Production of K*(892)(0) and phi(1020) in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

The production of K*(892)(0) and phi(1020) in pp collisions at root s = 7 TeV was measured by the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The yields and the transverse momentum spectra d(2)N/dydp(T) at midrapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 0.5 in the range 0 < p(T) < 6 GeV/c for K*(892)(0) and 0.4 < p(T) < 6 GeV/c for phi(1020) are reported and compared to model predictions. Using the yield of pions, kaons, and Omega baryons measured previously by ALICE at root s = 7 TeV, the ratios K*/K-, phi/K*, phi/ K-, phi/pi(-), and (Omega + <(Omega)over bar>)/phi are presented. The values of the K*/K-, phi/K* and phi/K- ratios are similar to those found at lower centre-of-mass energies. In contrast, the phi/pi(-) ratio, which has been observed to increase with energy, seems to saturate above 200 GeV. The (Omega + (Omega) over bar)/phi ratio in the p(T) range 1-5 GeV/ c is found to be in good agreement with the prediction of the HIJING/B (B) over bar v2.0model with a strong colour field.

Identification of Urban Leprosy Clusters

Overpopulation of urban areas results from constant migrations that cause disordered urban growth, constituting clusters defined as sets of people or activities concentrated in relatively small physical spaces that often involve precarious conditions. Aim. Using residential grouping, the aim was to identify possible clusters of individuals in São José do Rio Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, who have or have had leprosy. Methods. A population-based, descriptive, ecological study using the MapInfo and CrimeStat techniques, geoprocessing, and space-time analysis evaluated the location of 425 people treated for leprosy between 1998 and 2010. Clusters were defined as concentrations of at least 8 people with leprosy; a distance of up to 300 meters between residences was adopted. Additionally, the year of starting treatment and the clinical forms of the disease were analyzed. Results. Ninety-eight (23.1%) of 425 geocoded cases were located within one of ten clusters identified in this study, and 129 cases (30.3%) were in the region of a second-order cluster, an area considered of high risk for the disease. Conclusion.This study identified ten clusters of leprosy cases in the city and identified an area of high risk for the appearance of new cases of the disease.

Complete digital workflow for the production of implant-supported single-unit monolithic crowns.

OBJECTIVES The aim of this case series was to introduce a complete digital workflow for the production of monolithic implant crowns. MATERIAL AND METHODS Six patients were treated with implant-supported crowns made of resin nano ceramic (RNC). Starting with an intraoral optical scan (IOS), and following a CAD/CAM process, the monolithic crowns were bonded either to a novel prefabricated titanium abutment base (group A) or to a CAD/CAM-generated individualized titanium abutment (group B) in premolar or molar sites on a soft tissue level dental implant. Economic analyses included clinical and laboratory steps. An esthetic evaluation was performed to compare the two abutment-crown combinations. RESULTS None of the digitally constructed RNC crowns required any clinical adaptation. Overall mean work time calculations revealed obvious differences for group A (65.3 min) compared with group B (86.5 min). Esthetic analysis demonstrated a more favorable outcome for the prefabricated bonding bases. CONCLUSIONS Prefabricated or individualized abutments on monolithic RNC crowns using CAD/CAM technology in a model-free workflow seem to provide a feasible and streamlined treatment approach for single-edentulous space rehabilitation in the posterior region. However, RNC as full-contour material has to be considered experimental, and further large-scale clinical investigations with long-term follow-up observation are necessary.

Analysis of the Technical Efficiency of Urban Bus Services in Spain Based on SBM Models

During the first decade of the new millennium, fueled by the economic development in Spain, urban bus services were extended. Since the years 2008 and 2009, the root of the economic crisis, the improvement of these services is at risk due to economic problems. In this paper, the technical efficiency of the main urban bus companies in Spain during the 2004–2009 period are studied using SBM (slack-based measures) models and by establishing the slacks in the services' production inputs. The influence of a series of exogenous variables on the operation of the different services is also analyzed. It is concluded that only the 24% of the case studies are efficient, and some urban form variables can explain part of the inefficiency. The methodology used allows studying the inefficiency in a disaggregated way that other DEA (data envelopment analysis) models do not.

