Convective heat transfer behavior of the product slurry of the nitrate to ammonia and ceramic (NAC) process

The Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process is an innovative technology for immobilizing liquid form low level radioactive waste (LLW). An experimental study has been conducted to measure the heat transfer properties of the NAC product slurry. The results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient for both concentration slurries is much higher than that of pure water, which may be due to the higher conductivity of the gibbsite powder. For the 20% concentration slurry, the heat transfer coefficient increased as the generalized Reynolds number and slurry temperature increased. The heat transfer coefficient of 40% is a function of the Reynolds number only. The test results also indicate that the thermal entrance region can be observed only when the generalized Reynolds number is smaller than 1,000. The correlation equation is also developed based on the experimental data in this paper

Rheological properties of the product slurry of the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process

The Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process is an innovative technology for immobilizing the liquid from Low Level radioactive Waste (LLW). An experimental study was conducted to measure the rheological properties of the pipe flow of the NAC product slurry. Test results indicate that the NAC product slurry has a profound rheological behavior. At low solids concentration, the slurry exhibits a typical dilatant fluid (or shear thinning)fluid. The transition from dilatant fluid to pseudo-plastic fluid will occur at between 25% to 30% solids concentration in temperature ranges of 50--80{degree}C. Correlation equations are developed based on the test data

Características clínicas y epidemiológicas de la escabiosis en tres consultorios del médico de la familia

Se estudiaron 67 pacientes con escabiosis de los consultorios 12,21 y 26 del Policlínico &laquo;Héroes del Corinthya&raquo; y se encontró una incidencia del 5,13 % con una frecuencia esperada de 22 casos anuales por consultorio. La enfermedad fue más frecuente entre las mujeres de 45 a 54 años y entre los obreros de nivel medio de escolaridad. Se identificaron lesiones elementales poco comunes y localizaciones no habituales de las lesiones para esta dermatosis. El mayor número de casos mejoró entre los 8 y los 14 días de implantadas las medidas de control para la enfermedad<br>67 patients affected by scabies who were cared for by family physicians’ consulting rooms No. 12, 21 and 26 of &laquo;Héroes del Corinthia&raquo; polyclinics were examined where 5.13 % of incidence and an expected frequency of 22 cases per year per consulting room were found. This disease was more frequently suffered by women aged 45 to 54 years and by medium educational level workers. Uncommon basic lesions and rare lesion locations for this kind of dermatosis were detected. The majority of cases recovered 8 to 14 days after adequate disease control measures being implemente

An experimental investigation of the thermal/fluid properties of the nitrate to ammonia and ceramic (NAC) product slurry

Recently, a new immobilization technique for LLW, the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process, has been developed. Instead of mixing the liquid waste form directly with the cement to make concrete blocks, the NAC process eliminates the nitrate from the LLW by converting it to ammonia gas. Aluminum particles are used as a reductant to complete this conversion. The final product of the NAC process is gibbsite, which can be further sintered to a ceramic waste form. Experimental tests are conducted to measure the apparent viscosity, the pressure drop, and the heat transfer coefficient of the pipe flow of the Nitrate to Ammonia and Ceramic (NAC) process product slurry. The tests indicate that the NAC product slurry exhibits a typical pseudoplastic fluid behavior. The pressure drop in the pipe flow is a function of the Reynolds number and the slurry temperature. The results also indicate that at a low slurry temperature, the slurry is uniformly heated peripherally. At a high slurry temperature, however, the slurry may be thermally stratified. In a straight pipe, the Nusselt number is reduced as the slurry temperature increases

Temporal trends of circulating nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokine responses ex vivo in intra-abdominal sepsis: results from a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To evaluate the association of pro-inflammatory mediators with organ dysfunction and adverse outcome in intra-abdominal sepsis patients. SUBJECTS: Twenty-one patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were prospectively included in the study. Only patients with surgical diagnosis of intra-abdominal sepsis were enrolled. RESULTS: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin (IL)-6 produced ex vivo were significantly lower in non-survivors on admission (p = 0.021) and day 2 (p = 0.013), respectively. Nitric oxide (NO( x )) levels were significantly higher in non-survivors from the onset of sepsis and until day 4 after diagnosis (p < 0.05). Circulating lymphocyte counts were lower in non-survivors after admission over time, but there was no association with impaired cytokine production in this group of patients during the entire follow-up. All non-survivors developed nosocomial pneumonia concomitantly with multiple organ dysfunction and septic shock. There was a significant correlation between nitric oxide (NO( x )) concentrations and the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score at day 2 (r = 0.598, p = 0.009), and ICU stay (r = 0.605, p = 0.006). Continuously high NO( x ) levels correlated with organ failure. The pro-inflammatory mediators TNFalpha, IL-6 and NO( x ), and also the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS-II), discriminate survivors from non-survivors. According to logistic regression models, although these parameters are independently associated with the outcome, they do not improve the predictive power of the SAPS-II score for mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: Disturbances in inflammatory responses and increase in NO( x ) generation seem to characterize early intra-abdominal sepsis, in which immune suppression is associated with an increased susceptibility to nosocomial infections. Sequential NO( x ) determinations could be a useful approach for improving the management of patients with intra-abdominal sepsis

Temporal trends of circulating nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokine responses ex vivo in intra-abdominal sepsis: results from a cohort study.

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: To evaluate the association of pro-inflammatory mediators with organ dysfunction and adverse outcome in intra-abdominal sepsis patients. SUBJECTS: Twenty-one patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were prospectively included in the study. Only patients with surgical diagnosis of intra-abdominal sepsis were enrolled. RESULTS: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin (IL)-6 produced ex vivo were significantly lower in non-survivors on admission (p = 0.021) and day 2 (p = 0.013), respectively. Nitric oxide (NO( x )) levels were significantly higher in non-survivors from the onset of sepsis and until day 4 after diagnosis (p < 0.05). Circulating lymphocyte counts were lower in non-survivors after admission over time, but there was no association with impaired cytokine production in this group of patients during the entire follow-up. All non-survivors developed nosocomial pneumonia concomitantly with multiple organ dysfunction and septic shock. There was a significant correlation between nitric oxide (NO( x )) concentrations and the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score at day 2 (r = 0.598, p = 0.009), and ICU stay (r = 0.605, p = 0.006). Continuously high NO( x ) levels correlated with organ failure. The pro-inflammatory mediators TNFalpha, IL-6 and NO( x ), and also the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS-II), discriminate survivors from non-survivors. According to logistic regression models, although these parameters are independently associated with the outcome, they do not improve the predictive power of the SAPS-II score for mortality risk. CONCLUSIONS: Disturbances in inflammatory responses and increase in NO( x ) generation seem to characterize early intra-abdominal sepsis, in which immune suppression is associated with an increased susceptibility to nosocomial infections. Sequential NO( x ) determinations could be a useful approach for improving the management of patients with intra-abdominal sepsis