Accidental poisoning in young children

Cases of accidental childhood poisoning admitted to hospital were compared with community controls and hospital controls matched for age and sex. The relative risks of factors in the cases compared with both the control groups were significant for roughness, aggressiveness, noisiness, and pica behaviour in the child, and for large families. Mothers' knowledge of the toxicity of common household products and drugs did not give significant risk differences between cases and controls. The majority of poisonings occurred during the summer months.     

Expert systems tactics in testing FASTBUS segment interconnectmodules (lessons so far in the SIDES project)

The FASTBUS segment interconnect (SI) module, which is among the most complex modules to diagnose and repair, is an intermediary device that provides a temporary connection between two otherwise independent FASTBUS segments. Internal SI problems typically manifest themselves elsewhere within the segments served. Offline testing of this sophisticated device is equally challenging. To address these problems, an exploratory project called the Segment Interconnect Diagnostic Expert System (SIDES) has been launched. The goals are to evaluate the technology and to create a more effective and streamlined testing schema. Some of the issues which have arisen during the initial phases of this project are presented     

A new high intensity focused ultrasound applicator for surgical applications

Improved high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) surgical applicators are required for use in a surgical environment. We report on the performance and characteristics of a new solid-cone HIFU applicator. Previous HIFU devices used a water-filled stand-off to couple the ultrasonic energy from the transducer to the treatment area. The new applicator uses a spherically-focused element and a solid aluminum cone to guide and couple the ultrasound to the tissue. Compared with the water-filled applicators, this new applicator is simpler to set up and manipulate, cannot leak, prevents the possibility of cavitation within the coupling device, and is much easier to sterilize and maintain during surgery. The design minimizes losses caused by shear wave conversion found in tapered solid acoustic velocity transformers operated at high frequencies. Computer simulations predicted good transfer of longitudinal waves. Impedance measurements, beam plots, Schlieren images, and force balance measurements verified strong focusing and suitable transfer of acoustic energy into water. At the focus, the -3 dB beam dimensions are 1.2 mm (axial)×0.3 mm (transverse). Radiation force balance measurements indicate a power transfer efficiency of 40%. In vitro and in vivo tissue experiments confirmed the applicator's ability to produce hemostasis     

Investigations on calcium carboxylate and sulfonate additive incompatibilities in a preservation oil

Severe quality defects of a well‐established preservation oil ranging from improper viscosity values to the formation of calcium carboxylate precipitates led to detailed investigations on the origin of these failures. Chemical analyses employing spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques focusing on the product's additives were performed. Thereupon, a mechanism for precipitate formation based on a delicate interaction between solubilizer, carboxylates, sulfonates and calcium ions was proposed. For this mechanism, ligand properties of sulfonates play a vital role: In contrast to monosulfonates, disulfonates seem to impede precipitation of calcium carboxylates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nafion-tris(2-2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) Ultrathin Langmuir-Schaefer films: redox catalysis and electrochemiluminescent properties

A simple procedure to incorporate tris(2-2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II), [Ru(bpy)3]2+, into Nafion Langmuir-Schaefer (LS) films is described. Nafion LS films (tens of nanometers thick) were formed on quartz glass and indium tin oxide (ITO) directly from Nafion-[Ru(bpy)3]2+ Langmuir films assembled at the water-air interface. This procedure allowed the direct incorporation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ into Nafion films without the need for subsequent loading. UV-vis spectroscopy confirmed the successful incorporation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ within the LS films and showed that the amount of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ immobilized in this way scaled with film thickness. Voltammetric studies on ITO-modified electrodes confirmed the successful incorporation of [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and demonstrated that [Ru(bpy)3]2+ was retained within the ultrathin films over a long time scale. These electrodes were tested for the electrocatalytic reduction of tripropylamine. Significant catalysis was observed due to the rapid turnover of [Ru(bpy)3]2+/3+ between the electrode surface and outer boundary of the film, as a direct consequence of the ultrathin film dimensions. Concomitant electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was demonstrated highlighting the potential of this material for sensing applications.     

Rheology of siloxane-stabilized water in silicone emulsions

Using silicone copolymers in personal care products can improve the aesthetic performance of formulations. During their manufacture, distribution and topical application they are subject to various mechanical stresses. In this study rheology was used to measure their effects. A number of water in silicone (w/Si) emulsions were prepared in which the oil phase consisted of cyclomethicone. The surfactant used was a branched type silicone copolymer. Both viscoelastic and viscometry measurement were performed on model systems and on commercial products. Experimental data were obtained using a Bohlin rheometer. The measurements were taken applying shear rates in the range of 0.46-58 l s-1 and for the strain sweep frequencies of 0.1 Hz, 1 Hz and 10 Hz were applied. Oscillation tests were performed in the 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz range. All measurements were taken at 35deg;C, representing the approximate temperature encountered during topical application. The effect of surfactant concentration on viscoelastic properties was examined. It was shown that with increasing surfactant concentration the elastic moduli G' and the viscous moduli G" increased. Furthermore, the emulsions showed a transition from a predominantly elastic to a predominantly viscous response as the surfactant concentration increased. The effect of varying the water phase volume fraction on viscometry and viscoelastic measurements was also examined. With increasing water phase volume fraction the viscosity of the emulsions, as well as the yield stress, increased. The Cross and Sisko models were applied. From the Dougherty and Krieger equation phieff was calculated. It was found the the data derived from the Sisko model gave more reliable results. Results obtained from commercial samples showed a high proportion of elasticity; oscillation tests and viscometry experiments suggested that tumbling had the biggest impact on the theological profiles; viscosity, eta, shear stress, sigma, elastic module, G', and dynamic viscosity, eta', dropped to a minimum in these samples. Results from the two commercial samples were compared and it was observed that, although both were w/o emulsions, different rheological behaviour could be observed.     

Algebraic surrogate-based process optimization using Bayesian symbolic learning

Here, we propose a strategy for the global optimization of process flowsheets, a fundamental problem in process systems engineering, based on algebraic surrogates that are built from rigorous simulations via Bayesian symbolic regression. The applied method provides a closed-form expression that can be optimized to global optimality using state-of-the-art solvers, where BARON or ANTIGONE were the solvers of choice. When predicting unseen test data, the algebraic models show a similar accuracy level compared to traditional surrogates based on Gaussian processes. However, they can be more easily optimized to global optimality due to their analytical closed-form structure, which allows the user to apply well-established global deterministic solvers. We show the capabilities of our approach in several case studies, ranging from process units to full flowsheets. The performance of our approach is assessed by comparing the CPU time for model building, the prediction accuracy of the identified model, and the CPU time for the subsequent optimization with a proven benchmark.     

High efficiency UMG silicon solar cells: impact of compensation on cell parameters

High efficiency solar cells have been fabricated with wafers from an n‐type Czochralski grown (Cz) ingot using 100% Upgraded Metallurgical‐Grade (UMG) silicon feedstock. The UMG cells fabricated with a passivated emitter and rear totally diffused (PERT) structure have an independently confirmed cell efficiency of 19.8%. This is the highest efficiency reported for a cell based on 100% UMG silicon at the time of publication. The current and power losses are analysed as a function of measured material parameters, including carrier mobility, lifetime and the presence of the boron–oxygen defect. Dopant compensation is shown to reduce both the minority carrier lifetime and mobility, which significantly affects both the current and voltage of the device. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.