Explaining the energy mix in China’s electricity projects under the belt and road initiative

This paper explains the energy mix of China’s overseas electricity investments across Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) recipient countries. We focus on Indonesia and Pakistan. Our research is based on both newly gathered project-level data and in-depth interviews with stakeholders of Chinese-backed power plants in Indonesia and Pakistan. We examine (1) why Chinese actors are involved in renewable power generation in Pakistan and not in Indonesia, and (2) why Chinese-backed coal-fired projects in Pakistan are cleaner than in Indonesia. We argue that variations along the three dimensions–scope, governance regime, and issue linkage–lead to different energy mixes in Chinese-invested power plants across BRI countries. This framework specifies how supply and demand factors interact across multiple levels regarding the formulation and implementation of China’s overseas electricity projects. Our findings shed new light on the environmental implications of BRI projects and the dynamics of renewable energy development in emerging markets.</p

The pollination of Ohanez grapes - Results from pollen-water spray trials 1955-56

Unlike most other varieties of grape the Ohanez is not self pollinating, and before its fruit will set its flowers must receive pollen of another variety, i.e., it must be cross pollinated. Grower experience in the Swan Valley has been that interplanting of varieties with reliance on wind-borne pollen has not been satisfactory and, as a result, some form of hand pollination has been practised

Influence of shock wave propagation on dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator performance

Interest in plasma actuators as active flow control devices is growing rapidly due to their lack of mechanical parts, light weight and high response frequency. Although the flow induced by these actuators has received much attention, the effect that the external flow has on the performance of the actuator itself must also be considered, especially the influence of unsteady high-speed flows which are fast becoming a norm in the operating flight envelopes. The primary objective of this study is to examine the characteristics of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma actuator when exposed to an unsteady flow generated by a shock tube. This type of flow, which is often used in different studies, contains a range of flow regimes from sudden pressure and density changes to relatively uniform high-speed flow regions. A small circular shock tube is employed along with the schlieren photography technique to visualize the flow. The voltage and current traces of the plasma actuator are monitored throughout, and using the well-established shock tube theory the change in the actuator characteristics are related to the physical processes which occur inside the shock tube. The results show that not only is the shear layer outside of the shock tube affected by the plasma but the passage of the shock front and high-speed flow behind it also greatly influences the properties of the plasma

An adaptive variable order quadrature strategy

In this article we propose a new adaptive numerical quadrature procedure which includes both local subdivision of the integration domain, as well as local variation of the number of quadrature points employed on each subinterval. In this way we aim to account for local smoothness properties of the function to be integrated as effectively as possible, and thereby achieve highly accurate results in a very efficient manner. Indeed, this idea originates from so-called hp-version finite element methods which are known to deliver high-order convergence rates, even for nonsmooth functions

Autonomous Legged Hill and Stairwell Ascent

This paper documents near-autonomous negotiation of synthetic and natural climbing terrain by a rugged legged robot, achieved through sequential composition of appropriate perceptually triggered locomotion primitives. The first, simple composition achieves autonomous uphill climbs in unstructured outdoor terrain while avoiding surrounding obstacles such as trees and bushes. The second, slightly more complex composition achieves autonomous stairwell climbing in a variety of different buildings. In both cases, the intrinsic motor competence of the legged platform requires only small amounts of sensory information to yield near-complete autonomy. Both of these behaviors were developed using X-RHex, a new revision of RHex that is a laboratory on legs, allowing a style of rapid development of sensorimotor tasks with a convenience near to that of conducting experiments on a lab bench. Applications of this work include urban search and rescue as well as reconnaissance operations in which robust yet simple-to-implement autonomy allows a robot access to difficult environments with little burden to a human operator

Richard Nelson Perham. 27 April 1937—14 February 2015

Richard Nelson Perham, FRS, FMedSci, FRSA, was a British professor of structural biochemistry. He undertook his academic career at the University of Cambridge, holding positions as lecturer, reader, chair and head of the Department of Biochemistry, as well as becoming Master of St John's College. Perham published close to 300 scientific papers on protein structure and function, with a focus on mechanistic enzymology, particularly how large multienzyme complexes and flavin-containing enzymes work. He is most renowned for determining how reactive intermediates are transferred between enzyme active sites, for alterations of coenzyme and substrate specificity by his pioneering use of protein engineering and for developing protein display methodologies. Married to Nancy Lane-Perham, and with their two children, Perham enjoyed a full and active life in Cambridge and St John's College. He was a keen participator and supporter of sport and enjoyed art, literature, theatre and music. Perham was a vocal and active champion of equal opportunity in education. His legacy to science is a greater understanding of how enzymes work. His legacy to scientists is as a role model of how to attain the highest levels of achievement while maintaining a sense of personal modesty and a keen support for others

On the Mechanism of Time--Delayed Feedback Control

The Pyragas method for controlling chaos is investigated in detail from the experimental as well as theoretical point of view. We show by an analytical stability analysis that the revolution around an unstable periodic orbit governs the success of the control scheme. Our predictions concerning the transient behaviour of the control signal are confirmed by numerical simulations and an electronic circuit experiment.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, 4 eps-figures included Phys. Rev. Lett., in press also available at http://athene.fkp.physik.th-darmstadt.de/public/wolfram.htm