Automatic conditioning of the LHC injection kickers

The LHC injection systems, located near the interaction regions 2 and 8, comprise 4 fast pulsed kicker magnets (MKI) per ring to bring the beam onto the orbit. Each magnet is housed in a separate vacuum tank. Their nominal operating voltage is 54 kV, and the nominal pulse length 7.86 µs. To prepare these magnets for operation they are once assembled and baked out, gradually subjected to higher and higher voltages and greater pulse lengths, until their voltage holding capability is sufficiently beyond the nominal operating conditions. In the past this "conditioning" was carried out manually, and thus a manpower-intensive, and also technically not optimal procedure. To overcome these drawbacks a program has been developed, running in a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), which has been used to condition the full suite of LHC injection kickers automatically

Technologies for restricting mould growth on baled silage

End of project reportSilage is made on approximately 86% of Irish farms, and 85% of these make some baled silage. Baled silage is particularly important as the primary silage making, storage and feeding system on many beef and smaller sized farms, but is also employed as a secondary system (often associated with facilitating grazing management during mid-summer) on many dairy and larger sized farms (O’Kiely et al., 2002). Previous surveys on farms indicated that the extent of visible fungal growth on baled silage was sometimes quite large, and could be a cause for concern. Whereas some improvements could come from applying existing knowledge and technologies, the circumstances surrounding the making and storage of baled silage suggested that environmental conditions within the bale differed from those in conventional silos, and that further knowledge was required in order to arrive at a secure set of recommendations for baled silage systems. This report deals with the final in a series (O’Kiely et al., 1999; O’Kiely et al., 2002) of three consecutive research projects investigating numerous aspect of the science and technology of baled silage. The success of each depended on extensive, integrated collaboration between the Teagasc research centres at Grange and Oak Park, and with University College Dublin. As the series progressed the multidisciplinary team needed to underpin the programme expanded, and this greatly improved the amount and detail of the research undertaken. The major objective of the project recorded in this report was to develop technologies to improve the “hygienic value” of baled silage

Centrosome amplification induces high grade features and is prognostic of worse outcomes in breast cancer

Table S1. Patient characteristics. Table S2. Hazard ratios from multivariate analysis. Table S3. Sequences of primers used for qRT-PCR. Figure S1. Distribution of average centrosome number per cell in the breast cancer patients represented in our TMA. Figure S2. Correlations between centrosome amplification and nodal status, patient age, and tumor size. Figure S3. Centrosome clustering but not structural abnormalities correlate with worse outcomes in breast cancer. Figure S4. CIN is prognostic of worse breast cancer-related survival. Figure S5. Centrosome amplification correlates with adverse clinical factors. Figure S6. CA correlates with higher ploidy and CIN. (DOCX 6223 kb

Technologies for restricting mould growth on baled silage

End of Project ReportSilage is made on approximately 86% of Irish farms, and 85% of these make some baled silage. Baled silage is particularly important as the primary silage making, storage and feeding system on many beef and smaller sized farms, but is also employed as a secondary system (often associated with facilitating grazing management during mid-summer) on many dairy and larger sized farms (O’Kiely et al., 2002). Previous surveys on farms indicated that the extent of visible fungal growth on baled silage was sometimes quite large, and could be a cause for concern. Whereas some improvements could come from applying existing knowledge and technologies, the circumstances surrounding the making and storage of baled silage suggested that environmental conditions within the bale differed from those in conventional silos, and that further knowledge was required in order to arrive at a secure set of recommendations for baled silage systems. This report deals with the final in a series (O’Kiely et al., 1999; O’Kiely et al., 2002) of three consecutive research projects investigating numerous aspect of the science and technology of baled silage. The success of each depended on extensive, integrated collaboration between the Teagasc research centres at Grange and Oak Park, and with University College Dublin. As the series progressed the multidisciplinary team needed to underpin the programme expanded, and this greatly improved the amount and detail of the research undertaken. The major objective of the project recorded in this report was to develop technologies to improve the “hygienic value” of baled silage. Specifically, the stated aims were to: 1. Characterise the mycobiota on baled silage in Ireland 2. Enhance our understanding of the fermentation kinetics (and the unique combination of factors regulating them) peculiar to baled silage 3. Develop the capability to elucidate the mechanisms of gas entry to and exit from wrapped bales 4. Develop improved plastic and sealing methodologies 5. Identify strategies to successfully produce baled silage with a reduced content of mould and other undesirable micro-organisms

The Conscience and Political Agency in Martin Luther and Hannah Arendt

Peer reviewedPostprin

Babel, Tyranny and Totality : Reading Genesis 11 with Luther

Peer reviewedPostprin

Democratization, Local Government and Political Parties during the Allied Occupation of Southern Italy after 1943

The article seeks to cast doubt on the prevailing notion that regards the Allied occupation of (Southern) Italy as a harbinger of democracy by examining it from a local, decidedly bottom-up analytical perspective. I argue that the Allies disfavored the formation of political parties and the expression of political thought, even though ‘you can't have a democracy without political parties’, as the Italian-American Charles Poletti, one of the principal American civil affairs officers (CAO) organizing the occupation on-site, phrased it. This was particularly true during the first phase of the occupation, when military priorities reigned supreme. However, even at a later point, after the CAOs had theoretically assumed the role of an external supervising authority, a deep distrust of the country's political parties informed much of the Allies’ attitudes. Rather than serving as a foundational layer for democracy, the Allies perceived the country's political parties as a threat to democratization insofar as these were believed to obstruct the former's political and economic agendas. Such antagonisms between occupier and occupied, of course, especially applied to Italy's largest and most well-organized party during the period of the Allied occupation – the Partito Comunista Italiano (PCI)

Rethinking professional practice: the logic of competition and the crisis of identity in housing practice

The relationship between professionalism, education and housing practice has become increasingly strained following the introduction of austerity measures and welfare reforms across a range of countries. Focusing on the development of UK housing practice, this article considers how notions of professionalism are being reshaped within the context of welfare retrenchment and how emerging tensions have both affected the identity of housing professionals and impacted on the delivery of training and education programmes. The article analyses the changing knowledge and skills valued in contemporary housing practice and considers how the sector has responded to the challenges of austerity. The central argument is that a dominant logic of competition has culminated in a crisis of identity for the sector. Although the focus of the article is on UK housing practice, the processes identified have a wider relevance for the analysis of housing and welfare delivery in developed economies