Humidity

This study was aimed to formulate and evaluate anti-aging effects of a topical cream (w/o emulsion) containig extract of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) versus its base. Formulation containing 4% concentrated extract of Foeniculum vulgare was developed by entrapping in the inner aqueous phase of w/o emulsion and base contained no extract. Both the base and formulation were stored under different storage conditions to predict their stability. The formulation and base were evaluated for effect on skin moisture and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The base showed insignificant while the formulation showed significant effects on skin moisture and TEWL. The parameter volume and surface evaluation of living skin (SELS) parameters SEr, SEsc, SEsm, SEw were also evaluated and showed a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decline. The texture parameter energy showed a significant increase proving that the formulation possesses potential anti-aging effects.

Background: The effectiveness of aerosol therapy is significantly reduced by the mucus layer covering the airways of the tracheobronchial tree. According to the present concept, drug particles are delivered to the lung together with the functional carrier particle that facilitates both the drug transport into the lungs and the penetration of deposited particles through the mucus. The approach of manufacturing multicomponent powders with mucoactive compounds and anti-asthmatic medicines (DSCG) bound together in a single particle is additionally considered. Methods: Powders were produced with the spray-drying technique from aqueous precursor solutions containing pure low molecular weight dextran, pure mannitol and dextran/mannitol-N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) mixtures (4:1 and 1:1). NAC has been selected for this purpose as a compound, which is known to be mucolytic. Dextran and mannitol are potentially applicable in the field of inhalation drug delivery. They have been used as stabilizers of functional carrier particles. Powders were characterized for their yield and physicochemical properties including: morphology (SEM), moisture content and thermal properties (DSC). Aerosol performance was determined with NGI impactor after standardized aerosolization of the produced powders in a commercial DPI. Results: Particle size distributions of dextran-NAC powders were characterized by high fine particle fraction (45-62%), which assures good particle deposition in the lower airways. The thermodynamic properties of the powders based on the temperature of the glass transition T g (50-63 • C) suggest the required stability during storage at moderate humidity. Conclusions: Preliminary examination of the required properties of these particles confirms their potential as functional carriers for pulmonary drug delivery.

Genetic, social and environmental factors affecting behavioral estrus were evaluated in Angus (n 10), Brahman (n 10) and Senepol (n 10) cows during a PGF 2a synchronized estrus and subsequent spontaneous estrus. Cows were equally strati®ed by breed to two groups of 15. Both groups were pre-synchronized with a modi®ed two-injection PGF 2a protocol. At the start of the

Male and female T. infestans were released on two consecutive nights in the salinas of Cordoba Province, Argentina, when air temperatures during the flying period averaged 28S"C. 136 males (43% of the total released) and 170 females (57%) flew on the first night, and 6 males (18%) and 7 females (27%) on the second. Of these, we recovered 23 males and 14 females within lOOm, and a further female within 200m, all from the first night's release. The remainder appear to have flown more than 100 m and possibly more than 200 m. In support of this conclusion 4 male and 5 female bugs were recovered in an abandoned brick house 550 m from the release point. Since the proportion of bugs apparently flying more than 200 m is considerably greater than that deduced from previous experiments at lower temperatures (Lehane & Schofield, 1981) it is possible that temperature influences not only the proportion of bugs flying but also the distance flown. Flight appears to be affected by wind speed. On the first night, when there was negligible wind, 43% of male and 57% of female bugs flew. On the second night, with winds gusting at 4-5 m/s, only 18% of the male and 27% of the female bugs flew.

Understanding the impact on human health during peak episodes in air pollution is invaluable for policymakers. Particles less than PM2.5 can penetrate the respiratory system, causing cardiopulmonary and other systemic diseases. Statistical regression models are usually used to assess air pollution impacts on human health. However, when there are databases missing, linear statistical regression may not process well and alternative data processing should be considered. Nonlinear Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are not employed to research environmental health pollution even though another advantage in using ANN is that the output data can be expressed as the number of hospital admissions. This research applied ANN to assess the impact of air pollution on human health. Three well-known ANN were tested: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) and Echo State Networks (ESN), to assess the influence of PM2.5, temperature, and relative humidity on hospital admissions d...

In order to correct the altimeter range for tropospheric humidity, a microwave radiometer is added to altimetry missions. Over open ocean, the combination altimeter/radiometer is satisfactory. This is not the case in coastal zones, where the signal coming from the surrounding land surfaces contaminates the radiometer measurement and makes the humidity retrieval method unsuitable. In this paper, a radiometer simulator is built. This simulator is used to evaluate the current methods to retrieve the wet tropospheric correction in transition areas. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the performances of these methods. After examining simple correction methods (extension of the open sea wet tropospheric correction, use of the meteorological model value), we evaluated the feasibility and performances of two methods which propose to take into account the land surface effect in the brightness temperature estimation. The latter was found to give significantly better results.

