Improved Pressure Loss And Multiphase Flow Behavior Predictions For In-Line Gas-Liquid Contactors Using Experimental Measurements And CFD Simulations

Treatment of gas by liquid absorption is a common unit operation in industry. Traditionally, contact between the gas and liquid is accomplished in co-current flow utilizing a tower or column. With the increased demand for natural gas and renewable gas, higher treating capacities for new installations and methods for de-bottlenecking existing plants are needed. Co-current gas treating with static mixers is an increasingly attractive alternative for process intensification. The corrugated plate (SMV-style) mixer is currently the most widely used mixing element for gas-continuous mixing with a liquid phase and has been recommended as the best standard option for this service. These geometries are also used as structured packing for counter-current service. Unfortunately, the pressure loss correlations available to the design engineer are sparse and only valid up to Re_G\u3c50,000. In contrast, most gas pipelines operate in the range of 10^

Assessing Provider Perspectives of Transportation Difficulties for Patients at Hinesburg Family Medicine

This project aimed to assess provider perspectives on transportation difficulties at the UVMMC Hinesburg Family Medicine Clinic. Vermont has an aging population, which is above the national average. Many older patients, lower socioeconomic patients, and patients with disabilities have a hard time making their appointments due to transportation challenges. This study surveyed the experiences of providers with this issue and found that patients routinely mention issues with getting transportation to the facility. To help with this, the author created a list of transportation resources that providers and staff can use for patients at Hinesburg Family Medicine.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fmclerk/1654/thumbnail.jp

A New Spin on Baseball

All baseball fans know what a curveball is physically, but what is curveball mathematically, and how does it differ from a fastball? The secret of a pitch lies in its spin. In this paper we shall define the spin of a baseball and investigate the effects of its magnitude and direction by employing data collected by MLB.com Gameday from the league\u27s best pitchers. We shall then employ this model to differentiate between the spin of a curveball and that of a fastball. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank our teacher Scott Mitter for all that he has done for us. From making waffles to teaching triple integrals, his input and encouragement have been invaluable. We would also like to thank the University of Dayton faculty for allowing us to participate in the UD Mathematics Day and to continue this paper

A New Spin on Baseball

All baseball fans know what a curveball is physically, but what is curveball mathematically, and how does it differ from a fastball? The secret of a pitch lies in its spin. In this paper we shall define the spin of a baseball and investigate the effects of its magnitude and direction by employing data collected by MLB.com Gameday from the league\u27s best pitchers. We shall then employ this model to differentiate between the spin of a curveball and that of a fastball. Acknowledgements: We would like to thank our teacher Scott Mitter for all that he has done for us. From making waffles to teaching triple integrals, his input and encouragement have been invaluable. We would also like to thank the University of Dayton faculty for allowing us to participate in the UD Mathematics Day and to continue this paper

Three-Axis Distributed Fiber Optic Strain Measurement in 3D Woven Composite Structures

Recent advancements in composite materials technologies have broken further from traditional designs and require advanced instrumentation and analysis capabilities. Success or failure is highly dependent on design analysis and manufacturing processes. By monitoring smart structures throughout manufacturing and service life, residual and operational stresses can be assessed and structural integrity maintained. Composite smart structures can be manufactured by integrating fiber optic sensors into existing composite materials processes such as ply layup, filament winding and three-dimensional weaving. In this work optical fiber was integrated into 3D woven composite parts at a commercial woven products manufacturing facility. The fiber was then used to monitor the structures during a VARTM manufacturing process, and subsequent static and dynamic testing. Low cost telecommunications-grade optical fiber acts as the sensor using a high resolution commercial Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometer (OFDR) system providing distributed strain measurement at spatial resolutions as low as 2mm. Strain measurements using the optical fiber sensors are correlated to resistive strain gage measurements during static structural loading. Keywords: fiber optic, distributed strain sensing, Rayleigh scatter, optical frequency domain reflectometr

Legislator Beliefs, Perceptions, and Voting Influences regarding Carbon Pricing: Implications for Climate Change and Health Advocacy

Carbon pricing was proposed to reduce carbon emissions which has been linked with negative health effects such as: • Increased incidence of heat stroke • Food poisoning • Malnutrition via food shortages • Vector-borne illnesses • Asthma • Allergies Purpose: To understand factors that affect legislators’ carbon pricing voting, guiding future health educators and advocates.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1282/thumbnail.jp

Increased anxiety in corticotropin-releasing factor type 2 receptor-null mice requires recent acute stress exposure and is associated with dysregulated serotonergic activity in limbic brain areas

