Engineering egress data considering pedestrians with reduced mobility

To quantify the evacuation process, evacuation practitioners use engineering egress data describing the occupant movement characteristics. These data are typically based to young and fit populations. However, the movement abilities of occupants who might be involved in evacuations are becoming more variable—with the building populations of today typically including increasing numbers of individuals: with impairments or who are otherwise elderly or generally less mobile. Thus, there will be an increasing proportion of building occupants with reduced ability to egress. For safe evacuation, there is therefore a need to provide valid engineering egress data considering pedestrians with disabilities. Gwynne and Boyce recently compiled a series of data sets related to the evacuation process to support practitioner activities in the chapter Engineering Data in the SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering. This paper supplements these data sets by providing information on and presenting data obtained from additional research related to the premovement and horizontal movement of participants with physical‐, cognitive‐, or age‐related disabilities. The aim is to provide an overview of currently available data sets related to, and key factors affecting the egress performance of, mixed ability populations which could be used to guide fire safety engineering decisions in the context of building design.     

Damage and strain in pseudomorphic vs relaxed GexSi1−x layers on Si(100) generated by Si ion irradiation

We compare both the strain and damage that 100 keV Si irradiation at room temperature introduces in pseudomorphic and relaxed Ge_xSi_1−x films grown on Si(100) substrates. The ion range is such that the Si/Ge_xSi_1−x interface is not significantly damaged. The amount of damage produced in pseudomorphic and relaxed Ge_xSi_1−x layers of similar x for irradiation doses up to 2.5 × 10¹⁴ Si/cm² is the same, which proves that a pre-existing uniform strain does not noticeably affect the irradiation-induced damage. However, the irradiation-induced strain does depend on the pre-existing strain of the samples. Possible interpretations are discussed. On leave from Inst. voor Kern en Stralingsfysika, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.     

Membrane topology and glycosylation of the human multidrug resistance-associated protein

The membrane topology of the human multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) was examined by flow cytometry phenotyping, immunoblotting, and limited proteolysis in drug-resistant human and baculovirus-infected insect cells, expressing either the glycosylated or the underglycosylated forms of this protein. Inhibition of N-linked glycosylation in human cells by tunicamycin did not inhibit the transport function or the antibody recognition of MRP, although its apparent molecular mass was reduced from 180 kDa to 150 kDa. Extracellular addition of trypsin or chymotrypsin had no effect either on the function or on the molecular mass of MRP, while in isolated membranes limited proteolysis produced three large membrane-bound fragments. These experiments and the alignment of the MRP sequence with the human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) suggest that human MRP, similarly to CFTR, contains a tandem repeat of six transmembrane helices, each followed by a nucleotide binding domain, and that the C-terminal membrane-bound region is glycosylated. However, the N-terminal region of MRP contains an additional membrane-bound, glycosylated area with four or five transmembrane helices, which seems to be a characteristic feature of MRP-like ATP-binding cassette transporters.     

Synthesis of model latices for the study of coalescence mechanisms

This work describes the synthesis of model latices devoted to the study of the influence of particle-water and particle-air interfacial energies on coalescence mechanisms. Core-shell particles with the same diameter (? 2600 Å) and narrow size distributions were prepared. The core is a poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate) (60/40 wt %) copolymer; it represents 90% of the volume of the particle. The shell is a poly(St-BuA-methacrylic acid) terpolymer with 10, 15, or 25 wt % MAA. The St-BuA weight ratio in the shell is also 60/40. The amount of MAA in the shell determines the particle-water or air interfacial energies. In order to limit the use of an emulsifier and to ensure a homogeneous particle surface layer, an inverted core-shell synthesis was performed. The hydrophilic shell was prepared first and used as a seed for the synthesis of the hydrophobic core. For all three core-shell latices, about 45% of the introduced MAA was found at the surface of the particles, which indicates that the core-shell inversion was successful. The synthesis of the latices with 10 or 15 wt % MAA was relatively easy, whereas the particle size was difficult to control in the 25 wt % MAA latex synthesis.     

Diagnostic performance of edited 2HG MR spectroscopy of central glioma in the clinical environment

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - Oncometabolite D-2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) is pooled in isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant glioma cells. Detecting 2HG by MR...     

