On the response of a lean-premixed hydrogen combustor to acoustic and dissipative-dispersive entropy waves

Combustion of hydrogen or hydrogen containing blends in gas turbines and industrial combustors can activate thermoacoustic combustion instabilities. Convective instabilities are an important and yet less investigated class of combustion instability that are caused by the so called “entropy waves”. As a major shortcoming, the partial decay of these convective-diffusive waves in the post-flame region of combustors is still largely unexplored. This paper, therefore, presents an investigation of the annihilating effects, due to hydrodynamics, heat transfer and flow stretch upon the nozzle response. The classical compact analysis is first extended to include the decay of entropy waves and heat transfer from the nozzle. Amplitudes and phase shifts of the responding acoustical waves are then calculated for subcritical and supercritical nozzles subject to acoustic and entropic forcing. A relation for the stretch of entropy wave in the nozzle is subsequently developed. It is shown that heat transfer and hydrodynamic decay can impart considerable effects on the entropic response of the nozzle. It is further shown that the flow stretching effects are strongly frequency dependent. The results indicate that dissipation and dispersion of entropy waves can significantly influence their conversion to sound and therefore should be included in the entropy wave models

Multi-Output Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System for Prediction of Dissolved Metal Levels in Acid Rock Drainage: a Case Study

Pyrite oxidation, Acid Rock Drainage (ARD) generation, and associated release and transport of toxic metals are a major environmental concern for the mining industry. Estimation of the metal loading in ARD is a major task in developing an appropriate remediation strategy. In this study, an expert system, the Multi-Output Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (MANFIS), was used for estimation of metal concentrations in the Shur River, resulting from ARD at the Sarcheshmeh porphyry copper deposit, southeast Iran. Concentrations of Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn are predicted using pH, sulphate (SO4) and magnesium (Mg) concentrations in the Shur River as input to the MANFIS. Three MANFIS models were implemented, Grid Partitioning (GP), the Subtractive Clustering Method (SCM) and the Fuzzy C-Means Clustering Method (FCM).A comparison was made between these three models and the results show the superiority of the MANFIS-SCM model. The results obtained indicate that the MANFIS-SCM model has potentialfor estimation of the metals with high a degree of accuracy and robustness

Experimental investigation of entropy waves' evolution for understanding of indirect combustion noise in gas turbine combustors

Achieving clean and quiet combustion in gas turbines is essential for improving many low-carbon energy and propulsion technologies. This often requires suppression of combustion instabilities and combustion generated noise in gas turbine combustors. Entropy noise is the less explored mechanism of combustion generated sound. Central to the emission of entropic sound is the survival of entropy wave during convection by the mean flow and reaching the combustor exit nozzle. Yet, the annihilation of entropy waves in this process is still poorly understood. To address this issue, the evolution of convected entropy waves in a fully-developed, cold flow inside a circular duct is investigated experimentally. Entropy waves are produced by a well-controlled electrical heater. Fast-response, miniaturized thermocouples arranged over a moveable cross-section of the duct are employed to record the state of entropy waves at different axial locations along the duct. Hydrodynamic parameters including Reynolds number and turbulence intensity are varied to investigate their effects upon the wave decay. The results show that the decay process is strongly wavelength dependent. It is found that the wave components with wavelengths larger than the duct diameter are almost unaffected by the flow and therefore remain essentially one-dimensional. However, other spectral components of the wave are subject to varying degrees of dissipation and loss of spatial correlation. Overall, the results support the recent numerical findings about the likelihood of wave survival in adiabatic flows. They further clarify the validity range of the one-dimensional assumption commonly made in the literature

Prevalence and genotyping identification of Cryptosporidium in adult ruminants in central Iran

Background Apicomplexan parasites of the genus Cryptosporidium infect a wide range of animal species as well as humans. Cryptosporidium spp. can cause life threatening diarrhea especially in young animals, children, immunocompromised patients and malnourished individuals. Asymptomatic cryptosporidial infections in animals can also occur, making these animals potential reservoirs of infection. Methods In the present study, a molecular survey of Cryptosporidium spp. in ruminants that were slaughtered for human consumption in Yazd Province, located in central Iran was conducted. Faeces were collected per-rectum from 484 animals including 192 cattle, 192 sheep and 100 goats. DNA was extracted from all samples and screened for Cryptosporidium by PCR amplification of the 18S rRNA gene. Positives were Sanger sequenced and further subtyped by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) locus. Results In total, Cryptosporidium spp. were detected in 22 animals: C. andersoni and C. bovis in seven and two cattle faecal samples, respectively, C. ubiquitum in five sheep, and C. xiaoi in six sheep and two goat samples, respectively. To our knowledge, this study provides for the first time, molecular information concerning Cryptosporidium species infecting goats in Iran, and is also the first report of C. ubiquitum and C. xiaoi from ruminants in Iran. Conclusion The presence of potentially zoonotic species of Cryptosporidium in ruminants in this region may suggest that livestock could potentially contribute to human cryptosporidiosis, in particular among farmers and slaughterhouse workers, in the area. Further molecular studies on local human populations are required to more accurately understand the epidemiology and transmission dynamics of Cryptosporidium spp. in this region

