Identifying the determinants of renewable energy consumption in leading renewable energy investor emerging countries

This article analyses the determinants of renewable energy consumption in six major emerging economies who are proactively accelerating the adoption of renewable energy. The long-run elasticities from both panel methods (fully modified ordinary least square and dynamic least square) and the time series method (autoregressive distributed lag) seem to be pretty consistent. For Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, in the long-run, renewable energy consumption is significantly determined by income and pollutant emission. However, for Philippines and Turkey, income seems to be the main driver for renewable energy consumption. In the short-run, for Brazil and China bi-directional causalities between renewable energy and income; and between renewable energy and pollutant emission are found. This research justifies the efforts undertaken by emerging countries to reduce the carbon intensity by increasing the energy efficiency and substantially increasing the share of renewable in the overall energy mix

Evaluation of electrochemical methods for determination of the seebeck coefficient of redox electrolytes

Recent advances in thermoelectrochemical cells, which are being developed for harvesting low grade waste heat, have shown the promise of cobalt bipyridyl salts as the active redox couple. The Seebeck coefficient, Se, of a redox couple determines the open circuit voltage achievable, for a given temperature gradient, across the thermoelectrochemical cell. Thus, the accurate determination of this thermodynamic parameter is key to the development and study of new redox electrolytes. Further, techniques for accurate determination of Se using only one half of the redox couple reduces the synthetic requirements. Here, we compare three different experimental techniques for measuring Se of a cobalt tris(bipyridyl) redox couple in ionic liquid electrolytes. The use of temperature dependent cyclic voltammetry (CV) in isothermal and non-isothermal cells was investigated in depth, and the Se values compared to those from thermo-electromotive force measurements. Within experimental error, the Se values derived from CV methods were found to be in accordance with those obtained from electromotive force (emf) measurements. The applicability of cyclic voltammetry techniques for determining Se when employing only one part of the redox couple was demonstrated.

Co-ingestion of energy drinks with alcohol and other substances among a sample of people who regularly use ecstasy

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Despite the potential harms of mixing unregulated drugs with energy drinks (ED), research to date has primarily been focused on EDs co-ingested with alcohol. Consequently, the aim of the present study was to explore the rate of use, harms and correlates of EDs co-ingested with alcohol and other drugs among a sample of people who regularly use illicit stimulant drugs. DESIGN AND METHODS: In 2010, 693 Australians who regularly used ecstasy completed a 1-h interview about their past six-month ED and drug use. RESULTS: Three-quarters of the sample (77%) had recently consumed EDs with other substances, primarily alcohol (70%) and ecstasy (57%). People who consumed ED with alcohol versus those who had consumed ED with ecstasy and with alcohol (only 8% reported only consuming ED with ecstasy) had similar profiles in regards to demographics, drug use, mental health and drug-related problems. Primary motives for consuming ED with alcohol included increased alertness (59%), the taste (25%), to party for longer (23%) and to combat fatigue (16%). One-half (52%) and one-quarter (27%) of participants who consumed EDs with alcohol and with ecstasy respectively had recently experienced adverse outcomes post-consumption, primarily headaches (24% and 11%) and heart palpitations (21% and 14%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Co-ingestion of EDs with licit and illicit drugs is common among people who regularly use ecstasy and related drugs. Adverse outcomes of co-ingestion suggest that targeted education regarding negative interactive drug effects is crucial for harm reduction. [Peacock A, Sindicich N, Dunn M, Whittaker E, Sutherland R, Entwistle G, Burns L, Bruno R. Co-Ingestion of Energy Drinks with Alcohol and Other Substances among a Sample of People Who Regularly Use Ecstasy. Drug Alcohol Rev 2015].

