An investment framework for information technology projects in medium sized organisations

As computers absorb an ever-increasing proportion of corporate resources, and spreadinto every sphere of business activity, the issue of achieving benefits from investmentsin information technology (IT) is assuming major importance. Research evidence tohand suggests that IT investments are failing by orders of magnitude to provide appropriatelevels of payback. A major part of the difficulty lies in the fact that managementappears to lack a framework or even a language for addressing the issues, and are bewilderedby the speed and impact of the changes that are taking place. This is particularlyapparent in smaller and medium-sized organisations.This thesis examines the causes of the problem, and suggests that it stems mainly froman undue emphasis being placed by management on finance-based techniques, a legacyfrom an earlier and much different environment. It seeks to establish that such techniquesare not only inadequate, but potentially counter-productive. Using established researchmethodologies, a framework is developed which seeks to address the key issuesinvolved in achieving business benefits from IT, yet which is understandable to, andapplicable by, managers in medium-sized organisations. Uniquely among IT investmentframeworks, the concept of business reengineering or business process redesign is introducedas a formal evaluation criterion, reflecting the degree of business transformationcurrently being experienced, and the central role of IT in that transformation. The frameworkis then validated and refined through being applied in actual investment decisionmaking processes undertaken by five organisations covering a range of business arenas

Bragg Grating Corrosion Sensor

Historically, corrosion has not been included in the calculation of the life expectancy of aircraft. It is well known how stress-corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue can significantly reduce the life expectancy of structures. Therefore, it can be correctly assumed that some aircraft flying near their expected life might actually be flying well beyond their “safe life”. Furthermore, due to DoD present tight budget requirements, its is expected that some defense aircraft might not be retired at their original expected life but will be reconditioned to fly beyond that time. All of these considerations indicate that early detection, quantification and prevention of corrosion is of critical importance for military aircraft. This is particularly true for Navy aircraft which fly in the most corrosive environment of all services

Mapping the landscape of male-on-male rape in London: an analysis of cases involving male victims reported between 2005 and 2012

Male-on-male rape remains an under-researched area, and little is known about the characteristics and outcomes of this type of crime. This study examines 122 rape cases involving young adult and adult male victims reported to the London Metropolitan Police Service between 2005 and 2012. Overall, there were a number of similarities with cases involving female victims; however, male cases were more likely to involve strangers, substance use, and a victim with mental health issues, alluding to specific vulnerabilities. Moreover, younger victims, victims with poor mental health, and victims who had consumed alcohol or drugs were less likely to have their cases referred to prosecutors and more likely to be ‘no-crimed’ by police. This paper provides unique insight into the profile and trajectories of male-on-male rape cases, and preliminary recommendations for both police practice and future research are provided

Analysis, Prevalence & Impact of Microplastics in Freshwater and Estuarine Environments Evidence Review 2 What are the sources of the microplastics found in freshwater environments?

This Rapid Evidence Assessment used the systematic review procedure to assess the current evidence available on the sources of the microplastics found in freshwater and estuarine environments. To fully comprehend the prevalence of microplastics in freshwater and estuarine environments, it is important to understand which sources contribute to the microplastics present and the relative importance of those sources. Furthermore, we need to understand the influence of any physical and biologically-mediated processes that affect the concentrations, characteristics and profile of the microplastic particles present, so that their influence can be taken into account when interpreting the microplastics present in terms of contributing sources. A review was conducted of literature, including grey literature, which reported evidence of the sources of the microplastics found in freshwater and estuarine environments. The factors influencing the transport and modification of microplastics in freshwater and estuarine environments were also considered, noting in particular those that alter the profile of microplastics thus obscuring identification of sources. Publications released prior to April 2019 were included in this review. Evidence was acquired according to a predefined set of questions, compiled into a database containing full details of the source and its relevance to the project questions, and the evidence analysed, taking into account reporting biases in the literature, to produce a digestible summary of the evidence base available to answer the main project question and sub-questions, namely, What are the sources of microplastics reported to have been found in freshwater and estuarine environments? a) Are these primary (i.e. manufactured) or secondary (i.e. degradation products) microplastics? b) Within studies reporting the predominant types of microplastics found, is there a link identified to local land use or industry? c) How are microplastics transported and modified in the freshwater and estuarine environments? d) Are microplastics from different sources prevalent in different matrices of the aquatic environment (biota, water, or sediment)

Evidence Reviews on Analysis, Prevalence & Impact of Microplastics in Freshwater and Estuarine Environments Evidence Review 3 What is/are the impact(s) of microplastics on freshwater and estuarine biota?

