Formation Response of High Frequency Electromagnetic Waves

Core samples from rock formations respond to electromagnetic radiation based on an effective permittivity, which depends on the conductivity and permittivity of the constituent components of the rock, as well as the geometric structure of these constituents and the frequency of the radiation. This study analyzes the effect, for radiation of 1 to 100 Mhz, of discrete inclusions having a different permittivity from the surrounding medium. The focus is on the effect of certain geometric features, namely, the individual size of the inclusions, their overall volume fraction, the presence of sharp edges, and their aspect ratio. It is found that the volume fraction has the strongest impact on the effective permittivity, linear at first but higher order at higher volume fractions. The aspect ratio of the inclusions has a moderate effect, which is exaggerated in the extreme case of needle-like inclusions, and which can also be seen in a stronger nonlinearity. There is also a possibility that some features in the shape of the inclusion boundaries may influence the frequency dependence of the effective permittivity. Inclusion size and sharp edges have negligible effect

In-use Energy Performance Study Of Automated Smart Homes

Domestic energy demand has been high on the carbon reduction agenda for some time. Today new homes are being designed following the “fabric first” principle which is reducing heat demand, but it is shifting the design challenge to ventilation. Further energy reductions and comfort improvements are needed. It is frequently proposed that automated control systems can achieve this. However, the technologies involved are currently considered expensive and complicated. There is little published evidence of how these types of systems perform in use, which leads to scepticism. This research study aims to test the hypothesis that automated demand-controlled heating and ventilation can provide a good indoor environment while reducing energy consumption in “real-life” homes. A year-long case study was conducted using six occupied, neighbouring dwellings installed with a low-cost automated building control system. The energy consumption figures recorded were compared to the values predicted by the Standard Assessment Procedure and by a Dynamic Simulation Model, and compared to Passivhaus standard. Significant savings have been identified. The results of this study show that an automated control system can lead to very low energy, and hence low carbon homes at a price-point that would incentivise widespread role out. This means that such systems have the potential to make a considerable contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of housing stock, and hence to meeting carbon reduction targets

Exceptional cause of bowel obstruction: rectal endometriosis mimicking carcinoma of Rectum - A case report

Endometriosis with intestinal serosal involvement is not uncommon in women of childbearing age. However, endometriosis presenting as colon obstruction is rare and occurs in less than 1% of cases. The Lack of pathognomonic signs makes the diagnosis difficult, mostly because the main differential diagnosis is with neoplasm, even during the intervention. Reported here is a case of a 35-year –old woman presenting with bowel obstruction due to rectal endometriosis. The patient presented signs and symptoms of bowel obstruction. Colonoscopy and radiological findings were suggestive of rectal carcinoma. Surgeons performed an anterior resection with right salpingectomy. Histopathology diagnosed bowel endometriosis. This case demonstrates the difficulty of establishing an accurate pre- and intra-operative diagnosis and the ability of intestinal endometriosis to mimic colon cancer

The benefits and challenges of taxing sugar in a small island state: an interrupted time series analysis

Background: Beverage and food taxes have become a popular ‘best buy’ public health intervention in the global battle to tackle noncommunicable diseases. Though many countries have introduced taxes, mainly targeting products containing sugar, there is great heterogeneity in tax design. For taxes levied as import tariffs, there is limited evidence of effectiveness in changing the price and sale of taxed products, while the evidence base is stronger for excise taxes levied as a fixed amount per quantity of product. This paper examines the effect of the Bermuda Discretionary Foods Tax, which was based on import tariff changes, on retail prices and sales of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and on selected fruits and vegetables that benefited from a tariff reduction. Methods: We used weekly electronic point-of-sale data from a major food retailer in Bermuda. We assessed historical weekly sales and price data using an interrupted time series design on 2,703 unique products between the dates of January 2018 through January 2020, covering 103 weeks. Results: By January 2020, the average price per ounce of SSBs increased by 26.0%, while the price of untaxed beverages (including waters and non-added sugar drinks) remained constant. The increasing price of SSBs was the sole observable structural driver of SSB market share, responsible for a decrease in the market share by nearly eight percentage points by the end of the study period. The subsidy on fruits and vegetables was ineffective in changing prices and sales, due to the relatively small 5% import tax decrease. Conclusions: The tax was largely passed through to consumers. However, several factors mitigated the impact of the tax on the prices paid for SSBs by consumers, including the specific design of the tax, price promotions and consumer responses. The experience of Bermuda provides important lessons for the planning of similar taxes in the future

