614 research outputs found
UK Large-scale Wind Power Programme from 1970 to 1990: the Carmarthen Bay experiments and the Musgrove Vertical-Axis Turbines
This article describes the development of the Musgrove Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT)
concept, the UK âCarmarthen Bayâ wind turbine test programme, and UK governmentâs wind
power programme to 1990. One of the most significant developments in the story of British
wind power occurred during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, with the development of the
Musgrove vertical axis wind turbine and its inclusion within the UK Governmentâs wind
turbine test programme. Evolving from a supervisorâs idea for an undergraduate project at
Reading University, the Musgrove VAWT was once seen as an able competitor to the
horizontal axis wind systems that were also being encouraged at the time by both the UK
government and the Central Electricity Generating Board, the then nationalised electricity
utility for England and Wales. During the 1980s and 1990s the most developed Musgrove
VAWT system, along with three other commercial turbine designs was tested at
Carmarthen Bay, South Wales as part of a national wind power test programme. From these
developmental tests, operational data was collected and lessons learnt, which were
incorporated into subsequent wind power operations.http://dx.doi.org/10.1260/03095240677860621
Neutron Capture Cross Sections for the Weak s Process
In past decades a lot of progress has been made towards understanding the
main s-process component that takes place in thermally pulsing Asymptotic Giant
Branch (AGB) stars. During this process about half of the heavy elements,
mainly between 90<=A<=209 are synthesized. Improvements were made in stellar
modeling as well as in measuring relevant nuclear data for a better description
of the main s process. The weak s process, which contributes to the production
of lighter nuclei in the mass range 56<=A<=90 operates in massive stars
(M>=8Msolar) and is much less understood. A better characterization of the weak
s component would help disentangle the various contributions to element
production in this region. For this purpose, a series of measurements of
neutron-capture cross sections have been performed on medium-mass nuclei at the
3.7-MV Van de Graaff accelerator at FZK using the activation method. Also,
neutron captures on abundant light elements with A<56 play an important role
for s-process nucleosynthesis, since they act as neutron poisons and affect the
stellar neutron balance. New results are presented for the (n,g) cross sections
of 41K and 45Sc, and revisions are reported for a number of cross sections
based on improved spectroscopic information
EUV spectra of highly-charged ions W-W relevant to ITER diagnostics
We report the first measurements and detailed analysis of extreme ultraviolet
(EUV) spectra (4 nm to 20 nm) of highly-charged tungsten ions W to
W obtained with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). Collisional-radiative
modelling is used to identify strong electric-dipole and magnetic-dipole
transitions in all ionization stages. These lines can be used for impurity
transport studies and temperature diagnostics in fusion reactors, such as ITER.
Identifications of prominent lines from several W ions were confirmed by
measurement of isoelectronic EUV spectra of Hf, Ta, and Au. We also discuss the
importance of charge exchange recombination for correct description of
ionization balance in the EBIT plasma.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
State-resolved valence shell photoionization of Be-like ions: experiment and theory
High-resolution photoionization experiments were carried out using beams of
Be-like C, N, and O ions with roughly equal populations of
the S ground-state and the P manifold of metastable components. The
energy scales of the experiments are calibrated with uncertainties of 1 to 10
meV depending on photon energy. Resolving powers beyond 20,000 were reached
allowing for the separation of contributions from the individual metastable
P, P, and P states. The measured data compare
favourably with semi-relativistic Breit-Pauli R-matrixComment: 23 figures and 3 table
A layering model for superconductivity in the borocarbides
We propose a superlattice model to describe superconductivity in layered
materials, such as the borocarbide families with the chemical formul\ae\
BC and BC, with being (essentially) a rare earth, and a
transition metal. We assume a single band in which electrons feel a local
attractive interaction (negative Hubbard-) on sites representing the B
layers, while U=0 on sites representing the C layers; the multi-band
structure is taken into account minimally through a band offset . The
one-dimensional model is studied numerically through the calculation of the
charge gap, the Drude weight, and of the pairing correlation function. A
comparison with the available information on the nature of the electronic
ground state (metallic or superconducting) indicates that the model provides a
systematic parametrization of the whole borocarbide family.Comment: 4 figure
The s Process: Nuclear Physics, Stellar Models, Observations
Nucleosynthesis in the s process takes place in the He burning layers of low
mass AGB stars and during the He and C burning phases of massive stars. The s
process contributes about half of the element abundances between Cu and Bi in
solar system material. Depending on stellar mass and metallicity the resulting
s-abundance patterns exhibit characteristic features, which provide
comprehensive information for our understanding of the stellar life cycle and
for the chemical evolution of galaxies. The rapidly growing body of detailed
abundance observations, in particular for AGB and post-AGB stars, for objects
in binary systems, and for the very faint metal-poor population represents
exciting challenges and constraints for stellar model calculations. Based on
updated and improved nuclear physics data for the s-process reaction network,
current models are aiming at ab initio solution for the stellar physics related
to convection and mixing processes. Progress in the intimately related areas of
observations, nuclear and atomic physics, and stellar modeling is reviewed and
the corresponding interplay is illustrated by the general abundance patterns of
the elements beyond iron and by the effect of sensitive branching points along
the s-process path. The strong variations of the s-process efficiency with
metallicity bear also interesting consequences for Galactic chemical evolution.Comment: 53 pages, 20 figures, 3 tables; Reviews of Modern Physics, accepte
Performance-based financing as a health system reform : mapping the key dimensions for monitoring and evaluation
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Role of endoplasmic reticulum stress induction by the plant toxin, persin, in overcoming resistance to the apoptotic effects of tamoxifen in human breast cancer cells
Background:
Persin is a plant toxin that displays synergistic cytotoxicity with tamoxifen in human breast cancer cell lines. Here, we examined the ability of persin to circumvent tamoxifen resistance and delineated the intracellular signalling pathways involved.
Methods:
The induction of apoptosis in tamoxifen-resistant and -sensitive breast cancer cells was measured by flow cytometry following treatment with persin±tamoxifen. Markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) were analysed following treatment, and their causal role in mediating persin-induced apoptosis was determined using chemical inhibitors and RNA interference.
Results:
Cells that were resistant to an apoptotic concentration of tamoxifen maintained an apoptotic response to persin. Persin-induced apoptosis was associated with an increase in markers of ERS, that is, CHOP expression and XBP-1 splicing and was decreased by CHOP siRNA. The CASP-4 inhibitor Z-YVAD-FMK markedly inhibited persin-induced apoptosis in both tamoxifen-sensitive and -resistant cells.
Conclusion:
The cytotoxic effects of persin are CASP-4 dependent and mediated by CHOP-dependent and -independent ERS signalling cascades. Increased ERS signalling contributes to persin-induced reversal of tamoxifen resistance
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