Book reviews: Atomic Medicine

Book title: Atomic MedicinePp. ix + 274. Illustrated. $12.75. London: Grune & Stratton. 1968

A simple nonlinear model of a generic axisymmetric wave energy converter

The aim of this work is to develop a simple nonlinear model of a wave energy converter (WEC) for capturing power from ocean waves and converting it into electrical power. A generic axisymmetric device is considered, which consists of a vertical circular cylinder surrounded by a circular annulus. The nonlinear system of equations of motion of this generic WEC are derived; these include the nonlinear term arising from viscous drag due to boundary layer separation. The expressions for radiation damping and added mass are determined by dimensional analysis. These equations are then solved numerically and the results are displayed graphically in a number of figures. Consideration of these graphs leads to conclusions that should be taken into account by the design engineer

A simple nonlinear model of a generic axisymmetric wave energy converter

The aim of this work is to develop a simple nonlinear model of a wave energy converter (WEC) for capturing power from ocean waves and converting it into electrical power. A generic axisymmetric device is considered, which consists of a vertical circular cylinder surrounded by a circular annulus. The nonlinear system of equations of motion of this generic WEC are derived; these include the nonlinear term arising from viscous drag due to boundary layer separation. The expressions for radiation damping and added mass are determined by dimensional analysis. These equations are then solved numerically and the results are displayed graphically in a number of figures. Consideration of these graphs leads to conclusions that should be taken into account by the design engineer

The HANCI Donor Index 2012: Measuring Donors' Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

Following a first phase of research that focused on developing countries, this second phase of the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) scrutinises donor government commitment to reducing hunger and undernutrition in developing countries. The HANCI Donor Index uniquely compares 23 donor countries for their relative performance in key areas contributing to hunger and undernutrition reduction. It uses 14 commitment indicators assessing donor spending and policy choices relating to agriculture, food security, nutrition, social protection, gender equity, climate change, and trade. The HANCI is calculated using secondary (government-owned) data. The report further presents findings from primary research in four donor countries: Germany, Ireland, the UK and the Netherlands.2DFID, IRISH AI

The Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI 2012): Measuring the Political Commitment to Reduce Hunger and Undernutrition in Developing Countries

The Hunger And Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) was launched in April 2013 to: Rank governments on their political commitment to tackling hunger and undernutrition; Measure what governments achieve and where they fail in addressing hunger and undernutrition – providing greater transparency and public accountability; Praise governments where due, and highlight areas for improvement; Support civil society to reinforce and stimulate additional commitment towards accelerating the reduction of hunger and undernutrition; Assess whether improving commitment levels lead to a reduction in hunger and undernutrition. The HANCI compares 45 developing countries for their performance on 22 indicators of political commitment to reduce hunger and undernutrition. It looks at three areas of government action: 1. Legal frameworks 2. Policies and programmes 3. Public expendituresDFI

Classification of protein interaction sentences via gaussian processes

The increase in the availability of protein interaction studies in textual format coupled with the demand for easier access to the key results has lead to a need for text mining solutions. In the text processing pipeline, classification is a key step for extraction of small sections of relevant text. Consequently, for the task of locating protein-protein interaction sentences, we examine the use of a classifier which has rarely been applied to text, the Gaussian processes (GPs). GPs are a non-parametric probabilistic analogue to the more popular support vector machines (SVMs). We find that GPs outperform the SVM and na\"ive Bayes classifiers on binary sentence data, whilst showing equivalent performance on abstract and multiclass sentence corpora. In addition, the lack of the margin parameter, which requires costly tuning, along with the principled multiclass extensions enabled by the probabilistic framework make GPs an appealing alternative worth of further adoption

D-instantons and Closed String Tachyons in Misner Space

We investigate closed string tachyon condensation in Misner space, a toy model for big bang universe. In Misner space, we are able to condense tachyonic modes of closed strings in the twisted sectors, which is supposed to remove the big bang singularity. In order to examine this, we utilize D-instanton as a probe. First, we study general properties of D-instanton by constructing boundary state and effective action. Then, resorting to these, we are able to show that tachyon condensation actually deforms the geometry such that the singularity becomes milder.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, minor change

The effect of methoxychlor on periphyton under natural conditions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47980/1/128_2005_Article_BF01683435.pd

Cognition and related neural findings on methamphetamine use disorder: insights and treatment implications from schizophrenia research

Despite the prevalence of methamphetamine (meth) use disorder, research on meth is disproportionately scarce compared to research on other illicit drugs. Existing evidence highlights cognitive deficits as an impediment against daily function and treatment of chronic meth use. Similar deficits are also observed in schizophrenia, and this review therefore draws on schizophrenia research by examining similarities and differences between the two disorders on cognition and related neural findings. While meth use disorder and schizophrenia are two distinct disorders, they are highly co-morbid and share impairments in similar cognitive domains and altered brain structure/function. This narrative review specifically identifies overlapping features such as deficits in learning and memory, social cognition, working memory and inhibitory/impulse control. We report that while working memory deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia, such deficits are inconsistently observed following chronic meth use. Similar structural and functional abnormalities are also observed in cortical and limbic regions between the two disorders, except for cingulate activity where differences are observed. There is growing evidence that targeting cognitive symptoms may improve functional outcome in schizophrenia, with evidence of normalized abnormal brain activity in regions associated with cognition. Considering the overlap between meth use disorder and schizophrenia, targeting cognitive symptoms in people with meth use disorder may also improve treatment outcome and daily function.Alexandre A. Guerin, Yvonne Bonomo, Andrew John Lawrence, Bernhard Theodor Baune, Eric J. Nestler, Susan L. Rossell and Jee Hyun Ki

Multiscale magnetic underdense regions on the solar surface: Granular and Mesogranular scales

The Sun is a non-equilibrium dissipative system subjected to an energy flow which originates in its core. Convective overshooting motions create temperature and velocity structures which show a temporal and spatial evolution. As a result, photospheric structures are generally considered to be the direct manifestation of convective plasma motions. The plasma flows on the photosphere govern the motion of single magnetic elements. These elements are arranged in typical patterns which are observed as a variety of multiscale magnetic patterns. High resolution magnetograms of quiet solar surface revealed the presence of magnetic underdense regions in the solar photosphere, commonly called voids, which may be considered a signature of the underlying convective structure. The analysis of such patterns paves the way for the investigation of all turbulent convective scales from granular to global. In order to address the question of magnetic structures driven by turbulent convection at granular and mesogranular scales we used a "voids" detection method. The computed voids distribution shows an exponential behavior at scales between 2 and 10 Mm and the absence of features at 5-10 Mm mesogranular scales. The absence of preferred scales of organization in the 2-10 Mm range supports the multiscale nature of flows on the solar surface and the absence of a mesogranular convective scale