Gas distribution in shallow large diameter packed beds

It is important to maintain a uniform distribution of gas and liquid in large diameter packed columns to maintain mass transfer efficiency on scaling up. This work presents measurements and methods of evaluating maldistributed gas flow in packed columns. Little or no previous work has been done in this field. A gas maldistribution number, F, was defined, based on point to point velocity variations in the gas emerging from the top of packed beds. f has a minimum value for a uniformly distributed flow and much larger values for maldistributed flows. A method of testing the quality of vapour distributors is proposed, based on "the variation of f with packed height. A good gas distributor requires a short packed depth to give a good gas distribution. Measurements of gas maldistribution have shown that the principle of dynamic similarity is satisfied if two geometrically similar beds are operated at the same Reynold's number. The validity of f as a good measure of gas maldistribution, and the principle of dynamic similarity are tested statistically by Multi-Factor Analysis of the variance, and visually by the response "surfaces technique. Pressure distribution has been measured in a model of a large diameter packed bed, and shown to be associated with the velocity of the gas in a tangential feed pipe. Two simplified theoretical models are proposed to describe the flow of gases through packed beds and to support the principle of dynamic similarity. These models explain why the packed bed itself causes the flow of gas to become more uniformly distributed. A 1.2m. diameter scaled-down model was constructed geometrically similar to a 7.3m. diameter vacuum crude distillation column. The previously known internal cylinder gas distributor was tested. Three new distributors suitable for use in a large diameter column were developed and tested, these are: Internal Cylinder with Slots and Cross Baffles, Internal Cylinder with Guides in the Annulus, Internal Cylinder with Internal Cross Baffles - It has been shown that this is an excellent distributor.

Pre-operative ultrasound for breast tumour measurements: is there potential for mismanagement?

The pre-operative size of breast tumour is the most important factor in determining feasibility of breast conserving surgery in operable breast cancer. Currently there is no consensus on the most accurate modality to measure tumour size. A prospective study of consecutive and unselected symptomatic patients with invasive breast cancer who had primary surgery between January 2006 and December 2007 was conducted. Patients with multi-focal and multi-centric tumours were excluded. The aim of this study was to find the correlation between histological size of invasive breast cancer and pre-operative tumour size as measured by ultrasound. Over this two year period, data for 192 patients was analysed for this study. The mean tumour diameter on ultrasound and histology was 19.5mm and 29mm respectively. The difference between the means in the two modalities was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001).Ultrasound underestimates the true size of breast tumours as determined histologically. Inaccurate tumour size measurements may result in re-operations to achieve adequate margins.

Three-dimensional, in-silico breast phantom for multimodality image simulations

We report on the construction of anatomically realistic three-dimensional in-silico breast phantoms with adjustable sizes, shapes and morphologic features. The concept of multiscale spatial resolution is implemented for generating breast tissue images from multiple modalities. Breast epidermal boundary and subcutaneous fat layer is generated by fitting an ellipsoid and 2nd degree polynomials to reconstructive surgical data and ultrasound imaging data. Intraglandular fat is simulated by randomly distributing and orienting adipose ellipsoids within a fibrous region immediately within the dermal layer. Cooper’s ligaments are simulated as fibrous ellipsoidal shells distributed within the subcutaneous fat layer. Individual ductal lobes are simulated following a random binary tree model which is generated based upon probabilistic branching conditions described by ramification matrices, as originally proposed by Bakic et al [3, 4]. The complete ductal structure of the breast is simulated from multiple lobes that extend from the base of the nipple and branch towards the chest wall. As lobe branching progresses, branches are reduced in height and radius and terminal branches are capped with spherical lobular clusters. Biophysical parameters are mapped onto the complete anatomical model and synthetic multimodal images (Mammography, Ultrasound, CT) are generated for phantoms of different adipose percentages (40%, 50%, 60%, and 70%) and are analytically compared with clinical examples. Results demonstrate that the in-silico breast phantom has applications in imaging performance evaluation and, specifically, great utility for solving image registration issues in multimodality imaging.

