Technology evaluation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning for MIUS application

Potential ways of providing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning for a building complex serviced by a modular integrated utility system (MIUS) are examined. Literature surveys were conducted to investigate both conventional and unusual systems to serve this purpose. The advantages and disadvantages of the systems most compatible with MIUS are discussed

Educating renal nurses - inferior vena caval ultrasound for intravascular volume assessment

Aim: Volume status of haemodialysis patients can be evaluated by trained doctors using ultrasound (US) of the inferior vena cava (IVC). To date, renal nurses have not been taught this skill. As part of a larger study exploring the use of US by renal nurses we developed an educational program to ensure that renal nurses received adequate US training to attain competence in IVC ultrasound (IVC-US). Methods: The educational program was divided into four parts. Initially a clinical US expert delivered the necessary theoretical and then practical components of the program. After this the nurse undertook a period of self-directed US practice (100 scans). During this period three formative reviews of the recorded scan clips with feedback occurred. Specific feedback covered US technique, image optimisation and acquisition and image interpretation. Finally, as a summative assessment the nurse performed and interpreted 60 scans on 10 dialysis patients. These scans were independently assessed for quality and the nurse interpretations reviewed for accuracy, prior to deeming the candidate competent to independently perform IVC-US. Findings: Ultrasound education involves knowledge and skill acquisition. Initial theoretical and practical education must be translated into competence through task repetition and targeted feedback. A staged educational program that involves these components is likely to be successful. The rate for US skill acquisition varies and a summative assessment ensuring competence prior to independent scanning is important. Conclusions: This four-step program demonstrated that it is feasible to educate a renal nurse in IVC-US for intravascular volume assessment

The Drought Monitor Comes of Age

The 20th century featured immense scientific discoveries and advances. Astrophysics gained Einstein’s life-altering theory of relativity, opening the door to nuclear weaponry and the mind-bending Big Bang theory. The medical field achieved stunning success in suppressing or vanquishing a host of deadly diseases, including polio and smallpox. And through advances in computing technology, meteorological forecasting moved from backof- the-envelope calculations to supercomputers. However, drought monitoring fell behind the curve of scientific advancement. Not until 1965, when the U.S. Department of Commerce published Wayne C. Palmer’s “Research Paper No. 45: Meteorological Drought,” was there even a complex mathematical definition of drought. In his foreword, Palmer explained that “meteorological science has not yet come to grips with drought. It has not even described the phenomenon adequately.” The Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) was the earliest attempt to describe an imbalance between water supply and water demand, by integrating water supply (precipitation) and water demand (evapotranspiration, as computed from temperature) in a water-budget calculation that also included water storage in the soil. It also established an intensity scale for drought and identified when drought began and ended. Yet the PDSI was never really designed for national drought monitoring, as Palmer’s focus was on the Great Plains and the western Corn Belt; born in 1915, he grew up in south-central Nebraska, shaped by the 1930s Dust Bowl. Clearly, Palmer did not create the PDSI from thin air. He worked for years perfecting his equations, and many of his studies of U.S. droughts of the 1890s, 1910s, 1930s, and 1950s were published in the federal Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin and other outlets, including the Monthly Weather Review and the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Though not among six dozen references listed in “Research Paper No. 45,” “A Simple Index of Drought Conditions,” an article by James McQuigg of the U.S. Weather Bureau published in a 1954 issue (Volume 7, Issue 3) of Weatherwise might have influenced Palmer. Palmer’s 1965 work, as remarkable as it was for that time, was not the final word on drought. In 1968, three years after introducing the PDSI, he added the complementary Crop Moisture Index, recognizing that drought affects agriculture and hydrology on differing time scales—and at different soil depths

Palaeoecological evaluation of the recent acidification of Lochnagar, Scotland

Lochnagar, a high altitude, relatively deep, come lake, lies on the Royal Deeside ESUHC of Balmoral, in an area which experiences moderate levels of acid deposition, The loch catchment comprises granite bedrock and is dominated by bare rock but overlain in places with blanket peals, Lochnagar may thus be considered potentially susceptible to acidification, The contemporary pH of the loch water is c. 5,0

Preliminary design study of a baseline MIUS

Results of a conceptual design study to establish a baseline design for a modular integrated utility system (MIUS) are presented. The system concept developed a basis for evaluating possible projects to demonstrate an MIUS. For the baseline study, climate conditions for the Washington, D.C., area were used. The baseline design is for a high density apartment complex of 496 dwelling units with a planned full occupancy of approximately 1200 residents. Environmental considerations and regulations for the MIUS installation are discussed. Detailed cost data for the baseline MIUS are given together with those for design and operating variations under climate conditions typified by Las Vegas, Nevada, Houston, Texas, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In addition, results of an investigation of size variation effects, for 300 and 1000 unit apartment complexes, are presented. Only conceptual aspects of the design are discussed. Results regarding energy savings and costs are intended only as trend information and for use in relative comparisons. Alternate heating, ventilation, and air conditioning concepts are considered in the appendix

Palaeoecological evaluation of the recent acidification of Loch Laidon, Rannoch Moor, Scotland

Palaeoecological techniques have been utilised to examine the recent acidification status of Loch Laidon, a large freshwater loch on Rannoch Moor, Scotland