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A cycle analysis has been applied to a model of a advanced ultra-supercritical steam plant with novel steam pipes. The transfer pipes proposed incorporate internal thermal coatings and are externally jacketed to enable cooling. This enables higher temperature working steam, while keeping the pipe wall temperature below the acceptable limit for more conventional steel alloys and avoiding the need to use higher cost austenitic stainless steels and nickel base alloys. The baseline design had a superheat temperature of 700 C ∘ and a reheat temperature of 720 C ∘ . A thermal coating thickness of 2.8 mm is sufficient to keep the wall temperatures of the steam transfer pipe after the supercritical boiler below 600 C ∘ . For the transfer pipe located after the reheater a thicker coating or less ambitious reheat temperature is required to achieve acceptable pipe wall temperatures. Whereas subcritical plant has a calculated cycle efficiency of 42.1%, the elevated temperature and pressure in a customary ultra-supercritical steam boost cycle efficiency to 52.2%. Modifying this design with a thermal barrier lowers the cycle efficiency to 51.4%, still appreciably better than for subcritical plant. Alternative plant cooling arrangements might improve pipe temperatures but have minimal impact on overall cycle efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduction of CO 2 emissions is a challenge in all sectors and in particular the dairy processing industry. Pasteurisation is an element of the process with relatively high energy consumption but is difficult to tackle due to a number of technical factors including lack of sub-metering. The plant is semi-automated and tasks subject to the discretion of the operators include: sequencing of process steps (known as “recipes”); scheduling of clean-in-place operations, and time spent circulating hot or cold water; responding to problems relating to operation and scheduling remedial action. This study uses semi-structured interview and ethnography at two UK dairy processing sites, to investigate the human factors affecting the operators who are involved in controlling a dairy process and to understand their current and potential role in reducing process energy consumption; there is particular reference to pasteurisation. The study finds communication of energy saving as a priority from management is important but on its own is not sufficient without useful information on energy consumption. The sites studied were from a company with a progressive energy policy at high level; however it was observed that energy efficiency was not perceived by the operators as a priority with regard to process control. Information on process energy use was not available to the operators in a form that would enable them to identify potential energy savings. The operators at the site can be seen to have a high level of skill in managing conflicting control priorities, interpreting process data and using their judgement to intervene and make improvements. This leads to the conclusion that provision of energy consumption data along with communication on the need to reduce energy could result in operators being able to make useful interventions in process operation that could result in energy reductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the further testing of a new double calorimeter. We earlier reported initial development of the calorimeter and thereafter inferred rates coefficients for adsorption of moisture under a “large pressure jump.” (The test materials were silica gel type A and water.) The paper presents a further check on the calorimeter by demonstrating that measured desorption and adsorption rates were compatible. A disappointing aspect was an unintended near step change in condenser pressure at the start of the experiment. The condenser design was deficient, and better drainage is needed in the future to maintain vapor in immediate contact with cold surfaces. Notwithstanding the lower than intended pressure driving force, the heat addition to the silica gel was measurable, following an exponential pattern against time with regression coefficient better than 99%. The rate coefficients that fitted each data set were broadly in line with coefficients reported for adsorption (within the limits of experimental error). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 2013 BRICS summit held in Durban, South Africa attended by the leaders of several countries including Brazil, Russia and India. It mentions the explanation on international relations theory by author Edward Mansfield and adds the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) that creates norms and help members to implement policies consistent with these norms. It adds the role of BRICS in development finance.

