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An investigation into the thermal and hygric performance of bio-based wall systems
Get PDFRenewable bio-based materials are emerging technologies within the construction industry, providing inventive solutions for reducing material waste and the carbon footprint of an inherently carbon-intensive sector. Previously they have been commonly investigated in isolation and there are a significant lack of case studies demonstrating the performance of bio-based materials in entire external wall designs. This study evaluates the thermal and hygric performance of five novel bio-based external wall systems, featuring highly innovative combinations of insulation, structural and façade materials. Large scale wall panels were designed, constructed and tested within a bespoke Large Environmental Chamber (LEC) to determine thermal performance and hygric behaviour using the heat flow method. Hygrothermal simulations with WUFI® Pro were conducted to assess condensation and mould risks. Insulation materials used were wood fibre, mycelium, sheep's wool and blown-in cellulose. Structural options were timber, Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and also light-gauge steel, while facades were bio-based-polymeric composite material or bio-based treated timber cladding. Thermal transmittance and conductance were calculated along with time series analysis of temperature and relative humidity. The U-values of the five walls ranged from 0.13 W/m2K to 0.22 W/m2K and modelling simulations were in broad agreement with the practical results, with four of the five walls fulfilling an 0.18 W/m2K benchmark value based upon building regulations. The significance of the study is in the demonstration of the feasibility of a range of bio-based external wall designs, combining emerging material technologies, innovative design and building physics to contribute to the development of bio-based construction.</p
Self-avoiding walk is ballistic on graphs with more than one end
Get PDFWe prove that on any transitive graph G with infinitely many ends, a self-avoiding walk of length n is ballistic with extremely high probability, in the sense that there exist constants 0 ]]> such that for every. Furthermore, we show that the number of self-avoiding walks of length n grows asymptotically like, in the sense that there exists 0 ]]> such that for every. These results generalise earlier work by Li (J. Comb. Theory Ser. A, 2020). The key to this greater generality is that in contrast to Li's approach, our proof does not require the existence of a special structure that enables the construction of separating patterns. Our results also extend more generally to quasi-transitive graphs with infinitely many ends, satisfying the additional technical property that there is a quasi-transitive group of automorphisms of G which does not fix an end of G.</p
Dataset for validation of the self-Dehumanisation in Psychosis Scale (DiPS): measuring feelings of self-dehumanisation in people who experience psychosis
No full textThe dataset contains data collected from 456 people with experience of psychosis who participated in a study to validate the self-Dehumanisation in Psychosis Scale (DiPS). Demographic information includes ethnicity, gender, age, diagnosis, and whether a person is taking anti-psychotic medication. There are data from five self-report questionnaires collected at one time point: self-Dehumanisation in Psychosis Scale (DiPS); Self Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF) (Raes et al., 2013), Revised Green et al., Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS) (Freeman et al., 2021); Hamilton Programme for Schizophrenia Voices Questionnaires (HPSVQ), (Van Lieshout & Goldberg, 2007); Internalized Stigma of Mental Illness Inventory-9 (ISMI-9) (Hammer & Toland, 2017). The DiPS was completed at a second time point 3-7 days after the first to assess test-retest reliability. A subset of 197 participants completed the DiPS at the second time point
Expert Memories:The Professional Construction of the Past and the Mnemonic Making of Occupations
Get PDFThis article introduces the special issue on occupations and memory in organizations. To foster increasing collaboration from scholars from both fields, we offer a general argument connecting memory and occupations on two levels. At the societal level, we show how memory experts, such as historians, archivists, and museologists, have played a fundamental role in the development of modernity and the emergence of our contemporary historical consciousness. At the occupational level, we argue that occupations are transgenerational communities maintained through various practices and technologies of memory whose legitimacy and professional status increasingly depend on their ability to cultivate both practical and historical memory. We further explore three related topics covered by the papers from this special issue: expert and memory work, occupational and mnemonic communities, and professional and mnemonic projects. At the end, we identify three promising themes for future research: the negotiation of boundaries and resources among communities; the interaction between technology, expertise, and memory; and the occupational ethics and responsibility towards past actions and memories.</p
How do older patients with advanced kidney disease, and their family members, understand kidney function and failure? A qualitative study.
