Report of ESCOP Subcommittee on Domestic and International Markets and Policy

International Relations/Trade,

Metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis in Robinow syndrome

We analyzed the metacarpophalangeal pattern profile (MCPP) on 15 individuals with Robinow syndrome and calculated a mean Robinow syndrome profile. Correlation studies confirm clinical homogeneity of the hand profile in the Robinow syndrome. Discriminant analysis of individuals with Robinow syndrome compared with a sample of normal individuals produces a function of 6 MCPP variable that may provide a useful tool for diagnosis

Energy Performance of Advanced Reboiled and Flash Stripper Configurations for CO2 Capture Using Monoethanolamine

CO2 capture by absorption using amine solvents has the potential to significantly reduce the CO2 emissions from fossil-fuel power plants. One of the major costs of this technology is the energy required for solvent regeneration. Complex process configurations claim to have promising potential to reduce the energy required for solvent regeneration. In this work, the effect of flow-sheet complexity is explored by studying two advanced stripping flow sheets: an advanced flash stripper and an advanced reboiled stripper. Both advanced configurations recover the stripping steam heat by means of a heat integration comprised of cold- and warm-rich solvent bypasses. The advanced configurations are simulated and optimized in Aspen Plus V.8.4 using 7 m monoethanolamine (MEA) with lean loading from 0.15 to 0.38 (mol CO2/mol MEA). The rich loading associated with each lean loading is determined by simulating the absorber providing 90% capture from flue gas with 4 mol % CO2, typical of a natural gas-fired turbine. The results are compared to a simple stripper in terms of total equivalent work. Both the advanced reboiled stripper and the advanced flash stripper require 12% less equivalent work than a simple stripper. The associated cold-rich and warm-rich bypasses for the optimum cases are, respectively, 20% and 50% for the advanced reboiled stripper and 15% and 35% for the advanced flash stripper

Monitoring river periphyton with artificial benthic substrates

The objective of this research was to identify the materials and methods necessary to study the attached algal community on a river bottom in deep water. The study site was the Susquehanna River near Falls, Pennsylvania. Artificial substrates of smooth glass, frosted glass, Vermont slate, ‘sandy slate’ (flagstone) and acrylic plate were placed on the stream bottom in detritus free sample holders by scuba divers. Both monthly and long-term cumulative samples were collected from the plates employing scuba and a Bar-Clamp sampler. River stones (natural substrates) were collected for comparison. Samples were analyzed in a Palmer Cell under a Bausch and Lomb research microscope. Diatoms were the most important colonizers of river stones, with the genera Nitzschia and Navicula most abundant. Highest periphyton densities occurred on natural substrates in winter with a maximum of 2.2 × 10 4 units/ mm 2 . Artificial substrates with one month exposure periods accumulated maximum periphyton density from May through October with relatively low densities in winter. Cumulative artificial substrates were most like river stones in patterns of colonization. Frosted acrylic is recommended for future studies employing benthic artificial periphyton substrates.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42907/1/10750_2004_Article_BF00046798.pd

The co-evolutionary relationship between energy service companies and the UK energy system: Implications for a low-carbon transition

The Energy Service Company (ESCo) business model is designed to reward businesses by satisfying consumers' energy needs at less cost and with fewer carbon emissions via energy demand management and/or sustainable supply measures. In contrast, the revenue of the incumbent Energy Utility Company (EUCo) model is coupled with the sale of units of energy, which are predominantly sourced from fossil fuels. The latter is currently dominant in the UK. This paper addresses two questions. First, why has the ESCo model traditionally been confined to niche applications? Second, what role is the ESCo model likely to play in the transition to a low-carbon UK energy system? To answer these, the paper examines the core characteristics of the ESCo model, relative to the EUCo model. The paper then examines how ESCos have co-evolved with the various dimensions of the energy system (i.e. ecosystems, institutions, user practices, technologies and business models) to provide insight into how ESCos might help to shape the future UK energy system. We suggest that institutional and technological changes within the UK energy system could result in a more favourable selection environment for ESCos, consequently enabling the ESCo model to proliferate at the expense of the EUCo model. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Performance evaluation and optimisation of post combustion CO2 capture processes for natural gas applications at pilot scale via a verified rate-based model

