Cooling of wood briquettes

This paper is concerned with the experimental research of surface temperature of wood briquettes during cooling phase along the cooling line. The cooling phase is an important part of the briquette production technology. It should be performed with care, otherwise the quality of briquettes could deteriorate and possible changes of combustion characteristics of briquettes could happen. The briquette surface temperature was measured with an IR camera and a surface temperature probe at 42 sections. It was found that the temperature of briquette surface dropped from 68 to 34°C after 7 minutes spent at the cooling line. The temperature at the center of briquette, during the 6 hour storage, decreased to 38°C

Muon-spin rotation measurements of the penetration depth of the Mo_3Sb_7 superconductor

Measurements of the magnetic field penetration depth \lambda in superconductor Mo_3Sb_7 (T_c~2.1 K) were carried out by means of muon-spin-rotation. The absolute values of \lambda, the Ginzburg-Landau parameter \kappa, the first H_{c1} and the second H_{c2} critical fields at T=0 are \lambda(0)=720(100)nm, \kappa(0)=55(9), \mu_0H_{c1}(0)=1.8(3)mT, and \mu_0H_{c2}(0)=1.9(2)T. The zero temperature value of the superconducting energy gap \Delta(0) was found to be 0.35(1)meV corresponding to the ratio 2\Delta(0)/k_BT_c=3.83(10). At low temperatures \lambda^{-2}(T) saturates and becomes constant below T~0.3T_c, in agreement with what is expected for s-wave BCS superconductors. Our results suggest that Mo_3Sb_7 is a BCS superconductor with the isotropic energy gapComment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Administration of prostin E2 in the treatment of stomatitis as a side-effect of radiotherapy

Kod pacijenata sa malignim oboljenjima na hemioterapiji ili radioterapiji često dolazi do zapaljenja oralne sluzokože, kao nuspojave citotoksičnog učinka terapije. Kako je poznato citoprotektivno delovanje prostaglandina Prostin E2 smo primenili u lečenju deset pacijenata sa neoplazmama ORL i maksilofacijalne regije koji su primili radioterapiju. Kontrolnu grupu sačinjavalo je pet pacijenata sa analognom dijagnozom kojima je primenjena konvencionalna terapija Hexoral sol., dok je jedan bio bez terapije. Rezultati su pokazali da kod pacijenata koji su primili Prostin E2 nije došlo do razvoja inflamatornog procesa ili stomatitisa, dok je kod kontrolne grupe došlo do razvoja inflamatornog procesa (dva pacijenta), a kod jednog do pojave lezije. Izvanredni rezultati ove pilot studije ukazuju da je preventivna lokalna primena Prostina E2 superiornija nad konvencionalnom terapijom i predstavlja lečenje izbora.Patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy for malignancies often develop annoying inflammation of the oral mucosa as a side-effect of cytotoxic therapy. As prostaglandins are known to be cytoprotective Prostin E2 was given to 10 patients with neoplasms of the ear, nose, pharynx or larynx, or of the maxillofacial region, who received radiotherapy. The reference group was made up of five patients with the analogous diagnosis who received the conventional therapy with Hexoral sol. One patient was not administered any therapy. The patients that were given Prostin E2 did not develop either the inflammatory process or stomatitis. In the reference group the inflammatory process appeared in two patients and lesions were noticed in one patient. Excellent results, although still preliminary, pointed out that preventive local administration of Prostin E2 was superior to the conventional therapy and thar accordingly, Prostin E2 should be regarded as the drug of choice

The New Ruthenium(Ii)-Bipyridyl Complex with O,O '-Diethyl-(S,S)Ethylenediamine-N,N '-Di-2-(3-Cyclohexyl)Propanoate: Synthesis and Characterization

The new bipyridyl complex of ruthenium(II) with O, O'-diethyl-(S, S)-ethylenediamine- N, N'-di- 2(3-cyclohexyl) propanoate was synthesized. The reaction of cis-[RuCl2(bpy)(2)] and its ligand was performed in water/ethanol solution, in the presence of lithium hydroxide, under reflux. After the addition of ammonium hexafluorophosphate, the complex was precipitated. The complex, cis-[Ru(bpy)(2)L](PF6)(2), was characterized by H-1 and C-13 NMR, UV-Vis, IR spectroscopy, ESI-MS spectrometry and elemental analysis. Results indicate an octahedral geometry of the complex, with N, N'-coordinated O, O'- diethyl-(S, S)ethylenediamine-N, N'-di- 2-(3-cyclohexyl) propanoate. Complexes of this type are particularly important in terms of potential cytotoxicity and application in photodynamic therapy. Using this therapy, many side effects can be reduced, which may allow the administration of higher drug dosages

Identification of Measurement Points for Calibration of Water Distribution Network Models

AbstractMuch importance is given to determining the input data for water distribution system networks, particularly with regard to urban networks, because the design and the management of WDS are based on a verification model. Good calibration of models is required to obtain realistic results. This is possible by the use of a certain number of measurements: flow in pipes and pressure in nodes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze a new model able to provide guidance on the choice of measurement points to obtain the site data. All analyses are carried out firstly on literature networks and then on a real network using a new approach based on sensitivity matrices

