Experimental evaluation of a membrane distillation system for integration with concentrated photovoltaic/thermal (CPV/T) energy

PublishedConference Proceeding4th International Conference on Advances in Energy Research (ICAER 2013)Results are presented for a concentrated solar photovoltaic and thermal powered membrane distillation (MD) system for seawater desalination. Solar intensity data was input into a mathematical model for the solar energy system and outlet temperature from the energy system was calculated. The MD module was tested for a fluctuating inlet temperature, as would be produced from a solar energy source. A maximum distillate flux of 3.4 l/m2h was recorded, though this did not correspond to the highest inlet temperature. An observed delay in the modules response to the fluctuations in temperature was due to the thermal mass of the MD unit. The conductivity of the distillate was measured to assess the effects of transient operation on the quality of the distillate produced. It was determined that although the quantity and quality of the distillate varied with the fluctuations in power supplied to the module, the effects were not significant enough to rule out the integration of the MD module with solar energy. © 2014 The Authors

Valproic acid disrupts the biomechanics of late spinal neural tube closure in mouse embryos

Failure of neural tube closure in the early embryo causes neural tube defects including spina bifida. Spina bifida lesions predominate in the distal spine, particularly after exposure to the anticonvulsant valproic acid (VPA). How VPA specifically disturbs late stages of neural tube closure is unclear, as neurulation is usually viewed as a uniform 'zippering' process along the spine. We recently identified a novel closure site ("Closure 5") which forms at the caudal extremity of the mouse posterior neuropore (PNP) when completion of closure is imminent. Here we investigated whether distal spina bifida in VPA-exposed embryos involves disruption of Closure 5. Exposure of E8.5 mouse embryos to VPA in whole embryo culture had marked embryotoxic effects, whereas toxic effects were less pronounced in more developmentally advanced (E9) embryos. Only 33% of embryos exposed to VPA from E9 to E10.5 achieved PNP closure (control=90%). Short-term (8h) VPA treatment diminished supra-cellular F-actin cables which normally run along the lateral neural folds, and prevented caudal PNP narrowing normally characteristic of Closure 5 formation. Laser ablation of Closure 5 caused rapid neuropore widening. Equivalent ablations of the caudal PNP in VPA treated embryos resulted in significantly less widening, suggesting VPA prevents formation of Closure 5 as a biomechanically active structure. Thus, VPA exposure prevents morphological and biomechanical conversion of the caudal extreme of the PNP during late spinal closure. Closure 5 facilitates neural fold apposition when completion of closure is imminent, such that its disruption in VPA-exposed embryos may lead to distal spina bifida

Quantitative evidence synthesis methods for the assessment of the effectiveness of treatment sequences for clinical and economic decision-making: a review and taxonomy of simplifying assumptions

Sequential use of alternative treatments for chronic conditions represents a complex intervention pathway; previous treatment and patient characteristics affect both the choice and effectiveness of subsequent treatments. This paper critically explores the methods for quantitative evidence synthesis of the effectiveness of sequential treatment options within a health technology assessment (HTA) or similar process. It covers methods for developing summary estimates of clinical effectiveness or the clinical inputs for the cost-effectiveness assessment and can encompass any disease condition. A comprehensive review of current approaches is presented, which considers meta-analytic methods for assessing the clinical effectiveness of treatment sequences and decision-analytic modelling approaches used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment sequences. Estimating the effectiveness of a sequence of treatments is not straightforward or trivial and is severely hampered by the limitations of the evidence base. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of sequences were often absent or very limited. In the absence of sufficient RCTs of whole sequences, there is no single best way to evaluate treatment sequences; however, some approaches could be re-used or adapted, sharing ideas across different disease conditions. Each has advantages and disadvantages, and is influenced by the evidence available, extent of treatment sequences (number of treatment lines or permutations), and complexity of the decision problem. Due to the scarcity of data, modelling studies applied simplifying assumptions to data on discrete treatments. A taxonomy for all possible assumptions was developed, providing a unique resource to aid the critique of existing decision-analytic models

Sulphide sinking in magma conduits: Evidence from mafic–ultramafic plugs on Rum and the wider North Atlantic Igneous Province

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Ni–Cu–PGE (platinum group element) sulphide mineralization is commonly found in magmatic conduit systems. In many cases the trigger for formation of an immiscible sulphide liquid involves assimilation of S-bearing crustal rocks. Conceptually, the fluid dynamics of sulphide liquid droplets within such conduits is essentially a balance between gravitational sinking and upwards entrainment. Thus, crustal contamination signatures may be present in sulphides preserved both up- and down-flow from the point of interaction with the contaminant. We examine a suite of ultramafic volcanic plugs on the Isle of Rum, Scotland, to decipher controls on sulphide accumulation in near-surface magma conduits intruded into a variable sedimentary stratigraphy. The whole-rock compositions of the plugs broadly overlap with the compositions of ultramafic units within the Rum Layered Complex, although subtle differences between each plug highlight their individuality. Interstitial base metal sulphide minerals occur in all ultramafic plugs on Rum. Sulphide minerals have magmatic δ34S (ranging from –1·3 to +2·1‰) and S/Se ratios (mean = 2299), and demonstrate that the conduit magmas were already S-saturated. However, two plugs in NW Rum contain substantially coarser (sometimes net-textured) sulphides with unusually light δ34S (–14·7 to +0·3‰) and elevated S/Se ratios (mean = 4457), not represented by the immediate host-rocks. Based on the Hebrides Basin sedimentary stratigraphy, it is likely that the volcanic con duits would have intruded through a package of Jurassic mudrocks with characteristically light δ34S (–33·8 to –14·7‰). We propose that a secondary crustal S contamination event took place at a level above that currently exposed, and that these sulphides sank back to their present position. Modelling suggests that upon the cessation of active magma transport, sulphide liquids could have sunk back through the conduit over a distance of several hundreds of metres, over a period of a few days. This sulphide ‘withdrawal’ process may be observed in other vertical or steeply inclined magma conduits globally; for example, in the macrodykes of East Greenland. Sulphide liquid sinking within a non-active conduit or during magma ‘suck-back’ may help to explain crustal S-isotopic compositions in magma conduits that appear to lack appropriate lithologies to support this contamination, either locally or deeper in the system.Sulphur isotope analyses were funded by NERC Isotope Geosciences Facilities grant, IP-1356-1112. H.S.R.H. acknowledges the financial support of the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) for her PhD studentship (NE/J50029X) and funding of open access publication. This is a contribution to the TeaSe (Te and Se Cycling and Supply) research consortium supported by NERC award NE/M011615/1 to Cardiff University and the University of Leicester

