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A Just Transition aims to develop capacity for a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy while maximizing benefits and minimizing hardships for working communities.1 The ideation and implementation of such a sweeping, intersectional policy framework requires thoughtful conversation, collaborative action, and years of dedication from community members and policy makers alike. On November 3, 2023, the Natural Resources Journal, through the University of New Mexico School of Law, and the New Mexico Speaker of the House, Javier Martínez, hosted the Symposium on New Mexico's Just Transition.2 Students from the law school and the Natural Resources Journal had the opportunity to collaborate with community groups and workers, members of the Legislature, and professors to develop the Symposium's fundamental topics. They were guided by members of the Center for Civic Policy, Somos un Pueblo Unido, Naeva, the University of New Mexico School of Law, the Sustainable Economy Advisory Council, and the Office of the New Mexico Speaker of the House, and this work culminated in an event with over 120 people in attendance.3 We provide the following summary of the discussions to memorialize the event and the ideas explored there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we present our preliminary studies into the inorganic pigments Han blue (BaCuSi 4 O 10) and Han purple (BaCuSi 2 O 6) as near-infrared luminescent fingerprint dusting powders. These pigments were developed in ancient China around 800 BCE and both show luminescence in the NIR region. There remains, however, ambiguity in the literature concerning their photophysical properties. Samples of Han blue and Han purple artist's pigments were characterized by optical microscopy, infrared, ultraviolet-visible absorbance and luminescence spectroscopy. Their performance as fingerprint dusting powders, without any further treatment, on non-porous surfaces were compared to exfoliated lipophilic coated Egyptian blue and commercial fluorescent powders in a pilot study. These results demonstrate for the first time that both ancient pigments show promise as alternative dusting powders for latent fingermarks. [Display omitted] • Ancient pigments Han blue and Han purple investigated as dusting powders for latent fingermarks. • Comprehensive spectroscopic characterization of commercially available pigments carried out. • Both ancient pigments demonstrate promise as alternative dusting powders for latent fingermarks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Advanced cognitive capabilities enable humans to solve even complex tasks by representing and processing internal models of manipulation actions and their effects. Consequently, humans are able to plan the effect of their motions before execution and validate the performance afterwards. In this work, we derive an analog approach for robotic wiping actions which are fundamental for some of the most frequent household chores including vacuuming the floor, sweeping dust, and cleaning windows. We describe wiping actions and their effects based on a qualitative particle distribution model. This representation enables a robot to plan goal-oriented wiping motions for the prototypical wiping actions of absorbing, collecting and skimming. The particle representation is utilized to simulate the task outcome before execution and infer the real performance afterwards based on haptic perception. This way, the robot is able to estimate the task performance and schedule additional motions if necessary. We evaluate our methods in simulated scenarios, as well as in real experiments with the humanoid service robot Rollin' Justin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Smart plate equipped with shunted piezoelectric patches for vibration control. • Switching RLC time-varying shunts. • Sweeping RLC time-varying shunts. • Control of multiple resonant modes of a structure. • Blind operation mode without need of system identification. Abstract The paper describes the design and development of a smart plate equipped with five piezoelectric patches connected to time-varying RLC shunts. The shunted piezoelectric patches form an array of vibration absorbers, which would normally be tuned to reduce the flexural vibration response of the hosting plate at specific resonance frequencies. In this study, the resistive and inductive components of the shunts are instead either iteratively commuted among given values or periodically varied within given ranges. In this way, the operation frequency of the piezoelectric patch vibration absorbers is either switched over given resonance frequencies or uniformly swept in a given frequency range to produce a broadband control of the flexural vibration response of the hosting plate. This study describes the design and laboratory implementation of the reference fixed tuning and of the proposed switching and sweeping tuning shunts. Also, it provides first experimental evidence of the plate vibration control effects produced by the proposed time varying approaches on the resonant responses of the target flexural modes, which, for the switching operation mode, are comprised between 2.5 and 13.6 dB, whereas for the sweeping operation mode