3 research outputs found
Overcoming the barriers to sustainable motorsport
No full textThe aim of this Engineering Doctorate was to identify and develop strategies and technologies
to overcome the barriers to sustainable motorsport. A top-down approach was taken
beginning with an industry-wide strategy and ending with the development of individual
sustainable technologies.
After identifying a set of target guidelines for the industry to follow, the economic, social and
environmental barriers to the future sustainability of motorsport were identified. These
barriers were addressed through the creation of an industry-wide regulatory strategy followed
by an innovative company-focussed technology development process; High Performance
Sustainability (HPS). The HPS process was used to develop Eco One, a revolutionary racing car
featuring environmentally sustainable technology which generated significant public
engagement and facilitated evaluation of the HPS process. This technology demonstrator was
used to make iterative improvements to the HPS process, resulting in HPS2, a second
generation process with greater focus on performance and the development of sustainable
technology.
This novel process was used to research and develop individual environmentally-sustainable
technologies; natural fibre reinforced composites and the use of high performance biodiesel.
Firstly lignin, a natural, renewable, waste material was added to hemp/epoxy composites as an
innovative compatibiliser with a resulting improvement in mechanical properties.
Secondly, engine parameters were modified for the use of biodiesel made from soybean oil,
resulting in torque equal to diesel fuel but with a lower in-cylinder pressure. The impact of
these technologies is the opportunity to use renewable materials for high performance
applications, potentially competing with existing motorsport technology.
The innovations presented in this Engineering Doctorate led to recognised expertise in
sustainable motorsport within WMG, and in turn resulted in sustainable motorsport projects
including WorldFirst, in which a Formula 3 car was developed featuring natural fibre
composites, high performance biodiesel and recycled carbon fibre components. The impacts
of this work are the establishment of industrial projects with race teams and constructors,
conference attendances and peer-reviewed publications, and dissemination of research
through the development of academic courses and extensive media coverage
Ischemic stroke is associated with the ABO locus: The EuroCLOT study (vol 73, pg 16, 2013)
No full textGenome-wide association scan meta-analysis identifies three loci influencing adiposity and fat distribution
No full textTo identify genetic loci influencing central obesity and fat distribution, we performed a meta-analysis of 16 genome-wide association studies (GWAS, N = 38,580) informative for adult waist circumference (WC) and waist–hip ratio (WHR). We selected 26 SNPs for follow-up, for which the evidence of association with measures of central adiposity (WC and/or WHR) was strong and disproportionate to that for overall adiposity or height. Follow-up studies in a maximum of 70,689 individuals identified two loci strongly associated with measures of central adiposity; these map near TFAP2B (WC, P = 1.9×10?11) and MSRA (WC, P = 8.9×10?9). A third locus, near LYPLAL1, was associated with WHR in women only (P = 2.6×10?8). The variants near TFAP2B appear to influence central adiposity through an effect on overall obesity/fat-mass, whereas LYPLAL1 displays a strong female-only association with fat distribution. By focusing on anthropometric measures of central obesity and fat distribution, we have identified three loci implicated in the regulation of human adiposit