Cu-Ni-PGE mineralisation at the Aurora Project and potential for a new PGE province in the Northern Bushveld Main Zone

This is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.he Aurora Project is a Cu-Ni-PGE magmatic sulphide deposit in the northern limb of the Bushveld Complex of South Africa. Since 1992 mining in the northern limb has focussed on the Platreef deposit, located along the margin of the complex. Aurora has previously been suggested to represent a far-northern facies of the Platreef located along the basal margin of the complex and this study provides new data with which to test this assertion. In contrast to the Platreef, the base metal sulphide mineralisation at Aurora is both Cu-rich (Ni/Cu 50,000) reflecting the preferential removal of Pd over Cu in the sulphides below. Similarly high Cu/Pd ratios characterise the Upper Main Zone in the northern limb above the pigeonite + orthopyroxene interval and suggest that Aurora-style sulphide mineralisation may be developed here as well. The same mineralogy and geochemical features also appear to be present in the T Zone of the Waterberg PGE deposit, located under younger cover rocks to the north of Aurora. If these links are proved they indicate the potential for a previously unsuspected zone of Cu-Ni-PGE mineralisation extending for over 40 km along strike through the Upper Main Zone of the northern Bushveld.Sulphur isotope analyses were carried out by Alison MacDonald at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre as part of NERC Isotope Geoscience Facilities Committee award IP/909/0506. HSRH is sponsored by the Claude Leon Foundation

Numerical Investigation of Boundary Layers in Wet Steam Nozzles

Condensing nozzle flows have been used extensively to validate wet steam models. Many test cases are available in the literature, and in the past, a range of numerical studies have dealt with this challenging task. It is usually assumed that the nozzles provide a one- or two-dimensional flow with a fully turbulent boundary layer (BL). The present paper reviews these assumptions and investigates numerically the influence of boundary layers on dry and wet steam nozzle expansions. For the narrow nozzle of Moses and Stein, it is shown that the pressure distribution is significantly affected by the additional blockage due to the side wall boundary layer. Comparison of laminar and turbulent flow predictions for this nozzles suggests that laminar–turbulent transition only occurs after the throat. Other examples are the Binnie and Green nozzle and the Moore et al. nozzles for which it is known that sudden changes in wall curvature produce expansion and compression waves that interact with the boundary layers. The differences between two- and three-dimensional calculations for these cases and the influence of laminar and turbulent boundary layers are discussed. The present results reveal that boundary layer effects can have a considerable impact on the mean nozzle flow and thus on the validation process of condensation models. In order to verify the accuracy of turbulence modeling, a test case that is not widely known internationally is included within the present study. This experimental work is remarkable because it includes boundary layer data as well as the usual pressure measurements along the nozzle centerline. Predicted and measured boundary layer profiles are compared, and the effect of different turbulence models is discussed. Most of the numerical results are obtained with the in-house wet steam Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solver, Steamblock, but for the purpose of comparison, the commercial program ansys cfx is also used, providing a wider range of standard RANS-based turbulence models.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilThis is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)

Distinct sulfur saturation histories within the Palaeogene Magilligan Sill, Northern Ireland: Implications for Ni-Cu-PGE mineralisation in the North Atlantic Igneous Province

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from NRC Research Press via the DOI in this record.The ~60 m thick Magilligan Sill is part of the British Palaeogene Igneous Province in the North Atlantic. The sill comprises layers of dolerite and olivine gabbro, and it intrudes a thick sequence of Mesozoic mudstones and marls, which are locally baked at the sill margins. Since 2014, the sill has been an exploration target for orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide mineralisation analogous to the Noril’sk-Talnakh intrusion in Russia. We present new petrological, geochemical and S-isotope data to assess the prospectivity of the sill and the underlying magmatic plumbing system. Most sulfides in the dolerite portions of the sill are < 50 μm in size and comprise only pyrite with PGE abundances below detection limit. In the olivine gabbros, > 150 μm size pentlandite, chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite grains contain < 4 ppm total PGE, 1 460 ppm Co and 88 ppm Ag. Pyrite from the dolerites have δ34S ranging from -10.0 to +3.4 ‰ and olivine gabbro sulfides range from -2.5 to -1.1 ‰, suggesting widespread crustal contamination. The S/Se ratios of sulfides in the dolerites and olivine gabbros range from 3 500 to 19 500 and from 1 970 to 3 710, respectively, indicating that the latter may have come from upstream in the magma plumbing system. The Magilligan Sill records multiple injections of mafic magma into an inflating sill package, each with distinct mechanisms towards S-saturation. Whilst the sulfide minerals in the sill do not constitute significant mineralisation themselves, detailed in-situ studies highlight a divergence in Ssaturation histories, and suggest that a larger volume of olivine gabbro sulfides at depth may be prospective