Relationship between waist circumference and sagittal abdominal diameter measured at different anatomical sites and inflammatory biomarkers in apparently health men

Introduction: Visceral fat accumulation is associated with several changes, such as, increased production of inflammatory biomarkers, especially, C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen. Anthropometric measurements for central adiposity evaluation, such as, waist circumference (WC) and sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD) have been highlighted. However, there is no consensus on the best anatomical site for measurement. Objective: To evaluate the reliability of different measurements of WC and SAD and verify their capacity to discriminate changes in inflammatory biomarkers. Method: 130 men (20-59 years) were assessed, having measurements of weight, height, WC and SAD. It was considered as the cutoff point for high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) values ≥ 0.12 mg/dL and for fibrinogen the 50th percentile of the evaluated sample. Results: All measurements presented an intraclass correlation coefficient between 0.998 and 0.999. WC measured at the umbilical level (AUC=0.693±0.049) and the smallest circumference between the thorax and the hips (AUC=0.607±0.050) had greater ability to discriminate changes in concentrations of hs-CRP and fibrinogen, respectively. SAD (umbilical level) showed the better ability to detect changes in concentrations of hs-CRP (AUC=0.698± 0.049) and fibrinogen (AUC=0.625±0.049), according to the ROC analysis (p<0.05). Conclusion: WC (smallest circumference between the thorax and the hips) and SAD (umbilical level) are the anatomic sites of measurement for use in predicting the inflammatory risk in apparently health men.

Growth and survival of Sclerolobium paniculatum vogel and the relationship between rainfall and the increment in diameter at different planting spacings.

Sclerolobium paniculatum Vogel is a species that has good potential for reclamation of degraded soils. The aim of the investigation was to evaluate the growth and survival of the species and the influence of rainfall on growth in diameter as a function of different spacings (4 m x 2 m, 4 m x 3 m, and 4 m x 4 m). The results indicate that the temporal analysis (period from November 2007 to August 2013) detected significant differences (p ? 0.05) in height between the 4 m x 2 m and 4 m x 4 m spacings, while no significant difference in diameter was found between the 4 m x 2 m and 4 m x 3 m spacings. However, the statistical differences did not persist when the data was analyzed at seven and half years old. Regarding survival, a significant difference was observed only between the 4 m x 4 m spacing and the others, with superiority to the former. A strong correlation was found between rainfall and the increment in diameter of individuals in the broader spacings (R = 0.80 in the 4 m x 3 m spacing and R = 0.77 in the 4 m x 4 m spacing), while in the denser spacing the correlation was moderate (R = 0.56 in the 4 m x 2 m spacing). Since the spacings adopted did not influence tree growth by the end of the period, the choice will depend on other factors such as survival and costs of implementation and forestry management. Plantations in regions with larger rainfall amplitude may benefit the productivity of the species.

Primary Relapse Site Pattern In Women With Triple-negative Breast Cancer.

Despite the remarkable improvements in breast cancer (BC) characterization, accurate prediction of BC clinical behavior is often still difficult to achieve. Some studies have investigated the association between the molecular subtype, namely the basal-like BC and the pattern of relapse, however only few investigated the association between relapse pattern and immunohistochemical defined triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the pattern of relapse in patients with TNBC, namely the primary distant relapse site. One-hundred twenty nine (129) invasive breast carcinomas with follow-up information were classified according to the molecular subtype using immunohistochemistry for ER, PgR and Her2. The association between TNBC and distant relapse primary site was analyzed by logistic regression. Using multivariate logistic regression analysis patients with TNBC displayed only 0.09 (95% CI: 0.00-0.74; p=0.02) the odds of the non-TNBC patients of developing bone primary relapse. Regarding visceral and lymph-node relapse, no differences between in this cohort were found. Though classically regarded as aggressive tumors, TNBCs rarely development primary relapse in bone when compared to non-TNBC, a clinical relevant fact when investigating a metastasis of an occult or non-sampled primary BC.

