4,437 research outputs found
Determination of the Concentration of Gases by Measurement of Pressure
For the determination of the concentration of gases by means of pressure measurement, a precise equation of state is given by which analysis can be carried out within an accuracy of 10 ppm. The parameters of the equation of state are explicitely reported for carbon dioxide, argon, and helium
Synthetic magnetism for photon fluids
We develop a theory of artificial gauge fields in photon fluids for the cases
of both second-order and third-order optical nonlinearities. This applies to
weak excitations in the presence of pump fields carrying orbital angular
momentum, and is thus a type of Bogoliubov theory. The resulting artificial
gauge fields experienced by the weak excitations are an interesting
generalization of previous cases and reflect the PT-symmetry properties of the
underlying non-Hermitian Hamiltonian. We illustrate the observable consequences
of the resulting synthetic magnetic fields for examples involving both
second-order and third-order nonlinearities
Segregation of an intruder in a heated granular dense gas
A recent segregation criterion [V. Garz\'o, Phys. Rev. E \textbf{78},
020301(R) (2008)] based on the thermal diffusion factor of an
intruder in a heated granular gas described by the inelastic Enskog equation is
revisited. The sign of provides a criterion for the transition
between the Brazil-nut effect (BNE) and the reverse Brazil-nut effect (RBNE).
The present theory incorporates two extra ingredients not accounted for by the
previous theoretical attempt. First, the theory is based upon the second Sonine
approximation to the transport coefficients of the mass flux of intruder.
Second, the dependence of the temperature ratio (intruder temperature over that
of the host granular gas) on the solid volume fraction is taken into account in
the first and second Sonine approximations. In order to check the accuracy of
the Sonine approximation considered, the Enskog equation is also numerically
solved by means of the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method to get the
kinetic diffusion coefficient . The comparison between theory and
simulation shows that the second Sonine approximation to yields an
improvement over the first Sonine approximation when the intruder is lighter
than the gas particles in the range of large inelasticity. With respect to the
form of the phase diagrams for the BNE/RBNE transition, the kinetic theory
results for the factor indicate that while the form of these diagrams
depends sensitively on the order of the Sonine approximation considered when
gravity is absent, no significant differences between both Sonine solutions
appear in the opposite limit (gravity dominates the thermal gradient). In the
former case (no gravity), the first Sonine approximation overestimates both the
RBNE region and the influence of dissipation on thermal diffusion segregation.Comment: 9 figures; to be published in Phys. Rev.
Defining childhood severe falciparum malaria for intervention studies.
Background Clinical trials of interventions designed to prevent severe falciparum malaria in children require a clear endpoint. The internationally accepted definition of severe malaria is sensitive, and appropriate for clinical purposes. However, this definition includes individuals with severe nonmalarial disease and coincident parasitaemia, so may lack specificity in vaccine trials. Although there is no āgold standardā individual test for severe malaria, malaria-attributable fractions (MAFs) can be estimated among groups of children using a logistic model, which we use to test the suitability of various case definitions as trial endpoints. Methods and Findings A total of 4,583 blood samples were taken from well children in cross-sectional surveys and from 1,361 children admitted to a Kenyan District hospital with severe disease. Among children under 2 y old with severe disease and over 2,500 parasites per microliter of blood, the MAFs were above 85% in moderate- and low-transmission areas, but only 61% in a high-transmission area. HIV and malnutrition were not associated with reduced MAFs, but gastroenteritis with severe dehydration (defined by reduced skin turgor), lower respiratory tract infection (clinician's final diagnosis), meningitis (on cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] examination), and bacteraemia were associated with reduced MAFs. The overall MAF was 85% (95% confidence interval [CI] 83.8%ā86.1%) without excluding these conditions, 89% (95% CI 88.4%ā90.2%) after exclusions, and 95% (95% CI 94.0%ā95.5%) when a threshold of 2,500 parasites/Ī¼l was also applied. Applying a threshold and exclusion criteria reduced sensitivity to 80% (95% CI 77%ā83%). Conclusions The specificity of a case definition for severe malaria is improved by applying a parasite density threshold and by excluding children with meningitis, lower respiratory tract infection (clinician's diagnosis), bacteraemia, and gastroenteritis with severe dehydration, but not by excluding children with HIV or malnutrition
Measurement and modelling of mass diffusion coefficients for application in carbon dioxide storage and enhanced oil recovery
In this work, measurements were carried out by the Taylor dispersion method [1, 2] to determine the
mutual diffusion coefficient for CO2 in water or hydrocarbon at effectively infinite dilution.
