Modeling and optimization of production and distribution of drinking water at VMW

We develop and discuss an operational planning model aiming at minimizing production and distribution costs in large drinking water networks containing buffers with free inflow. Modeling drinking water networks is very challenging due of the presence of complex hydraulic constraints, such as friction losses and pump curves. Non-linear, non-convex constraints result from the relationships between pressure and flow in power terms. Also, binary variables are needed to model the possibility of free inflow or re-injection of water at reservoirs. The resulting model is thus a non-convex Mixed-Integer Non-Linear Program (MINLP). A discrete-time setting is proposed to solve the problem over a finite horizon made of several intervals. A commercial solver, BONMIN, suited for convex MINLP models is used to heuristically solve the problem. We are able to find a good solution for a small part of an existing network operated by the Vlaamse Maatschappij voor Watervoorziening (VMW), a major drinking water company in Flanders

Noncommutative resolutions of ADE fibered Calabi-Yau threefolds

In this paper we construct noncommutative resolutions of a certain class of Calabi-Yau threefolds studied by F. Cachazo, S. Katz and C. Vafa. The threefolds under consideration are fibered over a complex plane with the fibers being deformed Kleinian singularities. The construction is in terms of a noncommutative algebra introduced by V. Ginzburg, which we call the "N=1 ADE quiver algebra"

Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on glaucoma appointment scheduling in a tertiary hospital in London, UK

PURPOSE: To investigate the impact of the delay in patient appointments caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the triage system on the glaucomatous disease of patients in a London tertiary hospita METHODS: Observational retrospective study that randomly selected 200 glaucoma patients with more than 3 months of unintended delay for their post-COVID visit and other inclusion and exclusion criteria. Demographic information, clinical data, number of drugs, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP), visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD), and global peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) thickness were obtained from the pre- and post-COVID visit. At the post-COVID visit, the clinical outcomes subjective clinical concern and change of treatment or need for surgery were also annotated. The variables were stratified by glaucoma severity (according to the MD into early, moderate and advanced) and by delay time (more and less than 12 months) and analysed using SPSS. RESULTS: We included 121 eyes (from 71 patients). The median patient age was 74 years (interquartile range -IQR- 15), 54% were males and 52% Caucasians. Different glaucoma types and all glaucoma severities were included. When data was stratified for glaucoma severity, at the pre-COVID visit, significant differences in BCVA, CCT and IOP were observed and there were significantly higher values in the early glaucoma group. The median follow-up delay was 11 months (IQR 8), did not differ between the glaucoma severity groups and did not correlate to the glaucoma severity. At the post-COVID visit, significant differences in BCVA, IOP, and Global pRNFL thickness were observed between the glaucoma severity groups, as lower BCVA and higher IOP and pRNFL thickness were observed in the early glaucoma group. At the post-COVID visit there was cause for concern in 40 eyes: 5 were followed more closely, 22 had a change of treatment and 13 were booked for surgery (3 for cataract and 10 for glaucoma surgery). However, the number of eyes with causes for concern were similar between the glaucoma severity groups and there was no correlation between these clinical outcomes and the delay of the post-COVID visit. The number of topical hypotensive medications increased significantly after the post-COVID visit, higher number of medications were observed in the advanced glaucoma group. When differences of IOP, MD and pRNFL thickness between the pre and post-COVID visit, only the MD difference was significantly different between the glaucoma severity groups because it was higher in the severe group. When data was stratified for delay longer or shorter than 12 months, no differences were observed between the groups except at the pre-COVID visit, when the numbers of patients with MD deviation >−6 dB had longer delay time. When differences in IOP, MD and RNFL thickness were calculated, only the pRNFL thickness showed significant differences between the delay groups, because it was higher in the longer delay group. Finally, when paired analysis of the variables at the pre- and post-COVID visits, stratified by glaucoma severity and delay were conducted, although there were no significant differences in IOP in any group, the BCVA decreased significantly in the overall group and in the longer delay groups, the number of hypotensive drugs increased significantly overall and in the moderate and advanced glaucoma, the MD of the VF worsened significantly in the overall group and in the early glaucoma and longer delay groups and the pRNFL thickness decreased significantly in all groups. CONCLUSIONS: We document that delayed care impacts negatively on the glaucomatous disease of our patients because at the post-COVID visit there were reasons for clinical concern in a third of eyes that resulted in change of treatment or surgery. However, these clinical consequences were not related to IOP, glaucoma severity or delay time and reflect that the triage methods implemented worked adequately. The most sensitive parameter to indicate progression in our sample was the pRNFL thickness

