Numerical Modelling of Biodiesel Blends in a Diesel Engine

© 2017 The Authors. Biodiesel is a biofuel which has similar properties to diesel and can readily be used in a diesel engine with minimal modifications. Promising results have been determined using mixtures of biodiesel and diesel with the reduction of soot and emissions of a diesel engine. Experimental analysis of diesel engines can be expensive and therefore Computation Fluid Dynamics programs are used to analyses the combustion process. The AVL Fire ESED program is currently being employed to investigate the effects of biodiesel on the diesel engines soot, emissions and power generation from a Cummins ISBE220 engine. Investigation is performed on pre and post injection-rate shapes on the combustion process establishing the results correlate accurately with researched data. A pre injection was determined to increase maximum power, reduce combustion generated noise, increase early in cylinder temperature and reduce fuel consumption due to the increase in power. A post injection was verified to reduce soot emissions while increasing NOx emissions marginally. The investigation of the injection-rate shape established the soot-NOx trade-off which was also found in the research. The models developed were agreeable with biodiesel data with percentage error in indicated power ranging from 1.62-8.85%. The models suggested that biodiesel assists in reducing NOx and soot emissions. The soot-NOx trade-off was further investigated determining the theory that then by reducing the combustion temperature in the combustion chamber the NOx emissions can be reduced while increasing soot emissions. By increasing the temperature in the combustion chamber the opposite effect was found to occur

Exit humidity of wet scrubbers for underground coal mines

A wet scrubber is a device used in underground coal mines for the exhaust treatment system of various internal combustion engines (generally diesel) primarily as a spark arrestor with a secondary function to remove pollutants from the exhaust gas. A pool of scrubbing liquid (generally water based) is used in conjunction with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). Scrubbers are widely used in underground applications of diesel engines as their exhaust contains high concentration of harmful diesel particulate matter (DPM) and other pollutant gases. Currently the DPFs have to be replaced frequently because moisture output from the wet scrubber blocks the filter media and causes reduced capacity. This paper presents experimental and theoretical studies on the heat and mass transfer mechanisms of the exhaust flow both under and above the water surface, aiming at finding the cause and effects of the moisture reaching the filters and employing a solution to reduce the humidity and DPM output, and to prolong the change-out period of the DPF. By assuming a steady flow condition, heat transfer from the inlet exhaust gas balances energy required for the water evaporation. Hence the exit humidity will decrease with the increase of exit temperature. Experiments on a real scrubber are underway

Secure NN-dimensional Simultaneous Dense Coding and Applications

Simultaneous dense coding guarantees that Bob and Charlie simultaneously receive their respective information from Alice in their respective processes of dense coding. The idea is to use the so-called locking operation to "lock" the entanglement channels, thus requiring a joint unlocking operation by Bob and Charlie in order to simultaneously obtain the information sent by Alice. We present some new results on simultaneous dense coding: (1) We propose three simultaneous dense coding protocols, which use different $N$-dimensional entanglement (Bell state, W state and GHZ state). (2) Besides the quantum Fourier transform, two new locking operators are introduced (the double controlled-NOT operator and the SWAP operator). (3) In the case that spatially distant Bob and Charlie have to finalise the protocol by implementing the unlocking operation through communication, we improve our protocol's fairness, with respect to Bob and Charlie, by implementing the unlocking operation in series of steps. (4) We improve the security of simultaneous dense coding against the intercept-resend attack. (5) We show that simultaneous dense coding can be used to implement a fair contract signing protocol. (6) We also show that the $N$-dimensional quantum Fourier transform can act as the locking operator in simultaneous teleportation of $N$-level quantum systems.Comment: 22 pages, comments are welcom

