Energy pricing policies in developing countries

Government energy pricing policies have multiple and often conflicting objectives: economic efficiency, government revenues (for both parastatal supply companies and the treasury), maintenance or improvement of income distribution, promotion of particular sectors (such as industrial exporters and local resource development) demand management and security of supply. It is important to examine the impacts on and the trade-offs between these objectives resulting from alternative policies in order to assist in policy selection. This article discusses the more important objectives and their conflicts and outlines an approach for the quantitative examination of alternative policies.     

Acidity in upland and hill soils: Cation exchange capacity,pH and lime requirement

For 30 acid upland and hill soils, with initial pH from 3.5 to 5.8, and loss on ignition from 14% to 94%, cation exchange capacity varied with pH according to the relationship CEC = m pH+C, where m and C are characteristic of each soil. The slope m depended on loss on ignition (LOI), and is given by: m=Δ CEC/Δ=0.22 LOI+1.92. Because of these relationships, CEC measured at the natural pH of the soil (in 0.025 M MgSO₄ solution) is more relevant to field conditions than a conventional measurement at pH7. An improved method for estimating lime requirement (LR) of these soils was developed, based on the relationship found between LR and the difference in CEC (ΔCEC) between that at the natural pH of the soil and that at the target pH of 5.5: LR=1.12 ΔCEC+1.48. Lime requirement can therefore also be estimated from loss on ignition using the earlier relationships, and is given by: LR=(0.25 LOI+2.15) Δ+1.48, where Δ is the difference between the natural pH (in 0.025 M MgSO₄) and the target pH. Predictions based on this agreed well with results for a further 10 soils.     

Interconnection of Subsystem Reduced-Order Models in the Electrothermal Analysis of Large Systems

Heat conduction in an electronic device is commonly modeled as a discretized thermal system (e.g., finite element or finite difference models) that typically uses large matrices for solving complex problems. The large size of electronic-system heat transfer models can be reduced using model reduction methods and the resulting reduced-order models can yield accurate results with far less computational costs. Electronic devices are typically composed of components, like chips, printed circuit boards, and heat sinks that are coupled together. There are two ways of creating reduced-order models for devices that have many coupled components. The first way is to create a single reduced-order model of the entire device. The second way is to interconnect reduced-order models of the components that constitute the device. The second choice (which we call the "reduce then interconnect" approach) allows the heat transfer specialist to perform quick simulations of different architectures of the device by using a library of reduced-order models of the different components that make up the device. However, interconnecting reduced-order models in a straightforward manner can result in unstable behavior. The purpose of this paper is two-fold: creating reduced-order models of the components using a Krylov subspace algorithm and interconnecting the reduced-order models in a stable manner using concepts from control theory. In this paper, we explain the logic behind the "reduce then interconnect" approach, formulate a control-theoretic method for it, and finally exhibit the whole process numerically, by applying it to an example heat conduction problem     

Sensitization of the startle reflex by footshock: Blockade by lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala or its efferent pathway to the brainstem.

Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the central, but not the lateral, nucleus of the amgydala blocked shock sensitization of startle (the increase in startle produced by presentation of ten 0.6-mA footshocks in rapid succession). Lesions of the central nucleus also decreased reactivity to shock (jumping and flinching) during shock presentation. However, this decrease in reactivity cannot account for the blockade of shock sensitization, because when a higher shock intensity (1.0 mA) was used, producing equivalent reactivity to that of controls at 0.6 mA, central nucleus lesions still blocked shock sensitization. Moreover, lesions of the caudal part of the ventral amygdalofugal pathway, which carries central nucleus efferents to the startle reflex pathway, also blocked shock sensitization. It is hypothesized that shock activates the central nucleus of the amygdala, which increases startle through modulation of the startle pathway. Activation of the amygdala by shock may be the unconditioned response relevant for fear conditioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

SO2 SCRUBBING BY ULTRAFINE CA(OH)2 AEROSOL

The objective of the present study was to generate submicrometer calcium hydroxide aerosols and to investigate the effectiveness of such aerosols in sulfur capture. The effectiveness of SO₂ removal by Ca(OH)₂ aerosol has been investigated in an isothermal reactor. Ca(OH) ₂ aerosol was generated by a novel fluidizer system in which submicrometer-sized powders were entrained in gases. SO₂ was added to this aerosol to a concentration of 2000 ppm. The aerosol-SO₂ mixture was heated to 550°C-750°C in an isothermal tube reactor. The SO₂ removal efficiency, which varied from 20% to 70%, was determined to be a function of the aerosol concentration, reactor temperature and residence time. The fraction of aerosol reacted was not affected strongly by the aerosol concentration. The reaction kinetics were determined from the experimental data using a simple analytical model in which the rate is first order in both SO₂ and calcium hydroxide aerosol concentrations.     

Finite element micromechanical modelling of unidirectional fibre-reinforced metal-matrix composites

Typical finite element formulations and models for unidirectional composite materials are reviewed. The application of micromechanical finite element analysis to the modelling of unidirectional fibre-reinforced metal-matrix composites is demonstrated by presenting some studies from recent publications. It is shown that while analytical models offer a simple tool for obtaining the overall response of composites, finite element analysis provides more accurate and detailed characterisation of composite properties for complicated geometries and constituent property variations. Various effects that influence the stress/strain response and fibre/matrix deformation of composites are studied through modelling. These effects include the fibre coating and reaction layer, fibre shape and distribution, metallurgical and environmental factors, stress distributions and damage. It is demonstrated that the properties and constituent phase interaction of metal-matrix composites are best modelled by finite element analysis. It is emphasized that in order to obtain good predictions, the models must be coupled with first-hand characterisations of the constituent phases and their interactions, including the thermal history of the specimens.     

EFFECT OF THE RATIO Th/U ON TL DATING ACCURACY

ＥＦＦＥＣＴＯＦＴＨＥＲＡＴＩＯＴｈ／ＵＯＮＴＬＤＡＴＩＮＧＡＣＣＵＲＡＣＹ￥Ｐ．Ｌ．Ｌｅｕｎｇ（梁宝鎏）；ＭｉｃｈａｅｌＪ．Ｓｔｏｋｅｓ（ＤｅｐａｒｔｍｅｎｔｏｆＰｈｙｓｉｃｓａｎｄＭａｔｅｒｉａｌｓＳｃｉｅｎｃｅ，ＣｉｔｙＰｏｌｙｔｅｃｈｎｉｃｏ...     

Variations in fundamental frequency peak position in Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) coo calls.

Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) produce coo calls whose use in various contexts is correlated with differences in the relative temporal position of the peak value of a call's fundamental frequency (S. Green, 1975). Studies have produced conflicting results about both the location of the category boundary between smooth early high and smooth late high coo subtypes and macaques' perceptual sensitivity to variations in peak position. In this study, fundamental frequency peak positions were measured in 578 coos produced by 8 captive adult female Japanese macaques in order to test whether calls with peak positions close to either of 2 hypothesized boundaries occurred at low rates. Overall, such calls were found to occur at rates equal to or higher than predicted by chance. Peak position varied more consistently between animals than by behavioral context. The results may indicate that peak position in coos does not form 2 distinct categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)