310 research outputs found
Towards 2000: A Tougher Future for Australian Business?
The paper reports on the future business environment expected by top level Australian executives. It forecasts environmental changes to the year 2000 and updates projections reported in an earlier study. Specifically, top managers from 171 of Australia\u27s largest 500 corporations provide their views concerning world ecology, the economy, technology and political-social developments. Their perceptions are then linked to specific competitive strategies that are evoked by the long-range forecast which they expect
Deposit formation in hydrocarbon rocket fuels
An experimental program was conducted to study deposit formation in hydrocarbon fuels under flow conditions that exist in high-pressure, rocket engine cooling systems. A high pressure fuel coking test apparatus was designed and developed and was used to evaluate thermal decomposition (coking) limits and carbon deposition rates in heated copper tubes for two hydrocarbon rocket fuels, RP-1 and commercial-grade propane. Tests were also conducted using JP-7 and chemically-pure propane as being representative of more refined cuts of the baseline fuels. A parametric evaluation of fuel thermal stability was performed at pressures of 136 atm to 340 atm, bulk fuel velocities in the range 6 to 30 m/sec, and tube wall temperatures in the range 422 to 811 K. Results indicated that substantial deposit formation occurs with RP-1 fuel at wall temperatures between 600 and 800 K, with peak deposit formation occurring near 700 K. No improvements were obtained when deoxygenated JP-7 fuel was substituted for RP-1. The carbon deposition rates for the propane fuels were generally higher than those obtained for either of the kerosene fuels at any given wall temperature. There appeared to be little difference between commercial-grade and chemically-pure propane with regard to type and quantity of deposit. Results of tests conducted with RP-1 indicated that the rate of deposit formation increased slightly with pressure over the range 136 atm to 340 atm. Finally, lating the inside wall of the tubes with nickel was found to significantly reduce carbon deposition rates for RP-1 fuel
Deposit formation in hydrocarbon rocket fuels: Executive summary
An experimental program was conducted to study deposit formation in hydrocarbon fuels under flow conditions that exist in high-pressure, rocket engine cooling systems. A high pressure fuel coking test apparatus was designed and developed and was used to evaluate thermal decomposition (coking) limits and carbon deposition rates in heated copper tubes for two hydrocarbon rocket fuels, RP-1 and commercial-grade propane. Tests were also conducted using JP-7 and chemically-pure propane as being representative of more refined cuts of the baseline fuels. A parametric evaluation of fuel thermal stability was performed at pressures of 136 atm to 340 atm, bulk fuel velocities in the range 6 to 30 m/sec, and tube wall temperatures in the range 422 to 811K. In addition, the effect of the inside wall material on deposit formation was evaluated in selected tests which were conducted using nickel-plated tubes. The results of the tests indicated that substantial deposit formation occurs with RP-1 fuel at wall temperatures between 600 and 800K, with peak deposit formation occurring near 700K. No improvements were obtained when de-oxygenated JP-7 fuel was substituted for RP-1. The carbon deposition rates for the propane fuels were generally higher than those obtained for either of the kerosene fuels at any given wall temperature. There appeared to be little difference between commercial-grade and chemically-pure propane with regard to type and quantity of deposit. The results of tests conducted with RP-1 indicated that the rate of deposit formation increased slightly with pressure over the range 136 atm to 340 atm. Finally, plating the inside wall of the tubes with nickel was found to significantly reduce carbon deposition rates for RP-1 fuel
Applications of Endothermic Reaction Technology to the High Speed Civil Transport
The success of strategies for controlling emissions and enhancing performance in High Speed Research applications may be Increased by more effective utilization of the heat sink afforded by the fuel in the vehicle thermal management system. This study quantifies the potential benefits associated with the use of supercritical preheating and endothermic cracking of let fuel prior to combustion to enhance the thermal management capabilities of the propulsion systems in the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). A fuel-cooled thermal management system, consisting of plate-fin heat exchangers and a small auxiliary compressor, is defined for the HSCT, Integrated with the engine, and an assessment of the effect on engine performance, weight, and operating cost is performed. The analysis indicates significant savings due a projected improvement in fuel economy, and the potential for additional benefit if the cycle is modified to take full advantage of all the heat sink available in the fuel
Current opinion on dietary advice in order to preserve fat-free mass during a low-calorie diet
Objectives: The loss of fat-free mass (FFM) that occurs during weight loss secondary to low-calorie diet can lead to numerous and deleterious consequences. We performed a review to evaluate the state of the art on metabolic and nutritional correlates of loss of fat free mass during low calorie diet and treatment for maintaining fat free mass. Methods: This review included 44 eligible studies. There are various diet strategies to maintain FFM during a low-calorie diet, including adoption of a very low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD) and taking an adequate amount of specific nutrients (vitamin D, leucine, whey protein). Results: Regarding the numerous and various low-calorie diet proposals for achieving weight loss, the comparison of VLCKD with prudent low-calorie diet found that FFM was practically unaffected by VLCKD. There are numerous possible mechanisms for this, involving insulin and the insulin-like growth factor-1–growth hormone axis, which acts by stimulating protein synthesis. Conclusions: Considering protein and amino acids intake, an adequate daily intake of leucine (4 g/d) and whey protein (20 g/d) is recommended. Regarding vitamin D, if the blood vitamin D has low values (<30 ng/mL), it is mandatory that adequate supplementation is provided, specifically calcifediol, because in the obese patient this form is recommended to avoid seizure in the adipose tissue; 3 to 4 drops/d or 20 to 30 drops/wk of calcifediol are generally adequate to restore normal 25(OH)D plasma levels in obese patients