A year-long investigation of air change rates in an occupied house was undertaken to establish the effects of temperature, wind velocity, use of exhaust fans, and window-opening behavior. Air change rates were calculated by periodically injecting a tracer gas (SF 6) into the return air duct and measuring the concentration in 10 indoor locations sequentially every minute by a gas chromatograph equipped with an electron capture detector. Temperatures were also measured outdoors and in the 10 indoor locations. Relative humidity (RH) was measured outdoors and in five indoor locations every 5 min. Wind speed and direction in the horizontal plane were measured using a portable meteorological station mounted on the rooftop. Use of the thermostat-controlled attic fan was recorded automatically. Indoor temperatures increased from 218C in winter to 278C in summer. Indoor RH increased from 20% to 70% in the same time period. Windows were open only a few percent of the time in winter but more than half the time in summer. About 4600 hour-long average air change rates were calculated from the measured tracer gas decay rates. The mean (SD) rate was 0.65 (0.56) h À 1. Tracer gas decay rates in different rooms were very similar, ranging only from 0.62 to 0.67 h À 1 , suggesting that conditions were well mixed throughout the year. The strongest influence on air change rates was opening windows, which could increase the rate to as much as 2 h À 1 for extended periods, and up to 3 h À 1 for short periods of a few hours. The use of the attic fan also increased air change rates by amounts up to 1 h À 1. Use of the furnace fan had no effect on air change rates. Although a clear effect of indoor-outdoor temperature difference could be discerned, its magnitude was relatively small, with a very large temperature difference of 308C (548F) accounting for an increase in the air change rate of about 0.6 h À 1. Wind speed and direction were found to have very little influence on air change rates at this house.

The mechanical reliability of fused silica glass fibers is significantly influenced by the properties of their polymer coatings. The primary coating, which is in contact with the fiber surface, is expected to control the chemistry there, but the secondary coating does have a considerable effect on the strength and aging behavior of the fiber. This observation is confirmed by data obtained for ten fused silica fibers, having the same primary coatings but ten different secondary coatings. These fibers were aged at 85 o C in both de-ionized water and 85% relative humidity for up to 6 weeks and the residual strength as a function of aging time was measured. Dynamic fatigue measurements were carried out on asreceived and aged fibers using two-point bending. The results show that the secondary coating has a notable effect on the aging behavior and the coating strip force, but does not greatly influence the dynamic fatigue parameter.

Damp and mould in homes have been established as risk factors for respiratory health. There is a need for a relatively straightforward assessment of the home that quantifies this risk. Using data from 891 New Zealand houses, the utility of a Respiratory Hazard Index quantifying key attributes related to damp and mould was tested by studying its associations with self-reported respiratory symptoms. A dose-response relationship was found whereby each unit increase in the Respiratory Hazard Index was associated with an 11% increase in the odds of at least one episode of wheezing/whistling in the chest over the last 12 months (relative odds of 1.11 with a 95% CI 1.04%-1.20%). An 11% increase in the odds of an asthma attack over the last 12 months was estimated (relative odds of 1.11 with a 95% CI 1.01%-1.22%). These estimates were adjusted for household crowding levels, age, sex and smoking status. There was suggestive evidence of more steeply increasing odds of respiratory symptoms wit...

Plastic electronic packages are known to absorb moisture when exposed to humid ambient conditions during storage in tape and reel in the factory. Reliability becomes a concern when packages are exposed to a humid environment for a prolonged time and then processed through a reflow oven. Thermo-mechanical and moisture induced interfacial stresses generated between the die attach and die may

To evaluate the effect of an 8% arginine-calcium carbonate fluoride-free desensitizing paste on the surface roughness of resin composite, porcelain, amalgam, gold, and human dental enamel both prior to and following simulated toothbrushing. A resin composite (Filtek Supreme), a commercial porcelain (IPS Empress), an amalgam (Dispersalloy), gold (JIF-PF) and human dental enamel were used, as well as commercial finishing and polishing instruments. Eight two-sided samples were fabricated for each group. The composite and amalgam samples were stored at 100% relative humidity and 37 degrees C for 48 hours prior to measuring the surface roughness and completing the subsequent finishing and polishing procedures. Enamel blocks were cut from human lesion-free teeth and embedded in acrylic. The blocks were then polished flat with high polishing pastes. For gold and porcelain, the same size was used and the materials processed by a professional dental laboratory. Following storage, each surfac...

Mulching is a technique widely used to conserve soil and moderate its microclimate. Modelling transfer processes in mulches is limited by our lack of understanding of turbulent exchange within the mulch. This paper, the first of a two-part series, reports on measurements of wind and turbulence made above and within a 10 t ha −1 barley-straw mulch using custom-made hot-wires and a tri-axial hot-film probe. Wind regimes within the mulch during daytime (relatively high wind) and nighttime (low wind) differ greatly. During daytime, 10 min average horizontal wind speeds at all levels in the mulch (where they vary nearly exponentially with height) correlate well with (near-logarithmic profile) wind speeds above the mulch and are not affected by the strong temperature inversion existing in the mulch. During nighttime, 10 min average horizontal wind speeds within the mulch are decoupled from (poorly correlated with) wind speeds in the generally stable air above the mulch. Unstable conditions in the mulch at night lead to free convection, which explains the good correlation of 10 min average wind speeds at all heights within the mulch and the high evaporation rates we measured below the mulch. Under high wind conditions most of the drag occurs very near the top of the mulch which behaves as an aerodynamically smooth surface similar to a bare soil. Turbulence within the mulch is of high intensity and is dominated by intermittant gusts, with the extreme values described by a Gumbel distribution. The frequency of the gusts agrees reasonably well with that found for laboratory mixing layers. The wind and turbulence regimes in the mulch resemble in many ways those in plant canopies much larger in height and lower in leaf area density.

