Equipment Development for Automatic Anthropometric Measurements

An automated procedure for measuring and recording the anthropometric active angles is presented. The small portable system consists of a microprocessor controlled video data acquisition system which measures single plane active angles using television video techniques and provides the measured data on sponsored-specified preformatted data sheets. This system, using only a single video camera, observes the end limits of the movement of a pair of separated lamps and calculates the vector angle between the extreme positions

Fireside corrosion degradation of ferritic alloys at 600°C in oxy-fired conditions

This paper reports the results of a study carried out to investigate the effects of simulated coal/biomass combustion conditions on the fireside corrosion. The 1000 h deposit recoat exposure (5 × 200 h cycles) was carried out at 600 °C. In these tests ferritic alloys were used 15Mo3, T22, T23 and T91. Kinetics data were generated for the alloys exposed using both traditional weight change methods and metal loss measurements. The highest rate of corrosion based on EDX results occurred under D1 deposit where provoke mainly by the formation of alkali iron tri-sulphate phase

Pressurised calcination-atmospheric carbonation of limestone for cyclic CO2 capture from flue gases

A study was carried out to investigate the CO2 capture performance of limestone under atmospheric carbonations following pressurised calcination. A series of tests was carried out to study the role of pressurised calcination using a fluidised bed reactor. In this investigation, calcination of limestone particles was carried out at three levels of pressure: 0.1 MPa, 0.5 MPa, and 1.0 MPa. After calcination, the capture performance of the calcined sorbent was tested at atmospheric pressure. As expected, the results indicate that the carbonation conversion of calcined sorbent decreases as the pressure is increased during calcination. Pressurised calcination requires higher temperatures and causes an increase in sorbent sintering, albeit that it would have the advantage of reducing equipment size as well as the compression energy necessary for CO2transport and storage, and an analysis has been provided to give an assessment of the potential benefits associated with such an option using process software.EPSR

Differentiation of Solenopsis invicta social forms using high resolution melt PCR.

Solenopsis invicta Buren (red imported fire ant) are invasive pests that have the capability of major destructive impacts on lifestyle, ecology and economy. Control of this species is dependent, in part, upon ability to estimate the potential spread from newly discovered nests. The potential for spread and the spread characteristics differ between monogyne and polygyne social forms. Prior to this study, differentiation of the two social forms in laboratory test samples commonly used a method involving restriction endonuclease digestion of an amplified Gp-9 fragment. Success of this assay is limited by the quality of DNA, which in the field-collected insects may be affected by temporary storage in unfavourable conditions. Here, we describe an alternative and highly objective assay based upon a high resolution melt technique following preamplification of a significantly shorter Gp-9 fragment than that required for restriction endonuclease digestion. We demonstrate the application of this assay to a S. invicta incursion in Queensland, Australia, using field samples from which DNA may be partially degraded. The reductions in hands-on requirements and overall duration of the assay underpin its suitability for high-throughput testing

Enhancing properties of iron and manganese ores as oxygen carriers for chemical looping processes by dry impregnation

The use of naturally occurring ores as oxygen carriers in CLC processes is attractive because of their relative abundance and low cost. Unfortunately, they typically exhibit lower reactivity and lack the mechanical robustness required, when compared to synthetically produced carriers. Impregnation is a suitable method for enhancing both the reactivity and durability of natural ores when used as oxygen carriers for CLC systems. This investigation uses impregnation to improve the chemical and mechanical properties of a Brazilian manganese ore and a Canadian iron ore. The manganese ore was impregnated with Fe2O3 and the iron ore was impregnated with Mn2O3 with the goal of forming a combined Fe/Mn oxygen carrier. The impregnated ore’s physical characteristics were assessed by SEM, BET and XRD analysis. Measurements of the attrition resistance and crushing strength were used to investigate the mechanical robustness of the oxygen carriers. The impregnated ore’s mechanical and physical properties were clearly enhanced by the impregnation method, with boosts in crushing strength of 11–26% and attrition resistance of 37–31% for the impregnated iron and manganese ores, respectively. Both the unmodified and impregnated ore’s reactivity, for the conversion of gaseous fuel (CH4 and syngas) and gaseous oxygen release (CLOU potential) were investigated using a bench-scale quartz fluidised-bed reactor. The impregnated iron ore exhibited a greater degree of syngas conversion compared to the other samples examined. Iron ore based oxygen carrier’s syngas conversion increases with the number of oxidation and reduction cycles performed. The impregnated iron ore exhibited gaseous oxygen release over extended periods in an inert atmosphere and remained at a constant 0.2% O2 concentration by volume at the end of this inert period. This oxygen release would help ensure the efficient use of solid fuels. The impregnated iron ore’s reactivity for CH4 conversion was similar to the reactivity of its unmodified counterpart. The unmodified manganese ore converted CH4 to the greatest extent of all the samples tested here, while the impregnated manganese ore exhibited a decrease in reactivity with respect to syngas and CH4 conversion.EPSR

