Adoption of Solar Photovoltaic Cells in Western Australia: A Marketing Behavioural Perspective

The study explores the factors which impact on the adoption of rooftop solar photovoltaics by Western Australian households. A survey of 110 households was conducted in 2019 and analyzed statistically by using Qualtrics. The results show that environmental and financial considerations are the most significant factors influencing adoption. These findings can inform any marketing strategies aimed at increasing the adoption rate of rooftop solar in Western Australia and transitioning towards renewable energy

Effects of Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen on Pulpal Anaesthesia Immediately after Pulpectomy of Primary Maxillary Molars

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of acetaminophen and ibuprofen on pulpal anaesthesia immediately after pulpectomy of primary maxillary molars. Methods and Materials: In this placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, 60 children (aged 5 to 9) were referred to the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Yazd Dental School; for primary maxillary molar pulpectomy. Local anaesthesia and analgesic drugs were used for the pre-operative stage. A five-face scale was considered to evaluate pain reaction during the pulp therapy. Pain scores were determined when the dental procedure was complete. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were finally used at the confidence level of 95%. Results: Use of analgesics before pulpectomy in children can reduce pain score compared to placebo group (P<0.001) and increase the effectiveness of pulpal anesthesia. Additionally, ibuprofen exhibited lower pain scores compared to acetaminophen although the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Pre-operative use of ibuprofen and acetaminophen might be a useful way to achieve analgesia during pulpectomy of primary maxillary molars in children.Keywords: Acetaminophen; Analgesia; Child; Ibuprofen; Pain; Pediatric Dentistry;  Pulpecto

Chemical Constituents of Donkey Dung (Anbarnasara): Questioning the Recent Claims Concerning Therapeutic Effects

Background: Various animal excrements have been used as a medicine for the treatment of different diseases in the past. Today, people still use some of these excrements, especially female donkey dung (Anbarnasara,) by smelling the smoke of burnt dung for some ailments like sinusitis and bronchitis. Recently, some studies have focused on the therapeutic activities of Anbarnasara but no one has studied the active ingredients of it.Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the chemical constituents and antibacterial activities of Anbarnasara and its smoke.Materials and Methods: Female donkey dungs were collected from Shahreza in May 2017. The substance was burnt and the smoke was led to a beaker of methanol by a distillation apparatus. Then, the methanolic extract was dried via a rotary evaporator. Antibacterial activity of the smoke and also the total methanolic extract of Anbarnasara were tested on Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli via well diffusion method. Chemical constituents were analyzed through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) .Results: The results showed that Anbarnasara and its smoke have a very weak antibacterial activity. Regarding chemical constituents, both total methanolic extract and smoke extract predominantly contained toluene, xylene, and dibutyl phthalate.Conclusion: Previous studies showed xylene as one of the major components of the smoke of Anbarnasara. These articles also reported the presence of some plant-based compounds such as glyoxal, syringol, and limonene in the smoke. The presence of these compounds is probably due to the donkeys’ diet. In our study, the presence of dibutyl phthalate, an industrial plasticizer, among the components is probably due to environmental factors. These evidences suggested that Anbarnasara is under the influence of environmental factors like vegetation and pollutions and therefore, should be used as a medicine with caution. Recent claims regarding the antibacterial, cytotoxic, and wound healing activities of Anbarnasara should be considered independent of these environmental factors

Comparative energy and environmental performance of 40% and 30% monoethanolamine at PACT pilot plant

Post combustion CO2 capture using amines is one of the most well understood processes. The most widely used and studied solvent for this purpose is 30% Monoethanolamine (MEA). The main issue with the process is the use of energy for stripping CO2 out of the solvent. It is anticipated that higher concentrations of MEA can capture a higher amount of CO2 and thus reduce energy consumption but may also result in a worsening of the environmental emissions due to potential increase in corrosion and solvent degradation. In order to study the impact of 40% MEA (as opposed to 30% MEA) on the capture plant performance, a test campaign was carried out at the Pilot Scale Advanced Capture Technology (PACT) facilities of the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Centre (UKCCSRC) using 30% and 40% MEA. The absorber (9 m height x 0.3 m dia.) is packed with 28 sections (6.5 m) of Mellapak CC3 structured packing. The absorption column temperature profile is measured by 10 RTDs installed around 48 cm apart along the column length. The performance of the capture plant in terms of reboiler duty, capture efficiency, loading capacity and liquid to gas ratio is evaluated at different operating conditions. It has been found that specific reboiler duty using 40% MEA drops by up to 14% as compared to that with 30% MEA under similar test conditions. It has also been observed that the process is very sensitive to reboiler temperature and slight changes in reboiler temperature can have a significant impact on the plant performance. Moreover, similar energy and capture performance can be achieved at different reboiler temperatures with right combination of temperature and pressure in the reboiler/stripper. Corrosion rate was found to be higher with 40% MEA than 30% MEA. Solvent degradation rate and solvent carry over has also indicated slightly higher levels for 40%. Water wash was shown to be effective in recovering most of the MEA from the flue gas

