Overheating caused by passive solar elements in Tunis. Effectiveness of some ways to prevent it

Although Tunisian winters are mild compared with northern regions, there are heating requirements; their limited level suggests that passive solar energy would probably be able to meet them. However, the summer is hot enough, and one may wonder whether a solar design oriented toward the cold season would not induce severe overheating. Numerous studies have dealt with the heating performance of passive solar elements, but very little has been done to analyze their behavior in hot climatic conditions. The National School for Engineers of Tunis has built a passive solar pavilion which has been carefully instrumented. Special care has been devoted to the summer behavior of the pavilion. In this paper we describe some of the actions taken to prevent overheating, and we investigate their efficacy both by analysis of recorded measurements and by simulation. It is found that night ventilation is the most responsible action in decreasing room temperature, and that Trombe wall screening is more efficient than operating the walls as a solar chimney; overhangs are of valuable aid, and shuttering of the direct gain element also helps against overheating. The high thermal capacity results in a very stable room temperature, and plays an essential role for cooling when coupled with night ventilation. Finally, it is found that if appropriate action is taken in the hot season, a house equipped with passive solar heating elements can reach a very acceptable level of comfort in summer time.     

Identification and chemical characterization of specific organic indicators in the effluents from chemical production sites

The structural diversity of the wastewater composition was described by the use of detailed non-target screening analyses of industrial effluents from chemical production sites. Determination of the indicative organic compounds acting as potential molecular indicators for industrial emissions from chemical production industries has been possible due to (i) detailed characterisation of industrial contaminants and identification of compounds with high source specificity, (ii) quantitative determination of the organic constituents in the industrial effluents and (iii) the review of their industrial applications. The determination of potential site-specific markers and industrial molecular indicators corresponding to certain production processes (production of starting materials for manufacturing paper and printing inks, powder coatings as well as epichlorohydrin production) was performed in this work.The results of this study allowed significant contributions to the chemical characterisation of industrial contaminants and isolation of indicators that can act as representatives of industrial effluents in the aquatic environment.     

Interpersonal and Print Nutrition Communication for a Spanish-Dominant Latino Population: Secretos de la Buena Vida.

Participants (N = 357) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: lay health advisor (promotora) plus tailored print materials, tailored print materials only (tailored), or off-the-shelf print materials (control). The primary outcomes were calories from fat and daily grams of fiber. Secondary outcomes included total energy intake, total and saturated fat intake, and total carbohydrates. Adjusted for baseline values, calories from fat were 29%, 30%, and 30% for the promotora, tailored, and control conditions, respectively, and grams of fiber consumed were 16 g, 17 g, and 16 g. Significant Condition X Time interactions were not observed between baseline and 12-weeks postintervention. The LHA condition achieved significantly lower levels of energy intake, total fat and saturated fat, and total carbohydrates. The relative superiority of the promotora condition may derive from the personal touch achieved in the face-to-face interactions or from the women's use of print materials under the promotora's guidance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

L approximation of a parabolic system regarded as a delay system

We present an approach to the problem of finding an L^∞ approximant of the infinite-dimensional system describing the diffusion of heat in a wall. We show that this system can be regarded as a delay system with Laplace variable √s. We are able to get results, established in Zwart et al. (1988), about partial fraction expansion for delay systems, achieved by some adjustment to the specificities of our particular case. The determination of an L^∞ approximant is realised in two steps, using the optimal Hankel-norm approximation.     

Efficient self-collision detection on smoothly discretized surface animations using geometrical shape regularity

We present a new algorithm for detecting self-collisionson highly discretized moving polygonal surfaces. If is based on geometrical shape regularity properties that permit avoiding many useless collision tests. We use an improved hierarchical representation of our surface that, besides the optimizations inherent to hierarchisation, allows us to fake adjacency information to our advantage for applying efficiently our geometrical optimizations. We reduce the computation time between each frame by building automatically the hierarchical structure once as a preprocessing task. We describe the main principles of our algorithm, followed by some performance tests.     

Oil production,resource movement effects,and macroeconomic adjustment

The paper is concerned with simulating the macroeconomic adjustment processes arising in a small open economy experiencing a temporary period of oil production. In a recent paper, Harvie conducted a similar exercise for an economy in which the spending effect arising from such oil production dominated the resource movement effect. That paper concluded that the wage adjustment processes operative were important in influencing the macroeconomic adjustment process arising. Specifically, that paper concluded that wage indexation was preferable during the period of oil production, but that de-indexation was preferable in the post oil production period. Although, in the present paper, the principles underlying the simulated model are the same as in Harvie, the emphasis here is placed on the resource movement consequences arising from temporary oil production. The major conclusion identified is that wages policy is still important in influencing the macroeconomic adjustment processes identified. However, a difference arises not in regard to the profile of that adjustment but rather in its magnitude. The paper emphasizes, in particular, developments in non-oil output, consumer prices, and the stock of domestically held foreign assets. The simulation results suggest that, where the resource movement effect dominates, it would be preferable to de-index wages during the period of oil production and index wages in the post oil production period. Hence wages policy should be regarded as an important component of a government's policy response arising from a period of temporary oil production, irrespective of whether the resource movement or spending effect dominates. However, what that policy response should be would depend on the relative importance of either effect.     

Serum Tocopherol Levels in Healthy Workers

The serum tocopherol levels were determined on 923 workers (18–62 years of age) from the textile, chemical and metallurgical industries. Tocopherol levels varied between 0,20 and 1,86 mg per 100 ml serum, the mean value being 0,77 ± 0,01 mg per 100 ml, but in 148 subjects (16%) concentrations under 0,5 mg per 100 ml were found. For women the average was significantly (p < 0,05) lower than that for men (0,75 ± 0,02 compared to 0,79 ± 0,01) and the prevalence of levels below 0,5 mg per 100 ml greater (18,4% compared to 12,6%). Independent of sex the serum tocopherol level increased with age (from 0,59 ± 0,02 under 26 years, to 0,87 ± 0,05 mg per 100 ml for the group over 55 years, p < 0,001). By grouping the persons according to the tocopherol levels (A = up to 0,5 mg per 100 ml; B = 0,51–1,0 and C = over 1,0 mg per 100 ml) and by calculating for each group the average values of the daily fat intake (supplied especially by sunflower oil) a relationship was found between the two series of values, but overall this did not reach statistical significance.