Discs and Planetary Formation

The formation, structure and evolution of protoplanetary discs is considered. The formation of giant planets within the environment of these models is also discussed.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX (including 6 figures), uses paspconf.sty, epsf.sty and rotate.sty, to be published in Proceedings of the EC Summer School on 'Astrophysical Discs', eds J. A. Sellwood and J. Goodman, ASP Conf. Serie

Tidally-induced warps in protostellar discs

We review results on the dynamics of warped gaseous discs. We consider tidal perturbation of a Keplerian disc by a companion star orbiting in a plane inclined to the disc. The perturbation induces the precession of the disc, and thus of any jet it could drive. In some conditions the precession rate is uniform, and as a result the disc settles into a warp mode. The tidal torque also leads to the truncation of the disc, to the evolution of the inclination angle (not necessarily towards alignment of the disc and orbital planes) and to a transport of angular momentum in the disc. We note that the spectral energy distribution of such a warped disc is different from that of a flat disc. We conclude by listing observational effects of warps in protostellar discs.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX (including 1 figure), uses paspconf.sty and epsf.sty, to be published in Proceedings of the EC Summer School on 'Astrophysical Discs', eds J. A. Sellwood and J. Goodman, ASP Conf. Serie

Self-injurious behaviour in individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been identified as a risk marker for self-injurious behaviour. In this study we aimed to describe the prevalence, topography and correlates of self-injury in individuals with ASD in contrast to individuals with Fragile X and Down syndromes and examine person characteristics associated with self-injury across and within these groups.\ud \ud Method: Carers of individuals with ASD (N=149; mean age=9.98, SD=4.86), Fragile X syndrome (N=123; mean age=15.32, SD=8.74) and Down syndrome (N=49; mean age=15.84, SD=12.59) completed questionnaires relating to the presence and topography of self-injury Information was also gathered regarding demographic characteristics, affect, autistic behaviour, hyperactivity, impulsivity and repetitive behaviour.\ud \ud Results: Self-injurious behaviour was displayed by 50% of the ASD sample; a significantly higher prevalence than in the Down syndrome group (18.4%) but broadly similar to the prevalence in Fragile X syndrome (54.5%). Self-injury was associated with significantly higher levels of autistic behaviour within the Down and Fragile X syndrome groups. Within the ASD group, the presence of self-injury was associated with significantly higher levels of impulsivity and hyperactivity, negative affect and significantly lower levels of ability and speech.\ud \ud Conclusions: Self-injurious behaviour is prevalent in individuals with ASD and the presence of ASD phenomenology increases the risk of self-injury in individuals with known genetic disorders but without a diagnosis of idiopathic autism. Person characteristics associated with self-injury in ASD indicate a role for impaired behavioural inhibition, low levels of ability and negative affect in the development of self-injurious behaviour

Enhanced backscatter of optical beams reflected in turbulent air

Optical beams propagating through air acquire phase distortions from turbulent fluctuations in the refractive index. While these distortions are usually deleterious to propagation, beams reflected in a turbulent medium can undergo a local recovery of spatial coherence and intensity enhancement referred to as enhanced backscatter (EBS). Using a combination of lab-scale experiments and simulations, we investigate the EBS of optical beams reflected from corner cubes and rough surfaces, and identify the regimes in which EBS is most distinctly observed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Improving the Dielectric Properties of Polymers by Incorporating Nano-particles.

The paper presents a brief review of the promise of nanotechnology applied to polymeric insulation materials and discusses the electrical properties found. For a variety of nanocomposites, the dielectric behaviour has shown that the interface between the embedded particles and host matrix holds the key to the understanding of the bulk phenomena being observed. Dielectric spectroscopy verified the motion of carriers through the interaction zones that surround the particles. The obvious improvements in endurance and breakdown strength of nanocomposites may be due to a reduction of charge accumulation. PEA space charge tests confirm this charge dissipation. By examining the onset field of space charge accumulation, it may be possible to determine whether a system is likely to be useful

Strain Rate Sensitive Constitutive Equations

Stain rate sensitive constitutive equations using yield criterion which incorporates second and third invariants of stress deviato