1,282 research outputs found
The spatial and temporal reconstruction of a medieval moat ecosystem
No full textAbstract Moats and other historical water features had great importance for past societies. The functioning of these ecosystems can now only be retrieved through palaeoecological studies. Here we aimed to reconstruct the history of a stronghold’s moat during its period of operation. Our spatio-temporal approach allowed mapping of the habitat changes within a medieval moat for the first time. Using data from four cores of organic deposits taken within the moat system, we describe ecological states of the moat based on subfossil Chironomidae and Ceratopogonidae assemblages. We found that over half (57%) of the identified dipteran taxa were indicative of one of the following ecological states: limnetic conditions with or without periodic water inflow, or marshy conditions. Samples representing conditions unfavourable for aquatic insects were grouped in a separate cluster. Analyses revealed that the spatio-temporal distribution of midge assemblages depended mostly on depth differences and freshwater supply from an artificial channel. Paludification and terrestrialization did not happen simultaneously across the moat system, being greatly influenced by human activity. The results presented here demonstrate the importance of a multi-aspect approach in environmental archaeology, focusing not only on the human environment, but also on the complex ecology of the past ecosystems
Domestic abuse prevention after Raoul Moat
No full textThis article charts the development of domestic abuse policy between May 2010 and June 2011, a period in which: the UK witnessed a high profile domestic abuse case - that of Raoul Moat - pass almost without recognition as such; whilst the dismantling of much of the infrastructure used to prevent domestic abuse outside the criminal justice system commenced, in anticipation of cost-cutting reform designated necessary to the advent of the 'Big Society'. The article uses both the research literature on domestic abuse and the case of Raoul Moat to argue that preventative work in this field needs to keep issues of gender - especially masculinity - in the political frame. This focus on masculinity should not, however, be reduced merely to attitudes accepting of violence or macho values, but should, the article argues, also keep the relationships between violence, emotional dependency, heterosexual propriety, and life crises in view. The article queries whether the Coalition government's focus on 'payback', 'discipline' in schools and the 'sexualization of children' is likely to help more than hinder in this regard, and points to the real risks entailed in economic restructuring that increases the proportion of women and children vulnerable to repeat victimization. © The Author(s) 2012
Mechanism and Implications of the Tricuspid Regurgitation
No full text
The tricuspid valve was virtually ignored for a long time in the past. However, significant tricuspid regurgitation (TR) often accompanies left-side heart valve pathology and does not always reverse with its correction. If left untreated, TR can progress and result in progressive right ventricular failure. Current guideline recommendations still hold minor differences. Nevertheless, there is a consensus to operate on patients with severe TR undergoing left-sided valve surgery (class I) or those with mild to moderate TR with a dilated annulus (≥40 or ≥21 mm
2
, Class IIa). However, in case of the primary TR, surgical options is limited by a relatively high risk of mortality and morbidity. For these patients, new percutaneous approaches are becoming available but no long-term data are still available. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the epidemiological and pathophysiological aspects of TR, and the current and future directions of therapy.
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Deformation and strain concentrations in coarse-grained alpha-uranium
No full textThis thesis presents an experimental characterisation of the deformation of coarse-grained cast alpha-uranium to assist the development of crystal plasticity finite element (CPFE) models.
Uranium exhibits elastic and plastic anisotropy and deforms heterogeneously via multiple slip and twinning modes. Strain concentrations that develop in the deforming grains may initiate fracture. There is an industrially-motivated drive to perform CPFE simulations that incorporate the unique properties of uranium to allow a better understanding of the conditions leading to fracture.
Experiments have been performed by the author to provide data for calibration and validation of a CPFE model for cast α-uranium.
Time-of flight neutron diffraction was used to measure internal lattice strain development and texture changes during in-situ tension and compression. The coarse microstructure raises experimental challenges these are solved in a subsequent experiment. Deformation twinning causes a lattice reorientation that is detectable as a macroscopic texture change. A novel analysis was performed allowing active twinning modes to be identified from the texture changes. Twinning accounts for the observed tension-compression asymmetry in the material.
Digital image correlation (DIC) was used to measure the full-field surface strains during tensile deformation of cast uranium. The measured strains were highly heterogeneous the locations of strain concentrations were related to the crystallographic orientations measured with electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD).
