9,598 research outputs found
MSUO Information Technology and Geographical Information Systems: Common Protocols & Procedures. Report to the Marine Safety Umbrella Operation
The Marine Safety Umbrella Operation (MSUO) facilitates the cooperation between Interreg
funded Marine Safety Projects and maritime stakeholders. The main aim of MSUO is to
permit efficient operation of new projects through Project Cooperation Initiatives, these
include the review of the common protocols and procedures for Information Technology (IT)
and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
This study carried out by CSA Group and the National Centre for Geocomputation (NCG)
reviews current spatial information standards in Europe and the data management
methodologies associated with different marine safety projects.
International best practice was reviewed based on the combined experience of spatial data
research at NCG and initiatives in the US, Canada and the UK relating to marine security
service information and acquisition and integration of large marine datasets for ocean
management purposes.
This report identifies the most appropriate international data management practices that could
be adopted for future MSUO projects
The sectional curvature remains positive when taking quotients by certain nonfree actions
We study some cases when the sectional curvature remains positive under the
taking of quotients by certain nonfree isometric actions of Lie groups. We
consider the actions of the groups and such that the quotient space
can be endowed with a smooth structure using the fibrations
and . We prove that the quotient space
carries a metric of positive sectional curvature, provided that the original
metric has positive sectional curvature on all 2-planes orthogonal to the
orbits of the action.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure. Changed the spelling of the author's nam
Microwave oven fabricated hybrid memristor devices for non-volatile memory storage
Š 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd. Novel hybrid non-volatile memories made using an ultra-fast microwave heating method are reported for the first time. The devices, consisting of aligned ZnO nanorods embedded in poly (methyl methacrylate), require no forming step and exhibit reliable and reproducible bipolar resistive switching at low voltages and with low power usage. We attribute these properties to a combination of the high aspect ratio of the nanorods and the polymeric hybrid structure of the device. The extremely easy, fast and low-cost solution based method of fabrication makes possible the simple and quick production of cheap memory cells
Mean curvature flow and quasilocal mass for two-surfaces in Hamiltonian General Relativity
A family of quasilocal mass definitions that includes as special cases the
Hawking mass and the Brown-York ``rest mass'' energy is derived for spacelike
2-surfaces in spacetime. The definitions involve an integral of powers of the
norm of the spacetime mean curvature vector of the 2-surface, whose properties
are connected with apparent horizons. In particular, for any spacelike
2-surface, the direction of mean curvature is orthogonal (dual in the normal
space) to a unique normal direction in which the 2-surface has vanishing
expansion in spacetime. The quasilocal mass definitions are obtained by an
analysis of boundary terms arising in the gravitational ADM Hamiltonian on
hypersurfaces with a spacelike 2-surface boundary, using a geometric time-flow
chosen proportional to the dualized mean curvature vector field at the boundary
surface. A similar analysis is made choosing a geometric rotational flow given
in terms of the twist covector of the dual pair of mean curvature vector
fields, which leads to a family of quasilocal angular momentum definitions
involving the squared norm of the twist. The large sphere limit of these
definitions is shown to yield the ADM mass and angular momentum in
asymptotically flat spacetimes, while at apparent horizons a quasilocal version
of the Gibbons-Penrose inequality is derived. Finally, some results concerning
positivity are proved for the quasilocal masses, motivated by consideration of
spacelike mean curvature flow of 2-surfaces in spacetime.Comment: Revised version, includes an analysis of null flows with applications
to mass and angular momentum for apparent horizon
Wave-number Selection by Target Patterns and Side Walls in Rayleigh-Benard Convection
We present experimental results for Rayleigh-Benard convection patterns in a
cylindrical container with static side-wall forcing induced by a heater. This
forcing stabilized a pattern of concentric rolls (a target pattern) with the
central roll (the umbilicus) at the center of the cell after a jump from the
conduction to the convection state. A quasi-static increase of the control
parameter (epsilon) beyond 0.8 caused the umbilicus of the pattern to move off
center. As observed by others, a further quasi-static increase of epsilon up to
15.6 caused a sequence of transitions. Each transition began with the
displacement of the umbilicus and then proceeded with the loss of one
convection roll at the umbilicus and the return of the umbilicus to a location
near the center of the cell. Alternatively, with decreasing epsilon new rolls
formed at the umbilicus but large umbilicus displacements did not occur. In