Measurements were carried out for CO2 in water, hexane, heptane, octane, decane, dodecane,
hexadecane, cyclohexane, squalane and toluene at temperatures between 298 K and 423 K with
pressures up to 69 MPa. Measurements of CO2 diffusivity in different brines were also carried out by
13C pulsed-field gradient NMR
Thermal diffusion segregation in granular binary mixtures described by the Enskog equation
Diffusion induced by a thermal gradient in a granular binary mixture is
analyzed in the context of the (inelastic) Enskog equation. Although the Enskog
equation neglects velocity correlations among particles which are about to
collide, it retains spatial correlations arising from volume exclusion effects
and thus it is expected to apply to moderate densities. In the steady state
with gradients only along a given direction, a segregation criterion is
obtained from the thermal diffusion factor measuring the amount of
segregation parallel to the thermal gradient. As expected, the sign of the
factor provides a criterion for the transition between the Brazil-nut
effect (BNE) and the reverse Brazil-nut effect (RBNE) by varying the parameters
of the mixture (masses, sizes, concentration, solid volume fraction, and
coefficients of restitution). The form of the phase diagrams for the BNE/RBNE
transition is illustrated in detail for several systems, with special emphasis
on the significant role played by the inelasticity of collisions. In
particular, an effect already found in dilute gases (segregation in a binary
mixture of identical masses and sizes {\em but} different coefficients of
restitution) is extended to dense systems. A comparison with recent computer
simulation results shows a good qualitative agreement at the level of the
thermal diffusion factor. The present analysis generalizes to arbitrary
concentration previous theoretical results derived in the tracer limit case.Comment: 7 figures, 1 table. To appear in New J. Phys., special issue on
"Granular Segregation
Anaemia and blood transfusion in African children presenting to hospital with severe febrile illness
BACKGROUND: Severe anaemia in children is a leading cause of hospital admission and a major cause of mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, yet there are limited published data on blood transfusion in this vulnerable group. METHODS: We present data from a large controlled trial of fluid resuscitation (Fluid Expansion As Supportive Therapy (FEAST) trial) on the prevalence, clinical features, and transfusion management of anaemia in children presenting to hospitals in three East African countries with serious febrile illness (predominantly malaria and/or sepsis) and impaired peripheral perfusion. RESULTS: Of 3,170 children in the FEAST trial, 3,082 (97%) had baseline haemoglobin (Hb) measurement, 2,346/3,082 (76%) were anaemic (Hb <10Ā g/dL), and 33% severely anaemic (Hb <5Ā g/dL). Prevalence of severe anaemia varied from 12% in Kenya to 41% in eastern Uganda. 1,387/3,082 (45%) children were transfused (81% within 8Ā hours). Adherence to WHO transfusion guidelines was poor. Among severely anaemic children who were not transfused, 52% (54/103) died within 8Ā hours, and 90% of these deaths occurred within 2.5Ā hours of randomisation. By 24Ā hours, 128/1,002 (13%) severely anaemic children had died, compared to 36/501 (7%) and 71/843 (8%) of those with moderate and mild anaemia, respectively. Among children without severe hypotension who were randomised to receive fluid boluses of 0.9% saline or albumin, mortality was increased (10.6% and 10.5%, respectively) compared to controls (7.2%), regardless of admission Hb level. Repeat transfusion varied from ā¤2% in Kenya/Tanzania to 6 to 13% at the four Ugandan centres. Adverse reactions to blood were rare (0.4%). CONCLUSIONS: Severe anaemia complicates one third of childhood admissions with serious febrile illness to hospitals in East Africa, and is associated with increased mortality. A high proportion of deaths occurred within 2.5Ā hours of admission, emphasizing the need for rapid recognition and prompt blood transfusion. Adherence to current WHO transfusion guidelines was poor. The high rates of re-transfusion suggest that 20Ā mL/kg whole blood or 10Ā mL/kg packed cells may undertreat a significant proportion of anaemic children. Future evaluation of the impact of a larger volume of transfused blood and optimum transfusion management of children with Hb of <6Ā g/dL is warranted. Please see related article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916-014-0248-5. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12916-014-0246-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users
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