Determinants of electricity demand for newly electrified low-income African households

Access to clean, affordable and appropriate energy is an important enabler of development. Energy allows households to meet their most basic subsistence needs; it is a central feature of all the millennium development goals (MDGs) and, while a lack of access to energy may not be a cause of poverty, addressing the energy needs of the impoverished lets them access services which in turn address the causes of poverty.     

Concentration profile of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fractions in some processed meat and meat products

This study investigates the concentration profiles of selected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) fractions in selected processed meats, in order to evaluate their dietary and health implications. Smoked, grilled and boiled meat products were bought from different locations in Cape Town and Cape Town environs. PAHs were extracted from each meat sample according to standard methods. The concentrations of benzo[k]fluoranthene (BkP), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), indeno[1, 2, 3-cd]pyrene (IP), and benzo[g, h, i]perylene(BghiP) in the processed meat extracts were determined using a gas chromatograph coupled with flame ionization detector. Total PAH concentrations in smoked, grilled and boiled chicken fillets, pork, and beef stripes were ranged 2.79, 0.99, 2.33 μg/kg; 19.11, 11.17, 15.04 μg/kg; and 14.84, 9.29, 7.20 μg/kg respectively. There were significant differences (p > 0.05) in the concentration levels of PAHs detected in different types, with the highest levels observed in smoked pork meat. The concentration of BkP, BaP, IP and BghiP detected in the various meat samples were below the EU and WHO dietary exposure limit.     

More concise representation of regular languages by automata and regular expressions

We consider two formalisms for representing regular languages: constant height pushdown automata and straight line programs for regular expressions. We constructively prove that their sizes are polynomially related. Comparing them with the sizes of finite state automata and regular expressions, we obtain optimal exponential and double exponential gaps, i.e., a more concise representation of regular languages.     

Carbon curves for the assessment of embodied carbon in the wastewater industry

The water and wastewater industry has been tasked with reducing its greenhouse gas (or carbon) emissions. A key component of any emissions reduction strategy is emissions measurement. While operational emissions are reported by the sector on an annual basis, there is a lack of robust data on embodied carbon. The aim of this paper was to develop a practical solution for assessing the embodied carbon in wastewater assets. The analysis revealed a linear relationship between carbon emissions and capital investment in the construction of wastewater treatment works (1.3 tCO₂/£1000) and wastewater pumping stations (0.3 tCO₂/£1000). Carbon emissions from sewer construction were found to increase linearly with increasing pipe diameter, with ductile iron pipelines responsible for higher emissions than polyethylene. Operational carbon is the major component in the whole life carbon of wastewater treatment works, but future decarbonisation of the electricity grid may increase the relative importance of embodied carbon.     

MemHolo: mixed reality experiences for subjects with Alzheimer’s disease

HoloLens is the most recent and advanced forms of wearable Mixed Reality (MR) technology. It enables the user wearing a head-mounted device to experience 3D holographic objects “inside” the visualization of the real environment where he or she is located. Existing HoloLens applications have been developed in domains such as data visualization, entertainment, industrial training, education, and tourism, but the use of this technology in the arena of mental health is largely unexplored. The paper presents a HoloLens-based system called MemHolo that addresses persons with mild Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). AD is associated to a chronic progressive neurodegenerative process that severely affects cognitive functioning (especially memory) and some motor functions. MemHolo is intended to be used as a cognitive training tool to practice short-term and spatial memory in a safe and controlled virtual environment, and to mitigate the effects of mental decline. The paper discusses the design process of MemHolo, and describes three evaluation studies on progressive prototypes. To our knowledge, MemHolo is the first HoloLens application designed natively for persons with AD. Our empirical work sheds a light on how these people experience HoloLens applications, highlights some challenges and potential benefits of using MR technology in the AD arena, and may pave the ground towards new forms of treatment.

     

Clinical events in coronary patients who report low distress: Adverse effect of repressive coping.

Objective: Coronary artery disease (CAD) patients who report low distress are considered to be at low psychological risk for clinical events. However, patients with a repressive coping style may fail to detect and report signals of emotional distress. The authors hypothesized that repressive CAD patients are at risk for clinical events, despite low self-rated distress. Design: This was a prospective 5- to 10-year follow-up study, with a mean follow-up of 6.6 years. At baseline, 731 CAD patients filled out Trait-Anxiety (distress), Marlowe-Crowne (defensiveness), and Type D scales; 159 patients were classified as "repressive," 360 as "nonrepressive," and 212 as "Type D." Main Outcome Measures: The primary endpoint was a composite of total mortality or myocardial infarction (MI); the secondary endpoint was cardiac mortality/MI. Results: No patients were lost to follow-up; 91 patients had a clinical event (including 35 cardiac death and 32 MI). Repressive patients reported low levels of anxiety, anger and depression at baseline, but were at increased risk for death/MI (21/159 = 13%) compared with nonrepressive patients (22/360 = 6%), p = .009. Poor systolic function, poor exercise tolerance, 3-vessel disease, index MI and Type-D personality--but not depression, anxiety or anger--also independently predicted clinical events. After controlling for these variables, repressive patients still had a twofold increased risk of death/MI, OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.10-4.08, p = .025). These findings were replicated for cardiac mortality/MI. Conclusion: CAD patients who use a repressive coping style are at increased risk for clinical events, despite their claims of low emotional distress. This phenomenon may cause an underestimation of the effect of stress on the heart. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)