bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Federico Cesi (1585–1630) and the correspondence network of his Accademia dei Lincei
Authors: Savoia Andrea Ubrizsy
Published: October 2015

The difficulties in the circulation of ideas due to geographical distance are very noticeable in the work of the founder of the Academy of the Lincei, prince Federico Cesi. He was convinced that only collaboration between several scientists would widen the scientific horizons. The activities of the Academy were regulated by a statute written in Latin, the Lynceographum. In this document Cesi pointed out the necessity of 'diminishing' geographical distances through 'peregrination' and the foundation of similar institutions, so-called Licei, in Italy and abroad. This paper focuses on the long publication process of the Mexican Treasury (1611–1651), in which the extent of Lyncean network can be observed, and draws attention to the many practical difficulties that needed to be overcome in the collaboration between geographically separated scholars.
Theodorus Graminaeus. Een wiskundige in dienst van de contrareformatie
Authors: Vermij Rienk
Published: October 2015

Theodorus Graminaeus, a mathematician in the service of the Counter-Reformation Theodorus Graminaeus (ca. 1540-1596) offers an example of the fluid status of mathematics and its practitioners in the early modern period. Born at Roermond, Graminaeus studied at Cologne, where he became a professor of mathematics in 1566. As a professor, Graminaeus also acted as printer and publisher of mathematical, religious and other works. In 1575 he obtained a licentiate in law. Around the same time, he became tutor of Johann Wilhelm, crown prince to the United Duchies of Jülich, Cleves and Berg. In 1582, he left his position at the university of Cologne and appears to have entered the service of Johann Wilhelm full time. After the latter’s succession as duke (1592), Graminaeus got an administrative position in the duchy of Berg. Graminaeus wrote a dozen works on a variety of subjects, including the calendar, comets, the Antichrist, witches, and publicity for the dukes of Cleves. He did not aim at exactness and objectivity. Even his mathematical works bear the stamp of his religious beliefs and embody religious and political values. Tycho Brahe (who refuted Graminaeus’s work on the nova of 1572 at some length) already felt that they lacked rigour. Graminaeus felt he lived in a very dark age. He had witnessed the religious troubles at his birthplace, Roermond, in 1566-1567 and since that time abhorred Protestantism. In his work, he tried to read the signs of the time by finding patterns in world history based on astrological models and ancient prophecies. (In this, he appears not to have been unique among Catholics at Cologne.) At the court of Cleves, he put himself decidedly on the side of the Roman-Catholic faction. As the Counter- Reformation, led by the Jesuits, gained momentum in the United Duchies, his expectations became somewhat less gloomy.
De drinkwaterfluoridering in Nederland, 1946-1976. Een maatschappelijk debat zonder winnaars of verliezers
Authors: Edeler Dennis , Eijkman Michiel
Published: October 2015

The fluoridation of drinking water in the Netherlands, 1946-1976.A debate without a winner or a loser During the period 1946–1960, as a result of the shortage of dentists and the large number of dental caries under the Dutch population, the need of dental care was enormous. But there was a solution. It was commonly known that fluoride could be an effective prevention tool in dental care. Based on the American research this knowledge concerning the possibilities of applying fluoride to drinking water reached The Netherlands. In the period 1960–1968 the powerful coalition of dentistry, government and politicians tried to implement decentralized water fluoridation at municipal level to reduce the high level of dental caries in The Netherlands. By advice of the Health Council the ministry of Social Affairs decided by means of a license system under the water control law to permit water fluoridation in (municipal) care areas. In 1968 optimism dominated despite some criticism. The number of people who consumed fluoridated water increased up to two and a half millions in this period and initially it seemed like the growth was endless. Dentistry, government and politicians have been united in a pow- erful coalition. During the last period, 1968–1976, legal arguments were predominant leading for the outcome of the debate over water fluoridation in the public domain. The powerful coalition between the dentistry, government and politicians was disturbed. Despite lack of a legal base in the Water Supply Act, the decentralized implementation of water fluoridation, the loss of scientific independence of the Tiel-Culemborg researchers, not wanting to hear from the government to the (legal) advice and opponents, the increase assertiveness in the media, the powerful influence of dissent and the passive role of the Parliament have all resulted that this collective arrangement of public health inglorious disappeared from off the public and political agenda after 1976.
De vette jaren: de Commissie-Casimir en het Nederlandse wetenschapsbeleid 1957-1970
Authors: Baneke David
Published: October 2015

The Years of Abundance: the Casimir Committee and Dutch Science Policy 1957–1970 In October 1958, a committee of six prominent Dutch scientists and industrial managers presented a brief report in which they requested a major increase of the science budget. This report has been described as a turning point in the history of science in the Netherlands, signaling the beginning of a decade of rapid growth of funding for ‘pure’ research. Surprisingly little is known about the backgrounds of this report, however. In this paper, I analyze its origin, its relation to contemporary higher education policy, and its consequences. As it turns out, the report was less revolutionary than is usually assumed: it mostly reinforced developments that had already begun earlier. Furthermore, Sputnik and the Cold War were not as important as is often claimed. This paper also suggests a reinterpretation of the justification of the government spending on academic research after the Second World War. Producing skilled researchers for industry was at least as important as produc- ing new knowledge.
Lalandes ‘Voyage de Hollande’. Het reisverslag van een astronoom, 1774
Authors: Weekenstroo Florine
Published: October 2015

