Depth resolved snapshot energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction using a conical shell beam

We demonstrate a novel imaging architecture to collect range encoded diffraction patterns from overlapping samples in a single conical shell projection. The patterns were measured in the dark area encompassed by the beam via a centrally positioned aperture optically coupled to a pixelated energy-resolving detector. We show that a single exposure measurement of 0.3 mAs enables d-spacing values to be calculated. The axial positions of the samples were not required and the resultant measurements were robust in the presence of crystallographic textures. Our results demonstrate rapid volumetric materials characterization and the potential for a direct imaging method, which is of great relevance to applications in medicine, non-destructive testing and security screening

A Micromagnetic Study of Magnetization Reversal in Ferromagnetic Nanorings

We present results of micromagnetic simulations of thin ferromagnetic rings undergoing magnetization reversal. This geometry is one of few examples in micromagnetics in which the transition states have been found analytically in a 1D model. According to this model, at low fields and large ring sizes, the energetically preferred transition state is a localized magnetization fluctuation (instanton saddle). At high fields and small ring size, the preferred saddle state is a uniformly rotated magnetization (constant saddle). In the first part of this paper, we use numerical micromagnetic simulations to test these predictions of the 1D analytical model for more realistic situations, including a variety of ring radii, annular widths and magnetic fields. The predicted activation energies for magnetization reversal are found to be in close agreement with numerical results, even for rings with a large annular width where the 1D approximation would be expected to break down. We find that this approximation breaks down only when the ring's annular width exceeds its radius. In the second part, we present new metastable states found in the large radius limit and discuss how they provide a more complete understanding of the energy landscape of magnetic nanorings.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figures. Bibtex file for references, correct author orde

RCS Senior Clinical Fellowship Survey: motivations, outcomes and cost of senior surgical fellowships

Completing a surgical fellowship increases specialist skills and raises the chances of securing a consultant post, but at what cost

A novel resource-constrained insect monitoring system based on machine vision with edge AI

Effective insect pest monitoring is a vital component of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. It helps to support crop productivity while minimising the need for plant protection products. In recent years, many researchers have considered the integration of intelligence into such systems in the context of the Smart Agriculture research agenda. This paper describes the development of a smart pest monitoring system, developed in accordance with specific requirements associated with the agricultural sector. The proposed system is a low-cost smart insect trap, for use in orchards, that detects specific insect species that are detrimental to fruit quality. The system helps to identify the invasive insect, Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) or Halyomorpha halys (HH) using a Microcontroller Unit-based edge device comprising of an Internet of Things enabled, resource-constrained image acquisition and processing system. It is used to execute our proposed lightweight image analysis algorithm and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model for insect detection and classification, respectively. The prototype device is currently deployed in an orchard in Italy. The preliminary experimental results show over 70 percent of accuracy in BMSB classification on our custom-built dataset, demonstrating the proposed system feasibility and effectiveness in monitoring this invasive insect species

Political boundary spanning:politicians at the interface between collaborative governance and representative democracy

Research finds that productive interfaces between collaborative and bureaucratic forms of governance hinges on the extent t

Correlation of X-ray diffraction signatures of breast tissue and their histopathological classification

This pilot study examines the correlation of X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements with the histopathological analysis of breast tissue. Eight breast cancer samples were investigated. Each sample contained a mixture of normal and cancerous tissues. In total, 522 separate XRD measurements were made at different locations across the samples (8 in total). The resulting XRD spectra were subjected to principal component analysis (PCA) in order to determine if there were any distinguishing features that could be used to identify different tissue components. 99.0% of the variation between the spectra were described by the first two principal components (PC). Comparing the location of points in PC space with the classification determined by histopathology indicated correlation between the shape/magnitude of the XRD spectra and the tissue type. These results are encouraging and suggest that XRD could be used for the intraoperative or postoperative classification of bulk tissue samples

Enterprise Education Competitions: A Theoretically Flawed Intervention?

The demand for including enterprise in the education system, at all levels and for all pupils is now a global phenomenon. Within this context, the use of competitions and competitive learning activities is presented as a popular and effective vehicle for learning. The purpose of this chapter is to illustrate how a realist method of enquiry – which utilises theory as the unit of analysis – can shed new light on the assumed and unintended outcomes of enterprise education competitions. The case developed here is that there are inherent flaws in assuming that competitions will ‘work’ in the ways set out in policy and guidance. Some of the most prevalent stated outcomes – that competitions will motivate and reward young people, that they will enable the development of entrepreneurial skills, and that learners will be inspired by their peers – are challenged by theory from psychology and education. The issue at stake is that the expansion of enterprise education policy into primary and secondary education increases the likelihood that more learners will be sheep dipped in competitions, and competitive activities, without a clear recognition of the potential unintended effects. In this chapter, we employ a realist-informed approach to critically evaluate the theoretical basis that underpins the use of competitions and competitive learning activities in school-based enterprise education. We believe that our findings and subsequent recommendations will provide those who promote and practice the use of competitions with a richer, more sophisticated picture of the potential flaws within such activities.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Induction and migration of cryptic/defective Salmonella enterica prophages as a consequence of infection with lytic phages is an additional factor in stability of a coevolutionary vector

The influence of infection of natural isolates of Salmonella enterica with lytic (nonlysogenic) phages on the expression of resident cryptic or defective prophages in host bacteria was studied. The induction of defective/cryptic phages after infection with nonlysogenic phages and packaging of bacterial chromosomal fragments in capsids of defective phages is demonstrated. This may lead to migration and wide distribution of both the genomes of defective phages per se and various fragments of the bacterial chromosome (including pathogenic islands) in new bacterial strains with concomitant change of their properties, the acquired new features of pathogenicity among them.This work was supported by EC PhageVet-P (contract no. FOOD-CT-2005-007224) and by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant no. 08-04-00162-a). We gratefully acknowledge the support of organizations presenting the grants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A dimensioning and tolerancing methodology for concurrent engineering applications I: problem representation

This paper is the first of two which present a methodology for determining the dimensional specifications of all the component parts and sub-assemblies of a product according to their dimensional requirements. To achieve this goal, two major steps are followed, each of which is described in a paper. In the first paper, all relationships necessary for finding the values of dimensions and tolerances are represented in a matrix form, known as a Dimensional Requirements/Dimensions (DR/D) matrix. In the second paper, the values of individual dimensions and tolerances are determined by applying a comprehensive solution strategy to satisfy all the relationships represented in the DR/D matrix. The methodology is interactive and suitable for use in a concurrent engineering (CE) environment. The graphical tool presented in this paper will assist a CE team in visualizing the overall D&T problem and foreseeing the ramifications of decisions regarding the selection of dimensions and tolerances. This will assist the CE team to systematically determine all the controllable variables, such as dimensions, tolerances, and manufacturing processes