SAMPLE III SC.02 - Studying, sAmpling and Measuring of aircraft ParticuLate Emissions III: Specific Contract 02

The objectives of this specific contract were: - to provide support to the SAE E-31 in drafting the Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) on the measurement of aircraft engine non-volatile particulate matter (nvPM) mass and number emissions; and - to improve the sampling system that was manufactured during SAMPLE III SC.01 according to the preliminary specifications of the draft ARP, to assess its operating parameters at the SR Technics engine testing facility in Zürich and to perform a comparison with the sampling line installed at this facility. In order to deliver the aforementioned objectives numerous design, experimental and desk based studies were performed: - coordination of and contribution to SAE E-31 meetings and teleconferences; - manufacture of a sampling system to allow remote operation and monitoring and simultaneous sampling within SR Technics test cell; and - conduct numerous piggy back and dedicated engine test campaigns at SR Technics

User-Centered Evaluation of a Discovery Layer System with Google Scholar

Discovery layer systems allow library users to obtain search results from multiple library resources and view results in a consistent format. The implementation of a discovery layer is expected to simplify users’ workflow of searching for scholarly information. Previous studies on discovery layer systems focused on functionality and content, but not quality of search results from the user’s perspective. The objective of this study was to obtain users’ assessment of search results of a discovery layer system (Ex Libris Primo®) and compare that with a widely used scholarly search tool (Google Scholar). Results showed that Primo’s search results relevancy is comparable to Google Scholar, but it received significantly lower usability and preference ratings. A number of usability issues of Primo were also identified from the study. Results of the study are used to improve the interface of Primo and adjust relevancy ranking options. The empirical method of search results assessment and feedback collection used in this study can be extended to similar user-centered system implementation and evaluation efforts

A simple, low-cost conductive composite material for 3D printing of electronic sensors

3D printing technology can produce complex objects directly from computer aided digital designs. The technology has traditionally been used by large companies to produce fit and form concept prototypes (‘rapid prototyping’) before production. In recent years however there has been a move to adopt the technology as full-scale manufacturing solution. The advent of low-cost, desktop 3D printers such as the RepRap and Fab@Home has meant a wider user base are now able to have access to desktop manufacturing platforms enabling them to produce highly customised products for personal use and sale. This uptake in usage has been coupled with a demand for printing technology and materials able to print functional elements such as electronic sensors. Here we present formulation of a simple conductive thermoplastic composite we term ‘carbomorph’ and demonstrate how it can be used in an unmodified low-cost 3D printer to print electronic sensors able to sense mechanical flexing and capacitance changes. We show how this capability can be used to produce custom sensing devices and user interface devices along with printed objects with embedded sensing capability. This advance in low-cost 3D printing with offer a new paradigm in the 3D printing field with printed sensors and electronics embedded inside 3D printed objects in a single build process without requiring complex or expensive materials incorporating additives such as carbon nanotubes

A regime analysis of Atlantic winter jet variability applied to evaluate HadGEM3-GC2

The behaviour of the eddy-driven jet over the Atlantic sector during the winter season is analyzed for the ERA-Interim reanalysis and the coupled and atmosphere-only configuration of HadGEM3-GC2—the climate model in use at the Met Office. The trimodal distribution that characterizes the jet-stream structure in terms of its preferred locations is reproduced with good accuracy by the model, although a distinct bias towards the high-latitude position is observed. Two different scenarios are found to contribute to this bias. One occurs when the jet shifts from its southern regime, whereby it settles too far north and for too long compared with the reanalysis. The other is associated with the exit from the central latitude regime, with too many events shifting poleward rather than equatorward. Excessively large lower tropospheric eddy heat fluxes during these transitions may account for the jet errors, even though the heat fluxes do not exhibit a climatological bias. Interestingly, these biases are weaker when the atmosphere model is forced with observed sea-surface temperatures (SSTs), suggesting that either it is vital to have the correct SST distribution or ocean–atmosphere coupling plays a key role in the biases. Additional analysis revealed that the Pacific jet exit is biased south in the coupled model and that this contributes to the Atlantic bias. Anomalously warm SSTs in the Gulf Stream region may be acting together with the Pacific bias in fostering anomalous activity in low-level eddy heat fluxes

