Capture of Organic Vapors Using Adsorption and Electrothermal Regeneration

Activated-carbon-fiber cloth (ACFC) is an alternative adsorbent to granular activated carbon (GAC) for removing and recovering organic vapors from gas streams. Electrothermal desorption (ED) of ACFC provides rapid regeneration while requiring less energy compared to traditional regeneration techniques used with GAC. This paper provides proof-of-concept results from a bench-scale ACFC adsorption system. The automated system captured 1,000 ppmv of hazardous air pollutants/volatile organic compounds (HAPs/VOCs) from air streams and demonstrated the use of ED, using ac voltage, to recover the HAP/VOC as a pure liquid. The desorbed HAP/VOC condensed onto the inner walls of the adsorber and was collected at the bottom of the vessel, without the use of ancillary cooling. Seventy percent of the HAP/VOC was collected per cycle as condensate, with the balance being retained in the regenerated adsorber or recycled to the second adsorber. ED with in-vessel condensation results in minimal N2 consumption and short regeneration cycle times allowing the process to be cost competitive with conventional GAC-based adsorption processes. This technology extends the application of carbon adsorption systems to situations that were previously economically and physically impractical.     

Protecting local access telecommunications networks: Toward a minimum-cost solution

The problem of designing fibre-optic networks for local-access telecommunications generates (at least) three non-trivial subproblems. In the first of these subproblems one must determine how many fibre-optic cables (fibres) are required at either end of a street. In the next subproblem a minimum-cost network must be designed to support the fibres. The network must also provide distinct paths from either end of the street to the central exchange(s). Finally, the fibre-optic cables must be placed in protective covers. These covers are available in a number of different sizes, allowing some flexibility when covering each section of the network. In this paper we describe a dynamic programming (DP) formulation for finding a minimum-cost (protective) covering for the network (the third of the subproblems). This problem is a generalised set covering problem with side constraints and is further complicated by the introduction of fixed and variable welding costs. The DP formulation selects covers along each arc (in the network), but cannot exactly model the fixed costs and so does not guarantee optimality. We also describe an integer programming (IP) formulation for assessing the quality of the DP solutions. The cost of the networks constructed by the IP model is less than those designed using the DP model, but the saving is not significant for the problems examined (less than 0.1%). This indicates that the DP model will generally give very good solutions. Furthermore, as the problem dimensions grow, DP gives significantly better solution times than IP.     

A method for functional magnetic resonance imaging of olfaction

A method for generating olfactory stimuli for humans within a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experimental design is described. The system incorporates a nasal-mask in which the change from odorant to no-odorant conditions occurs in less than 500 ms and is not accompanied by visual, auditory, tactile, or thermal cues. The mask provides an ordorant-free environment following prolonged ordorant presence. Specific imaging parameters that are conducive to the study of the human olfactory system are described. In a pilot study performed using these methods, the specific patterns of activation observed converged with published experimental and clinical findings.     

Financial strain, received support, anticipated support, and depressive symptoms in the People's Republic of China.

The purpose of this study is to examine the interface between financial strain, informal received economic support, informal anticipated financial support, and psychological distress in later life. Data provided by a large probability sample of older adults in the People's Republic of China reveal that the relationship between financial difficulty and psychological distress is stronger for older adults who receive more economic assistance. However, the results involving anticipated support are in the opposite direction. More specifically, the association between financial problems and psychological distress is lower for older adults who believe that others stand ready to help in the future should the need arise. A detailed theoretical rationale is developed to explain these results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Business climate attitudes and company relocation decisions.

A total of 438 manufacturing firms reported their business relocation activity, their overall attitude toward the business climate in Michigan, and their assessment of 34 business climate dimensions. Using a lens model paradigm, we explored reasons for a lack of relation between actual relocation decisions and overall business climate attitudes. Location decisions were most highly correlated with distance and labor considerations, whereas overall business climate was most highly correlated with tax considerations, and secondarily correlated with labor problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Long-term transients in a reactor under forced concentration cycling

In the approach to a cycle-invariant state in the forced feed concentration cycling of the CO oxidation over a NiO catalyst, a very long transient has been observed lasting 80 ks or more. This transient appears to be associated only with CO pretreatment of the catalyst and is not a general phenomenon. The slow convergence to the cycle-invariant state reported in certain modelling calculations in the literature appears to have a different cause.     

Video Compression - From Concepts to the H.264/AVC Standard

Over the last one and a half decades, digital video compression technologies have become an integral part of the way we create, communicate, and consume visual information. In this paper, techniques for video compression are reviewed, starting from basic concepts. The rate-distortion performance of modern video compression schemes is the result of an interaction between motion representation techniques, intra-picture prediction techniques, waveform coding of differences, and waveform coding of various refreshed regions. The paper starts with an explanation of the basic concepts of video codec design and then explains how these various features have been integrated into international standards, up to and including the most recent such standard, known as H.264/AVC.     

Integrating psychology and politics.

Comments on the article "A house divided? The psychology of red and blue America" by D. C. Seyle and M. L. Newman (see record 2006-11202-001). Seyle and Newman concluded that the red and blue metaphor is inaccurate and proposed a purple America strategy to better convey that the majority of people do not align themselves with political extremes. There is interdisciplinary agreement on this. Although not cited by Seyle and Newman, the findings by Professor Fiorina of Stanford University were reported by the APA Monitor on Psychology in its coverage of the 2005 APA State Leadership Conference (Murray Law, 2005). In contrast to their social psychological analysis, Seyle and Newman were incorrect in concluding that "[a]s psychologists, we are not in a position to change either the elements of the American political system that may spur this conflict or even the decisions made by pundits, politicians, and reporters about the terms they choose to use in political discussion" (p. 579). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of Elaboration on Socially Desirable Responding and the Validity of Biodata Measures.

The current study investigated the impact of requiring respondents to elaborate on their answers to a biodata measure on mean scores, the validity of the biodata item composites, subgroup mean differences, and correlations with social desirability. Results of this study indicate that elaborated responses result in scores that are much lower than nonelaborated responses to the same items by an independent sample. Despite the lower mean score on elaborated items, it does not appear that elaboration affects the size of the correlation between social desirability and responses to biodata items or that it affects criterion-related validity or subgroup mean differences in a practically significant way. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)