Pines Calyx Earth Tube Performance

In temperate climates earth tubes achieve increased comfort in summer and the pre-heating of inlet air in winter, reducing the requirement for cooling and heating. This strategy was adopted to pre-temper air entering a small conference centre building in Kent, UK. The earth tube is about 16m long comprising a concrete pipe with an internal diameter of 0.6m. The pipe is located approximately 1.5m below ground level. A very low energy fan at the outlet end draws air through the tube and pushes it through a heat exchanger before it is distributed via ducts in the building. This paper reports on the results of monitoring the earth tube temperatures and air velocities under different weather conditions. Temperature sensors were positioned externally and at both ends of the earth tube. An anemometer was fixed in place 4m from the inlet end. This ‘fixed’ anemometer in the earth tube was calibrated and the velocity profile of the air flow in the tube was established. The air in the tube was found to have an almost uniform velocity profile, which is likely to be caused by the considerable turbulence created by changes in the direction of the tube, and the dimensions of the pipe relative to the flow rate. This indicates that the system was well-designed to maximise the heat exchange potential of the duct. The energy contribution of the earth in pre-heating and pre-cooling the air has been calculated at approximately 500W for each degree Kelvin raised or lowered, compared to only 18W power consumed by the fans. This demonstrates that earth tubes can make a very significant contribution to providing heating and cooling, with very low carbon emissions. Earth tubes are a durable and low-cost method of providing resilience in the face of climate change

Fractional flow reserve-guided management in stable coronary disease and acute myocardial infarction: recent developments

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading global cause of morbidity and mortality, and improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of CAD can reduce the health and economic burden of this condition. Fractional flow reserve (FFR) is an evidence-based diagnostic test of the physiological significance of a coronary artery stenosis. Fractional flow reserve is a pressure-derived index of the maximal achievable myocardial blood flow in the presence of an epicardial coronary stenosis as a ratio to maximum achievable flow if that artery were normal. When compared with standard angiography-guided management, FFR disclosure is impactful on the decision for revascularization and clinical outcomes. In this article, we review recent developments with FFR in patients with stable CAD and recent myocardial infarction. Specifically, we review novel developments in our understanding of CAD pathophysiology, diagnostic applications, prognostic studies, clinical trials, and clinical guidelines

A Kinematically Intelligent Blackboard for Computer Aided Instruction

A CAI (computer-aided instruction) package is being developed to be used as a classroom tool for the instruction of undergraduate mechanical engineering students in an introductory kinematics of mechanisms course. This graphical environment allows the instructor to emulate on the projected graphics screen everything that is currently done on the blackboard for planar mechansims. Unlike the blackboard, the software will have the intelligence to interpret the drawings in a kinematic sense so that the drawing of the linkage will behave as a linkage. The software environment involves three principal components: (1) a sketching method for defining the linkage, (2) the kinematic intelligence to interpret the sketch and animate the linkage, and (3) the ability to develop and demonstrate kinematic concept

Towards systematic technical education in Australia : a history of technical education in Australia, 1833-1939.

Technical education in Australia is often regarded as having its basic roots in the 'sixties of last century. This is an oversimplified version of the story. The origins of technical education in Australia may be traced directly to the same source as those in Great Britain, where it was called into existence by the Industrial Revolution when the introduction of machinery and mass methods struck a blow at apprenticeship and there was a rapid rise in science applicable to industry. In response to the need for imparting to the worker the newly discovered principles of science underlying workshop practice, the Mechanics' Institute Movement sprang to life in Great Britain. Being a British outpost, Australia soon followed the lead from "home". Thus the fundamental philosophy, that recruits to industry should receive, during the evening, instruction in the theory or science underlying their trade, while the workshop "on the job" would provide the necessary practical training, was transported to the Colonies at the Antipodes. As early as 1833, the Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts was established and the movement Spread throughout the land. Although this movement, for a number of reasons, failed in the attempt to bring systematic technical instruction to the mechanic or artisan, it left a deep imprint and set the pattern for future provision throughout Australia

Cytochrome P450 3A4 and P‐glycoprotein mediate the interaction between an oral erythromycin breath test and rifampin

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109878/1/cptclpt2002114.pd

Examining Longleaf Pine spectral properties to remotely map relict stands in Central North Carolina

This thesis has been prepared as a manuscript for submission and potential publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal. This thesis investigates the unique spectral reflectance properties of 109 “montane” longleaf pine canopies (Pinus palustris Mill.) growing on steep, south-facing slopes as well as 51 “piedmont” individuals growing in an area of low topographic relief, all found within the Uwharrie National Forest in central North Carolina. The geographic location of all sampled longleaf canopies were recorded on a digital map, and then spectrally analyzed to derive unique reflectance signatures that would allow for the remote mapping of the species using high-resolution multispectral WorldView-2 satellite imagery. Overall accuracies for classification procedures range from 91–96% between four study sites. Longleaf pine spectral properties were statistically investigated to quantify differences in reflectance due to topography and canopy height. Significant relationships (p <0.05) were found for each variable, and suggest that spectral reflectance values for longleaf pine are not uniform throughout the study area and can vary according to topographic and morphological canopy features

Influence of Linker Length and Composition on Enzymatic Activity and Ribosomal Binding of Neomycin Dimers

The human and bacterial A site rRNA binding as well as the aminoglycoside-modifying enzyme (AME) activity against a series of neomycin B (NEO) dimers is presented. The data indicate that by simple modifications of linker length and composition, substantial differences in rRNA selectivity and AME activity can be obtained. We tested five different AMEs with dimeric NEO dimers that were tethered via triazole, urea, and thiourea linkages. We show that triazole-linked dimers were the worst substrates for most AMEs, with those containing the longer linkers showing the largest decrease in activity. Thiourea-linked dimers that showed a decrease in activity by AMEs also showed increased bacterial A site binding, with one compound (compound 14) even showing substantially reduced human A site binding. The urea-linked dimers showed a substantial decrease in activity by AMEs when a conformationally restrictive phenyl linker was introduced. The information learned herein advances our understanding of the importance of the linker length and composition for the generation of dimeric aminoglycoside antibiotics capable of avoiding the action of AMEs and selective binding to the bacterial rRNA over binding to the human rRNA