High Room Temperatures Research Articles

Optimizing Maintenance and Repair of Central Air Conditioning on MV. Tanto Bersinar

For a ship to move smoothly from one port to another, it must be supported by various types of appropriate machinery. One of them is Central AC which functions to maintain the environmental temperature around the ship at an ideal temperature so that the crew remains comfortable in their daily activities while working and resting. Therefore, a ship needs to have a cooling machine to support the comfort of the entire crew. As well as the importance of carrying out regular maintenance and repairs on the cooling machines on board the ship. This research uses a qualitative research approach, data collection techniques using direct observation, interviews and documentation or library studies. The data is processed using triangulation, the data obtained tends to be qualitative data, the data analysis is inductive or qualitative, and the results of qualitative research are to understand meaning, understand uniqueness, construct phenomena and find hypotheses. The results of this research are: 1) Factors that cause damage to Central AC so that it cannot be used properly are due to Central AC components such as dirty condensers, disconnected electrical cables, and dirty dryers as well as other factors, namely lack of accuracy in carrying out maintenance and maintenance. Central AC repair; 2) The impact that occurs when the Central AC does not work properly is a decrease in the performance of the ship's crew due to the discomfort of high room temperatures; and 3) The way to overcome problems when repairing the Central AC on a ship is that the ship's crew is on time to check, clean, maintain and repair the Central AC regularly and correctly.

Yaikuula (wind-driven evaporative cooling) saves most guinea fowl eggs for hatching in the Sudano-Sahelian belt

Guinea fowl meat and eggs are highly prized by consumers in the Sudan-Sahelian belt countries such as Burkina Faso and Niger. However, compared to chicken, guinea fowl stocks in these countries are low. One of the reasons for the low stock holdings is that guinea fowl in captivity are poor at being broody hens. They do not sit on their eggs for the hatching of their keets. This problem has been addressed using synchronized surrogate chicken hens for brooding. Many chicken hens are provided with dummy eggs until they begin to brood, at which time the dummy eggs are switched to fertile guinea fowl eggs. The challenge with this solution is storing the guinea fowl eggs at room or ambient temperatures until the surrogate brooders are ready. The high room temperatures during storage initiates pre-embryo development that results in hatching unhealthy keets. Refrigerated storage is not an option, as most smallholder farmers in rural settings do not have access to electricity. The purpose of this study was to address the storage problem by introducing wind-driven evaporative cooling (YaiKuula); “Yai” is a Swahili word for “egg.” YaiKuula lowers the storage temperature ~15oC below ambient temperature during the day. Viable guinea fowl eggs were stored using YaiKuula for 0-3, 4-7, and 8-14 days. Ambient temperature and refrigerated (8oC) storage were done in parallel as negative and positive controls, respectively. Twenty-four surrogate brooders with six eggs each were used to hatch the stored eggs. Early and late embryo mortality, in addition to healthy hatching were monitored. The Student’s t-test was used to compare results. The highest rate (p<0.05) of early embryonic mortality (65%) was obtained with refrigerated storage for 8-14 days versus 37 and 12%, respectively, for ambient and YaiKuula storage for the same length of time. The hatching rates of eggs from 0-3 days of storage showed no significant difference between the three storage methods. However, YaiKuula storage yielded significantly (p<0.05) higher hatching rates of 80% versus 37 and 22% from ambient and refrigeration storage at 8-14 days, respectively, and 84% versus 65 and 61% for ambient and refrigeration storage at 4-7 days, respectively. YaiKuula has the potential to increase the number of guinea fowl among smallholder poultry farmers for increased incomes/resilience and better nutrition. Key words: Numida meleagris, evaporative cooling, wind energy, Rakai chicken model

Dental core trainees’ experience of vasovagal episodes while attending the operating theatre

Vasovagal presyncope and syncope while attending operating theatres have been reported among medical trainees. However, no such studies are available in relation to dental trainees. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence, preventative measures and attitudes towards these events among dental trainees. An anonymised online questionnaire was sent to all dental core trainees in the Thames Valley and Wessex regions (n = 34). Nineteen of these participated (56% response rate). Ten (53%) had experienced a presyncopal or syncopal episode. The majority had experienced an episode during a major operation. High operating room temperatures and needing to stand for a long time were reported as the most common predisposing factors (60%). Several different actions were taken to prevent further episodes, with 90% of respondents reporting that these helped. Seven trainees expressed their desire to pursue a surgical career; five of these had experienced a vasovagal event. Most (78%) felt that this would not discourage them from following a career in surgery. Seven respondents felt that there was a perceived stigma about trainees who experienced such an episode. This study revealed that operating theatre related syncope is common among dental trainees. We highlight the importance of educating trainees on preventative strategies.

