Academic literature on the topic 'Unit: Antarctic Research Centre'

Abstract Using the historical surface temperature dataset compiled by Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and the Hadley Centre of the United Kingdom, this study examines the seasonal and latitudinal profile of the surface temperature change observed during the last several decades. It reveals that the recent change in zonal-mean surface air temperature is positive at practically all latitudes. In the Northern Hemisphere, the warming increases with increasing latitude and is large in the Arctic Ocean during much of the year except in summer, when it is small. At the Antarctic coast and in the northern part of the circumpolar ocean (near 55°S), where limited data are available, the changes appear to be small during most seasons, though the warming is notable at the coast in winter. However, this warming is much less than the warming over the Arctic Ocean. The seasonal variation of the surface temperature change appears to be broadly consistent with the result from a global warming experiment that was conducted some time ago using a coupled atmosphere–ocean–land model.

Abstract. Moderate-Resolution Imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperatures in Antarctica were processed in order to produce a gridded data set at 25 km resolution, spanning the period 2000–2011 at an hourly time step. The Aqua and Terra orbits and MODIS swath width, combined with frequent clear-sky conditions, lead to very high availability of quality-controlled observations: on average, hourly data are available 14 h per day at the grid points around the South Pole and more than 9 h over a large area of the Antarctic Plateau. Processed MODIS land surface temperatures, referred to hereinafter as MODIS Ts values, were compared with in situ hourly measurements of surface temperature collected over the entirety of the year 2009 by seven stations from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) and automatic weather stations (AWSs). In spite of an occasional failure in the detection of clouds, MODIS Ts values exhibit a good performance, with a bias ranging from −1.8 to 0.1 °C and errors ranging from 2.2 to 4.8 °C root mean square at the five stations located on the plateau. These results show that MODIS Ts values can be used as a precise and accurate reference to test other surface temperature data sets. Here, we evaluate the performance of surface temperature in the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis known as ERA-Interim reanalysis. During conditions detected as cloud free by MODIS, ERA-Interim shows a widespread warm bias in Antarctica in every season, ranging from +3 to +6 °C on the plateau. This confirms a recent study which showed that the largest discrepancies in 2 m air temperature between ERA-Interim and the global temperature data set HadCRUT4 compiled by the Met Office Hadley Centre and the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit occur in Antarctica. A comparison with in situ surface temperature shows that this bias is not strictly limited to clear-sky conditions. A detailed comparison with stand-alone simulations by the Crocus snowpack model, forced by ERA-Interim, and with the ERA-Interim/land simulations, shows that the warm bias may be due primarily to an overestimation of the surface turbulent fluxes in very stable conditions. Numerical experiments with Crocus show that a small change in the parameterization of the effects of stability on the surface exchange coefficients can significantly impact the snow surface temperature. The ERA-Interim warm bias appears to be likely due to an overestimation of the surface exchange coefficients under very stable conditions.

Purpose The following paper details a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky, Associate Editor of Industrial Robot Journal, to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned successful business leader, regarding the commercialization and challenges of bringing technological inventions to the market while overseeing a company. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The interviewee is Dr William “Red” Whittaker, Fredkin Research Professor of Robotics, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU); CEO of Astrobotic Technology; and President of Workhorse Technologies. Dr Whittaker provides answers to questions regarding the pioneering experiences of some of his technological wonders in land, sea, air, underwater, underground and space. Findings As a child, Dr Whittaker built things and made them work and dreamed about space and robots. He has since then turned his dreams, and those of the world, into realities. Dr Whittaker’s formal education includes a BS degree in civil engineering from Princeton and MS and PhD degrees in civil engineering from CMU. In response to designing a robot to cleanup radioactive material at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, Dr Whittaker established the Field Robotics Center (FRC) in 1983. He is also the founder of the National Robotics Engineering Center, an operating unit within CMU’s Robotics Institute (RI), the world’s largest robotics research and development organization. Dr Whittaker has developed more than 60 robots, breaking new ground in autonomous vehicles, field robotics, space exploration, mining and agriculture. Dr Whittaker’s research addresses computer architectures for robots, modeling and planning for non-repetitive tasks, complex problems of objective sensing in random and dynamic environments and integration of complete robot systems. His current focus is Astrobotic Technology, a CMU spin-off firm that is developing space robotics technology to support planetary missions. Dr Whittaker is competing for the US$20m Google Lunar XPRIZE for privately landing a robot on the Moon. Originality/value Dr Whittaker coined the term “field robotics” to describe his research that centers on robots in unconstrained, uncontrived settings, typically outdoors and in the full range of operational and environmental conditions: robotics in the “natural” world. The Field Robotics Center has been one of the most successful initiatives within the entire robotics industry. As the Father of Field Robotics, Dr Whittaker has pioneered locomotion technologies, navigation and route-planning methods and advanced sensing systems. He has directed over US$100m worth of research programs and spearheaded several world-class robotic explorations and operations with significant outreach, education and technology commercializations. His ground vehicles have driven thousands of autonomous miles. Dr Whittaker won DARPA’s US$2m Urban Challenge. His Humvees finished second and third in the 2005 DARPA’s Grand race Challenge desert race. Other robot projects have included: Dante II, a walking robot that explored an active volcano; Nomad, which searched for meteorites in Antarctica; and Tugbot, which surveyed a 1,800-acre area of Nevada for buried hazards. Dr Whittaker is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and served on the National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board. Dr Whittaker received the Alan Newell Medal for Research Excellence. He received Carnegie Mellon’s Teare Award for Teaching Excellence. He received the Joseph Engelberger Award for Outstanding Achievement in Robotics, the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence’s inaugural Feigenbaum Prize for his contributions to machine intelligence, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Simon Ramo Medal, the American Society of Civil Engineers Columbia Medal, the Antarctic Service Medal and the American Spirit Honor Medal. Science Digest named Dr Whittaker one of the top 100 US innovators for his work in robotics. He has been recognized by Aviation Week & Space Technology and Design News magazines for outstanding achievement. Fortune named him a “Hero of US Manufacturing”. Dr Whittaker has advised 26 PhD students, has 16 patents and has authored over 200 publications. Dr Whittaker’s vision is to drive nanobiologics technology to fulfillment and create nanorobotic agents for enterprise on Earth and beyond (Figure 1).