Parametric study on the regeneration heat requirement of an amine-based solid adsorbent process for post-combustion carbon capture

The thermal energy required for regeneration of CO2-rich adsorbents or absorbents is usually regarded as the most important criterion to evaluate different materials and processes for application in commercialscale CO2 capture systems. It is expected that the regeneration heat can be greatly reduced by replacing the mature aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) technology with amine-based solid adsorbents capturing systems, due to the much lower heat capacity of solid adsorbents comparing to aqueous MEA and the avoidance of evaporating a large amount of water in the regenerator. Comparing to the MEA technology, the regeneration heat for solid adsorbent based systems has not received adequate attention especially on the impacts of process related parameters. Further, the methodologies used in previous investigations to calculate the regeneration heat may have deficiencies in defining the working capacities, adopting proper heat recovery strategies and/or evaluating the effect of moisture co-adsorption. In this study, an energy equation to calculate the regeneration heat has been revised and proposed to systematically evaluate the most important parameters affecting the regeneration heat, including the physical properties of the adsorbents and process related variables including the heat of adsorption, specific heat capacity, working capacity, moisture adsorption of the polyethyleneimine (PEI)/silica adsorbent, the swing temperature difference and the degree of heat recovery. Based on the parametric analysis, the calculated regeneration heat for the PEI/silica adsorbent based system is found to be around 2.46 GJ/tCO2, which is much lower than the value of 3.9 GJ/tCO2 for a typical aqueous MEA system and is also lower than 3.3 GJ/tCO2 for an advanced MEA system. Sensitivity analysis of all the parameters has also been conducted and the results have shown that working capacity, moisture adsorption and heat recovery ratios are the most influential factors. With more proficiency and development in the energy efficient process designs, the advantages of a solid adsorbent based capturing system over typical MEA systems will be justified

Process simulations of post-combustion CO2 capture for coal and natural gas-fired power plants using a polyethyleneimine/silica adsorbent

The regeneration heat for a polyethyleneimine (PEI)/silica adsorbent based carbon capture system is first assessed in order to evaluate its effect on the efficiency penalty of a coal or natural gas power plant. Process simulations are then carried out on the net plant efficiencies for a specific supercritical 550 MWe pulverized coal (PC) and a 555 MWe natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) power plant integrated with a conceptually designed capture system using fluidized beds and PEI/silica adsorbent. A benchmark system applying an advanced MEA absorption technology in a NETL report (2010) is used as a reference system. Using the conservatively estimated parameters, the net plant efficiency of the PC and NGCC power plant with the proposed capture system is found to be 1.5% and 0.6% point higher than the reference PC and NGCC systems, respectively. Sensitivity analysis has revealed that the moisture adsorption, working capacity and heat recovery strategies are the most influential parameters to the power plant efficiency. Under an optimal scenario with improvements in increasing the working capacity by 2% points and decreasing moisture adsorption by 1% point, the plant efficiencies with the proposed capture system are 2.7% (PC) and 1.9% (NGCC) points higher than the reference systems

Application of Raman spectroscopy to real-time monitoring of CO2 capture at PACT pilot plant; Part 1: Plant operational data

Process analyzers for in-situ monitoring give advantages over the traditional analytical methods such as their fast response, multi-chemical information from a single measurement unit, minimal errors in sample handing and ability to use for process control. This study discusses the suitability of Raman spectroscopy as a process analytical tool for in-situ monitoring of CO2 capture using aqueous monoethanolamine (MEA) solution by presenting its performance during a 3-day test campaign at PACT pilot plant in Sheffield, UK. Two Raman immersion probes were installed on lean and rich streams for real time measurements. A multivariate regression model was used to determine the CO2 loading. The plant performance is described in detail by comparing the CO2 loading in each solvent stream at different process conditions. The study shows that the predicted CO2 loading recorded an acceptable agreement with the offline measurements. The findings from this study suggest that Raman Spectroscopy has the capability to follow changes in process variables and can be employed for real time monitoring and control of the CO2 capture process. In addition, these predictions can be used to optimize process parameters; to generate data to use as inputs for thermodynamic models, plant design and scale-up scenarios

