Who pays for the ‘beer fridge’? Evidence from Canada

The energy intensity of refrigerators varies widely across vintages. Recent improvements in the energy efficiency of refrigerators have the potential to decrease residential energy use, and in some locations this could have a significant impact on a typical household's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Among the impediments to the realization of the energy use and environmental benefits from the technological energy-efficiency gains in Canada is the fact that a large proportion of households continue to use their old refrigerators as ‘beer fridges’ after the purchase of a new refrigerator. In this paper, we use information from the Survey of Household Energy Use (SHEU-2003) to examine this phenomenon. The empirical results are discussed in the context of existing Canadian programs that target purchases of new refrigerators and the disposal of old ones.     

The high-speed deformation behavior of TRIP steels

The high-speed deformation behavior of TRIP steel was investigated at strain rates ranging from 10⁻² s⁻¹ to 10³ s⁻¹. The effects of metallurgical factors, such as the rolling direction, thickness, and gage length, on the tensile properties at various strain rates were evaluated. The ultimate tensile strength, uniform elongation, strain rate sensitivity, absorbed energy, and strain-hardening exponent are reported. In general, the strength increases and the ductility decreases as the strain rate increases. The samples with a high amount of retained austenite had two distinct regions of strain rate sensitivity, showing high strain rate sensitivity over a strain rate of 10² s⁻¹. The tensile properties were not affected by the gage length and thickness of the tensile samples; however, the rolling direction of the tensile samples affected the UTS values slightly. The absorbed energy of the TRIP steel greatly exceeded that of HSLA steel.     

Mobilisation of bacteria in a fine-grained residual soil by electrophoresis

An investigation of electrokinetic bacterial mobilisation in a residual soil from gneiss is presented here. The experimental program aimed at assessing the efficacy of electrophoresis against the electro-osmotic flow to transport endospores of Bacillus subtilis LBBMA 155 and nitrogen-starved cells of Pseudomonas sp. LBBMA 81. Electrokinesis was performed on a low hydraulic reconstituted clayey soil column submitted to a 5mA electrical current for 24h. Cells were coccoid-shaped and characterised as possessing low surface hydrophobicity and less than 1microm in diameter. Distribution coefficient for B. subtilis in the soil was between 16.8 and 19.9 times higher than that for Pseudomonas sp. Distribution coefficient for B. subtilis between eluate and anionic exchange column was 11.8 times higher than that for Pseudomonas sp. After the electrokinesis, it was shown that cells and endospores were distributed hyperbolically through the soil probe and moved against the electro-osmotic flow; however, endospores were transported throughout all soil core and starved cells only till half of its length. The higher transport efficiency of B. subtilis endospores was attributed to their higher negative charge on cell surface. These results demonstrate that electrokinesis can be used for bacteria transport in soils with low hydraulic conductivity, even against the electro-osmotic flow.     

The therapist's therapist: A replication and extension 20 years later.

How do mental health professionals choose their own psychotherapists? This study replicates and extends a 1987 national survey of psychotherapists regarding the selection criteria and sociodemographic characteristics of their personal therapists; 608 psychologists, counselors, and social workers participated. Therapists' therapists tended to be middle aged and White (94%) but equally female and male. Their most frequent theoretical orientations were integrative, eclectic, cognitive, and psychodynamic (but rarely behavioral or systemic). Psychology was their most prevalent profession, followed by social work, counseling, and psychiatry. Topping the list of therapist selection criteria were competence, warmth, experience, openness, and reputation. The prototypical positive features of personal treatment that therapists repeated with their own patients all concerned cultivation of the therapeutic relationship. The 2007 results are tentatively compared with those obtained in 1987, thus chronicling the evolution of therapists' therapists over the years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Client Evaluation of Counseling Inventory: Initial validation of an instrument measuring counseling effectiveness.

This study presents psychometric properties (i.e., factor structure, convergent and discriminant validity, reliabilities) of an outcome instrument, the Client Evaluation of Counseling Inventory (CEC; Pace, 1997). The CEC was specifically designed for use in a counseling training clinic, although its broader applicability is also emphasized. Challenges unique to measuring outcome in a training clinic are presented, and the usefulness of the CEC in addressing these challenges is discussed. Results indicated a 3-factor structure and provided support for the reliability and validity of the CEC with a sample of clients from the community who were receiving services at a university-operated counseling training clinic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dead Zones in LX‐17 and PBX 9502

Pin and X‐ray corner turning data have been taken on ambient LX‐17 and PBX 9052, and the results are listed in tables as an aid to future modeling. The results have been modeled at 4 zones/mm with a reactive flow approach that varies the burn rate as a function of pressure. A single rate format is used to simulate failure and detonation in different pressure regimes. A pressure cut‐off must also be reached to initiate the burn. Corner turning and failure are modeled using an intermediate pressure rate region, and detonation occurs at high pressure. The TATB booster is also modeled using reactive flow, and X‐ray tomography is used to partition the ram‐pressed hemisphere into five different density regions. The model reasonably fits the bare corner turning experiment but predicts a smaller dead zone with steel confinement, in contradiction with experiment. The same model also calculates the confined and unconfined cylinder detonation velocities and predicts the failure of the unconfined cylinder at 3.75 mm radius. The PBX 9502 shows a smaller dead zone than LX‐17. An old experiment that showed a large apparent dead zone in Composition B was repeated with X‐ray transmission and no dead zone was seen. This confirms the idea that a variable burn rate is the key to modeling. The model also produces initiation delays, which are shorter than those found in time‐to‐detonation.     

