Improvement options for a former water-driven-mill building now used as a theatre

After investigating the financial feasibility (and so abandoning the idea) of providing self-generated electricity using hydro-power, it was recommended that the top priority should be the direct connection of an electricity supply, from the mains grid to the building; this would cost £8800. Thereby, the theatre would receive a relatively unrestricted supply of electricity at cheaper unit tariffs. This improvement should be followed by the most urgent repairs being carried out to the building fabric, at an estimated cost of £6990. These repairs are necessary to ensure the continued integrity of the building's structure, thereby inhibiting the on-going deterioration.

The energy and financial appraisal also suggested a priority listing of overall improvements to the building in order to achieve a significant, economically justifiable reduction in energy demand; the recommended options are estimated to cost in total £39819. However, the capital cost of such an upgrading would only be recouped, and the theatre achieve a sustainable future, if the building were to be used more intensively and for a wider range of activities than at present in order to increase its revenue significantly.

All prices as stated are those at August 1991.     

Mobile robot control by neural networks using self-supervisedlearning

A reinforcement learning algorithm based on supervised learning is described. It uses associative search to discover and learn actions that make the system perform a desired task. One problem with associative search is that the system's actions are often inconsistent. In the searching process, the system's actions are always decided stochastically, so the system cannot perform learned actions more than once, even if they have been determined to be suitable actions for the desired task. To solve this problem, a neural network that can predict an evaluation of an action and control the influence of the stochastic element is used. Results from computer simulations using the algorithms to control a mobile robot are described     

Indexed in current contents

Indexed in current contents     

Fast approximate analysis for token passing LAN protocol with asymmetrically distributed traffic loads

A new approximate analytical expression for the mean packet delay for a non-exhaustive token passing LAN is derived and compared with discrete event computer simulation. The computational problems associated with the exact and other approximate treatments are avoided because the need to solve a system of simultaneous equations is removed.<>     

New lower bounds for asymmetric and unidirectional codes

New lower bounds on the sizes of asymmetric codes and unidirectional codes are presented. Various methods are used, three of them of special interest. The first is a partitioning method that is a modification of a method used to construct constant weight codes. The second is a combining codes method that is used to obtain a new code from a few others. The third method is shortening by weights that is applied on symmetric codes or on codes generated by the combining codes method. Tables for the sizes of codes of length n⩽23 are presented     

Structure of light beams in self-pumped four-wave mixing geometries for phase conjugation and mutual conjugation

A family of self-pumped four-wave mixing-based geometries for conjugation and mutual conjugation of light beams is analyzed in the framework of a three-dimensional theory. Results of an experimental investigation of several such geometries conducted with the aim of verification of this theory's predictions are presented. A correspondence between the three-dimensional theory and a more simplistic (but widely used) one-dimensional theory is established.     

Ph Effect on Thermal Transition Temperature of Collagen

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to measure the thermal transition temperature of bovine intramuscular and tendon collagen. Equilibration of the collagen in buffers in the pH range 4.25–7.40 resulted in a decline in transition temperature with decreasing pH. This was more pronounced in collagen with higher concentrations of aldimine crosslinks. We proposed that postmortem pH decline was responsible for the thermal transition temperature decline observed by other workers. Therefore, thermal transition temperature measurements must be performed on collagen samples that have been thoroughly equilibrated to a common pH if they are to be used as indices of structural changes.     

Influence of dietary sodium bicarbonate on the potassium metabolism of growing dairy calves.

We evaluated the influence of supplemental dietary NaHCO3 on K metabolism of young dairy calves. Thirty-two Holstein and Jersey male and female calves were blocked at 56 to 70 d after birth according to breed, sex, and age and assigned randomly to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of dietary treatments for 8 wk: .4% K with 0% NaHCO3, .4% K with 2% NaHCO3, .6% K with 0% NaHCO3, and .6% K with 2% NaHCO3. Feed intake was not affected by dietary KCl or NaHCO3 supplementation, but average daily gain increased with increased K and tended to be reduced by dietary NaHCO3. Plasma K was elevated by increased dietary K but generally was unaffected by NaHCO3. Urinary Ca excretion appeared to be reduced by NaHCO3; urine pH increased with supplemental NaHCO3. Results indicate 1) the K requirement of the growing calf is between .40 and .55% of diet DM, 2) because urinary K excretion was elevated by dietary NaHCO3, the K requirement may be increased when the diet is supplemented with NaHCO3, and 3) average daily gain and plasma K are sensitive indicators of dietary K in the growing calf.