Droplet size from Venturi air induction spray nozzles

Sprays are of great importance for many applications, with drop size being a crucial parameter. Especially in agriculture applications, simple flat fan spray nozzles are often supplemented by a Venturi component to achieve larger drop sizes and hence, prevent unwanted spray drift of the smallest droplets. The general believe is that these larger drops are usually attributed to the fact that the liquid sheet produced by the nozzle breaks up more easily due to the pre-existing ’holes’ formed by the induced air bubbles. Here, we extend descriptions of how nozzle and fluid parameters determine droplet size distributions from Venturi nozzles. We show that the mean droplet size is determined by the nozzle’s orifice area as is the case for ordinary flat fan nozzles, but that the additional pressure drop over the Venturi chamber needs to be taken into account. Using this parameter, relations that were derived for flat fan nozzles can be re-used. This allows to show that the increase in droplet size compared to conventional nozzles is due to the additional pressure drop in the Venturi chamber, and not to a change in breakup mechanism due to the presence of air bubbles in the liquid sheet.</p

Development of statistical process control (SPC) matlab-based software for automotive industries application

This project is motivated by an interest in promoting the use computer-based statistical process control (SPC) in manufacturing sector specifically for automotive industries in Malaysia. The use of computer-based SPC is essential in quality function. They are capable to perform various operations or tasks very accurately at fast speeds. SPC techniques are simple statistical techniques to help identify process problems and it can be implemented as simple as analyzing data and plotting charts. However, the development of SPC in Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is found lacking because they remain to use traditional SPC techniques which the data are calculated and analyzed manually. Consequently, manual work on traditional SPC has focused on particular limitations; with only little quality faults are detectable, time-consuming and burdensome. This paper highlights the results of an effort to design the SPC computer-based system for conducting simple statistical analysis. The system named as MagNa version 1.0 MATLAB-based software, which is able to offer more benefits to the Malaysian SMEs specifically for automotive industries application

A model for the doped copper oxide compounds

We present a relativistic spin-fermion model for the cuprates, in which both the charge and spin degrees of freedom are treated dynamically. The spin-charge coupling parameter is associated with the doping fraction. The model is able to account for the various phases of the cuprates and their properties, not only at low and intermediate doping but also for (highly) over-doped compounds. In particular, we acquire a qualitative understanding of high-T_c superconductivity through Bose-Einstein condensation of bound charge pairs. The mechanism that binds these pairs does not require a Fermi sea.Comment: 9 pages, 2 postscript figures. Version accepted for publication in Europhys. Let

Drug–drug interactions in pediatric oncology patients

BackgroundDrug–drug interactions (DDIs) can negatively affect pharmacotherapy. However, pediatric DDI studies are scarce. We undertook an exploratory study to investigate prevalence and clinical relevance of DDIs between cytostatic and noncytostatic drugs in outpatient pediatric oncology patients.ProcedureAfter informed consent and inclusion, the following information was collected: currently prescribed noncytostatic and cytostatic drugs, comorbidities, and use of over‐the‐counter (OTC) drugs, complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs), and dietary supplements. All medication was screened for DDIs according to two databases: Micromedex® Solutions and the Dutch drug database G‐Standard. The researcher presented DDIs with an associated potential for adverse outcome and a proposal for intervention to three independent experts. If the experts considered a DDI to be potentially clinically relevant and requiring intervention, the physician was notified.ResultsSeventy‐three patients were included (median age 8.9 years). A total of 67 different DDIs were counted (66 in Micromedex® Solutions, 14 in G‐Standard, and 13 DDIs in both databases). The medication reviews resulted in 35 interventions related to 11 different DDIs. The majority of DDIs concerned noncytostatic drugs (25/35) and one third occurred between cytostatic and noncytostatic drugs (10/35). The use of QTc‐interval‐prolonging drugs resulted in one intervention. The use of OTC drugs, CAM, or dietary supplements did not lead to DDIs.ConclusionsThis study resulted in a selection of 11 potentially clinically relevant DDIs for 73 outpatients in our pediatric oncology department. Interventions were formulated in close collaboration between physicians and clinical pharmacists. Future research should focus on assessing DDIs concerning QTc‐interval prolongation.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137518/1/pbc26410_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137518/2/pbc26410.pd