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Concentrating solar power (CSP) technology is poised to take its place as one of the major contributors to the future clean energy mix. Using straightforward manufacturing processes, CSP technology capitalises on conventional power generation cycles, whilst cost effectively matching supply and demand though the integration of thermal energy storage. Concentrating solar power technology provides a comprehensive review of this exciting technology, from the fundamental science to systems design, development and applications.Part one introduces fundamental principles of concentrating solar power systems. Site selection and feasibility analysis are discussed, alongside socio-economic and environmental assessments. Part two focuses on technologies including linear Fresnel reflector technology, parabolic-trough, central tower and parabolic dish concentrating solar power systems, and concentrating photovoltaic systems. Thermal energy storage, hybridization with fossil fuel power plants and the long-term market potential of CSP technology are explored. Part three goes on to discuss optimisation, improvements and applications. Topics discussed include absorber materials for solar thermal receivers, design optimisation through integrated techno-economic modelling, heliostat size optimisation, heat flux and temperature measurement technologies, concentrating solar heating and cooling for industrial processes, and solar fuels and industrial solar chemistry.With its distinguished editors and international team of expert contributors, Concentrating solar power technology is an essential guide for all those involved or interested in the design, production, development, optimisation and application of CSP technology, including renewable energy engineers and consultants, environmental governmental departments, solar thermal equipment manufacturers, researchers and academics. Provides a comprehensive review of concentrating solar power (CSP) technology, from the fundamental science to systems design, development and applicationsReviews fundamental principles of concentrating solar power systems, including site selection and feasibility analysis and socio-economic and environmental assessmentsProvides an overview of technologies such as linear Fresnel reflector technology, parabolic-trough, central tower and parabolic dish concentrating solar power systems, and concentrating photovoltaic systems

The Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit the human-induced global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Meeting that goal will require a global energy system with net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. Renewable energy sources, such as wind and photovoltaics (PV), will help make a zero-emission energy system a reality. However, the variable nature of these energy sources limits their practical use for electricity generation. Integrating energy storage with energy production is the key to a zero-emission energy system future. Energy storage can be built into a concentrating solar power (CSP) system, without increasing the cost of the delivered energy. The standard industry approach of producing electricity with energy storage is to heat a molten mixture of potassium and sodium nitrate salts to high temperatures using the solar concentrations. This article introduces the concept of leveraging the Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis process as a potential lower-cost energy storage alternative to molten salts in CSP plants.

We explore the thermodynamic efficiency of a solar-driven combined cycle power system with manganese oxide-based thermochemical energy storage system. Manganese oxide particles are reduced during the day in an oxygen-lean atmosphere obtained with a fluidized-bed reactor at temperatures in the range of 750–1600°C using concentrated solar energy. Reduced hot particles are stored and re-oxidized during night-time to achieve continuous power plant operation. The steady-state mass and energy conservation equations are solved for all system components to calculate the thermodynamic properties and mass flow rates at all state points in the system, taking into account component irreversibilities. The net power block and overall solar-to-electric energy conversion efficiencies, and the required storage volumes for solids and gases in the storage system are predicted. Preliminary results for a system with 100 MW nominal solar power input at a solar concentration ratio of 3000, designed for constant round-the-clock operation with 8 hours of on-sun and 16 hours of off-sun operation and with manganese oxide particles cycled between 750 and 1600°C yield a net power block efficiency of 60.0% and an overall energy conversion efficiency of 41.3%. Required storage tank sizes for the solids are estimated to be approx. 5–6 times smaller than those of state-of-the-art molten salt systems.

Climate change is a growing concern for society and the focus of numerous research initiatives across multiple fields of science. These initiatives often need to capitalize on the cross-specialized knowledge contributed by researchers from very different fields. The diversity of worldviews among key stakeholders requires an effective overall design strategy acting as a boundary spanner object. This study presents an account of the issues faced by a multidisciplinary research project and discusses the suitability of a design approach to help address issues such as equality, empowerment, autonomy, creativity, performance, reduction of innovation cycle times and also provide for the necessary balance between control, speediness and flexibility.

One of the first beauty contests may have been staged in the west African country of Niger. There, the Wodaabe, a 50,000-strong group of cow-herding nomads, consider themselves to be the most beautiful people on the planet. Beauty isn't, of course, characteristic only of the female form. Once a year the tall, elegant Wodaabe men engage in the geerewol, a ritualistic competition in which the contestants paint their faces and bodies with bright colours and don elaborate costumes. Using wet, ground charcoal, the men outline their eyes and blacken their lips in order to exaggerate the whiteness of their eyes and teeth, considered a measure of erotic allure in the Wodaabe culture. During the seven-day celebration, clans of painted, costumed dancers parade in single file, catwalk-style, and dance before women from other clans, who judge them, awarding points for looks, personality and sexual magnetism. A few centuries pass. Beside the wave-lapped shores of imported artificial sand, the world's most beautiful women gather for a photo shoot. The location is the lavish swimming pool of the Palace of the Lost City hotel, in Sun City, Bophuthatswana, South Africa. It's the setting for the most enduring of international beauty pageants, the Miss World contest. It has come a long way in its half-century history. In the summer of 1951, the British government staged the Festival of Britain to display the latest offerings from British industry, technology and the arts. Organisers asked the dance hall company Mecca to devise a promotion for the festival. Their public relations director at the time was Eric Morley, and the festival's organisers readily accepted his suggestion of an international beauty competition. Morley wanted the pageant to reflect the times and planned to have the contestants judged wearing a recent French creation, the bikini, and it became the Festival Bikini Contest. He ended up with only five foreign contestants and supplemented the line-up with 21 British girls. The world's press unanimously welcomed the spectacle and referred to it as Miss World. Morley promptly registered the name as a trademark and the international beauty contest was born.