are comprised between 2.1 and 12.5 dB. These are significant results, given that the proposed sweeping operation mode can be operated blindly without need of system identification and thus can effectively work also on structures subject to significant physical variations due to changes in the operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new methodology has been developed to evaluate cleaning efficiency of dust particles on solar panels. Those particles have an average diameter of 2.3 µm and were collected in Doha, Qatar. A brush-disk configuration was constructed to measure the sweeping force as a polymeric tip sliding through a dusted glass substrate. The sweeping force was measured under various applied loads on samples treated in environment of various humidity. Experimental results showed that the cleaning efficiency of dry dust particles was independent of the applied load, reaching higher than 90%. However, the adsorption of water molecules showed pronounced effects on the cleaning efficiency. In order to increase the efficiency in humid environment, the applied load thus needed to be increased. The higher the applied load, the higher the sweeping force, the higher the cleaning efficiency, indicating more power is needed to clean the surface. This research presented an alternative approach to evaluate the cleaning efficiency of dust particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different from gases separation technology using membranes and solvent, solvent-free gas separation technology is more economically and energy efficient. Due to its inherent low permeance of the membrane, the means using sweeping or vacuum are two main options to increase the mass flow rate of the fast gas (with higher selectivity) on the permeate side. This study models a typical membrane for CO 2 separation and investigates the effects of different parameters on the total mass flow rate, mass fraction of CO 2 and the mass flow rate of CO 2 in the permeate outlet. These parameters are the permeate outlet pressure, mass flow rate of mixed feeding and sweeping gases, membrane length and the height of gases zones. The results show that the mass flow rate of CO 2 in the permeate side can be enhanced dramatically by using sweeping gas method. But the mass fraction of CO 2 in permeate outlet is also significantly affected by this method. The increase of membrane length enhances both the mass fraction and mass flow rate of CO 2 in permeate outlet. But mass fraction of CO 2 on permeate outlet reaches its peak when membrane length exceeds 150 mm. The height of gases zones, however, have very limited effects on both the mass fraction and mass flow rate of CO 2 in the permeate outlet. This study provides a good guideline for designing industrial gases separation systems using membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows a close relationship between speech and gestures by arguing that in oral utterances the verbal part is one of the components of the message, while the other is embedded in gesture. The analysis is based on a few hours of recordings containing natural discourse, mainly sermons preached by Hausa sheiks and religious leaders from Northern Nigeria. The focus is put on the use of a recurrent gesture referred to as the "dusting off palms" gesture. The semantic core of the gesture based on the contextual analysis shows that it refers to cleaning, mental dirt, rejection, termination and totality. The link between all of these notions is to be found in the action which gave rise to the gesture: dusting off palms after a manual job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During casting of liquid iron and slag, a considerable amount of dust is emitted into the cast house of a blast furnace (BF). Usually, this dust is extracted via exhaust hoods and subsequently separated from the ventilation air. In most BFs the cast house dust is recycled. In this study a sample of cast house dust was split by air classification into five size fractions, which were then analysed. Micrographs showed that the dominating particle type in all size fractions is that of single spherical-shaped particles. However, some irregular-shaped particles were also found and in the finest size fraction also some agglomerates were present. Almost spherical particles consisted of Fe and O, while highly irregular-shaped particles consisted of C. The most abundant element was Fe, followed by Ca and C. These elements were distributed relatively uniformly in the size fractions. As, Cd, Cu, K, Pb, S, Sb and Zn were enriched significantly in the fine size fractions. Thus, air classification would be an effective method for improved recycling. By separating a small fraction of fines (about 10-20%), a reduction of the mass of Zn in the coarse dust recycled in the range of 40-55% would be possible [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method providing necessary and sufficient conditions to test delay-independent stability for general linear time-invariant systems with constant delays is proposed. The method is utilized for single delay and incommensurate multiple delay systems. The proposed method offers an approach to determine the exact boundaries of unknown parameters such as controller gains or system