Numerical solutions of two moving boundary problems by both finite difference and finite element methods with applications

The time dependent heat conduction equation that is solved in different coordinate systems is solved subject to various boundary conditions. Boundary conditions include surface heat flux, energy to vaporization of target materials, radiation from surface to surrounding, and possible phase change of material. This system of equations is subject to two moving boundaries. One moving boundary being the melt-solid interface because the surface heat flux may result in melting the surface of the exposed material. Another moving boundary is the receding surface as a result of evaporation of the wall material due to the continuous heating of the melted surface. Finite difference and the finite element methods are used and compared in such solution to these problems. Physical applications to these problems include high energy deposition from electron or ion beams interaction with materials for space and weapons applications, plasma disruption and energy dump on the walls or components of a fusion reactor, and high energy laser welding and annealing of materials. 23 refs., 3 figs

Biochemical and immunological characterization of haemolysin produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 isolated from burn wounds

Background: Infection of burn wounds by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality and remains one of the most challenging concerns for the burns unit. The aim of this study is purify and characterize the haemolysin produced by multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa PAO1 isolated from burn wounds. Methods: Isolation and identification of P. aeruginosa from burns was done by standard bacteriological methods. P. aeruginosa PAO1 was identified by PCR amplification and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The haemolysin of P. aeruginosa PAO1 was purified by 70% ammonium sulphate precipitation followed by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, and separation by SDS-Poly Acrylamide Gel Electrophoresis. In vivo toxicity of the purified haemolysin was determined by intraperitoneal injection of Swiss albino mice, and in vitro toxin-antitoxin neutralization test was performed as previously described. Results: The pure haemolysin had a molecular weight of 37 kDa, with maximum activity at 25°C for 30 minutes and stable within pH range of 4-9 (maximum activity at pH 7). The haemolysin was activated by Ca2+, Fe3+ and Cu2+. Intraperitoneal injection of mice with 0.5ml of haemolysin (128 HU/ml) caused 100% mortality while 0.5 and 0.1 ml of haemolytic titer (64 HU/ml) of the heated haemolysin (toxoid) caused 50% and 0% mortality respectively. In vitro toxin-antitoxin neutralization test revealed that anti-haemolysin antitoxin was present in the serum of the mice that were previously vaccinated with heated toxin. Conclusion: This study concluded that haemolysin can be a potential vaccine component for prevention of haemolysis caused by multidrug resistant P. aeruginosa in burn patients.Keywords: haemolysin, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, multidrug resistant organis

Mejora de la producción de lípidos de un prometedor hongo oleaginoso Aspergillus sp. cepa EM2018 para la formación de biodiesel: optimización de las condiciones de cultivo e identificación

Oleaginous fungi have recently gained increasing attention among different microorganisms due to their ability for lipid production for the preparation of biofuel. In the present study, a locally isolated fungus E45, identified genetically as Aspergillus sp. strain EM2018, was found to produce 25.2% of the total lipids content of its dry cell weight (DCW). Optimization of culture conditions was performed and lipid accumula­tion increased by about 2.4 fold (from 25.2% to 60.1% of DCW) when the fungus was grown for seven days in the potato dextrose (50 g/L) liquid medium at pH 5.0, incubation temperature at 30 ºC and inoculum size of 2 × 106 spore/mL. Supplementation of the medium with yeast extract and NaNO3 at a concentration of 0.05% as organic and inorganic nitrogen sources, respectively, increased lipid production (53.3% lipid/dry biomass). Gas chromatography analysis of fungal lipids revealed the presence of saturated (mainly palmitic acid C16:0 (33%) and lignoceric acid C24:0 (15%)) and unsaturated fatty acids in different proportions (mainly linoleic acid C18:2 (24.4%), oleica cid C18:1 (14%) and arachidonic C20:4 (7.4%). These findings suggest this new oleaginous fungus as a promising feedstock for various industrial applications and for the preparation of biodiesel.Los hongos oleagino­sos recientemente están ganando una creciente atención entre diferentes microorganismos debido a sus capaci­dades de producción de lípidos para la preparación de biocombustibles. En el presente estudio, se descubrió que un hongo E45 aislado localmente, identificado genéticamente como la cepa Aspergillus sp. EM2018, produce un 25,2% de lípidos totales de su peso de células secas (DCW). Se realizó la optimización de las condiciones de cultivo y la acumulación de lípidos se incrementó aproximadamente 2,4 veces (del 25,2% al 60,1% de DCW) cuando el hongo creció durante siete días en un medio líquido de dextrosa de papa (50 g/L) a pH 5.0, 30 °C de temperatura de incubación y 2 × 106 esporas/ml de tamaño de inóculo. La suplementación del medio con extracto de leva­dura y NaNO3 a una concentración de 0,05% como fuentes de nitrógeno orgánico e inorgánico, respectivamente, aumentó aún más la producción de lípidos (53,3% de lípidos/biomasa seca). El análisis mediante cromatografía de gases de los lípidos fúngicos reveló la presencia de ácidos grasos saturados (principalmente palmítico C16:0 (33%) y lignocérico C24:0 (15%)) y ácidos grasos insaturados en diferentes proporciones (principalmente linoleico C18:2 (24.4%), oleico C18:1 (14%) y araquidónico C20:4 (7,4%). Estos hallazgos sugieren que este nuevo hongo oleaginoso es una materia prima prometedora para diversas aplicaciones industriales y preparación de biodiésel

