2,758 research outputs found
Groundwater reinjection and heat dissipation: lessons from the operation of a large groundwater cooling system in Central London
The performance of a large open-loop groundwater cooling scheme in a shallow alluvial aquifer at a prominent public building in Central London has been monitored closely over its first 2âyears of operation. The installed system provided cooling to the site continuously for a period of 9âmonths between June 2012 and April 2013. During this period, c. 131300âm3 of groundwater was abstracted from a single pumping well and recharged into a single injection borehole. The amount of heat rejected in this period amounts to c. 1.37âGWh. A programme of hydraulic testing was subsequently undertaken over a 3âmonth period between July and October 2013 to evaluate the performance of the injection borehole. The data indicate no significant change in injection performance between commissioning trials undertaken in 2010 and the most recent period of testing, as evidenced by comparison of injection pressures for given flow rates in 2010 and 2013. Continuous temperature monitoring of the abstracted water, the discharge and a number of observation wells demonstrates the evolution of a heat plume in the aquifer in response to heat rejection and subsequent dissipation of this heat during the 18âmonth planned cessation
The development of a new measure of quality of life for children with congenital cardiac disease
The purpose of the study was to develop a questionnaire measuring health-related R1 quality of life for children and adolescents with congenital heart disease, the ConQol, that would have both clinical and research applications. We describe here the process of construction of a questionnaire, the piloting and the development of a weighted scoring system, and data on the psychometric performance of the measure in a sample of 640 children and young people recruited via 6 regional centres for paediatric cardiology from across the United Kingdom. The ConQol has two versions, one designed for children aged from 8 to 11 years, and the other for young people aged from 12 to 16 years. Initial findings suggest that it is a valid and reliable instrument, is acceptable to respondents, and is simple to administer in both a research and clinical context
Magic wavelengths for the np-ns transitions in alkali-metal atoms
Extensive calculations of the electric-dipole matrix elements in alkali-metal
atoms are conducted using the relativistic all-order method. This approach is a
linearized version of the coupled-cluster method, which sums infinite sets of
many-body perturbation theory terms. All allowed transitions between the lowest
ns, np_1/2, np_3/2 states and a large number of excited states are considered
in these calculations and their accuracy is evaluated. The resulting
electric-dipole matrix elements are used for the high-precision calculation of
frequency-dependent polarizabilities of the excited states of alkali-metal
atoms. We find magic wavelengths in alkali-metal atoms for which the ns and
np_1/2 and np_3/2 atomic levels have the same ac Stark shifts, which
facilitates state-insensitive optical cooling and trapping.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Low-loss criterion and effective area considerations for photonic crystal fibers
We study the class of endlessly single-mode all-silica photonic crystal
fibers with a triangular air-hole cladding. We consider the sensibility to
longitudinal nonuniformities and the consequences and limitations for realizing
low-loss large-mode area photonic crystal fibers. We also discuss the
dominating scattering mechanism and experimentally we confirm that both macro
and micro-bending can be the limiting factor.Comment: Accepted for Journal of Optics A - Pure and Applied Optic
Pulse Shape Analysis with scintillating bolometers
Among the detectors used for rare event searches, such as neutrinoless Double
Beta Decay (0DBD) and Dark Matter experiments, bolometers are very
promising because of their favorable properties (excellent energy resolution,
high detector efficiency, a wide choice of different materials used as
absorber, ...). However, up to now, the actual interesting possibility to
identify the interacting particle, and thus to greatly reduce the background,
can be fulfilled only with a double read-out (i.e. the simultaneous and
independent read out of heat and scintillation light or heat and ionization).
This double read-out could greatly complicate the assembly of a huge,
multi-detector array, such as CUORE and EURECA. The possibility to recognize
the interacting particle through the shape of the thermal pulse is then clearly
a very interesting opportunity.
