Damping and decoherence of a nanomechanical resonator due to a few two level systems

We consider a quantum model of a nanomechanical flexing beam resonator interacting with a bath comprising a few damped tunneling two level systems (TLS's). In contrast with a resonator interacting bilinearly with an ohmic free oscillator bath (modeling clamping loss, for example), the mechanical resonator damping is amplitude dependent, while the decoherence of quantum superpositions of mechanical position states depends only weakly on their spatial separation

Strengthening Synergies: How Action to Achieve Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Conservation Targets Can Contribute to Mitigating Climate Change

The essential contribution of nature to addressing climate change provides an opportunity to strengthen the links between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity. As we move towards the next Conferences of the Parties of both Conventions, there is a need to assess explicitly the role of nature in helping to meet the goals of these agreements efficiently and effectively. This series of reports aims to shed light on this topic by assessing the potential contribution that achieving biodiversity conservation targets can make to climate change mitigation. By doing so, it aims to provide both context and mandate for discussions under both Conventions on the role of nature-based solutions in climate change mitigation and links to biodiversity conservation action

Corporate Culture and Its Connection with External and Internal Public Relations

The main aim of this article is to present the influence of corporate culture on company's stakeholders. This paper signalises the tendency in corporate communication with its internal and external publics. It is focused on two issues: corporate social responsibility and employer branding. Those two categories are consequences of corporate culture model.Głównym celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie wpływu jaki wywiera charakter kultury korporacyjnej na związanych z przedsiębiorstwem interesariuszy (stakeholders). W artykule zasygnalizowane zostały główne tendencje wyznaczające charakter komunikacji między organizacją a jej wewnętrznym i zewnętrznym otoczeniem. Tekst koncentruje się na dwóch kwestiach: społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstwa (corporate social responsibilty) i budowanie wizerunku pracodawcy (employer branding), które zaprezentowane zostały jako efekty określonego modelu kultury organizacyjnej

Tumor Vasculature in Young and Old Hosts: Scanning Electron Microscopy of Microcorrosion Casts with Microangiography, Light Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy

Tumor growth in vivo is dependent upon new blood vessel formation. When B16-F10 melanoma cells are implanted subcutaneously in young (3 mo) and old (24 mo) C57BL/6 mice the rate of growth is dependent on the age of the mice. This study involved a wide range of histological and microscopic techniques but was limited primarily to the initial phase of tumor growth. Stereological point counting from light microscopy (LM) of standard histological sections has been used to yield data regarding blood content. Tumor-bearing mice were perfused through the aorta with a fixation solution and were infused with a low-viscosity radiopaque gel (Microfil) or resin (Mercox). Soft x-rays of the whole animal were used for identifying the feeding vessels to the tumor. Tumors with Microfil were sliced and used for microangiography and light-microscopic observation while those with resin were used to make corrosion casts for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The different characteristics of the tumor blood vessels in different aged mice were most obvious through SEM of vascular corrosion casts. In comparison with tumors in young mice those of similar size in old hosts had more necrosis, reduced presence of angiogenic features, decreased vessel density, reduced penetration into the tumor, and enhanced tortuosity of the vessel lumen. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed incompletely developed wall structure of the vessels regardless of host. The above results are consistent with the hypothesis that retarded angiogenesis may be responsible in part for the limited growth of tumors in old hosts

Foraging in the limpet Patella vulgata: The influence of rock slope on the timing of activity

Preliminary observations of limpet activity at Lough Hyne, in south-west Ireland, showed that individuals on steep slopes were primarily active at night, when emersed; while those on near-horizontal rocks were often active during daytime submersion. Observations over an 11 d period of limpet populations on a near-vertical and a near-horizontal site, only 45 m apart, confirmed that animals on the near-vertical site were active on nocturnal low tides, whilst those on the near-horizontal site were active on daytime high waters. A short-term survey at ten sites, which had limpets on both extremes of slope (i.e. either near-vertical or near-horizontal), showed that limpets on near-horizontal surfaces were, on average, more active at daytime high waters than those on near-vertical faces. In 1996 and 1997 surveys of activity at daytime high, and nocturnal low waters were conducted at sites (14 - 15) with varying rock slopes (~3 - 87°). In all cases, limpets on more steep slopes were active at nocturnal emersion whilst animals on more gentle slopes were active on daytime submersion periods. In most cases these trends were significant and explained between 22 - 40% and 37 - 44% of the variation in activity with site in 1996 and 1997 respectively. Analysis of the head orientation of limpets on their home scars showed that animals orientated in a down shore direction at all sites (1997 data) suggesting that limpets do perceive and respond to slope. Whilst slope does appear to influence the timing of limpets' activity (and especially on very steep or gently sloping sites) it does not account for a large degree of the variation in activity and, on sites with slopes between 30 and 60°, is likely to work in combination with other factors.published_or_final_versio

Using Stories in Coach Education

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how storied representations of research can be used as an effective pedagogical tool in coach education. During a series of continuing professional development seminars for professional golf coaches, we presented our research in the form of stories and poems which were created in an effort to evoke and communicate the lived experiences of elite professional golfers. Following these presentations, we obtained written responses to the stories from 53 experienced coaches who attended the seminars. Analysis of this data revealed three ways in which coaches responded to the stories: (i) questioning; (ii) summarising; and (iii) incorporating. We conclude that these responses illustrate the potential of storied forms of representation to enhance professional development through stimulating reflective practice and increasing understanding of holistic, person-centred approaches to coaching athletes in high-performance sport