This Rapid Evidence Assessment used the systematic review procedure to assess the current evidence available on the impact of microplastics on freshwater and estuarine biota. It is important to understand what consequences microplastics may cause in the environment. Furthermore, we need to understand which types of microplastics cause impacts and at what concentrations. A review was conducted of the primary literature, including grey literature, which reported evidence of the impact of microplastics on freshwater and estuarine biota. A particular focus were those publications which reported evidence on the extent to which microplastics influence the behaviour, feeding, growth, reproduction and survival of freshwater and estuarine biota, and any thresholds at which impacts occurred. Publications released prior to April 2019 were included in this review. Evidence was acquired according to a predefined set of questions, compiled into a database containing full details of the source and its relevance to the project questions, and the evidence analysed, taking into account reporting biases in the literature, to produce a digestible summary of the evidence base available to answer the main project question and sub-questions, namely, What is/are the impact(s) of microplastics on freshwater and estuarine biota? a) To what extent do microplastics influence the feeding, growth, reproduction and survival of freshwater and estuarine biota? Do we know trigger levels or threshold values for microplastic impacts on biota? b) Are any differences between different taxonomic groups observed? c) Are results from laboratory studies relevant to microplastics at environmentally relevant field concentrations? d) Are any adverse impacts attributable to the particles or to adsorbed chemicals/microbes on the particles? e) Is there evidence to suggest impacts on populations of aquatic organisms

Controlling a spillover pathway with the molecular cork effect

Spillover of reactants from one active site to another is important in heterogeneous catalysis and has recently been shown to enhance hydrogen storage in a variety of materials. The spillover of hydrogen is notoriously hard to detect or control. We report herein that the hydrogen spillover pathway on a Pd/Cu alloy can be controlled by reversible adsorption of a spectator molecule. Pd atoms in the Cu surface serve as hydrogen dissociation sites from which H atoms can spillover onto surrounding Cu regions. Selective adsorption of CO at these atomic Pd sites is shown to either prevent the uptake of hydrogen on, or inhibit its desorption from, the surface. In this way, the hydrogen coverage on the whole surface can be controlled by molecular adsorption at a minority site, which we term a ‘molecular cork’ effect. We show that the molecular cork effect is present during a surface catalysed hydrogenation reaction and illustrate how it can be used as a method for controlling uptake and release of hydrogen in a model storage system

High Temperature Fabry-Perot Based Strain Sensor for Ceramic Cross Flow Filters

The objectives of this research program were to develop instrumentation methods to allow in-situ analysis of ceramic cross flow (CXF) filters. Information from such instrumentation is needed to determine how the filters perform during operation, how subsequent filter and combustor designs may be improved based on the knowledge of such performance, and how and where damage and degradation occur. CXF filters are used for hot gas clean-up of coal-fired power generation systems, such as pressurized fluidized-bed combustors and integrated gasifier-combined cycles. The ceramic cross flow filter is analogous to cross-flow heat exchangers, except gas is passed between channels instead of thermal energy (heat). The CXF filters are made from multiple layers of thin, flat, porous ceramic (alumina or silicon nitride) with grooves which form channels in each layer. The layers are stacked to form a filter element that is approximately 30 cm high by 30 cm long by 10 cm wide. Consecutive layers of ceramic are oriented such that the channels formed are perpendicular to each other. One of the sides of the filter element is sealed. Gas enters the filter through the openings of the channel on the two sides that are perpendicular to the sealed end, permeates the porous ceramic, and exits through the openings on the side that is parallel to the sealed end.</p

Chronic kidney disease in patients with normal eGFR at baseline: results from EuroSIDA

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

Modulation of long-term potentiation following microdoses of LSD captured by thalamo-cortical modelling in a randomised, controlled trial

This is the final version. Available from BMC via the DOI in this record. Data availability: The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Code for the TCM model is available here: https://github.com/alexandershaw4/LTP_code.Background Microdosing psychedelics is a phenomenon with claimed cognitive benefts that are relatively untested clinically. Pre-clinically, psychedelics have demonstrated enhancing efects on neuroplasticity, which cannot be measured directly in humans, but may be indexed by non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) paradigms. This study used a visual long-term potentiation (LTP) EEG paradigm to test the efects of microdosed lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) on neural plasticity, both acutely while on the drug and cumulatively after microdosing every third day for six weeks. Healthy adult males (n=80) completed the visual LTP paradigm at baseline, 2.5 h following a dose of 10 µg of LSD or inactive placebo, and 6 weeks later after taking 14 repeated microdoses. Visually induced LTP was used as indirect index of neural plasticity. Surface level event-related potential (ERPs) based analyses are presented alongside dynamic causal modelling of the source localised data using a generative thalamocortical model (TCM) of visual cortex to elucidate underlying synaptic circuitry. Results Event-related potential (ERP) analyses of N1b and P2 components did not show evidence of changes in visually induced LTP by LSD either acutely or after 6 weeks of regular dosing. However modelling the complete timecourse of the ERP with the TCM demonstrated changes in laminar connectivity in primary visual cortex. This primarily included changes to self-gain and inhibitory input parameters acutely. Layer 2/3 to layer 5 excitatory connectivity was also diferent between LSD and placebo groups. After regular dosing only excitatory input from layer 2/3 into layer 5 and inhibitory input into layer 4 were diferent between groups. Conclusions Without modulation of the ERPs it is difcult to relate the fndings to other studies visually inducing LTP. It also indicates the classic peak analysis may not be sensitive enough to demonstrate evidence for changes in LTP plasticity in humans at such low doses. The TCM provides a more sensitive approach to assessing changes to plasticity as diferences in plasticity mediated laminar connectivity were found between the LSD and placebo groups.Health Research Council of New ZealandMindBio Therapeutics Ltd