717 research outputs found
Octupole transitions in the 208Pb region
The 208Pb region is characterised by the existence of collective octupole states.
Here we populated such states in 208Pb + 208Pb deep-inelastic reactions. γ-ray angular
distribution measurements were used to infer the octupole character of several E3 transitions.
The octupole character of the 2318 keV 17− → 14+ in 208Pb, 2485 keV 19/2
− → 13/2
+ in
207Pb, 2419 keV 15/2
− → 9/2
+ in 209Pb and 2465 keV 17/2
+ → 11/2
− in 207Tl transitions was
demonstrated for the first time. In addition, shell model calculations were performed using two
different sets of two-body matrix elements. Their predictions were compared with emphasis on
collective octupole states.This work is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council
(STFC), UK, US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract No. DEAC02-06CH11357
and DE-FG02-94ER40834, NSF grant PHY-1404442
Spectral quantification of nonlinear behaviour of the nearshore seabed and correlations with potential forcings at Duck, N.C., U.S.A
Local bathymetric quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from
monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at the USACE
field research facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA, spanning 24.5 years and
covering the swash and surf zones. The chosen transects are the two furthest
(north and south) from the pier located at the study site. Research at Duck has
traditionally focused on one or more of these transects as the effects of the
pier are least at these locations. The patterns are identified using singular
spectrum analysis (SSA). Possible correlations with potential forcing
mechanisms are discussed by 1) doing an SSA with same parameter settings to
independently identify the quasi-periodic cycles embedded within three
potentially linked sequences: monthly wave heights (MWH), monthly mean water
levels (MWL) and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic
Oscillation (NAO) and 2) comparing the patterns within MWH, MWL and NAO to the
local bathymetric patterns. The results agree well with previous patterns
identified using wavelets and confirm the highly nonstationary behaviour of
beach levels at Duck; the discussion of potential correlations with
hydrodynamic and atmospheric phenomena is a new contribution. The study is then
extended to all measured bathymetric profiles, covering an area of 1100m
(alongshore) by 440m (cross-shore), to 1) analyse linear correlations between
the bathymetry and the potential forcings using multivariate empirical
orthogonal functions (MEOF) and linear correlation analysis and 2) identify
which collective quasi-periodic bathymetric patterns are correlated with those
within MWH, MWL or NAO, based on a (nonlinear) multichannel singular spectrum
analysis (MSSA). (...continued in submitted paper)Comment: 50 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure
Standard set of health outcome measures for older persons
Background: The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) was founded in 2012 to propose consensus-based measurement tools and documentation for different conditions and populations.This article describes how the ICHOM Older Person Working Group followed a consensus-driven modified Delphi technique to develop multiple global outcome measures in older persons. The standard set of outcome measures developed by this group will support the ability of healthcare systems to improve their care pathways and quality of care. An additional benefit will be the opportunity to compare variations in outcomes which encourages and supports learning between different health care systems that drives quality improvement. These outcome measures were not developed for use in research. They are aimed at non researchers in healthcare provision and those who pay for these services. Methods: A modified Delphi technique utilising a value based healthcare framework was applied by an international panel to arrive at consensus decisions.To inform the panel meetings, information was sought from literature reviews, longitudinal ageing surveys and a focus group. Results: The outcome measures developed and recommended were participation in decision making, autonomy and control, mood and emotional health, loneliness and isolation, pain, activities of daily living, frailty, time spent in hospital, overall survival, carer burden, polypharmacy, falls and place of death mapped to a three tier value based healthcare framework. Conclusions: The first global health standard set of outcome measures in older persons has been developed to enable health care systems improve the quality of care provided to older persons
Islands and despots
This paper challenges a conventional wisdom: that when discussing
political systems, small is democratic. And yet, can there be paradises
without serpents? The presumed manageability of small island spaces
promotes and nurtures dispositions for domination and control over
nature and society. In such dark circumstances, authoritarian rule is a
more natural fit than democracy. By adopting an inter-disciplinary
perspective, this paper argues that small island societies may be
wonderful places to live in, as long as one conforms to a dominant
cultural code. Should one deviate from expected and established
practices, the threat of ostracism is immense. Formal democratic
institutions may and often do exist, and a semblance of pluralism may
be manifest, but these are likely to be overshadowed by a set of
unitarist and homogenous values and practices to which many
significant social players, in politics and civil society, subscribe (at
least in public).peer-reviewe
