8,438 research outputs found
The Maltese Labour Corps during World War I
No full textThe participation by Maltese troops abroad has been limited. During the
First World War Malta was not directly involved, yet during this time a significant
overseas deployment did take place. It did not take the form of front line troops; rather it
was some 5,600 locally enlisted men who volunteered for overseas service with the
Maltese Labour Corps. At least 120 men lost their lives on active service, very often from
disease. They are buried across various cemeteries mostly in Greece. It is a deployment
that has received little attention and is all but forgotten. This paper seeks to tell their
story and to remember the service these men provided.peer-reviewe
Enlisted Reserve Corps identification card for C. Walder Parke
No full textIdentification card designating C. Walder Parke as a member of the Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1942, the Enlisted Reserve Corps was part of the Organized Reserves, a forerunner to today's Army Reserve. The Army Reserve is comprised both of trained soldiers prior to participation in conflict, and of seasoned soldiers who remain ready to return to the field if necessary. Parke received this card on the day he first enlisted in the military. Charles Walder Parke was born on July 28, 1924, and grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces in 1942 intending to be a pilot during WWII, but spent most of his military career as a navigator on B-17 Flying Fortresses in the 94th Bombardment Group. Parke earned two Bronze Stars, an Air Medal with several Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his successful bombing missions, including some over Berlin. He is best known for being on board a B-17 which was shot down over France by German planes on June 25, 1944, during a non-combat mission. The crew managed to make an emergency landing, and everyone inside survived. After the war, Parke founded the Cleveland-based Laurel Industries Inc., which became a prominent supplier of antimony oxide to the plastics industry. He died of Lou-Gehrig’s Disease on September 15, 1996, at the age of 72
Synchronization of a WDM Packet-Switched Slotted Ring
No full textIn this paper, we present two different strategies of
slot synchronization in wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM)
packet-switched slotted-ring networks. Emphasis is given to the
architecture behind the WDM Optical Network Demonstrator
over Rings (WONDER) project, which is based on tunable
transmitters and fixed receivers. The WONDER experimental
prototype is currently being developed at the laboratories
of Politecnico di Torino. In the former strategy, a slotsynchronization
signal is transmitted by the master station on a
dedicated control wavelength; in the latter, slave nodes achieve
slot synchronization aligning on data packets that are received
from the master. The performance of both synchronization strategies,
particularly in terms of packet-collision probability, was
evaluated by simulation. The technique based on transmitting a
timing signal on a dedicated control wavelength achieves better
performance, although it is more expensive due to the need for an
additional wavelength. However, the technique based on aligning
data packets that are received from the master, despite attaining
lower timing stability, still deserves further study, particularly
if limiting the number of wavelengths and receivers is a major
requirement. Some experimental results, which were measured on
the WONDER prototype, are also shown. Measurement results,
together with theoretical findings, demonstrate the good synchronization
performance of the prototype
Gas volume fraction and velocity profiles: vertical and inclined bubbly air-water flows
No full textUpward inclined gas-liquid flows are frequently encountered in the oil industry and data relating to the local gas volume fraction distribution and the local gas velocity distribution is important, for example, in pressure gradient prediction and in modeling oil well 'blowouts'. In this paper measurements are presented of the local gas volume fraction distribution and the local axial gas velocity distribution which were taken in bubbly air-water flows in an 80 mm diameter pipe which was inclined at angles of 0°, 15° and 30° to the vertical. Qualitative arguments are presented to explain the influence of the liquid superficial velocity on the local gas volume fraction distribution in inclined flow and also to explain the very high axial gas velocities observed towards the upper side of the inclined pipe
Experimental investigation into the propagation of partial discharge pulses in transformers
No full textAn experimental investigation into the propagation behaviour of partial discharge (PD) pulses in a continuous disc type 6.6kV transformer winding is described in this paper. PD pulses were injected into the winding using a calibrator and the resulting current signals at the line and neutral end terminals measured using wide band current transformers. The location of the troughs (or zeros) in the frequency spectra of the measured signals change in accordance with the position of the injected pulse. The crests (or poles) in the spectra convey information about the resonance frequencies of the winding and are not affected by the position of the injected pulse. The measured spectra are compared with the spectra generated by a simulation model and although differences exist the overall shape and location of the poles and zeros are similar
History of Dialysis in the UK: c. 1950–1980
No full textDialysis, the first technological substitution for organ function, is significant not only for the numbers of patients who have benefited. It contributed to the emergence of the field of medical ethics and the development of the nurse specialist, and transformed the relationship between physicians and patients by allowing patients to control their treatment.
This seminar drew on participants’ recollections of dialysis from the early, practically experimental days after the Second World War, when resources for research were scant, until the 1980s when it had become an established treatment. Pioneers from the first UK dialysis units recalled the creation of the specialty of nephrology amid discouragement from renal physicians and the MRC, which felt that the artificial kidney was a gadget that would not last.