parameters ensuring delay-independent stability, in addition to exhibiting an efficient test for real parameters. The technique is based on nonexistence of unitary complex zeros of an auxiliary characteristic polynomial obtained via extended Kronecker summation. A special feature of the polynomial, i.e., the self-inversive property, is proved and utilized to check its unitary zeros to determine delay-independent stability by an efficient zero location test. The methodology is executed employing simple algebraic operations and inspection of the number of sign variations in the obtained sequence. For the single delay case, the procedure does not require parameter (or frequency) sweeping, equation solving, and pointwise testing even for the determination of the delayindependent stabilizing regions of unknown parameters. In the case of systems with p multiple delays, (p - 2) agent parameters in the range [0, 2π] and one agent parameter in the range [0, π] are swept to determine delay-independent stability without the requirement of solving equations. A graphical projection approach for multiple delays is proposed in the case in which unknown parameters exist. The complete delay-independent stability analysis of a second order PD-controlled system with single delay is presented. Moreover, the method is applied to find the exact delay-independent stabilizing regions of unknown parameters of systems with two and three delays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plague impacts prairie dogs ( Cynomys spp.), the endangered black-footed ferret ( Mustela nigripes) and other sensitive wildlife species. We compared efficacy of prophylactic treatments (burrow dusting with deltamethrin or oral vaccination with recombinant 'sylvatic plague vaccine' [RCN-F1/V307]) to placebo treatment in black-tailed prairie dog ( C. ludovicianus) colonies. Between 2013 and 2015, we measured prairie dog apparent survival, burrow activity and flea abundance on triplicate plots ('blocks') receiving dust, vaccine or placebo treatment. Epizootic plague affected all three blocks but emerged asynchronously. Dust plots had fewer fleas per burrow ( P < 0.0001), and prairie dogs captured on dust plots had fewer fleas ( P < 0.0001) than those on vaccine or placebo plots. Burrow activity and prairie dog density declined sharply in placebo plots when epizootic plague emerged. Patterns in corresponding dust and vaccine plots were less consistent and appeared strongly influenced by timing of treatment applications relative to plague emergence. Deltamethrin or oral vaccination enhanced apparent survival within two blocks. Applying insecticide or vaccine prior to epizootic emergence blunted effects of plague on prairie dog survival and abundance, thereby preventing colony collapse. Successful plague mitigation will likely entail strategic combined uses of burrow dusting and oral vaccination within large colonies or colony complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first ethyl ester whose structure was determined by microwave spectroscopy is ethyl formate. It exists in two conformations. In the 1970s, that study was used as a model to determine the structures of other ethyl esters, ethyl cyanoformate, chloroformate, and trifluoroacetate. They display the same conformations as ethyl formate. But under the experimental conditions used, Stark modulation with a maximum electric field, static low pressure gas, rapid sweeping, and long detector time constants, each of those esters displays bands of an additional third species. A careful, high resolution study of ethyl cyanoformate only observed two conformers. A model has been proposed that the third species derives from a dense array of torsionally excited states with broadened transitions due to short lifetimes. The present study of ethyl trifluoroacetate in a pulsed jet Fourier Transform spectrometer is intended to clarify the earlier results. Two conformers are observed including all their monosubstituted 13 C and 18 O isotopologs. In a pulsed jet Fourier Transform spectrometer using argon as the carrier gas, only one conformer is observed. Switching to helium as the carrier gas, another, higher energy conformer is also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiphase flows are common in industrial settings and bends in pipe lines cannot be avoided due to space limitations. Gas-liquid two phase flows could form material discontinuities that could have adverse effect on productivity and the pipe network due to sudden variations resulting due to the rapid momentum flux variations at fittings such as bends. Research into gas-liquid flow and bends can be motivated by the effect of the bend on the flow downstream of it which could alter the flow pattern occurring and the performance of downstream equipment. Alternatively, the interest might come from what occurs in the bend itself, there could be dryout of the film on the walls and consequent damage to the heat transfer equipment. Here we present measurements made with a number of accurate and fast responding sensors on three cases, two on the effect of the bend and one considering effects in the bend. The results show that the flow transformations occur in two phase flows depending on the orientation of the bend and the change could be