SMALL ENGINE-GENERATOR SET OPERATING ON DUAL-FUEL MODE WITH ETHANOL – CASTOR OIL BLENDS

The increase in greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on fossil fuels have motivated researchers to seek the use of renewable fuels in internal combustion engines, which can be produced locally and have clean combustion. The blending method in diesel engines has been recognized as an effective alternative to partially or totally replace the use of diesel fuel. In this regard, this paper studied the operation of a small engine-generator set in mono-fuel mode (diesel fuel - DO) and in dual-fuel mode using hydrous ethanol (HET) and castor oil (OM) blends, indicating a total replacement of diesel fuel. Efficiency, power, specific fuel consumption and gaseous emissions were assessed in a single cylinder diesel cycle engine. The percentages in volume of the HET-OM samples were: 75% - 25%, 70% - 30%, 60% - 40%, and 50% - 50%. The exhaust gas temperature decreased with the mixtures. Carbon monoxide emission decreased 57%, carbon dioxide decreased 9.8%, and nitrogen oxides reduced 19%. It was also observed that the percentage of smoke opacity tends to decrease close to zero with addition of ethanol. Hydrocarbon emissions increased with rising of the OM concentration and the same for the specific fuel consumptions, which was 25.4% higher than diesel fuel. The best fuel conversion efficiency was achieved with the blend HET75-OM25, being 9% higher compared to diesel fuel operation. Power on diesel fuel operation showed a better result keeping stable, with the increase of the compression ratio and the delay of the start of injection. In general, the results confirmed that the performance is comparable to that of diesel fuel, indicating that renewable fuels appear as an alternative for the reduction of the environmental impacts and the reduction of fossil fuels consumption

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF WATER INJECTION ON THE COMBUSTION AND EMISSIONS CHARACTERISTICS IN A HCCI ETHANOL ENGINE

Our dependence on fossil fuels coupled with concerns about harmful emissions have motivated researchers to look for renewable fuels that have clean combustion and for advanced combustion modes. In this context, homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) is an emerging technology which offers an alternative to conventional spark ignition and compression ignition engines and can operate on renewable fuels. Low temperature combustion, which can result in low NOx emissions with high indicated efficiency, is the more important characteristic of this combustion mode. It’s main problem is the combustion timing control due to lack of direct ignition control, once HCCI flame initiation is based on charge thermal state. Thus, controlled auto-ignition (CAI) combustion mode has been proposed. Several methods were proposed for combustion phasing control, between them, the injection of water in the intake manifold. This work investigated the influence of water injection in the intake runner of an ethanol HCCI cylinder from a converted three-cylinder diesel generator set, in which two cylinders operated on conventional diesel combustion and one diesel cylinder provided recycled exhaust gas for the one cylinder running on ethanol HCCI combustion. The water injection was used to control the CA50 combustion parameter. The results show that water injection is an efficient strategy to control the combustion timing, since the reactivity of the mixture can be controlled. The results at 400 and 600 kPa of IMEP and 1800 rpm indicated a good combustion stability, high efficiency and low emissions characteristics. The highest indicated fuel conversion efficiency found was 36.9% for 600 kPa of IMEP and 8 CAD of CA50. However, for 200 kPa of IMEP the combustion was unstable, the indicated efficiency was deteriorated and indicted CO emissions was high

DNA adducts in fish following an oil spill exposure

On 12 December 1999, one third of the load of the Erika tanker, amounting to about 10,000 t crude oil flowed into sea waters close to the French Atlantic Coast. This oil contained polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) that are known to be genotoxic. Genotoxic effects induce DNA adducts formation, which can thus be used as pollution biomarkers. Here, we assessed the genotoxic impact of the “Erika” oil spill by DNA adducts detection in the liver of immature fishes (Solea solea) from four locations of the French Brittany coasts. Two months after the spill, a high amount of DNA adducts was found in samples from all locations, amounting to 92–290 DNA adduct per 109 nucleotides. Then total DNA adduct levels decreased to reach about 50 adducts per 109 nucleotides nine months after the spill. In vitro experiments using human cell cultures and fish liver microsomes evidence the genotoxicity of the Erika fuel. They also prove the formation of reactive species able to create DNA adducts. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo DNA adducts fingerprints are similar, thus confirming that DNA adducts are a result of the oil spill

