Continuous thickening of non-ideal suspensions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the steady state continuous thickening of non-ideal suspensions such as sludges from water and wastewater treatment plants. Suspensions of high grade calcium carbonate, activated sludges, water softening sludges, and suspensions of fine glass beads were used. The suspensions were thickened in a closed, continuous, pi lot, thickening system. The sol ids flux theory was used successfully for predicting performance of the steady state continuous thickener from batch settling velocities of the suspensions. For the optimal performance of the thickener, effective stirring of concentration layers near the underflow level was found to be an absolute necessity. This was to prevent dilute solids from reaching the thickener bottom. Homogeneous distribution of the feed over the area of the tank was also essential. The feed concentration generally did not affect the thickening function. However, the interaction between thickening and clarification functions of the tank was established through the magnitude of feed concentrations. As the feed concentration decreased with fixed solids loading, the overflow velocity increased, and the clarity of overflow generally deteriorated.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

Exploiting macrophage autophagy-lysosomal biogenesis as a therapy for atherosclerosis

Macrophages specialize in removing lipids and debris present in the atherosclerotic plaque. However, plaque progression renders macrophages unable to degrade exogenous atherogenic material and endogenous cargo including dysfunctional proteins and organelles. Here we show that a decline in the autophagy-lysosome system contributes to this as evidenced by a derangement in key autophagy markers in both mouse and human atherosclerotic plaques. By augmenting macrophage TFEB, the master transcriptional regulator of autophagy-lysosomal biogenesis, we can reverse the autophagy dysfunction of plaques, enhance aggrephagy of p62-enriched protein aggregates and blunt macrophage apoptosis and pro-inflammatory IL-1β levels, leading to reduced atherosclerosis. In order to harness this degradative response therapeutically, we also describe a natural sugar called trehalose as an inducer of macrophage autophagy-lysosomal biogenesis and show trehalose's ability to recapitulate the atheroprotective properties of macrophage TFEB overexpression. Our data support this practical method of enhancing the degradative capacity of macrophages as a therapy for atherosclerotic vascular disease

Spontaneous Imbibition and Imbibition Oil Recovery in Tight Rocks

Advances in the development of unconventional resources have led to a surge in North American oil production. For example, tight oil production has pushed the U.S. crude supply to over 9% of world total production. Therefore, petrophysical characterization of such low-permeability rocks, has become increasingly important for petroleum engineers. Properties such as porosity, permeability, pore throat size, and wettability are of high importance for evaluating production from tight oil formations. This study has two parts. In first part, we measure and analyze spontaneous imbibition of water and oil into five twin core plugs drilled from the cores of a well drilled in the Montney Formation, an unconventional oil and gas play in Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). We characterize the samples by measuring the mineralogy using XRD (x-ray diffraction), total organic carbon content, porosity, and permeability. In order to quantify wettability of the core plugs, we define two wettability indices for the oil phase based on the slope and equilibrium values of water and oil imbibition curves. We observe that the two indices decrease by increasing neutron porosity and gamma ray parameters measured by wireline logging tools. Our results demonstrate that porosity is a key parameter controlling the fluid uptake of tight rock core samples from the Montney formation. Furthermore, we propose a decoupling scheme for pore-network characterization of core plugs based on their porosity and permeability

Análisis del comportamiento sísmico de un muro de corte de ladrillo en un marco de acero conformado en frío

The light steel frame system is a new construction technology system and is more economical than other construction methods due to its lightness, ease of installation, high execution speed, and ease of repair. In this article, for the first time, the effect of stud spacing and execution method on the seismic behavior of brick shear walls in a cold-formed steel frame (CFSF) was investigated. For this purpose, 6 shear walls, A1: shear wall was made of steel frame with the dimensions of 2400 × 600 mm; A2: shear wall was the same as A1 wall, with the difference that the brick is installed in two stages; B1 and B2: B1 and B2 shear walls were made of steel frames with dimensions of 2400 × 1200 mm; C1 and C2 Shear walls are similar to B1 and B2 walls, the difference is that in these walls, all the space inside the frame was filled with expanded polystyrene plates and mortar was applied outside the frame and on it were made using CFSF, cement sand mortar, wire mesh, expanded polystyrene, automatic screw, ceramic and clay brick. After processing in the laboratory, these walls were subjected to seismic loading. By calculating the over-strength factor and ductility reduction factor using experimental results, it was determined that building the wall in one step (A1 compared to A2) and increasing the distance between the studs (B1 and B2 compared to A1) would increase the shear strength, but this does not cause a significant change in the behavior factor. Also, using the two methods of Uang and Pauli to calculate the behavior factor leads to almost the same results.El sistema de marcos de acero liviano es una nueva tecnología constructiva, más económica que otros métodos de construcción debido a su ligereza, facilidad de instalación, alta velocidad de ejecución y simplicidad en las reparaciones. En este artículo, por primera vez, se investigó el efecto del espaciamiento entre montantes y el método de ejecución sobre el comportamiento sísmico de muros de corte de ladrillo con marco de acero conformado en frío (CFSF, por sus siglas en inglés). Con este propósito, se construyeron 6 muros de corte, A1: muro de corte hecho con un marco de acero de dimensiones 2400 × 600 mm; A2: muro de corte igual al A1, con la diferencia de que los ladrillos se instalaron en dos etapas. , B1 y B2: muros de corte hechos con marcos de acero de dimensiones 2400 × 1200 mm., C1 y C2: similares a B1 y B2, con la diferencia de que en estos muros, todo el espacio vacío dentro del marco se rellenó con placas de  poliestireno expandido , se aplicó mortero en el exterior del marco, y se construyeron utilizando CFSF, mortero de cemento-arena, malla metálica, poliestireno expandido, tornillos automáticos, cerámica y ladrillo de arcilla. Después del curado en laboratorio, estos muros fueron sometidos a cargas sísmicas. Al calcular el factor de sobre-resistencia y el factor de reducción por ductilidad a partir de los resultados experimentales, se determinó que construir el muro en una sola etapa (A1 en comparación con A2) y aumentar la distancia entre montantes (B1 y B2 en comparación con A1) aumenta la resistencia al corte, pero no produce un cambio significativo en el factor de comportamiento sísmico. Además, se observó que el uso de los métodos de Uang y Pauli para calcular dicho factor conduce a resultados prácticamente equivalentes

