Direct employment in the wind energy sector: An EU study

Wind energy is often said to have positive effects on employment, but few studies have systematically dealt with this matter. This article presents estimates of direct wind energy employment in all EU countries, gathered for the first time. By using a thematic survey, the authors have been able to analyse aspects such as gender distribution, company profiles and the shortage of skilled workers reported by wind energy companies. The outcomes show that wind energy deployment creates a significant number of jobs (over 104,000 in 2008), and does so at a time when other energy sectors are shrinking. There is a clear relationship between MW installed and number of jobs, but the use of a single EU job/MW ratio is not feasible, due to differences in the export/import capacity. Wind turbine manufacturers—including major sub-components—are responsible for the lion's share of the jobs, and there is a marked prevalence of males in the workforce. The scarcity of specialist roles—project managers, engineers and O&M technicians—is not likely to be solved unless a series of educational, mobility and dissemination measures are put into practice.     

Xylene Isomerization in the Liquid Phase Using Large‐Pore Zeolites

Three large‐pore zeolites, Beta with Si/Al ratios of 25 and 35 and Mordenite with an Si/Al ratio of 30, were studied in the conversion of o‐xylene at 493 K. Maximum conversion was achieved by the catalyst with the highest Si/Al ratio due to faster diffusion of the isomer inside the zeolite channels because of the lower acidity of the solid even with larger crystal size. A kinetic study was then carried out over this catalyst between 473 and 513 K in a batch reactor in the liquid phase. The activation energies obtained do not indicate the presence of diffusional constraints towards any isomer. Finally, the kinetic model obtained was simulated in a fixed‐bed reactor and compared to ZSM‐5 in the temperature range from 493 to 533 K. An increment in p‐xylene production of 20 % on average was obtained.     

Selective Oxidation of Glycerol Catalyzed by Rh/Activated Carbon: Importance of Support Surface Chemistry

Abstract  

Noble metal catalysts (Pt, Ir, Pd, Rh, Au) supported on activated carbon were assessed for glycerol oxidation. Rhodium is a highly efficient catalyst when the support has neutral or basic properties. The surface chemistry of activated carbon plays a key role in the performance.     

Potential Development of Vitrified Immature Human Oocytes: Influence of the Culture Medium and the Timing of Vitrification

How does the in vitro maturation (IVM) medium and the vitrification procedure affect the survival of germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes obtained from stimulated cycles and their development to the blastocyst stage? In total, 1085 GV human oocytes were obtained after women underwent a cycle of controlled ovarian stimulation, and these oocytes were subjected to IVM before or after their vitrification. IVM was carried out in two commercial culture media not specifically designed for maturation. MII oocytes were then activated and embryo development until day 6 was evaluated. According to the results, a higher percentage of oocytes reach the MII stage if they are vitrified before they undergo IVM. Nevertheless, the medium used and the sample size determine whether these differences become significant or not. Similar survival rates and development to blastocysts were observed in all the conditions studied.     

Surface B-splines fitting for speeding up the simulation of adsorption processes with IAS model

The ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAS) is commonly used in process simulation for predicting multicomponent adsorption equilibrium. However, this model requires a significant computational effort which translates in time consuming simulations.A methodology using surface B-splines fitting was developed for speeding the prediction of the multicomponent equilibrium with IAS theory. As a case study, a breakthrough of an enantiomer bi-component mixture in a fixed bed was simulated and a speed-up of 57.9% was achieved while maintaining the accuracy of IAS multicomponent equilibrium prediction.     

Metallization and Ar‐O plasma effects on dental enamel roughness evaluated with SEM and MeX™ for 3D reconstruction

The MeX? software is a useful tool for tridimensional data collection for surface evaluation and could be relevant to evaluate the same specimen in different phases of the study, assuming repeated measures of dental enamel roughness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of sample metallization for dental enamel roughness analysis with 3D images reconstructed using MeX? software from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images. The influence of 74.98% (%mol/mol) argon?oxygen plasma for carbon layer removal on surface roughness of the metallized specimen was also evaluated. Dental enamel specimens were prepared for SEM analysis with and without carbon metallization using conventional or environmental modes. Argon?oxygen plasma for carbon layer removal was used and surface roughness was re‐evaluated. Roughness obtained by SEM and MeX? reconstructed images, with or without metallization, did not differ. No significant alteration on surface roughness after carbon layer removal using plasma was found. SEM baseline evaluation using conventional mode without sample preparation and in environmental mode were not comparable. Roughness of enamel 3D images reconstructed with MeX? software from SEM images, with or without metallization was similar. The 74.98% (%mol/mol) argon?oxygen plasma removed the carbon layer with no effect on enamel roughness.     