Green criminology: shining a critical lens on environmental harm

Green criminology provides for inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary engagement with environmental crimes and wider environmental harms. Green criminology applies a broad ‘‘green’’ perspective to environmental harms, ecological justice, and the study of environmental laws and criminality, which includes crimes affecting the environment and non-human nature. Within the ecological justice and species justice perspectives of green criminology there is a contention that justice systems need to do more than just consider anthropocentric notions of criminal justice, they should also consider how justice systems can provide protection and redress for the environment and other species. Green criminological scholarship has, thus, paid direct attention to theoretical questions of whether and how justice systems deal with crimes against animals and the environment; it has begun to conceptualize policy perspectives that can provide contemporary ecological justice alongside mainstream criminal justice. Moving beyond mainstream criminology’s focus on individual offenders, green criminology also explores state failure in environmental protection and corporate offending and environmentally harmful business practices. A central discussion within green criminology is that of whether environmental harm rather than environmental crime should be its focus, and whether green ‘‘crimes’’ should be seen as the focus of mainstream criminal justice and dealt with by core criminal justice agencies such as the police, or whether they should be considered as being beyond the mainstream. This article provides an introductory overview that complements a multi- and inter-disciplinary article collection dedicated to green criminological thinking and research

Quantum fluids of light

This article reviews recent theoretical and experimental advances in the fundamental understanding and active control of quantum fluids of light in nonlinear optical systems. In presence of effective photon-photon interactions induced by the optical nonlinearity of the medium, a many-photon system can behave collectively as a quantum fluid with a number of novel features stemming from its intrinsically non-equilibrium nature. We present a rich variety of photon hydrodynamical effects that have been recently observed, from the superfluid flow around a defect at low speeds, to the appearance of a Mach-Cherenkov cone in a supersonic flow, to the hydrodynamic formation of topological excitations such as quantized vortices and dark solitons at the surface of large impenetrable obstacles. While our review is mostly focused on a class of semiconductor systems that have been extensively studied in recent years (namely planar semiconductor microcavities in the strong light-matter coupling regime having cavity polaritons as elementary excitations), the very concept of quantum fluids of light applies to a broad spectrum of systems, ranging from bulk nonlinear crystals, to atomic clouds embedded in optical fibers and cavities, to photonic crystal cavities, to superconducting quantum circuits based on Josephson junctions. The conclusive part of our article is devoted to a review of the exciting perspectives to achieve strongly correlated photon gases. In particular, we present different mechanisms to obtain efficient photon blockade, we discuss the novel quantum phases that are expected to appear in arrays of strongly nonlinear cavities, and we point out the rich phenomenology offered by the implementation of artificial gauge fields for photons.Comment: Accepted for publication on Rev. Mod. Phys. (in press, 2012

Environmental Justice and the Role of Criminology: An Analytical Review of 33 Years of Environmental Justice Research

An increasing number of scholars and activists have begun to tackle a variety of issues relevant to environmental justice studies. This study attempts to address the role of criminologists in this domain. The authors examine 425 environmental justice articles in 204 academic journals, representing 18 programs/departments between 1970 and 2003. First, they measure the environmental justice contributions in the literature by academic department or activist affiliation. Second, they identify the major themes in the literature as they have developed and reveal the current and future directions of environmental justice studies. Such themes include the spatial distribution of hazards, social movements, law and public policy, and environmental discrimination. Finally, the authors seek to call attention to the evident linkages between accepted areas of criminological scholarship and environmental justice. From this latter objective, the authors seek to demonstrate how criminology and criminal justice can advance this critical dialogue and social movement

Coronary-Heart-Disease-Associated Genetic Variant at the COL4A1/COL4A2 Locus Affects COL4A1/COL4A2 Expression, Vascular Cell Survival, Atherosclerotic Plaque Stability and Risk of Myocardial Infarction.