BACKGROUND: Corticotropin-releasing factor type 2 receptors (CRFR2) are suggested to facilitate successful recovery from stress to maintain mental health. They are abundant in the midbrain raphe nuclei, where they regulate serotonergic neuronal activity and have been demonstrated to mediate behavioural consequences of stress. Here, we describe behavioural and serotonergic responses consistent with maladaptive recovery from stressful challenge in CRFR2-null mice. RESULTS: CRFR2-null mice showed similar anxiety levels to control mice before and immediately after acute restraint stress, and also after cessation of chronic stress. However, they showed increased anxiety by 24 hours after restraint, whether or not they had been chronically stressed. Serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) contents were quantified and the level of 5-HIAA in the caudal dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) was increased under basal conditions in CRFR2-null mice, indicating increased 5-HT turnover. Twenty-four hours following restraint, 5-HIAA was decreased only in CRFR2-null mice, suggesting that they had not fully recovered from the challenge. In efferent limbic structures, CRFR2-null mice showed lower levels of basal 5-HT in the lateral septum and subiculum, and again showed a differential response to restraint stress from controls. Local cerebral glucose utilization (LCMRglu) revealed decreased neuronal activity in the DRN of CRFR2-null mice under basal conditions. Following 5-HT receptor agonist challenge, LCMRglu responses indicated that 5-HT(1A) receptor responses in the DRN were attenuated in CRFR2-null mice. However, postsynaptic 5-HT receptor responses in forebrain regions were intact. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that CRFR2 are required for proper functionality of 5-HT(1A) receptors in the raphe nuclei, and are key to successful recovery from stress. This disrupted serotonergic function in CRFR2-null mice likely contributes to their stress-sensitive phenotype. The 5-HT content in lateral septum and subiculum was notably altered. These areas are important for anxiety, and are also implicated in reward and the pathophysiology of addiction. The role of CRFR2 in stress-related psychopathologies deserves further consideration

Chronic Activation of Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Type 2 Receptors Reveals a Key Role for 5-HT1A Receptor Responsiveness in Mediating Behavioral and Serotonergic Responses to Stressful Challenge

BackgroundThe corticotropin-releasing factor type 2 receptor (CRFR2) is suggested to play an important role in aiding recovery from acute stress, but any chronic effects of CRFR2 activation are unknown. CRFR2 in the midbrain raphé nuclei modulate serotonergic activity of this key source of serotonin (5-HT) forebrain innervation.MethodsTransgenic mice overexpressing the highly specific CRFR2 ligand urocortin 3 (UCN3OE) were analyzed for stress-related behaviors and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses. Responses to 5-HT receptor agonist challenge were assessed by local cerebral glucose utilization, while 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid content were quantified in limbic brain regions.ResultsMice overexpressing urocortin 3 exhibited increased stress-related behaviors under basal conditions and impaired retention of spatial memory compared with control mice. Following acute stress, unlike control mice, they exhibited no further increase in these stress-related behaviors and showed an attenuated adrenocorticotropic hormone response. 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid content of limbic nuclei were differentially regulated by stress in UCN3OE mice as compared with control mice. Responses to 5-HT type 1A receptor challenge were significantly and specifically reduced in UCN3OE mice. The distribution pattern of local cerebral glucose utilization and 5-HT type 1A receptor messenger RNA expression levels suggested this effect was mediated in the raphé nuclei.ConclusionsChronic activation of CRFR2 promotes an anxiety-like state, yet with attenuated behavioral and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to stress. This is reminiscent of stress-related atypical psychiatric syndromes such as posttraumatic stress disorder, chronic fatigue, and chronic pain states. This new understanding indicates CRFR2 antagonism as a potential novel therapeutic target for such disorders

The genomic basis of adaptive evolution in threespine sticklebacks

Marine stickleback fish have colonized and adapted to thousands of streams and lakes formed since the last ice age, providing an exceptional opportunity to characterize genomic mechanisms underlying repeated ecological adaptation in nature. Here we develop a high-quality reference genome assembly for threespine sticklebacks. By sequencing the genomes of twenty additional individuals from a global set of marine and freshwater populations, we identify a genome-wide set of loci that are consistently associated with marine–freshwater divergence. Our results indicate that reuse of globally shared standing genetic variation, including chromosomal inversions, has an important role in repeated evolution of distinct marine and freshwater sticklebacks, and in the maintenance of divergent ecotypes during early stages of reproductive isolation. Both coding and regulatory changes occur in the set of loci underlying marine–freshwater evolution, but regulatory changes appear to predominate in this well known example of repeated adaptive evolution in nature.National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.)National Human Genome Research Institute (U.S.) (NHGRI CEGS Grant P50-HG002568

A Cryogenic Silicon Interferometer for Gravitational-wave Detection

The detection of gravitational waves from compact binary mergers by LIGO has opened the era of gravitational wave astronomy, revealing a previously hidden side of the cosmos. To maximize the reach of the existing LIGO observatory facilities, we have designed a new instrument able to detect gravitational waves at distances 5 times further away than possible with Advanced LIGO, or at greater than 100 times the event rate. Observations with this new instrument will make possible dramatic steps toward understanding the physics of the nearby Universe, as well as observing the Universe out to cosmological distances by the detection of binary black hole coalescences. This article presents the instrument design and a quantitative analysis of the anticipated noise floor