The perceived barriers to the inclusion of rainwater harvesting systems by UK house building companies

This work investigates the barriers that exist to deter the implementation of rainwater harvesting into new UK housing. A postal questionnaire was sent to a selection of large, medium and small house-builders distributed across the UK. Questions were asked concerning potential barriers to the inclusion of rainwater harvesting in homes separated into five sections; (1) institutional and regulatory gaps, (2) economic and financial constraints, (3) absence of incentives, (4) lack of information and technical knowledge, and (5) house-builder attitudes. The study concludes that although the knowledge of rainwater systems has increased these barriers are deterring house-builders from installing rainwater harvesting systems in new homes. It is further acknowledged that the implementation of rainwater harvesting will continue to be limited whilst these barriers remain and unless resolved, rainwater harvesting's potential to reduce the consumption of potable water in houses will continue to be limited

Precision mass measurements of magnesium isotopes and implications on the validity of the Isobaric Mass Multiplet Equation

If the mass excess of neutron-deficient nuclei and their neutron-rich mirror partners are both known, it can be shown that deviations of the Isobaric Mass Multiplet Equation (IMME) in the form of a cubic term can be probed. Such a cubic term was probed by using the atomic mass of neutron-rich magnesium isotopes measured using the TITAN Penning trap and the recently measured proton-separation energies of $^{29}$Cl and $^{30}$Ar. The atomic mass of $^{27}$Mg was found to be within 1.6$\sigma$ of the value stated in the Atomic Mass Evaluation. The atomic masses of $^{28,29}$Mg were measured to be both within 1$\sigma$, while being 8 and 34 times more precise, respectively. Using the $^{29}$Mg mass excess and previous measurements of $^{29}$Cl we uncovered a cubic coefficient of $d$ = 28(7) keV, which is the largest known cubic coefficient of the IMME. This departure, however, could also be caused by experimental data with unknown systematic errors. Hence there is a need to confirm the mass excess of $^{28}$S and the one-neutron separation energy of $^{29}$Cl, which have both come from a single measurement. Finally, our results were compared to ab initio calculations from the valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group, resulting in a good agreement.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Breakdown of the Isobaric Multiplet Mass Equation for the A = 20 and 21 Multiplets

Using the Penning trap mass spectrometer TITAN, we performed the first direct mass measurements of 20,21Mg, isotopes that are the most proton-rich members of the A = 20 and A = 21 isospin multiplets. These measurements were possible through the use of a unique ion-guide laser ion source, a development that suppressed isobaric contamination by six orders of magnitude. Compared to the latest atomic mass evaluation, we find that the mass of 21Mg is in good agreement but that the mass of 20Mg deviates by 3{\sigma}. These measurements reduce the uncertainties in the masses of 20,21Mg by 15 and 22 times, respectively, resulting in a significant departure from the expected behavior of the isobaric multiplet mass equation in both the A = 20 and A = 21 multiplets. This presents a challenge to shell model calculations using either the isospin non-conserving USDA/B Hamiltonians or isospin non-conserving interactions based on chiral two- and three-nucleon forces.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Cyclization of an α,β-Unsaturated Hydrazone Catalyzed by a BINOL-Phosphoric Acid: Pericyclic or Not?

Density functional theory is used to study the mechanism of the title reaction, one of the first catalytic asymmetric 6π-electrocyclizations observed experimentally. The benzylideneacetone-derived phenyl hydrazone is chosen as model substrate for the cyclization reaction, both in the protonated (A) and unprotonated (B) form, while the isoelectronic carbon analogue, 1,5-diphenylpentadienyl anion (C), serves as a reference for comparisons. The barrier to cyclization is computed to be more than 15 kcal/mol lower in A compared with B, in line with the observed acid catalysis. The relevant transition states to cyclization are characterized for A and C using orbital inspection, natural bond orbital analysis, nucleus independent chemical shifts, and stereochemical indicators. The cyclization of C is confirmed to be pericyclic, while that of A can be described as pseudopericyclic ring closure involving an intramolecular nucleophilic addition

