Analysis of Direct Outdoor Air Cooling Efficency for Combined Variable Air Volume Air-conditioning System in Stores in Cold Climates of China

Direct outdoor air cooling contributes a lot not only to the improvement of the indoor air quality but also to the energy saving. Its full use will reduce the water chiller’s running time especially in some stores where cooling load keeps much higher and longer than that in other buildings. A novel air-conditioning system named Combined Variable Air Volume system (CVAV), combining a normal AHU with a separate outdoor air supply system, was proposed firstly by the authors. The most attractive feature of the system is its full utilization of cooling capacity and freshness of outdoor air in the transition period of the year round. On the basis of the obtain of the dynamic cooling loads of the typical shopping malls in different four cities located in cold climates in China with the aid of DOE-2, the possibility of increasing the amount of outdoor air volume of CVAV system in the transition period instead of operating the water chillers was confirmed. Moreover, a new concept, Direct Outdoor Air Cooling Efficiency (DOACE), was defined as the ratio of cooling capacity of outdoor air to the water chiller, indicating the degree of outdoor air’s utilization. And the DOACE of the CVAV was calculated and compared with that of conventional all-air constant volume air-conditioning systems, the results showed that CVAV bear much more energy saving potential with the 10%~19% higher DOACE and it is a kind of energy efficient systems and can improve the indoor air quality as well.

Domestic cold pitched roofs in the UK: - effect of using different roof insulation materials

The type and thickness of insulation on the topside horizontal of cold pitched roofs has a significant role in controlling air movement, energy conservation and moisture transfer reduction through the ceiling to the loft (roof void) space. To investigate its importance, a numerical model using a HAM software package on a Matlab platform with a Simulink simulation tool has been developed using insitu measurements of airflows from the dwelling space through the ceiling to the loft of three houses of different configurations and loft space. Considering typical UK roof underlay (i.e. bituminous felt and a vapour permeable underlay), insitu measurements of the 3 houses were tested using a calibrated passive sampling technique. Using the measured airflows, the effect of air movement on three types of roof insulation (i.e. fibreglass, cellulose and foam) was modelled to investigate associated energy losses and moisture transport. The thickness of the insulation materials were varied but the ceiling airtightness and eaves gap size were kept constant. These instances were considered in order to visualize the effects of the changing parameters. In addition, two different roof underlays of varying resistances were considered and compared to access the influence of the underlay, if any, on energy conservation. The comparison of these insulation materials in relation to the other parameters showed that the type of insulation material and thickness, contributes significantly to energy conservation and moisture transfer reduction through the roof and hence of the building as a whole.

The variant rpoS allele of S-enteritidis strain 27655R does not affect virulence in a chick model nor constitutive curliation but does generate a cold-sensitive phenotype

Adherence of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. to host cells is in part mediated by curli fimbriae which, along with other virulence determinants, are positively regulated by RpoS. Interested in the role and regulation of curli (SEF17) fimbriae of Salmonella enteritidis in poultry infection, we tested the virulence of naturally occurring S. enteritidis PT4 strains 27655R and 27655S which displayed constitutive and null expression of curli (SEF17) fimbriae, respectively, in a chick invasion assay and analysed their rpoS alleles. Both strains were shown to be equally invasive and as invasive as a wild-type phage type 4 strain and an isogenic derivative defective for the elaboration of curli. We showed that the rpoS allele of 27655S was intact even though this strain was non-curliated and we confirmed that a S. enteritidis rpoS::str(r) null mutant was unable to express curli, as anticipated. Strain 27655R, constitutively curliated, possessed a frameshift mutation at position 697 of the rpoS coding sequence which resulted in a truncated product and remained curliated even when transduced to rpoS::str(r). Additionally, rpoS mutants are known to be cold-sensitive, a phenotype confirmed for strain 27655R. Collectively, these data indicated that curliation was not a significant factor for pathogenesis of S. enteritidis in this model and that curliation of strains 27655R and 27655S was independent of RpoS. Significantly, strain 27655R possessed a defective rpoS allele and remained virulent. Here was evidence that supported the concept that different naturally occurring rpoS alleles may generate varying virulence phenotypic traits. (C) 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Demand response — a different form of distributed storage?