What hides behind the scarf: Iranian women’s participation in the economy

Despite the lack of jobs available for women in Iran, and the continued experience of overt and covert discrimination in the workplace, a recent increase in the presence of women in the Iranian workforce is visible. This is due in part to the push for gender justice by Iranian women based on the roles of women and men under Shariah law and the reversal of educational policies discriminating against girls, particularly in relation to university studies. The growing knowledge and confidence of educated Iranian women have allowed them to advocate strongly and with better confidence for their legal and social rights using Islamic feminism to define their role within society. Iranian diaspora women are also part of this process of transformation mediating a better understanding of the place of women within the economy, including their rights under Islam. Although in many Western accounts there are many stereotypical images of Iranian women, this chapter shows that they are continually negotiating and redefining their future from within their own values, focussing on the issues that matter to them in their participation in the economy. They represent a vibrant and powerful part of the changing global employment environment, making important contributions to the economy and society

Parental awareness about the presence of permanent first molars and its relation to DMFT index in 7-9-year-old children

Background and Aim: Permanent first molars (PFMs) are highly susceptible to caries due to their special anatomical form, early eruption, lack of awareness about their eruption and misidentifying them from the primary teeth. Parental awareness about the existence of PFMs in their children’s mouth could lead to caries prevention. This study aimed to determine the level of parental awareness about the presence of PFMs and its relation to DMFT index in 7-9-year-old children in Rasht. Materials and Methods: This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 553 elementary school students in Rasht. Cluster random sampling was done. A checklist was filled out by the parents after obtaining their informed consent. Intraoral examination was performed by one specialist using a dental mirror, an explorer and a head light. Children’s DMFT index of PFMs (DMFT6) was recorded. Data were entered into SPSS software version 21. Chi- square test, Cochran’s test, sign test and logistic regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results: In this study, only 151 parents (27.3%) knew about the PFMs’ eruption time. DMFT6 was 0.48±0.84 in 7-9-year-olds. There was a significant correlation between DMFT6 and the frequency of consumption of sugary snacks (P=0.025) and toothbrushing (P=0.016). But the correlation between DMFT6 and parental knowledge (P=0.918), gender (P=0.44), father’s educational level (P=0.103) and mother’s educational level (P=0.145) was not significant. Conclusion: Considering the low level of awareness of parents, attention to early education, prevention and treatment is necessary

Investigating the impact of using modified cool materials by titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based photocatalytic self-cleaning nanoparticles in urban facades on urban microclimate parameters

Purpose: On the one hand, one of the most important global strategies to improve thermal comfort in urban spaces is using cool materials (high albedo materials) in urban facades. On the other hand, using cool materials in urban facades is a big challenge. Over time, the albedo of cool materials that modified by titanium dioxide (TiO2)-based photocatalytic self-cleaning materials (PSTiO2) does not decrease. In fact, its self-cleaning property prevents the loss of the initial albedo of the material. The self-cleaning performance of these materials was investigated in previous researches. However, their thermal performance in urban space has not been investigated yet. This paper studied the performance of these materials on the urban square facade. Design/methodology/approach: The thermal performance of PSTiO2 on the thermal comfort of the urban square was evaluated by ENVI-met(v4). The results simulated by ENVI-met software with field measurements in the urban Square were compared. Field measurements of air temperature were conducted on 22 July and 30 March. Findings: The results showed that these materials, despite their self-cleaning properties, have significant thermal impact in the urban environment. Using plaster modified by PSTiO2 (albedo 0.6) improved slightly by nearly 0.2 °C the thermal comfort of the urban square. Whereas, white paint modified by PSTiO2 (albedo 0.9) reduced the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) by 0.5 °C, because reflection of solar radiation increased between the buildings facades. The simulation results showed that due to the space is more enclosed in the square entrance, the mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) increased. As a result, PET index rose too. Originality/value: This study shows that employing cool and self-cleaning materials in the urban facades of Jolfa Square, in addition to have self-cleaning property, is effective in the amount of thermal comfort of the square. In the parts of the square where the enclosure is less, an improvement in thermal comfort was observed. The performance of the cool and self-cleaning materials in the facade in terms of thermal comfort is completely dependent on the physical parameters of the urban space