Lalandes ‘Voyage de Hollande’. The itinerary of an astronomer, 1774.In 1774, the French astronomer Joseph Jérôme Lefrançois de Lalande (1732–1807) visited the Dutch Republic to plea for a greater role of astronomy in navigation. At that time his Astronomie was translated into Dutch. A handwritten travelogue of his visit is preserved in the Bibliothèque de l’Institut de France in Paris. It is a brief, but fairly complete description of his journey, in which Lalande gives an impression of his visit to the cities, scientists, instrument makers and other – for the greater part – very prominent people of the Dutch Republic. This paper discusses Lalande’s experiences in the Netherlands. It shows that Lalande’s Voyage de Hollande is a unique testimony, showing how a foreign scholar experienced the Dutch Republic at the end of the eighteenth century and how he was received as scientific celebrity by the Dutch social upper class.
‘Gezonde buitenlucht’ en ‘krachtige voeding’: kinderen en de anti-tuberculosecampagne in Nederland (ca. 1910–1940)
Authors: Bakker Nelleke
Published: October 2015

‘Healthy air’ and ‘powerful nutrition’: children and the anti-tuberculosis campaign in the Netherlands (c. 1910–1940)As elsewhere in the Western world, between 1910 and 1940 the anti-tuberculosis campaign in the Netherlands produced a wide range of initiatives to promote child health. In each of these the social and the medical were linked, as the hygienic ‘mood’ was encouraged by a child-saving ethos that focused upon the poor. In this article the author discusses from a comparative perspective the Dutch anti-tuberculosis interventions for children, the benefits projected on each of these, and the categories of children for whom they were meant. Private and voluntary initiatives dominated the field, whereas the state turned out to be very reluctant to take responsibility. Medically controlled health camps for weak children were a more important instrument than open-air schools and mass medical examination. Medical surveil- lance produced new categories and data which in turn justified the continued growth of child hygiene after tuberculosis had become less of a threat during the 1930s.
Kennis is macht: de veelzijdige expedities van botanicus Pieter Willem Korthals (1807–1892)
Authors: Manse Maarten
Published: October 2015

Knowledge is power: the versatile expeditions of botanist Pieter Willem Korthals (1807–1892)The National Herbarium in Leiden houses a fascinating archive about one of the few botanists of the Committee for Natural History of the Netherlands Indies, Pieter Willem Korthals (1807–1892). The notebooks and reports of his travels in Java, Sumatra and Borneo reveal the hybrid position of Korthals in the colonial world of the Dutch East Indies. Korthals was an experienced botanist who employed methods such as measuring, taking notes and sensual observation at various locales in the Malay Archipelago. His multi-faceted fieldwork tied into the colonial administration’s desire to acquire valuable information about the islands’ human and natural resources. In particular, after the introduction in 1830 of the Cultivation System in Java, the colonial authorities in Batavia were eager to learn more about the system’s efficiency in more remote areas. By drawing upon rich archival sources, this brief essay uses Korthals’ case to shed fresh light on the production of botanical and other knowledge in the for- mer Dutch colony in the East Indies.
‘Archimedes in kundigheit, Ulisses in beleit, Achilles in dapperheit’. Het Album Amicorum van Klaas Willem Kiers (c. 1722/1759), ingenieur-modellist van stadhouder Willem IV
Authors: Van Til Frida
Published: October 2015

The Album Amicorum of Klaas Willem Kiers (c. 1722/1759), military engineer and model maker of the Dutch Stadtholder Willem IVThis paper focuses on the importance of the Album Amicorum as a source of biographical information. Presented is the case of Klaas Willem Kiers, an engineer from Groningen, who was employed by the Dutch Stadtholder Willem IV for the fabrication of scientific models for his cabinet of experimental philosophy in The Hague. Kiers also taught the young hereditary prince – the later Willem V – the basic principles of fortification. After the sudden death of the stadholder, Kiers served as a lieutenant- engineer in the Army of the Dutch Republic. At that time he started an Album Amicorum, in which he collected inscriptions from various prominent countrymen. Kiers’ case demonstrates how this source can provide precious information about one’s biography. We can, among others, reconstruct Kiers’ education, his connections at the Stadholderly court and the other social levels in which he operated. Kiers probably used some of these connections to start in 1758 a chemical factory in Amsterdam for the production of soap and saltpetre. In short, Kiers’ album provides a unique testimony of the Dutch scientific culture in the mid-1750s.
Vorming, reflectie en activisme. Over het rijke veld van de medische geschiedenis in Nederland
Authors: Huisman Frank
Published: October 2015

Vorming, reflectie en activisme. Over het rijke veld van de medische geschiedenis in Nederland
Honderd jaar wetenschapsgeschiedenis in Nederland. Een persoonlijk getinte schets
Authors: Cohen Floris
Published: October 2015

Honderd jaar wetenschapsgeschiedenis in Nederland. Een persoonlijk getinte schets
Ernst Cohen (1869–1944): chemicus, bestuurder, geschiedschrijver
Authors: Dorsman Leen
Published: October 2015

