Modelling granular soil behaviour using a physics engine

A physics engine is a software library used in the film and computer games industries to realistically animate a physical system. In this paper it is shown that particulate media can be faithfully modelled using a rigid body physics engine, thereby providing a viable alternative to the discrete element method codes currently used in the field of geomechanics. An overview of the simulation method implemented in the widely used Box2D physics engine is provided, and it is shown that this tool can successfully capture the critical state response of granular media, using particles modelled as randomly shaped polygons

Specificity of the properties of sewage sludge with reference to coal fuels and biomass

W pracy przedstawiono porównawczą analizę techniczną i elementarną różnego rodzaju paliw: biomasy, osadów ściekowych, węgla kamiennego, węgla brunatnego, antracytu oraz mułu węglowego. Ponadto zestawiono charakterystyczne temperatury topliwości popiołu wspomnianych wyżej paliw. Analizy zawarte w opracowaniu stają się niezwykle pomocne w wyjaśnieniu zachowania się różnych paliw podczas wysokotemperaturowego fizyczno-chemicznego procesu. Jednocześnie należy podkreślić, iż w polskiej energetyce węgiel to paliwo podstawowe. Jednak z uwagi na nowe uwarunkowania prawne, związane z koniecznością obniżenia emisji zanieczyszczeń do atmosfery, czy unieszkodliwianiem paliw odpadowych, spalanie biomasy oraz termiczna utylizacja osadów ściekowych, a także mułów węglowych staje się niezwykle istotna.The paper presents a comparative analysis of the technical and elemental various types of fuel: biomass, sewage sludge, hard coal, brown coal, anthracite and coal mule. Furthermore, also summarized characteristic temperatures of ash melting of the above mentioned fuels. The analyzes contained in the paper of are extremely helpful in explaining the behavior of different fuels during the high physico-chemical process. At the same time it should be emphasized that in the Polish power sector coal is the primary fuel. However, due to new legal regulations related to the need to reduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere, or disposal of waste fuels, biomass combustion and thermal utilization of sewage sludge and coal mule becomes extremely important

A model independent method for determination of muon density fluctuations in EAS

It is shown how to determine fluctuations of the muon density in EAS at a given distance from the core, for showers with a fixed size. The method does not make use of any pre-assumed lateral muon distribution and uses only information whether muon detector has been hit by at least one muon. Morever, it enables to check the homogeneity of the array and/or the shower size determination. (orig.)SIGLEAvailable from TIB Hannover: ZA 5141(6352) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Are there regional variations in the diagnosis surveillance, and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus?

OBJECTIVE: To assess the way healthcare facilities (HCFs) diagnose, survey, and control methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). DESIGN: Questionnaire. SETTING: Ninety HCFs in 30 countries. RESULTS: Evaluation of susceptibility testing methods showed that 8 laboratories (9%) used oxacillin disks with antimicrobial content different from the one recommended, 12 (13%) did not determine MRSA susceptibility to vancomycin, and 4 (4.5%) reported instances of isolation of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus but neither confirmed this resistance nor alerted public health authorities. A MRSA control program was reported by 55 (61.1%) of the HCFs. The following isolation precautions were routinely used: hospitalization in a private room (34.4%), wearing of gloves (62.2%), wearing of gowns (44.4%), hand washing by healthcare workers (53.3%), use of an isolation sign on the patient's door (43%), or all four. When the characteristics of HCFs with low incidence rates (< 0.4 per 1,000 patient-days) were compared with those of HCFs with high incidence rates (≥ 0.4 per 1,000 patient-days), having a higher mean number of beds per infection control nurse was the only factor significantly associated with HCFs with high incidence rates (834 vs 318 beds; P = .02). CONCLUSION: Our results emphasize the urgent need to strengthen the microbiologic and epidemiologic capacities of HCFs worldwide to prevent MRSA transmission and to prepare them to address the possible emergence of vancomycin-resistant S. aureus.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Are there regional variations in the diagnosis surveillance, and control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus?

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe