Study of an advanced transport airplane design concept known as Flatbed

The design concept and configuration of the Flatbed transport aircraft are presented. The Flatbed configuration combines into one frame, the ability to haul cargo, virtually unrestrained by cross sectional dimensions of the fuselage. The feasibility and capability of the Flatbed is discussed in depth

Creating the ‘ethics industry': Mary Warnock, in vitro fertilization and the history of bioethics in Britain

Recent decades have seen a shift in the management and discussion of biomedicine. Issues once considered by doctors and scientists are now handled by a diverse array of participants, including philosophers, lawyers, theologians and lay representatives. This new approach, known as ‘bioethics', has become the norm in regulatory committees and public debate. In this article, I argue that bioethics emerged as a valued enterprise in Britain during the 1980s because it fulfilled, and linked, the concerns of several groups. My analysis centres on the moral philosopher Mary Warnock, who chaired a government inquiry into human fertilization and embryology between 1982 and 1984, and became a strong advocate of bioethics. I detail how Warnock's promotion of bioethics tallied with the Conservative government's desire for increased surveillance of hitherto autonomous professions – while fulfilling her own belief that philosophers should engage in public affairs. And I also show that Warnock simultaneously promoted bioethics to doctors and scientists as an essential safeguard against declining political and public trust. This stance, I argue, framed bioethics as a vital intermediary between politics, the public, and biomedicine, and explains the growth and endurance of what the Guardian identified as an ethics industry

Impact of the Wiggler Coherent Synchrotron Radiation Impedance on the Beam Instability

Coherent Synchrotron Radiation (CSR) can play an important role by not only increasing the energy spread and emittance of a beam, but also leading to a potential instability. Previous studies of the CSR induced longitudinal instability were carried out for the CSR impedance due to dipole magnets. However, many storage rings include long wigglers where a large fraction of the synchrotron radiation is emitted. This includes high-luminosity factories such as DAPHNE, PEP-II, KEK-B, and CESR-C as well as the damping rings of future linear colliders. In this paper, the instability due to the CSR impedance from a wiggler is studied assuming a large wiggler parameter $K$. The primary consideration is a low frequency microwave-like instability, which arises near the pipe cut-off frequency. Detailed results are presented on the growth rate and threshold for the damping rings of several linear collider designs. Finally, the optimization of the relative fraction of damping due to the wiggler systems is discussed for the damping rings.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Progress on a Vlasov Treatment of Coherent Synchrotron Radiation From Arbitrary Planar Orbits

We report on our progress in the development of a fully self-consistent Vlasov treatment of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) effects on particle bunches traveling on arbitrary planar orbits. First we outline our Vlasov approach and the approximation we are currently studying. Then we discuss recent numerical results for a benchmark model studied extensively with codes by several authors

Calibration uncertainty in molecular dating analyses: there is no substitute for the prior evaluation of time priors

Calibration is the rate-determining step in every molecular clock analysis and, hence, considerable effort has been expended in the development of approaches to distinguish good from bad calibrations. These can be categorized into a priori evaluation of the intrinsic fossil evidence, and a posteriori evaluation of congruence through cross-validation. We contrasted these competing approaches and explored the impact of different interpretations of the fossil evidence upon Bayesian divergence time estimation. The results demonstrate that a posteriori approaches can lead to the selection of erroneous calibrations. Bayesian posterior estimates are also shown to be extremely sensitive to the probabilistic interpretation of temporal constraints. Furthermore, the effective time priors implemented within an analysis differ for individual calibrations when employed alone and in differing combination with others. This compromises the implicit assumption of all calibration consistency methods, that the impact of an individual calibration is the same when used alone or in unison with others. Thus, the most effective means of establishing the quality of fossil-based calibrations is through a priori evaluation of the intrinsic palaeontological, stratigraphic, geochronological and phylogenetic data. However, effort expended in establishing calibrations will not be rewarded unless they are implemented faithfully in divergence time analyses

Autism and the U.K. secondary school experience

This research investigated the self-reported mainstream school experiences of those diagnosed on the autistic spectrum compared with the typically developing school population. Existing literature identifies four key areas that affect the quality of the school experience for students with autism: social skills, perceived relationships with teaching staff, general school functioning, and interpersonal strengths of the young person. These areas were explored in a mainstream U.K. secondary school with 14 students with autism and 14 age and gender matched students without autism, using self-report questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative analyses showed consistent school experiences for both groups, although content analysis of interview data highlighted some differences in the ways in which the groups perceive group work, peers, and teaching staff within school. Implications for school inclusion are discussed, drawing attention to how staff awareness of autism could improve school experience and success for students with autism attending mainstream schools