The impact of menu energy labelling across socioeconomic groups: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION: Menu energy labelling at point of purchase is gaining traction worldwide, yet the potential impact for different socioeconomic groups is unclear. We aimed to summarise evidence on the effectiveness of menu energy labelling by socioeconomic position (SEP). METHODS: A systematic search for papers published to September 2015 was conducted using terms for labelling, food outlets, and SEP. Quality of studies was assessed. Results were summarised across stages of an intervention logic pathway. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were identified. Of twelve studies reporting the effect of menu energy labelling in low SEP populations, six reported on purchase outcomes. All but one of these reported no positive effect of the policy for this population. Two of the five studies that compared purchase outcomes of menu labelling across SEP groups reported that the policy was effective overall. These two studies reported either a significant decline in fast food calories purchased from consumers in high (but not low) SEP neighbourhoods or a significantly greater decline in calories purchased among consumers visiting stores in higher SEP neighbourhoods post policy implementation. Few studies were rated as moderate to high quality. CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence describing the impact of menu energy labelling within or across SEP is limited in quantity and quality. Of the two studies that reported a positive benefit of menu energy labelling overall, both identified a greater effect on fast food purchases among consumers visiting stores in high compared to low SEP neighbourhoods. It is difficult to know whether the absence of effectiveness reported in low SEP populations represents a true lack of effectiveness or is a result of a more general lack of policy effectiveness or the limited quality of the reviewed studies.

Awareness of energy drink intake guidelines and associated consumption practices: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Despite concern regarding harms of energy drink (ED) consumption, no research has been conducted to determine awareness and compliance with ED intake guidelines displayed on product packaging in Australia (a novel approach internationally).

METHODS: A convenience sample of 1922 people completed an online survey. Participants reported their knowledge of maximum recommended daily ED intake according to Australian guidelines.

RESULTS: Guideline awareness was reported by 38, 23 and 19 % of past year consumers, lifetime, and non-consumers, respectively. Amongst past year consumers, 'accurate estimators' reported greater ED intake and were more likely to exceed intake guidelines and consume alcohol mixed with ED (AmED). After controlling for demographics and frequency of use, guideline awareness predicted increased likelihood of exceeding guidelines in ED sessions, but was not associated with exceeding ED guidelines in AmED sessions.

CONCLUSIONS: Australia is considered to have the most stringent regulatory approach to EDs internationally. However, advisory statements are not associated with greater awareness and compliance with intake guidelines. Failure to comply with standards for efficacious product labelling, and absence of broader education regarding guidelines, needs to be addressed.

Validity of treadmill- and track-based individual calibration methods for estimating free-living walking speed and VO2 using the Actigraph accelerometer

BACKGROUND: For many patients clinical prescription of walking will be beneficial to health and accelerometers can be used to monitor their walking intensity, frequency and duration over many days. Walking intensity should include establishment of individual specific accelerometer count, walking speed and energy expenditure (VO2) relationships and this can be achieved using a walking protocol on a treadmill or overground. However, differences in gait mechanics during treadmill compared to overground walking may result in inaccurate estimations of free-living walking speed and VO2. The aims of this study were to compare the validity of track- and treadmill-based calibration methods for estimating free-living level walking speed and VO2 and to explain between-method differences in accuracy of estimation.

METHODS: Fifty healthy adults [32 women and 18 men; mean (SD): 40 (13) years] walked at four pre-determined speeds on an outdoor track and a treadmill, and completed three 1-km self-paced level walks while wearing an Actigraph monitor and a mobile oxygen analyser. Speed- and VO2-to-Actigraph count individual calibration equations were computed for each calibration method. Between-method differences in calibration equation parameters, prediction errors, and relationships of walking speed with VO2 and Actigraph counts were assessed. RESULTS: The treadmill-calibration equation overestimated free-living walking speed (on average, by 0.7 km · h(-1)) and VO2 (by 4.99 ml · kg(-1) · min(-1)), while the track-calibration equation did not. This was because treadmill walking, from which the calibration equation was derived, produced lower Actigraph counts and higher VO2 for a given walking speed compared to walking on a track. The prediction error associated with the use of the treadmill-calibration method increased with free-living walking speed. This issue was not observed when using the track-calibration method. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed track-based individual accelerometer calibration method can provide accurate and unbiased estimates of free-living walking speed and VO2 from walking. The treadmill-based calibration produces calibration equations that tend to substantially overestimate both VO2 and speed.

