5,137 research outputs found
Orbital operations study. Appendix B: Operational procedures
Operational procedures for each alternate approach for each interfacing activity of the orbital operations study are presented. The applicability of the procedures to interfacing element pairs is identified
Significance of low energy impact damage on modal parameters of composite beams by design of experiments
This paper presents an experimental study on the effects of multi-site damage on the vibration response of composite beams damaged by low energy impacts around the barely visible impact damage limit (BVID). The variation of the modal parameters with different levels of impact energy and density of damage is studied. Vibration tests have been carried out with both burst random and classical sine dwell excitations in order to compare that which of the methods among Polymax and Half Bandwidth Method is more suitable for damping estimation in the presence of damage. Design of experiments (DOE) performed on the experimental data show that natural frequency is a more sensitive parameter for damage detection than the damping ratio. It also highlighted energy of impact as the factor having a more significant effect on the modal parameters. Half Bandwidth Method is found to be unsuitable for damping estimation in the presence of damage
Non-Newtonian fluid flow through three-dimensional disordered porous media
We investigate the flow of various non-Newtonian fluids through
three-dimensional disordered porous media by direct numerical simulation of
momentum transport and continuity equations. Remarkably, our results for
power-law (PL) fluids indicate that the flow, when quantified in terms of a
properly modified permeability-like index and Reynolds number, can be
successfully described by a single (universal) curve over a broad range of
Reynolds conditions and power-law exponents. We also study the flow behavior of
Bingham fluids described in terms of the Herschel-Bulkley model. In this case,
our simulations reveal that the interplay of ({\it i}) the disordered geometry
of the pore space, ({\it ii}) the fluid rheological properties, and ({\it iii})
the inertial effects on the flow is responsible for a substantial enhancement
of the macroscopic hydraulic conductance of the system at intermediate Reynolds
conditions. This anomalous condition of ``enhanced transport'' represents a
novel feature for flow in porous materials.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. This article appears also in Physical Review
Letters 103 194502 (2009
Inactivation of Bacterial Opportunistic Skin Pathogens by Nonthermal DC-Operated Afterglow Atmospheric Plasma
AIMS: Multidrug-resistant opportunistic pathogens are clinically significant and require the development of new antimicrobial methods. In this study, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus cells were exposed to atmospheric plasma on agar plates and in vitro on porcine skin for the purpose of testing bacterial inactivation.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Microbial inactivation at varying exposure durations was tested using a nonthermal plasma jet generated with a DC voltage from ambient air. The observed reduction in colony forming units was quantified as log10 reductions.
CONCLUSIONS: Direct plasma exposure significantly inactivated seeded bacterial cells by approx. 6 log10 on agar plates and 2-3 log10 on porcine skin. On agar plates, an indirect \u27bystander\u27 inactivation outside the plasma delivery area was also observed. The reduced inactivation observed on the skin surface was most likely due to cell protection by the variable surface architecture.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Atmospheric plasma has potential for clinical application as a disinfectant of patient skin and medically relevant surfaces
Off-Equilibrium Dynamics in Finite-Dimensional Spin Glass Models
The low temperature dynamics of the two- and three-dimensional Ising spin
glass model with Gaussian couplings is investigated via extensive Monte Carlo
simulations. We find an algebraic decay of the remanent magnetization. For the
autocorrelation function a typical
aging scenario with a scaling is established. Investigating spatial
correlations we find an algebraic growth law of
the average domain size. The spatial correlation function scales with . The sensitivity of the
correlations in the spin glass phase with respect to temperature changes is
examined by calculating a time dependent overlap length. In the two dimensional
model we examine domain growth with a new method: First we determine the exact
ground states of the various samples (of system sizes up to )
and then we calculate the correlations between this state and the states
generated during a Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 38 pages, RevTeX, 14 postscript figure
Who knows best? A Q methodology study to explore perspectives of professional stakeholders and community participants on health in low-income communities
Abstract Background Health inequalities in the UK have proved to be stubborn, and health gaps between best and worst-off are widening. While there is growing understanding of how the main causes of poor health are perceived among different stakeholders, similar insight is lacking regarding what solutions should be prioritised. Furthermore, we do not know the relationship between perceived causes and solutions to health inequalities, whether there is agreement between professional stakeholders and people living in low-income communities or agreement within these groups. Methods Q methodology was used to identify and describe the shared perspectives (‘subjectivities’) that exist on i) why health is worse in low-income communities (‘Causes’) and ii) the ways that health could be improved in these same communities (‘Solutions’). Purposively selected individuals (n = 53) from low-income communities (n = 25) and professional stakeholder groups (n = 28) ranked ordered sets of statements – 34 ‘Causes’ and 39 ‘Solutions’ – onto quasi-normal shaped grids according to their point of view. Factor analysis was used to identify shared points of view. ‘Causes’ and ‘Solutions’ were analysed independently, before examining correlations between perspectives on causes and perspectives on solutions. Results Analysis produced three factor solutions for both the ‘Causes’ and ‘Solutions’. Broadly summarised these accounts for ‘Causes’ are: i) ‘Unfair Society’, ii) ‘Dependent, workless and lazy’, iii) ‘Intergenerational hardships’ and for ‘Solutions’: i) ‘Empower communities’, ii) ‘Paternalism’, iii) ‘Redistribution’. No professionals defined (i.e. had a significant association with one factor only) the ‘Causes’ factor ‘Dependent, workless and lazy’ and the ‘Solutions’ factor ‘Paternalism’. No community participants defined the ‘Solutions’ factor ‘Redistribution’. The direction of correlations between the two sets of factor solutions – ‘Causes’ and ‘Solutions’ – appear to be intuitive, given the accounts identified. Conclusions Despite the plurality of views there was broad agreement across accounts about issues relating to money. This is important as it points a way forward for tackling health inequalities, highlighting areas for policy and future research to focus on
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