Transverse jet-cavity interactions with the influence of an impinging shock

For high-speed air breathing engines, fuel injection and subsequent mixing with air is paramount for combustion. The high freestream velocity poses a great challenge to efficient mixing both in macroscale and microscale. Utilising cavities downstream of fuel injection locations, as a means to hold the flow and stabilise the combustion, is one mechanism which has attracted much attention, requiring further research to study the unsteady flow features and interactions occurring within the cavity. In this study we combine the transverse jet injection upstream of a cavity with an impinging shock to see how this interaction influences the cavity flow, since impinging shocks have been shown to enhance mixing of transverse jets. Utilising qualitative and quantitative methods: schlieren, oilflow, PIV, and PSP the induced flowfield is analysed. The impinging shock lifts the shear layer over the cavity and combined with the instabilities generated by the transverse jet creates a highly complicated flowfield with numerous vertical structures. The interaction between the oblique shock and the jet leads to a relatively uniform velocity distribution within the cavity

A Tough Pill to Swallow? The Lessons Learned from Mandatory RFID Adoption

On some occasions, information technology (IT) is mandated rather than voluntary. However, the impact of mandatory IT adoption receives little attention in the operations management literature, and the literature shows divergent predictions about how mandatory IT affects financial performance. Using the case of mandatory radio-frequency identification (RFID) adoption in manufacturing industries, this study applies long-horizon event study to examine 95 U.S. listed firms that have adopted mandatory RFID. The resultsshow that firms achieve significantly strong financial performance from mandatory adoption. Mandatory RFID is particularly beneficial for firms with good financial health, late adopters and high-clockspeed firms.The current study provides a deeper understanding of supplier benefits from mandatory systems supported by dominant customers. Based on the lessons learned from past mandatory RFID adoption, the present study can serve as guidance for future projects and contribute to the literature on operations management and information system

Having a family doctor is associated with some better patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations

<b>Background</b> Hong Kong (HK) has pluralistic primary care that is provided by a variety of doctors. The aim of our study was to assess patient-reported outcomes of primary care consultations in HK and whether having a family doctor (FD) made any difference.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> We interviewed by telephone 3148 subjects from 5174 contacted households (response rate 60.8%) randomly selected from the general population of HK about the experience of their last primary care consultations in September 2007 and April 2008. We compared the patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and patient-centered process of care in those with a FD, those with other types of regular primary care doctors (ORD) and those without any regular primary care doctor (NRD). PRO included patient enablement, global improvement in health, overall satisfaction, and likelihood of recommending their doctors to family and friends. Patient-centered process of care indicators was explanations about the illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Results</b> One thousand one hundred fifty, 746, and 1157 reported to have FD, ORD, and NRD, respectively. Over 80% of those with FD consulted their usual primary care doctors in the last consultation compared with 27% of those with NRD. Compared with subjects having ORD or NRD, subjects with FD reported being more enabled after the consultation and were more likely to recommend their doctors to family and friends. Subjects with FD and ORD were more likely than those having NRD to report a global improvement in health and satisfaction. FD group was more likely than the other two groups to report receiving an explanation on the diagnosis, nature, and expected course of the illness, and having their concerns addressed. Patient enablement was associated with explanation of diagnosis, nature, and expected course of illness, and address of patient’s concerns.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> People with a regular FD were more likely to feel being enabled and to experience patient-centered care in consultations

Association between socioeconomic deprivation, ethnicity, and health outcomes in preschool children with recurrent wheeze in England: a retrospective cohort study

Background Preschool-aged children have amongst the highest burden of acute wheeze. We investigated differences in healthcare use, treatment, and outcomes for recurrent wheeze/asthma in pre-schoolers from different ethno-socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods Retrospective cohort study using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to Hospital Episode Statistics in England. We reported number of acute presentations, and hospitalisations stratified by index of multiple deprivation (IMD), and ethnicity; and factors associated with treatment non-escalation, and hospitalisation rates using multivariable logistic and Poisson regression models. Results 194,291 preschool children were included. In children not trialled on asthma preventer medications, children from the most deprived IMD quintile (adjusted OR 1.67; 95%CI 1.53-to-1.83), and South Asian (1.77; 1.64-to-1.91) children were more likely to have high reliever usage; and where specialist referral had not occurred, the odds of referral being indicated was higher in the most deprived quintile (1.39; 1.28-to-1.52), and South Asian (1.86; 1.72-to-2.01) children compared with the least deprived quintile and White children respectively. Hospitalisation rates for wheeze/asthma were significantly higher in children from the most deprived quintile (adjusted IRR 1.20; 95%CI 1.13-to-1.27) compared with the least, and in South Asian (1.57; 1.44-to-1.70) and Black (1.32; 1.22-to-1.42) compared with White children. Conclusions We identified inequalities in wheeze/asthma treatment and morbidity in preschool children from more deprived, and non-White backgrounds. A multifaceted approach to tackle health inequality at both the national and local level, which includes a more integrated and standardised approach to treatment, is needed to improve health outcomes in children with preschool wheeze/asthma.<br/

