The development of high field magnets utilizing Bi-2212 wind & react insert coils

Wind & react Bi-2212 inserts have been manufactured and tested inside a wide-bore NbTi-Nb3Sn magnet providing a background field up to 20T at 4.2K. A pair of six-layer concentric coils both achieved critical currents of 350 A (JE = 200 A/mm2) in a 20T background field. A thicker 14-layer insert made from 119m of round wire had a critical quench current IQ of 287A (JE = 162 A/mm2) at the same field and contributed to a combined central field of 22.5 T. This is a record for a fully superconducting magnet at 4.2 K. The 14-layer coil, equipped with an external protective shunt, was used for an extensive series of quench measurements and endured >150 quenches without damage. Minimum quench energies were found to be in the range of 200-500mJ in background fields of 15-20T when the coil carried 70-95% of its critical quench current

Evolution of crystalline orientations in the production of ferritic stainless steel

Ferritic stainless steel EN 1.4016 is used in a wide range of applications, the most common ones related to sheet forming. Several problems in the post-processing of these steels relates to their texture and anisotropy. Therefore, it is necessary to know the mechanisms of texture formation in the subsequent stages of metal manufacturing processes. EBSD has been demonstrated as a successful characterisation technique for this purpose. It is known that during re-crystallisation of Fe-Cr steels, deviations from the desired.-fibre texture promote a decrease of deep drawability. Additionally, a-fibre damages formability. Subsequent cold rolling and annealing can enhance the deep drawing properties of the steel sheet. In this research, a standard sample and a modified one with optimised settings as regard to chemical composition and manufacturing process, to improve the formability properties, are characterised. To analyse the preferred orientation and the type of main fibre present in the material, ODF and Aztec Reclassify Phase, to calculate the content of martensite, were used

Assessment of human influenza pandemic scenarios in Europe

The response to the emergence of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic was the result of a decade of pandemic planning, largely centred on the threat of an avian influenza A(H5N1) pandemic. Based on a literature review, this study aims to define a set of new pandemic scenarios that could be used in case of a future influenza pandemic. A total of 338 documents were identified using a searching strategy based on seven combinations of keywords. Eighty-three of these documents provided useful information on the 13 virus-related and health-system-related parameters initially considered for describing scenarios. Among these, four parameters were finally selected (clinical attack rate, case fatality rate, hospital admission rate, and intensive care admission rate) and four different levels of severity for each of them were set. The definition of six most likely scenarios results from the combination of four different levels of severity of the four final parameters (256 possible scenarios). Although it has some limitations, this approach allows for more flexible scenarios and hence it is far from the classic scenarios structure used for pandemic plans until 2009

Potential Integrin Switch in NIH/3T3 Cells in Response to High Concentrations of Ascorbic Acid

NIH/3T3 (ATCC ® CRL-1658) is an adherent, fibroblastic cell line used as a model in in vitroexperiments due to the high survivability and short transition through the cell cycle. A high concentration of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) has been shown to increase collagen production, which is essential for extra cellular matrix formation and skin integrity. In other cell lines, researchers have seen that upregulation of an integrin protein results in the down regulation of another, also known as an integrin switch. NIH/3T3 cells treated with ascorbic acid may lead to an integrin switch, potentially upregulating Itgb1, a gene that regulates collagen processing, while downregulating other integrin genes involved in cell differentiation and proliferation. This research will investigate this possible integrin switch and how it is associated with changes in collagen production and the cell cycle. High concentration of ascorbic acid is becoming a common cancer treatment for some individuals, and NIH/3T3 cells may serve as a model to gain a better understanding of how integrin expression on cancer-associated fibroblasts may play a role in cancers such as leukemias and sarcomas

Designing and Piloting a Tool for the Measurement of the Use of Pronunciation Learning Strategies

What appears to be indispensable to drive the field forward and ensure that research findings will be comparable across studies and provide a sound basis for feasible pedagogic proposals is to draw up a classification of PLS and design on that basis a valid and reliable data collection tool which could be employed to measure the use of these strategies in different groups of learners, correlate it with individual and contextual variables, and appraise the effects of training programs. In accordance with this rationale, the present paper represents an attempt to propose a tentative categorization of pronunciation learning strategies, adopting as a point of reference the existing taxonomies of strategic devices (i.e. O'Malley and Chamot 1990; Oxford 1990) and the instructional options teachers have at their disposal when dealing with elements of this language subsystem (e.g. Kelly 2000; Goodwin 2001). It also introduces a research instrument designed on the basis of the classification that shares a number of characteristics with Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning but, in contrast to it, includes both Likert-scale and open-ended items. The findings of a pilot study which involved 80 English Department students demonstrate that although the tool requires considerable refinement, it provides a useful point of departure for future research into PLS

A non-symmetric Yang-Baxter Algebra for the Quantum Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Model

We study certain non-symmetric wavefunctions associated to the quantum nonlinear Schr\"odinger model, introduced by Komori and Hikami using Gutkin's propagation operator, which involves representations of the degenerate affine Hecke algebra. We highlight how these functions can be generated using a vertex-type operator formalism similar to the recursion defining the symmetric (Bethe) wavefunction in the quantum inverse scattering method. Furthermore, some of the commutation relations encoded in the Yang-Baxter equation for the relevant monodromy matrix are generalized to the non-symmetric case.Comment: 31 pages; added some references; minor corrections throughou

Integrating social protection and climate change adaptation: a review

Policymakers are increasingly interested in how social protection is evolving in the context of climate change. This review assesses what the literature tells us about its role in facilitating adaptation in lower income countries. It also explores how far thinking on an integrated “adaptive social protection” (ASP) agenda considers transforming the socioeconomic and political contexts where vulnerability to climate change originates. The review finds that research to date focuses on how instruments such as cash or asset transfers can protect the poor from shocks and stresses, prevent households from falling into poverty as a result of climate change, and promote climate-resilient livelihoods. However, it cautions that such interventions must go beyond helping households to cope against shocks over short time horizons; they should enable the adoption of forward-looking strategies for long-lasting adaptation. Much less attention in the literature is given to whether social protection measures might have transformational effects for recipients. This is despite the fact that the earliest proponents of ASP favored a rights-based approach to social protection to address issues of inequality and marginalization which are at the root of poverty and vulnerability to climate change. Although the role of social protection should not be overstated, it holds promise as a tool for building adaptive capacity. However, the potential of ASP to be truly transformational for its recipients by tackling the structural causes of vulnerability to climate change is not yet harnessed by policymakers. This constitutes a missed opportunity for the agenda to deliver on the international community's promise to “leave no one behind.”. This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Sustainability and Human Well-Being Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Values-Based Approach to Vulnerability and Adaptation