Laser-Induced Smoke in Dermatologic Practice: A Survey to Explore Hazard Perceptions, Safety Measures and Unmet Needs.

Introduction: Inhalation of laser-induced smoke is a potential health hazard to exposed physicians and laser operators. To date, little is known about the perception of health hazards related to laser-induced smoke exposure among physicians and the actual use of safety measures to mitigate these risks. Methods: In May 2020, 514 members of the European Society for Lasers and Energy-Based Devices (ESLD) were invited by email to participate in an online survey. The survey comprised 16 questions including multiple-choice and open-ended questions. Results: Responses were received from 109 participants. The majority (90%) were aware of potential hazards and highlighted a desire for better protective measures (60%). A smoke evacuation system was frequently used with ablative lasers (66%) and fractional ablative lasers (61%), but less the case with non-ablative lasers (30%) and hair removal lasers (28%). The COVID-19 outbreak had no clear effect on the use of smoke evacuation systems. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly surgical masks were used (40-57%), while high filtration masks (FFP1, FFP2 or FFP3) were used by only a small percentage (15-30%). Post COVID-19 outbreak, the use of high filtration masks increased significantly (54-66%), predominately due to an increase in the use of FFP2 masks. Reasons mentioned for inadequate protective measures were sparse knowledge, limited availability, discomfort, excessive noise, high room temperatures, and financial costs. Conclusion: While there is considerable awareness of the hazards of laser-induced smoke among physicians and laser operators, a substantial number of them do not use appropriate protective measures. The implementation of regulations on safety measures is hampered by sparse knowledge, limited availability, discomfort, excessive noise, financial issues, and high room temperatures.

Solid–solid phase transformation of aspirin at high pressures and room temperatures

Drug molecules undergo changes to their intermolecular binding patterns under extreme conditions, leading to structural phase transitions which produce different polymorphs. Polymorphism of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), one of the most widely consumed medications, has attracted many scientists, chemists and pharmacologists to identify its stable polymorphs and phase transformations at ambient temperatures and pressures. Here, density functional theory at the ωB97XD/6-31G* functional level is utilized to calculate the lattice constants, volumes, Gibbs free energies, vibrational spectra, stabilities and phase transitions of aspirin forms I and II at different pressures and temperatures. These computations confirm that phase transformation occurs between these two forms of aspirin at higher pressures (from 3 to 5 GPa) and near room temperatures. Taking aspirin as a case study, this work can help design, produce and store drugs, guiding scientists, chemists and pharmacologists to perform further experiments.

High temperature superradiant phase transition in quantum structures with a complex network interface.

In the present work we propose a novel, to the best of our knowledge, quantum material concept, which enables superstrong and/or ultrastrong interaction of two-level systems with the photonic field in a complex network. Within the mean field approximation we examine phase transition to superradiance that results in two excitation (polariton) branches and is accompanied by the appearance of non-zero macroscopic polarization of two-level systems. We characterize the statistical properties of networks by the first, 〈k〉, and second normalized, ζ ≡ 〈k2〉/〈k〉, moments for node degree distribution. We have shown that the Rabi frequency is essentially enhanced due to the topology of the network within the anomalous domain where 〈k〉 and ζ sufficiently grow. The multichannel (multimode) structure of matter-field interaction leads superstrong coupling that provides primary behavior of the high temperature phase transition. The results obtained pave the way for the design of new photonic and polaritonic circuits, quantum networks for efficient processing quantum information at high (room) temperatures.