Design, process simulation and construction of a 100 kW pilot-scale CO2 membrane rig: Improving in situ CO2 capture using selective exhaust gas recirculation (S-EGR)

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from natural gas-fired systems is an emerging field and many of the concepts and underlying scientific principles are still being developed. Preliminary studies suggest this approach can boost the CO2 content in the feed gas up to 3 times compared to the ‘no recycle’ case (CO2 concentration increased to 18% vs. 6%), with a consequent reduction in flow to the post-combustion capture unit by a factor of three compared to conventional, non-S-EGR. For this project, Cranfield University developed a pilot-scale 100 kW CO2 membrane rig facility in order to investigate simultaneously EGR and S-EGR technologies, the latter being achieved by using a CO2 sweep air polymeric membrane. A bench-scale membrane rig has also been developed to investigate the permeability and selectivity of different polymeric membranes to CO2. Currently a small-scale polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane module is also being investigated to study its selectivity/permeability. The tests include exploring the performance improvement of the PDMS membrane using different operating conditions with a view to developing scale-up procedures for the membrane unit for the actual 100 kW pilot-scale rig. Process simulations were performed using Aspen Plus software to predict the behaviour of the pilot-scale rig using a model developed based on empirical parameters (i.e., mass transfer coefficient of CO2 through the membrane and permeance), measured in the bench-scale membrane test unit. The results show that CO2 concentrations of up to 14.9% (comparable to CO2 level in coal combustion) can be achieved with 60% EGR, with a 90% CO2 removal efficiency of the membrane units. However, the results generated with the membrane model in which specific permeance values to PDMS were applied, predicted concentrations of CO2 in flue gases up to 9.8% (v/v) for a selective recycle of 60%. The study shows that the S-EGR technique is an effective method that can provide similar conditions to that of a coal-fired power plant for the post-combustion capture system operating on natural gas-fired units, but also highlights the fact that more research is required to find more suitable materials for membranes that optimise the CO2 removal efficiencies from the flue gas

A Screen for Retrotransposed Imprinted Genes Reveals an Association between X Chromosome Homology and Maternal Germ-Line Methylation

Imprinted genes undergo epigenetic modifications during gametogenesis, which lead to transcriptional silencing of either the maternally or the paternally derived allele in the subsequent generation. Previous work has suggested an association between imprinting and the products of retrotransposition, but the nature of this link is not well defined. In the mouse, three imprinted genes have been described that originated by retrotransposition and overlap CpG islands which undergo methylation during oogenesis. Nap1l5, U2af1-rs1, and Inpp5f_v2 are likely to encode proteins and share two additional genetic properties: they are located within introns of host transcripts and are derived from parental genes on the X chromosome. Using these sequence features alone, we identified Mcts2, a novel candidate imprinted retrogene on mouse Chromosome 2. Mcts2 has been validated as imprinted by demonstrating that it is paternally expressed and undergoes promoter methylation during oogenesis. The orthologous human retrogenes NAP1L5, INPP5F_V2, and MCTS2 are also shown to be paternally expressed, thus delineating novel imprinted loci on human Chromosomes 4, 10, and 20. The striking correlation between imprinting and X chromosome provenance suggests that retrotransposed elements with homology to the X chromosome can be selectively targeted for methylation during mammalian oogenesis

Approaches to modelling fireside corrosion of superheater / reheater tubes in coal and biomass fired combustion power plants

The combustion of coal and biomass fuels in power plants generates deposits on the surfaces of superheater / reheater tubes that can lead onto fireside corrosion. This type of materials degradation can limit the lives of such tubes in the long term, and better methods are needed to produce predictive models for such damage. This paper reports on four different approaches that are being investigated to tackle the challenge of modelling fireside corrosion damage on superheaters / reheaters: (a) CFD models to predict deposition onto tube surfaces; (b) generation of a database of available fireside corrosion data; (c) development of mechanistic and statistically based models of fireside corrosion from laboratory exposures and dimensional metrology; (d) statistical analysis of plant derived fireside corrosion datasets using multi-variable statistical techniques, such as Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR). An improved understanding of the factors that influence fireside corrosion is resulting from the use of a combination of these different approaches to develop a suite of models for fireside corrosion damage

Intracellular connections between basal bodies promote the coordinated behavior of motile cilia

Hydrodynamic flow produced by multiciliated cells is critical for fluid circulation and cell motility. Hundreds of cilia beat with metachronal synchrony for fluid flow. Cilia-driven fluid flow produces extracellular hydrodynamic forces that cause neighboring cilia to beat in a synchronized manner. However, hydrodynamic coupling between neighboring cilia is not the sole mechanism that drives cilia synchrony. Cilia are nucleated by basal bodies (BBs) that link to each other and to the cell\u27s cortex via BB-associated appendages. The intracellular BB and cortical network is hypothesized to synchronize ciliary beating by transmitting cilia coordination cues. The extent of intracellular ciliary connections and the nature of these stimuli remain unclear. Moreover, how BB connections influence the dynamics of individual cilia has not been established. We show by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy imaging that cilia are coupled both longitudinally and laterally in the ciliat