UVM Tobacco Use and Attitudes After Implementation of a Tobacco-Free Policy

Introduction: Widespread public health initiatives have led to falling smoking rates. Currently, 1,620 U.S. colleges have adopted smoke-free policies. In August 2015, the University of Vermont (UVM) adopted a tobacco-free policy that bans all forms of tobacco use on university property. The purpose of this study was to compare tobacco use and attitudes before and after policy implementation.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1230/thumbnail.jp

Long-term mannitol-induced osmotic stress leads to stomatal closure, carbohydrate accumulation and changes in leaf elasticity in Phaselous vulgaris leaves

The effect of long-term osmotic stress was investigated in leaves of two common bean lines, with contrasting tolerance: Flamingo (tolerant) and coco blanc (sensitive). Water relations, organic solute, ion accumulation and amino acids content as well as osmotic adjustment (OA) were studied during an extended exposure to osmotic stress. Osmotic stress was applied by means of 50 mM mannitol for 15 days. At the end of the stress period, both osmotic potential at full turgor (Ψ100) and at turgor loss point (Ψ0) decreased significantly in stressed plants compared with the control. The decrease being greater in the sensitive line, showed a greater OA compared with flamingo. Sugars contents increased in stressed plants and seem to be the major components of osmotic adjustment in stressed common bean leaves. The increase was more marked in coco blanc. Osmotic stress tolerance could thus not be associated with higher OA. The possible role of decreased leaf cell elasticity (εmax) is discussed in relation to osmotic stress tolerance in this species.Key words: Common bean, carbohydrate accumulation, growth, osmotic stress, osmotic adjustment, P-V curve, water relations

Integrated Application of Active Controls (IAAC) technology to an advanced subsonic transpot project-demonstration act system definition

The 1985 ACT airplane is the Final Active Controls Technology (ACT) Airplane with the addition of three-axis fly by wire. Thus it retains all the efficiency features of the full ACT system plus the weight and cost savings accruing from deletion of the mechanical control system. The control system implements the full IAAC spectrum of active controls except flutter-mode control, judged essentially nonbeneficial, and incorporates new control surfaces called flaperons to make the most of wing-load alleviation. This redundant electronic system is conservatively designed to preserve the extreme reliability required of crucial short-period pitch augmentation, which provides more than half of the fuel savings

Molecular mediators of the association between child obesity and mental health

Biological mechanisms underlying the association between obesity and depression remain unclear. We investigated the role of metabolites and DNA methylation as mediators of the relationship between childhood obesity and subsequent poor mental health in the English Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Obesity was defined according to United Kingdom Growth charts at age 7 years and mental health through the Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (SMFQ) completed at age 11 years. Metabolites and DNA methylation were measured by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and Illumina array in blood at the age of 7 years. The associations between obesity and SMFQ score, as continuous count data or using cut-offs to define depressive symptoms (SMFQ >7) or depression (SMFQ >11), were tested using adjusted Poisson and logistic regression. Candidate metabolite mediators were identified through metabolome-wide association scans for obesity and SMFQ score, correcting for false-discovery rate. Candidate DNA methylation mediators were identified through testing the association of putative BMI-associated CpG sites with SMFQ scores, correcting for look-up false-discovery rate. Mediation by candidate molecular markers was tested. Two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses were additionally applied to test causal associations of metabolites with depression in independent adult samples. 4,018 and 768 children were included for metabolomics and epigenetics analyses, respectively. Obesity at 7 years was associated with a 14% increase in SMFQ score (95% CI: 1.04, 1.25) and greater odds of depression (OR: 1.46 (95% CI: 0.78, 2.38) at 11 years. Natural indirect effects (mediating pathways) between obesity and depression for tyrosine, leucine and conjugated linoleic acid were 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.13, proportion mediated (PM): 15%), 1.04 (95% CI: 0.99, 1.10, PM: 9.6%) and 1.06 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.12, PM: 13.9%) respectively. In MR analysis, one unit increase in tyrosine was associated with 0.13 higher log odds of depression (p = 0.1). Methylation at cg17128312, located in the FBXW9 gene, had a natural indirect effect of 1.05 (95% CI: 1.01,1.13, PM: 27%) as a mediator of obesity and SMFQ score. Potential biologically plausible mechanisms involving these identified molecular features include neurotransmitter regulation, inflammation, and gut microbiome modulation. These results require replication in further observational and mechanistic studies