Process analysis of 1MW MCFC plant

Molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFCs) have received a great deal of attention in recent years and are now at a pre-commercial stage. In this work, referring to the simulation experience of the Department of Environmental Engineering of the University of Genoa (DIAM), the process analysis of a reference 500kW MCFC plant will be presented. The new philosophy of distributed energy supply for the production and the distribution of electrical energy focuses its attention on plants with a power size in the range of 1\u201310MW. For this reason the simulation of a 1MW MCFC system will be considered, both on the basis of a 500kW plant scheme, and taking into account some modifications for improving its performance, and the results of the simulation will be discussed

Climate variability over the last 35,000 years recorded in marine and terrestrial archives in the Australian region: an OZ-INTIMATE compilation

The Australian region spans some 60° of latitude and 50° of longitude and displays considerable regional climate variability both today and during the Late Quaternary. A synthesis of marine and terrestrial climate records, combining findings from the Southern Ocean, temperate, tropical and arid zones, identifies a complex response of climate proxies to a background of changing boundary conditions over the last 35,000 years. Climate drivers include the seasonal timing of insolation, greenhouse gas content of the atmosphere, sea level rise and ocean and atmospheric circulation changes. Our compilation finds few climatic events that could be used to construct a climate event stratigraphy for the entire region, limiting the usefulness of this approach. Instead we have taken a spatial approach, looking to discern the patterns of change across the continent. The data identify the clearest and most synchronous climatic response at the time of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (21 ± 3 ka), with unambiguous cooling recorded in the ocean, and evidence of glaciation in the highlands of tropical New Guinea, southeast Australia and Tasmania. Many terrestrial records suggest drier conditions, but with the timing of inferred snowmelt, and changes to the rainfall/runoff relationships, driving higher river discharge at the LGM. In contrast, the deglaciation is a time of considerable south-east to north-west variation across the region. Warming was underway in all regions by 17 ka. Post-glacial sea level rise and its associated regional impacts have played an important role in determining the magnitude and timing of climate response in the north-west of the continent in contrast to the southern latitudes. No evidence for cooling during the Younger Dryas chronozone is evident in the region, but the Antarctic cold reversal clearly occurs south of Australia. The Holocene period is a time of considerable climate variability associated with an intense monsoon in the tropics early in the Holocene, giving way to a weakened monsoon and an increasingly El Niño-dominated ENSO to the present. The influence of ENSO is evident throughout the southeast of Australia, but not the southwest. This climate history provides a template from which to assess the regionality of climate events across Australia and make comparisons beyond our region.Jessica M. Reeves, Timothy T. Barrows, Timothy J .Cohen, Anthony S. Kiem, Helen C.Bostock, Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons ... et al. (OZ-INTIMATE Members

Can Animal Skin Diseases or Current Transgenic Mice Serve as a Model for Hidradenitis Suppurativa?

The pathogenesis of hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is still enigmatic, and a valid animal model for HS is currently not available. The recent discovery of gamma-secretase mutations in a subpopulation of patients with HS suggested gamma-secretase transgenic mice as a model for HS pathogenesis. However, the discrepancies between human HS and these mice are daunting. We critically review cases of animal HS and transgenic gamma-secretase mouse models for HS and discuss the criteria which should be met for a representative pathogenic model. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base