HDL composition, heart failure, and its comorbidities

Although research on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) has historically focused on atherosclerotic coronary disease, there exists untapped potential of HDL biology for the treatment of heart failure. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and endothelial protective properties of HDL could impact heart failure pathogenesis. HDL-associated proteins such as apolipoprotein A-I and M may have significant therapeutic effects on the myocardium, in part by modulating signal transduction pathways and sphingosine-1-phosphate biology. Furthermore, because heart failure is a complex syndrome characterized by multiple comorbidities, there are complex interactions between heart failure, its comorbidities, and lipoprotein homeostatic mechanisms. In this review, we will discuss the effects of heart failure and associated comorbidities on HDL, explore potential cardioprotective properties of HDL, and review novel HDL therapeutic targets in heart failure

The evaluating of efficacy of McKenzie exercises, Massage and foot Reflexology on pain and disability of men with mechanical chronic low back pain

Chronic low-back pain (CLBP) affects most people at some point in their lives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of 3 methods which are popular and known as non-invasive way in rehabilitation of CLBP. 60 men in age of group 25-45 with CLBP were randomly divided into four groups (McKenzie, massage, reflexology and control) and instructed to perform McKenzie exercise for 8 week, massage and foot reflexology for 10 days. Patient were assessed by McGill pain questioner (MPQ) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), based on pain feeling and the ability to do routine activity of life before starting the study (Pre-test Data) and at the end of study procedure (post-test Data). Results were analyzed by Paired T test, one way ANOVA and Tukey post hock. There was no significantly difference in Pre-treatment session between the 4 groups. MPQ and ODI were significantly lower in post-treatment sessions as compared to pre-treatment values in experimental groups (McKenzie, massage and foot reflexology). Significant decrease in MPQ and ODI values were found in all experimental groups, but no difference in efficacy were found between these groups. However the result that reach from comparison between each of experimental group and control group, showed that the experimental groups were significantly effective. McKenzie exercise, massage and foot reflexology in men with mechanical chronic low-back pain reduce pain and improved disability. Researchers were not found any differences between these 3 methods as compare with each other. Due to the results, Authors suggest that may be using massage therapy or foot reflexology, for patients with CLBP, is better and more effective if therapists are looking for treating in shortest possible duration

Fueling the heart: What are the optimal dietary strategies in heart failure?

OBJECTIVES: Heart failure (HF) is a global health concern with rising incidence and poor prognosis. While the essential role of nutritional and dietary strategies in HF patients is acknowledged in the existing scientific guidelines and clinical practice, there are no comprehensive nutritional recommendations for optimal dietary management of HF. METHODS: In this review, we discuss results from recent studies on the obesity paradox and the effects of calorie restriction and weight loss, intermittent fasting, the Western diet, the Mediterranean diet, the ketogenic diet, and the DASH diet on HF progression. RESULTS: Many of these strategies remain under clinical and basic investigation for their safety and efficacy, and there is considerable heterogeneity in the observed response, presumably because of heterogeneity in the pathogenesis of different types of HF. In addition, while specific aspects of cardiac metabolism, such as changes in ketone body utilization, might underlie the effects of certain dietary strategies on the heart, there is a critical divide between supplement strategies (i.e., with ketones) and dietary strategies that impact ketogenesis. CONCLUSION: This review aims to highlight this gap by exploring emerging evidence supporting the importance of personalized dietary strategies in preventing progression and improving outcomes in the context of HF

Aesthetic Automata: Synthesis and Simulation of Aesthetic Behaviour in Cellular Automata

This thesis addresses the computational notion of aesthetics in the framework of multistate two-dimensional cellular automata (2D CA). The measure of complexity is a core concept in computational approaches to aesthetics. Shannon's information theory provided an objective measure of complexity, which led to the emergence of various informational theories of aesthetics. However, entropy fails to take into account the spatial characteristics of 2D patterns; these characteristics are fundamental in addressing the aesthetic problem, in general, and of CA-generated patterns, in particular. This thesis proposes two empirically evaluated alternative measures of complexity, taking into account the spatial characteristics of 2D patterns and experimental studies on human aesthetic perception in the visual domain. The measures are extended to robustly quantify the complexity of multi-state 2D CA-generated patterns. The first model, spatial complexity, is based on the probabilistic spatial distribution of homogeneous/heterogeneous neighbouring cells over the lattice of a multi-state 2D cellular automaton. The second model is based on algorithmic information theory (Kolmogorov complexity) which is extended to estimate the complexity of 2D patterns. The spatial complexity measure presents performance advantage over information-theoretic models, specifically in discriminating symmetries and the orientation in CA-generated patterns, enabling more accurate measurement of complexity in relation to aesthetic evaluations of 2D patterns. A series of experimental stimuli with various structural characteristics and levels of complexity were generated by seeding 3-state 2D CA with different initial configurations for psychological experiments. The results of experimentation demonstrate the presence of correlation between spatial complexity measures and aesthetic judgements of experimental stimuli. The same results were obtained for the estimations of Kolmogorov complexity of experimental stimuli