Biomass Catalytic Upconversion with a Metallic Catalyst Bed under Radio Frequency Induction Heating

This study investigated the thermal performances of platinum particles when coupled on a steel support, under the application of a radio frequency (RF) field. Platinum nanoparticles were reduced on the surfaces of type-316 stainless steel balls, based on published methods of Pt reduction from chloroplatinic acid. Alternatively, 1wt. % Pt/Al2O3 commercial catalyst pellets were mixed with stainless steel balls and investigated for hydro-deoxygenation of pyrolysis oil from pine sawdust biomass. The catalysts were placed inside an electric insulator tube suspended within a looping copper coil connected to the induction heater, and heated at different power levels. An infrared camera was utilized to record the surface temperature profile during heating of Pt-coated balls and non-coated balls. Pt particles deposited onto silica beads showed no surface heating when placed inside an RF field. The Pt-coated steel systems, however, showed rapid heating of the surfaces following a first order response. The catalysts were characterized via SEM/EDX, XPS and XRD. Preliminary upgrading tests using these Pt-steel balls did not indicate any effect. The lack of catalytic activity was attributed to the limited surface area per unit volume of the Pt coating due to the large sizes and non-porous structure of the steel balls. For the catalytic upgrading experiment with the use of the Pt/Al2O3 commercial catalyst pellets mixed with steel balls, heating of the catalyst bed with the induction heater was compared with a conventional method of heating using electric tape around the catalyst bed reactor. Partial deoxygenation was successfully achieved in the catalytic upgrading of pyrolysis oil using Pt/Al2O3 pellets mixed with steel balls at 234°C, with the use of the induction heater. The molar O/C ratio of the oil decreased from 1.36 to 0.51. No deoxygenation was observed using the conventional heating method with the electric tape under identical conditions as both carbon and oxygen appeared to be removed at approximately equal rates, with the carbon being deposited in the form of coke onto the catalyst instead of being recovered in the liquid

A social study of eleven post-partum psychotic patients.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Excellence Awards in the UAE Government Sector – An Evaluative Framework for the Government Excellence Model Implementation

Most countries use business excellence models on a local and global scale to improve organizational performance in the public and private sectors. Although the effective implementation of excellence models was studied in the global context, little research exists on excellence models adopted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specifically in the government sector. This study thoroughly evaluates the implementation of the government excellence model (GEM)—with respect to the benefits, motivations, critical success factors, barriers, and obstacles—in the government of the UAE. The study proposes frameworks that help organizations implement the new excellence model and recommends changes to the implementation approaches to more effectively deploy the excellence model in the government sector. This study applies a qualitative approach and uses semi-structured interviews to propose an evaluative framework for implementation. The key findings that emerged in this study are: (1) the motivations for applying the GEM can be classified into five themes: ‘pioneering’, ‘happiness’, ‘core business-oriented model’, ‘national agenda/government plan’, and ‘recognition’; (2) the critical success factors of the GEM implementation can be classified into six themes: ‘culture of pioneering’, ‘commitment’, ‘resources’, ‘capability building’ ‘one government’, and ‘award custodians’; and (3) the barriers/obstacles for the GEM implementation can be classified into three themes: ‘assessment process’, ‘size and work nature of the organization’, and ‘benchmarking’

MODELLING OF WHIPLASH TRAUMA; PARAMETRIC STUDY OF REAR-END COLLISION AND DEVELOPMENT OF HEAD-RESTRAINT SYSTEM

Whiplash is a common neck injury people usually suffer from after a rear car accident. Over the past decade, both engineers and physicians were trying to analyze the biomechanics of the injury to develop an effective prevention system design. Car Manufacturers and researchers developed various types of head-restraints, including re-active and pro-active systems, to protect the neck against whiplash. A few works have been done on developing a robust tracking head-restraint system to adjust its position automatically relative to the occupant’s head position. The current study illustrates the effect of head-restraint position and material properties on whiplash injury using finite element modelling. Accordingly, a tracking head-restraint system was developed to maintain the optimum head-restraint position while driving to effectively protect the neck against whiplash.Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation) through the National Priorities Research Program NPRP # 6-292- 2-127

Intersectionality and the United Nations World Conference Against Racism

This article analyzes the 2001 World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) held in Durban, South Africa. Utilizing original interviews with civil society delegates in the United States and Canada, along with government documents and media and academic accounts, we challenge prevailing interpretations of the WCAR to show that it was an important space for expressions of an explicit feminist intersectionality approach, especially the intersection of racism with gender. Our findings demonstrate how intersectionality was relevant to the discussions of both state and civil society delegates and served to highlight racialized, gendered, and other discriminatory patterns. Based on this evidence, we argue that the WCAR process played a significant role in advancing a global conversation about intersectionality and therefore carried significant potential for advancing an anti-racist agenda for the twenty-first century. That this is not widely understood or highlighted has to do with challenges to the WCAR, particularly the withdrawal of key states from the process and a negative discourse concerning discussions and scholarly analysis of the WCAR process. We suggest that acknowledging the presence of intersectionality in the WCAR process gestures towards a more accurate historical record. It also suggests both the opportunities and constraints afforded by intersectional analysis in moments of transition and mainstreaming. As such, the “Durban moment,” and the WCAR more broadly, are highly relevant for the study of women, politics, and human rights over the first decade of the twenty-first century.RésuméCet article analyse la Conférence mondiale contre le racisme (CMCR) de 2001 qui s’est tenue à Durban, en Afrique du Sud. À l’aide d’entretiens originaux avec des délégués de la société civile aux États-Unis et au Canada, ainsi que de documents gouvernementaux et de rapports médiatiques et universitaires, nous contestons les interprétations dominantes de la CMCR pour montrer qu’elle a été une plate-forme importante pour les expressions d’une approche féministe intersectionnelle explicite, en particulier l’intersection entre la race et le genre. Nos résultats démontrent comment l’intersectionnalité était pertinente aux discussions des délégués des gouvernements et de la société civile et a permis de mettre en évidence des schémas racialisés, axés sur le genre et autres schémas discriminatoires. Sur la base de ces preuves, nous soutenons que le processus de la CMCR a joué un rôle important pour faire progresser la conversation mondiale sur l’intersectionnalité et a donc eu un potentiel important pour faire progresser la cause antiraciste au 21e siècle. Le fait que cela ne soit pas largement compris ou mis en évidence est dû aux contestations de la CMCR, en particulier au retrait d’états clés du processus et à un discours négatif concernant les discussions et l’analyse scientifique du processus de la CMCR. Nous suggérons que le fait de reconnaître la présence de l’intersectionnalité dans le processus de la CMCR va en direction d’un compte-rendu historique plus correct. Cela évoque également à la fois les possibilités fournies et les contraintes imposées par l’analyse intersectionnelle dans les périodes de transition et d’intégration. En tant que tel, le « moment Durban », et la CMCR de manière plus générale, sont très pertinents aux études sur les femmes, les politiques et les droits de la personne au cours de la première décennie du 21e siècle