Ongoing under-reporting of clinically relevant safety data in phase II studies of tyrosine kinase inhibitors

status: publishe

I progetti gestiti dai Coordinatori: analisi del loro profilo e successo

Obiettivo. Descrivere la storia dei progetti affidati/ gestiti dai Coordinatori infermieristici ospedalieri. Metodi. \uc8 stato incluso un campione di 56 Coordinatori in ruolo da almeno un anno nei reparti di 13 Ospedali del nord Italia, contattati con criterio di convenienza. Tramite un\u2019intervista strutturata sono stati raccolti dati sui progetti gestiti nel 2009, tipologia, origine (bottom up; top down), il numero di operatori coinvolti e stato del progetto al momento dell\u2019intervista (concluso, incompleto, abbandonato). Risultati. Nel 2009 i Coordinatori hanno gestito 114 progetti, in media 1.8/ciascuno (\ub11.2): 94 (82.5%) erano progetti di miglioramento, 17 (14.9%) di accreditamento, e 3 (2.6%) di ricerca. I progetti avevano coinvolto complessivamente 2.732 persone (73.7% dei team) con un impegno medio di 84 ore ciascuno; 55 (48.2%) progetti erano ancora in corso, 52 (45.6%) conclusi, 5 (4.4%) incompleti (ovvero mancavano di valutazione) mentre 2 (1.8%) erano stati abbandonati. Conclusioni. Gli infermieri sono coinvolti in numerosi progetti nelle aziende sanitarie. La fase pi\uf9 trascurata \ue8 il monitoraggio dei risultati e il loro consolidamento: i progetti assorbono molte risorse e per questo \ue8 fondamentale che siano correttamente gestiti e partano da reali problemi ed esigenze dei pazienti

The novel KV7 channel activator URO-K10 exerts enhanced pulmonary vascular effects independent of the KCNE4 regulatory subunit.

KV7 channels exert a pivotal role regulating vascular tone in several vascular beds. In this context, KV7 channel agonists represent an attractive strategy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Therefore, in this study, we have explored the pulmonary vascular effects of the novel KV7 channel agonist URO-K10. Consequently, the vasodilator and electrophysiological effects of URO-K10 were tested in rat and human pulmonary arteries (PA) and PA smooth muscle cells (PASMC) using myography and patch-clamp techniques. Protein expression was also determined by Western blot. Morpholino-induced knockdown of KCNE4 was assessed in isolated PA. PASMC proliferation was measured by BrdU incorporation assay. In summary, our data show that URO-K10 is a more effective relaxant of PA than the classical KV7 activators retigabine and flupirtine. URO-K10 enhanced KV currents in PASMC and its electrophysiological and relaxant effects were inhibited by the KV7 channel blocker XE991. The effects of URO-K10 were confirmed in human PA. URO-K10 also exhibited antiproliferative effects in human PASMC. Unlike retigabine and flupirtine, URO-K10-induced pulmonary vasodilation was not affected by morpholino-induced knockdown of the KCNE4 regulatory subunit. Noteworthy, the pulmonary vasodilator efficacy of this compound was considerably increased under conditions mimicking the ionic remodelling (as an in vitro model of PAH) and in PA from monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertensive rats. Taking all together, URO-K10 behaves as a KCNE4-independent KV7 channel activator with much increased pulmonary vascular effects compared to classical KV7 channel activators. Our study identifies a promising new drug in the context of PAH

A phase I open-label study evaluating the cardiovascular safety of sorafenib in patients with advanced cancer

Purpose: To characterize the cardiovascular profile of sorafenib, a multitargeted kinase inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer. Methods: Fifty-three patients with advanced cancer received oral sorafenib 400 mg bid in continuous 28-day cycles in this open-label study. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was evaluated using multigated acquisition scanning at baseline and after 2 and 4 cycles of sorafenib. QT/QTc interval on the electrocardiograph (ECG) was measured in triplicate with a Holter 12-lead ECG at baseline and after 1 cycle of sorafenib. Heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were obtained in duplicate at baseline and after 1 and 4 cycles of sorafenib. Plasma pharmacokinetic data were obtained for sorafenib and its 3 main metabolites after 1 and 4 cycles of sorafenib. Results: LVEF (SD) mean change from baseline was -0.8 ($\pm$8.6) LVEF(%) after 2 cycles (n=31) and -1.2 $\pm$7.8) LVEF(%) after 4 cycles of sorafenib (n=24). The QT/QTc mean changes from baseline observed at maximum sorafenib concentrations ($t_{max}$) after 1 cycle (n=31) were small (QTcB: 4.2 ms; QTcF: 9.0 ms). Mean changes observed after 1 cycle in BP (n=31) and HR (n=30) at maximum sorafenib concentrations ($t_{max}$) were moderate (up to 11.7 mm Hg and -6.6 bpm, respectively). No correlation was found between the AUC and ($C_{max}$) of sorafenib and its main metabolites and any cardiovascular parameters. Conclusions: The effects of sorafenib on changes in QT/QTc interval on the ECG, LVEF, BP, and HR were modest and unlikely to be of clinical significance in the setting of advanced cancer treatment

Predicting survival of de novo metastatic breast cancer in Asian women: Systematic review and validation study

10.1371/journal.pone.0093755PLoS ONE94-POLN