Evaluation of the thermal performance of frame walls enhanced with paraffin and hydrated salt phase change materials using a dynamic wall simulator

The incorporation of phase change materials (PCMs) in building materials for use as latent heat storage and for potential reduction of energy requirements is an on-going field of study. In this paper, the development and testing of PCM-enhanced cellulose insulation for use in frame walls is presented. Two types of PCMs, paraffin-based and hydrated salt-based, were mixed into loose-fill cellulose insulation at concentrations of 10% and 20% (by the weight of the wallboard) in a 1.22 m × 1.22 m (48 in. × 48 in.) frame wall cavity. The thermally-enhanced frame walls were heated and allowed to cool down in a dynamic wall simulator that replicated the sun's exposure in a wall of a building on a typical summer day. Peak heat fluxes, total “daily” heat flows, and surface and air temperatures were measured and recorded. Results show that the paraffin-based PCM-enhanced insulation reduced the average peak heat flux by up to 9.2% and reduced the average total “daily” heat flow up to 1.2%. Because of the hydroscopic behavior of un-encapsulated hydrated salt, the hydrated salt-based PCM-enhanced insulation did not provide any thermal storage benefit.     

Peptide fingerprint of high quality Campania white wines by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Food traceability is essential to preserve the identity of unique quality traits against frauds or commercial disputes. Therefore, there is a growing demand of new traceability systems for the collection of information related to units/batches of food ingredients and products.     

High Performance, Low-Dose Radiography Systems for Space and Remote Site Applications

Medical imaging applications using X- and gamma-rays have reached outstanding levels of complexity and performance, thanks to technology achievements in the fields of radiography, tomography and high resolution synchrotron devices. The operability of the related instrumentation resides in the availability of highly qualified specialists, as well as of medical doctors for diagnoses and treatment. This is a problem for personnel working in difficult ambient conditions as can be found in remote sites like Arctica, Antarctica and under-populated, desolated or mountainous regions on Earth. Astronauts, during long permanence at the Space Station or on future mission to Mars are potentially subject to risks such as traumas, fractures or diseases which would require semi-automated, easy-to-handle application of X-ray radiographic devices. For this purpose, the possible use of imaging instrumentation based on solid state detectors is discussed with special regard to CdZnTe pixel devices, now available with sub-mm resolution. The use of these semiconductor detectors will also allow to perform image diagnostics at much lower doses compared to the current plate-based radiographic techniques.     

Thermal Stability Threshold for Amyloid Formation in Light Chain Amyloidosis

Light chain (AL) amyloidosis is a devastating disease characterized by amyloid deposits formed by immunoglobulin light chains. Current available treatments involve conventional chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplant. We have recently concluded a phase III trial comparing these two treatments. AL amyloidosis patients who achieve hematological complete response (CR) do not necessarily achieve organ response regardless of the treatment they received. In order to investigate the possible correlation between amyloid formation kinetics and organ response, we selected AL amyloidosis patients from the trial with kidney involvement and CR after treatment. Six patients were selected and their monoclonal immunoglobulin light chains were characterized. The proteins showed differences in their stability and their kinetics of amyloid formation. A correlation was detected at pH 7.4, showing that less stable proteins are more likely to form amyloid fibrils. AL-T03 is too unstable to form amyloid fibrils at pH 7.4. This protein was found in the only patient in the study that had organ response, suggesting that partially folded species are required for amyloid formation to occur in AL amyloidosis.     