Particle emission characteristics of a gas turbine with a double annular combustor

The total climate, air quality and health impact of aircraft black carbon (BC) emissions depends on quantity (mass and number concentration), as well as morphology (fractal dimension and surface area) of emitted BC aggregates. This study examines multiple BC emission metrics from a gas turbine with a double annular combustor, CFM56-5B4-2P. As a part of the SAMPLE III.2 campaign, concurrent measurements of particle mobility, particle mass, particle number concentration and mass concentration, as well as collection of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples, allowed for characterization of the BC emissions. Mass- and number-based emission indices were strongly influenced by thrust setting during pilot combustion and ranged from <1 to 208 mg/kg-fuel and 3×1012 to 3×1016 particles/kg-fuel, respectively. Mobility measurements indicated that mean diameters ranged from 7-44 nm with a strong dependence on thrust during pilot-only combustion. Using aggregation and sintering theory with empirical effective density relationships, a power law relationship between primary particle diameter and mobility diameter is presented. Mean primary particle diameter ranged from 6-19 nm, however, laser induced incandescence (LII) and mass-mobility calculated primary particle diameters demonstrated opposite trends with thrust setting. Similarly, mass-mobility-calculated aggregate mass specific surface area and LII-measured surface area were not in agreement, indicating both methods need further development and validation before use as quantitative indicators of primary particle diameter and mass-specific surface area.The authors express their gratitude to a number of people and organizations in helping to plan, conduct, finance and provide instruments for this measurement campaign. The 537 European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) funded the SAMPLE III SC02 campaign (EASA.2010.FC.10, Specific Contract No: SC02). The Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Switzerland (FOCA) was critical in for providing additional financial support and arranging facilities which made this study possible. We also thank the SR Technics test bed staff, including Frithjof Siegerist, for operating the engines and enabling access to the test facility. We thank AVL, Cambustion, Grimm & TSI supplying both instruments and expertise.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2015.107845

The global politics of a ‘poncy pillowcase’: Migration and borders in Coronation Street

This article examines the ways in which popular culture stages and supplies resources for agency in everyday life, with particular attention to migration and borders. Drawing upon cultural studies, and specific insights originating from the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, we explore how intersectional identities such as race, ethnicity, class, and gender are experienced in relation to the globalisation of culture and identity in a 2007 Coronation Street storyline. The soap opera genre offers particular insights into how agency emerges in everyday life as migrants and locals navigate the forces of globalisation. We argue that a focus on popular culture can mitigate the problem of isolating migrant experiences from local experiences in migrant-receiving areas

Fabrication of PES/PVP water filtration membranes using cyrene®, a safer bio-based polar aprotic solvent

A more sustainable dialysis and water filtration membrane has been developed, by using the new, safer, bio-based solvent Cyrene® in place of N-methyl pyrrolidinone (NMP). The effects of solvent choice, solvent evaporation time, the temperature of casting gel, and coagulation bath together with the additive concentration on porosity and pore size distribution were studied. The results, combined with infrared spectra, SEM images, porosity results, water contact angle (WCA), and water permeation, confirm that Cyrene® is better media to produce polyethersulfone (PES) membranes. New methods, Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP) and NMR-based pore structure model, were applied to estimate the porosity and pore size distribution of the new membranes produced for the first time with Cyrene® and PVP as additive. Hansen Solubility Parameters in Practice (HSPiP) was used to predict polymer-solvent interactions. The use of Cyrene® resulted in reduced polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) loading than required when using NMP and gave materials with larger pores and overall porosity. Two different conditions of casting gel were applied in this study: a hot (70°C) and cold gel (17°C) were cast to obtain membranes with different morphologies and water filtration behaviours

The position of graptolites within Lower Palaeozoic planktic ecosystems.

