Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Water Emptying Pipeline Using Different Air Valves

The emptying procedure is a common operation that engineers have to face in pipelines. This generates subatmospheric pressure caused by the expansion of air pockets, which can produce the collapse of the system depending on the conditions of the installation. To avoid this problem, engineers have to install air valves in pipelines. However, if air valves are not adequately designed, then the risk in pipelines continues. In this research, a mathematical model is developed to simulate an emptying process in pipelines that can be used for planning this type of operation. The one-dimensional proposed model analyzes the water phase propagation by a new rigid model and the air pockets effect using thermodynamic formulations. The proposed model is validated through measurements of the air pocket absolute pressure, the water velocity and the length of the emptying columns in an experimental facility. Results show that the proposed model can accurately predict the hydraulic characteristic variables.The authors acknowledge: (1) the financial support for the first author covered by Fundacion Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios Basicos y Aplicados (CEIBA)-Gobernacion de Bolivar (Colombia); and (2) the experimental facilities for conducting the tests provided by IST (Instituto Superior Tecnico), Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability (CERIS), of the University of Lisbon (Portugal).Coronado-Hernández, OE.; Vicente S. Fuertes-Miquel; Besharat, M.; Ramos, HM. (2017). Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Water Emptying Pipeline Using Different Air Valves. Water. 9(2):1-15. doi:10.3390/w9020098S1159

Autophagic- and Lysosomal-Related Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease : Lights and Shadows

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that currently affects 1% of the population over the age of 60 years, for which no disease-modifying treatments exist. This lack of effective treatments is related to the advanced stage of neurodegeneration existing at the time of diagnosis. Thus, the identification of early stage biomarkers is crucial. Biomarker discovery is often guided by the underlying molecular mechanisms leading to the pathology. One of the central pathways deregulated during PD, supported both by genetic and functional studies, is the autophagy-lysosomal pathway. Hence, this review presents different studies on the expression and activity of autophagic and lysosomal proteins, and their functional consequences, performed in peripheral human biospecimens. Although most biomarkers are inconsistent between studies, some of them, namely HSC70 levels in sporadic PD patients, and cathepsin D levels and glucocerebrosidase activity in PD patients carrying GBA mutations, seem to be consistent. Hence, evidence exists that the impairment of the autophagy-lysosomal pathway underlying PD pathophysiology can be detected in peripheral biosamples and further tested as potential biomarkers. However, longitudinal, stratified, and standardized analyses are needed to confirm their clinical validity and utility

Chemical Modification of Microcin J25 Reveals New Insights on the Stereospecific Requirements for Antimicrobial Activity

In this study, microcin J25, a potent antimicrobial lasso peptide that acts on Gram-negative bacteria, was subjected to a harsh treatment with a base in order to interrogate its stability and mechanism of action and explore its structure-activity relationship. Despite the high stability reported for this lasso peptide, the chemical treatment led to the detection of a new product. Structural studies revealed that this product retained the lasso topology, but showed no antimicrobial activity due to the epimerization of a key residue for the activity. Further microbiological assays also demonstrated that it showed a high synergistic effect with colistin

Effect of a commercial air valve on the rapid filling of a single pipeline: a numerical and experimental analysis

[EN] The filling process in water pipelines produces pressure surges caused by the compression of air pockets. In this sense, air valves should be appropriately designed to expel sufficient air to avoid pipeline failure. Recent studies concerning filling maneuvers have been addressed without considering the behavior of air valves. This work shows a mathematical model developed by the authors which is capable of simulating the main hydraulic and thermodynamic variables during filling operations under the effect of the air valve in a single pipeline, which is based on the mass oscillation equation, the air¿water interface, the polytropic equation of the air phase, the air mass equation, and the air valve characterization. The mathematical model is validated in a 7.3-m-long pipeline with a 63-mm nominal diameter. A commercial air valve is positioned in the highest point of the hydraulic installation. Measurements indicate that the mathematical model can be used to simulate this phenomenon by providing good accuracy.This work is supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal (grant number PD/BD/114459/2016).Coronado-Hernández, OE.; Besharat, M.; Fuertes-Miquel, VS.; Ramos, HM. (2019). Effect of a commercial air valve on the rapid filling of a single pipeline: a numerical and experimental analysis. Water. 11(9):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11091814S11311

Computational fluid dynamics for sub-atmospheric pressure analysis in pipe drainage