The data generated in this thesis are found to be suitable to calibrate and validate a crystal plasticity model of cast α-uranium
ENGIN-X- instrument for materials science and engineering research
No full textEngin-X is a leading neutron diffractometer for materials science and engineering, with high resolution and versatile capabilities at the ISIS spallation source, UK. Over the past 10 years Engin-X has continually redefined the frontier of stress characterisation capability through investment in state-of-the-art equipment, attracting academic and industrial users from 24 countries. Measurements are typically carried out in collaborative experiments between universities, industry and ISIS to address a wide range of engineering problems: manufacturing challenges surrounding magnesium alloys for the automotive industry, creep deformation of nickel-base superalloys for aero engines, structural integrity of welds for nuclear power plants, residual stresses in a range of samples from complex aerospace components to ancient steel making manufacturing techniques
Ecotextile '98--sustainable development : proceedings of the conference Ecotextile '98, the Bolton Moat House, 7 & 8th April, 1998 /
No full textThe edited papers which comprise this book were presented at the international conference, Ecotextile '98, which was organised jointly by Bolton Institute and the British Textile Technology Group.Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters.Online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed February 4, 2014).Front Cover; Ecotextile '98 -- Sustainable Development; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; PREFACE; Section 1: Waste Minimisation; CHAPTER 1. WASTE MINIMISATION CHALLENGES IN THE UK TEXTILE INDUSTRY; INTRODUCTION; ENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVES AND PRESSURES: ETBPP; CASE STUDIES; ROLE OF DESIGN; ASSISTANCE FOR INDUSTRY: GOOD PRACTICE GUIDES; CHAPTER 2. THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE LAW; INTRODUCTION; THE ENVIRONMENT ACT 1995; OTHER PROPOSED AND RECENT CHANGES IN LEGISLATION; CONCLUSIONS; CHAPTER 3. WASTE ELIMINATION FROM TEXTILES; INTRODUCTION; ESTABLISHING A WASTE MINIMISATION INITIATIVE; BENCHMARKS.Waste minimisation in practiceconclusions; bibliography; chapter 4. success with energy management; introduction; batch wet processing using pressurised vessels; batch wet atmospheric processing; continuous wet processing; contact drying -- steam cylinders; hot air dryers -- stenters; hot air or steam heating; plant services; conclusion; bibliography; chapter 5. the requirements for waste water treatment in the textile industry; introduction; nature of the problem; treatment systems; examples of waste water treatments; bibliography; chapter 6. initial results from an eu-funded research reed bed.INTRODUCTIONTHE NEED FOR THE PROJECT; A SHORT HISTORY OF REED BEDS; REED BED DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE; THE CONSTRUCTION AT RG & S; INITIAL RESULTS; SUMMARY; CONCLUSION; REFERENCES; CHAPTER 7. MINIMISATION OF FORMALDEHYDE EMISSIONS; INTRODUCTION; PYROVATEX CHEMISTRY; ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES; CHEMOMETRICS OR FACTORIAL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN; LIQUID EFFLUENT; CONCLUSIONS; REFERENCES; CHAPTER 8. SAVING WASTE MAKES MONEY; INTRODUCTION; MEASURING ENERGY USAGE AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING; CASE STUDIES OF WASTE MINIMISATION; ENERGY/WASTE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS; Section 2: Process Optimisation.Chapter 9. colour removal from effluent and water reuse in courtaulds textilesintroduction; regulatory approach; search for solutions; courtaulds textiles' resolution of the problem; challenge for the future; references; chapter 10. biochemical treatment of recalcitrant dyestuff effluent; introduction; experimental; results and discussion; conclusions; references; chapter 11. decolourisation of textile waste water by photooxidation and its re-use; introduction; experimental; results and discussion; conclusions; references.Chapter 12. decolourisation of textile wastewater by means of advanced oxidation processesintroduction; experimental; results and discussion; acknowledgement; references; chapter 13. novel applications of biotechnology in the textile industry; introduction; enzymes; new fiberes and materials; quality issues; conclusions; references; chapter 14. enzymatic treatment of man-made cellulosic fabrics; introduction; experimental; results and discussion; acknowledgements; references; chapter 15. the optimisation of processes and the re-use of water in the dyeing of cotton and cotton/polyester blends.The edited papers which comprise this book were presented at the international conference, Ecotextile '98, which was organised jointly by Bolton Institute and the British Textile Technology Group.Elsevie