captured using fast sweeping measurement techniques. We present the evidence of effectiveness of several types of measurement techniques that could fit into various combinations of phases. The results, point to how to achieve certain flow patterns. Also recommendations are provided regarding the position of any sensor installed to determine flow pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous paper [Rohart et al., Phys Rev A 2014;90(042506)], the influence of detection-bandwidth properties on observed line-shapes in precision spectroscopy was theoretically modeled for the first time using the basic model of a continuous sweeping of the laser frequency. Specific experiments confirmed general theoretical trends but also revealed several insufficiencies of the model in case of stepped frequency scans. As a consequence in as much as up-to-date experiments use step-by-step frequency-swept lasers, a new model of the influence of the detection-bandwidth is developed, including a realistic timing of signal sampling and frequency changes. Using Fourier transform techniques, the resulting time domain apparatus function gets a simple analytical form that can be easily implemented in line-shape fitting codes without any significant increase of computation durations. This new model is then considered in details for detection systems characterized by 1st and 2nd order bandwidths, underlining the importance of the ratio of detection time constant to frequency step duration, namely for the measurement of line frequencies. It also allows a straightforward analysis of corresponding systematic deviations on retrieved line frequencies and broadenings. Finally, a special attention is paid to consequences of a finite detection-bandwidth in Doppler Broadening Thermometry, namely to experimental adjustments required for a spectroscopic determination of the Boltzmann constant at the 1-ppm level of accuracy. In this respect, the interest of implementing a Butterworth 2nd order filter is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research results of physico-chemical and environmental issues for the dust generated during dedusting of the installation for the processing and preparation of moulding sand with bentonite. Particular attention was paid to the content of heavy metals and emission of gases from the BTEX group, which is one of the determinants of the moulding sands harmfulness for the environment. The analysis of heavy metals in the test samples indicate that there is an increase of the content of all metals in the dust compared to the initial mixture of bentonite. The most significant (almost double) increase observed for zinc is probably related to the adsorption of this element on the dust surface by contact with the liquid metal. The study showed, that dust contained more than 20% of the amount of montmorillonite and had a loss on ignition at a similar level. The addition of 1% of dust to the used moulding sand results in almost 30% increase in the total volume of gases generated in casting processes and nearly 30% increase of the benzene emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental - Agriambi is the property of Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agricola e Ambiental and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article compares the effects of different indoor activities on pollution characteristics of air particles in an office. Some indoor activities, such as smoking, mopping floor, wiping table, sweeping floor, walking and air humidification, were studied. The dynamical changes of the mass concentration and the particle number concentration over time were analyzed. The concept of area is introduced to rank the health hazards. The results indicate that the effects of the humidification on the indoor particulate matter are the most significant, then the sweeping floor, smoking, mopping floor, and the walking and wiping table are the least. For indoor particulate matter, the guideline value system for PM1.0 and the exposure time can be set as 1 hour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road deposited sediments (RDS) swept from highways in South Korea were characterized to quantitatively evaluate the reduction in non-point source pollutants by sweeping. The swept RDS consisted primarily of sand (63 µm to 2 mm) particles (80.34±8.33% of total weight) highly contaminated by organics, nutrients and heavy metals. The average concentrations of total organic carbon (TOC), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), volatile solids (VS), total nitrogen (T-N), and total phosphorus (T-P) were 20.17±9.13, 1.04±0.62, 39.92±16.55, 1.99±0.96, and 0.54±0.19 g kg–1 (±one standard deviation), respectively, for 63 µm to 2 mm RDS. The concentrations of the pollutants were high for RDS smaller than 63 µm, but most of the mass was associated with the 63 µm to 2mm RDS. The results suggest that the pollutants associated with RDS swept from highways originated mainly from engine wear, exhaust emissions, and tire wear. These results were different from the RDS on roads in residential and commercial areas, where natural particles and brake wear contribute significantly to RDS. In addition, the reductions in TOC, BOD, VS, T-N, T-P, Cu, Pb, Zn, Fe, and As based on the