The effect of steam as a combustion retarding agent in the gasification of crude oil by partial combustion

Investigations of the effect of steam used as a combustion retarding agent to prevent the formation of free carbon, or lamp black by-product in the gasification of crude oil by partial combustion to make producer gas --page ii

The effect of steam as a combustion retarding agent in the gasification of crude oil by partial combustion

Investigations of the effect of steam used as a combustion retarding agent to prevent the formation of free carbon, or lamp black by-product in the gasification of crude oil by partial combustion to make producer gas --page ii

Factors that Affect the Relationship between Employer and Employees within Organizations

This research is on the relationship between employees and employers and seeks to determine the relationship between the values held by employees and the extent business leaders adapt their business practices to each of these values. By understanding this relationship, business leaders can gain insight into the improvement of both employee and supervisor success for the vitality of the organization. Participants from AAA Minor League Baseball teams agreed to allow the survey to be distributed to their employees and employers via email. The nine values were developed from a panel of experts within Minor League Baseball management and human resources departments. Teams were asked to distribute the survey to the employees and employers and were provided a link to the survey, with the understanding the results would be compiled within a week. Results indicate that, the majority of the values were ranked similarly between employers and employees, three values were largely misunderstood by employers. Financial incentive holds less value to employees than employers believe, employees do not value public recognition as highly as employers believe, and employees value trust in the workplace much higher than employers believe. Trust in the workplace is clearly identified as the most important value to employees. Implications for practice include opportunities for employers to analyze their own traits and behaviors and compare them to those in this study. Although it is believed all nine traits are essential, creating an environment of trust should be the foundation on which each of the other values stand. High wages pale in comparison to the importance of trust in the workplace. Employers can use the survey format to evaluate whether their perceived values match those of the employees within their organization or industry

The Next Stage for Social Policy: Encouraging Work and Family Formation Among Low-Income Men

Examines proposals to create work incentives for less-educated young men by changing the Earned Income Tax Credit for the childless into an individual work credit and reducing the marriage penalty. Simulates each proposal's effects, with cost estimates

Family values reconsidered : a response

We respond to six critiques of our book Family Values: The Ethics of Parent-Child Relationships. Replying to Gheaus, we emphasize the limited and illustrative role given to the principle of fair equality of opportunity while, unlike Macleod, doubting that a just society could eliminate entirely the conflict between it and the family. In response to Sypnowich we clarify the ways in which our account is and is not perfectionist and, prompted by Cormier, acknowledge some lack of clarity in our views about parents’ rights to shape their children’s values. We sound cautionary notes about Weinstock’s view that the promotion of autonomy can be left to schools, and offer a more positive take on the value of childhood than that proposed by Hannan and Leland

Small-scale Lettuce Production with Hydroponics or Aquaponics

Construction and operation of an experimental set-up for cultivating lettuce is described. A list of supplies is provided. The aquaponics version used recirculated water from tilapia tanks to provide nitrate to the lettuce crop

Association between clinical presentations before myocardial infarction and coronary mortality: a prospective population-based study using linked electronic records.

BACKGROUND: Ischaemia in different arterial territories before acute myocardial infarction (AMI) may influence post-AMI outcomes. No studies have evaluated prospectively collected information on ischaemia and its effect on short- and long-term coronary mortality. The objective of this study was to compare patients with and without prospectively measured ischaemic presentations before AMI in terms of infarct characteristics and coronary mortality. METHODS AND RESULTS: As part of the CALIBER programme, we linked data from primary care, hospital admissions, the national acute coronary syndrome registry and cause-specific mortality to identify patients with first AMI (n = 16,439). We analysed time from AMI to coronary mortality (n = 5283 deaths) using Cox regression (median 2.6 years follow-up), comparing patients with and without recent ischaemic presentations. Patients with ischaemic presentations in the 90 days before AMI experienced lower coronary mortality in the first 7 days after AMI compared with those with no prior ischaemic presentations, after adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, blood pressure and cardiovascular medications [HR: 0.64 (95% CI: 0.57-0.73) P < 0.001], but subsequent mortality was higher [HR: 1.42 (1.13-1.77) P = 0.001]. Patients with ischaemic presentations closer in time to AMI had the lowest seven day mortality (P-trend = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In the first large prospective study of ischaemic presentations prior to AMI, we have shown that those occurring closest to AMI are associated with lower short-term coronary mortality following AMI, which could represent a natural ischaemic preconditioning effect, observed in a clinical setting. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT01604486

Effect of alcohol addition on the movement of petroleum hydrocarbon fuels in soil

Groundwater contamination by fuel spills from aboveground and underground storage tanks has been of growing concern in recent years. This problem has been magnified by the addition of oxygenates, such as ethanol and methyl-tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) to fuels to reduce vehicular emissions to the atmosphere. These additives, although beneficial in reducing atmospheric pollution, may, however, increase groundwater contamination due to the co-solvency of petroleum hydrocarbons and by the provision of a preferential substrate for microbial utilisation. With the introduction of ethanol to diesel fuel imminent and the move away from MTBE use in many states of the USA, the environmental implications associated with ethanol additive fuels must be thoroughly investigated. Diesel fuel movement was followed in a 1-m soil column and the effect of ethanol addition to diesel fuel on this movement determined. The addition of 51% ethanol to diesel fuel was found to enhance the downward migration of the diesel fuel components, thus increasing the risk of groundwater contamination. A novel method using soil packcd HPLC columns allowed the influence of ethanol on individual aromatic hydrocarbon movement to be studied. The levels of ethanol addition investigated were at the current additive level (approx. 25%) for ethanol additive fuels in Brazil and values above (50%) and below (10%) this level. An aqueous ethanol concentration above 10% was required for any movement to occur. At 25% aqueous ethanol, the majority of hydrocarbons were mobilised and the retention behaviour of the soil column lessened. At 50% aqueous ethanol, all the hydrocarbons were found to move unimpeded through the columns. The retention behaviour of the soil was found to change significantly when both organic matter content and silt/clay content was reduced. Unexpectedly, sandy soil with low organic matter and low silt/clay was found to have a retentive behaviour similar to sandy subsoil with moderate silt/clay, but little organic matter. It was concluded that sand grains might have a more important role in the adsorption of petroleum hydrocarbons than first realised. This method has shown that soil packed HPLC columns can be used to provide a quick estimate of petroleum hydrocarbon, and possibly other organic contaminant, movement in a variety of different soil types

Structure- and context-based analysis of the GxGYxYP family reveals a new putative class of glycoside hydrolase.

BackgroundGut microbiome metagenomics has revealed many protein families and domains found largely or exclusively in that environment. Proteins containing the GxGYxYP domain are over-represented in the gut microbiota, and are found in Polysaccharide Utilization Loci in the gut symbiont Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, suggesting their involvement in polysaccharide metabolism, but little else is known of the function of this domain.ResultsGenomic context and domain architecture analyses support a role for the GxGYxYP domain in carbohydrate metabolism. Sparse occurrences in eukaryotes are the result of lateral gene transfer. The structure of the GxGYxYP domain-containing protein encoded by the BT2193 locus reveals two structural domains, the first composed of three divergent repeats with no recognisable homology to previously solved structures, the second a more familiar seven-stranded β/α barrel. Structure-based analyses including conservation mapping localise a presumed functional site to a cleft between the two domains of BT2193. Matching to a catalytic site template from a GH9 cellulase and other analyses point to a putative catalytic triad composed of Glu272, Asp331 and Asp333.ConclusionsWe suggest that GxGYxYP-containing proteins constitute a novel glycoside hydrolase family of as yet unknown specificity