Background: Although multiple combinations of weather factors may contribute to an increased incidence of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia, few studies have investigated the association between weather factors and cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia. Methods: Data on cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia and weather factors in Fukuoka, Japan from 1999 to 2007 were obtained and time-series analysis was used to assess the effects of weather variables on M pneumoniae pneumonia cases, adjusting for confounding factors. A total of 13 056 M pneumoniae pneumonia cases were reported during the 9-year study period, of which 12 234 (93.7%) were under 15 years of age. Results: The weekly number of M pneumoniae pneumonia cases increased by 16.9% (95% CI 11.3% to 22.8%) for every 1uC increase in the average temperature and by 4.1% (95% CI 2.7% to 5.5%) for every 1% increase in relative humidity. Conclusions: From 1999 to 2007, cases of M pneumoniae pneumonia increased significantly with increased average temperature and relative humidity in Fukuoka, Japan.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to analyse and quantify the effects exerted on summer mortality by extremes of heat, particularly among persons aged 65–74 and 75 years and over, groups in which mortality is higher. Methods: The study included the period from 1 January 1986 to 31 December 1997, for all people aged over 65 years resident in Madrid, based on mortality due to all causes except accidents (ICD-9 codes 1–799), and circulatory (390–459) and respiratory (460–487) causes. Meteorological variables analysed were: daily maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature and relative humidity. To control the effect of air pollution on mortality we considered the daily mean values of sulphur dioxide (SO2), total suspended particulate (TSP), nitric oxides (NOx), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and tropospheric ozone (O3). Univariate and multivariate ARIMA models were used. Box-Jenkins pre-whitening was performed. Results: The results yielded by this study indicate a mortality increase up to 28. 4% for every degree the temperature rises above 36.5 °C, with particular effect in women over the age of 75 years and circulatory-cause mortality. The first heat wave that leads to the greatest effects on mortality, due to the higher number of susceptible people and the duration of the heat wave, show an exponential growth in mortality. Furthermore, low relative humidity enhances the effects of high temperature, linking dryness to air pollutants, ozone in particular. Conclusions: Since a warmer climate is predicted in the future, the incidence of heat wave should increase, and more comprehensive measures, both medical and social, should be adopted to prevent the effects of extreme heat on the population, particularly the elderly.

The potential of a ground-based microwave temperature profiler to combine full tropospheric profiling with highresolution profiling of the boundary layer is investigated. For that purpose, statistical retrieval algorithms that incorporate observations from different elevation angles and frequencies are derived from long-term radiosonde data. A simulation study shows the potential to significantly improve the retrieval performance in the lowest kilometer by combining angular information from relatively opaque channels with zenith-only information from more transparent channels. Observations by a state-of-the-art radiometer employed during the International Lindenberg Campaign for Assessment of Humidity and Cloud Profiling Systems and Its Impact on High-Resolution Modeling (LAUNCH) in Lindenberg, Germany, are used for an experimental evaluation with observations from a 99-m mast and radiosondes. The comparison not only reveals the high accuracy achieved by combining angular and spectral observations (overall, less than 1 K below 1.5 km), but also emphasizes the need for a realistic description of radiometer noise within the algorithm. The capability of the profiler to observe the height and strength of low-level temperature inversions is highlighted.

Invasive rats (Rattus rattus, R. norvegicus, R. exulans) have large impacts on island habitats through both direct and indirect effects on plants. Rats affect vegetation by extirpating burrowing seabirds through consumption of eggs, chicks, and adults. These seabirds serve as ecosystem engineers, affecting plant communities by burying and trampling seeds and seedlings, and by altering microclimate. Rats also directly affect plant communities by consuming seeds and seedlings. We studied the direct and indirect impacts of rats on the seedlings of woody plants on 21 islands in northern New Zealand. We compared seedling densities and richness on islands which differed in status with respect to rats: nine islands where rats never invaded, seven islands where rats were present at the time of our study, and five islands where rats were either eradicated or where populations were likely to be small as a result of repeated eradications and re-invasions. In addition, we compared plots from a subset of the 21 islands with different burrow densities to examine the effects of burrowing seabirds on plants while controlling for other factors that differ between islands. We categorized plant communities by species composition and seedling density in a cluster analysis. We found that burrow densities explained more variation in seedling communities than rat status. In areas with high seabird burrow density seedling densities were low, especially for the smallest seedlings. Species richness and diversity of seedlings, but not seedling density, were most influenced by changes in microclimate induced by seabirds. Islands where rats had been eradicated or that had low rat populations had the lowest diversity and richness of seedlings (and adults), but the highest seedling density. Seedling communities on these islands were dominated by Pseudopanax lessonii and Coprosma macrocarpa. This indicates lasting effects of rats that may prevent islands from returning to pre-invasion states.

