Improving performance through HEI–industry engagements in the built environment

The poor performance and inefficiencies of the construction industry are well recognized and documented. Through a variety of combined industry and government initiatives there has been a continual expression in the UK over the last decade of the urgent need to address the fragmented nature of the industry to improve its performance. A major challenge is for education and industry stakeholders to create closer and more effective relationships with each other to facilitate greater mutual understanding. ‘Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education’ (ACBEE) is a sponsored initiative designed to encourage the closer working together of industry, education and professional bodies to provide more relevant training and education. This paper introduces ACBEE, along with an evaluation framework for measuring the performance of engagements at various levels. This is followed by an analysis of the application of this performance measurement framework through case studies of industry–education engagement. A number of case studies were identified as operating at the grades of ‘strategic alliance’ and ‘partnership’ (as classified in the ACBEE evaluation framework). The analysis of these cases focuses on the drivers behind and the purpose of the engagement, and how these are aligned with the business strategy of the collaborating organizations and measurement of the activity. Evidence of meeting the explicit business needs and strategic objectives and the contribution to good practice knowledge are also discussed

Analytical and experimental investigations of low level acceleration measurement techniques

Construction techniques for accelerometer with low level threshold sensitivit

The Characterization of Salmonella isolated from Pig Meat in Northern Ireland by PFGE and Antibiotic Resistance Profiles

The emergence of antibiotic resistance and especially multiple antibiotic resistance Salmonella has become a concern for the pig industry throughout the EU. Pig herds and pork are considered as principal reservoirs for the multi-resistant Salmonella type Typhimunum DT104, which has acquired resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycm, sulphonamides and tetracycline. This resistance pattern is also known as ACSSuT. In this study Porcine Salmonella strains were isolated between December 2005 and December 2006. The strains origmated from an abattoir study sampling the \u27oyster\u27 cut. The Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of all Salmonella isolates in this study were determined by disk diffusion tests. Twelve antibiotics were utilized throughout the profiling procedure Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE), which is regarded as the Gold Standard for the typmg and strain identification of Salmonella isolates, was used to determine DNA fingerprints of the Salmonella isolates using the restriction enzyme Xbal (Invitrogen) The fragments were then separated by PFGE in a Chef DR II system (Bio-Rad). This enabled comparison of Salmonella isolated in this study

Infrared emission from interstellar dust cloud with two embedded sources: IRAS 19181+1349

Mid and far infrared maps of many Galactic star forming regions show multiple peaks in close proximity, implying more than one embedded energy sources. With the aim of understanding such interstellar clouds better, the present study models the case of two embedded sources. A radiative transfer scheme has been developed to deal with an uniform density dust cloud in a cylindrical geometry, which includes isotropic scattering in addition to the emission and absorption processes. This scheme has been applied to the Galactic star forming region associated with IRAS 19181+1349, which shows observational evidence for two embedded energy sources. Two independent modelling approaches have been adopted, viz., to fit the observed spectral energy distribution (SED) best; or to fit the various radial profiles best, as a function of wavelength. Both the models imply remarkably similar physical parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 6 Figures, uses epsf.sty. To appear in Journal of Astronophysics & Astronom

Dark-Energy Dynamics Required to Solve the Cosmic Coincidence

Dynamic dark energy (DDE) models are often designed to solve the cosmic coincidence (why, just now, is the dark energy density $\rho_{de}$, the same order of magnitude as the matter density $\rho_m$?) by guaranteeing $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$ for significant fractions of the age of the universe. This typically entails ad-hoc tracking or oscillatory behaviour in the model. However, such behaviour is neither sufficient nor necessary to solve the coincidence problem. What must be shown is that a significant fraction of observers see $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$. Precisely when, and for how long, must a DDE model have $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_{m}$ in order to solve the coincidence? We explore the coincidence problem in dynamic dark energy models using the temporal distribution of terrestrial-planet-bound observers. We find that any dark energy model fitting current observational constraints on $\rho_{de}$ and the equation of state parameters $w_0$ and $w_a$, does have $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$ for a large fraction of observers in the universe. This demotivates DDE models specifically designed to solve the coincidence using long or repeated periods of $\rho_{de} \sim \rho_m$.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Stochastic series expansion method for quantum Ising models with arbitrary interactions

