Mid-Infrared diagnostics of metal-rich HII regions from VLT and Spitzer Spectroscopy of Young Massive Stars in W31

We present near-IR VLT/ISAAC and mid-IR Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy of the young massive cluster in the W31 star-forming region. H-band spectroscopy provides refined classifications for four cluster members O stars with respect to Blum et al. In addition, photospheric features are detected in the massive Young Stellar Object (mYSO) #26. Spectroscopy permits estimates of stellar temperatures and masses, from which a cluster age of ~0.6 Myr and distance of 3.3 kpc are obtained, in excellent agreement with Blum et al. IRS spectroscopy reveals mid-infrared fine structure line fluxes of [Ne II-III] and [S III-IV] for four O stars and five mYSOs. In common with previous studies, stellar temperatures of individual stars are severely underestimated from the observed ratios of fine-structure lines, despite the use of contemporary stellar atmosphere and photoionization models. We construct empirical temperature calibrations based upon the W31 cluster stars of known spectral type, supplemented by two inner Milky Way ultracompact (UC) HII regions whose ionizing star properties are established. Calibrations involving [NeIII] 15.5um/[NeII] 12.8um, [SIV] 10.5um/[NeII] 12.8um or [ArIII] 9.0um/[NeII] 12.8um have application in deducing the spectral types of early- to mid- O stars for other inner Milky Way compact and UCHII regions. Finally, evolutionary phases and timescales for the massive stellar content in W31 are discussed, due to the presence of numerous young massive stars at different formation phases in a `coeval' cluster.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for MNRA

Movilidad sostenible: alternativa viable para las ciudades cubanas

Las reformas económicas hacia la ‘normalización’ de las relaciones con los Estados Unidos ha suscitado la esperanza de un aumento de los propietarios de autos en Cuba. Sin embargo, la experiencia internacional ofrece vasta evidencia del gran costo de esta dependencia en las ciudades. Siguiendo las enseñanzas de las tendencias globales, La Habana puede evitar errores y crecer a partir de sus únicas fortalezas. Una visión política clara basada en el ‘acceso y habitabilidad’ podría convertir a La Habana en líder mundial en términos de sostenibilidad y movilidad urbana socialmente equitativa. ABSTRACT (ENGLISH): Economic reforms and moves towards ‘normalization’ of relations with the US have raised hopes for increasing car ownership in Cuba. But international experience provides plenty of evidence of the huge costs of private car dependency in cities. By learning from global trends in urban mobility, Havana can avoid mistakes and build on its unique strengths. A clear policy vision based on ‘access and liveability’ could enable Havana to become a leader in the world in terms of sustainable and socially equitable urban mobility

Sharing clinical information across care settings: the birth of an integrated assessment system

Background: Population ageing, the emergence of chronic illness, and the shift away from institutional care challenge conventional approaches to assessment systems which traditionally are problem and setting specific

Developments in the fluidised bed process for fibre recovery from thermoset composites

Carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) is being used in increasing quantities particularly in the transport industry to reduce carbon emissions through weight reduction and in the energy industries for renewable technologies, such as wind turbines. As a high value and energy intensive material to manufacture a good case can be made for recovering and reusing carbon fibre from waste material. A number of companies in Europe and the USA are now in the early stages of commercial operation, but the focus is upon the recycling of clean, uncontaminated scrap from manufacturing processes and it is recognised that CFRP that is mixed with other materials eg. sandwich panels, metal inserts, painted surfaces and composites made from toughened polymers are more difficult to recycle effectively with existing commercial processes. The fluidised bed process developed at the University of Nottingham for recovering carbon fibre from waste composite material has the potential to process mixed and contaminated CFRP waste. The oxidising conditions allow full removal of any organic materials and the fluidised bed effectively separates the carbon fibres from other incombustible materials, such as metals. The process has now been developed to a scale representative of commercial operation and a waste CFRP comprising intermediate modulus carbon fibre and toughened epoxy resin has been processed successfully and good quality recycled fibres recovered. This paper will present the results and discuss the quality of the carbon fibre recovered from the process. A discussion of some of the key requirements to build a viable fluidised bed plant will also be presented