Effects of Water Injection on Generator Output Power Augmentation in a Microturbine

International audienceBoth water atomizing inlet air cooling (WAC) and the evaporative gas turbine cycle are methods to improve gas turbine efficiency and output using water evaporation. Especially, small-amount water injection methods which are used in WAC and the recuperative water injected (RWI) cycle are relatively easy to implement in existing turbines, and they are effective ways to increase output power for microturbines. The purposes of this study are to develop a dynamic simulator which can handle WAC and RWI operations and to clarify the quantitative contribution to power augmentation by the effect of water injection. Heat penetration from the turbine to the compressor which affects the performance of the turbine system is considered in the simulator. Simulation results are compared with measured results which were previously obtained in the operation test of the 150 kW class prototype microturbine. Good agreement is seen between the simulation and measured results for the main output data such as the compressor discharge pressure and the generator output power. In the total output power augmentation of the generator by WAC and RWI operations, about 1/3 is brought about by the reduction of the compressor driving power and about 2/3 is brought about by the increase of the turbine output power. Simulation results also show a big effect from the heat penetration to the compressor on the generator output power

Gamifying the visit to places with valuable landscapes

The landscape, in general, is full of meaning and has been studied over time by experts in different fields. In 1992, the landscape was considered a World Heritage Site with the designation of "Cultural Landscape". Despite this relevance, in many regions, there are places with valuable landscapes that are unknown to most of the population. This paper describes a mobile tool for finding and sharing places with valuable landscapes, which includes gamification components to motivate users to search for new places and share them. It is also presented an evaluation of the tool, in terms of user experience and including the assessment of gamification features. The tests were carried out in the Cultural Landscape of Sintra, considered world heritage since 1995.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

AVALIAÇÃO DOS EFEITOS DA UTILIZAÇÃO DA MACROALGA Gracilaria edulis COMO SUPLEMENTO ALIMENTAR NA DIETA DE TILÁPIAS DO NILO (Oreochromis niloticus L.).

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo estudar se os diferentes níveis de inclusão da macroalga Gracilaria edulis (GE) afetam o comprimento e densidade de vilosidades intestinais de tilápias do Nilo em três distintas fases, a saber: suplementação da alga durante o período de reversão sexual (DRS), suplementação da alga após o período de reversão (ARS) e durante e após o período de reversão (DTP) e um tratamento controle que não recebeu a suplementação de G. edulis. Foram estudados a taxa de sobrevivência, o comprimento e a densidade de vilosidades intestinais de tilápias do Nilo. As larvas foram acondicionadas em aquários com 50 L de capacidade nominal, tiveram sifonamento diário e a reposição de 1/3 de água. O ciclo de claro e escuro foi de 12 horas cada e a alimentação foi oferecida ad libitum quatro vezes ao dia. Os resultados encontrados demonstraram que a taxa de sobrevivência foi maior nos tratamentos controle, inclusão de 2,5%GE DTP (T2); 5,0%GE DRS (T6) e todos os níveis do período ARS (T8, T9 e T10) apresentando valores iguais ou acima de 85%. Os comprimentos das vilosidades intestinais foram maiores no tratamento controle (T1) em relação aos demais tratamentos. E a densidade de vilos intestinais foram maiores nos tratamentos controle e 10%GE DTP (T4). De maneira geral, o nível de 10%GE teve maior número de vilos em todos os períodos observados. Conclui-se que os períodos avaliados e os níveis de inclusão de G. edulis adicionados à ração não afetaram positivamente o comprimento das vilosidades intestinais. Para a densidade de vilos, o nível 10%GE (T4, T7 e T10), independentemente do período, apresentou-se melhor, mas sem ser maior que o número de vilos do tratamento controle. A taxa de sobrevivência dos peixes apresentou-se melhor no período após a reversão sexual

Epidemiology of potentially inappropriate medication use in elderly patients in Japanese acute care hospitals.

[Purpose]The elderly receive many medications which may have adverse effects. Little evidence is available about the epidemiology of potentially inappropriate medications being prescribed to the elderly in Japan as defined by the Beers criteria, or whether or not these medications result in harm when used in this population. [Methods]We conducted a prospective cohort study of patients aged ≥65 years who were admitted to three acute care hospitals in Japan. Trained research nurses followed up patients from randomly selected wards and collected data about their medications and all potential adverse drug events (ADEs). Two independent reviewers evaluated all the data. The use of potentially inappropriate medications and their effects on patients were identified using the updated Beers criteria. [Results]A total of 2155 elderly patients were eligible; 56.1% received at least one drug listed in the Beers criteria (BL drug). The rates of BL drug prescriptions were 103.8 per 100 admissions and 53.7 per 1000 patient-days, and the incidence rate of ADEs related to BL drugs was 1.7 per 100 BL drug prescriptions. Among patients aged ≥65 years, relatively younger patients (p = 0.0002) and those with less complications (p = 0.04) were likely to be prescribed BL drugs. [Conclusions]Although BL drugs were frequently prescribed to elderly Japanese inpatients, the incidence of related ADEs appeared infrequent. These data suggest that re-evaluation of the appropriateness of the Beers criteria is needed before they are used in Japan and other nations to assess quality or for decision support

