32,687 research outputs found
Improving the thermal performance of single-glazed windows using translucent granular aerogel
Copyright @ 2011 Taylor & FrancisCost-effective materials, products and installation methods are required to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's existing building stock. The aim of this paper is to assess the potential for high-performance translucent granular aerogel insulation to be retrofitted over single glazing to reduce heat loss without blocking out all of the useful natural light. In situ testing of a 10-mm-thick prototype panel, consisting of a clear twin-wall polycarbonate sheet filled with granular aerogel, was carried out and validated with steady-state calculations. Results demonstrate that an 80% reduction in heat loss can be achieved without detrimental reductions in light transmission. Payback calculations accounting for the inevitable thermal bridging from openable solutions such as roller shutters or pop-in secondary glazing suggest that a return on investment between 3.5 and 9.5 years is possible if products are consistently used over the heating season. Granular aerogel is a promising material for improving the thermal performance of existing windows. Future research will seek to map out different ways in which the material can be applied to the existing UK housing stock, identifying which systems offer the greatest potential for widespread CO2 savings over their life cycle.This work is funded by the EPSRC, Brunel University and Buro Happold Ltd
Is the transition redshift a new cosmological number?
Observations from Supernovae Type Ia (SNe Ia) provided strong evidence for an
expanding accelerating Universe at intermediate redshifts. This means that the
Universe underwent a transition from deceleration to acceleration phases at a
transition redshift of the order unity whose value in principle depends
on the cosmology as well as on the assumed gravitational theory. Since
cosmological accelerating models endowed with a transition redshift are
extremely degenerated, in principle, it is interesting to know whether the
value of itself can be observationally used as a new cosmic
discriminator. After a brief discussion of the potential dynamic role played by
the transition redshift, it is argued that future observations combining SNe
Ia, the line-of-sight (or "radial") baryon acoustic oscillations, the
differential age of galaxies, as well as the redshift drift of the spectral
lines may tightly constrain , thereby helping to narrow the parameter
space for the most realistic models describing the accelerating Universe.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures. Some discussions about how to estimate the
transition redshift have been added. New data by Planck and H(z) data have
been mentioned. New references have been adde
Investigating non-Fritzsch like texture specific quark mass matrices
A detailed investigation of all possible textures of Fritzsch-like and
non-Fritzsch like, 144 for texture 6 zero and 432 for texture 5 zero mass
matrices, have been carried out to ascertain their compatibility with the
existing quark mixing data. It seems that all the texture 6 zero possibilities
are completely ruled out whereas in the case of texture 5 zero mass matrices
the only viable possibility looks to be that of Fritzsch-like.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in IJMP
Unique Mass Texture for Quarks and Leptons
Texture specific quark mass matrices which are hermitian and hierarchical are
examined in detail . In the case of texture 6 zeros matrices, out of sixteen
possibilities examined by us, none is able to fit the low energy data (LED),
for example, , ,
, lies in the range (PDG). Similarly none of the 32 texture 5 zeros mass matrices considered
is able to reproduce LED. In particular, the latest data from LEP regarding
rules out all of them. In the texture 4
zeros case, we find that there is a unique texture structure for and
mass matrices which is able to fit the data.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX,some changes in the references,minor changes in the
text,to appear in Phys Rev D(Rapid communications
Short SULF1/SULF2 splice variants predominate in mammary tumours with a potential to facilitate receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated cell signalling
The relative roles of SULF1 and SULF2 enzymes in tumour growth are controversial, but short SULF1/SULF2 splice variants predominate in human mammary tumours despite their non-detectable levels in normal mammary tissue. Compared with the normal, the level of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) activity was markedly increased in triple-positive mammary tumours during later stages of tumour progression showing increased p-EGFR, p-FGFR1 and p-cMet activity in triple-positive but not in triple-negative tumours. The abundance of catalytically inactive short SULF1/SULF2 variants permits high levels of HS sulphation and thus growth driving RTK cell signalling in primary mammary tumours. Also observed in this study, however, was increased N-sulphation detected by antibody 10E4 indicating that not only 6-O sulphation but also N-sulphation may contribute to increased RTK cell signalling in mammary tumours. The levels of such increases in not only SULF1/SULF2 but also in pEGFR, pFGFR1, p-cMet and Smad1/5/8 signalling were further enhanced following lymph node metastasis. The over-expression of Sulf1 and Sulf2 variants in mammary tumour-derived MDA-MB231 and MCF7 cell lines by transfection further confirms Sulf1-/Sulf2-mediated differential modulation of growth. The short variants of both Sulf1 and Sulf2 promoted FGF2-induced MDA-MB231 and MCF7 in vitro growth while full-length Sulf1 inhibited growth supporting in vivo mammary tumour cell signalling patterns of growth. Since a number of mammary tumours become drug resistant to hormonal therapy, Sulf1/Sulf2 inhibition could be an alternative therapeutic approach to target such tumours by down-regulating RTK-mediated cell signalling
NCC Simulation Model: Simulating the operations of the network control center, phase 2
The simulation of the network control center (NCC) is in the second phase of development. This phase seeks to further develop the work performed in phase one. Phase one concentrated on the computer systems and interconnecting network. The focus of phase two will be the implementation of the network message dialogues and the resources controlled by the NCC. These resources are requested, initiated, monitored and analyzed via network messages. In the NCC network messages are presented in the form of packets that are routed across the network. These packets are generated, encoded, decoded and processed by the network host processors that generate and service the message traffic on the network that connects these hosts. As a result, the message traffic is used to characterize the work done by the NCC and the connected network. Phase one of the model development represented the NCC as a network of bi-directional single server queues and message generating sources. The generators represented the external segment processors. The served based queues represented the host processors. The NCC model consists of the internal and external processors which generate message traffic on the network that links these hosts. To fully realize the objective of phase two it is necessary to identify and model the processes in each internal processor. These processes live in the operating system of the internal host computers and handle tasks such as high speed message exchanging, ISN and NFE interface, event monitoring, network monitoring, and message logging. Inter process communication is achieved through the operating system facilities. The overall performance of the host is determined by its ability to service messages generated by both internal and external processors
Flow and acoustic characteristics of subsonic and supersonic jets from convergent nozzle
Acoustic and flow characteristics of subsonic and supersonic jets from convergent nozzle
Hybrid Superconductor-Quantum Point Contact Devices using InSb Nanowires
Proposals for studying topological superconductivity and Majorana bound
states in nanowires proximity coupled to superconductors require that transport
in the nanowire is ballistic. Previous work on hybrid nanowire-superconductor
systems has shown evidence for Majorana bound states, but these experiments
were also marked by disorder, which disrupts ballistic transport. In this
letter, we demonstrate ballistic transport in InSb nanowires interfaced
directly with superconducting Al by observing quantized conductance at
zero-magnetic field. Additionally, we demonstrate that the nanowire is
proximity coupled to the superconducting contacts by observing Andreev
reflection. These results are important steps for robustly establishing
topological superconductivity in InSb nanowires
Optimal Bell tests do not require maximally entangled states
Any Bell test consists of a sequence of measurements on a quantum state in
space-like separated regions. Thus, a state is better than others for a Bell
test when, for the optimal measurements and the same number of trials, the
probability of existence of a local model for the observed outcomes is smaller.
The maximization over states and measurements defines the optimal nonlocality
proof. Numerical results show that the required optimal state does not have to
be maximally entangled.Comment: 1 figure, REVTEX
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