Losses of pectic substances during cooking and the effect of water hardness

Differences in the extent of loss of pectic substances from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) after boiling, steaming and pressure cooking were investigated. Losses were found to be significantly greater (P< 0.001) after boiling than after pressure cooking or steaming. The pectic substance content (g 100 g^?1 dry matter) of potatoes (cv. Pentland Crown) was 2.98 for raw peeled tubers, 0.97 after boiling for 35 min, 1.22 after steaming for 35 min and 1.24 after pressure cooking at 103.4 kPa (15 psi) for 15 min. The roles of cooking time, cooking temperature and heat transfer medium are discussed. The effects of calcium sulphate (at levels typical of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ water supplies) in the cooking water on losses of pectic substances from potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), carrot (Daucus carota L.), and swede (Brassica napus L. var. napobrassica Peterm.) after boiling and pressure cooking were also investigated. Water hardness did not influence losses during pressure cooking but samples boiled in hard water had decreased losses of pectic substances compared to those boiled in soft water. The increase in retention of pectic substances due to hard water was about 8 % for potatoes (cv. Pentland Dell), about 33 % for sliced carrots (cv. Berlicum, approved maintenance Perfecta) and about 23% for diced swedes (cv. Acme). The interaction of water hardness with cooking method was significant for potato (P< 0.05) and swede (P<0.001) and approaching significance (P=0.055) for carrot.     

Evaluation of a hydrothermal process for pretreatment of wheat straw—effect of particle size and process conditions

BACKGROUND: Hydrothermal processes are an eco‐friendly processes that provide an interesting alternative for chemical utilization of lignocellulosic materials, in which water and crop residues are the only reagents. In this work the effect of process conditions (size distribution of the wheat straw, temperature and time) was evaluated against production of fermentable products. RESULTS: The use of milled wheat straw fractions as a raw material containing blends of different particle size distribution showed that the latter had an influence on the final sugars in the hydrolysate. Improved values of glucose (21.1%) and xylose yields (49.32%) present in the hydrolysate were obtained with treatment severity factors of 2.77 and 3.36, respectively. Mathematical models were developed aimed at establishing the effect of process conditions on monosaccharide concentration and its degradation in the liquor. CONCLUSION: This work shows that the use of wheat straw blends with various particle sizes has a significant effect on the extraction of fermentable products. The effect of treatment severity, which takes into account both processing time and temperature was also evaluated. These results are of importance for process design. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Experimental design of the kinetic resolution of a key precursor of high‐value bioactive myo‐inositols by an immobilized lipase

BACKGROUND: The response surface methodology was successfully applied to the optimization of the reaction variables for the kinetic resolution of a precursor of high‐value myo‐inositols, ( ± )‐1,2‐O‐isopropylidene‐3,6‐di‐O‐benzyl‐myo‐inositol (( ± )‐1), by Novozym 435. The resolutions were run separately, with two acylating agents, ethyl acetate and vinyl acetate, in a solvent‐free system. The variables analyzed were reaction temperature, substrate concentration, water concentration and enzyme activity. A statistical model was employed for the evaluation of the influence of the variables on conversion and enantiomeric excess (ee). RESULTS: The optimal conditions for this resolution using vinyl acetate as acylating agent were 45 °C, 5 mg mL^?1 of substrate, 71 U of enzyme activity and 0%w/w of water concentration. The high conversion (49.2 %) and ee (>99%) reached in the chemoenzymatic synthesis of acylated product, L‐(?)‐5‐O‐Acetyl‐3,6‐di‐O‐benzyl‐1,2‐O‐isopropylidene‐myo‐inositol, secure the efficient synthesis of the D enantiomorph present in the original racemic mixture (( ± )‐1) as well. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the experimental design strategy was productive, leading to a 14‐fold increase in the productivity of the reaction compared with the non‐optimized conditions. Both derivative L‐(?)‐2 and remaining substrate D‐(+)‐1 were obtained at high ee. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Characterization and corrosion protection properties of polypyrrole / montmorillonite electropolymerized onto aluminium alloy 1100

Films of Polypyrrole/Montmorillonite (PPy/MT) clays were electropolymerized potentiostatically on aluminium alloy 1100, using sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a dopant. Two clay species were used: Na⁺-Montmorillonite (MT-Na) and modified-Montmorillonite (MT-M). The characterization of the PPy/MT films performed by XRD and TEM shows that the exfoliation method employed, as well the electrochemical polymerization method used in this work, allow nanocomposite materials to be obtained. The PPy/MT films were found to have less electrical conductivity than pure PPy. The corrosion protection of aluminium alloy 1100 covering PPy/MT was evaluated by electrochemical techniques in 0.05 mol L⁻¹ NaCl medium. The electrochemical parameters derived from the polarization curves, together with the EIS data, revealed that the corrosion resistance of PPy/clay coatings depends on the type and concentration of Montmorillonite employed. The best performance in the corrosion protection of the aluminum was achieved with PPy/MT films containing 1% of clay.