Interactive 3D Visualization Of Optimization For Water Distribution Systems

This project investigates the use of modern 3D visualisation techniques to enable the interactive analysis of water distribution systems with the aim of providing the engineer with a clear picture of the problem and thus aid the overall design process. Water distribution systems are complex entities that are difficult to model and optimise as they consist of many interacting components each with a set of considerations to address, hence it is important for the engineer to understand and assess the behaviour of the system to enable its effective design and optimisation. This paper presents a new three-dimensional representation of pipe based water systems and demonstrates a range of innovative methods to convey information to the user resulting in the ability to simultaneously display more useful information than traditional two-dimensional plan view network representations. The interactive visualisation system presented not only allows the engineer to visualise the various parameters of a network but also allows the user to observe the behaviour and progress of an iterative optimisation method. This paper contains examples of the combination of the interactive visualisation system and an evolutionary algorithm enabling the user to track and visualise the actions of the algorithm down to an individual pipe diameter change. The visualisation will aggregate changes to the network over an evolutionary algorithm run and ‘lift the lid’ on the operations of an EA as it is optimising a network. In addition, the method allows the engineer to view other important optimisation-related information such as the extent to which constraints have been violated in the current design. It is proposed that this interactive visualisation system will provide engineers an unprecedented view of the way in which optimisation algorithms interact with a network model and may pave the way for greater interaction between engineer, network and optimiser in the future

Near Real-Time Detection Of Pipe Burst Events In Cascading District Metered Areas

A fully automated Event Recognition System (ERS) for the near real-time detection of pipe bursts and other network events such as boundary valve status changes and pressure management valve faults has been recently developed by the authors. This paper focuses on the further development of this system. The aim is to enhance the ERS approximate event location and alarm handling capabilities by developing and testing a new methodology that, in the case of cascading District Metered Areas (DMAs), automatically determines in which DMA an event occurred. The newly developed methodology makes use of a set of heuristic rules based on engineering knowledge, the Water Distribution System (WDS) schematic and the ERS outputs. The results of applying the new methodology to the historical pressure/flow data from several groups of cascading DMAs in the United Kingdom (UK) with real-life burst events are reported in this paper. The results obtained illustrate that the developed methodology not only enabled detecting the burst events occurred in a timely (i.e., within 30 minutes) and reliable (i.e., without any false alarm) manner but also allowed to always successfully determine in which DMA the event happened. The latter capability enables water companies to target the resources for the identification of the exact burst location to the greatest effect. Additionally, it enables reducing the potential of false alarms and the overall number of detection alarms, thereby facilitating interpretation of the ERS results

Učinak kratkotalasnog zračenja na sočivo oka u pacova

The paper deals with the results of a study performed in three groups of rats exposed to microwave <radiation. Eighteen rats were irradiated locally (the right eye), 16 were totally irradiated and 22 served as controls. The activities of enzymes aldolase, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and sorbital dehydrogenase (SDH) in rats\u27 lenses were examined. In exposed rats the aldolase and LDH activities were found to be lower and that of SDH higher than in control animals.Autori opisuju rezultate istraživanja učinaka mikrotalasnog zračenja na sočivo oka pacova. Dvije grupe od po 10 ženskih pacova zračili su kratkotalasnim zrakama od 12,2 cm, 2 450 MHz, i to jednu grupu samo desno oko (maksimalna snaga 24 W), a drugu celo telo (maksimalna snaga 200 W). Treća je grupa služila kao kontrola. Životinje su bile eksponirane 15 minuta dnevno, pet puta nedeljno tokom 12 nedelja (prva grupa), odnosno 8 nedelja (druga grupa). Tokom eksperimenta sve su životinje oftalmološki pregledavane i merena im je temperatura tela i oka. Nakon završetka eksperimenta oči su enukleirane, sočivo odvojeno i homogenizirano te je u homogenatu merena aktivnost aldolaze, laktat dehidrogenaze i sorbitol dehidrogenaze. Nisu utvrđene oftalmološke promene na oku. U ozračenih pacova utvrđeno je sniženje aktivnosti aldolaze i sorbitol dehidrogenaze, a aktivnost laktat dehidrogenaze bila je povišena, posebno izrazito u lokalno zračenih pacova

Genetic Programming For Cellular Automata Urban Inundation Modelling

Recent advances in Cellular Automata (CA) represent a new, computationally efficient method of simulating flooding in urban areas. A number of recent publications in this field have shown that CAs can be much more computationally efficient than methods than using standard shallow water equations (Saint Venant/Navier-Stokes equations). CAs operate using local state-transition rules that determine the progression of the flow from one cell in the grid to another cell, in many publications the Manning’s Formula is used as a simplified local state transition rule. Through the distributed interactions of the CA, computationally simplified urban flooding can be processed, although these methods are limited by the approximation represented by the Manning’s formula. Literature demonstrates that the viability of the Manning’s formula will break down with too large a time step, flow rates, too small a cell size, or too smooth roughness factor; Therefore further increases in computational efficiency could be gained with a better approximation, or rather one capable of producing the required simulation with enough accuracy at larger time steps, smaller cells sizes, smoother roughness factors. Genetic programming has the potential to be used to optimise state transition rules to maximise accuracy and minimise computation time. In this paper we present some preliminary findings on the use of genetic programming (GP) for deriving these rules automatically. The experimentation compares GP-derived rules with human created solutions based on the Mannings formula and findings indicate that the GP rules can improve on these approaches

a two stage calibration for detection of leakage hotspots in a real water distribution network

Abstract The paper presents a two-stage approach for solving a calibration-based problem for the ultimate purpose of detecting leakage hotspots. This is compared with a one-stage approach. A Genetic Algorithm is used to solve optimization problems of searching for calibration parameters values, while minimizing the differences between observations and model predictions. The approach takes into account suspect valves with unknown status, as well as pipes with incorrect roughness values and nodal leakage. The methodology also takes advantage of a new approach to reducing solution search space size for the optimisation problems. These problems are then solved for different leakage scenarios. Artificial calibration data are generated by means of hydraulic modelling employed to mimic planned hydrant discharges during a low demand period, combined with step tests. The case study demonstrates the improved leakage detection and model calibration of the two-stage calibration approach relative to the one-stage approach, which considers all calibration parameters together. This can result in a useful practical network operation tool