Emission and its driver analysis for the United Kingdom higher education institute.

UK emissions of carbon dioxide declined from around 600 million tonnes of CO2 (MtCO2) in 1990 to 367 MtCO2 in 2017, and in June 2019, the UK Government legislated an update of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target to attain ‘net zero’ by 2050. Meeting this ambitious target will require a drastic reduction in UK carbon emissions, with any remaining emissions being offset by extracting an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. As a large sector of the UK economy, higher education (HEI) must contribute to the reduction in its carbon emissions if the Government’s ‘net zero’ by 2050 target is to be met. The aim of the study is to analyze the factors driving the emissions in the UK HEI from 2014 to 2019. The study investigates the key drivers for emissions using correlation analysis, ratio analysis, and factor analysis. It also aims at determining whether the UK HEI can meet the 2020 milestone of a 43% reduction in emission with 2005 as the base year

The applicability of aerodynamic models to tidal turbines.

For the tidal current power industry to progress, simple models for predicting the performance of tidal current turbines are needed. Currently the aerodynamic models developed for wind turbines are typically used to predict tidal turbine performance. There are a number of significant differences between wind and tidal turbines so these models will not provide a good representation of tidal turbine performance. The main aim of this project was to show the magnitude of the differences between wind and tidal turbine performance caused by dissimilarities in wind and tidal turbine operation. Two main areas were investigated: the effects of energy extraction on flow speeds and the effect of the proximity of the boundaries. An analytical model was developed which allowed the effect of the number of turbines at a site on the performance of each turbine to be investigated. The magnitude of the change in performance was found to depend on the design and geometry of the turbines and the drag coefficient of the site. The model results indicated that, typically, there will be no noticeable reduction in the power generated by single or small farms of turbines, but installing large farms of turbines will cause significant reduction in the power generated per turbine. An analytical model was developed which allowed the effects of blockage on performance to be investigated. Applying the model to a single turbine in the Sound of Islay indicated that the performance of a realistically sized turbine in an actual tidal channel will differ from that predicted by an aerodynamic model. The effect of the proximity of the turbine to channel boundaries was investigated and performance was found to decrease as the free surface was approached. In all of the areas investigated the performance tidal turbines has been found to differ significantly from the performance predicted by aerodynamic models. This implies that it is not appropriate to use aerodynamic models to predict tidal turbine performance

Forces behind the passing of the 'Grants for Public Worship Prohibition Act' of 1862 (N.S.W.)

On 29 July 1836 the eighth governor of the colony, Sir Richard Bourke, and his Legislative Council passed an Act to promote the building of Churches and Chapels, and to provide for the Maintenance of Ministers of Religion in New South Wales, 7 William IV, No. 3 5 or the Church Act as it was commonly called. Its clauses were straightforward and may be grouped into three divisions. First: once a denominational body had collected voluntary donations to the amount of £300 for the purpose of building churches or ministers' houses, the government pledged itself to contribute a like sum provided that this did not exceed £1000. Second: those who had given donations towards the building were responsible for nominating not less than three nor more than five trustees who would then be entrusted with the management of the temporal affairs connected with the building. The government stipulated that one sixth of the sittings were to be free. For those churches already built and maintained at the public expense, the governor, with the advice of the executive council, was to nominate the trustees. Thirds the government would pay stipends for officiating ministers on certain conditions. If a group of at least one hundred people lived within a reasonable distance of the proposed church, they could obtain an annual stipend of £100 for the minister by presenting a declaration expressing their desire to attend the church, When such a group numbered two hundred, the annual stipend was £150. The maximum stipend was £200 and this was given when at least five hundred people signed a declaration. Provision was also made for an area where it was not thought practicable for a church to be erected: if the people of the area raised £50 towards the support of a minister, the government added £100. Before the annual stipend could be issued, the government had to be assured of the minister s regular performance of his duties towards the people

3D CFD modelling of performance of a vertical axis turbine.

Recently, wind turbine research has switched focus to vertical axis wind turbines due to the extensive research that has been performed on horizontal axis wind turbines and the potential of vertical axis wind turbines in built-up areas. This study aims to analyse the performance of a small-scale hybrid vertical axis wind turbine that can switch from functioning as a Darrieus (lift) turbine to a Savonius (drag) turbine by rotating the blades. The turbine was analysed using 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations in ANSYS Fluent as the primary method, and the findings were verified using wind tunnel experiments. During the analysis, design parameters such as the blade length, diameter, and number of blades were varied to determine if the design had room for improvement. It was found that the current design of the turbine has an optimal efficiency of 12.5% in the Darrieus configuration, which was found to increase when the diameter or blade length was increased. The Savonius configuration was found to be more efficient at low tip-speed ratios (<0.14), and its efficiency could be increased by adding more blades. The experiments found similar trends to the simulations; however, the efficiencies obtained were on average a tenfold increase from the simulation. Implementing the changes that increased efficiency leads to an increased wake recovery distance, making it less suitable for use in a wind farm

Gender and Videogames: The political valency of Lara Croft

The Face: Is Lara a feminist icon or a sexist fantasy? Toby Gard: Neither and a bit of both. Lara was designed to be a tough, self-reliant, intelligent woman. She confounds all the sexist cliches apart from the fact that she’s got an unbelievable figure. Strong, independent women are the perfect fantasy girls—the untouchable is always the most desirable (Interview with Lara’s creator Toby Gard in The Face magazine, June 1997)

Operational analysis of school-based delivery models to vaccinate children against influenza.