How window ventilation behaviour affects the heat resilience in multi-residential buildings

To what extent is the overheating risk in dwellings affected by the individual window ventilation behaviour of residents? To answer this question six window ventilation profiles, obtained from surveys, are implemented in building performance simulation models of a large panel construction and a “Gründerzeit” multi-residential building located in Germany. The impacts of these different ventilation types are analysed for the top floor dwellings, including wind and temperature gradient-driven infiltration in the simulation. The results demonstrate the tremendous impact of the chosen window ventilation profile on overheating intensity. Low overheating is obtained if windows and room doors are fully opened, even if this is only done in the early morning and evening hours. Tilted windows are not adequate to ensure sufficient air exchange and lead to high overheating and critical room temperatures up to 35 °C. Regarding the building type, the above described effects are more pronounced in the “Gründerzeit” building whereas the large panel construction building exhibits a much higher heat resilience. However, overheated neighbouring dwellings shows a pronounced influence on overheating for the large panel construction building. Both findings can be attributed to building physics. In addition, the impact of meteorological conditions like tropical nights are found to significantly reduce the efficacy of passive cooling by nocturnal window ventilation. The overall findings clearly that a more accurate representation of natural ventilation is essential to draw correct conclusions from overheating assessments when using building performance simulation. In contrast, applying simplified natural ventilation boundary conditions in current overheating standards entails the risk of misinterpretations.

Early-design sensitivity of radiant cooled office buildings in the tropics for building performance

The research community has worked on improving the design, performance, and operation of radiant system technologies; however, the interactions between architectural design decisions and radiant cooling systems design in the tropics – where radiant system design and operation represents a challenge due to high external heat gains and latent loads – have been left unexplored by existing work. This manuscript (1) addresses the holistic early-design of effective radiant cooling systems and the architectural environments that they serve in hot and humid tropical climates, (2) analyses how different design choices and their interaction affect buildings performance compared to conventional all-air systems, and (3) proposes preliminary early-design indications of the parameters values to adopt when designing radiant cooled office buildings in the tropics to achieve high multi-objective design goals. Morris sensitivity analysis is used to analyse the impact of 13 different building and system design parameters on comfort, system and energy performances for 3 radiant systems typologies applied to a parametric office building in the tropical climate of Singapore. The elementary effect (EE) of each parameter is analysed based on 8200 individual EnergyPlus simulation models being run, and the impact, interactions & (non) linear effects of different design factors are assessed. It is found that radiant cooling systems require different early-design phase considerations than conventional air-based cooling systems since different parameters prove to be dominant or significant. All three radiant system typologies, if coupled with efficient operational strategies and a complimentary set of design variables, ensure high multi-objective building performance, showing how the implementation of radiant cooling technologies could be beneficial for a tropical climate. The window solar heat gain coefficient and the façade window-to-wall ratio play a key role in this effort with respective values falling below or equal to 54% and 57%. The system set-point temperature has an increased importance for operational efficiency allowing high dry-bulb room temperatures ranging from 24.8 °C to 27 °C.

Physiological and isozyme alterations in lettuce seeds under different conditions and storage periods

Abstract: The objective of the study was to determine the physiological and isozyme alterations in lettuce seeds submitted to different conditions and storage periods. We used a completely randomized design with four replications in a factorial arrangement with six lettuce cultivars (Everglades, Babá de Verão, Elisa, Grand Rapids, Hortência and Salinas 88) and four storage periods (30, 60, 90 and 120 days), on three storage rooms (15, 25 and 35 ° C). The physiological quality was evaluated by first and final germination count, emergence, and germination and emergence speed indexes. The isoenzyme expression of catalase (CAT), esterase (EST), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were determined. The physiological quality of lettuce seeds was preserved when stored at 15 ° C room temperature. The high room temperatures associated with higher storage periods cause a reduction in physiological quality and alterations in enzymatic patterns of CAT, EST, ADH and MDH. For seeds stored at 15 ° C, there were no physiological changes. The lettuce cultivars, especially Everglades, have different levels of tolerance to storage and isoenzyme expressions.

