bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measurement of skin surface biomakers by Transdermal Analyses Patch following different in vivo models of irritation: a pilot study
Authors: Falcone D. , Spee P. , Salk K. , Peppelman M. , van de Kerkhof P. C. M. , van Erp P. E. J. 
Published: November 2016

Background/PurposeFibroTx Transdermal Analyses Patch (TAP) is a novel technology for non‐invasive measurements of protein biomarkers on the skin surface, in vivo. The aim of this study was to explore the potential of TAP in detecting skin surface biomarkers following mild perturbations, in vivo, using two experimental models: tape stripping, mimicking acute barrier disruption, and histamine iontophoresis, mimicking acute and local inflammation at minimal skin barrier insult.MethodsTape stripping and histamine iontophoresis were performed in two separate experiments on the volar forearm of healthy volunteers (n = 27 and n = 10, respectively). Biomarker levels were assessed with TAP at baseline and up to 72 h after stimulation. Functional (transepidermal water loss –TEWL– and a* value) and morphological (confocal reflectance microscopy –RCM) assessments were added in the tape stripping and histamine iontophoresis experiments, respectively.ResultsCytokines IL‐1α and IL‐1RA and the antimicrobial peptide hBD‐1 showed distinct dynamics, despite substantial inter‐individual variation in levels, with an increase following tape stripping and a decrease following histamine iontophoresis. These dynamics could be related to the assessments made by TEWL and RCM. In the tape stripping experiment, additional biomarkers could be detected.ConclusionTAP measurements, especially IL‐1α, IL‐1RA, and hBD‐1, from the skin surface were sensitive enough for monitoring dynamic changes in the skin in the two models of skin perturbation. We conclude that TAP holds promise for non‐invasively unraveling the dynamics of processes related to skin perturbation and repair.
What Do We Value Most in Schools? A Study of Preference Rankings of School Attributes
Authors: Hassan Mamdouh , Geys Benny 
Published: November 2016

ObjectivesA key question in education policy as well as individuals’ school choice involves the characteristics of schools we value most. It is thereby important to understand any heterogeneity in parents’, teachers’, and school principals’ preference rankings driven by their education level, gender, and age.MethodIn this article, we propose a survey‐based approach to examine preference rankings of diverse school attributes, which accounts for tradeoffs required in real‐world choice situations.ResultsOur results indicate that stakeholders on average rank the “ethical” aspects of schools (such as pupil and staff happiness and equality of opportunities) above their “efficiency” aspects (such as academic achievement or school size). Yet, respondents’ role in the school as well as their education level, gender, and age influence observed preference rankings.ConclusionsTo avoid biased inferences, survey designs on school preferences should account for the fact that real‐world choices in favor of one particular characteristic often imply giving up at least some others. Doing so, we show that parents, teachers, and school principals appear to disagree with the predominant consideration awarded to academic achievement in current education policies.
Solar Water Distillation Using Paraffin Wax as Phase Change Material
Authors: Sudheer Bellam , Vijaya Kumar Reddy K. , Gugulothu Ravi , Tallapragada V. S. S. P. Sashank , Bhavirisetti Manikanta 
Published: November 2016

