On the optimal experimental design for heat and moisture parameter estimation

32 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables, 34 references. Other author's papers can be downloaded at http://www.denys-dutykh.com/International audienceIn the context of estimating material properties of porous walls based on in-site measurements and identification method, this paper presents the concept of Optimal Experiment Design (OED). It aims at searching the best experimental conditions in terms of quantity and position of sensors and boundary conditions imposed to the material. These optimal conditions ensure to provide the maximum accuracy of the identification method and thus the estimated parameters. The search of the OED is done by using the Fisher information matrix and a priori knowledge of the parameters. The methodology is applied for two case studies. The first one deals with purely conductive heat transfer. The concept of optimal experiment design is detailed and verified with 100 inverse problems for different experiment designs. The second case study combines a strong coupling between heat and moisture transfer through a porous building material. The methodology presented is based on a scientific formalism for efficient planning of experimental work that can be extended to the optimal design of experiments related to other problems in thermal and fluid sciences

Modelos para previsão da transferencia de calor e de umidade em elementos porosos de edificações

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro TecnologicoPara estudar o efeito da umidade em material de construção civil, desenvolveu-se neste trabalho um código de transferência combinada de calor e umidade em elementos porosos de edificações. Este código é dividido em duas partes. A primeira é formada por rotinas de cálculo que permitem a avaliação dos coeficientes de transporte do modelo de transferência de calor e de umidade. Esses coeficientes são derivados a partir da porosidade, permeabilidade, pressão capilar, isoterma de adsorção e condutividade térmica do meio seco que são calculadas através de modelos que usam apenas a função de distribuição de poro e isoterma de adsorção. A segunda parte é formada por modelos de transferência de calor e de umidade (TCU) que são escolhidos conforme a necessidade em termos de precisão e velocidade de simulação e, também, da disponibilidade e confiabllidade de dados de propriedades higrotérmicas. Os modelos TCU propostos são conceb1dos segundo uma nova metodologia de cálculo que torna o método numericamente estável, permitindo aumentar o passo de tempo com um prejuízo mínimo de precisão de cálculo, através de duas novas considerações. A primeira considera o vapor trocado entre superfícies e o ar como uma função linear da temperatura e do conteúdo de umidade no lugar de uma função da concentração de vapor. A segunda introduz um algoritmo de solução generalizado para resolver simultaneamente as equações governantes. Para concluir o trabalho, apresenta-se a importância de se levar em conta a transferência acoplada de calor e umidade na avaliação de consumo anual de energia e de cargas de pico ao compará-los com valores obtidos pela transferência de calor pura. Mostra-se também que para muitas aplicações, modelos TCU simplificados podem levar a ótimos resultados com alta redução do tempo de execução e um menor número de variáveis de entrada. Além disso, demonstra-se que a precisão fornecida pelo uso de coeficientes de transporte, gerados através da função de distribuição de volumes de poros e isoterma de adsorção, pode levar a boas avaliações de fluxos de calor latente e sensível em elementos porosos de edificações

Gate-based Quantum Computing for Protein Design

Protein design is a technique to engineer proteins by modifying their sequence to obtain novel functionalities. In this method, amino acids in the sequence are permutated to find the low energy states satisfying the configuration. However, exploring all possible combinations of amino acids is generally impossible to achieve on conventional computers due to the exponential growth of possibilities with the number of designable sites. Thus, sampling methods are currently used as a conventional approach to address the protein design problems. Recently, quantum computation methods have shown the potential to solve similar types of problems. In the present work, we use the general idea of Grover's algorithm, a pure quantum computation method, to design circuits at the gate-based level and address the protein design problem. In our quantum algorithms, we use custom pair-wise energy tables consisting of eight different amino acids. Also, the distance reciprocals between designable sites are included in calculating energies in the circuits. Due to the noisy state of current quantum computers, we mainly use quantum computer simulators for this study. However, a very simple version of our circuits is implemented on real quantum devices to examine their capabilities to run these algorithms. Our results show that using $\mathcal{O}(\sqrt N)$ iterations, the circuits find the correct results among all $N$ possibilities, providing the expected quadratic speed up of Grover's algorithm over classical methods

