4,274 research outputs found
Technological requirements for solutions in the conservation and protection of historic monuments and archaeological remains
Executive summary: This Study has discovered many achievements associated with European support for
scientific and technological research for the protection and conservation of cultural
heritage. The achievements to date are:
1. Creation of an active research community
2. A body of research of unparalleled and enviable international quality and character
3. Ongoing effectiveness of research beyond initial funding
4. Substantial rate of publication
5. Imaginative tools of dissemination and publication
6. Clear spin-offs and contribution to European competitiveness often going outside
the European cultural heritage area
7. Contribution to emerging European legislation, for example, air quality
management.
The Study has also uncovered important research gaps associated with this field that have
yet to begin to be investigated. It has also discovered the need for continuing fine scale
advancement in areas where researchers have been active for a number of years. The
overall picture is that European research in the field of cultural heritage protection must be
put on a secure footing if it is to maintain its commanding lead over other regions of the
world.
This Study concludes that:
1. It would be invidious to attempt to separate basic and applied research in this area
of research. Like any other scientific endeavour, this field needs to integrate basic
and applied research if it is to continue to thrive.
2. Small, flexible, focused interdisciplinary teams responsive to European needs, must
be sustained, promoted and celebrated as models of sustainability and that what is
proposed under the European Research Area (ERA) for large and complex
research projects, could inflict serious damage on this area of research.
3. Resources cannot be delegated to Member States because of the interdisciplinary
nature of cultural heritage and the need for a co-ordinated pan-European
perspective across this research that helps to define the essential character of
European cultural heritage. National programmes only serve local needs, leading
to loss of strategic output, lessening of competitiveness and risk of duplication.
4. A mechanism needs to be created to help researchers working in this field to
communicate and exchange information with related sectors such as construction,
urban regeneration, land reclamation and agriculture.
5. There is overwhelming agreement over the need for sustainable research funding
for cultural heritage and for an iterative process of exchange among researchers,
decision-makers and end-users in order to maximize benefits from project
inception through to dissemination, audit and review.
For all the reasons mentioned above, the most significant recommendation in this Report is
the identification of the need for a European Panel on the Application of Science for Cultural Heritage (EPASCH)
Will I? won't I? Why do men who have sex with men present for post-exposure prophylaxis for sexual exposures?
Background: Failures of post-exposure prophylaxis following sexual exposure (PEPSE) to prevent seroconversion have been reported and are often associated with ongoing risk exposure. Understanding why men who have sex with men (MSM) access PEPSE on some occasions and not others may lead to more effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies Methods: A qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews of 15 MSM within 6 months of them initiating PEPSE treatment at an HIV outpatient service in Brighton, UK. Results: PEPSE seeking was motivated by a number of factors: an episode that related to a particular sexual partner and their behaviour; the characteristics of the venue where the risk occurred; the respondentâs state of mind and influences of alcohol and recreational drug use; and their perceived beliefs on the effectiveness of PEPSE. Help was sought in the light of a âone-offâ or âunusualâ event. Many respondents felt they were less likely to behave in a risky manner following PEPSE. Conclusion: If PEPSE is to be effective as a public health measure, at risk individuals need to be empowered to make improved risk calculations from an increased perception that they could be exposed to HIV if they continue their current behaviour patterns. The concern is that PEPSE was sought by a low number of MSM implying that a greater number are not using the service based on failure to make accurate risk calculations or recognise high-risk scenario
Randomised, controlled trial of alternating pressure mattresses compared with alternating pressure overlays for the prevention of pressure ulcers : PRESSURE (pressure relieving support surfaces) trial
Objective To compare whether differences exist between alternating pressure overlays and alternating pressure mattresses in the development of new pressure ulcers, healing of existing pressure ulcers, and patient acceptability. Design Pragmatic, open, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Setting 11 hospitals in six NHS trusts. Participants 1972 people admitted to hospital as acute or elective patients. Interventions Participants were randomised to an alternating pressure mattress (n = 982) of- an alternating pressure overlay (n = 990). Main outcome measures The proportion of participants developing a new pressure ulcer of grade 2 or worse; time to development of new pressure ulcers; proportions of participants developing a new ulcer within 30 days; healing of existing pressure ulcers; and patient acceptability Results Intention to treat analysis found no difference in the proportions of participants developing a new pressure ulcer of grade 2 or worse (10.7% overlay patients, 10.3% mattress patients; difference 0.4%, 95% confidence interval - 23% to 3.1%, P = 0.75). More overlay patients requested change owing to dissatisfaction (23.3%) than mattress patients (18.9%, P = 0.02). Conclusion No difference was found between alternating pressure mattresses and alternating pressure overlays in the proportion of people who develop a pressure ulcer
Big Impacts and Transient Oceans on Titan
