; • Wind Power Class was less than 2; and • Areas legally excluded from wind-power development, such as national parks. After screening out ineligible sites, more than 3.6 million surviving sites were evaluated to determine whether distributed wind would be financially feasible. Certain customer types were excluded from the study, such as agricultural, construction companies, and military facilities, because they lacked data necessary for the analysis. The financial model considered: • Wind resources; • Wholesale and retail power prices; • Renewable Energy Credit (REC) prices; • Customer type (community wind, commercial, industrial, or public facility); • Project size; • Turbine technical and financial characteristics; • Onsite and offsite energy use; and • Incentives. The results varied significantly by customer class. Overall, the study showed that 67,100 out of the 3,611,655 sites/areas that were analyzed for economic viability yielded a positive net present value under current market conditions and policies and including all applicable state and federal incentives. To assess the potential of new technology, two virtual wind turbines—the NREL 250 and NREL 500—were included in the analysis. These virtual turbines were compared to existing 250 kW and 500 kW turbines. Overall, the study showed that 204,677 sites analyzed had positive net present values with the virtual turbines compared with 10,407 economically successful projects with existing 250 kW and 500 kW turbines. These numbers do not include the application of capped state and federal incentives. The following crucial changes could expand distributed wind development into the future. • Improvements in technology; • Reductions in cost; • Greater productivity at lower wind speeds; and • Greater policy support

Developing Multiplication Fact Fluency

Using specific components of three broad learning theories—cognitive, social-interactional, and behavioral—students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classrooms were given multiplication fact fluency instruction over a period of five weeks for 10-15 minutes each day. Two different approaches were utilized with two distinct groups of students for the purpose of comparing different approaches to fluency development. Results indicate that students using a strategy-based approach for fluency development by means of instructional tasks emphasizing social-interactional and cognitive theories (particularly Bruner’s theory of Modes of Representation) increased multiplication fact fluency, with a greater degree of consistency, than students using a drill-based approach emphasizing behavioristic techniques such as repetition and memorization

Accretion-Inhibited Star Formation in the Warm Molecular Disk of the Green-valley Elliptical Galaxy NGC 3226

We present archival Spitzer photometry and spectroscopy, and Herschel photometry, of the peculiar "Green Valley" elliptical galaxy NGC~3226. The galaxy, which contains a low-luminosity AGN, forms a pair with NGC~3227, and is shown to lie in a complex web of stellar and HI filaments. Imaging at 8 and 16$\mu$m reveals a curved plume structure 3 kpc in extent, embedded within the core of the galaxy, and coincident with the termination of a 30 kpc-long HI tail. In-situ star formation associated with the IR plume is identified from narrow-band HST imaging. The end of the IR-plume coincides with a warm molecular hydrogen disk and dusty ring, containing 0.7-1.1 $\times$ 10$^7$ M$_{\odot}$ detected within the central kpc. Sensitive upper limits to the detection of cold molecular gas may indicate that a large fraction of the H$_2$ is in a warm state. Photometry, derived from the UV to the far-IR, shows evidence for a low star formation rate of $\sim$0.04 M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ averaged over the last 100 Myrs. A mid-IR component to the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) contributes $\sim$20$\%$ of the IR luminosity of the galaxy, and is consistent with emission associated with the AGN. The current measured star formation rate is insufficient to explain NGC3226's global UV-optical "green" colors via the resurgence of star formation in a "red and dead" galaxy. This form of "cold accretion" from a tidal stream would appear to be an inefficient way to rejuvenate early-type galaxies, and may actually inhibit star formation.Comment: Accepted for Publication ApJ Oct 201

Channeling Effects in Direct Dark Matter Detectors

The channeling of the ion recoiling after a collision with a WIMP changes the ionization signal in direct detection experiments, producing a larger signal than otherwise expected. We give estimates of the fraction of channeled recoiling ions in NaI (Tl), Si and Ge crystals using analytic models produced since the 1960's and 70's to describe channeling and blocking effects. We find that the channeling fraction of recoiling lattice nuclei is smaller than that of ions that are injected into the crystal and that it is strongly temperature dependent.Comment: 8 pages, 12 figures, To appear in the Proceedings of the sixth International Workshop on the Dark Side of the Universe (DSU2010) Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico 1-6 June 201

UGC 7069: The largest ring galaxy

We find that UGC 7069 is the largest ring galaxy known to date. In this Letter, we present a multiwavelength study of this galaxy (combining radio, 2MASS, optical and ultraviolet data). The ring of UGC 7069, whose diameter measures ~115 kpc, is also warped at its edges. The nucleus appears double-peaked and hosts a possible LINER. The ultraviolet data indicate a strong blue colour and suggest that UGC 7069 is a starburst galaxy. We also present N-body simulation results, which indicate that galaxy collisions can produce such huge rings. Large inclination angles between the target and the intruder galaxy may account for the formation of warped rings. Multiwavelength observations are highly essential to constrain our simulation results, which will address the formation and evolution of such a rare galaxy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS Letters, in pres