Thermodynamic analysis of the regasification of LNG for the desalination of sea water

A net zero work system for the recovery of refrigeration available from LNG during regasification is described. The system consists of a heat engine operating between an LNG heat exchanger in which regasification takes place and a sea water heat exchanger in which sea water is cooled to 246 K. A portion of the work output from the heat engine is used to drive a heat pump operating between the atmosphere and another sea water heat exchanger in which a second sea water stream is cooled to 246 K. The remaining portion of the heat engine work is used to separate fresh water from the ice-slurry. Peak fresh water output is approximately 6.7 kg water/kg LNG.     

Gallium-67 scanning for carcinoma of the lung

Gallium-67 citrate scanning was prospectively evaluated in 55 patients who had lung lesions suspected to be primary carcinoma on chest x-ray films and in whom subsequent histologic diagnosis was obtained. Of 47 patients with histologically proved carcinoma of the lung, 44 (94 per cent) had a positive 67Ga scan. No patient with a positive scan had a benign lesion, so that the positive scan accuracy rate was 100 per cent. All 8 patients with a benign lesion and 3 patients with a malignant lesion had negative scans, for a negative scan accurary rate of 72 per cent for benign lesions. These results give statistical validity for the usefulness of the 67Ga scan in diagnosing carcinoma of the lung (p less than 0.001). Tumor cell type had little effect on the sensitivity of 67Ga scan. The 67Ga scan was equally useful in the evaluation of peripheral and central lesions. There was little difference amount T1, T2, and T3 classified lesions in their ability to take up 67Ga. The 67Ga scan was competitive with mediastinoscopy in assessing mediastinal lymph node metastases and provides a noninvasive method of assessing hilar lymph node metastases. There was a good correlation between the clinical staging of patients with lung cancer based on a chest x-ray film and 67Ga scanning and the staging after surgical treatment based on the histology of the resected specimens.     

The prediction of failure strain for Zircaloy-4 subjected to non-stationary loading conditions

A modified Monkman-Grant relationship (MMG) is applied to predict — as far as the life time is known — the failure strain of Zry-4 subjected to tensile rupture test at load as well as temperature ramp conditions, respectively. As the analysis has shown in the first case, a simple relationship exists between the minimum creep rate and the stress rate. Thus, this quantity appearing in the MMG is phenomenologically connected with the test conditions. For failure strain predictions in temperature ramp tests the introduction of an effective temperature has shown to be advantageous. As compared to the peculiarities of the problem, the agreement between experiments and calculations is encouraging.     

An Intelligent Transportation System to control air pollution and road traffic in cities integrating CEP and Colored Petri Nets

Neural Computing and Applications - Air pollution generated by road traffic in large cities is a great concern in today’s society since pollution has an important impact on human health, even...     

Study of three different families of water-soluble copolymers: synthesis, characterization and viscoelastic behavior of semidilute solutions of polymers prepared by solution polymerization

Polymer chains consisting of water-soluble polyacrylamides, hydrophobically modified with low amounts of N,N-dialkylacrylamides (N,N-dihexylacrylamide (DHAM) and N,N-dioctylacrylamide (DOAM)) have been prepared via free radical solution polymerization, using two hydrophobic initiators derived from 4,4′-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) (ACVA) containing long linear chains of 12 (C12) and 16 (C16) carbon atoms. This procedure resulted in polyacrylamides containing hydrophobic groups along the chain as well as at the chain ends. This class of polymers, termed ‘combined associative polymers’, has been studied and compared with the multisticker (with hydrophobic groups along the polymer chain) and telechelic (with hydrophobic groups at the chain ends) associative polymers, which were prepared with DHAM or DOAM and with the hydrophobic initiator (ACVA) modified with alkyl chains of two different lengths. The viscoelastic properties of these different families of associative polymers were investigated using steady-flow and oscillatory experiments. The effect of type, localization and concentration of the hydrophobic groups on the viscosity of the associative polymer solution was investigated. All viscosity curves clearly show two different regimes within the semidilute range: a first unentangled regime where the viscosity increases moderately; and a second entangled regime where the viscosity varies according to a power law, proportional to C⁴. The relaxation time, T_R, and the plateau modulus, G₀, showed relatively high values which increased with the number of carbon atoms in the hydrophobic groups. The combined associative polymer (PAM-co-DHAM/ACVA12) showed relaxation times that remained relatively constant along the concentrations studied, but very high values of G₀.     

Effect of Host Plant Xylem Fluid on Growth,Aggregation, and Attachment of <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Xylella fastidiosa</Emphasis>

In the Temecula Valley of California the proximity of citrus groves to vineyards influences the incidence and severity of Pierce’s disease (PD) in grapes, a disease caused by the gram-negative bacterium, Xylella fastidiosa. Although the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), the major insect vector of the bacterium, feeds on and moves back and forth between citrus groves and vineyards, there are no visible symptoms of disease caused by X. fastidiosa in citrus. Previous evidences suggested that while grapevines are susceptible to the PD strain of X. fastidiosa, citrus trees are resistant or tolerant but could be a reservoir to harbor the pathogen for the GWSS acquisition. We investigated the mechanisms of host plant resistance/susceptibility by examining the in vitro effect of xylem fluid from grapefruit, orange, lemon, and grape on the growth, aggregation, and attachment of a X. fastidiosa strain isolated from grape. Our results revealed that xylem fluid from grapefruit, orange, and lemon trees caused the bacterial cells to form aggregations of large whitish clumps, whereas the xylem fluid from grape vines created a visible thick biofilm. The densities of X. fastidiosa cells in grapefruit xylem fluid treatment were significantly higher at 6, 8, and 9 d postinoculation compared with those in grape xylem fluid treatment. The cell densities of X. fastidiosa cultures in orange or lemon xylem fluid were generally lower than those in grape xylem fluid treatment, whereas citrus xylem fluid significantly inhibited X. fastidiosa biofilm formation compared to grape xylem fluid.