Ernst Cohen (1869–1944): chemicus, bestuurder, geschiedschrijver
George Sarton (1884–1956)
Authors: Somsen Geert
Published: October 2015

George Sarton (1884–1956)
Aan de tijd ontstegen: E.J. Dijksterhuis (1892–1965) en De mechanisering van het wereldbeeld
Authors: Van Berkel Klaas
Published: October 2015

Aan de tijd ontstegen: E.J. Dijksterhuis (1892–1965) en De mechanisering van het wereldbeeld
Maria Rooseboom (1909–1978)
Authors: Fournier Marian
Published: October 2015

Maria Rooseboom (1909–1978)
Het Genootschap Gewina: Bestuursleden en ontvangers erepenning sedert 1997
Authors: Van de redactie
Published: October 2015

Het Genootschap Gewina: Bestuursleden en ontvangers erepenning sedert 1997
Omgang met lepra in ‘de West’ in de negentiende eeuw. Tegendraadse maar betekenisvolle geluiden vanuit Suriname
Authors: Menke Henk , Snelders Stephen , Pieters Toine
Published: October 2015

Aan de hand van de ontwikkeling en invloed van een zogenaamd ‘West-Indisch lepra-conta- gionisme’ zullen wij in dit artikel laten zien dat de vertaalslag van medisch-wetenschappelijke noties en concepten naar beleid en voorschriften (mede) bepaald wordt door andere dan medisch inhoudelijke factoren. Volgens de Amerikaanse historicus Baldwin bestaat er een correlatie tussen profylactische strategieën, politiek en ideologie. Maar hij laat ook zien dat het niet om de tegenstelling tussen een conservatieve en/of autoritaire neiging tot interventie en een liberale neiging tot laissez-faire gaat. Sterker nog: onder de vlag van het hygiënisme pro- pageerden liberalen juist publieke gezondheidsmaatregelen waartegen conservatieven vaak in het geweer kwamen. Het draait bij de ontwikkeling en keuze voor interventies veel meer om verschillende soorten van afwegingen tussen individuele en collectieve belangen, ver- antwoordelijkheden en rechten in diverse landen. Het is de vraag of het West-Indische leprabestrijdingsysteem gefaciliteerd werd door de politieke en ideologische bestuursstructuur van de slavensamenleving aldaar. De koloniën in de West hadden een autoritaire bestuursstructuur, die zich weinig gelegen liet aan de rechten van met name de niet-blanke bewoners. Maar was dit een voldoende voorwaarde voor het gevolgde traject van een profy- lactische strategie? En bestaat er een relatie tussen de aanscherping van het bestrijdingsbeleid en een verharding van de medische opvattingen over lepra als besmettelijke ziekte in West- Indië? In dit artikel zullen we de historische ontwikkeling van de wetgeving betreffende de bestrijding van besmettelijke ziekten, in het bijzonder lepra, koppelen aan de ontwikkeling van een medisch-wetenschappelijk West-Indisch lepracontagionisme. We zullen laten zien hoe bepaalde kennis en beleid betreffende lepra gedijden binnen een specifieke lokale context – Suriname met zijn quarantainebeleid – zonder invloed te hebben op de ontwikkelingen in andere gekoloniseerde delen van het Nederlands imperium, met name Oost-Indië. Maar wij zullen ook laten zien dat er wat betreft de ontwikkeling van kennis over lepra wel degelijk invloed was vanuit de in politiek-economische en wetenschappelijke zin gemarginaliseerde West-Indische kolonie op het moederland, zij het niet zonder slag of stoot.
Minimal Brain Damage/Dysfunction (MBD) en de ontwikkeling van de wetenschappelijke kinderstudie in Nederland, ca. 1950–1990
Authors: Bakker Nelleke
Published: October 2015

This paper discusses the reception in the Netherlands of Minimal Brain Damage/Dysfunction (MBD) and related labels for normally gifted children with learning disabilities and behavioural problems by child scientists of all sorts from the 1950s up to the late 1980s, when MBD was replaced with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Unlike what has been suggested, as compared to ADHD, MBD turns out to have been all but a rare diagnosis for children who were not handicapped more seriously than modern ADHD-children. MBD, moreover, has contributed considerably to the status of the child sciences which focused on the development of remedial teaching and behaviour modification techniques, particularly clinical child psychology and special education studies. In this case the diminishing influence of child psychiatry, as against these rapidly developing academic specialisms, was only temporal. With the help of the media and parent organizations Ritalin’s regime marched in by the late 1980s.
‘Spanish’ flu and army horses: what historians and biologists can learn from a history of animals with flu during the 1918–1919 influenza pandemic
Authors: Haalboom Floor
Published: October 2015

