Positive Side Effects Research Articles

Analysis of a hybrid (topping/bottoming) ORC based CHP configuration integrating a new evaporator design concept for residential applications

The recommended design principles for the development of evaporators for ORC based micro-CHP systems attempting to retrofit the current combi-boilers are presented and discussed in this paper. From those principles, among which is the need of organic fluid direct vaporization, emerged a hybrid (topping/bottoming) CHP configuration in which the thermal energy is produced stepwise: firstly in the ORC-condenser and then in a post-heater, that is integrated on the ORC-evaporator, directly with the combustion gases. A model of this configuration was developed to determine the fraction of the CHP water heating process performed in the post-heater that maximizes the primary energy savings and ORC net power output for a wide range of CHP operating conditions. When compared to a standard CHP configuration, this solution show benefits for the greater part of those conditions. Besides solving the safety issue posed by the ORC-evaporator requirements and the performance benefits shown, this configuration has an additional positive side effect: the decrease of the combustion gases’ temperature before they reach the organic working fluid heat-exchanger section in the ORC-evaporator that leads to a reduction of the risk of the working fluid thermal degradation.

Exploring the Experiences of Adults With Type 2 Diabetes on Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors

ObjectiveDiet-related quality of life has not been explored previously in patients with type 2 diabetes using sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, the latest class of diabetes medications. In this study, we sought to describe the patient experience on SGLT-2 inhibitors and examine whether there have been improvements in dietary perception and satisfaction with these drugs. MethodsAdults ≥40 years of age with type 2 diabetes and using SGLT-2 inhibitors for at least 1 month were recruited to take part in one-time 1-on-1 interviews. An interpretive descriptive methodology was used. Data collection and analysis occurred concurrently and a constant comparative analysis was used. ResultsAn overall positive response to SGLT-2 inhibitor use was observed. Interviews revealed 3 themes: Recognizing, Reckoning and Realizing. In Recognizing, all patients reported a significant relationship with food that was typically negative and included feelings of food restriction and deprivation. Positive side effects of the drug in Reckoning included better glycemic control, weight loss and improved energy. Some participants were motivated in Realizing to pursue additional behavioural changes to improve their diabetes management. ConclusionsAn improved dietary-related quality of life was described by some participants. Although not all individuals were seen to move into the Realizing phase after initiating an SGLT-2 inhibitor, there appeared to be an opportunity to create a behaviour change after positive Reckoning experiences.

Intentionality attribution and emotion: The Knobe Effect in alexithymia

The capacity to distinguish between intentional and unintentional actions is a crucial aspect of moral competence. Therefore, the processes shaping intentionality attribution, as well as their dysfunction, are object of intense inquiry. The 'Knobe effect' refers to the intriguing finding that people are more likely to judge as intentional actions leading to negative as opposed to positive side effects, which has been attributed to the emotional response elicited by negative (vs. positive) outcomes. Whether and how emotion drives the Knobe effect, however, is currently debated. Here, individuals with low (LA) and high (HA) levels of alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by difficulties in emotional processing, judged the intentionality of actions with side effects that varied in valence (positive/negative) and salience (low/high), while their subjective emotional response and skin conductance level were assessed. LA individuals attributed more intentionality to actions leading to negative (vs. positive) side effects, and to high (vs. low) salience side effects, and this related to their subjective emotional response to negative side effects. In the context of a generally reduced physiological activation to emotional stimuli, HA (compared to LA) individuals attributed less intentionality to actions leading to negative side effects, especially those with low salience, showing a reduced Knobe effect, which was accompanied by a reduced subjective emotional response to negative side effects. These results confirm the crucial role of emotion on intentionality attribution. Moreover, they contribute to qualifying the emotional processing difficulties associated with alexithymia, and their impact on moral cognition.

