Numerical analysis of the thermal energy storage in cellular structures filled with phase-change material

This paper reports the results of a numerical study on the thermal performance of metal cellular structures that can be obtained by additive manufacturing (selective laser melting) when they are impregnated with phase change material (PCM) for possible applications in electronic cooling. Two body-centered cubic (BCC) periodic structures with cell sizes of 5 mm and 10 mm and a porosity of 87%, made of two solid materials (aluminum alloy and copper), and two paraffins with characteristic melting temperatures of 55 and 64 °C were considered. The numerical simulations are carried out using the commercial code ANSYS Fluent and are based on a previously validated purely conductive heat transfer model. The computational domains include just small repetitive portions of the considered composite structures, thus allowing substantial savings of computational time. Computed results show that, with both paraffins, the copper made finer BCC structure (5 mm) yields the best thermal performances, i.e, the shortest PCM melting time and the highest rate of thermal energy storage during transients

Pengetahuan Klien Tentang Diabetes Melitus Tipe 2 Berpengaruh Terhadap Kemampuan Klien Merawat Kaki

Upaya pencegahan primer pada pengelolaan kaki diabetik bertujuan untuk mencegah luka kaki secara dini. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan pengetahuan dan praktik perawatan kaki pada klien diabetes melitus tipe 2 di Kalimantan Selatan. Penelitian ini merupakan deskriptif korelasi dengan desain cross sectional dan jumlah sampel sebanyak 106 orang. Hasil analisis Chi Square menunjukkan adanya hubungan yang bermakna antara pengetahuan dengan praktik perawatan kaki pada klien diabetes melitus tipe 2 (p= 0,04; α= 0,05). Faktor pengetahuan memiliki peluang 2,38 kali untuk melakukan praktik perawatan kaki. Perlu dikembangkan pendidikan kesehatan tentang perawatan kaki dan pemeriksaan kaki

Numerical Investigation of Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer through Reconstructed Metal Foams and Comparison against Experiments

Direct numerical simulation of transport in foam materials can benefit from realistic representations of the porous-medium geometry generated by employing non-destructive 3D imaging techniques. X-ray microtomography employs computer-processed X-rays to produce tomographic images or slices of specific regions of the object under investigation, and is ideally suited for imaging opaque and intricate porous media. In this work, we employ micro-CT for numerical analysis of air flow and convection through four different high-porosity copper foams. All four foam samples exhibit approximately the same relative density (6.4% - 6.6% solid volume fraction), but have different pore densities (5, 10, 20, and 40 pores per inch, PPI). A commercial micro-computed tomography scanner is employed for scanning the 3D microstructure of the foams at a resolution of 20 μm, yielding stacks of two-dimensional images. These images are processed in order to reconstruct and mesh the real, random structure of the foams, upon which simulations are conducted of forced convection through the pore spaces of the foam samples. The pressure drop values from this μCT based CFD analysis are compared against prior experimental results; the computational interfacial heat transfer results are compared against the values predicted by an empirical correlation previously reported, revealing excellent agreement between the numerical and experimental/empirical hydraulic and thermal results, thus highlighting the efficacy of this novel approach

Forensic Diagnosis of Freshwater or Saltwater Drowning Using the Marker Aquaporin 5: An Immunohistochemical Study

Background and Objectives: Aquaporins are a family of water channel proteins. In this study, the renal and intrapulmonary expression of aquaporin-5 (AQP5) was examined in forensic autopsy cases to evaluate it as a drowning marker and to differentiate between freshwater drowning and saltwater drowning. Materials and Methods: Cases were classified into three groups: freshwater drowning (FWD), saltwater drowning (SWD), and controls (CTR). Samples were obtained from forensic autopsies at less than 72 h postmortem (15 FWD cases, 15 SWD cases, and 17 other cases) and were subjected to histological and immunohistochemical investigations. Results: In FWD group, intrapulmonary AQP5 expression was significantly suppressed compared with SWD and CTR; there was no significant difference in AQP5 expression among the other two groups. The same differences in expression were also observed in the kidney. Conclusions: These observations suggest that AQP5 expression in alveolar cells was suppressed by hypotonic water to prevent hemodilution. Moreover, it is possible to hypothesize that in the kidney, with the appearance of hypo-osmotic plasma, AQP5 is hypo-expressed, as a vital reaction, to regulate the renal reabsorption of water. In conclusion, the analysis of renal and intrapulmonary AQP5 expression would be forensically useful for differentiation between FWD and SWD, or between FWD and death due to other causes

Identification and spatial distribution of the mRNA encoding an egg envelope component of the Cyprinid zebrafish, Danio rerio, homologous to the mammalian ZP3(ZPC)

Using degenerate reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques we have isolated a cDNA encoding a putative component of the zebrafish Danio rerio egg chorion, homologous to the mammalian ZP3 (ZPC). The predicted protein (zfZPC) has a calculated molecular mass of 58.4 kDa and contains a signal peptide (located in the N-terminal region) composed of 11 hydrophobic amino acid residues followed by a signal peptide cleavage site. The zfZPC contains the ZP domain, a characteristic amino acid sequence shared by all ZP proteins of the mammalian zona pellucida and of both amphibian and bird egg envelope components. The zfZPC also exhibits certain unique features including five N-terminal Q-rich tandem repeats presumably involved in the hardening of the chorion after the fertilization of the egg and a long C-terminal tail containing two potential sites of N-linked type glycosylation. RT-PCR and in situ hybridization revealed a restricted pattern of tissue distribution: the gene encoding zfZPC is transcribed only in the growing oocyte of sexually mature female fish