CO2 absorption based on chemical reactions is one of the most promising technologies for post combustion CO2 capture (PCC). There have been significant efforts to develop energy efficient and cost effective PCC processes. Given that PCC is still maturing as a technology, there will be a continuing need for pilot scale facilities to support process optimisation, especially in terms of energy efficiency. Pilot scale PCC facilities, which are usually orders of magnitude smaller than those that will be used in future in large scale fossil power plants, make it possible to study details of the PCC process at an affordable scale. However, it is essential that pilot scale studies provide credible data, if this is to be used with confidence to envisage the future large-scale use of the PCC process, especially in terms of energy consumption. The present work therefore establishes and experimentally verifies (using a representative pilot plant as a case study) procedures for analysing the energy performance of a pilot scale amine based CO2 capture plants, focusing on natural gas fired applications. The research critically assesses the pilot plant’s current energy performance, and proposes new operating conditions and system modifications by which the pilot plant will operate more efficiently in terms of energy consumption. The methodology developed to assess and improve the energy performance of the PCC process is applicable, with appropriate inputs, to other plants of this type that employs aqueous 30 wt. % monoethanolamine (MEA) solution as the solvent. A rate based model of the post combustion CO2 capture process using an aqueous solution of 30 wt. % MEA as the solvent was developed in Aspen Plus® V.8.4, and verified using the results of experimental studies carried out using the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre / Pilot-scale Advanced Capture Technology (UKCCSRC/PACT) pilot plant, as a representative pilot-scale capture plant, and employed for parametric sensitivity studies. Several parameters have been identified and varied over a given range of lean solvent CO2 loading to evaluate their effects on the pilot plant energy requirement. The optimum lean solvent CO2 loading was determined using the total equivalent work concept. Results show, for a given packing material type, the majority of energy savings can be realised by optimising the stripper operating pressure. To some extent, a higher solvent temperature at the stripper inlet has the potential to reduce the regeneration energy requirement. A more efficient packing material, can greatly improve the pilot plant overall energy and mass transfer efficiency

Inadequacy of Existing Clinical Prediction Models for Predicting Mortality after Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Background: The performance of emerging transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) clinical prediction models (CPMs) in national TAVI cohorts distinct from those where they have been derived is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the performance of the German Aortic Valve, FRANCE-2, OBSERVANT and American College of Cardiology (ACC) TAVI CPMs compared with the performance of historic cardiac CPMs such as the EuroSCORE and STS-PROM, in a large national TAVI registry. Methods: The calibration and discrimination of each CPM were analyzed in 6676 patients from the UK TAVI registry, as a whole cohort and across several subgroups. Strata included gender, diabetes status, access route, and valve type. Furthermore, the amount of agreement in risk classification between each of the considered CPMs was analyzed at an individual patient level. Results: The observed 30-day mortality rate was 5.4%. In the whole cohort, the majority of CPMs over-estimated the risk of 30-day mortality, although the mean ACC score (5.2%) approximately matched the observed mortality rate. The areas under ROC curve were between 0.57 for OBSERVANT and 0.64 for ACC. Risk classification agreement was low across all models, with Fleiss's kappa values between 0.17 and 0.50. Conclusions: Although the FRANCE-2 and ACC models outperformed all other CPMs, the performance of current TAVI-CPMs was low when applied to an independent cohort of TAVI patients. Hence, TAVI specific CPMs need to be derived outside populations previously used for model derivation, either by adapting existing CPMs or developing new risk scores in large national registries

Compound Semiconductor Materials and Devices

Contains table of contents for Part I, table of contents for Section 1, reports on fourteen research projects and a list of publications.Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/National Center for Integrated Photonics TechnologyFannie and John Hertz Foundation Graduate FellowshipJoint Services Electronics Program Grant DAAH04-95-1-0038National Science Foundation Graduate FellowshipNTT CorporationNational Science FoundationU.S. Navy - Office of Naval ResearchToshiba CorporationAT&T Bell Laboratories Graduate Fellowshi