What is the climate system able to do ‘on its own’?

The climate of the Earth, like planetary climates in general, is broadly controlled by solar irradiation, planetary albedo and emissivity as well as its rotation rate and distribution of land (with its orography) and oceans. However, the majority of climate fluctuations that affect mankind are internal modes of the general circulation of the atmosphere and the oceans. Some of these modes, such as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), are quasi-regular and have some longer-term predictive skill; others like the Arctic and Antarctic Oscillation are chaotic and generally unpredictable beyond a few weeks. Studies using general circulation models indicate that internal processes dominate the regional climate and that some like ENSO events have even distinct global signatures. This is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to separate internal climate processes from external ones caused, for example, by changes in greenhouse gases and solar irradiation. However, the accumulation of the warmest seasons during the latest two decades is lending strong support to the forcing of the greenhouse gases. As models are getting more comprehensive, they show a gradually broader range of internal processes including those on longer time scales, challenging the interpretation of the causes of past and present climate events further

Translating Pharmacogenomics: Challenges on the Road to the Clinic

Pharmacogenomics is one of the first clinical applications of the postgenomic era. It promises personalized medicine rather than the established “one size fits all” approach to drugs and dosages. The expected reduction in trial and error should ultimately lead to more efficient and safer drug therapy. In recent years, commercially available pharmacogenomic tests have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but their application in patient care remains very limited. More generally, the implementation of pharmacogenomics in routine clinical practice presents significant challenges. This article presents specific clinical examples of such challenges and discusses how obstacles to implementation of pharmacogenomic testing can be addressed

Identification of influence of part tolerances of 1PWR-SE pump on its total efficiency taking into consideration multi-valued logic trees

This paper presents a methodology for identifying the influence of the tolerances used in model pump (TYPE 1PWR – SE) construction on the total efficiency. The identification of the sensitive control dimensions (Value/Tolerance) of examined pumps has been made by means of multi-valued logic and inductive decision trees. The innovation of the prototype unit is based on oblique gears with involute teeth, modified in the lower and upper part of the profile. The modification in the lower part was made using the so-called tooth root undercutting technique. Through the use of multivalent logic trees, the designated rank of importance of both structural and operational parameters is identified, taking into account the effect of tolerances on construction. The area is increased by cutting the oblique teeth

The influence of gear micropump body asymmetry on stress distribution

The paper presents the results of numerical calculations of stress distributions in the gear micropump body for applications in hydraulic systems, especially in the marine sector. The scope of the study was to determine the most favorable position of bushings and pumping unit in the gear pump body in terms of stress and displacement distribution in the pump housing. Fourteen cases of gear pump bushings and pumping unit locations were analyzed: starting from the symmetrical position relative to the central axis of the pump, up to a position shifted by 2.6 mm towards the suction channel of the pump. The analysis of the obtained calculation results has shown that the most favorable conditions for pump operation are met when the bushings are shifted by 2.2 mm towards the suction channel. In this case the maximal stress was equal to 109 MPa, while the highest displacement was about 15μm. Strength and stiffness criteria in the modernized pump body were satisfied

Model studies on the cross-linking of epoxy resins with amines at room temperature

The curing mechanisms of bisphenol-A epoxide with amines have been investigated using a cresol epoxide and mono- and diamines in model reactions which do not lead to polymers. With all amines the reaction begins with the formation of beta-aminoalcohols, and the reaction product contains secondary amino groups of remarkably lower nucleophilicity. Thus it is concluded that the formation of a linear polymer is always the first step in the curing of epoxide resins with amines. Crosslinking by the addition of the secondory amines to the remaining epoxide will be hindered due to the immobility of the reaction partners of the first reaction. The whole curing reaction is governed by the nucleophilicity of the amines and steric effects. (IFAM

The effect of the load mass change on the character of the movement of the electrohydraulic drive system

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań wpływu masy obciążenia na przebieg ruchu hydrostatycznego układu napędu z systemem automatycznej regulacji. Wartością zadaną układu regulacji było żądane położenie końcowe siłownika. Badania były prowadzone zarówno na obiekcie rzeczywistym, do tego celu wykorzystano symulator napędu liniowego Hydropax Zy25, jak i z wykorzystaniem modelu numerycznego zweryfikowanego w oparciu o wyniki badań laboratoryjnych. Otrzymane wyniki wskazują, że wpływ zmian masy obciążenia, a co za tym idzie sił dynamicznych działających na układ sterowany za pomocą systemu automatycznej regulacji, w badanej konfiguracji jest nieznaczny. Wyniki wskazują również, że w początkowej fazie dominującą rolę w kształtowaniu charakteru ruchu badanego układu napędowego ma moc generowana przez pompę oraz nastawa zaworu przelewowego. W drugiej fazie ruchu, gdy prędkość układu zaczyna się zmniejszać, przebieg ruchu jest właściwie niezależny od masy obciążenia i determinowany jest stopniem otwarcia serwozaworu.The article presents the study results of the influence of the load mass on the course of the working system movement with a hydrostatic drive system and the feedback system. Studies have been conducted both on the real object, had been used the linear drive simulator Hydropax Zy25 and the numerical model. The numerical model has been successfully verified based on the laboratory test results. The results show that the effect of the change load mass, and the dynamic forces acting on the working system with the hydrostatic drive using feedback control systems in tested configuration is the slightly. The results also indicate that the dominant role in shaping the character of the movement of the tested working system, in the initial phase, has the power generated by the pump and relief valve setting. This follows from the fact that when changing the load mass differences in flow rates registered both on the actuator supply line and the overflow valve line are visible in the initial phase of movement, when the mass increase the speed. In this phase the mass generated a motion dynamic forces, which take effect on the working system. After the increased the speed of the mass of the further course of movement, associated with gradual deceleration to a stop, regardless of mass loading is similar, and is controlled by the feedback control system. Thus, during deceleration the size of servo valve opening affects significantly the nature of motion, and the power of the pump has no effect in this stage of the movement