All life on earth depends on energy and the cycling of carbon. Energy is essential for economic and social development and also poses an environmental challenge. The world’s dependence on fossil fuels began approximately 200 years ago. Availability of fossil energy resources, peak oil era and this is the time for end of the fossil fuel era, price and environmental impact and various renewable resources and use of it.
The twenty first century is rapidly becoming the perfect energy storm, modern society is faced with volatile energy prices and growing environmental concerns as well as energy supply and security issues. Solar and wind energy are now providing the lowest cost options for economic and community development in rural regions around the globe. Energy and water are the key to modern life and provide the basis necessary for sustained economic development. Due to a growing world population and increasing modernization global energy demand is raising during the current century. Finding the sufficient supplies of clean and sustainable energy for the future is the global society’s most challenge for this century. The future will be depends on a renewable sources such as solar, wind and biomass.
There are large numbers of phase change materials (PCM’S) that melt and solidify at wide range of temperatures, making them attractive in a number of applications. PCMs have been widely used in latent heat thermal storage systems for heat pumps, solar engineering and spacecraft thermal control applications. The use of PCMs for heating and cooling applications for buildings has been investigated within the past decade. The experimental results computed in the field of water distillation process using solar energy in the presence of energy storage materials i.e paraffin wax are discussed in this paper.
Analysis of Off-Design Behavior of a Solar-Fossil Hybrid Combined Cycle Plant Using a Small Particle Heat Exchange Receiver (SPHER) With a Variable Guide Vane Gas Turbine
Authors: Virgen Matthew Miguel , Miller Fletcher 
Published: November 2016

Two significant goals in solar plant operation are lower cost and higher efficiencies. This is both for general competitiveness of solar technology in the energy industry, and also to meet the US DOE Sunshot Initiative Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) cost goals [1]. We present here an investigation on the effects of adding a bottoming steam power cycle to a solar-fossil hybrid CSP plant based on a Small Particle Heat Exchange Receiver (SPHER) driving a gas turbine as the primary cycle. Due to the high operating temperature of the SPHER being considered (over 1000 Celsius), the exhaust air from the primary Brayton cycle still contains a tremendous amount of exergy. This exergy of the gas flow can be captured in a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), to generate superheated steam and run a bottoming Rankine cycle, in a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) system. A wide range of cases were run to explore options for maximizing both power and efficiency from the proposed CSP CCGT plant. Due to the generalized nature of the bottoming cycle modeling, and the varying nature of solar power, special consideration had to be given to the behavior of the heat exchanger and Rankine cycle in off-design scenarios.
Variable guide vanes (VGVs), which can control the mass flow rate through the gas turbine system, have been found to be an effective tool in providing operational flexibility to address the variable nature of solar input. The effect VGVs and the operating range associated with them are presented. Strategies for meeting a minimum solar share are also explored. Trends with respect to the change in variable guide vane angle are discussed, as well as the response of the HRSG and bottoming Rankine cycle in response to changes in the gas mass flow rate and temperature. System efficiencies in the range of 50% were found to result from this plant configuration. However, a combustor inlet temperature (CIT) limit lower than a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) limit leads two distinct Modes of operation, with a sharp drop in both plant efficiency and power occurring when the air flow through the receiver exceeded the (CIT) limit, and as a result would have to bypass the combustor entirely and enter the turbine at a significantly lower temperature than nominal. Until that limit is completely eliminated through material or design improvements, this drawback can be addressed through strategic use of the variable guide vanes. Optimal operational strategy is ultimately decided by economics, plant objectives, or other market incentives.
Microwave Plasma Gasification for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Sustainable Waste Management
Authors: Panicker Philip K. , Magid Amani 
Published: November 2016

