Risk of severe driver injury by driving with psychoactive substances

Driving with alcohol and other psychoactive substances imposes an increased risk of severe injury accidents. In a population-based case–control design, the relative risks of severe driver injury (MAIS ≥ 2) by driving with ten substance groups were approximated by odds ratios (alcohol, amphetamines, benzoylecgonine, cocaine, cannabis, illicit opiates, benzodiazepines and Z-drugs, i.e. zolpidem and zopiclone, medicinal opioids, alcohol–drug combinations and drug–drug combinations). Data from six countries were included in the study: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Lithuania and the Netherlands. Case samples (N = 2490) were collected from severely injured drivers of passenger cars or vans in selected hospitals in various regions of the countries. Control samples (N = 15,832) were sampled in a uniform sampling scheme stratified according to country, time, road type and season. Relative risks were approximated by odds ratios and calculated by logistic regression. The estimates were adjusted for age, gender and country.     

Characterization of Amount and Quality of Tucuman Kernel Oil as a Potential Biomass

Amazonian tucuman (Astrocaryum aculeatum) fruit pulp is consumed directly without heat treatment, and is appreciated in the region of Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. The kernel is discarded after pulp removal, resulting in costs related to waste management. This study aimed to perform an estimate on the annual amount of kernels generated by commercialization of tucuman fruit in six markets in Manaus by monthly application of questionnaires to merchants. The yield of edible pulp and kernels were assessed, as well as the yield and characteristics of kernel oil. Fruits consisted of pulp (26% fresh weight) and the coproduct is mainly pyrene (70%), comprising a hard woody endocarp (61%) and an oily kernel (39% dry weight). Kernel oil yield ranged from 28% to 45%. The generated coproducts were estimated as 272 t/y (fresh weight) and approximately 6–10 t/y of lauric oil could be obtained. The main fatty acids were lauric—12:0 (52.3–57.5%) and myristic—14:0 (23.4–27.1%), presenting a similar profile to other lauric oils such as coconut, palm kernel, and babassu oils. Oxidative stability ranged from 20 to 44 hours, which is considered high compared to other lauric oils. The recovery of this coproduct will improve the sustainability of the tucuman chain, providing a new product of Amazonian biodiversity and reducing the environmental impact.     

Monatomic oxygen adsorption on halogen-substituted monovacant graphene

Doping of graphene-based materials with heteroatoms relies on the disruption of existing charge densities found on pristine graphene. Even though it is known that this phenomenon helps catalyze oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), there are only a few theoretical studies regarding the use of halogen as dopants despite their high electronegativity differences with carbon. Using density functional theory calculations, this work explores the low-concentration halogenation of monovacant graphene as well as the adsorption of oxygen atom onto resulting halogen-based substrates (X = F, Cl, Br, I). In general, formation of doped graphene and the subsequent adsorption of monatomic oxygen is more favored in non-coplanar systems than in their coplanar counterparts. In addition, F-based systems exhibited the most favorable energetics for monoatomic adsorption and electronic properties among the four substrates. Electronegativity also plays a key role on the destruction and formation of molecular structures during the adsorption of monatomic oxygen. Further work with adsorption of O₂ on these substrates is warranted to elucidate their potential to catalyze ORR.     

Remote handling installation of diagnostics in the JET Tokamak

The requirement for an upgrade of the diagnostics for the JET ITER Like Wall (ILW) while maintaining personnel exposure to contamination as low as reasonably practicable or ALARP, has necessitated the development of a bespoke set of diagnostic components. These components, by virtue of their design and location, require a versatile yet comprehensive suite of remote handling tools to undertake their in-vessel installation. The installation of the various diagnostic components is covered in multiple tasks. Each task requires careful assessment and design of tools that can successfully interface with the components and comply with the handling and installation requirements. With remote maintenance a requirement, the looms/conduits were designed to be modular with connections which are electrically connected when the module is fitted or conversely disconnected when removed. The shape of each complex and often bulky component is verified during the design phase, to ensure that it can be delivered and installed to its specified location in the torus. This is done by matching the kinematic capabilities of the remote handling system and the path of the component through the torus by using a state of the art virtual reality system.     

