Stability analysis of intermediate boundary conditions in approximate factorization schemes

The paper discusses the role of the intermediate boundary condition in the AF2 scheme used by Holst for simulation of the transonic full potential equation. It is shown that the treatment suggested by Holst led to a restriction on the time step and ways to overcome this restriction are suggested. The discussion is based on the theory developed by Gustafsson, Kreiss, and Sundstrom and also on the von Neumann method

Evaluating the impact of an enhanced energy performance standard on load-bearing masonry domestic construction: Understanding the gap between designed and real performance: lessons from Stamford Brook.

This report is aimed at those with interests in the procurement, design and construction of new dwellings both now and in the coming years as the Government’s increasingly stringent targets for low and zero carbon housing approach. It conveys the results of a research project, carried out between 2001 and 2008, that was designed to evaluate the extent to which low carbon housing standards can be achieved in the context of a large commercial housing development. The research was led by Leeds Metropolitan University in collaboration with University College London and was based on the Stamford Brook development in Altrincham, Cheshire. The project partners were the National Trust, Redrow and Taylor Wimpey and some 60 percent of the planned 700 dwelling development has been completed up to June 2008. As the UK house building industry and its suppliers grapple with the challenges of achieving zero carbon housing by 2016, the lessons arising from this project are timely and of considerable value. Stamford Brook has demonstrated that designing masonry dwellings to achieve an enhanced energy standard is feasible and that a number of innovative approaches, particularly in the area of airtightness, can be successful. The dwellings, as built, exceed the Building Regulations requirements in force at the time but tests on the completed dwellings and longer term monitoring of performance has shown that, overall, energy consumption and carbon emissions, under standard occupancy, are around 20 to 25 percent higher than design predictions. In the case of heat loss, the discrepancy can be much higher. The report contains much evidence of considerable potential but points out that realising the design potential requires a fundamental reappraisal of processes within the industry from design and construction to the relationship with its supply chain and the development of the workforce. The researchers conclude that, even when builders try hard, current mainstream technical and organisational practices together with industry cultures present barriers to consistent delivery of low and zero carbon performance. They suggest that the underlying reasons for this are deeply embedded at all levels of the house building industry. They point out also that without fundamental change in processes and cultures, technological innovations, whether they be based on traditional construction or modern methods are unlikely to reach their full potential. The report sets out a series of wide ranging implications for new housing in the UK, which are given in Chapter 14 and concludes by firmly declaring that cooperation between government, developers, supply chains, educators and researchers will be crucial to improvement. The recommendations in this report are already being put into practice by the researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University and University College London in their teaching and in further research projects. The implications of the work have been discussed across the industry at a series of workshops undertaken in 2008 as part of the LowCarb4Real project (see http://www.leedsmet.ac.uk/as/cebe/projects/lowcarb4real/index.htm). In addition, the learning is having an impact on the work of the developers (Redrow and Taylor Wimpey) who, with remarkable foresight and enthusiasm, hosted the project. This report seeks to make the findings more widely available and is offered for consideration by everyone who has a part to play in making low and zero carbon housing a reality

Improved Limits on Spin-Dependent WIMP-Proton Interactions from a Two Liter CF3_3I Bubble Chamber

Data from the operation of a bubble chamber filled with 3.5 kg of CF$_{3}$I in a shallow underground site are reported. An analysis of ultrasound signals accompanying bubble nucleations confirms that alpha decays generate a significantly louder acoustic emission than single nuclear recoils, leading to an efficient background discrimination. Three dark matter candidate events were observed during an effective exposure of 28.1 kg-day, consistent with a neutron background. This observation provides the strongest direct detection constraint to date on WIMP-proton spin-dependent scattering for WIMP masses $>20$ GeV/c$^{2}$.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures V2 submitted to match journal versio

10 Years of Object-Oriented Analysis on H1

Over a decade ago, the H1 Collaboration decided to embrace the object-oriented paradigm and completely redesign its data analysis model and data storage format. The event data model, based on the RooT framework, consists of three layers - tracks and calorimeter clusters, identified particles and finally event summary data - with a singleton class providing unified access. This original solution was then augmented with a fourth layer containing user-defined objects. This contribution will summarise the history of the solutions used, from modifications to the original design, to the evolution of the high-level end-user analysis object framework which is used by H1 today. Several important issues are addressed - the portability of expert knowledge to increase the efficiency of data analysis, the flexibility of the framework to incorporate new analyses, the performance and ease of use, and lessons learned for future projects.Comment: 14th International Workshop on Advanced Computing and Analysis Techniques in Physics Researc

Towards a middle-range theory of mental health and well-being effects of employment transitions: Findings from a qualitative study on unemployment during the 2009-2010 economic recession.

