Investigation of surface inclination effect during dropwise condensation of flowing saturated steam

When a pure vapor condenses over a surface, it can form a continuous liquid film or a multitude of discrete droplets, thus realizing the so-called dropwise condensation (DWC). In the literature, most of the experimental data refer to DWC on vertical condensing surfaces with quiescent vapor. However, in many applications, the condensing vapor usually has a non-zero flow velocity with a consequent effect on the sliding motion of droplets. Moreover, the drag force due to vapor velocity may be the only mechanism for liquid removal on a horizontal surface or in space applications. A systematic investigation of the effects of vapor drag and surface inclination on the heat transfer and droplet population during DWC is needed and is addressed in the present paper. Here, DWC of flowing steam is experimentally studied on sol-gel silica-based coated aluminium substrates at three different inclinations: vertical, inclined at 45°, and horizontal. Heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and droplet population measurements are performed in a wide range of heat flux (260–610 kW m−2) and average vapor velocity (3.3–13.8 m s−1). When decreasing the tilt angle, from vertical to horizontal, due to the lower contribution of the gravity force, the average droplet size increases, and a strong HTC reduction is observed above all at low vapor velocities. Because of the vapor drag force, the HTC increases with steam velocity and, at the highest mass velocity, the HTC is independent from the surface inclination. A model for the droplet departing radius in the presence of vapor velocity, initially proposed by the present authors for the sole case of vertical surfaces, is here modified to account also for the effect of surface inclination and then assessed against the present experimental data. Hence, we propose to predict the heat flux during DWC by coupling the new equation for the departing radius with the available models of heat transfer through a single droplet and drop-size distribution. The developed calculation method is found to provide satisfactory predictions of the HTC for the whole range of vapor velocity, heat flux and surface inclination

The relationship between personality traits and individual factors with perinatal depressive symptoms: a cross-sectional study

Background: Pregnancy is a crucial transition moment exposing women to potential mental health problems, especially depressive disturbances. Sociodemographic, pregnancy-related, and psychological factors have been related to depressive symptoms in the perinatal period. This study aims at (1) exploring personality and individual factors related with perinatal depressive symptoms, and (2) testing the mediating role of personality in the relation between characteristics of the woman's family of origin and depressive symptoms. Methods: Women in the perinatal period admitted to the gynecology unit for motherhood-related routine assessments (n = 241) were included in the study. A survey on individual sociodemographic, clinical, and pregnancy-related factors was administered, also including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the BIG-5 personality test. Results: Couple conflict and neuroticism were independent and directly correlated with EPDS total score (respectively: B = 2.337; p = .017; B = 0.303; p < .001). Neuroticism was a significant mediator of the relation between the presence of a psychiatric disorder diagnosis in participant's parents and the EPDS total score (indirect b = 0.969; BCCI95%=0.366-1.607). Conclusions: Couple relation and neuroticism traits are individual factors related to depressive symptoms in the perinatal period. The family of origin also plays an indirect role on perinatal depressive symptoms. Screening of these factors could lead to early recognition and more tailored treatments, ultimately leading to better outcome for the entire family

Analysis on H Spectral Shape During the Early 2012 SEPs with the PAMELA Experiment

The satellite-borne PAMELA experiment has been continuously collecting data since 2006.This apparatus is designed to study charged particles in the cosmic radiation. The combination of a permanent magnet, a silicon strip tracker and a silicon-tungsten imaging calorimeter, and the redundancy of instrumentation allow very precise studies on the physics of cosmic rays in a wide energy range and with high statistics. This makes PAMELA a very suitable instrument for Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) observations. Not only does its pan the energy range between the ground-based neutron monitor data and the observations of SEPs from space,but PAMELA also carries out the first direct measurements of the composition for the highest energy SEP events, including those causing Ground Level Enhancements (GLEs).In particular, PAMELA has registered many SEP events during solar cycle 24,offering unique opportunities to address the question of high-energy SEP origin. A preliminary analysis on proton spectra behaviour during this event is presented in this work

Epileptiform Activity and Cognitive Deficits in SNAP-25+/− Mice are Normalized by Antiepileptic Drugs

Synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-25) is a protein that participates in the regulation of synaptic vesicle exocytosis through the formation of the soluble NSF attachment protein receptor complex and modulates voltage-gated calcium channels activity. The Snap25 gene has been associated with schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and bipolar disorder, and lower levels of SNAP-25 have been described in patients with schizophrenia. We used SNAP-25 heterozygous (SNAP-25+/−) mice to investigate at which extent the reduction of the protein levels affects neuronal network function and mouse behavior. As interactions of genotype with the specific laboratory conditions may impact behavioral results, the study was performed through a multilaboratory study in which behavioral tests were replicated in at least 2 of 3 distinct European laboratories. Reductions of SNAP-25 levels were associated with a moderate hyperactivity, which disappeared in the adult animals, and with impaired associative learning and memory. Electroencephalographic recordings revealed the occurrence of frequent spikes, suggesting a diffuse network hyperexcitability. Consistently, SNAP-25+/− mice displayed higher susceptibility to kainate-induced seizures, paralleled by degeneration of hilar neurons. Notably, both EEG profile and cognitive defects were improved by antiepileptic drugs. These results indicate that reduction of SNAP-25 expression is associated to generation of epileptiform discharges and cognitive dysfunctions, which can be effectively treated by antiepileptic drug

Gamma-Ray Burst observations by the high-energy charged particle detector on board the CSES-01 satellite between 2019 and 2021

In this paper we report the detection of five strong Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) by the High-Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-01) mounted on board the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01), operational since 2018 on a Sun-synchronous polar orbit at a $\sim$ 507 km altitude and 97$^\circ$ inclination. HEPD-01 was designed to detect high-energy electrons in the energy range 3 - 100 MeV, protons in the range 30 - 300 MeV, and light nuclei in the range 30 - 300 MeV/n. Nonetheless, Monte Carlo simulations have shown HEPD-01 is sensitive to gamma-ray photons in the energy range 300 keV - 50 MeV, even if with a moderate effective area above $\sim$ 5 MeV. A dedicated time correlation analysis between GRBs reported in literature and signals from a set of HEPD-01 trigger configuration masks has confirmed the anticipated detector sensitivity to high-energy photons. A comparison between the simultaneous time profiles of HEPD-01 electron fluxes and photons from GRB190114C, GRB190305A, GRB190928A, GRB200826B and GRB211211A has shown a remarkable similarity, in spite of the different energy ranges. The high-energy response, with peak sensitivity at about 2 MeV, and moderate effective area of the detector in the actual flight configuration explain why these five GRBs, characterised by a fluence above $\sim$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{-5}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ in the energy interval 300 keV - 50 MeV, have been detected.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal (ApJ

ECMO for COVID-19 patients in Europe and Israel

Since March 15th, 2020, 177 centres from Europe and Israel have joined the study, routinely reporting on the ECMO support they provide to COVID-19 patients. The mean annual number of cases treated with ECMO in the participating centres before the pandemic (2019) was 55. The number of COVID-19 patients has increased rapidly each week reaching 1531 treated patients as of September 14th. The greatest number of cases has been reported from France (n = 385), UK (n = 193), Germany (n = 176), Spain (n = 166), and Italy (n = 136) .The mean age of treated patients was 52.6 years (range 16–80), 79% were male. The ECMO configuration used was VV in 91% of cases, VA in 5% and other in 4%. The mean PaO2 before ECMO implantation was 65 mmHg. The mean duration of ECMO support thus far has been 18 days and the mean ICU length of stay of these patients was 33 days. As of the 14th September, overall 841 patients have been weaned from ECMO support, 601 died during ECMO support, 71 died after withdrawal of ECMO, 79 are still receiving ECMO support and for 10 patients status n.a. . Our preliminary data suggest that patients placed on ECMO with severe refractory respiratory or cardiac failure secondary to COVID-19 have a reasonable (55%) chance of survival. Further extensive data analysis is expected to provide invaluable information on the demographics, severity of illness, indications and different ECMO management strategies in these patients

