Conventional and Advanced Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Compound Ejector-Heat Pump for Simultaneous Cooling and Heating

[EN] This work focused on a compound PV/T waste heat driven ejector-heat pump system for simultaneous data centre cooling and waste heat recovery for district heating. The system uses PV/T waste heat as the generator's heat source, acting with the vapour generated in an evaporative condenser as the ejector drive force. Conventional and advanced exergy and advanced exergoeconomic analyses are used to determine the cause and avoidable degree of the components' exergy destruction rate and cost rates. Regarding the conventional exergy analysis for the whole system, the compressor represents the largest exergy destruction source of 26%. On the other hand, the generator shows the lowest sources (2%). The advanced exergy analysis indicates that 59.4% of the whole system thermodynamical inefficiencies can be avoided by further design optimisation. The compressor has the highest contribution to the destruction in the avoidable exergy destruction rate (21%), followed by the ejector (18%) and condenser (8%). Moreover, the advanced exergoeconomic results prove that 51% of the system costs are unavoidable. In system components cost comparison, the highest cost comes from the condenser, 30%. In the same context, the ejector has the lowest exergoeconomic factor, and it should be getting more attention to reduce the irreversibility by design improving. On the contrary, the evaporator has the highest exergoeconomic factor (94%).This research was funded by the Southern Technical University in Iraq, and Generalitat Valenciana (APOSTD/2020/032).Al-Sayyab, AKS.; Navarro-Esbrí, J.; Soto Francés, VM.; Mota-Babiloni, A. (2021). Conventional and Advanced Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Compound Ejector-Heat Pump for Simultaneous Cooling and Heating. Energies. 14(12):1-27. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14123511S127141

Dermatoscopic Patterns in Childhood Vitiligo and Their Association With Reflectance Confocal Microscopy Findings

Introduction: The diagnosis of vitiligo is mainly based on clinical findings. However, dermoscopy or reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) could be useful for assessing its progression (stability, pigmentation, or depigmentation). Objective: To evaluate the correlation of dermatological findings by dermoscopy and RCM in pediatric vitiligo. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical clinical study. Pediatric patients with vitiligo of both sexes, aged >1 year and <18 years, with all spectrums of the disease were included. Vitiligo lesions were evaluated clinically, by dermoscopy, and microscopy. Results: A total of 40 patients with vitiligo were included. Eight dermoscopic patterns were found: reduced/absent pigment network, perifollicular pigmentation, trichromic, tapioca sago, perifollicular depigmentation, starburst, leukotrichia, and erythema. Skin with a normal pigment network showed complete dermal papillary rings and half-rings. Skin with reduced/absent pigment network had an absence of papillary rings or only showed half-rings and was more common in unstable vitiligo. The trichrome pattern only showed half-rings. The tapioca sago pattern showed complete papillary rings and appeared in younger patients. Perifollicular pigmentation showed half-rings and complete rings and did not show associations. The diffuse borders did not present complete papillary structures. We found that vitiligo duration time of <24 months (OR 4.56 CI 1.09-18.99) and absent papillary rings (OR 2.75 CI 1.01-7.51) are associated with an unstable prognosis. Conclusions: The dermoscopic and microscopic findings, such as the reduction/absence of the pigment network, tapioca sago pattern, and absence of papillary rings, can be used to support the evaluation of the clinical prognosis of vitiligo

The use of the Theory of Planned Behaviour as a Conceptual Framework to Understand and Promote Health Recommendations During the First Wave of Covid-19 in Mexico City

In this study, we apply the Theory of Planned Behavior to understand the factors that explained adherence to health recommendations during the first wave of Covid-19 in Mexico City. To do this, we designed and implemented an online survey on prevention measures. In addition, we generate an empirical correlate of the Theory of Planned Behavior to hypothesize about correlations between variables in the survey. In addition, we included four simple experiments in the survey. We found that norms, attitudes and perception of control are correlated with the planning and adoption of preventive actions. In the experiments we observe (1) that corruption reduces the credibility of the government with respect to the health crisis, (2) doctors are more persuasive about prevention, and (3) masks generate feelings of security. We conclude that the Theory of Planned Behavior is useful to make sense of data from surveys like ours. We encourage governments in developing countries to use methods like ours to collect and interpret data, even if provisional, to respond to future health crises

Dermatoscopic Patterns in Vitiligo

Vitiligo is a chronic, acquired autoimmune pigmentary skin disease, most times it can be diagnosed clinically. Dermoscopy can confirm vitiligo in a non-invasive way. It is a   diagnostic technique that visualizes sub-macroscopic morphological structures which correspond with specific histological structures. It detects subtle changes in the pigment pattern, evaluates vitiligo’s activity, attempts of repigmentation, leucotrichia, and differentiates it from other hypo pigmentary disorders.  Most dermatoscopic clues used to assess vitiligo’s activity are found at the perifollicular level in the center and edge of the lesion. Perifollicular pigmentation is present in both active lesions and treated pigmented lesions with treatment. However, perifollicular depigmentation represents poor response, in treated lesions, and poor prognosis in untreated ones. The center of the lesion has reduced and/or absent pigment network, in active and stable lesions. If on dermoscopy the center of the lesion shows islands of pigment, erythema, or telagiectasias, repigmentation is suggested. At the periphery of the lesion, unstable vitiligo usually shows up as a diffuse border, trichrome pattern, micro-koebner/comet tail phenomenon, satellite lesions, or a tapioca sago pattern. In stable lesions it is more frequent to find clear borders and trichromes. Pigmented lesions commonly present sharp borders and marginal or perilesional hyperpigmentation