[association Between Breast Arterial Calcifications And Cardiovascular Risk Factors In Menopausal Women].

To analyze associations between mammographic arterial mammary calcifications in menopausal women and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. This was a cross-sectional retrospective study, in which we analyzed the mammograms and medical records of 197 patients treated between 2004 and 2005. Study variables were: breast arterial calcifications, stroke, acute coronary syndrome, age, obesity, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and hypertension. For statistical analysis, we used the Mann-Whitney, χ2 and Cochran-Armitage tests, and also evaluated the prevalence ratios between these variables and mammary artery calcifications. Data were analyzed with the SAS version 9.1 software. In the group of 197 women, there was a prevalence of 36.6% of arterial calcifications on mammograms. Among the risk factors analyzed, the most frequent were hypertension (56.4%), obesity (31.9%), smoking (15.2%), and diabetes (14.7%). Acute coronary syndrome and stroke presented 5.6 and 2.0% of prevalence, respectively. Among the mammograms of women with diabetes, the odds ratio of mammary artery calcifications was 2.1 (95%CI 1.0-4.1), with p-value of 0.02. On the other hand, the mammograms of smokers showed the low occurrence of breast arterial calcification, with an odds ratio of 0.3 (95%CI 0.1-0.8). Hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, stroke and acute coronary syndrome were not significantly associated with breast arterial calcification. The occurrence of breast arterial calcification was associated with diabetes mellitus and was negatively associated with smoking. The presence of calcification was independent of the other risk factors for cardiovascular disease analyzed.

Decreased Expression Of Stem Cell Markers By Simvastatin In 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (dmba)-induced Breast Cancer.

Simvastatin, a competitive inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase widely used in the treatment and prevention of hyperlipidemia-related diseases, has recently been associated to in vitro anticancer stem cell (CSC) actions. However, these effects have not been confirmed in vivo. To assess in vivo anti-CSC effects of simvastatin, female Sprague-Dawley rats with 7,12-dimethyl-benz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary cancer and control animals were treated for 14 days with either simvastatin (20 or 40 mg/kg/day) or soybean oil (N = 60). Tumors and normal breast tissues were removed for pathologic examination and immunodetection of CSC markers. At 40 mg/kg/day, simvastatin significantly reduced tumor growth and the expression of most CSC markers. The reduction in tumor growth (80%) could not be explained solely by the decrease in CSCs, since the latter accounted for less than 10% of the neoplasia (differentiated cancer cells were also affected). Stem cells in normal, nonneoplastic breast tissues were not affected by simvastatin. Simvastatin was also associated with a significant decrease in proliferative activity but no increase in cell death. In conclusion, this is the first study to confirm simvastatin anti-CSC actions in vivo, further demonstrating that this effect is specific for neoplastic cells, but not restricted to CSCs, and most likely due to inhibition of cell proliferation.

Systemic Granulomatous Diseases Associated With Multiple Palpable Masses That May Involve The Breast: Case Presentation And An Approach To The Differential Diagnosis.

Palpable mass is a common complaint presented to the breast surgeon. It is very uncommon for patients to report breast mass associated with palpable masses in other superficial structures. When these masses are related to systemic granulomatous diseases, the diagnosis and initiation of specific therapy can be challenging. The purpose of this paper is to report a case initially assessed by the breast surgeon and ultimately diagnosed as granulomatous variant of T-cell lymphoma, and discuss the main systemic granulomatous diseases associated with palpable masses involving the breast.

Photoelastic Analysis Of Fixed Partial Prosthesis Crown Height And Implant Length On Distribution Of Stress In Two Dental Implant Systems.