AbstractAre similarities of temperature, snow and ice cover, and (certain) marine mammals sufficient to warrant both polar regions being considered a single object of study or governance? We argue that their treatment as a unit is an invitation to examine the motivations behind the choice to be polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic. For individuals such as James Clerk Ross or Roald Amundsen, logistical requirements and analogous goals facilitated careers spanning both the Arctic and the Antarctic. This trend continued through the 20th century as individual scientists studying phenomena such as glaciers, sea ice, or aurora defined their research as “polar” in nature. Organisations such as the Scott Polar Research Institute and Norwegian Polar Institute could draw on traditions of national exploration in both polar regions, while the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg gained its southern mandate with the importance of the International Geophysical Year. By comparison, neither the Arctic Institute in Copenhagen nor the Argentine Antarctic Institute felt any need to become polar. The creation of polar identity is ultimately a matter of geopolitics, of the value states see in instruments and symbols that speak to polar rather than Arctic or Antarctic interests. In cases such as Finland’s icebreaker industry, a technological capability justified Antarctic interest even without any national research tradition. We conclude by asking whether there is anything more natural about the polar regions than there is about the concept of a “tripolar” world in which the high alpine regions form a natural unit along with the Arctic and Antarctic.

Over the years, several members of the staff of the Dental Health Services Research Unit (DHSRU) at Dundee have published papers in Primary Dental Care. Furthermore, its Director, Professor Nigel Pitts, together with Drs Jan Clarkson and Gail Topping have co-edited a number of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)'s standards manuals and contributed to others. It had been suggested to the Unit by several parties that, having been in funded existence for some 30 years, it would be appropriate to mark this anniversary with a conference to explore ‘Dental Health Services Research: After 30 years, what was the impact, what have we learned and where are we going?’ So, following a range of consultations, the conference was convened at the West Park Conference Centre in Dundee with a mixed audience representing both dental research and dental practice.

AbstractThe one-dimensional snow model SNTHERM is validated using field measurements of snow and superimposed ice thickness and surface energy fluxes. These were performed during the spring-to-summer transition in Svalbard and in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica. Both the seasonal snow-thickness decrease and the formation of superimposed ice are well reproduced by the model. During the three observation periods, observed and modeled snow thickness differ only by 13.1–27.1mm on average. In regional studies, the model is forced with atmospheric re-analysis data (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) and applied to several meridional transects across the Arctic and Southern Ocean. These show fundamental regional differences in the onset, duration and magnitude of snow thinning in summer. In the central Arctic, snowmelt onset occurs within a narrow time range of ±11 days and without significant regional differences. In contrast, the snow cover on Antarctic sea ice begins to melt about 25 days earlier and the length of the Antarctic snow-thinning season increases with increasing latitude. The importance of melting and evaporation for the modeled snow-thickness decrease is very different in the two hemispheres. The ratio of evaporated snow mass to melted snow mass per unit area is derived from the model, and amounts to approximately 4.2 in the Antarctic and only 0.75 in the Arctic. This agrees with observations and model results of the surface energy balance, and illustrates the dominance of surface cooling by upward turbulent fluxes in the Antarctic.

This study aims to investigate the inbound open innovation and firm performance in different time periods across different organisations. Specifically, a conceptual model at firm level analysis was proposed based on literature review. The model was tested with structural equation modeling, using the empirical data which were collected from 60 research centre projects and 62 business unit projects in 2008. Results reveal the causal relationship between the implementation of inbound open innovation and the firm performance in both research centre and business unit. Comparative results showed that regarding research centre, increasing the frequency of inbound open innovation, efficient interal R&D activities and the higher degree of product newness make projects stable and efficient; consequently, the success of firm performance is achieved. As for the business unit, the frequently inbound open innovation practices are necessary for terms of generating efficiency and outcomes, and efficient inter R&D stargeties are significant conditioned by the degree of product newness, contributing to the firm performance as well.

ABSTRAK Telah dilakukan penelitian dengan metode geomagnet pada lokasi Sains Center di Desa Oelnasi, Kecamatan Kupang Tengah, Kabupaten Kupang. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menginterpretasi kondisi bawah permukaan lokasi pembangunan gedung Sains Center dan memetakan pola perlapisan batuan bawah permukaan di lokasi penelitian. Pengambilan data dilakukan pada 192 titik ukur dengan luas lokasi ± 50 Ha. Proses akusisi data dengan sistem looping menggunakan alat Proton Prosession Magnetometer (PPM) tipe GSM-19T. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan sebaran nilai intensitas medan magnetik total dari 45255.85 nT sampai 45517.70 nT. Untuk anomali hasil pengolahan data diperoleh pada kisaran -90 nT sampai 190 nT. Hasil pemodelan 2 dimensi menunjukkan bahwa lokasi penelitian didominasi oleh batuan gamping dengan kisaran nilai suseptibilitas 0,000002 cgs unit sampai 0,002778 cgs unit dan berada pada kedalaman ±0 meter – 20 meter dan batuan diamagnetik dengan kisaran nilai suseptibilitas -0,000013 cgs unit sampai -0,000840 cgs unit pada kedalaman ± 5 meter – 20 meter. Kata kunci: Geomagnet, Suseptibilitas, Sains Center, Batuan gamping, Batuan diamagnetik. ABSTRACT A research has been done with used geomagnetic method in located science centre of oelnasi village subdistric kupang centre, kupang regency. This research purposes for interpretation under surface condition site the building of science centre and mapped pattern rock layered under surface in the location research. Acquire data to do in 192 drop measure with wide located ± 50 hectare. The acquire process with looping system make use of Proton Prosession Magnetometer (PPM) type GSM-19T. Output research showed value spread total intensity magnetic field as of 45255,85 nT to 45517,70 nT. For output anomaly data processing get to turn -90 nT to 190 nT. Two dimantion output modeling showed that in the location research predominance of limestones rock with the susceptibility value 0,000002 cgs unit to 0,002778 cgs unit and be in the depth ±0 meters – 20 meters, and diamagnetic rock with the susceptibility value -0,000013 cgs unit to 0,000840 cgs unit be in the depth ±5 meters – 20 meters. Keywords : Geomagnetic, Susceptibility, Science Centre, Limestone Rock, Diamagnetic Rock.

