Investigation into high-temperature corrosion in a large-scale municipal waste-to-energy plant

High-temperature corrosion in the superheater of a large-scale waste-to-energy plant was investigated. A comparison of nickel-/iron-based alloys and austenitic stainless steel probes placed in the furnace demonstrated that temperature and particle deposition greatly influence corrosion. Nickel-based alloys performed better than the other metal alloys, though an aluminide coating further increased their corrosion resistance. Sacrificial baffles provided additional room for deposit accumulation, resulting in vigorous deposit-induced corrosion. Computational modelling (FLUENT code) was used to simulate flow characteristics and heat transfer. This study has shown that the use of aluminide coatings is a promising technique for minimising superheater corrosion in such facilities. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Spatial clustering of mental disorders and associated characteristics of the neighbourhood context in Malmö, Sweden, in 2001

Study objective: Previous research provides preliminary evidence of spatial variations of mental disorders and associations between neighbourhood social context and mental health. This study expands past literature by (1) using spatial techniques, rather than multilevel models, to compare the spatial distributions of two groups of mental disorders (that is, disorders due to psychoactive substance use, and neurotic, stress related, and somatoform disorders); and (2) investigating the independent impact of contextual deprivation and neighbourhood social disorganisation on mental health, while assessing both the magnitude and the spatial scale of these effects. Design: Using different spatial techniques, the study investigated mental disorders due to psychoactive substance use, and neurotic disorders. Participants: All 89 285 persons aged 40–69 years residing in Malmö, Sweden, in 2001, geolocated to their place of residence. Main results: The spatial scan statistic identified a large cluster of increased prevalence in a similar location for the two mental disorders in the northern part of Malmö. However, hierarchical geostatistical models showed that the two groups of disorders exhibited a different spatial distribution, in terms of both magnitude and spatial scale. Mental disorders due to substance consumption showed larger neighbourhood variations, and varied in space on a larger scale, than neurotic disorders. After adjustment for individual factors, the risk of substance related disorders increased with neighbourhood deprivation and neighbourhood social disorganisation. The risk of neurotic disorders only increased with contextual deprivation. Measuring contextual factors across continuous space, it was found that these associations operated on a local scale. Conclusions: Taking space into account in the analyses permitted deeper insight into the contextual determinants of mental disorders

Taking the Tablet: An Introspective Perspective on Using Pen-Based Computing in the Executive Case Class

The predicament of modern classrooms is that they are usually designed by administrators, architects and technicians, without, or despite the advice of experienced case instructors. By the time the instructor gets to teach in the class it is often too late, and generally too expensive to change anything. While the classrooms are long on technology and aesthetics, they are often very short on teaching comfort and convenience. In this short introspective paper (and here I follow in the tradition of consumer researchers such as Holbrook 1995) I suggest the use of a Tablet PC to overcome most of the problems described above. The paper begins by introducing the innovation, and then describes how the innovation solves the problems. Next, it gives preliminary results and makes some observations that may be useful to those considering adopting the innovation, and also considers some problems that may be encountered. It concludes by reflecting on other possible applications of the technology

Chemical kinetic and radiating species studies of Titan aerocapture entry

TITAN Aerocapture entry has been studied in collaboration with the Hypersonics Centre of the University Queensland (UQ), Australia The simulation of the experimental conditions and also the flight conditions are made using CFD coupled with chemistry libraries of which CHEMKIN. This can be compared to in-code implementation for the Earth reentry. Reduced models based on combustion data bases are taken for the reactions data set for Titan’s entry

Examination of silver-graphite lithographically printed resistive strain sensors

This paper reports the design and manufacture of three differing types of resistive strain sensitive structures fabricated using the Conductive Lithographic Film (CLF) printing process. The structures, utilising two inks prepared with silver and graphite particulates as the conductive phase, have been analysed to determine electrical and mechanical properties with respect to strain, temperature and humidity when deposited on four alternative substrate materials (GlossArt, PolyArt, Teslin and Melinex)

Formation of Shore-Normal Grooves (Gutters) in Sandstone by Wave Action.

Regularly spaced incised shore-normal grooves (gutters) on plane consolidated surfaces in littoral and sublittoral zones are widely observed in the marine geological record. Despite their common occurrence there are few investigations into their origins in contemporary marine environments. While their formation is often attributed to wave-induced currents related to wave swash and backwash on the beach-face, no conceptual model has been advanced to explain the presence of gutters, their morphology or their quasi-regular alongshore spacing. The paper examines gutters cut in soft sandstone at Medmerry near Selsey, UK and argues that their formation is related to wave breaking and swash zone processes during an unprecedented sequence of storms in the winter of 2013/14. During this period exceptionally high near-shore waves (Hs around 6m) were recorded for the south coast beaches and these storm conditions persisted periodically through to mid-February 2014. The consequence was extensive beach erosion and the exposure of underlying substrates. In this study gutter morphology was quantified using terrestrial lidar and a wave-resolving numerical model was used to defined the nearshore wave conditions and swash characteristics. Three of the largest storm events during the winter of 2013/14 were modelled: (a) moderate waves coincident with an exceptionally high tide; (b) exceptionally high waves occurring during neap tides; and (c) high waves occurring during spring tides. The model results showed swash zone shear stress is a dome-shaped function of distance across the beach-face thereby controlling gutter depth. Further, high-speed sheet flows characterised by periodic, shore-normal, high and low speed streaks alongshore are thought to be implicated in the mechanism controlling gutter spacing. However, in any situation, the specific spacing of gutters is moderated by both the local sheet flow characteristics and the larger-scale morphological forcing. Together these factors indicate that gutter spacing is an emergent property which makes spacing unpredictable