Association between p53 codon 72 polymorphism and systemic lupus erythematosus

Aim: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic vasculitic disorder, with multiple genes involved in the disease pathogenesis. The p53 gene plays an important role in controlling the cell cycle. We aimed to study the prevalence of p53 polymorphism in SLE patients and analyze the relationship between the p53 polymorphism and clinical-laboratory features of the disease. Material and methods: This case-control study was conducted on patients with confirmed SLE at Namazi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran. Seventy-seven patients with SLE including 9 (11.8) men and 68 (88.2) women with mean age of 25.61 ± 10.69 years and 80 healthy controls with mean age of 51.82 ±14.25 years were included. The patients' information, including the epidemiological profile, disease history, disease symptoms and also the laboratory findings, were extracted from the hospital records. The p53 expression was determined in lyzed lymphocytes. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 14.00 for Windows considering p < 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: The frequencies of Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro among normal controls were 38.8, 28.8 and 37.5, respectively, but in the patients, Arg/Arg, Pro/Pro and Arg/Pro genotypes frequencies were shown to be 29.2, 12.3 and 58.5, respectively. Thus, heterozygous form of this polymorphism was shown to be associated with the disease more than the homozygous alleles. There was a significant relationship between the different allele types of p53 and some clinical features of SLE. There was no association between the different allele types and any of the initial manifestations of the disease and the laboratory findings, as well. Conclusions: In an Iranian population the functional oncoprotein of p53 with codon 72 polymorphism may play an important role in the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of SLE

Neutrophilic Asthma Is Associated With Smoking, High Numbers of IRF5+, and Low Numbers of IL10+ Macrophages

Asthma is a heterogenous disease with different inflammatory subgroups that differ in disease severity. This disease variation is hampering treatment and development of new treatment strategies. Macrophages may contribute to asthma phenotypes by their ability to activate in different ways, i.e., T helper cell 1 (Th1)-associated, Th2-associated, or anti-inflammatory activation. It is currently unknown if these different types of activation correspond with specific inflammatory subgroups of asthma. We hypothesized that eosinophilic asthma would be characterized by having Th2-associated macrophages, whereas neutrophilic asthma would have Th1-associated macrophages and both having few anti-inflammatory macrophages. We quantified macrophage subsets in bronchial biopsies of asthma patients using interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5)/CD68 for Th1-associated macrophages, CD206/CD68 for Th2-associated macrophages and interleukin 10 (IL10)/CD68 for anti-inflammatory macrophages. Macrophage subset percentages were investigated in subgroups of asthma as defined by unsupervised clustering using neutrophil/eosinophil counts in sputum and tissue and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Asthma patients clustered into four subgroups: mixed-eosinophilic/neutrophilic, paucigranulocytic, neutrophilic with normal FEV1, and neutrophilic with low FEV1, the latter group consisting mainly of smokers. No differences were found for CD206+ macrophages within asthma subgroups. In contrast, IRF5+ macrophages were significantly higher and IL10+ macrophages lower in neutrophilic asthmatics with low FEV1 as compared to those with neutrophilic asthma and normal FEV1 or mixed-eosinophilic asthma. This study shows that neutrophilic asthma with low FEV1 is associated with high numbers of IRF5+, and low numbers of IL10+ macrophages, which may be the result of combined effects of smoking and having asthma.</p

Neutrophilic Asthma Is Associated With Smoking, High Numbers of IRF5+, and Low Numbers of IL10+ Macrophages