The Unit for Suicide Research was founded in 1996 with the aims of integrating and stimulating the study of suicidal behaviour, increasing the visibility of the research work, and providing evidence-based information to health policy-makers, the general public and the media. I am Director of the Unit, working alongside Professor Kurt Audenaert, Dr Katrien Bernagie, and psychologists Gwendolyn Portzky (Research Coordinator), Stephanie De Munck, Els Reyserhove and Hannelore Vromman. In this report I will summarise recent and current activities, which are carried out according to three lines of research: the study of the epidemiology of suicidal behaviour; the study of (the association between) biological and psychological characteristics of suicidal behaviour; and the development and evaluation of prevention strategies. Research is carried out in collaboration with other departments of the University of Gent (e.g. the Departments of Nuclear Medicine, Sociology, Radiopharmacy and Veterinary Medicine) and with a large number of other European research centres. The collaboration with Professor Hawton at the Oxford Centre for Suicide Research has been particularly important (Hawton & Van Heeringen, 2000).

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to explore the relationship between research and policymaking in South African higher education, using the Education Policy Unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC-EPU) -recently renamed the Centre for the Study of Higher Education - as a case study. The study begins by examining the various models that explain the nature of policymaking in Western democracies, as well as the main theoretical frameworks - namely the "two communities" theory and the enlightenment model of knowledge utilisation - that explain the relationship between the production of knowledge and its utilisation in policymaking. It is argued that, although most of these models were developed to analyse the policymaking process within the context of mature democracies, they nonetheless raise important issues for developing countries like South Africa. The study proceeds to provide an overview of the process of policy development in South Africa. It is suggested that a better way of understanding the evolution of higher education policy development in South Africa is to see it as having gone through four phases, each of which marks a significant turning point within higher education itself, as well as in the broader political context. The process of the policy development, and in particular the role of (higher education) research within it, is shown as one that was largely driven by political and ideological imperatives. The study then shifts to a discussion of the CSHE, commencing with an overview of its organisational history, and highlighting the main objectives of its research programme and the changes that occurred with regard to its research orientation. These are examined in relation to external factors - for example the shift from the development of policy frameworks to the focus on implementation - and in terms of the dynamics that were internal to the University of the Western Cape. This discussion also highlights the challenges that were faced by the EPUs and other progressive academics in the early phases of the policy development process, namely that of engaging in a 'reconstructive' agenda on the one hand, while undertaking intellectual/scientific work on the other hand. In the case of the CSHE, there was also the added challenge of contributing to the development of the nascent field of higher education studies. One of the key issues that emerge in the analysis of the interviews, which form the core source of data collection for this study, is the multifarious understanding of the way in which the research undertaken by the CSHE was to be utilised. The three notions of 'use' that are highlighted - which are also embedded in the objectives of the CSHE as set out in its constitution - are the following: • Utilisation as generation of ideas, and particularly as a contribution to the debates on social reconstruction • Utilisation as input into the policymaking process • Utilisation as contribution to scholarship The study shows that there is a mixed assessment of the extent to which the CSHE was able to address these competing - and sometimes contradictory - challenges. In the main, its efforts were hamstrung by a confluence of factors, ranging from its inability to recruit or attract experienced researchers, to the orientation of its research towards critique, something which was a feature of the scholarship emanating from the progressive academic community at the time.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is om die verhouding tussen navorsing en beleidsvorming binne die konteks van die Suid- Afrikaanse hoër onderwysomgewing te ondersoek. Met die oog hierop word die Education Policy Unit aan die Universiteit van Wes-Kaapland (UWC-EPU), onlangs herdoop tot die Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CHSE), deur middel van 'n gevallestudie beskryf. Die studie begin met 'n ondersoek na die verskillende modelle wat poog om die aard van beleidsvorming binne Westerse demokrasieë te verduidelik. Verder word die hoof teoretiese raamwerke, tewete die "two communities" teorie asook die "enlightenment model", wat die verhouding tussen die skep van kennis en die aanwending daarvan binne 'n beleidskonteks wil verduidelik, ook ondersoek. Hoewel die meeste modelle van hierdie aard ontwikkel is om die proses van beleidsvorming binne volwasse demokrasieë te analiseer, word aangevoer dat hulle desnieteenstaande belangrike kwessies na vore bring vir ontwikkelende lande soos Suid-Afrika. Die studie gaan verder deur 'n oorsig te gee oor die proses van beleidsontwikkeling in Suid- Afrika. Daar word gesuggereer dat 'n meer verantwoorde wyse om die evolusie van hoër onderwysbeleid in Suid-Afrika te verstaan, sou wees om erkenning te gee aan 'n vier-fase-benadering, waarvan elk 'n betekenisvolle rigtingverandering aangedui het, sowel as die invloed van die breër politieke konteks. Die proses van beleidsontwikkeling, en meer spesifiek die rol van (hoër onderwys) navorsing daarbinne, word aangetoon as synde hoofsaaklik gemotifeer deur politieke en ideologiese imperatiewe. Hierna verskuif die fokus van die studie na 'n bespreking van die CSHE deur te begin met 'n oorsig oor die geskiedenis van die sentrum. Die hoof doelwitte van die sentrum se navorsingsprogram asook die veranderinge wat onlangs plaasgevind ten opsigte van navorsingsoriëntasie, word bespreek. Hierdie aspekte word ondersoek aan die hand van eksterne faktore - byvoorbeeld die verskuiwing wat plaasgevind het vanaf die klem op ontwikkelingsraamwerke na 'n fokus op implimentering - en in terme van die dinamika wat eie is en was aan die Universiteit van Wes Kaapland. Die gesprek poog verder om lig te werp op die tipiese uitdagings waarmee Education Policy Units en navorsers in hierdie veld mee te doen gehad het in die beginjare van die beleidsontwikkelingsproses, naamlik om vanuit 'n rekonstruktiewe agenda te opereer en terselftertyd betrokke te wees met navorsing op 'n akademiese en wetenskaplike vlak. In die geval van die CSHE, het die verdere uitdaging om deurlopend bydraes tot die veld van hoër onderwysstudies te lewer, hoë eise aan die eenheid gestel. 'n Sleutelaspek wat na vore gekom het tydens die analise van die onderhoude (laasgenoemde vorm die sentrale bron van vir die data-versameling van die studie) is dat uiteenlopende interpretasies bestaan van hoe die navorsing soos deur die CSHE onderneem, benut behoort te word. Die drie perspektiewe op benutting ("use") wat uitgelig word, en wat In sentrale deel van die doelwitte van die CSHE uitmaak soos in die grondwet van die sentrum vervat, is die volgende: • Benutting as die skep van idees, en in die besonder as 'n bydrae tot debatte oor sosiale rekonstruksie • Benutting as inset tot die proses van beleidmaking • Benutting as bydrae tot navorsing Die studie toon aan dat die maniere waarop die CSHE in staat was om hierdie kompeterende, en soms teensprekende, uitdagings te hanteer, op uiteenlopende wyses geëvalueer was. In hoofsaak is die pogings van die sentrum aan bande gelê deur 'n sameloop van verskillende faktore wat gestrek het vanaf die probleem om ervare navorsers te lok en aan te stel tot met die probleem om sy navorsing aan te pas en te heroriënteer gegrond op kritiese stemme, dikwels die gevolg van die progressiewe akademiese gemeenskap van die tyd.