How effective is the Forestry Commission Scotland's woodland improvement programme--'Woods In and Around Towns' (WIAT)--at improving psychological well-being in deprived urban communities? A quasi-experimental study

Introduction: There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that green spaces may positively influence psychological well-being. This project is designed to take advantage of a natural experiment where planned physical and social interventions to enhance access to natural environments in deprived communities provide an opportunity to prospectively assess impacts on perceived stress and mental well-being.<p></p> Study design and methods: A controlled, prospective study comprising a repeat cross-sectional survey of residents living within 1.5 km of intervention and comparison sites. Three waves of data will be collected: prephysical environment intervention (2013); postphysical environment intervention (2014) and postwoodland promotion social intervention (2015). The primary outcome will be a measure of perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale) preintervention and postintervention. Secondary, self-report outcomes include: mental well-being (Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale), changes in physical activity (IPAQ-short form), health (EuroQoL EQ-5D), perception and use of the woodlands, connectedness to nature (Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale), social cohesion and social capital. An environmental audit will complement the study by evaluating the physical changes in the environment over time and recording any other contextual changes over time. A process evaluation will assess the implementation of the programme. A health economics analysis will assess the cost consequences of each stage of the intervention in relation to the primary and secondary outcomes of the study.<p></p> Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been given by the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art Research, Ethics and Knowledge Exchange Committee (ref. 19/06/2012). Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, national and international conferences and, at the final stage of the project, through a workshop for those interested in implementing environmental interventions.<p></p&gt

The secretome of alginate-encapsulated limbal epithelial stem cells modulates corneal epithelial cell proliferation

Limbal epithelial stem cells may ameliorate limbal stem cell deficiency through secretion of therapeutic proteins, delivered to the cornea in a controlled manner using hydrogels. In the present study the secretome of alginate-encapsulated limbal epithelial stem cells is investigated. Conditioned medium was generated from limbal epithelial stem cells encapsulated in 1.2% (w/v) calcium alginate gels. Conditioned medium proteins separated by 1-D gel electrophoresis were visualized by silver staining. Proteins of interest including secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine, profilin-1, and galectin-1 were identified by immunoblotting. The effect of conditioned medium (from alginate-encapsulated limbal epithelial stem cells) on corneal epithelial cell proliferation was quantified and shown to significantly inhibit (P</=0.05) their growth. As secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine was previously reported to attenuate proliferation of epithelial cells, this protein may be responsible, at least in part, for inhibition of corneal epithelial cell proliferation. We conclude that limbal epithelial stem cells encapsulated in alginate gels may regulate corneal epithelialisation through secretion of inhibitory proteins

The pedestal structure in high performance JET plasmas

The ITER baseline scenario is foreseen to be a type I ELMy H-mode. This mode of operation is characterised by a steep pressure gradient at the plasma edge termed the pedestal. Quantifying the pedestal structure and its role on confinement for current Tokamaks, such as JET, is key to gaining an insight into the operation of future devices. Furthermore, to identify the physical mechanism(s) governing the pedestal structure, it is essential to compare measurements to modelling results. This thesis focuses on the JET high resolution Thomson scattering (HRTS) system, a key diagnostic, as it provides radial electron temperature and density profiles. This thesis first presents how the performance of the HRTS system polychromators was improved by performing a realignment and optimisation. Consequently, all the electron temperature profile data after the installation of the JET ITER-Like-Wall are independently calibrated (instead of cross-calibrated via the ECE diagnostic). The JET pedestal structure is quantified by performing a modified hyperbolic tangent fit to the HRTS profiles. The JET pedestal fitting tool incorporates the diagnostic measurement accuracy (the instrument function) resulting in a deconvolved fit. This is necessary in order to accurately determine the pedestal width. It has previously been shown that the systematic error in the fit parameters due to the deconvolution technique is negligible in comparison to the statistical error, as long as the pedestal is wider than the instrument function. Furthermore, this thesis shows that the systematic error due to ELM synchronisation is also negligible by replicating the fitting process and performing a Monte-Carlo simulation using synthetic HRTS-like profiles. The JET pedestal fitting tool has been used to quantify the variation in pedestal structure for a database of JET baseline type I ELMy H-mode deuterium fuelling and nitrogen seeding plasmas before and after the installation of the ITER-like wall. Across a high triangularity deuterium fuelling scan for JET plasmas with a carbon wall there is a widening of the pedestal and an increase in the pedestal height, which accounts for the improvement in edge performance. After the installation of the ITER-like-wall, the energy confinement of equivalent JET plasmas was degraded by up to 40% due to a reduction in pedestal performance and a strong pedestal-core coupling. However, this performance could be partially recovered with nitrogen seeding. Measurements of the pedestal structure show that with increasing nitrogen seeding there is an increase in both the pedestal height and width, which is not yet captured by the EPED model. A key result of this thesis is, with increasing deuterium fuelling, the pedestal now widens whilst the pedestal height remains constant. These measurements pose the biggest challenge for the EPED model as they deviate from the square root relation between the pedestal width and normalised pedestal height acting as the kinetic balloonin