What Europe could learn from Australia’s handling of the financial crisis

The financial crisis affected economies across the world, but the recovery from the crisis has varied significantly, with some countries quickly returning to growth and others remaining in a prolonged period of stagnation. Mark Crosby writes on the lessons that Australia’s handling of the crisis could have for Europe. He notes that many of the reforms that allowed Australia to weather the crisis followed a similar rationale to those contained in the EU’s Lisbon Agenda, outlined in 2000. Unlike Australia, however, the EU has suffered from a crisis in implementation, epitomised by the failure to find a lasting solution to the ongoing debt problem in Greece

Control of detergent properties in a spray dryer process

EngDThis research details the building, implementation and validation of models designed for the control of specific powder detergent properties in a spray dryer process. Findings are reported in two sections; the control of moisture content, particle size distribution (PSD) and bulk density properties; the development of a process model for the online estimation and simulation of the process. The project was completed at Procter & Gamble’s Newcastle Innovation Centre, using a mixed flow spray dryer for the case study. Moisture content can be controlled using a soft sensor to enable estimation of this parameter at a higher sampling frequency than manual measurements of the powder. The proposed empirical model proved to be the most successful approach compared to heat and mass balances. Each model required adjustment of a parameter following the first manual measurement of moisture in a batch run. Control of PSD can be achieved through analysis of droplet size distribution. The dominant influence on the final PSD is the atomization of the slurry, which can be manipulated through changes to the ratio of air and slurry flow to the nozzle. However, numerous sources of variability necessitate continuous amendments to the atomizing air flow rate to maintain the PSD at the required target value. The use of an automatic cascade loop control strategy facilitated manipulation of the air flow to the nozzle, improving control of PSD considerably, halving the response time and reducing variability of mean particle size. Control of bulk density is dependent on an understanding of the key factors that determine the final density of the powder. The density model proposed incorporates statistics for the impact of packing, air entrapment and drying. The model details the limits of the rate of air injection into the slurry, its influence on density control and provides explanations for density changes during the process. viii Separate studies demonstrate the influence of each property on process conditions in each compartment of the mixed flow spray dryer. A model linking these properties to the process conditions has been formulated to provide optimal control strategies for the process. The spray drier involves 3 compartments; a spray chamber, an inner fluid bed and an outer fluid bed. Computational fluid dynamics are used to estimate flow properties and residence times of the chamber and a CSTR model is used to model the fluid beds. The constant drying rate curve (CDRC) and reactor engineering approach (REA) drying models have been implemented and fitted using historical data. A sigmoidal model approach to the CDRC has been included to enable a smoother transition between the constant and falling rate periods. Simulation of the process and online estimations of the powder’s properties were assessed. In each batch, the CDRC model provided the most accurate representation of the process. The CDRC model is recommended for control of the spray drying process and in simulation studies

Soulsville U.S.A.

The saga of Stax Records -- the birthplace of soul music -- and the drive to preserve its legacy

Digital Humanities and Librarians: A Team-Based Approach to Learning

This chapter details the development and implementation of an Introduction to Digital Humanities course (ENGL 695) at Kansas State University (K-State). The course originated with a tenure-track professor with a research specialty in British Romantic-period Literature and the digital humanities. In conjunction with a host of librarians at K-State Libraries, a course was developed that drew on both library resources and librarian knowledges and skills. Over the course of the semester, the professor and the students worked closely with librarians in many areas of the library, including public services, technical services and special collections. The result was four innovative and sustainable digital projects that highlighted the resources and research interests at K-State. In addition to introducing students to the digital humanities, the course also served to establish a framework for future initiatives, including hosting a digital humanities symposium and establishing a digital humanities center

Archaeological Excavations at 18AP14: The Victualling Warehouse Site, 77 Main Street, Annapolis, Maryland, 1982 - 1984

The Victualling Warehouse Site, located at 77 Main Street in Annapolis, Maryland, was excavated by Archaeology in Annapolis during the summers of 1982 and 1983 and the fall of 1984. Funding was provided by Historic Annapolis, Incorporated (now Historic Annapolis Foundation), the University of Maryland, the Maryland Committee for the Humanities, and the Maryland Commission on the Capital City. This site has been used for commercial and residential purposes since the 1740's. During the Revolution the warehouses were used as a victualling office to supply American troops. A fire in 1970 destroyed these buildings and the present structure, also used as a store, was built about twenty years later. Over the three years of excavation, a total of 36 5 foot by 5 foot units were excavated revealing several features, including the foundations of one of the eighteenth century warehouses