[EN] The occurrence of sub-atmospheric pressure in the drainage of pipelines containing an air pocket has been known as a major cause of several serious problems. Accordingly, some system malfunction and pipe buckling events have been reported in the literature. This case has been studied experimentally and numerically in the current research considering objectives for a better understanding of: (i) the emptying process, (ii) the main parameters influencing the drainage, and (iii) the air-water interface deformation. Also, this research demonstrates the ability of a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model in the simulation of this event. The effects of the air pocket size, the percentage and the time of valve opening on the pressure variation have been studied. Results show the pipeline drainage mostly occurs due to backflow air intrusion. The worst case scenario is associated with a fast valve opening when a tiny air pocket exists in the pipeline.This work is supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal [grant number PD/BD/114459/2016].Besharat, M.; Coronado-Hernández, OE.; Fuertes-Miquel, VS.; Viseu, MT.; Ramos, HM. (2019). Computational fluid dynamics for sub-atmospheric pressure analysis in pipe drainage. Journal of Hydraulic Research. 58(4):553-565. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2019.1625819S553565584ANSYS FLUENT R19.0 academic [Computer software]. ANSYS, Canonsburg, PA. Retrieved from https://www.ansys.com/academic/free-student-productsApollonio, C., Balacco, G., Fontana, N., Giugni, M., Marini, G., & Piccinni, A. (2016). Hydraulic Transients Caused by Air Expulsion During Rapid Filling of Undulating Pipelines. Water, 8(1), 25. doi:10.3390/w8010025Benjamin, T. B. (1968). Gravity currents and related phenomena. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 31(2), 209-248. doi:10.1017/s0022112068000133Besharat, M., Coronado-Hernández, O. E., Fuertes-Miquel, V. S., Viseu, M. T., & Ramos, H. M. (2018). Backflow air and pressure analysis in emptying a pipeline containing an entrapped air pocket. Urban Water Journal, 15(8), 769-779. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2018.1540711Besharat, M., Tarinejad, R., Aalami, M. T., & Ramos, H. M. (2016). Study of a Compressed Air Vessel for Controlling the Pressure Surge in Water Networks: CFD and Experimental Analysis. Water Resources Management, 30(8), 2687-2702. doi:10.1007/s11269-016-1310-1Besharat, M., Tarinejad, R., & Ramos, H. M. (2015). The effect of water hammer on a confined air pocket towards flow energy storage system. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua, 65(2), 116-126. doi:10.2166/aqua.2015.081Besharat, M., Teresa Viseu, M., & Ramos, H. (2017). Experimental Study of Air Vessel Behavior for Energy Storage or System Protection in Water Hammer Events. Water, 9(1), 63. doi:10.3390/w9010063Collins, R. P., Boxall, J. B., Karney, B. W., Brunone, B., & Meniconi, S. (2012). How severe can transients be after a sudden depressurization? Journal - American Water Works Association, 104(4), E243-E251. doi:10.5942/jawwa.2012.104.0055Coronado-Hernández, O., Fuertes-Miquel, V., Besharat, M., & Ramos, H. (2017). Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Water Emptying Pipeline Using Different Air Valves. Water, 9(2), 98. doi:10.3390/w9020098Coronado-Hernández, O. E., Fuertes-Miquel, V. S., Besharat, M., & Ramos, H. M. (2018). Subatmospheric pressure in a water draining pipeline with an air pocket. Urban Water Journal, 15(4), 346-352. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2018.1475578Coronado-Hernández, O. E., Fuertes-Miquel, V. S., Iglesias-Rey, P. L., & Martínez-Solano, F. J. (2018). Rigid Water Column Model for Simulating the Emptying Process in a Pipeline Using Pressurized Air. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 144(4), 06018004. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0001446Ding, H., Visser, F. C., Jiang, Y., & Furmanczyk, M. (2011). Demonstration and Validation of a 3D CFD Simulation Tool Predicting Pump Performance and Cavitation for Industrial Applications. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 133(1). doi:10.1115/1.4003196Fuertes-Miquel, V. S., Coronado-Hernández, O. E., Iglesias-Rey, P. L., & Mora-Meliá, D. (2018). Transient phenomena during the emptying process of a single pipe with water–air interaction. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 57(3), 318-326. doi:10.1080/00221686.2018.1492465Izquierdo, J., Fuertes, V. S., Cabrera, E., Iglesias, P. L., & Garcia-Serra, J. (1999). Pipeline start-up with entrapped air. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 37(5), 579-590. doi:10.1080/00221689909498518Laanearu, J., Annus, I., Koppel, T., Bergant, A., Vučković, S., Hou, Q., … van’t Westende, J. M. C. (2012). Emptying of Large-Scale Pipeline by Pressurized Air. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 138(12), 1090-1100. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000631Liu, D., & Zhou, L. (2009). Numerical Simulation of Transient Flow in Pressurized Water Pipeline with Trapped Air Mass. 2009 Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference. doi:10.1109/appeec.2009.4918544Martinoia, T., Barreto, C. V., da Rocha, J. C. D. C., Lavoura, J., & Henriques, F. M. P. (2012). Simulation and Planning of Pipeline Emptying Operations. Volume 1: Upstream Pipelines; Project Management; Design and Construction; Environment; Facilities Integrity Management; Operations and Maintenance; Pipeline Automation and Measurement. doi:10.1115/ipc2012-90432Martins, N. M. C., Delgado, J. N., Ramos, H. M., & Covas, D. I. C. (2017). Maximum transient pressures in a rapidly filling pipeline with entrapped air using a CFD model. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 55(4), 506-519. doi:10.1080/00221686.2016.1275046Tijsseling, A. S., Hou, Q., Bozkuş, Z., & Laanearu, J. (2015). Improved One-Dimensional Models for Rapid Emptying and Filling of Pipelines. Journal of Pressure Vessel Technology, 138(3). doi:10.1115/1.4031508Trindade, B. C., & Vasconcelos, J. G. (2013). Modeling of Water Pipeline Filling Events Accounting for Air Phase Interactions. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 139(9), 921-934. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000757Vasconcelos, J. G., & Wright, S. J. (2008). Rapid Flow Startup in Filled Horizontal Pipelines. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 134(7), 984-992. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9429(2008)134:7(984)Wang, L., Wang, F., Karney, B., & Malekpour, A. (2017). Numerical investigation of rapid filling in bypass pipelines. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 55(5), 647-656. doi:10.1080/00221686.2017.1300193Zhou, L., & Liu, D. (2013). Experimental investigation of entrapped air pocket in a partially full water pipe. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 51(4), 469-474. doi:10.1080/00221686.2013.785985Zhou, L., Liu, D., Karney, B., & Wang, P. (2013). Phenomenon of White Mist in Pipelines Rapidly Filling with Water with Entrapped Air Pockets. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 139(10), 1041-1051. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000765Zhou, L., Liu, D., & Karney, B. (2013). Investigation of Hydraulic Transients of Two Entrapped Air Pockets in a Water Pipeline. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 139(9), 949-959. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000750Zhou, L., Liu, D., Karney, B., & Zhang, Q. (2011). Influence of Entrapped Air Pockets on Hydraulic Transients in Water Pipelines. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 137(12), 1686-1692. doi:10.1061/(asce)hy.1943-7900.0000460Zhou, L., Liu, D., & Ou, C. (2011). Simulation of Flow Transients in a Water Filling Pipe Containing Entrapped Air Pocket with VOF Model. Engineering Applications of Computational Fluid Mechanics, 5(1), 127-140. doi:10.1080/19942060.2011.11015357Zukoski, E. E. (1966). Influence of viscosity, surface tension, and inclination angle on motion of long bubbles in closed tubes. 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Serum metabolic biomarkers for synucleinopathy conversion in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder

Neurodegeneració; Malaltia de Parkinson; Marcadors predictiusNeurodegeneración; Enfermedad de Parkinson; Marcadores predictivosNeurodegeneration; Parkinson's disease; Predictive markersIsolated rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal stage of Lewy-type synucleinopathies (LTS), which can present either with an initial predominant parkinsonism (Parkinson’s disease (PD)) or dementia (dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)). To provide insights into the underlying pathogenic mechanisms, the lipoprotein and protein glycosylation profile of 82 iRBD patients, collected before and/or after their conversion to an overt LTS, and 29 matched control serum samples were assessed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Data were statistically analyzed to identify altered metabolites and construct predictive models. Univariant analysis detected no differences between iRBD patients with an LTS compared to controls. However, significant differences were found when the analysis distinguished between iRBD patients that manifested initially predominant parkinsonism (pre-PD) or dementia (pre-DLB). Significant differences were also found in the analysis of paired iRBD samples pre- and post-LTS diagnosis. Predictive models were built and distinguished between controls and pre-DLB patients, and between pre-DLB and pre-PD patients. This allowed a prediction of the possible future clinical outcome of iRBD patients. We provide evidence of altered lipoprotein and glycosylation profiles in subgroups of iRBD patients. Our results indicate that metabolic alterations and inflammation are involved in iRBD pathophysiology, and suggest biological differences underlying the progression of LTS in iRBD patients. Our data also indicate that profiling of serum samples by NMR may be a useful tool for identifying short-term high-risk iRBD patients for conversion to parkinsonism or dementia.The study was funded by the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS-ISCIII, Spain)-European Regional Development Fund (FEDER, E.U.) (PI13/01897 to M.V.), Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO, Spain) (SAF2015-73997-JIN to A.L. and SAF2016-77541-R to M.V.), Fundació Bancària La Caixa (Junior Leader Fellowship LCF/BQ/PR19/11700005 to A.L. and Health Research Project HR17-00513 to M.V.) and CIBERNED (to M.V. and E.T.). A.L. was the recipient of a postdoctoral contract SAF2015-73997-JIN from MINECO (Spain) with co-funding from FEDER (E.U.) and is currently funded by the Junior Leader Program from Fundació Bancària La Caixa (grant LCF/BQ/PR19/11700005). H.X. is the recipient of a Radboud University Personal Ph.D. Grant

