Spatial determinants of local government action on climate change: an analysis of local authorities in England

The engagement of UK local authorities is vital if national government is to meet its climate change commitments. However, with no mandatory targets at local government level, other drivers must explain engagement. Using a Geographic Information System, this study compares the spatial distribution of action on climate change based on past actions and stated intentions to a suite of relevant independent variables. The Action Index created is among the first to quantify climate change engagement beyond a simple binary measure and provides a useful comparative study to recent work in the US. The Index enables investigation of both mitigation and adaptation, which show different trends in relation to some variables. The study shows that action is strongest where the voting habits of the local population suggest environmental concern and where neighbouring local authorities are also engaging in action on climate change. Physical vulnerability to the effects of climate change is a motivator for action only where the dangers are obvious. Action is less likely where other resource intensive issues such as crime and housing exist within a local authority area

Patterns of Localisation in the French Manufacturing and Service Industries: a Distance-Based Approach

We explore the patterns of localisation in the French manufacturing and service industries using the distance-based approach developed by Duranton and Overman (2005). The idea of this methodology is to consider the distribution of distances between pairs of plants in an industry and to compare it with that of a hypothetical industry with the same number of plants which are randomly distributed conditional on the distribution of aggregate activity. Relying on the same industrial classification as the one used by these authors, we show that their main conclusions remain valid in the case of French manufacturing industries. First, fewer manufacturing industries are found to be globally localised than usually found with discrete indices (Ellison-Glaeser, Maurel-Sédillot). Second, localisation takes place at small distance (localisation, K-density, spatial statistics, point-pattern processes

A micropillar for cavity optomechanics

We present a new micromechanical resonator designed for cavity optomechanics. We have used a micropillar geometry to obtain a high-frequency mechanical resonance with a low effective mass and a very high quality factor. We have coated a 60-$\mu$m diameter low-loss dielectric mirror on top of the pillar and are planning to use this micromirror as part of a high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity, to laser cool the resonator down to its quantum ground state and to monitor its quantum position fluctuations by quantum-limited optical interferometry

The Impact of Electrical Stimulation and Exercise on Independent Static Standing Balance

Purpose: Maintaining balance requires a complex integration of input from multiple sensory systems. Studies have shown positive effects of using transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) to enhance somatosensory feedback and muscular strength associated with balance. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of electrical stimulation on independent standing balance during single leg stance (SLS) using either NMES with exercise, TENS with exercise, or exercise alone. Subjects: Fourteen subjects were recruited through a convenience sample on the University of Puget Sound campus. Methods: Randomized control trial. Subjects participated in this study five times per week for a total of six weeks. Participants were randomly assigned into each group: NMES with home exercise program (HEP),TENS with HEP and HEP-only. The experimental groups performed 60 minutes of electrical stimulation. All groups received the same HEP. SLS balance assessment was performed on each participant at one and six weeks. Results: Change in SLS over time showed no significant difference (p=0.67; power=0.10). There was no significant difference between groups (p=0.96; power=0.05). There was a significant difference in SLS time between eyes open versus eyes closed (p Conclusions: There was no significant difference in SLS time with the use of NMES, TENS or exercise alone. Relevance: This study suggests that applying electrical stimulation with described protocols may not have an effect on independent static standing balance. Further research should be done that incorporates other protocols and parameters

High-sensitivity optical monitoring of a micro-mechanical resonator with a quantum-limited optomechanical sensor

We experimentally demonstrate the high-sensitivity optical monitoring of a micro-mechanical resonator and its cooling by active control. Coating a low-loss mirror upon the resonator, we have built an optomechanical sensor based on a very high-finesse cavity (30000). We have measured the thermal noise of the resonator with a quantum-limited sensitivity at the 10^-19 m/rootHz level, and cooled the resonator down to 5K by a cold-damping technique. Applications of our setup range from quantum optics experiments to the experimental demonstration of the quantum ground state of a macroscopic mechanical resonator.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Integrated chronological control on an archaeologically significant Pleistocene river terrace sequence: the Thames-Medway, eastern Essex, England

Late Middle Pleistocene Thames-Medway deposits in eastern Essex comprise both large expanses of Palaeolithic artefact-bearing river sands/gravels and deep channels infilled with thick sequences of fossiliferous fine-grained estuarine sediments that yield valuable palaeoenvironmental information. Until recently, chronological control on these deposits was limited to terrace stratigraphy and limited amino-acid racemisation (AAR) determinations. Recent developments in both this and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating make them potentially powerful tools for improving the chronological control on such sequences. This paper reports new AAR analyses and initial OSL dating from the deposits in this region. These results will help with ongoing investigation of patterns of early human settlement. Using AAR, the attribution by previous workers of the interglacial channel deposits to both MIS 11 (Tillingham Clay) and MIS 9 (Rochford and Shoeburyness Clays) is reinforced. Where there are direct stratigraphic relationships between AAR and OSL as with the Cudmore Grove and Rochford Clays and associated gravels, they agree well. Where OSL dating is the only technique available, it seems to replicate well, but must be treated with caution since there are relatively few aliquots. It is suggested on the basis of this initial OSL dating that the gravel deposits date from MIS 8 (Rochford and Cudmore Grove Gravels) and potentially also MIS 6 (Dammer Wick and Barling Gravels). However, the archaeological evidence from the Barling Gravel and the suggested correlations between this sequence and upstream Thames terraces conflict with this latter age estimate and suggest that it may need more investigation

