Distributed computational fluid dynamics

Computational fluid dynamics simulations of relevance to jet-engine design, for instance, are extremely computationally demanding and the use of large-scale distributed computing will allow the solution of problems that cannot be tackled using current resources. It is often appropriate to leave the large datasets generated by CFD codes local to the compute resource in use at the time. This naturally leads to a distributed database of results that will need to be federated as a coherent resource for the engineering community. We describe the use of Globus and Condor within Cambridge for sharing computer resources, progress on defining XML standards for the annotation of CFD datasets and a distributed database framework for them

Anatomical studies in the genus Gentiana Tourn

The genus Gentiana, composed of over eight hundred species is world -wide in its distribution members being found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and North and South America. The continent of Asia seems to be the centre of distribution as here the greatest number of species is found, the majority being described from Western China and the adjoining states. As a genus it is by no means confined to any one habitat as species may be found on high alps, on screes, in woodland, in meadows, in marshes and even in peat bogs. As the flowers show considerable variation in colour and as many of the species are highly suitable for cultivation the genus has become one of horticultural importance.While the genus has proved a fairly popular subject with systematists there has been very little investigation on its anatomical aspect. The most extensive work has been by E.Perrot in his "Anatomie comparée des Gentianacées" (1).As in this work he has been investigating the anatomy of the family as a whole, he has not given much detail on the anatomy of the genus Gentiana, especially on their roots and leaves, and therefore it is these structures which have formed the basis for this investigation.The species investigated were obtained from plants growing in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and only those were studied where the specific name had been definitely confirmed.These species were: - G.a.caulis. Linn || G.Loderi. Hook.f. || G.Andrewsii. Griseb. || G. X Macaulayi. || G.angulosa. Bleb. || G.macrophylla. Pall. || G.angustifolia. Vill || G.Makinoi. Kusnezow. || G.asclepiadea. Linn || G.Newberryi. A.Gray. || G.bellidifolia. Hook.f. || G. cachem.irica . Decne || G.cephalantha. Franch. || G.corymbifera. T.Kirk. || G.crassicaulis. Duthie. || G.cruciata. Linn. || G.dahurica. Fisch. || G.decumbens. Linn || G.depressa. D.Don. || G.Farreri. Balf. .f . || G.Fetisowi. Regel & Winkler. || G.ornata. Wall. || G.Parrvi. Engelm. || G.phlogifolia. Schott & Kotschy. || G.Pneumonanthe. Linn. || G.prolata. Balf.f. || G.purpurea. Linn. || G.saxosa. Forst.f. || G.scabra. Bunge.var. Buergeri. Maxim. || G.sceptrum. Griseb. || G. septeli:fida. Pall. || G.setigera. A.Gray || G.gilvostriata.Marquand. || G.sino-ornata. Balf.f. || G.gracilipes. Turrill || G.stragulata. Balf.f. & Forrest. || G.Grombczewskii.Kusnezow. || G.straminea. Maxim. || G.hexaphylla. Maxim. || G.tianschanica. Rupr. || G.hexaphylla x Farreri. || G.trichotoma. Kusnezow. || G.Kochiana.Perr.& Song. G. || Veitchiorum. Hemsl. || G.Kurroo. Royle. || G.verna. Linn. || G.lagodechiana.Kusnezow

X-ray Studies on 2:6-Dihydroxy Benzoic Acid and Its Salts

This thesis describes an investigation of 2:6-dihydroxy benzoic acid and its salts by X-ray analysis. The unit cell dimensions of 2:6-dihydroxy benzoic acid monohydrate have been obtained and the possible space group is discussed. The main part of the work is concerned with the crystal and molecular structure of the potassium and rubidium salts of 2:6-dihydroxy benzoic acid and a complete structure analysis of the potassium salt has been carried out. The crystals of 2:6-dihydroxy benzoic acid monohydrate are orthorhombic, space group Pna2 1 (C9 20) or Pnma (D 16 2h) with 4 molecules per unit cell. The unit cell dimensions are a = 6.77. b = 9.67 and c = 11.92 A. Potassium 2:6-dihydroxy benzoate crystallises in the monoclinic space group P2 1/n (C5 2h) with four molecules per unit cell. The unit cell dimensions are a = 3.94, b = 15.10 and c = 13.37 A. beta = 99 11' The structure of the compound has been elucidated by the Isomorphous Replacement method, in which use was made of the isomorphous rubidium salt. Refinement proceeded from a study of Fourier syntheses in all three zones and Fourier difference syntheses projecting on (100). Electron density projections on the (100) plane gave good resolution of all the atoms in the asymmetric unit. The shortness of the a axis prevented good resolution in the h01 and hk0 zones and the x co-ordinates were obtained largely by trial and error methods after an approximate x co-ordinate for the potassium ion had been obtained from a study of the far-out reflections in the hk0 and h01 zones. However, from the electron density projections, x co-ordinates could be assigned to the potassium ion and most of the oxygen atoms. The co-ordinate standard deviations are less than .02 A. The molecule is planar within experimental error and bond lengths vary between 2.75 and 3.03 A for potassiura-oxygen bonds, between 1.25 and 1.40 A for carbon-oxygen bonds and between 1.39 and 1.53 A for carbon-carbon bonds. There are two intramolecular hydrogen bonds joining the oxygen atoms of the carboxyl group to the phenolic oxygens; these are 2.50 and 2.56 A in length. There are no discrete molecules and the packing is determined by the co-ordination of the organic residues to a central metal ion by potassium-oxygen links in all directions, involving both phenolic and carboxylic oxygens. The potassium is surrounded by seven bonded oxygens, six of which are arranged to form a trigonal prism. The ion shows a preferential attraction to one of the two oxygen atoms of the carboxyl group and has an attraction of similar magnitude to both of the phenolic oxygens. The bond lengths within the organic residue are reasonably consistent with Cochran's values for salicylic acid. It is expected that the work on the potassium salt will shortly be published