In-situ surface technique analyses and ex-situ characterization of Si1-xGex epilayers grown on Si(001)-2 ×1 by molecular beam epitaxy

Si1-xGex epilayers grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy on Si(001) at 400 ○C have been analyzed in-situ by surface techniques such as X-ray and Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopies (XPS and UPS), Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED) and photoelectron diffraction (XPD). The Ge surface concentrations (x) obtained from the ratios of Ge and Si core level intensities are systematically higher than those obtained by the respective evaporation fluxes. This indicates a Ge enrichment in the first overlayers confirmed by Ge-like UPS valence band spectra. The structured crystallographic character of the epilayers is ascertained by LEED and XPD polar scans in the (100) plane since the Ge Auger LMM and the Si 2p XPD intensity patterns from the Si1-xGex epilayers are identical to those of the Si substrate. The residual stress in the epilayer is determined by ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) which also allows, as Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS), Ge concentration determinations

Differences in osteoimmunological biomarkers predictive of psoriatic arthritis among a large Italian cohort of psoriatic patients

(1) Background: In literature it is reported that 20\u201330% of psoriatic patients evolve to psoriatic arthritis over time. Currently, no specific biochemical markers can either predict progression to psoriatic arthritis or response to therapies. This study aimed to identify osteoimmunological markers applicable to clinical practice, giving a quantitative tool for evaluating pathological status and, eventually, to provide prognostic support in diagnosis. (2) Methods: Soluble (serum) bone and cartilage markers were quantified in 50 patients with only psoriasis, 50 psoriatic patients with psoriatic arthritis, and 20 healthy controls by means of multiplex and enzyme-linked immunoassays. (3) Results: Differences in the concentrations of matrix metalloproteases (MMPs), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B-ligand (RANK-L), procollagen type I N propeptide (PINP), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTx-I), dickkopf-related protein 1 (DKK1), and sclerostin (SOST) distinguished healthy controls from psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients. We found that MMP2, MMP12, MMP13, TIMP2, and TIMP4 distinguished psoriasis from psoriatic arthritis patients undergoing a systemic treatment, with a good diagnostic accuracy (Area under the ROC Curve (AUC) > 0.7). Then, chitinase-3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) and MMP10 distinguished psoriasis from psoriatic arthritis not undergoing systemic therapy and, in the presence of onychopathy, MMP8 levels were higher in psoriasis than in psoriatic arthritis. However, in these latter cases, the diagnostic accuracy of the identified biomarkers was low (0.5 < AUC < 0.7). (4) Conclusions. By highlighting never exploited differences, the wide osteoimmunological biomarkers panel provides a novel clue to the development of diagnostic paths in psoriasis and psoriasis-associated arthropathic disease

Tuning electrical properties of hierarchically assembled Al-doped ZnO nanoforests by room temperature Pulsed Laser Deposition

Large surface area, 3D structured transparent electrodes with effective light management capability may represent a key component in the development of new generation optoelectronic and energy harvesting devices. We present an approach to obtain forest-like nanoporous/hierarchical Al-doped ZnO conducting layers with tunable transparency and light scattering properties, by means of room temperature Pulsed Laser Deposition in a mixed Ar:O2 atmosphere. The composition of the background atmosphere during deposition can be varied to modify stoichiometry-related defects, and therefore achieve control of electrical and optical properties, while the total background pressure controls the material morphology at the nano- and mesoscale and thus the light scattering properties. This approach allows to tune electrical resistivity over a very wide range (10^-1 - 10^6 Ohm*cm), both in the in-plane and cross-plane directions. Optical transparency and haze can also be tuned by varying the stoichiometry and thickness of the nano-forests

Increased frequency of activated CD8+ T cell effectors in patients with psoriatic arthritis

The aim of this study is to identify subsets of T cells differentially represented in the circulation of patients with psoriatic arthritis and to evaluate the possibility that they can recirculate between peripheral blood and the inflamed joints. We analyzed the phenotype and cytokine expression in circulating CD8+ and CD4+ T cells in 69 subjects: 28 with cutaneous psoriasis, 15 patients with psoriatic arthritis, and 26 healthy subjects. In the circulation, the percentage of each subset was compared among the groups and correlation was calculated with the serum concentration of C-reactive protein. To investigate the migration of T cells towards the inflamed joints, we performed a transwell migration assay towards patient serum and synovial fluid. In selected patients we analyzed in parallel T cells from peripheral blood and from synovial fluid. In the circulation, we found increased percentage of CD8+ CCR6+ T cell effectors expressing CD69 and of IL-17-producing T cells in patients with psoriatic arthritis. CD8+ effector/effector memory T cells showed increased migration towards synovial fluid. Finally, in synovial fluid we found accumulation of CXCR3+ CD8+ T cells and CD69+ cells. CD4+ T cells in the two compartments shared many similarities with CD8+ T cells. The results indicate a role for memory T cell effectors in systemic and joint manifestations of psoriatic arthritis