Are shocks to energy consumption permanent or temporary? Evidence from 182 countries

This article applies univariate and panel data unit root tests to annual panel data for 182 countries over the period 1979–2000 to examine the stationarity properties of per capita energy consumption. The univariate unit root test can only reject the unit root null for 56 countries or 31% of the sample at the 10% level or better. However, univariate unit root tests have low power with short spans of data and therefore failure to reject the unit root null should be treated with caution. When we apply the panel data unit root test we find overwhelming evidence that energy consumption is stationary. We discuss the policy implications of these findings and offer suggestions for future research.     

Application of Neural Networks for Detection of Changes in Nonlinear Systems

A nonparametric structural damage detection methodology based on nonlinear system identification approaches is presented for the health monitoring of structure-unknown systems. In its general form, the method requires no information about the topology or the nature of the physical system being monitored. The approach relies on the use of vibration measurements from a “healthy” system to train a neural network for identification purposes. Subsequently, the trained network is fed comparable vibration measurements from the same structure under different episodes of response in order to monitor the health of the structure and thereby provide a relatively sensitive indicator of changes (damage) in the underlying structure. For systems with certain topologies, the method can also furnish information about the region within which structural changes have occurred. The approach is applied to an intricate mechanical system that incorporates significant nonlinear behavior typically encountered in the applied mechanics field. The system was tested in its “virgin” state as well as in “damaged” states corresponding to different degrees of parameter changes. It is shown that the proposed method is a robust procedure and a practical tool for the detection and overall quantification of changes in nonlinear structures whose constitutive properties and topologies are not known.     

“Oh and how things just don't change,the more things stay the same”: Reflections on SenseCam images 18 months after capture

This paper presents an exploration of how images captured by a wearable camera, SenseCam, might foster reflection on everyday experiences. SenseCams were provided to multiple members of four households who wore them simultaneously and reviewed the images after one week, and then again after a period of 18 months. The findings reveal how images captured by different family members led to new insights around normally unremarkable routines, and provided new perspectives on how children experienced the world, while the 18 month interval prompted some reinterpretation of the past and made participants aware of incremental changes in their everyday lives. Implications for the design of tools to support reflection on personal experience are suggested and remarks about the concept of memory collection devices made.     

Carbon curves for the assessment of embodied carbon in the wastewater industry

The water and wastewater industry has been tasked with reducing its greenhouse gas (or carbon) emissions. A key component of any emissions reduction strategy is emissions measurement. While operational emissions are reported by the sector on an annual basis, there is a lack of robust data on embodied carbon. The aim of this paper was to develop a practical solution for assessing the embodied carbon in wastewater assets. The analysis revealed a linear relationship between carbon emissions and capital investment in the construction of wastewater treatment works (1.3 tCO₂/£1000) and wastewater pumping stations (0.3 tCO₂/£1000). Carbon emissions from sewer construction were found to increase linearly with increasing pipe diameter, with ductile iron pipelines responsible for higher emissions than polyethylene. Operational carbon is the major component in the whole life carbon of wastewater treatment works, but future decarbonisation of the electricity grid may increase the relative importance of embodied carbon.     

The influence of porosity changes in human epidermal membrane during iontophoresis on the permeability enhancement of a model peptide

Purpose: We tested the hypothesis that the increases in the porosity of the skin during iontophoresis would not significantly increase the transport of peptides due to the small size of electrically induced pores. To investigate this mechanistically, we used human epidermal membrane under constant voltage conditions, applying the Nernst–Planck equation to the transport of a small ionic solute, tetraethylammonium bromide (TEAB), and a model peptide, luteinizing hormone releasing hormone. Methods: Steady-state flux of the drugs was determined under passive conditions and also during iontophoresis using constant DC voltages applied across side-by-side diffusion cells. Electrical conductance measurements were used to monitor the porosity changes that occur during electrical field application. Results: Porosity increases observed in the membrane substantially increased the permeability enhancement of the small ionic solute TEAB. The permeability enhancement was well described by Nernst–Planck model predictions after porosity changes in the membrane were taken into account. Enhancement of luteinizing hormone releasing hormone under identical conditions was much less than TEAB. The porosity increases induced by iontophoresis had little or no effect on the permeability enhancement of the larger molecule. Conclusions: These findings closely parallel those reports that have found electrically induced pores to be significantly smaller than preexisting pores in the human epidermal membrane. The data obtained also support the view that iontophoresis-induced pores, alone, may provide limited benefit for macromolecule transport across the skin.     