'Reclaiming the criminal' : the role and training of prison officers in England, 1877-1914

This article examines the role and training of prison officers in England, between 1877 and 1914. It is concerned with the changing penal philosophies and practices of this period and how these were implemented in local prisons, and the duties of the prison officer. More broadly, this article argues that the role of the prison officer and their training (from 1896) reflect wider ambiguities in prison policy and practice during this period

Sheaves on fibered threefolds and quiver sheaves

This paper classifies a class of holomorphic D-branes, closely related to framed torsion-free sheaves, on threefolds fibered in resolved ADE surfaces over a general curve C, in terms of representations with relations of a twisted Kronheimer--Nakajima-type quiver in the category Coh(C) of coherent sheaves on C. For the local Calabi--Yau case C\cong\A^1 and special choice of framing, one recovers the N=1 ADE quiver studied by Cachazo--Katz--Vafa.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, minor change

Deep Hole States in Two Particle Transfer Reactions

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grants PHY 76-84033A01, PHY 78-22774, and Indiana Universit

Researching prisoner experiences with prison officers: an action research inspired approach

This article reports on research that incorporated action research-inspired dimensions on a project conducted in three maximum-security prisons in England. The project was aimed at collecting ethnographically informed data on prisoner experiences, at developing a method by which such data could be systematically and routinely collected by prison staff and at facilitating opportunities for prison officers to understand the ‘pains of imprisonment’ from the perspectives of prisoners. The challenges and limitations of the project are discussed, with particular reference to the paradox of participation and the role of power relations within prisons and within the research process. It is suggested that despite the inherent difficulties of attempting a participative approach with more powerful actors, facilitating change on a larger scale may be best served by developing a ‘pedagogy of the oppressors’ alongside a ‘pedagogy of the oppressed’

Electron Capture Strength for {60,62}Ni and {58,60,62,64}Ni(p,n){58,60,62,64}Cu reactions at 134.3 MeV

Background: The strength of electron capture for medium mass nuclei has a significant effect on the evolution of supernovae. There is insufficient knowledge of these strengths and very little data for important radioactive nuclei. Purpose: Determine whether it is feasible to obtain EC strength from studies of T_o+1 excitations in (p,n) reactions, and whether this might yield information for radioactive nuclei. Methods: Cross sections for the {58,60,62,64}Ni(p,n){58,60,62,64}Cu reactions were measured over the angular range of 0.3 deg to 11.6 deg at 134.3 MeV using the IUCF neutron time-of-flight facility. esults: The T_o+1 excitations in {60,62}Ni were identified by comparison with inelastic proton scattering spectra, their B(GT) were extracted, and the corresponding electron capture rates in supernovae were calculated. Data from the TRIUMF (n,p) experiments at 198 MeV were reanalyzed; the electron capture rates for the reanalyzed data are in moderately good agreement with the higher resolution (p,n) results, but differ in detail. The possibility of future measurements with radioactive nuclei was considered. Conclusions: It is possible to determine electron capturestrength from (p,n) experiments. This approach may make it possible to obtain electron capture strength for radioactive nuclei by studying (p,n) reactions in inverse kinematics.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review

Empty spaces and the value of symbols: Estonia's 'war of monuments' from another angle

Taking as its point of departure the recent heightened discussion surrounding publicly sited monuments in Estonia, this article investigates the issue from the perspective of the country's eastern border city of Narva, focusing especially upon the restoration in 2000 of a 'Swedish Lion' monument to mark the 300th anniversary of Sweden's victory over Russia at the first Battle of Narva. This commemoration is characterised here as a successful local negotiation of a potentially divisive past, as are subsequent commemorations of the Russian conquest of Narva in 1704. A recent proposal to erect a statue of Peter the Great in the city, however, briefly threatened to open a new front in Estonia's ongoing 'war of monuments'. Through a discussion of these episodes, the article seeks to link the Narva case to broader conceptual issues of identity politics, nationalism and post-communist transition