Screening demand-side management programs with a value-based test

A value-based test is presented for economic screening of electric utility demand-side management (DSM) programs. The widely used least cost test is valid if the programs do not alter the amount or value of energy services provided to customers. But, in general, DSM programs have such effects and, as a result, the value consumers receive is changed. A more general economic efficiency test, the most value test, provides a practical method for considering the effects of DSM on customer value. The version presented allows for multiple load periods and can account for rate impacts on several customer classes. Four typical DSM programs are evaluated as illustrations     

Underrecognition of cervical Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the emergency department

OBJECTIVES: 1) To quantify the frequency of underrecognized Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis cervical infections in women tested in the ED, 2) to describe and compare the characteristics of those treated and not treated during the initial visit, and 3) to quantify the delay interval until treatment was provided. METHODS: A 2-year, retrospective consecutive case series was performed from June 1, 1992, to May 31, 1994. There were 148 women with > or = 1 discrete occurrence of culture-proven cervical N. gonorrhoeae or C. trachomatis infection studied. All the patients were evaluated in a university-affiliated, tertiary care hospital-based ED with a large rural referral area. The main outcome measures were the proportions of patients with positive cultures both treated and not treated in the ED, the clinical characteristics of each group, and the proportion remaining untreated or experiencing treatment delays of > 2 weeks after attempted phone, mail, and public health follow-up. RESULTS: Of 157 occurrences of positive cultures for N. gonorrhoeae or C. trachomatis, 86 (53%) were treated with a regimen suggested by the CDC prior to ED release. The proportion of women with isolated C. trachomatis infections that were underrecognized and untreated initially was larger than the proportions with isolated N. gonorrhoeae or combined infections (79% vs 27% and 53%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Women with findings suggestive of advanced disease (history of fever or chills, or examination evidence of temperature > 38 degrees C, purulent vaginal discharge, or any uterine/salpinx/ovarian tenderness) were more often recognized and treated with appropriate antibiotics initially (p = 0.02 to < 0.00001 for all). After phone, mail, and public health follow-up, treatment could not be documented for 25% of the occurrences, in all cases due to an inability to locate the patient. An additional 20% of the women did not receive treatment for 14-60 days. CONCLUSIONS: In this population, both N. gonorrhoeae and C. trachomatis cervical infections are frequently underrecognized in the ED, with isolated C. trachomatis infections associated with significantly higher proportions of underrecognition. Many affected women remain untreated for extended intervals, creating public and individual health risks. Improved point of contact detection, follow-up, and treatment policies are needed to limit these risks.     

High speed power

This paper presents the need for compatibility between European rail networks. This leads to the adoption of dual 25 kV as the power of choice for operators. Dual 25 kV literally doubles the power available to rail networks, helping rail operators to meet some of the demands they are facing. Not surprisingly, this fact, along with the EU directive on 'interoperability of the trans-European high speed rail system', which aims to ease the circulation of high-speed trains through the various train networks of the European Union, will lead it to become the future standard across Europe     

Analysis of the Sensitivity of Decision Analysis Results to Errors and Simplifications in Problem Structure: Application to Lake Erie Ecosystem Management

In practical decision analyses, the ldquocurse of dimensionalityrdquo compels one to make simplifying assumptions that can introduce errors into estimates of various indexes that interest decision-makers. These indexes include the expected performance of optimal and suboptimal strategies, the benefit of explicitly considering uncertainty, and the benefit of additional information. This paper quantifies the effects on these indexes of simplifying assumptions, including discretization of the decision space, omission of some decision variables and uncertainties from the decision tree, and disregarding of risk aversion. To reduce errors arising from discretization of the decision space, we use a multidimensional cubic spline to interpolate the performance of alternatives between a few simulated points. A case study analyzes decisions concerning phosphorus loading, fisheries management, and lower trophic research projects in Lake Erie under multiple criteria and ecological uncertainties. Results show that spline-based solutions often yield potentially superior decisions from those based on discretized decision spaces, but that omitting important uncertainties makes more of a difference in this case study's decisions and indexes than simplifying the decision space. On the other hand, incorrect multicriteria weights affect the case study's outcomes more than incorrect probabilities.     