Get PDFBackgroundPatients approaching kidney failure are increasingly older, and living with multiple long-term conditions. The benefits of kidney replacement therapy (KRT) are uncertain for many in this group. Supporting decisions between treatment options requires consideration of how people perceive chronic kidney disease and its treatments. This qualitative study aimed to explore how older patients and family members understand kidney function and failure, and how this impacts treatment decision-making.MethodsBetween September 2018 and July 2019, semi-structured interviews were conducted with older patients and family members recruited from three United Kingdom kidney units. Eligible patients had estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 15 ml/min/1.73m2, no previous KRT and were age ≥ 80 years, or ≥ 65 years with significant comorbidity. Interviews used a topic guide developed with patient input. Interview transcripts were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and constant comparative techniques.ResultsFifteen patients and 12 family members were interviewed. Three themes were identified: (i) Critical blood-cleaning organs, where kidney function was considered vital for survival; (ii) Unwitnessed function and failure, where kidney disease was experienced invisibly; and (iii) Quantifying and predicting kidney function, including conceptualisation of kidney function using numbers and graphs. Unwitnessed, intangible experiences of kidney failure appeared to accentuate reliance on clinicians for disease information. Numerical and graphical depictions of kidney function were central to formation of disease understanding. Concepts of treatment ‘thresholds’ appeared to affirm misperceptions of a binary choice between dialysis and death.ConclusionsUnintended misunderstandings, including eGFR thresholds for dialysis initiation, arise from common clinical communication approaches and appear to impact upon informed decision-making. This is especially important for older patients with multiple conditions, for whom the benefits of dialysis are uncertain. Improved consultation approaches which enhance patient understanding are needed. Revising misleading terminology and shifting focus away from numerical disease metrics may help patients and families making individualised choices between treatments
Dense matter in neutron stars with eXTP
Get PDFIn this white paper, we present the potential of the enhanced X-ray timing and polarimetry (eXTP) mission to constrain the equation of state of dense matter in neutron stars, exploring regimes not directly accessible to terrestrial experiments. By observing a diverse population of neutron stars—including isolated objects, X-ray bursters, and accreting systems—eXTP’s unique combination of timing, spectroscopy, and polarimetry enables high-precision measurements of compactness, spin, surface temperature, polarimetric signals, and timing irregularity. These multifaceted observations, combined with advances in theoretical modeling, pave the way toward a comprehensive description of the properties and phases of dense matter from the crust to the core of neutron stars. Under development by an international Consortium led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the eXTP mission is planned to be launched in early 2030.</p
High-performance low-velocity turbulent flow piezoelectric energy harvester using porous Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) ceramics
Get PDFPiezoelectric energy harvesting of water flow offers a promising approach for directly powering Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors used in water environment monitoring. However, its voltage and power outputs remain limited under practical flow conditions, especially in turbulent and low-velocity flows. To address this challenge, this work presents the first demonstration of a water flow energy harvester integrated with d33-mode and porosity-engineered lead-free Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) piezoelectric ceramics. The performance of the harvester was experimentally evaluated in turbulent water flow at a low velocity of 0.1 m/s. During a capacitor charging test, the porous BCZT harvester achieved a 2.3-times increase in the saturated charging voltage (Vcharge) and a 5.1-fold increase in the charging power compared to the dense BCZT harvester. This work fills the knowledge gap related to piezoelectric harvesters in low-velocity turbulent flow, demonstrating the critical role of material design in water flow energy harvesting, and promoting the development of self-powered water monitoring technologies
Dataset for “Why AGG is associated with high transgene output: passenger effects and their implications for transgene design”
No full textIn bacteria, high A and low G content of the 5′ end of the coding sequence (CDS) promotes low RNA stability, facilitating ribosomal initiation and subsequently a high protein to transcript ratio. Additionally, 5′ NGG codons are suppressive owing to peptidyl-tRNA drop off. It was, therefore, surprising that the first large-scale transgene experiment to interrogate the 5′ effect by codon randomization found the NGG, G-rich codon AGG to be the most associated with high transgene output. In this study we show that this is not replicated in other large transgene datasets, where AGG and NGG are associated with low efficiency. More generally, there is limited agreement between the first experiment and others. This we find to be a consequence of non-random construct design. The results of this research have implications for both transgene and experimental design
Temperature-Dependent Dynamic Disproportionation in LiNiO<sub>2</sub>
Get PDFNickelate materials offer diverse functionalities for energy and computing applications. Lithium nickel oxide (LiNiO2) is an archetypal layered nickelate, but the electronic structure of this correlated material is not yet fully understood. Here, we investigate the temperature-dependent speciation and spin dynamics of Ni ions in LiNiO2. Our ab initio simulations predict that Ni ions disproportionate into three states, which dynamically interconvert and whose populations vary with temperature. These predictions are verified using x-ray absorption spectroscopy, x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the Ni L3,2-edge. Charge transfer multiplet calculations consistent with disproportionation reproduce all experimental features. Together, our experimental and computational results support a model of dynamic disproportionation that explains diverse physical observations of LiNiO2, including magnetometry, thermally activated electronic conduction, diffractometry, core-level spectroscopies, and the stability of ubiquitous antisite defects. This unified understanding of the fundamental material properties of LiNiO2 is important for applications of nickelate materials as battery cathodes, catalysts, and superconductors.<br/
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