How Does Average Protein Consumption Affect Happiness?

This paper uses individual-level data to examine the potential link between average protein consumption and happiness within 87 countries between the years of 1981 and 2007. After controlling for other variables that influence happiness as outlined in Maslow\u27s hierarchy of needs, I find that average protein consumption has a statistically significant effect on average subjective well-being. Specifically, the results show that as average protein consumption as a percentage of total caloric intake increases, happiness increases

Multi-Dimensional Quantitative Laser-based Diagnostics - Development and Practial Applications

Laser based optical diagnostic methods are routinely used in combustion research. Many of the more common approaches are based on illuminating a cross-section of the sample with a thin laser sheet. For example, by targeting an electronic transition in a molecule, its concentration within the plane illuminated by the laser sheet can be deduced. By probing the relative occurrence of an atom or molecule in different rotational or vibrational states or by probing the Doppler shift in Rayleigh scattering, it is possible to extract the temperature. The flow field can be measured by seeding particles into the measurement volume and following them through multiple exposures. The work reported in the thesis concerns the development, improvement and applications of measurement techniques based on laser sheet illumination. The aforementioned techniques are most often employed on a single shot basis, providing independent snapshots of two-dimensional (2D) data. In some examples, the measurement techniques are extended to the third spatial dimension, and in recent years, studies employing high repetition rate measurements capable of resolving the dynamics in time have become more frequent. In the thesis, a method for simultaneously extending the measurements to the third spatial dimension and to the time dimension, is presented. A high repetition rate laser and detection system is combined with oscillating mirrors, the laser sheet being scanned back and forth throughout the measurement volume. The deflections from two mirrors operated at different frequencies are combined to obtain equidistant laser sheets in the measurement region. The method is demonstrated on the Mie-scattering from a flow of droplets and is used to probe the planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) from the OH in a flame. Post processing methods to calculate concentrations and flame-fronts from large data sets are demonstrated. Measurements of droplet concentration and size distribution in sprays, based on recording the light scattered from a laser sheet, suffer from uncertainties due to multiple scattering (MS) and attenuation of the illuminating and scattered light. A method is demonstrated here, that takes advantage of the ability to suppress the MS light by means of structured illumination. After MS suppression, the attenuation of the laser and signal light can be compensated for by comparing the transmission through the spray with the side-scattered signal. In the process, the local extinction coefficient is calculated from the Beer-Lambert law. Laser based optical diagnostic techniques are in general developed for atmospheric flames under ideal laboratory conditions. In the application of the same techniques in more realistic situations, such as internal combustion (IC) engines, the harsh conditions involving vibrations, varying pressure, moving parts, limited optical access and a sooty environment have to be taken into account. Several of the measurement campaigns reported in the thesis were conducted in IC engines. Although the main goals of these campaigns were to answer combustion or engine related questions, time has also been invested in improving and adopting the measurement techniques to the existing conditions. By following the spray propagation in a light duty-diesel engine over time, knowledge was gained regarding how early spray injections should be conducted to avoid wall wetting. From high speed laser induce incandescence (LII) measurements in a heavy-duty Diesel engine, conclusions regarding soot formation and oxidation were drawn. The implementation of LII at high repetition rates in IC engines was investigated here. Challenges associated with attenuation of the laser and signal light were also addressed. Visualization of the flame jet propagation in a large-bore gas engine was made possible by means of fuel tracer LIF. Apart from the combustion related conclusions, it was shown that the image quality could be improved substantially by the use of correction optics

Multiple scattering by a collection of randomly located obstacles Part III: Theory - slab geometry

In this paper, scattering of electromagnetic waves by discrete, randomly distributed objects inside a (finite thickness or semi-infinite) slab is addressed.In general, the non-intersecting scattering objects can be of arbitrary form, material and shape with a number density of $n_0$ (number of scatterers per volume).The main aim of this paper is to calculate the coherent reflection and transmission characteristics for this configuration.Applications of the results are found at a wide range of frequencies (radar up to optics), such as attenuation of electromagnetic propagation in rain, fog, and clouds etc. The integral representation of the solution of the deterministic problem constitutes the underlying framework of the stochastic problem.Conditional averaging and the employment of the Quasi Crystalline Approximation lead to a system of integral equations in the unknown expansion coefficients. With a uniform distribution of scatterers the analysis simplifies to a system of integral equations in the depth variable. Explicit solutions for tenuous media and low frequency approximations can be obtained for spherical obstacles

Homogenization of the Maxwell equations at fixed frequency

The homogenization of the Maxwell equations at fixed frequency is addressed in this paper. The bulk (homogenized) electric and magnetic properties of a material with a periodic microstructure are found from the solution of a local problem on the unit cell by suitable averages. The material can be anisotropic, and satisfies a coercivity condition. The exciting field is generated by an incident field from sources outside the material under investigation. A suitable sesquilinear form is defined for the interior problem, and the exterior Calder´on operator is used to solve the exterior radiating fields. The concept of two-scale convergence is employed to solve the homogenization problem. A new a priori estimate is proved as well as a new result on the correctors

A system based approach to rain gardens : from habitat structures to plant physiological and morphological survival strategies

Med ökad urbanisering och växande städer breder större hårdgjorda ytor ut sig. Dessa ogenomträngliga ytor skapar enorm avrinning då vattnet inte kan infiltrera marken utan direkt leds bort från staden via dräneringsnätverk. . Detta bidrar dels till att staden blir torrare men ökar även risken för svåra översvämningar varje gångkraftig nederbörd överstiger den mängd som dagvattensystemet är dimensionerat för. Klimatförändringarna förväntas bidra till flerkraftiga regnfall vilket gör att kravet på dagvattenhantering i städerna skärps. Nya innovationer inom dagvattenhantering har under de senaste årtiondena tagits fram och används i olika grad över världen. En relativt ny metod är en sorts biofilter, så kallade regnbäddar,som är en dagvattenfördröjning beklädd med växtlighet. De är nya för Sverige och är ännu i en testfas för hur de fungerar i ett nordiskt klimat, särskilt vad gäller fungerande vegetation. Arbetet har gått ut på att,genom analyser av ståndorter,belysa vilka egenskaper och överlevnadsstrategier som är viktigast hos växter anpassade för en regnbädd. Detta gjordes genom att skapa en förståelse för uppbyggnad och ståndort av regnbäddar som sedan jämfördes med olika markprofiler i Sverige. Med dessa markprofilers beskrivning och geografiska område kunde vegetationstyper kopplas samman till dem. På så sätt listades arter från vegetationstyper som borde ha de rätta egenskaperna för att kunna överleva ståndorten i en regnbädd. Arterna listades tillsammans med de viktigaste egenskaperna för stresshantering vilket framlade de mest väsentliga strategierna för anpassning och överlevnad. Det var smala blad, salttålighet, hårighet och små blad. Arter med dessa egenskaper bör vara lämpade för regnbäddar, vilket kan ge friare tyglar i utformningen av dessa i Sverige