Energy efficiency regulation for industrial products and manufacturing

The paper deals with the energy efficiency of industrial products or manufacturing as compared to the framework legislative measures implemented by EU through the Eco-design and Energy Labeling Directives. The Eco-design implementing measures such as taking into account all phases of the life cycle (manufacturing, transport, use, disposal), as well as the essential environmental aspects (consumption, materials, emissions, waste, etc.) for each phase, are considered. The implementing measures should have no significant negative impact on the functionality, health and safety, affordability and industry's competitiveness, as well as they should not impose proprietary technology on manufacturers and not be an excessive administrative burden for them. In this paper a method for implementing Legislative measures concerning the Eco-design and Energy labeling of industrial product is proposed. It grounds on the analysis of particular interest versus general interest relation, for each product case. Method application consists in products classifying relative to the two types of interest, followed by a voluntary agreement between manufacturers operating on market and EU. Finally, the paper presents the limits and possibilities for Eco-design of industrial products and manufacturing industry

Predictive Modeling of a Paradigm Mechanical Cooling Tower Model: Ii. Optimal Best-Estimate Results with Reduced Predicted Uncertainties

This work uses the adjoint sensitivity model of the counter-flow cooling tower derived in the accompanying PART I to obtain the expressions and relative numerical rankings of the sensitivities, to all model parameters, of the following model responses: (i) outlet air temperature; (ii) outlet water temperature; (iii) outlet water mass flow rate; and (iv) air outlet relative humidity. These sensitivities are subsequently used within the “predictive modeling for coupled multi-physics systems” (PM_CMPS) methodology to obtain explicit formulas for the predicted optimal nominal values for the model responses and parameters, along with reduced predicted standard deviations for the predicted model parameters and responses. These explicit formulas embody the assimilation of experimental data and the “calibration” of the model’s parameters. The results presented in this work demonstrate that the PM_CMPS methodology reduces the predicted standard deviations to values that are smaller than either the computed or the experimentally measured ones, even for responses (e.g., the outlet water flow rate) for which no measurements are available. These improvements stem from the global characteristics of the PM_CMPS methodology, which combines all of the available information simultaneously in phase-space, as opposed to combining it sequentially, as in current data assimilation procedures

Cross-sectional imaging and cytologic investigations in the preoperative diagnosis of parotid gland tumors – An updated literature review

An accurate preoperative diagnosis of parotid tumors is essential for the selection and planning of surgical treatment. Various modern cross-sectional imaging and cytologic investigations can support the differential diagnosis of parotid tumors. The aim of this study was to achieve a comprehensive and updated review of modern imaging and cytologic investigations used in parotid tumor diagnosis, based on the latest literature data. This literature review could serve as a guide for clinicians in selecting different types of investigations for the preoperative differential diagnosis of parotid tumors. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with its dynamic and advanced sequences is the first-line imaging investigation used in differentiating parotid tumors. Computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography (PET)-CT provide limited indications in differentiating parotid tumors. Fine needle aspiration biopsy and core needle biopsy can contribute with satisfactory results to the cytological diagnosis of parotid tumors. Dynamic MRI with its dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted sequences provides the best accuracy for the preoperative differential diagnosis of parotid tumors. CT allows the best evaluation of bone invasion, being useful when MRI cannot be performed, and PET-CT has value in the follow-up of cancer patients. The dual cytological and imaging approach is the safest method for an accurate differential diagnosis of parotid tumors

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Les rapports de l’art abstrait (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian) avec les tendances d’abstraction de l’art sacré / The Connections of Abstract Art (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian) with the Abstractization Tendencies of Sacred Art

