33 research outputs found
Behavior modeling for the spraying device in the layered manufacturing process
Published ArticleA component, which has a perfect combination of different materials (probably including homogeneous materials and three different types of heterogeneous materials) in its different portions for a specific application, is considered as the component made of a multiphase perfect material. To fabricate such components, a hybrid layered manufacturing process has been developed. In order to accurately spray different materials with their required volume fractions for every pixel during fabrication, it is important to investigate its spraying operation. This paper establishes the behavior model of the spraying device and proves its validity using digital simulations
Intermittent load implementation in microbial fuel cells improves power performance
© 2014 Elsevier Ltd. This study reports on the response of small-scale MFCs to intermittent loading, in terms of power output over time. The aim was to understand the evolution with time of power output under different duty cycles, in conditions close to practical implementation. Inexpensive ceramic membranes were compared to cation exchange membranes, under continuous flow and with a pre-digester connected. Results show that at the minute-scale, all the duty cycles investigated, produced 78% higher power bursts from the MFCs (500. ΌW) than when under continuous loading (280. ΌW). These results were recorded from MFCs employing ceramic membranes, whereas the difference in performance for MFCs employing commercially available cation-exchange-membranes was insignificant. When normalising to daily energy production, only specific duty cycles produced more power than continuous loading. Furthermore, the introduction of a pre-digester increased the MFC power outputs 10-fold, thus confirming that separating fermentation from electro-active respiration, significantly enhances the system performance
Recovering tradition in globalising rural China:Handicraft Birdcages in Daâou village
This article explores a historic rural craft tradition as the focus of economic development through the valorisation of the local cultural heritage, or culture economy. The caseâstudy traces the revival of bamboo birdcage making in Daâou village in Shandong Province, where the craft knowledge of making birdcages once prized by the Chinese imperial court has been passed on through generations and protected from outsiders. Since economic reforms in the 1980s, the birdcage craft has again become the major activity in Daâou village, responding to new urban market demands, and bringing prosperity. Yet, through a conceptualisation of cultural heritage as a âprosaic third spaceâ, the article reveals the dynamics and tensions involved in the incorporation of the birdcage tradition in local economic development strategies and the promotion of eâcommerce and tourism, and the processes of abstraction initiated. As such, it raises questions about the relationship between craft, knowledge and place that resonate beyond China. The research is based on semiâstructured interviews conducted in 2016 with respondents including local leaders, craftspeople, suppliers, and sellers
Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.
BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362