A quantum Monte Carlo algorithm for the transverse Ising model with arbitrary short- or long-range interactions is presented. The algorithm is based on sampling the diagonal matrix elements of the power series expansion of the density matrix (stochastic series expansion), and avoids the interaction summations necessary in conventional methods. In the case of long-range interactions, the scaling of the computation time with the system size N is therefore reduced from N^2 to Nln(N). The method is tested on a one-dimensional ferromagnet in a transverse field, with interactions decaying as 1/r^2.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

The Arecibo Methanol Maser Galactic Plane Survey - II: Statistical and Multi-wavelength Counterpart Analysis

We present an analysis of the properties of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser sample detected in the Arecibo Methanol Maser Galactic Plane Survey. The distribution of the masers in the Galaxy, and statistics of their multi-wavelength counterparts is consistent with the hypothesis of 6.7 GHz maser emission being associated with massive young stellar objects. Using the detection statistics of our survey, we estimate the minimum number of methanol masers in the Galaxy to be 1275. The l-v diagram of the sample shows the tangent point of the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm to be around 49.6 degrees, and suggests occurrence of massive star formation along the extension of the Crux-Scutum arm. A Gaussian component analysis of the maser spectra shows the mean line-width to be 0.38 km/s which is more than a factor of two larger than what has been reported in the literature. We also find no evidence that faint methanol masers have different properties than those of their bright counterparts.Comment: Accepted by ApJ; Revised footnote number 3 on page 8 based on private communicatio

Ganciclovir Antiviral Therapy in Advanced Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: An Open Pilot Study

Hypothesis. Repeated epithelial cell injury secondary to viruses such as Epstein Barr and subsequent dysfunctional repair may be central to the pathogenesis of IPF. In this observational study, we evaluated whether a combination of standard and anti-viral therapy might have an impact on disease progression. Methods. Advanced IPF patients who failed standard therapy and had serological evidence of previous EBV, received ganciclovir (iv) at 5 mg/kg twice daily. Forced vital capacity (FVC), shuttle walk test, DTPA scan and prednisolone dose were measured before and 8 weeks post-treatment. Results. Fourteen patients were included. After ganciclovir, eight patients showed improvement in FVC and six deteriorated. The median reduction of prednisolone dose was 7.5 mg (44%). Nine patients were classified “responders” of whom four showed an improvement in all four criteria, while three of the five “non-responders” showed no response in any of the criteria. Responders showed reduction in prednisolone dosage (P = .02) and improved DTPA clearance (P = .001). Conclusion. This audit outcome suggests that 2-week course of ganciclovir (iv) may attenuate disease progression in a subgroup of advanced IPF patients. These observations do not suggest that anti-viral treatment is a substitute for the standard care, however, suggests the need to explore the efficacy of ganciclovir as adjunctive therapy in IPF

If Numbers Can Speak, Who Listens? Creating Engagement and Learning for Effective Uptake of DRR Investment in Developing Countries

Introduction: With a renewed emphasis on evidence-based risk sensitive investment promoted under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, technical demands for analytical tools such as probabilistic cost-benefit analysis (CBA) will likely increase in the foreseeable future. This begs a number of pragmatic questions such as whether or not sophisticated quantitative appraisal tools are effective in raising policy awareness and what alternatives are available. Method: This article briefly reviews current practices of analytical tools such as probabilistic cost-benefit analysis and identifies issues associated with its applications in small scale community based DRR interventions. Results: The article illustrate that while best scientific knowledge should inform policy and practice in principle, it should not create an unrealistic expectation that the state-of-the art methods must be used in all cases, especially for small scale DRR interventions in developing countries, where data and resource limitations and uncertainty are high, and complex interaction and feedback may exist between DRR investment, community response and longer-term development outcome. Discussion: Alternative and more participatory approaches for DRR appraisals are suggested which includes participatory serious games that are increasingly being used to raise awareness and identify pragmatic strategies for change that are needed to bring about successful uptake of DRR investment and implementation of DRR mainstreaming