1,083 research outputs found

    Chemical Composition of Emissions from Urban Sources of Fine Organic Aerosol

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    A dilution source sampling system was used to collect primary fine aerosol emissions from important sources of urban organic aerosol, including a boiler burning No. 2 fuel oil, a home fireplace, a fleet of catalyst-equipped and noncatalyst automobiles, heavy-duty diesel trucks, natural gas home appliances, and meat cooking operations. Alternative dilution sampling techniques were used to collect emissions from cigarette smoking and a roofing tar pot, and grab sample techniques were employed to characterize paved road dust, brake lining wear, tire wear, and vegetative detritus. Organic aerosol constituted the majority of the fine aerosol mass emitted from many of the sources tested. Fine primary organic aerosol emissions within the heavily urbanized western portion of the Los Angeles Basin were determined to total 29.8 metric tons/day. Over 40% of these organic aerosol emissions are from anthropogenic pollution sources that are expected to emit contemporary (nonfossil) aerosol carbon, in good agreement with the available ambient monitoring data

    An anti-establishment backlash that shook up the party system? The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election

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    The October 2015 Polish parliamentary election saw the stunning victory of the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party which became the first in post-communist Poland to secure an outright parliamentary majority, and equally comprehensive defeat of the incumbent centrist Civic Platform. In addition to the fact that the outgoing ruling party could no longer rely on invoking the ‘politics of fear’, the main factor accounting for this was widespread disillusionment with the country’s ruling elite. The election also saw the broad ‘post-transition’ socio-demographic and ideological divide and Law and Justice-Civic Platform duopoly continuing to dominate party competition. However, there were some indications of greater party system fluidity and question marks over who would emerge as the main representative of the anti-Law and Justice side of this divide

    Experimental investigation of mid-infrared laser action from DY3+ doped fluorozirconate fiber

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    Efficient continuous-wave laser operation at 2.982 μm is achieved with a Dy3:fluoride fiber pumped using an inhouse-built 1.1 μm ytterbium (III) fiber laser. The laser output power reached is 554 mW, with a maximum slope efficiency of 18% with respect to the launched pump power. Additionally, the measured spontaneous luminescence within the visible wavelength range, under 1.1 μm pumping, is presented and attributed to excited state absorption (ESA). The influence of the ESA on the laser performance is discussed. The results confirm that high output powers from Dy: fluoride fiber laser pumped at 1.1 μm are possible

    Screening of antioxidant properties of the apple juice using the front-face synchronous fluorescence and chemometrics

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    Fluorescence spectroscopy is gaining increasing attention in food analysis due to its higher sensitivity and selectivity as compared to other spectroscopic techniques. Synchronous scanning fluorescence technique is particularly useful in studies of multi-fluorophoric food samples, providing a further improvement of selectivity by reduction in the spectral overlapping and suppressing light-scattering interferences. Presently, we study the feasibility of the prediction of the total phenolics, flavonoids, and antioxidant capacity using front-face synchronous fluorescence spectra of apple juices. Commercial apple juices from different product ranges were studied. Principal component analysis (PCA) applied to the unfolded synchronous fluorescence spectra was used to compare the fluorescence of the entire sample set. The regression analysis was performed using partial least squares (PLS1 and PLS2) methods on the unfolded total synchronous and on the single-offset synchronous fluorescence spectra. The best calibration models for all of the studied parameters were obtained using the PLS1 method for the single-offset synchronous spectra. The models for the prediction of the total flavonoid content had the best performance; the optimal model was obtained for the analysis of the synchronous fluorescence spectra at Delta lambda = 110 nm (R (2) = 0.870, residual predictive deviation (RPD) = 2.7). The optimal calibration models for the prediction of the total phenolic content (Delta lambda = 80 nm, R (2) = 0.766, RPD = 2.0) and the total antioxidant capacity (Delta lambda = 70 nm, R (2) = 0.787, RPD = 2.1) had only an approximate predictive ability. These results demonstrate that synchronous fluorescence could be a useful tool in fast semi-quantitative screening for the antioxidant properties of the apple juices.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    A critical race analysis of structural and institutional racism: rethinking overseas registered nurses' recruitment to and working conditions in the United Kingdom

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    Language tests for overseas registered nurses (ORN) working outside their home country are essential for patient safety, as communication competency needs to be established in any workforce. We argue that the current employment of existing language tests is structurally and institutionally racist and disadvantages ORNs from non‐European Union (EU) and non‐White countries seeking to work in the United Kingdom. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT), we argue that existing English language tests for ORNs seeking registration in the United Kingdom are discriminatory due to the UK's racist migration policies and a regulatory body for nursing and midwifery that fails to acknowledge and understand its own institutionally racist practices

    Joint pricing and ordering policies for deteriorating item with retail price-dependent demand in response to announced supply price increase

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    [[abstract]]Recently, due to rapid economic development in emerging nations, the world's raw material prices have been rising. In today's unrestricted information environment, suppliers typically announce impending supply price increases at specific times. This allows retailers to replenish their stock at the present price, before the price increase takes effect. The supplier, however, will generally offer only limited quantities prior to the price increase, so as to avoid excessive orders. The retail price will usually reflect any supply price increases, as market demand is dependent on retail price. This paper considers deteriorating items and investigates (1) the possible effects of a supply price increase on retail pricing, and (2) ordering policies under the conditions that special order quantities are limited and demand is dependent on retail price. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimal special order quantity and retail price to maximize profit. Our theoretical analysis examines the necessary and sufficient conditions for an optimal solution, and an algorithm is established to obtain the optimal solution. Furthermore, several numerical examples are given to illustrate the developed model and the solution procedure. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted on the optimal solutions with respect to major parameters.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙
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