Comparison of energy consumption and costs of different HEVs and PHEVs in European and American context

This paper will analyse on the one hand the potential of Plug in Hybrid electric Vehicles to significantly reduce fuel consumption and displace it torward various primary energies thanks to the electricity sector. On the other hand the total cost of ownership of two different PHEV architectures will be compared to a conventional cehicle and a HEV without external charging

Respiration and Heart Rate at the Surface between Dives in Northern Elephant Seals

All underwater activities of diving mammals are constrained by the need for surface gas exchange. Our aim was to measure respiratory rate (fb) and heart rate (fh) at the surface between dives in free-ranging northern elephant seals Mirounga angustirostris. We recorded fb and fh acoustically in six translocated juveniles, 1.8-2. 4 years old, and three migrating adult males from the rookery at Ano Nuevo, California, USA. To each seal, we attached a diving instrument to record the diving pattern, a satellite tag to track movements and location, a digital audio tape recorder or acoustic datalogger with an external hydrophone to record the sounds of respiration and fh at the surface, and a VHF transmitter to facilitate recovery. During surface intervals averaging 2.2+/−0.4 min, adult males breathed a mean of 32.7+/−5.4 times at a rate of 15. 3+/−1.8 breaths min(−)(1) (means +/− s.d., N=57). Mean fh at the surface was 84+/−3 beats min(−)(1). The fb of juveniles was 26 % faster than that of adult males, averaging 19.2+/−2.2 breaths min(−)(1) for a mean total of 41.2+/−5.0 breaths during surface intervals lasting 2.6+/−0.31 min. Mean fh at the surface was 106+/−3 beats min(−)(1). fb and fh did not change significantly over the course of surface intervals. Surface fb and fh were not clearly associated with levels of exertion, such as rapid horizontal transit or apparent foraging, or with measures of immediately previous or subsequent diving performance, such as diving duration, diving depth or swimming speed. Together, surface respiration rate and the duration of the preceding dive were significant predictors of surface interval duration. This implies that elephant seals minimize surface time spent loading oxygen depending on rates of oxygen uptake and previous depletion of stores

Avec Orima - Designing the brand identity

The thesis is a document in building the brand image for the authors’ own start-up Avec Orima. It is motivated by the need to take the company from the planning stage to the next very first step of implementing the business – designing the company’s brand identity. The thesis focused on the process of designing the brand identity. The process began with analysing the company and Finnish target market to have the insights on what the company stands for and wants to achieve. The study then continued to examine the competition in Finnish market and identify the points of differences, in order to establish the brand positioning. Upon understanding the Avec Orima brand and what it stands for, the thesis study integrated the brand identity strategy with design skills to create the basic elements of Avec Orima’s visual brand identity – logotype, typography, colours, look and feel, and imagery. Using a sample of 57 people, the authors collected data from a survey. Also, data from market research was presented. As predicted, the results justify the authors’ points on the existing behaviours, trends and rising demands in Finnish market. The authors conclude that, despite a limitation in existing customer behaviours at the moment, there are rising awareness and demand for such a service provider like Avec Orima. This conclusion is the foundation for all further studies, which are based on theoretical data, in defining the company, then brand positioning and brand identity design

Modelling of intermediate-age stellar populations: III Effects of dust-shells around AGB stars

In this paper,we present single stellar population models of intermediate age stellar populations where dust-enshrouded AGB stars are introduced. The formation of carbon stars is also accounted for, and is taken to be a function of both initial mass and metallicity. The effect of the dusty envelopes around AGB stars on the optical/near-infrared spectral energy distribution were introduced using semi-emipirical models where the mass-loss and the photospheric chemistry determine the spectral properties of a star along the AGB sequence. The spectral dichotomy between O-rich stars and C-rich stars is taken into account in the modelling. We have investigated the AGB sequence morphology in he near-infrared CMD as a function of time and metallicity. We show that this diaggram is characterized by three morphological features, occupied by optically bright O-rich stars, optically bright C-rich stars, and dust-enshrouded O-rich and C-rich stars respectively. Our models are able to reproduce the distribution of the three AGB subtype stellar populations in colour-colour diagrams. Effects of dusty envelopes on the luminosity function are also investigated (Abriged).Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&

In an Ising model with spin-exchange dynamics damage always spreads

We investigate the spreading of damage in Ising models with Kawasaki spin-exchange dynamics which conserves the magnetization. We first modify a recent master equation approach to account for dynamic rules involving more than a single site. We then derive an effective-field theory for damage spreading in Ising models with Kawasaki spin-exchange dynamics and solve it for a two-dimensional model on a honeycomb lattice. In contrast to the cases of Glauber or heat-bath dynamics, we find that the damage always spreads and never heals. In the long-time limit the average Hamming distance approaches that of two uncorrelated systems. These results are verified by Monte-Carlo simulations.Comment: 5 pages REVTeX, 4 EPS figures, final version as publishe

Vertical transmission of overweight: evidence from English adoptees

We examine the vertical transmission of overweight drawing upon a sample of English children, both adopted and non-adopted, and their families. Our results suggest strong evidence of an intergenerational association of overweight among adoptees, indicating transmission through cultural factors. We find that, when both adoptive parents are overweight, the likelihood of an adopted child being overweight is between 10% and 20% higher than when they are not. We also find that the cultural transmission of overweight is not aggravated by having a full-time working mother, so do not confirm the existence of a female labour market participation penalty on child overweight among adoptees. Overall, our findings, despite subject to data limitations, are robust to a battery of robustness checks, specification and sample selection corrections

Study of Alpha-Sigma Phase Transformation in Mechanically Alloyed Fe-Cr-Sn Alloys

The solubility of tin is significantly extended by mechanical alloying in near equiatomic Fe-Cr alloys. The influences of Sn concentration and of grain size on the kinetics of formation of the sigma-phase have been studied using different techniques. The sigma-phase formation is much faster for as-milled alloys than it is for conventional alloys. The sigma-phase formation rate decreases with the increase of Sn concentration in alloys with nanometer-sized grains as it does in coarse-grained alloys. The mechanisms which are responsible for the slowing-down of the alpha-sigma transformation are different in both kinds of alloys

The Neural Crest Migrating into the Twenty-First Century

From the initial discovery of the neural crest over 150 years ago to the seminal studies of Le Douarin and colleagues in the latter part of the twentieth century, understanding of the neural crest has moved from the descriptive to the experimental. Now, in the twenty-first century, neural crest research has migrated into the genomic age. Here, we reflect upon the major advances in neural crest biology and the open questions that will continue to make research on this incredible vertebrate cell type an important subject in developmental biology for the century to come