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Spontaneous strain variations through the monoclinic-orthorhombic phase transition of ZSM-5 zeolite: effect of adsorbed organic molecules

Depending on composition, framework defect density, temperature, or nature and amount of guest molecules in the channels, synthetic ZSM-5 zeolites (MFI framework topology) undergo a polymorphic monoclinic (P2 1 /n) -to- orthorhombic (Pnma, Pn2 1 a, or P2 1 2 1 2 1 ) phase transition. Such a ferroelastic-paraelastic phase transition has been recently characterized through the analysis of the spontaneous strain variation in a highly siliceous ZSM-5. According to the Landau theory, the behavior of the order parameter (Q) revealed that the ZSM-5 zeolite underwent a displacive phase transition at T c = 348(1) K with a tricritical character (Ardit et al., 2015). Recent investigations have demonstrated that hydrophobic ZSM-5 is extremely promising and efficient as adsorbent for the removal of organic contaminants from waters. This issue engenders particular interest in the scientific community. Therefore, modeling the ferroelastic properties of the m↔o phase transition of ZSM-5 zeolites is very relevant to the understanding of the effects of lattice strain mechanism on adsorption and diffusion properties of these microporous materials. For these reasons, the previously characterized ZSM-5 zeolite (CBV28014, Zeolyst International, SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 ≈ 280) has been loaded with three different organic molecules (i.e. dichloroethane (DCE), methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) and toluene (TOL), respectively), and its high-temperature behaviour monitored by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data (collected in situ at ID31, ESRF). Besides causing a strong variation in the m↔o phase transition temperature, i.e. T c(TOL) = 328(4) K < T c(DCE) = 346(1) K < T c(ZSM-5) =348(1) K < T c(MTBE) = 360(2) K, the presence of organic molecules within the zeolite channels affects the mechanisms of lattice strain. Since the ZSM-5 structure belongs to the "Aizu-type" mmmF2/m, the primary order parameter behaves as the symmetry-adapted strain, then a proper spontaneous strain is involved. This means that Q can be coupled with the largest component of the spontaneous strain for each sample, i.e. the shear strain tensor e 13 . Although the analysis of Q reveals that all the compared samples undergo a displacive phase transition with a tricritical character, our results suggest that the strain effects are dependent not only by the physico-chemical features of ZSM-5 and organics but also by the occurrence of host–guest and guest-guest interactions. Ardit M., Martucci A. & Cruciani G. 2015. Monoclinic-orthorhombic phase transition in ZSM-5 zeolite: spontaneous strain variation and thermodynamic properties. J. Phys. Chem. C, 119, 7351-7359

Insights into adsorption of chlorobenzene in high silica MFI and FAU zeolites gained from chromatographic and diffractometric techniques

In this work, the capability of two commercial high silica zeolites (HSZs), namely ZSM-5 and Y, for the removal of chlorobenzene (CB) from water was investigated by combining chromatographic and diffractometric techniques. The adsorption isotherms and kinetics of CB on ZSM-5 and Y zeolites were determined from batch tests. The adsorption kinetics were very fast; the time to reach equilibrium was less than 10 min. The equilibrium data of CB on the two HSZs showed dissimilarities that are particularly evident in the adsorption data concerning the low concentration range, where Y zeolite is characterized by low adsorption. On the contrary, at higher solution concentrations the adsorption capacity of Y is higher than that of ZSM-5. The crystalline structures of Y and ZSM-5 saturated with CB were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. Rietveld refinement analyses of XRD data allowed for quantitative probing of the structural modifications of both zeolites after CB adsorption and provided insight into the preferred zeolite adsorption sites in both microporous materials. The refined frameworkâ\u80\u93extraframework bond distances confirm that interactions between the selected organic contaminant and hydrophobic zeolites are mediated via co-adsorbed H2O. The occurrence of H2Oâ\u80\u93CBâ\u80\u93framework oxygen oligomers explains variations in both the unit cell parameters and the shape of the channels, clearly confirming that water plays a very relevant role in controlling the diffusion and adsorption processes in hydrophobic zeolites