Ethnicity and prosperity in east London: How racial inequalities impact experiences of the good life

This working paper explores the London Prosperity Index survey data through an ethnicity lens and provides some preliminary findings concerning on the relation between racial inequality and prosperity. The quantitative data analysis is framed around three thematic issues, identified in qualitative research as critical to experiences of prosperity in east London: livelihoods, feelings about the local area and feelings about the future

Synthesis, characterisation and dissolution of brannerite. a uranium titanate mineral

The uranium titanate mineral brannerite (UTi2O6), which is found in numerous uranium ore bodies around the world, is a mineral that may be a potential future source for increased uranium production. In this thesis the characteristics and dissolution chemistry of both natural and synthetic brannerites have been investigated in detail. Natural samples were investigated to identify the major minerals that are in close association with naturally occurring brannerite. Leaching chemistry of all natural and synthetic brannerites have been studied under conditions that are used in uranium minerals processing. An electrochemical leaching study of synthetic brannerite was undertaken to examine the surface behaviour of synthetic brannerite suspended in tank based leaching conditions similar to those used in uranium mineral processing. Characterisation studies conducted on two naturally occurring brannerites ore bodies from South Australia, focussed on their chemistry and mineralogy, and involved the use of use of multiple characterisation techniques (X-ray Diffraction Analysis, Raman Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy and Electron Probe Micro Analysis). Recrystallization of the natural brannerite samples (via heat treatment) were also investigated. From the results obtained, the natural brannerite samples contained brannerite that was rich in thorium and also uranothorite and thorianite-uraninite phases. Gangue mineralogy phases found in both mineral samples were rutile quartz, aluminosilicates, unidentified REE-containing phosphates, zircon, titanates and apatite. After heat treatment the natural brannerite samples contained a high-Th brannerite and the thorianite-uraninite phase in the unheated samples was decomposed into separate ThO2 and UO2 phases. One of the research aims of this thesis was to synthesise and characterise a brannerite that has little impurities (rutile and uraninite) and use this synthetic product to investigate the maximum extraction of uranium. This investigation was undertaken to gain detailed knowledge into the rate of dissolution of the synthesised brannerite over a range of conditions (temperature, [H2SO4] and [Fe] / ORP). One for the major findings from this research indicated that [Fe(III)] (over the range 3 – 12 g/L) did not have a significant influence on dissolution at a reaction temperature of 50 °C (in 15 g/L H2SO4). Yet at 95 °C in 15 g/L H2SO4, increasing [Fe(III)] (over the range 3 – 12 g/L) leads to significant increases in the dissolution rate. These aforementioned dissolution tests were conducted to probe the mechanism of synthetic brannerite dissolution and were compared with respect to the electrochemical behaviour of this synthetic mineral. An investigation was undertaken to determine the reason why this uranium mineral is not readily leachable under mild conditions and to determine if passivation was occurring on the surface of synthetic brannerite. When dissolution tests for the two natural brannerite samples were conducted under identical conditions investigated for synthetic brannerite, the results showed that the effect of increasing [Fe(III)], [H2SO4], and temperature was to increase the solubility of uranium from brannerite. Uranium recovery processes from brannerite is not straightforward process and influenced by the mineralogical characteristics of the ore. Synthetic and natural brannerites can achieve high uranium extraction rates providing that acid strength, oxidant strength and temperatures are maintained at high levels

Characterisation of a uranium ore using multiple X-ray diffraction based methods

Uranium bearing ores are often a complex mixture of minerals and compounds, a number of which are not of economic importance and are commonly referred to as gangue materials. In order to improve the efficiency of the dissolution stage of the overall uranium extraction process, a greater understanding of the minerals and compounds present in the ore is required. A greater knowledge of the gangue materials present is important as they can influence various aspects of the dissolution process such as providing potential adsorption sites for aqueous uranium species and through influencing the equilibrium of reactions involving aqueous uranium species. In this study the mineralogy of a uranium ore was investigated using a range of X-ray diffraction (XRD) based methods including in situ high temperature XRD and XRD using a synchrotron beam line. The results obtained from standard XRD (Cu Ka), high temperature XRD and synchrotron XRD (16.534 keV) were compared and a number of minerals were identified. The improved spatial resolution and intensity of the synchrotron data allowed for superior phase identification of a variety of minerals where standard X-ray techniques gave inconclusive results

Investigation of trends in synoptic patterns over Europe with artificial neural networks

The present study is a comprehensive application of a methodology developed for the classification of synoptic situations using artificial neural networks. In this respect, the 500 hPa geopotential height patterns at 12:00 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) determined from the reanalysis data (ERA-40 dataset) of the European Centre for Medium range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) over Europe were used. The dataset covers a period of 45 years (1957–2002) and the neural network methodology applied is the SOM architecture (Self Organizing Maps). The classification of the synoptic scale systems was conducted by considering 9, 18, 27 and 36 synoptic patterns. The statistical analysis of the frequency distribution of the classification results for the 36 clusters over the entire 44-year period revealed significant tendencies in the frequency distribution of certain clusters, thus substantiating a possible climatic change. In the following, the database was split into two periods, the "reference" period that includes the first 30 years and the "test" period comprising the remaining 14 years

