Preliminary experimental results for a cryogenic brush seal configuration

Preliminary fluid nitrogen flow data are reported for a five-brush, ceramic-coated-rub-runner brush seal system, where the brushes and the rub runner were placed at each end of a centrally pressurized multifunction tester ('back-to-back' set of brushes) and tested at rotor speeds of 0, 10, 18, and 22.5 krpm. After testing, both the brushes and the ceramic-coated rub runner appeared pristine. The coating withstood both the thermomechanical and dynamic loadings with minor wear track scarring. The bristle tips showed some indication of material shearing (smearing) wear. The Ergun porous flow equation was applied to the brush seal data. The Ergun relation, which required heuristic information to characterize the coefficients, fit the gaseous data but was in poor agreement with the fluid results. The brush seal exit conditions were two phase. Two-phase, choked-flow design charts were applied but required one data point at each rotor speed to define the (C(sub f)A x Constant) flow and area coefficients. Reasonable agreement between prediction and data was found, as expected, but such methods are not to be construed as two-phase-flow brush seal analyses

Exploring engagement and the usefulness of The AIM Cards with 'hard to reach' adolescents; hearing views and experiences from young people and clinicians

Young people with complex mental health and social needs are considered 'hard to reach.' Engaging these young people is challenging and creativity is important when trying to offer support. The AMBIT AIM Cards have been developed as a collaborative assessment tool that covers a broad range of strengths and difficulties common amongst young people, and facilitates engagement with this challenging client group. Currently the cards are being used in some services but so far no research has explored their usefulness. This study aims to extend preliminary favourable reports by clinicians on the clinical utility of The AIM Cards by conducting qualitative interviews with young people and clinicians eliciting their opinions and experiences of the cards, and specifically their function as an assessment tool and a method for facilitating engagement. Audio-taped interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results identify key strategies that clinicians can utilize to foster engagement with this client group, and the valuable contribution The AIM Cards make during the assessment and engagement process. The findings reported are the first empirical evidence that The AIM Cards can contribute to the assessment and engagement process by creating a structure which promotes a young person-led, goal orientated assessment which includes facilitating understanding and communication between young people and clinicians

Polarized Neutron Laue Diffraction on a Crystal Containing Dynamically Polarized Proton Spins

We report on a polarized-neutron Laue diffraction experiment on a single crystal of neodynium doped lanthanum magnesium nitrate hydrate containing polarized proton spins. By using dynamic nuclear polarization to polarize the proton spins, we demonstrate that the intensities of the Bragg peaks can be enhanced or diminished significantly, whilst the incoherent background, due to proton spin disorder, is reduced. It follows that the method offers unique possibilities to tune continuously the contrast of the Bragg reflections and thereby represents a new tool for increasing substantially the signal-to-noise ratio in neutron diffraction patterns of hydrogenous matter.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Flying in the face of environmental concern: why green consumers continue to fly.

Some unsustainable consumer behaviours have proved extremely hard to change or even challenge. Despite the fact that flying can be more damaging than any other activity that an individual can undertake, many otherwise green consumers still choose to fly, offering an opportunity to elicit narratives about the differences between their attitudes and behaviours. Qualitative interview data were gathered from self-selected green consumers and set within a cognitive dissonance analytical framework. Four strategies were uncovered: not changing travel behaviour (but offering justifications related to travel product, travel context or personal identity); reducing or restricting flights; changing other behaviours to compensate for flying; and stopping flying. This analysis furthers research on green consumer rationales for (un)sustainable behaviours and suggests several avenues for sustainable marketing management

The Shakedown of Warm-Ups: An Assessment of Pre-Speech Exercises\u27 Impact on Public Speaking Anxiety

Academics have suggested that the use of warm-up exercises like those used by forensics competitors before a competition may reduce students’ public speaking anxiety (PSA). However, little empirical work has assessed these anecdotal claims. Thus, to assess the impact of using warm-up exercises in the foundational course, we developed and tested a uniform warm-up protocol for students enrolled in our standardized, multi-section public speaking course. This study sought to discover whether students who engaged in physical and vocal function exercises prior to speech delivery would have lower speaking anxiety over the course of the semester than students in the control group. Although this assessment found no significant difference in PSA reduction for students enrolled in designated warm-up sections compared to students within the control group, these findings can guide the next steps toward optimal, evidence-based best practices for warm-ups in the introductory speech course. In light of past research and robust instructor perceptions regarding the anxiety-reducing benefits of warm-up exercises, this assessment reveals the need to test alternative warm-up protocols to help mitigate PSA, to measure for changes in state as well as trait apprehension, and to determine the treatments’ effects on individuals with differing degrees of PSA

A review of the possible perceptual and physiological effects of wind turbine noise

This review considers the nature of the sound generated by wind turbines focusing on the low-frequency sound (LF) and infrasound (IS) to understand the usefulness of the sound measures where people work and sleep. A second focus concerns the evidence for mechanisms of physiological transduction of LF/IS or the evidence for somatic effects of LF/IS. While the current evidence does not conclusively demonstrate transduction, it does present a strong prima facia case. There are substantial outstanding questions relating to the measurement and propagation of LF and IS and its encoding by the central nervous system relevant to possible perceptual and physiological effects. A range of possible research areas are identified

Morphological Instabilities in a growing Yeast Colony: Experiment and Theory

We study the growth of colonies of the yeast Pichia membranaefaciens on agarose film. The growth conditions are controlled in a setup where nutrients are supplied through an agarose film suspended over a solution of nutrients. As the thickness of the agarose film is varied, the morphology of the front of the colony changes. The growth of the front is modeled by coupling it to a diffusive field of inhibitory metabolites. Qualitative agreement with experiments suggests that such a coupling is responsible for the observed instability of the front.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages and 3 figure

Approximating Mexican highways with slime mould

Plasmodium of Physarum polycephalum is a single cell visible by unaided eye. During its foraging behavior the cell spans spatially distributed sources of nutrients with a protoplasmic network. Geometrical structure of the protoplasmic networks allows the plasmodium to optimize transport of nutrients between remote parts of its body. Assuming major Mexican cities are sources of nutrients how much structure of Physarum protoplasmic network correspond to structure of Mexican Federal highway network? To find an answer undertook a series of laboratory experiments with living Physarum polycephalum. We represent geographical locations of major cities by oat flakes, place a piece of plasmodium in Mexico city area, record the plasmodium's foraging behavior and extract topology of nutrient transport networks. Results of our experiments show that the protoplasmic network formed by Physarum is isomorphic, subject to limitations imposed, to a network of principle highways. Ideas and results of the paper may contribute towards future developments in bio-inspired road planning