1,364 research outputs found
Introducing instrumentation and data acquisition to mechanical engineering students using LabVIEW
For several years, LabVIEW has been used within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Strathclyde as the basis for introducing the basic concepts and practice of data acquisition, and more generally, instrumentation, to postgraduate engineering students and undergraduate project students. The objectives of introducing LabVIEW within the curriculum were to expose students to instrumentation and experimental analysis, and to create courseware that could be used flexibly for a range of students. It was also important that staff time for laboratory work be kept to manageable levels. A course module was developed which allows engineering students with very little or no previous knowledge of instrumentation or programming to become acquainted with the basics of programming, experimentation and data acquisition. The basic course structure has been used to teach both undergraduates and postgraduates as well as laboratory technical staff. The paper describes the objectives of the use of LabVIEW for teaching, the structure of the module developed, and the response of students who have been subjected to the course, and how it is intended to expand the delivery to greater student numbers
DocuDrama
This paper presents an approach combining concepts of virtual storytelling with cooperative processes. We will describe why storytelling is relevant in cooperation support applications. We will outline how storytelling concepts provide a new quality for groupware applications. Different prototypes illustrate a combination of a groupware application with various storytelling components in a Theatre of Work
An experimental and computational analysis of buoyancy driven flows by laser sheet tomography, particle image velocimetry and computational fluid dynamics
This paper contains details of a three pronged investigation into the development of a buoyant jet impinging on a wall in a closed vessel. The development of the flow was measured experimentally by particle image velocimetry (PIV) and laser sheet tomography. The experimental results are compared with a computational model of the flow calculated by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package PHOENICS
Symbolic Activities in Virtual Spaces
This paper presents an approach to combine concepts ofsymbolic acting and virtual storytelling with the support ofcooperative processes. We will motivate why symboliclanguages are relevant in the social context of awarenessapplications. We will describe different symbolicpresentations and illustrate their application in three differentprototypes
Migratory Outbursting Quasi-Hilda Object 282P/(323137) 2003 BM80
We report object 282P/(323137) 2003 BM80 is undergoing a sustained activity
outburst, lasting over 15 months thus far. These findings stem in part from our
NASA Partner Citizen Science project Active Asteroids
(http://activeasteroids.net), which we introduce here. We acquired new
observations of 282P via our observing campaign (Vatican Advanced Technology
Telescope, Lowell Discovery Telescope, and the Gemini South telescope),
confirming 282P was active on UT 2022 June 7, some 15 months after 2021 March
images showed activity in the 2021/2022 epoch. We classify 282P as a member of
the Quasi-Hilda Objects, a group of dynamically unstable objects found in an
orbital region similar to, but distinct in their dynamical characteristics to,
the Hilda asteroids (objects in 3:2 resonance with Jupiter). Our dynamical
simulations show 282P has undergone at least five close encounters with Jupiter
and one with Saturn over the last 180 years. 282P was most likely a Centaur or
Jupiter Family Comet (JFC) 250 years ago. In 350 years, following some 15
strong Jovian interactions, 282P will most likely migrate to become a JFC or,
less likely, a main-belt asteroid. These migrations highlight a dynamical
pathway connecting Centaurs and JFC with Quasi-Hildas and, potentially, active
asteroids. Synthesizing these results with our thermodynamical modeling and new
activity observations, we find volatile sublimation is the primary activity
mechanism. Observations of a quiescent 282P, which we anticipate will be
possible in 2023, will help confirm our hypothesis by measuring a rotation
period and ascertaining spectral type.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figure
Parasitic Cape honeybee workers, Apis mellifera capensis, evade policing
Relocation of the Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis, by bee-keepers from southern to northern South Africa in 1990 has caused widespread death of managed African honeybee, A. m. scutellata, colonies. Apis mellifera capensis worker bees are able to lay diploid, female eggs without mating by means of automictic thelytoky (meiosis followed by fusion of two meiotic products to restore egg diploidy), whereas workers of other honeybee subspecies are able to lay only haploid, male eggs. The A. m. capensis workers, which are parasitizing and killing A. m. scutellata colonies in northern South Africa, are the asexual offspring of a single, original worker in which the small amount of genetic variation observed is due to crossing over during meiosis (P. Kryger, personal communication). Here we elucidate two principal mechanisms underlying this parasitism. Parasitic A. m. capensis workers activate their ovaries in host colonies that have a queen present (queenright colonies), and they lay eggs that evade being killed by other workers (worker policing)âthe normal fate of worker-laid eggs in colonies with a queen. This unique parasitism by workers is an instance in which a society is unable to control the selfish actions of its members
Fractional flow reserve vs. angiography in guiding management to optimize outcomes in non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: the British Heart Foundation FAMOUS-NSTEMI randomized trial
Aim: We assessed the management and outcomes of non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) patients randomly assigned to fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided management or angiography-guided standard care.
