Effect of apparent viscosity on the pressure drop during fluidized bed drying of soursop pulp

Pressure drop and minimum fluidization velocity were experimentally studied in a vibro-fluidized bed of inert particles subjected to different vibration intensities during drying of soursop pulp. Maltodextrin was added to the pulp in order to prevent stickiness between particles and the consequent bed collapse. Pulps were initially concentrated, resulting in pastes with different soluble solids content, and a constant fraction of maltodextrin was guaranteed in the final pulp samples. The pulp theological behavior as affected by temperature and total soluble solids content, including maltodextrin, was evaluated and the effect of pulp apparent viscosity on pressure drop and minimum vibro-fluidization velocity were investigated. Two types of inert particles -3.6 mm glass beads and 3 mm Teflon cylinders (length and diameter) - were tested and, due to lower pressure drop presented by Teflon cylinders during operation of the dry vibro-fluidized bed, these particles were adopted for pulp drying process. Increasing pulp apparent viscosity caused a considerable increase in the vibro-fluidized bed pressure drop during pulp drying and, as a consequence resulted in a larger value of minimum vibro-fluidization velocity. on the other hand, the negative effect of increasing apparent viscosity could be attenuated by increasing the fluidized bed vibration intensity, which could prevent stickiness between particles. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of processing conditions on the nucleation and growth of indium-tin-oxide nanowires made by pulsed laser ablation

Indium-tin oxide nanowires were deposited by excimer laser ablation onto catalyst-free oxidized silicon substrates at a low temperature of 500 degrees C in a nitrogen atmosphere. The nanowires have branches with spheres at the tips, indicating a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth. The deposition time and pressure have a strong influence on the areal density and length of the nanowires. At the earlier stages of growth, lower pressures promote a larger number of nucleation centers. With the increase in deposition time, both the number and length of the wires increase up to an areal density of about 70 wires/mu m(2). After this point all the material arriving at the substrate is used for lengthening the existing wires and their branches. The nanowires present the single-crystalline cubic bixbyite structure of indium oxide, oriented in the [100] direction. These structures have potential applications in electrical and optical nanoscale devices.

Effect of passive pneumoperitoneum on oesophageal pressure, cardiovascular parameters and blood gas analysis in horses

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Performance of low/correct pressure radial ply tires

Extensive field testes were conducted using the UCD single wheel tester employing three large radial ply tractor tires in two different soils, four different soil conditions, two axle load levels, and three levels of tire inflation pressures in order to quantify the benefits of using low/correct inflation pressures. During these tests slip, net traction, gross traction, and dynamic axle load were recorded. Furthermore, soil moisture content, cone index, and dry bulk density data were obtained at test locations. The results of the analysis showed a significant increase in net traction and traction efficiency when low/correct inflation was used. Benefits of using low/correct pressure was higher in tilled soil conditions.

Pressure field in the cathode-anode region of a high-power klystron amplifier

The pressure field of a high-power klystron amplifier in the cathode and anode region was investigated. The investigation was performed using a 1.3 GHz, 100 A and 240 kV high-power klystron with five reentrant coaxial cavities, assembled in cylindrical drift tube 1.2 m long. The diffusion equation in mathematical model was also solved by using a 3-D finite element method code, in order to obtain pressure profile in region of interest. The results show that density profile of molecules between cathode-anode region was determined, where cathode pressure is approximately 10% higher than anode pressure.

Thermally developing forced convection of non-Newtonian fluids inside elliptical ducts