At the time of the 1918–1919 ‘Spanish’ influenza pandemic, influenza researchers did not just relate this disease to the human population, despite the focus of historians of medicine on its human aspects and meanings. In line with the use of historical reports of animals with influenza in present-day microbiological studies on influenza among different animal species, this article investigates understandings of animal influenza in the Netherlands during the 1918–1919 pandemic. The article adds to microbiological uses of the historical record by putting observations of animals with influenza in historical contexts, in particular the context of military dealings with influenza at the end of the First World War, and the social position of veterinary medicine. The case of the Dutch military horse veterinarian Emile Bemelmans, who argued that human and horse influenza were identical, illustrates that knowledge of these contexts is important to critically use historical sources reporting animals with influenza in present-day biological influenza research.
‘We Come as Doctors, We Come as Servants’ Medical Confidentiality and Professional Identity during the Great War
Authors: Jacobs Noortje
Published: October 2015

This article explores discussions in the Nederlandsch Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (NTvG), the Dutch Journal of Medicine, over the limits of medical confidentiality during the First World War. In the early twentieth century, physicians in the Netherlands struggled with the socio-legal limits of the ‘physician’s oath’ (i.e. ‘artseneed’), the vow of secrecy sworn by Dutch medical doctors since 1878 at Dutch universities upon the acceptance of their profession. While the 1865 codification of medical confidentiality in the Netherlands had significantly contributed to the socio-legal status of the profession vis-à-vis ‘quacks’, it became clear in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century that the traditional ideal of the secret absolu did not fit well with the growth of modern state structures. With the development of elaborate bureaucratic institutions and the subsequent need for population statistics and formalized accountability mechanisms, Dutch physicians were asked more and more often to provide information which had traditionally fallen within the realm of medical confidentiality to third parties. This article examines this ‘dilemma of modernity’ by looking into discussions in the NTvG over the respective identities of military and civilian physicians between 1914 and 1918, and argues that, during the war years, the professional identity of the health officer – with his explicit double function as doctor and as servant – came to function as a projection screen for civilian physicians in the Netherlands to debate existing anxieties regarding their role in the modern Dutch state.
Nuclei in a supersaturated solution. Utrecht chemists and the crystallization of international relations after the First World War
Authors: Smit Jorrit
Published: October 2015

The mobilization and involvement of chemists in the First World War revealed the protean nature of science. This harsh knock to the pre-war optimistic views on the societal role of science reverberated the following decade in the deeply divided international scientific community. In the dark shadows of the war and the breakdown of scientific internationalism, the Utrecht chemists Ernst Cohen and Hugo Kruyt attempted to lighten up the international sphere of chemistry. This study focusses on their main informal effort to reunite chemists from former belligerent nations at the 1922 ‘International Chemical Reunion Utrecht’. This is the first detailed empirical elaboration of the thesis that reconstruction in the 1920s proceeded most importantly through unofficial contact. Despite recent scepticism about this historiographical image in general and the impact and political insight of these Dutch mediators in particular, this article argues that they acted empathically and achieved a unique success in the scientific world. Although science failed to take a moral leading role in European society, the continuous and subtle activity of the Utrecht chemists in the informal and formal networks of chemistry ultimately led to the only complete restoration of an international scientific community before the advent of the Second World War.
Essay review: Een eeuw op zijn kop
Authors: Maas Ad
Published: October 2015

Beschouwing naar aanleiding van de publicatie van (1) Andreas Weber, Hybrid ambitions. Science, governance, and empire (Leiden: Leiden University Press 2012). xi+263 pp., ISBN: 978-90-8728-1663, € 49,95; (2) Martin P.M. Weiss, The masses and the muses. A history of Teylers Museum in the nineteenth century (Dissertatie: Universiteit Leiden 2013). ix+332 pp.; (3) Hieke Huistra, Preparations on the move. The Leiden anatomical collections in the nineteenth century (Dissertatie: Universiteit Leiden 2013). ix+163 pp.; (4) P.A.J. Caljé, Student, universiteit en samenleving. De Groningse universiteit in de negentiende eeuw (Hilversum: Verloren 2009). 631 pp., ISBN: 978-90-6550-978-9, € 49,-.
Solving Deepwater Challenges in a Low Price Environment
Authors: Whitfield Stephen
Published: October 2015

Extracting maximum value is a tenet of the oil and gas industry. Whether it is a field located deep in the ocean or a rock formation located in the middle of a plain, companies are constantly searching for ways to get as much out of the resources available to them as possible with the tools they have.

In the search for untapped resources, exploration and production (E&P) companies are moving their offshore operations into extreme water depths, and with that shift comes an increasing litany of technical challenges unique to deepwater projects. With the price of oil at a low mark, these companies are looking for the most efficient and economical strategies to solve these challenges as they push into uncharted territories. 

The 19th Annual Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Technical Symposium, held in New Orleans in August, featured several presentations on the challenges that operators face with deepwater projects in the current economic and technical environment. Speakers focused on a variety of issues, including construction costs, contractor involvement, flow assurance, and the integration of new technologies created to improve the production from their fields.
Carbon Capture and Storage for Enhanced Oil Recovery: Integration and Optimization of a Post-Combustion CO2-Capture Facility at a Power Plant in Abu Dhabi
Authors: Reichl Albert , Schneider Gernot , Schliepdiek Torsten , Reimuth Oliver
Published: October 2015

Masdar has initiated the Abu Dhabi Carbon-Capture and -Storage Project, with the objective to develop a carbon-capture network in Abu Dhabi capable of creating large reductions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and with the capacity to increase oil recovery by use of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). Because Siemens (henceforth referred to as the Technology Owner) has developed, tested, and piloted a proprietary post-combustion CO2-capture technology (PostCapTM) for the removal of CO2 from the flue gas of coal- and gas-fired power plants suitable for the project, both parties decided to cooperate in executing a front-end engineering and design (FEED) study. The technology is based on an aqueous amino-acid-salt solution.

