THE EFFECT OF GAS TEMPERATURE AND VELOCITY ON COAL DRYING IN FLUIDIZED BED DRYER

The objective of this research work is to develop fluidized bed coal dryer to overcome the disadvantages of low rank coal with high moisture such as low calorific values, costly transportation, high emissions of pollutants, and operational problem. In this paper, laboratory scale bubbling fluidized bed was used to dry high moisture, low-rank Indonesian coal to produce low moisture, high-rank coal. The effects of temperature, gas velocity and bed height to diameter ratio (L/D) on drying rate were studied to obtain information relating to optimum operating conditions. Coal characterizations (proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), BET, Higher Heating Value (HHV), Lower Heating Value (LHV)) were performed to identify the effect of the change of moisture content. This investigation aims to study the drying process under moderated heating conditions. As a result of the experiments the conclusion is that the thermal fluidized bed process can be successfully applied to reducing moisture in Indonesian coal. Results also indicate that about 80~90% of total moisture could be reduced, including some of the inherent moisture, yielding high heating value product. The drying rate of coal in a fluidized bed is increased by increasing the temperature and velocity of the drying gas. However gas temperature had limitations causing from the spontaneous combustion and gas velocity has to be decided considering energy efficiency

Pattern of Hepatitis A Incidence According to Area Characteristics Using National Health Insurance Data

Objectives: Over the past several years, the incidence of hepatitis A infection has been increasing rapidly in the young-adult population in Korea. We examined the effects of area-level socioeconomic status and environmental hygiene on the incidence of hepatitis A. Methods: This study is based on the registered national population of Korea and the national health insurance data from 2004 to 2008. A total of 73 459 individuals were confirmed to have had hepatitis A. The standardized incidences of hepatitis A in 232 districts adjusted for sex and age of people were calculated for each year, and the rate ratios of the incidence rates were estimated according to area-level socioeconomic status and environmental hygiene using multiple Poisson regression models. Results: The incidence rates of hepatitis A infection were 15.6 (per 100 000) in 2004, 19.0 (per 100 000) in 2005, 27.2 (per 100 000) in 2006, 25.1 (per 100 000) in 2007, and 61.7 (per 100 000) in 2008. The analysis of the area-level effects showed that residential areas of the less deprived than other regions, areas with higher levels of education, and heavily populated areas were significantly associated with increased risk. Conclusions: There is a very strong possibility that both area-level socioeconomic status and environmental hygiene play a role in increasing the risk of hepatitis A infection in Korea. Therefore, to reduce hepatitis A infection, we need a nationwide strategy that considers these area-level characteristics

The development of a lifestyle modification mobile application, “Health for You” for overweight and obese breast cancer survivors in Korea

Purpose This study aimed to develop a lifestyle modification (LSM) mobile application based on the Android operating system for overweight and obese breast cancer survivors (BCS) in Korea and evaluate its usability. Methods The content analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the LSM intervention mobile application for overweight and obese BCS was conducted by identifying survivors’ needs, searching the literature, and reviewing existing mobile applications. The survey was conducted from June 1 to December 28, 2020 at Jeonju city, Korea. Results The mobile application for BCS included dietary and exercise information, weight logs, as well as distress and daily achievement check. It also included information and videos on the prevention of breast cancer recurrence and used a communication bulletin board. Expert and user usability evaluation of its content and functions confirmed that it was appropriate and satisfactory for overweight and obese BCS. Conclusion This LSM mobile application developed for overweight and obese BCS was found to be appropriate for use. It can be applied for further study of effectiveness on improving their health and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, to ultimately improve quality of life

Development of software for computing forming information using a component based approach

ABSTRACTIn shipbuilding industry, the manufacturing technology has advanced at an unprecedented pace for the last decade. As a result, many automatic systems for cutting, welding, etc. have been developed and employed in the manufacturing process and accordingly the productivity has been increased drastically. Despite such improvement in the manufacturing technology, however, development of an automatic system for fabricating a curved hull plate remains at the beginning stage since hardware and software for the automation of the curved hull fabrication process should be developed differently depending on the dimensions of plates, forming methods and manufacturing processes of each shipyard. To deal with this problem, it is necessary to create a “plug-in” framework, which can adopt various kinds of hardware and software to construct a full automatic fabrication system. In this paper, a framework for automatic fabrication of curved hull plates is proposed, which consists of four components and related software. In particular the software module for computing fabrication information is developed by using the ooCBD development methodology, which can interface with other hardware and software with minimum effort. Examples of the proposed framework applied to medium and large shipyards are presented

Tiul1 and TGIF are Involved in Downregulation of TGFβ1-induced IgA Isotype Expression

