10,037 research outputs found
Public perceptions of recycled water: a survey of visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Park
The Old Ford Water Recycling Plant, operated by Thames Water, was used to supply non-potable recycled blackwater to some of the venues at the London 2012 Games. In an effort to learn from this experience, Thames Water commissioned a survey of visitors to the Olympic Park during the Games to explore public responses to the water recycling project. Results show a very high level of support for using non-potable recycled blackwater, both in public venues and in homes. Such findings may indicate a growing receptivity towards this technology, and show that Thames Water (and other private water companies) are well placed to encourage and even lead public discussion around the role of water reuse in the future of urban water supplies
Theory, design and application of gradient adaptive lattice filters
SIGLELD:D48933/84 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo
Truth, fact, fiction, lies: Italo svevo’s search for the subject
Cogliendo lo spunto di Altieri, che cerca di superare la decostruzionepostmoderna del soggetto, si vuol suggerire che la crisi del soggetto è giàdecisamente attraversata dallo Svevo nell’arco degli anni a cavallo dellaGrande Guerra e segnatamente nella Coscienza di Zeno. È proprio laguerra che rende imprescindibile per lo scrittore il quesito autobiografico sulleproprie responsabilità e sulla sua autonomia come individuo, come anche ilquesito antropologico sul come e perché della guerra. Si cerca qui,soppesando recenti contributi critici su Svevo, di tracciare le linee deltentativo di Svevo di “ricostituire” l’io attraverso lo scrivere tramite il rapportoinstaurato tra la saltuaria “coscienza” del protagonista, gli altri personaggi,l’autore implicito e il lettore
The occurrence and pathogenicity of Clostridium oedematiens in animals
Clostridium oedematiens (Clostridium novyi) is an anaerobic spore
forming bacillus. The organism is an important pathogen of sheep
and cattle, and can be responsible for gas gangrene in humans. Four
tykes designated A, B, C and D are recognised on the basis of serological neutralisation tests. Cl. oedematiens is generally regarded
as being very difficult to handle in the laboratory; thus, the recent
introduction of a commercially available fluorescent globulin for the
identification of this organism has encouraged. workers to disregard
the necessity for confirmatory isolation and typing procedures.Reliable techniques for the isolation and subculture of Ci. oedematiens
are an essential prerequisite for a study of the occurrence
of this organism, and my initial work soon confirmed that type B, C
and D strains of Cl. oedematiens are Lifficul.t to subculture with
confidence on solid media. It became clear that much preliminary
laboratory work is necessary before a field investigation could yield
meaningful data.The writer considered that the irregular growth of this organism
on solid media might be related to (i) failures in the anaerobic
environment; (ii) a requirement for a particularly complex nutritional
medium; or (iii) the viability of the inoculu'E and each of
these variables is carefully studied in the present work. The first
part describes a reappraisal of the technique for setting up a modern anaerobic jar. Variations in the technique are assessed, and it is
concluded that the irregular growth of these strains is not necessarily
related to faults in normal anaerobic procedure.A variety of culture media are tested for the ability to support
regular growth of Cl. oedematiens. The aim. of these experiments is
to determine whether the organism crows better on complex media than
on relatively simple media; it is found that irregular growth occurs
on both types of media.The viability of a number of different inocula are studied in
order to test the assumption that an inoculum containing spores shoul
be viable. The results of these experiments are compatible with the
view that consistent growth of Cl. oedematiens on solid media may be
related to the spore content of the inoculum; however, it is likely
that other factors are involved, and a theory is developed that a low
redox potential in the mioroenvironment is also necessary for the
successful outgrowth of viable particles.The epidemiological distribution of this organism can be assessed
only if adequate descriptions and techniques of identification are
available. Thus, the characters of the Cl. oedematiens group are
confirmed and extended during the present work. These studies inelude
(i) a critical evaluation of the fluorescent staining procedure
(ii) a reappraisal of the fermentation reactions of the group;
(iii) an assessment of the value of solid indicator media in the
identification of this organism; (iv) an intensive study of the soluble products of Cl. oedematiens; and (v) the development of a practical system of typing with cultures grown in cooked-meet medium.The soluble products of the organism are investigated in various
types of media, and particular attention is paid to the production of
the factors that are responsible for the pathogenic effects in-vivo.