The main purpose of this paper is to study the connections that can be established between the modern abstractionism and the abstract tendencies from other historical eras. In the first part I will present three distinct interpretations: the first direction is based on authors as Mircea Eliade and Roger Lipsey, who see modern art through the links still alive between art and religion, from a syncretic perspective, or, after Eliade’s expression, based on a creative hermeneutics. The second direction is represented by the work of Adorno, Compagnon, Greenberg, Lyotard, for whom the modern art is a manifestation of radical discontinuity in relation to the art of the past, and the emergence of abstractionism is due primarily to a historical necessity (the increasing rupture between form and content, the increased autonomy of the sensible over the intelligible). The third direction is represented to Wilhelm Worringer, whose work (Abstraktion und Einfühlung, 1907) predates the emergence of the first abstract paintings, but relying on the German aesthetic tradition, manages to go beyond the threshold distinction between figurative and abstract, thus identifying a type of Einfühlung art and another of abstract type, namely the predominance of one or the other in different historical contexts and civilizational patterns. In the second part of the paper I will refer to instances of the spirit of abstraction in the case of Byzantine sacred art, especially in the footsteps of Plotinian aesthetics and as a result of the iconoclastic crisis. In the last part, I will present the key ideas for three major representatives of abstractionism (Kandinsky, Klee, Mondrian) and the survival of the concepts of sacred art in their works and art theories

Energy efficiency regulation for industrial products and manufacturing

The paper deals with the energy efficiency of industrial products or manufacturing as compared to the framework legislative measures implemented by EU through the Eco-design and Energy Labeling Directives. The Eco-design implementing measures such as taking into account all phases of the life cycle (manufacturing, transport, use, disposal), as well as the essential environmental aspects (consumption, materials, emissions, waste, etc.) for each phase, are considered. The implementing measures should have no significant negative impact on the functionality, health and safety, affordability and industry's competitiveness, as well as they should not impose proprietary technology on manufacturers and not be an excessive administrative burden for them. In this paper a method for implementing Legislative measures concerning the Eco-design and Energy labeling of industrial product is proposed. It grounds on the analysis of particular interest versus general interest relation, for each product case. Method application consists in products classifying relative to the two types of interest, followed by a voluntary agreement between manufacturers operating on market and EU. Finally, the paper presents the limits and possibilities for Eco-design of industrial products and manufacturing industry

Energy efficiency regulation for industrial products and manufacturing

The paper deals with the energy efficiency of industrial products or manufacturing as compared to the framework legislative measures implemented by EU through the Eco-design and Energy Labeling Directives. The Eco-design implementing measures such as taking into account all phases of the life cycle (manufacturing, transport, use, disposal), as well as the essential environmental aspects (consumption, materials, emissions, waste, etc.) for each phase, are considered. The implementing measures should have no significant negative impact on the functionality, health and safety, affordability and industry's competitiveness, as well as they should not impose proprietary technology on manufacturers and not be an excessive administrative burden for them. In this paper a method for implementing Legislative measures concerning the Eco-design and Energy labeling of industrial product is proposed. It grounds on the analysis of particular interest versus general interest relation, for each product case. Method application consists in products classifying relative to the two types of interest, followed by a voluntary agreement between manufacturers operating on market and EU. Finally, the paper presents the limits and possibilities for Eco-design of industrial products and manufacturing industry

Carboxylic Acid - Key Role in Life Sciences

This book is an attempt to bring together current knowledge on the role and importance of organic acids in life processes. There are lots of compounds based on the chemical nature of this functional group, which makes this class of molecules to be present in our lives starting with the human body (Krebs cycle - the core of cellular metabolism) to the products we currently use (food, medicines and cosmetics). No overall consensus is sought in this book, and the following chapters are authored by dedicated researchers presenting a diversity of applications and hypotheses concerning organic acids. The five chapters in this book include general information on carboxylic acids and their applications in life sciences (use in organic synthesis, nanotechnology, plant physiology, plant nutrition and soil chemistry)

Specific Business Continuity Management Practices During the Covid-19 Pandemic Crisis

The article contains an analysis of the concept of “business continuity management” in terms of literature in the field and how it can support organizations in times of pandemic crisis. The main objective of the article is to identify a correlation between the efforts of organizations to survive on the one hand and the main tools that can ensure business continuity in the context of the economic and health crisis caused by the Covid pandemic. Periods of crisis, regardless of their nature, economic, social, health have as a consequence of the changes they propagate in all systems of society, a reorganization and rethinking of the functioning of private or public organizations