In Decker v. Northwest Environmental Defense Center, the Supreme Court upheld the EPA's interpretation of the agency's own regulation regarding exemption of channeled stormwater discharges from National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements under the Clean Water Act. The Court deferred to the EPA's interpretation under the Auer doctrine, which dictates that an administrative agency's interpretation of its own regulation is entitled to deference unless the interpretation is plainly erroneous or inconsistent with the regulation. This Comment argues that Auer deference violates foundational separation of powers principles by allowing a governmental agency to both write and interpret the law. This power is inherently dangerous, and the ease with which it can be abused and manipulated does not bode well for the environment. Although administrative agencies possess specialized knowledge that can inform their decisionmaking, this knowledge should not give agencies a license to flaunt constitutional safeguards in the name of efficiency. The Supreme Court should have reached an opposite conclusion in Decker and should have used the case as an opportunity to overrule Auer because agencies should not be able to write and interpret the law simultaneously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Attractive economic performance of energy systems is important for their long term sustainability. In this paper, a cost benefit analysis (CBA), standard thermoeconomic analysis, and a new method that combines the two was applied to seven modelled candidate decentralised energy systems for small Indian rural villages. By including elements of CBA in standard thermoeconomics, economic inefficiencies at the component level and revenue adjusted costs of exergy for each stream were ascertained. The analysed systems all produced household and irrigation electricity as well as a secondary product or service, which in some cases utilised waste heat from the electricity generation process. The system that produced distilled water as a secondary product was the most economically sustainable out of those modelled. While the standard thermoeconomic electricity cost remained around 0.5 USD/kWh for all analysed systems, the benefit to cost ratios varied from 0.29 to 0.97, demonstrating differing appeal to outside investment. By incorporating CBA into standard thermoeconomics the accounted revenue produced a larger spread in exergetic costs than standard thermoeconomics (for example, an electricity cost range of 0.217–0.507 USD/kWh), thus providing a better comparison of systems with different energy end uses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: In this introductory essay to the special issue, we introduce a new dataset of foreign assistance, AidData, that covers more bilateral and multilateral donors and more types of aid than existing datasets while also improving project-level information about the purposes and activities funded by aid. We utilize that data to provide a brief overview of important trends in foreign aid. Contributors to this special issue draw on AidData as well as other sources to analyze aid transparency, “new” donors (not previously described or analyzed), aid allocation, and aid effectiveness. Our recurring theme in this introductory essay is that AidData and these initial academic projects refine rather than revolutionize our understanding of aid. The database has added significant numbers of new projects, dollar amounts, donors, and details about those projects, though there is much more yet to add. We worry that aid debates have been driven by too little information, and that many claims are based on limited or very poor evidence. Rectifying these problems will not be instantaneous: refining knowledge takes a lot of time and hard work. The common feature of the papers in this special issue is their careful attention to nuance and detail. In spite of what some recent authors have claimed, aid is neither a simple solution nor a sufficient cause of most problems in developing countries; its motivations, distribution, and effects are complex, and shifting. Capturing this complexity requires detailed data, careful thought, and sophisticated methods that allow scholars to make conditional causal and descriptive inferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reviews the annual energy and water performance of an aspiring low energy/carbon affordable housing development in southern UK, comprising 25 houses heated by a biomass fueled district heating network. Electrical, heat and water consumption data was collected for all dwellings and more detailed data logging was conducted on a sample of four. The data was analysed to benchmark the overall site performance and compare the individual dwellings. The individual dwellings performed efficiently in terms of electricity, heat and water consumption. Significant variation was identified between maximum and minimum consumers, even when typical performance correlates (i.e. number of occupants, floor area) were accounted for. Water consumption varies by a factor of > 7 and heat and electrical consumption by > 3 which, given the homogeneous design and specification of the buildings, suggested that occupant behaviour was important. Site-wide energy consumption and losses (over and above individual dwelling use) reduced energy and carbon emissions performance by 85% and 70% respectively. Although energy consumption in UK homes can be substantially reduced, the challenge for zero-carbon design is to address issues of total system performance, occupant behaviour and whole-building energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A theoretical investigation of a convective thermal wave adsorption chiller was completed. The working pair was activated carbon–methanol. The predicted axial profiles of loading and temperature exhibited the same features as those reported for ammonia-activated carbon beds. For practical purposes, the coefficient of performance (COP) and a dimensionless cooling power were insensitive to the heat capacity of the refrigerant vapour, or the effective thermal conductivity of the refrigerant. With regard to the bed, increasing either its effective heat capacity or its effective axial conductivity strongly impeded performance. The COP and the dimensionless cooling power were mapped against two composite dimensionless groups, formed from a Stanton number, a ratio of interphase heat transfer to axial conduction, and the group aL where a is surface area per unit volume and L is bed length. Realistic pumping power was possible only at the expense of relatively large machines and poor COP; the two attributes that the convective thermal wave machines are intended to enhance. The results discouraged the building of costly experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article talks about the success and failure of delegation and policy. It focuses on a collective delegation relating to the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The role of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification, and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on this collective delegation is discussed. The article also examines the legal and political issues raised by international delegation and their implication on international organizations.

Examines the prevalence of adverse drug events in the elderly population admitted to a tertiary care hospital at the Ottawa Hospital General Campus in Ottawa, Ontario. Occurrence of anatomical and physiological changes during the ageing process; Use of descriptive statistics to characterize frequencies and means for age; Organ systems affected by adverse drug events. INSET: PRACTITIONER APPLICATION.