Wave exposure as a predictor of benthic habitat distribution on high energy temperate reefs

The new found ability to measure physical attributes of the marine environment at high resolution across broad spatial scales has driven the rapid evolution of benthic habitat mapping as a field in its own right. Improvement of the resolution and ecological validity of seafloor habitat distribution models has, for the most part, paralleled developments in new generations of acoustic survey tools such as multibeam echosounders. While sonar methods have been well demonstrated to provide useful proxies of the relatively static geophysical patterns that reflect distribution of benthic species and assemblages, the spatially and temporally variable influence of hydrodynamic energy on habitat distribution have been less well studied. Here we investigate the role of wave exposure on patterns of distribution of near-shore benthic habitats. A high resolution spectral wave model was developed for a 624 km2 site along Cape Otway, a major coastal feature of western Victoria, Australia. Comparison of habitat classifications implemented using the Random Forests algorithm established that significantly more accurate estimations of habitat distribution were obtained by including a fine-scale numerical wave model, extended to the seabed using linear wave theory, than by using depth and seafloor morphology information alone. Variable importance measures and map interpretation indicated that the spatial variation in wave-induced bottom orbital velocity was most influential in discriminating habitat classes containing the canopy forming kelp Ecklonia radiata, a foundation kelp species that affects biodiversity and ecological functioning on shallow reefs across temperate Australasia. We demonstrate that hydrodynamic models reflecting key environmental drivers on wave-exposed coastlines are important in accurately defining distributions of benthic habitats. This study highlights the suitability of exposure measures for predictive habitat modeling on wave-exposed coastlines and provides a basis for continuing work relating patterns of biological distribution to remotely-sensed patterns of the physical environment.

Stochastic optimization models for energy management in carbonization process of carbon fiber production

Industrial producers face the task of optimizing production process in an attempt to achieve the desired quality such as mechanical properties with the lowest energy consumption. In industrial carbon fiber production, the fibers are processed in bundles containing (batches) several thousand filaments and consequently the energy optimization will be a stochastic process as it involves uncertainty, imprecision or randomness. This paper presents a stochastic optimization model to reduce energy consumption a given range of desired mechanical properties. Several processing condition sets are developed and for each set of conditions, 50 samples of fiber are analyzed for their tensile strength and modulus. The energy consumption during production of the samples is carefully monitored on the processing equipment. Then, five standard distribution functions are examined to determine those which can best describe the distribution of mechanical properties of filaments. To verify the distribution goodness of fit and correlation statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used. In order to estimate the selected distribution (Weibull) parameters, the maximum likelihood, least square and genetic algorithm methods are compared. An array of factors including the sample size, the confidence level, and relative error of estimated parameters are used for evaluating the tensile strength and modulus properties. The energy consumption and N2 gas cost are modeled by Convex Hull method. Finally, in order to optimize the carbon fiber production quality and its energy consumption and total cost, mixed integer linear programming is utilized. The results show that using the stochastic optimization models, we are able to predict the production quality in a given range and minimize the energy consumption of its industrial process.

A classification of healthcare facilities: toward the development of energy performance benchmarks for day surgery centers in Australia

OBJECTIVE: In the literature, there is no consistent classification of healthcare facilities. In order to benchmark, assess, and compare the environmental performance of these buildings, it is important to clearly identify the typology within the scope of a particular research. This article identifies the different typologies within the healthcare sector, particularly in Australia, with the aim of the development of energy performance benchmarks for day surgery/procedure centers. BACKGROUND: Healthcare buildings encompass a wide range of facilities. They all share the same purpose of healing and offering a health service for patients. However, they vary significantly in terms of patient type and service provided. These buildings consume a considerable amount of energy, and as a result of the different designs and sizes, their pattern of energy consumption varies. METHODS: The research used a systematic review of the literature to determine how the term "healthcare facility" has been employed in different contexts. In order to better understand the differences in healthcare facilities, definitions and the origin of hospitals and healthcare facilities are introduced and a framework for the classification of healthcare facilities and hospitals is proposed. RESULTS: Healthcare facilities are classified into the following six categories: patient type, care provided, management and ownership, level of care, facility size, and location. Based on these classifications, a categorization for the studies of energy performance in healthcare is introduced. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a basis for assessment and comparison for a particular healthcare building typology that will assist researchers working in the field of design and energy assessment of healthcare facilities.

The next step in energy rating: the international ETTV method vs. BCA Section-J glazing calculator

The most important prevention in minimizing energy transfer in commercial buildings is the treatment of glazing in the building facade. In a commercial building, while the impacts of roof, walls and floors on the overall heating and cooling loads of the building have low effects, glazing is likely to be the most important factor. This paper investigates the BCA Section-J glazing calculator and the ETTV (Envelope Thermal Transfer Value) methods and tries to look for differences as well as similarities in calculation of building envelopes energy performance. For this investigation, a hypothetical high-rise commercial building in Melbourne, Australia is considered when evaluating the energy performance of the envelope through these two methods. Both methods consider the U-Value of glass and wall materials as well as Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) and Shading Coefficient (SC) of the glass. Findings in this research project indicate differences and significant discrepancies between the BCA Section-J and ETTV methods in evaluating the energy performance of commercial building façades. Issues of calculation weaknesses are identified with the lack of air leakage and infiltration of a particular façade design or window to wall ratio (WWR). Suggestions have been made where improvement to the overall energy calculation through facades of a commercial building is needed.

Novel design of a renewable energy remote laboratory

BACKGROUND OR CONTEXT: Current work in remote laboratories focuses on student interaction in a setting that can be at times disconnected from real world systems. Laboratories have been developed that show models of a working system, focusing on a single aspect, but very few laboratories allow the user to see the outputs of a working system that interacts with the real world as would be expected outside of a laboratory setting. It was aimed with this paper to show a design of a novel approach to building a remote laboratory that would be able to interact with a fully functional renewable energy system, and to show the students the outputs of such a system in real time. It allows for the user to be presented with information in a new context.
PURPOSE OR GOAL: With this research it is hoped to achieve a remote laboratory that will be able to present students with the data from a renewable energy system live, as it is generated as well as all the logged date generated. It is aimed with this novel approach to building a remote laboratory to assist the students in learning about renewable energy systems while allowing the student to access real data, instead of simulated data. Links to increased motivation due to realism in data given as well as change in student perception on learning in remote laboratories mean that a system such as this could change the way students approach learning about renewable energy generation systems. This will require further research however.
APPROACH: This remote laboratory required gathering data from an already established system. The live results were not recorded, and a log file was generated daily, however this was not fast enough to give to students as it was generated, so a system that could maintain communication between all systems, while also polling for data itself was required. In addition to this, the system had to communicate to a server that would give students access to the live data. The server was set up in such a way that students were not required to install any programs on their computer, multiple students could access the data at any given time, and a wide range of devices, including mobile devices, could all access the remote laboratory.
DISCUSSION: Key outcomes include the design of the remote laboratory, including screenshots of data acquisition from the renewable energy system from different devices. The design is split into two sections, one covering the server side architecture while another covers the data acquisition architecture. A very brief discussion on students’ initial interaction is also undertaken.
RECOMMENDATIONS/IMPLICATIONS/CONCLUSION: Research has shown that the degree of realism in remote education can have an effect on students’ behaviors/motivation in a remote laboratory. By allowing students to knowingly access a real system that is currently being used to generate power from renewable energy sources, the methods and motivations that students use when approaching renewable energy systems may change.

The right place at the right time: the social contexts of combined alcohol and energy drink use

Aims: Little is known about the social and functional aspects of alcohol mixed with energy drink(AmED) consumption. Using a functional substance use perspective and via the lens of socialidentity theory, this paper aims to explore the role of AmED consumption amongst the milieuof nightlife and party culture. Methods: Twenty-five regular AmED consumers aged 18–33participated in semi-structured interviews. Qualitative thematic analysis of transcripts wasundertaken, with a focus on the social contexts and perceived functions of AmED consumption,group dynamics and social identity. Findings: Three main themes were identified: (i) AmED usewas restricted to specific social contexts, (ii) AmED use performed a social function and(iii) AmED users identified with a coherent and consistent social identity. AmED use was almostexclusively reported to occur within group drinking scenarios at parties and licensed venues,particularly nightclubs. AmED users identified with a clear and consistent social identity thatwas distinct from other alcohol consumers, typified by gregarious and extroverted behaviour.AmED use was seen to facilitate these ideals and strengthen group cohesion in appropriatecontexts. Conclusions: Future efforts aiming to elicit changes in AmED consumption practices must account for the fundamental importance of social contexts to AmED use.