Understanding Refugees\u27 Perspectives on Health Care

Introduction. Burlington, Vermont accepts refugees from around the world. These individuals face unique barriers to accessing healthcare due to language, culture and finances. Research suggests that cultural beliefs about healthcare can affect ability or willingness to seek medical care. Gaining a better understanding of refugee perspectives of the healthcare system may offer insight into how to rectify this issue. Objectives. The goal of this study was to learn about refugee perspectives of the healthcare system and assess their use of services. Methods. We surveyed a convenience sample of 24 refugees to learn more about thoughts and practices surrounding healthcare and the use of the medical system. Results. Survey findings suggested that refugees who had been living in the US for longer than one year access healthcare resources differently from more recent arrivals. Most respondents agreed that reasons for going to a healthcare provider revolved around the diagnosis and treatment of current ailments. Regardless of time spent in the U.S., most respondents were unlikely to seek out preventive care. Refugees who had been in the U.S. longer than one year were less likely to seek out emergency services for acute symptoms that would be better served by a visit with their PCP. Conclusions. Recent arrivals used the emergency room for primary care needs more than those living in the U.S. longer than one year, suggesting the efficacy of provided health education. Study data suggests an important area for improvement may be increased education for refugees about the importance of preventive care.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1250/thumbnail.jp

Sensibilidade do índice PMV e regiões de conforto visando ao aperfeiçoamento de climatizadores

The HVAC control systems based on thermal comfort indices, in contrast with approaches that consider only temperature and humidity, provide advantages such as the improvement of the thermal quality of the built environment. Among several thermal comfort indices, the Fanger’s model (PMV) is of paramount importance. However, the attainment of this index in real equipment is considerably difficult, due to the difficulty of measuring the mean radiant temperature, and determining individual parameters such as the human metabolic rate and the thermal resistance of human clothing. Due to those difficulties, adjustments and adaptations must be carried out and, consequently, there are errors related to these three parameters. This article proposes a sensitivity analysis of PMV, based on those three variables, through simulation. For each analysis, the behaviour of the model is analysed for different values of temperature, air velocity and relative humidity, and also for different values of the analyzed parameter. It is also important to obtain the relative importance of each parameter of Fanger’s model, independently of units and analyzed values. Based on the Monte Carlo statistical method, a sensitivity analysis has been conducted, not only for the three cited variables, but also for all six Fanger’s model parameters. As a result, a sensitivity vector is presented, whose values are dimensionless and independent of the variables and parameters, considering all possible combinations. Moreover, new comfort regions are presented, considering also individual factors.Os sistemas de controle de equipamentos de climatização, com base em índices de conforto térmico, em contraste com abordagens que consideram apenas temperatura e umidade, proporcionam vantagens como melhoria da qualidade térmica dos ambientes. Entre os índices para conforto térmico, a abordagem de Fanger (PMV) tem grande destaque. Porém, a obtenção desse índice em equipamentos reais é bastante problemática, em função da dificuldade de sensoriamento da temperatura radiante média e de determinação de fatores individuais, tais como a taxa de metabolismo humano e a resistência térmica das vestimentas dos ocupantes. Diante dessas dificuldades, ajustes e adaptações devem ser realizados e, conseqüentemente, existem erros devido a esses três parâmetros. Este trabalho propõe uma análise de sensibilidade do PMV com relação às três variáveis citadas, através de simulações. Para cada análise, é investigado o comportamento do índice para diferentes valores de temperatura, velocidade e umidade relativa do ar, e também para diferentes valores do parâmetro em questão. Também é importante a obtenção de uma informação referente ao peso que cada um desses parâmetros possui no modelo, independentemente de unidades e valores analisados. Neste sentido, foi realizada uma análise de sensibilidade baseada no método estatístico de Monte Carlo, não somente dessas três variáveis, mas também dos seis parâmetros do modelo. Como resultado, obtém-se um vetor de sensibilidade cujos valores são adimensionais e independentes de faixas de operação da variável analisada e dos demais parâmetros, obtidos considerando-se todas as possíveis combinações. Analisa-se também a elaboração de regiões de conforto adaptadas, para que estas sejam determinadas considerando-se fatores individuais

Making progress in the use of health policies and practices informed by evidence : the Piripiri-Piau? experience.

