NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 14: An analysis of the technical communications practices reported by Israeli and US aerospace engineers and scientists

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their view about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists who are working in cryogenics, adaptive walls, and magnetic suspension. A slightly modified version was sent to Israeli aerospace engineers and scientists working at Israel Aircraft Industries, LTD. Responses of the Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists to selected questions are presented in this paper

Analogy of Glass and Straw: Understanding the Structure and Functions of Mombasa Port in East Africa's Transportation Networks’

Ports significantly influence the socio-economic development of any nation or region that depends on them. However, this is usually affected by many factors that render inefficiencies at the ports and along the corridors to the hinterland. This paper is an improved extract from a policy influencing assessment report on the socio-economic impact of operationalizing the standard gauge railway in the Port City of Mombasa to appreciate the ports’ role. The study presents a concise analysis and a sneak preview of what may be considered a rare analysis of this topical issue. The study relied on secondary reports and information on the efficient and effective transport corridors in Eastern Africa. The East Africa region transport corridors consist of two major international corridors, the Northern Corridor and the Central Corridor, which traverse the sub-region, forming a CBTI network, each linking seaports with land-locked countries. A growing enhancement inland connectivity provides land-locked countries with adequate access to ports. The study delves into the ownership structure and development of the Port of Mombasa to address the objective. The study found that the degree of ownership naturally depends on national ideology. Thus, the management by Kenya Ports Authority depicts a public ownership structure. Evidenced also was the role of the Port of Mombasa in cargo movement within the corridors to rail and road networks for inter-land transportation. Mombasa Port Community Charter (the “Charter”) seeks to optimize the full trade potential of the Port of Mombasa, in essence, helping a great deal in making the Port a competitive enabler of the northern transport corridor. Indeed, for a straw to draw well and judge its functionality, the content in the glass must be well prepared for drawing. One cannot blame a water pipe for not piping water efficiently, and the dam must also be functional

Treating Water Contamination using Ultraviolet Radiation to Control Cryptosporidium and E.Coli

Concerns about the quality of drinking water in Ireland have come into sharp focus with the recent Cryptosporidium outbreak in Galway City. This article looks at how ultraviolet radiation can offer a potential solution in the control of Cryptosporidium contamination

catena-Poly[[(nitrito-κ2 O,O′)silver(I)]-μ-1,2-bis­[1-(pyridin-4-yl)ethyl­idene]hydrazine-κ2 N:N′]

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, [Ag(NO2)(C14H14N4)]n, contains half of the repeating formula unit (Z′ = 1/2). The AgI ion lies on a twofold rotation axis. The primary structure consists of a one-dimensional coordination polymer formed by the AgI ions and the bipyridyl azine ligand in which there is an inversion center at the mid-point of the N—N bond. The nitrite anion inter­acts with the AgI ion through a chelating μ2 inter­action involving both O atoms. In the crystal, the coordination chains are parallel and inter­act through Ag⋯π [3.220 (2) Å] and π–π [3.489 (3) Å] inter­actions

Panax ginseng has no effect on indices of glucose regulation following acute or chronic ingestion in healthy volunteers

In the absence of effective pharmacotherapy for diabetes there has been an increase in the use of, and research into, alternative treatment strategies. These include exercise, dietary interventions and the use of supplements including extracts of ginseng. Two separate, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over studies investigating the effects of chronic ingestion of Panax ginseng (study 1 used G115, study 2 used Cheong Kwan Jang) on glycated Hb (HbA1c; study 1, n 18; study 2, n 11), fasting plasma insulin (study 1, n 17; study 2, n 12), fasting plasma glucose and postprandial response (following breakfast) (study 1, n 23; study 2, n 14) in healthy volunteers are reported. In both studies it was found that Panax ginseng had no effect on any gluco-regulatory parameter investigated. These results are not consistent with those reported for a diabetic sample (albeit using slightly different outcomes). These results would suggest that chronic use of Panax ginseng by non-diabetic individuals will have little long-term effect on glucose regulation. The benefits to glucose regulation associated with long-term ginseng use may only be present in populations with compromised glucose control; however, further research is needed to confirm such a speculation

Tidal current turbine blade optimisation with improved blade element momentum theory and a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm

Tidal current energy has the advantage of predictability over most of the other renewable energy resources. However, due to the harsh operating environment and complicated site conditions, developments in this domain have been gradual. Paramount to these points is device design and optimisation of hydrodynamic performance. Recent developments in the correction models of BEM theory have further improved the accuracy of the prediction model. Using an improved blade element momentum theory model that is capable of accurately capturing the downwash angle and combining it with a well-developed and reliable non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm model, an effective and efficient tidal current turbine blade optimisation tool has been developed and is presented in this paper. This novel work incorporated a NACA generator that is capable of reproducing any NACA profile, such a tool allows the solver to analyse each and every profile used in each spanwise blade element. As a result, the model is very effective at producing tidal current turbine blades that have been optimised not only for local twist angle and chord length, but also for the suitable NACA profiles to be used at a particular spanwise blade element. The use of the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm in this work allows the model to efficiently explore a wide range of solutions, outputting a number of tidal current turbine blades suitable for a specified operating condition. The accuracy of the performance prediction of the improved BEM model is validated against an experimentally validated tidal current turbine blade. The coefficient of determination (R2) values for power and thrust coefficient are 0.99828 and 0.99488 respectively when comparing this work with experimental measurements found in the literature. Furthermore this proves that the improved BEM model is capable of efficiently predicting hydrodynamic performance of a tidal current turbine blade to a high degree of accuracy. Further work includes implementing computational fluid dynamics for further validation and evaluation

