Origin of middle rare earth element enrichment in acid mine drainage-impacted areas

The commonly observed enrichment of middle rare earth elements (MREE) in water sampled in acid mine drainage (AMD)-impacted areas was found to be the result of preferential release from the widespread mineral pyrite (FeS₂). Three different mining-impacted sites in Europe were sampled for water, and various pyrite samples were used in batch experiments with diluted sulphuric acid simulating AMD-impacted water with high sulphate concentration and high acidity. All water samples independent on their origin from groundwater, creek water or lake water as well as on the surrounding rock types showed MREE enrichment. Also the pyrite samples showed MREE enrichment in the respective acidic leachate but not always in their total contents indicating a process-controlled release. It is discussed that most probably complexation to sulphite (SO₃ ^2?) or another intermediate S-species during pyrite oxidation is the reason for the MREE enrichment in the normalized REE patterns.     

Measurement of tool internal temperatures in the tool–chip contact region by embedded micro thin film thermocouples

Sensors capable of providing fast and reliable feedback signals for monitoring and control of existing and emerging machining processes are an important research topic, that has quickly gained academic and industrial interest in recent years. Generally, high-precision machining processes are very sensitive to variation in local machining conditions at the tool–workpiece interface and lack a thorough understanding of fundamental thermomechanical phenomena. Existing sensors to monitor the machining conditions are not suitable for robust in-process control as they are either destructively embedded and/or do not possess the necessary spatial and temporal resolution to monitor local tool internal temperatures during machining at the cutting tip/edge effectively. This paper presents a novel approach for assessing transient tool internal temperature fields in the close vicinity of less than 300 μm of the tool cutting edge. A revised array layout of 10 micro thin film micro thermocouples, fabricated using adapted semiconductor microfabrication methods, has been embedded into polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) cutting inserts by means of a modified diffusion bonding technique. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine material interactions at the bonding interface and to determine optimal bonding parameters. Sensor performance was statically and dynamically characterized. They show good linearity, sensitivity and very fast response time. Initial machining tests on aluminum alloys are described herein. The tests have been performed to demonstrate the functionality and reliability of tool embedded thin film sensors, and are part of a feasibility study with the ultimate goal of applying the instrumented insert in hard machining operations. The microsensor array was used for the acquisition of tool internal temperature profiles very close to the cutting tip. The influence of varying cutting parameters on transient tool internal temperature profiles was measured and discussed. With further study, the described instrumented cutting inserts could provide more valuable insight into the process physics and could improve various aspects of machining processes, e.g. reliability, tool life, and workpiece quality.     

Wireless acquisition of temperature data from embedded thin film sensors in cutting insert

This paper presents the results of wireless data acquisition experiments from embedded micro thin film sensors in cutting inserts for machining. A bluetooth module is used to acquire data and establish communication with a receiver PC over the serial port profile (SPP). A signal conditioning circuit is designed and developed to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the embedded micro thin film sensors. Moreover, an averaging filter algorithm is implemented as a software interface. To characterize the wireless data acquisition (DAQ) system, laser heating and turning tests are conducted. Both tests show that the wireless DAQ system is able to provide desirable capabilities as well as the wired one for the embedded thin film sensors in cutting inserts.     

An analysis of the causes of the mitigation bias in international climate finance

Research on international climate finance got a new impetus from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Cancun Accords in 2010 which pledge to mobilize US dollars (USD) 100 billion in international climate financing annually by 2020. The Accords’ specification that adaptation must be addressed with the same priority as mitigation is not reflected in current patterns of international climate finance where we face a strong bias towards mitigation finance. A recent study by Buchner et al. (2011) ascertains a split between mitigation and adaptation finance of 95:5. In this paper, we investigate potential reasons for this bias. In our framework, we distinguish different decision layers and actors involved in international climate finance in order to categorize the causes responsible for the low priority of adaptation in international finance. The identification of obstacles for international adaptation funding is a first crucial step in the search for ways to overcome respective barriers. We find several different causes of the mitigation bias and these might offer starting points for policies aiming at raising adaptation finance and curing this bias. Furthermore, we describe interrelations between these causes which effective policies have to take into account.     

Ethics in the Societal Debate on Genetically Modified Organisms: A (Re)Quest for Sense and Sensibility

Via a historical reconstruction, this paper primarily demonstrates how the societal debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) gradually extended in terms of actors involved and concerns reflected. It is argued that the implementation of recombinant DNA technology out of the laboratory and into civil society entailed a “complex of concerns.” In this complex, distinctions between environmental, agricultural, socio-economic, and ethical issues proved to be blurred. This fueled the confusion between the wider debate on genetic modification and the risk assessment of transgenic crops in the European Union. In this paper, the lasting skeptical and/or ambivalent attitude of Europeans towards agro-food biotechnology is interpreted as signaling an ongoing social request – and even a quest – for an evaluation of biotechnology with Sense and Sensibility. In this (re)quest, a broader-than-scientific dimension is sought for that allows addressing the GMO debate in a more “sensible” way, whilst making “sense” of the different stances taken in it. Here, the restyling of the European regulatory frame on transgenic agro-food products and of science communication models are discussed and taken to be indicative of the (re)quest to move from a merely scientific evaluation and risk-based policy towards a socially more robust evaluation that takes the “non-scientific” concerns at stake in the GMO debate seriously.     

Relationship between the position preference and nutritional state of individuals in schools of juvenile roach (Rutilus rutilus)

Summary Position preferences of well-fed and food-deprived juvenile roach were investigated in schools of 2 and 4 fish in the laboratory. Food-deprived fish appeared significantly more often in the front position than their well-fed conspecifics. For fish at the same hunger level, individuals at the front of the school had the highest feeding rate. These results represent the first evidence for a relationship between the nutritional state of individual fish and their positions in a school and suggest a functional advantage of the preference. Offprint requests to: J. Krause at the present address