Convex hull method for the determination of vapour-liquid equilibria (VLE) phase diagrams for binary and ternary systems

Amieibibama Joseph wishes to thank Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) for their financial support which has made this research possible.Peer reviewedPostprin

Methods for identifying surgical wound infection after discharge from hospital: a systematic review.

Background: Wound infections are a common complication of surgery that add significantly to the morbidity of patients and costs of treatment. The global trend towards reducing length of hospital stay post-surgery and the increase in day case surgery means that surgical site infections (SSI) will increasingly occur after hospital discharge. Surveillance of SSIs is important because rates of SSI are viewed as a measure of hospital performance, however accurate detection of SSIs post-hospital discharge is not straightforward. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of methods of post discharge surveillance for surgical wound infection and undertook a national audit of methods of post-discharge surveillance for surgical site infection currently used within United Kingdom NHS Trusts. Results: Seven reports of six comparative studies which examined the validity of post-discharge surveillance methods were located; these involved different comparisons and some had methodological limitations, making it difficult to identify an optimal method. Several studies evaluated automated screening of electronic records and found this to be a useful strategy for the identification of SSIs that occurred post discharge. The audit identified a wide range of relevant post-discharge surveillance programmes in England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; however, these programmes used varying approaches for which there is little supporting evidence of validity and/or reliability. Conclusion: In order to establish robust methods of surveillance for those surgical site infections that occur post discharge, there is a need to develop a method of case ascertainment that is valid and reliable post discharge. Existing research has not identified a valid and reliable method. A standardised definition of wound infection ( e. g. that of the Centres for Disease Control) should be used as a basis for developing a feasible, valid and reliable approach to defining post discharge SSI. At a local level, the method used to ascertain post discharge SSI will depend upon the purpose of the surveillance, the nature of available routine data and the resources available

Assessing meiofaunal variation among individuals utilising morphological and molecular approaches: an example using the Tardigrada

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Meiofauna – multicellular animals captured between sieve size 45 μm and 1000 μm – are a fundamental component of terrestrial, and marine benthic ecosystems, forming an integral element of food webs, and playing a critical roll in nutrient recycling. Most phyla have meiofaunal representatives and studies of these taxa impact on a wide variety of sub-disciplines as well as having social and economic implications. However, studies of variation in meiofauna are presented with several important challenges. Isolating individuals from a sample substrate is a time consuming process, and identification requires increasingly scarce taxonomic expertise. Finding suitable morphological characters in many of these organisms is often difficult even for experts. Molecular markers are extremely useful for identifying variation in morphologically conserved organisms. However, for many species markers need to be developed <it>de novo</it>, while DNA can often only be extracted from pooled samples in order to obtain sufficient quantity and quality. Importantly, multiple independent markers are required to reconcile gene evolution with species evolution. In this primarily methodological paper we provide a proof of principle of a novel and effective protocol for the isolation of meiofauna from an environmental sample. We also go on to illustrate examples of the implications arising from subsequent screening for genetic variation at the level of the individual using ribosomal, mitochondrial and single copy nuclear markers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To isolate individual tardigrades from their habitat substrate we used a non-toxic density gradient media that did not interfere with downstream biochemical processes. Using a simple DNA release technique and nested polymerase chain reaction with universal primers we were able amplify multi-copy and, to some extent, single copy genes from individual tardigrades. Maximum likelihood trees from ribosomal 18S, mitochondrial <it>cytochrome oxidase subunit </it>1, and the single copy nuclear gene <it>Wingless </it>support a recent study indicating that the family Hypsibiidae is a non-monophyletic group. From these sequences we were able to detect variation between individuals at each locus that allowed us to identify the presence of cryptic taxa that would otherwise have been overlooked.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Molecular results obtained from individuals, rather than pooled samples, are a prerequisite to enable levels of variation to be placed into context. In this study we have provided a proof of principle of this approach for meiofaunal tardigrades, an important group of soil biota previously not considered amenable to such studies, thereby paving the way for more comprehensive phylogenetic studies using multiple nuclear markers, and population genetic studies.</p

Плазмохимическая установка для конверсии природного газа в углерод и водород

Приводится описание плазмохимической установки, в которой реализован новый способ конверсии природного газа в водород и углерод при совмещенном воздействии катализатора и плазмы СВЧ-разряда. Рассмотрены основные технологические параметры, проанализированы методы и средства их контроля. Представлены некоторые результаты экспериментов по конверсии природного газа в СВЧ-реакторе с металлическим катализатором на основе Fe и Ni

Locating the source of an acoustic wave equation using likelihood estimates from the kalman filter applied to surface readings