Neuropsychological assessment of older individuals with dementingillnesses has suffered from a lack of appropriately designed test instruments.The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS)was developed for the dual purposes of identifying and characterizing abnormalcognitive decline in the older adult and as a neuropsychological screeningbattery for younger patients. The entire battery takes less than 30 minutesto administer, and yields scaled scores for five cognitive domains. The currentstudy reports preliminary clinical validity results with the RBANS, comparingvery mildly demented patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease(n = 20) to patients with Huntington's disease (n = 20) and normal controls(n = 40). Although the patient groups had essentially identical total scoreson the RBANS, they exhibited opposite profiles, differing significantly onfour of the five subsections. The AD patients performed most poorly on Language,and Delayed Memory subsections, while the HD patients obtained their lowestscaled scores on the Attention and the Visuospatial/Constructional subsections.These results are consistent with the neuropsychological profiles of thesedementing disorders derived from lengthier standardized tests and experimentalinvestigations. In addition, even those patients who performed above the suggestedcut-off points on the MMSE and the Dementia Rating Scale scored significantlybelow their controls on the RBANS. These data suggest that the RBANS is effectiveat both detecting and characterizing dementia of different etiologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on an electrochemical sensor which shows fast response times for measurement of various gases in the gas phase. Experiment details; Discussion of results.

A functional model of least exergy production (MLED) merges concepts of internal machine irreversibility, reservoir-to-machine thermal resistance, and reservoir-to-reservoir heat leaks with that of indirect energy used in the manufacture, operation and decommissioning of the engine. Thereupon an analytical solution yields the internal temperatures for the minimum destruction of exergy per unit work. In the absence of heat leaks or internal machine irreversibility, the corresponding cycle efficiency tends to the Carnot efficiency with zero indirect energy, and tends to the maximum power efficiency with large indirect energy. A similar approach is applied to a heat pump to yield an optimum coefficient of performance. It is proposed that with adequate databases of cycle irreversibility factors and indirect energy the MLED could be employed as part of a rapid, tentative first step in shortlisting the candidate technologies for localised power and heat supply. In a particular worked example (1) a proposal to replace centrally generated electricity with a local heat engine, fuelled with landfill gas, is rapidly shown to be worthy of a more detailed, structural analysis (2) for both the local and centralised heat engines optimum cycle efficiencies lie between the Carnot efficiency and the maximum power efficiency. • The approach accounts for exergy destroyed indirectly in the manufacture, operation and decommissioning of machines. • For heat engines, the optimum cycle efficiency lies in a range limited by the Novikov and Carnot efficiencies. • For heat pumps, an optimum coefficient of performance is achieved. • A worked example demonstrates rapid screening of alternative methods of power production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article illustrates how popular music can be used as pedagogical tool in study and teaching of international relations (IR). It explains that ancient and great thinkers such as Plato and Homor believed that music and musicians can illuminate issues and inspire people to think about them in many ways. The relevance of popular music in understanding IR cannot misunderstood.

We report the results of a survey of international relations (IR) scholars on the use of an increasingly common policy designed to close recognition gaps in IR: gender balance in citation (GBC) statements. GBC statements remind and encourage authors submitting work to peer-reviewed outlets to consider the gender balance among the works they cite. We find that these policies enjoyed wide support among IR scholars in our sample countries soon after journals began instituting the policies, but women were more supportive than men of the policies. We also report the results of a question-order experiment that allows us to study how raising awareness of gender gaps in the IR discipline affects the proportion of women that scholars list among the most influential IR scholars in the last 20 years. The effects of exposure to the gender treatment vary, however, by respondents' gender and whether respondents teach in the United States. The treatment effects were much larger for women than for men in the United States, but the reverse was true outside the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editors discuss various papers in the issue on topics related to organic Rankine cycle research, resorption-cogeneration cycle, and sonic refrigeration.

