Modelling the inhalation of drug particles in a human nasal cavity

A human nasal cavity was reconstructed from CT scans to make a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. With this model, fluid flow and inhalation of aerosol analysis can be investigated. The surface of the interior nasal cavity is lined with highly vascularised mucosa which provides a means for direct drug delivery into the blood stream. Typical sprayed particles from a nasal spray device produce a particle size distribution with a mean diameter of 50μm, which leads to early deposition due to inertial impaction. In this study low-density drug particles and submicron particles (including nanoparticles) are used to evaluate their deposition patterns. It was found that the low-density particles lightens the particle inertial properties however the particle inertia is more sensitive to the particle size rather than the density. Moreover the deposition pattern for nano-particles is spread out through the airway. Thus an opportunity may exist to develop low-density and nanoparticles to improve the efficiency of drug delivery to target deposition on the highly vascularised mucosal walls. SciRes Copyright © 2010

Simulation of fluid dynamics and particle transport in a realistic human nasal cavity

Airflow and particle transport through the nasal cavity was studied using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). A computational model of the human nasal cavity was reconstructed through CT scans. The process involved defining the airway outline through points in space that had to be fitted with a closed surface. The airflow was first simulated and detailed airflow structures such as local vortices, wall shear stresses, pressure drop and flow distribution were obtained. In terms of heat transfer the differences in the width of the airway especially in the frontal regions was found to be critical as the temperature difference was greatest and therefore heating of the air is expedited when the air is surrounded by the hotter walls. Understanding the effects of the airway geometry on the airflow patterns allows better predictions of particle transport through the airway. Inhalation of foreign particles is filtered by the nasal cilia to some degree as a defence mechanism of the airway. Particles such as asbestos fibres, pollen and diesel fumes can be considered as toxic and lead to health problems. These particles were introduced and the effects of particle morphology were considered by customising the particle trajectory equation. This mainly included the effects of the drag correlation and its shape factor. Local particle deposition sites, detailed deposition efficiencies and particle trajectories were obtained. High inertial particles tended to be filtered within the anterior regions of the cavity due to a change in direction of the airway as the air flow changes from vertical at the inlet to horizontal within the main nasal passage. Inhaled particles with pharmacological agents are often deliberately introduced into the nasal airway with a target delivery. The mucous lined airway that is highly vascular provides an avenue for drug delivery into the blood stream. An initial nasal spray experiment was performed to determine the parameters that were important for nasal spray drug delivery. The important parameters were determined to be the spray angle, initial particle velocity and particle swirl. It was found that particles were formed at a break-up length at a cone diameter greater than the spray nozzle diameter. The swirl fraction determined how much of the velocity magnitude went into a tangential component. By combining a swirling component along with a narrow spray into the main streamlines, greater penetration of larger particles into the nasal cavity may be possible. These parameters were then used as the boundary conditions for a parametric study into sprayed particle drug delivery within the CFD domain. The results were aimed to assist in the design of more efficient nasal sprays

CFD Simulations on the Heating Capability in a Human Nasal Cavity

The air conditioning capability of the nose is dependent on the nasal mucosal temperature and the airflow dynamics caused by the airway geometry. A computational model of a human nasal cavity obtained through CT scans was produced and CFD techniques were applied to study the effects of morphological differences in the left and right nasal cavity on the airflow and heat transfer of inhaled air. A laminar steady flow of 10L/min was applied and two inhalation conditions were investigated: normal conditions, 25°C, 35% relative humidity and cold dry air conditions, 12°C, 13% relative humidity. It was found that the frontal regions of the nasal cavity exhibited greater secondary cross flows compared to the middle and back regions. The left cavity in the front region had a smaller cross-sectional area compared to the right which allowed greater heating as the heat source from the wall was closer to the bulk flow regions. Additionally it was found that the residence time of the inhaled air was important for the heating ability in laminar flows

Influence of pipe length and flow rate on nano-particle deposition in laminar circular pipe flows

