The Challenges for Smart Cities in the UK

The rising interest in smart cities in the UK and Europe is in danger of sliding into a public/private debate. While the literature on smart cities is extensive, it is also confusing and often contradictory. Moreover, the technology advances that enable smart cities to develop advance far more quickly than does the academic analysis that follows. In this article we briefly summarize the literature in order to create a progress report for smart cities in the UK. We begin with a short review of the Smart Cities concept. Our main finding is that the implementation of smart city concepts across the UK is patchy, partly because in the UK cities control only about 18% of their budgets and their ability to act locally is constrained. As a result, smart city initiatives and investments leave much to be desired in terms of function and impact. We conclude that in the UK, the challenges to meeting the smart city ideal are many and profound, but not insuperable. The results can be summarized in four main issues that cities face in becoming smarter: 1. Critical political challenges--as opposed to technological—require involvement of highly placed political leaders, 2. Marketplace forces need to be shaped for the broader community to benefit, 3. Smart cities cannot be either bottom up or top down, they have to be both, 4. Concerns about privacy, engagement, and appropriate use of all aspects of smart city interfaces need to be better understood

Seguimiento de dependientes del alcohol y/o de la cocaína después de su salida de una Comunidad Terapéutica: estudio piloto

En España, las Comunidades Terapéuticas (CT) constituyen un modelo de tratamiento común en las adicciones, aunque apenas existe investigación acerca de su eficacia y la persistencia de sus logros. Objetivos: Evaluar los efectos a corto, medio y largo plazo del tratamiento de la adicción al alcohol o cocaína en las CT de la “Fundación Salud y Comunidad”. Diseño: Estudio piloto descriptivo, con un diseño secuencial de cohorte. Se aplicó una encuesta diseñada ad hoc a 91 usuarios para conocer su evolución en los diferentes periodos de seguimiento (1, 3, 5 ó 10 años después de su salida de la CT): variables sociodemográficas, de uso de la/s sustancia/s psicoactiva/s y relacionadas con la estancia en la CT. Se describe el cambio entre antes de la CT y en la actualidad respecto a variables académicas, laborales, de consumo de droga/s, salud, adaptación socio-familiar y comportamiento delictivo. Resultados: las cohortes mostraron un patrón previo relativamente común, recibiendo un tratamiento similar. Los usuarios afirman haber disminuido el hábito de consumo frecuente de la droga principal, encontrando un 48.9% que no ha recaído ni siquiera mediante un consumo ocasional de la/s droga/s. También perciben haber mejorado su salud y sus relaciones familiares, así como el comportamiento agresivo y problemas legales derivados del consumo de droga/s. Conclusiones: tras su rehabilitación en una CT, los usuarios manifiestan una disminución global del consumo de drogas y perciben una mejora a nivel de salud, familia, violencia y problemáticas derivadas del consumo

Lepton Number Violation from Colored States at the LHC

The possibility to search for lepton number violating signals at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the colored seesaw scenario is investigated. In this context the fields that generate neutrino masses at the one-loop level are scalar and Majorana fermionic color-octets of SU(3). Due to the QCD strong interaction these states may be produced at the LHC with a favorable rate. We study the production mechanisms and decays relevant to search for lepton number violation signals in the channels with same-sign dileptons. In the simplest case when the two fermionic color-octets are degenerate in mass, one could use their decays to distinguish between the neutrino spectra. We find that for fermionic octets with mass up to about 1 TeV the number of same-sign dilepton events is larger than the standard model background indicating a promising signal for new physics.Comment: minor corrections, added reference

Sun-dried pears: Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity.

Two different regional varieties of pears, S. Bartolomeu and Amêndoa, were analyzed fresh and after sun-drying. The total phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity of these pears were determined. The total antioxidant capacity was compared using two different methods: DMPD (N,N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine) and the method of ABTS (2,2’-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) radical scavenging. The ABTS method, when compared with the DMPD method, showed a better correlation between the content of phenolic compounds of the pears and their antioxidant activity. The fresh pear possessed higher amounts of phenolic compounds and higher antioxidant capacity when compared to sun-dried pear. The antioxidant efficiency was expressed as Trolox equivalent and as ascorbic acid equivalent. For both methods, the Trolox equivalent was higher than the ascorbic acid equivalent

Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification patterns of side-necked turtles (Testudines: Pleurodira)

Pleurodires or side-necked turtles are today restricted to freshwater environments of South America, Africa– Madagascar and Australia, but in the past they were distributed much more broadly, being found also on Eurasia, India and North America, and marine environments. Two hypotheses were proposed to explain this distribution; in the first, vicariance would have shaped the current geographical distribution and, in the second, extinctions constrained a previously widespread distribution. Here, we aim to reconstruct pleurodiran biogeographic history and diversification patterns based on a new phylogenetic hypothesis recovered from the analysis of the largest morphological dataset yet compiled for the lineage, testing which biogeographical process prevailed during its evolutionary history. The resulting topology generally agrees with previous hypotheses of the group and shows that most diversification shifts were related to the exploration of new niches, e.g. littoral or marine radiations. In addition, as other turtles, pleurodires do not seem to have been much affected by either the Cretaceous– Palaeogene or the Eocene–Oligocene mass extinctions. The biogeographic analyses highlight the predominance of both anagenetic and cladogenetic dispersal events and support the importance of transoceanic dispersals as a more common driver of area changes than previously thought, agreeing with previous studies with other non-turtle lineages.Fil: Ferreira, Gabriel S.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Senckenberg Centre For Human Evolution And Palaeoenvironment; Alemania. Universität Tübingen; AlemaniaFil: Bronzati Filho, Mario. Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie; AlemaniaFil: Langer, Max C.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Sterli, Juliana. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