Pol?ticas informadas por evid?ncias t?m potencial de otimizar sistemas de sa?de. O uso de evid?ncias envolve definir problemas, identificar interven??es para enfrent?-los, avaliar a qualidade das evid?ncias globais e locais e traduzi-las para os principais interessados considerando valores sociais e leis. O Brasil encoraja o uso de evid?ncias na pol?tica de sa?de e Piripiri, munic?pio de 61.840 habitantes, da regi?o mais pobre do pa?s, implementou o N?cleo de Evid?ncias em Sa?de (NEv) em 2010. S?o apresentados o desenvolvimento e os resultados preliminares do NEv, sua vis?o, composi??o, mandato e atividades. A experi?ncia contou com o envolvimento da Rede para Pol?ticas Informadas por Evid?ncias, Centro Latino-americano e do Caribe de Informa??o em Ci?ncias da Sa?de, governos federal e municipal. A descentraliza??o do financiamento e presta??o de cuidados de sa?de, a expans?o do uso de evid?ncias na gest?o e o contexto pol?tico local explicariam o desenvolvimento da experi?ncia, cujas atividades incluem a produ??o e a dissemina??o de s?nteses de evid?ncias e di?logos deliberativos com formadores de opini?o, trabalhadores e usu?rios dos servi?os de sa?de. A iniciativa est? sendo monitorada e avaliada e seus resultados podem se prestar ? amplia??o das a??es no Brasil e exterior.Evidence-informed decision making (EIDM) can optimize health services and systems. EIDM involves defining problems, identifying measures to tackle them, assessing the quality of global and local evidence and translating it for the main stakeholders in line with social values and laws. Brazil encourages the use of EIDM in health policy in Piripiri, a municipality of 61,840 inhabitants in the country?s poorest region, and launched Brazil?s first Evidence Use in Health Care (NEv) center in 2010. The development and preliminary results of the NEv center are reported and its vision, composition, mandate, and activities are presented. The NEv center experience has the support of the Evidence-Informed Policy Network, the Latin American and Caribbean Center of Information on Health Sciences and federal and municipal governments. The decentralization of financing and the provision of healthcare services, the expansion of EIDM in management, and the local political context illustrate the progress of the experiment. Its activities include the production and dissemination of deliberative briefs and dialogues with opinion shapers, workers and health service users. Monitoring and evaluation are underway and the results will help to broaden the scale of activities in Brazil and abroad

Hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and α-mRNA expression in HCV-infected adults is decreased by HIV co-infection and is also affected by ethnicity

OBJECTIVE: To determine peroxisome proliferator activated receptor α and γ mRNA expression in liver tissue of hepatitis C virus-infected patients with and without human immunodeficiency virus and its possible contribution to an acceleration of liver disease progression. METHODS: We measured peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α and γ mRNA expression by real-time polymerase chain reaction in liver tissues from 40 subjects infected only with hepatitis C virus, 36 subjects co-infected with hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus and 11 normal adults. RESULTS: Hepatic mRNA expression of both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors was significantly lower in hepatitis C virus-infected subjects with and without human immunodeficiency virus co-infection compared to the controls. Non-black race was also identified as a predictor of lower peroxisome receptor α and γ mRNA expression. Compared to subjects infected only with hepatitis C virus, liver peroxisome receptor γ mRNA expression was significantly lower in hepatitis C virus/human immunodeficiency virus-co-infected subjects (0.0092 in hepatitis C virus/human immunodeficiency virus-co-infection vs. 0.0120 in hepatitis C virus-only; p=0.004). Hepatic peroxisome receptor α mRNA expression in the hepatitis C virus-infected patients was lower in the presence of human immunodeficiency virus co-infection in non-black subjects (0.0769 vs. 0.1061; p=0.02), whereas the levels did not vary based on human immunodeficiency virus status among black subjects. CONCLUSION: mRNA expression of both peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors is impaired in hepatitis C virus-infected liver and further reduced by human immunodeficiency virus co-infection, although the suppressive effects of the viruses are substantially mitigated in black patients

A cardiovascular occlusion method based on the use of a smart hydrogel

Smart hydrogels for biomedical applications are highly researched materials. However, integrating them into a device for implantation is difficult. This paper investigates an integrated delivery device designed to deliver an electro-responsive hydrogel to a target location inside a blood vessel with the purpose of creating an occlusion. The paper describes the synthesis and characterization of a Pluronic/methacrylic acid sodium salt electro-responsive hydrogel. Application of an electrical bias decelerates the expansion of the hydrogel. An integrated delivery system was manufactured to deliver the hydrogel to the target location in the body. Ex vivo and in vivo experiments in the carotid artery of sheep were used to validate the concept. The hydrogel was able to completely occlude the blood vessel reducing the blood flow from 245 to 0 ml/min after implantation. Ex vivo experiments showed that the hydrogel was able to withstand physiological blood pressures of > 270 mm·Hg without dislodgement. The results showed that the electro-responsive hydrogel used in this paper can be used to create a long-term occlusion in a blood vessel without any apparent side effects. The delivery system developed is a promising device for the delivery of electro-responsive hydrogels