Establishing Life Cycle Inventories of Chemicals Based on Differing Data Availability (9 pp)

Goal, Scope and Background: In contrast to inventory data of energy and transport processes, public inventory data of chemicals are rather scarce. Chemicals are important to consider in LCA, because they are used in the production of many, if not all, products. Moreover, they may cause considerable environmental impacts. For these reasons, it was one goal of the new ecoinvent database to provide LCI data on chemicals. In this paper, the methods and procedures used for establishing LCIs of chemicals in ecoinvent are presented. Methods: Three different approaches are suggested for situations of differing data availability. First, in the case of good data availability, the general quality guidelines of ecoinvent can be followed. Second, a procedure is proposed for the translation of aggregated inventory data (cumulative LCI results) from industry into the ecoinvent format. This approach was used, if adequate unit process data was not available. Third, a procedure is put forward for estimating inventory data using stoichiometric equations from technical literature as a main information source. This latter method was used if no other information was available. The application of each of the three procedures is illustrated with the help of a case study. Results and Conclusion: When sufficient information is available to follow the general guidelines of ecoinvent, the resulting dataset is characterized by a high degree of detail, and it is thus of high quality. For chemicals, however, the application of the standard procedure is possible in only a few cases. When using industrial data, the main drawback is the fact that those data are often available only as aggregated data, thus being out of tune with the quality guidelines of ecoinvent and its main aim, the harmonization of LCI data. As a third approach, the use of the stoichiometric reaction equation is used for the compilation of LCI datasets of chemicals. This approach represents an alternative to neglecting chemicals completely, but it contains a high risk to not consider important aspects of the life cycle of the respective substance. Outlook: Further work in the area of chemicals should focus on an improvement of datasets, so far established by either of the two estimation procedures (APME method; estimation based on technical literature) described. Besides the improvement of already established inventories, the compilation of further harmonized inventories of specific types of chemicals (e.g. solvents) or of chemicals for new industrial sectors (e.g. electronics industry) are in discussio

Chronisch-entzündliche Darmerkrankungen : Was will der Kliniker vom Radiologen wissen?

Hintergrund Chronisch-entzündliche Darmerkrankungen (CED) sind eine komplexe und herausfordernde Krankheit. Sowohl bei der Diagnose als auch im Verlauf kommt der Radiologie neben der Endoskopie eine zentrale Bedeutung zu. Ziel der Arbeit In dieser Arbeit soll ein Überblick über die sich dabei ergebenden Fragstellungen, die der Kliniker an den Radiologen hat, geboten werden. Je nach Situation (klinische Präsentation des Patienten, Laborergebnisse) können diese sehr unterschiedlich sein und sollten mit der jeweils am besten geeigneten Untersuchungsmodalität beantwortet werden. Um eine optimale Versorgung der Patienten zu gewährleisten, ist aus Sicht der Autoren eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen Klinikern und Radiologen unabdingbar.Background Inflammatory bowel disease is a complex and challenging disease. In diagnosis and the course of disease both radiology and endoscopy play a vital role. Objectives The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the questions asked by the clinician. Depending on the situation (clinical presentation of the patient, laboratory results) these questions can vary considerably and should be answered using the most appropriate imaging technique. Therefore, in the authors view, a close cooperation between the clinician and the radiologist is imperative to provide optimal care for the patients.(VLID)357834

Establishing life cycle inventories of chemicals based on differing data availability

ISSN:0948-3349ISSN:1614-750

Impact of lifestyle factors on preneoplastic changes in prophylactic oophorectomies of BRCA mutation carriers

