Decentralised water reuse in Central Europe : steps towards understanding processes in an anaerobic wastewater treatment plant, including the removal of micropollutants

Wastewater from the first decentralised anaerobic-aerobic treatment plant in Switzerland, “IWB”, with micropollutant (MP) elimination step and wastewater reclamation for irrigation, was analysed. Improvements made in the biological treatment, to support the removal of organic pollutants, were monitored. The organic matter was removed up to 81.2% for COD and over 90% for BOD, but showed still too high values for save reuse. Nutrients, such as, NH4-N, PO4-P were found to be preserved during the treatment. During the observation period, the IWB did not achieve the expected treatment performance. It was assumed that the biology was inhibited by some unknown substances in the wastewater. Observations indicated shock loads with detergents and hydraulic short-circuits. The IWB was screened on two days for estrogenic active substances using the planar-YES bioassay. Estrone (E1) and17β-Estradiol (E2) were found in concentrations of up to 16.3 ng/l for E1 and 17.4 ng/l for E2. The oral contraceptive 17-Ethinylestradiol (EE2) was only measured in the aerobic part of the IWB in the first screening, and in low concentrations. In total six unknown substances were detected, where one of them most likely seemed to be Bisphenol A. To assess the potential role of biochar and activated biochar for MP elimination in wastewater, a biochar (BC) from cherry stones and three different activated biochars (ABC) from K2CO3 impregnated cherry stones, with different impregnation ratios, were produced. The pyrolysis was performed using the Pyreka pyrolysis reactor at 500 °C and a holding time of 10 min. Methylene blue (MB) adsorption experiments were performed with this chars and compared with a regular activated carbon. The BC showed the least adsorption of MB in all experiments. The ABC, activated with an impregnation ratio of 1:1/4, showed the best adsorption among the activated biochars. The best adsorption performance showed the regular AC

Family House – Floor Heating

Import 23/07/2015Tématem bakalářské práce je návrh projektové dokumentace rodinného domu a návrh podlahového vytápění. Projektová dokumentace musí splňovat příslušné normy a požadavky ČR. Cílem bakalářské práce je návrh a výpočet podlahového vytápění a návrh solárního systému pro ohřev teplé vody. Součástí práce je zpracování výpočtu tepelných ztrát rodinného domu, vyhodnocení stavebních konstrukcí a vytvoření energetického štítku obálky rodinného domu.The theme of my bachelor thesis is the design of project documentation and draft of the house floor heating. Project documentation must comply with the relevant standards and requirements of the Czech Republic. The aim of my thesis is the proposal and calculation of floor heating and design of the solar system for hot water heating. The thesis includes heat loss calculation of the the house, the evaluation of building structures and creating an energy sheet of the house.229 - Katedra prostředí staveb a TZBvýborn

Ethnicity: in search of concept

This thesis is an attempt to deal with a challenge that I wrestled with during my fieldwork in Bukovec: how to conceptualize the diversity of collective identities that I identified there. I decided to use the anthropological concept of Ethnicity. Nevertheless, after the publication of Barth's Introduction to Ethnic Groups and Boundaries in 1969, this concept was used in so many ways by so many authors that there is no general definition of it. Therefore, I decided to redefine ethnicity in this paper. I assume that the meanings of denotations such as ethnic group and ethnicity are overlapping with the meaning of other words. Therefore, I delimitated it from the words race and nation in the negative sense, and, on the other side, I also constituted a positive meaning by analysis of journalist discourse.Tato diplomová práce je pokusem vyrovnat se s problémem, s kterým jsem byl konfrontován během svého terénního výzkumu v obci Bukovec: jakým způsobem uchopit různorodé podoby kolektivních identit, které jsem zde zaznamenal. Rozhodl jsem se využít antropologického konceptu etnicity. Od publikování Barthovy Předmluvy ke sborníku Ethnic Groups and Boundaries (1969) byl však tento koncept mnohokrát využit rozdílnými autory tak, že neexistuje jednotná definice pojmu, a proto jsem se pokusil tento pojem znovu vymezit. Vycházel jsem z předpokladu, že se pojmy etnická skupina a etnicita významově překrývají s jinými označujícími a z toho důvodu jsem jednak vymezil pojem etnická skupina od pojmů rasa a národ a současně jsem se pokusil zjistit, jakým způsobem se význam adjektiva etnický performuje v rámci diskursu české žurnalistikyÚstav politologieInstitute of Political ScienceFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Spätgotische Sakralarchitektur in der Slowakei

