Relaxation Schemes for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws with Stiff Source Terms: Application to Reacting Euler Equations

We deal in this paper with the numerical study of relaxation schemes for hyperbolic conservation laws including stiff source terms. Following Jin and Xin [11], we use semi-linear hyperbolic systems with a stiff source term to approximate systems of conservation laws. This method allows to avoid the use of a Riemann solver in the construction of the numerical schemes. Numerical tests are presented together with an application to Reactive Euler Equations.     

THE ROLE OF PHOSPHONATE DERIVATIVES ON THE CORROSION INHIBITION OF STEEL IN HCL MEDIA

The inhibition of corrosion of steel by two P-containing compounds, sodium methyldodecyl phosphonate and sodium methyl (11-smethacryloyloxyundecyl) phosphonate, in hydrochloric acid has been investigated at various temperatures using electrochemical techniques (impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization) and weight loss measurements. Inhibition efficiency (E%) increased with phosphonate concentration. Adsorption of inhibitors on the steel surface in 1 M HCl follows the Langmuir isotherm model. EIS measurements showed that the dissolution process of steel occurred under activation control. Polarization curves indicated that inhibitors tested acted as cathodic inhibitors. The temperature effect on the corrosion behavior of steel in 1 M HCl without and with the inhibitor was studied in the temperature range from 313 to 353 K. The adsorption free energy and activation parameters for the steel dissolution reaction in the presence of phosphonates were determined.     

Development of an England-wide indoor overheating and air pollution model using artificial neural networks

With the UK climate projected to warm in future decades, there is an increased research focus on the risks of indoor overheating. Energy-efficient building adaptations may modify a buildings risk of overheating and the infiltration of air pollution from outdoor sources. This paper presents the development of a national model of indoor overheating and air pollution, capable of modelling the existing and future building stocks, along with changes to the climate, outdoor air pollution levels, and occupant behaviour. The model presented is based on a large number of EnergyPlus simulations run in parallel. A metamodelling approach is used to create a model that estimates the indoor overheating and air pollution risks for the English housing stock. The performance of neural networks (NNs) is compared to a support vector regression (SVR) algorithm when forming the metamodel. NNs are shown to give almost a 50% better overall performance than SVR.     

Impact and uncertainty of a traffic management intervention: population exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

In urban areas, road traffic is a major source of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), thus any changes in traffic patterns are expected to affect PAH concentrations in ambient air. Exposure to PAH and other traffic-related air pollutants has often been quantified in a deterministic manner that disregards the various sources of uncertainty in the modelling systems used. In this study, we developed a generic method for handling uncertainty in population exposure models. The method was applied to quantify the uncertainty in population exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) before and after the implementation of a traffic management intervention. This intervention would affect the movement of vehicles in the studied area and consequently alter traffic emissions, pollutant concentrations and population exposure. Several models, including an emission calculator, a dispersion model and a Geographic Information System were used to quantify the impact of the traffic management intervention. We established four exposure zones defined by distance of residence postcode centroids from major road or intersection. A stochastic method was used to quantify the uncertainty in the population exposure model. The method characterises uncertainty using probability measures and propagates it applying Monte Carlo analysis. The overall model predicted that the traffic management scheme would lead to a minor reduction in mean population exposure to BaP in the studied area. However, the uncertainty associated with the exposure estimates was much larger than this reduction. The proposed method is generic and provides realistic estimates of population exposure to traffic-related pollutants, as well as characterises the uncertainty in these estimates. This method can be used within a decision support tool to evaluate the impact of alternative traffic management policies.     

THE ROLE OF PHOSPHONATE DERIVATIVES ON THE CORROSION INHIBITION OF STEEL IN HCL MEDIA

The inhibition of corrosion of steel by two P-containing compounds, sodium methyldodecyl phosphonate and sodium methyl (11-smethacryloyloxyundecyl) phosphonate, in hydrochloric acid has been investigated at various temperatures using electrochemical techniques (impedance spectroscopy (EIS), potentiodynamic polarization) and weight loss measurements. Inhibition efficiency (E%) increased with phosphonate concentration. Adsorption of inhibitors on the steel surface in 1 M HCl follows the Langmuir isotherm model. EIS measurements showed that the dissolution process of steel occurred under activation control. Polarization curves indicated that inhibitors tested acted as cathodic inhibitors. The temperature effect on the corrosion behavior of steel in 1 M HCl without and with the inhibitor was studied in the temperature range from 313 to 353 K. The adsorption free energy and activation parameters for the steel dissolution reaction in the presence of phosphonates were determined.     

MALDI imaging and structural analysis of rat brain lipid negative ions with 9-aminoacridine matrix

Mass spectrometry imaging is of growing interest for chemical mapping of lipids at the surface of tissue sections. Many efforts have been devoted to optimize matrix choice and deposition technique for positive ion mode analyses. The identification of lipid species desorbed from tissue sections in the negative mode can be significantly improved by using 9-aminoacridine together with a robust deposition method, yielding a superior signal-to-noise ratio and thus a better contrast for the ion images in comparison to classical matrices such as α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, or 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone. Twenty-eight different lipid species (phosphatidic acids, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylserines, phosphatidylglycerols, phosphatidylinositols, phosphatidylinositol-phosphates, and sulfatides) were scrutinized on rat brain tissue sections, and systematic MS/MS studies were conducted. It was possible to identify isobaric species differing by their fatty acid chains thanks to the improved sensitivity.     

Formulation optimization of a drug in adhesive transdermal analgesic patch

Abstract

Context: Conventional pain management approaches have limitations such as gastrointestinal side effects, frequent dosing, and difficulties in swallowing medications. Hence, to overcome these limitations, we developed a transdermal analgesic patch.

Objective: This study was designed to formulate a drug in adhesive transdermal patch with codeine (CDB) and acetaminophen (APAP) that may potentially treat moderate pain in children.

Materials and methods: Three analgesic drugs hydrocodone bitartrate, CDB and APAP were screened by a slide crystallization study using polarized light microscope and their permeation profiles were studied using vertical Franz diffusion cells across porcine ear skin, dermatomed human skin and epidermis for 24?h, and the samples were quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. Patches used for permeation studies were prepared by dissolving sub-saturation concentration of the drug(s) in adhesive (with/without 5% w/w oleic acid [OA]), cast with a film casting knife.

Results and discussion: Among the three drugs screened, CDB demonstrated the best permeation profile (660.21?µg/cm²), and shortest lag time (4.35?±?0.01?h), and hence was chosen for patch studies. The highest concentration of CDB in the patch at which drug does not crystallize was determined as 40% of its saturation solubility (Cs) and that of APAP was determined as 200% of its Cs. CDB standalone patch delivered 105.48?µg/cm² of CDB, while the CDB–APAP combination patch with 5% w/w OA delivered 151.40?µg/cm² CDB and 58.12?µg/cm² APAP in 24?h.

Conclusion: Drug-in-adhesive patches using CDB and APAP were developed for infants and children. Addition of OA enhanced solubility and permeation of drugs.