Design of Scaled Bridge Prototype for Energy Harvesting Testing

Energy harvesting from ambient vibration is a promising field, especially for applications in larger infrastructures such as bridges. These structures are more frequently monitored for damage detection because of their extended life, increased traffic load and environmental deterioration. In this regard, the possibility of sourcing the power necessary for the sensors from devices embedded in the structure, thus cutting the cost due to the management of battery replacing over the lifespan of the structure, is particularly attracting. Among others, piezoelectric devices have proven to be especially effective and easy to apply since they can be bonded to existing host structure. For these devices the energy harvesting capacity is achieved directly from the variation in the strain conditions from the surface of the structure. However these systems need to undergo significant research for optimisation of their harvesting capacity and for assessing the feasibility of application to various ranges of bridge span and load. In this regard scaled bridge prototypes can be effectively used not only to assess numerical models and studies in an inexpensive and repeatable way but also to test the electronic devices under realistic field conditions. In this paper the theory of physical similitude is applied to the design of bridge beams with embedded energy harvesting systems and health monitoring sensors. It will show both how bridge beams can be scaled in such a way to apply and test energy harvesting systems and 2) how experimental data from existing bridges can be applied to prototypes in a laboratory environment. The study will be used for assessing the reliability of the system over a train bridge case study undergoing a set load cycles and induced localised damage.

Models of Mortality - Analysing the Residuals

The area of mortality modelling has received significant attention over the last 20 years owing to the need to quantify and forecast improving mortality rates. This need is driven primarily by the concern of governments, professionals, insurance and actuarial professionals and individuals to be able to fund their old age. In particular, to quantify the costs of increasing longevity we need suitable model of mortality rates that capture the dynamics of the data and forecast them with sufficient accuracy to make them useful. In this paper we test several of those models by considering the fitting quality and in particular, testing the residuals of those models for normality properties. In a wide ranging study considering 30 countries we find that almost exclusively the residuals do not demonstrate normality. Further, in Hurst tests of the residuals we find evidence that structure remains that is not captured by the models.

Testing of a Market Fraction Model and Power-law Behaviour in the DAX 30

This paper tests a simple market fraction asset pricing model with heterogeneous
agents. By selecting a set of structural parameters of the model through a systematic procedure, we show that the autocorrelations (of returns, absolute returns and squared returns) of the market fraction model share the same pattern as those of the DAX 30. By conducting econometric analysis via Monte Carlo simulations, we characterize these power-law behaviours and find that estimates of the power-law decay indices, the (FI)GARCH parameters, and the tail index of the selected market fraction model closely match those of the DAX 30. The results strongly support the explanatory power of the heterogeneous agent models.

The influence of high air entry filter on the testing of unsaturated soils using the axis translation technique

Suction is an important stress variable that is required for reliable predictions of the likely performance of unsaturated soils. The axis translation technique is the best established method of measuring or controlling suction; however, the success of this application is heavily dependent on the rating of the high air entry filter (HAF) and how it is incorporated into the testing system. This paper reports some basic experiments in which samples of unsaturated kaolin were brought to saturation in stages using 5 bar and 15 bar HAFs. The results have shown that the water equilibrium in unsaturated soils is greatly affected by the rating of filters. The findings also suggest that the flow through unsaturated soils is not necessarily governed by the one-dimensional consolidation theory that was developed for saturated soils, and this may be attributed to the bimodal pore size distribution of unsaturated soils.

Visual attention to food cues in obesity: An eye‐tracking study.

Objective
Based on the theory of incentive sensitization, the aim of this study was to investigate differences in attentional processing of food-related visual cues between normal-weight and overweight/obese males and females.

Methods
Twenty-six normal-weight (14M, 12F) and 26 overweight/obese (14M, 12F) adults completed a visual probe task and an eye-tracking paradigm. Reaction times and eye movements to food and control images were collected during both a fasted and fed condition in a counterbalanced design.

Results
Participants had greater visual attention towards high-energy-density food images compared to low-energy-density food images regardless of hunger condition. This was most pronounced in overweight/obese males who had significantly greater maintained attention towards high-energy-density food images when compared with their normal-weight counterparts however no between weight group differences were observed for female participants.

Conclusions
High-energy-density food images appear to capture visual attention more readily than low-energy-density food images. Results also suggest the possibility of an altered visual food cue-associated reward system in overweight/obese males. Attentional processing of food cues may play a role in eating behaviors thus should be taken into consideration as part of an integrated approach to curbing obesity.

Testing the cause of the Sphagnum austinii (Sull. ex Aust.) decline: Multiproxy evidence from a raised bog in Northern Ireland

We use a multiproxy palaeoecological dataset from Dead Island bog in Northern Ireland to examine the cause of the Sphagnum austinii (Sphagnum imbricatum) decline. The disappearance of this species from the peat record occurred just after the ‘AD 860’ tephra layer and is coeval with a rapid increase in bog surface wetness and increased mineral dust and charcoal abundance. Although it is difficult to identify one specific cause of the decline, the evidence for increased soil-derived dust is apparent and is supported by regional tephra-dated pollen diagrams that reveal extensive landscape changes due to agricultural intensification in early Medieval Ireland. As the decline of S. austinii occurred much later (~ AD 1860) in Fallahogy bog (~ 1.2 km away), we suggest that the decline of S. austinii at Dead Island was caused by a combination of fire and the deposition of soil-derived dust. We suggest that future studies should consider the use of multiple cores from each site to examine the within-site variability of the decline of S. austinii.

RAS testing of colorectal carcinoma—a guidance document from the Association of Clinical Pathologists Molecular Pathology and Diagnostics Group

Analysis of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) tissue for KRAS codon 12 or 13 mutations to guide use of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) therapy is now considered mandatory in the UK. The scope of this practice has been recently extended because of data indicating that NRAS mutations and additional KRAS mutations also predict for poor response to anti-EGFR therapy. The following document provides guidance on RAS (i.e., KRAS and NRAS) testing of CRC tissue in the setting of personalised medicine within the UK and particularly within the NHS. This guidance covers issues related to case selection, preanalytical aspects, analysis and interpretation of such RAS testing.

Testing numerical implementations of strong-field electrodynamics

We test current numerical implementations of laser-matter interactions by comparison with exact analytical results. Focusing on photon emission processes, it is found that the numerics accurately reproduce analytical emission spectra in all considered regimes, except for the harmonic structures often singled out as the most significant high-intensity (multiphoton) effects. We find that this discrepancy originates in the use of the locally constant field approximation.

An optimised milk testing protocol to ensure accurate enumeration of viable Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis by the PMS-phage assay

There is interest in determining levels of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) contamination in milk. The optimal sample preparation for raw cows' milk to ensure accurate enumeration of viable MAP by the peptide-mediated magnetic separation (PMS)-phage assay was determined. Results indicated that milk samples should be refrigerated at 4 C after collection and MAP testing should commence within 24 h, or samples can be frozen at 70 C for up to one month without loss of MAP viability. Use of Bronopol is not advised as MAP viability is affected. The vast majority (>95%) of MAP in raw milk sedimented to the pellet upon centrifugation at 2500 g for 15 min, so this milk fraction should be tested. De-clumping of MAP cells was most effectively achieved by ultrasonication of the resuspended milk pellet on ice in a sonicator bath at 37 kHz for 4 min in ‘Pulse’ mode.