The aim of this study was to evaluate by photoelastic analysis stress distribution on short and long implants of two dental implant systems with 2-unit implant-supported fixed partial prostheses of 8 mm and 13 mm heights. Sixteen photoelastic models were divided into 4 groups: I: long implant (5 × 11 mm) (Neodent), II: long implant (5 × 11 mm) (Bicon), III: short implant (5 × 6 mm) (Neodent), and IV: short implants (5 × 6 mm) (Bicon). The models were positioned in a circular polariscope associated with a cell load and static axial (0.5 Kgf) and nonaxial load (15°, 0.5 Kgf) were applied to each group for both prosthetic crown heights. Three-way ANOVA was used to compare the factors implant length, crown height, and implant system (α = 0.05). The results showed that implant length was a statistically significant factor for both axial and nonaxial loading. The 13 mm prosthetic crown did not result in statistically significant differences in stress distribution between the implant systems and implant lengths studied, regardless of load type (P > 0.05). It can be concluded that short implants showed higher stress levels than long implants. Implant system and length was not relevant factors when prosthetic crown height were increased.

Waist-to-height Ratio Percentiles And Cutoffs For Obesity: A Cross-sectional Study In Brazilian Adolescents.

This study aimed to describe the distribution of waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) percentiles and cutoffs for obesity in Brazilian adolescents. A cross-sectional study including adolescents aged 10 to 15 years was conducted in the city of São Paulo, Brazil; anthropometric measurements (weight, height, and waist-circumference) were taken, and WHtRs were calculated and then divided into percentiles derived by using Least Median of Squares (LMS) regression. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used in determining cutoffs for obesity (BMI ≥ 97th percentile) and Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparing variables. The study included 8,019 adolescents from 43 schools, of whom 54.5% were female, and 74.8% attended public schools. Boys had higher mean WHtR than girls (0.45 ± 0.06 vs 0.44 ± 0.05; p=0.002) and higher WHtR at the 95th percentile (0.56 vs 0.54; p<0.05). The WHtR cutoffs according to the WHO criteria ranged from 0.467 to 0.506 and 0.463 to 0.496 among girls and boys respectively, with high sensitivity (82.8-95%) and specificity (84-95.5%). The WHtR was significantly associated with body adiposity measured by BMI. Its age-specific percentiles and cutoffs may be used as additional surrogate markers of central obesity and its co-morbidities.

[the New Classification Of Breast Cancers: Finding The Luminal A].

To compare the distributions of patients with clinical-pathological subtypes of luminal B-like breast cancer according to the 2011 and 2013 St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference Expert Panel. We studied 142 women with breast cancer who were positive to estrogen receptor and had been treated in São Paulo state, southeast Brazil. The expression of the following receptors was assessed by immunohistochemistry: estrogen, progesterone (PR) and Ki-67. The expression of HER-2 was measured by fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis in tissue microarray. There were 29 cases of luminal A breast cancers according to the 2011 St. Gallen International Breast Cancer Conference Expert Panel that were classified as luminal B-like in the 2013 version. Among the 65 luminal B-like breast cancer cases, 29 (45%) were previous luminal A tumors, 15 cases (20%) had a Ki-67 >14% and were at least 20% PR positive and 21 cases (35%) had Ki-67 >14% and more than 20% were PR positive. The 2013 St. Gallen consensus updated the definition of intrinsic molecular subtypes and increased the number of patients classified as having luminal B-like breast cancer in our series, for whom the use of cytotoxic drugs will probably be proposed with additional treatment cost.

Semi-determinate Growth Habit Adjusts The Vegetative-to-reproductive Balance And Increases Productivity And Water-use Efficiency In Tomato (solanum Lycopersicum).