Disciplining dissent: multicultural policy and the silencing of Arab-Canadians

This article examines two cases of state funding cuts to the most prominent and active Arab community organisations operating in Canada, the Canadian Arab Federation and Palestine House. It contextualises the cuts within broader ‘crisis of multiculturalism’ debates imbued with anti-Arab/anti-Muslim racism and the silencing of Palestine advocacy efforts; arguing that the shift to a neoliberal multiculturalism, emptied of anti-racist politics, along with the construction of national identities around a set of western ‘core values’ has advanced a marginalising politics that demarcates a ‘civilisational’ border which excludes Arabs, Muslims, and by extension Palestine solidarity. Curtailing freedom of expression, partly through funding cuts, thus becomes a key mechanism for disciplining dissent in racialised communities

Relationship between Canadian medical school student career interest in emergency medicine and post-graduate training disposition

Background: Canada has two independent routes of emergency medicine (EM) training and certification. This unique situation may encourage medical students with EM career aspirations to apply to family medicine (FM) residencies to subsequently acquire College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) training and certification in EM. We sought answers to the following: 1) Are medical students who indicate EM as their top career choice on medical school entry, and then complete a FM residency, more likely to undertake subsequent CFPC-EM training than other FM residents who did not indicate EM as their top career choice; and 2) What are the characteristics of medical students in four predefined groups, based upon their early interest in EM as a career and ultimate postgraduate training disposition.Methods: Data were accessed from a survey of medical students in 11 medical school classes from eight Canadian universities and anonymously linked to information from the Canadian Residency Matching Service between 2006 and 2009.Results: Of 1036 participants, 63 (6.1%) named EM as their top career choice on medical school entry. Of these, 10 ultimately matched to a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) EM residency program, and 24 matched to a FM residency program, nine of whom went on to do a one-year CFPC-EM residency program in contrast to 57 of the remaining 356 students matching to FM residency programs who did not indicate EM was their top career choice (37.5% vs 16.0%, p=0.007). Statistically significant attitudinal differences related to the presence or absence of EM career interest on medical school entry were found.Conclusion: Considering those who complete CFPC-EM training, a greater proportion indicate on admission to medical school that EM is their top career choice compared to those who do not. Moreover, students with an early career interest in EM are similar for several attitudinal factors independent of their ultimate postgraduate training disposition. Given the current issues and challenges facing FM and EM, these findings have implications that merit consideration by both the CFPC and the RCPSC

Targeted metagenomics of active microbial populations with stable-isotope probing

The ability to explore microbial diversity and function has been enhanced by novel experimental and computational tools. The incorporation of stable isotopes into microbial biomass enables the recovery of labeled nucleic acids from active microorganisms, despite their initial abundance and culturability. Combining stable-isotope probing (SIP) with metagenomics provides access to genomes from microorganisms involved in metabolic processes of interest. Studies using metagenomic analysis on DNA obtained from DNA-SIP incubations can be ideal for the recovery of novel enzymes for biotechnology applications, including biodegradation, biotransformation, and biosynthesis. This chapter introduces metagenomic and DNA-SIP methodologies, highlights biotechnology-focused studies that combine these approaches, and provides perspectives on future uses of these methods as analysis tools for applied and environmental microbiology

Metastatic unilateral retinoblastoma to the contralateral orbital optic nerve presenting with optic disc edema

Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a malignant eye tumor that poses a significant risk of mortality once metastasized. We present the case of a 30-month-old girl with left-sided Rb who underwent primary enucleation with pathology-confirmed diagnosis without high-risk pathologic features. Therefore she did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Six months later, the patient developed skull bone and bone marrow metastasis, which were treated with systemic chemotherapy, excision of bone metastasis, focal radiation treatment to the site of osseous metastasis, and bone marrow transplantation. Follow-up for two years was unremarkable until she presented with vision loss in the remaining contralateral eye. Ophthalmic examination revealed severe optic disc edema without intraocular masses, initially thought to be optic neuritis. However, the patient did not respond to steroids, and the initial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis was negative. This was repeated based on high clinical suspicion of metastasis, revealing only a few malignant cells. The presentation and appearance of the optic nerve were considered metastasis-related and treated with radiation therapy, which resulted in dramatic clinical and radiological improvement. Unfortunately, a few weeks later, the patient developed lower limb weakness, and imaging showed diffuse leptomeningeal metastasis, confirmed by CSF findings. This case represents the first documented isolated contralateral optic nerve metastasis in Rb