Degradation of Ecosystem Services and Deforestation in Landscapes With and Without Incentive-Based Forest Conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Anthropogenic activities such as logging or forest conversion into agricultural lands are affecting Ecuadorian Amazon forests. To foster private and communal conservation activities an economic incentive-based conservation program (IFC) called Socio Bosque was established. Existing analyses related to conservation strategies are mainly focused on deforestation; while degradation and the role of IFC to safeguard ecosystem services are still scarce. Further on, there is a lack of landscape-level studies taking into account potential side effects of IFC on different forest types. Therefore we assessed ecosystem services (carbon stocks, timber volume) and species richness in landscapes with and without IFC. Additionally, we evaluated potential side-effects of IFC in adjacent forest types; hypothesizing potential leakage effects of IFC. Finally, we tested if deforestation rates decreased after IFC implementation. Forest inventories were conducted in 72 plots across eight landscapes in the Ecuadorian Central Amazon with and without IFC. Plots were randomly selected within three forest types (old-growth, logged and successional forests). In each plot all individuals with a diameter at breast height greater than 10 cm were measured. Old-growth forests in general showed higher carbon stocks, timber volume and species richness, and no significant differences between old-growth forests in IFC and non-IFC landscapes were found. Logged forests had 32% less above-ground carbon (AGC) and timber volume in comparison to old-growth forests. Surprisingly, logged forests near IFC presented higher AGC stocks than logged forests in non-IFC landscapes, indicating positive side-effects of IFC. Successional forests contain 56% to 64% of AGC, total carbon and timber volume, in comparison to old-growth forests, and 82% to 87% in comparison to logged forests. Therefore, successional forests could play an important role for restoration and should receive more attention in national climate change policies. Finally, after IFC implementation deforestation rate decreased on parish level. Our study presents scientific evidence of IFC contribution to conserving ecosystem services and species richness. In addition IFC could help indirectly to reduce degradation effects attributed to logging, indicating potential compatibility of conservation aims with forest activities at a landscape level.

Am I allowed to sell myself and my child?

Danish legislation seeks to discourage people from becoming prostitutes and surrogate mothers. However, prostitution and surrogacy do not differ in morally relevant respects from comparable professions or practices not restricted by the law. Accordingly, a less restrictive legislation pertaining to prostitution and surrogacy is warranted. A positive side effect of this is to reduce the stigmatization that seems to affect practitioners of both professions.

The Association between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief

Federal barriers and logistical challenges have hindered measurement of the real time effects from the types of cannabis products used medically by millions of patients in vivo. Between 06/06/2016 and 03/05/2018, 3,341 people completed 19,910 self- administrated cannabis sessions using the mobile device software, ReleafApp to record: type of cannabis product (dried whole natural Cannabis flower, concentrate, edible, tincture, topical), combustion method (joint, pipe, vaporization), Cannabis subspecies (C. indica and C. sativa), and major cannabinoid contents (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC; and cannabidiol, CBD), along with real-time ratings of health symptom severity levels, prior-to and immediately following administration, and reported side effects. A fixed effects panel regression approach was used to model the within-user effects of different product characteristics. Patients showed an average symptom improvement of 3.5 (SD = 2.6) on an 11-point scale across the 27 measured symptom categories. Dried flower was the most commonly used product and generally associated with greater symptom relief than other types of products. Across product characteristics, only higher THC levels were independently associated with greater symptom relief and prevalence of positive and negative side effects. In contrast, CBD potency levels were generally not associated with significant symptom changes or experienced side effects.

Asymmetric effects of cultural institutes on trade and foreign direct investment

AbstractThe purpose of a cultural institute is to improve international relations with other countries by promoting language familiarity and cultural awareness. In addition, cultural institutes can provide additional business opportunities that lead to positive economic side effects such as increases in trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). In this study, gravity models were used to analyse the data for the Goethe Institut (Germany), the Cervantes Institute (Spain) and the Confucius Institute (China) to identify any stylised international patterns of the documented economic effects. The study finds significant positive effects on bilateral trade and FDI outflows for all three programmes, along with two important (i) the effects are stronger for non‐advanced economies and (ii) the effects are substantially larger on FDI than on trade. These results suggest that cultural institutes can be an effective policy tool in promoting FDI outflows, with the strongest effect realised when a home country locates its cultural institutes in host countries with developing economies. Importantly, results also suggest that the Chinese government's approach to extend its soft power through rapid expansion of Confucius Institutes worldwide has not been as successful as the efforts by the German Goethe Institut in increasing trade and FDI.

From sensitive historical issues to history teachers’ sensibility: a look across and within countries

ABSTRACT The present study is about sensitive issues in history teaching that have probably been experienced by most teachers in the field. We conducted a questionnaire study in Austria, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Serbia and The Netherlands to assess which issues were experienced as sensitive in class, what the reasons were for sensitivity, and what personal and institutional conditions might help teachers in overcoming such situations. Results were analysed from the perspective of both collective and individual differences. At the collective level it was found that contrary to previous studies teachers tended to attribute low sensitivity to difficult histories, to teach sensitive issues frequently and they reported little intervention and few sanctions from peers or superiors. Historical issue sensitivity was found to have some relationship to national political climate, external threat and teacher organization. From an individual difference perspective it appeared that sensitivity was not only a characteristic of an issue or topic, but was also bound to the sensibility of the teachers and their perceptions of the teaching setting. The findings are discussed in the context of nations’ self-image and the positive side-effects of analysing sensitive issues in class, with an emphasis on teacher perception, agency and need for support.