The Fractal Structure of Equine Articular Cartilage

The naturally occurring structure of articular cartilage has proven to be an effective means for the facilitation of motion and load support in equine and other animal joints. Cartilage has been found to be a complex and dynamic medium, which has led to an incomplete understanding of the nature and operating mechanisms acting within a joint. Although cartilage has biphasic and triphasic properties, it is believed that the performance of equine articular joints is influenced by the surface roughness of the joint cartilage (Ateshian et al., '98; Chan et al., 2011; Yao and Unsworth, '93). Various joint types with different motions and regimes of lubrication have altered demands on the articular surface that may affect cartilage surface properties. In research performed on freshly harvested samples, equine articular cartilage has been shown to possess a multiscale structure and a fractal dimension. It is thought that by determining the fractal dimension (D) of articular cartilage, a better understanding of the friction, wear, and lubrication mechanisms for biomechanic surfaces can eventually be reached. This study looks at the fractal dimensions of three different articular cartilage surfaces in the equine carpus: the radiocarpal, midcarpal, and carpometacarpal surfaces. The three surfaces provide an ideal comparison of fractal dimensions for a different range of motion, geometry, and loading. In each sample, identical treatment was performed during measurement by a stylus profilometer. SCANNING 34: 418–426, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using multi-criteria and thermodynamic analysis to optimize process parameters for mixed reforming of biogas

Syngas is a gas mixture that can be obtained from a variety of raw materials and used as source of hydrogen. Biogas is an interesting raw material from which to produce syngas via thermo-catalytic reforming because it is abundant, can be obtained from low-cost feedstock, and is potentially carbon-neutral. However, difficulties arise because biogas composition changes from source to source, the reforming process can be quite energy-intensive and there is associated catalyst deactivation through carbon deposition. Mixed reforming of biogas with steam and/or air shows benefits in terms of carbon deposition and energy requirements, but the reaction network is complicated and finding the optimal operating conditions is not trivial. Although several analytical techniques have been used in the literature to find the optimal process conditions, a direct comparison is difficult due to the different criteria and/or boundaries considered. This paper aims to develop a novel and comprehensive methodology for identifying the optimal thermodynamic operating conditions (temperature and feed ratios) for mixed reforming of biogas with air and steam, based on equilibrium data manipulated via two multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques in series, namely the entropy and the TOPSIS methods. The optimal scenario is when biogas made of 50–60% CH₄ in CO₂ is reacted in the reforming reactor at CH₄/CO₂/O₂/H₂O = 1/1–0.67/0–0.1/3–2.4 and 790-735 °C, resulting in a product stream composed of 66–65% H₂, 0.8–1% CO and 33-28% CO₂ on a dry basis after the water-gas shift section. At these conditions the hydrogen yield and the conversion of methane in the biogas can be simultaneously maximized, while the yield of solid carbon and the net energy requirement of the overall process can be minimized. In conjunction with the numerical results, the main outcome of this paper is the development of a novel method based on MCDM techniques for the optimization of the operating conditions in a network of reactions.     

The value of trust in project business

The paper works towards establishing value for trust in project business, particularly the financial value of trust to project business. Concepts of trust are revisited. Rational explanations of trust are shown wanting, calculations of trust and danger being misrepresentations of how the willingness to trust is formed. The paper argues for the need to establish the interpretative and socially constructed nature of trust, primarily based upon prior experiential and psycho-motive learning in relation to current situational factors. Trust and its relationship to forming expectations and generating confidence are considered. Empirical findings are mobilised to show how trust contributed to value in a financial sense. Value is not an absolute in this context for value is empirically and theoretically shown to relate directly to expectations. Value is defined as an asset and is thus part of social capital for projects and in embedded in firms.     

Experimental determination of the structure of catalytic micro-combustion flows over small-scale flat plates for methane and propane fuel

Surface oxidation on small-scale catalytic coupons of Pt foil was investigated experimentally for methane/air and propane/air mixtures of varying composition and flow speed. Infrared thermography was used for the measurement of temperature on the catalytic surface in tandem with gas-chromatography/mass spectroscopy measurements of major combustion products and combustion intermediates and particle image velocimetry of the flow field in the vicinity of the catalytic surface. It was shown that the surface reaction develops in three phases. In phase I, very close to the leading edge, a sharp temperature increase occurred on the catalytic surface with simultaneous fast depletion of the gaseous reactants and development of a strong transverse component of the velocity vector. This was followed by phase II in which surface temperature plateaued at a high value, and reactant concentrations remained low. In phase III the non-adiabatic reaction extinguished and, on occasion, reactant replenishment was observed from the free stream. It is suggested that the design of small-scale reactors should proceed by exploiting the intense reaction of phases I and II through boundary layer interruption and not allow the phenomenon to develop all the way into phase III thus achieving miniaturization of the required hardware.     

A call for a social network-oriented approach to services for survivors of intimate partner violence.

Despite the many hard-won victories of the antidomestic violence movement, it has had less success in reaching one of its own primary goals: that of making intimate partner violence a problem of the community rather than a problem between two individuals. Most mainstream domestic violence service models have not prioritized ongoing engagement of survivors' informal social support networks as a core part of their work. Yet the perpetration of domestic violence occurs within a community context that contributes to the maintenance or alleviation of the problem. Given extensive research on the centrality of social networks to the fabric of survivors' daily lives, as well as their ongoing safety and emotional well-being, it is critical to consider how domestic violence services and systems can align with these social networks more effectively. Following a review of research on the role of informal social support in survivors' lives, this article calls for a shift in mainstream domestic violence services toward a more network-oriented approach, one that highlights potential partnerships between professionals and survivors' informal social support networks. Such a shift would require a reconceptualization of the role of the domestic violence practitioner and the scope and nature of services. It would also raise a series of emergent research questions about how informal network members can best support survivors, how domestic violence services can help survivors engage with existing and new supporters, and the extent to which specific types of network-oriented practices can indeed improve survivors' safety and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)