Investigating measurements of fine particle (PM2.5) emissions from the cooking of meals and mitigating exposure using a cooker hood

There is growing awareness that indoor exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) is associated with an increased risk of adverse health effects. Cooking is a key indoor source of PM_2.5 and an activity conducted daily in most homes. Population scale models can predict occupant exposures to PM_2.5, but these predictions are sensitive to the emission rates used. Reported emission rates are highly variable and are typically for the cooking of single ingredients and not full meals. Accordingly, there is a need to assess PM_2.5 emissions from the cooking of complete meals. Mean PM_2.5 emission rates and source strengths were measured for four complete meals. Temporal PM_2.5 concentrations and particle size distributions were recorded using an optical particle counter (OPC), and gravimetric sampling was used to determine calibration factors. Mean emission rates and source strengths varied between 0.54—3.7 mg/min and 15—68 mg, respectively, with 95% confidence. Using a cooker hood (apparent capture efficiency > 90%) and frying in non‐stick pans were found to significantly reduce emissions. OPC calibration factors varied between 1.5 and 5.0 showing that a single value cannot be used for all meals and that gravimetric sampling is necessary when measuring PM_2.5 concentrations in kitchens.     

Hydrogen storage performance of methyl-substituted mesoporous silica with tailored textural characteristics

Journal of Porous Materials - The present study reports a systematic analysis of morphology and hydrogen sorption capacity of mesoporous organic-inorganic silica prepared by varying the silica...     

The formation and properties of Sialon-ZrN composites produced by reaction bonding combined with post gas-pressure sintering

Sialon-ZrN composites have been fabricated by a combination of reaction bonding and post-gas-pressure sintering. Composites with different amount of ZrN were post sintered at 1600, 1700 and 1800?°C under a nitrogen pressure of 0.7?MPa for 6?h. The results showed that mass loss due to decomposition increased with increasing sintering temperature. The mass loss at 1600 and 1700?°C was comparable, and below 3% even for the highest ZrN content of 50?wt%, but ranged between 6% and 9% for samples post sintered at 1800?°C with 10–50?wt% ZrN. Composites sintered at 1700?°C had the highest relative density (> 97%) and lowest open porosity (< 2%), and this was independent of ZrN content. The incorporation of the ZrN particles was observed to have an effect on the mechanical properties of the composites. The highest hardness (16.05?±?0.17?GPa) was observed for the composite sintered at 1700?°C with 20?wt% ZrN but decreased with higher ZrN contents, due to a weak bonding between the ZrN particles and the Sialon matrix. The fracture toughness showed a continuous increase with increasing ZrN content, due to the effect of the weak bonding on toughening mechanisms such as crack branching, crack deflection and crack bridging. The highest fracture toughness (5.35?±?0.18?MPa?m^1/2) was observed for the composited sintered at 1700?°C with 50?wt% ZrN.     

Novel insights on the impact of top water on Steam‐Assisted Gravity Drainage in a point bar reservoir

As efforts are made to efficiently exploit and recover bitumen resources in Canada, increasingly more complex reservoirs in the Athabasca area continue to challenge the application of Steam‐Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology. Several studies have been done to investigate the impact of heterogeneities/complexities such as shale barriers, lean zones, and top and bottom water on the performance of the SAGD process. However, the literature is deficient for point bar deposits with top water zones, a common occurrence in oil sands systems. This study, by using thermal reservoir simulation, examines SAGD performance in a point bar deposit reservoir where an overlying top water and an inclined heterolithic strata (IHS) is present. The results show that where the top water is unconfined and steam injection pressure is higher than that of the top water zone, there is a loss of thermal energy, but the top water does not impact steam chamber development. At steam injection pressure lower than that of the top water zone, top water continuously drains into the reservoir and constrains the size of the chamber. However, the IHS zone helps to delay drainage of the top water into the chamber when steam is injected at underbalanced conditions. Finally, under proper steam injection pressure conditions, top water production can be considerably delayed.     

Design of a Cost‐Reduced Flexible Plant for Supercritical Fluid‐Assisted Applications

A novel batch plant for supercritical CO₂ applications is proposed which is not equipped with expensive components, such as high‐pressure pumps, making it particularly suitable for bench‐scale use. For the first time, the use of a hanging scale is suggested to weigh the amount of CO₂ required for the experiment and the use of the thermodynamics to reach the working conditions. The rig is able to cover different applications, e.g., aerogel drying, impregnation, and extraction, showing high flexibility. An approximate cost analysis has been performed considering as a reference a 150‐mL vessel. It has been calculated that both the setup and running costs are considerably lower than the common batch and semicontinuous rigs.     

Computational Analysis of the Solid-State and Solvation Properties of Carbamazepine in Relation to its Polymorphism

The solvent-dependent polymorphism of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) carbamazepine is interpreted from calculations of the solid-state and API-solvent intermolecular interactions. These simulations suggested that apolar solute-solute interactions could be disrupted by apolar solvents. In contrast, the polar solute-solute interactions were found to be easily disrupted by polar and protic solvents. This is consistent with experimental observations that the crystallization of the metastable form II is more dominant in apolar solvents. The Mercury program remains the gold standard in terms of usability; however, further expansion into more complex simulation techniques could make this package of even greater use in pharmaceutical manufacturing workflows.     

Detailed Balance Broken by Catch Bond Kinetics Enables Mechanical-Adaptation in Active Materials

Unlike nearly all engineered materials which contain bonds that weaken under load, biological materials contain “catch” bonds which are reinforced under load. Consequently, materials, such as the cell cytoskeleton, can adapt their mechanical properties in response to their state of internal, non-equilibrium (active) stress. However, how large-scale material properties vary with the distance from equilibrium is unknown, as are the relative roles of active stress and binding kinetics in establishing this distance. Through course-grained molecular dynamics simulations, the effect of breaking of detailed balance by catch bonds on the accumulation and dissipation of energy within a model of the actomyosin cytoskeleton is explored. It is found that the extent to which detailed balance is broken uniquely determines a large-scale fluid-solid transition with characteristic time-reversal symmetries. The transition depends critically on the strength of the catch bond, suggesting that active stress is necessary but insufficient to mount an adaptive mechanical response.     

Regulatory RNAs: A Universal Language for Inter-Domain Communication

In eukaryotes, microRNAs (miRNAs) have roles in development, homeostasis, disease and the immune response. Recent work has shown that plant and mammalian miRNAs also mediate cross-kingdom and cross-domain communications. However, these studies remain controversial and are lacking critical mechanistic explanations. Bacteria do not produce miRNAs themselves, and therefore it is unclear how these eukaryotic RNA molecules could function in the bacterial recipient. In this review, we compare and contrast the biogenesis and functions of regulatory RNAs in eukaryotes and bacteria. As a result, we discovered several conserved features and homologous components in these distinct pathways. These findings enabled us to propose novel mechanisms to explain how eukaryotic miRNAs could function in bacteria. Further understanding in this area is necessary to validate the findings of existing studies and could facilitate the use of miRNAs as novel tools for the directed remodelling of the human microbiota.