Experimental burning of used automotive crankcase oil in a dry-process cement kiln

An experimental program was carried out at the St. Lawrence Cement Company Limited, Mississauga, Ontario, in which 330,000 gallons of used lubricating oil was burned as a portion of the total fuel requirement for a dry-process cement kiln. The plant uses a dual four-stage preheater with a by-pass system. The oil was primarily composed of automotive crankcase drainings and contained approximately 0.6% lead, 0.15% bromine, 0.1% zinc and 0.1% phosphorus.Lead, zinc and phosphorus emissions in the kiln exhaust gases were not found to be increased during waste-oil burning. A small reduction in particulate emissions was found during waste-oil burning. A small increase in bromide emissions was found to occur during the waste-oil burn. A material balance was carried out for lead, bromine, zinc and phosphorus which indicated that these elements were retained in the process solids. Lead, zinc, phosphorus and some of the bromine were retained in the cement clinker. Most of the bromine was retained in the collected dust from the precipitator on the by-pass system.     

The independent policy evaluation

Abstract This article is based on the proposal for evaluation submitted to the ESRC by the authors. The proposal offered an independent policy evaluation which would help people outside the Programme to know and judge what is going on, and those taking part in the programme to take into better account the impact on others of their activities and findings. The thrust of the proposal is formative, and focuses on the communication of research knowledge both within the programme, and between the programme and various interest groups and policy-making bodies. The major concern of the evaluation is to understand and represent — through formative evaluation — the potential impact of the Programme on its intended audiences and users. This implies a focus on the research activities themselves (in so far as these emphases are separable). The relationship between the ESRC InTER Programme and the policy evaluation is an independent one. That is to say, the evaluation is sponsored by the ESRC, but is committed to independent internal and public reporting.
The methods favoured by this evaluation are known by the term 'naturalistic', so-called because they are like the ways in which people generally come to understand social life — looking, listening, and talking to people whose actions, experience and reasoning we have to represent and report in a useful form, and the article ends with a brief methodological justification for such an approach to policy evaluation.     

Myocardial distribution of antegrade cold crystalloid and tepid blood cardioplegia

BACKGROUND: Tepid blood (TB) cardioplegia combines the improved rheologic characteristics and the augmented oxygen and substrate delivery of blood cardioplegia with the advantages of moderate hypothermia. In addition, the intramyocardial distribution of continuous TB cardioplegia may also be better than intermittent cold crystalloid (CC) cardioplegia. We sought to compare the distribution of TB and CC cardioplegia at varying infusion pressures. METHODS: In situ, isolated canine hearts were randomized to antegrade, continuous TB (28 degrees C, n = 8) or intermittent CC (n = 8) cardioplegia infused at 50, 75, and 100 mm Hg. The regional distribution of cardioplegia at each pressure was measured by 15-microm colored microspheres. Cardioplegia distribution was measured from three areas each of the right ventricle (inflow, outflow, and apex) and the left ventricle (anterior, lateral, and posterior). Left ventricular samples were subdivided into subepicardial, midmyocardial, and subendocardial. RESULTS: Delivery of cardioplegia to all areas of the right and left ventricles showed a linear pressure-flow relationship over the range of pressures tested. Right ventricular distribution was two-thirds of that to the left ventricle, and left ventricular subepicardial distribution was approximately one half of subendocardial flow in both groups at all delivery pressures. However, the subendocardial to subepicardial ratio was significantly greater with TB cardioplegia than with CC cardioplegia. Transmural right ventricular cardioplegia flow was comparable in both groups. In contrast, left ventricular distribution of CC cardioplegia was greater than TB cardioplegia at all three pressures tested. CONCLUSIONS: The pressure-flow relationship in both CC and TB cardioplegia is linear in both the right and left ventricular myocardium over clinically applicable delivery pressures. The distribution of cardioplegia to the right ventricle is not altered by increased pressure.     

Separation of tin from tellurium: performance of different extraction chromatographic materials

An analytical study was carried out on Eichrom resins (TRU, TEVA, UTEVA, and DGA) to identify a suitable solid phase extraction substrate to separate tin (Sn) from tellurium (Te). Standard metal solutions were spiked on batch tests in HCl and HNO₃ media and the spiked analytes were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The TRU resin exhibited the highest distribution coefficient (K_D) for Sn in 1.0 mol L^–1 HCl and the lowest K_D for Te. The TRU resin charged on Bio-Rad columns showed, respectively, 99.8 ± 0.4% and 59.3 ± 1.3% Sn and Te retention, and the hydrofluoric acid (0.50 mol L^–1) could wash down up to 92% of the loaded Sn, and the Te desorption can be kept as low as 5%.     

Effect of diet composition on the determination of ash and moisture content in solid cattle manure using visible and near-infrared spectroscopy

Visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR, 350-2500 nm) diffuse reflection spectroscopy (DRS) models built from "as-collected" samples of solid cattle manure accurately predict concentrations of moisture and crude ash. Because different organic molecules emit different spectral signatures, variations in livestock diet composition may affect the predictive accuracy of these models. This study investigates how differences in livestock diet composition affect Vis-NIR DRS prediction of moisture and crude ash. Spectral signatures of solid manure samples (n = 216) from eighteen groups of cattle on six different diets were used to calibrate and validate partial least squares (PLS) regression models. Seven groups of PLS models were created and validated. In the first group, two-thirds of all samples were randomly selected as the calibration set and the remaining one-third were used for the validation set. In the remaining six groups, samples were grouped by livestock diet (ration). Each ration in turn was held out of calibrations and then used as a validation set. When predicting crude ash, the fully random calibration model produced a root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 2.5% on a dry basis (db), ratio of standard error of prediction to the root mean squared deviation (RPD) of 3.1, bias of 0.14% (db), and correlation coefficient r(2) of 0.90., When predicting moisture, an RMSD of 1.5% on a wet basis (wb), RPD of 4.3, bias of -0.09% (wb), and r(2) of 0.95 was achieved. Model accuracy and precision were not impaired by exclusion of any single ration from model calibration.     