The Lagrangian particle tracking provides an effective method for simulating the deposition of nano-particles as well as micro-particles as it accounts for the particle inertia effect as well as the Brownian excitation. However, using the Lagrangian approach for simulating ultrafine particles has been limited due to computational cost and numerical difficulties. The aim of this paper is to study the deposition of nano-particles in cylindrical tubes under laminar condition using the Lagrangian particle tracking method. The commercial Fluent software is used to simulate the fluid flow in the pipes and to study the deposition and dispersion of nano-particles. Different particle diameters as well as different pipe lengths and flow rates are examined. The results show good agreement between the calculated deposition efficiency and different analytic correlations in the literature. Furthermore, for the nano-particles with higher diameters and when the effect of inertia has a higher importance, the calculated deposition efficiency by the Lagrangian method is less than the analytic correlations based on Eulerian method due to statistical error or the inertia effect

Assessment of Cropland Changes Due to New Canals in Vientiane Prefecture of Laos using Earth Observation Data

The lower catchment area of a Mak Hiao river system is vulnerable to flash floods and water stress. So it is important to construct irrigation structures in this area to minimize floods during the rainy season and store water for the winter season. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been supporting the Government of Laos in constructing such small reservoirs like Donkhuay schemes 1 & 2, Mak Hiao, Nalong 3 and Sang Houabor projects in lower catchment areas. Our study evaluated the impacts of small irrigation schemes in terms of land-use/landcover (LULC), crop intensity, and productivity changes, using high resolution satellite imagery, socioeconomic, and ground data. We analyzed the temporal cropping pattern in the Vientiane prefecture of Laos using Planet and Sentinel-2 data. On the other hand, crop intensity and cropland changes were mapped using Sentinel-2 data and spectral matching techniques (SMTs). The crop classification accuracy based on field-plot data was 88.6%. Our results show that irrigation projects in the lower catchment areas brought about significant on-site changes in terms of cropland expansion and increased crop intensity. Remarkable changes in LULC were observed especially in the command areas owing to an increase of about 300% in crop area with access to irrigation and increase of water bodies by 31%. Our study found that interventions at the level of the command area do improved on-site soil, water and environmental services. They study emphasized underline the role of land-use regulations in reducing pressure on natural land-use systems and thereby serving the major goal of up-scaling sustainable natural resource management. The study documented the vital role of small/medium irrigation projects in restoring ecosystem services such as cropping patterns and LULC conversio

Production diseases in smallholder pig systems in rural Lao PDR

Pigs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are important for income and food security, particularly in rural households. The majority of pigs are reared in smallholder systems, which may challenge the implementation of any disease control strategies. To investigate risk factors for pig production diseases in such farming systems in the country a serological survey was conducted during 2011. A total of 647 pigs were sampled, accounting for 294 households in Luang Prabang and 353 in Savannakhet province representing upland and lowland, respectively. The results demonstrated that pigs in Lao PDR had antibodies against erysipelas (45.2%), CSF (11.2%), PRRS (8.6%), FMD O (17.2%) and FMD Asia 1, (3.5%). Differences in the housing systems influenced disease risk, for example, penned pigs had reduced odds of FMD and CSF, compared to those in scavenger systems. Pigs owned by farms using a sanaam (a communal area where pigs are kept for some time of the year) had 3.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–14.7) times the odds of having pigs seropositive for FMD. Farms on which sudden piglet deaths had been experienced were more likely to have pigs seropositive for FMD O and erysipelas. These diseases constrain the development of village farming and the wider livestock industry due to their impact on productivity and trade. Vaccination coverage for FMD and CSF was low and there was a lack of national funding for livestock disease control at the time of the study. Further investigation into sustainable low-cost control strategies for these pathogens is warranted

A combined experimental and numerical study on upper airway dosimetry of inhaled nanoparticles from an electrical discharge machine shop

