Life Cycle Assessment as a tool for resource optimisation of continuous basalt fibre production in Iceland

Continuous Basalt Fibre (CBF) is a structural material formed from molten rocks and is analogous to glass fibre. The concept of using molten rock to form fibres dates back to the start of the last century. The inception of more comprehensive research took place in the 1970s, by former Soviet countries. The largest active mines today are located in Ukraine and Russia. The market is steadily developing as production becomes more economically viable, and CBF becomes more readily known and tested. Continuous basalt fibres are ideally suited for demanding applications that require high temperatures, chemical resistance, durability, mechanical strength and low water absorption. CBF therefore has a large potential within the construction industry. Greenbas is a project led by Innovation Centre Iceland and funded by NORDMIN. It investigates the extraction of volcanic basalt, for the optimised, sustainable production of CBF in Iceland. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a useful tool for the assessment of environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. LCA has been used to address every step of the future production chain of CBF in Iceland; from the mining and crushing of rocks, to the fibre production of CBF using various energy mixes. This future production chain has been compared to current CBF production in Russia, in order to optimise production in terms of consistency, quality, cost and GHG emissions. This research is relevant to conference topics: \u27LCA and other assessment tools for waste and resource management and planning\u27 and \u27life cycle engineering and sustainable manufacturing.\u27 Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Theatrical “Framing” : a Study of the Practice and Hermeneutical Function of Paratheatre in Seventeenth Century France

Les études littéraires du théâtre ont tendance à considérer la pièce comme si elle constituait à elle seule la totalité de la représentation. Or les pièces de théâtre du XVIIe siècle étaient presque toujours « encadrées » par divers ornements parathéâtraux : prologues, épilogues, chœurs et intermèdes. La représentation était constituée de la pièce, encadrée par ces ornements. Le dessein de cette thèse est double. Nous étudierons, dans un premier temps, la façon dont chaque forme d’encadrement était intégrée à la représentation et quelle fonction pratique les professionnels du spectacle de l’époque lui attribuaient. Nous analyserons, dans un deuxième temps, la façon dont les encadrements influencent l’interprétation de la pièce principale. L’objectif de cette étude est d’illustrer l’utilité herméneutique des encadrements et de démontrer qu’ils sont de véritables clés d’interprétation de l’œuvre, laissées par les auteurs et acteurs du Grand Siècle, qui nous permettent d’appréhender le sens de la pièce tel qu’il était conçu au XVIIe siècle.Literary studies of theatre have tended to focus on the play itself as though it were the only element of the representation. In reality, however, seventeenth century plays were almost always “framed” by various paratheatrical ornaments such as prologues, epilogues, choruses and intermèdes. Together the play and its complementary encadrements formed a dramatic whole. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. We will first undertake a practical study of each paratheatrical form in order to determine exactly how it was integrated into the performance and what its practical function was perceived to be. We will then analyse the way in which encadrements influence the interpretation of the play. The primary interest of this study is to illustrate the way in which paratheatre is used to direct the spectator’s interpretation. We hope to demonstrate the interest of these “frames” as guides left by the authors and actors of the Grand Siècle, helping us to better understand the meaning of dramatic works as they were perceived in their own time

A morphological study of some of the immature stages of Cryptohypnus nocturnus eschscholtz, and a study of some ecological factors concerning wireworms : a preliminary study

Wireworms, the larvae of the Elateridae, are among the most common and widely distributed pests of cultivated crops. They have undoubtedly caused some losses from the earliest days of agriculture, since their importance has been recognized from the beginning of economic entomology. Several species of Elaterids are injurious to crops; scarcely any plant species being immune; while cereals and vegetables are most susceptible. the crop in some cases is a total loss, although usually the damage is moderate, and is often ascribed either to other causes or overlooked entirely. Losses caused by wireworms in Western Canada occur yearly in the same field, since the larvae spend several years in the soil. the direct loss of plants killed or injured is augmented by weed growth favored by the thinning of the crop. These increase the cost of production, and depreciate the value of the land. Thomas (1930) states that the depreciation in value of Carolina farm land, as a ruslt of wireworm depredations, has been estimated conservatively at over a Million Dollars. In Saskatchewan, wireworms reduced the yield of field crops by 1.71% during the period 1926-1930, and caused an average annual net loss of $3,274.000 to farmers. (Estimates of Damage 1930, Dom. Ent. Lab. Saskatoon Tech. report, 1930.) Observations in this province indicate that wireworms are most troublesome in older cultivated fields. The wireworm problem is therefore becoming more important and more accurate information about the injurious species and their ecological requirements and relationships must be gathered, if lasting and effective control measures are to be perfected. Various recommendations for the control of wireworms have been made; some being based on field observations, while others are more or less theoretical and without experimental proof. Poisons and other seed treatments have proved ineffective; sterilizing the soil and "baits", too costly for field crops. Hence practical control measures are limited to modifications of those factors affecting wireworm damage so as to favor the plant more than the wireworm. Of the several species of wireworms occurring in cultivated fields in Saskatchewan, so far as know, only two are of general economic importance, the others being of more local or of no importance. Ludiusaereipennis tinctus. Leconte; the most injurious species, and Cryptohypnus nocturnus Eschscholtz, second in importance, occur widely, the former causing about four-fifths, the latter one-fifth of the damage to field crops. (King '28). Although both species are usually found together, they appear to differ somewhat in their requirements and activities. Since the immature stages of C. nocturnus have never been described, a study of the external morphology was undertaken and is presented in the first main division of this report. In spite of the well known fact that temperature and moisture conditions affect the activities of soil fauna, as well as plant growth, little, if any, work has ever been done to determine the influence of these factors on injury to plants by soil insects. Consequently, a study of some phases of this problem, chiefly the relation of sil moisture to damage, was unertaken and is presented in the second section. The study of the influence of moisture conditions has proved very interesting and indicates possibilities for much further work. The work done in the present study is only a small fraction of what might be accomplished, especially in combination with controlled temperatures. It is hoped that this phase of the work can be studied in great detail when better equipment is available

Playing-related musculoskeletal disorders among icelandic music students: differences between students playing classical vs rhythmic music.

Most research studies investigating the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders affecting musicians and music students have focused on classical music, while less is known about their prevalence in other music genres. The purpose of this study was to document cumulative and point prevalence of playing-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMD) among music students in Iceland and, specifically, to identify differences between those studying classical vs rhythmic music. We hypothesized that students of classical music would report more frequent and more severe musculoskeletal disorders than students involved in rhythmic music, as classical instruments and composition typically require more demanding, sustained postures during practice and performance. A total of 74 students from two classical music schools (schools A and B) and 1 rhythmic school (school C) participated in the study by answering a questionnaire assessing PRMDs. The results showed that 62% of participants had, at some point in their musical career, suffered a PRMD. The cumulative prevalence was highest in music school A (71.4%) and lowest in music school C (38.9%). A statistically significant difference was identified between the cumulative prevalence of PRMD from schools A and B combined compared to music school C (p=0.019). Over 40% of participants reported a "current PRMD," and a significant difference was identified between the three schools (p=0.011), with the highest point prevalence being registered in music school A (66.6%) and the lowest in music school C (22.2%). The prevalence of PRMDs among Icelandic music students was high. The difference found between students who play classical vs rhythmic music may be explained by different demands of the instruments and composition on playing posture

L'Encadrement théâtral (une étude de la pratique et de la fonction herméneutique du parathéâtre en France au XVIIe siècle)

Les études littéraires du théâtre ont tendance à considérer la pièce comme si elle constituait à elle seule la totalité de la représentation. Or les pièces de théâtre du XVIIe siècle étaient presque toujours encadrées par divers ornements parathéâtraux : prologues, épilogues, chœurs et intermèdes. La représentation était constituée de la pièce, encadrée par ces ornements. Le dessein de cette thèse est double. Nous étudierons, dans un premier temps, la façon dont chaque forme d encadrement était intégrée à la représentation et quelle fonction pratique les professionnels du spectacle de l époque lui attribuaient. Nous analyserons, dans un deuxième temps, la façon dont les encadrements influencent l interprétation de la pièce principale. L objectif de cette étude est d illustrer l utilité herméneutique des encadrements et de démontrer qu ils sont de véritables clés d interprétation de l œuvre, laissées par les auteurs et acteurs du Grand Siècle, qui nous permettent d appréhender le sens de la pièce tel qu il était conçu au XVIIe siècle.Literary studies of theatre have tended to focus on the play itself as though it were the only element of the representation. In reality, however, seventeenth century plays were almost always framed by various paratheatrical ornaments such as prologues, epilogues, choruses and intermèdes. Together the play and its complementary encadrements formed a dramatic whole. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. We will first undertake a practical study of each paratheatrical form in order to determine exactly how it was integrated into the performance and what its practical function was perceived to be. We will then analyse the way in which encadrements influence the interpretation of the play. The primary interest of this study is to illustrate the way in which paratheatre is used to direct the spectator s interpretation. We hope to demonstrate the interest of these frames as guides left by the authors and actors of the Grand Siècle, helping us to better understand the meaning of dramatic works as they were perceived in their own time.PARIS4-Bib. électronique (751059905) / SudocSudocFranceF