36633 research outputs found
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An independent report evaluating the design and development of the UK Pavilion at Osaka Expo 2025
No full textEvaluation of the UK presence at World Expo Osaka 2025 commissioned by UK Department for Business & Trad
Data-driven cleaning optimisation strategy for multi-technology PV systems in the higher education sector in arid climate:A case study perspective in MENA region
Full text linkThe accumulation of dust and other contaminants on photovoltaic (PV) panels is a multifactorial process that significantly affects system performance. While cleaning is vital to maintaining energy output and efficiency, its methods, frequency, and procedures also influence environmental impact, resource use, and operational costs.This study investigates the effects of cleaning protocols on PV energy generation at the Applied Science University (ASU) campus in Amman, Jordan, addressing challenges faced by higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. A controlled intervention was implemented on eight PV arrays with different technologies and installation configurations over a 19-week period. Machine learning techniques were applied for data imputation, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to assess the significance of cleaning interventions on energy performance.The findings demonstrate that uniform cleaning schedules are suboptimal, as different PV technologies and orientations exhibit varying responses to maintenance interventions. The study underscores the importance of customised cleaning strategies that account for technological type and system configuration to maximise power generation and efficiency. These results provide valuable insights for developing sustainable PV maintenance frameworks for HEIs and other institutions operating in arid climates across the MENA region
Jo Spence The Unknown Recordings
No full textJo Spence: The Unknown Recordings opens an unfiltered window onto the work of one of Britain's most influential and uncompromising photographers. Drawn from newly discovered tapes, transcripts and unpublished photographs in both private and institutional collections, the material reveals a voice far more intimate, direct and searching than anything previously published
A contact lens-embedded betaine ester polymer for pH-responsive release of an osmoprotectant to the corneal surface
No full textTopical delivery of osmoprotectants to ocular surface has been shown to be a promising solution to ocular discomfort thought to be associated with corneal hyperosmolarity. Currently, most osmoprotectants are administrated by aqueous eyedrops, which are associated with poor bioavailability and short residence time in the tear film, requiring repeated dosing to maintain the osmoprotectant concentration above the effective level. In response to this challenge, this work describes poly(vinyl glycine betaine) (PV-GB), a degradable ester quat polymer which gradually releases the osmoprotectant, glycine betaine (GB), over a period of days to weeks, with release rate strongly dependent on pH of its surroundings. PV-GB was embedded into commercial contact lenses (CLs) alongside a polyanion, hyaluronic acid (HA), to provide extended release of GB during a period reflecting the typical usage of a daily disposable CL wear of 8 – 16 h. A GB release lifetime of ≪48 hrs was achieved from a system comprising PV-GB/HA embedded within an anionic CL using a simple soaking method. Further experiments indicated the polymer was stable to autoclave sterilisation, had a shelf-life of 6 + months (under optimised solution conditions), and was likely to be mucoadhesive, which would be expected to enhance bioavailability of GB at the ocular surface
Ego and partner-centered sexual satisfaction in heterosexual men
No full textSexual satisfaction can be differentiated in terms of its personal (ego) and interpersonal (partner-centered) components. This cross-sectional survey study, based on data from a sample of 226 heterosexual men in the United Kingdom and Germany, examined the effects of relationship variables (relationship status and relationship length in years), sexual communication, and self and self-with-other schemata (identity resilience and attachment style, respectively) upon ego and partner-centered sexual satisfaction, while controlling for age and country effects. Data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Being partnered, sexual communication, secure attachment style, and identity resilience were associated with higher ego sexual satisfaction. In contrast, only sexual communication and secure attachment style were associated with higher partner-centered sexual satisfaction. Self and self-with-other schemata appear to operate differently in relation to the two components of sexual satisfaction. Therapeutic interventions for enhancing sexual satisfaction should distinguish between its ego and partner-centered components and focus upon developing sexual communication skills, a more secure attachment style and, for ego sexual satisfaction specifically, feelings of identity resilience in clients
Improving Conductivity of Reduced Infill 3D-Printed Electrodes Through Tuning Infill Pattern and Orientation
No full text3D printing has been shown to be a highly effective approach for the reproducible manufacturing of composite carbon electrodes. Various printing parameters have been effectively shown to enhance the electrochemical performance of 3D-printed electrodes through reducing contact resistance; however, most of these studies have been conducted using 100% infill electrodes. Our study explored how the infill pattern and printing orientation can impact the electrochemical performance of reduced infill carbon black/polylactic acid (CB/PLA) electrodes. We printed 30% infill CB/PLA electrodes in linear, grid, triangle, and wiggle infill patterns in both horizontal and vertical orientations and evaluated the performance using cyclic voltammetry, conductivity imaging, and contact angle measurements. CB/PLA electrodes made using a grid infill pattern in horizontal orientation and a linear infill pattern with vertical orientation had the highest current and lowest difference between the anodic and cathodic peak potentials for an inner-sphere redox probe. This study provides vital insight that the choice of infill pattern is important when printing in different orientations. The findings presented have significant implications on effective choice of printing parameters when crafting 3D-printed electrodes and electronic components
Investigating communication support strategies as ‘micro-interventions’:: A conceptual-methodological framework applying realist evaluation and relevance theory
No full textCommunication Partner Training is widely applied in speech and language therapy practice, premised on the idea that communication support strategies can optimise conversations involving persons with communication disabilities. The pragmatic mechanisms by which these communication support strategies ‘work’ in the moment of the conversation, remain under-theorised. We present a conceptual-methodological framework applying realist evaluation (Pawson & Tilley, 1997) and using relevance theory (Sperber & Wilson 1986/1995) as the ‘theory engine’ of the evaluation. We situates communicatio support strategies as ‘micro-interventions’, that is, interventions that occur in the complex social reality of conversation and affect the outcome of the unfolding conversation between a person with a communication disability and their communication partner, and the cognitive environment of both interlocutors. The theory-driven approach proposed provides a robust means through which to postulate the mechanisms by which communication support strategies work (that is how and why they work) within and across conversational contexts. A relevance-driven realist evaluation has the potential to generate explanatory accounts of communication support strategies which are both comparable across clinical populations and, crucially, empirically testable