Protective telescoping shield for solar concentrator

An apparatus is described for use with a solar concentrator such as a parabolic dish which concentrates sunlight onto a small opening of a solar receiver, for protecting the receiver in the event of a system failure that could cause concentrated sunlight to damage the receiver. The protective apparatus includes a structure which can be moved to a stowed position where it does not block sunlight, to a deployed position. In this position, the structure forms a tube which substantially completely surrounds an axis connecting the receiver opening to the center of the concentrator at locations between the receiver and the concentrator

Wellbeing in the aftermath of floods.

Published onlineJournal ArticleThis is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.The interactions between flood events, their aftermath, and recovery leading to health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals are complex, and the pathways and mechanisms through which wellbeing is affected are often hidden and remain under-researched. This study analyses the diverse processes that explain changes in wellbeing for those experiencing flooding. It identifies key pathways to wellbeing outcomes that concern perceptions of lack of agency, dislocation from home, and disrupted futures inducing negative impacts, with offsetting positive effects through community networks and interactions. The mixed method study is based on data from repeated qualitative semi-structured interviews (n=60) and a structured survey (n=1000) with individuals that experienced flooding directly during winter 2013/14 in two UK regions. The results show for the first time the diversity and intersection of pathways to wellbeing outcomes in the aftermath of floods. The findings suggest that enhanced public health planning and interventions could focus on the precise practices and mechanisms that intersect to produce anxiety, stress, and their amelioration at individual and community levels.This research was undertaken with funding from the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England (PHE), and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office, and funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council [Grant: ES/M006867/1]. The public interview transcripts can be found in the UK Data Archive (www.data-archive.co.uk). The authors wish to thank Louisa Evans and Saffron O’Neill for collaboration and the members of the public and the stakeholders that participated in the research. For comments on earlier drafts and versions of this paper, thanks also go to Angie Bone, Sari Kovats, and participants in the Sydney Ideas Lecture, Sydney University, March 2015, our report launch meeting at the Royal Geographical Society, London, June 2016, and the RGS annual conference sessions, Exeter, September 2015

Moral reasoning in adaptation to climate change

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Moral foundations theory argues that moral reasoning is widely observed and fundamental to the legitimacy of relevant governance and policy interventions. A new analytical framework to examine and test how moral reasoning underpins and legitimizes governance and practice on adaptation to climate change risks is proposed. It develops a typology of eight categories of vulnerability-based and system-based moral reasoning that pertain to the dilemmas around adaptation and examines the prevalence of these moral categories in public discourse about specific adaptation issues. The framework is tested using data on climate change impact, adaptation, and societal responsibility, drawn from 14 focus groups comprising 148 participants across the UK. Participants consistently use moral reasoning to explain their views on climate adaptation; these include both vulnerability-based and system-based framings. These findings explain public responses to adaptation options and governance, and have implications for the direction of adaptation policy, including understanding which types of reasoning support politically legitimate interventions.We acknowledge funding from the University of Exeter Humanities and Social Science Strategy; the UK Economic and Social Research Council (Grant ES/M006867/1); and National Institute for Health Research, Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England. We thank IPSOS-MORI and the UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs for access to the data used here. We benefitted from interactions with Karen Parkhill, Ben Wheeler, Stuart Capstick and Saffron O’Neill and feedback from participants at the Governing Sustainability workshop at the University of Sydney, March 2015, and the Royal Meteorological Society conference, London, November 2015. We further benefitted from helpful guidance from David Schlosberg and from two referees. This version remains our sole responsibility

Narratives of recovery after floods: Mental health, institutions, and intervention.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordThere is increasing evidence that flood events affect the mental health of those experiencing them, with recognition that the period of recovery after the event is particularly important to outcomes. Previous research on flooding has argued that there is a recovery gap that occurs during the long process of recovery at the point when the support provision from public authorities and agencies diminishes, and less well-defined interactions with private actors, such as insurers, begin. This concept highlights the importance of the support and intervention from authorities and other institutions for recovery processes. To date, little research has focused specifically on these relationships and their consequences for people's mental wellbeing through recovery. This study examines the processes of individuals' recovery from flood events, focusing on the role of interaction with agencies in the trajectories of mental health journeys. The analysis applies a narrative approach to in-depth repeated interviews carried out over a fifteen-month period with nine individuals whose homes were inundated by floods in 2013/14 in Somerset, UK. The results suggest strong evidence for institutional support having an important role in how individuals experience their post-flood mental health recovery journeys. The data reveal strategies to maintain psychological and emotional resilience at distinct periods during recovery, and show that both institutional actions and the perceived absence of support in specific circumstances affect the mental health burden of flood events.National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

Self-assembly of ATP synthase subunit c rings

AbstractSubunit c of the H+ transporting ATP synthase is an essential part of its membrane domain that participates in transmembrane proton conduction. The annular architecture of the subunit c from different species has been previously reported. However, little is known about the type of interactions that affect the formation of c-rings in the ATPase complex. Here we report that subunit c over-expressed in Escherichia coli and purified in non-ionic detergent solutions self-assembles into annular structures in the absence of other subunits of the complex. The results suggest that the ability of subunit c to form rings is determined by its primary structure

MOST detects variability on tau Bootis possibly induced by its planetary companion

(abridged) There is considerable interest in the possible interaction between parent stars and giant planetary companions in 51 Peg-type systems. We demonstrate from MOST satellite photometry and Ca II K line emission that there has been a persistent, variable region on the surface of tau Boo A which tracked its giant planetary companion for some 440 planetary revolutions and lies ~68deg (phi=0.8) in advance of the sub-planetary point. The light curves are folded on a range of periods centered on the planetary orbital period and phase dependent variability is quantified by Fourier methods and by the mean absolute deviation (MAD) of the folded data for both the photometry and the Ca II K line reversals. The region varies in brightness on the time scale of a rotation by ~1 mmag. In 2004 it resembled a dark spot of variable depth, while in 2005 it varied between bright and dark. Over the 123 planetary orbits spanned by the photometry the variable region detected in 2004 and in 2005 are synchronised to the planetary orbital period within 0.0015 d. The Ca II K line in 2001, 2002 and 2003 also shows enhanced K-line variability centered on phi=0.8, extending coverage to some 440 planetary revolutions. The apparently constant rotation period of the variable region and its rapid variation make an explanation in terms of conventional star spots unlikely. The lack of complementary variability at phi=0.3 and the detection of the variable region so far in advance of the sub-planetary point excludes tidal excitation, but the combined photometric and Ca II K line reversal results make a good case for an active region induced magnetically on the surface of tau Boo A by its planetary companion.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in A&

An Initial Look at America's Promise: Successes, Challenges and Opportunities

America's Promise is a pioneering initiative that seeks to address overall youth development by creating community-wide programming based on proven practices necessary for a successful childhood and adolescence. A few examples of these evidence-based program components include community service, mentoring and developing marketable skills. This brief report presents P/PV's preliminary analysis of how the effort took root in three Communities of Promise: Charlotte, North Carolina; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Francisco, California. It explores the successes, challenges and opportunities that have resulted from America's Promise

Hyperons in Two Flavor Chiral Perturbation Theory

We use two-flavor chiral perturbation theory to describe hyperons. We focus on the strangeness conserving sector, and, as an example, calculate hyperon masses. Convergence of this two-flavor chiral expansion for observables is improved over the three-flavor theory. The cost, however, is a larger number of low-energy constants that must be ultimately determined from lattice QCD data. A formula for the mass of the omega baryon is derived to sixth order in this expansion, and will aid lattice practitioners in scale setting or tuning the strange quark mass.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figs, version published in PL

Magnetic cycles of the planet-hosting star Tau Bootis: II. a second magnetic polarity reversal

In this paper, we present new spectropolarimetric observations of the planet-hosting star Tau Bootis, using ESPaDOnS and Narval spectropolarimeters at Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) and Telescope Bernard Lyot (TBL), respectively. We detected the magnetic field of the star at three epochs in 2008. It is a weak magnetic field of only a few Gauss, oscillating between a predominant toroidal component in January and a dominant poloidal component in June and July. A magnetic polarity reversal was observed relative to the magnetic topology in June 2007. This is the second such reversal observed in two years on this star, suggesting that Tau Boo has a magnetic cycle of about 2 years. This is the first detection of a magnetic cycle for a star other than the Sun. The role of the close-in massive planet in the short activity cycle of the star is questioned. Tau Boo has strong differential rotation, a common trend for stars with shallow convective envelope. At latitude 40 deg., the surface layer of the star rotates in 3.31 d, equal to the orbital period. Synchronization suggests that the tidal effects induced by the planet may be strong enough to force at least the thin convective envelope into corotation. Tau Boo shows variability in the Ca H & K and Halpha throughout the night and on a night to night time scale. We do not detect enhancement in the activity of the star that may be related to the conjunction of the planet. Further data is needed to conclude about the activity enhancement due to the planet.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 3 tables Accepted to MNRA

A case of elbow hyperextension leading to complete brachial artery rupture

BACKGROUND: To our knowledge there are no cases in the literature of traumatic vascular injury of the brachial artery by elbow hyperextension without elbow dislocation based on either clinical or radiological evidence. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the first case of complete brachial artery rupture resulting from a hyperextension injury to an elbow, without dislocation. The history, early assessment and operative treatment with figures are presented. CONCLUSION: We advocate prompt clinical assessment by orthopaedic and vascular teams and early surgical exploration and repair