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver: A Possible New Target for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention and Treatment

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder worldwide. Several lines of evidence have indicated a pathogenic role of insulin resistance, and a strong association with type 2 diabetes (T2MD) and metabolic syndrome. Importantly, NAFLD appears to enhance the risk for T2MD, as well as worsen glycemic control and cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. In turn, T2MD may promote NAFLD progression. The opportunity to take into account NAFLD in T2MD prevention and care has stimulated several clinical studies in which antidiabetic drugs, such as metformin, thiazolidinediones, GLP-1 analogues and DPP-4 inhibitors have been evaluated in NAFLD patients. In this review, we provide an overview of preclinical and clinical evidences on the possible efficacy of antidiabetic drugs in NAFLD treatment. Overall, available data suggest that metformin has beneficial effects on body weight reduction and metabolic parameters, with uncertain effects on liver histology, while pioglitazone may improve liver histology. Few data, mostly preclinical, are available on DPP4 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogues. The heterogeneity of these studies and the small number of patients do not allow for firm conclusions about treatment guidelines, and further randomized, controlled studies are needed.     

Profiling selected phytochemicals and nutrients in different tissues of the multipurpose tree Moringa oleifera L., grown in Ghana

The purpose of this new study was to determine the types and levels of major phytochemicals (non-nutrients) and nutrients in the different tissues from vegetative and flowering Moringa oleifera L. an important multipurpose crop. Rhamnose and acetyl-rhamnose-substituted glucosinolates were found in all of the M. oleifera tissues with different profiles depending on the tissue. In addition the tissues of M. oleifera had a relatively complex flavonoid profile consisting of glucosides, rutinosides, malonylglucosides and traces of acetylglucosides of kaempferol, quercetin and isorhamnetin. Fatty acid profiling of the different tissues showed that leaves were rich in palmitic (16:0) and linolenic (18:3) acid whereas seeds were predominated by oleic acid (18:1). Roots were rich in palmitic and oleic acid, whereas stems and twigs predominately contained palmitic acid. Potassium, magnesium and calcium were the predominant minerals in all of the tissues. Low levels of selenium were detected only in whole seeds.     

Conjoint analysis for luxury brand outlet malls in Korea with consideration of customer lifetime value

As Asian economies have grown rapidly, Asia has become a new leading market of the luxury goods industry. This paper used conjoint analysis (CA) for the optimal design of a luxury brand outlet mall to maximize the customer lifetime value (CLV). This approach complements a simple CA by considering CLV. The proposed approach is then applied to designing a suburban luxury brand outlet mall in Korea, a new concept to Korea. The results indicate that the optimal design for the outlet mall is the medieval European-style mall, with the linkage to Natural Tourism, which consists of the restaurants with delicious food and the stores with similar ratio between masstige and luxury brands.     

Patterns of email use by teachers and implications: A Singapore experience

This paper attempts to identify the patterns of email use by schoolteachers. The findings are based on a survey of 2998 Singapore teachers whose teaching experiences ranged from 24 to 48 months. The result shows that teachers use email mainly to communicate with colleagues, and the degree of email use varies according to the school level that the teachers are working in. While the teachers teaching at higher school levels (Grades 11–12) email their colleagues more frequently than their counterparts teaching at lower school levels especially primary school teachers, the latter tend to email parents more frequently than other teachers. Implications of the findings are discussed in relevance to pre-service teacher education, teacher professional development and ICT adoption in organisations.     

A reassessment of Asian pacific excellence programs in higher education: the Taiwan experience

With the growth of competition between nations in our knowledge-based world economy, excellence programs are becoming a national agenda item in developing as well as developed Asian countries. The main purpose of this paper is to compare the goals, funding policies and selection criteria of excellence programs in China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and to analyze the academic achievement of their top ranked universities in three areas: research output, internationalization, and excellence, by using data from the Shanghai Jiao Tong, QS, and HEEACT rankings. The effectiveness of Taiwan??s ??Development Plan for World Class Universities and Research Centers of Excellence?? was assessed as a case study in the paper via a survey targeting on 138 top administrators from 11 Taiwan??s universities and 30 reviewers. The study found that more funding nations had, the more outputs and outcomes they would gain, for example China. The Taiwan case demonstrates that world-class universities and research centers are needed in Asian nations despite the concerns for inequality which they raise.