Asthma is a heterogenous disease with different inflammatory subgroups that differ in disease severity. This disease variation is hampering treatment and development of new treatment strategies. Macrophages may contribute to asthma phenotypes by their ability to activate in different ways, i.e., T helper cell 1 (Th1)-associated, Th2-associated, or anti-inflammatory activation. It is currently unknown if these different types of activation correspond with specific inflammatory subgroups of asthma. We hypothesized that eosinophilic asthma would be characterized by having Th2-associated macrophages, whereas neutrophilic asthma would have Th1-associated macrophages and both having few anti-inflammatory macrophages. We quantified macrophage subsets in bronchial biopsies of asthma patients using interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5)/CD68 for Th1-associated macrophages, CD206/CD68 for Th2-associated macrophages and interleukin 10 (IL10)/CD68 for anti-inflammatory macrophages. Macrophage subset percentages were investigated in subgroups of asthma as defined by unsupervised clustering using neutrophil/eosinophil counts in sputum and tissue and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). Asthma patients clustered into four subgroups: mixed-eosinophilic/neutrophilic, paucigranulocytic, neutrophilic with normal FEV1, and neutrophilic with low FEV1, the latter group consisting mainly of smokers. No differences were found for CD206+ macrophages within asthma subgroups. In contrast, IRF5+ macrophages were significantly higher and IL10+ macrophages lower in neutrophilic asthmatics with low FEV1 as compared to those with neutrophilic asthma and normal FEV1 or mixed-eosinophilic asthma. This study shows that neutrophilic asthma with low FEV1 is associated with high numbers of IRF5+, and low numbers of IL10+ macrophages, which may be the result of combined effects of smoking and having asthma

The local high-velocity tail and the Galactic escape speed

We model the fastest moving (vtot > 300 km s−1) local (D 3 kpc) halo stars using cosmological simulations and six-dimensional Gaia data. Our approach is to use our knowledge of the assembly history and phase-space distribution of halo stars to constrain the form of the high-velocity tail of the stellar halo. Using simple analytical models and cosmological simulations, we find that the shape of the high-velocity tail is strongly dependent on the velocity anisotropy and number density profile of the halo stars - highly eccentric orbits and/or shallow density profiles have more extended high-velocity tails. The halo stars in the solar vicinity are known to have a strongly radial velocity anisotropy, and it has recently been shown the origin of these highly eccentric orbits is the early accretion of a massive (Mstar ∼ 109 M☉) dwarf satellite. We use this knowledge to construct a prior on the shape of the high-velocity tail. Moreover, we use the simulations to define an appropriate outer boundary of 2r200, beyond which stars can escape. After applying our methodology to the Gaia data, we find a local (r0 = 8.3 kpc) escape speed of vesc(r0) = 528+−2425 km s−1. We use our measurement of the escape velocity to estimate the total Milky Way mass, and dark halo concentration: M200,tot = 1.00+−003124 × 1012 M☉, c200 = 10.9+−4343. Our estimated mass agrees with recent results in the literature that seem to be converging on a Milky Way mass of M200,tot ∼ 1012 M☉

On the correlation between the local dark matter and stellar velocities

The dark matter velocity distribution in the Solar neighbourhood is an important astrophysical input which enters in the predicted event rate of dark matter direct detection experiments. It has been recently suggested that the local dark matter velocity distribution can be inferred from that of old or metal-poor stars in the Milky Way. We investigate this potential relation using six high resolution magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies of the Auriga project. We do not find any correlation between the velocity distributions of dark matter and old stars in the Solar neighbourhood. Likewise, there are no strong correlations between the local velocity distributions of dark matter and metal-poor stars selected by applying reasonable cuts on metallicity. In some simulated galaxies, extremely metal-poor stars have a velocity distribution that is statistically consistent with that of the dark matter, but the sample of such stars is so small that we cannot draw any strong conclusions

The dark matter component of the Gaia radially anisotropic substructure

We study the properties of the dark matter component of the radially anisotropic stellar population recently identified in the Gaia data, using magneto-hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-like halos from the Auriga project. We identify 10 simulated galaxies that approximately match the rotation curve and stellar mass of the Milky Way. Four of these have an anisotropic stellar population reminiscent of the Gaia structure. We find an anti-correlation between the dark matter mass fraction of this population in the Solar neighbourhood and its orbital anisotropy. We estimate the local dark matter density and velocity distribution for halos with and without the anisotropic stellar population, and use them to simulate the signals expected in future xenon and germanium direct detection experiments. We find that a generalized Maxwellian distribution fits the dark matter halo integrals of the Milky Way-like halos containing the radially anisotropic stellar population. For dark matter particle masses below approximately 10 GeV, direct detection exclusion limits for the simulated halos with the anisotropic stellar population show a mild shift towards smaller masses compared to the commonly adopted Standard Halo Model