The Josephson heat interferometer

The Josephson effect represents perhaps the prototype of macroscopic phase coherence and is at the basis of the most widespread interferometer, i.e., the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). Yet, in analogy to electric interference, Maki and Griffin predicted in 1965 that thermal current flowing through a temperature-biased Josephson tunnel junction is a stationary periodic function of the quantum phase difference between the superconductors. The interplay between quasiparticles and Cooper pairs condensate is at the origin of such phase-dependent heat current, and is unique to Josephson junctions. In this scenario, a temperature-biased SQUID would allow heat currents to interfere thus implementing the thermal version of the electric Josephson interferometer. The dissipative character of heat flux makes this coherent phenomenon not less extraordinary than its electric (non-dissipative) counterpart. Albeit weird, this striking effect has never been demonstrated so far. Here we report the first experimental realization of a heat interferometer. We investigate heat exchange between two normal metal electrodes kept at different temperatures and tunnel-coupled to each other through a thermal `modulator' in the form of a DC-SQUID. Heat transport in the system is found to be phase dependent, in agreement with the original prediction. With our design the Josephson heat interferometer yields magnetic-flux-dependent temperature oscillations of amplitude up to ~21 mK, and provides a flux-to-temperature transfer coefficient exceeding ~ 60mK/Phi_0 at 235 mK [Phi_0 2* 10^(-15) Wb is the flux quantum]. Besides offering remarkable insight into thermal transport in Josephson junctions, our results represent a significant step toward phase-coherent mastering of heat in solid-state nanocircuits, and pave the way to the design of novel-concept coherent caloritronic devices.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 color figure

Effects of high volume saline enemas vs no enema during labour – The N-Ma Randomised Controlled Trial [ISRCTN43153145]

BACKGROUND: Enemas are used during labour in obstetric settings with the belief that they reduce puerperal and neonatal infections, shorten labour duration, and make delivery cleaner for attending personnel. However, a systematic review of the literature found insufficient evidence to support the use of enemas. The objective of this RCT was to address an identified knowledge gap by determining the effect of routine enemas used during the first stage of labour on puerperal and neonatal infection rates. METHODS: Design: RCT (randomised controlled trial; randomized clinical trial). Outcomes: Clinical diagnosis of maternal or neonatal infections, labour duration, delivery types, episiotomy rates, and prescription of antibiotics Setting: Tertiary care referral hospital at the Javeriana University (Bogotá, Colombia) that attended 3170 births during study period with a caesarean section rate of 26%. Participants: 443 women admitted for delivery to the obstetrics service (February 1997 to February 1998) and followed for a month after delivery. Inclusion criteria were women with: low risk pregnancy and expected to remain in Bogotá during follow up; gestational age ≥ 36 weeks; no pelvic or systemic bacterial infection; intact membranes; cervix dilatation ≤7 cm. Intervention: 1 litre saline enema, versus no enema, allocated following a block random allocation sequence and using sealed opaque envelopes. RESULTS: Allocation provided balanced groups and 86% of the participants were followed up for one month. The overall infection rate for newborns was 21%, and 18% for women. We found no significant differences in puerperal or neonatal infection rates (Puerperal infection: 41/190 [22%] with enema v 26/182 [14%] without enema; RR 0.66 CI 95%: 0.43 to 1.03; neonatal infection 38/191 [20%] with enema v 40/179 [22%] without enema; RR 1.12, 95% CI 95% 0.76 to 1.66), and median labour time was similar between groups (515 min. with enema v 585 min. without enema; P = 0.24). Enemas didn't significantly change episiorraphy dehiscence rates (21/182 [12%] with enema v 32/190 [17%] without enema; P = 0.30). CONCLUSION: This RCT found no evidence to support routine use of enemas during labour. Although these results cannot rule out a small clinical effect, it seems unlikely that enemas will improve maternal and neonatal outcomes and provide an overall benefit

Chronology of mineralization of the permanent mandibular second molar teeth and forensic age estimation

Forensic age estimation frequently relies upon the chronology of mineralization of the third molar teeth. However, even when present, third molar teeth cannot always be used for estimating age in people who are classified as minors. Seconds molars develop earlier and in a more predictable way, and therefore are often more reliable for age estimation in this age group. This study aims to contribute to forensic age estimation using an age threshold of 14-years, studying the stages of development of permanent mandibular second molar teeth mineralization. 367 orthopantograms of a Portuguese population group, aged between 3 and 19 years, were studied. The stages of mineralization of mandibular permanent second molar teeth were studied following the classification stages proposed by Demirjian et al. Stage descriptive analysis was performed, and associations between age and stage were studied.A logistic regression to determine age over 14 years, using maturation stages and sex as a predictive variables, was made. A second sample was used for testing the model. The significance level was set at 5%. The model correctly classified 92.0% of cases overall. The equation was tested in the second sample, and the results showed that there were no statistical significant differences between the binary real age (i.e. age < 14 and age ≥ 14 years) and the estimated age (p = 0.109). The developed model is useful for age estimation using 14-years as a threshold. However, stage maturation analyses showed that stage F, in males, and stages G and H, in both sexes, lead to an estimated age with significant statistical differences from chronological age