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CFD Analysis of the Use of Desert Sand as Thermal Energy Storage Medium in a Solar Powered Fluidised Bed Harvesting Unit
No full textThis work presents an Euler-Euler hydrodynamic and heat transfer numerical analysis of the multiphase flow involving desert sand and a continuous gas phase in a compact-size fluidised bed. The latter is part of a novel conceptual solar power design intended for domestic use. Desert sand is a highly available and unused resource with suitable thermal properties to be employed as thermal energy storage medium. It also allows for high working temperatures owing to its high resistance to agglomeration. Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations are used here to assess the heat transfer between desert sand and several proposed working fluids (including air, argon, nitrogen and carbon dioxide) to justify the design in terms of equipment dimensions and suitability of the materials used. The results show that the device can provide up to 1,031 kW when using carbon dioxide as the heat transfer fluid
Persistent barriers and facilitators to seeking help for a dementia diagnosis: a systematic review of 30 years of the perspectives of carers and people with dementia
Get PDFObjective:
To identify barriers and facilitators to help seeking for a dementia diagnosis from the perspective of carers and people with dementia.
Design:
A systematic review of the literature was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines (PROSPERO protocol registration CRD42018092524). Nine electronic databases were searched for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods primary research studies. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts, full texts of eligible studies, and conducted quality appraisal of included articles. A convergent qualitative synthesis approach was used.
Results:
From 7496 articles, 35 papers representing 32 studies from 1986 to 2017 were included. Studies originated from 13 countries across 4 continents. Barriers and facilitators were reported predominantly by carers. A small number of studies included people with dementia. Barriers included denial, stigma and fear, lack of knowledge, normalization of symptoms, preserving autonomy, lack of perceived need, unaware of changes, lack of informal network support, carer difficulties, and problems accessing help. Facilitators included recognition of symptoms as a problem, prior knowledge and contacts, and support from informal network.
Conclusions:
Studies from a 30-year period demonstrated that barriers to help seeking persist globally, despite increasing numbers of national dementia policies. Barriers and facilitators rarely existed independently demonstrating the complexity of help seeking for a diagnosis of dementia. Multiple barriers compounded the decision-making process and more than one facilitator was often required to overcome them. Multi-faceted interventions to reduce barriers are needed, one approach would be a focus on the development of dementia friendly communities to reduce stigma and empower people with dementia and carers
Comparing proxy rated quality of life of people living with dementia in care homes
Get PDFBackground
Improving quality of life (QOL) for people with dementia is a priority. In care homes, we often rely on proxy ratings from staff and family but we do not know if, or how, they differ in care homes.
Methods
We compared 1056 pairs of staff and family DEMQOL-Proxy ratings from 86 care homes across England. We explored factors associated with ratings quantitatively using multilevel modelling and, qualitatively, through thematic analysis of 12 staff and 12 relative interviews.
Results
Staff and family ratings were weakly correlated (ρs = 0.35). Median staff scores were higher than family's (104 v. 101; p < 0.001). Family were more likely than staff to rate resident QOL as ‘Poor’ (χ2 = 55.91, p < 0.001). Staff and family rated QOL higher when residents had fewer neuropsychiatric symptoms and severe dementia. Staff rated QOL higher in homes with lower staff:resident ratios and when staff were native English speakers. Family rated QOL higher when the resident had spent longer living in the care home and was a native English. Spouses rated residents’ QOL higher than other relatives. Qualitative results suggest differences arise because staff felt good care provided high QOL but families compared the present to the past. Family judgements centre on loss and are complicated by decisions about care home placement and their understandings of dementia.