swept RDS measurements were calculated to be 3,355.3, 175.1, 6,621.4, 323.0, 88.3, 30.3, 13.7, 1.0, 303.4, 11,198.7, and 0.4 g km–1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Bulletin of National Mining University is the property of National Mining University, State Higher Educational Institution and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Dust samples from blast furnace dust catchers and cast house dedusting systems were investigated with respect to flowability-relevant parameters. The mass median diameter of the dusts was in the range of 140 to 210 µm for the dust catcher dusts and approximately 6 µm for the cast house dusts. Generally, the flowability of the dust catcher dusts was better compared to the flowability of the cast house dusts. The flowability categories suggested by the three flowability indicators—the angle of repose, Hausner ratio, and Carr’s compressibility—were good for the coarser dusts, while for the finer dusts the flowability was overestimated. For the blast furnace dusts, from the dust catcher a considerable variation in the bulk density was found, which can presumably be attributed to the remarkable difference in the carbon content of the dusts investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a motion planning method of redundant manipulator for painting uniform thick coating on the interior of irregular duct of some aircrafts. Discontinuous peripheral painting method is employed by analyzing the restrictions during painting the duct. For improving the longitudinal uniformity of thick coating, the interlacing painting method plans two sets of sweeping paths and an interlacing distance between the starting paths of the two times of painting. The interlacing distance and overlapping distance are optimized by establishing and analyzing the model of longitudinal uniformity. To enhance the transverse uniformity, sweeping speeds for curved surfaces are calculated by the ratio of transfer efficiency after the basic sweeping speed for the plane is determined. The intertwining method, minimizing the sum of the weighed distances between the duct centerline and key points of the manipulator links, is employed for the joint trajectory planning without collision. The simulation and experiment results show that the redundant manipulators can finish painting the internal surface of the irregular S-shaped duct without collision. The maximum relative deviation is 16.3% and the thicknesses of all measurement points satisfy the acceptance criteria of the factory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on 18 months of ethnographic research between 2007 and 2011 in Mozambique, this article explores how sweeping practices elaborate multiple temporalities and thus can serve as powerful sites of “brokerage” where diverse actors and their many agendas meet. Sweeping renders daily activities legible to local residents and illegible to others. Daily sweeping just outside of the home signifies a day’s routine beginning and a family’s availability for receiving visitors. Sweeping also prevents the rapidly growing miombo woodland undergrowth from invading the home space, which partly explains differences in why many local residents see the woodlands as advancing and environmentalists’ argue that the “forest” is disappearing due to illegal logging. Limited understandings of sweeping as banal or wasted time miss the links between many urban-based non-governmental organization and activist practitioners who implement their projects in rural areas. Sweeping blurs and challenges assumed boundaries between urban and rural woodland spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The light trap is the tool of choice for conducting large-scale Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) vector surveillance programmes. Its efficacy is in doubt, however. To assess this, hourly changes in Culicoides activity over the 24-h diel were determined comparatively by way of light trapping and aerial sweeping, and correlated against light intensity. In the Netherlands, sweeping around cattle at pasture revealed that, in early summer, Culicoides are active throughout the diel, and that their abundance peaks during the crepuscular period and falls to a low during the brightest hours of the day. By contrast, the light trap was able to accumulate Culicoides only at night (i.e. after illuminance levels had dropped to 0 lux and midge activity had begun to decline). Although Culicoides chiopterus and species of the Culicoides obsoletus complex were similarly abundant around livestock, they differed critically in their hours of peak activity, being largely diurnal and nocturnal, respectively. This polarity helps to explain why, routinely, the C. obsoletus complex dominates light trap collections and C. chiopterus does not. Inability to accumulate Culicoides at light intensity levels above 0 lux means that, at ever-higher latitudes, particularly beyond 45° N, the progressive northward lengthening of the twilight period will have an increasingly adverse impact upon the efficacy of the light trap as a vector surveillance tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Street sweeping is an important service that is usually performed by lorry-type vehicles that have a gutter brush, which