An epidemic of scurvy in Afghanistan: assessment and response

In March 2002, there were reports of a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Afghanistan. It was later confirmed that the hemorrhagic symptoms and increased mortality were actually due to scurvy. Most aid workers did not include scurvy in the initial differential diagnosis because it is uncommon throughout the world and has mainly been reported in refugee populations in recent times. A rapid assessment confirmed the cases clinically, estimated a prevalence rate of 6.3% (a severe public health problem), and determined that the attack rates peaked each year in January and February (the end of the winter). Many Afghans have limited dietary diversity due to isolated locations, lengthy winters, the continuing drought of the last four years, asset depletion, and loss of livelihood. After numerous food and fortification options to prevent future outbreaks had been considered, vitamin C tablet supplementation was selected because of the relatively rapid response time as compared with other prevention methods. A three-month course of vitamin C tablets was distributed to 827 villages in at-risk areas. The tablets were acceptable and compliance was good. No cases of scurvy were reported for the winter of 2002-03. The case study from Afghanistan demonstrates that scurvy can occur in nonrefugee or nondisplaced populations; vitamin C supplementation can be an effective prevention strategy; there is an urgent need to develop field-friendly techniques to diagnose micronutrient-deficiency diseases; food-security tools should be used to assess and predict risks of nutritional deficiencies; and the humanitarian community should address prevention of scurvy in outbreak-prone areas.     

Long-Wave and Integral Boundary Layer Analysis of Falling Film Flow on Walls With Three-Dimensional Periodic Structures

Falling films exhibit very complex wavy patterns, which depend on the properties of the liquid, the Reynolds number, the wall inclination angle, and the distance from the film inlet. The film hydrodynamics governs the heat and mass transfer in the liquid films. Our vision is to control and enhance heat and mass transport by using walls with specific microscale topographies that influence the falling film flow, stability, and wavy pattern. In this work, long-wave theory and integral boundary layer approximation are used for modeling the falling film flow on walls with three-dimensional periodic microstructures. The wall topography is periodic both in the main flow direction and in the transverse direction. Examples of such microstructures are longitudinal grooves with sinusoidal path (or meandering grooves) and herringbone structures. The effects of the Reynolds number, the wall inclination angle, and the longitudinal and transverse periods of the structure on the shape of liquid–gas interface are investigated. It is shown that, as opposed to straight grooves in longitudinal direction, grooves with meandering paths may lead to significant interface deformations.     

A Fuel Economy Study in Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Lubricants

Internal combustion engines′ fuel economy is an important role for engine designers,engine manufacturers over the past 30 years,especially passenger car motor oils.In heavy duty diesel engine,over the past 20 years,fuel economy has in some cases been sacrificed for exhaust gas emission optimizations.Now,Heavy Duty Automotive and the related industries have strong interest in fuel economy and the lubricants.It is driven by competitive market forces as well as government mandates and new emission regulations.Japan was the first country in the world to establish and implement heavy duty trucks and buses fuel economy standards.Other countries also have followed either by establishing direct fuel economy standards or greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions standards which are directly tied to fuel economy.This paper is discussing that heavy duty diesel engine lubricants can contribute on fuel economy.The contribution of various aspects of engine oil formulations on fuel economy will be discussed such as lubricant viscosity grade,lubricant additives and friction modifiers.In this paper,the evaluation discussions are based on fuel economy measurements in some bench tests,standardized laboratory engine tests and field tests.     

Synergy of elemental Fe and Ti promoting low temperature hydrogen sorption cycling of magnesium

We studied the catalytic effects of Titanium, Iron and FeTi intermetallic on the desorption kinetics of magnesium hydride. In order to separate the catalytic effects of each element from additional synergistic and alloying effects, Mg-Ti and Mg-Fe mixtures were studied as a baseline for Mg-Fe-Ti elemental and Mg-(FeTi) intermetallic composites. Sub-micron dimensions for MgH₂ particles and excellent nanoscale catalyst dispersion was achieved by high-energy ball-milling as confirmed by analytical electron microscopy techniques. The composites containing Fe shows desorption temperature of 170 K lower than as-received MgH₂ powder, which makes it suitable to be cycled at relatively low temperature of 523 K. Furthermore, the low cycling temperature prevents the formation of Mg₂FeH₆. In sorption cycling tests, Mg-10% Ti and Mg-10% (FeTi), after about 5 activation cycles, show fast desorption kinetics initially, but the kinetics also degrade faster than for all other composites, eventually slowing down by a factor of 7 and 4, respectively. The ternary Mg-Fe-Ti composite shows best performance. With the highest BET surface area of 40 m²/g, it also shows much less degradation during cycling. This is attributed to titanium hydride acting as a size control agent preventing agglomeration of particles; while Fe works as a very strong catalyst with uniform and nanoscale dispersion on the surface of MgH₂ particles.     

Energy security and sustainability in Northeast Asia

“Energy Security” has typically, to those involved in making energy policy, meant mostly securing access to oil and other fossil fuels. With increasingly global, diverse energy markets, however, and increasingly transnational problems resulting from energy transformation and use, old energy security rationales are less salient, and other issues, including climate change and other environmental, economic, and international considerations are becoming increasingly important. As a consequence, a more comprehensive operating definition of “Energy Security” is needed, along with a workable framework for analysis of which future energy paths or scenarios are likely to yield greater Energy Security in a broader, more comprehensive sense. Work done as a part of the Nautilus Institute's “Pacific Asia Regional Energy Security” (PARES) project developed a broader definition of Energy Security, and described an analytical framework designed to help to compare the energy security characteristics – both positive and negative – of different quantitative energy paths as developed using software tools such as the LEAP (Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning) system.     

