The structure of gravel-bed flow with intermediate submergence: a laboratory study

The paper reports an experimental study of the flow structure over an immobile gravel bed in open channel at intermediate submergence, with particular focus on the near-bed region. The experiments consisted of velocity measurements using three-component (stereoscopic) Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) in near-bed horizontal plane and two-component PIV in three vertical planes that covered three distinctly different hydraulic scenarios where the ratio of flow depth to roughness height (i.e., relative submergence) changes from 7.5 to 10.8. Detailed velocity measurements were supplemented with fine-scale bed elevation data obtained with a laser scanner. The data revealed longitudinal low-momentum and high-momentum "strips'' in the time-averaged velocity field, likely induced by secondary currents. This depth-scale pattern was superimposed with particle-scale patches of flow heterogeneity induced by gravel particle protrusions. A similar picture emerged when considering second-order velocity moments. The interaction between the flow field and gravel-bed protrusions is assessed using cross correlations of velocity components and bed elevations in a horizontal plane just above gravel particle crests. The cross correlations suggest that upward and downward fluid motions are mainly associated with upstream-facing and lee sides of particles, respectively. Results also show that the relative submergence affects the turbulence intensity profiles for vertical velocity over the whole flow depth, while only a weak effect, limited to the near-bed region, is noticed for streamwise velocity component. The approximation of mean velocity profiles with a logarithmic formula reveals that log-profile parameters depend on relative submergence, highlighting inapplicability of a conventional "universal'' logarithmic law for gravel-bed flows with intermediate submergence

A Numercial Comparison of Single-phase Forced Convective Heat Transfer Between Round Tube and Round Microchannel Heat Exchangers

Abstract: Three dimensional simulations of the single-phase laminar flow and forced convective heat transfer of water in round tube and round microchannel heat exchangers were investigated numerically. This numerical method was developed to measure heat transfer parameters of round tube and round microchannel tube geometries. Then, similarities and differences were compared between different geometries. The geometries and operating conditions of those indicated heat exchangers were created using a finite volume-based computational fluid dynamics technique. In this article, at each Z-location variation of dimensionless local temperature, non-dimensional local heat flux variation and dimensionless local Nusselt number distribution along the tube length were compared between round tube and round microchannel heat exchangers. Consequently, averaged computational Nusselt number was obtained for those indicated models and then validation study was performed for round tube counter flow type heat exchanger model. Finally, all of these numerical results for both kind of geometries in counter flow heat exchangers were discussed in details

Multi Target Optimization of Turbojet Engine with Multi Target Genetic Algorithm

Abstract: In this paper, Turbojet engine will be optimized in ideal condition by multi target genetic algorithm. Target functions are specific thrust (ST), specific fuel consumption (SFC) and thermal efficiency (η t ) that will be optimized simultaneously according to design variables and in two by two way and their Pareto points will be showed. Design variables included inlet Mach number and total compressor pressure ratio. Then according to Pareto points important relations between target functions will be introduced. It is obvious that these relations without using these methods are inaccessible

The Mineral Content of Sesame Seed and Its Transition to Ardeh and Refined Sesame Oil

Background and objective  It was shown that contamination of agricultural pasturage with fertilizers, application of sewage and effluents in irrigation, use of pesticides and air pollution have led to the entrance of chemical contaminants, including metals, into plants. On the other hand, food processing is (handling, processing, transportation) considered as an important way of food contamination. Vegetable oils are essential in human dietary which is introduced as crucial sources of energy, fat soluble vitamins, and essential fatty acids. Sesamum indicum L., known as sesame seed, has been cultivated in Asian countries from ancient times as vegetable oil for cooking and seasoning ingredients. In recent years, the sesame oil has been considered due to its high antioxidant activities and nutritional properties. Due to the use of sesame seeds extracted oil in two form of ardeh oil and sesame oil, the amounts of mineral elements (phosphorus, potassium, iron, nickel, cobalt, manganese, calcium and magnesium) in sesame seeds and its extracted oils (ardeh oil and refined sesame oil) were investigated.   Materials and Methods  In order to determine the mineral concentration, refined sesame oil and ardeh oils were prepared from an imported sesame seed. In order to prepare the sesame oil, sesame seeds were put into a cold presser and the oil was extracted under low pressure. The Ardeh oil was prepared by adding water to sesame paste in the ratio of 2.2:10 and oil was separated by centrifugation. The sesame seeds and oil samples (refined sesame oil and ardeh oils) were digested by microwave digestion method in presence of 5 ml 65% nitric acid and 2 ml of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The digested samples were then filtered through 0.45 µm filter membrane. Then, the concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, iron, nickel, cobalt, manganese, calcium and magnesium in sesame seeds, ardeh oil and refined sesame oil were examined using Inductively Coupled Plasma - Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP – OES).   Results  In the present study, the limit of detection (LOD) for each studied mineral elements were determined as nickel: 4 mg/kg, magnesium: 0.00066 mg/kg, manganese: 0.000134 mg/kg, phosphorus: 0.384 mg/kg, cobalt: 0.594 μg / kg, iron: 0.000797 mg/kg, potassium: 0.00394 mg/kg, calcium 0.005 mg/kg. According to the results, the highest amounts of mineral elements were detected in sesame seeds. The achieved results showed that the method of sesame oil extraction can reduce the mineral elements in the final sesame oils. The amounts of mineral elements in sesame seeds were estimated as P > Ca > K > Mg > Fe > Mn > Co > Ni. The pattern of mineral elements in Ardeh oil was reported as P > Fe > K > Co > Mg > Ni > Mn > Ca. The reduction pattern was reported as P > K > Fe > Ni > Co > Mn > Ca > Mg in refined sesame oil. As can be seen the order of mineral elements was changed in two oil samples and sesame seed. It was shown that except for K and Ca, all mineral elements in ardeh oil were higher than refined sesame oil. As can be seen, the refining process was effectively reduced the metals in oil samples. On the other hand, high amount of mineral elements in sesame seed in comparison to extracted oils could be attributed to lack of processing methods which are present in oil production in both methods.    Conclusion  It should be considered that presence of different metals in vegetable oils could facilitate the oil deterioration and oxidization as well as oil shelf life reduction. Since the most of the sesame lots in Iran are imported, it is necessary to monitor the amount of mineral elements

A tool for assessing the climate change mitigation and health impacts of environmental policies: the Cities Rapid Assessment Framework for Transformation (CRAFT) [version 2; peer review: 3 approved]

Background: A growing number of cities, including Greater London, have set ambitious targets, including detailed policies and implementation plans, to reach global goals on sustainability, health, and climate change. Here we present a tool for a rapid assessment of the magnitude of impact of specific policy initiatives to reach these targets. The decision-support tool simultaneously quantifies the environmental and health impacts of specified selected policies. Methods: The ‘Cities Rapid Assessment Framework for Transformation (CRAFT)’ tool was applied to Greater London. CRAFT quantifies the effects of ten environmental policies on changes in (1) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, (2) exposures to environmental hazards, (3) travel-related physical activity, and (4) mortality (the number of attributable deaths avoided in one typical year). Publicly available data and epidemiological evidence were used to make rapid quantitative estimates of these effects based on proportional reductions in GHG emissions and environmental exposures from current baseline levels and to compute the mortality impacts. Results: The CRAFT tool estimates that, of roughly 50,000 annual deaths in Greater London, the modelled hazards (PM2.5 (from indoor and outdoor sources), outdoor NO2, indoor radon, cold, overheating) and low travel-related physical activity are responsible for approximately 10,000 premature environment-related deaths. Implementing the selected polices could reduce the annual mortality number by about 20% (~1,900 deaths) by 2050. The majority of these deaths (1,700) may be avoided through increased uptake in active travel. Thus, out of ten environmental policies, the ‘active travel’ policy provides the greatest health benefit. Also, implementing the ten policies results in a GHG reduction of around 90%. Conclusions: The CRAFT tool quantifies the effects of city policies on reducing GHG emissions, decreasing environmental health hazards, and improving public health. The tool has potential value for policy makers through providing quantitative estimates of health impacts to support and prioritise policy options

Urban–rural disparity in global estimation of PM2·5 household air pollution and its attributable health burden