Nuclear multifragmentation time-scale and fluctuations of largest fragment size
Distributions of the largest fragment charge, Zmax, in multifragmentation
reactions around the Fermi energy can be decomposed into a sum of a Gaussian
and a Gumbel distribution, whereas at much higher or lower energies one or the
other distribution is asymptotically dominant. We demonstrate the same generic
behavior for the largest cluster size in critical aggregation models for small
systems, in or out of equilibrium, around the critical point. By analogy with
the time-dependent irreversible aggregation model, we infer that Zmax
distributions are characteristic of the multifragmentation time-scale, which is
largely determined by the onset of radial expansion in this energy range.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters on 8/4/201
Signals of Bose Einstein condensation and Fermi quenching in the decay of hot nuclear systems
We report experimental signals of Bose-Einstein condensation in the decay of
hot Ca projectile-like sources produced in mid-peripheral collisions at
sub-Fermi energies. The experimental setup, constituted by the coupling of the
INDRA 4 detector array to the forward angle VAMOS magnetic spectrometer,
allowed us to reconstruct the mass, charge and excitation energy of the
decaying hot projectile-like sources. Furthermore, by means of quantum
fluctuation analysis techniques, temperatures and mean volumes per particle "as
seen by" bosons and fermions separately are correlated to the excitation energy
of the reconstructed system. The obtained results are consistent with the
production of dilute mixed (bosons/fermions) systems, where bosons experience a
smaller volume as compared to the surrounding fermionic gas. Our findings
recall similar phenomena observed in the study of boson condensates in atomic
traps.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. (december 2014
Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Is Associated with Better Metabolic Features in Youths with Type 1 Diabetes
Our aim was to evaluate adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in relation to metabolic control. Adherence to the MedDiet was assessed with the Mediterranean Diet Quality Index (KIDMED)questionnaire and physical activity by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescent (IPAQ-A) on 65 subjects (32 males, 9–18 years) with T1D. Clinical and metabolic evaluation was performed (standardized body mass index(BMI-SDS), hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), continuous glucose monitoring metrics when present, blood pressure, lipid profile). Parental characteristics (age, body mass index (BMI), socio-economic status) were reported. The adherence to the MedDiet was poor in 12.3%, average in 58.6%, and high in 29.1% of the subjects. Furthermore, 23.4% of patients were overweight/obese. The most impacting factors on BMI-SDS were skipping breakfast and their father’s BMI. HbA1c and time in range % were positively associated with sweets and fish intake, respectively. Additionally, the father’s socio-economic status (SES) and mother’s age were associated with glucose control. Blood pressure was associated with travelling to school in vehicles, extra-virgin olive oil intake and milk/dairy consumption at breakfast. The promotion of the MedDiet, mainly having a healthy breakfast, is a good strategy to include in the management of T1D to improve glucose and metabolic control. This research is valuable for parents to obtain the best results for their children with T1D
Influence of Neutron Enrichment on Disintegration Modes of Compound Nuclei
Cross sections, kinetic energy and angular distributions of fragments with
charge 6Z28 emitted in 78,82Kr+40C at 5.5 MeV/A reactions were
measured at the GANIL facility using the INDRA apparatus. This experiment aims
to investigate the influence of the neutron enrichment on the decay mechanism
of excited nuclei. Data are discussed in comparison with predictions of
transition state and Hauser-Feshbach models.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, paper presented at the First Workshop on "State of
the Art in Nuclear Cluster Physics" 13-16 May, 2008, at Strasbourg, France
(SOTANCP2008) and accepted for publication at International Journal of Modern
Physics E (Special Issue), Proceedings of SOTANCP2008 (to be published
Coulomb chronometry to probe the decay mechanism of hot nuclei
In 129 Xe+ nat Sn central collisions from 8 to 25 MeV/A, the three-fragment
exit channel occurs with a significant cross section. We show that these
fragments arise from two successive binary splittings of a heavy composite
system. The sequence of fragment production is determined. Strong Coulomb
proximity effects are observed in the three-fragment final state. A comparison
with Coulomb trajec-tory calculations shows that the time scale between the
consecutive break-ups decreases with increasing bombarding energy, becoming
quasi-simultaneous above excitation energy E * = 4.00.5 MeV/A. This
transition from sequential to simultaneous break-up was interpreted as the
signature of the onset of multifragmentation for the three-fragment exit
channel in this system.Comment: 12 pages; 13 Figures; 4 Table; Accepted for publication in Physical
Review
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