The societal awakening to the problems caused by climate change seems to be sudden, yet scientists have been working in their labs for years on different ways to alleviate this problem. At The Australian National University, for example, we are working on a program to establish new and sustainable carbon-neutral energy sources that capitalises on Australia’s natural advantages and know-how. Our project’s ultimate objective is to develop a new oil industry to significantly reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This aim will be achieved by producing a range of products, such as bio-fuels, without using food crops, destroying rainforests or

Preconception medical, behavioural and socioeconomic risk factors are common among people of reproductive age and can impact pregnancy and offspring outcomes. In line with clinical guidance, primary care practitioners are encouraged to support patients to manage and optimise their health prior to pregnancy. Due to barriers, including lack of time and resources, this support is not currently part of routine practice. As a first step towards the co-development of practical and realistic best practice guidance, this study aims to achieve consensus on a list of priority risk factors that can be used in general practice to guide opportunistic preconception care for patients of reproductive age. This study protocol was developed with a Public Advisory Group of people of reproductive age, researchers and primary care practitioners. The consensus study will consist of three steps: 1) identifying an initial long-list of candidate risk factors and defining principles for scoring the importance of each risk factor, through a literature review, workshops with people of reproductive age, and interviews with primary care practitioners; 2) stakeholder participant prioritisation of each candidate risk factor for its importance for preconception care through a three-round eDelphi survey; and 3) agreeing on the final priority list through consensus meetings with a selected group of stakeholders. Participants living in the UK will be recruited across two stakeholder groups: people of reproductive age (through the Public Advisory Group and charities) and primary care professionals (through professional organisations). This study has been approved by the University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Ethics Committee (ERGO 83699 and 92950). All study findings will be shared through stakeholder participants, peer-reviewed publication, lay summary, meetings and conference presentations, and relevant professional and community organisations. Ongoing research will inform implementation of the priority list in clinical practice.

Background Dairy products are a major contributor to dietary SFA. Partial replacement of milk SFA with unsaturated fatty acids (FAs) is possible through oleic-acid rich supplementation of the dairy cow diet. To assess adherence to the intervention of SFA-reduced, MUFA-enriched dairy product consumption in the RESET ( RE placement of S aturat E d fat in dairy on T otal cholesterol) study using 4-d weighed dietary records, in addition to plasma phospholipid FA (PL-FA) status. Methods In a randomised, controlled, crossover design, free-living UK participants identified as moderate risk for CVD ( n  = 54) were required to replace habitually consumed dairy foods (milk, cheese and butter), with study products with a FA profile typical of retail products (control) or SFA-reduced, MUFA-enriched profile (modified), for two 12-week periods, separated by an 8-week washout period. A flexible food-exchange model was used to implement each isoenergetic high-fat, high-dairy diet (38% of total energy intake (%TE) total fat): control (dietary target: 19%TE SFA; 11%TE MUFA) and modified (16%TE SFA; 14%TE MUFA). Results Following the modified diet, there was a smaller increase in SFA (17.2%TE vs. 19.1%TE; p  < 0.001) and greater increase in MUFA intake (15.4%TE vs. 11.8%TE; p  < 0.0001) when compared with the control. PL-FA analysis revealed lower total SFAs ( p  = 0.006), higher total cis -MUFAs and trans -MUFAs (both p  < 0.0001) following the modified diet. Conclusion The food-exchange model was successfully used to achieve RESET dietary targets by partial replacement of SFAs with MUFAs in dairy products, a finding reflected in the PL-FA profile and indicative of objective dietary compliance. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02089035 , date 05-01-2014.

Background Surgical patients are at risk of postoperative complications, which may lead to increased morbidity, mortality, hospital length-of-stay and healthcare costs. Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS®) protocols are evidence-based and have demonstrated effectiveness in decreasing complications and associated consequences. However, their adoption in Australia has been limited and the reason for this is unclear. This study aimed to describe clinicians’ perceptions of ERAS protocols in Australia. Methods A national online survey of anaesthetists, surgeons and nurses was undertaken. Invitations to participate were distributed via emails from professional colleges. The 30-item survey captured respondent characteristics, ERAS perceptions, beliefs, education and learning preferences and future planning considerations. The final question was open-ended for elaboration of perceptions of ERAS. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe and compare group differences across disciplines relative to perceptions of ERAS. Results The sample included 178 responses (116 nurses, 65.2%; 36 surgeons, 20.2%; 26 anaesthetists, 14.6%) across six states and two territories. More than half ( n  = 104; 58.8%) had used ERAS protocols in patient care, and most perceived they were ‘very knowledgeable’ ( n  = 24; 13.6%) or ‘knowledgeable’ ( n  = 71; 40.3%) of ERAS. However, fewer nurses had cared for a patient using ERAS ( p  <.01) and nurses reported lower levels of knowledge ( p  <.001) than their medical counterparts. Most respondents agreed ERAS protocols improved patient care and financial efficiency and were a reasonable time investment (overall Md 3–5), but nurses generally recorded lower levels of agreement ( p. 013 to < 0.001). Lack of information was the greatest barrier to ERAS knowledge ( n  = 97; 62.6%), while seminars/lectures from international and national leaders were the preferred learning method ( n  = 59; 41.3%). Most supported broad implementation of ERAS ( n  = 130; 87.8%). Conclusion There is a need to promote ERAS and provide education, which may be nuanced based on the results, to improve implementation in Australia. Nurses particularly need to be engaged in ERAS protocols given their significant presence throughout the surgical journey. There is also a need to co-design implementation strategies with stakeholders that target identified facilitators and barriers, including lack of support from senior administration, managers and clinicians and resource constraints.