BRCA mutation carriers are at high risk of developing ovarian cancer. Ovarian malignancies are usually identified at an advanced stage with poor prognosis, attributed to inadequate options of early detection. Because of its risk-reducing effect of nearly 96%, prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy is still the leading option for risk-reduction in women with a positive BRCA mutation status. The presence of ovarian cancer precursor lesions, such as epithelial inclusion cysts (EICs) or cortical invaginations (CIs), has previously been discussed in several studies with diverse conclusions. We retrospectively investigated a large and consistent population (n=94) of BRCA mutation carriers for the presence of potential preneoplastic and neoplastic changes. We also examined the role of specific lifestyle factors. Ninety-four women with disease-associated germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations were included in this retrospective study. All women had undergone genetic counseling and prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy, which was performed at a mean age of 43.33 years (range 27-66). Histological slides of both ovaries were reviewed by an independent pathologist. Data concerning lifestyle factors were collected from medical files and questionnaires. Two malignant lesions (2.1%), one bilateral serous papillary adenocarcinoma of the epithelial surface and one adenocarcinoma of the peritoneum with involvement of the left adnexa, and one lesion (1.1%) with obvious malignant potential, one mucinous borderline tumor of the right ovary, have been identified. We registered a high prevalence of CIs (30; 31.9%) and EICs (44; 46.8%) in prophylactically removed ovaries of BRCA mutation carriers. A significant correlation (P=0.002) was found with regard to the presence of EICs in women with increased BMI. Concerning the regular consumption of alcohol as a risk factor for premalignant lesions, in particular CIs, a statistically insignificant trend (P=0.083) was noted. Overweight women seem to be at risk of developing more cortical invaginations than women of normal weight. To improve the final outcome of the disease, women at increased risk of ovarian cancer should be appropriately informed of potential increased risk factors

Heating of kindergarten

Bakalářská práce řeší návrh vytápění mateřské školy. Teoretická část představuje problematiku systémů podlahového vytápění. Výpočtová část popisuje konkrétní návrh vytápění objektu nízkoteplotním systémem kombinujícím otopná tělesa a teplovodní podlahové vytápění, návrh přípravy teplé vody a dalších potřebných zařízení soustavy. Jako zdroj tepla jsou navržena tepelná čerpadla vzduch-voda. Nucené větrání je zajištěno vzduchotechnickou jednotkou. Objekt je navržen jako budova s téměř nulovou spotřebou energie.The objective of the bachelor thesis is a nursery school heating system design. The first, theoretical part, introduces the topic of underfloor heating. The computational part describes the design of a low-temperature heating system combining radiators and water underfloor heating, the design of a hot water preparation and other necessary equipment. Two air/water heat pumps are designated as energy sources. Ventilation is mechanical by air conditioning unit. The school is designed as a nearly zero-energy building.

Complex strength design of condenser

Diplomová práce se zabývá komplexním pevnostním návrhem parního kondenzátoru. Cílem práce je provést pevnostní výpočty vybraného provozního stavu, poskytnout představu o možnostech řešení, doporučení a také upozornit na úskalí těchto výpočtů. Tepelně-hydraulický výpočet kondenzátoru je proveden v softwaru HTRI. Pevnostní výpočty se řídí normou ČSN EN 13445. Nejprve je proveden pevnostní výpočet v softwaru ANSYS Workbench, zohledňující také teplotní zatížení. Pevnostní výpočet je v dalším kroku proveden také v softwaru Sant´ Ambrogio. V závěru práce jsou zhodnoceny výsledky výpočtů a poskytnuty návrhy pro možnou navazující práci.This diploma thesis focuses on strength design of steam condenser. The goal of the thesis is to make strength calculations for the specific operation conditions, introduce possible solutions, provide recommendations and refer to weak points of such calculation procedures. First, thermal-hydraulic design in HTRI software is performed. Strength calculations respect ČSN EN 13445 standard. Strength calculation with imported temperature field is performed in ANSYS Workbench software. In the next step, another strength calculation is realized in Sant´ Ambrogio software. Results are evaluated in conclusion chapter, including recommendations for the possible following work.

3D Printed Capacitive Fluid Level Sensor

A three dimensional, additively manufactured interdigital capacitive sensor for fluid level measurement applications is introduced. The device was fabricated using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) additive manufacturing (AM) process and an off the shelf conductive filament with a volume resistivity ρ = 0.6 Ω cm. The 3D fabrication process allows great flexibility in terms of sensor ̇ design and an increase of the surface area between the electrodes, compensating the relatively large plate separation and yielding a high sensitivity to increasing fluid levels. The measurements presented in this abstract show the average increase of capacitance in response to an incrementally increasing volume of de-ionized water (DI-water) filled between the separate digits