Culture products of Ci. oedematiens are fractionated and it is found
that the biological activities are readily separated. by Orel-filtration
procedures. A thin-layer chromatographic technique is developed in
an attempt to identify more precisely the factors that affect egg -
yolk emulsion. A cytopathic effect that is produced by the soluble
products of Cl. oedematiens is investigated, and is provisionally
attributed to the presence of the alpha antigen.The experimental observations are discussed in relation to our
present knowledge of Cl. oede .atiens e d future lines of research are
indicated
Lanthanide(III) complexes of rhodamine-DO3A conjugates as agents for dual-modal imaging
Two novel dual-modal MRI/optical probes based on a rhodamine-DO3A conjugate have been prepared. The bis aqua-Gd(III) complex Gd.L1 and mono aqua-Gd(III) complex Gd.L2 behave as dual-modal imaging probes (r1 = 8.5 and 3.8 mM-1s-1 for Gd.L1 and Gd.L2 respectively; λex = 560 nm and λem = 580 nm for both complexes). The rhodamine fragment is pH sensitive and upon lowering of pH an increase in fluorescence intensity is observed as the spirolactam ring opens to give the highly fluorescent form of the molecule. The ligands are bimodal when coordinated to Tb(III) ions, inducing fluorescence from both the lanthanide center and the rhodamine fluorophore, on two independent time-frames. Confocal imaging experiments were carried out to establish the localization of Gd.L2 in HEK cells. Co-localisation with MitoTracker® Green confirmed that Gd.L2 compartmentalizes in the mitochondria. Gd.L2 was also evaluated as an MRI probe for imaging tumors in BALB/c nude mice bearing M21 xenografts. A 36.5% decrease in T1 within the tumor was observed 30 minutes post injection showing that Gd.L2 is preferentially up taken in the tumor. Gd.L2 is the first small molecule MR/fluorescent dual-modal imaging agent to display an off-on pH switch upon its preferential uptake within the more acidic micro-environment of tumor cells
Stability of hexagonal solidification patterns
We investigate the dynamics of cellular solidification patterns using
three-dimensional phase-field simulations. The cells can organize into stable
hexagonal patterns or exhibit unsteady evolutions. We identify the relevant
secondary instabilities of regular hexagonal arrays and find that the stability
boundaries depend significantly on the strength of crystalline anisotropy. We
also find multiplet states that can be reached by applying well-defined
perturbations to a pre-existing hexagonal array.Comment: Minor changes, mainly in introduction and conclusion, one reference
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Mentoring And Social Capital: Learning And Perceived Networking Opportunities For Women In Central Pennsylvania Rotary Clubs
This paper explores learning in Rotary clubs that have newly allowed women as members. The main focus of the paper is women’s perception of learning within the confines of these clubs with respect to mentoring and social capital’s existence. The study explores gaps in power
within a middle-class Pennsylvania society. This study used phenomenology and grounded theory to investigate the lived experiences of women that are members of Rotary clubs in central Pennsylvania
Multi-physics ensemble snow modelling in the western Himalaya
Combining multiple data sources with multi-physics simulation frameworks offers new potential to extend snow model inter-comparison efforts to the Himalaya. As such, this study evaluates the sensitivity of simulated regional snow cover and runoff dynamics to different snowpack process representations. The evaluation is based on a spatially distributed version of the Factorial Snowpack Model (FSM) set up for the Astore catchment in the upper Indus basin. The FSM multi-physics model was driven by climate fields from the High Asia Refined Analysis (HAR) dynamical downscaling product. Ensemble performance was evaluated primarily using MODIS remote sensing of snow-covered area, albedo and land surface temperature. In line with previous snow model inter-comparisons, no single FSM configuration performs best in all of the years simulated. However, the results demonstrate that performance variation in this case is at least partly related to inaccuracies in the sequencing of inter-annual variation in HAR climate inputs, not just FSM model limitations. Ensemble spread is dominated by interactions between parameterisations of albedo, snowpack hydrology and atmospheric stability effects on turbulent heat fluxes. The resulting ensemble structure is similar in different years, which leads to systematic divergence in ablation and mass balance at high elevations. While ensemble spread and errors are notably lower when viewed as anomalies, FSM configurations show important differences in their absolute sensitivity to climate variation. Comparison with observations suggests that a subset of the ensemble should be retained for climate change projections, namely those members including prognostic albedo and liquid water retention, refreezing and drainage processes
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