Reduced flexibility of low carbon generation could pose new challenges for future energy systems. Both demand response and distributed storage may have a role to play in supporting future system balancing. This paper reviews how these technically different, but functionally similar approaches compare and compete with one another. Household survey data is used to test the effectiveness of price signals to deliver demand responses for appliances with a high degree of agency. The underlying unit of storage for different demand response options is discussed, with particular focus on the ability to enhance demand side flexibility in the residential sector. We conclude that a broad range of options, with different modes of storage, may need to be considered, if residential demand flexibility is to be maximised.

Western Containment Policies in the Cold War; The Yugoslav Case, 1948-1953

Containment, as conceived by the US government official George Kennan, was an aggressive attempt to cause the Soviet Cold War empire to disintegrate. This can is demonstrated by the case study of how the USA, Britain, and France tried to instrumentalise renegade Tito's Yugoslavia as a wedge to break up the cohesion of the Communist regimes within the Soviet sphere. They supported Tito against subversion and planned Soviet-orchestrated military attack from its neighbouring states; Western plans for the support of Yugoslavia included plans for a selective use of nuclear weapons.

Securing Peace in Europe, 1945-62: Thoughts for the Post-Cold War Era

Articles include: Beatrice Heuser: ‘Stalin as Hitler's Successor: Western Interpretations of the Soviet threat', pp. 17-40

'A hideously difficult country': British propaganda to France in the early Cold War

This article examines British propaganda efforts in the early Cold War in the light of a developing relationship in which the senders' own strategies were to be modified and challenged.The article argues that initiatives to broadcast propaganda from Britain into France via the BBC operated within a broader and developing information policy context. Broadcasting from outside the country through the BBC was supplemented with attempts by British personnel stationed in France to embed positive messages directly within the contemporary French media. By 1950 however, the Britsih propaganda initiative seemed inappropriate and outmoded, taken over by the French themselves and by a British desire to prioritise countries outside Western Europe.

‘Keystone in the Division of Europe: Germany in the Cold War’

Review essay on literature on the role of Germany in the Cold War

Listening behind the Curtain: BBC broadcasting to East Germany and its Cold War echo

This article considers the BBC External Service's East German wing, which broadcast from 1949 on, focusing on the continuities in broadcast techniques between wartime anti-Nazi programming and slots such as 'Two Comrades' and 'The Bewildered Newspaper Reader', both of which replicated pre-1945 formats. The role of the Foreign Office, both as cold warrior in the 1940s and force for detente in the 1970s is included. The article also investigates the response from German listeners to the BBC's external service broadcasting in the 1950s and 1960s. The BBC paid special attention to its German listeners, and has preserved a large number of original letters at the Written Archive at Caversham, as well as conducting regular listener surveys. These considered whether Britain's democratic agenda was getting across in the late 1940s and 50s, but the author also considers to what extent German listeners were pressing for a harder stance in the Cold War or were urging caution on the great powers deciding their fate.

Did the RAI buy it? The role and limits of American broadcasting in Italy in the Cold War

With a 20 million dollar budget and 1,900 staff Voice of America broadcasted in 45 different languages and Italy was one of its main targets. By looking into what went on behind the microphone, this article addresses the extent to which cultural change was planned and structured transnationally, the interactions and interdependencies operating between Washington and Rome, and how a cooperation was achieved despite the fierce resistance of some of RAI’s executives. This allowed to air programmes produced in New York, and led to the launch of the most popular character of Italian radio and television: Mike Bongiorno.

