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Effect of reinforcement continuity on the ballistic performance of composites reinforced with multiply plain weave fabrics
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Opportunity costs estimation of ecosystem services
No full textLand-use changes rank among the most significant drivers of change in ecosystem services worldwide. The enhancement of important services such as biodiversity and carbon sequestration requires modifications in land-use that can lead to the decline in other ecosystems services. Targeting the most suitable areas for particular land-uses based on comparative advantages requires opportunity cost information across large regions. This is a demanding task because the input-output relations are ill-defined and determined by spatially heterogeneous operational and environmental conditions. To address this methodological challenge, this paper presents a two-stage semiparametric technique that enables multi-dimensional production possibility frontiers to be estimated from data provided by biophysical models. Specific advantages of the proposed frontier approach are its flexibility with regard to assumptions on the convexity of the production possibility set and its freedom from any separability assumptions for the input-output space and the space of the heterogeneous background variables. The method is illustrated for a case study of 18 Central and Eastern European countries. Results show that opportunity costs of changes in ecosystem services provision differ substantially between regions. Those areas having already relatively high levels of carbon sequestration have a comparative advantage in sequestering carbon. Opportunity costs of biodiversity are generally positively related with the level of biodiversity up to a turning point after which they are negatively related. To illustrate the policy consequences of the observed economies and diseconomies of scope we compare two management regimes to illustrate the potential gains from smart land management
The efficacy of intra-articular steroids in hip osteoarthritis: A systematic review
No full textOBJECTIVE: International guidelines recommend intra-articular steroid injections (IASI) in the management of hip osteoarthritis (OA), though these recommendations are extrapolated primarily from studies of knee OA. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficacy of IASI on pain in patients with hip OA. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, AMED, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from inception to May 2015. Randomised controlled trial assessing the efficacy of hip IASI on pain were included. Pre-specified data was independently extracted by two reviewers using a standardised form. Quality assessment was performed using the Jadad scoring system. RESULTS Five trials met the inclusion criteria, all of which had a small number of participants (≤101). All studies reported some reduction in pain at 3-4 weeks post-injection compared to control. Based on data from individual trials the treatment effect size was large at 1 week post-injection but declined thereafter. A clinically significant (moderate effect size) reduction in pain was reported in 2 trials up to 8 weeks following IASI. Pooled results of 2 trials showed an increase likelihood of meeting the OMERACT-OARSI response criteria at 8 weeks post-injection, odds ratio 7.8 (95% CI 2.7-22.8). The number needed to treat to achieve one OMERACT-OARSI responder at 8 weeks post-injection was 2.4 (95% CI 1.7-4.2). CONCLUSIONS: Hip IASI appears to be efficacious in short term pain reduction in those with hip OA. Further research is required to confirm longer term efficacy and evaluate safety
Dissimilar ultrasonic spot welding of aerospace aluminum alloy AA2139 to titanium alloy TiAl6V4
No full textThe microstructure, hardness, lap shear strength and fracture energy of AA2139–TiAl6V4 spot joints produced by ultrasonic welding were investigated and related to the weld thermal cycle. No obvious intermetallic reaction layer was observed in the AA2139–TiAl6V4 welds, even using transmission electron microscopy. The hardness profile of AA2139 side after welding was studied, demonstrating that the heat introduced by the welding process leads to some softening with partial hardness recovery after natural aging. The effects of welding time on peak load and fracture energy were investigated. The peak load and fracture energy of welds increased with an increase in welding time and then reached a plateau, i.e., maximum peak load 5.3 kN and maximum fracture energy 3.7 kN mm. In all cases, failure occurred by fracture at the weld interface
Atmospheric composition in the Eastern Mediterranean: Influence of biomass burning during summertime using the WRF-Chem model
No full textThe Construal of Midwives by Pregnant Women with a Body Mass Index Greater Than or Equal to 30 kg/m<sup>2</sup> (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m<sup>2</sup>):A repertory grid study
No full textObjective: To explore the construal of midwives by pregnant women with a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2 (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2).Method: Ten pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 were recruited from antenatal clinics at a maternity hospital in the North West of England. Each participant completed a repertory grid. The participants chose people to match roles including themselves, pregnant women, midwives of different BMIs and hypothetical elements. They also generated psychological constructs to describe them.Results: Pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 construed themselves as vulnerable and self-conscious. Some women endorsed obesity-related stereotypes for themselves and felt responsible for their weight. The midwife with a BMI 18 < 30 kg/m2 was considered to be most similar to the ideal midwife, while the midwife with a BMI ≤ 18 kg/m2 was construed as having an undesirable interpersonal style. The midwife with a BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 was often construed as sharing similar experiences to the pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, such as struggling with the psychological consequences of a raised BMI. Some women construed the midwife with a BMI 30 < 40 kg/m2 in a positive way, whereas others viewed it as sharing similar feelings about weight as the midwife with a BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2.Conclusions: The pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 in this study described perceptions of themselves and the midwives responsible for their care, which may affect their engagement and satisfaction with services. Pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 should be involved in service development activities to ensure the structure of services and the language used by midwives are acceptable and do not confirm weight-related stereotypes
Strong Exchange Coupling in a Trimetallic Radical-Bridged Cobalt(II)-Hexaazatrinaphthalene Complex
No full textReducing hexaazatrinaphthylene (HAN) with potassium in the presence of 18-c-6 produces [{K(18-c-6)}HAN], which contains the S=1/2 radical [HAN].−. The [HAN].− radical can be transferred to the cobalt(II) amide [Co{N(SiMe3)2}2], forming [K(18-c-6)][(HAN){Co(N′′)2}3]; magnetic measurements on this compound reveal an S=4 spin system with strong cobalt–ligand antiferromagnetic exchange and J≈−290 cm−1 (−2 J formalism). In contrast, the CoII centres in the unreduced analogue [(HAN){Co(N′′)2}3] are weakly coupled (J≈−4.4 cm−1). The finding that [HAN].− can be synthesized as a stable salt and transferred to cobalt introduces potential new routes to magnetic materials based on strongly coupled, triangular HAN building blocks
Loud and Proud:Passion and Politics in the English Defence League
No full text‘Loud and proud’: Politics and passion in the English Defence League is a study of grassroots activism in what is widely considered to be a violent Islamophobic and racist organisation.The book uses interviews, informal conversations and extended observation at EDL events to critically reflect on the gap between the movement’s public image and activists’ own understandings of it. It details how activists construct the EDL, and themselves, as ‘not racist, not violent, just no longer silent’ inter alia through the exclusion of Muslims as a possible object of racism on the grounds that they are a religiously not racially defined group. In contrast activists perceive themselves to be ‘second-class citizens’, disadvantaged and discriminated by a ‘two-tier’ justice system that privileges the rights of ‘others’. This failure to recognise themselves as a privileged white majority explains why ostensibly intimidating EDL street demonstrations marked by racist chanting and nationalistic flag waving are understood by activists as standing ‘loud and proud’; the only way of ‘being heard’ in a political system governed by a politics of silencing.Unlike most studies of ‘far right’ movements, this book focuses not on the EDL as an organisation – its origins, ideology, strategic repertoire and effectiveness – but on the individuals who constitute the movement. Its ethnographic approach challenges stereotypes and allows insight into the emotional as well as political dimension of activism. At the same time, the book recognises and discusses the complex political and ethical issues of conducting close-up social research with ‘distasteful’ groups. <br/