This thesis is presented as a collection of research papers synthesising knowledge gained during the period of candidacy. Its underlying focus is the examination of evolution from a variety of perspectives for terrestrial arthropods (springtails) in an Antarctic setting. These perspectives include investigation of the ways in which springtail populations respond both physiologically and genetically to environmental variability over historical and contemporary time-scales. While the physiological and genetic may seem two worlds apart, this thesis recognises that, in reality the two are inextricably linked. Thus, when genetic differentiation between populations of the same species can be demonstrated, physiological differentiation of these populations may also be predicted (and vice versa). Therefore, across several locations and springtail species, physiological and genetic parameters of individuals and populations are examined both separately and, where possible, in concert. The physiological aspect of this thesis focuses on the springtail Gomphiocephalus hodgsoni from continental Antarctica. In addition to providing the first metabolic rate data for a continental Antarctic springtail, seasonal variation in metabolic rates is examined across multiple temporal and spatial scales to evaluate the ways in which individuals and populations respond to environmental variability. Metabolic activity in this species is intricately linked to a variety of factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic. These include biological function, temperature profiles in the local microclimate, and body mass and genetic differences among populations. In the genetically-focused aspect of this thesis, population genetic patterns of G. hodgsoni from several continental locations and Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus from locations across the Antarctica Peninsula are compared. Here, the importance of differing evolutionary histories in influencing patterns of contemporary genetic population structure is highlighted. While both species have been similarly affected genetically by Pleistocene (2 Ma – present) glacial cycling, it is clear that differences in timing of colonisation events and subsequent population expansions have left distinct genetic signatures in each species. In a separate molecular study, phylogenetic analyses are employed to study members of the circum-Antarctic springtail family Isotomidae. Thesis Abstract The genetic ancestry among these closely related species is shown to reflect a diverse evolutionary origin in the Miocene (23 – 5 Ma), subsequent to which both vicariant and dispersal processes have been important. Phylogenetic re-constructions tease out the relationships among sister species, and the identification of several genetically distant lineages suggests that a revision of current species designations is required. Finally, two studies that integrate the physiological and molecular genetic are presented. First, metabolic rate variation across several locations on sub-Antarctic Marion Island in the springtail Cryptopygus antarcticus travei is examined. This variation is related to the genetic structure of populations to show that historical and contemporary environmental characteristics have left their trace in the expression of both genetic and physiological variability of these populations. Second, the perceived association between metabolic rate and genetic (mutation) rate is investigated more closely - a sophisticated Bayesian correlation analysis detects that there is an indirect relationship between metabolic rate and underlying species phylogeny in C. a. travei. Thus, the physiological and molecular genetic elements of this thesis test or advance important hypotheses within their own fields, and the integrated approach applied is a new step in interpreting evidence of physiological adaptation in Antarctic species. In its multi-faceted approach to evolutionary studies, this thesis enhances understanding of the current picture of springtail evolution in polar environments.

