1,711 research outputs found
Simulation of Claylike Colloids
We investigate properties of dense suspensions and sediments of small
spherical silt particles by means of a combined Molecular Dynamics (MD) and
Stochastic Rotation Dynamics (SRD) simulation. We include van der Waals and
effective electrostatic interactions between the colloidal particles, as well
as Brownian motion and hydrodynamic interactions which are calculated in the
SRD-part. We present the simulation technique and first results. We have
measured velocity distributions, diffusion coefficients, sedimentation
velocity, spatial correlation functions and we have explored the phase diagram
depending on the parameters of the potentials and on the volume fraction.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figure
Columnar and lamellar phases in attractive colloidal systems
In colloidal suspensions, the competition between attractive and repulsive
interactions gives rise to a rich and complex phenomenology. Here, we study the
equilibrium phase diagram of a model system using a DLVO interaction potential
by means of molecular dynamics simulations and a thermodynamical approach. As a
result, we find tubular and lamellar phases at low volume fraction. Such
phases, extremely relevant for designing new materials, may be not easily
observed in the experiments because of the long relaxation times and the
presence of defects.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Structure and dynamics of Rh surfaces
Lattice relaxations, surface phonon spectra, surface energies, and work
functions are calculated for Rh(100) and Rh(110) surfaces using
density-functional theory and the full-potential linearized augmented plane
wave method. Both, the local-density approximation and the generalized gradient
approximation to the exchange-correlation functional are considered. The force
constants are obtained from the directly calculated atomic forces, and the
temperature dependence of the surface relaxation is evaluated by minimizing the
free energy of the system. The anharmonicity of the atomic vibrations is taken
into account within the quasiharmonic approximation. The importance of
contributions from different phonons to the surface relaxation is analyzed.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, scheduled to appear in Phys. Rev. B, Feb. 15
(1998). Other related publications can be found at
http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
Young people today: news media, policy and youth justice
The new sociology of childhood sees children as competent social agents with important contributions to make. And yet the phase of childhood is fraught with tensions and contradictions. Public policies are required, not only to protect children, but also to control them and regulate their behaviour. For children and young people in the UK, youth justice has become increasingly punitive. At the same time, social policies have focused more on children's inclusion and participation. In this interplay of conflict and contradictions, the role the media play is critical in contributing to the moral panic about childhood and youth. In this article, we consider media representations of “antisocial” children and young people and how this belies a moral response to the nature of contemporary childhood. We conclude by considering how a rights-based approach might help redress the moralised politics of childhood representations in the media
Wet scavenging of soluble gases in DC3 deep convective storms using WRF-Chem simulations and aircraft observations
We examine wet scavenging of soluble trace gases in storms observed during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign. We conduct high-resolution simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) of a severe storm in Oklahoma. The model represents well the storm location, size, and structure as compared with Next Generation Weather Radar reflectivity, and simulated CO transport is consistent with aircraft observations. Scavenging efficiencies (SEs) between inflow and outflow of soluble species are calculated from aircraft measurements and model simulations. Using a simple wet scavenging scheme, we simulate the SE of each soluble species within the error bars of the observations. The simulated SEs of all species except nitric acid (HNO_3) are highly sensitive to the values specified for the fractions retained in ice when cloud water freezes. To reproduce the observations, we must assume zero ice retention for formaldehyde (CH_2O) and hydrogen peroxide (H_2O_2) and complete retention for methyl hydrogen peroxide (CH_3OOH) and sulfur dioxide (SO_2), likely to compensate for the lack of aqueous chemistry in the model. We then compare scavenging efficiencies among storms that formed in Alabama and northeast Colorado and the Oklahoma storm. Significant differences in SEs are seen among storms and species. More scavenging of HNO_3 and less removal of CH_3OOH are seen in storms with higher maximum flash rates, an indication of more graupel mass. Graupel is associated with mixed-phase scavenging and lightning production of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), processes that may explain the observed differences in HNO_3 and CH_3OOH scavenging
Designing electronic collaborative learning environments
Electronic collaborative learning environments for learning and working are in vogue. Designers design them according to their own constructivist interpretations of what collaborative learning is and what it should achieve. Educators employ them with different educational approaches and in diverse situations to achieve different ends. Students use them, sometimes very enthusiastically, but often in a perfunctory way. Finally, researchers study them and—as is usually the case when apples and oranges are compared—find no conclusive evidence as to whether or not they work, where they do or do not work, when they do or do not work and, most importantly, why, they do or do not work. This contribution presents an affordance framework for such collaborative learning environments; an interaction design procedure for designing, developing, and implementing them; and an educational affordance approach to the use of tasks in those environments. It also presents the results of three projects dealing with these three issues
Learning to prescribe - pharmacists' experiences of supplementary prescribing training in England
Background: The introduction of non-medical prescribing for professions such as pharmacy and nursing in
recent years offers additional responsibilities and opportunities but attendant training issues. In the UK and in contrast to some international models, becoming a non-medical prescriber involves the completion of an
accredited training course offered by many higher education institutions, where the skills and knowledge
necessary for prescribing are learnt.
Aims: to explore pharmacists' perceptions and experiences of learning to prescribe on supplementary prescribing (SP) courses, particularly in relation to inter-professional learning, course content and subsequent use of prescribing in practice.
Methods: A postal questionnaire survey was sent to all 808 SP registered pharmacists in England in April 2007,
exploring demographic, training, prescribing, safety culture and general perceptions of SP.
Results: After one follow-up, 411 (51%) of pharmacists responded. 82% agreed SP training was useful, 58%
agreed courses provided appropriate knowledge and 62% agreed that the necessary prescribing skills were gained.
Clinical examination, consultation skills training and practical experience with doctors were valued highly;
pharmacology training and some aspects of course delivery were criticised. Mixed views on inter-professional
learning were reported – insights into other professions being valued but knowledge and skills differences
considered problematic. 67% believed SP and recent independent prescribing (IP) should be taught together, with more diagnostic training wanted; few pharmacists trained in IP, but many were training or intending to train. There was no association between pharmacists' attitudes towards prescribing training and when they undertook training between 2004 and 2007 but earlier cohorts were more likely to be using supplementary prescribing in practice.
Conclusion: Pharmacists appeared to value their SP training and suggested improvements that could inform
future courses. The benefits of inter-professional learning, however, may conflict with providing professionspecific training. SP training may be perceived to be an instrumental 'stepping stone' in pharmacists' professional project of gaining full IP status
Vertical Structure of the Outer Accretion Disk in Persistent Low-Mass X-Ray Binaries
We have investigated the influence of X-ray irradiation on the vertical
structure of the outer accretion disk in low-mass X-ray binaries by performing
a self-consistent calculation of the vertical structure and X-ray radiation
transfer in the disk. Penetrating deep into the disk, the field of scattered
X-ray photons with energy \,keV exerts a significant influence on
the vertical structure of the accretion disk at a distance
\,cm from the neutron star. At a distance \,cm,
where the total surface density in the disk reaches
\,g\,cm, X-ray heating affects all layers of an
optically thick disk. The X-ray heating effect is enhanced significantly in the
presence of an extended atmospheric layer with a temperature
\,K above the accretion disk. We have derived
simple analytic formulas for the disk heating by scattered X-ray photons using
an approximate solution of the transfer equation by the Sobolev method. This
approximation has a \,% accuracy in the range of X-ray photon
energies \,keV.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, published in Astronomy Letter
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