Effect of batch initial velocity on the glass furnace efficiency

Glass manufacturing is a heat intensive process. There is a direct coloration between the batch distribution techniques and the furnace energy consumption, productivity, and quality of the glass manufactured. All four major segments (float, container, fibre, and specialty glasses) would benefit from using an optimised batch distribution technique where possible. Oscillating batch chargers (OBC) have been in use since the early 70s, despite their superior batch shape, coverage, and in turn positive effects on the energy consumption (Soleimanian, TMS 2013) and productivity of the furnace they are almost exclusively used in container glass manufacturing. The OBC’s main difference compared with other charging methods is its ability to directly influence the batch initial velocity. This paper reports on results achieved in two CFD models (in Flow 3D and GFM) used to study effect of the machine on the overall energy consumption in the doghouse and the melt space

Treatment planning for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: treatment utilization and family preferences

William B Brinkman, Jeffery N EpsteinDepartment of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USABackground: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common condition that often results in child and family functional impairments. Although there are evidence-based treatment modalities available, implementation of and persistence with treatment plans vary with patients. Family preferences also vary and may contribute to variability in treatment utilization.Objective: The objective of this study is to describe the evidence-based treatments available for ADHD, identify patterns of use for each modality, and examine patient and parent treatment preferences.Method: Literature review.Results: Treatment options differ on benefits and risks/costs. Therefore, treatment decisions are preference sensitive and depend on how an informed patient/parent values the tradeoffs between options. Literature on patient and parent ADHD treatment preferences is based on quantitative research assessing the construct of treatment acceptability and qualitative and quantitative research that assesses preferences from a broader perspective. After a child is diagnosed with ADHD, a variety of factors influence the initial selection of treatment modalities that are utilized. Initial parent and child preferences are shaped by their beliefs about the nature of the child's problems and by information (and misinformation) received from a variety of sources, including social networks, the media, and health care providers. Subsequently, preferences become further informed by personal experience with various treatment modalities. Over time, treatment plans are revisited and revised as families work with their health care team to establish a treatment plan that helps their child achieve goals while minimizing harms and costs.Conclusions: Studies have not been able to determine the extent to which utilization rates are consistent with the underlying distribution of informed patient/parent treatment preferences. There are challenges to ensure that patient/parent preferences are consistently well informed, elicited, and discussed in the treatment planning process. Interventions are needed to promote such interactions.Keywords: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, adherence, preferences, physician–patient/parent communication, collaborative/shared decision makin

Evaluation of genomic island predictors using a comparative genomics approach

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genomic islands (GIs) are clusters of genes in prokaryotic genomes of probable horizontal origin. GIs are disproportionately associated with microbial adaptations of medical or environmental interest. Recently, multiple programs for automated detection of GIs have been developed that utilize sequence composition characteristics, such as G+C ratio and dinucleotide bias. To robustly evaluate the accuracy of such methods, we propose that a dataset of GIs be constructed using criteria that are independent of sequence composition-based analysis approaches.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We developed a comparative genomics approach (IslandPick) that identifies both very probable islands and non-island regions. The approach involves 1) flexible, automated selection of comparative genomes for each query genome, using a distance function that picks appropriate genomes for identification of GIs, 2) identification of regions unique to the query genome, compared with the chosen genomes (positive dataset) and 3) identification of regions conserved across all genomes (negative dataset). Using our constructed datasets, we investigated the accuracy of several sequence composition-based GI prediction tools.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that AlienHunter has the highest recall, but the lowest measured precision, while SIGI-HMM is the most precise method. SIGI-HMM and IslandPath/DIMOB have comparable overall highest accuracy. Our comparative genomics approach, IslandPick, was the most accurate, compared with a curated list of GIs, indicating that we have constructed suitable datasets. This represents the first evaluation, using diverse and, independent datasets that were not artificially constructed, of the accuracy of several sequence composition-based GI predictors. The caveats associated with this analysis and proposals for optimal island prediction are discussed.</p

Diverging Ambitions and Instruments for Citizen Participation across Different Stages in Green Infrastructure Projects

Both theory and practice increasingly argue that creating green infrastructure in order to make cities climate-proof requires joint public service delivery across the green infrastructure’s lifecycle. Accordingly, citizen participation in each green infrastructure project stage is required, but the type of participation may differ. So far, limited research has been conducted to detangle how participation in green infrastructure projects is operationalised along the different project stages. This article, therefore, presents a comparative case study of nine European green infrastructure projects, in which we aim to determine: (1) how participatory ambitions may differ across green infrastructure project phases; and (2) which instruments are used to realise the participatory ambitions for each phase and whether these instruments differ across stages. The cases demonstrate different participation ambitions and means in the three project phases distinguished in this article (i.e., design, delivery, and maintenance). The design and maintenance stages resulted in high participation ambitions using organisational instruments (e.g., living labs, partnerships with community groups) and market-based instruments (e.g., open calls). In the delivery phase, participation ambitions decreased significantly in our cases, relying on legal instruments (e.g., statutory consultation) and communicative instruments (e.g., community events). Altogether, our exploratory study helps to define participation across the green infrastructure lifecycle: Early stages focus on creating shared commitment that legitimises the green infrastructure, while later stages are also driven by instrumental motives (lowering management costs). Although theory argues for profound participation in the delivery stage as well, our cases show the contrary. Future research can assess this discrepancy

Evidence of a Large Novel Gene Pool Associated with Prokaryotic Genomic Islands

Microbial genes that are “novel” (no detectable homologs in other species) have become of increasing interest as environmental sampling suggests that there are many more such novel genes in yet-to-be-cultured microorganisms. By analyzing known microbial genomic islands and prophages, we developed criteria for systematic identification of putative genomic islands (clusters of genes of probable horizontal origin in a prokaryotic genome) in 63 prokaryotic genomes, and then characterized the distribution of novel genes and other features. All but a few of the genomes examined contained significantly higher proportions of novel genes in their predicted genomic islands compared with the rest of their genome (Paired t test = 4.43E-14 to 1.27E-18, depending on method). Moreover, the reverse observation (i.e., higher proportions of novel genes outside of islands) never reached statistical significance in any organism examined. We show that this higher proportion of novel genes in predicted genomic islands is not due to less accurate gene prediction in genomic island regions, but likely reflects a genuine increase in novel genes in these regions for both bacteria and archaea. This represents the first comprehensive analysis of novel genes in prokaryotic genomic islands and provides clues regarding the origin of novel genes. Our collective results imply that there are different gene pools associated with recently horizontally transmitted genomic regions versus regions that are primarily vertically inherited. Moreover, there are more novel genes within the gene pool associated with genomic islands. Since genomic islands are frequently associated with a particular microbial adaptation, such as antibiotic resistance, pathogen virulence, or metal resistance, this suggests that microbes may have access to a larger “arsenal” of novel genes for adaptation than previously thought