Evaluating LCOE in sustainable microgrids for smart city applications

A microgrid can be considered a profitable solution to be adopted in smart cities if it is marketable, i.e. more, or at least equally convenient than other traditional energy supply sources. Different economic parameters can be defined to determine its affordability. In particular, the LCOE (Levelized Cost of Electricity) is the most popular indicator adopted in the energy sector, widely used both for conventional and renewable power sources. However, the use of this metric still disregards important aspects that concerns microgrid applications. After providing a state-of-the-art of the use of LCOE, the present paper proposes a new methodology for sustainable microgrids in smart city, taking into account benefits due to cogeneration and trigeneration, integration costs as well as positive and negative side effects.

Sodium Borosilicate Glass Separators as an Electrolyte Additive Donor for Improving the Electrochemical Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries

In order to replace today's used electrochemical passive polymer-based lithium-ion battery separators, custom-made ultrathin micrometer-sized glass platelets are being tested as separators. Ions are leached from the glass by hydrofluoric acid (HF), which is typically present in LiPF6 containing electrolytes. The ions act as an electrolyte additive and show an effect on electrochemical cell parameters with progressing battery cycling. For comparability, different glass compositions are investigated and are compared to a commercial polymer-based separator. The separators are tested in a graphite || lithium iron phosphate full-cell configuration. Charge/discharge tests at different C-rates up to 10C, post-mortem analyses, impedance spectroscopy measurements, and distribution of relaxation times analyses are conducted to analyze the specific influence of the glass composition on cell aging. It is shown that in addition to the positive side effect of HF gettering, the ions from a sodium borosilicate glass cause a modification of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) with regard to its conductivity, thus improving the fast-charging capability and cycling stability of the battery cell.

Do Inhalational Anesthetic Agents Still Hold Their Place in Modern Anesthesia Practice?

Inhalational anesthetic agents are chemi-cal substances that are administered into the body via lungs and distributed to or-gans and tissues by blood circulation.The main site of their action is the brain, but they also affect other parts of central nervous system. Volatile and intravenous anesthetics alike have nearly reached the characteristics of an ideal anesthetic, but at a first glance, the increase in use of in-travenous anesthetics could likely push out their volatile counterparts. Looking at the situation more thoroughly, positive side effects of volatile anesthetics that are not found in their intravenous counterparts, still give them a place in modern anesthe-sia practice. It is also possible to combine both techniques to reduce negative adverse effects, while making use of the positive ones.opioids, nitrogenous oxide, muscle relax-ants). Most often, we use them in so called “balanced anesthesia”. This way, safety is increased, while negative adverse effects are decreased.Recently, TCI (target-controlled anesthe-sia) with intravenous anesthetics is being used more and more. It would appear that intravenous anesthetics are going to com-pletely push out the volatile anesthetics that had been used a lot in the past. But is this really going to happen?

Adolescents’ Experiences of Participating in a Weight-loss Programme, Linked to Weight Status, Health-related Quality of Life and Self-concept: A Longitudinal Study

Purpose: To investigate the link between adolescents’ experiences of participating in a weight-loss programme and their weight status, Health-Related Quality of Life and selfconcept over 5 years. Design and Method: A qualitative study with a hermeneutic approach, focused on interpreting adolescents’ experiences. Interviews of 10 adolescents in a weight-loss programme, and their parents, three times over 5 years. The interview findings were supported by BMI-SDS (Body Mass Index standard deviation scores) and questionnaires: Health- Related Quality of Life (HRQOL), and self-concept (Beck Youth Inventories, BSCI-Y). Results: Immediately after completion of the weight-loss programme, the 10 adolescents had all lost weight and experienced other effects, e.g. more energy, making friends and discovering commonalities, along with improved physical parameters, experienced HRQOL and self-concept. However, weight loss was difficult to maintain after completion. Some adolescents who had regained weight 1 year after completion reported lower perceived HRQOL and self-concept and also left the study. Conclusion: Weight loss can be achieved during a treatment programme for overweight adolescents, bringing lower BMI and also potential psycho-social benefits. Focus on weight loss alone may involve overlooking other positive sideeffects of the treatment. There are also overlooked negative effects: Not all participants maintained weight loss, and for regainers, some HRQOL and self-concept scores deteriorated, compared to their situation pre-programme. These negative effects are not described in other studies. Practice Implications: We encourage enhanced professional support for drop-outs and regainers, and we recommend ongoing, open-ended programmes to better retain and support adolescents and their families. Our findings indicate this would improve intervention outcomes for the entire group.

In Search of Feasible Environmental Policy Making Tools in the United Arab Emirates: The Multi-Goal Approach

Public Policymaking in general and environmental policymaking, in particular, are not conducted in a scientific manner. Public policy makers usually adopt piecemeal and hoc and reactive approaches. Environmental problems are multifaceted and interdependent. This characteristic of interdependence means their impacts affect other public policy issue areas such as health, employment, and productions. Therefore, the impact of policies adopted to address environ­mental problems is not confined to the environmental issue area. Every public policy in any policy issue area is susceptible to have intended and unintended positive and negative side effects. Intended effects are goals policymakers intend to achieve by adopting specific public policies. Unintended positive and negative side effects result as byproducts of a specific policy being implemented. Hence, alternative policies considered to address any environmental problem should be weighed carefully against multiple sets of criteria and goals. Also, analysts must exert some efforts to look for potential negative side effects of policies. One pos­sible rational policy tool is the Multi-Goal analysis which permits policy analyst to compare several alternatives against several criteria to choose the one that attains the highest scores in these criteria. The Multi-Goal, as part of the ration­alistic model of policy analysis, follows certain steps to address public policy problems. These steps are compiled into two main categories: problem analysis and solution analysis.

Effect of chlorophenoxy herbicides residues on probing behavior of cereal aphid

Chlorophenoxyacetic herbicides such as 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) are used for cereal protection. However, some of them penetrate the tissues of protected plants and also get in contact with cereal pathogens. The up-to-date studies concerned their effectiveness in combating the weeds without paying attention to the herbivores occurring in cereal agrocenoses. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of chlorophenoxyacetic herbicides on the probing behavior of grain aphid, Sitobion avenae (F.), bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) and rose-grain aphid, Metopolophium dirhodum (Walk.). The experiment was carried out on wingless females feeding on winter wheat seedlings of Tonacja cv. using the electronic penetration graph (EPG) method. Tested herbicide preparations exerted an influence on the probing behavior of all aphids examined. The inhibitory effect of MCPA and 2,4-D on the uptake of phloem juice was found. It has been shown that chlorophenoxyacetic herbicides are not only effective in combating the weeds of cereal crops, but can also have positive side-effects in the form of limiting the cereal aphids population.

From ‘the Bads of Goods’ to ‘the Goods of Bads’: The Most Recent Developments in Ulrich Beck’s Cosmopolitan Sociology

The article critically assesses Ulrich Beck’s body of work and its importance for contemporary sociology. It demonstrates that Beck’s elaboration of his original theory of the ‘risk society’ into a theory of the ‘world risk society’, ‘cosmopolitanism’ and ‘metamorphosis’ involved several key theoretical innovations. Firstly, Beck adjusted his notion of risk to include the threat of international terrorism in his diagnosis of the (world) risk society. Secondly, he introduced a distinction between (normative) ‘cosmopolitanism’ and (real existing) ‘cosmopolitization’ in order to capture the specificity of contemporary social change. Thirdly and most recently, Beck outlined a theory of ‘the metamorphosis of the world’ which marks an important shift of emphasis from ‘the negative side effects of goods’ to ‘the positive side effects of bads’. In conclusion, the article identifies a number of theoretical ambiguities and unresolved questions in Beck’s theory.

A Review of the Role and Importance of Swaddling in Persian Medicine

BackgroundThere are controversial views on the advantages and disadvantages of swaddling. Perhaps an explaination on how to swaddle according to the teachings of traditional Persian Medicine will make it easier to have a better judgment of this kind of treatment.Materials and MethodsThis study was based on the books of famous Persian Traditional Medical scholars as well as modern medical literature, published or in databases.ResultsThe study showed that nowadays, the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), and hip joint dislocation were considered as the disadvantages of swaddling while baby's' better sleep was believed to be its advantage. However, in Persian traditional medicine, swaddling was known as a treatment for joint dislocation during labor or a means of preventing the dislocations which might occur while carrying the infant. Based on this aim, a careful method for swaddling was proposed which not only diminished the above mentioned disadvantages but also, provided positive side effects like better sleep and preserved body temperature for the newborn baby.ConclusionThere is a big difference between the ideas of traditional medical scholars and those of people on swaddling. Therefore, by reviewing the works of Iranian scholars and combining modern medical findings and Iranian experience, we can provide a different definition of swaddling. By teaching it to physicians, nurses and mothers, it can be considered as a treatment in the neonatal complications of childbirth. It is used during childbirth, and taking advantage of other benefits of this practice, also prevents its harm.

