210 research outputs found

    Diesel Fuel Additives: Use and Efficacy for Alaska's Diesel Generators

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    Stakeholder Advisory Committee - ii List of Figures - v List of Tables - vi Executive Summary - vii Introduction - 1 Premise - 1 Approach - 1 Background and Literature Review - 2 Diesel Fuel - 2 ASTM D975 Standard Specification for Diesel Fuel Oils - 3 What Are Diesel Fuel Additives? - 5 EPA Registration of Diesel Fuel Additives - 5 Classification of Additives - 5 Diesel Fuel Additive Descriptions and their Uses - 6 Pour Point Depressants - 6 Alternative Cold Flow Improvers - 7 Conductivity Improvers - 7 Lubricity Additives - 7 Biocides - 9 Fuel Stabilizers - 9 Cetane Enhancers - 10 Injector Cleaners - 10 Water Emulsifier/De-emulsifier - 11 Additives to Reduce Emissions - 12 Efficiency - 14 Efficiency increasing Additives and Devices - 15 Magnetic Fuel Conditioners - 15 Combustion Catalysts - 15 Older Versus Newer Engines - 16 Well-Maintained Versus Less Well-Cared-For Engines - 16 EPA Emission Guidelines - 16 Engine Manufacturer Statements on Fuel Additives - 18 Analyses of Available Literature - 19 Experiences of Alaska Utilities - 20 Data Collection Methods Used in this Study - 20 Diesel Electric Generators used in Rural Alaska - 21 Fuel Survey Results - 22 Diesel Fuel Purchase and Delivery Systems in Alaska - 22 Sources of Fuel - 23 Delivery of Fuel in Rural Alaska - 23 Aftermarket Additives Survey Results - 23 Pour Point Depressant Use - 25 Lubricity Additives - 26 Biocides - 26 Long-term Fuel Storage Issues-Especially Water in Fuel - 26 Additive Blending Procedures - 26 Testing of Aftermarket Additives by Alaska Utilities - 30 Age of Diesel Engines used for Testing Additives - 30 Efficiency Enhancing Additives - 30 Efficiency Enhancing Devices - 32 Used Oil - 32 Which Utilities Use Additives? 0 32 Discussion of Additive Use by Alaska Diesel Engine Utilities - 32 Experience of Fuel Suppliers in Alaska - 33 Conclusions - 34 Recommendations - 34 Glossary - 35 References - 3

    Symbolic Policies versus European Reconciliation: the Hungarian ‘Status Law’

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    International audienceThis chapter is organized as follows. First, it puts the Status Law back in the context of Hungarian symbolic policies and the development of European standards for minority protection after the Cold War. Agenda-setting at the COE and the OSCE is then analyzed to show how the originally bilateral controversy quickly became a ‘European problem’. The third part of the chapter underlines that the circulation of European standards between these European agencies was intrinsically ambiguous. At the international level, each organization interpreted these norms according to its own history, identity and resources, while at the national level politicians contested the ‘European solutions’ that they felt were being imposed on them

    The effects of trait emotional intelligence and sociobiographical variables on communicative anxiety and foreign language anxiety among adult multilinguals: A review and empirical investigation

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    This study considered the effects of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI; Petrides & Furnham, 2001) and sociobiographical variables (age, gender, education level, number of languages known, age of onset of acquisition, context of acquisition, frequency of use, socialization, network of interlocutors, self-perceived proficiency) on communicative anxiety (CA) in the first, and foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the second, third, and fourth languages of 464 multilingual individuals, in five different situations (speaking with friends, colleagues, strangers, on the phone, and in public). Data were collected via web-based questionnaires. Participants were divided into three groups based on their trait EI scores (low, average, high). Non-parametric statistical analyses revealed a consistent pattern of results across languages and situations. Higher levels of trait EI corresponded to significantly lower CA/FLA scores. Participants who started learning the L2 and L3 at a younger age also suffered less from FLA. Purely classroom-based language instruction was found to be linked to higher levels of FLA compared to instruction that also involved extracurricular use of the language. The knowledge of more languages, a higher frequency of use, a stronger socialization in a language, a larger network of interlocutors and a higher level of self-perceived proficiency in a language were also linked to lower levels of CA/FLA