The Technology Owner and Masdar have completed a FEED study for capturing 1,800,000 tons of CO2 annually from a natural-gas-fired power plant in Abu Dhabi by application of the PostCapTM technology.

Various opportunities and challenges were encountered during the design of the retrofit capture plant. Challenges were often specific to the region, including local climate, water availability, and flue-gas quality. Design and optimization of the plant were influenced by local energy and labor prices. Further opportunities included integration with the power plant and with a local industrial facility. The power plant had to supply the capture plant with steam and power without reducing the original electricity-production capacity. To accomplish this, several heat- and power-integration concepts were evaluated with respect to their feasibility, including the application of a backpressure steam turbine and the retrofit of a simple-cycle gas turbine to combined-cycle gas turbine.

Various cooling options were considered in view of climate and resource challenges. Cooling water had to be extracted from a reflux stream produced by an adjacent industrial facility.

Drawing on the results of the FEED study, this paper presents the manner in which PostCapTM technology can be applied for capturing CO2 at a power plant in Abu Dhabi for the purpose of EOR, while satisfying specific local needs, and the way utility supply and power plant integration can be facilitated.
Effects of raw diatomite on coagulation performance and residual aluminum during the micropolluted raw water treatment with polyaluminum chloride
Authors: Hu W. C. , Wu C. D. , Liu L. G.
Published: October 2015

The effects of raw diatomite on coagulation performance (CP) and the contents of residual aluminum (RAl) during the Pearl River water treatment with polyaluminum chloride (PAC) were investigated. Results demonstrated that the addition of raw diatomite could significantly improve the CP. The removal efficiencies (REs) of turbidity, dissolved organic carbon and UV254 could achieve 97.63%, 44.31% and 52.31%, respectively, at PAC dose of 20 mg/L and diatomite dose of 40 mg/L. Furthermore, adding appropriate dose of diatomite (less than 40 mg/L) could greatly reduce the RAl contents. The residual total aluminum and residual total dissolved aluminum both reached the lowest concentrations (0.185 mg/L and 0.06 mg/L, respectively) when the PAC dose was 15 mg/L and diatomite dose was 40 mg/L.
Tackling rainwater shortages during dry seasons using a socio-technical operational strategy
Authors: Mwamila Tulinave B. , Han Mooyoung Y. , Kim Tschung-il , Ndomba Preksedis M.
Published: October 2015

The management of water resources during the dry season is a major challenge associated with rainwater harvesting (RWH) technology, but is necessary given the human suffering that follows from resulting conditions of water scarcity. In this study, the parameters for dry season assessment are defined in terms of ‘no water days’ (NWD) and rainwater usage ratio. A simple socio-technical operational strategy making use of a water level monitoring system is proposed for NWD reduction. This involves water level monitoring, whereby daily water demand varies with user cooperation, as based on the available water in a tank. The results of our study show that an NWD as low as 10 can be achieved as compared with the current value of 115 days, before considering investment on additional roof catchments and tank volume. These parameters are useful for analyzing any type of rooftop RWH system. Furthermore, this operational strategy can be made practical and simplified by incorporating an easily visible and understood guideline onto the RWH system. This strategy is replicable anywhere in the world, with consideration of site-specific conditions such as rainfall amounts, roof sizes, and population.
Surface modification of reverse osmosis membranes with zwitterionic polymer to reduce biofouling
Authors: Abdelhamid Ahmed E. , Elawady Mahmoud M. , El-Ghaffar Mahmoud Ahmed Abd , Rabie Abdelgawad M. , Larsen Poul , Christensen Morten Lykkegaard
Published: October 2015

The zwitterionic homopolymer poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl-dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium hydroxide was coated onto the surface of commercial polyamide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. Aqueous solutions of the polymer at different concentrations were applied to modify the polyamide membranes through an in situ surface coating procedure. After membrane modification, cross-flow filtration testing was used to test the antifouling potential of the modified membranes. The obtained data were compared with experimental data for unmodified membranes. Each test was done by cross-flow filtering tap water for 60 hours. Yeast extract was added as a nutrient source for the naturally occurring bacteria in tap water, to accelerate bacteria growth. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and permeation tests were employed to characterize membrane properties. The results confirmed that modifying the membranes enhanced their antifouling properties and cleaning efficiency, the fouling resistance to bacteria improving due to the increased hydrophilicity of the membrane surface after coating. In addition, the water permeability and salt rejection improved. This in situ surface treatment approach for RO membranes could be very important for modifying membranes in their original module assemblies as it increases water production and reduces the salt content.
Distribution of iron in activated carbon composites: assessment of arsenic removal behavior
Authors: Raychoudhury Trishikhi , Schiperski Ferry , Scheytt Traugott
Published: October 2015

