Fabric anisotropy & DEM informed two-surface hyperplasticity : constitutive formulation, asymptotic states & experimental validation.

In geotechnical analysis continuum idealisations of the bulk material still provide the most appropriate approach for engineers designing large-scale structures. In this area, the most successful framework for describing the behaviour of soils is Critical State (CS) soil mechanics. However, the findings from discrete element method (DEM) analysis, such as the uniqueness of the CS, can provide invaluable information in the development such models. This paper details the key concepts behind a two-surface hyperplasticity model (?) whose development was informed by recent DEM findings on the uniqueness of the CS. Asymptotic states of the model will be confirmed and the DEM-continuum-experimental loop will be closed through comparison of the developed model with experimental data on coarse-grained particulate media. This will demonstrate, that providing the previous stress history is accounted for, the proposed model is suitable for a variety of particulate media

Economics knowledge, attitudes and experience of student teachers in Scotland

There is a move away from teaching economics as a separate subject in Scotland. It is now mainly taught within Business Management courses in upper secondary school and is embedded within several subject areas in both primary and early secondary curricula, a move that is in step with broader curricular aims to break down barriers among subjects. This writing discusses the need for clearly situated teaching and learning of economics, provided by teachers provided by teachers who have sufficient background knowledge to devise effective contexts for learning, whether or not it is taught as a discrete subject. The results of a survey of student teachers' levels of economic literacy are analysed and recommendations made for the preparation of teachers to deal effectively with embedded approaches to teaching about economics

Non-stationarity in daily and sub-daily intense rainfall – Part 1: Sydney, Australia

This study was driven by a need to clarify how variations in climate might affect intense rainfall and the potential for flooding. Sub-daily durations are of particular interest for urban applications. Worldwide, few such observation-based studies exist, which is mainly due to limitations in data. While there are still large discrepancies between precipitation data sets from observations and models, both show that there is a tendency for moist regions to become wetter and for dry regions to become drier. However, changes in extreme conditions may show the opposite sign to those in average conditions. Where changes in observed intense precipitation have been studied, this has typically been for daily durations or longer. <br><br> The purpose of this two-part study is to examine daily and sub-daily rainfall extremes for evidence of non-stationarity. Here the problem was addressed by supplementing one long record (Part 1) by a set of shorter records for a 30-yr concurrent period (Part 2). Variations in frequency and magnitude of rainfall extremes across durations from 6 min to 72 h were assessed using data from sites in the south-east of Australia. For the analyses presented in this paper, a peaks-over-threshold approach was chosen since it allows investigating changes in frequency as well as magnitude. Non-parametric approaches were used to assess changes in frequency, magnitude, and quantile estimates as well as the statistical significance of changes for one station (Sydney Observatory Hill) for the period 1921 to 2005. Deviations from the long-term average vary with season, duration, and threshold. The effects of climate variations are most readily detected for the highest thresholds. Deviations from the long-term average tend to be larger for frequencies than for magnitudes, and changes in frequency and magnitude may have opposite signs. <br><br> Investigations presented in this paper show that variations in frequency and magnitude of events at daily durations are a poor indicator of changes at sub-daily durations. Studies like the one presented here should be undertaken for other regions to allow the identification of regions with significant increase/decrease in intense rainfall, whether there are common features with regards to duration and season exhibiting most significant changes (which in turn could lead to establishing a theoretical framework), and assist in validation of projections of rainfall extremes

Simulation Study on the Open-Circuit Voltage of Amorphous Silicon p-i-n Solar Cells Using AMPS-1D

AMPS-1D (Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structure) simulation program was used to simulate Amorphous Silicon p-i-n Solar Cell. The simulated result of illuminated current density-voltage characteristics was in a good agreement with experimental values. The dependence of the open-circuit voltage on the characteristics of the a-Si:H intrinsic layer was investigated. The simulation result shows that the open-circuit voltage does not depend on the thickness of the intrinsic layer. The open-circuit voltage decreases when the front contact barrier height is small or the energy gap of the intrinsic layer is small. The open-circuit voltage increases when the distribution of the tail states is sharp or the capture cross sections of these states are small. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3432

Integrating food security into public health and provincial government departments in British Columbia, Canada

