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•The Langmuir technique is useful to study lipid-containing artificial tears.•Film formation parameters, as fluidity and extension, can be determined.•Innoxa and Optrex tears are more ...similar, to each other, not opticalm tear.•The lipid concentration and the spread volume influence the isotherm characteristics.
Lipid-containing artificial tears are a type of artificial tears that use lipid components in order to restore the lipid layer of the tear film. One of these components is lecithin which can be applied in spray solutions containing lecithin liposomes. In this work the behavior of three of these commercial tears based on lecithin, Innoxa, Opticalm and Optrex, are studied using the Langmuir technique. The obtained isotherms are presented, discussed and compared. This technique seems useful in order to see the film behavior of the lipid components of these tears and determine some important parameters such as fluidity and extension at the air-water interface, and allows us to discern differences between these commercial tears. Innoxa and Optrex tears are more similar to each other than to Opticalm tears. Opticalm presents more fluidity, probably due to the presence of more insaturations in the fatty acid chains of the phospholipids of the lecithin used in fabrication.
Spain is a country with six LNG terminals in operation and three more scheduled for 2011. At the same time an increasing number of LNG tanks are under construction to compensate the Spanish lack of ...underground storage. A method for evaluating the daily boil off generated is presented in this paper. This method is applied to evaluate the increase of BOG to be handle by LNG terminals in 2016, studying the best commercially available solution to be installed. Finally, as a solution to tackle with the BOG a cogeneration plant is suggested. This option will reduce terminal’s operational costs increasing its availability.
The boil off gas in Spanish LNG terminals is managed using recondensers. The electricity consumed by these terminals is bought in the Spanish wholesale market. Several power generating options using ...current available equipment and assuring the availability of the current terminal process have been analyzed thermoeconomically. A new combined cycle using a gas turbine and a pure NH
3 Rankine cycle coupled with the natural gas vaporization process has been chosen as the most advisable one to be installed, due to the lower thermoeconomic cost obtained as shown in a new graphical representation similar to the existing exergetic cost diagrams.
Additive manufacturing processes have attracted broad attention in the last decades since the related freedom of design allows the manufacturing of parts with unique microstructures and unprecedented ...complexity in shape. Focusing on the properties of additively manufactured parts, major efforts are made to elaborate process-microstructure relationships. For instance, the inevitable thermal cycling within the process plays a significant role in microstructural evolution. Various driving forces contribute to the final grain size, boundary character, residual stress state, etc. In the present study, the properties of commercially pure iron processed on three different routes, i.e., hot rolling as a reference, electron powder bed fusion, and laser powder bed fusion, using different raw materials as well as process conditions, are compared. The manufacturing of the specimens led to five distinct microstructures, which differ significantly in terms of microstructural features and mechanical responses. Using optical and electron microscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy, the built specimens were explored in various states of a tensile test in order to reveal the microstructural evolution in the course of quasistatic loading. The grain size is found to be most influential in enhancing the material’s strength. Furthermore, substructures, i.e., low-angle grain boundaries, within the grains play an important role in terms of the homogeneity of strain distribution. On the contrary, high-angle grain boundaries are found to be regions of strain localization. In summary, a holistic macro-meso-micro-nano investigation is performed to evaluate the behavior of these specific microstructures.
► This study provides information on the tendency of biomass and coal to self-ignite. ► An isothermal oven procedure was followed. ► Results were analyzed using the Frank–Kamenetskii method and a ...scaling procedure. ► The literature contains very few studies on the self-ignition of biomass resources. ► This information may be of use for the design of storage installations.
The safe storage, processing and handling of coals and biomass resources requires their tendency to self-ignite be understood; fires caused by self-ignition have occurred on many occasions in ports and at industrial plants. This work provides information on the tendency of several types of coal and four types of biomass to self-ignite. Data were obtained using the isothermal oven procedure and analyzed using the Frank–Kamenetskii method and a scaling procedure, both contemplated in standard EN15188. The results obtained throw light on the optimum volumes and storage times of the studied materials. The results also validate the methodology followed for determining the risk of self-ignition.
A
bstract
The NEXT experiment aims to observe the neutrinoless double beta decay of
136
Xe in a high-pressure xenon gas TPC using electroluminescence (EL) to amplify the signal from ionization. One ...of the main advantages of this technology is the possibility to reconstruct the topology of events with energies close to
Q
ββ
. This paper presents the first demonstration that the topology provides extra handles to reject background events using data obtained with the NEXT-DEMO prototype.
Single electrons resulting from the interactions of
22
Na 1275 keV gammas and electronpositron pairs produced by conversions of gammas from the
228
Th decay chain were used to represent the background and the signal in a double beta decay. These data were used to develop algorithms for the reconstruction of tracks and the identification of the energy deposited at the end-points, providing an extra background rejection factor of 24
.
3 ± 1
.
4 (stat.)%, while maintaining an efficiency of 66
.
7 ± 1
.
% for signal events.
Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of functional oils containing cashew nutshell and castor oil on turkey performance and intestinal morphology. In experiment 1, 585 hatchlings ...were randomly placed in 15 replicate floor pens, (13 poults/pen) with recycled litter and provided feed and water ad libitum. Birds were randomly assigned to 3 dietary treatments from 1 to 12 wk: nonmedicated control, 0.15% functional oils, and 66-ppm monensin. From wk 13 to 20, each initial treatment group was further divided into 3 treatments—control (no additive), 0.15% of functional oils, or 20 ppm of virginiamycin to produce 9 different treatments, 5 replicate pens per treatment. Data on feed weights were collected weekly, and body weight bi-weekly. At termination (20 wk), birds were euthanized, and their meat was processed to determine mass of carcass sections and meat quality, while intestinal samples were collected for histology. In experiment 1, toms fed monensin or functional oils were 10.5 and 4.5% heavier (P < 0.05), respectively, than the controls at 12 wk. Birds fed monensin had a 4% improvement (P < 0.05) in feed conversion as compared to the other treatments. Neither virginiamycin nor the functional oils affected bird performance when fed from 13 to 20 wk. The jejunum villi surface area at 3 wk was most enhanced (P < 0.05) for the poults fed monensin. Supplementation with functional oils significantly reduced leg yield and thiobarbituric-acid reactive substances of white meat after 7 D of storage (P < 0.05). There were no effects on performance or carcass characteristics in experiment 2. While additional confirmatory studies are needed, functional oils in the diet of turkey toms may be a viable alternative to antibiotic growth promotants.
ABSTRACT
As antioxidants such as some functional oils are good candidates to mitigate heat stress, a commercial blend of functional oils (Essential, Oligo Basics USA LLC, Cary, NC; active ...ingredients: cashew nut shell oil and castor oil) was used to study the effects of two ambient temperatures (moderate and high) on broiler chicken performance and carcass parameters. A total of 2,240 straight-run one-day-old chickens were sorted by weight, randomized among 28 floor pens with 80 chickens per pen and 7 replicates for each treatment. Birds were assigned to one of 4 dietary treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with two temperature environments (moderate and high) and without or with Essential supplementation (1.5 kg/ton). Variances for the average temperature, relative humidity, and dew point for the two environments were different (P < 0.001), showing that the high-temperature environment reached higher temperatures and dew points. Essential supplementation increased body weight gain at 42 D of age (2.548 vs. 2.508 kg; P < 0.01) and tended to improve feed conversion (1.621 vs. 1.644; P = 0.09) independent of temperature environment. The high-temperature environment increased mortality (7.5 vs. 12.4%; P = 0.03) and carcass yields (77.5 vs. 76.2%; P < 0.01). Breast yields were affected by an environment by Essential interaction (P < 0.01). Whereas the high-temperature environment decreased breast yield in control birds, it did not decrease breast yield in birds supplemented with Essential. Finally, breast yields were increased by Essential supplementation (23.6 vs. 22.9%; P < 0.01) regardless of the ambient temperature. In conclusion, Essential supplementation improved weight gains and carcass characteristics, and high-temperature environments decreased breast yields when Essential was not supplemented.
•The Peak Force mode of AFM provides surface topography as well as nanomechanical properties.•The hydrogel contact lens shows the highest values of surface roughness.•The hydrogel contact lens shows ...the highest values of adhesion and elastic modulus.•There is no significant influence of the environment, water or saline solution, on the measured properties.
Contact lenses (CLs) are of common use and the biocompatibility, topography and mechanical properties of the used materials are of major importance. The objective of this contribution is to apply the AFM in mode Peak Force to obtain surface topography and mechanical characteristics of un-worn CLs of different materials. One material of hydrogel, two of siloxane-hydrogel and one of rigid gas-permeable were used in the study. The results obtained with different materials have been compared, at a nanoscopic level, and the conclusions are diverse. There is no significant influence of the two environments used to measure the characteristics of the CLs, either water or saline solution. The pHEMA hydrogel CL (Polymacon of Soflens) shows the highest values of roughness, adhesion and elastic modulus. The siloxane-hydrogel CL named Asmofilcon A of PremiO presents the lowest values of mean roughness (Ra), root-mean-square roughness (RMS or Rq), adhesion (Adh) and elastic modulus (Ym), meanwhile the siloxane-hydrogel CL named Lotrafilcon B of Air Optix presents the lowest value of skewness (Rsk) and the rigid gas-permeable CL, named RXD, presents the lowest values of kurtosis (Rku) and maximum roughness (Rmax).
This paper analyzes field experimental data obtained on about 30 concrete structures, both new (age up to 1 year) and old (age up to 60 years). The data include in situ non-destructive tests (NDT) of ...air-permeability kT, electrical resistivity ρ and surface moisture m, as well as tests conducted on drilled cores: O2-permeability kO, water sorptivity a24, MIP, carbonation rate Kc and chloride content Cl at 10 to 20 mm depth. The main conclusions are that in situ kT of new structures is a good indicator of both kO and a24. Regarding old structures, high values of kT and kO are accompanied by low a24 values and by tight MIP pore structure. This phenomenon is attributed to microcracks, with strong effect on permeation but not so much on capillary suction. Similarly, high values of kT are not always accompanied by deep carbonation depths. The chloride content did not show correlation with either kT or ρ. In situ measurements of ρ, under the testing conditions, did not correlate with any other durability test. Finally, the spread of kT values for old structures is significantly wider than for young structures, suggesting that age improves durable concrete but weathering and damage impair non-durable concrete.
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