Characterizing the Stability and Kinetics of Hybrid Oxide-Sulfide Solid Electrolyte Cells

Growing energy applications and markets demand safer and higher performance Li-ion batteries. All solid-state batteries (ASSBs) represent a significant step forward in Li-ion battery technology. We have recently described the production of Li6.25La3Al0.25Zr2O12 (LLZO) solid state electrolyte (SSE). LLZO provides high room temperature ionic conductivities as well as chemical and mechanical stability towards metallic Li, which has 10X the specific capacity of a carbon anode. Sulfide based SSEs have high room temperatures conductivities, but their chemical and mechanical stability towards metallic Li has not been well defined. Here, we describe the construction of ASSBs with a metallic Li anode, a solid oxide electrolyte (LLZO), and a composite cathode consisting of an 75Li2S:25P2S5 sulfide electrolyte and TiS2 cathode. This architecture isolates the Li anode from the sulfide SSE and allows for facile assembly with a cold-pressed composite cathode powder. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to probe the electrochemistry of the LLZO/Li2S:P2S5 interface as a function of temperature, pressure, and current density. DC cycling at 70°C and post mortem materials characterization were performed to determine the long-term stability of the hybrid oxide/sulfide interface.

Revealing high room and low temperatures mobilities of 2D holes in a strained Ge quantum well heterostructures grown on a standard Si(0 0 1) substrate

Carrier mobility is one of the most important parameters of any semiconductor material, determining its suitability for applications in a large variety of electronic devices including field effect transistors (FETs). Today the capabilities of modern planar Si FET devices are almost exhausted and researchers are seeking either new device architectures or new materials. Here we report an extremely high room temperature (at 293K) 2D hole gas (2DHG) drift mobility of 4500cm2V−1s−1 at a carrier density of 1.2×1011cm−2 obtained in a compressively strained Ge quantum well (QW) heterostructure, grown by an industrial type chemical vapor deposition system on a standard Si(001) substrate. The low-temperature Hall mobility and carrier density of this structure, measured at 333mK, are 777,000cm2V−1s−1 and 1.9×1011cm−2, respectively. These hole mobilities are the highest not only among the group-IV Si and Ge based semiconductors, but also among p-type III–V and II–VI materials. The obtained room temperature mobility is substantially higher than those reported so far in strained Ge QW heterostructures and reveals a huge potential for further applications of this material in a wide variety of electronic devices.

Effect of hot electrons on the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotubes under the influence of applied dc field

The effect of hot electrons on the electrical conductivity of undoped single walled achiral carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under the influence of applied dc field along the tube axis is considered. We investigated semiclassically by solving the Boltzmann’s transport equation with and without the presence of the hot electrons source to derive the current densities. Plots of the normalized current density versus electric field strength of the CNTs in both scenarios reveal a negative differential conductivity (NDC). We observed that the intensity of the current density gradually decreases and shifts towards lower electric fields as the rate of hot electrons injection increases. Furthermore, with strong enough axial injection of the hot electrons, there is an upturn in the current density near 50 kV/cm and 75 kV/cm for a zigzag CNT and an armchair CNT, respectively. In this region of positive differential conductivity (PDC), the unwanted domain instability usually associated with NDC can be suppressed, suggesting a potential application in terahertz radiation at low and high (room) temperatures.

Influence of high ambient temperatures on the physiological responses and body sway in healthy young adults after quickly standing.

This study was aimed to compare the variations in cerebral oxygenation, blood pressure and center-of-foot pressure after standing from sitting and supine positions at normal (22 degrees C) and high (32 degrees C) room temperatures. Thirty young adults stood up from a resting posture (sitting or supine position) and kept the static standing posture for 90 sec. Meanwhile, their center-of-foot pressure (COP), blood pressure, and cerebral oxygenation kinetics were measured in continuity. The change of the frequency domain low-to-high frequency (LF/HF) ratio of the R-R interval before and after standing from a supine position was significantly higher than that from a sitting position under both temperature conditions. Blood pressure as well as total and oxygenated hemoglobin levels decreased immediately after standing up and the ratio of blood pressure change when moving from a supine position to standing at high room temperature was the largest as compared with the other conditions. Total hemoglobin (Hb) volume was found to temporarily decrease after standing and required 22-24 sec to recover when the subject started from the sitting position and 33-36 sec when the subject started from the supine position. Cerebral oxygenation kinetics tended to be larger under high, rather than normal, temperature conditions. All COP parameters after standing were significantly larger in the high temperature condition than in the normal temperature condition. Body sway after standing was larger in the high temperature condition than in the normal temperature condition and after standing from a supine position than from a sitting position. In conclusion, cerebral oxygenation kinetics and blood pressure measured after the subject moved to the standing position changed dramatically under high temperature conditions, and variations in this parameter may influence body sway.