Intuitive Expertise and Perceptual Templates

We provide the first demonstration of an artificial neural network encoding the perceptual templates that form an important component of the high level strategic understanding developed by experts. Experts have a highly refined sense of knowing where to look, what information is important and what information to ignore. The conclusions these experts reach are of a higher quality and typically made in a shorter amount of time than those of non-experts. Understanding the manifestation of such abilities in terms of both the psychology of expert performance and the underlying neural mechanisms constitutes one of the most challenging problems in the cognitive sciences. Using perceptual templates we show how the amount of contextual information can change significantly even within a given task, the relationship between local and non-local contexts and finally why there is very little correlation between measures of intelligence and level of expertise in many of the most complex tasks performed by humans.     

The role of nanopore shape in surface-induced crystallization

Crystallization of a molecular liquid from solution often initiates at solid-liquid interfaces, and nucleation rates are generally believed to be enhanced by surface roughness. Here we show that, on a rough surface, the shape of surface nanopores can also alter nucleation kinetics. Using lithographic methods, we patterned polymer films with nanopores of various shapes and found that spherical nanopores 15-120 nm in diameter hindered nucleation of aspirin crystals, whereas angular nanopores of the same size promoted it. We also show that favourable surface-solute interactions are required for angular nanopores to promote nucleation, and propose that pore shape affects nucleation kinetics through the alteration of the orientational order of the crystallizing molecule near the angles of the pores. Our findings have clear technological implications, for instance in the control of pharmaceutical polymorphism and in the design of 'seed' particles for the regulation of crystallization of fine chemicals.     

The Gel-Crystallization of 1-Phenylalanine and Aspartame from Aqueous Solutions

It was observed that 1-phenylalanine and aspartame form thermoreversible gels in aqueous solutions (which include crystals) through nonagitated crystallization. FT-IR spectra of aspartame gel-crystals indicated that the possible interactions involved in gel formation are hydrogen bonding between the carbonyl and the amine groups and electrostatic interactions between NH 3 + and COO ? . For gel-crystals of 1-phenylalanine, the main interaction involved was electrostatic interaction between NH 3 + and COO ? . According to the thermal analysis of aspartame and 1-phenylalanine solutions, the gel-melting temperature increased with increasing heating rate and the gel-crystallization temperature decreased with increasing cooling rate.     

Mathematical modeling and design of layer crystallization in a concentric annulus with and without recirculation

A solution layer crystallization process in a concentric annulus is presented that removes the need for filtration. A dynamic model for layer crystallization with and without a recirculation loop is developed in the form of coupled partial differential equations describing the effects of mass transfer, heat transfer, and crystallization kinetics. The model predicts the variation of the temperature, concentration, and dynamic crystal thickness along the pipe length, and the concentration and temperature along the pipe radius. The model predictions are shown to closely track experimental data that were not used in the model's construction, and also compared to an analytical solution that can be used for quickly obtaining rough estimates when there is no recirculation loop. The model can be used to optimize product yield and crystal layer thickness uniformity, with constraints on the supersaturation to avoid bulk nucleation by adjusting cooling temperatures in the core and jacket. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 1308–1321, 2013     

A Review of Adhesion Promotion Techniques for Solid Timber Substrates

The use of primers, coupling agents, and other surface treatments to enhance adhesion is now common in the aerospace, automotive, and plastics industries, where they are used to develop highly durable bonds to metals, advanced composites, ceramics, and plastics. However, such treatments are virtually non-existent in the wood products industry although they could solve important adhesion problems. In particular, adhesion promoters can enhance the environmental durability of epoxy bonded joints, and they can enhance the reliability of bonds to timber treated with wood preservatives. A review of current findings is provided that attempts to gather the scarce and disperse information available in the literature about adhesion promotion techniques for bonded solid timber joints. A general overview of the research needs on this topic is also given.