Understanding and controlling the ingress of driven rain through exposed, solid wall masonry structures

Long term performance of historic buildings can be affected by many environmental factors, some of which become more apparent as the competence of the fabric deteriorates. Many tall historic buildings suffer from water ingress when exposed to driving rain conditions, particularly church towers in the south west of England. It is important to recognise that leakage can occur not only through flaws in the roof of a building but also through significant thicknesses of solid masonry. Identification of the most appropriate intervention requires an understanding of the way in which water might enter the structure and the assessment of potential repair options. While the full work schedule used an integrated assessment involving laboratory, field and archival work to assess the repairs which might be undertaken on these solid wall structures, this paper focuses on the laboratory work done to inform the writing of a Technical Advice Note on the effects of wind driven rain and moisture movement in historic structures (English Heritage, 2012). The laboratory work showed that grouting and rendering was effective at reducing water penetration without retarding drying rates, but that use of internal plastering also had a very beneficial effect

Lipid Coated Gold Nanoparticle Cores: Synthesis and Characterization

Including environmental, industrial, and biomedical sciences, applications of gold nanoparticles are on the forefront of research in many areas. By altering the surface treatment of spherical gold nanoparticle cores, particularly those smaller than 100 nm (nanometers), one can influence their potential use in a number of ways. Lipid coated nanoparticles with specifically selected surface ligands can be used for multiple biomedical functions, including medical imaging, for use as colorimetric and plasmonic sensors within the body, and as cell or organelle specific targets for therapeutic drug delivery or cancer treatment. Here, spherical gold nanoparticles ranging in size from 8-40 nm (avg. diameter 23-48 nm) have been synthesized and coated with poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and a mixed lipid solution of 1:1 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine (POPS) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), two of the four major types of lipids found in the human body. Characterization was performed using a NanoSight LM10HS particle sizer, and shows a gradual increase in size after each step in the coating process for nanoparticle cores ranging in size from 16-27 nm. The thickness of these purified and lipid coated nanoparticles was consistently 2-3 times that of the PAH coated sample it was layered onto, suggesting a successful, multi-layered coat that ranges in size based on the PAH coated core size. UV-Vis spectroscopy shows a slight red shift, indicating an increase in size and change in refractive index, which supports the presence of lipid coating on the PAH coated gold nanoparticle cores

A room with a view: Exploring the impacts of early school leaving and imprisonment on a cohort of working class men, participating in an adult education project in Dublin, Ireland.

The media in Ireland paints a negative picture of people who have been to prison. People with convictions, regardless of what those convictions may be, are largely deemed untrustworthy and unemployable. A prison sentence in Ireland has the capability of literally ruining someone’s life and future. Irish prisons are mostly filled with males from working class backgrounds. It is no coincidence that most of the working class males within prisons have high literacy issues and low educational attainment (O’Donnell, et. al, 2008). The importance of educational attainment in order for the awareness of one’s situation, one’s employability and life chances and one’s overall freedom is undeniable. To ask the research question of what impacts early school leaving and imprisonment amongst males in Dublin, Ireland it would be deemed unreliable research if the topic was not explored with the direct aid of a group of males from Dublin who have experienced early school leaving and imprisonment in order to provide this arguably unique group with a voice and also to present the cause and effects to these and multiple linked social and personal issues experienced by the group for richness, reliability and validity throughout. The group of research participants who have contributed so much to this research have all been sourced in an education centre where they all frequent and engage with various levels of education. They also all receive and provide emotional, personal and academic support to the other learners who frequent the centre. The fact that each of the group have all experienced early school leaving and imprisonment and are now each involved in and identifying education as a means of staying out of prison really engulfs and breathes through this research. The exploration of what impacts early school leaving and imprisonment amongst males in Dublin, Ireland has unearthed a number of relevant social and personal issues that require significant consideration. Issues of early school leaving, identity, masculinity, emotional intelligence, rational choice theory and imprisonment are impacted by issues of power, oppression, structure, agency and social class. These issues have all been found to be the lived experience for the research participants and the issues have been linked and analysed through a theoretical lens with theorists such as Pierre Bourdieu (1984), Karl Marx (1844), Emile Durkheim (1833, 1933), Max Weber (1922), Erving Goffman (1959), Paolo Freire (1970), Raewyn Connell (1995, 2005), John Scott (2000) and many others to show the importance of identifying the lived experiences of the group of research participants