is comprised of clusters of steel bristles that sweep the debris found in the road gutter. Effective operation of this brush is important, as most of the debris on roads is located in the gutter. In order to model a gutter brush by means of finite element dynamic analyses, it is necessary to determine appropriate values of the Rayleigh damping coefficients of both individual bristles and clusters of bristles. This paper presents the methodology and results of experimental tests that have been conducted to determine these coefficients. The results obtained are useful when studying the performance of conventional and oscillatory street sweeper gutter brushes by means of dynamic finite element modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon anodes, used in Hall–Héroult electrolysis process, are subject to carboxy gasification. It is generally thought that the baked pitch of anode is more chemically reactive than coke and thus it preferentially reacts with CO 2 , resulting in premature disintegration of anode. In this study, the apparent reaction rates of anode and its constituents (coke, pitch and butt) were measured separately. The reaction conditions were set to minimize the mass transport limitations (sample size: 2 mg, CO 2 flow rate: 100 ml/min and particle size: about 30 μm). The activation energies of anode, coke, pitch and butt were found to be 192, 175, 207 and 182 kJ/mol, respectively. The evolution of specific surface areas in micro-, meso- and macropores as a function of gasification percentage was revealed using CO 2 and N 2 adsorptions and the ratio of catalyst/inhibitor was obtained using XPS analysis. It was found that the apparent reaction rate of anode and its constituents increased with the progress of the gasification under CO 2 atmosphere at 960 °C. The reaction rate of 0.033 min −1 at 50% of gasification, was obtained for pitch, which is similar to those of anode, coke and butt, suggesting that a pitch, baked separately, is not the most reactive constituent of anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotary cup brushes mounted on each side of a road sweeper undertake heavy debris removal tasks but the characteristics have not been well known until recently. A Finite Element (FE) model that can analyze brush deformation and predict brush characteristics have been developed to investigate the sweeping efficiency and to assist the controller design. However, the FE model requires large amount of CPU time to simulate each brush design and operating scenario, which may affect its applications in a real-time system. This study develops a mathematical regression model to summarize the FE modeled results. The complex brush load characteristic curves were statistically analyzed to quantify the effects of cross-section, length, mounting angle, displacement and rotational speed etc. The data were then fitted by a multiple variable regression model using the maximum likelihood method. The fitted results showed good agreement with the FE analysis results and experimental results, suggesting that the mathematical regression model may be directly used in a real-time system to predict characteristics of different brushes under varying operating conditions. The methodology may also be used in the design and optimization of rotary brush tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the novel concept of oscillatory gutter brushes of road sweepers is studied experimentally. Their effectiveness in removing different debris types is studied by means of a brushing test rig. The debris types dealt with are medium-size gravel, small and fine particles, wet thin debris, and compacted debris. The performance of two types of brushes, cutting and F128, under diverse operating conditions is investigated. The purpose of the tests is to ascertain whether brush oscillations superimposed onto brush rotation improve sweeping effectiveness. According to the results, brush oscillations seem to be useful for increasing brushing effectiveness in the case of bonded particles and wet thin debris, especially for bonded debris, but they seem to be of no value for other loosed debris. Also, appropriate values of brush penetration, sweeper speed, brush angle of attack, rotational speed, and frequency of brush speed oscillations, for the debris types studied are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of the Internet Age has brought a host of sweeping changes to the landscape of third-party reproduction. What began as a dyadic relationship between doctor and patient has evolved into a more complex system in which patients are able to access information online from a variety of external sources. Patients often seek to play a more active role in their third-party reproductive care, and the Internet allows them to do so. Further, demand for both medical and psychosocial information about donors and donor-conceived siblings, available online through patient forums and genetic registries, has altered the perception of gamete donation from a one-time event to an ongoing relationship. The advantages and disadvantages for patients and providers of this freer flow of information between third-party participants are examined. Search motivations of recipients and offspring, as well as types of information