UK utility data integration: overcoming schematic heterogeneity

In this paper we discuss syntactic, semantic and schematic issues which inhibit the integration of utility data in the UK. We then focus on the techniques employed within the VISTA project to overcome schematic heterogeneity. A Global Schema based architecture is employed. Although automated approaches to Global Schema definition were attempted the heterogeneities of the sector were too great. A manual approach to Global Schema definition was employed. The techniques used to define and subsequently map source utility data models to this schema are discussed in detail. In order to ensure a coherent integrated model, sub and cross domain validation issues are then highlighted. Finally the proposed framework and data flow for schematic integration is introduced

Probing long-range leptonic forces with solar and reactor neutrinos

In this work we study the phenomenological consequences of the existence of long-range forces coupled to lepton flavour numbers in solar neutrino oscillations. We study electronic forces mediated by scalar, vector or tensor neutral bosons and analyze their effect on the propagation of solar neutrinos as a function of the force strength and range. Under the assumption of one mass scale dominance, we perform a global analysis of solar and KamLAND neutrino data which depends on the two standard oscillation parameters, \Delta m^2_{21} and \tan^2\theta_{12}, the force coupling constant, its range and, for the case of scalar-mediated interactions, on the neutrino mass scale as well. We find that, generically, the inclusion of the new interaction does not lead to a very statistically significant improvement on the description of the data in the most favored MSW LMA (or LMA-I) region. It does, however, substantially improve the fit in the high-\Delta m^2 LMA (or LMA-II) region which can be allowed for vector and scalar lepto-forces (in this last case if neutrinos are very hierarchical) at 2.5\sigma. Conversely, the analysis allows us to place stringent constraints on the strength versus range of the leptonic interaction.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Transition from the Couette-Taylor system to the plane Couette system

We discuss the flow between concentric rotating cylinders in the limit of large radii where the system approaches plane Couette flow. We discuss how in this limit the linear instability that leads to the formation of Taylor vortices is lost and how the character of the transition approaches that of planar shear flows. In particular, a parameter regime is identified where fractal distributions of life times and spatiotemporal intermittency occur. Experiments in this regime should allow to study the characteristics of shear flow turbulence in a closed flow geometry.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Inhibition of Vaginal Lactobacilli by a Bacteriocin-Like Inhibitor Produced by Enterococcus faecium 62-6: Potential Significance for Bacterial Vaginosis

Objective: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is characterized by a shift in vaginal tract ecology, which includes a decrease in the concentration and/or prevalence of facultative lactobacilli. Currently, mechanisms which could account for the disappearance of lactobacilli are not well understood. The objective of this study was to determine whether vaginal streptococci/enterococci can produce bacteriocin-like inhibitors antagonistic to vaginal lactobacilli. Methods: Seventy strains of vaginal streptococci or enterococci were tested for antagonistic activities against vaginal lactobacilli using the deferred antagonism technique. Results: One strain, Enterococcus faecium 62-6, which strongly inhibited growth of lactobacilli was selected for further characterization. The spectrum of inhibitory activity of strain 62-6 included Gram-positive organisms from the vaginal environment, although native lactobacilli from the same host were resistant to inhibitor action. Following growth inMRSbroth the strain 62-6 inhibitor was shown to be heat- (100℃, 30 minutes), cold- (4℃, less than 114 days) and pH- (4–7) stable. The sensitivity of inhibitor-containing supernatants to pepsin and α-chymotrypsin suggested an essential proteinaceous component. The inhibitor was sensitive to lipase but resistant to lysozyme. Dialysis of inhibitor-containing culture supernatants suggested a molecular mass greater than 12 000 Da. All physicochemical properties were consistent with its classification as a bacteriocin-like inhibitor. Kinetic assays demonstrated a sharp onset of inhibitor production coinciding with a concentration of 62-6 of 10(7) cfu/ml, suggesting that production may be regulated by quorum sensing. Conclusions: These results may have clinical significance as a novel mechanism to account for the decline of vaginal Lactobacillus populations and contribute to both the establishment and recurrence of BV

