Airborne particulate matter and diesel vehicles in cities - changing perspectives

The last half Century has seen a dramatic turnaround in attitudes to atmospheric particulate emissions including those from diesel-engined road vehicles. In the 1960s it was believed that diesel emissions, then referred to as 'smoke,' were no more than a nuisance in that they obscured visibility and / or appeared unsightly. In 2016 they are seen as contributing significantly to mortality risk in urban areas. This paper traces the evolution of thinking over that time period using London as a case study. It is apparent that there has at times, and for a variety of reasons, been resistance to new knowledge and a reluctance to move on, even though it was for the common good that that be done. Similar contests can be observed with respect to other hazards to which urban inhabitants are exposed

Utilising expertise to manage dynamic urban risks

Managing risk is usually multi-dimensional and frequently controversial, since a focus on one element may lead to outcomes that are unpopular with other stakeholders, who may have different agendas, objectives or motivations. This requires that judgements be made, which in many situations require expertise, which is hard won and specific. In some cases, however, the role of experts has been controversial, with other stakeholders challenging the basis on which decisions are made. In other instances management systems or standard operating procedures may hamper discretion. Effective risk management requires that the correct expertise is identified, recruited or developed and sufficiently supported by management practice, including training. It is important, but frequently challenging, to demonstrate that this is undertaken in a reasonable and defendable manner. The paper draws together a number of different concepts and evaluates their impact on the design of robust policy positions that may address the concerns that urban stakeholders may have in developing an appropriate and proportionate response to risks

CCH <i>N</i> = 4-3 emission from dense interstellar clouds

The authors have searched for N = 4 - 3 rotational line emission from the ethynyl radical CCH, at 349 GHz toward a number of galactic molecular clouds. They have detected emission from ten giant molecular clouds and have derived CCH column densities on the order of 1014 - 1015cm-2. They find that CCH emission arises from dense gas, n(H2) ~ 104 - 105cm-3, but not from very dense material, n(H2) > 106cm-3, nor from hot gas such as the "hot core" region in Orion

Trees and the urban environment - weighing risks and benefits

The presence of mature, broad-leafed trees in urban areas is increasingly evidenced as being beneficial for public health, mental well-being and the environment. Consequently, any loss of such trees should be regarded as increasing risk, potentially with significant consequences. Currently, austerity measures and fragmented policies are tending to miss out on the opportunities presented by a greener environment, and some policies connected with, for example, road safety and highway engineering have the potential to reduce tree presence if disproportionately applied, as does fear of litigation

Supporting security-oriented, collaborative nanoCMOS electronics research

Grid technologies support collaborative e-Research typified by multiple institutions and resources seamlessly shared to tackle common research problems. The rules for collaboration and resource sharing are commonly achieved through establishment and management of virtual organizations (VOs) where policies on access and usage of resources by collaborators are defined and enforced by sites involved in the collaboration. The expression and enforcement of these rules is made through access control systems where roles/privileges are defined and associated with individuals as digitally signed attribute certificates which collaborating sites then use to authorize access to resources. Key to this approach is that the roles are assigned to the right individuals in the VO; the attribute certificates are only presented to the appropriate resources in the VO; it is transparent to the end user researchers, and finally that it is manageable for resource providers and administrators in the collaboration. In this paper, we present a security model and implementation improving the overall usability and security of resources used in Grid-based e-Research collaborations through exploitation of the Internet2 Shibboleth technology. This is explored in the context of a major new security focused project at the National e-Science Centre (NeSC) at the University of Glasgow in the nanoCMOS electronics domain

Near infrared spectroscopy of W51 IRS-2

Near-infrared spectra at 2.95-3.5 μm and 3.99-10 μm have been obtained towards W51 IRS-2 and its surroundings, in order to investigate the spatial variations in intensity of the 3.28 μm unidentified feature and the 4.05 μm Brackett-α line. The Br-α and 3.28 μm features occupy a broadly similar spatial zone, which is characterised by an unresolved core responsible for most of the emission, and an extended and considerably weaker halo. Grain properties required to excite the 4.28 microns line, the nature of the 3.28 μm emission, and its relation to the source structure are discussed