Measure Guideline: Sealing and Insulating of Ducts in Existing Homes

This document begins with a discussion on potential cost and performance benefits of duct sealing and insulating. It continues with a review of typical duct materials and components and the overall procedures for assessing and improving the duct system

An Exploratory Study of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and SCCmec Elements Obtained from a Community Setting Along the Texas Border with Mexico

An exploratory study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and SCCmec elements in bacteria along the Mexican border of south Texas was performed. Between September and December of 2008, 375 swabs of anterior nares were self-collected by students attending the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and cultured for MRSA. Fifty seven bacterial isolates were kept for further analysis that included suspected MRSA and other SCCmec-containing bacteria. Isolates were examined for the presence of nuc, mecA, lukS-PV, and spa genes using PCR. SCCmec and spa typing were also performed. Seven S. aureus isolates were found of which six were classified as MRSA. SCCmec typing showed five of the six MRSA strains to be type IV, while one MRSA strain, and most of the non-S. aureus strains, were untypeable, producing results that were indicative of mixed SCCmec types. Five of the six MRSA strains contained known spa types (two of which corresponded to USA300 and one to USA600), while one strain had a novel spa type. Only one isolate, a USA300 MRSA, was positive for lukS-PV. Easy access by the Texas border community to antibiotics in Mexico without a prescription, and the strong partition in SCCmec types between MRSA and non-S. aureus bacteria suggest that this border region of Texas may be uniquely suited for the study of emerging SCCmec types, their horizontal transfer, and perhaps other aspects of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Gadolinium and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis: time to tighten practice

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) is a relatively new entity, first described in 1997. Few cases have been reported, but the disease has high morbidity and mortality. To date it has been seen exclusively in patients with renal dysfunction. There is an emerging link with intravenous injection of gadolinium contrast agents, which has been suggested as a main triggering factor, with a lag time of days to weeks. Risk factors include the severity of renal impairment, major surgery, vascular events and other proinflammatory conditions. There is no reason to believe that children have an altered risk compared to the adult population. It is important that the paediatric radiologist acknowledges emerging information on NSF but at the same time considers the risk:benefit ratio prior to embarking on alternative investigations, as children with chronic kidney disease require high-quality diagnostic imaging

Binary Interaction Coefficients Of The Modified Soave-Redlich-Kwong Equation Of State For Bitumen-Containing Systems At In-Situ Conditions

Abstract Many equations of state which can represent the vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE) properties of hydrocarbon systems are available in the literature. However, the binary interaction coefficient values for these equations rarely appear and are seldom correlated. The objective of this study is to develop a good correlation for the binary interaction coefficients of the modified Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equation of state for representing the VLE properties of bitumen-containing systems at in-situ conditions. The pseudo-binary systems included in this investigation are : carbon dioxide – Athabasca bitumen, carbon dioxide – Cold Lake bitumen, nitrogen – Athabasca bitumen, methane – Athabasca bitumen, methane – Cold Lake bitumen, and ethane – Athabasca bitumen. These systems are particularly important to petroleum engineers in the study and design of recovery processes and in the development of numerical simulators. The binary interaction coefficients of the modified SRK equation of state were determined for each isotherm on the basis of the binary experimental measurements and were then correlated with temperature. Measured VLE compositions of bitumen containing systems were compared with values predicted by the equation using the newly developed correlations. Good agreement was obtained. Introduction Vapour-liquid equilibrium (VLE) properties of bitumen containing mixtures at in-situ conditions are important to the study of the recovery of bitumen from oil sands, the development of numerical simulators, and the application of various flooding processes in enhanced oil recovery. However, only limited experimental data for these systems have been reported in the literature, perhaps because the experimental measurements are time-consuming and expensive; problems then arise when VLE properties are needed for applications. One way to solve this problem is to predict VLE properties at the desired conditions using a theoretical approach. The purpose of this investigation is to improve the accuracy of the presently available method for making these predictions. Vapour-liquid equilibrium properties can be predicted and represented by many methods. One of the most popular methods uses an equation of state. A cubic equation of state is usually chosen because of its relative simplicity and high degree of accuracy in VLE predictions. In this study, the modified Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equation of state(1–3) was chosen to represent and predict the VLE properties of bitumen-containing systems. Excellent results can he calculated if the required critical properties of the components in the mixture, and the binary interaction coefficients of the equation of state are available. Although the modified SRK equation has been studied and applied in the natural gas and petroleum industries for many years, the binary interaction coefficients or the equation for oil sands bitumen-containing systems have not been thoroughly evaluated and correlated with temperature. The specific objective of this study is to evaluate the binary interaction coefficients of the modified SRK equation from the binary experimental data available in the literature and from the data measured in this laboratory for oil sands bitumen-containing systems, to correlate these values with temperature, and to use these correlated values to predict the VLE properties of the systems at other conditions. </jats:sec

Measure Guideline: Basement Insulation Basics

This guideline is intended to describe good practices for insulating basements in new and existing homes, and is intended to be a practical resources for building contractors, designers, and also to homeowners

Measure Guideline. Basement Insulation Basics

This guideline is intended to describe good practices for insulating basements in new and existing homes, and is intended to be a practical resources for building contractors, designers, and also to homeowners