International and interdisciplinary collaborations, and interactions between with industry and clinics in developing and utilising the specialist technology were emphasized. Patients, carers, nurses, technicians and doctors reminisced about their experiences of home dialysis, its complications and impact on family life, as well as the physical effects of surviving on long-term dialysis before transplantation became routine.
The meeting was suggested and chaired by Dr John Turney and witnesses include Dr Rosemarie Baillod, Professor Christopher Blagg, Professor Stewart Cameron, Mr Eric Collins, Professor Robin Eady, Mrs Diana Garratt, Professor David Kerr, Professor Sir Netar Mallick, Dr Frank Marsh, Dr Jean Northover, Dr Chisholm Ogg, Dr Margaret Platts, Dr Stanley Rosen and Professor Stanley Shaldon. Two appendices contain reminiscences from Professor Kenneth Lowe and Sir Graham Bull
3-D pain drawings-mobile data collection using a PDA
No full textA large number of the adult population suffers from some kind of back pain during their lifetime. Part of the process of diagnosing and treating such back pain is for a clinician to
collect information as to the type and location of the pain that is being suffered.Traditional approaches to gathering and visualizing this pain data have relied on simple 2-D representations of the human body, where different types of sensation are recorded with various monochrome symbols. Although patients have been shown to prefer such drawings to traditional questionnaires, these pain drawings can be limited in their ability to accurately record pain. The work described in this paper proposes an alternative that uses a 3-D representation of the human body, which can be marked in color to visualize and record the pain data. This study has shown that the new approach is a promising development in this area of medical practice and has been positively received by patients and clinicians alike
Social Motives and Their Development in Cultural Context
No full textThis paper deals with differences in social motives between cultures and with respect to their development. First, social motives are described as complex functional systems. Then aggressiveness and achievement motivation are dealt with as examples. Assumptions about biological factors are discussed and cultural differences are reported. Based on cross-cultural research, variations in early mother-child relations and in cultural norms and values are discussed as main sources of individual and cultural differences
Fore and Aft Channel Reconstruction in the TerraSAR-X Dual Receive Antenna Mode
No full textThe TerraSAR-X satellite is a high resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system launched in June 2007 which provides the option to split the antenna in along-track direction and sample two physical channels separately. Modern SARs are equipped with active phased array antennas and multiple channels. In order to keep costs low TerraSAR-X uses the redundant receiver unit for the second channel such that fore and aft channel signals are combined by a hybrid coupler to form sum and difference channel data. The dual receive antenna mode can either be used to acquire along-track interferometric data or to acquire signals with different polarizations at the same time (Quad pol). Fore and aft channel reconstruction is necessary if ground moving target indication algorithms such as the displaced phase center antenna technique or along-track interferometry shall be applied, and in order to separate the horizontally and vertically polarized received signal components. The proposed approach uses internal calibration pulses from different calibration beams in order to estimate and compensate the hardware impact. The theoretical framework together with the results from the experimental data evaluation for the fore and aft channel reconstruction of the TerraSAR-X dual receive antenna mode are presented. The impact of the receive hardware transformation matrix estimation accuracy on errors in the reconstructed fore and aft channel image data is studied, and
first examples on the ground moving target indication capability of the TerraSAR-X dual receive antenna mode are given
The euro at ten: the next global currency?
No full textOver the first ten years of its existence, the euro has proved to be more than a powerful symbol of collective identity. It has provided price stability to previously inflation-prone countries; it has offered a shelter against currency crises; and it has by and large been conducive to budgetary discipline. The eurozone has attracted five new members in addition to the initial eleven, and many countries in Europe wish to adopt it. The euro has also been successful internationally. Even though research presented in this volume confirms that it has not rivaled the dollar's world currency status, it has certainly become a strong regional currency in Europe and the Mediterranean region. Some countries in the region have de facto adopted it, several peg to it, and many have become at least partially euroized.
However, the euro's impressive first decade is likely to be followed by a much more difficult period. The present financial crisis is posing at least two important challenges: real economic adjustment within the euro area and maintenance of fiscal and financial stability without a central government authority capable of taking appropriate financial and fiscal decisions in difficult times.
This book is the product of a joint conference held in 2008 by the Peterson Institute for International Economics and Bruegel. It is edited by Bruegel Director Jean Pisani-Ferry and then-PIEE Deputy Director and current Bruegel board member Adam Posen. The papers and remarks in this volume demonstrate that the euro has proved to be attractive as a fair weather currency for countries and investors well beyond its borders. But it remains to be seen whether it is equipped to also succeed as a stormy weather currency.
Contributors: JoaquÃn Almunia, Maria Celina Arraes, Leszek Balcerowicz, C. Fred Bergsten, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Kristin J. Forbes, Linda S. Goldberg, C. Randall Henning, Mohsin S. Khan, Antonio de Lecea, Erkki Liikanen, Philippe Martin, Thomas Mayer, André Sapir, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Lawrence H. Summers, and György Szapáry.
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