Air change rates driven by the flow around and through a building storey with fully open or tilted windows: An experimental and numerical study

Abstract Air change rates (ACH) through open and tilted windows in rooms of residential buildings driven by atmospheric motions are investigated to evaluate natural ventilation concepts. Model experiments in wind tunnels, numerical flow simulations (CFD) and thermal building simulations are used. Pressure profiles are measured on the facade of a building model for selected wind directions and velocities. A separated sample storey and a sample single room in larger scales were used to measure air transport through window openings under the influence of the external pressure distribution. The ACH was obtained by velocity measurements in the window cross sections and by tracer gas measurements using the decay method. ACH from CFD computations of the wind tunnel environment agreed well with the experimental values. Therefore the numerical simulations were extended to real dimensions. The dependency of the ACH on the position in the external flow field and a scaling law for the ACH are presented. The wind-driven ACH obtained are much larger than the temperature-driven values prescribed in the Austrian standard O-NORM B 8110-3 on the prevention of high room temperatures during summer. A comparison of the impact of temperature-driven with wind-driven ACH, i.e. natural ventilation concepts, in thermal building simulations is presented.

Different resource allocation strategies result from selection for litter size at weaning in rabbit does

This study examined the effect of long-term selection of a maternal rabbit line, solely for a reproductive criterion, on the ability of female rabbits to deal with constrained environmental conditions. Female rabbits from generations 16 and 36 (n=72 and 79, respectively) of a line founded and selected to increase litter size at weaning were compared simultaneously. Female rabbits were subjected to normal (NC), nutritional (NF) or heat (HC) challenging conditions from 1st to 3rd parturition. Animals in NC and NF were housed at normal room temperatures (18°C to 25°C) and respectively fed with control (11.6 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg dry matter (DM), 126 g digestible protein (DP)/kg DM, and 168 g of ADF/kg DM) or low-energy fibrous diets (9.1 MJ DE/kg DM, 104 g DP/kg DM and 266 g ADF/kg DM), whereas those housed in HC were subjected to high room temperatures (25°C to 35°C) and the control diet. The litter size was lower for female rabbits housed in both NF and HC environments, but the extent and timing where this reduction took place differed between generations. In challenging conditions (NF and HC), the average reduction in the reproductive performance of female rabbits from generation 16, compared with NC, was −2.26 (P<0.05) and −0.51 kits born alive at 2nd and 3rd parturition, respectively. However, under these challenging conditions, the reproductive performance of female rabbits from generation 36 was less affected at 2nd parturition (−1.25 kits born alive), but showed a greater reduction at the 3rd parturition (−3.53 kits born alive; P<0.05) compared with NC. The results also showed differences between generations in digestible energy intake, milk yield and accretion, and use of body reserves throughout lactation in NC, HC and NF, which together indicate that there were different resource allocation strategies in the animals from the different generations. Selection to increase litter size at weaning led to increased reproductive robustness at the onset of an environmental constraint, but failure to sustain the reproductive liability when the challenge was maintained in the long term. This response could be directly related to the short-term environmental fluctuations (less severe) that frequently occur in the environment where this line has been selected.