Background: Polluting fuels and inefficient stove technologies are still a leading cause of premature deaths worldwide, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries. Previous studies of global household air pollution (HAP) have neither considered the estimation of PM2·5 at national level nor the corresponding attributable mortality burden. Additionally, the effects of climate and ambient air pollution on the global estimation of HAP-PM2·5 exposure for different urban and rural settings remain largely unknown. In this study, we include climatic effects to estimate the HAP-PM2·5 exposure from different fuel types and stove technologies in rural and urban settings separately and the related attributable global mortality burden. Methods: Bayesian hierarchical models were developed to estimate an annual average HAP-PM2·5 personal exposure and HAP-PM2·5 indoor concentration (including both outdoor and indoor sources). Model variables were selected from sample data in 282 peer-reviewed studies drawn and updated from the WHO Global HAP dataset. The PM2·5 exposure coefficients from the developed model were applied to the external datasets to predict the HAP-PM2·5 exposure globally (personal exposure in 62 countries and indoor concentration in 69 countries). Attributable mortality rate was estimated using a comparative risk assessment approach. Using weighted averages, the national level 24 h average HAP-PM2·5 exposure due to polluting and clean fuels and related death rate per 100 000 population were estimated. Findings: In 2020, household use of polluting solid fuels for cooking and heating led to a national-level average personal exposure of 151 μg/m3 (95% CI 133-169), with rural households having an average of 171 μg/m3 (153-189) and urban households an average of 92 μg/m3 (77-106). Use of clean fuels gave rise to a national-level average personal exposure of 69 μg/m3 (62-76), with a rural average of 76 μg/m3 (69-83) and an urban average of 49 μg/m3 (46-53). Personal exposure-attributable premature mortality (per 100 000 population) from the use of polluting solid fuels at national level was on average 78 (95% CI 69-87), with a rural average of 82 (73-90) and an urban average of 66 (57-75). The average attributable premature mortality (per 100 000 population) from the use of clean fuels at the national level is 62 (54-70), with a rural average of 66 (58-74) and an urban average of 52 (47-57). The estimated HAP-PM2·5 indoor concentration shows that the use of polluting solid fuels resulted in a national-level average of 412 μg/m3 (95% CI 353-471), with a rural average of 514 μg/m3 (446-582) and an urban average of 149 μg/m3 (126-173). The use of clean fuels (gas and electricity) led to an average PM2·5 indoor concentration of 135 μg/m3 (117-153), with a rural average of 174 μg/m3 (154-195) and an urban average of 71 μg/m3 (63-80). Using time-weighted HAP-PM2·5 indoor concentrations, the attributable premature death rate (per 100 000 population) from the use of polluting solid fuels at the national level is on average 78 (95% CI 72-84), the rural average being 84 (78-91) and the urban average 60 (54-66). From the use of clean fuels, the average attributable premature death rate (per 100 000 population) at the national level is 59 (53-64), the rural average being 68 (62-74) and the urban average 45 (41-50). Interpretation: A shift from polluting to clean fuels can reduce the average PM2·5 personal exposure by 53% and thereby lower the death rate. For all fuel types, the estimated average HAP-PM2·5 personal exposure and indoor concentrations exceed the WHO's Interim Target-1 average annual threshold. Policy interventions are urgently needed to greatly increase the use of clean fuels and stove technologies by 2030 to achieve the goal of affordable clean energy access, as set by the UN in 2015, and address health inequities in urban-rural settings. Funding: Wellcome Trust, The Lancet Countdown, the Eng

A family presenting with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2B: A case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B, a rare autosomal dominant syndrome, is characterized by early onset of medullary thyroid carcinoma, pheochromocytoma, marfanoid habitus and mucosal neuromas of the tongue, lips, inner cheeks and inner eyelids. Gangliomatosis of the gastrointestinal tract and its complications may also occur in patients with this disease.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present the case of a 16-year-old Persian man diagnosed as having a non-invasive form of multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B (medullary thyroid cancer, mucosal neuroma of the tongue, lips and inner eyelids). Our patient, who had a positive family history of medullary thyroid cancer, was of normal height with no signs of marfanoid habitus.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ophthalmological and oral manifestations of multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B, as in the case of our patient, are rare presentations of the disease; unfortunately in the case of our patient his condition had not been noted and acted upon until he presented to our department. The diagnosis in our patient's case was made only after his mother presented with the same condition. As a result, we emphasize that physicians should pay more attention to the oral and ocular signs of multiple endocrine neoplasia 2B in order to diagnose this fatal syndrome at an earlier phase.</p

