505 research outputs found
Heavy Duty Vehicles Using Clean, High Efficiency Alcohol Engines
Work sponsored by the John and Jane Bradley gift to the MIT Energy Initiative. Non-petroleum based liquid fuels are essential for reducing oil dependence and greenhouse gas generation. Increased substitution of alcohol fuel for petroleum based fuels could be achieved by 1) use in high efficiency spark ignition engines that are employed for heavy duty as well as light duty operation and 2) use of methanol as well as ethanol. Methanol is the liquid fuel that is most efficiently produced from thermo-chemical gasification of coal, natural gas, waste or biomass. Ethanol can also be produced by this process but at lower efficiency and higher cost. Coal derived methanol is in limited initial use as a transportation fuel in China. Methanol could potentially be produced from natural gas at an economically competitive fuel costs, and with essentially the same greenhouse gas impact as gasoline. Waste derived methanol could also be an affordable low carbon fuel. In this paper we describe modeling studies of alcohol fuel operation in highly turbocharged direct injection spark ignition engines operated at high compression ratio. The studies suggest that these engines could be a
Facial Recognition and Drivers’ Licenses: Should the DMV Share Your Photo?
In this brief, authors Daniel Bromberg, Étienne Charbonneau, and Andrew Smith present the findings of a 2017 Granite State Poll asking New Hampshire residents how they feel about the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) sharing their driver’s license photos with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Currently 21 states, though not New Hampshire, share DMV data with the FBI in support of its effort to build a massive database of over 400 million photos to which it applies facial recognition technology. The authors report that about 70 percent of Granite Staters support the state DMV sharing photos with the FBI for inclusion in the national facial recognition database. Trump voters show the strongest support, but over 60 percent of Clinton voters and nonvoters would also support the practice. Women more strongly support the sharing of DMV photos than do men. Support in the Manchester and Seacoast areas is less than in other areas of the state but still exceeds 60 percent. New Hampshire is one of the few states comprehensively addressing the collection of biometric data. A discussion among law enforcement, policymakers, and the public seems imperative as the use of facial recognition technology continues to expand
Economical ground data delivery
Data delivery in the Deep Space Network (DSN) involves transmission of a small amount of constant, high-priority traffic and a large amount of bursty, low priority data. The bursty traffic may be initially buffered and then metered back slowly as bandwidth becomes available. Today both types of data are transmitted over dedicated leased circuits. The authors investigated the potential of saving money by designing a hybrid communications architecture that uses leased circuits for high-priority network communications and dial-up circuits for low-priority traffic. Such an architecture may significantly reduce costs and provide an emergency backup. The architecture presented here may also be applied to any ground station-to-customer network within the range of a common carrier. The authors compare estimated costs for various scenarios and suggest security safeguards that should be considered
Discrete charging of metallic grains: Statistics of addition spectra
We analyze the statistics of electrostatic energies (and their differences)
for a quantum dot system composed of a finite number of electron islands
(metallic grains) with random capacitance-inductance matrix , for which the
total charge is discrete, (where is the charge of an electron and
is an integer). The analysis is based on a generalized charging model,
where the electrons are distributed among the grains such that the
electrostatic energy E(N) is minimal. Its second difference (inverse
compressibility) represents the spacing between
adjacent Coulomb blockade peaks appearing when the conductance of the quantum
dot is plotted against gate voltage. The statistics of this quantity has been
the focus of experimental and theoretical investigations during the last two
decades. We provide an algorithm for calculating the distribution function
corresponding to and show that this function is piecewise
polynomial.Comment: 21 pages, no figures, mathematical nomenclature (except for Abstract
and Introduction
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Onboard Plasmatron Hydrogen Production for Improved Vehicles
A plasmatron fuel reformer has been developed for onboard hydrogen generation for vehicular applications. These applications include hydrogen addition to spark-ignition internal combustion engines, NOx trap and diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration, and emissions reduction from spark ignition internal combustion engines First, a thermal plasmatron fuel reformer was developed. This plasmatron used an electric arc with relatively high power to reform fuels such as gasoline, diesel and biofuels at an oxygen to carbon ratio close to 1. The draw back of this device was that it has a high electric consumption and limited electrode lifetime due to the high temperature electric arc. A second generation plasmatron fuel reformer was developed. It used a low-current high-voltage electric discharge with a completely new electrode continuation. This design uses two cylindrical electrodes with a rotating discharge that produced low temperature volumetric cold plasma., The lifetime of the electrodes was no longer an issue and the device was tested on several fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and biofuels at different flow rates and different oxygen to carbon ratios. Hydrogen concentration and yields were measured for both the thermal and non-thermal plasmatron reformers for homogeneous (non-catalytic) and catalytic reforming of several fuels. The technology was licensed to an industrial auto part supplier (ArvinMeritor) and is being implemented for some of the applications listed above. The Plasmatron reformer has been successfully tested on a bus for NOx trap regeneration. The successful development of the plasmatron reformer and its implementation in commercial applications including transportation will bring several benefits to the nation. These benefits include the reduction of NOx emissions, improving engine efficiency and reducing the nation's oil consumption. The objective of this program has been to develop attractive applications of plasmatron fuel reformer technology for onboard applications in internal combustion engine vehicles using diesel, gasoline and biofuels. This included the reduction of NOx and particulate matter emissions from diesel engines using plasmatron reformer generated hydrogen-rich gas, conversion of ethanol and bio-oils into hydrogen rich gas, and the development of new concepts for the use of plasmatron fuel reformers for enablement of HCCI engines
Stalled scale-up of opioid agonist therapies for HIV prevention in Kazakhstan: history, policy, and recommendations for change
HIV incidence and mortality are increasing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia and are concentrated in people who inject drugs. Maintenance with opioid agonist therapies (OAT) like methadone or buprenorphine is the best treatment for opioid use disorder and a key HIV-prevention strategy in the region. In Kazakhstan, the scale-up of methadone has been minimal since methadone’s introduction in 2008 and has been supported through international charitable organizations. As the Republic of Kazakhstan is designated to assume financial and administrative oversight of OAT, legislative gains can ensure treatment continuity and scale-up. Here, we review legislative barriers to OAT scale-up in Kazakhstan using an implementation science lens. We review legislative, political, and cultural barriers that undermine the efficient distribution and allocation of medications and impose burdensome clinical and administrative demands on patients and clinicians. Legislative reform is required to support further OAT expansion. We therefore provide policy recommendations to overcome these barriers to increase access to this life-saving, life-prolonging, evidence-based medical treatment. Minimally, these include increased numbers of clinical sites and patients at these sites; re-engineering OAT delivery across the country and directly to patients; introducing newer formulations of OAT; and creating an open bidding process to procure treatment medications
Hepatitis C services at harm reduction centres in the European Union: a 28-country survey
Background: In the context of the WHO’s 2016 Viral Hepatitis Strategy and the introduction of treatment that
can cure more than 95% of cases with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, the European Joint Action on HIV
and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction (HA-REACT) undertook a study in the member states of the
European Union (EU). It aimed to determine service providers’ understanding of the current services in their
respective countries and the barriers experienced by PWID in accessing HCV testing, care and treatment
services in their country.
Methods: In 2017, 38 purposively selected harm reduction service providers completed a 26-item Englishlanguage online survey addressing the availability, accessibility and funding of HCV services at harm reduction
centres. HCV-related data and reported findings were extracted by country or by responding organization.
Results: Responses were received from all EU member states. Respondents from 23 countries reported that
HCV tests are offered by harm reduction services in their countries, and eight countries reported that
addiction specialists in their countries are able to prescribe HCV therapy. Almost half of the respondents
(45%) said that their respective organizations had established referral systems with centres providing HCV
treatment.
Conclusions: Not all EU member states have harm reduction services that provide HCV tests, and many do
not have established referral systems with treatment providers. Moreover, the inability of addiction specialists
to prescribe HCV treatment points to missed opportunities to make treatment more accessible. Further,
discrepancies were noted between the available HCV services and stakeholders’ knowledge about their
availability
Health Outcomes for Clients of Needle and Syringe Programs in Prisons
High levels of drug dependence have been observed in the
prison population globally, and the sharing of injecting drug
equipment in prisons has contributed to higher prevalence of
bloodborne diseases in prisoners than in the general population.
Few prison needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) exist. We
conducted a systematic review to assess evidence regarding
health outcomes of PNSPs. We searched peer-reviewed databases
for data relating to needle and syringe programs in prisons. The
search methodology was conducted in accordance with accepted
guidelines. Five studies met review inclusion criteria, and all
presented evidence associating PNSPs with one or more health
benefits, but the strength of the evidence was low. The outcomes
for which the studies collectively demonstrated the strongest
evidence were prevention of human immunodeficiency virus and
viral hepatitis. Few negative consequences from PNSPs were
observed, consistent with previous evidence assessments. More
research is needed on PNSP effectiveness, and innovative study
designs are needed to overcome methodological limitations of
previous research. Until stronger evidence becomes available,
policymakers are urged to recognize that not implementing PNSPs
has the potential to cause considerable harm, in light of what
is currently known about the risks and benefits of needle and
syringe programs and PNSPs and about the high prevalence of
human immunodeficiency virus and viral hepatitis in prisons
Local Civic Health: A Guide to Building Community and Bridging Divides
In the same way that doctors conduct an annual check-up to assess our health, we can collect information to assess the civic health of our communities. Civic health includes factors such as how much people trust each other, show up at public meetings, get involved, vote, and help out neighbors.
This seven-part guide is designed to help people at the local level collect data to better understand what factors bring people together or push them apart. This information can help communities to thrive and strengthen democracy at the local level.
The guide includes exercises around mapping the different populations who live in your community, evaluating how local spaces build or discourage community, building equity into local engagement processes, and collecting and analyzing data about civic health including surveys, dialogues, interviews, and civic photojournalism
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