Food security policy, programs, and infrastructure have been incorporated into Public Health and other areas of the Provincial Government in British Columbia, including the adoption of food security as a Public Health Core Program. A policy analysis of the integration into Public Health is completed by merging findings from 48 key informant interviews conducted with government, civil society, and food supply chain representatives involved in the initiatives along with relevant documents and participant/direct observations. The paper then examines the results within the context of historic and international trends and theoretical models of food policy, community food security, and applied policy research. Public Health re-emerged as a driver of food security in BC—both as a key player and in positing the public’s health as a driver in food security and food systems. While Public Health’s lead role supported an increase in legitimacy for food security in BC, interviewees described a clash of cultures between Public Health and civil society. The clash of cultures occurred partly as a result of Public Health’s limited food security mandate and top down approach. Consequently civil society voice at the provincial level was marginalized. A social policy movement toward a new political paradigm—regulatory pluralism—calls for greater engagement of civil society, and for all sectors to work together toward common goals. A new, emerging policy map is proposed for analyzing the dynamics of food security and health promotion initiatives in BC

Breakdown coefficients and scaling properties of rain fields

International audienceThe theory of scale similarity and breakdown coefficients is applied here to intermittent rainfall data consisting of time series and spatial rain fields. The probability distributions (pdf) of the logarithm of the breakdown coefficients are the principal descriptor used. Rain fields are distinguished as being either multiscaling or multiaffine depending on whether the pdfs of breakdown coefficients are scale similar or scale dependent, respectively. Parameter estimation techniques are developed which are applicable to both multiscaling and multiaffine fields. The scale parameter (width), ?, of the pdfs of the log-breakdown coefficients is a measure of the intermittency of a field. For multiaffine fields, this scale parameter is found to increase with scale in a power-law fashion consistent with a bounded-cascade picture of rainfall modelling. The resulting power-law exponent, H, is indicative of the smoothness of the field. Some details of breakdown coefficient analysis are addressed and a theoretical link between this analysis and moment scaling analysis is also presented. Breakdown coefficient properties of cascades are also investigated in the context of parameter estimation for modelling purposes

Clinical- and cost-effectiveness of a nurse led self-management intervention to reduce emergency visits by people with epilepsy

People with chronic epilepsy (PWE) often make costly, and clinically unnecessary emergency department (ED) visits. Some do it frequently. No studies have examined interventions to reduce them. An intervention delivered by an epilepsy nurse specialist (ENS) might reduce visits. The rationale is it may optimize patients' self-management skills and knowledge of appropriate ED use. We examined such an intervention's clinical- and cost-effectiveness. Eighty-five adults with epilepsy were recruited from three London EDs with similar catchment populations. Forty-one PWE recruited from two EDs received treatment-as-usual (TAU) and formed the comparison group. The remaining 44 PWE were recruited from the ED of a hospital that had implemented a new ENS service for PWE attending ED. These participants formed the intervention group. They were offered 2 one-to-one sessions with an ENS, plus TAU. Participants completed questionnaires on health service use and psychosocial well-being at baseline, 6- and 12-month follow-up. Covariates were identified and adjustments made. Sixty-nine (81%) participants were retained at follow-up. No significant effect of the intervention on ED visits at 12 months or on other outcomes was found. However, due to less time as inpatients, the average service cost for intervention participants over follow-up was less than for TAU participants' (adjusted difference £558, 95% CI, −£2409, £648). Covariates most predictive of subsequent ED visits were patients' baseline feelings of stigmatization due to epilepsy and low confidence in managing epilepsy. The intervention did not lead to a reduction in ED use, but did not cost more, partly because those receiving the intervention had shorter hospital admissions. Our findings on long-term ED predictors clarifies what causes ED use, and suggests that future interventions might focus more on patients' perceptions of stigma and on their confidence in managing epilepsy. If addressed, ED visits might be reduced and efficiency-savings generated

Validation of a nowcasting technique from a hydrological perspective

Nowcasting precipitation is a key point to anticipate risks in flood warning systems. In this environment, weather radars are very useful because of the high resolution of their measurements both in time and space. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of a recently proposed nowcasting technique (SPROG) from a hydrological point of view. This technique is based on the advection of radar precipitation fields and its main point is that the forecasted fields get smoothed as the forecasting time increases, to filter out the smallest scales of the field when they become unpredictable. The evaluation of the forecasted precipitation fields is done in two different ways: a) comparing them against the actually measured precipitation fields and b) according to the concept of “hydrological validation”, comparing the hydrographs calculated by a distributed rainfall-runoff model simulating operational conditions (using the forecasted precipitation fields) against the hydrographs calculated by the model with the entire series of radar measurements. This part of the study has been carried out in the framework of the Besos basin flood forecasting system.Postprint (published version