Wireworm Control using Fodder Rape and Mustard – evaluating the use of brassica green manures for the control of wireworm (Agriotes spp.) in organic crops

In a field experiment at ADAS Pwllpeiran in 2001, brassica green manures were grown for 6 weeks and dug in before planting King Edward potatoes, to see if they suppressed wireworm in the crop. There was a trend for potatoes grown after mustard to suffer less damage from both wireworms and slugs than potatoes grown after fodder rape or no green manure, but the differences were not significant. Further trials, with longer green manuring periods, are needed to establish if there is a benefit, and whether the breakdown products of brassica green manures are toxic to wireworms

AZEuS: An Adaptive Zone Eulerian Scheme for Computational MHD

A new adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) version of the ZEUS-3D astrophysical magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) fluid code, AZEuS, is described. The AMR module in AZEuS has been completely adapted to the staggered mesh that characterises the ZEUS family of codes, on which scalar quantities are zone-centred and vector components are face-centred. In addition, for applications using static grids, it is necessary to use higher-order interpolations for prolongation to minimise the errors caused by waves crossing from a grid of one resolution to another. Finally, solutions to test problems in 1-, 2-, and 3-dimensions in both Cartesian and spherical coordinates are presented.Comment: 52 pages, 17 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ

Clonal analysis of meningococci during a 26 year period prior to the introduction of meningococcal serogroup C vaccines

Meningococcal disease remains a public health burden in the UK and elsewhere. Invasive Neisseria meningitidis, isolated in Scotland between 1972 and 1998, were characterised retrospectively to examine the serogroup and clonal structure of the circulating population. 2607 isolates causing invasive disease were available for serogroup and MLST analysis whilst 2517 were available for multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis only. Serogroup distribution changed from year to year but serogroups B and C were dominant throughout. Serogroup B was dominant throughout the 1970s and early 1980s until serogroup C became dominant during the mid-1980s. The increase in serogroup C was not associated with one particular sequence type (ST) but was associated with a number of STs, including ST-8, ST-11, ST-206 and ST-334. This is in contrast to the increase in serogroup C disease seen in the 1990s that was due to expansion of the ST-11 clonal complex. While there was considerable diversity among the isolates (309 different STs among the 2607 isolates), a large proportion of isolates (59.9%) were associated with only 10 STs. These data highlight meningococcal diversity over time and the need for ongoing surveillance during the introduction of new meningococcal vaccines

Development of an adaptive window-opening algorithm to predict the thermal comfort, energy use and overheating in buildings

This investigation of the window opening data from extensive field surveys in UK office buildings demonstrates: 1) how people control the indoor environment by opening windows; 2) the cooling potential of opening windows; and 3) the use of an ‘adaptive algorithm’ for predicting window opening behaviour for thermal simulation in ESP-r. It was found that when the window was open the mean indoor and outdoor temperatures were higher than when closed, but show that nonetheless there was a useful cooling effect from opening a window. The adaptive algorithm for window opening behaviour was then used in thermal simulation studies for some typical office designs. The thermal simulation results were in general agreement with the findings of the field surveys. The adaptive algorithm is shown to provide insights not available using non adaptive simulation methods and can assist in achieving more comfortable, lower energy buildings while avoiding overheating

Comfort driven adaptive window opening behaviour and the influence of building design

It is important to understand and model the behaviour of occupants in buildings and how this behaviour impacts energy use and comfort. It is similarly important to understand how a buildings design affects occupant comfort, occupant behaviour and ultimately the energy used in the operation of the building. In this work a behavioural algorithm for window opening developed from field survey data has been implemented in a dynamic simulation tool. The algorithm is in alignment with the proposed CEN standard for adaptive thermal comfort. The algorithm is first compared to the field study data then used to illustrate the impact of adaptive behaviour on summer indoor temperatures and heating energy. The simulation model is also used to illustrate the sensitivity of the occupant adaptive behaviour to building design parameters such as solar shading and thermal mass and the resulting impact on energy use and comfort. The results are compared to those from other approaches to model window opening behaviour. The adaptive algorithm is shown to provide insights not available using non adaptive simulation methods and can assist in achieving more comfortable and lower energy buildings

The controllable pi - SQUID

We have fabricated and studied a new kind of DC SQUID in which the magnitude and sign of the critical current of the individual Josephson junctions can be controlled by additional voltage probes connected to the junctions. We show that the amplitude of the voltage oscillations of the SQUID as a function of the applied magnetic field can be tuned and that the phase of the oscillations can be switched between 0 and $\pi$ in the temperature range of 0.1 - 4.2 K using a suitable control voltage. This is equivalent to the external application of (n+1/2) flux quantum.Comment: 3 Figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter

Quantum phase slip interference device based on superconducting nanowire

We propose a transistor-like circuit including two serially connected segments of a narrow superconducting nanowire joint by a wider segment with a capacitively coupled gate in between. This circuit is made of amorphous NbSi film and embedded in a network of on-chip Cr microresistors ensuring a sufficiently high external electromagnetic impedance. Assuming a virtual regime of quantum phase slips (QPS)in two narrow segments of the wire, leading to quantum interference of voltages on these segments, this circuit is dual to the dc SQUID. Our samples demonstrated appreciable Coulomb blockade voltage (analog of critical current of the SQUIDs) and periodic modulation of this blockade by an electrostatic gate (analog of flux modulation in the SQUIDs). The model of this QPS transistor is discussed.Comment: 5 pages including 3 figures; in v2 the title was updated, typos were fixed and 4 references adde

Using Flow Specifications of Parameterized Cache Coherence Protocols for Verifying Deadlock Freedom

We consider the problem of verifying deadlock freedom for symmetric cache coherence protocols. In particular, we focus on a specific form of deadlock which is useful for the cache coherence protocol domain and consistent with the internal definition of deadlock in the Murphi model checker: we refer to this deadlock as a system- wide deadlock (s-deadlock). In s-deadlock, the entire system gets blocked and is unable to make any transition. Cache coherence protocols consist of N symmetric cache agents, where N is an unbounded parameter; thus the verification of s-deadlock freedom is naturally a parameterized verification problem. Parametrized verification techniques work by using sound abstractions to reduce the unbounded model to a bounded model. Efficient abstractions which work well for industrial scale protocols typically bound the model by replacing the state of most of the agents by an abstract environment, while keeping just one or two agents as is. However, leveraging such efficient abstractions becomes a challenge for s-deadlock: a violation of s-deadlock is a state in which the transitions of all of the unbounded number of agents cannot occur and so a simple abstraction like the one above will not preserve this violation. In this work we address this challenge by presenting a technique which leverages high-level information about the protocols, in the form of message sequence dia- grams referred to as flows, for constructing invariants that are collectively stronger than s-deadlock. Efficient abstractions can be constructed to verify these invariants. We successfully verify the German and Flash protocols using our technique

Direct to consumer advertising via the Internet, a study of hip resurfacing

With increased use of the internet for health information and direct to consumer advertising from medical companies, there is a concern about the quality of the information available for patients. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of health information on the internet for hip resurfacing. An assessment tool was designed to measure quality of information. Websites were measured on credibility of source; usability; currentness of the information; content relevance; content accuracy/completeness and disclosure/bias. Each website assessed was given a total score, based on number of scores achieved from the above categories websites were further analysed on author, geographical origin and possession of an independent credibility check. There was positive correlation between the overall score for the website and the score of each website in each assessment category. Websites by implant companies, doctors and hospitals scored poorly. Websites with an independent credibility check such as Health on the Net (HoN) scored twice the total scores of websites without. Like other internet health websites, the quality of information on hip resurfacing websites is variable. This study highlights methods by which to assess the quality of health information on the internet and advocates that patients should look for a statement of an "independent credibility check" when searching for information on hip resurfacing

Attitudes of advanced Australian medical oncology trainees to rural practice

Aim: To identify the views of medical oncology trainees regarding rural training posts and rural practice overall, and to identify factors that may improve recruitment. Methods: A questionnaire was posted to all advanced oncology trainees in Australia in June 2006. The trainees were questioned on the perceived advantages and disadvantages of rural practice, their experience during previous rural rotations and potential incentives and barriers in recruiting trainees and specialist oncologists to regional and rural centers. Results: There was a 60% response rate. Of all participants 58% had considered rural practice. Those with a rural family background were more likely to have considered rural practice. Attitudes based on responses to listed disadvantages and advantages of rural practice were heterogenous. Lifestyle factors seemed to be of particular importance. Although there were perceived deficiencies in opportunities for professional education in rural oncology rotations, 94% felt their rotation had been a positive experience overall and 62% were more likely to consider a rural career following their rural rotation. Improving locum cover for leave was seen as a potential incentive by 97% trainees. Conclusion: Despite positive attitudes towards rural practice, many barriers exist preventing recruitment of medical oncology trainees to rural areas, in particular lifestyle factors that are difficult to modify. Factors that can be improved include improving access to clinical trials, enabling access to locum cover. Educational opportunities for current rural trainees need to be improved. Further study into potential incentives to enhance rural recruitment is required