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) shows three growth habits: determinate, indeterminate and semi-determinate. These are controlled mainly by allelic variation in the SELF-PRUNING (SP) gene family, which also includes the florigen gene SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS (SFT). Determinate cultivars have synchronized flower and fruit production, which allows mechanical harvesting in the tomato processing industry, whereas indeterminate ones have more vegetative growth with continuous flower and fruit formation, being thus preferred for fresh market tomato production. The semi-determinate growth habit is poorly understood, although there are indications that it combines advantages of determinate and indeterminate growth. Here, we used near-isogenic lines (NILs) in the cultivar Micro-Tom (MT) with different growth habit to characterize semi-determinate growth and to determine its impact on developmental and productivity traits. We show that semi-determinate genotypes are equivalent to determinate ones with extended vegetative growth, which in turn impacts shoot height, number of leaves and either stem diameter or internode length. Semi-determinate plants also tend to increase the highly relevant agronomic parameter Brix×ripe yield (BRY). Water-use efficiency (WUE), evaluated either directly as dry mass produced per amount of water transpired or indirectly through C isotope discrimination, was higher in semi-determinate genotypes. We also provide evidence that the increases in BRY in semi-determinate genotypes are a consequence of an improved balance between vegetative and reproductive growth, a mechanism analogous to the conversion of the overly vegetative tall cereal varieties into well-balanced semi-dwarf ones used in the Green Revolution.

The Biopsychosocial Spiritual Model Applied To The Treatment Of women With Breast Cancer, Through Rime Intervention (relaxation, mental Images, Spirituality).

This postdoctoral study on the application of the RIME intervention in women that had undergone mastectomy and were in treatment, aimed to promote psychospiritual and social transformations to improve the quality of life, self-esteem and hope. A total of 28 women participated and were randomized into two groups. Brief Psychotherapy (PB) (average of six sessions) was administered in the Control Group, and RIME (three sessions) and BP (average of five sessions) were applied in the RIME Group. The quantitative results indicated a significant improvement (38.3%) in the Perception of Quality of Life after RIME according to the WHOQOL, compared both to the BP of the Control Group (12.5%), and the BP of the RIME Group (16.2%). There was a significant improvement in Self-esteem (Rosenberg) after RIME (14.6%) compared to the BP of the Control Group (worsened 35.9%), and the BP of the RIME Group (8.3%). The improvement in well-being, considering the focus worked on (Visual Analog Scale), was significant in the RIME Group (bad to good), as well as in the Control Group (unpleasant to good). The qualitative results indicated that RIME promotes creative transformations in the intrapsychic and interpersonal dimensions, so that new meanings and/or new attitudes emerge into the consciousness. It was observed that RIME has more strength of psychic structure, ego strengthening and provides a faster transformation that BP, therefore it can be indicated for crisis treatment in the hospital environment.

Acupuncture Increases The Diameter And Reorganisation Of Collagen Fibrils During Rat Tendon Healing.

Our previous study showed that electroacupuncture (EA) increases the concentration and reorganisation of collagen in a rat model of tendon healing. However, the ultrastructure of collagen fibrils after acupuncture is unknown. To assess the effect of acupuncture protocols on the ultrastructure of collagen fibrils during tendon healing. Sixty-four rats were divided into the following groups: non-tenotomised (normal group), tenotomised (teno group), tenotomised and subjected to manual acupuncture at ST36 (ST36 group), BL57 (BL57 group) and ST36+BL57 (SB group) and EA at ST36+BL57 (EA group). The mass-average diameter (MAD) and the reorganisation of collagen fibril diameters were determined during the three phases of tendon healing (at 7, 14 and 21 days). The MAD increased during the three phases of healing in the SB group. In the EA group, MAD increased initially but was reduced at day 21. The reorganisation of collagen fibrils was improved in the EA and SB groups at days 14 and 21, respectively. EA at day 21 appeared to reduce the reorganisation. These results indicate that the use of EA up to day 14 and manual acupuncture at ST36+BL57 up to day 21 improve the ultrastructure of collagen fibrils, indicating strengthening of the tendon structure. These data suggest a potential role for acupuncture in rehabilitation protocols.