We have studied the thermal consequences of very big impacts on Titan [1]. Titan's thick atmosphere and volatile-rich surface cause it to respond to big impacts in a somewhat Earth-like manner. Here we construct a simple globally-averaged model that tracks the flow of energy through the environment in the weeks, years, and millenia after a big comet strikes Titan. The model Titan is endowed with 1.4 bars of N2 and 0.07 bars of CH4, methane lakes, a water ice crust, and enough methane underground to saturate the regolith to the surface. We assume that half of the impact energy is immediately available to the atmosphere and surface while the other half is buried at the site of the crater and is unavailable on time scales of interest. The atmosphere and surface are treated as isothermal. We make the simplifying assumptions that the crust is everywhere as methane saturated as it was at the Huygens landing site, that the concentration of methane in the regolith is the same as it is at the surface, and that the crust is made of water ice. Heat flow into and out of the crust is approximated by step-functions. If the impact is great enough, ice melts. The meltwater oceans cool to the atmosphere conductively through an ice lid while at the base melting their way into the interior, driven down in part through Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities between the dense water and the warm ice. Topography, CO2, and hydrocarbons other than methane are ignored. Methane and ethane clathrate hydrates are discussed quantitatively but not fully incorporated into the model
A trio of month long flares in the nova-like variable V704 And
We present the discovery of an unusual set of flares in the nova-like
variable V704 And. Using data from AAVSO, ASAS-SN, and ZTF, of the nova-like
variable V704 And, we have discovered a trio of brightening events that
occurred during the high state. These events elevate the optical brightness of
the source from magnitude to magnitude. The events last
for roughly a month, and exhibit the unusual shape of a slow rise and faster
decay. Just after the third event we obtained data from regular monitoring with
Swift, although by this time the flares had ceased and the source returned to
its pre-flare level of activity in the high-state. The Swift observations
confirm that during the high-state the source is detectable in the X-rays, and
provide simultaneous UV and optical fluxes. As the source is already in the
high-state prior to the flares, and thus the disc is expected to already be in
the high-viscosity state, we conclude that the driver of the variations must be
changes in the mass transfer rate from the companion star and we discuss
possible mechanisms for such short-timescale mass transfer variations to occur.Comment: 5 pages + appendix. Accepted for publication in A&A Letter
Acute inhibition of MEK suppresses congenital melanocytic nevus syndrome in a murine model driven by activated NRAS and Wnt signaling
Congenital melanocytic nevus (CMN) syndrome is the association of pigmented melanocytic nevi with extra-cutaneous features, classically melanotic cells within the central nervous system, most frequently caused by a mutation of NRAS codon 61. This condition is currently untreatable and carries a significant risk of melanoma within the skin, brain, or leptomeninges. We have previously proposed a key role for Wnt signaling in the formation of melanocytic nevi, suggesting that activated Wnt signaling may be synergistic with activated NRAS in the pathogenesis of CMN syndrome. Some familial pre-disposition suggests a germ-line contribution to CMN syndrome, as does variability of neurological phenotypes in individuals with similar cutaneous phenotypes. Accordingly, we performed exome sequencing of germ-line DNA from patients with CMN to reveal rare or undescribed Wnt-signaling alterations. A murine model harboring activated NRASQ61K and Wnt signaling in melanocytes exhibited striking features of CMN syndrome, in particular neurological involvement. In the first model of treatment for this condition, these congenital, and previously assumed permanent, features were profoundly suppressed by acute post-natal treatment with a MEK inhibitor. These data suggest that activated NRAS and aberrant Wnt signaling conspire to drive CMN syndrome. Post-natal MEK inhibition is a potential candidate therapy for patients with this debilitating condition
Shifting a Quantum Wire through a Disordered Crystal: Observation of Conductance Fluctuations in Real Space
A quantum wire is spatially displaced by suitable electric fields with
respect to the scatterers inside a semiconductor crystal. As a function of the
wire position, the low-temperature resistance shows reproducible fluctuations.
Their characteristic temperature scale is a few hundred millikelvin, indicating
a phase-coherent effect. Each fluctuation corresponds to a single scatterer
entering or leaving the wire. This way, scattering centers can be counted one
by one.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
New Measurements of Fine-Scale CMB Polarization Power Spectra from CAPMAP at Both 40 and 90 GHz
We present new measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
polarization from the final season of the Cosmic Anisotropy Polarization MAPper
(CAPMAP). The data set was obtained in winter 2004-2005 with the 7 m antenna in
Crawford Hill, New Jersey, from 12 W-band (84-100 GHz) and 4 Q-band (36-45 GHz)
correlation polarimeters with 3.3' and 6.5' beamsizes, respectively. After
selection criteria were applied, 956 (939) hours of data survived for analysis
of W-band (Q-band) data. Two independent and complementary pipelines produced
results in excellent agreement with each other. A broad suite of null tests as
well as extensive simulations showed that systematic errors were minimal, and a
comparison of the W-band and Q-band sky maps revealed no contamination from
galactic foregrounds. We report the E-mode and B-mode power spectra in 7 bands
in the range 200 < l < 3000, extending the range of previous measurements to
higher l. The E-mode spectrum, which is detected at 11 sigma significance, is
in agreement with cosmological predictions and with previous work at other
frequencies and angular resolutions. The BB power spectrum provides one of the
best limits to date on B-mode power at 4.8 uK^2 (95% confidence).Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Ap
New magnetic dipole transition of the oxygen molecule: BÊč³ΠgâXâ³Σgâ»(0,0)
Through the use of isotopically pure gas at a temperature of 77 K, a weak photoabsorption band of Âčâ¶Oâ is found near 1856 Ă
, underlying the stronger SchumannâRunge (SR) band B³ΣâuâX³Σâg(8,0). The location, structure, and intensity of this new band are consistent with expectation for the magnetic dipole transitionBâČâ³ΠgâX³Σâg(0,0), where the designation BâČ is chosen to represent the IIâ³Πg valence state. This electronic transition contributes to the âexcess absorptionâ underlying the SR bands [B. R. Lewis, S. T. Gibson, and E. H. Roberts, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 245 (2001)]
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