Air Mines. Urban Space Station

Air Mines The sky over the city's port was the color of a faulty screen, only partly lit up. As the silhouette of nearby buildings became darker, but more clearly visible against the fading blur-filter of a background, the realization came about how persistent a change had been taking place. Slowly, old wooden water reservoirs and rattling HVAC systems stopped being the only inhabitants of roofs. Slightly trembling, milkish jellyfish-translucent air volumes had joined the show in multiples. A few years ago artists and architects seized upon the death of buildings as their life-saving media. Equipped with constructive atlases and instruments they started disemboweling their subjects, poking about their systems, dumping out on the street the battered ugliness of their embarrassing bits and pieces, so rightly hidden by facades and height from everyday view. But, would you believe it? Even ?old ladies?, investment bankers or small children failed to get upset. Of course, old ladies are not what they used to be. It was old ladies themselves that made it happen after years of fights with the town hall, imaginative proposals and factual arguments. An industry with little financial gains but lots of welcome externalities was not, in fact, the ground for investment bankers. But they too had to admit that having otherwise stately buildings make fine particulate pencils with their facades was not the worse that could happen. Yes, making soot pencils had been found an interesting and visible end product of the endeavor, a sort of mining the air for vintage writing tools one can actually touch. The new view from the street did not seem as solid or dignified as that of old, and they hated that the market for Fine Particulates Extraction (FPE, read efpee) had to be applied on a matrix of blocks and streets that prevented undue concentration of the best or worse solutions. It had to be an evenly distributed city policy in order for the city to apply for cleaning casino money. Once the first prototypes had been deployed in buildings siding Garden Avenue or Bulwark Street even fast movers appreciated the sidekick of flower and plant smell dripping down the Urban Space Stations (USS, read use; USSs, read uses) as air and walls cooled off for a few hours after sunset. Enough. It was all nice to remember, but it was now time to go up and start the lightweight afternoon maintenance of their USS. Coop discussions had taken place all through the planning and continued through the construction phase as to how maintenance was going to be organized. Fasters had voted for a pro, pay a small amount and let them use it for rent and produce. In the end some neighbors decided they were slow enough to take care and it was now the turn. Regret came periodically, sometimes a week before, and lasted until work actually started. But lately it had been replaced by anxiety when it needed to be passed over to the next caretaker. It did not look their shift was good enough and couldn?t wait to fix it. Today small preparations needed to be made for a class visit next day from a nearby cook school. They were frequenters. It had not been easy, but it shouldn?t have been that hard. In the end, even the easiest things are hard if they involve a city, buildings and neighbors. On the face of the data, the technicalities and the way final designs had been worked out for adaptation to the different settings, the decision of where to go was self evident, but organization issues and the ever-growing politics of taste in a city of already-gentrified-rodents almost put the project in the frozen orbit of timeless beautiful future possibilities. This is how it was. A series of designs by XClinic and OSS had made it possible to adapt to different building structures, leave in most cases the roof untouched and adapted a new technology of flexing fiberglass tubes that dissipated wind pressure in smooth bending.......

The anatomy of urban social networks and its implications in the searchability problem

The appearance of large geolocated communication datasets has recently increased our understanding of how social networks relate to their physical space. However, many recurrently reported properties, such as the spatial clustering of network communities, have not yet been systematically tested at different scales. In this work we analyze the social network structure of over 25 million phone users from three countries at three different scales: country, provinces and cities. We consistently find that this last urban scenario presents significant differences to common knowledge about social networks. First, the emergence of a giant component in the network seems to be controlled by whether or not the network spans over the entire urban border, almost independently of the population or geographic extension of the city. Second, urban communities are much less geographically clustered than expected. These two findings shed new light on the widely-studied searchability in self-organized networks. By exhaustive simulation of decentralized search strategies we conclude that urban networks are searchable not through geographical proximity as their country-wide counterparts, but through an homophily-driven community structure.

Direct and indirect emissions production by urban truck movement in the Chicago region /

"Project no. 10.082."

Urban Crematoria: Reinventing the Architecture of Death

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-04

Locating whiteness in the academic production of "I Philosophy" in and of time and place

This review will critically evaluate two recent texts by white academics working across disciplines of cultural studies, history and anthropology and published by UNSW Press, which share a focus on the relationship between Aboriginality, Philosophy, Place and Time in Australia. I write from the position of a queer white academic committed to engaging politically and intellectually with the challenge of Indigenous sovereignties in this place while also aware that my position as a middle class white woman and intellectual imposes limits on what it is possible for me to know about Indigenous epistemologies (see Moreton-Robinson, 2000). In the course of this review I will demonstrate how anthropology's tendency to fix its objects of study within a circumscribed space of 'difference' limits the capacity of texts produced within this discipline to account for racialized struggles over sovereignty. While these struggles are equally embedded in the ethnographic context and the nation's constitution and political institutions, we will see that Muecke and Bird Rose confront problems in analysing the relationship between the intimate space of the 'field', in which one's research subjects quickly become one's 'friends' and/or 'classificatory kin'—on one hand—and the public space of the nation within which statements about Aboriginality by white academics circulate and are vested with an authority that escapes individual intentions and control—on the other.

Low severity Fischer-Tropsch synthesis for the production of synthetic hydrocarbon fuels

Currently, the main source for the production of liquid transportation fuels is petroleum, the continued use of which faces many challenges including depleting oil reserves, significant oil price rises, and environmental concerns over global warming which is widely believed to be due to fossil fuel derived CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases. In this respect, lignocellulosic or plant biomass is a particularly interesting resource as it is the only renewable source of organic carbon that can be converted into liquid transportation fuels. The gasification of biomass produces syngas which can then be converted into synthetic liquid hydrocarbon fuels by means of the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis. This process has been widely considered as an attractive option for producing clean liquid hydrocarbon fuels from biomass that have been identified as promising alternatives to conventional fossil fuels like diesel and kerosene. The resulting product composition in FT synthesis is influenced by the type of catalyst and the reaction conditions that are used in the process. One of the issues facing this conversion process is the development of a technology that can be scaled down to match the scattered nature of biomass resources, including lower operating pressures, without compromising liquid composition. The primary aims of this work were to experimentally explore FT synthesis at low pressures for the purpose of process down-scaling and cost reduction, and to investigate the potential for obtaining an intermediate FT synthetic crude liquid product that can be integrated into existing refineries under the range of process conditions employed. Two different fixed-bed micro-reactors were used for FT synthesis; a 2cm3 reactor at the University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a 20cm3 reactor at Aston University. The experimental work firstly involved the selection of a suitable catalyst from three that were available. Secondly, a parameter study was carried out on the 20cm3 reactor using the selected catalyst to investigate the influence of reactor temperature, reactor pressure, space velocity, the H2/CO molar ratio in the feed syngas and catalyst loading on the reaction performance measured as CO conversion, catalyst stability, product distribution, product yields and liquid hydrocarbon product composition. From this parameter study a set of preferred operating conditions was identified for low pressure FT synthesis. The three catalysts were characterized using BET, XRD, TPR and SEM. The catalyst selected was an unpromoted Co/Al2O3 catalyst. FT synthesis runs on the 20cm3 reactor at Aston were conducted for 48 hours. Permanent gases and light hydrocarbons (C1-C5) were analysed in an online GC-TCD/FID at hourly intervals. The liquid hydrocarbons collected were analyzed offline using GC-MS for determination of fuel composition. The parameter study showed that CO conversion and liquid hydrocarbon yields increase with increasing reactor pressure up to around 8 bar, above which the effect of pressure is small. The parameters that had the most significant influence on CO conversion, product selectivity and liquid hydrocarbon yields were reactor temperature and catalyst loading. The preferred reaction conditions identified for this research were: T = 230ºC, P = 10 bar, H2/CO = 2.0, WHSV = 2.2 h-1, and catalyst loading = 2.0g. Operation in the low range of pressures studied resulted in low CO conversions and liquid hydrocarbon yields, indicating that low pressure BTL-FT operation may not be industrially viable as the trade off in lower CO conversions and once-through liquid hydrocarbon product yields has to be carefully weighed against the potential cost savings resulting from process operation at lower pressures.