sought, are detailed. Recommendations are made regarding strategies fertility programs can use to optimally support their patients and navigate this new landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newer trend in gel treatments is using preformed particle gel (PPG) to reduce fluid channels through super-high permeability streaks/fractures and thus to decrease water production and increase sweep efficiency for mature oilfields. The success of a PPG treatment mainly depends on whether or not the PPG can effectively reduce the permeability of the channels to an appropriate level. This work sought to determine what factors significantly influence the blocking efficiency of PPG in fluid channels. A transparent filtration model was designed to observe the compression of gel particles in fluid channels at several differential pressures and to study the effect of various parameters, such as brine concentrations and particle sizes, on PPG blocking efficiency. The results suggested that rather than fully blocking the channel, a permeable gel pack was formed in the fluid channel by gel particles, and its permeability was dependent on the gel strength, particle size, and load pressure. The gel pack permeability decreased as the gel strength, particle size, and load pressure increased. Thus, the blocking efficiency of the particle gel on a channel is increased if large sizes or/and strong particles are used. The gel pack permeability was a few hundred millidarcies before the load pressure was applied; it decreased to less than 10 md when the load pressure rose. The results also indicated that the PPG pack was compressible and its compressibility decreased as the load pressure increased. These results can be effectively used to optimize a PPG design. A gel pack that has a desired permeability can be devised by selecting the proper gel strength and particle size corresponding to the reservoir pressure. This is essential for a successful gel treatment so as to reduce the permeability to a manageable preplanned degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutamic acid (Glu) and aspartic acid (Asp), as two important neurotransmitters, have been the focus of increasingly intense research over the past several years. Glu and Asp are present in biological fluids such as serum at trace levels, but complex components in biological matrices make it difficult to determine them in biological samples. In this paper, a sensitive and simple method coupled with indirect UV detection, using benzoic acid (BA) as the UV-absorbing probe, was developed and validated for the quantitative determination of Glu and Asp in human serum and Compound Amino Acid Injection-18 AA. The method combines a dynamic pH junction with a sweeping technique using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as the complexing agent for sweeping. Employing this proposed method, low detection limits of 0.061 μg/mL for Glu and 0.032 μg/mL for Asp were obtained. The sensitivity was improved 30- and 55-fold for Glu and Asp compared to conventional CE method. Standard curves were linear ( r > 0.999) over the concentration range of 0.1–8.0 μg/mL. To further improve the resolution of Asp from interfering substances in human serum, 6% (v/v) methanol was added to the sample matrix, and resulted in the detection limits of 0.125 μg/mL for Glu and 0.057 μg/mL for Asp. With a simple precipitation of protein, the method has been successfully applied to the analysis of human serum, and the recoveries (82% for Glu and 87% for Asp) were achieved with relative standard deviations of 1.9% and 2.0%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simplified mathematical model of the hydraulic drive group of series connection hydraulic motors of hanging sweeping equipment of dust-cart is offered. Approximate analytical dependencies of pressure on inputs of hydraulic motors and the angular speeds on shafts of motors from time and the main parameters of hydraulic drive are obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article expands the frame of psychoanalytic consideration to include the environment as a relational context and conceptualizes the potential psychological impact of natural disaster, in this case the devastating tornadoes that struck central Oklahoma in May of 2013, as being a sudden sense of estrangement from one’s empathic atmosphere and the loss of any textured understanding of what will come next. By drawing from psychoanalytic complexity, intersubjective-systems, self psychology, and Native American perspectives, I articulate a deeply interrelated view of existence, inclusive of and emphasizing a total relational atmospheric context. I then demonstrate that therapeutic responsiveness at the community level serves powerfully reunifying psychological functions in the immediate aftermath of such catastrophes due to its experiential reassertion of an empathic (human) atmosphere, which underscores the value of actively embracing interrelatedness and of psychoanalytically informed engagement at these and other frontiers beyond the usual treatment situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highway runoff is known to be an important non-point source (NPS), increasing the load of pollutants in receiving water. For reducing