Comparison of RANS Turbulence Models in Predicting Wake Development in a 2-Dimensional Actuator Disk Model

One of the most popular methodologies used to predict the wake of a tidal stream turbine (TST) is the RANS turbulence models coupled with the actuator disk method. This methodology has been widely adopted in the in the wind industry, since the mid-1990s, to predict wake development of wind turbines. Moreover, the reason for its popularity is its capability to give accurate results at an affordable computational cost, and the application of 2-dimensional actuator disk approach could further reduce the computational cost. In this paper, a number of RANS turbulence models represented by a porous disk were used to simulate the wake development behind a TST, the findings were compared. The models adopted in this work are the Standard k-ε model, the Standard k-ω model, the RNG (Re-Normalised Group) k-ε model, the SST (Shear Stress Transport) k-ω model and the RSM (Reynold Stress Model). The results are also validated against experimental measurements found in literature, with a key focus on comparing the downstream velocity and turbulence intensity. It has shown that the Standard k-ε model is best at predicting downstream wake velocities while the SST k-ω model is better at predicting downstream wake turbulence intensity. Mesh convergence studies were conducted to optimise the computational efficiency for each turbulence model used

The acute biobehavioural effects of caffeine in isolation and in combination with other naturally concomitant compounds

Caffeine is often described as the most widely consumed psychoactive drug in the world. Despite a substantial amount of research examining the effects of caffeine on mood and cognition, there remain a number of unresolved issues in this field, two of which formed the focus of this thesis. The first pertains to whether caffeine has any behavioural effects beyond a reversal of withdrawal effects purported to exist in habitual consumers following caffeine deprivation. A second relates to the biobehavioural effects of caffeine when consumed in combination with other potentially psychoactive components, as is usually the case in dietary forms of caffeine. This thesis, therefore, firstly compared the cognitive and mood effects of acute administration of caffeine to habitual consumers and habitual non-consumers of caffeine. The effects of combining caffeine with other naturally concomitant compounds were then explored, firstly by examining the impact of combining caffeine with L¬theanine (an inhibitory amino acid found in tea) and then by exploring the effects of guaranâ (a caffeine-containing whole extract). Finally, following on from these latter studies, an attempt was made to establish the lowest active dose of caffeine. Each experiment followed a placebo-controlled, double-blind, balanced cross-over design. In each study, treatment-related changes in cognitive performance were assessed with computerised assessment tools (the Cognitive Drug Research battery, a sentence verification task and serial subtractions), and mood was assessed using both Bond¬Lader and specifically tailored caffeine research visual analogue scales. Where appropriate, salivary caffeine levels and autonomic activity were monitored. Performance was similarly improved for habitual consumers and habitual non- consumers of caffeine following caffeine administration. The administration of caffeine in combination with L-theanine led to some modulation of the effects of caffeine. This was also demonstrated when examining the effects of guaraná. A direct comparison of caffeine and guaranâ with matched caffeine levels revealed differences in the effects of the two treatments. Exploration of the lowest active dose of caffeine revealed (largely impairing) effects of caffeine at doses lower than those found in decaffeinated beverages. These findings may have important implications for caffeine research. Firstly, they suggest that behavioural effects of caffeine cannot be attributed wholly to withdrawal reversal. Secondly, they demonstrate that other components commonly co- consumed with caffeine are likely to modulate its biobehavioural effects. Finally, they suggest that levels of caffeine hitherto thought to be inactive may have (negative) psychoactive properties.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

La escuela y el futuro de la Scholé: un diálogo preliminar

Este diálogo tuvo lugar por correo electrónico durante algunos meses de 2013 y fue presentado como la Conferencia de Clausura del XVI Congreso Internacional del ICPIC (International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children) en Ciudad del Cabo, África del Sur, en agosto de 2013. En este caso, la conversación gira principalmente en torno de las siguientes temáticas: a) la relación entre escuela, infancia y tiempo; b) la filosofía como investigación colectiva en la escuela; c) el preguntar como motor de la experiencia educativa; d) la escuela como lugar de justicia. Para pensar esas cuestiones, los autores hacen referencia a múltiples fuentes, antiguas y contemporáneas, como Heráclito, Sócrates, H. Marcuse, M. Lipman y J. Rancière. El inicio del diálogo recupera el sentido etimológico contenido en la palabra griega scholé (tiempo libre) para problematizar la experiencia temporal que se realiza en la escuela contemporánea. A partir de allí se despliega un intercambio sobre los efectos políticos de la práctica de la filosofía en la escuela, para lo que son también consideradas y enfrentadas algunas críticas a la investigación filosófica colectiva. El diálogo no busca cerrar las cuestiones que plantea y enfrenta sino más bien pensarlas de modo más complejo y amplio.This dialogue took place via email during a few months in 2013 and introduced as the Closing Conference of the XVI International Congress of ICPIC (International Council for Philosophical Inquiry with Children) in Cape Town, South Africa in August 2013. In this case, the conversation mainly revolves around the following issues: a) the relationship between school, childhood and time; b) philosophy as collective research in school; c) questioning as an engine of the educational experience; d) the school as a place of justice. In order to think around these issues, the authors refer to multiple sources, ancient and contemporary, as Heraclitus, Socrates, H. Marcuse, M. Lipman and J. Rancière. The beginning of the dialogue gets the etymological meaning contained in the greek word scholé to problematize the temporal experience that takes place in contemporary school. From there the authors develop an exchange on the political effects of the practice of philosophy at school, for which are also considered and faced some critics to collective philosophical investigation. The dialogue does not seek to close the issues raised and faces but rather think about them more complex and widely.Dossier II: Infancia y Educación