Real-time monitoring of solid-phase peptide synthesis using a variable bed flow reactor

On-resin aggregation and incomplete amide bond formation are major challenges for solid-phase peptide synthesis that are difficult to be monitored in real-time. Incorporation of a pressure-based variable bed flow reactor into an automated solid-phase peptide synthesizer permitted real-time monitoring of resin swelling to determine amino acid coupling efficiency and on-resin aggregation

A typology of the effects of pre-construction delay for large hydropower projects

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Aqua~Media International Ltd.This article sets out to discuss the contentions that inadequate consideration is given to the costs and adverse effects of extended periods of project preparation (pre-construction) for hydropower projects and that the failure to deliver projects in a timely and efficient manner is wasteful of scarce resources in a developing country. The recommendation is that project staff, developers, government officials and IFIs should be made more aware of the cost of delay so that they could balance the costs and benefits of their actions.The authors appreciate the funding variously provided for this research from Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Newnham College Cambridge

Investigating the Perspectives of Social Value for a UK Flood Alleviation Scheme

The argument presented in this paper calls for an approach to flood infrastructure that considers not only the need for a technical perspective in design and construction but also a social perspective. As a result of climate change and changing weather patterns, it is predicted that more intense rainfall will be experienced, as well as rising sea levels, resulting in a greater number of people across the world becoming vulnerable to flood events. The need for flood alleviation infrastructure is therefore highly likely to increase. However industry professionals responsible for design and construction have often neglected to see flooding as a social problem; consequently they focus only on the technical and cost-effective, rather than the social end user orientated, aspects of their design solutions. This paper presents the preliminary findings from research that seeks to understand how the social value of flood alleviation schemes is interpreted and discussed. The results are derived from an examination of the Didsbury Flood Storage Basin Improvements scheme between April and August 2013 in Manchester, UK. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with both the community and those responsible for the design, delivery and construction of the scheme. The findings presented demonstrate how social value is articulated by both groups, and where a difference in interpretation and perspectives exists. These findings reinforce the argument that adopting a socially, as well as technically, considerate approach for future flood infrastructure design and construction is a necessity, as more communities around the world are exposed to the very real risk of flood events.This research was carried out with the aid of funding from an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) iCase doctoral award.This is the final version. It was first published by the Research Division of Social Sciences of ATINER in Athens Journal of Social Sciences at http://www.athensjournals.gr/social/Cover-2014-04social.pdf

Identifying which septic patients have increased mortality risk using severity scores:a cohort study

Background: Early aggressive therapy can reduce the mortality associated with severe sepsis but this relies on prompt recognition, which is hindered by variation among published severity criteria. Our aim was to test the performance of different severity scores in predicting mortality among a cohort of hospital inpatients with sepsis. Methods: We anonymously linked routine outcome data to a cohort of prospectively identified adult hospital inpatients with sepsis, and used logistic regression to identify associations between mortality and demographic variables, clinical factors including blood culture results, and six sets of severity criteria. We calculated performance characteristics, including area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC), of each set of severity criteria in predicting mortality. Results: Overall mortality was 19.4% (124/640) at 30 days after sepsis onset. In adjusted analysis, older age (odds ratio 5.79 (95% CI 2.87-11.70) for ≥80y versus <60y), having been admitted as an emergency (OR 3.91 (1.31-11.70) versus electively), and longer inpatient stay prior to sepsis onset (OR 2.90 (1.41-5.94) for >21d versus <4d), were associated with increased 30 day mortality. Being in a surgical or orthopaedic, versus medical, ward was associated with lower mortality (OR 0.47 (0.27-0.81) and 0.26 (0.11-0.63), respectively). Blood culture results (positive vs. negative) were not significantly association with mortality. All severity scores predicted mortality but performance varied. The CURB65 community-acquired pneumonia severity score had the best performance characteristics (sensitivity 81%, specificity 52%, positive predictive value 29%, negative predictive value 92%, for 30 day mortality), including having the largest AUROC curve (0.72, 95% CI 0.67-0.77). Conclusions: The CURB65 pneumonia severity score outperformed five other severity scores in predicting risk of death among a cohort of hospital inpatients with sepsis. The utility of the CURB65 score for risk-stratifying patients with sepsis in clinical practice will depend on replicating these findings in a validation cohort including patients with sepsis on admission to hospital

Customer perceptions of road infrastructure surface conditions

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from ICE Publishing via http://dx.doi.org/10.1680/iasma.15.00001 Performance is a key tenet of infrastructure management. This paper looks at a measure of service level in infrastructure, namely, road smoothness. Conventionally, studies of this type have focused on the technical measures themselves. This paper presents the results of the first stage of a New Zealand-based case study that, by contrast, explored the engineering processes through the lens of the outcomes they sought to achieve; in this instance, customer comfort. The paper asserts that if performance is to be determined by outcomes, then a holistic approach is needed, including a revised definition of technical performance. This research was funded by the NZTA

The literary function of Dietrich von Bern in Middle High German heroic epic and aventiure