Tese de mestrado, Ciências Biofarmacêuticas, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Farmácia, 2019
Although the number of clinical trials is growing positively, both in Portugal and in other European countries, the number of investigator-initiated clinical trials (IICTs) remains very low. Nevertheless, IICTs are essential due the use of a patient-oriented approach, not aiming at the protection of a commercial institution's interests. In this type of studies, the ownership of the data and the intellectual property rights arise from the trial lies with the person or group of persons who conceives of and conducts the study. Despite its importance, these studies go through several challenges due to limited resources, financial constraints, lack of local supportive infrastructures, inadequate research training and complex and strict regulation. The involvement of local and distributed (i.e., spanning across different countries) infrastructures to support investigators throughout the entire process of a clinical study seems crucial to fulfil the requirements and achieve the objectives in IICTs. As such, the involvement of European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network (ECRIN) a non-profit organisation and a distributed network, and a Portuguese Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (PtCRIN), a national network encompassing multiple Portuguese partners, is a step in the right direction to increase the number of IICTs in Portugal, although still insufficient. In order to increase the number of clinical trials in Portugal, given its relevance both to raising the quality of life of individuals and to the wellbeing of society in general, it would be important to identify the problems and needs of clinical investigators and respective research centres to carry out further IICTs. Thus, the main goal of this work is to identify the type of support needed of clinical investigators and respective clinical research centre (CRCs) in Portugal to become more competitive in conducting IICTs. As secondary objective we intent to characterize the IICTs registered in Portugal from 2004 to 2018. This work will be under the framework of PtCRIN and will ultimately contribute to align the strategy of this national network of research infrastructures, with the needs of its members. To achieve this goal, a systematic search of trial registrations from 1 October 2004 to 30 September 2018 – using four clinical trials registries – was carried out to characterize the IICTs registered in Portugal. The Portuguese institutions (CRCs and investigators) conducting higher number of IICTs were identified and a survey on Google Forms was built and launched to the principal investigators of IICTs in order to characterize the investigator, identify their previous experience in commercial trials and IICTs, the support infrastructures and the needs that the investigator consider necessary for conducting IICTs. Three hundred and thirty-nine IICTs were identified in Portugal. Of these, 41.9% (n=142) were trials with medicinal products and 26.8% (n=91) behavioural trials, mostly sponsored by universities and funded by public organizations. The CRC that participates, as a recruiting center, in more IICTs in Portugal is the Hospital Centre of Lisboa Norte followed by the Portuguese Institute of Oncology Francisco Gentil of Lisbon (IPO-L) and Hospital Centre of São João. For the survey, 132 Portuguese investigators were identified. The survey was received by 94 investigators but only 18 (19.1%) answered it. The lack of specific funding for clinical research, the missing support infrastructures, such as CTUs, the statistical support and bureaucracy were the limitations more frequently pointed by these investigators. A wellstructured CTU can help investigators overcome most of these limitations. The needs that investigator identified in the survey are totally aligned with PtCRIN objectives and mission. PtCRIN started with two CTUs and in the last five years the number the CTU has increased to five. PtCRIN will continue to develop CTUs, provide support to national investigators seeking to internationalise clinical trials and also involve their country in clinical trials initiated by investigators in other European countries, develop specific forward-looking initiatives to show the importance of specific clinical research funding and how this might have impact on the national performance in IICTs.
Embora o número de ensaios clínicos esteja a crescer de forma positiva, tanto em Portugal como noutros países da Europa, o número de ensaios clínicos da iniciativa do investigador (ECIIs) permanece relativamente baixo (cerca de 7% do total de ensaios clínicos em Portugal). Os ECIIs são de enorme importância, pois usam uma abordagem voltada para os doentes, não tendo como objetivo a proteção dos interesses de uma instituição comercial. Além disso, neste tipo de estudos, a propriedade dos dados e os direitos de propriedade intelectual que surgem dos ensaios pertencem à pessoa ou ao grupo de pessoas que o concebeu e que conduziu o estudo. Contudo, apesar da sua elevada relevância, estes estudos enfrentam diversas dificuldades devido à falta de recursos, às restrições financeiras, à falta de infraestruturas de suporte locais, à inadequada formação em investigação e à complexa e estrita regulamentação. O envolvimento de infraestruturas locais e internacionais (que abrangem diferentes países) para suportar os investigadores durante todo o processo de um ensaio clínicos parece crucial para atender às necessidades e atingir os objetivos nos ECIIs. Como tal, a Rede Europeia de Infraestruturas de Investigação Clínica (ECRIN), é uma organização sem fins lucrativos e uma rede internacional, que fornece aos seus membros diversos serviços de suporte para a gestão dos ensaios clínicos e contribui para projetos de desenvolvimento de infraestruturas. Portugal é parceiro da ECRIN através da Rede Portuguesa de Infraestruturas de Investigação Clínica (PtCRIN). A rede nacional é constituída por várias instituições portuguesas desde unidades de ensaios clínicos, unidades de saúde e universidades. A missão da PtCRIN é a de apoiar os investigadores nacionais no desenvolvimento de ECIIs, ajudando-os a internacionalizar as suas ideias. Iniciativas como a PtCRIN são passos na direção certa para aumentar o número de ECIIs em Portugal, embora seja, ainda, insuficiente. Com o objetivo de aumentar o número de ensaios clínicos em Portugal, dada a sua relevância tanto para o aumento da qualidade de vida dos indivíduos como para o bem-estar da sociedade em geral, seria importante identificar os problemas e as necessidades dos investigadores clínicos e dos respetivos centros de investigação clínica para permitir a realização de mais ECIIs. O principal objetivo deste trabalho é identificar o tipo de suporte necessário para que investigadores e os respetivos Centros de Investigação Clínica em Portugal se tornem mais competitivos na realização de ECIIs. Como objetivo secundário, pretende-se caracterizar os ECIIs registados em Portugal de 2004 a 2018. Este trabalho vai estar enquadrado com a PtCRIN e irá contribuir para alinhar a estratégia desta rede nacional de infraestruturas de investigação com as necessidades dos seus membros. Para atingir o objetivo, foi realizada uma pesquisa sistemática dos registos de ensaios clínicos de 1 de outubro de 2004 a 30 de setembro de 2018 – utilizando quatro plataformas de registo de ensaios clínicos (EUCTR, ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN and ANZCTR). A pesquisa nestas quatro plataformas de registo de ensaios clínicos, além de identificar os ECIIs em Portugal, serviu também para os caracterizar. Após a identificação e caracterização dos ECIIs registados em Portugal no período mencionado anteriormente foram identificadas as instituições portuguesas (centros de investigação clínica e investigadores) que estão a realizar o maior número de ECIIs. Por fim, foi construído e divulgado um inquérito por questionário através do Google Forms para identificar as necessidades para a realização deste tipo de ensaios clínicos. A população-alvo deste inquérito foram os investigadores de ECIIs com medicamentos e/ou dispositivos médicos que tinham como promotor ou centro de recrutamento um membro da PtCRIN. Este inquérito foi realizado em português e consistia num questionário de 18 perguntas que permitiam caracterizar os investigadores, identificar a sua experiência prévia tanto em ensaios comerciais como ECIIs e, também, identificar as infraestruturas de suporte e as necessidades que os investigadores consideram importantes para a realização deste tipo de ensaios clínicos em Portugal. No presente estudo foram identificados 339 ECIIs em Portugal, dos quais 41.9% (n=142) são ensaios clínicos com medicamentos e 26.8% (n=91) são ensaios clínicos de comportamento. Do número total de ECIIs, apenas 12.1% (n=41) são ensaios clínicos com dispositivos médicos. Estes ensaios têm sido promovidos maioritariamente por universidades, nomeadamente a Universidade do Porto e a Universidade de Lisboa, e financiados por organizações publicas. Apesar da intervenção mais utilizada nos ECIIs em Portugal ser produtos medicinais, as universidades promovem maioritariamente estudos de comportamento. São os hospitais e as organizações especificas de doenças que promovem o maior número de estudos com medicamentos, o que se pode dever à maior complexidade, aos padrões mais rigorosos e à maior despesa requerida por estes estudos. A identificação dos centros de investigação clínica onde decorrem os ECIIs não foi uma tarefa fácil devido à falta de informação existente tanto nas bases de dados como nas publicações. Como a utilização da plataforma do Registo Nacional de Estudos Clínicos (RNEC) só foi possível para estudos de medicamentos e dispositivos médicos em ensaios registados a partir de 2017, podem estar em falta alguns dados em ensaios anteriores a essa data. Apesar das dificuldades foi possível a identificação de centros de investigação clínica na grande maioria dos estudos. Em Portugal, o centro de investigação clínica que tem participado, como centro de recrutamento, num maior número de ECIIs tem sido o Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Norte (n=37). Seguido do Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (IPO-L) e do Centro Hospitalar de São João que participaram em 28 ECIIs cada um. Para permitir a realização do questionário foram identificados 132 investigadores pertencentes à populaçãoalvo, contudo na pesquisa feita nas bases de dados e publicações (principalmente de estudos internacionais) apenas foi possível encontrar o contacto de 104 investigadores. Dos 104 investigadores que foram convidados a preencher o inquérito via email, apenas 94 receberam o inquérito. A taxa de resposta ao questionário foi muito baixa, apenas de 19.1% (18 investigadores). Este fato levou a que não fosse possível realizar uma análise estatística mais rigorosa, permitindo apenas obter tendências de associação. A maioria destes investigadores pertenciam a Unidades de Investigação financiadas pela Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) (76.5%). Foram estes que participaram num maior número de ensaios clínicos (tanto comerciais como ECIIs) e, também, os únicos que obtiveram autorias em publicações de resultados de ensaios comerciais. Do mesmo modo, os investigadores pertencentes a estas Unidades de Investigação foram também aqueles que conseguiram um maior número de autorias em publicações referentes aos resultados dos ECIIs em que participaram. O número de investigadores com doutoramento e sem doutoramento não foi muito diferente (8 tinham doutoramento e 9 não tinham doutoramento). Apesar do fato de ter o grau de doutor não parecer influenciar a participação em ensaios comerciais, foram os investigadores com doutoramento que participaram num maior número de ECIIs. Foram, também, estes investigadores que obtiveram um maior número de autorias em publicações de resultados de ensaios clínicos (tanto comerciais como ECIIs). Sessenta e cinco por cento dos investigadores que responderam ao questionário eram docentes universitários e este fato também pareceu influenciar a participação em ECIIs, mas não em ensaios comerciais. Já na obtenção de autorias em publicações de resultados dos ensaios clínicos, foram os investigadores que eram professores universitários aqueles que obtiveram um maior número de autorias (tanto em ECIIs como em ensaios comerciais). Apesar do reduzido número de respostas por parte dos investigadores, foi possível identificar algumas das limitações que os investigadores sentem na realização dos ECIIs. As limitações mais apontadas pelos investigadores foram a falta de financiamento e a falta de Unidades de Ensaios Clínicos (CTUs). Também a falta de apoio estatístico e a enorme burocracia, principalmente na aprovação dos ensaios clínicos pelas Entidades Nacionais foram referidos como maiores limitações. Outras limitações apontadas foram a falta de apoio no desenho do protocolo do estudo e o tempo dedicado por parte dos investigadores. Muitas destas limitações podem ser ultrapassadas se existirem CTUs bem estruturadas e, por isso, o desenvolvimento de um maior número de CTUs em Portugal parece ser um fator essencial para que o número de ECIIs aumente. As necessidades que os investigadores identificaram no inquérito estão totalmente alinhadas com os objetivos e com a missão da PtCRIN. A PtCRIN, sendo a rede nacional infraestruturas de investigação clínica, começou por estruturar essa rede e, inicialmente, em 2014, constituíam a PtCRIN apenas duas CTUs e nos últimos cinco anos o número de CTUs subiu para cinco. De futuro, a PtCRIN pretende continuar a desenvolver a rede de CTUs em Portugal, assim como continuar a prestar apoio aos investigadores nacionais para que estes internacionalizem os seus ensaios clínicos. Para além disso a PtCRIN, através da sua ligação à ECRIN, continuará a envolver investigadores e centros de investigação clínica portugueses em ECIIs multinacionais. Este estudo mostrou ainda a importância da existência de financiamento específico para a investigação clínica e a capacitação e formação de todos os envolvidos nesta área. A PtCRIN tem vindo a desenvolver várias iniciativas de formação específicas para os vários envolvidos na investigação clínica assim como mostrar, através de várias publicações de artigos científicos e apresentações em conferencias, a importância da existência de financiamento específico para a investigação clínica e do seu impacto no desempenho nacional da investigação clínica, nomeadamente dos ECIIs.