The surface science of quasicrystals

The surfaces of quasicrystals have been extensively studied since about 1990. In this paper we review work on the structure and morphology of clean surfaces, and their electronic and phonon structure. We also describe progress in adsorption and epitaxy studies. The paper is illustrated throughout with examples from the literature. We offer some reflections on the wider impact of this body of work and anticipate areas for future development. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version

Gold Carbenoids: Lessons Learnt from a Transmetalation Approach

Carbophilic catalysts that are based on AuI allow a host of different nucleophiles to be added across various π systems.1–3 Although many of these reactions are thought to proceed via gold carbenoids, the challenge to observe and characterize these putative intermediates has basically been unmet.4 The current mechanistic interpretation therefore largely relies on indirect evidence and computational data, some of which are subject to debate.5 In an attempt to fill this gap, we pursued a potential route to gold carbenoids by formal transmetalation of chromium or tungsten Fischer carbene complexes with [LAu]+. Whereas this transformation proceeds with exceptional ease as long as a stabilizing heteroelement is present on the carbene center, it stops half-way in its absence. Rather unusual bimetallic arrays are formed, which allow the charge density to delocalize over several positions. The obvious difficulty of releasing an “unstabilized” gold carbenoid has potential mechanistic implications for the understanding of π-acid catalysis in general

Evaluation of the role of glutathione in the lead-induced toxicity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The effect of intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) in the lead stress response of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Yeast cells exposed to Pb, for 3 h, lost the cell proliferation capacity (viability) and decreased intracellular GSH level. The Pb-induced loss of cell viability was compared among yeast cells deficient in GSH1 (∆gsh1) or GSH2 (∆gsh2) genes and wild-type (WT) cells. When exposed to Pb, ∆gsh1 and ∆gsh2 cells did not display an increased loss of viability, compared with WT cells. However, the depletion of cellular thiols, including GSH, by treatment of WT cells with iodoacetamide (an alkylating agent, which binds covalently to thiol group), increased the loss of viability in Pb-treated cells. In contrast, GSH enrichment, due to the incubation of WT cells with amino acids mixture constituting GSH (l-glutamic acid, l-cysteine and glycine), reduced the Pb-induced loss of proliferation capacity. The obtained results suggest that intracellular GSH is involved in the defence against the Pb-induced toxicity; however, at physiological concentration, GSH seems not to be sufficient to prevent the Pb-induced loss of cell viability

Teaching about Teaching- Teacher Educators' and Student Teachers' Perceptions from Norway

In this chapter we address the question of how to prepare student teachers for professionalism in teaching. We especially focus on higher education-based teacher educators and their role in promoting integration between theory and practice, which is frequently perceived as a challenge in teacher education (Korthagen F, J Educ Teach 36(4):407–423, 2010; Kvernbekk T, Informal Logic 32(3):288–305, 2012). The chapter draws on a study, in a Norwegian context, that investigated teacher educators’ competence as seen from their own and student teachers’ perspectives (Ulvik M, Smith K, Uniped 39(1):61–77, 2016). Competence is here understood as the knowledge and skills that teacher educators need to do their job.acceptedVersionThis is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in [International Research, Policy and Practice in Teacher Education]. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01612-8_

Localized practices and globalized futures: challenges for Alaska coastal community youth

An article from Maritime Studies (2015) 14:

WASA-FRS experiments in FAIR Phase-0 at GSI

We have developed a new and unique experimental setup integrating the central part of the Wide Angle Shower Apparatus (WASA) into the Fragment Separator (FRS) at GSI. This combination opens up possibilities of new experiments with high-resolution spectroscopy at forward and measurements of light decay particles with nearly full solid-angle acceptance in coincidence. The first series of the WASA-FRS experiments have been successfully carried out in 2022. The developed experimental setup and two physics experiments performed in 2022 including the status of the preliminary data analysis are introduced