Application of Newton–Raphson Method for Computing the Final Air–Water Interface Location in a Pipe Water Filling

The estimation of thermodynamic behavior during filling processes with entrapped air in water pipelines is a complex task as it requires solving a system of algebraic-differential equations. A lot of different numerical methods have been used for this purpose in literature including the rigid water column (RWC) model. The main advantage of the RWC model is its acceptable accuracy with very low computational load. In that context, this research presents the computation of critical points of the physical equations that describe the phenomenon. These points provide information about the final position of the air–water interface. The Newton–Raphson method was then applied to obtain a unique equation that can be used by engineers to directly compute variables such as air pocket pressure and water column length at the end of the hydraulic event. A case study was analyzed to compare the results of the mathematical model with the obtained equation for computing critical points. Both methods provided the same values for the water column length at the end of the hydraulic event. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify dependent and non-dependent parameters for evaluating the critical points. The proposed formulation was validated through an experimental set of data. © 2023 by the authors

Study of the flexural modulus of lignocellulosic fibers reinforced bio-based polyamide11 green composites

The stiffness of a material has high impact when its industrial use is considered. Moreover, this property has interest in the case of short fiber reinforced materials due to its dependence on the orientation of the fibers against the loads. Due to nowadays-environmental concerns, greener alternatives to oil-based composites are under study and development showing some promising results. In this work, a polyamide 11 reinforced with lignocellulosic fiber composite is evaluated as such sustainable alternative. Previous works showed the suitability of PA11-based composites to replace glass fiber reinforced polypropylene. Nonetheless, there is a lack of information about the flexural modulus behavior of these composites. This is of interest because, under some conditions, flexural modulus is more representative of a material behavior than Young's modulus. The flexural moduli of these composites were analyzed under a three point bending test and the results were evaluated from macro and micromechanical points of view. The increment of the modulus with the fiber contents implied a good dispersion of the reinforcements. Nonetheless, the results were lower than those observed for the tensile modulus. This was unexpected due to the anisotropy of the bending test. The micromechanics analysis showed a lower performance of the fiber during the flexural test. These lower results were related with a non-optimal interface or with the non-adequate compression of the fibers. Additionally, the calculus of the void volume showed low void contentsPostprint (published version

The way we look at our own body really matters! Body-related attentional bias as a predictor of worse clinical outcomes after a virtual reality body exposure therapy

Body-related attentional bias (AB) experienced by anorexia nervosa (AN) patients has been associated with body image disturbances and other eating disorders (ED)-related symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess whether the body-related AB reported by AN patients before a virtual reality (VR)-based body exposure therapy predicted worse clinical outcomes after treatment. Thirteen AN outpatients participatedin the study. AB was recorded using an eye-tracker incorporated in a VR-Head Mounted Display. Results showed that AN patients attended to their weight-related body parts for longer and more frequently than to their non-weight-related body parts. Statistically significant (p<.05) negative and positive correlations between pre-intervention bodyrelated AB measures and the difference between pre- and post-assessment fear of gaining weight, body dissatisfaction, and body appreciation measures were also found. Showing higher body-related AB before the intervention marginally predicted a lower reduction of fear of gaining weight (p =.08 and p=.07) and body dissatisfaction (p = .05 and p=.06) at post-treatment, and significantly predicted a lower increase of body appreciation scores after the intervention (p<.001). Results suggest that body-related AB may reduce the efficacy of VR-based body exposure therapy in patients with A

Statistical Approach for Computing Base Flow Rates in Gaged Rivers and Hydropower Effect Analysis

The calculation of base flow rates in rivers is complex since hydrogeological and hydrological studies should be performed. The estimation of base flow rates in storm hydrograph associated to various return periods is even more challenging compared to other events. This research provides a novel methodology to compute base flow rates in gaged rivers for extreme events based on statistical correlations of daily flows. The current methodology does not require complex aquifers analysis to compute base flows. Results of computed base flow rates are validated using observed storm hydrographs using a complete record. The proposed methodology was applied considering measurements of a limnigraphic station in the Sinú river located in Montería, Córdoba, Colombia. The analysis confirmed that only using series of multiannual monthly mean flows is possible to estimate base flow of flood hydrograph associated to different return periods