AbstractIn contrast to mainstream research methods in psychology, the project Children’s Drawings of Gods encompasses computer vision and mathematical methods to analyse the data (drawings and drawing annotations). The first part of the present work describes a set of methods designed to extract measures, namely features, directly from the drawings and from annotations of the images. Then, the dissimilarities between the drawings are computed based on particular features (such as the gravity centre of the smallest image unit, namely pixel, or the annotated position of god) and combined in order to measure numerically the differences between the drawings. In the second part, we conduct an exploratory data analysis based on these dissimilarities, including multidimensional scaling and clustering, in order to determine whether the chosen features permit us to distinguish the different strategies that the children used to draw god.

This chapter addresses two major challenges in academic entrepreneurship. First, rather than continuously questioning and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) program, universities often get stuck in their day-to-day business. Second, unlike businesses, most research organisations do not base their strategy and operational activities on their research customers’ demands, namely companies, and thus often miss to meet the needs of their market. Starting with a theoretical discussion on university structures and market orientation in KTT, this chapter presents the successful case of Münster University of Applied Sciences (MUAS) in Germany. Separating strategic, operational, and analytical-scientific activities, MUAS established a Science-to-Business Marketing Research Centre (S2BMRC) which conducts various activities to optimise relationships between academia and business based marketing principles. The chapter details the centre’s field of duties, benefits of having such a centre, and success factors in the formation and operation stage, thus giving insight for all those lacking a market-oriented KTT structure.

The goal of this study on silent monitoring alarms is to make the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) quieter with the help of a context sensitive clinical monitoring alarm system. A work domain analysis in the NICU of Máxima Medical Centre in Veldhoven, the Netherlands, reveals that more than half of the monitoring alarm events occur when a nurse is treating the infant at the incubator in while the nurse is paying full attention to the infant. This provides an opportunity for silent lighting alarms. The proposed intelligent system detects whether the nurse is treating the infant at the incubator or not and changes alarm modality to light or audio accordingly. This intelligence based on level of attention does not require complex judgments on clinical relevancy of the alarms or optimization algorithms. The results of the work domain research and an experiment show that the proposed solution has potential to improve the alarm system at the NICU, but the success is heavily dependent on the design details, which thus reserve further attention.

This chapter looks at the pioneering development of activist-based feminist research methods on violence against women. This type of research is often characterised by collaboration as a principle and making something new in terms of robust research in the service of the domestic violence movement. The centres subsequently set up by feminist researchers include the Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit (CWASU), London, and the Violence Against Women Research Group (now Centre for Gender and Violence Research), Bristol. The chapter discusses the work since 1985 of the BSA Violence against Women Study Group. It concludes with a discussion of trans-national feminist action, research and partnerships which avoid the inappropriate imposition of Western ideas. The chapter highlights the deep humanity and humility required to make such partnerships work. It concludes with an example of participatory action research in Uganda and a tribute to the work of the Ugandan organisation, Mifumi, including a poem honouring especially the women from Ugandan villages involved.