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University LondonCardiovascular disease (CVD) was the second-largest cause of death in the United Kingdom in 2014 [1], accounting for 32% of all deaths in 2009 [2]. CVD encompasses many diseases, one of which is coronary artery disease (CAD), otherwise known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty material, called plaque, inside the wall of the artery. Over time, this plaque will grow too large or break o , causing a blockage resulting in a heart attack. Currently, mortality from CAD has decreased by 72% between 1979 and 2013 [3]. However, predictions show that if the increasing trend of Body Mass Index (BMI) continues, then mortality from CAD could start increasing again [4]. There are several di erent methods currently available to the National Health Service (NHS) to diagnose CAD. However, there are long waiting lists and expensive costs associated with current diagnosis methods. Our aim is to look at a non-invasive approach of diagnosing CAD. We have limited our investigation to simple model problems. Therefore, further work would be required to consider more complex cases which align with the real-world application. In this thesis, we consider both 1-dimensional (1D) and 2-dimensional (2D) problems modelled by an acoustic wave equation with a forcing function which attempts to emulate a localised disturbance caused by CAD.We use an explicit nite di erence method (FDM) to approximate the solution in our partial di erential equation (PDE) and discard the disturbance location used. Having added noise to these approximations in an attempt to mimic noise from real readings, we record these approximations at speci c locations on the surface of our domains to imitate data collected from actual sensors. Using this data in the Kalman lter (KF), where guesses for the disturbance location are made, we can estimate the approximation of u throughout our domain. Using data generated by the KF, we compute likelihood estimates for each guess made and obtain the most probable disturbance location used to generate our sensor readings.Engineering and Physical Science Research Counci

Beyond Big or Little Science: Understanding Data Lifecycles in Astronomy and the Deep Subseafloor Biosphere

For decades, the big science and little science dichotomy has served as a starting point for many analyses of scientific research and data practices, including studies used to inform the construction of scientific knowledge infrastructures. We challenge this dichotomy by presenting findings from longitudinal, qualitative case studies of data lifecycles in two scientific domains, each centered around a large, distributed scientific collaboration. One is astronomy and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The other is the deep subseafloor biosphere and the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI). We show that some critical stages of the data lifecycle in each domain unfold in big science contexts while other critical stages occur in little science contexts. Furthermore, these big and little science contexts shape each other dynamically. This challenging of the big and little science dichotomy has implications for the building of scientific knowledge infrastructures, including those supporting data management.ye

Uncertainty About the Long-Term: Digital Libraries, Astronomy Data, and Open Source Software

Digital library developers make critical design and implementation decisions in the face of uncertainties about the future. We present a qualitative case study of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), a major astronomy project that will collect and make available large-scale datasets. LSST developers make decisions now, while facing uncertainties about its period of operations (2022-2032). Uncertainties we identify include topics researchers will seek to address, tools and expertise, and availability of other infrastructures to exploit LSST observations. LSST is using an open source approach to developing and releasing its data management software. We evaluate benefits and burdens of this approach as a strategy for addressing uncertainty. Benefits include: enabling software to adapt to researchers’ changing needs; embedding LSST standards and tools in community practices; and promoting interoperability with other infrastructures. Burdens include: open source community management; documentation requirements; and trade-offs between software speed and accessibility.Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (#20113194, #201514001)Ope

Environmental, Social, Governance & Financial Performance Disclosure for Large Firms: Is This Different for SME Firms?

This study examines the association between a firm’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and financial performance by examining the extent to which stakeholder and legitimacy theory help explain the effects on explanatory variables used in the study. Moreover, the study makes a novel contribution to existing ESG and performance-based studies by exploring the explanatory effects of ESG and firm performance over ten years. In addition, the study discusses the ESG-performance link of SMEs, thus advancing existing knowledge related to ESG in respect of SME performance. The study uses an extensive Australian sample from Bloomberg’s database from 2007 to 2017, while panel regression analysis is applied to investigate the relationship between a firm’s ESG performance and profitability. The robustness of the results is evaluated after incorporating several robustness checks to address methodological, endogeneity and causality issues related to a firm’s ESG performance disclosure. The empirical findings of this study suggest that improving a firm’s ESG performance is beneficial to all stakeholders of large firms in the long run but not for SME companies. The theoretical model suggests that listed SMEs do not disclose their ESG activities for various reasons, such as a lack of necessary resources. Specifically, the study extends scholarly understanding of existing theory and discusses the significance of the findings for future research

Amundsen Sea Mollusca from the BIOPEARL II expedition

Information regarding the molluscs in this dataset is based on the epibenthic sledge (EBS) samples collected during the cruise BIOPEARL II / JR179 RRS James Clark Ross in the austral summer 2008. A total of 35 epibenthic sledge deployments have been performed at five locations in the Amundsen Sea at Pine Island Bay (PIB) and the Amundsen Sea Embayment (ASE) at depths ranging from 476 to 3501m. This presents a unique and important collection for the Antarctic benthic biodiversity assessment as the Amundsen Sea remains one of the least known regions in Antarctica. Indeed the work presented in this dataset is based on the first benthic samples collected with an EBS in the Amundsen Sea. However we assume that the data represented are an underestimation of the real fauna present in the Amundsen Sea. In total 9261 specimens belonging to 6 classes 55 families and 97 morphospecies were collected. The species richness per station varied between 6 and 43. Gastropoda were most species rich 50 species followed by Bivalvia (37), Aplacophora (5), Scaphopoda (3) and one from each of Polyplacophora and Monoplacophora