Concentrations of free amino acids and sugars in nine potato varieties: effects of storage and relationship with acrylamide formation

Acrylamide forms during cooking and processing predominately from the reaction of free asparagine and reducing sugars in the Maillard reaction. The identification of low free asparagine and reducing sugar varieties of crops is therefore an important target. In this study, nine varieties of potato (French fry varieties Maris Piper (from two suppliers), Pentland Dell, King Edward, Daisy, and Markies; and chipping varieties Lady Claire, Lady Rosetta, Saturna, and Hermes) grown in the United Kingdom in 2009 were analyzed at monthly intervals through storage from November 2009 to July 2010. Acrylamide formation was measured in heated flour and chips fried in oil. Analysis of variance revealed significant interactions between varieties nested within type (French fry and chipping) and storage time for most free amino acids, glucose, fructose, and acrylamide formation. Acrylamide formed in chips correlated significantly with acrylamide formed in flour and with chip color. There were significant correlations between glucose or total reducing sugar concentration and acrylamide formation in both variety types, but with fructose the correlation was much stronger for chipping than for French fry varieties. Conversely, there were significant correlations with acrylamide formation for both total free amino acid and free asparagine concentration in the French fry but not chipping varieties. The study showed the potential of variety selection for preventing unacceptable levels of acrylamide formation in potato products and the variety-dependent effect of long-term storage on acrylamide risk. It also highlighted the complex relationship between precursor concentration and acrylamide risk in potatoes.

Commodity futures prices: more evidence on forecast power, risk premia and the theory of storage

In this paper, we examine the temporal stability of the evidence for two commodity futures pricing theories. We investigate whether the forecast power of commodity futures can be attributed to the extent to which they exhibit seasonality and we also consider whether there are time varying parameters or structural breaks in these pricing relationships. Compared to previous studies, we find stronger evidence of seasonality in the basis, which supports the theory of storage. The power of the basis to forecast subsequent price changes is also strengthened, while results on the presence of a risk premium are inconclusive. In addition, we show that the forecasting power of commodity futures cannot be attributed to the extent to which they exhibit seasonality. We find that in most cases where structural breaks occur, only changes in the intercepts and not the slopes are detected, illustrating that the forecast power of the basis is stable over different economic environments.

A novel alternative to cryopreservation for the short-term storage of stem cells for use in cell therapy using alginate encapsulation

Efficient transport of stem/progenitor cells without affecting their survival and function is a key factor in any practical cell-based therapy. However, the current approach using liquid nitrogen for the transfer of stem cells requires a short delivery time window is technically challenging and financially expensive. The present study aims to use semipermeable alginate hydrogels (crosslinked by strontium) to encapsulate, store, and release stem cells, to replace the conventional cryopreservation method for the transport of therapeutic cells within world-wide distribution time frame. Human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) and mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) were successfully stored inside alginate hydrogels for 5 days under ambient conditions in an air-tight environment (sealed cryovial). Cell viability, of the cells extracted from alginate gel, gave 74% (mESC) and 80% (hMSC) survival rates, which compared favorably to cryopreservation. More importantly, the subsequent proliferation rate and detection of common stem cell markers (both in mRNA and protein level) from hMSCs and mESCs retrieved from alginate hydrogels were also comparable to (if not better than) results gained following cryopreservation. In conclusion, this new and simple application of alginate hydrogel encapsulation may offer a cheap and robust alternative to cryopreservation for the transport and storage of stem cells for both clinical and research purposes.

Consistent large-scale temperature responses in warm and cold climates

Climate-model simulations of the large-scale temperature responses to increased radiative forcing include enhanced land-sea contrast, stronger response at higher latitudes than in the tropics, and differential responsesin warm and cool season climates to uniform forcing. Here we show that these patterns are also characteristic of model simulations of past climates. The differences in the responses over land as opposed to over the ocean, between high and low latitudes, and between summer and winter are remarkably consistent (proportional and nearly linear) across simulations of both cold and warm climates. Similar patterns also appear in historical observations and paleoclimatic reconstructions, implying that such responses are characteristic features of the climate system, and not simple model artifacts, thereby increasing our confidence in the ability of climate models to correctly simulate different climatic states.