Steady-state simulation of the seawater greenhouse condenser

This paper presents an integrated steady-state model simulating the condenser of the seawater greenhouse in Oman. The developed model is capable of predicting the outlet air temperature and humidity, the outlet seawater temperature and the condensation rate. Validation experiments showed a good conformity between the predicted and measured values within the calibration ranges at high and low air flowrates. The mean predictive error (PE) for the predicted condensation rate was 15.25 and 22.67 ml/min at high and low flowrates, respectively and the index of agreement (IA) was 0.96 and 0.98, respectively. The model also accurately predicted the outlet humidity ratio with PE values of -0.00006 and -0.00018 kg/kg for high and low air flowrates, respectively and IA values of 1.00 and 0.99, respectively. The model showed a small discrepancy between the measured and predicted outlet air temperature but yet with an PE value of 0.35 and 2.44oC at high and low air flowrates, respectively and IA values of 0.92 and 0.86, respectively. This discrepancy was not due to an inaccuracy related to the simulation but rather due to an inaccuracy related to measurements caused by the non-horizontal airflow pattern. The accuracy of the model to predict the outlet seawater temperature was excellent with an PE of -0.33 and -0.10oC for high and low air flowrates, respectively and IA values of 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. Model’s accuracy was also evaluated using three additional statistical prediction indicators; coefficient of determination, mean absolute predictive error and root mean square error. It was found that all prediction indicators for high and low air flowrates were very good

Managing water through change and uncertainty: comparing lessons from the adaptive co-management literature to recent policy developments in England

Water management is set to become increasingly variable and unpredictable, in particular because of climate change. This paper investigates the extent to which water policy in England provides an enabling environment for ‘adaptive co-management’, which its proponents claim can achieve the dual objective of ecosystem protection and livelihood sustainability under conditions of change and uncertainty. Five policy categories are derived from a literature review, and are used to conduct a directed content analysis of seven key water policy documents. The findings reveal that although, in part, English water policy serves as an enabling environment for adaptive co-management, there is a level of discrepancy between substantive aspects of the five policy categories and water policy in England. Addressing these discrepancies will be important if English water policy is to allow for the emergence of processes, like adaptive co-management, that are capable of coping with the challenges that lie ahead

i-Soapbox

The i-Soapbox is a working prototype that spatialises - places - political speech

The application of probabilistic climate change projections: a comparison of methods of handling uncertainty applied to UK irrigation reservoir design

Climate projections are increasingly being presented in terms of uncertainties and probability distributions rather than median or ‘most-likely’ values. The current national UK climate change projections, UKCP09, provide 10,000 probabilistic projections (PP) and 11 spatially coherent projections (11SCP) for three future emission scenarios. In contrast, previous iterations such as UKCIP02 provided only a single ‘most-likely’ (deterministic) projection for each. This move from deterministic to probabilistic methods of communicating climate change information, whilst increasing the wealth of the data, complicates the process of adaptation planning by communicating extra uncertainty to the public and decision-makers. This paper examines the application of probabilistic climate change projections and explores the impact of uncertainty on decision-making, using a case study of irrigation reservoir design at three sites in the UK. The implications of sub-sampling the PP using both simple random and Latin-hypercube sampling are also explored. The study found that the choice of dataset has a much larger impact on irrigation reservoir design than emission uncertainty. The study confirmed the dangers of inadequate sample size, particularly when applying decision criteria based on extreme events, and found that more advanced stratified sampling techniques did not noticeably improve the reproducibility of decision outcomes

Cultures of change: social atoms and electronic lives. News telescope

This section comes from a book accompanying the exhibition Cultures of change. The Pi Studio submission is a section on the news telescope, a technological device that allows users to explore the globe through a telescope that internally projects content depending on where the user points it and zooms. The device is a working prototype from a larger research project into the future of media funded by the Leverhulme trust

The Polis Project: Geo-Soapbox

The Polis Project is one of three research project areas developed by the Pi Studio as part of the Leverhulme sponsored ‘Mediatising Place’ project. The overarching research investigated ways of developing the discourse around the role of interaction and location-based media design for public engagement in politics - ways of strengthening and enacting participatory democracy. Informed by Toulmin’s Theory of Argument, the research developed methodologies including deployment within a political protest and the iterative construction of several working prototypes (both hardware and software) in response to user trials and workshops. The educational dimensions of the research include: deepening understandings of democratic process; technological engagements respectful of preferred learning styles; distinctiveness in developing solutions; encouraging participatory voice and individuals’ communication skills to counter political disaffection. The Geo-Soapbox is a broadcasting, self-blogging device, and utilises twitter to enable live questions to a speaker. The device enables speeches to be connected to the structure of the Polis argument database. It manifests as both hardware and software and using the object encourages and facilitates the practice of public speaking. It is a learning tool that enables users to record their views and speeches and in public spaces. The hardware prototype is connected to a live website with a fully operational mapping system that connects issues to particular locations. Issues are mapped to connect to the constituencies of the UK and to particular governmental departments and responsibilities. The research programme has been disseminated through public symposia, publications, and public exhibitions. Amnesty International has expressed interest in using the Geo-Soapbox. The project has also been exhibited in Seeds of Change Exhibition in Barcelona and presented at the International Convergence Symposium on Design and Engineering, Kyung Hee University, South Korea, and in academic and public lectures at The British Council in South Korea

Pharmacovirological Impact of an Integrase Inhibitor on Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 cDNA Species In Vivo ▿

Clinical trials of the first approved integrase inhibitor (INI), raltegravir, have demonstrated a drop in the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) RNA loads of infected patients that was unexpectedly more rapid than that with a potent reverse transcriptase inhibitor, and apparently dose independent. These clinical outcomes are not understood. In tissue culture, although their inhibition of integration is well documented, the effects of INIs on levels of unintegrated HIV-1 cDNAs have been variable. Furthermore, there has been no report to date on an INI's effect on these episomal species in vivo. Here, we show that prophylactic treatment of transgenic rats with the strand transfer INI GSK501015 reduced levels of viral integrants in the spleen by up to 99.7%. Episomal two-long-terminal-repeat (LTR) circles accumulated up to sevenfold in this secondary lymphoid organ, and this inversely correlated with the impact on the proviral burden. Contrasting raltegravir's dose-ranging study with HIV patients, titration of GSK501015 in HIV-infected animals demonstrated dependence of the INI's antiviral effect on its serum concentration. Furthermore, the in vivo 50% effective concentration calculated from these data best matched GSK501015's in vitro potency when serum protein binding was accounted for. Collectively, this study demonstrates a titratable, antipodal impact of an INI on integrated and episomal HIV-1 cDNAs in vivo. Based on these findings and known biological characteristics of viral episomes, we discuss how integrase inhibition may result in additional indirect antiviral effects that contribute to more rapid HIV-1 decay in HIV/AIDS patients