While detailed analyses of the signal time development in purely thermal
detectors have not produced so far interesting results, similar analyses on
macro-bolometers (10-500 g) built with scintillating crystals showed that
it is possible to distinguish between an electron or -ray and an
particle interaction (i.e. the main source of background for 0DBD
experiments based on the bolometric technique). Results on pulse shape analysis
of a CaMoO crystal operated as bolometer is reported as an example. An
explanation of this behavior, based on the energy partition in the heat and
scintillation channels, is also presented.Comment: Presented at the 14th International Workshop on Low Temperature
Detectors, proceedings to be published in the Journal of Low Temperature
Physic
'Moving life stories tell us just why politics mattersâ: personal narratives in tabloid anti-austerity campaigns
This article examines the use of personal narratives in two tabloid newspaper campaigns against a controversial welfare reform popularly known as the âbedroom taxâ. It aims firstly to evaluate whether the personal narratives operate as political testimony to challenge government accounts of welfare reform and dominant stereotypes of benefits claimants, and secondly to assess the potential for and limits to progressive advocacy in popular journalism. The study uses content analysis of 473 articles over the course of a year in the Daily Mirror and Sunday People newspapers, and qualitative analysis of a sub-set of 113 articles to analyse the extent to which the campaign articles extrapolated from the personal to the general, and the role of âvictim-witnessesâ in articulating their own subjectivity and political agency. The analysis indicates that both newspapers allowed affected individuals to express their own subjectivity to challenge stereotypes, but it was civil society organisations and opinion columnists who most explicitly extrapolated from the personal to the political. Collectively organised benefits claimants were rarely quoted, and there was some evidence of ventriloquization of the editorial voice in the political criticisms of victim-witnesses. However, a campaigning columnist in the Mirror more actively empowered some of those affected to speak directly to politicians. This indicates the value of campaigning journalism when it is truly engaged in solidarity with those affected, rather than instrumentalising victim-witnesses to further the newspapersâ campaign goals
Measurement of the quenching factor of Na recoils in NaI(Tl)
Measurements of the quenching factor for sodium recoils in a 5 cm diameter
NaI(Tl) crystal at room temperature have been made at a dedicated neutron
facility at the University of Sheffield. The crystal has been exposed to 2.45
MeV mono-energetic neutrons generated by a Sodern GENIE 16 neutron generator,
yielding nuclear recoils of energies between 10 and 100 keVnr. A cylindrical
BC501A detector has been used to tag neutrons that scatter off sodium nuclei in
the crystal. Cuts on pulse shape and time of flight have been performed on
pulses recorded by an Acqiris DC265 digitiser with a 2 ns sampling time.
Measured quenching factors of Na nuclei range from 19% to 26% in good agreement
with other experiments, and a value of 25.2 \pm 6.4% has been determined for 10
keV sodium recoils. From pulse shape analysis, the mean times of pulses from
electron and nuclear recoils have been compared down to 2 keVee. The
experimental results are compared to those predicted by Lindhard theory,
simulated by the SRIM Monte Carlo code, and a preliminary curve calculated by
Prof. Akira Hitachi.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure
Propagation of Light in Photonic Crystal Fibre Devices
We describe a semi-analytical approach for three-dimensional analysis of
photonic crystal fibre devices. The approach relies on modal transmission-line
theory. We offer two examples illustrating the utilization of this approach in
photonic crystal fibres: the verification of the coupling action in a photonic
crystal fibre coupler and the modal reflectivity in a photonic crystal fibre
distributed Bragg reflector.Comment: 15 pages including 7 figures. Accepted for J. Opt. A: Pure Appl. Op
Using species attributes to characterize late-glacial and early-Holocene environments at KrÄkenes, western Norway
Aim: We aim to use species attributes such as distributions and indicator values to reconstruct past biomes, environment, and temperatures from detailed plantâmacrofossil data covering the late glacial to the early Holocene (ca. 14â9 ka). Location: KrĂ„kenes, western Norway. Methods: We applied attributes for presentâday geographical distribution, optimal July and January temperatures, and Ellenberg indicator values for plants in the macrofossil dataâset. We used assemblage weighted means (AWM) to reconstruct past biomes, changes in light (L), nitrogen (N), moisture (F), and soil reaction (R), and temperatures. We compared the temperature reconstructions with previous chironomidâinferred temperatures. Results: After the start of the Holocene around 11.5 ka, the Arcticâmontane biome, which was stable during the lateâglacial period, shifted successively into the Boreoâarctic montane, Wideâboreal, Boreoâmontane, Boreoâtemperate, and Wideâtemperate biomes by ca. 9.0 ka. Circumpolar and Eurasian floristic elements characteristic of the lateâglacial decreased and the Eurosiberian element became prominent. Light demand (L), soil moisture (F), nitrogen (N), and soil reaction (R) show different, but complementary responses. Lightâdemanding plants decreased with time. Soil moisture was relatively stable until it increased during organic soil development during the early Holocene. Soil nitrogen increased during the early Holocene. Soil reaction (pH) decreased during the AllerĂžd, but increased during the Younger Dryas. It decreased markedly after the start of the Holocene, reaching low but stable levels in the early Holocene. Mean July and January temperatures show similar patterns to the chironomidâinferred mean July temperature trends at KrĂ„kenes, but chironomids show larger fluctuations and interesting differences in timing. Conclusion: Assigning attributes to macrofossil species is a useful new approach in palaeoecology. It can demonstrate changes in biomes, ecological conditions, and temperatures. The lateâglacial to earlyâHolocene transition may form an analogue for changes observed in the modern arctic and in mountains, with melting glaciers, permafrost thaw, and shrub encroachment into tundra.publishedVersio
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