The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of using iron impregnated granular activated carbon (AC) to remove arsenic from water and to assess the partitioning behavior of arsenic under a variety of conditions. Iron impregnated granular activated carbon (AC-Fe) composites were prepared with different ferric (Fe+3) concentrations, ranging from 0.09 to 3.0 M. These AC-Fe composites were able to remove 92–98% of the arsenate [As(V)] and 42–65% of the arsenite [As(III)]. The composite containing the lowest iron concentration (1.54%) was the most effective at arsenic sorption. Langmuir model fit indicated that the maximum 125 mg As(V)/gFe and 98.4 mg As(III)/gFe can be sorbed by the composite. The kinetics of arsenic sorption is well explained by pseudo first-order kinetics. The arsenate removal efficiency was found to decrease with increasing solution pH, while the As(III) removal efficiency was found to increase. The background ionic strength (IS) had no significant effect of on As(V) removal, but As(III) removal increased when the IS was greater than 50 mM NaCl. Our results indicate that a small amount of iron embedded efficiently in AC may have considerable potential in removing arsenic from water.
Concentrate of surfactant-based draw solutions in forward osmosis by ultrafiltration and nanofiltration
Authors: Nguyen Hau Thi , Nguyen Nguyen Cong , Chen Shiao-Shing , Wu Shu-Ying
Published: October 2015

The exploration of coupling surfactants with highly charged phosphate as novel draw solutions for forward osmosis (FO) to minimize salt leakage and enhance draw solute recovery at low energy is presented for the first time. In this work, anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)), cationic (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) and non-ionic (polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether, TX-100) surfactants were used to couple with Na3PO4 for enlarging draw solution particle size that could improve the solute retention. Three kinds of nanofiltration (NF) membranes (HL, DL and TS80 with molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) of 100–500) and three kinds of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes (GE, GH and GK with MWCO of 1,000–3,000) were used to evaluate the draw solution recovery. The formed second layer, micelles, MWCO and charged valent were determined to be the dominant mechanisms for diluted draw solution recovery. The results show that coupling non-ionic surfactant with 0.02 M Na3PO4 can be regenerated with recoveries as high as 60% and 96% when using UF-GE and NF-TS80, respectively. The overall performance demonstrates that coupling surfactant with highly charged phosphate is promising as draw solutes for application to FO.
The optimization of the paddy field irrigation scheduling using mathematical programming
Authors: Kheybari Siamak , Salehpour Reza
Published: October 2015

In planting rice, a significant amount of irrigation water is required to prepare the farmlands and do transplanting and this is directly related to the number of machines and workers available; that is, the more the length of plowing and transplanting process due to the lack of required machinery and labor, the more the water volume consumed. Therefore, in such conditions, it is important to have an appropriate planning for the optimized allocation of machinery and labor for the agricultural lands. Determining the optimal times of opening and closing valves based on the factors directly influencing the volume of the water in paddy fields is also of great importance. To meet the above conditions and by using linear and non-linear programming, two different models are developed in this article, with the purpose of reducing the time period of plowing and transplanting operations and also lowering the water consumption, respectively. Comparing the outputs of these two models with the real irrigation situation demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed models.
Watermills in the historic irrigation system ‘Palmeral de Elche’, Spain: an example of early hydropower exploitation
Authors: Melendez-Pastor Ignacio , Pedreño Jose Navarro , Wittenberg Hartmut
Published: October 2015

With more than 180,000 date palms, the Palmeral de Elche is the largest palm grove in Europe. In 2000, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared a part of it a World Heritage Site. Actually, the Palmeral is a historic irrigation system with rows of palm trees flanking rectangular fields and serving as a windbreak and shade for the cultivation of wheat, alfalfa, fruit trees and vegetables. This system and its cultivation methods were mainly developed during the Islamic period and maintained after the Christian Reconquista in 1265 until recently. The main canal Acequia Mayor supplies irrigation water from the Vinalopó River which is then distributed through secondary canals to the different subsystems and fields as well as for domestic purposes. With an average slope of 1:260 (4‰) the main canal has a flow capacity of about 600 L/s. Owing to the topography, the canal must overcome a number of vertical drops where hydraulic energy must be dissipated. Beside the drop structures, at the same time watermills generate water power for flour production. These watermills have been built since the Islamic era and operated until the last century, when they were abandoned or converted for other uses. There are some descriptive publications and documents dealing with the mills, but there has not yet been any attempt to conduct a technical survey and interpretation. This study explores the remains of 11 watermills and determines the dimensions and technical parameters of this hydro-system. The mills were equipped with turbine-type horizontal waterwheels with hydraulic heads between two and more than 15 m. The observations allow conclusions on mill operation, power yield and flour production. A comprehensive description of this early example of waterpower generation in a multipurpose system is undertaken.
A visual tool to calculate optimal control strategy for non-identical pumps working in parallel, taking motor and VSD efficiencies into account
Authors: Sunela Markus I. , Puust Raido
Published: October 2015