Large-scale immunisation programmes against seasonal influenza are characterised by logistical challenges related to the need for vaccinating large cohorts of people in a short amount of time. Careful operational planning of resources is essential for a successful implementation of such programmes. We focused on the process of child vaccination in schools and analysed the staffing and workflow aspects of a school-aged children vaccination programme in England. Our objectives were to document vaccination processes and analyse times and costs associated with different models deployed across England. We collected data through direct non-participatory observations. Statistical data analysis enabled us to identify potential factors influencing vaccine delivery time and informed the development of a tool to simulate vaccination sessions. Using this tool, we carried out scenario analyses and explored trade-offs between session times and costs in different settings. Our work ultimately supported the local implementation of school-based vaccination

Screening asymptomatic men for prostate cancer::a comparison of international guidelines on prostate-specific antigen testing

OBJECTIVE: To summarise and compare the key recommendations on prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, and so highlight where more evidence is required to facilitate consistent recommendations. METHODS: The Medline database and websites of 18 national screening organisations and professional associations were searched between January 2010 and November 2020 to identify screening guidelines published in English, considering recent clinical trials. RESULTS: Population-based PSA testing of asymptomatic men is not widely recommended. Guidelines emphasize shared patient-clinician decision making. For ‘average-risk’ men choosing to be screened, the recommended age varies from 50–55 to 70 years, alongside consideration of life expectancy (ranging from 7–15 years). Screening intervals, when specified, are biennial (most common), annual, or determined from baseline PSA. The earliest age for screening high-risk men (frequently defined as of African descent or with a family history of prostate cancer) is 40 years, but recommendations often defer to clinical judgement. CONCLUSIONS: Population screening of asymptomatic men is not widely recommended. Instead, balancing the potential harms and benefits of PSA testing is endorsed. Variation between guidelines stems from differing interpretations of key trials and could lead to clinician-dependent screening views. The development of clinical decision aids and international consensus on guidelines may help reduce national and international variation on how men are counselled

Fidedignidade da versão em português do Inventário de Ansiedade e Fobia Social (SPAI) em amostra heterogênea de estudantes universitários brasileiros

Objetivo: Avaliar consistência interna e estabilidade temporal, através de fidedignidade teste-reteste, da versão em português do Inventário de Ansiedade e Fobia Social (SPAI), em uma amostra brasileira heterogênea. Métodos: Após consentimento informado, a versão traduzida e adaptada para o português do SPAI foi testada e re-testada, com 14 dias de intervalo, em uma amostra de 225 estudantes universitários de ambos os gêneros, de quatro cursos de graduação. Após dupla entrada de dados, a análise estatística incluiu Alfa de Cronbach e os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson e Intra-classe. Resultados: A amostra estudada consistiu de 213 estudantes de quatro sub-amostras: 95 estudantes de Direito, 31 de Comunicação Social, 54 de Engenharia Civil e 33 de Odontologia. A média de idade foi de 23 anos (± 6) e 110 (51,6%) eram do gênero feminino. O Alpha de Cronbach foi de 0,96, sem diferenças entre os gêneros. O escore diferencial (total) do SPAI português apresentou coeficiente de Pearson de 0,83 (IC95% 0,78-0,87) e coeficiente Intra-classe de 0,83 (IC95% 0,78-0,86). Não houve diferença estatística nos coeficientes de Pearson entre os gêneros (p = 0,121) ou entre as quatro sub-amostras (p = 0,258). Conclusão: Os resultados não asseguram validade; a versão do SPAI português apresentou boa homogeneidade de conteúdo com nível satisfatório consistência interna. A estabilidade temporal avaliada foi consistente. Os dados demonstram que o SPAI português apresenta fidedignidade perfeitamente aceitável para ambos os gêneros e sugerem sua utilização na população brasileira.Objective: Tto evaluate internal consistency and temporal stability trough test re-test reliability of the Portuguese version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) in a heterogeneous Brazilian sample. Methods: After informed consent, the translated and adapted version of the SPAI Portuguese was tested and re-tested at a 14-day interval in a sample of 225 university students, both genders, from 4 different undergraduate courses. After double data entry, statistical analysis included Cronbach’s alphas, Pearson and intra-class correlation coefficients. Results: The studied sample consisted of 213 students from 4 sub-samples: 95 law students, 31 social communication students, 54 civil engineering students and 33 dental medicine students. The mean age was 23 (±6) years and 110 (51.6%) were female. The Cronbach’ alpha was 0.96, no difference for both genders. The differential (total) score of the SPAI Portuguese showed Pearson coefficient 0.83 (95% CI 0.78-0.87) and Intra-class coefficient 0.83 (95% CI 0.78-0.86). There was no statistical difference in Pearson coefficients between genders (p = 0.121) and the 4 sub-samples (p = 0.258). Conclusion: The results do not ensure validity, however, the SPAI Portuguese version presented a good content homogeneity with satisfactory level of internal consistency. The temporal stability evaluated was substantial. The results showed that the Portuguese SPAI presents perfectly acceptable reliability for both genders and suggest that it can be used in Brazilian population