This paper presents qualitative evidence to support the application of microwave induced plasma gasification (MIPG) technology for converting municipal solid wastes (MSW) to syngas and to use it for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The target for the case study of this paper is the United Arab Emirates, which is a major producer and exporter of petroleum. The main EOR method employed by the UAE’s oil companies is the miscible gas flooding method, whereby natural gas or carbon dioxide is injected into the oil reservoirs to boost the oil pressure, reduce the viscosity of the oil and to increase the pumping rates. UAE purchases natural gas for power production and EOR from its neighbor, Qatar, which makes the UAE a net importer of natural gas and a major consumer of energy, while reducing the national income from the oil sales. The UAE is looking at ways to boost its oil production and to reduce the usage of natural gas, including the injection of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and steam generated by concentrated solar power.
UAE and the other Arabian Gulf nations have some of the highest per capita rates of production of domestic waste. Landfilling is the prevalent form of waste disposal for industrial, commercial and residential waste. Incineration-type waste-to-energy power plants are being constructed, but they are not the most effective solution due to cost and environmental reasons.
This paper proposes a solution that covers the two problems with one technology, namely MIPG of MSW. MIPG is shown to be the most efficient method of gasification available, as it uses much less energy for producing and sustaining the plasma than other techniques, and produces a much cleaner syngas than thermochemical gasification schemes. The syngas can be used for electricity generation or for making fuels and raw materials in the Fischer-Tropsch or similar processes. In this proposal, MIPG will be used to turn MSW, sewage sludge and biomass wastes into syngas. A part of the syngas will be used to produce electricity to power the petroleum extraction processes, while the carbon dioxide formed in this combustion of syngas can be captured and used for EOR in deep oil wells, which also functions as a form of sequestration of carbon. In addition, syngas can be turned into methane and synthetic natural gas using the Fischer-Tropsch or Sabatier process and then pumped into the oil wells. Some of the petroleum extracted can also be gasified using the MIPG method for the production of synthetic natural gas. Thus, the dependence on natural gas imports will be eliminated, while also achieving zero landfill targets.
Non Flow-Through (NFT), Advanced Product Water Removal (APWR), Low Temperature PEM Fuel Cell With Reduced Balance of Plant for Air-Independent Applications
Authors: LaGrange Jay W. , Smith William F. 
Published: November 2016

Recent developments in applications such as Pulsed Power, Space, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) aircraft and underwater vehicles have created interest in the application of air-independent fuel cells. The attraction for such systems has been the potential for high performance, long life and high energy density allowing for extended mission operations and simple recharge.
A limitation of such systems, to date, has been the relatively complicated balance of plant required for system operation. This typically requires circulation of one or both reactants to remove product water and distribute reactants. These parasitic systems can reduce the overall efficiency and maintainability of the system, create noise and inhibit or prevent certain missions.
Under the sponsorship of the NASA Glenn Research Center Infinity has developed a Non Flow-Through (NFT) Advanced Product Water Removal (APWR) Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell system. The design eliminates the need to actively circulate reactants and can remove water directly from the reaction site within the cell. This low temperature, compact, lightweight technology projects to a system with the operational simplicity and reliability of a battery but with the performance and recharge capability of fuel cells.
This paper will report on the operational characteristics, performance and benefits of Infinity’s APWR fuel cell. An update on development status and recent testing results will be included.
Real-Time Model of a Fuel Manifold in a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack for Fuel Flexibility Studies
Authors: Tucker David , Zaccaria Valentina , Harun Nor Farida 
Published: November 2016

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are considered fairly flexible in terms of employed fuel since the high operating temperature allows direct internal conversion of hydrocarbons to hydrogen. When fed with coal-derived syngas, significant fluctuations in the fuel composition are expected; hence, the study of the fuel cell response to sudden composition changes is a problem of interest. The fuel manifold is an essential component of a fuel cell system, since every change in the fuel upstream is delayed through the manifold before impacting the fuel cell performance. An accurate model of the manifold is extremely important to determine how the fuel cell can handle fuel composition variations.
In this work, a real-time model of a fuel manifold for a SOFC stack was developed. The model included a fuel valve, a pipe, and a distribution system of the fuel in the channels, and it was incorporated in a previously developed real-time, distributed model of a SOFC. Darcy equation for pressure losses and ideal gas law for the fuel properties were employed, ensuring the required computational time of 30 ms could be met. A parametric analysis was performed varying the geometry and the fuel conditions (composition, mass flow rate, temperature, and pressure) in order to ensure the validity of the assumptions in the operative range of interest.
The residence time in the manifold volume was evaluated with the model, and a composition change was applied to the inlet fuel in order to analyze the time delay. These aspects appeared to be very critical in a view of real-time control of the fuel cell dynamics.
Energy Efficiency Increase in Cement Industry Through Implementation of Up and Bottoming Cogeneration Cycles
Authors: Soles Agamez Cristian Camilo , Corredor Lesmes 
Published: November 2016

