A LAGRANGIAN PARTICLE CFD POST-PROCESSOR DEDICATED TO PARTICLE ADHESION/DEPOSITION

In the past few years the use of biomass in power plants has grown dramatically. As a result of this action fouling and slagging in co-firing biomass facilities have turned out to play a critical role in the efficiency of such facilities. Efficient and effective methods are therefore needed to control fouling to an acceptable level and to prevent economic losses due to reduced furnace thermal efficiency, increased maintenance or even unscheduled outages. Numerical prediction of the impact of deposit properties has proved itself to be a successful strategy to both evaluate changes in the facility performance and to investigate possible solutions to minimize fouling as well. TU Delft and ECN started a project to monitor and control fouling in furnaces co-firing biomass with coal by means of numerical simulations and experiments. Numerical investigations are based on the development of a novel in-house code to track solid particles post-processing gas phase CFD data. These have been calculated using commercial codes such as FLUENT, CINAR and CFX. The Lagrangian Particle Post- Processor code ( P3 ) strategy and numerical results are presented here. Numerical simulation compare fairly well to the available experimental data for glass particles

Caregiver education in Parkinson’s disease: formative evaluation of a standardized program in seven European countries

The formative evaluation of a standardized psychosocial education program for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their caregivers. The results of the participation of the caregivers are presented next to the data of the patients. Caregivers (n = 137) and patients with PD (n = 151) participated in the 8-week program in separate groups. Measurements were performed on psychosocial problems (BELA-P/A-k), health state (EQ-5D VAS), quality of life (PDQ-39) and depression (SDS) 1 week before and 1 week after the program. Participants rated their mood on a visual analogue scale before and after each session, and they filled in an evaluation questionnaire after the last session. Scores on the BELA-P/A-k improved significantly on the 'bothered by scale' as well as the 'need for help scale'. No improvements were found on EQ-5D VAS, PDQ-39 and SDS. Mood ratings improved significantly after each session. Most participants evaluated the program as positive. Feedback led to improvements in the program, which are incorporated in a final manual. The program was feasible to run in the different countries. This exploratory study led to improvements in the program and recommendations for further research. A study on the effectiveness of the program is the next step.Pathophysiology of paroxysmal and chronic degenerative progressive disorder of the central and periferal nervous syste

The development and validation of the Leiden Bother and Needs Questionnaire for patients with pituitary disease: the LBNQ-Pituitary

Background Patients report persisting impairment in quality of life (QoL) after treatment for pituitary disease. At present, there is no questionnaire to assess (a) whether patients with pituitary disease are bothered by these consequences, and (b) their needs for support. Objective To develop and validate a disease-specific questionnaire for patients with pituitary disease which incorporates patient perceived bother related to the consequences of the disease, and their needs for support. Methods Items for the Leiden Bother and Needs Questionnaire for patients with pituitary disease (LBNQ-Pituitary) were formulated based on results of a recent focus group study (n = 49 items). 337 patients completed the LBNQ-Pituitary and six validated QoL questionnaires (EuroQoL-5D, SF-36, MFI-20, HADS, AcroQol, CushingQoL). Construct validity was examined by exploratory factor analysis. Reliabilities of the subscales were calculated with Cronbach’s alphas, and concurrent validity was assessed by calculating Spearman’s correlations between the LBNQ-Pituitary and the other measures. Results Factor analyses produced five subscales (i.e., mood problems, negative illness perceptions, issues in sexual functioning, physical and cognitive complaints, issues in social functioning) containing a total of 26 items. All factors were found to be reliable (Cronbach’s alphas all ≥.765), and the correlations between the dimensions of the LBNQ-Pituitary and other questionnaires (all P ≤ .0001) demonstrated convergent validity. Conclusions The LBNQ-Pituitary can be used to assess the degree to which patients are bothered by the consequences of the pituitary disease, as well as their needs for support. It could also facilitate an efficient assessment of patients’ needs for support in clinical practice. We postulate that paying attention to needs for support will lead to optimal patient care (e.g., improvement in psychosocial care), and positively affect QoL

Sustainable hydrogen production by gasification of biomass

Thermochemical gasification of biomass is an attractive process for sustainable production of hydrogen.

Future requirements for fossil power plants

The fast increasing installation of technologies to convert renewable energy into power influences the operation of conventional power plants. New requirements on the technology, on the operation and on the economic have to be considered for already running and future power plants. Currently, first experiences with such a production and market situation are available. Technologies are discussed to store power and to reduce CO2 emissions. New compensation models are necessary to enable economic operation of fossil power plants in base load. This article gives a short review about available technologies and future challenges