Effects of oxygen depletion on soot production, emission and radiative heat transfer in opposed-flow flame spreading over insulated wire in microgravity

This paper investigates experimentally and numerically pressure effects on soot production and radiative heat transfer in non-buoyant opposed-flow flames spreading over wires coated by Low Density PolyEthylene (LPDE). Experiments, conducted in parabolic flights, consider pressure levels ranging from 50.7 kPa to 121.6 kPa and an oxidizer flowing parallel to the wire's axis at a velocity of 150 mm/s and composed of 20% O2/80% N2 in volume. The numerical model includes a detailed chemistry, a two-equation smoke-point based soot production model, a radiation model coupling the Full-Spectrum correlated-k method with the finite volume method and a simple degradation model for LDPE. An analysis of the experimental data shows that the spread rate, the pyrolysis mass flow rate, and the residence time for soot formation are independent of pressure whereas the soot formation rate is third-order in pressure. The model reproduces quantitatively the effects of pressure on soot production and captures the transition from non-smoking to smoking flames. The radiant fraction increases with pressure because of an enhancement in soot radiation whereas the contribution of radiating gases remains approximately constant over the range of pressures considered. In addition, gas radiation dominates at pressure lower than 75 kPa whereas soot radiation prevails at higher-pressure levels. Consistently with the data obtained at normal gravity, the smoke-point transition is found to occur for a radiant fraction of about 0.3 and the soot oxidation freezing temperature is estimated in the range 1350-1450K. Eventually, whatever the pressure considered, the surface re-radiation from the wire is higher than the incident radiative flux from the flame to the surface along the entire wire. This shows that radiative heat transfer contributes negatively to the heating of the unburnt LDPE and to the heat balance along the pyrolysing surface

MEMBRO FANTASMA EM AMPUTADOS DE GUERRA

O membro fantasma é a experiência de possuir um membro ausente que se comporta similarmente ao membro real, englobando a sensação e dor. Os objectivos deste trabalho foi avaliar a prevalência da dor pós-amputação em amputados de guerra, em Portugal, e a sua caracterização. A prevalência da sensação fantasma e dor no coto e as suas implicações na dor fantasma constituem objectivos secundários, assim como o impacto da dor no quotidiano destes doentes e seu bem-estar físico e social

A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain in a Patient with Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis.

INTRODUCTION: Walled-off necrosis (WON) is a potentially lethal late complication of acute pancreatitis (AP) and occurs in less than 10% of AP cases. It can be located in or outside the pancreas. When infected, the mortality rate increases and can reach 100% if the collection is not drained. Its treatment is complex and includes, at the beginning, intravenous antibiotics, which permit sepsis control and a delay in the therapeutic intervention, like drainage. Nowadays, a minimally invasive approach is advised. Depending on the location of the collection, computed tomography (CT)-guided drainage or endoscopic necrosectomy are the primary options, then complemented by surgical necrosectomy if needed. Infected WON of the abdominal wall has been rarely described in the literature and there is no report of any infection with Citrobacter freundii. CASE: We present the case of a 61-year-old man with necrotizing AP complicated by WON of the left abdominal wall, infected with Citrobacter freundii that was successfully treated with CT-guided percutaneous drainage and intravenous antibiotics. CONCLUSION: Infected WON accounts for considerable mortality and its location in the abdominal wall is rare; it can be treated with antibiotics and CT-guided drainage with no need for further intervention.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Avaliação física e físico-química de 25 genótipos de maracujázeiro-azedo cultivados no Distrito Federal.

O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho agronômico de 25 genótipos de maracujazeiro azedo no Distrito Federal, bem como estimar parâmetros genéticos para serem utilizados em programas de melhoramento genético dessa cultura

Dielectron widths of the S-, D-vector bottomonium states

The dielectron widths of $\Upsilon(nS) (n=1,...,7)$ and vector decay constants are calculated using the Relativistic String Hamiltonian with a universal interaction. For $\Upsilon(nS) (n=1,2,3)$ the dielectron widths and their ratios are obtained in full agreement with the latest CLEO data. For $\Upsilon(10580)$ and $\Upsilon(11020)$ a good agreement with experiment is reached only if the 4S--3D mixing (with a mixing angle $\theta=27^\circ\pm 4^\circ$) and 6S--5D mixing (with $\theta=40^\circ\pm 5^\circ$) are taken into account. The possibility to observe higher "mixed $D$-wave" resonances, $\tilde\Upsilon(n {}^3D_1)$ with $n=3,4,5$ is discussed. In particular, $\tilde\Upsilon(\approx 11120)$, originating from the pure $5 {}^3D_1$ state, can acquire a rather large dielectron width, $\sim 130$ eV, so that this resonance may become manifest in the $e^+e^-$ experiments. On the contrary, the widths of pure $D$-wave states are very small, $\Gamma_{ee}(n{}^3 D_1) \leq 2$ eV.Comment: 13 pages, no figure

Behavioral characterization of the 6-hydroxidopamine model of Parkinson's disease and pharmacological rescuing of non-motor deficits

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative condition that is characterized by motor symptoms as a result of dopaminergic degeneration, particularly in the mesostriatal pathway. However, in recent years, a greater number of clinical studies have focused on the emergence of non-motor symptoms in PD patients, as a consequence of damage on the mesolimbic and mesocortical dopaminergic networks, and on their significant impact on the quality of life of PD patients. Herein, we performed a thorough behavioral analysis including motor, emotional and cognitive dimensions, of the unilateral medial forebrain bundle (MFB) 6-hydroxidopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned model of PD, and further addressed the impact of pharmacological interventions with levodopa and antidepressants on mood dimensions. RESULTS: Based on apomorphine-induced turning behaviour and degree of dopaminergic degeneration, animals submitted to MFB lesions were subdivided in complete and incomplete lesion groups. Importantly, this division also translated into a different severity of motor and exploratory impairments and depressive-like symptoms; in contrast, no deficits in anxiety-like and cognitive behaviors were found in MFB-lesioned animals. Subsequently, we found that the exploratory and the anhedonic behavioural alterations of MFB-lesioned rats can be partially improved with the administration of both levodopa or the antidepressant bupropion, but not paroxetine. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that this model is a relevant tool to study the pathophysiology of motor and non-motor symptoms of PD. In addition, the present data shows that pharmacological interventions modulating dopaminergic transmission are also relevant to revert the non-motor behavioral deficits found in the disease.We would like to acknowledge the funds attributed by Fundacao Calouste de Gulbenkian to A.J. Salgado under the scope of the The Gulbenkian Program to Support Research in the Life Sciences, and Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology: Ciencia 2007 Program to A.J. Salgado; the PhD scholarships to M. M. Carvalho (SFRH/BD/51061/2010) and F. L. Campos (SFRH/BD/47311/2008), and the Post-Doctoral Fellowship to A.J. Rodrigues (SFRH/BPD/33611/2009) We want to further acknowledge Carina Cunha, Fabio Teixeira, Joao Bessa and Joao Cerqueira for their contribution to this work

He II λ\lambda4686 emission from the massive binary system in η\eta Car: constraints to the orbital elements and the nature of the periodic minima

{\eta} Carinae is an extremely massive binary system in which rapid spectrum variations occur near periastron. Most notably, near periastron the He II $\lambda 4686$ line increases rapidly in strength, drops to a minimum value, then increases briefly before fading away. To understand this behavior, we conducted an intense spectroscopic monitoring of the He II $\lambda 4686$ emission line across the 2014.6 periastron passage using ground- and space-based telescopes. Comparison with previous data confirmed the overall repeatability of EW(He II $\lambda 4686$), the line radial velocities, and the timing of the minimum, though the strongest peak was systematically larger in 2014 than in 2009 by 26%. The EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) variations, combined with other measurements, yield an orbital period $2022.7\pm0.3$ d. The observed variability of the EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) was reproduced by a model in which the line flux primarily arises at the apex of the wind-wind collision and scales inversely with the square of the stellar separation, if we account for the excess emission as the companion star plunges into the hot inner layers of the primary's atmosphere, and including absorption from the disturbed primary wind between the source and the observer. This model constrains the orbital inclination to $135^\circ$-$153^\circ$, and the longitude of periastron to $234^\circ$-$252^\circ$. It also suggests that periastron passage occurred on $T_0 = 2456874.4\pm1.3$ d. Our model also reproduced EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) variations from a polar view of the primary star as determined from the observed He II $\lambda 4686$ emission scattered off the Homunculus nebula.Comment: The article contains 23 pages and 17 figures. It has been accepted for publication in Ap