External perceptions of successful university brands

Branding in universities has become an increasingly topical issue, with some institutions committing substantial financial resources to branding activities. The particular characteristics of the sector present challenges for those seeking to build brands and it therefore seems to be timely and appropriate to investigate the common approaches of those institutions perceived as having successful brands. This study is exploratory in nature, seeking to investigate how successfully UK universities brand themselves, whether they are distinct and if the sector overall communicates effectively. This is approached through examining the perspective of opinion formers external to universities but closely involved with the sector – a key stakeholder group in UK higher education Overall, the research’s exploratory nature aims to further the debate on effective branding in UK higher education. The findings and conclusions identify some issues surrounding university branding activity; most UK universities were considered to be distinct from one another, but few were seen to have real fully formed brands. Although a number of institutions that were seen as having more ‘successful’ brands were identified, it was argued that whilst many UK universities communicate their brand well enough to key stakeholders, they fail to consistently do this across all audiences. It was also suggested that UK universities may concentrate on areas of perceived immediate strategic importance (in terms of branding) to an extent where others are neglected

Experimental Metrics for Identifying Origins of Combustion Variability during Spark-Assisted Compression Ignition

Spark-assisted compression ignition, SACI, can be used to control the combustion phasing of compression-ignition gasoline engines. However, implementation of this technique can be confounded by cyclic variability. The purpose of this paper is to define experimental metrics that describe the SACI process and to demonstrate the use of these metrics for identifying the source(s) of cyclic variability during the SACI process. This study focused on a light load condition (7 mg/cycle, 200 kPa i.m.e.p.), where spray-guided direct fuel injection with spark ignition and an exhaust-rebreathing strategy was employed to achieve flame propagation, which led to compression ignition. This study employed a combination of measurements including pressure-based heat-release analysis, spark-discharge voltage/current measurements, and cycle-resolved combustion imaging. Based on these measurements, four distinct combustion periods were identified; namely, the spark discharge, the early kernel growth (EKG), flame propagation, and the compression ignition periods. Metrics were defined to characterize each period and used to identify the contribution of each period to the cyclic variability of the main heat release. For the light load condition studied here, the EKG period had the largest effect on the crank angle (CA) position of 50 per cent mass burned, CA50. The spark-discharge event may affect CA50 indirectly through its influence on EKG. However, this could not be definitively assessed here since the camera was incapable of recording both the spark-discharge event and the flame images during cycles of the same tests.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/86770/1/Sick18.pd

Dietary Supplementation With Seed Oil From Transgenic Camelina sativa Induces Similar Increments in Plasma and Erythrocyte Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid to Fish Oil in Healthy Humans

EPA and DHA are required for normal cell function and can also induce health benefits. Oily fish are the main source of EPA and DHA for human consumption. However, food choices and concerns about the sustainability of marine fish stocks limit the effectiveness of dietary recommendations for EPA+DHA intakes. Seed oils from transgenic plants that contain EPA+DHA are a potential alternative source of EPA and DHA. The present study investigated whether dietary supplementation with transgenic Camelina sativa seed oil (CSO) that contained EPA and DHA was as effective as fish oil (FO) in increasing EPA and DHA concentrations when consumed as a dietary supplement in a blinded crossover study. Healthy men and women (n 31; age 53 (20-74) yrs) were randomised to consume 450 mg/day EPA+DHA provided either as either CSO or FO for 8 weeks, followed by 6 weeks washout and then switched to consuming the other test oil. Fasting venous blood samples were collected at the start and end of each supplementation period. Consuming the test oils significantly (P < 0.05) increased EPA and DHA concentrations in plasma triacylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and cholesteryl esters. There were no significant differences between test oils in the increments of EPA and DHA. There was no significant difference between test oils in the increase in the proportion of erythrocyte EPA+DHA (CSO, 12%; P < 0.0001 and FO, 8%; P = 0.02). Together these findings show that consuming CSO is as effective as FO for increasing EPA and DHA concentrations in humans

Accurate Measurements of Aerosol Hygroscopic Growth over a Wide Range in Relative Humidity

Using a comparative evaporation kinetics approach, we describe a new and accurate method for determining the equilibrium hygroscopic growth of aerosol droplets. The time-evolving size of an aqueous droplet, as it evaporates to a steady size and composition that is in equilibrium with the gas phase relative humidity, is used to determine the time-dependent mass flux of water, yielding information on the vapor pressure of water above the droplet surface at every instant in time. Accurate characterization of the gas phase relative humidity is provided from a control measurement of the evaporation profile of a droplet of know equilibrium properties, either a pure water droplet or a sodium chloride droplet. In combination, and by comparison with simulations that account for both the heat and mass transport governing the droplet evaporation kinetics, these measurements allow accurate retrieval of the equilibrium properties of the solution droplet (i.e., the variations with water activity in the mass fraction of solute, diameter growth factor, osmotic coefficient or number of water molecules per solute molecule). Hygroscopicity measurements can be made over a wide range in water activity (from >0.99 to, in principle, 0.9 and ∼±1% below 80% RH, and maximum uncertainties in diameter growth factor of ±0.7%. For all of the inorganic systems examined, the time-dependent data are consistent with large values of the mass accommodation (or evaporation) coefficient (>0.1)