Residence time distributions in laminated microstructured plate reactors

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.Residence time distributions (RTDs) have been investigated experimentally for systems with straight and zig-zag channels. The channels are formed by microstructured plates placed on top of each other and containing obstacles and holes to allow flow in 3 dimensions. Experimental RTD measurements were performed by monitoring the concentration of a tracer dye by means of a LED-photodiode system. The RTD was obtained for five different flowrates for both geometries. It was found that the zig-zag channel configuration gives a narrower distribution as compared to the straight channel one. Furthermore, as the flowrate increased the standard deviation of the distribution increased

Hydrodynamic characterisation of layered herringbone microchannels

This paper was presented at the 2nd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2009), which was held at Brunel University, West London, UK. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IPEM, the Italian Union of Thermofluid dynamics, the Process Intensification Network, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications.The performance of a layered herringbone microstructured channel is compared with the staggered herringbone micromixer (SHM) originally proposed by Stroock et al. (2002). The layered configuration uses a single set of herringbone structures for two adjacent channels. Mixing and residence time distributions (RTDs) are studied both theoretically, via computational fluid dynamics and particle tracking algorithms, and experimentally. Experimental RTD measurements were performed by monitoring the concentration of a tracer dye by means of a LED-photodiode system. The proposed layered design gives similar results in terms of mixing and RTD as the standard SHM and it outperforms the behaviour of a rectangular channel

Soundstudio4D - A VR interface for gestural composition of spatial soundscapes

Presented at the 10th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2004)We describe a software system which enables computergenerated soundscapes to be synthesised, spatialised and edited using a gestural interface. Iterative design and testing of the software interface has taken place in a walk-in, immersive, virtual-reality theatre. Sound spatialisation has been implemented for an 8-speaker array using a Vector Base Amplitude Planning algorithm. The software has been written in Java, JSyn and Java3D with native method calls to sound-cards and sensors

Mode transitions in a model reaction-diffusion system driven by domain growth and noise

Pattern formation in many biological systems takes place during growth of the underlying domain. We study a specific example of a reaction–diffusion (Turing) model in which peak splitting, driven by domain growth, generates a sequence of patterns. We have previously shown that the pattern sequences which are presented when the domain growth rate is sufficiently rapid exhibit a mode-doubling phenomenon. Such pattern sequences afford reliable selection of certain final patterns, thus addressing the robustness problem inherent of the Turing mechanism. At slower domain growth rates this regular mode doubling breaks down in the presence of small perturbations to the dynamics. In this paper we examine the breaking down of the mode doubling sequence and consider the implications of this behaviour in increasing the range of reliably selectable final patterns

Global existence for semilinear reaction-diffusion systems on evolving domains

We present global existence results for solutions of reaction-diffusion systems on evolving domains. Global existence results for a class of reaction-diffusion systems on fixed domains are extended to the same systems posed on spatially linear isotropically evolving domains. The results hold without any assumptions on the sign of the growth rate. The analysis is valid for many systems that commonly arise in the theory of pattern formation. We present numerical results illustrating our theoretical findings.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figure

Distributed Computing Grid Experiences in CMS

The CMS experiment is currently developing a computing system capable of serving, processing and archiving the large number of events that will be generated when the CMS detector starts taking data. During 2004 CMS undertook a large scale data challenge to demonstrate the ability of the CMS computing system to cope with a sustained data-taking rate equivalent to 25% of startup rate. Its goals were: to run CMS event reconstruction at CERN for a sustained period at 25 Hz input rate; to distribute the data to several regional centers; and enable data access at those centers for analysis. Grid middleware was utilized to help complete all aspects of the challenge. To continue to provide scalable access from anywhere in the world to the data, CMS is developing a layer of software that uses Grid tools to gain access to data and resources, and that aims to provide physicists with a user friendly interface for submitting their analysis jobs. This paper describes the data challenge experience with Grid infrastructure and the current development of the CMS analysis system

The implementation of an emergency nursing framework (HIRAID) reduces patient deterioration: A multi-centre quasi-experimental study

Introduction Timely recognition and treatment of acutely ill patients at appropriate levels of the health system are fundamental to the quality and safety of healthcare. This study determines if the implementation of an emergency nursing framework HIRAID (History, Identify Red flags, Assessment, Interventions, Diagnostics, communication and reassessment) improves patient safety. Methods A quasi-experimental cohort study was conducted in two emergency departments in [Anonymised], Australia. HIRAID was implemented using a multi-pronged behaviour change intervention. Data of 920 patients (374 pre and 546 post) who deteriorated within 72-hours of ED departure were collected. Statistical tests were conducted as two-sided, with a 95% confidence interval to determine pre/post cohort association. Results Patients in the post group had more comorbidities, but experienced less deterioration associated with care delivered in the ED (27% to 13%). There was a reduction in treatment delays [ 28.3% to 15.1%, p = 0.041, 95% CI (1.1%–25.3%)], and delay or failure to escalate care when abnormal vital signs were identified [20.2% to6.9%, p = 0.014, 95% CI (3.5%–23.1%)]. Isolated nursing-related causal factors decreased from 20 (21%) to 6 (8%). Conclusions Implementing a standardised emergency nursing framework is associated with a reduction in clinical deterioration related to emergency care

Opportunities and challenges for data physicalization

Physical representations of data have existed for thousands of years. Yet it is now that advances in digital fabrication, actuated tangible interfaces, and shape-changing displays are spurring an emerging area of research that we call Data Physicalization. It aims to help people explore, understand, and communicate data using computer-supported physical data representations. We call these representations physicalizations, analogously to visualizations -- their purely visual counterpart. In this article, we go beyond the focused research questions addressed so far by delineating the research area, synthesizing its open challenges and laying out a research agenda