Influence of Matrices on Oxygen Sensing of Three Sensing Films with Chemically Conjugated Platinum Porphyrin Probes and Preliminary Application for Monitoring of Oxygen Consumption of Escherichia coli (E. coli)

Oxygen sensing films were synthesized by a chemical conjugation of functional platinum porphyrin probes in silica gel, polystyrene (PS), and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) matrices. Responses of the sensing films to gaseous oxygen and dissolved oxygen were studied and the influence of the matrices on the sensing behaviors was investigated. Silica gel films had the highest fluorescence intensity ratio from deoxygenated to oxygenated environments and the fastest response time to oxygen. PHEMA films had no response to gaseous oxygen, but had greater sensitivity and a faster response time for dissolved oxygen than those of PS films. The influence of matrices on oxygen response, sensitivity and response time was discussed. The influence is most likely attributed to the oxygen diffusion abilities of the matrices. Since the probes were chemically immobilized in the matrices, no leaching of the probes was observed from the sensing films when applied in aqueous environment. One sensing film made from the PHEMA matrix was used to preliminarily monitor the oxygen consumption of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. E. coli cell density and antibiotics ampicillin concentration dependent oxygen consumption was observed, indicating the potential application of the oxygen sensing film for biological application.     

法国海洋冲浪博物馆 “天空下”/“大海下”

法国海洋冲浪博物馆探索大海与海浪及其在休闲产业、科学和生态方面所扮演的重要角色。设计方案由斯蒂文·霍尔建筑师事务所与索朗·法比亚合作完成。2005年,在与安瑞科·米拉莱斯/贝娜蒂塔·塔格利亚布、布罗谢特·拉宇斯·普埃约、伯纳德·屈米和让·米歇尔·维尔莫特工作室的角逐中获得胜利,赢得国际竞赛大奖。建筑形式来源于"天空下"/"大海下"的空间理念。"天空下"的凹形体量成为主要的户外广场"海洋世界"的一大特色。广场朝向天空和大海开放,视野向远方无限扩展。凹形的结构天花板形成"大海下"的展览空间。     

克努特·汉姆生中心 无形力量的战场

克努特·汉姆生,作为挪威20世纪最具创意的作家以及诺贝尔文学奖获得者,他的第一部小说《饥饿》开创了一种全新的文学表达形式。这座为纪念汉姆生所设立的中心位于Hamary的Presteid村,地处北极圈腹地,距作家长大的农场很近。这座2508.38m2(27000平方英尺)的中心包括展览区、一座图书馆和阅览室、一间咖啡厅以及一个供博物馆和社区使用的礼堂。受到汉姆生对人类心灵中种种错综复杂之处的探索的影响,建筑在空间和灯光方面被设想为一种原初     

Impact of Canolol‐Enriched Extract from Heat‐Treated Canola Meal to Enhance Oil Quality Parameters in Deep‐Frying: a Comparison with Rosemary Extract and TBHQ‐Fortified Oil Systems

Canolol‐enriched extracts obtained from the extraction of fluidized bed treated canola meal with supercritical carbon dioxide were added to high‐oleic canola oil in different concentrations (200, 500 and 750 mg/kg). After 30 h of deep‐fat frying, oils fortified with canolol‐enriched extracts showed a two to three times better frying performance in comparison to the commonly used antioxidants (TBHQ, 200 mg/kg; rosemary extract, 40 and 200 mg/kg) and a control without antioxidants with regards to the formation of di‐ and polymer triacylglycerols, total polar compounds, secondary degradation products (anisidine value) and the iodine value. The canolol‐enriched extracts were also able to slow down the degradation of α‐ and γ‐tocopherol during frying resulting in significant amounts of tocopherols after 30 h of frying in comparison to the other oils. The influence of the canolol‐enriched extracts indicated strongly concentration‐dependent performance. With increasing concentration of the extract, the thermal stability of the fortified oil was improved. The only disadvantage of the addition of the extracts was an increase in the initial acid value, but within the frying time, only oil fortified with 750 mg canolol‐enriched extract/kg reached the limit given in different countries.