Dietrich von Bern was a figure of great importance in the Middle Ages, both in literary and cultural terms, in the German speaking area and beyond. Unlike other important literary figures, however, such as the Arthurian or Carolingian heroes, the literary form of the works in which he is the central character show extreme divergence in terms of theme and material. The "historical" epics show Dietrich in an essentially tragic role which has its origins in the narrative material of the Germanic heroic tradition. The aventiuren, on the other hand, show Dietrich pitted against a variety of unusual opponents, whose origins lie essentially in popular folk lore, and whose basic function is undoubtedly that of entertainment. This dissertation examines these two traditions with the premise that each of the works within them can inform us as to the reception and significance of Dietrich as a literary and cultural symbol in the thirteenth century. It is argued that the treatment of the "historical" tradition, as borne witness by the extant historical epics, demonstrates that this narrative tradition had lost much of its cultural and social relevance by the time these works were produced. The aventiuren, however, represent the literary adaptation of pre-existing traditional narrative elements, in a form which is much more immediately accessible to the thirteenth century public. It is further suggested that this narrative tradition was of sufficient independent strength not only to become the vehicle for resistance to incoming literary and social trends, but also to exert a certain influence over the development and reception of, in particular, later Middle High German Arthurian romance

Behaviour of Mesoporous Silica (MCM-41) Supported Catalysts in Degradation Reactions

A research project was carried out to investigate several aspects of Mobil’s composition of matter #41 (MCM-41) pertaining to its potential application in water treatment technologies. The goal of the work was to lead to a recommendation of whether further work investigating this particular, potential application is warranted at the present time. A dissolution experiment indicated that Pd/MCM-41 is more stable in contact with deionized water at 25±0.1 degrees Celsius than purely siliceous MCM-41. Stability increases with increasing mass percent loading of Pd in the Pd/MCM-41 material. The increased stability was attributed to a reduction in Pd/MCM-41 surface areas relative to the parent MCM-41 material. The reduction in surface area is likely the result of partial or complete blocking of the MCM-41 mesopores by Pd centres. Ni/MCM-41 was less stable in contact with deionized water than MCM-41 and Pd/MCM-41. Both Ni and Pd impregnated MCM-41 exhibited enhanced stability relative to purely siliceous MCM-41 in 0.01 M NaCl solution. The stability enhancement was more pronounced for Pd/MCM-41. A long term dissolution experiment showed that MCM-41 retained its characteristic hexagonal mesopore structure and high surface area after 1,174 days of contact with deionized water. The ability of Pd/MCM-41 to absorb hydrogen was investigated in a series of experiments in pressure cells at 25±0.1 degrees Celsius and approximately 101.3 kPa. The Pd in Pd/MCM-41 was able to absorb 0.85±0.18 moles of hydrogen per mole of Pd present. This was a higher level of absorption than found in most other, published Pd-hydrogen investigations. It is proposed that enhanced uptake of hydrogen by Pd/MCM-41 may be the result of a higher proportion of surface and subsurface sites in the samples relative to other supported Pd materials. Batch and column trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation experiments indicated that Pd/MCM-41 has substantial longevity while degrading at least 91% of inflow TCE concentrations in hydrogen-saturated deionized water over 5,036 pore volumes. The average inflow TCE concentration was 4.94E-2 ± 4.87E-3 mmol/l with maximum and minimum concentrations of 7.24E-2 mmol/l and 2.63E-2 mmol/l, respectively. The dominant breakdown product of TCE degradation in the presence of Pd/MCM-41 was ethane. Minimal concentrations of intermediate degradation products were detected, if at all. This result suggests that TCE completely degrades to ethane before desorbing from the Pd/MCM-41 surface. It was shown that Pd/MCM-41 was more effective and had better longevity at treating inflow TCE compared to a lower cost substitute, Pd/sand. Unlike Pd/MCM-41, Ni/MCM-41 did not induce degradation of TCE. Column experiments using Ni-Pd/MCM-41 materials indicated that while the material does induce degradation of TCE, the Pd cannot be substituted for Ni on a 1:1 basis while still obtaining similar degradation results as Pd/MCM-41. Pd/MCM-41 was not able to substantially reduce initial concentrations of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) in a batch experiment. A small reduction in the initial HMPA concentration was attributed to adsorption onto the Pd/MCM-41 surfaces rather than degradation of the compound. Several of the above-mentioned results suggest that MCM-41 and Pd/MCM-41 show great potential for being incorporated into water treatment technologies. Both the long term stability of the material in contact with deionized water and the longevity of a Pd/MCM-41 column in treating inflow TCE are very promising results with respect to applications in water treatment technologies. It is recommended that future work be pursued with this goal in mind

Changing Principals\u27 Leadership through Feedback and Coaching

Researchers Leonard Bickman, Ellen Goldring, Peter Goff, and J. Edward Guthrie conducted a randomized experiment of principals in a large urban school district to explore if coaching, when combined with feedback from teachers, changes principals’ leadership practices. This brief summarizes the research findings regarding the impact of the feedback and coaching intervention on principals’ leadership behaviors

Sustainable water pumping in refugee camps: costs and benefits of over-sized solar PV systems

Residents of refugee camps often face challenges to accessing efficient energy for domestic needs and livelihoods. This paper presents a case study from Nyarugusu Refugee Camp in Tanzania, where a water pumping system was powered by a solar PV / diesel hybrid system, and considers optimising energy generation and valuing surplus energy, so the surplus can be utilised to provide social benefits to residents. The results provide validation of solar energy data sources and projected PV installation costs, and show the marginal capital cost/kWh of over-sizing a solar PV system is attractive beyond 50% surplus capacity where cost/kWh levels slightly below $0.10/kWh. The proposed sustainability assessment framework includes new parameters; Gross Productive Energy (GPe) and Productive Energy Index (PeI), which provide a means of quantifying surplus energy utilisation, and examples successfully assessed included school computers, mobile handset charging, and an ‘enterprise hub’ building which could support social cohesion, knowledge transfer and income generation initiatives