addition to quantitative measurements of the umbilicus displacement, we
determined and analyzed the entire wave-director field of each image. The wave
numbers varied in the axial direction, with minima at the umbilicus and at the
cell wall and a maximum at a radial position close to 2/3 Gamma. The wave
numbers at the maximum showed hysteretic jumps at the transitions, but on
average agreed well with the theoretical predictions for the wave numbers
selected in the far field of an infinitely extended target pattern.Comment: ReVTeX, 11 pages, 16 eps figures include
Circadian Rhythms: Hijacking the Cyanobacterial Clock
SummaryUsing basic research to advance a practical application, a recent study demonstrates that the circadian clock in cyanobacteria can be âreprogrammedâ to improve yields of heterologous protein production â a green future surely beckons
Solution-processed bilayer photovoltaic devices with nematic liquid crystals
The cross-linking of polymerisable liquid crystalline semiconductors is a promising approach to solution-processable, multilayer, organic photovoltaics. Here we demonstrate an organic bilayer photovoltaic with an insoluble electron-donating layer formed by cross-linking a nematic reactive mesogen. We investigate a range of perylene diimide (PDI) materials, some of which are liquid crystalline, as the overlying electron acceptor layer. We find that carrier mobility of the acceptor materials is enhanced by liquid crystallinity and that mobility limits the performance of photovoltaic devices. Š 2013 Š 2013 Taylor & Francis
Magnification relations for Kerr lensing and testing Cosmic Censorship
A Kerr black hole with mass parameter m and angular momentum parameter a
acting as a gravitational lens gives rise to two images in the weak field
limit. We study the corresponding magnification relations, namely the signed
and absolute magnification sums and the centroid up to post-Newtonian order. We
show that there are post-Newtonian corrections to the total absolute
magnification and centroid proportional to a/m, which is in contrast to the
spherically symmetric case where such corrections vanish. Hence we also propose
a new set of lensing observables for the two images involving these
corrections, which should allow measuring a/m with gravitational lensing. In
fact, the resolution capabilities needed to observe this for the Galactic black
hole should in principle be accessible to current and near-future
instrumentation. Since a/m >1 indicates a naked singularity, a most interesting
application would be a test of the Cosmic Censorship conjecture. The technique
used to derive the image properties is based on the degeneracy of the Kerr lens
and a suitably displaced Schwarzschild lens at post-Newtonian order. A simple
physical explanation for this degeneracy is also given.Comment: 13 pages, version 2: references added, minor changes. To appear in
Phys. Rev.
Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013
Abstract Background Despite its Gallic name, the French Bulldog is a breed of both British and French origin that was first recognised by The Kennel Club in 1906. The French Bulldog has demonstrated recent rapid rises in Kennel Club registrations and is now (2017) the second most commonly registered pedigree breed in the UK. However, the breed has been reported to be predisposed to several disorders including ocular, respiratory, neurological and dermatological problems. The VetCompass⢠Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass⢠clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography and common disorders of the general population of French Bulldogs under veterinary care in the UK. Results French Bulldogs comprised 2228 (0.49%) of 445,557 study dogs under veterinary care during 2013. Annual proportional birth rates showed that the proportional ownership of French Bulldog puppies rose steeply from 0.02% of the annual birth cohort attending VetCompass⢠practices in 2003 to 1.46% in 2013. The median age of the French Bulldogs overall was 1.3 years (IQR 0.6â2.5, range 0.0â13.0). The most common colours of French Bulldogs were brindle (solid or main) (32.36%) and fawn (solid or main) (29.9%). Of the 2228 French Bulldogs under veterinary care during 2013, 1612 (72.4%) had at least one disorder recorded. The most prevalent fine-level precision disorders recorded were otitis externa (14.0%, 95% CI: 12.6â15.5), diarrhoea (7.5%, 95% CI: 6.4â8.7), conjunctivitis (3.2%, 95% CI: 2.5â4.0), nails overlong (3.1%, 95% CI% 2.4â3.9) and skin fold dermatitis (3.0%, 95% CI% 2.3â3.8). The most prevalent disorder groups were cutaneous (17.9%, 95% CI: 16.3â19.6), enteropathy (16.7%, 95% CI: 15.2â18.3), aural (16.3%, 95% CI: 14.8â17.9), upper respiratory tract (12.7%, 95% CI: 11.3â14.1) and ophthalmological (10.5%, 95% CI: 9.3â11.9). Conclusions Ownership of French Bulldogs in the UK is rising steeply. This means that the disorder profiles reported in this study reflect a current young UK population and are likely to shift as this cohort ages. Otitis externa, diarrhoea and conjunctivitis were the most common disorders in French Bulldogs. Identification of health priorities based on VetCompass⢠data can support evidenceâbased reforms to improve health and welfare within the breed
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