A higher order control volume based finite element method to prodict the deformation of heterogeneous materials

Materials with obvious internal structure can exhibit behaviour, under loading, that cannot be described by classical elasticity. It is therefore important to develop computational tools incorporating appropriate constitutive theories that can capture their unconventional behaviour. One such theory is micropolar elasticity. This paper presents a linear strain control volume finite element formulation incorporating micropolar elasticity. Verification results from a micropolar element patch test as well as convergence results for a stress concentration problem are included. The element will be shown to pass the patch test and also exhibit accuracy that is at least equivalent to its finite element counterpart

"Responsible drinkers create all the atmosphere of a mortuary" : policy implementation of responsible drinking in Scotland

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reaction of customer facing staff and their attitude to the introduction of high profile corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes; in particular their level of awareness and willingness to implement them. Conducted using a series of site visits and interviews with managers working within the licensed trade, this was followed up with structured interviews of "front line" staff. Despite high levels of awareness of both the social problems relating to alcohol consumption and the legislative changes, engagement with operational CSR was limited and often disinterested. Legal and societal expectations regarding drunkenness are of little concern. This paper is concerned with nascent legislation, the full impact and success of which has not yet emerged. Reviewing this study in five years would add to the strength of the results. Limited to Scotland due to its devolved licensing laws, however, it clearly highlights lack of employee engagement with CSR. Despite placing CSR issues at the forefront of day to day operations within the licensed trade there is little empirical evidence around customer facing staff engagement. CSR is a dynamic process that relies on the involvement of employees for its successful implementation. A new CSR implementation matrix is presented which allows hospitality businesses to be positioned according to levels of both management and employee engagement with CSR policies

The efficiency of individual optimization in the conditions of competitive growth

The paper aims to discuss statistical properties of the multi-agent based model of competitive growth. Each of the agents is described by growth (or decay) rule of its virtual "mass" with the rate affected by the interaction with other agents. The interaction depends on the strategy vector and mutual distance between agents and both are subjected to the agent's individual optimization process. Steady-state simulations yield phase diagrams with the high and low competition phases (HCP and LCP, respectively) separated by critical point. Particular focus has been made on the indicators of the power-law behavior of the mass distributions with respect to the critical regime. In this regime the study has revealed remarkable anomaly in the optimization efficiency

Cryogenic and room temperature strength of sapphire jointed by hydroxide-catalysis bonding

Hydroxide-catalysis bonding is a precision technique used for jointing components in opto-mechanical systems and has been implemented in the construction of quasi-monolithic silica suspensions in gravitational wave detectors. Future detectors are likely to operate at cryogenic temperatures which will lead to a change in test mass and suspension material. One candidate material is mono-crystalline sapphire. Here results are presented showing the influence of various bonding solutions on the strength of the hydroxide-catalysis bonds formed between sapphire samples, measured both at room temperature and at 77 K, and it is demonstrated that sodium silicate solution is the most promising in terms of strength, producing bonds with a mean strength of 63 MPa. In addition the results show that the strengths of bonds were undiminished when tested at cryogenic temperatures

Effect of vitamin D supplementation on blood pressure:a systematic review and meta-analysis incorporating individual patient data

D-PRESSURE Collaboration: et al.[Importance]: Low levels of vitamin D are associated with elevated blood pressure (BP) and future cardiovascular events. Whether vitamin D supplementation reduces BP and which patient characteristics predict a response remain unclear.[Objective]: To systematically review whether supplementation with vitamin D or its analogues reduce BP.[Data Sources]: We searched MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and http://www.ClinicalTrials.com augmented by a hand search of references from the included articles and previous reviews. Google was searched for gray literature (ie, material not published in recognized scientific journals). No language restrictions were applied. The search period spanned January 1, 1966, through March 31, 2014.[Study Selection]: We included randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials that used vitamin D supplementation for a minimum of 4 weeks for any indication and reported BP data. Studies were included if they used active or inactive forms of vitamin D or vitamin D analogues. Cointerventions were permitted if identical in all treatment arms.[Data Extraction and Synthesis]: We extracted data on baseline demographics, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels, systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP), and change in BP from baseline to the final follow-up. Individual patient data on age, sex, medication use, diabetes mellitus, baseline and follow-up BP, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were requested from the authors of the included studies. For trial-level data, between-group differences in BP change were combined in a random-effects model. For individual patient data, between-group differences in BP at the final follow up, adjusted for baseline BP, were calculated before combining in a random-effects model.[Main Outcomes and Measures]: Difference in SBP and DBP measured in an office setting.[Results]: We included 46 trials (4541 participants) in the trial-level meta-analysis. Individual patient data were obtained for 27 trials (3092 participants). At the trial level, no effect of vitamin D supplementation was seen on SBP (effect size, 0.0 [95% CI, −0.8 to 0.8] mm Hg; P = .97; I2 = 21%) or DBP (effect size, −0.1 [95% CI, −0.6 to 0.5] mm Hg; P = .84; I2 = 20%). Similar results were found analyzing individual patient data for SBP (effect size, −0.5 [95% CI, −1.3 to 0.4] mm Hg; P = .27; I2 = 0%) and DBP (effect size, 0.2 [95% CI, −0.3 to 0.7] mm Hg; P = .38; I2 = 0%). Subgroup analysis did not reveal any baseline factor predictive of a better response to therapy.[Conclusions and Relevance]: Vitamin D supplementation is ineffective as an agent for lowering BP and thus should not be used as an antihypertensive agent.Peer reviewe

Seasonal Adjustment Methods and the Determination of Turning Points of the EMU Business Cycle

In this paper, we investigate the impact of the adjustment for seasonal effects with different seasonal adjustment methods, the possible pre-treatment for calendar effects and the different order of aggregation and adjustment for the determination of the turning points of the European business cycle. The European business cycle is represented first by the GDP series (referring to the classical definition of a business cycle as fluctuations in the level of economic activity), and then by deviations from trend (which corresponds to the definition of the cycle as changing capacity utilisation). The turning points are determined using a mechanical procedure (Bry/Boschan methodology), which ensure that all series are treated alike. The comparison of turning points in the classical and growth cycles has brought the following results: 1.The order of seasonal adjustment and aggregation has only minor effects on the determined turning points of the European business cycle. 2.If the series are pretreated for calendar effects, turning points in the aggregated series can differ significantly. 3.It is not relevant whether the series were adjusted with a single method or with different methods (mixed aggregates)