Laminar-forced convection inside tubes of various cross-section shapes is of interest in the design of a low Reynolds number heat exchanger apparatus. Heat transfer to thermally developing, hydrodynamically developed forced convection inside tubes of simple geometries such as a circular tube, parallel plate, or annular duct has been well studied in the literature and documented in various books, but for elliptical duct there are not much work done. The main assumptions used in this work are a non-Newtonian fluid, laminar flow, constant physical properties, and negligible axial heat diffusion (high Peclet number). Most of the previous research in elliptical ducts deal mainly with aspects of fully developed laminar flow forced convection, such as velocity profile, maximum velocity, pressure drop, and heat transfer quantities. In this work, we examine heat transfer in a hydrodynamically developed, thermally developing laminar forced convection flow of fluid inside an elliptical tube under a second kind of a boundary condition. To solve the thermally developing problem, we use the generalized integral transform technique (GITT), also known as Sturm-Liouville transform. Actually, such an integral transform is a generalization of the finite Fourier transform, where the sine and cosine functions are replaced by more general sets of orthogonal functions. The axes are algebraically transformed from the Cartesian coordinate system to the elliptical coordinate system in order to avoid the irregular shape of the elliptical duct wall. The GITT is then applied to transform and solve the problem and to obtain the once unknown temperature field. Afterward, it is possible to compute and present the quantities of practical interest, such as the bulk fluid temperature, the local Nusselt number, and the average Nusselt number for various cross-section aspect ratios.

Pressure field distribution in a conical tube with transient and outgassing gas sources

This work presents and describes in detail the pressure profile in a conical tube with the unavoidable steady-state outgassing, plus a transient gas source, like, for instance, in an accelerator, when particles from the beam hit the walls. Mathematical and physical formulations are given and detailed; specific conductance, specific throughput and a detailed discussion about the boundary conditions are presented. These concepts and approach are applied to usual realistic cases, such as conical tubes, with typical laboratory dimensions. © 2005 IEEE.

Critical parameter determination of sonic flow controller diamond microtubes and micronozzles

In this article, the authors measure throughput of sonic diamond microtubes and micronozzles that can work as passive gas flow controllers and flow meters under choking conditions. The behavior of the outlet pressure through the microdevices using an experimental setup with constant volume and constant temperature was determined in order to obtain the critical throughput, the critical mass flow rate, and the discharge coefficients of the diamond sonic microdevices. © 2007 American Vacuum Society.

Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2010-2011: Internacional integration and macroeconomic policy challenges amid global economic turmoil

Includes bibliography

Effect of remifentanil hydrochloride administered via constant rate infusion on the minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane in cats

Objective - To evaluate the effects of increasing doses of remifentanil hydrochloride administered via constant rate infusion (CRI) on the minimum alveolar concentration (MAC) of isoflurane in cats. Animals - 6 healthy adult cats. Procedures - For each cat, 2 experiments were performed (2-week interval). On each study day, anesthesia was induced and maintained with isoflurane; a catheter was placed in a cephalic vein for the administration of lactated Ringer's solution or remifentanil CRIs, and a catheter was placed in the jugular vein for collection of blood samples for blood gas analyses. On the first study day, individual basal MAC (MAC Basal) was determined for each cat. On the second study day, 3 remifentanil CRIs (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 μg/kg/min) were administered (in ascending order); for each infusion, at least 30 minutes elapsed before determination of MAC (designated as MAC R0.25, MAC R0.5, and MAC R1.0, respectively). A 15-minute washout period was allowed between CRIs. A control MAC (MAC Control) was determined after the last remifentanil infusion. Results - Mean ± SD MAC Basal and MAC Control values at sea level did not differ significantly (1.66 ± 0.08% and 1.52 ± 0.21%, respectively). The MAC values determined for each remifentanil CRI did not differ significantly. However, MAC R0.25, MAC R0.5, and MAC R1.0, were significantly decreased, compared with MAC Basal, by 23.4 ± 79%, 29.8 ± 8.3%, and 26.0 ± 9.4%, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - The 3 doses of remifentanil administered via CRI resulted in a similar degree of isoflurane MAC reduction in adult cats, indicating that a ceiling effect was achieved following administration of the lowest dose.

On the consistency conditions to braneworlds in scalar-tensor gravity for arbitrary dimensions

We derive an one-parameter family of consistency conditions to braneworlds in the Brans-Dicke gravity. The General Relativity case is recovered by taking a correct limit of the Brans-Dicke parameter. We show that it is possible to build a multiple AdS brane scenario in a six-dimensional bulk only if the brane tensions are negative. Besides, in the five-dimensional case, it is showed that no fine tuning is necessary between the bulk cosmological constant and the brane tensions, in contrast to the Randall-Sundrum model. Copyright © owned by the author(s) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike Licence.

