CH2 energy harvesting systems : economic use and efficiency

This paper looks at the City of Melbourne's new office development CH₂ as a case study of world class energy performance. In particular, the integrated design of conventionally independent systems has led to the potential to deliver significant savings to the Council and to deliver better environmental conditions to building occupants that in turn may contribute to satisfaction, well-being and Productivity. It is concluded that this project has the potential
to be an iconic example of effective implementation of ESD (environmental sustainable design) principles and therefore act as a demonstration project to others. Energy efficiency of more than 50% of current benchmarks for Melbourne is effected. Energy harvesting is defined as arising from squander, waste and nature, which is a new concept introduced in this paper to better describe the design decision process.

Energy efficiency rating systems for housing : an Australian perspective

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine current trends in energy efficiency ratings and consider their likely impact on the Australian housing market.

Design/methodology/approach – The research is yet to be conducted; however a mixed method is proposed which is grounded on the theoretical model of consumer behaviour within housing markets. This model has been tested and demonstrated to be useful in predicting buyer behaviour.

Findings – Established theories of buyer perception indicate the introduction of energy efficiency rating systems will have an effect on the level of house prices.

Research limitations/implications – This research is focussed on housing in Australia but also has implications for other global housing markets which are addressing sustainability.

Practical implications – Outputs of this research have implications for policy makers, real estate agents and valuers.

Social implications – Increasing energy costs is likely to restructure the way housing markets operate with regard to sustainability and energy efficiency rating systems and also how they are understood.

Originality/value – This research will be in the Australian context utilising international modeling. As mandatory energy efficiency ratings have not been introduced, this research will be original.

Quantifying the efficiency and understanding the mechanism of localised corrosion inhibition using the wire beam electrode

Parameters extracted from the wire beam electrode (WBE) galvanic current maps have been used in conjunction with electrochemical noise patterns to directly quantify the degree of localised corrosion inhibition provided by inhibitors and to understand the mechanism of localised corrosion inhibition. The behaviour of two traditional localised corrosion inhibitors has been assessed by their effects on the maximum anodic current density (imax), total anodic current density (itot), the number of anodic sites (Na) and the localised corrosion intensity index (LCII). Typical experiments are presented to illustrate the application of these parameters in providing useful information on the efficiency and mechanism of localised corrosion inhibition.

Fish oil replacement in current aquaculture feed : is cholesterol a hidden treasure for fish nutrition?

Teleost fish, as with all vertebrates, are capable of synthesizing cholesterol and as such have no dietary requirement for it. Thus, limited research has addressed the potential effects of dietary cholesterol in fish, even if fish meal and fish oil are increasingly replaced by vegetable alternatives in modern aquafeeds, resulting in progressively reduced dietary cholesterol content. The objective of this study was to determine if dietary cholesterol fortification in a vegetable oil-based diet can manifest any effects on growth and feed utilization performance in the salmonid fish, the rainbow trout. In addition, given a series of studies in mammals have shown that dietary cholesterol can directly affect the fatty acid metabolism, the apparent in vivo fatty acid metabolism of fish fed the experimental diets was assessed. Triplicate groups of juvenile fish were fed one of two identical vegetable oil-based diets, with additional cholesterol fortification (high cholesterol, H-Chol) or without (low cholesterol, L-Chol), for 12 weeks. No effects were observed on growth and feed efficiency, however, in fish fed H-Col no biosynthesis of cholesterol, and a remarkably decreased apparent in vivo fatty acid b-oxidation were recorded, whilst in LChol fed fish, cholesterol was abundantly biosynthesised and an increased apparent in vivo fatty acid b-oxidation was observed. Only minor effects were observed on the activity of stearyl-CoA desaturase, but a significant increase was observed for both the transcription rate in liver and the apparent in vivo activity of the fatty acid D-6 desaturase and elongase, with increasing dietary cholesterol. This study showed that the possible effects of reduced dietary cholesterol in current aquafeeds can be significant and warrant future investigations.

Design and analysis of an antenna for batteryless transcranial direct current stimulation devices

The purpose of this study is to design a low-cost planar Archimedean dipole antenna for batteryless transcranial direct current stimulation devices. The antenna parameters including resonance frequency, radiation efficiency, radiation pattern, and gain are simulated using finite difference time domain based electromagnetic simulation software XFdtd. The proposed antenna is simulated with low-cost FR4 PCB substrate of thickness of 1.6 mm. The antenna is designed with half wavelength of resonant frequency and fed with a matching line. The target frequency band is the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band of 915 MHz which is in the simulated band width of 31 MHz (903-934MHz). Moreover, since the bio-effect of specific absorption rate by radio frequency electromagnetic wave for power harvesting is an important concern, we try to find out the safety limit. Thus a quantitative analysis of distributions of electric field and power absorption in anatomical human head model by the far field radio frequency energy received by our designed antenna has been presented.