Jerash: The landscape, urban space, and architecture

The peculiarities of Roman architecture, town planning, and landscape architecture are visible in many of the empire's remaining cities. However, evaluation of the landscapes; and analysis of the urban fabric, spatial compositions, and the concepts and characteristics of its open spaces are missing for Jerash (Gerasa in antiquity) in Jordan. Those missing elements will be discussed in this work, as an example of an urban arrangement that survived through different civilizations in history.^ To address the characteristics of the exterior spaces in Jerash, a study of the major concepts of planning in Classical Antiquity will be conducted, followed by a comparative analysis of the quality of space and architectural composition in Jerash. Through intensive investigation of data available for the area under study, the historical method used in this paper illustrates the uniqueness of the site's urban morphology and architectural disposition.^ An analysis will be performed to compare the design composition of the landscape, urban fabric, and open space of Jerash as a provincial Roman city with its existing excavated remains. Such an analysis will provide new information about the roles these factors and their relationships played in determining the design layout of the city. Information, such as the relationship between void and solid, space shaping, the ground and ceiling, the composition of city elements, the ancient landscapes, and the relationship between the land and architecture, will be acquired.^ A computer simulation for a portion of the city will be developed to enable researchers, students and citizens interested in Jordan's past to visualize more clearly what the city looked like in its prime. Such a simulation could result in the revival of the old city of Jerash and help promote its tourism. ^

Flanerie: A post -reflexive mode of urban research inquiry

Urban ethnographic studies in social science usually proceed from within a pre-figured research framework that guides field activity and filters what is considered see-worthy and study-worthy to those phenomena which are in some way necessary for the fulfillment of specific research agendas. Reliance on formalized ethnographic research methods to explore the city, and the reflex to intellectualize that which is observed by using them, frequently leads to the neglect of much of what comprises the ethnographic richness of city-life through an overly-contemplative intellectuocentrism. ^ Flânerie, an avocational, proto-sociological ethnographic mode of urban exploration and observation originating in early-nineteenth-century Paris, is representative of an alternate approach to exploration and study of the city—one less subject to a compressed horizon of ethnographic experience. It affords insight into a broad range of phenomena taking place in interstitial urban space and time which often escape the instrumentally overly-determined gaze of professionalist research inquiry. ^ The present work addressed the fact that the concept of flânerie , though occasionally invoked in discussions of methodology in urban sociology and cultural studies, had not been subjected to a systematic attempt to relate it to the research methods of these disciplines. Though as a typological figure the flâneur is thought to have disappeared long ago, practices represented by the concept continue to be engaged in by persons inside and outside of academia who approach city life and social science with a perspective somewhat transcending the reified dichotomies of private-professional and art-and-science. This study transferred aspects of the experience of the city embodied in the flâneur to the realm of ethnographic urban studies and the building of grounded social theory, finding flânerie to be crucial to the development of a refined knowledge of urban life, and an important means by which previously overlooked social phenomena and silenced avenues of research inquiry might be exposed. ^ The conclusions reached found a “flâneuristic” approach to the city as being beneficial to research practice and the vitalization of urban ethnographic inquiry, by affording opportunities for exposure to, and immersion within, an expanded range of quotidian social phenomena that have frequently escaped the academicist gaze. ^

Characterization of urban aerosol in Cork city (Ireland) using aerosol mass spectrometry

