261 research outputs found

    Challenges during Operation and Shutdown of Waxy Crude Pipelines

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    Transportation of waxy crude oil faces great challenges due to shear and temperature dependency. At high temperatures, waxy crude exhibits low viscous Newtonian behavior where the resistance to flow due to friction is low, and hence low pumping pressure is required to transport it. At low temperatures, however, the crude exhibits shear thinning non-Newtonian behavior where its apparent viscosity becomes shear-dependent. In such cases, the operated pipeline needs to maintain a high pressure to guarantee a continuous flow. Moreover, due to heat transfer between the internal pipeline and surroundings, oil temperature declines along the pipeline. It follows that the crude viscosity and, hence, frictional resistance increase. If the flow is interrupted for any reason, i.e., emergency or planned shutdown, then the restartability of the pipeline becomes a challenge because of the nonexistence of heating generated from friction. In this chapter, the challenges normally facing transportation of waxy crude oil will be discussed. The chapter will introduce the rheological properties of waxy crude oil and explain and describe how these properties can affect the pressure losses inside the pipeline during its operation and shutdown. The measures that need to be considered when designing a waxy crude pipeline will be discussed

    Strip planting decreases nitrogen fertilizer requirements while retention of more residue increases them in a rice - wheat - mungbean sequence on a subtropical floodplain soil

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    Conservation agriculture (CA) has not been well developed for intensively cultivated (2-3 crops yr-1) rice- based cropping systems which produce large amounts of crop residues annually. Thus, we examined the effects of two crop establishment systems (minimum soil disturbance by strip planting (SP) or conventional tillage (CT)), two residue retention levels (low and high) and five N rates (60, 80, 100, 120 & 140% of the recommended N fertilizer doses (RFD) on nine consecutive crops on an Aeric Haplaquept under rice-wheat- mungbean sequence. Rice yields were comparable between the crop establishment types but system yields were significantly higher with SP in two out of three years compare to CT. Increased residue retention did not significantly influence rice yield but positively influenced system yields. No substantial differences in optimum N rate was estimated between CT and SP for 90% of maximum yield goal (MYG) for all the three years but substantially decreased in SP compared to CT in two out of three years for 95 and 99% of MYG. The N fertilizer requirement was 6-22% higher with high residue retention compared to low residue retention plots for all the three yield goal levels. High residue retention also increased soil organic carbon (SOC) at 0- 6 cm depth in both tillage treatments. In conclusion, introducing CA did not alter the N fertilizer requirements of rice for 90% of MYG but reduced the requirement for 95 and 99% of MYG compared to CT. However, there was evidence that the retained crop residue immobilized N and increased the fertilizer N requirement

    Glucocorticoid-related genetic susceptibility for Alzheimer's disease

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    Because glucocorticoid excess increases neuronal vulnerability, genetic variations in the glucocorticoid system may be related to the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We analyzed single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 10 glucocorticoid-related genes in a population of 814 AD patients and unrelated control subjects. Set-association analysis revealed that a rare haplotype in the 5â€Č regulatory region of the gene encoding 11ÎČ-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD11B1) was associated with a 6-fold increased risk for sporadic AD. Results of a reporter-gene assay indicated that the rare risk-associated haplotype altered HSD11B1 transcription. HSD11B1 controls tissue levels of biologically active glucocorticoids and thereby influences neuronal vulnerability. Our results indicate that a functional variation in the glucocorticoid system increases the risk for AD, which may have important implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this diseas

    Epidemiology, pathology, prevention, and control strategies of inclusion body hepatitis and hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome in poultry: A comprehensive review

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    Infection with fowl adenoviruses (FAdVs) can result in a number of syndromes in the production of chicken, including inclusion body hepatitis (IBH), hepatitis-hydropericardium syndrome (HHS), and others, causing enormous economic losses around the globe. FAdVs are divided into 12 serotypes and five species (A–E; 1–8a and 8b−11). Most avian species are prone to infection due to the widespread distribution of FAdV strains. The genus aviadenovirus, which is a member of the adenoviridae family, is responsible for both IBH and HHS. The most popular types of transmission are mechanical, vertical, and horizontal. Hepatitis with basophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies distinguishes IBH, but the buildup of translucent or straw-colored fluid in the pericardial sac distinguishes HHS. IBH and HHS require a confirmatory diagnosis because their clinical symptoms and postmortem abnormalities are not unique to those conditions. Under a microscope, the presence of particular lesions and inclusion bodies may provide clues. Traditional virus isolation in avian tissue culture is more delicate than in avian embryonated eggs. Additionally, aviadenovirus may now be quickly and precisely detected using molecular diagnostic tools. Preventive techniques should rely on efficient biosecurity controls and immunize breeders prior to production in order to protect progeny. This current review gives a general overview of the current local and global scenario of IBH, and HHS brought on by FAdVs and covers both their issues and preventative vaccination methods