Is implementation of the 2013 Australian treatment guidelines for posttraumatic stress disorder cost-effective compared to current practice? A cost-utility analysis using QALYs and DALYs

To assess, from a health sector perspective, the incremental cost-effectiveness of three treatment recommendations in the most recent Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The interventions assessed are trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (TF-CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for the treatment of PTSD in adults and TF-CBT in children, compared to current practice in Australia.

Improved efficiency and stability of flexible dye sensitized solar cells on ITO/PEN substrates using an ionic liquid electrolyte

Flexible dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) built on plastic substrates have attracted great interest as they are lightweight and can be roll-to-roll printed to accelerate production and reduce cost. However, plastic substrates such as PEN and PET are permeable to water, oxygen and volatile electrolyte solvents, which is detrimental to the cell stability. Therefore, to address this problem, in this work, an ionic liquid (IL) electrolyte is used to replace the volatile solvent electrolyte. The initial IL-based devices only achieved around 50% of the photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the cells using the solvent electrolyte. Current-voltage and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis of the cells in the dark indicated that this lower efficiency mainly originated from (i) a lack of blocking layer to reduce recombination, and (ii) a lower charge collection efficiency. To combat these problems, cells were developed using a 12 nm thick blocking layer, produced by atomic layer deposition, and 1 μm thick P25 TiO2 film sensitized with the hydrophobic MK-2 dye. These flexible DSSCs utilizing an IL electrolyte exhibit significantly improved efficiencies and a <10% drop in performance after 1000 h aging at 60°C under continuous light illumination.

Current issues in merger law

This collection of global perspectives will be of great interest to scholars and students of competition law, microeconomics, and regulatory studies.     This collection of global perspectives will be of great interest to scholars and students of competition law, microeconomics, and regulatory studies.
The globalization of markets, combined with the extraordinary expansion of merger control laws over the past two decades, has resulted in an increasing number of mergers inviting multiple regulatory responses. This has had a significant impact on the complexity, time and cost associated with transnational mergers and has highlighted the differences in law, policy and procedure employed by more than 70 jurisdictions now adopting targeted merger regimes. By contrast with other areas of competition law and policy, the treatment of mergers involves a significant regulatory component, with most jurisdictions adopting ex ante notification and suspension obligations for mergers exceeding defined thresholds. The justification for this lies in the structural change to the market affected by the merging of assets, personnel and intellectual property, which are difficult to reverse. However, ex ante regulation also has the consequence of subjecting the vast majority of benign or beneficial mergers to the cost and delay associated with administrative scrutiny. This cost and delay has the potential to jeopardize time-sensitive transactions or postpone expected efficiency gains. Where markets extend beyond domestic borders, these costs are multiplied and the slowest and most prescriptive jurisdiction will influence or determine the time at which the merger can close, if at all, and on what conditions.                 

Dust as an unalterable deteriorative factor affecting PV panel's efficiency: why and how

Electricity generation from solar energy has a great potential since it relies mainly on an abundant and clean source. However, there are many alterable and unalterable factors that can govern a PV module's efficiency. Dust is one of the location-dependent environmental factors that falls under the unalterable factors group. It can degrade the efficiency of a PV panel by causing physical damages, by attenuating the incoming solar radiation and by causing temperature rise, which results in changes in panel's electrical characteristics. Degree of degradation depends mainly on the deposition density, which is governed by various factors. Dust accumulation of 20 g/m2 on a PV panel reduces short circuit current, open circuit voltage and efficiency by 15–21%, 2–6% and 15–35% respectively. This work reviews, elaborates and summarizes the effects of dust on solar panel efficiency and the factors governing dust deposition on PV panel.

Preformed and sprayable polymeric mulch film to improve agricultural water use efficiency

Plastic mulch films are widely used in agriculture to enhance crop production by suppressing weeds, conserving soil water and increasing soil temperature. The majority of plastic mulch films are however not biodegradable and are typically removed after each growing season. Recovery of these plastics from the soil is difficult and can affect successive crop yields while causing substantive cost to the environment and farmers. Due to increasingly stringent regulations regarding use of non-degradable plastic in agriculture they are likely to be phased out in the near future. In the past 10 years several classes of 'biodegradable' materials have been studied but most of these films are reported to be relatively weak in mechanical properties, not efficiently degradable and cost prohibitive.More recently, researchers have turned their attention to sprayable biodegradable polymer coatings for use on soils due to their easy application and versatility. The ability to mix natural additives, plasticizers and fillers to control and improve the mechanical and biodegradation properties of the core polymeric mulch film has been the driving force behind the development of these next generation sprayable polymeric mulch films.There have been many excellent review articles and papers written about polymeric mulch film, but the developing sprayable polymer systems have not been reviewed to the same extent. This paper focusses on the research progress in the area of biodegradable and sprayable polymer mulch film with emphasis on polymer formulations, properties and application. It also discusses current research to highlight the importance, potential benefits and future challenges in developing a cost effective biodegradable sprayable film for use in production agriculture.