This work provides thermodynamic data, in particular, liquid-state saturation vapor pressures of three common slightly water soluble secondary organic aerosol components, namely, malonic, succinic, and glutaric acids. A modified tandem differential mobility analyzer ...

A new capacitance sensor system was developed with a microcontroller, commercial humidity and temperature sensors, a capacitance-to-digital converter, and a custom-built capacitance sensor. The performance of the system was evaluated by simulation and testing of the prototype. The impact of variations of ambient conditions on the system performance was analyzed, and a model for correcting the humidity and temperature influence was developed. Based on the experimental results obtained in an uncontrolled environment using a standard capacitor of 1 pF, the 24-h stability of the system was estimated to be within 30 parts in 10 6 . The high stability and sensitivity of the system allow its effective use in object-detection applications. Several sensors were constructed and evaluated while sensing various materials under different scenarios.

Rhinologists are often faced with the challenge of assessing nasal breathing from a functional point of view to derive effective therapeutic interventions. While the complex nasal anatomy can be revealed by visual inspection and medical imaging, only vague information is available regarding the nasal airflow itself: Rhinomanometry delivers rather unspecific integral information on the pressure gradient as well as on total flow and nasal flow resistance. In this article we demonstrate how the understanding of physiological nasal breathing can be improved by simulating and visually analyzing nasal airflow, based on an anatomically correct model of the upper human respiratory tract. In particular we demonstrate how various Information Visualization (InfoVis) techniques, such as a highly scalable implementation of parallel coordinates, time series visualizations, as well as unstructured grid multi-volume rendering, all integrated within a multiple linked views framework, can be utilized to gain a deeper understanding of nasal breathing. Evaluation is accomplished by visual exploration of spatio-temporal airflow characteristics that include not only information on flow features but also on accompanying quantities such as temperature and humidity. To our knowledge, this is the first in-depth visual exploration of the physiological function of the nose over several simulated breathing cycles under consideration of a complete model of the nasal airways, realistic boundary conditions, and all physically relevant time-varying quantities.

This paper presents an integrated stimulator that can be embedded in implantable electrode books for interfacing with nerve roots at the cauda equina. The Active Book overcomes the limitation of conventional nerve root stimulators which can only support a small number of stimulating electrodes due to cable count restriction through the dura. Instead, a distributed stimulation system with many tripole electrodes can be configured using several Active Books which are addressed sequentially.

Melibiose monohydrate has shown promise when employed as a pharmaceutical excipient, but its physical properties have not been adequately characterized. Therefore, two different melibiose monohydrate batches were analyzed as received or after storage under different relative humidity (RH) atmospheres. The particle size distributions and specific surface areas of the two batches were shown to differ considerably, which also had an effect on their water sorption tendencies and on the intermolecular structure of melibiose after storage. The relatively large primary particles that were more abundant in one of the batches were shown to possess a porous surface structure, and water evaporation from them occurred in two phases when heated. Furthermore, storing the batch with smaller mean particle size under dry conditions affected the crystal structure and molecular vibrations of the sample more than in the case of the batch with larger mean particle size. It was concluded that the physical properties of melibiose monohydrate after storage at different RH atmospheres is largely governed by the primary particle size and porosity.

The countries around the world are dealing with air quality issues for decades due to their mode of production and energy usages. The outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic and consequent global economic shutdown, for the first time, provided a base for the real-time experiment of the effect of reduced emissions across the globe in abetting the air pollution issue. The present study dealt with the changes in Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), a marker of air pollution, because of global economic shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. The study considered the countries in south and southeast Asia (SSEA), Europe and the USA for their extended period of lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic. Daily Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from Moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and tropospheric column density of NO 2 and SO 2 from Ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) sensors, including meteorological data such as wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH) were analyzed during the pre-lockdown (2017-2019) and lockdown periods (2020). The average AOD, NO 2 and SO 2 during the lockdown period were statistically compared with their pre-lockdown average using Wilcoxon-signed-pairedrank test. The accuracy of the MODIS-derived AOD, including the changing pattern of AOD due to lockdown was estimated using AERONET data. The weekly anomaly of AOD, NO 2 and SO 2 was used for analyzing the space-time variation of aerosol load as restrictions were imposed by the concerned countries at the different points of time. Additionally, a random forest-based regression (RF) model was used to examine the effects of meteorological and emission parameters on the spatial variation of AOD. A significant reduction of AOD (− 20%) was obtained for majority of the areas in SSEA, Europe and USA during the lockdown period. Yet, the clusters of increased AOD (30-60%) was obtained in the southeast part of SSEA, the western part of Europe and US regions. NO 2 reductions were measured up to 20-40%, while SO 2 emission increased up to 30% for a majority of areas in these regions. A notable space-time variation was observed in weekly anomaly. We found the evidence of the formation of new particles for causing high AOD under high RH and low WS, aided by the downward vertical wind flow. The RF model showed a distinguishable relative importance of emission and meteorological factors among these regions to account for the spatial variability of AOD. Our findings suggest that the continued lockdown might provide a temporary solution to air pollution; however, to combat persistent air quality issues, it needs switching over to the cleaner mode of production and energy. The findings of this study, thus, advocated for alternative energy policy at the global scale.

