3,381 research outputs found
The design of a microprocessor system for automatic signal averaging and percentage purity calculations coupled to a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer
Managing urban flood resilience through the English planning system: insights from the ‘SuDS-face'
In academic and professional circles, ‘resilience thinking’ has emerged as the dominant paradigm in flood risk management, which emphasizes the need to plan and design cities that can absorb water and replicate natural processes more closely. In this paper, we explore how planners in England are expected to respond to the resilience agenda against the realities in practice, zoning in on the delivery of sustainable (urban) drainage systems (SuDS). Our exploration highlights that, while SuDS are being implemented, they are largely characterized by a ‘bog standard’ design. We found that there are three main institutional factors that are constraining the implementation of SuDS: the lack of legislative backing, the power afforded to private commercial interests in the neoliberalized planning process, compounded by the severe lack of resources in local authorities. What is missing at the moment is SuDS process and design that is flexible, integrated, collaborative and innovative. There are clear implications that, without the necessary institutional support, resilience thinking will remain largely aspirational, and professionals will struggle to gain traction and translate the larger flood resilience policy agenda into England's future climate-resilient places
Shortened Lung Clearance Index is a repeatable and sensitive test in children and adults with cystic fibrosis
BACKGROUND: Lung clearance index (LCI) derived from sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) multiple breath washout (MBW) is a sensitive measure of lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). However, it can be time-consuming, limiting its use clinically. AIM: To compare the repeatability, sensitivity and test duration of LCI derived from washout to 1/30th (LCI1/30), 1/20th (LCI1/20) and 1/10th (LCI1/10) to 'standard' LCI derived from washout to 1/40th initial concentration (LCI1/40). METHODS: Triplicate MBW test results from 30 clinically stable people with CF and 30 healthy controls were analysed retrospectively. MBW tests were performed using 0.2% SF6 and a modified Innocor device. All LCI end points were calculated using SimpleWashout software. Repeatability was assessed using coefficient of variation (CV%). The proportion of people with CF with and without abnormal LCI and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) % predicted was compared. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve statistics were calculated. Test duration of all LCI end points was compared using paired t tests. RESULTS: In people with CF, LCI1/40 CV% (p=0.16), LCI1/30 CV%, (p=0.53), LCI1/20 CV% (p=0.14) and LCI1/10 CV% (p=0.25) was not significantly different to controls. The sensitivity of LCI1/40, LCI1/30 and LCI1/20 to the presence of CF was equal (67%). The sensitivity of LCI1/10 and FEV1% predicted was lower (53% and 47% respectively). Area under the ROC curve (95% CI) for LCI1/40, LCI1/30, LCI1/20, LCI1/10 and FEV1% predicted was 0.89 (0.80 to 0.97), 0.87 (0.77 to 0.96), 0.87 (0.78 to 0.96), 0.83 (0.72 to 0.94) and 0.73 (0.60 to 0.86), respectively. Test duration of LCI1/30, LCI1/20 and LCI1/10 was significantly shorter compared with the test duration of LCI1/40 in people with CF (p<0.0001) equating to a 5%, 9% and 15% time saving, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, LCI1/20 was a repeatable and sensitive measure with equal diagnostic performance to LCI1/40. LCI1/20 was shorter, potentially offering a more feasible research and clinical measure
Space-time extensions II
The global extendibility of smooth causal geodesically incomplete spacetimes
is investigated. Denote by one of the incomplete non-extendible causal
geodesics of a causal geodesically incomplete spacetime . First, it
is shown that it is always possible to select a synchronised family of causal
geodesics and an open neighbourhood of a final segment
of in such that is comprised by members of ,
and suitable local coordinates can be defined everywhere on
provided that does not terminate either on a tidal force tensor
singularity or on a topological singularity. It is also shown that if, in
addition, the spacetime, , is globally hyperbolic, and the
components of the curvature tensor, and its covariant derivatives up to order
are bounded on , and also the line integrals of the
components of the -order covariant derivatives are finite along the
members of ---where all the components are meant to be registered with
respect to a synchronised frame field on ---then there exists a
extension so that for each , which
is inextendible in , the image, , is
extendible in . Finally, it is also proved that
whenever does terminate on a topological singularity
cannot be generic.Comment: 42 pages, no figures, small changes to match the published versio
Klein-Gordon Solutions on Non-Globally Hyperbolic Standard Static Spacetimes
We construct a class of solutions to the Cauchy problem of the Klein-Gordon
equation on any standard static spacetime. Specifically, we have constructed
solutions to the Cauchy problem based on any self-adjoint extension (satisfying
a technical condition: "acceptability") of (some variant of) the
Laplace-Beltrami operator defined on test functions in an -space of the
static hypersurface. The proof of the existence of this construction completes
and extends work originally done by Wald. Further results include the
uniqueness of these solutions, their support properties, the construction of
the space of solutions and the energy and symplectic form on this space, an
analysis of certain symmetries on the space of solutions and of various
examples of this method, including the construction of a non-bounded below
acceptable self-adjoint extension generating the dynamics
Investment Opportunities Forecasting: Extending the Grammar of a GP-based Tool
In this paper we present a new version of a GP financial forecasting tool, called EDDIE 8. The novelty of this version is that it allows the GP to search in the space of indicators, instead of using pre-specified ones. We compare EDDIE 8 with its predecessor, EDDIE 7, and find that new and improved solutions can be found. Analysis also shows that, on average, EDDIE 8's best tree performs better than the one of EDDIE 7. The above allows us to characterize EDDIE 8 as a valuable forecasting tool
The epidemiology of patellar luxation in dogs attending primary-care veterinary practices in England
On completeness of orbits of Killing vector fields
A Theorem is proved which reduces the problem of completeness of orbits of
Killing vector fields in maximal globally hyperbolic, say vacuum, space--times
to some properties of the orbits near the Cauchy surface. In particular it is
shown that all Killing orbits are complete in maximal developements of
asymptotically flat Cauchy data, or of Cauchy data prescribed on a compact
manifold. This result gives a significant strengthening of the uniqueness
theorems for black holes.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, preprint NSF-ITP-93-4
WS20.5 A high colony count of anaerobic bacteria is related to lung clearance index in cystic fibrosis
- …