Genome-wide association studies have revealed an association between coronary heart disease (CHD) and genetic variation on chromosome 13q34, with the lead single nucleotide polymorphism rs4773144 residing in the COL4A2 gene in this genomic region. We investigated the functional effects of this genetic variant. Analyses of primary cultures of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs) from different individuals showed a difference between rs4773144 genotypes in COL4A2 and COL4A1 expression levels, being lowest in the G/G genotype, intermediate in A/G and highest in A/A. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by allelic imbalance assays of primary cultures of SMCs and ECs that were of the A/G genotype revealed that the G allele had lower transcriptional activity than the A allele. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays and luciferase reporter gene assays showed that a short DNA sequence encompassing the rs4773144 site interacted with a nuclear protein, with lower efficiency for the G allele, and that the G allele sequence had lower activity in driving reporter gene expression. Analyses of cultured SMCs from different individuals demonstrated that cells of the G/G genotype had higher apoptosis rates. Immunohistochemical and histological examinations of ex vivo atherosclerotic coronary arteries from different individuals disclosed that atherosclerotic plaques with the G/G genotype had lower collagen IV abundance and thinner fibrous cap, a hallmark of unstable, rupture-prone plaques. A study of a cohort of patients with angiographically documented coronary artery disease showed that patients of the G/G genotype had higher rates of myocardial infarction, a phenotype often caused by plaque rupture. These results indicate that the CHD-related genetic variant at the COL4A2 locus affects COL4A2/COL4A1 expression, SMC survival, and atherosclerotic plaque stability, providing a mechanistic explanation for the association between the genetic variant and CHD risk

Prognostic significance of CD44s expression in resected non-small cell lung cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>CD44s is a cell adhesion molecule known to mediate cellular adhesion to the extracellular matrix, a prerequisite for tumor cell migration. CD44s plays an important role in invasion and metastasis of various cancers. In the present study, we sought to determine whether CD44s is involved in clinical outcomes of patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using immunohistochemical staining, we investigated CD44s protein expression using tissue array specimens from 159 patients with resected NSCLC (adenocarcinoma (AC; <it>n </it>= 82) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; <it>n </it>= 77). Additionally, the immunoreactivity of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 was also studied. The clinicopathological implications of these molecules were analyzed statistically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>High CD44s expression was detected more frequently in NSCLC patients with SCC (66/72; 91.7%) than in those with AC histology (<it>P <</it>0.001). Additionally, high CD44s expression was significant correlated with more advanced regional lymph node metastasis (<it>P </it>= 0.021). In multivariate analysis of survival in NSCLC patients with AC histology, significant predictors were lymph node metastasis status (<it>P </it>< 0.001), high-grade tumor differentiation (<it>P = </it>0.046), and high CD44s expression (<it>P = </it>0.014). For NSCLC patients with SCC histology, the significant predictor was a more advanced tumor stage (<it>P = </it>0.015). No significant association was found between CD44s and clinical outcome (<it>P </it>= 0.311).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>High CD44s expression was a negative prognostic marker with significance in patients with resected NSCLC, particularly those with AC histology, and was independent of tumor stage.</p

Creative Compliance, Constructive Compliance: Corporate Environmental Crime and the Criminal Entrepreneur

Purpose While corporations may embrace the concepts of social and environmental responsibility, numerous examples exist to show corporations claiming to act sustainably and responsibly, while simultaneously showing disregard for the communities in which they operate and causing considerable environmental damage. This chapter argues that such activities illustrate a particular notion of Baumol’s (1990) criminal entrepreneurialism where both creative and constructive compliance combine to subvert environmental regulation and its enforcement. Design/methodology/approach This chapter employs a case study approach assessing the current corporate environmental responsibility landscape against the reality of corporate environmental offending. Its case study shows seemingly repeated environmental 'offending' by Shell Oil against a backdrop of the company claiming to have integrated environmental monitoring and scrutiny into its operating procedures. Findings The chapter concludes that corporate assertion of environmental credentials is itself often a form of criminal entrepreneurship where corporations embrace voluntary codes of practice and self-regulation while internally promoting the drive for success and profitability and/or avoidance of the costs of true environmental compliance deemed too high. As a result this chapter argues that responsibility for environmental damage requires regulation to ensure corporate responsibility for environmental damage. Originality/value The chapter employs a green criminological perspective to its analysis of corporate social responsibility and entrepreneurship. Thus it considers not just strict legal definitions of crime and criminal behaviour but also the overlap between the legal and the illegal and the preference of Governments to use administrative or civil penalties as tools to deal with corporate environmental offending