Assessment of a three step process using tungsten catalyzed hydrogen peroxide-based oxidative desulfurization for commercial diesel fuels

A three-step oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process comprising of oxidation, liquid–liquid extraction, and adsorption was applied to two compositionally very different commercial diesel samples, namely a straight run middle distillate and a blend of primary and secondary refining streams, to assess the ODS process feasibility. The oxidation of sulfur compounds was achieved using hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant in the presence of tungstic acid catalyst. The diesel feedstocks, intermediate and final products were characterized in detail using standard analytical methods along with state-of-the-art speciation techniques. Under mild conditions (ambient pressure and 80 °C), ODS was found to target sulfur species that are refractory to low-severity hydrodesulfurization (HDS), specifically dibenzothiophenes. The ODS process removed 85.3% and 33.5% of the sulfur compounds in the blend and straight run diesel samples, respectively. A comprehensive material balance for the overall process and each process step was also established, revealing that approximately 80% of the initial diesel could be recovered after desulfurization, when accounting for the removed sulfur compounds. However, any extraction based desulfurization approach has an inherent limit for the achievable overall diesel recovery because of the potentially high mass fraction of organosulfur compounds that is removed in the process. Consequently, ODS should be preceded by an HDS process to target the main bulk of sulfur compounds while the ODS process then removes the remaining HDS refractory compounds. Removal of nitrogen species, which are also undesirable in the final product, was a positive side effect of the studied ODS process.

EU-Exit and Loyalty: Reform Lessons from Brexit

The Brexit experience holds some important lessons for EU law and policy. In spite of certain potential positive side effects for EU integration, constitutionalism and institutionalism, EU exit movements and decisions are essentially damaging and should be avoided. Accordingly, citizens must be brought back into the integration debate via reinforced tools for feedback and criticism. Also, EU-critical debates should not be left to the national scene alone: EU law should set a framework here with a view to conducting critical debates in a constructive, informed and focused manner. This paper explores possible EU law tools in that regard and formulates certain recommendations for policy changes and EU law reform.

Patient-Reported Symptom Relief Following Medical Cannabis Consumption.

Background: The Releaf AppTM mobile software application (app) data was used to measure self-reported effectiveness and side effects of medical cannabis used under naturalistic conditions.Methods: Between 5/03/2016 and 12/16/2017, 2,830 Releaf AppTM users completed 13,638 individual sessions self-administering medical cannabis and indicated their primary health symptom severity rating on an 11-point (0–10) visual analog scale in real-time prior to and following cannabis consumption, along with experienced side effects.Results: Releaf AppTM responders used cannabis to treat myriad health symptoms, the most frequent relating to pain, anxiety, and depressive conditions. Significant symptom severity reductions were reported for all the symptom categories, with mean reductions between 2.8 and 4.6 points (ds ranged from 1.29–2.39, ps < 0.001). On average, higher pre-dosing symptom levels were associated with greater reported symptom relief, and users treating anxiety or depression-related symptoms reported significantly more relief (ps < 0.001) than users with pain symptoms. Of the 42 possible side effects, users were more likely to indicate and showed a stronger correlation between symptom relief and experiences of positive (94% of sessions) or a context-specific side effects (76%), whereas negative side effects (60%) were associated with lessened, yet still significant symptom relief and were more common among patients treating a depressive symptom relative to patients treating anxiety and pain-related conditions.Conclusion: Patient-managed cannabis use is associated with clinically significant improvements in self-reported symptom relief for treating a wide range of health conditions, along with frequent positive and negative side effects.

“Sustainability is a nice bonus” the role of sustainability in carsharing from a consumer perspective

Carsharing has been discussed as one of the most prominent examples of the sharing economy. The worldwide growth of services whereby consumers share access to cars rather than owning a car themselves could be a sustainable solution to environmental problems. However, first research indicates that consumers' environmental concerns play a minor role for using a carsharing compared to financial considerations. Moreover, prior research on B2C carsharing services may not be applicable to P2P services. The current research addresses this gap by investigating the role of sustainability in B2C and P2P carsharing from consumers' perspective. By applying quantitative as well as qualitative methods three studies show that consumers’ image of carsharing is “greener” than owning a car and that environmental concerns play a role when consumers decide to use P2P service over B2C services. However, interviews with carsharing users indicate that the sustainable impact of carsharing is rather perceived as a positive side effect than a main argument for carsharing. This should be considered by policy makers and marketers when promoting carsharing because of sustainable benefits.