Phase-change thermal energy storage using spherical capsules: performance of a test plant

The aim of this paper is the study of an industrial process of energy storage usable for air conditioning or refrigeration, investigating a test plant which is a tank with a reduced size, filled with randomly dispersed commercial nodules, placed in a refrigeration loop. The nodules are spherical capsules in which phase change materials (PCM) are encapsulated. This test plant permits the study at length of the behaviour of the tank with, in particular, the charge mode taking into account the undercooling and the discharge mode. A simulation program that considers aspects of both the surrounding heat transfer fluid and the phase-change material packed inside the nodules is developed here in the cases of the charge and the discharge processes. The simulation results are then compared with experimental observations.     

Variability of the geometry of the human common carotid artery. A vessel cast study of 31 specimens

The carotid artery is of special interest both for the pathologist because of its frequent depositions and for the fluid mechanic because of its complex flow properties. However, current knowledge of its geometry is insufficient. Therefore, a vessel cast study was undertaken and a method to fabricate vessel casts was developed. At post mortem the arteries are excised and filled with a resin at the proper transmural pressure. Thirty-one vessel casts of the carotid artery were performed and the following selected geometric parameters of these vessel casts were measured: the diameters of the main branches of carotid bifurcation (common, internal and external arteries) and the angles between internal, external and common carotid arteries. The geometric parameters vary considerably and may contribute to a corresponding variability in local hemodynamics.     

Multimodal support to group dynamics

The complexity of group dynamics occurring in small group interactions often hinders the performance of teams. The availability of rich multimodal information about what is going on during the meeting makes it possible to explore the possibility of providing support to dysfunctional teams from facilitation to training sessions addressing both the individuals and the group as a whole. A necessary step in this direction is that of capturing and understanding group dynamics. In this paper, we discuss a particular scenario, in which meeting participants receive multimedia feedback on their relational behaviour, as a first step towards increasing self-awareness. We describe the background and the motivation for a coding scheme for annotating meeting recordings partially inspired by the Bales’ Interaction Process Analysis. This coding scheme was aimed at identifying suitable observable behavioural sequences. The study is complemented with an experimental investigation on the acceptability of such a service.

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Rating Accessibility of Packaging: A Medical Packaging Example

Few previous work has been undertaken in understanding issues surrounding dexterity and access to packaging. Researchers had access to users who had known dexterity issues and had been advised by their doctor to decant their medication into bottles rather than use unit‐dose blister packaging. Hence, it was decided to use a range of techniques to understand this problem. It was further proposed to develop a methodology by which the relative performance of packaging could be assessed with respect to dexterity issues. In this study, there were three objectives to carry out: motion‐capture analysis, grip analysis and dexterity analysis when opening the blister packs. Motion capture was carried out on eight people aged 55 years and older, a classification of the grips used when opening blister packs was performed on 57 people aged 18 years and older, and a Purdue Pegboard test was administered to 54 people aged 18 years and older. It was found out that there were four common types of grips used, out of which two of the grips were used by more than 88% of participants. With the motion capture, it was found that each grip and their various associated techniques were compared with each other. Grip 2 utilized the least finger movement. Using the dexterity test results, it was corroborated that dexterity decreases with age, and an accessibility score was developed that can be used by pack designers and manufacturers to assess pack performance. Future work is proposed to develop this methodology further. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chimerism analysis in long-term survivor patients after bone marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anemia

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is the most common treatment for young patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). Late graft failure represents one of the possible unfavorable outcomes in this setting. Mixed chimerism might represent a risk factor for late graft failure. We examined this relationship by studying chimerism in long-term survivor SAA patients after allogeneic BMT. METHODS: We analyzed long-term hematopoietic chimerism in 15 patients who received BMTs for SAA: 9 with an irradiation-based conditioning regimen and 6 with ATG. We used a PCR method targeting VNTR loci. Sensitivity of the technique ranged between 0.5 and 1.5%. RESULTS: All patients conditioned with radiation-based schemes showed complete donor chimerism. Conversely, out of six patients who received cyclophosphamide and ATG as a conditioning regimen, only one of them had late graft failure (day +168). In this patient, durable mixed chimera status was first detected two months after BMT. INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in long-term survivors of SAA after BMT there is almost always complete donor chimerism in both irradiated and ATG-conditioned recipients. Mixed chimerism might predict graft failure in these patients.     

A prospective randomised study of local versus general anaesthesia for cataract surgery

A new thermodynamic model for calculating the dissociation constants of complexes formed between the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) is reported. The free energies of binding of PCBs to AhR are controlled by their lipophilicities, electron affinities, and entropies. The corresponding physicochemical properties of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans also control their interactions with AhR. We present evidence supporting the hypothesis that the majority of PCBs are likely to interact with AhR in their nonplanar conformations. In addition, we demonstrate that the affinities of PCBs for AhR relative to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin correlate with corresponding toxic equivalency factors in animals. The reported methodology is likely to be applicable to other polyhalogenated and mixed polyhalogenated bi- and terphenyls and related xenobiotics; thus, it could minimize the number of in vivo studies in laboratory animals and facilitate the identification of potentially hazardous aromatic xenobiotics.     

CO2 capture efficiency in post‐combustion using MWNT‐PAA in a packed bed column

The adsorption capacity of polyaspartamide (PAA) and multi‐wall carbon nanotubes with polyaspartamide (MWNT‐PAA) was investigated through a packed bed column with the flowing of flue gas composed of 15 % CO₂, 5 % O₂ and the balance N₂. The adsorption performed at 25 °C, 110 kPa and inlet gas flow rate of 60 mL/min resulted in high CO₂ adsorption capacity of 5.70 and 10.20 mmol‐CO₂/g for PAA and MWNT‐PAA, respectively. The adsorption kinetics was very high, so 7 min were enough for the effluent gas to reach the breakthrough after saturation. The consistency of adsorbents in recurring regeneration was successful through a continuous TSA system of 10 cycle adsorption‐desorption with temperatures of 25–100 °C. The evaluation of heat through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) resulted in exothermic adsorption with heat release of 45.14 kJ/mol and 124.38 kJ/mol for PAA and MWNT‐PAA, respectively. The heat release was found favourable to promote the desorption as the temperature could rise after adsorption. This is an advantage for energy efficiency, as it depicts the potential of energy recovery. Thus, both adsorbent PAA and MWNT‐PAA were demonstrated to be promising for CO₂ adsorption capture in post‐combustion.     

As you like it: Understanding the relationship between packing design and accessibility

Accessible packaging is continually receiving greater attention as an ageing population becomes a primary driver behind inclusive design. As we age, our strength dexterity and some cognitive functions decline. For this reason, the ease of interaction with simple tasks in daily living becomes an ever increasing concern. ISO 17480 “Packaging Guidelines” consider capability issues relating to packaging and ageing to broadly come under three areas, namely, strength, dexterity, and cognition. Significant previous work has been undertaken looking at the issue of strength on packaging accessibility, with fewer studies looking at the relationship between the physical demands of dexterity and the understanding of how to open the pack. In this previous work, there has been little attempt to quantify the effect of the affordances, perceptual information and symbology, and the physical demands of the pack and how this relates to accessibility. Hence, this exploratory study seeks to use motion capture and a dexterity test, along with a cognitive demand test to study this relationship and any changes with age. This research indicates that the dexterous demands of a task are linked to the cognitive demands; and thus in reaching a level of comprehension of the pack and how to access the product a subject may interact with a pack effectively.