    Critical review of strategic planning research in hospitality and tourism

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    Strategic planning remains one of the most popular management tools, but theoretical and empirical developments in the academic literature have been a slow burn. This paper addresses this gap and provides an up-to-date review of hospitality and tourism strategic planning research. We review strategic planning research from 1995 to 2013 in seven leading tourism academic journals, and adopt a modern and broad conceptualization of strategic planning. While there is some awareness of effective tourism strategic planning processes, academic research has not kept pace with practice. To stimulate a resurgence of research interest, we provide future research directions. We observe a methodological introspection and present some new research methodologies, which are critically important in researching the turbulent, chaotic and nonlinear tourism environment

    Ocean circulation in the Toarcian (Early Jurassic), a key control on deoxygenation and carbon burial on the European Shelf

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    The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ∼183 My) was a long-lasting episode of ocean deoxygenation during the Early Jurassic. The event is related to a period of global warming and characterized by major perturbations to the hydrological and carbon cycles with high rates of organic matter burial in shelf seas. Ocean circulation during the Toarcian and its influence on marine biogeochemical cycles are still not fully understood. Here,we assess the spatial extent of anoxia in the NW Tethys Ocean during the T-OAE, the relationship with ocean circulation and the impact on organic carbon burial, using new and existing sedimentary records from the European Epicontinental Shelf (EES) in combination with general circulation model results. We demonstrate that bottom waters on the southwestern part of the shelf were mainly oxic during the T-OAE, while those in the northeastern basins were mostly anoxic or even sulfidic. Results for two ocean-atmosphere models (FOAM and MITgcm) suggest the presence of a strong clockwise gyre over the EES, which brought oxygenated equatorial waters from the Tethys Ocean to the southern shelf. The northward limb of the gyre was significantly weakened due to the rough bathymetry of the northern shelf, making this relative small region highly sensitive to local ocean stratification. These sluggish ocean dynamics promoted bottom water anoxia and enhanced burial of organic carbon in the northeastern basins, which accounted for 3–5% of the total carbon extracted from the ocean-atmosphere system as recorded by the positive carbon isotope shift

    Evolution of the Toarcian (Early Jurassic) carbon-cycle and global climatic controls on local sedimentary processes (Cardigan Bay Basin, UK)

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    The late Early Jurassic Toarcian Stage represents the warmest interval of the Jurassic Period, with an abrupt rise in global temperatures of up to ∼7 °C in mid-latitudes at the onset of the early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE; ∼183 Ma). The T-OAE, which has been extensively studied in marine and continental successions from both hemispheres, was marked by the widespread expansion of anoxic and euxinic waters, geographically extensive deposition of organic-rich black shales, and climatic and environmental perturbations. Climatic and environmental processes following the T-OAE are, however, poorly known, largely due to a lack of study of stratigraphically well-constrained and complete sedimentary archives. Here, we present integrated geochemical and physical proxy data (high-resolution carbon-isotope data (δ13C), bulk and molecular organic geochemistry, inorganic petrology, mineral characterisation, and major- and trace-element concentrations) from the biostratigraphically complete and expanded entire Toarcian succession in the Llanbedr (Mochras Farm) Borehole, Cardigan Bay Basin, Wales, UK. With these data, we (1) construct the first high-resolution biostratigraphically calibrated chemostratigraphic reference record for nearly the complete Toarcian Stage, (2) establish palaeoceanographic and depositional conditions in the Cardigan Bay Basin, (3) show that the T-OAE in the hemipelagic Cardigan Bay Basin was marked by the occurrence of gravity-flow deposits that were likely linked to globally enhanced sediment fluxes to continental margins and deeper marine (shelf) basins, and (4) explore how early Toarcian (tenuicostatum and serpentinum zones) siderite formation in the Cardigan Bay Basin may have been linked to low global oceanic sulphate concentrations and elevated supply of iron (Fe) from the hinterland, in response to climatically induced changes in hydrological cycling, global weathering rates and large-scale sulphide and evaporite deposition

    The effectiveness, acceptability and cost-effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for maltreated children and adolescents: an evidence synthesis.

