Sensing properties of ITO coated optical fibers to diverse VOCs

AbstractIndium tin oxide ITO-coated optical fibers have been very recently presented as lossy mode resonance (LMR) based refractometers as well as a label-free optical fiber sensing platform. Here, ITO coated optical fiber devices are used for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These devices are immune to optical power variations due to their wavelengthbased detection technique. More precisely, the sensitivity of these devices to fixed concentrations of ethanol, acetone and methanol has been studied. Furthermore, the cross-sensitivity with temperature and relative humidity (RH) has been addressed

Luminescent Optical Fiber Oxygen Sensor following Layer-by-layer Method

AbstractA sensor based on luminescence has been prepared depositing the luminescent complex platinum tetrakis pentrafluorophenyporphine (PtTFPP) onto a plastic-clad silica (PCS) optical fiber. The sensing film is constructed in terms of Layer-by-Layer method. A LED centered at 400nm was used to interrogate the sensor in a reflection configuration, registering a luminescent signal from the sensing material located at 648nm. The transduction principle is based on the quenching suffered by PtTFPP as the oxygen (O2) concentration increases. The sensor was characterized for O2 concentrations from 0% to 75%, showing a linear Stern–Volmer relationship (R2 = 0.9962)

Hydraulic transient in residential buildings with a direct pump connection

This paper consists of an experimental and numerical study into transient behaviour in a residential building. The analysed effects occur by centrifugal pumps when they start with a direct supply (fixed-speed pumps are connected to the service pipe without an atmospheric tank). Direct supply increases the transient effect and places higher demands on the water main. The properties of such an installation were analysed using a hydraulic model in order to detect the most unfavourable scenario. The results were compared to experimental data. Basic hydraulics demonstrates that a pressure drop occurs during the startup. The magnitude mainly depends on the pump capacity. But, numerical and field results show that other variables related to service pipe design could also negatively affect the pressure surge. The study provides water utilities with information about the influence of the different variables on pressure surge magnitude and basic design criteria to minimize these effects.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia of the Spanish Government under Grant No CGL2005-03666.Soriano Olivares, J.; Arregui De La Cruz, F.; Espert Alemany, VB.; García-Serra García, J. (2014). Hydraulic transient in residential buildings with a direct pump connection. Urban Water Journal. 2014:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/1573062X.2014.989860S1132014Basupi, I., Kapelan, Z., & Butler, D. (2013). Reducing life-cycle carbon footprint in the (re)design of water distribution systems using water demand management interventions. Urban Water Journal, 11(2), 91-107. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2012.750374Bergant, A., Tijsseling, A. S., Vítkovský, J. P., Covas, D. I. C., Simpson, A. R., & Lambert, M. F. (2008). Parameters affecting water-hammer wave attenuation, shape and timing—Part 1: Mathematical tools. Journal of Hydraulic Research, 46(3), 373-381. doi:10.3826/jhr.2008.2848Cantor, K. P., Lynch, C. F., Hildesheim, M., Dosemeci, M., Lubin, J., Alavanja, M., & Craun, G. (1998). Drinking Water Source and Chlorination Byproducts I. Risk of Bladder Cancer. Epidemiology, 9(1), 21-28. doi:10.1097/00001648-199801000-00007Clark, R. M., Sivaganesan, M., Selvakumar, A., & Sethi, V. (2002). Cost Models for Water Supply Distribution Systems. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 128(5), 312-321. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9496(2002)128:5(312)Colombo, A. F., Lee, P., & Karney, B. W. (2009). A selective literature review of transient-based leak detection methods. Journal of Hydro-environment Research, 2(4), 212-227. doi:10.1016/j.jher.2009.02.003Courtis, B. J., West, J. R., & Bridgeman, J. (2009). Chlorine demand-based predictive modeling of THM formation in water distribution networks. Urban Water Journal, 6(6), 407-415. doi:10.1080/15730620903038461Covas, D., Stoianov, I., Ramos, H., Graham, N., Maksimović, Č., & Butler, D. (2004). Water hammer in pressurized polyethylene pipes: conceptual model and experimental analysis. Urban Water Journal, 1(2), 177-197. doi:10.1080/15730620412331289977Criminisi, A., Fontanazza, C. M., Freni, G., & Loggia, G. L. (2009). Evaluation of the apparent losses caused by water meter under-registration in intermittent water supply. Water Science and Technology, 60(9), 2373-2382. doi:10.2166/wst.2009.423Davis, A. (2004). Hydraulic transients in transmission and distribution systems. Urban Water Journal, 1(2), 157-166. doi:10.1080/15730620412331289968De Marchis, M., Fontanazza, C. M., Freni, G., La Loggia, G., Napoli, E., & Notaro, V. (2010). A model of the filling process of an intermittent distribution network. Urban Water Journal, 7(6), 321-333. