Kinetics and mechanism of the carbonate route to PES.

The kinetics of the 'carbonate' route to poly(phenylene ether sulphone) (PES) was studied by three separate techniques. The first involved the use of Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) Spectroscopy, and studied the melt polymerisation between 4,4'-dichlorodiphenyl sulphone (DCDPS) and the bis potassium salt of 4,4'-dihydroxydiphenyl sulphone (Bis-S). The polymerisation was followed by either measuring the loss of the C-Cl group or the formation of the aryl ether group. Both methods led to the activation energy for the polymerisation being calculated to be ~ 109 kJmol[-1]. The viscosity of the solution polymerisation medium was also monitored to determine the activation energy of the reaction. This work showed that as the extent of reaction increased from p = 0.95 to p = 0.98 the polymerisation moved from being kinetically to diffusion controlled, as the activation energy reduced from ~ 93.5 kJmol[-1] to 21.8 kJmol[-1]. The main kinetic study involved the use of a model compound, namely the potassium salt of 4-(p-chlorobenzene sulphonyl)-4'-(p-hydroxy-benzenesulphonyl) diphenyl ether (chlorophenate dimer). Four concentrations of the model compound were studied in diphenyl sulphone (DPS), each yielding activation energies of ~109 kJmol-1. Rate constants were extrapolated to both zero and commercial manufacture concentrations. The mechanism of the 'carbonate' route to PES was also studied by three main techniques. The first involved the use of High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to study the growth and subsequent decline in the concentration of the chlorine-ended monomers and oligomers. This showed that there was little polymerisation below -265 C under normal operating conditions. The effective use of Field Desorption Mass Spectrometry (FDMS) to study the polymerisation was also demonstrated. The carbon dioxide (CO[2]) evolved during the polymerisation process was also monitored as a means of elucidating the mechanism. This showed three distinct phases of evolution. Although earlier work had suggested this to be due to partial potassium salt formation of Bis-S, it was found that DCDPS must also be involved as a consequence of the HPLC study. Two variants of PES were also studied for comparison. Finally, the polymerisation was studied both by solid state and liquid nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This indicated that 50% of the Bis-S reacted immediately, which seemed to contradict the CO2 evolution studies. A postulated reaction mechanism involving aryl carbonates is discussed

Switched intelligent grid networking systems

Switched Intelligent Grid Networking Systems (SIGNS) is the result of research, analysis and development of an alternative process for controlling end-user electrical power quality, as well as transients on the incoming electricity supply grid. In the past power quality issues associated with the grid network were usually generated by the connected loads. This has changed in today’s grid system with embedded intermittent renewable energy being included on the energy profile. The research demonstrated that it is possible to control end-user electrical power quality through the addition of battery storage at the user end of the grid and a switching device, forming an intelligent buffer between the electrical grid supply and the load. The function of the device is to select the most appropriate energy source to effectively absorb a proportion of any surges and transients, whilst offering a path for augmented alternative energy

It Operating Models In Practice And Research: An Analysis Of The State Of Knowledge

An IT operating model is a combination oforganizational structure and processes that comprehensively covers the IT department. It spans the whole IT lifecycle from IT strategy, architecture, demand and supply management, project management, infrastructure to support services such as accounting andHR. In essence, it is how the IT organization is set up to serve its users, the business. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT executives are facing constant pressure to optimize their IT operating model to fit the ever changing business models of their users. The guidance information systems (IS) research provides on this issue is scarce. The IS literature contains little specific advice on how organizations should develop and adapt IT operating models. While the literature has extensive studies on components of IToperating models, such as enterprise architecture, research on IT operating models as a whole is surprisingly sparse. This paper analyzes the available academic and practitioner literature on IT operating models and identifies areas for future research. It specifically identifies research on internal alignment within an IT department ( inward alignment ) as an area of urgent need

Thin Films of AuCuAl Shape Memory Alloy for Use in Plasmonic Nano-actuators

Vijay Bhatia, Gordon Thorogood, Annette Dowd and Michael B. Cortie (2011). Thin Films of AuCuAl Shape Memory Alloy for Use in Plasmonic Nano-actuators. MRS Proceedings, 1295 , mrsf10-1295-n01-08 doi:10.1557/opl.2011.18

Is Hypermedia an Effective Tool for Education

Whilst there has been much mention in the literature recently concerning the development of hypermedia systems, there is very little reported work on projects to assess their effectiveness, or otherwise, in education. This paper reports on a project currently underway at the University of Southampton in the UK to develop a hypertext interface for an interactive videodisc application in biology education, and to undertake a thorough evaluation of the resulting system as used by undergraduate students at the University. The system is currently based on Apple's Hypercard and uses existing videodisc material. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Introduction Until very recently, the costs of both hardware and software made the use of interactive videodisc (IV) systems virtually non-existent in education. Most examples of interactive video material were in the industrial training sector, where it can be very cost effective as well as educationally effective to produce videodiscs and related software designe..