NPS pollutants in runoff, removal of road deposited sediment (RDS) by sweeping is considered effective. However, the contribution of sweeping to the improvement of runoff quality has not been clearly and quantitatively demonstrated so far. In this study, a field test was carried out on a section of operating highway in Korea to investigate the effectiveness of sweeping on improving the quality of highway runoff. Results showed that the average reduction in the load of RDS by sweeping was 61.10% with a standard deviation of 1.74%. RDS removal efficiency decreased when the sweeping speed increased from 4–8 to 20 km h−1, the load decreased from 12.5 to 1.25 g m−2and particle size decreased from sand to silt/clay size ranges. Runoff was induced by applying a 15 mm h−1artificial rainfall to both swept and non-swept sections. Analysis of runoff quality showed that the event mean concentrations of total suspended solid, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nutrients and most of the heavy metals were reduced by 31–87% after sweeping. In addition, field tests for RDS build-up indicated a sweeping frequency of once every four or five days to prevent re-suspension of RDS. The results of this study suggest that sweeping can be the best management practice for effectively reducing RDS on highways and improving the quality of highway runoff. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Vapor transfer is an important phenomenon in various thermally driven membrane processes such as membrane distillation (MD), membrane evaporation and membrane condensation. In this study, we explore the mass transfer phenomena in sweeping gas membrane distillation (SGMD) by systematically investigating the effects of operational parameters on the process performance. It is found that mass transfer in SGMD is principally determined by both the evaporation temperature and the sweeping gas flow rate, and is significantly influenced by the operational parameters (i.e. fluid velocities) through multiple effects, including the boundary layer effect on both sides of the membrane, and the temperature polarization effect. We also prove that at low gas flow rates (i.e. insufficient gas vapor-holding capacity) the sweeping gas becomes saturated and water vapor forms droplets due to condensation on the gas side of the membrane. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the interesting mass transfer phenomena in terms of vapor condensation and droplet re-evaporation in SGMD, which are of great significance for the heat and mass transfer in many thermally driven membrane processes using stripping gas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] A SGMD system was used for glycerol recovery from wastewaters. [•] The effects of various operating parameters were studied. [•] The contribution and the interactions of parameters were analyzed by Taguchi method. [•] Feed temperature was found as the most influential parameter on permeation flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer generation 2.5 was synthesized and evaluated as sweeping agent for in-column enrichment and as stationary phase for capillary electrochromatographic separation of heavy metal ions, viz., Pb(II), Cu(II), Hg(II), Zn(II) and Co(II), in a running buffer containing 4-(2-pyridylazo)resorcinol (PAR) as a chromogenic reagent. During experiment, a plug of aqueous PAMAM generation 2.5 solution was first introduced to the capillary, followed by electrokinetic injection of the heavy metal ions under a positive voltage. In this step, PAMAM acted as a sweeping agent, stacking the metal ions on the analyte/PAMAM boundary by forming metal ion–PAMAM complexes. The second preconcentration process occurred when PAR, a stronger ligand, moving toward the injection end under the electric field, reached and re-swept the metal ion–PAMAM zone, forming metal ion–PAR complexes. During separation, the neutral PAMAM moved toward the detector with the electroosmotic flow, dynamically coating the capillary wall, forming stationary phases that affected the separation of the metal ions. Due to the function of PAMAM, the detection sensitivity and resolution of the heavy metal ions improved significantly. Under the optimum conditions, the detection limits were 0.299, 0.184, 0.774, 0.182 and 0.047μg/L for Pb(II), Cu(II), Hg(II), Zn(II) and Co(II), respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of heavy metals in snow, tap and rain water samples. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Abstract: Using over 100 years of biocides for preservation of collections of natural history museums has led to significant pollution of specimens and the environment of museums. Staff may be exposed to these substances as well by skin contact or by breathing dust and volatiles compounds. In this work, we present the results of a screening of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in the air and dust from the Natural History Museum of Rouen (Normandy, France). It is shown that the concentration in the air of the different substances is acceptable and below regulatory limits. Nevertheless, concentrations in dust especially for DDT and DDD are high and require special precautions and a regular dusting. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]