Objective. Parental atopy and environmental exposures are recognized risk factors for childhood asthma. However, the relative contributions of specific risk factors and the overall contributions of indoor and outdoor exposures remain unexplored. This study was undertaken to identify risk factors, estimate the population attributable risk of each exposure, and compare the data for boys versus girls for physician-diagnosed asthma in Taiwanese schoolchildren. Methods. During a February to June 2001 cross-sectional national survey, 35 036 6- to 15-year-old schoolchildren were chosen from 22 elementary and 22 middle schools located within 1-km catchment areas of 22 air-monitoring stations in Taiwan. The main outcome measure was physician-diagnosed asthma, as reported by the parents. We investigated hereditary and indoor and outdoor environmental factors for childhood asthma by questionnaire. The adjusted prevalences of questionnaire-determined outdoor indicators were also compared with a...

Only limited research evaluates possible benefits of combined drinking and external cooling (by pouring cold water over the body) during exercise. Therefore, this study examined cold water drinking and external cooling on physiological, perceptual, and performance variables in hot, dry environments. Ten male runners completed four trials of walking 90 min at 30% VO2max followed by running a 5-km time trial in 33 Ϯ 1°C and 30 Ϯ 4% relative humidity. Trials examined no intervention (CON), oral rehydration (OR), external cooling (EC), and oral rehydration plus external cooling (OR + EC). Investigators measured rectal temperature, skin temperatures, heart rate, thirst, thermal sensation, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Oral rehydration (OR and OR + EC) significantly lowered heart rate (P < 0.001) and thirst (P < 0.001) compared with nondrinking (CON and EC) during low-intensity exercise. External cooling (EC and OR + EC) significantly reduced chest and thigh temperature (P < 0.001), thermal sensation (P < 0.001), and RPE (P = 0.041) compared with non-external cooling (CON and OR) during low-intensity exercise. Performance exhibited no differences (CON = 23.86 Ϯ 4.57 min, OR = 22.74 Ϯ 3.20 min, EC = 22.96 Ϯ 3.11 min, OR + EC = 22.64 Ϯ 3.73 min, P = 0.379). Independent of OR, pouring cold water on the body benefited skin temperature, thermal sensation, and RPE during low-intensity exercise in hot, dry conditions but failed to influence highintensity performance.

ABSTRACT Reducing the amount of lost and damaged perishable goods (food and medicines) during transportation and storage represents a substantial global challenge, which imply the implementation of cold chain monitoring at all levels of the supply chains. The main objective of this work is to develop an IoT enabled infrastructure, which supports the development of smart transportation specific applications. The proposed infrastructure contains an emulator, which can be used for emulating the conditions inside a truck during the transportation process and some CEP based tools for processing the data generated by the sensors.

Eight competitive cyclists [mean peak oxygen consumption, ( O 2peak ) = 65 ml á min A1 á kg A1 ] undertook two 60-min cycle ergometer time trials at 32°C and 60% relative humidity. The time trials were split into two 30-min phases: a ®xed-workload phase and a variable-workload phase. Each trial was preceded by ingestion of either a glycerol solution [1 g á kg A1 body mass (BM) in a diluted carbohydrate (CHO)-electrolyte drink] or a placebo of equal volume (the diluted CHOelectrolyte drink). The total¯uid intake in each trial was 22 ml á kg A1 BM. A repeated-measures, double blind, cross over design with respect to glycerol was employed. Glycerol ingestion expanded body water by »600 ml over the placebo treatment. Glycerol treatment signi®cantly increased performance by 5% compared with the placebo group, as assessed by total work in the variableworkload phase (P < 0.04). There were no signi®cant dierences in rectal temperature, sweat rate or cardiac frequency between trials. Data indicate that the glycerolinduced performance increase did not result from plasma volume expansion and subsequently lower core temperature or lower cardiac frequencies at a given power output as previously proposed. However, during the glycerol trial, subjects maintained a higher power output without increased perception of eort or thermal strain.

Although natural ventilation plays an important role in the affecting greenhouse climate, as defined by temperature, humidity and CO 2 concentration, particularly in Mediterranean countries, little information and data are presently available on full-scale greenhouse ventilation mechanisms. In this paper, we present a new method for selecting the parameters based on evolutionary algorithms which optimize the choice of parameters by minimizing a cost function. The simulator was based on a published model with some minor modifications as we were interested in the parameter of ventilation. The function is defined by a reduced model that could be used to simulate and predict the greenhouse environment, as well as the tuning methods to compute their parameters. This study focuses on the dynamic behavior of the inside air temperature and humidity during ventilation. Our approach is validated by comparison with some experimental results. Various experimental techniques were used to make full-scale measurements of the air exchange rate in a 400 m 2 plastic greenhouse. In recent years, evolutionary algorithms been applied to a variety of dynamic optimization problems. The model which we propose, based on natural ventilation parameters optimized by evolutionary algorithms, was compared with the measurements and with other results published in the literature.