Cement industry consumes high energy levels with 4GJ per ton produced in average, 30% of it being electric and 70% thermal [1]. Cogeneration in this type of processes is not widespread; for only a few efforts have been made worldwide to implement methods that take advantage of waste heat stream, given that these contain 36% of the thermal input energy required to produce electricity [2]. Furthermore the implementation of a power generation alternative to feed limestone’s calcinations process is suggested.
This paper is focused on the evaluation of thermal energy recovery strategies through the implementation of cogeneration systems, enabling an increase in efficiency and profitability producing electricity in before and after-processes of the cement production process. This will be achieved using methods of computer analysis implementing the ASPEN HYSIS™ software to simulate the behavior of the systems taking the rotary kiln operating conditions as main input or output variables.
For the implementation of the system two important steps furnace operation will be taken. First one, related to combustion, is performed to produce the energy required in limestone’s processing entering this system, at this point the commercial gas turbine is used, coupled to a generator subsequently taking the power of oxygen-rich flow at the exhaust which is at a high temperature allowing a post-combustion using an afterburner.
Finally, a second stage is evaluated at the downstream of the kiln, where a flow of charged waste gases counts with enough energy to perform an additional phase of power generation using an organic Rakine cycle (ORC).
Comparisons of Aqueous Surfactant Solutions for Nucleate Pool Boiling
Authors: Dikici Birce , Al-Sukaini Basim Q. A. 
Published: November 2016

In this study, nucleate pool boiling of surfactant solutions are investigated. The surfactants chosen for the study are an ionic sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), nonionic ECOSURF™ EH-14, and nonionic ECOSURF™ SA-9. It is observed that adding a small amount of surfactant alters the water boiling phenomenon considerably. Boiling curves for different concentrations are shifted to the left. The wall temperature dropped with an increase in the concentration of aqueous surfactant solutions. Also, it is found that the boiling heat transfer enhancement of SLS is higher than that of EH-14 and SA-9 compared to water. Boiling heat transfer coefficient (h) enhancements compared to water are 46%, 30%, and 21%. (for SLS, for EH-14 and for SA-9 respectively)
Boiling visualization shows that boiling with surfactant solutions compared with that in pure water is more vigorous. Bubbles are smaller, activate continuously, and collapse quickly. Also, the bubble departure frequency is observed to be higher than that of pure water.
Results prove that there is an important possibility to enhance the boiling application processes by environmentally friendly EH-14, and SA-9 additives. Experimentation can be extended for searching other surfactants in order to find their most efficient quantity in water for boiling heat transfer.
Numerical Modeling and Simulation of Injection Cooling and Wet Gas Compression
Authors: Kishor Shyam 
Published: November 2016

This paper presents application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in modeling wet gas compression in a multiphase compressor, where liquid is injected inside the compression chamber to enhance cooling and achieve near isothermal compression.
CFD is used for detailed flow field and heat transfer analysis. It includes 3D transient simulations of multiphase compressible turbulent flow. During each cycle, compression and suction chambers keep moving and deforming. Computational domains include a gate that separates compression chamber from the suction chamber. Gate moves up and down to always remain in contact with the rotor. A custom program is used to prescribe motion for the moving and deforming domain.
Eulerian-Lagrangian method is used to model continuous and discrete (atomized droplets) phases and their interaction. Droplet dynamics under the influence of turbulence, acceleration, diffusion and body forces are studied. Models to capture droplet breakup and coalescence are included. Results from CFD simulations are used to optimize compressor performance.
Temperature and pressure variations during the compression cycle are presented. Most of the pressure and temperature rise occurs towards the end of the compression cycle. Atomization details including droplets trajectory, droplet size distribution and droplet velocity variations are presented. Temperature distribution inside the compression chamber is used to optimize location, size, and flow rate of liquid injections.
Competitive Growth Enhances Conditional Growth Mutant Sensitivity to Antibiotics and Exposes a Two-Component System as an Emerging Antibacterial Target in Burkholderia cenocepacia
Authors: Gislason April S. , Choy Matthew , Bloodworth Ruhi A. M. , Qu Wubin , Stietz Maria S. , Li Xuan , Zhang Chenggang , Cardona Silvia T. 
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACT

Chemogenetic approaches to profile an antibiotic mode of action are based on detecting differential sensitivities of engineered bacterial strains in which the antibacterial target (usually encoded by an essential gene) or an associated process is regulated. We previously developed an essential-gene knockdown mutant library in the multidrug-resistant
Burkholderia cenocepacia
by transposon delivery of a rhamnose-inducible promoter. In this work, we used Illumina sequencing of multiplex-PCR-amplified transposon junctions to track individual mutants during pooled growth in the presence of antibiotics. We found that competition from nontarget mutants magnified the hypersensitivity of a clone underexpressing
gyrB
to novobiocin by 8-fold compared with hypersensitivity measured during clonal growth. Additional profiling of various antibiotics against a pilot library representing most categories of essential genes revealed a two-component system with unknown function, which, upon depletion of the response regulator, sensitized
B. cenocepacia
to novobiocin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, meropenem, and carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone, but not to colistin, hydrogen peroxide, and dimethyl sulfoxide. We named the gene cluster
esaSR
for
e
nhanced
s
ensitivity to
a
ntibiotics
s
ensor and
r
esponse regulator. Mutational analysis and efflux activity assays revealed that while
esaS
is not essential and is involved in antibiotic-induced efflux,
esaR
is an essential gene and regulates efflux independently of antibiotic-mediated induction. Furthermore, microscopic analysis of cells stained with propidium iodide provided evidence that depletion of EsaR has a profound effect on the integrity of cell membranes. In summary, we unraveled a previously uncharacterized two-component system that can be targeted to reduce antibiotic resistance in
B. cenocepacia
.
Population Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacogenetics Analysis of Rilpivirine in HIV-1-Infected Individuals
Authors: Aouri Manel , Barcelo Catalina , Guidi Monia , Rotger Margalida , Cavassini Matthias , Hizrel Cédric , Buclin Thierry , Decosterd Laurent A. , Csajka Chantal ,   the Swiss HIV Cohort Study
Published: November 2016

ABSTRACT

Rilpivirine (RPV), the latest nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor active against HIV-1, is prescribed in a standard dosage of 25 mg once a day in combination with emtricitabine (FTC) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF). The aim of this observational study was to characterize the RPV pharmacokinetic profile, to quantify interpatient variability, and to identify potential factors that could influence drug exposure. RPV concentration data were collected from HIV-infected patients as part of routine therapeutic drug monitoring performed in our center (Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacology). A population pharmacokinetic analysis was performed with NONMEM by comparing various structural models. The influence of demographic and clinical covariates, as well as frequent genetic polymorphisms in 5 genes (
CYP3A4*22
,
CYP3A5*3
,
CYP2C19*2
,
CYP2C19*17
,
UGT1A1*28
, and
UGT1A4*2
), on RPV elimination was explored. A total of 325 plasma concentration measurements were obtained from 249 HIV-positive patients. Plasma concentrations ranged from 12 to 255 ng/ml. A one-compartment model with zero-order absorption best characterized RPV pharmacokinetics. The average RPV clearance (CL) was 11.7 liters/h, the average volume of distribution was 401 liters, and the mean absorption time was 4 h. The interinterindividual variability (IIV) for CL was estimated to be 33%. None of the available demographic or genetic covariates showed any influence on RPV pharmacokinetics, but 29% of the patients were predicted to present minimal concentrations below the recently identified target cutoff value of 50 ng/ml. The variability in RPV pharmacokinetics appears to be lower than that for most other antiretroviral drugs. However, under the standard regimen of 25 mg daily, a significant number of patients might be underdosed. It remains to be investigated whether the underexposure has an impact on the development of resistance while patients are on maintenance therapy.