Laminar burning velocity of hybrid methane-iron-air flames

As widely acknowledged, it is mandatory to decarbonize our energy system. A low-cost opportunity to achieve this is with high energy density metal carriers. Renewable energy can be used to reduce metal oxides to metal. This metal can be stored under ambient conditions in the form of a powder and be combusted (=oxidised) whenever energy is needed, providing fully renewable heat. In this work, micron sized iron powder is considered as metal energy carrier and the effect of iron powder on the adiabatic burning velocity of methane-air flames is investigated for different mixtures. To do so the Heat Flux (HF) method is used to stabilize hybrid methane-iron-air flames on a perforated plate on which is heated at the rim. Thermocouples are connected at different distances from the center of the plate. This way, the change in adiabatic burning velocity of flames can be found by measuring the temperature gradient over the burner plate for different mixtures and gas velocities. Via a loadcell connected to a dispersion system, the iron powder mass flow is tracked. By combining the data from the loadcell with the thermocouples data the effect different powder loading for various gas mixtures on the burning velocity can be extracted. The challenges here are to supply the flame with a continuous and accurate mass flow of iron particles while also taking into account the dynamics of the created aerosol.<br/

The Heat Flux Method adapted for hybrid iron-methane-air flames

Recently a cyclic energy storage concept was proposed in which metal powders are used as CO2-free energy carrier: the metal fuel cycle. In this cycle, the burning of iron powder is considered as the discharge of the energy carrier. However, for this cycle to be a efficient one, more understanding of the laminar burning velocity of iron powder is needed. Therefore, a new burner - based on the Heat Flux Method (HFM) - is proposed which can measure the burning velocities of flat hybrid iron-methane-air flames. In this paper, this burner is described and a proof of burner is given by first results. Further analysis of these results show that the opportunities for improvement lay in limiting the fluctuations for iron-concentrations on small time scales

British Society for Sexual Medicine Guidelines on Adult Testosterone Deficiency, With Statements for UK Practice

BACKGROUND: Testosterone deficiency (TD) is an increasingly common problem with significant health implications, but its diagnosis and management can be challenging. AIM: To review the available literature on TD and provide evidence-based statements for UK clinical practice. METHODS: Evidence was derived from Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane searches on hypogonadism, testosterone (T) therapy, and cardiovascular safety from May 2005 to May 2015. Further searches continued until May 2017. OUTCOMES: To provide a guideline on diagnosing and managing TD, with levels of evidence and grades of recommendation, based on a critical review of the literature and consensus of the British Society of Sexual Medicine panel. RESULTS: 25 statements are provided, relating to 5 key areas: screening, diagnosis, initiating T therapy, benefits and risks of T therapy, and follow-up. 7 statements are supported by level 1, 8 by level 2, 5 by level 3, and 5 by level 4 evidence. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: To help guide UK practitioners on effectively diagnosing and managing primary and age-related TD. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: A large amount of literature was carefully sourced and reviewed, presenting the best evidence available at the time. However, some statements provided are based on poor-quality evidence. This is a rapidly evolving area of research and recommendations are subject to change. Guidelines can never replace clinical expertise when making treatment decisions for individual patients, but rather help to focus decisions and take personal values and preferences and individual circumstances into account. Many issues remain controversial, but in the meantime, clinicians need to manage patient needs and clinical expectations armed with the best clinical evidence and the multidisciplinary expert opinion available. CONCLUSION: Improving the diagnosis and management of TD in adult men should provide somatic, sexual, and psychological benefits and subsequent improvements in quality of life. Hackett G, Kirby M, Edwards D, et al. British Society for Sexual Medicine Guidelines on Adult Testosterone Deficiency, With Statements for UK Practice. J Sex Med 2017;14:1504-1523

Update of the Scientific Opinion on opium alkaloids in poppy seeds

The CONTAM Panel wishes to thank the hearing experts: Pavel Cihlar, Daniel Doerge and Vaclav Lohr for the support provided to this scientific output. The CONTAM Panel acknowledges all European competent institutions and other stakeholders that provided occurrence data on opium alkaloids in food, and supported the data collection for the Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database. Adopted: 22 March 2018 Reproduction of the images listed below is prohibited and permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder:Figure A.1 in Appendix A: © Elsevier.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The CMS Phase-1 pixel detector upgrade

The CMS detector at the CERN LHC features a silicon pixel detector as its innermost subdetector. The original CMS pixel detector has been replaced with an upgraded pixel system (CMS Phase-1 pixel detector) in the extended year-end technical stop of the LHC in 2016/2017. The upgraded CMS pixel detector is designed to cope with the higher instantaneous luminosities that have been achieved by the LHC after the upgrades to the accelerator during the first long shutdown in 2013–2014. Compared to the original pixel detector, the upgraded detector has a better tracking performance and lower mass with four barrel layers and three endcap disks on each side to provide hit coverage up to an absolute value of pseudorapidity of 2.5. This paper describes the design and construction of the CMS Phase-1 pixel detector as well as its performance from commissioning to early operation in collision data-taking.Peer reviewe

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the X(3872) production cross section via decays to J/psi pi(+)pi(-) in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

The article is the pre-print version of the final publishing paper that is available from the link below.The production of the X(3872) is studied in pp collisions at √s=7TeV, using decays to J/ψπ + π −, where the J/ψ decays to two muons. The data were recorded by the CMS experiment and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb−1. The measurements are performed in a kinematic range in which the X(3872) candidates have a transverse momentum 10 < pT < 50 GeV and rapidity |y| < 1.2. The ratio of the X(3872) and ψ(2S) cross sections times their branching fractions into J/ψ π+ π− is measured as a function of pT. In addition, the fraction of X(3872) originating from B decays is determined. From these measurements the prompt X(3872) differential cross section times branching fraction as a function of pT is extracted. The π+ π− mass spectrum of the J/ψπ+ π− system in the X(3872) decays is also investigated