This article builds upon previous theoretical work on job loss as a status passage to help explain how people's experiences of involuntary unemployment affected their mental well-being during the 2009-2010 economic recession. It proposes a middle-range theory that interprets employment transitions as status passages and suggests that their health and well-being effects depend on the personal and social meanings that people give to them, which are called properties of the transitions. The analyses, which used a thematic approach, are based on the findings of a qualitative study undertaken in Bradford (North England) consisting of 73 people interviewed in 16 focus groups. The study found that the participants experienced their job losses as divestment passages characterised by three main properties: experiences of reduced agency, disruption of role-based identities, for example, personal identity crises, and experiences of 'spoiled identities', for example, experiences of stigma. The proposed middle-range theory allows us to federate these findings together in a coherent framework which makes a contribution to illuminating not just the intra-personal consequences of unemployment, that is, its impact on subjective well-being and common mental health problems, but also its inter-personal consequences, that is, the hidden and often overlooked social processes that affect unemployed people's social well-being. This article discusses how the study findings and the proposed middle-range theory can help to address the theoretical weaknesses and often contradictory empirical findings from studies that use alternative frameworks, for example, deprivation models and 'incentive theory' of unemployment

H3K4 methyltransferase Set1 is involved in maintenance of ergosterol homeostasis and resistance to Brefeldin A

Set1 is a conserved histone H3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferase that exists as a multisubunit complex. Although H3K4 methylation is located on many actively transcribed genes, few studies have established a direct connection showing that loss of Set1 and H3K4 methylation results in a phenotype caused by disruption of gene expression. In this study, we determined that cells lacking Set1 or Set1 complex members that disrupt H3K4 methylation have a growth defect when grown in the presence of the antifungal drug Brefeldin A (BFA), indicating that H3K4 methylation is needed for BFA resistance. To determine the role of Set1 in BFA resistance, we discovered that Set1 is important for the expression of genes in the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway, including the rate-limiting enzyme HMG-CoA reductase. Consequently, deletion of SET1 leads to a reduction in HMG-CoA reductase protein and total cellular ergosterol. In addition, the lack of Set1 results in an increase in the expression of DAN1 and PDR11, two genes involved in ergosterol uptake. The increase in expression of uptake genes in set1δ cells allows sterols such as cholesterol and ergosterol to be actively taken up under aerobic conditions. Interestingly, when grown in the presence of ergosterol set1δ cells become resistant to BFA, indicating that proper ergosterol levels are needed for antifungal drug resistance. These data show that H3K4 methylation impacts gene expression and output of a biologically and medically relevant pathway and determines why cells lacking H3K4 methylation have antifungal drug sensitivity

Yttrium-90 microsphere induced gastrointestinal tract ulceration

© 2008 South et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Immediate chromatin immunoprecipitation and on-bead quantitative PCR analysis: A versatile and rapid ChIP procedure

© The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research. Genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) studies have brought significant insight into the genomic localization of chromatin-associated proteins and histone modifications. The large amount of data generated by these analyses, however, require approaches that enable rapid validation and analysis of biological relevance. Furthermore, there are still protein and modification targets that are difficult to detect using standard ChIP methods. To address these issues, we developed an immediate chromatin immunoprecipitation procedure which we call ZipChip. ZipChip significantly reduces the time and increases sensitivity allowing for rapid screening of multiple loci. Here we describe how ZipChIP enables detection of histone modifications (H3K4 mono- and trimethylation) and two yeast histone demethylases, Jhd2 and Rph1, which were previously difficult to detect using standard methods. Furthermore, we demonstrate the versatility of ZipChIP by analyzing the enrichment of the histone deacetylase Sir2 at heterochromatin in yeast and enrichment of the chromatin remodeler, PICKLE, at euchromatin in Arabidopsis thaliana

The GOAL study: a prospective examination of the impact of factor V Leiden and ABO(H) blood groups on haemorrhagic and thrombotic pregnancy outcomes

Factor V Leiden (FVL) and ABO(H) blood groups are the common influences on haemostasis and retrospective studies have linked FVL with pregnancy complications. However, only one sizeable prospective examination has taken place. As a result, neither the impact of FVL in unselected subjects, any interaction with ABO(H) in pregnancy, nor the utility of screening for FVL is defined. A prospective study of 4250 unselected pregnancies was carried out. A venous thromboembolism (VTE) rate of 1·23/1000 was observed, but no significant association between FVL and pre-eclampsia, intra-uterine growth restriction or pregnancy loss was seen. No influence of FVL and/or ABO(H) on ante-natal bleeding or intra-partum or postpartum haemorrhage was observed. However, FVL was associated with birth-weights >90th centile [odds ratio (OR) 1·81; 95% confidence interval (CI<sub>95</sub>) 1·04–3·31] and neonatal death (OR 14·79; CI<sub>95</sub> 2·71–80·74). No association with ABO(H) alone, or any interaction between ABO(H) and FVL was observed. We neither confirmed the protective effect of FVL on pregnancy-related blood loss reported in previous smaller studies, nor did we find the increased risk of some vascular complications reported in retrospective studies