How to humiliate and shame: A reporter's guide to the power of the mugshot

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Social Semiotics, 24(1), 56-87, 2014, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/The judicial photograph – the “mugshot” – is a ubiquitous and instantly recognisable form, appearing in the news media, on the internet, on book covers, law enforcement noticeboards and in many other mediums. This essay attempts to situate the mugshot in a historical and theoretical context to explain the explicit and implicit meaning of the genre as it has developed, focussing in particular on their use in the UK media in late modernity. The analysis is based on the author's reflexive practice as a journalist covering crime in the national news media for 30 years and who has used mugshots to illustrate stories for their explicit and specific content. The author argues that the visual limitations of the standardised “head and shoulders” format of the mugshot make it a robust subject for analysing the changing meaning of images over time. With little variation in the image format, arguments for certain accreted layers of signification are easier to make. Within a few years of the first appearance of the mugshot form in the mid-19th century, it was adopted and adapted as a research tool by scientists and criminologists. While the positivist scientists claimed empirical objectivity we can now see that mugshots played a part in the construction of subjective notions of “the other”, “the lesser” or “sub-human” on the grounds of class, race and religion. These dehumanising ideas later informed the theorists and bureaucrats of National Socialist ideology from the 1920s to 1940s. The author concludes that once again the mugshot has become, in certain parts of the media, a signifier widely used to exclude or deride certain groups. In late modernity, the part of the media that most use mugshots – the tabloid press and increasingly tabloid TV – is part of a neo-liberal process that, in a conscious commercial appeal to the paying audience, seeks to separate rather than unify wider society

Temporal Modulation of Traveling Waves in the Flow Between Rotating Cylinders With Broken Azimuthal Symmetry

The effect of temporal modulation on traveling waves in the flows in two distinct systems of rotating cylinders, both with broken azimuthal symmetry, has been investigated. It is shown that by modulating the control parameter at twice the critical frequency one can excite phase-locked standing waves and standing-wave-like states which are not allowed when the system is rotationally symmetric. We also show how previous theoretical results can be extended to handle patterns such as these, that are periodic in two spatial direction.Comment: 17 pages in LaTeX, 22 figures available as postscript files from http://www.esam.nwu.edu/riecke/lit/lit.htm

Fenton's reagent for the rapid and efficient isolation of microplastics from wastewater

Fenton’s reagent was used to isolate microplastics from organic-rich wastewater. The catalytic reaction did not affect microplastic chemistry or size, enabling its use as a pre-treatment method for focal plane array-based micro-FT-IR imaging. Compared with previously described microplastic treatment methods, Fenton’s reagent offers a considerable reduction in sample preparation times

N-Methacryloyl-4-(piperidin-1-yl)-1,8-naphthalimide

In the title compound, C21H20N2O3, the naphthalimide unit is almost planar (r.m.s. deviation for the 15 non-H atoms = 0.059 Å). The carboximide N atom and the five C atoms of the 2-methyl­prop-2-enoyl substituent also lie in a plane (r.m.s. deviation = 0.009 Å), which subtends an angle of 84.34 (7)° to the naphthalamide plane. This orients the =CH2 group of the vinyl fragment towards the naphthalimide rings, giving the mol­ecule an extended configuration. The piperidine ring adopts a chair conformation and there is evidence for some delocalization between the naphthalene and piperidine units, the C—Npip bond length being 1.404 (4) Å. In the crystal structure, π–π contacts with centroid–centroid distances of 3.5351 (18) and 3.7794 (18) Å supported by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link adjacent mol­ecules in a head-to-tail fashion, forming dimers. These are further stabilized by other C—H⋯O contacts of varying strength, which stack the mol­ecules down the b axis

The employee as 'Dish of the Day’:human resource management and the ethics of consumption

This article examines the ethical implications of the growing integration of consumption into the heart of the employment relationship. Human resource management (HRM) practices increasingly draw upon the values and practices of consumption, constructing employees as the ‘consumers’ of ‘cafeteria-style’ benefits and development opportunities. However, at the same time employees are expected to market themselves as items to be consumed on a corporate menu. In relation to this simultaneous position of consumer/consumed, the employee is expected to actively engage in the commodification of themselves, performing an appropriate organizational identity as a necessary part of being a successful employee. This article argues that the relationship between HRM and the simultaneously consuming/consumed employee affects the conditions of possibility for ethical relations within organizational life. It is argued that the underlying ‘ethos’ for the integration of consumption values into HRM practices encourages a self-reflecting, self-absorbed subject, drawing upon a narrow view of individualised autonomy and choice. Referring to Levinas’ perspective that the primary ethical relation is that of responsibility and openness to the Other, it is concluded that these HRM practices affect the possibility for ethical being