2D photonic-crystal optomechanical nanoresonator

We present the optical optimization of an optomechanical device based on a suspended InP membrane patterned with a 2D near-wavelength grating (NWG) based on a 2D photonic-crystal geometry. We first identify by numerical simulation a set of geometrical parameters providing a reflectivity higher than 99.8 % over a 50-nm span. We then study the limitations induced by the finite value of the optical waist and lateral size of the NWG pattern using different numerical approaches. The NWG grating, pierced in a suspended InP 265 nm-thick membrane, is used to form a compact microcavity involving the suspended nano-membrane as end mirror. The resulting cavity has a waist size smaller than 10 $\mu$m and a finesse in the 200 range. It is used to probe the Brownian motion of the mechanical modes of the nanomembrane

Optomechanical characterization of acoustic modes in a mirror

We present an experimental study of the internal mechanical vibration modes of a mirror. We determine the frequency repartition of acoustic resonances via a spectral analysis of the Brownian motion of the mirror, and the spatial profile of the acoustic modes by monitoring their mechanical response to a resonant radiation pressure force swept across the mirror surface. We have applied this technique to mirrors with cylindrical and plano-convex geometries, and compared the experimental results to theoretical predictions. We have in particular observed the gaussian modes predicted for plano-convex mirrors.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, RevTe

Estudio sistemático, morfométrico y biogeográfico de <i>Blainia gregaria</i> Walcott, trilobite cámbrico medio de la Precordillera argentina

Se reconoce por primera vez en la Precordillera argentina el trilobite Blainia gregaria Walcott, del Cámbrico medio (Series 3). Los ejemplares estudiados fueron hallados en el tramo superior de la Formación La Laja, con litofacies de plataforma carbonática, aflorante en la Precordillera Oriental de San Juan. El presente trabajo se basa en dos perfiles ubicados en el cerro Tres Marías (sierra de Marquesado), y en la quebrada de Zonda (sierra Chica de Zonda). Los trilobites coleccionados están compuestos por 1.202 ejemplares (632 de la quebrada de Zonda y 570 del cerro Tres Marías) integrados por 563 pigidios y 639 cranidios. El estudio biométrico realizado en los especímenes precordilleranos de Blainia gregaria se basó en la colección del cerro Tres Marías (205 cranidios y 365 pigidios), hallada en 22 niveles estratigráficos distribuidos a lo largo de 155m de espesor columnar (15m cuspidales del Miembro Soldano, 100m del Miembro Rivadavia y 40m basales del Miembro Juan Pobre). El análisis morfométrico muestra relaciones bivariables que dan una nube de puntos muy similares, con rectas de regresión únicas, con los coeficientes de correlación bajos, que son compatibles con la idea de variabilidad intraespecífica. Se reconocen 6 morfotipos (3 cranidios y 3 pigidios) que aparecen juntos en la misma colección. Esto evidencia que es una especie extraordinariamente polimórfica, y nos lleva a proponer una extensa lista sinonímica con más de 30 especies de América del Norte, anteriormente agrupadas en los géneros Blainia Walcott y Glyphaspis Poulsen. La distribución biogeográfica de Blainia gregaria, así redefinida, muestra que esta especie poseía una amplia tolerancia ecológica a los diversos ambientes de las plataformas carbonáticas que rodeaban a Laurentia durante el Cámbrico medio. Su presencia en Precordillera es una evidencia de la estrecha relación que tiene el Terrane Precordillera con Laurentia.Simposio I: 2º Simposio de bioestratigrafía y eventos del Paleozoico inferiorFacultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Quantifying the Energetics and Length Scales of Carbon Segregation to Fe Symmetric Tilt Grain Boundaries Using Atomistic Simulations

Segregation of impurities to grain boundaries plays an important role in both the stability and macroscopic behavior of polycrystalline materials. The research objective in this work is to better characterize the energetics and length scales involved with the process of solute and impurity segregation to grain boundaries. Molecular dynamics simulations are used to calculate the segregation energies for carbon within multiple grain boundary sites over a database of 125 symmetric tilt grain boundaries in Fe. The simulation results show that the majority of atomic sites near the grain boundary have segregation energies lower than in the bulk. Moreover, depending on the boundary, the segregation energies approach the bulk value approximately 5-12 \AA\ away from the center of the grain boundary, providing an energetic length scale for carbon segregation. A subsequent data reduction and statistical representation of this dataset provides critical information such as about the mean segregation energy and the associated energy distributions for carbon atoms as a function of distance from the grain boundary, which quantitatively informs higher scale models with energetics and length scales necessary for capturing the segregation behavior of impurities in Fe. The significance of this research is the development of a methodology capable of ascertaining segregation energies over a wide range of grain boundary character (typical of that observed in polycrystalline materials), which herein has been applied to carbon segregation in a specific class of grain boundaries in iron