A quantum moat barrier, realized with a finite square well
No full textThe notion of a double well potential typically involves two regions of space separated by a repulsive potential barrier. The ground state
is a wave function that is suppressed in the barrier region and localized in the two surrounding regions. We illustrate that an attractive potential well (a quantum moat) with a finite non-zero width also acts as a barrier, using a simple square well model. We also show how the pseudopotential method both explains the role of the well as a barrier, and greatly improves the efficiency of constructing wave functions for this system using matrix diagonalization. With this simplified model we provide an introduction to the ideas typically used to simplify calculations in solids, where in place of the double well potential, multiple potentials occur in a periodic array.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Newly-discovered ring-moat dome structures in the lunar maria : possible origins and implications
No full textWe report on a newly discovered morphological feature on the lunar surface, here named Ring-Moat Dome Structure (RMDS). These low domes (a few meters to ~20 m height with slopes <5°) are typically surrounded by narrow annular depressions or moats. We mapped about 2,600 RMDSs in the lunar maria with diameters ranging from tens to hundreds of meters. Four candidate hypotheses for their origin involving volcanism are considered. We currently favor a mechanism for the formation of the RMDS related to modification of the initial lava flows through inflated flow squeeze-ups and/or extrusion of magmatic foams below a cooling lava flow surface. These newly discovered features provide new insights into the nature of emplacement of lunar lava flows, suggesting that in the waning stages of a dike emplacement event, magmatic foams can be produced, extrude to the surface as the dike closes, and break through the upper lava flow thermal boundary layer (crust) to form foam mounds and surrounding moats
Jin rickshaws for the wounded in Dalny
No full textThis picture was taken Dalny on the day before the last terrible assault on the Two Dragons (Ehrlungshan). The fourth grand attack on the north battery of the East Cock's Comb (Keekwan) had succeeded, the hospitals were full, but a new large crop of wounded was coming in on the next day, and the Red Cross Corps got ready. When the Japanese reached the last moat at the foot of the almost perpendicular wall of the fort, the Russians had prepared a new trap for them. The moat was strewn with straw upon which kerosene had been poured, and when the Japanese soldiers leaped into the moat the kerosene was lighted. In an instant the whole mass was aflame, and many Japanese perished miserably. Few survived, but these few accomplished that for which hundreds died: they made possible the advance. Twenty out of a thousand reached the top and with the aid of those who followed took the fort
Cost-utility of transcatheter aortic valve implantation for inoperable patients with severe aortic stenosis treated by medical management: a UK cost-utility analysis based on patient-level data from the ADVANCE study.
No full textOBJECTIVE: To use patient-level data from the ADVANCE study to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) compared to medical management (MM) in patients with severe aortic stenosis from the perspective of the UK NHS.
METHODS: A published decision-analytic model was adapted to include information on TAVI from the ADVANCE study. Patient-level data informed the choice as well as the form of mathematical functions that were used to model all-cause mortality, health-related quality of life and hospitalisations. TAVI-related resource use protocols were based on the ADVANCE study. MM was modelled on publicly available information from the PARTNER-B study. The outcome measures were incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) estimated at a range of time horizons with benefits expressed as quality-adjusted life-years (QALY). Extensive sensitivity/subgroup analyses were undertaken to explore the impact of uncertainty in key clinical areas.
RESULTS: Using a 5-year time horizon, the ICER for the comparison of all ADVANCE to all PARTNER-B patients was £13 943 per QALY gained. For the subset of ADVANCE patients classified as high risk (Logistic EuroSCORE >20%) the ICER was £17 718 per QALY gained). The ICER was below £30 000 per QALY gained in all sensitivity analyses relating to choice of MM data source and alternative modelling approaches for key parameters. When the time horizon was extended to 10 years, all ICERs generated in all analyses were below £20 000 per QALY gained.
CONCLUSION: TAVI is highly likely to be a cost-effective treatment for patients with severe aortic stenosis
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