Wind and solar powered turbine

A power generating station having a generator driven by solar heat assisted ambient wind is described. A first plurality of radially extendng air passages direct ambient wind to a radial flow wind turbine disposed in a centrally located opening in a substantially disc-shaped structure. A solar radiation collecting surface having black bodies is disposed above the fist plurality of air passages and in communication with a second plurality of radial air passages. A cover plate enclosing the second plurality of radial air passages is transparent so as to permit solar radiation to effectively reach the black bodies. The second plurality of air passages direct ambient wind and thermal updrafts generated by the black bodies to an axial flow turbine. The rotating shaft of the turbines drive the generator. The solar and wind drien power generating system operates in electrical cogeneration mode with a fuel powered prime mover

Spanish Treaties with West Florida Indians 1784-1802

When Bernardo de Galvez raised the lion-and-castle banner over Pensacola in 1781, British rule in West Florida came to a close and the Gulf of Mexico was again a Spanish sea. Keeping it thus was another matter, however, for the young and restless nation to the north was expansionist minded. One of the keys to Spanish defense of Louisiana and West Florida was the presence of 20,000 Indians whose friendship and support would determine who would control the area. Spanish governors and commandants signed various treaties with these Indians between 1784 and 1802. Basically, there were two types of treaties: defensive alliances for mutual protection against foreign encroachment, and treaties which ceded small bits of territory upon which Spain erected fortifications and warehouses from which to supply the Indians with trade goods

Luis Bertucat and William Augustus Bowles: West Florida Adversaries In 1791

In an effort to check the expansion of the American frontiersmen onto Indian lands after the American Revolution, William Augustus Bowles, self-styled head of the Creek-Cherokee Nation, and later “Director-General of the State of Muskogee,” wrote the Spanish minister of state, the Conde de Floridablanca, in 1791. Bowles asked for Spanish protection for the Creeks and Cherokees and urged a wider alliance or confederation of the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Cherokees and Creeks. He also suggested that Spain modify its commercial restrictions and remove the monopoly which had been granted the firm of William Panton, Thomas Forbes, and Robert Leslie, and instead open Florida ports to all nations - especially Muscogee - on a free and unimpeded basis. Spain not unnaturally refused to grant this request

Measures to eradicate multidrug-resistant organism outbreaks: How much does it cost?

This study aimed to assess the economic burden of infection control measures that succeeded in eradicating multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in emerging epidemic contexts in hospital settings. The MEDLINE, EMBASE and Ovid databases were systematically interrogated for original English-language articles detailing costs associated with strict measures to eradicate MDROs published between 1 January 1974 and 2 November 2014. This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Overall, 13 original articles were retrieved reporting data on several MDROs, including glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (n = 5), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriacae (n = 1), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 5), and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 2). Overall, the cost of strict measures to eradicate MDROs ranged from €285 to €57 532 per positive patient. The major component of these overall costs was related to interruption of new admissions, representing €2466 to €47 093 per positive patient (69% of the overall mean cost; range, 13-100%), followed by mean laboratory costs of €628 to €5849 (24%; range, 3.3-56.7%), staff reinforcement costs of €6204 to €148 381 (22%; range, 3.3-52%), and contact precautions costs of €166 to €10 438 per positive patient (18%; range, 0.7-43.3%). Published data on the economic burden of strict measures to eradicate MDROs are limited, heterogeneous, and weakened by several methodological flaws. Novel economic studies should be performed to assess the financial impact of current policies, and to identify the most cost-effective strategies to eradicate emerging MDROs in healthcare facilities

Electrochemical detection of TNT at cobalt phthalocyanine mediated screen-printed electrodes and application to detection of airborne vapours

We describe the use of cobalt phthalocyanine as a mediator to improve the sensitivity for the electrochemical detection of TNT. Commercial screen-printed electrodes containing cobalt phthalocyanine were employed for determination of TNT. Improved sensitivities compared to screen-printed carbon electrodes without phthalocyanine were observed, current response for cyclic voltammetric measurements at modified electrodes being at least double that of unmodified electrodes. A synergistic effect between oxygen and TNT reduction was also observed. Correlation between TNT concentrations and sensor output was observed between 0–200 µM TNT. Initial proof-of-concept experiments combining electrochemical determinations, with the use of an air-sampling cyclone, are also reported

Wolf-Rayets in IC10: Probing the Nearest Starburst

IC10 is the nearest starburst galaxy, as revealed both by its Halpha surface brightness and the large number of Wolf-Rayet stars (WRs) per unit area. The relative number of known WC- to WN-type WRs has been thought to be unusually high (~2), unexpected for IC10's metallicity. In this Letter we report the first results of a new and deeper survey for WRs in IC10. We sucessfully detected all of the spectroscopically known WRs, and based upon comparisons with a neighboring control field, estimate that the total number of WRs in IC10 is about 100. We present spectroscopic confirmation of two of our WR candidates, both of which are of WN type. Our photometric survey predicts that the actual WC/WN ratio is ~0.3. This makes the WC/WN ratio of IC 10 consistent with that expected for its metallicity, but greatly increases the already unusually high number of WRs, resulting in a surface density that is about 20 times higher than in the LMC. If the majority of these candidates are spectroscopically confirmed, IC10 must have an exceptional population of high mass stars.Comment: Accepted by ApJL; only minor correction in this versio

Overdamped Stress Relaxation in Buckled Rods

We present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the stress relaxation in a multiply but weakly buckled incompressible rod in a viscous solvent. In the bulk two interesting regimes of generic self--similar intermediate asymptotics are distinguished, which give rise to two classes of approximate and exact power--law solutions, respectively. For the case of open boundary conditions the corresponding non--trivial boundary--layer scenarios are derived by a multiple--scale perturbation (``adiabatic'') method. Our results compare well with -- and provide the theoretical explanation for -- previous results from numerical simulations, and they suggest new directions for further fruitful numerical and experimental investigations.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figure

“Genomics and Translational Medicine for Information Professionals”: an innovative course to educate the next generation of librarians

This article discusses an innovative course to educate the next generation of librarians and meet the demands of the changing health information environment

Quantum signatures of chaos in the dynamics of a trapped ion

We show how a nonlinear chaotic system, the parametrically kicked nonlinear oscillator, may be realised in the dynamics of a trapped, laser-cooled ion, interacting with a sequence of standing wave pulses. Unlike the original optical scheme [G.J.Milburn and C.A.Holmes, Phys. Rev A, 44, p4704, (1991)], the trapped ion enables strongly quantum dynamics with minimal dissipation. This should permit an experimental test of one of the quantum signatures of chaos; irregular collapse and revival dynamics of the average vibrational energy.Comment: 9 pages, 9 Postscript figures, Revtex, submitted to Phys. Rev.