Influence of porosity on erosion behavior and hydrogen permeability of tungsten films

The erosion characteristics of dense and porous W-films deposited on Pd substrates were measured under impact of mirror Penning discharge nitrogen plasma. It is shown that the erosion rate of high porous tungsten films (up to 45% porosity) is similar to that for dense (1 – 3% porosity) tungsten films. At the same time hydrogen permeation through porous tungsten films essentially higher than for dense W coatings and in some cases it approaches to values as for bare Pd. The activation energies of hydrogen permeability measured for two-layer Pd-W systems with high porosity are higher than for dense W-films on Pd (15.44 kJ/mol and 12.8 kJ/mol, accordingly), but these values much lower than the ones for bulk W under gas-driven permeation experiments. The possible reasons of such erosion and permeation behavior are discussed.Зміряні ерозійні характеристики щільних і пористих плівок вольфраму на паладії при дії азотної плазми відбивних розрядів Пеннінга. Показано, що швидкість ерозії високопористих плівок вольфраму (пористість близько 45%) практично не відрізняється від такої для щільних плівок W (пористість 1 – 3%). У теж час проникнення водню крізь високопористі плівки вольфраму багато вище, ніж крізь щільні покриття W і в деяких випадках величини проникності можуть бути близькі до такої для Pd без покриття. Енергії активації водневої проникності зміряні для двошарових систем Pd-W з високою пористістю W вище, ніж для щільних W-плівок на Pd (15,44 кДж/моль і 12,8 кДж/моль, відповідно), але в обох випадках ці величини багато нижче, ніж для масивного W в умовах пронuкновения з молекулярної фази. Обговорюються можливі причини такої поведінки ерозії і водневої проникності.Измерены эрозионные характеристики плотных и пористых пленок вольфрама на палладии при воздействии азотной плазмы отражательных разрядов Пеннинга. Показано, что скорость эрозии высокопористых пленок вольфрама (пористость около 45%) практически не отличается от таковой для плотных W пленок (пористость 1 – 3%). В тоже время проникновение водорода через высокопористые пленки вольфрама много выше, чем через плотные W покрытия и в некоторых случаях величины проницаемости могут быть близки к таковой для Pd без покрытия. Энергии активации водородопроницаемости измереннные для двухслойных Pd-W систем с высокой пористостью W выше, чем для плотных W-пленок на Pd (15,44 кДж/моль и 12,8 кДж/моль, соответственно), но в обоих случаях эти величины много ниже, чем для массивного W в условиях проникновения из молекулярной фазы. Обсуждаются возможные причины такого поведения эрозии и водородопроницаемости

ARIES-I tritium system

A key safety concern in a D-T fusion reactor is the tritium inventory. There are three components in a fusion reactor with potentially large inventories, i.e., the blanket, the fuel processing system and the plasma facing components. The ARIES team selected the material combinations, decided the operating conditions and refined the processing systems, with the aiming of minimizing the tritium inventories and leakage. The total tritium inventory for the ARIES-I reactor is only 700 g. This paper discussed the calculations and assumptions we made for the low tritium inventory. We also addressed the uncertainties about the tritium inventory. 13 refs., 2 figs., 3 tabs

Pd-W bimetallic systems: erosion behavior and hydrogen permeability

Erosion and hydrogen behavior are examined in the dense and high porous W-films on Pd. The obtained results are discussed from the viewpoint of plasma facing diffusion system creation for hydrogen isotope recycling control or tritium extraction