Cancer incidence in British vegetarians

Background: Few prospective studies have examined cancer incidence among vegetarians. Methods: We studied 61 566 British men and women, comprising 32 403 meat eaters, 8562 non-meat eaters who did eat fish ('fish eaters') and 20 601 vegetarians. After an average follow-up of 12.2 years, there were 3350 incident cancers of which 2204 were among meat eaters, 317 among fish eaters and 829 among vegetarians. Relative risks (RRs) were estimated by Cox regression, stratified by sex and recruitment protocol and adjusted for age, smoking, alcohol, body mass index, physical activity level and, for women only, parity and oral contraceptive use. Results: There was significant heterogeneity in cancer risk between groups for the following four cancer sites: stomach cancer, RRs (compared with meat eaters) of 0.29 (95% CI: 0.07–1.20) in fish eaters and 0.36 (0.16–0.78) in vegetarians, P for heterogeneity=0.007; ovarian cancer, RRs of 0.37 (0.18–0.77) in fish eaters and 0.69 (0.45–1.07) in vegetarians, P for heterogeneity=0.007; bladder cancer, RRs of 0.81 (0.36–1.81) in fish eaters and 0.47 (0.25–0.89) in vegetarians, P for heterogeneity=0.05; and cancers of the lymphatic and haematopoietic tissues, RRs of 0.85 (0.56–1.29) in fish eaters and 0.55 (0.39–0.78) in vegetarians, P for heterogeneity=0.002. The RRs for all malignant neoplasms were 0.82 (0.73–0.93) in fish eaters and 0.88 (0.81–0.96) in vegetarians (P for heterogeneity=0.001). Conclusion: The incidence of some cancers may be lower in fish eaters and vegetarians than in meat eaters

The OPERA trial : a protocol for the process evaluation of a randomised trial of an exercise intervention for older people in residential and nursing accommodation

Background: The OPERA trial is large cluster randomised trial testing a physical activity intervention to address depression amongst people living in nursing and residential homes for older people. A process evaluation was commissioned alongside the trial and we report the protocol for this process evaluation. Challenges included the cognitive and physical ability of the participants, the need to respect the privacy of all home residents, including study non-participants, and the physical structure of the homes. Evaluation activity had to be organised around the structured timetable of homes, leaving limited opportunities for data collection. The aims of this process evaluation are to provide findings that will assist in the interpretation of the clinical trial results, and to inform potential implementation of the physical activity intervention on a wider scale. Methods/design: Quantitative data on recruitment of homes and individuals is being collected. For homes in the intervention arm, data on dose and fidelity of the intervention delivered; including individual rates of participation in exercise classes are collected. In the control homes, uptake and delivery of depression awareness training is monitored. These data will be combined with qualitative data from an in-depth study of a purposive sample of eight homes (six intervention and two control). Discussion: Although process evaluations are increasingly funded alongside trials, it is still rare to see the findings published, and even rarer to see the protocol for such an evaluation published. Process evaluations have the potential to assist in interpreting and understanding trial results as well as informing future roll-outs of interventions. If such evaluations are funded they should also be reported and reviewed in a similar way to the trial outcome evaluation

APPLaUD: access for patients and participants to individual level uninterpreted genomic data.

BACKGROUND: There is a growing support for the stance that patients and research participants should have better and easier access to their raw (uninterpreted) genomic sequence data in both clinical and research contexts. MAIN BODY: We review legal frameworks and literature on the benefits, risks, and practical barriers of providing individuals access to their data. We also survey genomic sequencing initiatives that provide or plan to provide individual access. Many patients and research participants expect to be able to access their health and genomic data. Individuals have a legal right to access their genomic data in some countries and contexts. Moreover, increasing numbers of participatory research projects, direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, and now major national sequencing initiatives grant individuals access to their genomic sequence data upon request. CONCLUSION: Drawing on current practice and regulatory analysis, we outline legal, ethical, and practical guidance for genomic sequencing initiatives seeking to offer interested patients and participants access to their raw genomic data

The social security rights of older international migrants in the European Union

Europe is now home to a significant and diverse population of older international migrants. Social and demographic changes have forced the issue of social security in old age onto the European social policy agenda in the last decade. In spite of an increased interest in the financial well-being of older people, many retired international migrants who are legally resident in the European Union face structured disadvantages. Four linked factors are of particular importance in shaping the pension rights and levels of financial provision available to individual older migrants: migration history, socio-legal status, past relationship to the paid labour market, and location within a particular EU Member State. Building on a typology of older migrants, the paper outlines the ways in which policy at both the European Union and Member State levels serves to diminish rather than enhance the social security rights of certain older international migrants