Methods and results: We conducted a prospective, multicentre, parallel group, 1 : 1 randomized, controlled trial in 350 NSTEMI patients with ≥ coronary stenosis ≥30% of the lumen diameter assessed visually (threshold for FFR measurement) (NCT01764334). Enrolment took place in six UK hospitals from October 2011Â to May 2013. Fractional flow reserve was disclosed to the operator in the FFR-guided group (n = 176). Fractional flow reserve was measured but not disclosed in the angiography-guided group (n = 174). Fractional flow reserve ≤0.80 was an indication for revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). The median (IQR) time from the index episode of myocardial ischaemia to angiography was 3 (2, 5) days. For the primary outcome, the proportion of patients treated initially by medical therapy was higher in the FFR-guided group than in the angiography-guided group [40 (22.7%) vs. 23 (13.2%), difference 95% (95% CI: 1.4%, 17.7%), P = 0.022]. Fractional flow reserve disclosure resulted in a change in treatment between medical therapy, PCI or CABG in 38 (21.6%) patients. At 12 months, revascularization remained lower in the FFR-guided group [79.0 vs. 86.8%, difference 7.8% (â0.2%, 15.8%), P = 0.054]. There were no statistically significant differences in health outcomes and quality of life between the groups.
Conclusion: In NSTEMI patients, angiography-guided management was associated with higher rates of coronary revascularization compared with FFR-guided management. A larger trial is necessary to assess health outcomes and cost-effectiveness
Fractional flow reserve versus angiography in guiding management to optimize outcomes in nonâST-elevation myocardial infarction (FAMOUS-NSTEMI): rationale and design of a randomized controlled clinical trial
<p>Background:
In patients with acute nonâST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), coronary arteriography is usually recommended; but visual interpretation of the angiogram is subjective. We hypothesized that functional assessment of coronary stenosis severity with a pressure-sensitive guide wire (fractional flow reserve [FFR]) would have additive diagnostic, clinical, and health economic utility as compared with angiography-guided standard care.</p>
<p>Methods and design:
A prospective multicenter parallel-group 1:1 randomized controlled superiority trial in 350 NSTEMI patients with â„1 coronary stenosis â„30% severity (threshold for FFR measurement) will be conducted. Patients will be randomized immediately after coronary angiography to the FFR-guided group or angiography-guided group. All patients will then undergo FFR measurement in all vessels with a coronary stenosis â„30% severity including culprit and nonculprit lesions. Fractional flow reserve will be disclosed to guide treatment in the FFR-guided group but not disclosed in the âangiography-guidedâ group. In the FFR-guided group, an FFR â€0.80 will be an indication for revascularization by percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass surgery, as appropriate. The primary outcome is the between-group difference in the proportion of patients allocated to medical management only compared with revascularization. Secondary outcomes include the occurrence of cardiac death or hospitalization for myocardial infarction or heart failure, quality of life, and health care costs. The minimum and average follow-up periods for the primary analysis are 6 and 18 months, respectively.</p>
<p>Conclusions:
Our developmental clinical trial will address the feasibility of FFR measurement in NSTEMI and the influence of FFR disclosure on treatment decisions and health and economic outcomes.</p>
Contrasting mechanisms for crustal sulphur contamination of mafic magma: evidence from dyke and sill complexes from the British Palaeogene Igneous Province
This is the final version of the article. Available from the Geological Society via the DOI in this record.he addition of crustal sulphur to magma can trigger sulphide saturation, a process fundamental to the development of some NiâCuâPGE deposits. In the British Palaeogene Igneous Province, mafic and ultramafic magmas intrude a thick sedimentary sequence offering opportunities to elucidate mechanisms of magmaâcrust interaction in a setting with heterogeneous S isotope signatures. We present S-isotopic data from sills and dykes on the Isle of Skye. Sharp contrasts exist between variably light ÎŽ34S in Jurassic sedimentary sulphide (â35â° to â10â°) and a local pristine magmatic ÎŽ34S signature of â2.3â±â1.5â°. Flat-lying sills have restricted ÎŽ34S (â5â° to 0â°) whereas steeply dipping dykes are more variable (â0â° to â2â°). We suggest that the mechanism by which magma is intruded exerts a fundamental control on the degree of crustal contamination by volatile elements. Turbulent flow within narrow, steep magma conduits, discordant to sediments, and developed by brittle extension or dilation have maximum contamination potential. In contrast, sill-like conduits emplaced concordantly to sediments show little contamination by crustal S. The province is prospective for NiâCuâPGE mineralization analogous to the sill-hosted Norilâsk deposit, and Cu/Pd ratios of sills and dykes on Skye indicate that magmas had already reached S-saturation before reaching the present exposure level.Sulphur isotope analysis was undertaken at the Scottish Universities
Environment Research Centre (SUERC) and funded by an NERC Isotope
Geosciences Facilities Steering Committee grant (IP-1356-1112). H.S.R.H.
would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Natural Environment
Research Council (NERC) for funding this work (studentship NE/J50029X/1)
and open access publication. A.J.B. is funded by NERC funding of the Isotope
Community Support Facility at SUER
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