Neben den historischen, wirtschaftlichen, ethnografischen und geografischen Gegebenheiten gebe ich an Hand von 13 repräsentativen Sakralbauten einen Überblick über die Sakralarchitektur im Zeitraum 1350-1500. Nach detaillierten Beschreibungen, gehe ich auf die Gemeinsamkeiten und die Besonderheiten in der slowakischen Architektur ein. Im Abschluss stelle ich einen Vergleich zum Veitsdom in Prag und zum Stephansdom in Wien her

A low-cost portable simulator of a domestic cat larynx for teaching endotracheal intubation

Objective: To design and construct an affordable simulator of the cat larynx for training intubation maneuvers and to share the designs for its fabrication. Study design: Research and development study. Animals: A domestic cat. Methods: The cadaver of a cat, dead by natural causes, was frozen in sternal recumbency with the neck extended and the mouth wide open. A computed tomography image was acquired and used to construct a digital three-dimensional (3D) model of the pharynx and trachea. A digitally adapted model was 3D-printed and used to generate a silicone model of these structures, which was placed within a wooden container. The quality of the simulator was assessed by 46 veterinary anesthesiologists and veterinarians with experience in tracheal intubation maneuvers, and their opinions were obtained through an anonymous questionnaire. Results: Several preliminary prototypes were assessed regarding stability, texture and cost. Finally, a silicone model of a cat larynx (LaryngoCUBE) was produced and encased in a wooden container. Results from the questionnaire showed high scores regarding anatomy, tissue texture and intubation maneuver realism, compared with the real procedure. Conclusions: and clinical relevance Use of LaryngoCUBE as a training tool may improve the skills of students and reduce the use of animals for teaching endotracheal intubation. Blueprints and computational models are provided online so that the simulator can be fully reproduced.Fil: Clausse, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Nejamkin, Pablo. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Departamento de Fisiopatología. Laboratorio de Farmacología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Bulant, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Genaro, Ariel. Instituto de Profesorado de Arte Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Landivar, Florencia. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias; ArgentinaFil: del Sole, Maria Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Clausse, Alejandro. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentin

A computational study of aortic insufficiency in patients supported with continuous flow left ventricular assist devices: Is it time for a paradigm shift in management?