A simple graphical tool was developed, that finds the optimal combination of pumps and their rotational speeds for all possible working points for a pump battery. The tool was integrated into EPANET as well as EPA SWMM simulation packages. The tool allows us to analyse and optimize operation non-identical parallel pumps with different minimum and maximum frequencies for all possible working points. Pump characteristics and efficiency curves can be given in tabular format or as analytical functions of flow. Degradation of pump efficiency at lower rotational speed is taken into account, as well as motor and variable speed drive efficiencies at partial loads. The optimal solution provided by the tool was compared to measurements in two case studies. Our case studies showed 6.1–8.5% reduction in energy usage using the optimal parallel pumping control strategy compared to the currently used strategy, where all running pumps have the same frequency.
A review of sensor placement objective metrics for contamination detection in water distribution networks
Authors: Rathi Shweta , Gupta Rajesh , Ormsbee Lindell
Published: October 2015

Security of water distribution networks (WDNs) through early warning systems is one of the topics of research over the last two decades to safeguard human health and the environment against accidental and intentional contamination. Several methodologies have been suggested by different researchers for placement of sensors in WDNs which can provide early warning. Owing to the cost of both placing and maintaining the sensors, the number of these must be limited. This constraint makes the sensor deployment locations crucial in early warning systems. In this paper various methodologies suggested for sensor placements have been broadly classified based on the number of performance objectives as single and multi-objective sensor location problems. Various objectives and their significance in the context of sensor placement strategy have been discussed. A complete review of literature is presented to understand complexities in the sensor design problems and to determine the directions in which research is heading. Several challenges for the design of robust sensor network for large WDNs with less computational efforts are discussed and recommendations are presented.
Synthesis of copper nanoshales from a Triton™ X-100/cyclohexane/water ternary microemulsion system
Authors: Heli Hossein , Sattarahmady Naghmeh , Pourbahman Fatemeh
Published: October 2015

Shale-like copper nanostructure was synthesized for the first time from a
water-in-oil microemulsion medium comprising Triton? X-100/cyclohexane/water
ternary system. The nanoshales were synthesized through chemical reduction
by hydrazinium hydroxide in alkaline medium. The nanoshales were
characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction
(XRD) patterns.
Familial, Social and Environmental Risk Factors in Autism: A Case-Control Study
Authors: Jahan A , Parvin SZR Rezina , Bugum D
Published: October 2015

This case-control study was done to identify the correlation between the familial, social and environmental risk factors and autism. This hospital and specialized centre based study done from January 2002 to November, 2004. Thirty two children from the autism group and 14 children from the control group were enrolled. Mean age were 3.75 yrs. and 2.83 yrs. respectively. Significant proportion of children were in the highest birth orders, 68.8% in autism and 78.6% in the control group. Full term children were 96.9% and 92.9% respectively. 53.1% children in the autism and 57.1% in the normal speech delay group were born by cesarean sections. Higher education of parents in autism group was statistically significant (p<0.05). Too much watching TV, inadequate opportunity to mix with peers and inadequate interactive relationship with the family members in the early childhood were significantly (p= 0.001) related to the development of autism.Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2014; 40 (3): 113-117
Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacteria isolated from corneal ulcer in a tertiary level eye hospital
Authors: Nahar K , Islam MS
Published: October 2015

Abstract not availableBangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2014; 40 (3): 122-123
Validation of Integrated Pest Management Practices for Rice Insect in North-west Region of Bangladesh
Authors: Bari MN , Ahmed N , Haque SS , Rabbi MF , Iftekharuddaula KM
Published: October 2015

Integrated Pest Management (IPM), developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) for management of rice insect pests, was demonstrated and validated through intensive investigation in farmers fields of Pirganj and Taraganj in Rangpur district during 20122014 in two T. Aman and Boro seasons. A portion of each farmers field kept under the respective farmers supervision without any intervention, which was treated as control treatment (T4). The other portion was managed with three treatment combinations ie, T1=Prophylactic use of insecticide, T2=Perching + sweeping + need based insecticide application and T3=Perching only. BRRI dhan52 and BRRI dhan58 were used in Aman and Boro seasons respectively. RCB design was followed with eight replications for data analysis. The insect infestation was monitored fortnightly by visual counting from 20 hills and also 20 complete sweeps. The insect infestation, yield and yield contributing characteristics were analysed by one way analysis of variance by Tukeys post hoc test. The objective of this studies were to validate and demonstrate the IPM techniques in farmers' field. Yellow stem borer, rice leaf roller, long horned cricket, grasshopper, green leafhopper, brown planthopper, white-backed planthopper and gall midge were found as pests in both the locations. However, insect infestation was below the economic threshold level (ETL). No significant differences were observed for insect infestation among the treatments. Natural enemies eg, spider, ladybird beetle, dragon fly, damsel fly, carabid beetle and staphylinid beetle were noticed in both the locations. In some seasons and also locations some natural enemies were not found particularly where indiscriminate/continuous insecticide was used. Thus, it was indicated that indiscriminate/continuous use of insecticide has the detrimental effect on the population of natural enemies. Also, refrained from insecticide application at early crop stages (30-40-day after transplanting) natural enemy populations increased, which might reduce insect population below the ETL. Significantly lower yield was observed at farmers managed fields in both the locations. Therefore, it was found that indiscriminate/continuous use of insecticide had no effect on yield and yield contributing characters of rice, when insect infestation below the ETL. So, farmers could avoid continuous/indiscriminate use of insecticide, which might ultimately save production cost and the environment from insecticidal pollution as well.Bangladesh Rice j. 2015, 19(1): 17-31
Alexander Robertson, Scottish Social Theology and Low-caste Hindu Reform in Early Twentieth-century Colonial India
Authors: Constable Philip
Published: October 2015