The effects of heat stress on morphological properties and intracellular signaling of denervated and intact soleus muscles in rats

The effects of heat stress on the morphological properties and intracellular signaling of innervated and denervated soleus muscles were investigated. Heat stress was applied to rats by immersing their hindlimbs in a warm water bath (42°C, 30 min/day, every other day following unilateral denervation) under anesthesia. During 14 days of experimental period, heat stress for a total of seven times promoted growth‐related hypertrophy in sham‐operated muscles and attenuated atrophy in denervated muscles. In denervated muscles, the transcription of ubiquitin ligase, atrogin‐1/muscle atrophy F‐box (Atrogin‐1), and muscle RING‐finger protein‐1 (MuRF‐1), genes was upregulated and ubiquitination of proteins was also increased. Intermittent heat stress inhibited the upregulation of Atrogin‐1, but not MuRF‐1 transcription. And the denervation‐caused reduction in phosphorylated protein kinase B (Akt), 70‐kDa heat‐shock protein (HSP70), and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ coactivator‐1α (PGC‐1α), which are negative regulators of Atrogin‐1 and MuRF‐1 transcription, was mitigated. In sham‐operated muscles, repeated application of heat stress did not affect Atrogin‐1 and MuRF‐1 transcription, but increased the level of phosphorylated Akt and HSP70, but not PGC‐1α. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of Akt and ribosomal protein S6, which is known to stimulate protein synthesis, was increased immediately after a single heat stress particularly in the sham‐operated muscles. The effect of a heat stress was suppressed in denervated muscles. These results indicated that the beneficial effects of heat stress on the morphological properties of muscles were brought regardless of innervation. However, the responses of intracellular signaling to heat stress were distinct between the innervated and denervated muscles

Inflammatory bowel disease in Tokushima prefecture : A report of questionnaire investigation

To investigate the number of cases and clinical features of inflammatory bowel disease, a questionnaire was sent to 1,271 hospitals or clinics in Tokushima prefecture. A total of 320 cases were collected from 60 institutes for the period from January to December 1997. Eight cases were excluded from this study because of duplicated report (6 cases) and inadequate diagnosis (2 cases). Finally, 312 cases were investigated on their clinical features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. The cases included 195 ulcerative colitis (male 106, female 83, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 9-81, mean 39.5± 14.3 (standard deviation (SD) years old), 69 Crohn's disease (male 39, female 24, gender unknown 6 cases, age ranged 17-87, mean 35.1±10.5 (SD) years old), 28 ischemic colitis (male 11, female 17, mean age 65.9±12.6 (SD) years old), 9 intestinal tuberculosis (male 1, female 6, gender unknown 2, age 66.9±6.1 (SD) years old), 4 intestinal Behcet (male 3, female 1, age 39.0±14.2 (SD) years old), 6 simple ulcers (male 3, female 3, age 67.7±11.8 (SD) years old), and a case of aphtous enteritis. Two toxic megacolon cases and 5 colorectal cancer cases were reported among the 195 ulcerative colitis patients. 44 cases out of 69 Crohn's disease patients were received surgical treatment because of severe complications including perforation (12 cases), stenosis (10 cases), internal fistula formation (8 cases) and so on. However, no case died because of the diseases except 3 untraceable patients

Diverse Effects of FK506 on the Apoptosis of Hepatocytes and Infiltrating Lymphocytes in an Allografted Rat Liver.

BACKGROUND: The current study investigated whether FK506 (FK) regulates the apoptotic systems in allografted rat liver and the contribution of Fas/Fas-ligand system and Bcl-2 family during acute rejection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The recipients were divided into three groups, the allo, the allo-FK, and the syn group. Rats were euthanized 1, 3, 5, and 7 d after OLT. Apoptotic activity was explored using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The expression of Fas/Fas-ligand and Bcl-2/Bax in the grafted livers was investigated by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The apoptotic index (AI) of hepatocytes in the allo-FK group was less than that in the allo group. Fas in the allo group was more intense than that in the allo-FK group in the periportal areas on day 1 and 3, while Bcl-2 in the allo group was less intense than that in the allo-FK group in the pericaval areas at all time-points after OLT. CONCLUSION: FK provides beneficial antiapoptotic effects on hepatocytes in the grafted rat livers through both the down-regulation of Fas expression in the periportal areas and the up-regulation of Bcl-2 expression in the pericaval areas