Abstract The EUREX reprocessing pilot plant, at ENEA Research Centre, Saluggia (VC - Italy), stores 113 m3 of intermediate level liquid waste and 110 m3 of low level liquid waste, originating from the past reprocessing campaigns. Conditioning of the above wastes, for the purpose of final disposal, has been planned in a new installation for the solidification of both intermediate and low level wastes at Saluggia site. The installation, under design, has been named CORA Plant (COnditioning of RAdioactive wastes). Direct Vitrification process using cold crucible melter (CCM) developed by CEA of Marcoule, has been chosen as conditioning technology for a mix of most active wastes and cementation for secondary low level waste produced during vitrification. A boro-silicate glass matrix has been selected with a specific nominal chemical composition adapted to liquid waste matrix. Characterisation work of this specific glass is under progress. CORA has been presented to regulatory authority has a modification of a pilot reprocessing Eurex plant. Vitrification equipment and glass canister interim storage facility of CORA Plant will be housed inside the existing building of Eurex facility properly modified. Cementation unit inside a new building located in a near external yard. A description of the waste management scheme, as well as a brief description of adopted technologies, chemical glass composition and updated schedule of CORA project is presented in this paper.

A Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 MELCOR model from Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) was modified to simulate the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 accident. Several simulations were performed using three different modeling approaches. The base model (1F2 v1) includes only the basic modifications to reproduce the accident. The intermediate model (1F2 v2) includes an improved model of the Wet Well. In the advanced model (1F2 v3), the reactor core isolation cooling system logic was modified to avoid the use of tabular functions for the mass flow inlet and outlet. As a result of this analysis it is concluded that there is a strong dependency on parameters which still have many uncertainties, such as the reactor core isolation cooling system two-phase flow operation, the alternative water injection, the suppression pool behavior, the rupture disk behavior and the containment failure modes which affect the final state of the reactor core.

This paper outlines a demonstration project planned and implemented at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology (CCHT) in 2006. The CCHT, located on the campus of the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada maintains two identical, detached, single-family houses that have the capacity to assess energy and building technologies in side by side comparisons with daily simulated occupancy effects. The paper describes the residential integrated total energy system being installed in one of the homes at the CCHT for this demonstration, consisting of two one-ton ground source heat pumps, an air handler with supplemental/back-up hydronic heating capability, a natural gas fired storage type water tank, an indirect domestic hot water storage tank and a multistage thermostat capable of controlling the system. There is also a description of the bore-field, consisting of three vertical wells arranged to suit a typical suburban landscape. Two of the wells serve the heat pumps; the third well is arranged between the other two to sink the waste heat from a cogeneration unit. The 6 kWe cogeneration unit to be installed in May 2007 is also described. The heat pump system was deliberately sized to satisfy the cooling load in Canada’s heat dominated climate, leaving room in the operation of the system to accept waste heat from the cogeneration unit, either directly or indirectly through recycling the heat through the ground to the heat pumps. This paper presents and discusses preliminary testing results during the fall of 2006 and modeling work of the ground heat exchanger component of the system and therefore sets the stage for performance modeling work that is currently underway at Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).

NUKEM Technologies was contracted to supply a dry, automated drum belt (tumbling) Abrasive Blasting Unit (ABU) to the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Ispra, Italy. The ABU was installed in the centralised radioactive waste management area of the JRC-Ispra site in Italy. The unit is to be employed for the decontamination to clearance levels of slightly contaminated metal components and, where practical, concrete or heavy concrete (density ∼3200 kg/m3) blocks arising from the dismantling of nuclear facilities. The presentation is based on the successful construction and installation of the ABU at the JRC Ispra site. Among the several possibilities of adapting conventional abrasive units to nuclear applications, an automatic tumbling machine was preferred, due to the larger output and (mainly) for the ease of operation, with minimum direct handling of contaminated material by operators, thus satisfying the ALARA principle. Consideration was also given to Belgoprocess’ successful experience with a predecessor, similar unit. After adequate size reduction batches of up to about 800 kg of material to be decontaminated are automatically introduced into the blasting chamber. Pieces between 100 mm and 800 mm long, between 100 mm and 500 mm wide and between 5 mm and 300 mm high can be effectively treated in the unit, the maximum weight of a single piece being limited to 100 kg. Short lengths of pipe may be included; the final dimensions of pipe to be decontaminated will be established during the nuclear commissioning tests. Other components with hard-to-reach surfaces may also be included. The content of the chamber is tumbled by two bladed drums, while sharp steel grit is sprayed onto the contaminated components, thus removing the surface layer including any contamination. From experience, 30 minutes of treatment is sufficient to remove contamination to levels below expected clearance levels for most materials. The decontaminated components are removed from the blasting chamber automatically and collected in skips. Dust and grit are led to a series of separators; the grit gets recycled to the blasting chamber, cleaned off contaminants such as paint are fed to collection bins, and the dust is bagged into waste drums. Airflow through the whole system cleans the decontaminated components, transports the dust to the collecting area, and acts as a dynamic barrier to limit risks of contamination of the surrounding areas. Prior to release back into the room, the air is filtered in a series of automatically cleaned filters, followed by HEPA filters. The whole facility is operated in an automatic mode: the operators are only required to place drums or pallets of contaminated material onto the feeder, and remove skips of decontaminated material and drums of secondary waste such as dust. The presentation will describe the system and potential applications in the nuclear industry in detail.

Ice model testing has a history of almost 50 years. The first basin started operation in the middle of 1950ies in Russia by Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI). Ever since there has been a number of facilities built worldwide. In Finland the first facility was built by Wa¨rtsila¨ in 1969 for testing tankers intended for North-west passage (Manhattan project). In the eighties new facilities were built in Finland, Germany, Canada, Russia and Japan. In the present facility of Kvaerner Masa-Yards Arctic Technology (MARC) in Helsinki the operation started in 1983 under the name of Wa¨rtsila¨ Arctic Research Centre (WARC). The operation of the facility was originally planned to continue till 2011, but as part of the Helsinki City planning activity it was agreed that the facility is to end its successful work during 2005. In spring 2004 decisions were made by the new parent Aker Yards group and Aker Finnyards (that time Kvaerner Masa-Yards) to build a new facility and establish a separate company to handle ICE ISSUES for the whole Aker group. The new company, Aker Arctic Technology “AARC”, started operation in the beginning of 2005 and the new model testing facility was opened in February 2006. Aker Arctic Technology Inc. is owned by Aker Finnyards, Aker Kvaerner, Wa¨rtsila¨ and ABB. The services of the new company, in addition to the traditional model testing and related issues (environment studies, design bases and ship design concepts) will cover also total vessel design packages. This paper describes the novelties of the new ice model testing facility and reveals technical improvements, lessons learned and possibilities for more enhanced operation. Also the first experience in the new facility will be discussed.