The image quality of electro-optical sensors in the (lower-altitude marine) atmosphere is limited by aerosols, which cause contrast reduction due to transmission losses and impact on the thermal signature of objects by scattering solar radiation. The Advanced Navy Aerosol Model (ANAM) aims at providing a quantitative estimate of the aerosol effects on the basis of standard meteorological parameters such as wind speed and relative humidity. For application in coastal regions, the ANAM includes non-marine aerosols that are governed by an ill-defined tuning parameter: the air mass parameter (AMP). The present paper proposes a new parameterization for assessing the effect of these non-marine particles on the propagation. The new parameterization utilizes the Ångström coefficient, which can be experimentally obtained with a sun photometer, and introduces new types of aerosols in ANAM. The new parameterization was tested against experimental validation data acquired at Porquerolles Island at the French Riviera. The limited test data suggested that the new parameterization is only partially efficient in capturing the aerosol signature of the coastal environment. Nevertheless, the new Ångström coefficient algorithm avoids using the ill-defined AMP, and may thus be useful to the ANAM community.

Polyurethane foams are widely present in museum collections either as part of the artefacts, or as a material for their conservation. Unfortunately many of PU foam artefacts are in poor condition and often exhibit specific conservation issues. Their fast thermal and photochemical degradations have been the aim of previous researches. It is now accepted that hydrolysis predominates for polyesterbased polyurethane PU(ES) whereas oxidation is the principal cause of degradation for polyether-based polyurethane PU(ET) variety. Only a few studies have been devoted to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by polyurethanes and, to our knowledge, none were performed on polyurethane foams by using headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The objective of the work described here is to assess the impact of some environmental factors (humidity, temperature and daylight) on the degradation of PU foams by evaluating their volatile fractions. We investigated morphological changes, polymerized fractions and volatile fractions of (i) one modern produced PU(ES) foam and one modern PU(ET) foam artificially aged in different conditions as well as (ii) four naturally aged foams collected from various daily life objects and selected for the representativeness of their analytical data. Characterization procedure used was based on attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) and non-invasive headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS). In this paper, the formation of alcohol and acid raw products for PU(ES) and glycol derivatives for PU(ET) during natural and artificial ageing is confirmed. These main products can be considered as degradation markers for PU foams. Results show that artificial and natural ageing provide similar analytical results, and confirm that the dominant degradation paths for PU(ES) and for PU(ET) are hydrolysis and photo-oxidation, respectively. Lastly, we highlight that non-invasive HS-SPME-GC/MS analysis allows to distinguish between PU(ES) and PU(ET) at any point of their degradations.

To determine the effects of exercise, high heat and humidity and acclimation on plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline, b-endorphin and cortisol concentrations, five horses performed a competition exercise test (CET; designed to simulatethespeedandendurancetestofathree-dayevent)incooldry(CD)(20 C/40%RH)andhothumid(30 C/ 80% RH) conditions before (pre-acclimation) and after (post-acclimation) a 15 day period of humid heat acclimation. Plasma adrenaline and noradrenaline concentrations pre-acclimation were significantly increased compared with exercisein the CD trial at the end of PhasesC (P`0.05) and D (P`0.05and P`0.01, respectively) and at 2 min recovery (P`0.01), with adrenaline concentrations still elevated after 5 min of recovery (P`0.001). Plasma b-endorphin concentrations were increased at the end of Phases C (P`0.05) and X (P`0.01) and at 5 and 30 min recovery (P`0.05) in the pre-acclimation session. Plasma cortisol concentrations were elevated after the initial warmupperiodpre-acclimation(P`0.01)andattheendofPhaseC(P`0.05),comparedwiththeCDtrial.A15day period of acclimation significantly increased plasma adrenaline concentrations at 2 min recovery (P`0.001) and plasma cortisol concentration at the end of Phase B (P`0.01) compared with pre-acclimation. Acclimation did not significantly influence noradrenaline or b-endorphin responses to exercise, although there was a trend for plasma b-endorphin to be lower at the end of Phases C and X and after 30 min recovery compared with pre-acclimation. Plasma adrenaline, noradrenaline, b-endorphin and cortisol concentrations were increased by exercise in cool dry conditions and were further increased by the same exercise in hot humid conditions. Exercise responsespost-acclimation suggest that adrenaline andnoradrenaline may play a role intheadaptation of horses to thermal stress and that changes in plasma b-endorphin concentrations could be used as a sensitive indicator of thermal tolerance before and after acclimation. The use of plasma cortisol as a specific indicator of heat stress and thermal tolerance before or after acclimation in exercising horses appears limited.

This research includes a study of the effect of four temperatures (25, 30, 35, 40m•) with relative humidity 65% on some biological aspects of the Bean beetle Acanthoselides obtectus on the Bean seeds under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the effect of different temperatures is clear on biological of Bean beetle. Differed period necessary for the growth and development of each stage of the insect in different temperatures . The results of statically analysis showed a significant difference in the life cycle when all temperatures except the period between temperature 35 and 40m• , respectively. Where the average of those period, 60.75, 35.5, 20.34 and 19.27 days and also different temperatures significant effects is clear in the growth of eggs reaching the average growth of eggs 11.3 , 6.40 , 4.17 975 and 2.99 days. Whereas the mean adult longevity recorded were 15.5 , 12.2 , 6.3 and 3 days for males , and 13.7 , 7.2 , 5.55 and 4.3 days for females at temperatures of 25 , 30 , 35 and 40 , respectively .