Background: De novo aortic insufficiency (AI) following continuous flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation is a common complication. Traditional early management utilizes speed augmentation to overcome the regurgitant flow in an attempt to augment net forward flow, but this strategy increases the aortic transvalvular gradient which predisposes the patient to progressive aortic valve pathology and may have deleterious effects on aortic shear stress and right ventricular (RV) function. Materials and methods: We employed a closed-loop lumped-parameter mathematical model of the cardiovascular system including the four cardiac chambers with corresponding valves, pulmonary and systemic circulations, and the LVAD. The model is used to generate boundary conditions which are prescribed in blood flow simulations performed in a three-dimensional (3D) model of the ascending aorta, aortic arch, and thoracic descending aorta. Using the models, impact of various patient management strategies, including speed augmentation and pharmacological treatment on systemic and pulmonary (PA) vasculature, were investigated for four typical phenotypes of LVAD patients with varying degrees of RV to PA coupling and AI severity. Results: The introduction of mild/moderate or severe AI to the coupled RV and pulmonary artery at a speed of 5,500 RPM led to a reduction in net flow from 5.4 L/min (no AI) to 4.5 L/min (mild/moderate) to 2.1 L/min (severe). RV coupling ratio (Ees/Ea) decreased from 1.01 (no AI) to 0.96 (mild/moderate) to 0.76 (severe). Increasing LVAD speed to 6,400 RPM in the severe AI and coupled scenario, led to a 42% increase in net flow and a 16% increase in regurgitant flow (RF) with a nominal decrease of 1.6% in RV myocardial oxygen consumption (MVO2). Blood pressure control with the coupled RV with severe AI at 5,500 RPM led to an 81% increase in net flow with a 15% reduction of RF and an 8% reduction in RV MVO2. With an uncoupled RV, the introduction of mild/moderate or severe AI at a speed of 5,500 RPM led to a reduction in net flow from 5.0 L/min (no AI) to 4.0 L/min (mild/moderate) to 1.8 L/min (severe). Increasing the speed to 6,400 RPM with severe AI and an uncoupled RV increased net flow by 45%, RF by 15% and reduced RV MVO2 by 1.1%. For the uncoupled RV with severe AI, blood pressure control alone led to a 22% increase in net flow, 4.2% reduction in RF, and 3.9% reduction in RV MVO2; pulmonary vasodilation alone led to a 18% increase in net flow, 7% reduction in RF, and 26% reduction in RV MVO2; whereas, combined BP control and pulmonary vasodilation led to a 113% increase in net flow, 20% reduction in RF and 31% reduction in RV MVO2. Compared to speed augmentation, blood pressure control consistently resulted in a reduction in WSS throughout the proximal regions of the arterial system. Conclusion: Speed augmentation to overcome AI in patients supported by CF-LVAD appears to augment flow but also increases RF and WSS in the aorta, and reduces RV MVO2. Aggressive blood pressure control and pulmonary vasodilation, particularly in those patients with an uncoupled RV can improve net flow with more advantageous effects on the RV and AI RF

Automated lumen segmentation using multi-frame convolutional neural networks in Intravascular Ultrasound datasets

Aims: Assessment of minimum lumen areas in intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) pullbacks is time-consuming and demands adequately trained personnel. In this work, we introduce a novel and fully automated pipeline to segment the lumen boundary in IVUS datasets. Methods and results First, an automated gating is applied to select end-diastolic frames and bypass saw-tooth artefacts. Second, within a machine learning (ML) environment, we automatically segment the lumen boundary using a multi-frame (MF) convolutional neural network (MFCNN). Finally, we use the theory of Gaussian processes (GPs) to regress the final lumen boundary. The dataset consisted of 85 IVUS pullbacks (52 patients). The dataset was partitioned at the pullback-level using 73 pullbacks for training (20 586 frames), 6 pullbacks for validation (1692 frames), and 6 for testing (1692 frames). The degree of overlapping, between the ground truth and ML contours, median (interquartile range, IQR) systematically increased from 0.896 (0.874–0.933) for MF1 to 0.925 (0.911–0.948) for MF11. The median (IQR) of the distance error was also reduced from 3.83 (2.94–4.98)% for MF1 to 3.02 (2.25–3.95)% for MF11-GP. The corresponding median (IQR) in the lumen area error remained between 5.49 (2.50–10.50)% for MF1 and 5.12 (2.15–9.00)% for MF11-GP. The dispersion in the relative distance and area errors consistently decreased as we increased the number of frames, and also when the GP regressor was coupled to the MFCNN output. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that the proposed ML approach is suitable to effectively segment the lumen boundary in IVUS scans, reducing the burden of costly and time-consuming manual delineation.Fil: Ziemer, Paulo G. P.. Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica; BrasilFil: Bulant, Carlos Alberto. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; ArgentinaFil: Orlando, José Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Tandil; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comision de Investigaciones Científicas. Grupo de Plasmas Densos Magnetizados; ArgentinaFil: Maso Talou, Gonzalo D.. University of Auckland; Nueva ZelandaFil: Mansilla Álvarez, Luis A.. Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica; BrasilFil: Guedes Bezerra, Cristiano. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Lemos, Pedro A.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: García García, Héctor M.. Georgetown University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Blanco, Pablo J.. Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica; Brasi

Localization of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone gene, Trh , on mouse Chromosome 6

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47026/1/335_2004_Article_BF00355651.pd