Backgrounds: Exposure to nanoparticles in the workplace is a health concern to occupational workers with increased risk of developing respiratory, cardiovascular, and neurological disorders. Based on animal inhalation study and human lung tumor risk extrapolation, current authoritative recommendations on exposure limits are either on total mass or number concentrations. Effects of particle size distribution and the implication to regional airway dosages are not elaborated. Methods: Real time production of particle concentration and size distribution in the range from 5.52 to 98.2 nm were recorded in a wire-cut electrical discharge machine shop (WEDM) during a typical working day. Under the realistic exposure condition, human inhalation simulations were performed in a physiologically realistic nasal and upper airway replica. The combined experimental and numerical study is the first to establish a realistic exposure condition, and under which, detailed dose metric studies can be performed. In addition to mass concentration guided exposure limit, inhalation risks to nano-pollutant were reexamined accounting for the actual particle size distribution and deposition statistics. Detailed dosimetries of the inhaled nano-pollutants in human nasal and upper airways with respect to particle number, mass and surface area were discussed, and empirical equations were developed. Results: An astonishing enhancement of human airway dosages were detected by current combined experimental and numerical study in the WEDM machine shop. Up to 33 folds in mass, 27 folds in surface area and 8 folds in number dosages were detected during working hours in comparison to the background dosimetry measured at midnight. The real time particle concentration measurement showed substantial emission of nano-pollutants by WEDM machining activity, and the combined experimental and numerical study provided extraordinary details on human inhalation dosimetry. It was found out that

Production diseases in smallholder pig systems in rural Lao PDR

Pigs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are important for income and food security, particularly in rural households. The majority of pigs are reared in smallholder systems, which may challenge the implementation of any disease control strategies. To investigate risk factors for pig production diseases in such farming systems in the country a serological survey was conducted during 2011. A total of 647 pigs were sampled, accounting for 294 households in Luang Prabang and 353 in Savannakhet province representing upland and lowland, respectively. The results demonstrated that pigs in Lao PDR had antibodies against erysipelas (45.2%), CSF (11.2%), PRRS (8.6%), FMD O (17.2%) and FMD Asia 1, (3.5%). Differences in the housing systems influenced disease risk, for example, penned pigs had reduced odds of FMD and CSF, compared to those in scavenger systems. Pigs owned by farms using a sanaam (a communal area where pigs are kept for some time of the year) had 3.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–14.7) times the odds of having pigs seropositive for FMD. Farms on which sudden piglet deaths had been experienced were more likely to have pigs seropositive for FMD O and erysipelas. These diseases constrain the development of village farming and the wider livestock industry due to their impact on productivity and trade. Vaccination coverage for FMD and CSF was low and there was a lack of national funding for livestock disease control at the time of the study. Further investigation into sustainable low-cost control strategies for these pathogens is warranted

Simulation of a fast-charging porous thermal energy storage system saturated with a nano-enhanced phase change material

Data Availability Statement: Data is contained within the article.Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. The melting of a coconut oil–CuO phase change material (PCM) embedded in an engineered nonuniform copper foam was theoretically analyzed to reduce the charging time of a thermal energy storage unit. A nonuniform metal foam could improve the effective thermal conductivity of a porous medium at regions with dominant conduction heat transfer by increasing local porosity. Moreover, the increase in porosity contributes to flow circulation in the natural convection-dominant regimes and adds a positive impact to the heat transfer rate, but it reduces the conduction heat transfer and overall heat transfer. The Taguchi optimization method was used to minimize the charging time of a shell-and-tube thermal energy storage (TES) unit by optimizing the porosity gradient, volume fractions of nanoparticles, average porosity, and porous pore sizes. The results showed that porosity is the most significant factor and lower porosity has a faster charging rate. A nonuniform porosity reduces the charging time of TES. The size of porous pores induces a negligible impact on the charging time. Lastly, the increase in volume fractions of nanoparticles reduces the charging time, but it has a minimal impact on the TES unit’s charging power.Funding: This research received no external funding