    Arteries are formed by vein-derived endothelial tip cells

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    Tissue vascularization entails the formation of a blood vessel plexus, which remodels into arteries and veins. Here we show, by using time-lapse imaging of zebrafish fin regeneration and genetic lineage tracing of endothelial cells in the mouse retina, that vein-derived endothelial tip cells contribute to emerging arteries. Our movies uncover that arterial-fated tip cells change migration direction and migrate backwards within the expanding vascular plexus. This behaviour critically depends on chemokine receptor cxcr4a function. We show that the relevant Cxcr4a ligand Cxcl12a selectively accumulates in newly forming bone tissue even when ubiquitously overexpressed, pointing towards a tissue-intrinsic mode of chemokine gradient formation. Furthermore, we find that cxcr4a mutant cells can contribute to developing arteries when in association with wild-type cells, suggesting collective migration of endothelial cells. Together, our findings reveal specific cell migratory behaviours in the developing blood vessel plexus and uncover a conserved mode of artery formation.Supramolecular & Biomaterials Chemistr

    Measurement of the Charged Multiplicities in b, c and Light Quark Events from Z0 Decays

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    Average charged multiplicities have been measured separately in bb, cc and light quark (u,d,su,d,s) events from Z0Z^0 decays measured in the SLD experiment. Impact parameters of charged tracks were used to select enriched samples of bb and light quark events, and reconstructed charmed mesons were used to select cc quark events. We measured the charged multiplicities: nˉuds=20.21±0.10(stat.)±0.22(syst.)\bar{n}_{uds} = 20.21 \pm 0.10 (\rm{stat.})\pm 0.22(\rm{syst.}), nˉc=21.28±0.46(stat.)−0.36+0.41(syst.)\bar{n}_{c} = 21.28 \pm 0.46(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.41}_{-0.36}(\rm{syst.}) nˉb=23.14±0.10(stat.)−0.37+0.38(syst.)\bar{n}_{b} = 23.14 \pm 0.10(\rm{stat.}) ^{+0.38}_{-0.37}(\rm{syst.}), from which we derived the differences between the total average charged multiplicities of cc or bb quark events and light quark events: Δnˉc=1.07±0.47(stat.)−0.30+0.36(syst.)\Delta \bar{n}_c = 1.07 \pm 0.47(\rm{stat.})^{+0.36}_{-0.30}(\rm{syst.}) and Δnˉb=2.93±0.14(stat.)−0.29+0.30(syst.)\Delta \bar{n}_b = 2.93 \pm 0.14(\rm{stat.})^{+0.30}_{-0.29}(\rm{syst.}). We compared these measurements with those at lower center-of-mass energies and with perturbative QCD predictions. These combined results are in agreement with the QCD expectations and disfavor the hypothesis of flavor-independent fragmentation.Comment: 19 pages LaTex, 4 EPS figures, to appear in Physics Letters

    Production of Single W Bosons at \sqrt{s}=189 GeV and Measurement of WWgamma Gauge Couplings

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    Single W boson production in electron-positron collisions is studied with the L3 detector at LEP. The data sample collected at a centre-of-mass energy of \sqrt{s} = 188.7GeV corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 176.4pb^-1. Events with a single energetic lepton or two acoplanar hadronic jets are selected. Within phase-space cuts, the total cross-section is measured to be 0.53 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.03 pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including our single W boson results obtained at lower \sqrt{s}, the WWgamma gauge couplings kappa_gamma and lambda_gamma are determined to be kappa_gamma = 0.93 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.09 and lambda_gamma = -0.31 +0.68 -0.19 +/- 0.13

    Measurement of the W+W-gamma Cross Section and Direct Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at LEP

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    The process e+e- -> W+W-gamma is analysed using the data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. Based on a sample of 42 selected W+W- candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W+W-gamma cross section, defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: sigma_WWgamma = 290 +/- 80 +/- 16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma, limits are derived on anomalous contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W+W- gamma gamma and W+W-Z gamma at 95% CL: -0.043 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.043 GeV^-2 0.08 GeV^-2 < a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.13 GeV^-2 0.41 GeV^-2 < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.37 GeV^-2
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