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    BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment is a substantial social problem that affects large numbers of children and young people in the UK, resulting in a range of significant short- and long-term psychosocial problems. OBJECTIVES: To synthesise evidence of the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of interventions addressing the adverse consequences of child maltreatment. STUDY DESIGN: For effectiveness, we included any controlled study. Other study designs were considered for economic decision modelling. For acceptability, we included any study that asked participants for their views. PARTICIPANTS: Children and young people up to 24 years 11 months, who had experienced maltreatment before the age of 17 years 11 months. INTERVENTIONS: Any psychosocial intervention provided in any setting aiming to address the consequences of maltreatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Psychological distress [particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety, and self-harm], behaviour, social functioning, quality of life and acceptability. METHODS: Young Persons and Professional Advisory Groups guided the project, which was conducted in accordance with Cochrane Collaboration and NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidance. Departures from the published protocol were recorded and explained. Meta-analyses and cost-effectiveness analyses of available data were undertaken where possible. RESULTS: We identified 198 effectiveness studies (including 62 randomised trials); six economic evaluations (five using trial data and one decision-analytic model); and 73 studies investigating treatment acceptability. Pooled data on cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for sexual abuse suggested post-treatment reductions in PTSD [standardised mean difference (SMD) -0.44 (95% CI -4.43 to -1.53)], depression [mean difference -2.83 (95% CI -4.53 to -1.13)] and anxiety [SMD -0.23 (95% CI -0.03 to -0.42)]. No differences were observed for post-treatment sexualised behaviour, externalising behaviour, behaviour management skills of parents, or parental support to the child. Findings from attachment-focused interventions suggested improvements in secure attachment [odds ratio 0.14 (95% CI 0.03 to 0.70)] and reductions in disorganised behaviour [SMD 0.23 (95% CI 0.13 to 0.42)], but no differences in avoidant attachment or externalising behaviour. Few studies addressed the role of caregivers, or the impact of the therapist-child relationship. Economic evaluations suffered methodological limitations and provided conflicting results. As a result, decision-analytic modelling was not possible, but cost-effectiveness analysis using effectiveness data from meta-analyses was undertaken for the most promising intervention: CBT for sexual abuse. Analyses of the cost-effectiveness of CBT were limited by the lack of cost data beyond the cost of CBT itself. CONCLUSIONS: It is not possible to draw firm conclusions about which interventions are effective for children with different maltreatment profiles, which are of no benefit or are harmful, and which factors encourage people to seek therapy, accept the offer of therapy and actively engage with therapy. Little is known about the cost-effectiveness of alternative interventions. LIMITATIONS: Studies were largely conducted outside the UK. The heterogeneity of outcomes and measures seriously impacted on the ability to conduct meta-analyses. FUTURE WORK: Studies are needed that assess the effectiveness of interventions within a UK context, which address the wider effects of maltreatment, as well as specific clinical outcomes. STUDY REGISTRATION: This study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013003889. FUNDING: The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme

    Top-down and bottom-up control of infauna varies across the saltmarsh landscape

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    Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2007. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 357 (2008): 20-34, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2007.12.003.Responses of infaunal saltmarsh benthic invertebrates to whole-ecosystem fertilization and predator removal were quantified in Plum Island Estuary, Massachusetts, USA. Throughout a growing season, we enriched an experimental creek on each flooding tide to 70 mM NO3 - and 4 mM PO4 -3 (a 10 x increase in loading above background), and we reduced Fundulus heteroclitus density by 60% in a branch of the fertilized and a reference creek. Macroinfauna and meiofauna were sampled in creek (mudflat and creek wall), marsh edge (tall form Spartina alterniflora) and marsh platform (Spartina patens and stunted S. alterniflora) habitats before and after treatments were begun; responses were tested with BACI-design statistics. Treatment effects were most common in the mid-range of the inundation gradient. Most fertilization effects were on creek wall where ostracod abundance increased, indices of copepod reproduction increased and copepod and annelid communities were altered. These taxa may use epiphytes (that respond rapidly to fertilization) of filamentous algae as a food source. Killifish reduction effects on meiobenthic copepod abundance were detected at the marsh edge and suggest predator limitation. Fish reduction effects on annelids did not suggest top-down regulation in any habitat; however, fish reduction may have stimulated an increased predation rate on annelids by grass shrimp. Interactions between fertilization and fish reduction occurred under S. patens canopy where indirect predator reduction effects on annelids were indicated. No effects were observed in mudflat or stunted S. alterniflora habitats. Although the responses of infauna to fertilization and predator removal were largely independent and of similar mild intensity, our data suggests that the effects of ecological stressors vary across the marsh landscape.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 0213767 and 9726921
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