Perceived Realism of Pedestrian Crowds Trajectories in VR

Crowd simulation algorithms play an essential role in populating Virtual Reality (VR) environments with multiple autonomous humanoid agents. The generation of plausible trajectories can be a significant computational cost for real-time graphics engines, especially in untethered and mobile devices such as portable VR devices. Previous research explores the plausibility and realism of crowd simulations on desktop computers but fails to account the impact it has on immersion. This study explores how the realism of crowd trajectories affects the perceived immersion in VR. We do so by running a psychophysical experiment in which participants rate the realism of real/synthetic trajectories data, showing similar level of perceived realism

Muons as Local Probes of Three-body Correlations in the Mixed State of Type-II Superconductors

The vortex glass state formed by magnetic flux lines in a type-II superconductor is shown to possess non-trivial three-body correlations. While such correlations are usually difficult to measure in glassy systems, the magnetic fields associated with the flux vortices allow us to probe these via muon-spin rotation measurements of the local field distribution. We show via numerical simulations and analytic calculations that these observations provide detailed microscopic insight into the local order of the vortex glass and more generally validate a theoretical framework for correlations in glassy systems.Comment: 4+ pages, high-quality figures available on reques

Inter-observer agreement of canine and feline paroxysmal event semiology and classification by veterinary neurology specialists and non-specialists

Background: Advances in mobile technology mean vets are now commonly presented with videos of paroxysmal events by clients, but the consistency of the interpretation of these videos has not been investigated. The objective of this study was to investigate the level of agreement between vets (both neurology specialists and non-specialists) on the description and classification of videos depicting paroxysmal events, without knowing any results of diagnostic workup. An online questionnaire study was conducted, where participants watched 100 videos of dogs and cats exhibiting paroxysmal events and answered questions regarding: epileptic seizure presence (yes/ no), seizure type, consciousness status, and the presence of motor, autonomic and neurobehavioural signs. Agreement statistics (percentage agreement and kappa) calculated for each variable, with prevalence indices calculated to aid their interpretation. Results: Only a fair level of agreement (kappa = 0.40) was found for epileptic seizure presence. Overall agreement of seizure type was moderate (kappa = 0.44), with primary generalised seizures showing the highest level of agreement (kappa = 0.60), and focal the lowest (kappa = 0.31). Fair agreement was found for consciousness status and the presence of autonomic signs (kappa = 0.21-0.40), but poor agreement for neurobehavioral signs (kappa = 0.16). Agreement for motor signs ranged from poor (kappa = <= 0.20) to moderate (kappa = 0.41-0.60). Differences between specialists and non-specialists were identified. Conclusions: The relatively low levels of agreement described here highlight the need for further discussions between neurology experts regarding classifying and describing epileptic seizures, and additional training of non-specialists to facilitate accurate diagnosis. There is a need for diagnostic tools (e.g. electroencephalogram) able to differentiate between epileptic and non-epileptic paroxysms

Tropospheric delay performance for GNSS integrated water vapor estimation by using GPT2w model, ECMWF's IFS operational model and in situ meteorological data

Tropospheric delay comprises one of the most important error sources in satellite navigation and is caused when radio signals broadcasted by GPS satellites propagate into the atmosphere. It is usually projected onto zenith direction by using mapping functions named as Zenith Tropospheric Delay (ZTD). ZTD is described as the sum of the Zenith Hydrostatic Delay (ZHD) and the Zenith Wet Delay (ZWD) and with the aid of surface pressure and temperature the integrated water vapor can be estimated. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the tropospheric delay performance for GNSS integrated water vapor estimation by using GPT2w model, ECMWF's IFS (ECMWF stands for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) reanalysis model and ground meteorological data from two stations of the permanent network of Cyprus and Greece. The period from 27 May to 3 June 2018 is characterized by two different synoptic conditions: high pressure with fair weather in central Mediterranean (Greece), on the one hand, and high instability over the upper levels of the atmosphere that resulted in thunderstorms inland and mountainous areas during midday over the Eastern Mediterranean (Cyprus), on the other hand. In general, the results show that both the empirical blind model GPT2w and the ECMWF (IFS) operational model perform well in particular over Nicosia when used for the retrieval of Integrated Water Vapor (IWV) from GNSS measurements, although appreciable deviations were observed between ECMWF (IFS)-retrieved IWV and the one retrieved from GNSS observations by using meteorological measurements. A sharp increase of IWV prior to the abrupt rainfall events during noon on 30 and 31 May over Nicosia was also found.</p