Quarry fines minimisation : can we really have 10mm aggregate with no fines?

In 2005, 216 million tonnes of saleable aggregate was produced in the UK; a corresponding 55 million tonnes of quarry fines and 24 million tonnes of quarry waste were also produced. The need to minimise fines production is driven by the Aggregates Levy (which has priced quarry fines out of the market in favour of recycled aggregate) and the Landfill Tax (which has made it expensive to dispose of fines). Attempts to reduce fines production often start with a process optimisation audit; the case study presented illustrates how fines production can be reduced, in this instance by up to 30%. Application of good practice in the crushing plant also helps to reduce fines production, including: reducing the crushing ratio to 6:1 or lower; maintaining uniform feed distribution; choke feeding (for compression crushers); reducing the speed of impact crushers; and reducing the degree of recirculation by increased screening efficiency. Future developments are likely to be driven by the need to respond to climate change. New crusher designs will be more automated, offer improved energy efficiency, have a greater production capacity and improved reliability

Cognitive Styles and Adaptive Web-based Learning

Adaptive hypermedia techniques have been widely used in web-based learning programs. Traditionally these programs have focused on adapting to the user’s prior knowledge, but recent research has begun to consider adapting to cognitive style. This study aims to determine whether offering adapted interfaces tailored to the user’s cognitive style would improve their learning performance and perceptions. The findings indicate that adapting interfaces based on cognitive styles cannot facilitate learning, but mismatching interfaces may cause problems for learners. The results also suggest that creating an interface that caters for different cognitive styles and gives a selection of navigational tools might be more beneficial for learners. The implications of these findings for the design of web-based learning programs are discussed

Literature search protocol for the African Education Research Database

This methodological note provides an overview of the ‘Mapping education research in sub-Saharan Africa’ project. It presents the protocols for the literature search, data extraction, and development of the African Education Research Database.This study was sponsored by Education Sub-Saharan Africa with financial support from Bosch Foundation and Jacobs Foundation

GB Energy Governance for Innovation, Sustainability and Affordability: An institutional framework

This is the final version. Available from the IGov website at the link in this record.IGov research sits within the University of Exeter’s Energy Policy Group and is an Established Career Fellowship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Governing for Innovation, Sustainability and Affordability: An institutional framework

This is the final version. Available from the IGov website at the link in this record.IGov research sits within the University of Exeter’s Energy Policy Group and is an Established Career Fellowship funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

Innovation and the governance of energy industry codes

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from BIEE via the link in this record.Energy industry codes set the rules for a large range of practices in gas and electricity networks and markets. They are a key but often overlooked element in the governance of energy. Crucially, for any aspect of energy policy to function well in practice, the relevant codes must be aligned with that policy. Central to this issue is code governance; i.e. the arrangements for changing or modifying codes. While Ofgem has a final veto, and can suggest where there is a need to make major changes to reflect new policies, the process of governing codes still lies primarily with the industry itself. It has long been recognised that there are a number of problems with the code governance system. One is the complexity and fragmentation of both codes themselves and the code governance process, which deter market entry and participation by smaller actors in the governance system. A second, related, issue is the dominance of incumbents on code panels and working groups. A third problem is a lack of fit between code objectives and wider policy objectives. Overall, the concern is that codes deter innovation. These problems inspired Ofgem’s 2008 Code Governance Review, but they have nevertheless persisted. Further reforms are being adopted under the CMA’s energy markets investigation and a further Ofgem review. However, these reforms remain piecemeal and incremental, and do not engage with the fundamental principle underlying code governance, which can be seen as one of ‘self-authored regulation’. This principle was designed to reduce regulatory risk and problems arising from informational asymmetries, but has opened up risks of regulatory and informational capture, and regulatory inertia. An alternative reform agenda, based on a strategic engagement with these trade-offs, is suggested here, which involves relocating code governance into the public sphere, not to Ofgem, but rather to a dedicated codes management bodyThis work was supported by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) [EP/K001582/1]

Cadaveric renal transplantation at the University of Pittsburgh: a two and one-half-year experience with the point system.

From January 1, 1986 to July 30, 1988, 530 consecutive cadaver kidney transplantations were performed with patient selection by a point system that took into account time awaiting an organ, donor-recipient matching, degree of presensitization, and some less important factors. The effect of the system was to diminish judgmental factors in case selection which in the past, had probably operated to the disadvantage of "undesirable" potential recipients, including older ones. Primary 1-year graft survival (74%) and graft survival after retransplantation (71%) were lower than in the earlier time. However, the results with triple-drug therapy using CsA, AZA and P demonstrated 88% 1-year graft survival for primary graft recipients and 74% in highly sensitized patients, with comparable patient mortality. These latter observations provide some assurance that the concepts of equitable access and efficient utilization of a scarce resource are not mutually exclusive

Methane storms as a driver of Titan's dune orientation

Titan's equatorial regions are covered by eastward propagating linear dunes. This direction is opposite to mean surface winds simulated by Global Climate Models (GCMs), which are oriented westward at these latitudes, similar to trade winds on Earth. Different hypotheses have been proposed to address this apparent contradiction, involving Saturn's gravitational tides, large scale topography or wind statistics, but none of them can explain a global eastward dune propagation in the equatorial band. Here we analyse the impact of equinoctial tropical methane storms developing in the superrotating atmosphere (i.e. the eastward winds at high altitude) on Titan's dune orientation. Using mesoscale simulations of convective methane clouds with a GCM wind profile featuring superrotation, we show that Titan's storms should produce fast eastward gust fronts above the surface. Such gusts dominate the aeolian transport, allowing dunes to extend eastward. This analysis therefore suggests a coupling between superrotation, tropical methane storms and dune formation on Titan. Furthermore, together with GCM predictions and analogies to some terrestrial dune fields, this work provides a general framework explaining several major features of Titan's dunes: linear shape, eastward propagation and poleward divergence, and implies an equatorial origin of Titan's dune sand.Comment: Published online on Nature Geoscience on 13 April 201

Research in African universities to inform the Sustainable Development Goal for Education: visibility, gaps and future priorities

African research suffers from a crisis of visibility, often overlooked in global and regional policy debates. To redress this historical neglect this paper offers insights from a cross-national study of education research in 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. African universities’ research outputs are analysed to identify patterns in publication type, thematic foci and research methods. The extent to which universities are generating knowledge relevant to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for Education is considered. Located within a broader project to catalogue education research in sub-Saharan Africa and develop an online database, this paper focuses on the publications of university-based researchers. The dataset comprises social science research outputs relevant to education policy and practice published over the period 2011-2017, which was identified through a structured search of the Scopus academic database and process of expert consultation. Building on previous national (da Silva & Oliveira 2017) and regional (MacLure 2006; Poirier et al. 2015) inventories of education research in Africa, this study is more comprehensive in scope, and the first to consider the extent to which research outputs are able to inform the SDG for Education. In exploring the degree of alignment, this study addresses the status and role of universities in relation to national, regional and global priorities and identifies strengths and potential gaps within the African research evidence base. It is hoped that this study will contribute to future research planning and policy prioritisation which capitalises on African knowledge and expertise.Education Sub Saharan Africa (ESSA), Jacobs Foundatio