A new method for the assessment of traction enhancers and the generation of organic layers in a twin-disc machine

Low adhesion presents a major concern for many rail operators. Railway vehicles under these circumstances can experience a serious loss of braking capability giving rise to dangerous situations such as platform overruns and signals passed at danger. One cause of adhesion loss is autumn leaf fall [1]. Leaves are run over by the wheels of a train and a chemical reaction occurs between the leaf and the rail steel [2]. This forms a black layer on the rail which when wet causes very low friction. These leaf layers have also been shown to be isolating and can interfere with railway signalling systems. Traction enhancers (also referred to in this paper as traction gels) have been developed as an alternative solution to using sand alone. They consist of sand particles suspended in a water based gel and are designed to be delivered to the rail by the trackside or via mobile application systems. The aim of this work was to develop a technique for generating a representative leaf layer on the surface of a twin-disc rail specimen and using this to develop a test methodology for assessing the performance of a traction gel in terms of adhesion recovery, wear and its effect on wheel/rail isolation

Severe radiographic knee osteoarthritis – does Kellgren and Lawrence grade 4 represent end stage disease? – the MOST study

SummaryObjectiveTo determine what MRI-detectable osteoarthritis features that are not visualized on radiography demonstrate progression longitudinally in Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grade 4 knees.MethodsWe studied subjects from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study who had KL grade 4 knees at baseline and had baseline and 30-month MRI. Cartilage damage, bone marrow lesions (BMLs), meniscal damage, synovitis (signal changes in Hoffa fat pad), and effusion (fluid equivalent signal in the joint cavity) were semiquantitatively scored using the Whole Organ MRI Score (WORMS) system in five subregions of the medial and lateral tibiofemoral (TF) compartments. Analysis was performed for the compartment showing bone-on-bone appearance (“index”) on radiograph and also for the other TF compartment of the same knee. Synovitis and effusion were assessed for the whole knee. Changes in scores at follow-up were noted for each feature. For cartilage and BML, within-grade changes were also recorded.Results140 subjects (164 knees) were included (50% women, mean age 66.0 ± 8.6 years, mean BMI 30.4 ± 5.1 kg/m2). Longitudinally, 51 index compartments (34%) showed an increase in the sum of cartilage scores from all subregions. In the other compartment, 25% showed an increase in the sum score for cartilage damage. For BMLs in the index compartment, 50 knees (33%) showed an increase in maximum score and 32 (21%) showed a decrease. Meniscal status mostly remained stable. Effusion worsened in 36 knees (25%) and improved in 13 knees (9%). Synovitis worsened in 14 knees (10%) and improved in six knees (4%).ConclusionIn KL grade 4 knees, MRI-detected cartilage loss and fluctuation of BMLs, effusion, and synovitis occurred frequently over a 30-month period

PAPPA: Primordial Anisotropy Polarization Pathfinder Array

The Primordial Anisotropy Polarization Pathfinder Array (PAPPA) is a balloon-based instrument to measure the polarization of the cosmic microwave background and search for the signal from gravity waves excited during an inflationary epoch in the early universe. PAPPA will survey a 20 x 20 deg patch at the North Celestial Pole using 32 pixels in 3 passbands centered at 89, 212, and 302 GHz. Each pixel uses MEMS switches in a superconducting microstrip transmission line to combine the phase modulation techniques used in radio astronomy with the sensitivity of transition-edge superconducting bolometers. Each switched circuit modulates the incident polarization on a single detector, allowing nearly instantaneous characterization of the Stokes I, Q, and U parameters. We describe the instrument design and status.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures. Proceedings of the Fundamental Physics With CMB workshop, UC Irvine, March 23-25, 2006, to be published in New Astronomy Review

Examining sex differences in knee pain: the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study

SummaryObjectiveTo determine whether women experience greater knee pain severity than men at equivalent levels of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA).Design and methodsA cross-sectional analysis of 2712 individuals (60% women) without knee replacement or a recent steroid injection. Sex differences in pain severity at each Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grade were assessed by knee using visual analog scale (VAS) scale and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) with and without adjustment for age, analgesic use, Body mass index (BMI), clinic site, comorbid conditions, depression score, education, race, and widespread pain (WSP) using generalized estimating equations. Effect sizes (Cohen's d) were also calculated. Analyses were repeated in those with and without patellofemoral OA (PFOA).ResultsWomen reported higher VAS pain at all KL grades in unadjusted analyses (d = 0.21–0.31, P < 0.0001–0.0038) and in analyses adjusted for all covariates except WSP (d = 0.16–0.22, P < 0.0001–0.0472). Pain severity differences further decreased with adjustment for WSP (d = 0.10–0.18) and were significant for KL grade ≤2 (P = 0.0015) and 2 (P = 0.0200). Presence compared with absence of WSP was associated with significantly greater knee pain at all KL grades (d = 0.32–0.52, P < 0.0001–0.0008). In knees with PFOA, VAS pain severity sex differences were greater at each KL grade (d = 0.45–0.62, P = 0.0006–0.0030) and remained significant for all KL grades in adjusted analyses (d = 0.31–0.57, P = 0.0013–0.0361). Results using WOMAC were similar.ConclusionsWomen reported greater knee pain than men regardless of KL grade, though effect sizes were generally small. These differences increased in the presence of PFOA. The strong contribution of WSP to sex differences in knee pain suggests that central sensitivity plays a role in these differences

National geological screening : London and the Thames Valley

This report is the published product of one of a series of studies covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland commissioned by Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Ltd. The report provides geological information about the London and the Thames Valley region to underpin the process of national geological screening set out in the UK Government’s White Paper Implementing geological disposal: a framework for the long-term management of higher activity radioactive waste (DECC, 2014). The report describes geological features relevant to the safety requirements of a geological disposal facility (GDF) for radioactive waste emplaced onshore and up to 20 km offshore at depths between 200 and 1000 m from surface. It is written for a technical audience but is intended to inform RWM in its discussions with communities interested in finding out about the potential for their area to host a GDF

Evolving collective structures in the transitional nuclei W-162 and W-164

Excited states in the neutron-deficient nuclides W8874162 and W9074164 were investigated by using the γ-ray spectrometer Jurogam. A change in structure is apparent from the first rotational alignments in W162 and W164, whose rotationally aligned bands are interpreted as ν(h9/2)2 and ν(i13/2)2 configurations, respectively. The level schemes have been extended using recoil (-decay) correlations with the observation of excited collective structures. Configuration assignments have been made on the basis of comparisons of the deduced aligned angular momentum, as a function of rotational frequency, with the predictions of the cranked shell model