Addendum no. 1 to final development report

Pseudo-linearity concept impact on linear filters designed to ease pulse crowding effects at high bit densitie

Heat transfer measurement of turbulent spots in a hypersonic blunt-body boundary layer

This paper presents data on turbulent-spot propagation in the hypersonic boundary-layer flow over a blunted cylindrical body. Data are based on the measurement of time-dependent surface heat transfer rates using gauges positioned as arrays in either th

Frequency and risk factors for incident and redetected Chlamydia trachomatis infection in sexually active, young, multi-ethnic women: a community based cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency and risk factors for incident and redetected Chlamydia trachomatis infection in sexually active, young, multi-ethnic women in the community. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: 20 London universities and Further Education colleges. PARTICIPANTS: 954 sexually experienced women, mean age 21.5 years (range 16-27), 26% from ethnic minorities, who were recruited to the Prevention of Pelvic Infection (POPI) chlamydia screening trial between 2004 and 2006, and returned repeat postal self-taken vaginal swabs 11-32 (median 16) months after recruitment. RESULTS: The estimated annual incidence of chlamydia infection among 907 women who tested negative at baseline was 3.4 per 100 person-years (95% CI 2.5 to 4.6 per 100 person-years), but 6.6 per 100 person-years (95% CI 4.5 to 9.3 per 100 person-years) in the 326 teenagers (<20 years). Predictors of incident chlamydia infection were age <20 years (relative risk (RR) 4.0, 95% CI 2.1 to 7.5), and (after adjusting for age) a new sexual partner during 12 months follow-up (RR 4.4, 95% CI 2.0 to 9.9), smoking (RR 2.2 95% CI 1.2 to 3.9), concurrent bacterial vaginosis (RR 2.0 95% CI 1.1 to 3.9) and high risk carcinogenic human papillomavirus (RR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.3). Of 47 women positive for chlamydia at baseline, 12 (25.5%, 95% CI 13.9% to 40.3%) had redetected infection at a median of 16 months follow-up. Taking into account follow-up time (65 person-years), the annual redetection rate was 18.5 per 100 person-years (95% CI 9.9 to 30.0 per 100 person-years). CONCLUSIONS: One in four women with chlamydia infection at baseline retested positive, supporting recent recommendations to routinely retest chlamydia positives

Perfectionism in Sport, Dance, and Exercise

Perfect performance, flawlessness, and the perfect body are revered in sport, dance, and exercise. As such, sport, dance, and exercise provide ideal domains in which to study perfectionism. This chapter provides an overview of research that has examined multidimensional perfectionism in these domains. We place particular emphasis on the most recent research in this area and provide suggestions to guide future research. It will be argued that perfectionism is a complex characteristic with particular relevance in sport, dance, and exercise. In addition, in its various guises, perfectionism can be problematic, beneficial, and also ambivalent with regards to motivation, well-being, and performance. To better understand the effects of perfectionism in sport, dance, and exercise, we call for research that adopts longitudinal designs, examines moderating factors, develops and refines measurement tools, and focuses on the influence of perfectionism among exercisers

The practical feasibility of using RFID in a metal environment

Passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has revolutionized the way in which products are identified. This paper considers the effect of metals on the performance of RFID at ultra high frequency (UHF). The paper establishes read patterns in space, highlighting the interference of RF waves due to three different metals, one ferrous and the other two non ferrous, when placed behind a transponder. The effect of thickness of the metal plate is also examined. Different metals have been found to have different interference effects although there are some similarities in their read patterns related to their material properties. Also experiments have been carried out to identify and establish various methods of improving this performance. Finally, differences between performance-measuring parameters, namely attenuating transmitted power and calculating read rate at a fixed attenuation are established and possible reasons of these observations are presented

Optimizing Bus Routes in Nicosia

In this report the conclusions by the team of experts that took the ”Trans- portation Organization of the Nicosia District (OSEL)” challenge are provided. The challenge was to identify ways to improve efficiency of the bus network and increase the utilization of the network by the public. A thorough analysis of the various factors that affect bus route planning is provided. Moreover, a demonstration of a simplified route planning problem is described in order to motivate further work on this topic. Recommendations are provided to the company on the way to move forward towards solving the problem of creating a bus network with increased efficiency and grater appeal to the public. Specific recommendations include the collection of a larger amounts of data that can be used to generate models used in simulation analysis. Data include demographic data on bus usage and bus usage preferences by the public. In addition, data is required on bus travel times, walking distance to the nearest bus stop by the commuter, and traffic data

The Relationships between Perfectionism, Angry Reactions, and Antisocial Behaviour in Team Sport

Perfectionism involves extreme requirements for perfection that may give rise to antisocial behaviour in team sport. To test this possibility, we first examined pathways linking self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism to antisocial behaviour. We then examined pathways linking other-oriented perfectionism to antisocial behaviour via angry reactions to poor teammate performance. A cross-sectional design was employed. Competitive team sport athletes (n = 257, Mage = 20.71 years, s = 4.10) completed measures of perfectionism, angry reactions to poor teammate performance, and antisocial behaviour. In testing the first aim, we found that self-oriented perfectionism shared no relationship with antisocial teammate behaviour and a negative relationship with antisocial opponent behaviour. By contrast, socially prescribed perfectionism shared positive relationships with antisocial behaviour toward teammates and opponents. In testing the second aim, we found that other-oriented perfectionism shared positive indirect relationships with antisocial behaviour toward teammates and opponents via angry reactions to poor teammate performance. In line with recent theoretical assertions, these findings suggest that there may be a darker side to perfectionism that is related with antisocial behaviour in team sport

The 2 × 2 Model of Perfectionism and Negative Experiences in Youth Sport

Objectives: Research has found that the four subtypes of perfectionism from the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (i.e., Non-perfectionism, Pure PSP, Pure ECP, and Mixed perfectionism) are associated with different youth sport experiences. Extending this research, the current study examined the 2 × 2 model in regard to undesirable outcomes indicative of negative experiences in youth sport: negative (and positive) affect, anxiety, antisocial (and prosocial) behavior, and intentions to dropout of sport. Design: A cross-sectional design was employed. Method: Two hundred and twenty-two youth sports participants (65 males, 157 females, M age = 13.51 years, SD = 1.53 years, range = 11 – 18 years) were recruited from a variety of school- and community-based sports and completed a multi-section questionnaire. Results: Regression analyses revealed that, for the most part, Pure ECP was associated with the most negative experiences (higher negative affect, anxiety, and intentions to dropout and lower positive affect) and Pure PSP was, typically, associated with the least negative experiences (lower negative affect, anxiety, antisocial behavior, and intentions to dropout and higher positive affect) in youth sport. One notable exception was antisocial behavior towards teammates and competitors for which Mixed perfectionism was most problematic. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the four subtypes of perfectionism can be distinguished based on their association with both negative and positive experiences in youth sport