This article analyses the social theology and practice of Scottish presbyterian missionaries towards hinduism in early twentieth-century western India. It reveals a radical contrast in Scottish missionary practice and outlook with the earlier activities of Alexander Duff (1806–78) in India from 1829 to 1864 as well as with contemporaneous discourse on non-christian religion and ethnicity which was prevalent at home in Scotland. The article argues that Scottish presbyterian missionaries selectively adapted and elaborated radical social theology from late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Scotland to deal with the hindu socio-religious out-casting and economic exploitation that they experienced during their christian proselytisation in early twentieth-century western India. In particular, the article analyses the social theology of the United Free Church missionary Reverend Alexander Robertson, who lived and worked in western India from 1902 to 1937. Robertson sought to re-invent and apply radical Scottish social theology to the material development and religious conversion of Dalit or impoverished out-caste hindu populations in western India. The article also contrasts this Scottish missionary social theology and practice with the secular Edwardian Liberal ideas of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree (1871–1954), which Robertson's colleague and colonial administrator, Harold H. Mann (1872–1961) sought to implement towards Dalit people when he was Agricultural Chemist of Bombay Presidency after 1907 and Director of Agriculture for the Bombay Presidency in Pune from 1918 to 1927. In this context, the article argues more broadly that popular Orientalist discourse on non-christian religion and ethnicity at home in Scotland and perceptions of a subordinate Scottish relationship with the London metropole conceal the radical dimensions of Scottish identity within empire and the ways in which the interaction of radical practices between imperial peripheries like Scotland and India conditioned imperial development.
Using Automated On-Site Monitoring to Calibrate Empirical Models of Trihalomethanes Concentrations in Drinking Water
Authors: Watts III Thomas , Snow Robyn , Brown Aaron , York J. , Fantom Greg , Simone Jr. Paul , Emmert Gary
Published: October 2015

An automated, on-site trihalomethanes concentration data set from a conventional water treatment plant was used to optimize powdered activated carbon and pre-chlorination doses. The trihalomethanes concentration data set was used with commonly monitored water quality parameters to improve an empirical model of trihalomethanes formation. A calibrated model was used to predict trihalomethanes concentrations the following year. The agreement between the models and measurements was evaluated. The original model predicted trihalomethanes concentrations within ~10 μg·L−1 of the measurement. Calibration improved model prediction by a factor of three to five times better than the literature model.
Using Mechanical Alloying to Create Bimetallic Catalysts for Vapor-Phase Carbon Nanofiber Synthesis
Authors: Guevara Laura , Wanner Crystal , Welsh Roger , Atwater Mark
Published: October 2015

Carbon nanofibers were generated over bimetallic catalysts in an atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) reactor. Catalyst compositions of Fe 30 at%, Cu and Ni 30 at% and Cu were mechanically alloyed using high-energy ball milling over durations of 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 h. The catalyst powders were then used to produce carbon nanofibers in ethylene and hydrogen (4:1) at temperatures of 500, 550, and 600 °C. The microstructures of the catalysts were characterized as a function of milling time as well as at deposition temperature. The corresponding carbon deposition rates were assessed and are correlated to the microstructural features of each catalyst. The milling process directly determines the performance of each catalyst toward carbon deposition, and both catalysts performed comparably to those made by traditional co-precipitation methods. Considerations in miscible and immiscible nanostructured alloy systems are discussed.
Unraveling Health Risk and Speciation of Arsenic from Groundwater in Rural Areas of Punjab, Pakistan
Authors: Shakoor Muhammad , Niazi Nabeel , Bibi Irshad , Rahman Mohammad , Naidu Ravi , Dong Zhaomin , Shahid Muhammad , Arshad Muhammad
Published: October 2015

This study determined the total and speciated arsenic (As) concentrations and other health-related water quality parameters for unraveling the health risk of As from drinking water to humans. Groundwater samples (n = 62) were collected from three previously unexplored rural areas (Chichawatni, Vehari, Rahim Yar Khan) of Punjab in Pakistan. The mean and median As concentrations in groundwater were 37.9 and 12.7 µg·L−1 (range = 1.5–201 µg·L−1). Fifty three percent groundwater samples showed higher As value than WHO safe limit of 10 µg·L−1. Speciation of As in groundwater samples (n = 13) showed the presence of inorganic As only; arsenite (As(III)) constituted 13%–67% of total As and arsenate (As(V)) ranged from 33% to 100%. For As health risk assessment, the hazard quotient and cancer risk values were 11–18 and 46–600 times higher than the recommended values of US-EPA (i.e., 1.00 and 10−6, respectively). In addition to As, various water quality parameters (e.g., electrical conductivity, Na, Ca, Cl−, NO3−, SO42−, Fe, Mn, Pb) also enhanced the health risk. The results show that consumption of As-contaminated groundwater poses an emerging health threat to the communities in the study area, and hence needs urgent remedial and management measures.