Field verification of a stochastic model of soil creep

The research investigates random soil movement as suggested by Culling (1963), concentrating on the development of a technique for testing this theory. The technique employed dispenses with the need for continuous monitoring and avoids the inherent problems of soil disturbance arising from the use of soil probes. The theory assumes random and diffusive soil movement leading to a distinctive pattern of soil densities, through time, about obstacles of varying shapes. Solutions for circular and elliptical cylindrical obstacles have been calculated (Culling, 1981). The existence of a soil density pattern has now been investigated for circular obstacles by examining soil from around telegraph poles using photo-microscopy and image analysis to facilitate rapid calculation. Soil samples were removed in brass tubes, dried with acetone, impregnated with resin, made into thin sections, photographed and analysed. From the soil:void ratios of each picture the changing micro-density of soil around an obstacle can be determined. Results indicate significant variations in the density values. Detailed inspection of the two-dimensional information reveals that under sloping site conditions there is a coherent pattern of soil density which reflects that predicted by the theory. Flat sites are also consistent in that there is no identifiable trend in the horizontal plane. The conclusion considers the adequacy of the research undertaken to evaluate the theory.<p

Resonant and high resolution photoemission of rare-earth cobalt oxides

LnBaCo2O5+δ (Ln-112) where Ln = lanthanide element; 0 ≤ δ ≤1 and LnBaCo4O7+δ (Ln-114) are highly correlated cobalt oxides. Synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy of LnBaCo2O5+δ (Ln = Gd, Dy, Dy1-xTbx) and LnBaCo4O7 (Ln = Yb) has been undertaken at the UK Synchrotron Radiation Source (Daresbury Laboratory).During the photoemission experiments, the samples were observed to be contaminated due to residual gases inside the main vacuum chamber. The surface degradation of the samples is studied using the difference spectra generated from the valence band spectra of freshly scraped and contaminated samples and the nature of contaminated species on these samples is identified in the light of the reviewed literature. High-resolution photoemission is carried out to study the metal-insulator (MI) transition in double perovskites LnBaCo2O5+δ (Ln = Gd, Dy, Dy1-xTbx - Ln-112; 0 ≤ δ ≤ 1) as a function of temperature. The high-resolution photoemission results of single crystal samples of GdBaCo2O5.5, DyBaCo2O5.5 and Dy1-xTbxBaCo2O5+δ show that the temperature-based MI transitions in these compounds occur in the 300-400 K temperature range. A post-growth oxygen annealing treatment for as-grown single crystals of Ln-112 is necessary, achieving oxygen contents close to 5.50, to observe a marked nonmetal-to-metal transition. Resonant photoemission is used to identify the atomic parentage of the valence band states. A comparison of the electronic structure of LnBaCo2O5+δ (Ln = Gd, Dy, Dy1-xTbx - Ln-112; 0 ≤ δ ≤ 1) and LnBaCo4O7 (Ln = Yb - Ln-114) single-crystal surfaces is made using synchrotron photoemission spectroscopy. In both cases, the states close to the Fermi energy are found to be of mixed Co 3d/O 2p character, and the comparison allows identification of states due to low spin Co³⁺ in octahedral environments. The contributions from Ln elements to the valence band are found at higher binding energies.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Pump-probe spectroscopy of photovoltaic materials

The study of photovoltaic materials is important so as to develop new solar energy technologies: in particular, quantum-confined semiconductors could offer increased quantum efficiencies at a much lower manufacture cost. This thesis contains results from a number of pump-probe experiments designed to probe the carrier dynamics in bulk and quantum-confined photovoltaics. A THz time-domain spectrometer was designed, built and commissioned. The THz refractive indices and absorption coefficients of toluene and hexane were determined, and the spectrometer was benchmarked using a photoexcited GaAs wafer. Results are presented of time-resolved THz spectroscopy of photoexcited bulk InP as a function of laser excitation wavelength. These data were used to extract the quantum efficiency of bulk InP in order to compare with recent results for InP quantum dots. The quantum efficiency in quantum dots increases when the incident photon energy is at least twice the band gap energy, whereasthe efficiency of the bulk material is found to decrease. This is because of surface recombination, and these measurements therefore verify the potential superiority of quantum dot materials over bulk materials for use in solar energy applications. Initial measurements of quantum dots using THz spectroscopy highlighted the various experimental challenges involved and the upgrades required to study such samples in the future.The time-dependence of the photoinduced surface photovoltage (SPV) in Si was studied on nanosecond timescales by synchronizing an ultrafast laser system to a synchrotron radiation source (the SRS at Daresbury, UK), and measuring the resulting shift in the photoelectron spectrum. The equilibrium band bending was determined, and the decay of the SPV was attributed to the recombination of charge carriers across the band gap. Results are presented for the SPV in bulk ZnO and for PbS quantum dot chemically attached to ZnO. The fact that the PbS quantum dots were chemically attached to the surface without becoming oxidized was verified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The changes caused by photoexcitation occur on much longer timescales in ZnO than Si (sub-milliseconds rather than nanoseconds), and these timescales were conveniently accessed using the time-resolved XPS facility at the TEMPO beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL (Paris, France). This is due to oxygen adsorption and desorption processes at the ZnO surface affectingthe transfer of charge carriers. The addition of PbS quantum dots to the ZnO surface was found to increase the speed of this charge transfer due to injection of carriers directly from the PbS quantum dot to the bulk ZnO conduction band.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication