Diagnostic and decision-support tools for effective faecal sludge management (FSM) services

Achieving effective faecal sludge management (FSM) from on-site sanitation systems is critical to improving sanitation in urban settlements. Research conducted in 2014-16 by OPM Ltd and WEDC, on behalf of and with the World Bank WSP, used extensive primary data from five cities in the global South to develop a comprehensive suite of FSM diagnostic and decision-support tools. This paper describes the development and use of the tools, while illustrating two key tools. The resulting suite of tools, together with associated resources, provides a comprehensive and usable basis to help guide FSM intervention options, informed by an understanding of existing FSM services, within the context of the enabling environment and political economy realities of the city

Responsibility modelling for civil emergency planning

This paper presents a new approach to analysing and understanding civil emergency planning based on the notion of responsibility modelling combined with HAZOPS-style analysis of information requirements. Our goal is to represent complex contingency plans so that they can be more readily understood, so that inconsistencies can be highlighted and vulnerabilities discovered. In this paper, we outline the framework for contingency planning in the United Kingdom and introduce the notion of responsibility models as a means of representing the key features of contingency plans. Using a case study of a flooding emergency, we illustrate our approach to responsibility modelling and suggest how it adds value to current textual contingency plans

Testing models of inflation with CMB non-gaussianity

Two different predictions for the primordial curvature fluctuation bispectrum are compared through their effects on the Cosmic Microwave Background temperature fluctuations. The first has a local form described by a single parameter f_{NL}. The second is based on a prediction from the warm inflationary scenario, with a different dependence on wavenumber and a parameter f_{WI}. New expressions are obtained for the angular bispectra of the temperature fluctuations and for the estimators used to determine $f_{NL}$ and f_{WI}. The standard deviation of the estimators in an ideal experiment is roughly 5 times larger for f_{WI} than for f_{NL}. Using 3 year WMAP data gives limits -375<f_{WI}<36.8, but there is a possibility of detecting a signal for f_{WI} from the Planck satellite.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures in ReVTe

Measuring the cultural value of the Royal Scottish Academy New Contemporaries Exhibition as a platform for emerging artists

In our analysis of the cultural value of the Royal Scottish Academy New Contemporaries Exhibition, we assessed the institution’s role in shaping emerging artists’ careers, as well as wider cultural value. Supported by our conceptual framework of value creation, issues assessed included the expected versus experienced value of the exhibition and the individual artworks, price setting, the market mechanism surrounding the exhibition, and its enhancement. The created cultural value is facilitated by high-visibility media exposure and through development of career-enhancing networks. We have generated new insight into cultural value more generally by moving beyond dominant instrumental valuation approaches. We have addressed many of the gaps in understanding the mechanisms behind engagement with contemporary art. We have progressed theory with the assistance of our conceptual framework and supporting qualitative data. Cultural value is expressed in contemporary art through artistic production systems and its cultural messages. Artists’ cultural value is often constructed via the intrinsic worth of their work, rather than from market influences. Cultural value is often personal to the viewer, shared with others and remembered over time. It is also co-created among the other stakeholders involved

Growth Spectrum Complexity Dictates Aromatic Intensity in Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.)

© Copyright © 2020 McAusland, Lim, Morris, Smith-Herman, Mohammed, Hayes-Gill, Crowe, Fisk and Murchie. Advancements in availability and specificity of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have facilitated trait modification of high-value edible herbs and vegetables through the fine manipulation of spectra. Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is a culinary herb, known for its fresh, citrusy aroma, and high economic value. Studies into the impact of light intensity and spectrum on C. sativum physiology, morphology, and aroma are limited. Using a nasal impact frequency panel, a selection of key compounds associated with the characteristic aroma of coriander was identified. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the concentration of these aromatics between plants grown in a controlled environment chamber under the same photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) but custom spectra: red (100%), blue (100%), red + blue (RB, 50% equal contribution), or red + green + blue (RGB, 35.8% red: 26.4% green: 37.8% blue) wavelengths. In general, the concentration of aromatics increased with increasing numbers of wavelengths emitted alongside selective changes, e.g., the greatest increase in coriander-defining E-(2)-decenal occurred under the RGB spectrum. This change in aroma profile was accompanied by significant differences (P < 0.05) in light saturated photosynthetic CO2 assimilation, water-use efficiency (Wi), and morphology. While plants grown under red wavelengths achieved the greatest leaf area, RB spectrum plants were shortest and had the highest leaf:shoot ratio. Therefore, this work evidences a trade-off between sellable commercial morphologies with a weaker, less desirable aroma or a less desirable morphology with more intense coriander-like aromas. When supplemental trichromatic LEDs were used in a commercial glasshouse, the majority of compounds, with the exception of linalool, also increased showing that even as a supplement additional wavelength can modify the aromatic profile increasing its complexity. Lower levels of linalool suggest these plants may be more susceptible to biotic stress such as herbivory. Finally, the concentration of coriander-defining aromatics E-(2)-decenal and E-(2)-hexenal was significantly higher in supermarket pre-packaged coriander leaves implying that concentrations of aromatics increase after excision. In summary, spectra can be used to co-manipulate aroma profile and plant form with increasing spectral complexity leading to greater aromatic complexity and intensity. We suggest that increasing spectral complexity progressively stimulates signaling pathways giving rise to valuable economic traits

Quantum teleportation on a photonic chip

Quantum teleportation is a fundamental concept in quantum physics which now finds important applications at the heart of quantum technology including quantum relays, quantum repeaters and linear optics quantum computing (LOQC). Photonic implementations have largely focussed on achieving long distance teleportation due to its suitability for decoherence-free communication. Teleportation also plays a vital role in the scalability of photonic quantum computing, for which large linear optical networks will likely require an integrated architecture. Here we report the first demonstration of quantum teleportation in which all key parts - entanglement preparation, Bell-state analysis and quantum state tomography - are performed on a reconfigurable integrated photonic chip. We also show that a novel element-wise characterisation method is critical to mitigate component errors, a key technique which will become increasingly important as integrated circuits reach higher complexities necessary for quantum enhanced operation.Comment: Originally submitted version - refer to online journal for accepted manuscript; Nature Photonics (2014

PROTAC-mediated degradation of Bruton's tyrosine kinase is inhibited by covalent binding

The impact of covalent binding on PROTAC-Mediated degradation of BTK was investigated through the preparation of both covalent binding and reversible binding PROTACs derived from the covalent BTK inhibitor ibrutinib. It was determined that a covalent binding PROTAC inhibited BTK degradation despite evidence of target engagement, while BTK degradation was observed with a reversible binding PROTAC. These observations were consistently found when PROTACs that were able to recruit either IAP or cereblon E3 ligases were employed. Proteomics analysis determined that the use of a covalently bound PROTAC did not result in the degradation of covalently bound targets, while degradation was observed for some reversibly bound targets. This observation highlights the importance of catalysis for successful PROTAC-Mediated degradation and highlights a potential caveat for the use of covalent target binders in PROTAC design