Search results for "fluid"
showing 10 items of 5513 documents
Importance of Propionibacterium acnes hemolytic activity in human intervertebral discs: A microbiological study
2018
Most patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP) exhibit degenerative disc disease. Disc specimens obtained during initial therapeutic discectomies are often infected/colonized with Propionibacterium acnes, a Gram-positive commensal of the human skin. Although pain associated with infection is typically ascribed to the body's inflammatory response, the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was recently observed to directly activate nociceptors by secreting pore-forming α-hemolysins that disrupt neuronal cell membranes. The hemolytic activity of P. acnes in cultured disc specimens obtained during routine therapeutic discectomies was assessed through incubation on sheep-blood agar. T…
Polyelectrolyte properties of filamentous biopolymers and their consequences in biological fluids.
2014
Anionic polyelectrolyte filaments are common in biological cells. DNA, RNA, the cytoskeletal filaments F-actin, microtubules, and intermediate filaments, and polysaccharides such as hyaluronan that form the pericellular matrix all have large net negative charge densities distributed over their surfaces. Several filamentous viruses with diameters and stiffnesses similar to those of cytoskeletal polymers also have similar negative charge densities. Extracellular protein filaments such collagen, fibrin and elastin, in contrast, have notably smaller charge densities and do not behave as highly charged polyelectrolytes in solution. This review summarizes data that demonstrate generic counterion-…
Pre-conceptual design of EU-DEMO Divertor primary heat transfer systems
2021
Abstract In the frame of the activities promoted and encouraged by the EUROfusion Power Plant Physics and Technology (PPPT) department aimed at developing the EU-DEMO fusion reactor, strong emphasis has been recently addressed to the whole Balance of Plant (BoP) which represents the set of systems devoted to convert the plasma generated thermal power into electricity and to deliver it to the grid. Among these systems, the Divertor Primary Heat Transfer Systems (PHTSs) are intended to feed coolant to the two main components of the Divertor assembly, namely the Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) and the Cassette Body (CB). Since the DEMO Divertor must withstand high heat flux loads together with…
Progress in the design development of EU DEMO helium-cooled pebble bed primary heat transfer system
2019
Abstract In the frame of the activities promoted and encouraged by the EURO-fusion Power Plant Physics and Technology (PPPT) department aimed at developing the EU-DEMO fusion reactor, strong emphasis has been recently posed to the whole Balance of Plant (BoP) which represents the set of systems devoted to convert the plasma generated thermal power into electricity and to deliver it to the grid. Among these systems, a very important role is played by the Breeding Blanket (BB) Primary Heat Transfer System (PHTS) as it is responsible to extract more than 80% of the fusion plasma power. In this framework, University of Palermo, Ansaldo Nucleare and CREATE have focused their work to improve ther…
Noble-gas signature of magmas from a heterogeneous mantle wedge: The case of Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy)
2014
Abstract We report on the variation of the elemental (He, Ne, and Ar) and isotopic (He and Ar) compositions of olivine- and clinopyroxene-hosted fluid inclusions hosted in lavas, pyroclastics, and cumulate xenoliths from the last 60 ka of the eruptive history of Stromboli volcano, Italy. Samples belong to (i) the present-day activity as represented by shoshonitic (SHO) basalts, i.e., pumices with low porphyritic (LP) content and high porphyritic (HP) scoriae; (ii) the subalkaline versus alkaline products erupted at Stromboli during its subaerial history among the extreme magmatic series, i.e., calc-alkaline (CA) and potassic (KS); and (iii) the only known ultramafic cumulates (San Bartolo w…
Computer Fluid Dynamics Assessment of an Active Ventilated Façade Integrating Distributed MPPT and Battery
2019
Ventilated Façades integrated with photovoltaic panels have become a popular way to improve both the thermal-physical performances of the existing built environment. The increased usage of not-programmable renewable energy sources implies the adoption of energy storage systems to mitigate the mismatch between the power generation and the building’s demand. Aiming at properly integrates a photovoltaic panel and a battery (Lithium based) as a module of an active ventilated façade, the prototype design has been carried out in terms of thermo-fluid dynamics performance. Based on experimental setup, a numerical study of flow through the air cavity of the active ventilated façade has been carried…
Heat-to-current conversion of low-grade heat from a thermocapacitive cycle by supercapacitors
2015
Thermal energy is abundantly available, and especially low-grade heat is often wasted in industrial processes as a by-product. Tapping into this vast energy reservoir with cost-attractive technologies may become a key element for the transition to an energy-sustainable economy and society. We propose a novel heat-to-current converter which is based on the temperature dependence of the cell voltage of charged supercapacitors. Using a commercially available supercapacitor, we observed a thermal cell-voltage rise of around 0.6 mV K-1 over a temperature window of 0 degrees C to 65 degrees C. Within our theoretical model, this can be used to operate a Stirling-like charge-voltage cycle whose eff…
Battery characterization via eddy-current imaging with nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
2021
Sensitive and accurate diagnostic technologies with magnetic sensors are of great importance for identifying and localizing defects of rechargeable solid batteries in a noninvasive detection. We demonstrate a microwave-free AC magnetometry method with negatively charged NV centers in diamond based on a cross-relaxation feature between NV centers and individual substitutional nitrogen (P1) centers occurring at 51.2 mT. We apply the technique to non-destructive solid-state battery imaging. By detecting the eddy-current-induced magnetic field of the battery, we distinguish a defect on the external electrode and identify structural anomalies within the battery body. The achieved spatial resolut…
Rapid online solid-state battery diagnostics with optically pumped magnetometers
2020
Applied Sciences 10(21), 7864 (2020). doi:10.3390/app10217864
Development of a membrane-less microfluidic thermally regenerative ammonia battery
2021
Thermally regenerative ammonia battery is a promising approach to make use of waste heat and generate electrical energy. However, according to literature, the price of the energy obtained by this device is much higher than alternative renewable technologies (such as wind, solar, geothermal, etc.). To make the process more viable for applicative purposes, it would be necessary to reduce dramatically the cost of the membrane or to avoid it. Hence, the aim of the present work is to increase the economic figures of thermally regenerative ammonia battery avoiding the use of membranes. It was concluded that this result can be obtained by developing the process in a microfluidic flow cell with lam…