Size-scaling limits of impulsive elastic energy release from a resilin-like elastomer

Elastically-driven motion has been used as a strategy to achieve high speeds in small organisms and engineered micro-robotic devices. We examine the size-scaling relations determining the limit of elastic energy release from elastomer bands with mechanical properties similar to the biological protein resilin. The maximum center-of-mass velocity of the elastomer bands was found to be size-scale independent, while smaller bands demonstrated larger accelerations and shorter durations of elastic energy release. Scaling relationships determined from these measurements are consistent with the performance of small organisms which utilize elastic elements to power motion. Engineered devices found in the literature do not follow the same size-scaling relationships, which suggests an opportunity for improved design of engineered devices.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Prospectus, June 27, 2012

NEW FITNESS CENTER TO AID IN RECRUITING, Rural Newcomers: Young, Educated, There by Choice, A Healthy Food Stamp, or Just a Heavy Hand?, Construction of the Student Services Center Continues, Up-and-Coming Social Media Websites, Title IX Anniversary Brings Out the Statistics, Nostalgia and Knives, The Story the Media Got Right, Essay Mills - a Coarse Lesson on Cheating, Two Former Cobras Taken in MLB Draft, Products, Games Unveiled at E3 Expohttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2012/1015/thumbnail.jp

Different behavioral effects of neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions placed under either isoflurane or propofol anesthesia

Anesthetic protocols for behavioral neuroscience experiments are evolving as new anesthetics are developed and surgical procedures are refined to improve animal welfare. We tested whether neurotoxic dorsal hippocampal lesions produced under two different anesthetic protocols would have different behavioral and/or histo-pathological effects. Rats were anesthetized with either propofol, an intravenous anesthetic, or isoflurane, a gaseous anesthetic, and multiple injections of an excitotoxin (N-methyl-d-aspartate) were stereotaxically placed in the dorsal hippocampus bilaterally. Intraoperative physiological parameters were similar in the two surgical groups, as were the volumes of the lesions, although the profile of postoperative impairment in a spatial learning task differed between the lesion groups depending on the anesthetic regimen used. These results show that the choice of anesthetic protocol is a critical variable in designing behavioral neuroscience experiments using neurosurgical procedures. This factor should be considered carefully in experimental design and in cross-study comparisons of lesion effects on behavior. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc

Catalogue of 55-80 MeV solar proton events extending through solar cycles 23 and 24

We present a new catalogue of solar energetic particle events near the Earth, covering solar cycle 23 and the majority of solar cycle 24 (1996-2016), based on the 55-80 MeV proton intensity data gathered by the SOHO/ERNE experiment. In addition to ERNE proton and heavy ion observations, data from the ACE/EPAM (near-relativistic electrons), SOHO/EPHIN (relativistic electrons), SOHO/LASCO (coronal mass ejections, CMEs), and GOES soft X-ray experiments are also considered and the associations between the particle and CME/X-ray events deduced to obtain a better understanding of each event. A total of 176 SEP events have been identified as having occurred during the time period of interest; their onset and solar release times have been estimated using both velocity dispersion analysis (VDA) and time-shifting analysis (TSA) for protons, as well as TSA for near-relativistic electrons. Additionally, a brief statistical analysis has been performed on the VDA and TSA results, as well as the X-rays and CMEs associated with the proton/electron events, both to test the viability of the VDA and to investigate possible differences between the two solar cycles. We find, in confirmation of a number of previous studies, that VDA results for protons that yield an apparent path length of 1 AU < s <~ 3 AU seem to be useful, but those outside this range are probably unreliable, as evidenced by the anticorrelation between apparent path length and release time estimated from the X-ray activity. It also appears that even the first-arriving energetic protons apparently undergo significant pitch angle scattering in the interplanetary medium, with the resulting apparent path length being on average about twice the length of the spiral magnetic field. The analysis indicates an increase in high-energy SEP events originating from the far eastern solar hemisphere; e.g., such an event...Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures (2 with multiple image files), 1 appendix as an external PDF file. Article is in the accepted manuscript/referee (single column) forma