Régime de croissance, vulnérabilité financière et protection sociale en Amérique latine. Les conditions "macro" de l'efficacité de la lutte contre la pauvreté

Inclut la bibliographie

Potential hydroponics systems for seed potato production in tropical conditions

In tropical conditions such as Brazil, depending on the local altitude, potatoes can be planted and harvested in every month of the year successively, which favors pest and disease incidence, especially aphids transmission viruses. Therefore, obtaining good yield depends on constant pest and disease control and quality potato seed acquisition. One of the main strategies to increase a healthier seed potato multiplication rate and production is the use of hydroponic systems, with or without substrates, in channels, pots or boxes. In 2005 and 2008, researches investigated several hydroponic systems with and without the use of substrates. In the hydroponic systems without substrate, the aeroponic system resulted in the highest multiplication rate, with 47 tubers plant-1 compared to NFT and DFT, 35 and 37 tubers plant-1, respectively. With the use of substrates, the pot system obtained better results, reaching 12 tubers plant-1, followed by the capillary system and boxes, with 8 and 7 tubers plant-1, respectively. Potato seed production was influenced by hydroponics systems. Among hydroponic systems with substrate, the pots were shown as the best option. However, higher yields were obtained in the hydroponics systems without substrate, with the aeroponic system that provided the best results.

Control of breathing and blood pressure by parafacial neurons in conscious rats

New Findings: • What is the central question of this study? The main purpose of the present manuscript was to investigate the cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia or hypercapnia in conscious rats submitted to neuronal blockade of the parafacial region. We clearly showed that the integrity of parafacial region is important for the respiratory responses elicited by peripheral and central chemoreflex activation in freely behavior rats. • What is the main finding and its importance? Since the parafacial region is part of the respiratory rhythm generator, they are essential for postnatal survival, which is probably due to their contribution to chemoreception in conscious rats. The retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN), located in the parafacial region, contains glutamatergic neurons that express the transcriptor factor Phox2b and that are suggested to be central respiratory chemoreceptors. Studies in anaesthetized animals or in vitro have suggested that RTN neurons are important in the control of breathing by influencing respiratory rate, inspiratory amplitude and active expiration. However, the contribution of these neurons to cardiorespiratory control in conscious rats is not clear. Male Holtzman rats (280-300 g, n= 6-8) with bilateral stainless-steel cannulae implanted into the RTN were used. In conscious rats, the microinjection of the ionotropic glutamatergic agonist NMDA (5 pmol in 50 nl) into the RTN increased respiratory frequency (by 42%), tidal volume (by 21%), ventilation (by 68%), peak expiratory flow (by 24%) and mean arterial pressure (MAP, increased by 16 ± 4, versus saline, 3 ± 2 mmHg). Bilateral inhibition of the RTN neurons with the GABAA agonist muscimol (100 pmol in 50 nl) reduced resting ventilation (52 ± 34, versus saline, 250 ± 56 ml min-1 kg-1 with absolute values) and attenuated the respiratory response to hypercapnia and hypoxia. Muscimol injected into the RTN slightly reduced resting MAP (decreased by 13 ± 7, versus saline, increased by 3 ± 2 mmHg), without changing the effects of hypercapnia or hypoxia on MAP and heart rate. The results suggest that RTN neurons activate facilitatory mechanisms important to the control of ventilation in resting, hypoxic or hypercapnic conditions in conscious rats. © 2012 The Authors. Experimental Physiology © 2012 The Physiological Society.

Optimisation of High Hydrostatic Pressure Processing of Pêra Rio Orange Juice

The influence of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on Pêra Rio orange juice was investigated using response surface methodology. A central composite design was used to evaluate the effects of three processing conditions (independent variables), namely pressure (100-600 MPa), temperature (30-60 °C) and time (30-360 s), on the native microflora and pectin methylesterase (PME) activity of orange juice. Analysis of variance showed that second-order polynomial models fitted well with the experimental data for PME residual activity (R2 = 0.9586, p < 0.001) and aerobic microorganism count (R2 = 0.9879, p < 0.001). The optimum HHP processing conditions to produce orange juice with PME residual activity of less than 20 % and low microorganism count (<2 log cycles CFU/mL) were 550 to 600 MPa, 55 to 60 °C and 330 to 360 s. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.