Popular but peripheral: the ambivalent status of sociology education in schools in England

This article reports the largest UK study of sociology school teachers’ views of the discipline. Drawing on the sociology of the professions, we reflect on the ambivalent positioning of sociology in schools. Despite buoyant uptake, teachers claim that sociology is perceived as dated and has lower status than other elective courses, often described as a ‘soft’ and ‘easy’ subject that anyone can teach. While many students are reported to benefit from the transformative education that sociology affords, the failure to designate the subject as facilitating entry to higher status universities serves to further marginalise the discipline. We argue that sociology in schools is weakly bounded, poorly supported and lacks strong professional coherence. While this allows sociology to have an open, critical and reflexive character, it comes at the price of not being able to control delivery in schools and make claims for high status

Measuring Service Quality: The Student As Primary Consumer

Competition in the educational market is increasing at a rapid rate. With e-education and the increasing globalisation taking place, universities are competing more and more for student numbers. Service quality has become one of those factors that differentiate institutions from one another.  As a result, higher education institutions can use service quality as a competitive advantage to ensure that they stay the first choice in the minds of potential students. It is a known fact that many consumers and students will support a product or university based on the level of service they receive. It is for this reason that universities will benefit from research into service quality and the importance that students attach to this. In this study, student satisfaction towards the quality of the service received was measured in terms of appearance of the higher education’s physical facilities, equipment, staff and communication materials by using the SERVQUAL model. The results may assist higher education institutions to focus on the unknown, yet important elements of the tangibility element in order to improve the students’ overall satisfaction. The results indicated that students’ perception about the tangibility of the service, as well as the overall level of satisfaction of the service received, is slightly above average

First-principles, atomistic thermodynamics for oxidation catalysis

Present knowledge of the function of materials is largely based on studies (experimental and theoretical) that are performed at low temperatures and ultra-low pressures. However, the majority of everyday applications, like e.g. catalysis, operate at atmospheric pressures and temperatures at or higher than 300 K. Here we employ ab initio, atomistic thermodynamics to construct a phase diagram of surface structures in the (T,p)-space from ultra-high vacuum to technically-relevant pressures and temperatures. We emphasize the value of such phase diagrams as well as the importance of the reaction kinetics that may be crucial e.g. close to phase boundaries.Comment: 4 pages including 2 figure files. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Related publications can be found at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Visual Merchandising Displays: Wasted Effort Or Strategic Move? The Dilemma Faced By Apparel Retail Stores

Retailing per se has been with us since the beginning of time. Over the years retailing methods and techniques have been adapted and changed in order to meet the demands of the market. In the same way the in store activities aimed at the consumer has been evolving and changing. At first the focus was on merchandising per se, but even merchandising has become more focussed and professional and specialised. This has led to this study focussing on visual merchandising and its effect – or not - on consumer spending. Much has been said about visual merchandising displays and the effect it has on consumer perceptions. Consumers’ perceptions towards visual merchandising displays are investigated and evaluated in this study. The primary research question that was posed in this study was to determine the effect of visual merchandising displays on consumer perceptions. Explorative research was performed and qualitative data were collected by means of focus groups and naïve sketches. The data was analysed by means of a thematic analysis process. The main conclusions that can be drawn from this research is that the perceptions of visual merchandising displays are subliminal in creating an interest and desire to further peruse the merchandise and aesthetically to beautify the store

Group size and visitor number predict faecal glucocorticoid concentrations in zoo meerkats

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is freely available from Royal Society via the DOI in this record.Measures of physiological stress in zoo animals can give important insights into how they are affected by aspects of their captive environment. We analysed the factors influencing variation in glucocorticoid metabolites in faeces (fGCs) from zoo meerkats as a proxy for blood cortisol concentration, high levels of which are associated with a stress response. Levels of fGCs in captive meerkats declined with increasing group size. Compared to data from wild meerkats, this contrasts with the patterns seen in large stabile groups but matches the pattern seen in dispersing coalitions. In the wild, very small groups of meerkats are at a higher risk of predation, while in larger groups there is increased competition for resources. Indeed, group sizes in captivity tend to be closer to those seen in unstable coalitions in the wild, which may represent a stressful condition to meerkats in captivity and predispose them to chronic stress, even in absence of natural predators. Individuals in large enclosures showed lower levels of stress, but meerkat density had no effect on the stress measures. In contrast to data from wild meerkats, neither sex, age, nor dominance status predicted physiological stress levels in captivity, which may reflect less food stress owing to more equal access to resources in captivity versus wild. Median number of visitors at the enclosure was positively correlated with fGC concentrations on the following day, with variation in the visitor numbers having the opposite effect. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that there is an optimum group size which minimises physiological stress in meerkats, and that zoo meerkats at most risk of physiological stress are those kept in small groups and small enclosures and are exposed to consistently high numbers of visitors.Funding was provided by a European Social Fund studentship and a Society for Endocrinology grant awarded to K.S., and by NERC grant awarded to M.A.C. (NE/J010278/1)