THE SPECTROSCOPY OF CRYSTAL DEFECTS - A COMPENDIUM OF DEFECT NOMENCLATURE

The authors bring together tables of current defect nomenclature and a summary of the rules actually practised (rather than idealised schemes) in choosing such labels for signals obtained with a range of spectroscopies. As well as providing a source of reference for the user lost in a maze of labels, the compilation also indicates parallels between similar defect species in very different systems (e.g. ice and quartz), even though the relationships may be far from obvious from the labels. The systems considered are all non-metals, namely ionic crystals (including oxides), silica, semiconductors (e.g. III-V and tetrahedrally coordinated II-VI), valence crystals (e.g. diamond, c-Si, a-Si) and other special hosts like ice and conducting polymers

Graph-Embedding Empowered Entity Retrieval

In this research, we improve upon the current state of the art in entity retrieval by re-ranking the result list using graph embeddings. The paper shows that graph embeddings are useful for entity-oriented search tasks. We demonstrate empirically that encoding information from the knowledge graph into (graph) embeddings contributes to a higher increase in effectiveness of entity retrieval results than using plain word embeddings. We analyze the impact of the accuracy of the entity linker on the overall retrieval effectiveness. Our analysis further deploys the cluster hypothesis to explain the observed advantages of graph embeddings over the more widely used word embeddings, for user tasks involving ranking entities

Moving beyond energy, towards "total" performance: Managing issues in UK school buildings

The policy-driven focus, at present, is to improve the energy performance of buildings. However, energy-related issues alone do not capture the full impact of buildings on occupants and the wider environment. The performance of a building also includes occupant wellbeing and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Specifically, for schools, there is a strong association between IEQ (temperature, ventilation rates, and indoor CO2 concentrations) with cognitive performance. Traffic-related external pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are linked to adverse health impacts, especially in dense urban environments. This paper assesses the performance issues and inter-relationships between energy and IEQ in a newly-built and partly-refurbished school campus in London. Based on the evidence gathered from this case study, larger endemic issues and constraints within the construction industry are explored and lessons for improved performance in the design and operation of school buildings are highlighted

Salmonellosis in pigs: what does disease surveillance data from England Wales tell us?

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) Farmfile database allows incidents of pig disease diagnosed in the network of APHA laboratories across England and Wales to be collated and analysed. Between 2005 and 2014, there were 884 disease incidents in pigs involving salmonellosis with the annual diagnostic rate ranging from 7.2 to 14.6% of submissions tested. Nearly half of the diagnoses were made in submissions of pigs for post-mortem examination, the remainder were from submissions of samples. Seventy percent of the diagnoses involved Salmonella Typhimurium which was the main serotype diagnosed each year. However, since 2010, the numbers of incidents due to monophasic Salmonella variants 4,12:i:- and 4,5,12:i:- recorded in the database have increased each year, and in the first quarter of 2015, were responsible for the same number of disease incidents as S. Typhimurium for the first time, reflecting the increasing prevalence of these variants in the pig population

Near-Field Analysis of Terahertz Pulse Generation From Photo-Excited Charge Density Gradients

Excitation of photo-current transients at semiconductor surfaces by subpicosecond optical pulses gives rise to emission of electromagnetic pulses of terahertz (THz) frequency radiation. To correlate the THz emission with the photo-excited charge density distribution and the photo-current direction, we mapped near-field and far-field distributions of the generated THz waves from GaAs and Fe-doped InGaAs surfaces. The experimental results show that the charge dynamics in the plane of the surface can radiate substantially stronger THz pulses than the charge dynamics in the direction normal to the surface, which is generally regarded as the dominant origin of the emission

Perceptions of Healthcare professionals and people with Type 2 diabetes on emotional support: a qualitative study

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a demanding condition that impacts the person living with the condition physically and psychologically. Promoting emotional support is a key strategy to improve diabetes care.Aim To explore the views and experiences of people with T2DM and healthcare professionals (HCPs) on emotional support in diabetes care, and identify barriers and facilitators to the provision of emotional support in clinical practice.Design & setting A qualitative study in England with data collected from four focus groups.Method Focus group discussions were conducted with people with T2DM (n = 10) and HCPs (n = 10). The analysis was informed by the framework method and principles of the constant comparative approach.Results Emotional support was lacking in diabetes primary care, and there was a need to normalise the emotional impact of T2DM. Barriers to emotional support included: lack of HCP confidence to discuss emotional issues; lack of counselling training; and time constraints in consultations. Inappropriate use of the word ‘depression’ creates a sense of taboo for those experiencing emotions other than depression.Conclusion Consensus between the two target groups indicated a strong need to integrate emotional support in diabetes care, and the need to support and train HCPs in addressing psychosocial aspects of T2DM. Shared language is recommended across diabetes services to appropriately refer to wellbeing. Addressing barriers and considering ways to incorporate emotional management in diabetes consultations is recommended, includings introducing HCP training to increase confidence and enhance counselling skills.</div

A participatory process for modelling green infrastructure implementation in London

Cities face the interlinked challenges of transforming environmental quality, sustainability, population health and health equity. There is increasing interest in green infrastructure in connection with these challenges. In order to go beyond an understanding of the effects of green infrastructure and develop an understanding of how policymakers should think about it, we need to capture potential interactions and be aware of possible unintended consequences. In our research, we applied a systems-thinking approach: integrating participatory engagements, qualitative system dynamics modelling, and an assessment framework in order to address the challenge. This allowed us to see multiple dynamics between the prioritisation of policymakers, different types of green infrastructure, and environmental and health outcomes. It also made us ask different and more integrated questions, and suggested a methodology for addressing the challenge of transforming cities

Wavelength dependent mechanism of phenolate photooxidation in aqueous solution

Phenolate photooxidation is integral to a range of biological processes, yet the mechanism of electron ejection has been disputed. Here, we combine femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, liquid-microjet photoelectron spectroscopy and high-level quantum chemistry calculations to investigate the photooxidation dynamics of aqueous phenolate following excitation at a range of wavelengths, from the onset of the S0-S1 absorption band to the peak of the S0-S2 band. We find that for λ ≥ 266 nm, electron ejection occurs from the S1 state into the continuum associated with the contact pair in which the PhO˙ radical is in its ground electronic state. In contrast, we find that for λ ≤ 257 nm, electron ejection also occurs into continua associated with contact pairs containing electronically excited PhO˙ radicals and that these contact pairs have faster recombination times than those containing PhO˙ radicals in their ground electronic state