Amplitude-modulating periodicities in global and regional heat/temperature variations

Being one of the major factors influencing global heat energy content in the surface-atmosphere system, global air temperature is studied and the dominating periodicities therein obtained. It is established that since 1856, variations in global air temperature have been dominantly amplitude-modulated by an oscillation whose period is about 105 years. This oscillation, which is of solar origin, is apparently largely responsible for the ongoing warming trend at global level. Analysis of air temperature records from individual regions yields different dominant periodicities for the two hemispheres. While temperature variations in many parts of the northern hemisphere are dominantly amplitude-modulated by an oscillation at a period of ≈ 180 years, corresponding variations in many parts of the southern hemisphere are dominantly amplitude-modulated by an oscillation at a period of ≈ 55 years. Both of these oscillations are apparently of solar origin.     

Determination of mass density, dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric constants of bulk GaN crystal

Mass density, dielectric, elastic, and piezoelectric constants of bulk GaN crystal were determined. Mass density was obtained from the measured ratio of mass to volume of a cuboid. The dielectric constants were determined from the measured capacitances of an interdigital transducer (IDT) deposited on a Z-cut plate and from a parallel plate capacitor fabricated from this plate. The elastic and piezoelectric constants were determined by comparing the measured and calculated SAW velocities and electromechanical coupling coefficients on the Z- and X-cut plates. The following new constants were obtained: mass density p = 5986 kg/m(3); relative dielectric constants (at constant strain S) ε(S)(11)/ε(0) = 8.6 and ε(S)(11)/ε(0) = 10.5, where ε(0) is a dielectric constant of free space; elastic constants (at constant electric field E) C(E)(11) = 349.7, C(E)(12) = 128.1, C(E)(13) = 129.4, C(E)(33) = 430.3, and C(E)(44) = 96.5 GPa; and piezoelectric constants e(33) = 0.84, e(31) = -0.47, and e(15) = -0.41 C/m(2).     

Arsenic removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption on magnetite nanoparticles

Magnetite nanoparticles were used to treat arsenic‐contaminated water. Because of their large surface area, these particles have an affinity for heavy metals by adsorbing them from a liquid phase. The results of the study showed that the maximum arsenic adsorption occurred at pH 2, with a value of approximately 3.70 mg/g for both As(III) and As(V) when the initial concentration of both arsenic species was maintained at 2 mg/L. The study showed that, apart from pH, the removal of arsenic from contaminated water also depends on the contact time, the initial concentration of arsenic, the phosphate concentration in the water and the adsorbent concentration. The results suggest that arsenic adsorption involved the formation of weak arsenic–iron oxide complexes at the magnetite surface. At a fixed adsorbent (magnetite nanoparticles) concentration of 0.4 g/L, percent arsenic removal decreased with increasing phosphate concentration. Magnetite nanoparticles removed <50% of arsenic from water containing >6 mg/L phosphate. In this case, an optimum design for achieving high arsenic removal by magnetite nanoparticles may be required.     

Novel Prediction of Total Fat Content in Cocoa Beans by FT-NIR Spectroscopy Based on Effective Spectral Selection Multivariate Regression

Total fat content is a major quality parameter that chocolate manufactures consider when selecting cocoa beans. This paper attempted the feasibility of measuring total fat content in cocoa beans by using Fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy based on a novel systematic study on efficient spectral variables selection multivariate regression. After the efficient spectra interval selection by synergy interval partial least squares (Si-PLS), the data were treated with support vector machine regression (SVMR) leading to synergy interval support vector machine regression (Si-SVMR). Experimental results showed that the model based on the novel Si-SVMR algorithm was superior to the others. The optimum results were assessed by root-mean-square error of prediction (RMSEP) and correlation coefficient (R _pre) in the prediction set. The performance of Si-SVMR model was RMSEP?=?0.015 and R _pre?=?0.9708. This study has demonstrated that the total fat content in cocoa beans could rapidly be predicted by FT-NIR spectroscopy and Si-SVMR technique. The novel strength and accuracy of Si-SVMR in contrast to other multivariate algorithms has been derived.     

Cognitive-behavioral and pharmacologic interventions for childrens' distress during painful medical procedures.

This study evaluated the efficacy of a cognitive–behavioral intervention package and a low-risk pharmacologic intervention (oral Valium), as compared with a minimal treatment-attention control condition, in reducing children's distress during bone marrow aspirations. The subjects were 56 leukemia patients who ranged in age from 3 years to 13 years. The three intervention conditions were delivered in a randomized sequence within a repeated-measures counterbalanced design. Dependent outcome measures included observed behavioral distress scores, self-reported pain scores, pulse rate, and blood pressure scores. Repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that children in the cognitive-behavior therapy condition had significantly lower behavioral distress, lower pain ratings, and lower pulse rates than when they were in the attention-control condition. When children were in the Valium condition, they exhibited no significant differences from the attention control condition except that they had lower diastolic blood pressure scores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Induced seismicity associated with Enhanced Geothermal Systems

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) have the potential to make a significant contribution to the world energy inventory. One controversial issue associated with EGS, however, is the impact of induced seismicity or microseismicity, which has been the cause of delays and threatened cancellation of at least two EGS projects worldwide. Although microseismicity has in fact had few (or no) adverse physical effects on operations or on surrounding communities, there remains public concern over the amount and magnitude of the seismicity associated with current and future EGS operations. The primary objectives of this paper are to present an up-to-date review of what is already known about the seismicity induced during the creation and operation of EGS, and of the gaps in our knowledge that, once addressed, should lead to an improved understanding of the mechanisms generating the events. Several case histories also illustrate a number of technical and public acceptance issues. We conclude that EGS-induced seismicity need not pose a threat to the development of geothermal energy resources if site selection is carried out properly, community issues are handled adequately and operators understand the underlying mechanisms causing the events. Induced seismicity could indeed prove beneficial, in that it can be used to monitor the effectiveness of EGS operations and shed light on geothermal reservoir processes.     

EU legislation for Food Safety of Cereals and Cereal Products

Since the discovery of aflatoxins in the early 1960s, regulations have been established in many countries to protect the consumer from the harmful effects of these mycotoxins. The recognition that aflatoxins and other mycotoxins can cause major illness in humans and animals has led to limits being set for aflatoxins and some other mycotox ins in different countries around the world, often however on an ad hoc basis.