TGF-β1 is well known to induce Ig germ-line α (GLα) transcription and subsequent IgA isotype class switching recombination (CSR). Homeodomain protein TG-interacting factor (TGIF) and E3-ubiquitin ligases TGIF interacting ubiquitin ligase 1 (Tiul1) are implicated in the negative regulation of TGF-β signaling. In the present study, we investigated the roles of Tiul1 and TGIF in TGFβ1-induced IgA CSR. We found that over-expression of Tiul1 decreased TGFβ1-induced GLα promoter activity and strengthened the inhibitory effect of Smad7 on the promoter activity. Likewise, overexpression of TGIF also diminished GLα promoter activity and further strengthened the inhibitory effect of Tiul1, suggesting that Tiul1 and TGIF can down-regulate TGFβ1-induced GLα expression. In parallel, overexpression of Tiul1 decreased the expression of endogenous IgA CSR-predicitive transcripts (GLTα, PSTα, and CTα) and TGFβ1-induced IgA secretion, but not GLTγ3 and IgG3 secretion. Here, over-expressed TGIF further strengthened the inhibitory effect of Tiul1. These results suggest that Tiul1 and TGIF act as negatively regulators in TGFβ1-induced IgA isotype expression

Thermal plasma flow and equivalent circuit analyses on the electrical coupling of a DC-RF hybrid plasma torch

Numerical analyses on the electrical coupling of a DC-RF (direct current – radio frequency) hybrid plasma torch are conducted on the basis of magneto-hydrodynamic flow and equivalent circuit models to find the dependency of coupling efficiency on RF frequency and confinement tube radius. Computations are also carried out for the inductively coupled RF plasma torch to make a comparison between their calculated results. Numerical results reveal that the electrical coupling efficiencies of the RF and DC-RF hybrid plasma torches have a similar dependency on RF frequency with an almost constant difference of slightly higher efficiencies for the hybrid plasma, due to the relatively linear frequency dependency of equivalent circuit parameters as well as the resultant radially expanded DC-RF hybrid plasma toward the confinement tube wall compared with the RF plasma. But it is found that the reduction in the confinement tube radius less than some critical value, for instance 22 mm in this numerical work, possibly causes the coupling efficiency of the hybrid plasma to drastically deteriorate compared with that of the RF plasma. Such poor efficiency of the hybrid torch with relatively small radius is attributed to a significant diminution of the high temperature region upstream between the DC torch exit and the first induction coil segment, which means that the reduced tube radius may lead to an ineffective superposition of DC arc jet and RF plasma. As a result of the reduced high temperature region, the magnetic flux linkage is decreased for the smaller confinement tube, which leads to a drastic decrease in the electrical coupling. As the confinement tube radius becomes smaller, the re-circulation eddies under the DC torch are almost destroyed by a DC arc jet and a stagnation region formed is contracted to the central region. This contracted stagnation region prohibits the convection heat transfer by re-circulation of sheath gas flow from the coil zone to the upper part of the confinement tube, which ultimately results in a significant diminution of the high temperature region in the upstream. The present numerical analyses indicate that a special focus need to be brought into the influences of the DC arc jet on the electrical and thermal flow characteristics of the DC-RF hybrid plasma in determining the torch dimensions for effective conversion of RF power into plasma

Dual Therapy with Cidofovir and Mirtazapine for Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy in a Sarcoidosis Patient

Background: Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a demyelinating central nervous system disease caused by JC virus (JCV) reactivation in immunocompromised patients. The disease course of PML is often progressive, fatal and at present, there are few reports on successful treatment outcomes. Case Report: A 45-year-old man with systemic sarcoidosis presented with rapidly progressive dementia and right hemiparesis. The patient was diagnosed with PML as confirmed via brain biopsy and JCV PCR. With a combination treatment of cidofovir and mirtazapine, there was significant improvement of neurological symptoms without measurable functional deficit. Conclusion: This case suggests that dual therapy with cidofovir and mirtazapine might be an effective treatment option in PML patients with sarcoidosis

Influence of lifestyle, depression, and marital intimacy on quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Purpose This study investigated lifestyle, depression, marital intimacy, and quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer survivors, with the goal of identifying the impacts of these factors on QoL. Methods A sample of 146 breast cancer survivors was surveyed in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected from March 20 to May 30, 2019, using self-report structured questionnaires at a hospital located in Jeonju, Korea. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis. Participants agreed to complete a face-to-face interview, including administration of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-Depression Scale, Marital Intimacy Scale, and Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer tool. Results QoL was positively correlated with lifestyle (r=.49, p<.001) and marital intimacy (r=.45, p<.001) and negatively correlated with depression (r=–.72, p<.001). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that depression (β=–0.63, p<.001), marital intimacy (β=0.19, p=.001), and lifestyle (β=0.13, p=.031) had significant effects on the QoL of breast cancer survivors, accounting for 63.3% of variance in related QoL. Conclusion This study provides insights into how breast cancer survivors’ QoL was influenced by depression, marital intimacy, and lifestyle. To improve the QoL of breast cancer survivors, healthcare providers should consider developing strategies to decrease depression, to increase marital intimacy, and to improve lifestyle