119 research outputs found
On the importance of a drawn sword: Christian thinking about preemptive war—and its modern outworking
This is the author's PDF version of an article published in Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics© 2007.This article discusses the just war tradition.This article was submitted to the RAE2008 for the University of Chester - Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies
Introduction (to Faith and force)
This is the author's pdf version of the book chapter.This introduction discusses the debate over war in a Christian context
An investigation of aerodynamic effects of body morphing for passenger cars in close-proximity
The potential energy-saving benefit for vehicles when travelling in a ‘platoon’ formation results from the reduction in total aerodynamic drag which may result from the interaction of bluff bodies in close-proximity. Early investigations of platooning, prompted by problems of congestion, had shown the potential for drag reduction but was not pursued. More recently, technologies developed for connected-autonomous vehicle control have provided a renewed interest in platooning particularly within the commercial vehicle industry. To date, most aerodynamics-based considerations of platooning have been conducted to assess the sensitivity of drag-saving to vehicle spacing and were based on formations of identically shaped constituents. In this study, the interest was the sensitivity of drag-saving to the shape of the individual platoon constituents. A new reference car, the Resnick model, was specially designed to include front and rear-end add-on sections to make distinct changes in profile form and simulate large-scale body morphing. The results of wind tunnel tests on small-scale models suggested that current trends in low-drag styling may not provide the ideal shape for platoon constituent members and that optimised forms are likely to be dependent upon position in the platoon
Involving Assessment Buddies in the Assessment of Design Project Work
This paper discusses the impact of a specially developed
assessment and feedback system implemented within
a second year industrial design module at Coventry
University, UK.
The ‘Assessment Buddy’ system was developed in
response to the need for a successful assessment and
feedback method that could cope with the complexities
of a creative subject, and also in response to the need
to address student dissatisfaction with assessment
and feedback as evidenced by the regular UK National
Student Survey.
The findings from student focus groups and
questionnaires show that the system offers the opportunity
for a more flexible approach to the assessment of creative
subjects and also speaks to best practice as outlined in the
NSS Student Charter.
At the time of writing the Assessment Buddy system is
embedded in the second year assessment procedures
for the automotive design course, and is being introduced
into Year 3, with plans for Year 4 to follow
Biomarkers for Radiation Pneumonitis Using Noninvasive Molecular Imaging
Our goal is to develop minimally invasive biomarkers for predicting radiation-induced lung injury before symptoms develop. Currently, there are no biomarkers that can predict radiation pneumonitis. Radiation damage to the whole lung is a serious risk in nuclear accidents or in radiologic terrorism. Our previous studies have shown that a single dose of 15 Gy of x-rays to the thorax causes severe pneumonitis in rats by 6–8 wk. We have also developed a mitigator for radiation pneumonitis and fibrosis that can be started as late as 5 wk after radiation. Methods: We used 2 functional SPECT probes in vivo in irradiated rat lungs. Regional pulmonary perfusion was measured by injection of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin. Perfused volume was determined by comparing the volume of distribution of 99mTc-macroaggregated albumin to the anatomic lung volume obtained by small-animal CT. A second probe, 99mTc-labeled Duramycin, which binds to apoptotic cells, was used to measure pulmonary cell death in the same rat model. Results: The perfused volume of lung was decreased by about 25% at 1, 2, and 3 wk after receipt of 15 Gy, and 99mTc-Duramycin uptake was more than doubled at 2 and 3 wk. There was no change in body weight, breathing rate, or lung histology between irradiated and nonirradiated rats at these times. Pulmonary vascular resistance and vascular permeability measured in isolated perfused lungs ex vivo increased at 2 wk after 15 Gy of irradiation. Conclusion: Our results suggest that SPECT biomarkers have the potential to predict radiation injury to the lungs before substantial functional or histologic damage is observed. Early prediction of radiation pneumonitis in time to initiate mitigation will benefit those exposed to radiation in the context of therapy, accidents, or terrorism
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