An efficient MAC protocol with adaptive energy harvesting for machine-to-machine networks

In a machine-to-machine network, the throughput performance plays a very important role. Recently, an attractive energy harvesting technology has shown great potential to the improvement of the network throughput, as it can provide consistent energy for wireless devices to transmit data. Motivated by that, an efficient energy harvesting-based medium access control (MAC) protocol is designed in this paper. In this protocol, different devices first harvest energy adaptively and then contend the transmission opportunities with energy level related priorities. Then, a new model is proposed to obtain the optimal throughput of the network, together with the corresponding hybrid differential evolution algorithm, where the involved variables are energy-harvesting time, contending time, and contending probability. Analytical and simulation results show that the network based on the proposed MAC protocol has greater throughput than that of the traditional methods. In addition, as expected, our scheme has less transmission delay, further enhancing its superiority.

The functional and clinical outcomes of exercise training following a very low energy diet for severely obese women: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Clinical practice guidelines globally recommend lifestyle modification including diet and exercise training as first-line treatment for obesity. The clinical benefits of exercise training in adults with obesity is well-documented; however, there is no strong evidence for the effectiveness of exercise training for weight loss in class II and class III obesity. The purpose of the randomised controlled trial described in this protocol article is to examine the effect of exercise training, in addition to a very low energy diet (VLED), in clinically severe obese women for changes in body composition, physical function, quality of life, and markers of cardiometabolic risk.

METHODS/DESIGN: Sixty women, aged 18-50 years with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 34.9 kg.m(2) and at least one obesity-related co-morbidity, will be recruited for this 12-month study. Participants will be randomised to either exercise plus energy restriction (n = 30), or energy restriction alone (n = 30). All participants will follow an energy-restricted individualised diet incorporating a VLED component. The exercise intervention group will also receive exercise by supervised aerobic and resistance training and a home-based exercise programme totalling 300 minutes per week. Primary outcome measures include body composition and aerobic fitness. Secondary outcome measures include: physical function, cardiometabolic risk factors, quality of life, physical activity, and mental health. All outcome measures will be conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months.

DISCUSSION: Previous research demonstrates various health benefits of including exercise training as part of a healthy lifestyle at all BMI ranges. Although clinical practice guidelines recommend exercise training as part of first-line treatment for overweight and obesity, there are few studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of exercise in class II and class III obesity. The study aims to determine whether the addition of exercise training to a VLED provides more favourable improvements in body composition, physical function, quality of life, and markers of cardiometabolic risk for women with clinically severe obesity, compared to VLED alone.

Energy-efficiency analysis of cluster-based routing protocols in wireless sensor network

This paper extends the conditions of the cluster-based routing protocols in terms of general algorithm complexity of data fusion, general compressing ratio of data fusion, and network area with long distance. Corresponding three general evaluation methods to evaluate the energy efficiency of the cluster-based routing protocols such as LEACH, PEGASIS, and BCDCP are provided. Moreover, three facts are found in them: (1) High-level software energy macro model is used to compute the energy dissipation of general data fusion software and make the constant value of energy dissipation of 1-bit data fusion an especial instance. (2) Multi-hop energy efficiency is related to the radio hardware parameters and the dynamic topology of network and the above protocols do not exploit the best use of the energy efficiency of multi-hop scheme. (3) High-energy dissipation non-cluster-head nodes, whose number changes with the density of the sensor nodes in clusters, worsen the death of nodes. The numerical results of experiments reprove these discoveries. Furthermore, they provide helpful guide for improving the above routing protocols to extent their application ranges.