In the original article there were errors in the methods section. Thus, within Table 1: (i) the primer sequence pair for SOD-2 was incorrectly cited; (ii) the primer sequence pair used for SOD 1 was incorrect and did not target the gene of interest. Additional experiments were performed with correctly designed SOD1 primer pair and the outcomes documented here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aims to measure frequency and correlates of initial idiopathic psychiatric diagnosis in a cohort of 147 patients with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD)-spectrum disorders. Methods: Participants were evaluated at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Initial participant diagnoses were determined by chart review and patient and informant interviews. Logistic regression was used to assess the relationships between diagnosis and age of symptom onset, gender, education, family history of psychiatric illness, and family history of dementia. Additional exploratory analyses investigated patients' first symptom type. Results: 25% (n=43) of all the patients reviewed were initially misdiagnosed with an idiopathic psychiatric illness, which is less than half the commonly cited 50% rate.3 Depression was the most common misdiagnosis (46.5%). Family history of dementia, family history of mental illness and an exploratory analysis of behavioral first symptoms suggested significant association with a greater likelihood of initial idiopathic psychiatric diagnosis in FTD patients. Discussion: This data confirms patterns of initial idiopathic psychiatric diagnosis in FTD and elucidates potential factors underlying misdiagnosis. Potential implications for patient outcomes, caregiver burden and healthcare costs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selenite may exert its cytotoxic effects against cancer cells via the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We investigated sources of, and the cellular response to, superoxide radical anion (O) generated in human A549 lung cancer cells after treatment with selenite. A temporal delay was observed between selenite treatment and increases in O production and biomarkers of apoptosis/necrosis, indicating that the reduction of selenite by the glutathione reductase/NADPH system (yielding O) is a minor contributor to ROS production under these conditions. By contrast, mitochondrial and NADPH oxidase O generation were the major contributors. Treatment with a ROS scavenger [poly(ethylene glycol)-conjugated superoxide dismutase (SOD) or sodium 4,5-dihydroxybenzene-1,3-disulfonate] 20 h after the initial selenite treatment inhibited both ROS generation and apoptosis determined at 24 h. In addition, SOD1 was selectively upregulated and its perinuclear cytoplasmic distribution was colocalised with the cellular distribution of selenium. Interestingly, messenger RNA for manganese superoxide dismutase, catalase, inducible haem oxygenase 1 and glutathione peroxidase either remained unchanged or showed a delayed response to selenite treatment. Colocalisation of Cu and Se in these cells (Weekley et al. in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133:18272-18279, ) potentially results from the formation of a Cu-Se species, as indicated by Cu K-edge extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectra. Overall, SOD1 is upregulated in response to selenite-mediated ROS generation, and this likely leads to an accumulation of toxic hydrogen peroxide that is temporally related to decreased cancer cell viability. Increased expression of SOD1 gene/protein coupled with formation of a Cu-Se species may explain the colocalisation of Cu and Se observed in these cells. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Effect of microneedle shape on skin penetration and minimally invasive continuous glucose monitoring investigated. [•] Straight silicon microneedle arrays (SSMA) and tapered silicon microneedle arrays (TSMA) were fabricated using standard silicon micromachining techniques. [•] Mode-I planar crack and mode-II ring crack propagation were assumed for TSMA and SSMA penetration mechanisms, respectively. [•] Sensor currents from the applied CGM system prototypes ranged from 100nA to 400nA and they appeared to follow the trend of the reference blood glucose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars continue to debate the relationship of academic international relations to policy. One of the most straightforward ways to discern whether policymakers find IR scholarship relevant to their work is to ask them. We analyzed an elite survey of US policy practitioners to better understand the conditions under which practitioners use academic knowledge in their work. We surveyed officials across three different policy areas: international development, national security, and trade. We also employed multiple survey experiments in an effort to causally identify the impact of academic consensus on the views of policy officials and to estimate the relative utility of different kinds of research outputs. We found that policymakers frequently engage with academic ideas, find an array of research outputs and approaches useful, and that scholarly findings can shift their views. Key obstacles to using academic knowledge include practitioners' lack of time as well as academic work being too abstract and not timely, but not that it is overly quantitative. Additionally, we documented important differences between national security officials and their counterparts who work in the areas of development and trade. We suggest that this variation is rooted in the nature of the different policy areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A transition to a decentralised, decarbonised energy system for the domestic sector is constrained by the difficulty of obtaining energy balance between fluctuating demand and the intermittent, non-dispatchable power supply delivered by most renewables. A microgrid system including a mix of renewable generation technologies, energy storage and demand response (DR) systems has been modelled using a linear programming approach, based on real world data of residential energy consumption and weather variables. This model allows the exploration of the effects of fluctuations in demand and supply, microgrid scale and configuration, energy management options and alternative optimisation criteria. The model demonstrates quantitatively that a mixed-renewables microgrid system can reduce demand fluctuations and improve energy balance. Peak demand hour fluctuations were reduced by up to 19% for a simulated microgrid containing 144 households with one renewable unit and four batteries per household, with a renewables mix of 83% photovoltaic (PV) panels and 17% wind turbines. With this system, the demand on macrogrid energy supply was reduced by 16%, CO2 emissions associated with energy use were reduced by 10% for all hours of operation, and by 74% during the hours of renewable supply. These findings suggest that microgrids using contemporary technologies can contribute significantly to CO2 mitigation targets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses the greening of foreign aid and whether or not international donors have honored their commitment to address global and local environmental problems. Topics include an in-depth examination of the assistance to developing countries regarding the environment and economic development, several environmental meetings and their outcome including the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the 2005 G8 meeting in Scotland. Also discussed is how the Stockholm Declaration, which pledged technical and financial assistance to developing countries, and "Agenda 21," which is a sustainable development plan written during the Rio summit, has helped those it intended to help. The limited knowledge of policy makers and what needs to be done to answers key questions is presented.