Microstructural evidence for short-circuit oxygen diffusion paths in the oxidation of a dilute Ni-Cr alloy

A comparative study of high-temperature oxidation of Ni containing 1 at.% Cr and pure Ni was carried out. Instead of the conventional kinetics study using thermogravimetry, a microlithographic marker experiment was designed. Observation of the markers using cross-sectional TEM and SEM has revealed striking differences in the scale morphology, microstructures, and oxidation mechanisms between pure Ni and the Cr-doped Ni substrates. In particular, the results suggest that a small addition of Cr promotes significant inward transport of oxygen. Marker experiments revealed that NiO grown on pure Ni is wholly attributable to outward-cation diffusion. In contrast, NiO grown on Ni–1 at.% Cr exhibited formation of a substantial inner layer having a submicron grain size, established by the markers to have formed from oxygen ingress. For pure Ni, voids were observed to be distributed only within oxide grains. In contrast, for Ni containing 1 at.% Cr, elongated pores formed extensively along oxide-grain boundaries. Formation of new fine-grain oxide in these pores was observed to have sometimes completely resealed the void. It is, therefore, proposed that the transport of oxygen in the case of oxide scale grown on Ni–1 at.% Cr occurs via voids (pores) formed by vacancy coalescence at the grain boundaries.     

The Oxidation Behavior of Y2O3-Dispersed β-NiAl

Y₂O₃-dispersed NiAl was produced by a powder-metallurgy process. By adding Y as an oxide dispersion (OD), problems with NiY_x formation and internal oxidation were avoided. Short-term isothermal and cyclic-oxidation performance at 1200°–1500° C was compared to cast NiAl alloys with and without Zr. Results indicate that the Y₂O₃ addition was beneficial to scale adhesion and significantly modified the α-Al₂O₃ scale microstructure, similar to a Zr alloy addition. However, at 1400 and 1500° C, neither the Y₂O₃ or Zr additions changed the scale-growth rate, eliminated the formation of voids at the metal-scale interface or prevented scale spallation. These similarities in performance suggest that similar mechanisms occur when the reactive element is added as either an OD or an alloy addition.     

The Effect of Organic Diluent on the Extraction of Eu(III) by HEH[EHP]

ABSTRACT

Because there are fewer tools available to probe the interactions therein, the effect of the fundamental chemistry of the organic diluent on solvent extraction equilibria has been under-characterized relative to the aqueous. As a result, diluents for solvent extraction are often selected for an application not for their utility as a medium for reaction, but for other (often equally) important reasons (like low flammability). To begin to improve this imbalance in the science, twenty different diluents have been used in a study of the extraction of radiotracer ^152/154Eu³⁺ from dilute nitric acid solutions using the extractant 2-ethylhexylphosphonic acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (HEH[EHP]). To increase the utility of the study and to honor the memory of Professor Jan Rydberg, this investigation was conducted by a cadre of comparatively inexperienced separation scientists (who are as a result no longer inexperienced separation scientists) as a radioanalytical chemistry and solvent extraction educational exercise. Slope analysis was used to determine the apparent stoichiometry of the extracted metal complex. The results discussed in the following indicate that, while the pH dependence exhibits the expected three H⁺ exchanged per metal ion extracted, the extractant dependence suggests that the number of protonated extractant molecules in the extracted complex changes with the organic diluent. The experimentally observed “extractant dependency” ranges from 2.5 to 3.0 dimer equivalent molecules per extracted metal ion. Ironically, in the diluents exhibiting the highest apparent M:(HA)₃ stoichiometry, HEH[EHP] extracts Eu³⁺ less efficiently. Europium luminescence spectroscopy was used to probe for changes in the first coordination sphere of the complex in different diluents. A model and conceptual framework for understanding these observations is described.     

Hypermedia Support for Software Development: A Retrospective Assessment

Hypermedia technologies have been available for about a decade. Beginning with Douglas Engelbart, researchers have become interested in applying hypermedia concepts and technologies to software development. This paper assesses this symbiosis between hypermedia and software development as described by research contributions; by our count, more than one hundred articles. To date, no collection of, or guide to, this literature has been published. A number of significant contributions are classified, described, and appraised — providing a guide into what has been a rich but perhaps under-reported research area. Hypermedia has made significant contributions to software development in three primary areas: coping with massive amounts of information associated with software development projects; establishing and maintaining linkages between various types of software engineering documents; and enabling development engineers to record, document, and preserve knowledge about development thoughts, processes and rationale. These contributions may help direct the focus of future research towards building on, combining and assessing the resulting contributions. A research agenda is proposed along these lines.     

Cracking the walnut: Using a computer game to impact cognition,emotion, and behavior of highly aggressive fifth grade students

Three fifth grade highly aggressive students participated in a study examining effects of an aggression intervention game. Using single-subject multiple baseline research design, the effect of the game was measured across three domains: attribution of peer intent (cognitive), emotional response (affective) and behavior response (behavioral). The results indicate that, while there were observable individual differences, the game had an immediate impact on attribution of peer behavior across all participants, had a less predictable impact on reported behavioral reactions, and had no discernable impact on reported emotional response. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.