Alternative experimental characterization of phase change material plasterboard using two-step temperature ramping technique

The increasing energy demand for heating and cooling is leading to the development of new strategies for reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Phase change materials applied on the building envelope can act as a heat modulation passive cooling strategy, reducing the energy requirement. An essential aspect for an effective application of PCM is the knowledge of its thermo-physical properties, namely heat conductivity, specific heat and latent heat. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is one of the most used techniques, but the characteristics of the sample necessary for the test make it unsuitable for all those inhomogeneous or composite materials for which a small sample may not be representative of their properties. Alternative and unconventional tests have been developed to overcome this limitation and estimate experimentally one or more thermal properties of a selected material. In the research presented here, a new low-cost experimental set up was developed for the experimental estimation of the thermal conductivity, the specific heat and the latent heat of a plaster containing granular phase change materials through both steady-state as well as unsteady-state tests. The estimated values were then used in the numerical modelling of the experimental set up. A good agreement in thermal response between the experimental and the simulated values validates the proposed experimental estimation method.CO 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Manipulação e construção da identidade da África Negra na imprensa brasileira

A visão do continente africano no imaginário brasileiro hoje é levantada pelas autoras através de uma pesquisa feita em jornais de São Paulo e do Rio de Janeiro, a propósito da participação africana no Campeonato do Mundo de Futebol de 1990.The authors deal with th0h Brazilian point of view on Africa Through a research in newspaper of S.Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, taking as subject the participation of Africa in the world championship of football 1990

Objective and subjective assessment of digestion after ingestion of an iced dessert in healthy volunteers

The aim of our study is to assess, with objective measures, the impact on digestion of a coffee-flavoured iced dessert ingested at the end of a standardized meal; moreover, a subjective assessment, using a specific questionnaire, was carried out in order to compare objective and subjective data. Ten healthy male volunteers, after ENT and psychological assessment, underwent two scintigraphic evaluations (standardized meal without and with coffee-flavoured iced dessert) and, after the meal, filled in a specific questionnaire named dynamic digestibility questionnaire. In our sample the ingestion of the coffee-flavoured iced dessert seemed to improve the digestibility of a standardized meal: the difference between the curves of gastric emptying without and with iced dessert is statistically significant. These data are strongly confirmed by subjective assessment: the dynamic digestibility questionnaire (DDQ) showed a higher digestibility of a standardized meal with the coffee-flavoured iced dessert in comparison to a normal meal. The current study represents a preliminary report on this topic with a small sample of healthy volunteers: further studies on larger population are requested in order to confirm all the encouraging results herein discusse

Intestinal parasites in cancer patients in the South of Brazil

Abstract Intestinal parasitic infections in immunocompromised patients can lead to serious complications when not diagnosed and treated early. This study aimed to investigate the frequency of intestinal parasites in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in the South of Brazil. Three fecal samples collected from each patient (73 individuals) were processed by Ritchie and Faust techniques and submitted to specific staining methods for intestinal protozoa. A 61.6% parasite and/or commensal positivity was found. Helminths identified were Ascaris lumbricoides (33.3%), Taenia spp. (6.6%), Strongyloides stercoralis (4.4%) and Trichuris trichiura (2.2%). Among protozoans, Giardia lamblia (26.6%), Cryptosporidium spp. (13.3%) and Cystoisospora belli (4.4%) were identified. The presence of Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana and Entamoeba hartmanni was also recorded. The results obtained warn of the importance of fecal parasitological diagnosis and the use of specific staining methods for the detection of intestinal parasites in cancer patients. These exams should be regularly requested at the patient’s first clinic visit, given the high prevalence found in this study and the possible severity of such conditions for these individuals

Concurrent G-CSF and GM-CSF administration for the induction of bone marrow-derived cell mobilization in patients with acute myocardial infarction: a pilot study evaluating feasibility, safety and efficacy

AIMS: To verify feasibility and safety of bone marrow stem cells (BMC) mobilization in patients (pts) with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to monitor the clinical effects of BMC mobilization in terms of myocardial perfusion and function. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eight male pts (median age: 50.5 years) treated with a primary PTCA were enrolled. The mobilization regimen consisted of G-CSF 5 microg/kg/12 h from day 0 to day +2 and GM-CSF 2.5 microg/kg/24 h. All pts underwent coronary angiography, intracoronary doppler flow study, echocardiography, and nuclear thallium scan before treatment and at 6 months. All pts showed increased values of WBC and circulating CD34+ following cytokine administration. No patient died. All patients completed a 6-months follow-up: target lesion revascularization rate was 12,5%, target vessel revascularization rate was 37.5%, angiographic mean ejection fraction increased from 49.8+/-11.9 to 55.4+/-8.7 (p=NS), mean coronary flow reserve from 1.63+/-0.42 to 2.5+/-0.4 (p=0.001), mean Thallium uptake raised from 55.56+/-16.42% to 67.56+/-13.66% (p=0.01), and normally perfused segments from 16% to 52% (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: Cytokine-induced BMC mobilization is feasible in AMI pts. Improvements of myocardial perfusion can be expected after PTCA associated with G-CSF and GM-CSF induced mobilization. Further studies are required to define the role of BMC-mobilization and the most effective cytokine combination