An integrated approach has been used to assess the palaeoecology of graptolites both as a discrete group and also as a part of the biota present within Ordovician and Silurian planktic realms. Study of the functional morphology of graptolites and comparisons with recent ecological analogues demonstrates that graptolites most probably filled a variety of niches as primary consumers, with modes of life related to the colony morphotype. Graptolite coloniality was extremely ordered, lacking any close morphological analogues in Recent faunas. To obtain maximum functional efficiency, graptolites would have needed varying degrees of coordinated automobility. A change in lifestyle related to ontogenetic changes was prevalent within many graptolite groups. Differing lifestyle was reflected by differing reproductive strategies, with synrhabdosomes most likely being a method for rapid asexual reproduction. Direct evidence in the form of graptolithophage 'coprolitic' bodies, as well as indirect evidence in the form of probable defensive adaptations, indicate that graptolites comprised a food item for a variety of predators. Graptolites were also hosts to a variety of parasitic organisms and provided an important nutrient source for scavenging organisms

Treatment resistance NMDA receptor pathway polygenic score is associated with brain glutamate in schizophrenia

Dysfunction of glutamate neurotransmission has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia and may be particularly relevant in severe, treatment-resistant symptoms. The underlying mechanism may involve hypofunction of the NMDA receptor. We investigated whether schizophrenia-related pathway polygenic scores, composed of genetic variants within NMDA receptor encoding genes, are associated with cortical glutamate in schizophrenia. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) glutamate was measured in 70 participants across 4 research sites using Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Two NMDA receptor gene sets were sourced from the Molecular Signatories Database and NMDA receptor pathway polygenic scores were constructed using PRSet. The NMDA receptor pathway polygenic scores were weighted by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with treatment-resistant schizophrenia, and associations with ACC glutamate were tested. We then tested whether NMDA receptor pathway polygenic scores with SNPs weighted by associations with non-treatment-resistant schizophrenia were associated with ACC glutamate. A higher NMDA receptor complex pathway polygenic score was significantly associated with lower ACC glutamate (β = −0.25, 95 % CI = −0.49, −0.02, competitive p = 0.03). When SNPs were weighted by associations with non-treatment-resistant schizophrenia, there was no association between the NMDA receptor complex pathway polygenic score and ACC glutamate (β = 0.05, 95 % CI = −0.18, 0.27, competitive p = 0.79). These results provide initial evidence of an association between common genetic variation implicated in NMDA receptor function and ACC glutamate levels in schizophrenia. This association was specific to when the NMDA receptor complex pathway polygenic score was weighted by SNP associations with treatment-resistant schizophrenia

Survival of Migrating Salmon Smolts in Large Rivers With and Without Dams

The mortality of salmon smolts during their migration out of freshwater and into the ocean has been difficult to measure. In the Columbia River, which has an extensive network of hydroelectric dams, the decline in abundance of adult salmon returning from the ocean since the late 1970s has been ascribed in large measure to the presence of the dams, although the completion of the hydropower system occurred at the same time as large-scale shifts in ocean climate, as measured by climate indices such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. We measured the survival of salmon smolts during their migration to sea using elements of the large-scale acoustic telemetry system, the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) array. Survival measurements using acoustic tags were comparable to those obtained independently using the Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tag system, which is operational at Columbia and Snake River dams. Because the technology underlying the POST array works in both freshwater and the ocean, it is therefore possible to extend the measurement of survival to large rivers lacking dams, such as the Fraser, and to also extend the measurement of survival to the lower Columbia River and estuary, where there are no dams. Of particular note, survival during the downstream migration of at least some endangered Columbia and Snake River Chinook and steelhead stocks appears to be as high or higher than that of the same species migrating out of the Fraser River in Canada, which lacks dams. Equally surprising, smolt survival during migration through the hydrosystem, when scaled by either the time or distance migrated, is higher than in the lower Columbia River and estuary where dams are absent. Our results raise important questions regarding the factors that are preventing the recovery of salmon stocks in the Columbia and the future health of stocks in the Fraser River