Abstract A new way of utilizing access gas to power generation using newly developed technology named micro-turbine electric generator (mTEG). This technology is using relatively low gas flow rate: same region of gas-lift consumption between 0.3 – 0.5 MMscf/d of power generation for a minimum of one kilo Watt (1kW) per unit. The technology is classified under green category is due to no combustion process instead using pressure differential as the mechanism for power generation. Therefore, it supports PETRONAS’ net carbon zero program especially for unmanned platform operation. The mTEG is simple unit developed based on differential method by allowing gas to flow inside for rotation without combustion for power generation. Flow and pressure requirements are relatively low at 0.4 MMscf/d at 10 bar, respectively. One of gas supply sources to run the unit is coming from well or gas lift skid. Per skid of mTEG it can produce up-to 4 kW power. This technology helps to support unmanned platform operation to reduce operation cost and moreover, this technology is compact and superior than solar power scheme unit. Life cycle cost between the two technologies was indicated superior saving is possible for mTEG technology. Completed prototype model – integrated skid and in 2019 team managed secured full in-house development under prototyping and engineering centre unit located in PETRONAS Research Sdn. Bhd. (PRSB), Bangi. One of the technologies used to produce the mTEG unit is 3D printer with also available in PRSB. Passed factory acceptance test (FAT) in 2019 based on positive outcome of endurance test performance. Embarked detail engineering for installation of the skid and completed electrical and installation in 2020 and the skid unit is expecting to provide 1 kW power by end of this year at field E and upon completing the test, this technology will be able to benefits other operating unmanned platform or event small plant operation. The technology was designed for green power generation: operation greenification with no combustion elements instead provide flexibility for recycling of the gas and reuse for another means such as gas lift gas application to improved oil recovery.

The realistic study of dynamic accident context is an invaluable tool to address the uncertainties and their impact on safety assessment and management. The capacities of the Performance Evaluation of Teamwork procedure for dynamic context quantification and determination of alternatives, coordination and monitoring of human performance and decision-making are discussed in this paper. The procedure is based on a thorough description of symptoms during the accident scenario progressions (timelines) with the use of thermo-hydraulic model and severe accident codes (MELCOR and MAAP). The opportunities of PET procedure for context quantification are exemplified for the long-term station blackout (LT SBO) accident scenario at Fukushima Daiichi #1 and an hypothetic unmitigated LT SBO at Peach Bottom #1 Boiling Water Reactor Nuclear Power Plants. The context quantification of these LT SBO scenarios is based on the IAEA Fukushima Daiichi accident report, “State-of-the-Art Reactor Consequence Analysis” and thermo-hydraulic calculations made by using MAAP code at the EC Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy and Transport, Nuclear Reactor Safety Assessment Unit.

Indian nuclear power programme is being implemented in three stages taking in to consideration limited uranium resources and vast thorium resources in the country. The first stage consists of investing natural uranium in Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). This stage has the potential of 10 GWe. The second stage involves large scale deployment of Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) with co-located fuel cycle facilities to utilize the plutonium and depleted uranium extracted from the PHWR spent fuel. This stage has a potential of about 300 GWe. In the third stage, effective utilization of the vast thorium resources is planned. Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) instituted in 1971 at Kalpakkam, is involved in the mission of developing the technology of FBR. A host of multidisciplinary laboratories are established in the centre around the central facility of the 40 MWt Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR). Presently, the construction of indigenously designed MOX fueled 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) that started in 2003 is in advanced stage and commissioning activities are underway. The design of PFBR incorporates several state-of-art features and is foreseen as an industrial scale techno-economic viability demonstrator for the FBR program. Beyond PFBR, the proposal is to build one twin unit having two reactors, with each of improved design compared to PFBR, to be commissioned by 2025. Subsequently, towards rapid realization of nuclear power, the department is planning a series of metal fueled FBRs starting with a 500 MWe Metal fuel Demonstration Fast Breeder Reactor (MDFR-500) to be followed by industrial scale 1000 MWe metal fueled reactors. The paper discusses in detail the above aspects and highlights the activities carried out towards designing MDFR.

Higher Education Institutions are increasingly aware of industry expectations regarding work-ready graduates. Work Integrated learning and co-operative education initiatives are widely acknowledged for improving professional skills and work readiness, however, graduates often lack the ‘soft’ skills (communication, collaboration, problem solving) deemed essential for enhanced productivity and innovation in the workplace, i.e. employability skills (Jackson, 2010). Anecdotal evidence from the Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) program at Macquarie University identified the difficulties that students experience in self-assessing employability skills. One research study highlighted the inflated self-perceptions and an overall lack of humility often associated with recent graduates (Papadopoulos 2010, cited in Jackson 2015). This paper discusses the theoretical and practical development of a competency development approach to learning for employment using an Assessment Centre process model currently embedded in the curriculum of one PACE unit. Developed and coordinated by post-graduate psychology students, the model provides a set of behavioural criteria by which to assess student employability skills. While there is little evidence in the literature of the use of AC's for enhancing undergraduate employability, (see Keele et al, 2010), preliminary research and evaluation findings from this project, suggest that the AC process can have a positive influence on the development of the ‘soft’ skills of employability

Our thinking around neurodevelopmental disorders is undergoing a period of rapid change. The traditional approach, endorsed by classification systems such as the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, defines neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as distinct categories.

Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in India with 139 million individuals, per the 1991 census. The Sample Registration System in 1992 indicated a high population growth rate of 2.3 percent and a very high birth rate of 36.2 per 1,000. Several measures have been taken to contain the growth and bring a rapid decline in the fertility rate. The Government of India and USAID began the Innovations in Family Planning Services Project under the management of the State Innovations in Family Planning Services Agency. The goal was to reduce the fertility rate in Uttar Pradesh by expanding and improving family planning (FP) services. Since there has been differential impact of FP services over the years in the state’s different districts, it was considered desirable to take up the district as a unit and develop an adequate data base for generating suitable intervention programs. Baseline surveys were conducted in 14 districts in different regions of the state. The Centre for Development Research and Training, Madras, conducted the surveys in Ghaziabad and Tehri Garhwal. This preliminary report contains the details of the survey conducted in Ghaziabad district.