Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study

Billions of households worldwide cook using biomass fires and suffer from the toxic smoke emitted into their homes. Laboratory studies of wood-burning cookstoves demonstrate that secondary air injection can greatly reduce the emission of harmful air pollution, but these experimental advancements are not easily translated into practical cookstove designs that can be widely adopted. In this study, we use a modular cookstove platform to experimentally quantify the practical secondary air injection design requirements (e.g., flow rate, pressure, and temperature) to reduce mass emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), and black carbon (BC) by at least 90% relative to a traditional cooking fire. Over the course of 111 experimental trials, we illuminate the physical mechanisms that drive emission reductions, and outline fundamental design principles to optimize cookstove performance. Using the experimental data, we demonstrate that low-cost (<$10) fans and blowers are available to drive the secondary flow, and can be independently powered using an inexpensive thermoelectric generator mounted nearby. Furthermore, size-resolved PM measurements show that secondary air injection inhibits particle growth, but the total number of particles generated remains relatively unaffected. We discuss the potential impacts for human health and investigate methods to mitigate the PM formation mechanisms that persist

Adding limestone fines to reduce heat generation of curing concrete

It is well known that the heat generation of curing concrete may be reduced by decreasing the cement paste volume of the concrete. However, as the cement paste must be more than sufficient to fill the voids between aggregate particles, the cement paste volume should not be limitlessly decreased. Herein, it is proposed to add an inert filler, such as limestone fines, to fill into the voids between aggregate particles so that a smaller cement paste volume may be used and the heat generation of the concrete may be further reduced. To study the effectiveness of adding limestone fines in reducing the heat generation of curing concrete, a series of concrete mixes with water/cement ratios ranging from 0.35 to 0.60 and different amounts of limestone fines added were tested for their workability, strength and heat generation. The results revealed that the addition of limestone fines to decrease the cement paste volume would significantly increase the strength and, more importantly, substantially reduce the heat generation of the concrete.published_or_final_versio

Origin of lymph node-derived lymphocytes in human hepatic allografts

Hepatic allograft-derived lymph nodes were examined in the post-transplant period on order to determine the origin of lymphocytes and structural elements of the lymph node. Histologic assessment and immunohistochemical studies verified that T-cell infiltration of donor lymph nodes by recipient-derived lymphocytes occurred early in the post-transplant period. These T cells bore T-cell activation markers, e.g. TAC receptor and HLA-DR antigens. In addition, functional analysis demonstrated alloreactive T cells in secondary proliferation assays. The pattern of alloreactivity in these assays was dependent upon the phenotypic make-up (and therefore origin) of the lymphocytes within the lymph node. A gradual shift in predominance of donor-derived lymphocytes to recipient-derived lymphocytes occurred, but even late in the post-transplant course the stromal elements and a residium of lymphocytes within the lymph nodes continued to bear donor HLA antigens. The possible role of these 'passenger' lymphocytes in allograft immunity is discussed

A new multivariate CUSUM chart using principal components with a revision of Crosier's chart

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Novel methods of fabrication and metrology of superconducting nanostructures

As metrology extends toward the nanoscale, a number of potential applications and new challenges arise. By combining photolithography with focused ion beam and/or electron beam methods, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with loop dimensions down to 200 nm and superconducting bridge dimensions of the order 80 nm have been produced. These SQUIDs have a range of potential applications. As an illustration, we describe a method for characterizing the effective area and the magnetic penetration depth of a structured superconducting thin film in the extreme limit, where the superconducting penetration depth $lambda$ is much greater than the film thickness and is comparable with the lateral dimensions of the device

Light Hadron Spectroscopy and Decay at BESIII

Light hadron spectroscopy plays an important role in understanding the decay dynamics of unconventional hadronic states, such as strangeonium and glueballs. BESIII provides an ideal avenue to search for these exotic states thanks to a huge amount of data recorded at various energy points in the tau-charm mass region including J/psi resonance. This report summarizes recent results of the BESIII experiment related to the glueballs and strangeonium-like states.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Conference proceeding of FPCP-201

On Global Flipped SU(5) GUTs in F-theory

We construct an SU(4) spectral divisor and its factorization of types (3,1) and (2,2) based on the construction proposed in [1]. We calculate the chiral spectra of flipped SU(5) GUTs by using the spectral divisor construction. The results agree with those from the analysis of semi-local spectral covers. Our computations provide an example for the validity of the spectral divisor construction and suggest that the standard heterotic formulae are applicable to the case of F-theory on an elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau fourfold with no heterotic dual.Comment: 45 pages, 12 tables, 1 figure; typos corrected, footnotes added, and a reference adde

Flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8 Singularities in F-theory

In this paper we construct supersymmetric flipped SU(5) GUTs from E_8 singularities in F-theory. We start from an SO(10) singularity unfolded from an E_8 singularity by using an SU(4) spectral cover. To obtain realistic models, we consider (3,1) and (2,2) factorizations of the SU(4) cover. After turning on the massless U(1)_X gauge flux, we obtain the SU(5) X U(1)_X gauge group. Based on the well-studied geometric backgrounds in the literature, we demonstrate several models and discuss their phenomenology.Comment: 46 pages, 23 tables, 1 figure, typos corrected, references added, and new examples presente

Macrobenthic Community in Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong and its Relations with Heavy Metals

The present study investigated the macrobenthic community in Tolo Harbour, Hong Kong, aiming at linking heavy metal concentrations to differences in macrobenthic community. The stations investigated in Tolo Harbour have widely contrasting features, with some areas located in the Plove Cove displaying both high species richness and abundance while other areas displaying quite impoverished or even void of macrobenthos. High diversity and abundance of macrobenthos in areas with low heavy metal concentrations were recorded. Strong negative correlation between macrobenthic diversity and heavy metal concentrations was found, and this implicated the pollution-induced degradation of macrobenthos in some locations in Tolo Harbour. These results support the Pearson-Rosenberg model for succession along a pollution gradient. © 2010 Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation.published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 01 Dec 201

Exploring wind direction and SO2 concentration by circular-linear density estimation

The study of environmental problems usually requires the description of variables with different nature and the assessment of relations between them. In this work, an algorithm for flexible estimation of the joint density for a circular-linear variable is proposed. The method is applied for exploring the relation between wind direction and SO2 concentration in a monitoring station close to a power plant located in Galicia (NW-Spain), in order to compare the effectiveness of precautionary measures for pollutants reduction in two different years.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 2 table