Halloysite clay minerals are ubiquitous in soils and weathered rocks where they occur in a variety of particle shapes and hydration states. When both halloysite and kaolinite are present in a given sample, differentiation between the two minerals is problematic particularly when the halloysite constituent is dehydrated. Formamide intercalation test is widely used to differentiate halloysite-(7 Å) from kaolinite. The soil used in this study was taken from an Udalf B horizon. It was sampled in 1986, immediately studied, and then stored. This soil was selected due to its high halloysite-(10 Å) content. The formamide intercalation test was performed on 3 clay fractions (b 0.1, 0.1-1, and 1-2 μm) re-extracted from the stored soil. X-ray diffraction shows that the hydrated halloysite, initially present (in the fresh sample), is totally dehydrated after storage. Since the interlayer water in halloysite is weakly held, halloysite-(10 Å) can readily and irreversibly dehydrate to give the corresponding halloysite-(7 Å) form. Halloysite-rich samples should therefore be kept under controlled humidity conditions or in a water-saturated atmosphere if this clay mineral is to remain fully hydrated. The abundance of tubes and spheroids, estimated from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the re-extracted sample, is proportional to the amount of halloysite derived from the formamide test on the fresh sample. On the other hand, after storage and natural dehydration, the formamide test markedly underestimates the concentration of halloysite (30-40% in the halloysite-rich fractions). For the reference halloysites, however, the state of hydration does not affect formamide intercalation. After progressive formamide treatment, almost all the kaolinite is intercalated whereas only 50% of the halloysite is expanded in the re-extracted soil sample. Thus, the actual amount of halloysite in the fresh soil sample, estimated by formamide intercalation and TEM, cannot be reached even after progressive treatment with formamide. Formamide treatment indicates that the behaviour and physico-chemical properties of halloysite can be modified by dehydration.

This article deals with the development of a new composition of a polymer composition for dressing cotton yarn. The optimal concentration of the dressing polymer composition, which is 50 g/kg, against the starch-based dressing is 70 g/kg, i.e. the consumption of starch is reduced by 25-30%. It is experimentally established that the concentration of the dressing, which has a significant impact on the cost of the dressing, varies within 45-50 g/kg of the composition, while the true glue remained at the same level.
Theoretically, the interaction between the polymer groups and the reactive groups PVA and HIPAN is justified. The products resulting from this interaction contain, in particular, amide -CONH, carbamide - NHCONH, carbamate - ОСОNH2, ester - ОСО and other groups. Their presence in the macromolecules of the polymer composition makes it possible to improve the elastic, structural and mechanical properties, and to reduce the electronegativity of the adhesive film formed on the yarn during sizing.
The optimal technological parameters of preparation of dressings based on the polymer dressing material for composition. At the same time, it was found that the use of these preparations makes it possible to give the coated cotton yarn good quality and technological properties, to produce fabric on high-performance weaving equipment with a reduction in breakage by 35-40%, and an increase in productivity by 5.0-10.0%.
It is revealed that in the case of dressing cotton yarn with the developed dressing compositions, a significant reduction in starch is achieved, which indicates the feasibility of using the developed composition in economic and environmental terms

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling with the Eularian -Eularian formulation is used to describe the drying phenomena occurring in pneumatic conveying drying particularly in the U-bend. Two user defined scalar equations (UDSs) are inserted into the solution to take into account the solid particle moisture content and the mass fraction of water in the gas phase, respectively. The drying kinetics cover the two periods of drying: the constant drying rate and the falling drying rate. The investigation emphasized influences of the parameters (solid loading ratio, gas velocity, bend radius ratio, feed moisture content and geometry arrangement of a U-bend) on the drying rate and moisture content. A validation of the drying model is accomplished by comparing calculation results with experimental data. In general, the drying rate decreases along the axial direction of pipe due to the decrease in driving force (the air humidity increases). The mass-weighted average drying rate shows a slight decrease in and just after the U-bend, which is mainly due to the high accumulation of solid particles at the outer U-bend wall. Solid particles disperse and the slip velocities are high in the area after the U-bend. This causes the mass-weighted average drying rate to slightly increase.

This review compiles personal and indoor microenvironment particulate matter (PM) monitoring needs from recently set research objectives, most importantly the NRC published ''Research Priorities for Airborne Particulate Matter (1998)''. Techniques and equipment used to monitor PM personal exposures and microenvironment concentrations and the constituents of the sampled PM during the last 20 years are then reviewed. Development objectives are set and discussed for personal and microenvironment PM samplers and monitors, for filter materials, and analytical laboratory techniques for equipment calibration, filter weighing and laboratory climate control.

The objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of trehalose with that of melibiose in protecting a monoclonal antibody (rituximab) from aggregation, fragmentation, and secondary structure alterations during processing and subsequent storage. Because reducing disaccharides such as melibiose participate in Maillard reaction with proteins, especially in the presence of water, the lyophilizates were stored under different relative humidity (RH 5%, 11%, and 23%) atmospheres. Freeze drying was shown to cause clear alterations in rituximab secondary structure, an increase in noncovalent protein aggregation, and in some cases fragmentation. However, these changes were less pronounced in the formulation containing melibiose. Storing the lyophilizates under low RH (5%) proved to be most harmful to the stability of rituximab, intensifying secondary structure alterations and increasing protein aggregate content. Again, these changes were less aggravated in the formulation containing melibiose. Surprisingly, the concentration of aggregates larger than 1 :m decreased in some cases during storage at RH 11% and 23%. There was no indication that storage even under the highest RH (23%) would have caused significant amounts of Maillard reaction end products to be formed during 3 months of storage.

This paper presents a study on the deformation of anisotropic fibrous porous media subjected to moistening by water in the liquid phase. The deformation of the medium is studied by applying the concept of effective stress. Given the structure of the medium, the displacement of the solid matrix is not taken into account with respect to the displacement of the liquid phase. The transport equations are derived from the model proposed by Narasimhan. The transport coefficients and the relation between the variation in apparent density and effective stress are obtained by test measurements. A numerical model has been established and applied for studying drip moistening of mineral wool samples capable or incapable of deformation.

The objective of this study was to identify environmental and management factors that are associated with the frequency of fatigued, injured, and dead pigs on arrival and in resting pens during lairage at a commercial Midwest abattoir. The terms transport losses or total losses refer to pigs that die or become nonambulatory at any stage of the marketing process. In this study, fatigued, injured, and dead pigs were summed into a variable termed total losses. Relative humidity (%), temperature (°C), wind speed (m/s), and dew point (°C) data were collected on 12,333 trailer loads of pigs. Week, sort from barn (first or third pig removal from barn), farm, normal vs. split load type (from 1 or multiple barns), load crew, driver, trailer, and wind direction were used as fixed effects in the model for the analysis of losses per load using generalized mixed models for Poisson distributions. Seven temperature-humidity indices (THI) were calculated and compared as model covariates. Load time per pig, trailer density (pigs per trailer × average BW/trailer space; kg/m 2), wait time before unloading at the abattoir, and wind speed were used as model covariates. The log of the number of hogs per trailer was used to standardize the response variable. The linear covariate density accounted for the greatest portion of variance (based on F-value) followed by the fixed effect sort from barn, the fixed effect load type (pigs from 1 or multiple barns within a farm), load time per pig linear covariate, and THI. Pigs transported to the abattoir from June through July experienced fewer losses (P < 0.001) when compared with pigs that were transported from November through December. Keeping other factors constant, the log of total losses (%) per load increased by 0.0102x + 0.000541x 2 per unit of THI and 0.0191 kg/m 2 of density. Similarly, of 9 farms, the poorest-performing farm in regards to total loss percentage experienced 0.93% more losses per load when compared with the farm with the least loss percentage. This study demonstrates that multiple environment and management factors influence the incidence of market hog transport losses.

In this paper, the architecture of a new analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with a piecewise linear characteristic (PLADC) is proposed. In this device, some discrete points of the characteristic can be modified to fit a requested profile. This converter facility can be utilized to gain remarkable advantages in a wide variety of applications, such as the implementation of a sensor linearization technique. In the paper the internal architecture of a two-stage 11-b flash PLADC prototype is briefly described. A representative demonstrative application,namely, the implementation of a linear digital humidity sensor, is discussed showing the effectiveness and usefulness of this device.

India's population is achieved 1.2 billion and the population rate is increasing day by day then following 25-30 years there will be not kidding issue of sustenance, so the improvement of farming is essential. Today, the agriculturists are experiencing the absence of rains and lack of water .In earlier system human participation were used in such condition lack of accuracy and even time consumption was also more so to overcome this system, The fundamental goal of this paper is to give a programmed watering system framework in this way sparing time, cash and force of the former and also implemented the TCP/IP client android application to know the sensor values and automaticall1the system will be on and off. At whatever point there is an adjustment in temperature and dampness of the surroundings these sensors detects the adjustment in temperature and moistness and gives an sign to the microcontroller, with the help of microcontroller the GSM module send a IP address to the mobile number of the owner after that with the help of IP address the android application shows the sensors values. The constant expanding interest of the food requires the fast change in sustenance generation innovation. In a nation like India, where the economy is for the most part taking into account agriculture and the climatic conditions are isotropic, still we are not ready to make full utilization of rural assets. The fundamental reason is the absence of rains and lack of area supply water. Another imperative reason of this is because of spontaneous utilization of water because of which a lot of water goes waste. In the advanced dribble watering system frameworks, the most critical point of interest is that water is supplied close to the root zone of the plants drop by drop because of which an extensive amount of water is spared. The innovation of this watering system will reduce the man power required.

A bidimensional finite element model that predicts temperature distribution and moisture migration of wheat stored in silobags due to seasonal variation of climatic conditions is described. The model includes grain respiration and calculates carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations during storage as well as the associated dry matter loss.