A simple evaluation of global and diffuse luminous efficacy for all sky conditions in tropical and humid climate

This paper presents initial values of global and diffuse luminous efficacy at Saint-Pierre (Reunion Island). Firstly, data used were measured for a period of 6 months, from February to June 2008. During this period, all defined day-types have been studied (clear, cloudy and intermediate). Generally, the meteorological database of Reunion does not contain information for illuminance values. On the other hand, the local meteorological center has a 60-years-old database for solar irradiance (W/m²). So it is important to determine Luminous Efficacy in order to find illuminance from solar irradiance (or luminance from solar radiance). The measured data were analyzed, and empirical constant models were developed and presented in this paper in order to determine luminous efficacy under different sky conditions. A comparison between these empirical constants (models) and existing models has been made. The method used to define sky conditions (overcast, intermediate and clear) and day-types characterization as well as classification will be presented in this work.     

Discharge studies in micromegas detectors in a 150 GeV/c pion beam

A detailed study of several Micromegas detectors prototyped for the COMPASS and CLAS12 experiments is presented. Using a 150 GeV/c pion beam, the discharge probability was measured for several detector variants including bulk and non-bulk Micromegas. A detector equipped with an additional GEM foil as pre-amplification stage was also tested. A resistive coating of the readout strips was found to reduce the amplitude of the discharge by at least two orders of magnitude which was below the detection limit of the experimental setup. The effects of the micro-mesh type and material were investigated as well as the influence of the drift gap. Response in the presence of a 1.5 T transverse magnetic field was also studied. The measurements presented were performed during a RD51 beam test period.     

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of inhibitors of apoptosis protein delays apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons

The inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family of antiapoptotic genes, originally discovered in baculovirus, exists in animals ranging from insects to humans. Here, we investigated the ability of IAPs to suppress cell death in both a neuronal model of apoptosis and excitotoxicity. Cerebellar granule neurons undergo apoptosis when switched from 25 to 5 mM potassium, and excitotoxic cell death in response to glutamate. We examined the endogenous expression of four members of the IAP family, X chromosome-linked IAP (XIAP), rat IAP1 (RIAP1), RIAP2, and neuronal apoptosis inhibitory protein (NAIP), by semiquantitative reverse PCR and immunoblot analysis in cultured cerebellar granule neurons. Cerebellar granule neurons express significant levels of RIAP2 mRNA and protein, but expression of RIAP1, NAIP, and XIAP was not detected. RIAP2 mRNA content and protein levels did not change when cells were switched from 25 to 5 mM potassium. To determine whether ectopic expression of IAP influenced neuronal survival after potassium withdrawal or glutamate exposure, we used recombinant adenoviral vectors to target XIAP, human IAP1 (HIAP1), HIAP2, and NAIP into cerebellar granule neurons. We demonstrate that forced expression of IAPs efficiently blocked potassium withdrawal-induced N-acetyl-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-specific caspase activity and reduced DNA fragmentation. However, neurons were only protected from apoptosis up to 24 h after potassium withdrawal, but not at later time points, suggesting that IAPs delay but do not block apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons. In contrast, treatment with 100 microM or 1 mM glutamate did not induce caspase activity and adenoviral-mediated expression of IAPs had no influence on subsequent excitotoxic cell death.     

Advances in Modeling Completely Mixed Flow Reactors for Ion Exchange

This work advances the mathematical modeling of ion exchange treatment in completely mixed flow reactors in which there is recycle and regeneration of the ion exchange resin. The most common application of this process is magnetic ion exchange resin to remove dissolved organic carbon from raw drinking water. The motivation for this work was the complex distribution of resin particle ages and sizes that result from the recycle and regeneration processes. The newly developed model uses a single “age-averaged” diffusion equation to represent resin particle age as compared with the previous Monte Carlo model that uses a large number of diffusion equations to represent various resin particle ages. Advantages of the age-averaged model over the Monte Carlo model include a closed-form analytical solution for the steady-state case of the model, advanced numerical techniques used for the nonsteady-state case of the model, and model simulations require much less computational time and yield more accurate results. The age-averaged model is a robust numerical tool that can be used to evaluate a range of treatment scenarios as a result of these advancements.     

Phosphate recovery using hybrid anion exchange: Applications to source-separated urine and combined wastewater streams

There is increasing interest in recovering phosphorus (P) from various wastewater streams for beneficial use as fertilizer and to minimize environmental impacts of excess P on receiving waters. One such example is P recovery from human urine, which has a high concentration of phosphate (200–800 mg P/L) and accounts for a small volume (∼1%) of total wastewater flow. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to evaluate the potential to recover P from source-separated and combined wastewater streams that included undiluted human urine, urine diluted with tap water, greywater, mixture of urine and greywater, anaerobic digester supernatant, and secondary wastewater effluent. A hybrid anion exchange (HAIX) resin containing hydrous ferric oxide was used to recover P because of its selectivity for phosphate and the option to precipitate P minerals in the waste regeneration solution. The P recovery potential was fresh urine > hydrolyzed urine > greywater > biological wastewater effluent > anaerobic digester supernatant. The maximum loading of P on HAIX resin was fresh urine > hydrolyzed urine > anaerobic digester supernatant ≈ greywater > biological wastewater effluent. Results indicated that the sorption capacity of HAIX resin for phosphate and the total P recovery potential were greater for source-separated urine than the combined wastewater streams of secondary wastewater effluent and anaerobic digester supernatant. Dilution of urine with tap water decreased the phosphate loading on HAIX resin. The results of this work advance the current understanding of nutrient recovery from complex wastewater streams by sorption processes.     

Disseminated tuberculosis of unusual locations

We report a case of disseminated tuberculosis involving the middle ear, the central nervous system, the spine and the lung. The tuberculous epidural abscess and otomastoiditis don't have any specific imaging features. But their coexistence with an other tuberculous involvement might suggest their tuberculous nature. The epidural abscess may result from direct extension from otomastoiditis.     

Clinical utility of human polymerized hemoglobin as a blood substitute after acute trauma and urgent surgery

We have previously documented the safety of 1 unit (50 gram) of human polymerized hemoglobin (Poly SFH-P) in healthy volunteers. This report describes the first patient trial to assess the therapeutic benefit of Poly SFH-P in acute blood loss. Thirty-nine patients received 1 (n = 14), 2 (n = 2), 3 (n = 15), or 6 (n = 8) units of Poly SFH-P instead of red cells as part of their blood replacement after trauma and urgent surgery. There were no safety issues related to the infusion of Poly SFH-P. The plasma hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]) after the infusion of 6 units (300 gram) of Poly SFH-P was 4.8 +/- 0.8 g/dL (mean +/- SD). Although the red cell [Hb] fell to 2.9 +/- 1.2 g/dL, the total [Hb] was maintained at 7.5 +/- 1.2 g/dL. Poly SFH-P maintained total [Hb], despite the marked fall in red cell [Hb] due to blood loss. The utilization of O2 (extraction ratio) was 27 +/- 16% from the red cells and 37 +/- 13% from the Poly SFH-P. Twenty-three patients (59%) avoided allogeneic transfusions during the first 24 hours after blood loss. Poly SFH-P effectively loads and unloads O2 and maintains total hemoglobin in lieu of red cells after acute blood loss, thereby reducing allogeneic transfusions. Poly SFH-P seems to be a clinically useful blood substitute.