Effect of chitosan and Dysphania ambrosioides on the bone regeneration process: A randomized controlled trial in an animal model

The focus of this triple‐blind study was on evaluating the effect of chitosan combined with Dysphania ambrosioides (A) extract on the bone repair process in vivo. In total, 60 male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) weighing between 260 and 270 g were randomly selected for this study and distributed into four groups (n = 15). Group C (chitosan), Group CA5 (chitosan + 5% of D. ambrosioides), Group CA20 (chitosan + 20% of D. ambrosioides), and Group CO (Control‐Blood clot). In each animal, bone defects measuring 2 mm in diameter were performed in both tibias for placement of the substances. After 7, 15, and 30 days, the animals were sedated and sacrificed using the cervical dislocation technique and the tissues were analyzed under optical microscope relative to the following events: inflammatory infiltrate, necrosis, osteoclasts, osteoblasts, fibroblasts, periosteal, and endosteal bone formation. The data were evaluated to verify distribution using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and variance, using the Levene test; as distribution was not normal, data were subjected to the Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn nonparametric tests (p < .05). A significant inflammatory infiltrate was observed in Group CA5 (p = .008) in the time interval of 7 days, and in Group C at 15 (p = .009) and 30 (p = .017) days. Osteoblastic activity was more significant in Group CA20 (p = .027) compared with CA5 in the time interval of 7 days. Group CA20 demonstrated a significantly higher endosteal and periosteal bone formation value in the time interval of 7 (p = .013), 15 (p = .004), and 30 days (p = .008) compared with the other groups. The null hypothesis was refuted, bone regeneration was faster in spheres with an association of chitosan and 20% extract, and complete bone repair occurred clinically at 15 days and histologically at 30 days. The spheres proved to be a promising method for the biostimulation of alveolar bone repair and bone fractures.     

Influence of domestic sewage leakage on the collapse of tropical soils

In the studied region, 35% of the soil collapses are related to leakage from sewage ducts. The paper describes the soils from this part of Brazil and a series of laboratory tests undertaken using water and domestic sewage fluid as the wetting agents. It is considered that the presence of soaps and detergents as recorded by the sodium concentration facilitates the densification of the soils and hence has a major effect on the surface settlement/collapse.      

Linking entrepreneurial orientation to project success

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a strategic posture of an organization, and it is related to basic policies and practices for the development of entrepreneurial actions looking for creating competitive advantages. This study develops and tests a model of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and project success in Brazilian context. As quantitative research, a survey was used to collect data. A sample of 100 valid answers from project practitioners was treated through the structural equation modeling method. As research implications, the main result points out the positive correlation between the entrepreneurial orientation and the project success, contributing to the development of this research subject and helping to minimize the gap in the literature that addresses the relationship between project success and EO. In practical terms, understanding that innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, autonomy and competitive aggressiveness (the dimensions of the EO) can contribute to project success and can also indirectly impact on organizational performance, could help organizations get competitive advantage when developing correlate factors. Finally, the results suggest that practices of project management can be aligned to the firm's entrepreneurial orientation to enable firms to attain better results in their projects and generate a competitive advantage. On other hand, given the proportion of the impact of EO on project success (20.3%) identified in this study, it is critical that project management professionals expand their horizon to recognize other factors that affect project success.     

Metropolitan fragmentation and neo-localism in the periphery: revisiting the case of Curitiba

In this paper, the Curitiba-centred narrative on the success of its urban planning experience will be qualified in light of the complexities of its metropolitan development trajectory. It will be claimed that the institutional vacuum that surrounds Brazilian metropolitan areas in general, and Greater Curitiba in particular, has been intensified by the emergence of a competitive and decentralised state spatial regime, which has consolidated a fragmented and neo-localist system of governance. Preliminary empirical evidence will be provided on the challenges that are being faced within the new regime in articulating socio-spatial, economic and environmental strategies in the direction of a more sustainable metropolitan future.