Experimental investigation on shock wave diffraction over sharp and curved splitters

Shock wave diffraction occurs when a normal travelling wave passes through a sudden area expansion. Turbulent, compressible, and vortical are the characterising adjectives that describe the flow features, which are slowly smeared out due to the dissipative nature of turbulence. The study of this phenomenon provides insight into several flow structures such as shear layer formation, vortex development, and vortex/shock interaction whose applications include noise control, propulsion or wing aerodynamics. A large amount of research has been carried out in the analysis of shock wave diffraction mainly around sharp wedges, but only few studies have considered rounded corners. This project has the aim to examine and compare the flow features which develop around three different geometries, ramp, symmetric and rounded, with experimental incident shock Mach numbers of 1.31 and 1.59, and Reynolds numbers of 1.08×106 and 1.68×106. Schlieren photography is used to obtain qualitative information about the evolution of the flow field. The results show that ramp and symmetrical wedges with a tip angle of 172° behave in the same manner, which exhibit clear dissimilarities with a curved corner. The flow field evolves more rapidly for a higher incoming Mach number which is also responsible for the development of stronger structures

VOC amounts in ambient areas of a high-technology science park in Taiwan: their reciprocal correlations and impact on inhabitants

This study presents bihourly, seasonal, and yearly concentration changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the inlet and effluent water of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of a high-technology science park (HTIP) in Taiwan, with the VOC amounts at different sites correlated geologically. This research adopted a combination of two systems, solid-phase microextraction with a gas chromatography/flame ionization detector and an assembly of purge and trap coupled with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, to monitor polar and nonpolar VOCs in wastewater. This paper investigated the total VOCs, acetone, isopropyl alcohol (IPA), and dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentrations in real water samples collected in the ambient area of the HTIP. The major contents of VOCs measured in the effluent of the WWTP in the HTIP and the surrounding river region were DMS (14-176 ppb), acetone (5-95 ppb), and IPA (15-316 ppb). In comparison with the total VOCs in the inlet wastewater of the WWTP, no corresponding relationship for total VOC concentration in the wastewater was observed between the inlet water and effluent water of the WWTP. The peak VOC concentrations appeared in the third season, and the correlation of different VOC amounts reflects the production situation of the factories. In addition, VOC concentrations at different sites indicate that the Ke-Ya River is seemingly an effective channel for transporting wastewater to its final destination. The data are good indications for the management of environmental pollution near the HTIP

Elastic interactions of active cells with soft materials

Anchorage-dependent cells collect information on the mechanical properties of the environment through their contractile machineries and use this information to position and orient themselves. Since the probing process is anisotropic, cellular force patterns during active mechanosensing can be modelled as anisotropic force contraction dipoles. Their build-up depends on the mechanical properties of the environment, including elastic rigidity and prestrain. In a finite sized sample, it also depends on sample geometry and boundary conditions through image strain fields. We discuss the interactions of active cells with an elastic environment and compare it to the case of physical force dipoles. Despite marked differences, both cases can be described in the same theoretical framework. We exactly solve the elastic equations for anisotropic force contraction dipoles in different geometries (full space, halfspace and sphere) and with different boundary conditions. These results are then used to predict optimal position and orientation of mechanosensing cells in soft material.Comment: Revtex, 38 pages, 8 Postscript files included; revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Global impacts of the 1980s regime shift

Despite evidence from a number of Earth systems that abrupt temporal changes known as regime shifts are important, their nature, scale and mechanisms remain poorly documented and understood. Applying principal component analysis, change-point analysis and a sequential t-test analysis of regime shifts to 72 time series, we confirm that the 1980s regime shift represented a major change in the Earth's biophysical systems from the upper atmosphere to the depths of the ocean and from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and occurred at slightly different times around the world. Using historical climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and statistical modelling of historical temperatures, we then demonstrate that this event was triggered by rapid global warming from anthropogenic plus natural forcing, the latter associated with the recovery from the El Chichón volcanic eruption. The shift in temperature that occurred at this time is hypothesized as the main forcing for a cascade of abrupt environmental changes. Within the context of the last century or more, the 1980s event was unique in terms of its global scope and scale; our observed consequences imply that if unavoidable natural events such as major volcanic eruptions interact with anthropogenic warming unforeseen multiplier effects may occur