Background: A major question in understanding the functional organization of the brain is to delineate the functional divisions of the prefrontal cortex. Of particular importance to the cognitive capacities that are uniquely human is the frontopolar cortex (Brodmann's area 10), which is disproportionally larger in humans relative to the rest of the brain than it is in the ape's brain. The specific function of this brain region remains poorly understood, but recent neuroimaging studies have proposed that it may hold goals in mind while exploring and processing secondary goals. Principal Findings: Here we show that the extent of damage to the fronto-polar cortex predicts impairment in the management of multiple goals. This result reveals that the integrity of the fronto-polar cortex is necessary to perform tasks that require subjects to maintain a primary goal in mind while processing secondary goals, an ability which is crucial for complex human cognitive abilities. Conclusion/Significance: These results provide important new insights concerning the cerebral basis of complex human cognition such as planning and multitasking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The current work has been carried out on a pneumatically fed impact pulveriser. A recent build of the proposed device, and early experiments have shown promising size reduction ratios and energy savings in comparison with conventional milling techniques. A number of experiments have shown the points of greatest wear to be on the blades of the rotor and on the walls of the outlet duct. Experimental work was carried out on a single-phase airflow, and a two-phase air–talc mixture. Numerical simulations were performed using the proprietary CFD code FLUENT. Flow predictions of the single and two-phase systems indicated highly turbulent flows and simulations followed the trends indicated by flow visualisation. The authors propose a breakage model for particles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Determines the incidence of adverse drug events (ADE), preventable ADE and potential ADE using pharmacist surveillance. Identification of drug classes associated with ADE; Occurrence of ADE per 100 patients; Occurrence of preventable and potential ADE during the ordering and administration stages of medication delivery.

Objective: Aggressive glycemic control improves mortality and morbidity in critically ill adults, however implementation of such a strategy can be logistically difficult. This study evaluates the efficiency and safety of a nurse-managed insulin protocol in critically ill adults.Design: Combined retrospective-prospective before-after cohort study.Setting: Twenty-one bed, medical/surgical ICU in a tertiary care hospital.Patients: Two cohorts of 50 consecutive ICU patients requiring insulin infusions.Intervention: Patients in the control cohort received insulin infusions titrated according to target blood glucose ranges and sliding scales at the physician's discretion. Patients in the interventional cohort received an insulin infusion adjusted using a standardized protocol targeting a blood glucose of 4.5-6.1 mmol/l (81-110 mg/dl).Measurements and Main Results: Efficiency was measured by comparing the time to reach, and the time spent within, the target range between cohorts. Safety was assessed by comparing the incidence of severe hypoglycemia, the frequency of rescue dextrose administration and the cumulative time that the infusion was held for hypoglycemia between cohorts. Patients in the interventional cohort reached their target more rapidly (11.3+/-7.9 vs 16.4+/-12.6 h; p=0.028) and maintained their blood glucose within the target range longer (11.5+/-3.7 vs 7.1+/-5.0 h/day; p<0.001) than controls. The standardized protocol yielded a four-fold reduction in the incidence of severe hypoglycemia (4 vs 16%; p=0.046) and reduced the median frequency of dextrose rescue therapy (0 [0-0.91] vs 0.17 [0-1.2] episodes/patient per day; p=0.01) as compared to controls.Conclusion: Standardization of intensive insulin therapy improves the efficiency and safety of glycemic control in critically ill adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]