The CUSSH programme: supporting cities’ transformational change towards health and sustainability [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

This paper describes a global research programme on the complex systemic connections between urban development and health. Through transdisciplinary methods the Complex Urban Systems for Sustainability and Health (CUSSH) project will develop critical evidence on how to achieve the far-reaching transformation of cities needed to address vital environmental imperatives for planetary health in the 21st Century. CUSSH’s core components include: (i) a review of evidence on the effects of climate actions (both mitigation and adaptation) and factors influencing their implementation in urban settings; (ii) the development and application of methods for tracking the progress of cities towards sustainability and health goals; (iii) the development and application of models to assess the impact on population health, health inequalities, socio-economic development and environmental parameters of urban development strategies, in order to support policy decisions; (iv) iterative in-depth engagements with stakeholders in partner cities in low-, middle- and high-income settings, using systems-based participatory methods, to test and support the implementation of the transformative changes needed to meet local and global health and sustainability objectives; (v) a programme of public engagement and capacity building. Through these steps, the programme will provide transferable evidence on how to accelerate actions essential to achieving population-level health and global climate goals through, amongst others, changing cities’ energy provision, transport infrastructure, green infrastructure, air quality, waste management and housing

Effects of acute treatment with a tryptophan-rich protein hydrolysate on plasma amino acids, mood and emotional functioning in older women

RATIONALE: Effective functioning of the neurotransmitter serotonin is important for optimal cognitive and emotional function. Dietary supplements able to increase availability to the brain of the precursor amino acid, tryptophan (TRP), and thereby enhance serotonin synthesis, can have measurable impact on these psychological processes. OBJECTIVES: This study involves a randomised controlled trial of a TRP-rich egg-white protein hydrolysate (DSM Nutritional Products Ltd., Switzerland) on plasma amino acids, cognition, mood and emotional processing in older women. METHODS: Following a baseline test day without treatment, 60 healthy women aged 45–65 years received drinks containing either 2 or 4 g of TRP-rich protein hydrolysate product or 3.11 g casein hydrolysate as a control. One hour later, they undertook a 2-h battery of cognitive and emotional tests. RESULTS: The TRP-rich protein hydrolysate produced the expected dose-dependent increase in the ratio of plasma TRP to competing large neutral amino acids. TRP-rich protein hydrolysate (2 g only) prevented both the decline in wellbeing and increase in fatigue seen over the test session in the control group. This treatment dose resulted in a significant shift in emotional processing towards positive words and reduced negative bias in assessing negative facial expressions. Effects on cognition were small and not statistically reliable and are not reported here. However, there was no evidence for any adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of a low dose of TRP-rich protein hydrolysate may have beneficial effects on emotional function that could promote feelings of wellbeing, possibly conferring resistance to deterioration in mood in healthy subjects or depressive episodes

Improved Learning and Memory in Aged Mice Deficient in Amyloid β-Degrading Neutral Endopeptidase

BACKGROUND: Neutral endopeptidase, also known as neprilysin and abbreviated NEP, is considered to be one of the key enzymes in initial human amyloid-beta (Abeta) degradation. The aim of our study was to explore the impact of NEP deficiency on the initial development of dementia-like symptoms in mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found that while endogenous Abeta concentrations were elevated in the brains of NEP-knockout mice at all investigated age groups, immunohistochemical analysis using monoclonal antibodies did not detect any Abeta deposits even in old NEP knockout mice. Surprisingly, tests of learning and memory revealed that the ability to learn was not reduced in old NEP-deficient mice but instead had significantly improved, and sustained learning and memory in the aged mice was congruent with improved long-term potentiation (LTP) in brain slices of the hippocampus and lateral amygdala. Our data suggests a beneficial effect of pharmacological inhibition of cerebral NEP on learning and memory in mice due to the accumulation of peptides other than Abeta degradable by NEP. By conducting degradation studies and peptide measurements in the brain of both genotypes, we identified two neuropeptide candidates, glucagon-like peptide 1 and galanin, as first potential candidates to be involved in the improved learning in aged NEP-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Thus, the existence of peptides targeted by NEP that improve learning and memory in older individuals may represent a promising avenue for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases