6,961 research outputs found
Material Flow Analysis: Outcome Focus (MFA:OF) for Elucidating the Role of Infrastructure in the Development of a Liveable City
Engineered infrastructures (i.e., utilities, transport & digital) underpin modern society. Delivering services via these
is especially challenging in cities where differing infrastructures form a web of interdependencies. There must be a
step change in how infrastructures deliver services to cities, if those cities are to be liveable in the future (i.e., provide
for citizen wellbeing, produce less CO2 & ensure the security of the resources they use). Material Flow Analysis
(MFA) is a useful methodology for understanding how infrastructures transfer resources to, within and from cities
and contribute to the city’s metabolism. Liveable Cities, a five-year research programme was established to identify
& test radical engineering interventions leading to liveable cities of the future. In this paper, the authors propose an
outcome-focussed variation on the MFA methodology (MFA: OF), evidenced through work on the resource flows of
Birmingham, UK. These flows include water, energy, food & carbon-intensive materials (e.g., steel, paper, glass), as
well as their associated waste. The contribution MFA: OF makes to elucidating the interactions & interdependencies
between the flows is highlighted and suggestions are made for how it can contribute to the (radical) rethinking of the
engineered infrastructure associated with such flow
A polyphonic acoustic vortex and its complementary chords
Using an annular phased array of eight loudspeakers, we generate sound beams that simultaneously contain phase singularities at a number of different frequencies. These frequencies correspond to different musical notes and the singularities can be set to overlap along the beam axis, creating a polyphonic acoustic vortex. Perturbing the drive amplitudes of the speakers means that the singularities no longer overlap, each note being nulled at a slightly different lateral position, where the volume of the other notes is now nonzero. The remaining notes form a tri-note chord. We contrast this acoustic phenomenon to the optical case where the perturbation of a white light vortex leads to a spectral spatial distribution
IgG anti-apolipoprotein A-1 antibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are associated with disease activity and corticosteroid therapy: an observational study.
IgG anti-apolipoprotein A-1 (IgG anti-apoA-1) antibodies are present in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and may link inflammatory disease activity and the increased risk of developing atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in these patients. We carried out a rigorous analysis of the associations between IgG anti-apoA-1 levels and disease activity, drug therapy, serology, damage, mortality and CVD events in a large British SLE cohort
Wear and Friction Modeling on Lifeboat Launch Systems
The RNLI provides search and rescue cover along the UK and RoI coast using a variety of lifeboats
and launch techniques. In locations where there is no natural harbour it is necessary to use a slipway
to launch the lifeboat into the sea. Lifeboat slipway stations consist of an initial section where the
boat is held on rollers followed by an inclined keelway lined with low friction composite materials,
the lifeboat is released from the top of the slipway and proceeds under its own weight into the water.
The lifeboat is later recovered using a winch line. It is common to manually apply grease to the
composite slipway lining before each launch and recovery in order to ensure sufficiently low friction
for successful operation. With the introduction of the Tamar class lifeboat it is necessary to upgrade
existing boathouses and standardise slipway operational procedures to ensure consistent operation.
The higher contact pressures associated with the new lifeboat have led to issues of high friction and
wear on the composite slipway linings and the manual application of grease to reduce friction is to be
restricted due to environmental impact and cost factors. This paper presents a multidisciplinary
approach to modelling slipway panel wear and friction using tribometer testing in conjunction with
finite element analysis and slipway condition surveys to incorporate common real-world effects such
as panel misalignments. Finally, it is shown that a freshwater lubrication system is effective,
reducing cost and environmental impacts while maintaining good friction and wear performance
Entanglement of arbitrary superpositions of modes within two-dimensional orbital angular momentum state spaces
We use spatial light modulators (SLMs) to measure correlations between arbitrary superpositions of orbital angular momentum (OAM) states generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion. Our technique allows us to fully access a two-dimensional OAM subspace described by a Bloch sphere, within the higher-dimensional OAM Hilbert space. We quantify the entanglement through violations of a Bell-type inequality for pairs of modal superpositions that lie on equatorial, polar, and arbitrary great circles of the Bloch sphere. Our work shows that SLMs can be used to measure arbitrary spatial states with a fidelity sufficient for appropriate quantum information processing systems
TB107: Effects of Some Naturally Occurring Chemicals and Extracts of Non-Host Plants on Feeding by Spruce Budworm Larvae (Choristoneura fumiferana)
The authors of this report describe a new laboratory feeding bioassay and its application to the investigation of the effect of a large number of plant extracts and various natural products on feeding by sixth stage spruce budworms.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1091/thumbnail.jp
Transmission dynamic of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a medical intensive care unit
Spherically Symmetric Solutions to Fourth-Order Theories of Gravity
Gravitational theories generated from Lagrangians of the form f(R) are
considered. The spherically symmetric solutions to these equations are
discussed, paying particular attention to features that differ from the
standard Schwarzschild solution. The asymptotic form of solutions is described,
as is the lack of validity of Birkhoff's theorem. Exact solutions are presented
which illustrate these points and their stability and geodesics are
investigated.Comment: 10 pages, published versio
A dynamical system approach to higher order gravity
The dynamical system approach has recently acquired great importance in the
investigation on higher order theories of gravity. In this talk I review the
main results and I give brief comments on the perspectives for further
developments.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables, talk given at IRGAC 2006, July 200
An international comparison of surface texture parameters quantification on polymer artefacts using optical instruments
An international comparison of optical instruments measuring polymer surfaces with arithmetic mean height values in the sub-micrometre range has been carried out. The comparison involved sixteen optical surface texture instruments (focus variation instruments, confocal microscopes and coherent scanning interferometers) from thirteen research laboratories worldwide. Results demonstrated that: (i) Agreement among different instruments could be achieved to a limited extent; (ii) standardised guidelines for uncertainty evaluation of areal surface parameters are needed for users; (iii) it is essential that the performance characteristics (and especially the spatial frequency response) of an instrument is understood prior to a measurement
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