Dynamics of liquid nano-threads : fluctuation-driven instability and rupture

The instability and rupture of nanoscale liquid threads is shown to strongly depend on thermal fluctuations. These fluctuations are naturally occurring within molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and can be incorporated via fluctuating hydrodynamics into a stochastic lubrication equation (SLE). A simple and robust numerical scheme is developed for the SLE that is validated against MD for both the initial (linear) instability and the nonlinear rupture process. Particular attention is paid to the rupture process and its statistics, where the `double-cone’ profile reported by Moseler & Landmann [Science, 2000, 289(5482): 1165-1169] is observed, as well as other distinct profile forms depending on the flow conditions. Comparison to the Eggers’ similarity solution [Physical Review Letters, 2002, 89(8): 084502], a power law of the minimum thread radius against time to rupture, shows agreement only at low surface tension; indicating that surface tension cannot generally be neglected when considering rupture dynamics

Bryanston Films : An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution

By the end of the 1950s, independent film producers in Britain were facing an increasingly difficult challenge in sustaining their businesses. They were dependent on the major distribution companies for finance, but the combines that had long dominated the British film industry-the Rank Organisation and the Associated British Picture Corporation-had drastically reduced their production commitments, preferring to concentre on less risky aspects of their operations, notably exhibition and other leisure activities. Independent producers were therefore forced to find new ways to operate and as the new decade began one notable example of this was the formation of new collaborative enterprises to provide greater integration between production and distribution. One of the first and most significant examples of this was Bryanston Films, established by Maxwell Setton and Michael Balcon in 1959 and involving an array of distinguished directors, producers and other industry figures. Over a period of five years, Bryanston was responsible for the production and distribution of some 33 films, released through their association with British Lion. This article examines the formation, subsequent development and eventual decline and failure of this significant experiment in collaborative independent production and distribution. Drawing on the Michael Balcon papers held at the British Film Institute and the files of the completion guarantee company, Film Finances, the article examines Bryanston’s financial successes and failures, shedding light on some of the key players and projects in the Bryanston story and providing insight into the wider operations-including collaboration with a number of other companies. It will also touch on the wider opportunities and challenges facing independent production and distribution in a rapidly changing British film market during the early part of the 1960s

Estimating exposure response functions using ambient pollution concentrations

This paper presents an approach to estimating the health effects of an environmental hazard. The approach is general in nature, but is applied here to the case of air pollution. It uses a computer model involving ambient pollution and temperature input to simulate the exposures experienced by individuals in an urban area, while incorporating the mechanisms that determine exposures. The output from the model comprises a set of daily exposures for a sample of individuals from the population of interest. These daily exposures are approximated by parametric distributions so that the predictive exposure distribution of a randomly selected individual can be generated. These distributions are then incorporated into a hierarchical Bayesian framework (with inference using Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation) in order to examine the relationship between short-term changes in exposures and health outcomes, while making allowance for long-term trends, seasonality, the effect of potential confounders and the possibility of ecological bias. The paper applies this approach to particulate pollution (PM10) and respiratory mortality counts for seniors in greater London (≥65 years) during 1997. Within this substantive epidemiological study, the effects on health of ambient concentrations and (estimated) personal exposures are compared. The proposed model incorporates within day (or between individual) variability in personal exposures, which is compared to the more traditional approach of assuming a single pollution level applies to the entire population for each day. Effects were estimated using single lags and distributed lag models, with the highest relative risk, RR=1.02 (1.01–1.04), being associated with a lag of two days ambient concentrations of PM10. Individual exposures to PM10 for this group (seniors) were lower than the measured ambient concentrations with the corresponding risk, RR=1.05 (1.01–1.09), being higher than would be suggested by the traditional approach using ambient concentrations