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2010.519776Fontanazza, C. M., Notaro, V., Puleo, V., & Freni, G. (2014). The apparent losses due to metering errors: a proactive approach to predict losses and schedule maintenance. Urban Water Journal, 12(3), 229-239. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2014.882363Golfinopoulos, S. K. (2000). The occurrence of trihalomethanes in the drinking water in Greece. Chemosphere, 41(11), 1761-1767. doi:10.1016/s0045-6535(00)00062-xHua, F., West, J. ., Barker, R. ., & Forster, C. . (1999). Modelling of chlorine decay in municipal water supplies. Water Research, 33(12), 2735-2746. doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(98)00519-3Jung, B. S., & Karney, B. (2004). Fluid transients and pipeline optimization using GA and PSO: the diameter connection. Urban Water Journal, 1(2), 167-176. doi:10.1080/15730620412331289995Kanakoudis, V., & Muhammetoglu, H. (2013). Urban Water Pipe Networks Management Towards Non-Revenue Water Reduction: Two Case Studies from Greece and Turkey. CLEAN - Soil, Air, Water, 42(7), 880-892. doi:10.1002/clen.201300138Kanakoudis, V., & Papadopoulou, A. (2014). Allocating the cost of the carbon footprint produced along a supply chain, among the stakeholders involved. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 5(4), 556-568. doi:10.2166/wcc.2014.101Kanakoudis, V., & Tsitsifli, S. (2010). Results of an urban water distribution network performance evaluation attempt in Greece. Urban Water Journal, 7(5), 267-285. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2010.509436Kirmeyer, G.J., Richards, W., and Dery-Smith, C., 1994. An assessment of water distribution systems and associated needs.Report of the American Water Work. Denver, CO: Association Research Foundation.Kitis, M., Yigita, N. O., Harmana, B. I., Muhammetoglu, H., Muhammetoglu, A., Karadirek, I. E., … Palancic, I. (2010). Occurrence of Trihalomethanes in Chlorinated Groundwaters with Very Low Natural Organic Matter and Bromide Concentrations. Environmental Forensics, 11(3), 264-274. doi:10.1080/15275922.2010.495935Levesque, S., Rodriguez, M. J., Serodes, J., Beaulieu, C., & Proulx, F. (2006). Effects of indoor drinking water handling on trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids. Water Research, 40(15), 2921-2930. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2006.06.004Mohamed, H. I., & Gad, A. A. M. (2011). Effect of Cold-Water Storage Cisterns on Drinking-Water Quality. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 137(5), 448-455. doi:10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000132Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2000). Chlorination disinfection byproducts in water and their association with adverse reproductive outcomes: a review. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 57(2), 73-85. doi:10.1136/oem.57.2.73Pezzinga, G. (2000). Evaluation of Unsteady Flow Resistances by Quasi-2D or 1D Models. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 126(10), 778-785. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9429(2000)126:10(778)Rodriguez, M. J., Sérodes, J.-B., & Levallois, P. (2004). Behavior of trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids in a drinking water distribution system. Water Research, 38(20), 4367-4382. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2004.08.018Rossman, L. A., Clark, R. M., & Grayman, W. M. (1994). Modeling Chlorine Residuals in Drinking‐Water Distribution Systems. Journal of Environmental Engineering, 120(4), 803-820. doi:10.1061/(asce)0733-9372(1994)120:4(803)Schafer, C. A., & Mihelcic, J. R. (2012). Effect of storage tank material and maintenance on household water quality. Journal - American Water Works Association, 104(9), E521-E529. doi:10.5942/jawwa.2012.104.0125Soyupak, S., Kilic, H., Karadirek, I. E., & Muhammetoglu, H. (2011). On the usage of artificial neural networks in chlorine control applications for water distribution networks with high quality water. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua, 60(1), 51-60. doi:10.2166/aqua.2011.086Tamari, S., & Ploquet, J. (2012). Determination of leakage inside buildings with a roof tank. Urban Water Journal, 9(5), 287-303. doi:10.1080/1573062x.2012.660959Thorley, A.R.D., 2004. Fluid Transients in Pipeline Systems. London: Professional Engineering Publishing.Tsukamoto, H., & Ohashi, H. (1982). Transient Characteristics of a Centrifugal Pump During Starting Period. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 104(1), 6-13. doi:10.1115/1.3240859Villanueva, C. ., Kogevinas, M., & Grimalt, J. . (2003). Haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes in finished drinking waters from heterogeneous sources. Water Research, 37(4), 953-958. doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(02)00411-6Wilo, A. (2007). Intelligent pumps for building automation systems. World Pumps, 2007(490), 26-32. doi:10.1016/s0262-1762(07)70252-3Woolschlager, J., Rittmann, B., & Piriou, P. (2005). Water quality decay in distribution systems – problems, causes, and new modeling tools. Urban Water Journal, 2(2), 69-79. doi:10.1080/15730620500144027Wylie, E.B. and Streeter, V.L., 1993. Fluid Transients in Systems. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall

Quantifying measuring errors of new residential water meters considering different customer consumption patterns

Water meter measuring errors vary depending on the water flow rate. The difference between water actually consumed and registered by a meter will differ depending on how water consumption is distributed by flow rates. Published studies assessing the performance of new residential meters have only analysed the error curves of the meters without calculating the influence that consumption patterns have on their field performance. In most cases, research has been limited to analysing compliance with published standards. This work presents an evaluation of the actual commercial losses to be expected considering the consumption characteristic of domestic users. Several types of residential meters have been tested and the error curves obtained have been combined with measured consumption patterns of domestic users. As a result, this paper provides information about the order of magnitude of the initial measuring error as a function of the residential meter model and user characteristics.The translation of this paper was funded by the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Spain.Arregui De La Cruz, F.; Balaguer Garrigós, M.; Soriano Olivares, J.; García-Serra García, J. (2015). Quantifying measuring errors of new residential water meters considering different customer consumption patterns. Urban Water Journal. 13(5):463-475. doi:10.1080/1573062X.2014.993999S463475135American Water Works Association (AWWA), 1999. Water Meters - Selection, Installation, Testing, and Maintenance: Manual of Water Supply Practices (M6). Denver, CO: American Water Works Association.American Water Works Association (AWWA), 2009. Water Audits and Loss Control Programs: AWWA Manual M36. Denver, CO: American Water Works Association.Arregui, F.J., CabreraJr, E., and Cobacho, R., 2006a. Integrated water meter management. London: IWA Publishing.Arregui, F. ., Cabrera, E., Cobacho, R., & García-Serra, J. (2006). Reducing Apparent Losses Caused By Meters Inaccuracies. Water Practice and Technology, 1(4). doi:10.2166/wpt.2006.093Arregui, F.J., Martinez, B., Soriano, J., and Parra, J.C., 2009. Tools for improving decision making in water meter management. Proceedings of the 5th IWA Water Loss Reduction Specialist Conference (pp. 225–232). Cape Town, South Africa.Barfuss, S.L., Johnson, M.C., and Neilsen, M.A., 2011. Accuracy of in-service water meters at low and high flow rates. Denver, CO: Water Research Foundation, Denver.Blokker, E. J. M., Vreeburg, J. H. G., & van Dijk, J. C. (2010). Simulating Residential Water Demand with a Stochastic End-Use Model. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 136(1), 19-26. doi:10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000002Bowen, P.T., Harp, J.F., Hendricks, J.E., and Shoeleh, M., 1991. Evaluating residential meter performance. Denver, CO: American Water Works Association Research Foundation.Bowen, P.T., Harp, J.F., Baxter, J.W., and Shull, R.D., 1993. Residential water use patterns. Denver, CO: American Water Works Association Research Foundation.Criminisi, A., Fontanazza, C. M., Freni, G., & Loggia, G. L. (2009). Evaluation of the apparent losses caused by water meter under-registration in intermittent water supply. Water Science and Technology, 60(9), 2373-2382. doi:10.2166/wst.2009.423DeOreo, W.B. and Mayer, P.W., 2013. Residential end uses of water study update. Denver, CO: Water Research Foundation.ISO 4064-3, 1993. Measurement of water flow in closed conduits - meters for cold potable water. Part 3: Test methods and equipment. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.ISO 4064-1, 2005. Measurement of water flow in a fully charged closed conduit - meters for cold potable water and hot water. Part 1: Specifications. Geneva: International Organization for Standardization.Lievers, C. and Barendregt, A., 2009. Implementation of intervention techniques to decrease commercial losses for Ghana. Proceedings of the 5th IWA Water Loss Reduction Specialist Conference (pp. 490–496). Cape Town, South Africa.Male, J.W., Noss, R.R., and Moore, I.C., 1985. Identifying and Reducing Losses in Water Distribution Systems. Saddle River, NJ: Noyes Publications.Mayer, P.W., DeOreo, W.B., Opitz, E.M., Kiefer, J.C., Davis, W.Y., Dziegielewski, B., and Nelson, J.O., 1999. Residential End Uses of Water. Denver, CO: AWWA Research Foundation and American Water Works Association.Mutikanga, H. E., Sharma, S. K., & Vairavamoorthy, K. (2010). Assessment of apparent losses in urban water systems. Water and Environment Journal, 25(3), 327-335. doi:10.1111/j.1747-6593.2010.00225.xNeilsen, M. A., Barfuss, S. L., & Johnson, M. C. (2011). Off-the-shelf accuracies of residential water meters. Journal - American Water Works Association, 103(9), 48-55. doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.2011.tb11531.xRichards, G. L., Johnson, M. C., & Barfuss, S. L. (2010). Apparent losses caused by water meter inaccuracies at ultralow flows. Journal - American Water Works Association, 102(5), 123-132. doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.2010.tb10115.xRizzo, A. and Cilia, J., 2005. Quantifying meter under-registration caused by the ball valves of roof tanks (for indirect plumbing systems). Proceedings of the Leakage 2005 Conference, Halifax, Canada.Thornton, J., Sturm, R., and Kunkel, G., 2008. Water Loss Control. New York: McGraw-Hill.Woltmann, 2008. ITA. Valencia, Spain: Universitat PolitecnicaRetrieved from: http://www.ita.upv.es/software/presentacion-en.php.Yaniv, S., 2012. Reduction of apparent losses using the UFR (Unmeasured-flow reducer): Case studies. Proceedings of the 5th IWA Specialist Conference on Efficient Water Use and Management. Hague, The Netherlands.Yee, M. D. (1999). Economic analysis for replacing residential meters. Journal - American Water Works Association, 91(7), 72-77. doi:10.1002/j.1551-8833.1999.tb08666.

Seguimiento de las guías españolas para el manejo del asma por el médico de atención primaria: un estudio observacional ambispectivo

Objetivo Evaluar el grado de seguimiento de las recomendaciones de las versiones de la Guía española para el manejo del asma (GEMA 2009 y 2015) y su repercusión en el control de la enfermedad. Material y métodos Estudio observacional y ambispectivo realizado entre septiembre del 2015 y abril del 2016, en el que participaron 314 médicos de atención primaria y 2.864 pacientes. Resultados Utilizando datos retrospectivos, 81 de los 314 médicos (25, 8% [IC del 95%, 21, 3 a 30, 9]) comunicaron seguir las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2009. Al inicio del estudio, 88 de los 314 médicos (28, 0% [IC del 95%, 23, 4 a 33, 2]) seguían las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015. El tener un asma mal controlada (OR 0, 19, IC del 95%, 0, 13 a 0, 28) y presentar un asma persistente grave al inicio del estudio (OR 0, 20, IC del 95%, 0, 12 a 0, 34) se asociaron negativamente con tener un asma bien controlada al final del seguimiento. Por el contrario, el seguimiento de las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015 se asoció de manera positiva con una mayor posibilidad de que el paciente tuviera un asma bien controlada al final del periodo de seguimiento (OR 1, 70, IC del 95%, 1, 40 a 2, 06). Conclusiones El escaso seguimiento de las guías clínicas para el manejo del asma constituye un problema común entre los médicos de atención primaria. Un seguimiento de estas guías se asocia con un control mejor del asma. Existe la necesidad de actuaciones que puedan mejorar el seguimiento por parte de los médicos de atención primaria de las guías para el manejo del asma. Objective: To assess the degree of compliance with the recommendations of the 2009 and 2015 versions of the Spanish guidelines for managing asthma (Guía Española para el Manejo del Asma [GEMA]) and the effect of this compliance on controlling the disease. Material and methods: We conducted an observational ambispective study between September 2015 and April 2016 in which 314 primary care physicians and 2864 patients participated. Results: Using retrospective data, we found that 81 of the 314 physicians (25.8%; 95% CI 21.3–30.9) stated that they complied with the GEMA2009 recommendations. At the start of the study, 88 of the 314 physicians (28.0%; 95% CI 23.4–33.2) complied with the GEMA2015 recommendations. Poorly controlled asthma (OR, 0.19; 95% CI 0.13–0.28) and persistent severe asthma at the start of the study (OR, 0.20; 95% CI 0.12–0.34) were negatively associated with having well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up. In contrast, compliance with the GEMA2015 recommendations was positively associated with a greater likelihood that the patient would have well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up (OR, 1.70; 95% CI 1.40–2.06). Conclusions: Low compliance with the clinical guidelines for managing asthma is a common problem among primary care physicians. Compliance with these guidelines is associated with better asthma control. Actions need to be taken to improve primary care physician compliance with the asthma management guidelines

Achievement of room temperature gas sensors with unconventional screen-printing technology

International audienc