Conclusion
Proxy reports differ systematically between staff and family. Reports are influenced by the rater: staff and family may conceptualise QOL differently
Improving fluid consumption of older people in care homes: an exploration of the factors contributing to under-hydration
Get PDFBackground: Age-related changes which occur in older people put them at risk of dehydration and care home residents are particularly vulnerable. Evidence suggests that hydration care in this setting may be inadequate, but few UK studies have explored the extent of the problem. Aim: To determine the amount of fluids care home residents received and consumed, and identify the barriers and facilitators to optimising hydration care in two private nursing homes to inform the design and implementation of a subsequent service improvement initiative. Methods: A pragmatic descriptive observational design using multiple data collection methods. Results: Mean fluid intake was 1031ml/day; with 50% of residents offered more than 1500ml/day. Residents in communal areas received more drinks than those in their own rooms (74.8% vs 42.6%), and overall residents consumed 69% of fluids they were offered. Those who required assistance to drink consumed the least amount of fluids. Conclusion: Adequately hydrating older people is essential if associated morbidity and hospital admissions are to be prevented. This study has identified the challenges experienced by care homes and residents in meeting this fundamental care need. It demonstrates the importance of a coherent strategy to improve hydration in this population
Application of ground penetrating radar for mapping tree root system architecture and mass density of street trees
No full textThe importance of street trees in the urban environment is widely recognised. Nevertheless, the absence of proper urban planning, combined with lack of resources and methodologies for road maintenance, have made the interaction between trees and the urban environment as a priority task to pursue. The uncontrolled development of tree roots can cause extensive damage, such as the cracking and uplifting of pavement and curbs, that could seriously endanger safety of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Within this framework, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has already proven its effectiveness for the non-destructive evaluation and monitoring of road pavements. This research aims to demonstrate the potential of GPR in mapping the root system architecture of street trees. To this purpose, a GPR system equipped with a 700 MHz central frequency antenna was used to survey the area around a street tree (natural soil and flexible pavement structure). A multi-stage data processing methodology is proposed to map the tree root system architecture. Moreover, information on the mass density of roots at different depths is also provided. Results have proven the viability of the proposed method for root detection and mapping under road pavements. Analyses of results have also proven the potential of GPR in identifying safety-related occurrences from the interaction between the root system and the existing pavement structure
Variability associated with interpreting drugs within forensic hair analysis: a three-stage interpretation
Get PDFHair analysis is capable of determining both an individual's long-term drug history and a single exposure to a drug, which can be particularly important for corroborating incidents of drug-facilitated crimes. As a source of forensic evidence that may be used in a court of law, it must be credible, impartial and reliable, yet the pathways of drug and metabolite entry into hair are still uncertain. Many variables may influence drug analysis results, most of which are outside of the control of an analyst. An individual's pharmacokinetic and metabolic responses, hair growth rates, drug incorporation routes, axial migration, ethnicity, age and gender, for example, all display interpersonal variability. At present there is little standardization of the analytical processes involved with hair analysis. Both false positives and negative results for drugs are frequently encountered, regardless of whether a person has consumed a drug or not. In this regard, we have categorized these variables and proposed a three-stage analytical approach to facilitate forensic toxicologists, hair analysis experts, judiciaries and service users in the analytical and interpretation process. [Abstract copyright: © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Comparative proteomic profiling of methicillin‐susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus
No full textStaphylococcus aureus is a highly successful human pathogen responsible for a wide range of infections. This study provides insights into the virulence, pathogenicity, and antimicrobial resistance determinants of methicillin‐susceptible and methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MSSA; MRSA) recovered from non‐healthcare environments. Three environmental MSSA and three environmental MRSA are selected for proteomic profiling using isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation tandem mass spectrometry (iTRAQ MS/MS). Gene Ontology annotation and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway annotation are applied to interpret the functions of the proteins detected. 792 proteins are identified in MSSA and MRSA. Comparative analysis of MRSA and MSSA reveals that 8 of out 792 proteins are upregulated and 156 are downregulated. Proteins that have differences in abundance are predominantly involved in catalytic and binding activity. Among 164 differently abundant proteins, 29 are involved in pathogenesis, antimicrobial resistance, stress response, mismatch repair, and cell wall synthesis. Twenty‐two proteins associated with pathogenicity including SPA, SBI, CLFA, and DLT are upregulated in MRSA. Moreover, the upregulated pathogenic protein ENTC2 in MSSA is determined to be a super antigen, potentially capable of triggering toxic shock syndrome in the host. Enhanced pathogenicity, antimicrobial resistance, and stress response are observed in MRSA compared to MSSA
Development of a simplified thermal performance prediction method based on free-running temperatures and building envelope characteristics
Get PDFVarious thermal prediction methods and tools for conceptual building design have been rapidly
developed in the past decades. However, most of these methods have some drawbacks to obsess their
applications, such as heavily relying on very detailed information of building envelope components, and
their thermal conductivity data with complicated computation models or formulas; and difficulties for
architects to understand and judge the outcomes of such predictions in a conceptual design. Therefore, this
research targets on developing a simplified method to predict the integrated thermal performance of a
building with simplified envelope parameters and hourly free-running temperatures in the conceptual
design stage. It categorizes the scattered design parameters into three combined thermal characteristic
indexes and applies a serials of corresponding quasi-steady calculation methods for building thermal
processes to predict hourly free-running temperatures. The interrelationships between these three combined
indexes and two overall thermal performance indicators are verified via a sensitivity analysis, and are
presented in two charts, which can easily be adopted in a conceptual building design. This method has been
validated in an experimental case study. It can help architects to quickly find the thermal design
performance of a designed building in the conceptual design stage
Displacement monitoring in airport runways by persistent scatterers SAR interferometry
Get PDFDeformations monitoring in airport runways and the surrounding areas is crucial, especially in case of low-bearing capacity subgrades, such as the clayey subgrade soils. An effective monitoring of the infrastructure asset allows to secure the highest necessary standards in terms of the operational and safety requirements. Amongst the emerging remote sensing techniques for transport infrastructures monitoring, the Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) technique has proven effective for the evaluation of the ground deformations. However, its use for certain demanding applications, such a as the assessment of millimetric differential deformations in airport runways, is still considered as an open issue for future developments. In this study, a time-series analysis of COSMO-SkyMed satellite images acquired from January 2015 to April 2019 is carried out by employing the PSI technique. The aim is to retrieve the mean deformation velocity and time series of the surface deformations occurring in airport runways. The technique is applied to Runway 3 at the “Leonardo da Vinci” International Airport in Rome, Italy. The proposed PSI technique is then validated by way of comparison with the deformation outcomes obtained on the runway by traditional topographic levelling over the same time span. The results of this study clearly demonstrate the efficiency and the accuracy of the applied PSI technique for the assessment of deformations in airport runways
Dancing and dreaming: “Fifty years of British music video” in Havana
Get PDFThis report reflects on a follow-on initiative from the AHRC-funded project “Fifty Years of British Music Video” designed to explore a collaboration between Cuba’s dance, film, and music cultures to create non-performance-based dance videos. Facilitated by service company Island Pictures, we worked with a young director, Giselle Garcia Castro, dancers at Danza Contemporánea de Cuba, and leading Cuban rap artist Telmary. The result was a single-shot video for Telmary’s “Soy el Verso”, filmed in the dance studio, based on an improvisation guided by Giselle, and inspired by the José Martí poem in the song. The video fulfilled PI Caston’s ambition to break down the barrier between “dance film” and “music video” by building the choreography from the lyrics and making it the centre of the exercise. It endorsed Caston’s conceptual aim to encourage practitioners to identify and articulate their own narrative and iconography. The team also produced a fifteen-minute documentary of the process including interviews with filmmakers, teachers and students. The project demonstrated that academic collaboration with artistic communities can stimulate new creative practices and economic development. It also showed how creative industries researchers can use networks established by institutions such as the British Council and British Embassies to exchange media practice