Rethinking cultural diversity in the UK film sector:practices in community filmmaking
© The Author(s) 2017. Academic, policy and industry debates have tended to focus on the mainstream film sector when discussing cultural diversity. One of the persistent challenges for the sector has been how to diversify cultural representation and participation. This article suggests that participatory modes of community filmmaking make an important contribution to cultural diversity. Drawing on an evidence base derived from qualitative research conducted in three English regions, the article shifts the spotlight away from the mainstream and onto the margins of the film sector in order to explore more ‘bottom-up’ approaches to cultural diversity. It examines how community filmmakers interpret and engage with questions of cultural diversity and how this connects to the participatory and business practices that they adopt. The findings highlight the significance of processes of practice in how mediated cultural diversity manifests itself and the value of community filmmaking in contributing to wider cultural diversity debates and practices.The authors thank the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) for funding the ‘Community Filmmaking and Cultural Diversity: Practice, Innovation and Policy project’ (2013–2014)
Opportunities for mobilizing recalcitrant phosphorus from agricultural soils: a review
Background : Phosphorus (P) fertilizer is usually applied
in excess of plant requirement and accumulates in soils
due to its strong adsorption, rapid precipitation and
immobilisation into unavailable forms including organic
moieties. As soils are complex and diverse chemical,
biochemical and biological systems, strategies to access
recalcitrant soil P are often inefficient, case specific and
inconsistently applicable in different soils. Finding a
near-universal or at least widely applicable solution to
the inefficiency in agricultural P use by plants is an
important unsolved problem that has been under investigation
for more than half a century.
Scope : In this paper we critically review the strategies
proposed for the remobilization of recalcitrant soil phosphorus for crops and pastures worldwide. We have
additionally performed a meta-analysis of available soil
31P–NMR data to establish the potential agronomic
value of different stored P forms in agricultural soils.
Conclusions : Soil inorganic P stocks accounted on average
for 1006 ± 115 kg ha−1 (57 ± 7%), while the
monoester P pool accounted for 587 ± 32 kg ha−1
(33 ± 2%), indicating the huge potential for the future
agronomic use of the soil legacy P. New impact driven
research is needed in order to create solutions for the
sustainable management of soil P stocks
Inter- and intra-species intercropping of barley cultivars and legume species, as affected by soil phosphorus availability
Aims: Intercropping can improve plant yields and
soil phosphorus (P) use efficiency. This study
compares inter- and intra-species intercropping,
and determines whether P uptake and shoot biomass
accumulation in intercrops are affected by
soil P availability.
Methods: Four barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.)
and three legume species (Trifolium subterreneum,
Ornithopus sativus and Medicago truncatula) were selected
on the basis of their contrasting root exudation
and morphological responses to P deficiency. Monocultures
and barley-barley and barley-legume intercrops
were grown for 6 weeks in a pot trial at very limiting,
slightly limiting and excess available soil P. Aboveground
biomass and shoot P were measured.
Results: Barley-legume intercrops had 10–70%
greater P accumulation and 0–40% greater biomass
than monocultures, with the greatest gains occurring
at or below the sub-critical P requirement for
barley. No benefit of barley-barley intercropping
was observed. The plant combination had no significant
effect on biomass and P uptake observed
in intercropped treatments.
Conclusions: Barley-legume intercropping shows
promise for sustainable production systems, especially
at low soil P. Gains in biomass and P uptake
come from inter- rather than intra-species
intercropping, indicating that plant diversity resulted
in decreased competition between plants for P
Magnesia-Based Cements: A Journey of 150 Years, and Cements for the Future?
This review examines the detailed chemical insights that have been generated through 150 years of work worldwide on magnesium-based inorganic cements, with a focus on both scientific and patent literature. Magnesium carbonate, phosphate, silicate-hydrate, and oxysalt (both chloride and sulfate) cements are all assessed. Many such cements are ideally suited to specialist applications in precast construction, road repair, and other fields including nuclear waste immobilization. The majority of MgO-based cements are more costly to produce than Portland cement because of the relatively high cost of reactive sources of MgO and do not have a sufficiently high internal pH to passivate mild steel reinforcing bars. This precludes MgO-based cements from providing a large-scale replacement for Portland cement in the production of steel-reinforced concretes for civil engineering applications, despite the potential for CO2 emissions reductions offered by some such systems. Nonetheless, in uses that do not require steel reinforcement, and in locations where the MgO can be sourced at a competitive price, a detailed understanding of these systems enables their specification, design, and selection as advanced engineering materials with a strongly defined chemical basis
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