ETHYL CARBAMATE FORMATION IN GRAIN BASED SPIRITS: PART I: POST-DISTILLATION ETHYL CARBAMATE FORMATION IN MATURING GRAIN WHISKY

Distilled spirits are subject to post-distillation ethyl carbamate formation in the presence of appropriate precursors. Freshly distilled grain whisky, produced by the continuous distillation Coffey still process, normally contains ethyl carbamate concentrations not exceeding 20 ppb (normalized to 43% v/v alcoholic strength). Further ethyl carbamate formation, dependent upon the presence of trace anionic precursors such as cyanate, cyanide, and copper cyanide complexes, may take place during normal maturation in oak casks. Related but different mechanisms may induce ethyl carbamate formation under normal daylight and artificial light in the laboratory. Ethyl carbamate precursors convert into ethyl carbamate during the initial three months of maturation and are not detectable in the final bottled product. Thus the final ethyl carbamate concentration in spirit is dependent upon the initial ethyl carbamate level measured after distillation plus ethyl carbamate formed from precursors. It is important during process control to monitor not only the ethyl carbamate level in freshly distilled spirit but also the spirit's potential to form ethyl carbamate from precursors with the objective of minimizing these components in the freshly distilled and maturing spirit. A scheme for predicting final ethyl carbamate concentrations from precursor concentrations in freshly distilled spirit is presented.     

Probabilistic approach to estimating indoor air concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds from contaminated groundwater: a case study in San Antonio, Texas

This paper describes a probabilistic model, based on the Johnson-Ettinger algorithm, developed to characterize the current and historic exposure to tricholorethylene (TCE) and tetrachlorethylene (PCE) in indoor air from plumes of groundwater contamination emanating from the former Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. We estimate indoor air concentration, house by house, in 30?101 homes and compare the estimated concentrations with measured values in a small subset of homes. We also compare two versions of the Johnson-Ettinger model: one used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and another based on an alternative parametrization. The modeled mean predicted PCE concentration historically exceeded PCE screening levels (0.41 ug/m(3)) in 5.5% of houses, and the 95th percentile of the predicted concentration exceeded screening levels in 85.3% of houses. For TCE, the mean concentration exceeded the screening level (0.25 ug/m(3)) in 49% of homes, and the 95th percentile of the predicted concentration exceeded the screening level in 99% of homes. The EPA model predicts slightly lower indoor concentrations than the alternative parametrization. Comparison with measured samples suggests both models, with the inputs selected, underestimate indoor concentrations and that the 95th percentiles of the predicted concentrations are closer to measured concentrations than predicted mean values.     

Antenatal HIV antibody testing in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of voluntary antenatal testing in HIV surveillance and prevention by examining antenatal HIV antibody testing practice and policy in Australia. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists and general practitioners (GPs) affiliated with the Royal Australian College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Australian public hospital antenatal clinics, August-November 1992. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The percentage of public hospital antenatal clinics and specialist and GP obstetricians in Australia who tested pregnant women for HIV antibody as part of their antenatal care, and the proportion of pregnant women in Australia who had an antenatal HIV antibody test in the 1991-92 financial year. RESULTS: Questionnaires concerning antenatal HIV antibody testing were completed by 90% (993/1108) of specialists, 87% (2134/2461) of GPs and 93% (215/230) of public hospitals surveyed. Of the 706 specialists and 1503 GPs who reported that they were currently engaged in obstetric care, approximately 60% (430/706) and 935/1503, respectively) offered antenatal HIV testing either to all pregnant women or to selected groups at risk. There were significant differences in testing patterns between States and Territories. For the 95 public hospitals with antenatal clinics, 81% (77) offered the HIV antibody test to all or selected groups of pregnant women; these percentages did not differ significantly between States and Territories. It was estimated that 25% of pregnant women seen by specialists, 29% seen by GPs and 9% seen in public hospital clinics were tested for HIV antibody as part of their antenatal care in 1991-92. CONCLUSIONS: In Australia approximately one in five pregnant women were tested for HIV antibody as part of their antenatal care in 1991-92. Voluntary HIV testing in pregnancy may provide unrepresentative data for measuring the prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women.     

A cross‐cultural colour‐naming study: Part II—Using a constrained method

This study aimed to investigate the differences in colour naming between the English (British) and Mandarin (Taiwanese) languages. A constrained method was employed, with 20 British and 20 Chinese adults. All the experiments were conducted under an artificial daylight, using 1526 colours from the Natural Color System (NCS). Each subject was asked to find the colour(s) corresponding to basic names, modifiers, and secondary names in terms of one colour (focal colour) or a colour region (colour volume). Little difference in chromaticness and hue was found between the two languages, but a systematic discrepancy was found in blackness. Because this could have been caused by different surrounds, i.e., gray and white walls used for the British and Chinese experiments, respectively, a verification experiment was carried out using a panel of ten Taiwanese subjects against a gray surround. The results proved that the lightness difference found earlier was indeed caused by the surround. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 26, 193–208, 2001