Ambient wintertime background urban aerosol in Cork city, Ireland, was characterized using aerosol mass spectrometry. During the three-week measurement study in 2009, 93% of the ca. 1 350 000 single particles characterized by an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TSI ATOFMS) were classified into five organic-rich particle types, internally mixed to different proportions with elemental carbon (EC), sulphate and nitrate, while the remaining 7% was predominantly inorganic in nature. Non-refractory PM1 aerosol was characterized using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS) and was also found to comprise organic aerosol as the most abundant species (62 %), followed by nitrate (15 %), sulphate (9 %) and ammonium (9 %), and chloride (5 %). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the HR-ToF-AMS organic matrix, and a five-factor solution was found to describe the variance in the data well. Specifically, "hydrocarbon-like" organic aerosol (HOA) comprised 20% of the mass, "low-volatility" oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) comprised 18 %, "biomass burning" organic aerosol (BBOA) comprised 23 %, non-wood solid-fuel combustion "peat and coal" organic aerosol (PCOA) comprised 21 %, and finally a species type characterized by primary m/z peaks at 41 and 55, similar to previously reported "cooking" organic aerosol (COA), but possessing different diurnal variations to what would be expected for cooking activities, contributed 18 %. Correlations between the different particle types obtained by the two aerosol mass spectrometers are also discussed. Despite wood, coal and peat being minor fuel types used for domestic space heating in urban areas, their relatively low combustion efficiencies result in a significant contribution to PM1 aerosol mass (44% and 28% of the total organic aerosol mass and non-refractory total PM1, respectively).Ambient wintertime background urban aerosol in Cork city, Ireland, was characterized using aerosol mass spectrometry. During the three-week measurement study in 2009, 93% of the ca. 1 350 000 single particles characterized by an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TSI ATOFMS) were classified into five organic-rich particle types, internally mixed to different proportions with elemental carbon (EC), sulphate and nitrate, while the remaining 7% was predominantly inorganic in nature. Non-refractory PM1 aerosol was characterized using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS) and was also found to comprise organic aerosol as the most abundant species (62 %), followed by nitrate (15 %), sulphate (9 %) and ammonium (9 %), and chloride (5 %). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the HR-ToF-AMS organic matrix, and a five-factor solution was found to describe the variance in the data well. Specifically, "hydrocarbon-like" organic aerosol (HOA) comprised 20% of the mass, "low-volatility" oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) comprised 18 %, "biomass burning" organic aerosol (BBOA) comprised 23 %, non-wood solid-fuel combustion "peat and coal" organic aerosol (PCOA) comprised 21 %, and finally a species type characterized by primary m/z peaks at 41 and 55, similar to previously reported "cooking" organic aerosol (COA), but possessing different diurnal variations to what would be expected for cooking activities, contributed 18 %. Correlations between the different particle types obtained by the two aerosol mass spectrometers are also discussed. Despite wood, coal and peat being minor fuel types used for domestic space heating in urban areas, their relatively low combustion efficiencies result in a significant contribution to PM1 aerosol mass (44% and 28% of the total organic aerosol mass and non-refractory total PM1, respectively).

Efficient and Selectable Production of Reactive Species Using a Nanosecond Pulsed Discharge in Gas Bubbles in Liquid

A plasma gas bubble-in-liquid method for high production of selectable reactive species using a nanosecond pulse generator has been developed. The gas of choice is fed through a hollow needle in a point-to-plate bubble discharge, enabling improved selection of reactive species. The increased interface reactions, between the gas-plasma and water through bubbles, give higher productivity. H₂O₂ was the predominant species produced using Ar plasma, while predominantly  and NO₂ were generated using air plasma, in good agreement with the observed emission spectra. This method has nearly 100% selectivity for H₂O₂, with seven times higher production, and 92% selectivity for , with nearly twice the production, compared with a plasma above the water.

Design Guidelines and Development Policies for an Adaptable Historic Urban Street: The Case of West Street in Quanzhou, Fujian, China

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06