Reliable in the long run? Petroleum policy and long-term oil supplier reliability

Accelerating oil import dependence in energy consuming nations highlights the importance of having energy supplies at sufficient levels and at stable and reasonable prices. Consequently, it is crucial that oil exporters realize their full production potential. Current debates on energy security are often focused on short-term risks e.g. sudden disruptions due to wars, domestic instability, etc. However, when it comes to assessing oil supplier reliability it is equally important to assess their longer term ability and willingness to deliver oil to the global market. This study analyzes the effects of petroleum investment policies on crude oil production trends in 14 major oil producing countries (2000–2010) by focusing on the political–institutional frameworks that shape the investment conditions for the upstream oil sector. Our findings indicate that countries with less favorable oil sector frameworks systematically performed worse than countries with investor friendly and privatized sectors. The findings indicate that assessments based on remaining reserves and planned production capacities alone could inflate expectations about future oil supplies in a world where remaining crude reserves are located in countries with unfavorable investment frameworks.     

Introduction to the Asian Energy Security project: Project organization and methodologies

The spectacular recent economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region in general, and in many of the economies of Northeast Asia in particular, has spurred a vast expansion in the need for energy services, and an expansion in the demand for the fuels that help to supply these services. Future projections suggest that the growth of fossil fuel use in Northeast Asia, especially in China, will have major consequences for financial and fuel markets and pollution both regionally and globally. Before the project described in this paper was initiated, there was no ongoing forum for energy experts from all of the countries of the region to meet, informally and in an unofficial capacity, to discuss openly and in a targeted fashion the energy situations in their countries, and to work together to evaluate the energy efficiency costs and benefits of different ways of meeting regional demand. The Asian Energy Security (AES) project provides such a forum, and as such constitutes a unique resource in the engagement of the countries of Northeast Asia on the topic of energy security.     

Variable temperature neutron diffraction studies of single crystals of LiND2

We have synthesized a single crystal of lithium amide (LiNH₂, LiND₂) by melting method, and performed neutron diffraction of the single crystal at variable temperature. LiND₂ is tetragonal structure and I-4 space group. Lattice parameters and unit cell volume of LiND₂ at room temperature, 50 °C, 100 °C, 150 °C and 200 °C were determined. Both of the lattice parameters and the unit cell volume increase with increase of temperature. From these results, we have estimated coefficient of volumetric thermal expansion α_V of LiND₂ to be 222 × 10⁻⁶/K. With increase of temperature, all thermal ellipsoids gradually expand because of thermal vibration.     

Increased sensitivity for the diagnosis of Taenia saginata cysticercus infection by additional heart examination compared to the EU-approved routine meat inspection

In spite of the statutory meat inspection at abattoirs, Taenia saginata cysticercus infection in cattle remains an economically important parasitic disease for the livestock industry by affecting food safety. The routinely performed standard meat inspection protocol has a low diagnostic sensitivity for the detection of T. saginata cysticerci infections. Therefore, an abattoir trial aiming to increase the detection level was undertaken. In three EU-approved abattoirs, several additional heart incisions were performed in a total of 1088 slaughtered cattle originating from 832 farms throughout Switzerland. Cysticerci as putative parasitic lesions were classified by visual examination during meat inspection and confirmed microscopically and/or by molecular analyses. With the EU-approved routine meat inspection, bovine cysticercosis was diagnosed in 1.8% (20/1088) of the slaughtered animals. Additional incisions into the heart muscle revealed a further 29 cases, indicating that the prevalence was at least 4.5%. All infected animals originated from individual farms. This straightforward technique had a significantly higher sensitivity and is feasible for routine practice. It also confirms that the prevalence of this zoonotic parasite in the cattle population is underestimated based on the routine abattoir reports.     

Survey of safe and hygienic practices among Slovenian sauerkraut growers

Food safety demands calls for new approaches to better understand the safe and hygienic practices of specific sectors in the food supply chain. In the present study, sauerkraut growers were investigated to explore their understanding of food safety and hygiene practices. A combination of quantitative (questionnaire prepared for the study) and qualitative (ten in-depth interviews) methods was used in the study so that topics could be discussed more completely and in greater depth. The results indicated that sauerkraut growers possess a rather good level of knowledge concerning food safety, although some gaps were discovered (e.g., record keeping and the feeling that recording data was an unnecessary burden, inadequate acquaintance with health status requirements, insufficient knowledge of the cabbage production process of food safety professionals, etc.). Some differences were found when comparing the results of the qualitative and quantitative studies. The qualitative analysis highlighted some contradictions (e.g., an attitude toward the production process: “We do not need the HACCP system”; a feeling concerning product safety: “Why the need for data recording?”) and differences between the sauerkraut growers and a professional understanding of good practice guidelines for sauerkraut production. All other determinations concerning food safety knowledge and practices are presented and discussed. The findings can be used as a guide for reorganizing current education programs aimed to improve safe and hygiene practices at the farm level.