Tracking development assistance for health and for COVID-19 : a review of development assistance, government, out-of-pocket, and other private spending on health for 204 countries and territories, 1990-2050

Background The rapid spread of COVID-19 renewed the focus on how health systems across the globe are financed, especially during public health emergencies. Development assistance is an important source of health financing in many low-income countries, yet little is known about how much of this funding was disbursed for COVID-19. We aimed to put development assistance for health for COVID-19 in the context of broader trends in global health financing, and to estimate total health spending from 1995 to 2050 and development assistance for COVID-19 in 2020. Methods We estimated domestic health spending and development assistance for health to generate total health-sector spending estimates for 204 countries and territories. We leveraged data from the WHO Global Health Expenditure Database to produce estimates of domestic health spending. To generate estimates for development assistance for health, we relied on project-level disbursement data from the major international development agencies' online databases and annual financial statements and reports for information on income sources. To adjust our estimates for 2020 to include disbursements related to COVID-19, we extracted project data on commitments and disbursements from a broader set of databases (because not all of the data sources used to estimate the historical series extend to 2020), including the UN Office of Humanitarian Assistance Financial Tracking Service and the International Aid Transparency Initiative. We reported all the historic and future spending estimates in inflation-adjusted 2020 US$, 2020 US$ per capita, purchasing-power parity-adjusted US$per capita, and as a proportion of gross domestic product. We used various models to generate future health spending to 2050. Findings In 2019, health spending globally reached$8. 8 trillion (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 8.7-8.8) or $1132 (1119-1143) per person. Spending on health varied within and across income groups and geographical regions. Of this total,$40.4 billion (0.5%, 95% UI 0.5-0.5) was development assistance for health provided to low-income and middle-income countries, which made up 24.6% (UI 24.0-25.1) of total spending in low-income countries. We estimate that $54.8 billion in development assistance for health was disbursed in 2020. Of this,$13.7 billion was targeted toward the COVID-19 health response. $12.3 billion was newly committed and$1.4 billion was repurposed from existing health projects. $3.1 billion (22.4$2.4 billion (17.9%) was for supply chain and logistics. Only $714.4 million (7.7$1519 (1448-1591) per person in 2050, although spending across countries is expected to remain varied. Interpretation Global health spending is expected to continue to grow, but remain unequally distributed between countries. We estimate that development organisations substantially increased the amount of development assistance for health provided in 2020. Continued efforts are needed to raise sufficient resources to mitigate the pandemic for the most vulnerable, and to help curtail the pandemic for all. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

The antagonism between fecundity and survival ability in sheep. Physiological studies on some blood parameters in relation to the antagonism between reproductive performance and viability

.1600 Blutproben von 270 neugeborenen Laemmern wurden hinsichtlich Glucose, Laktat, Lipase und Haemoglobin analysiert. Diese Werte und die Koerpertemperatur bzw. das Koerpergewicht des Lammes sowie die Dauer bis zum ersten Saugen des Neugeborenen zeigten nur einen schwachen Antagonismus auf die Fortpflanzungsleistung und Lebensfaehigkeit der untersuchten Laemmer, sofern ein intensives Management waehrend der perinatalen Periode der Tiere bestandSIGLEAvailable from: Goettingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Universitaetsbibliothek / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Surface effects on sputtered atoms and their angular and energy dependence

A comprehensive three-dimensional Monte Carlo computer code, Ion Transport in Materials and Compounds (ITMC), has been developed to study in detail the surfaces related phenomena that affect the amount of sputtered atoms and back-scattered ions and their angular and energy dependence. A number of important factors that can significantly affect the sputtering behavior of a surface can be studied in detail, such as having different surface properties and composition than the bulk and synergistic effects due to surface segregation of alloys. These factors can be important in determining and lifetime of fusion reactor first walls and limiters. The ITMC Code is based on Monte Carlo methods to track down the path and the damage produced by charged particles as they slow down in solid metal surfaces or compounds. The major advantages of the ITMC code are its flexibility and ability to use and compare all existing models for energy losses, all known interatomic potentials, and to use different materials and compounds with different surface and bulk composition to allow for dynamic surface composition to allow for dynamic surface composition changes. There is good agreement between the code and available experimental results without using adjusting parameters for the energy losses mechanisms. The ITMC Code is highly optimized, very fast to run and easy to use