Self Consistent Monte Carlo Method to Study CSR Effects in Bunch Compressors

In this paper we report on the results of a self-consistent calculation of CSR effects on a particle bunch moving through the benchmark Zeuthen bunch compressors. The theoretical framework is based on a 4D Vlasov-Maxwell approach including shielding from the vacuum chamber. We calculate the fields in the lab frame, where time is the independent variable, and evolve the phase space density/points in the beam frame, where arc length, s, along a reference orbit, is the independent variable. Some details are given in [2], where we also discuss three approaches, the unperturbed source model (UPS), the self consistent Monte Carlo (SCMC) method and the method of local characteristics. Results for the UPS have been presented for 5 GeV before [3], here we compare them with our new results from the SCMC and study the 500MeV case. Our work using the method of characteristics is in progress. The SCMC algorithm begins by randomly generating an initial ensemble of beam frame phase space points according to a given initial phase space density. The algorithm then reduces to laying out one arc length step. Assume that at arc length s we know the location of the phase space points and the history of the source prior to s. We then (1) create a smooth representation of the lab frame charge and current densities, {rho}{sub L} and J{sub L}, (2) calculate the fields at s from the history of {rho}{sub L} and J{sub L}, and (3) move the beam frame phase space points according to the beam frame equations of motion. This is then iterated. The UPS calculation is similar except the fields are calculated from a function of s computed a priori from the beam frame equations of motion without the self-fields. The phase space points are then evolved according to the equations of motion with these ''unperturbed'' fields. In the UPS we use a Gaussian initial density which evolves under the linear beam frame equations as a Gaussian. This gives us an analytic formula for the source, which significantly speeds up the field calculation. It turns out that the evolution of the unperturbed charge density for an initial Gaussian gives a reasonable estimate of the support of the self-consistently calculated charge density in our study so far. This allows us to follow the phase space points in a fixed grid region defined by the mean center of the Gaussian and an orthonormal transformation which takes the Gaussian ellipses into circles. We put the 5{sigma} circle into the square [-1,1] and take this as our basic region for the calculation. Thus at s we have the spatial position of the particles scattered in this square. We then construct a smooth spatial density using a 2D Fourier expansion on the square, calculating the Fourier coefficients from the scattered data, as a Monte Carlo integration. This is a common technique in statistical estimation [4]. This (analytical) density on the square is then used to calculate the source for the field calculation on grid points. Typically we use 32 x 32 grid points and 16 x 16 Fourier coefficients. The fields are calculated at the grid points and the scattered phase space points are moved by interpolating the fields

Meshless Solution of the Vlasov Equation Using a Low Discrepancy Sequence

A good method for solving the nonlinear Vlasov equation is the semi-Lagrangian algorithm, in which the phase space density is represented by its values on a fixed Cartesian grid with interpolation to off-grid points. At each time step, orbits are followed backward from grid points. Since this method is expensive with phase space dimension D > 2, we seek a more efficient discretization of the density. Taking a cue from the theory of numerical quadrature in high dimensions, we explore the idea of replacing the grid by scattered data sites from a low-discrepancy (quasirandom) sequence. We hope to see a reduction in the required number of sites, especially for D > 2. In our first implementation we follow forward orbits rather than backward, and work only with D = 2. We are able to reduce the number of sites by a factor of 8, at least for a limited time of integration. A much bigger reduction is expected in higher dimensions

Islet isolation assessment in man and large animals

Recent progress in islet isolation from the pancreas of large mammals including man, accentuated the need for the development of precise and reproducible techniques to assess islet yield. In this report both quantitative and qualitative criteria for islet isolation assessment were discussed, the main topics being the determination of number, volume, purity, morphologic integrity and in vitro and in vivo function tests of the final islet preparations. It has been recommended that dithizone should be used as a specific stain for immediate detection of islet tissue making it possible to estimate both the total number of islets (dividing them into classes of 50 μ diameter range increments) and the purity of the final preparation. Appropriate morphological assessment should include confirmation of islet identification, assessment of the morphological integrity and of the purity of the islet preparation. The use of fluorometric inclusion and exclusion dyes together have been suggested as a viability assay to simultaneously quantitate the proportion of cells that are intact or damaged. Perifusion of islets with glucose provides a dynamic profile of glucose-mediated insulin release and of the ability of the cells to down regulate insulin secretion after the glycemic challenge is interrupted. Although perifusion data provides a useful guide to islet viability the quantity and kinetics of insulin release do not necessarily predict islet performance after implantation. Therefore, the ultimate test of islet viability is their function after transplantation into a diabetic recipient. For this reason, in vivo models of transplantation of an aliquot of the final islet preparation into diabetic nude (athymic) rodents have been suggested. We hope that these general guidelines will be of assistance to standardize the assessment of islet isolations, making it possible to better interpret and compare procedures from different centers. © 1990 Casa Editrice il Ponte