Environmental sensitivity differs between rabbit lines selected for reproductive intensity and longevity

To better understand the mechanisms that allow some animals to sustain their productive effort in harsh environmental conditions, rabbit does from two selection lines (LP and V) were housed in normal (NC), nutritional (NF) or heat (HC) challenging environmental conditions from first to third partum. The LP line (n=85) was founded on reproductive longevity criteria by selecting does from commercial farms that had a minimum of 25 partum with more than 7.5 kits born alive per parity. Line V (n=79) was constituted from four specialised maternal lines into a composite synthetic line and then selected by litter size at weaning for 36 generations. Female rabbits in NC and NF environments were housed at normal room temperature (18°C to 24°C) and fed with control [11.6 MJ digestible energy (DE)/kg dry matter (DM)] or low-energy diets (9.1 MJ DE/kg DM). HC does were housed at high room temperatures (25°C to 35°C) and fed the control diet. Female rabbits in the HC and NF environments ingested 11.5% and 6% less DE than NC does, respectively (P<0.05). These differences between environments occurred in both lines, with the differences being higher for LP than for V does (+6%; P<0.05). Milk yield responses followed those of energy intake also being higher for LP does (+21.3 g/day; P<0.05). The environmental conditions did not affect the perirenal fat thickness (PFT), but a genotype by environment interaction was observed. In NC and HC, the PFT was higher for line V (+0.23 and +0.35 mm, respectively; P<0.05) than for LP does, but this was not the case at NF (−0.01 mm). Moreover, the PFT evolution was different between them. In the NC environment, LP does used the accreted PFT in late lactation (−0.29 mm), whereas V does did not (−0.08 mm). Conversely, in the HC environment, LP does showed a flat PFT evolution in late lactation, whereas V does accumulated PFT. In the NF environment, LP and V does had a similar PFT evolution. There was also a litter size reduction for V does of −2.59 kits total born in HC and −1.78 kits total born in NF environments, whereas this was not observed for LP does. The results for LP does indicate a direct use of DE ingested for reproduction with little PFT change, whereas V does actively use the PFT reserves for reproduction.

Avoiding hypothermia in neonatal pigs: Effect of duration of floor heating at different room temperatures1

The effect of different farrowing room temperatures (15, 20, or 25°C), combined with floor heating (FH) at the birth site, on the postnatal rectal temperature of pigs, use of creep area, and latency to first colostrum uptake was investigated with 61 litters born by loose-housed sows. Pig rectal temperature was measured at birth, as well as at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 12, 24, and 48 h after birth. The drop in rectal temperature from birth to 0.5 h postpartum was less (P<0.05) at room temperature of 25°C compared with 20 and 15°C. Minimum rectal temperature was less (P<0.001) at 15°C than either 20 or 25°C, and the time it took for rectal temperature to increase above 37°C was longer (P<0.05) when room temperature was 15°C than 20 and 25°C. Rectal temperatures at 24 (P<0.001) and 48 h (P<0.05) postpartum were also lower at room temperature of 15°C than 20 and 25°C. Duration of FH (12 or 48 h) did not influence (P>0.28) the rectal temperature at 24 or 48 h after birth. More pigs used the creep area 12 to 60 h after birth of the first pig at a room temperature of 15°C with 12 h FH compared with all other treatments. During the latter part of this period, more pigs stayed in the creep area also at 20°C with 12 h FH. After 60 h, more pigs (P<0.01) used the creep area at low compared with high room temperatures (15°C>20°C>25°C). Odds ratio of pigs dying before they had suckled was 6.8 times greater (P=0.03) at 15 than 25°C (95% CI of 1.3 to 35.5), whereas the odds ratio of dying during the first 7 d was 1.6 greater (P=0.05) for 48 vs. 12 h of FH (95% CI of 1.0 to 2.57), mainly due to more pigs being crushed. In conclusion, FH for 48 h was no more favorable than 12 h for pigs because the risk of hypothermia was equal in the 2 treatments, and the risk of dying increased with the longer FH duration. Increasing the room temperature to 25°C reduced hypothermia and the risk of pigs dying before colostrum intake.

Intra- and inter-laboratory evaluation of an improved multiplex-PCR method for detection and typing of Salmonella

We developed and evaluated a multiplex-PCR method for rapid detection of the most common Salmonella serovars in both developed and developing countries. Additionally, the stability of the premixed reagents at high room temperature was studied. Fifty-two Salmonella strains belonging to the collections of the University of Sassari, Italy, and to the University of the Basque Country, Spain, and a collection of a hundred blinded strains, were used to evaluate the multiplex-PCR. Primers targeting genes STY1599 and fliC were selected, and the method was evaluated both intra and inter-laboratories. The inter-laboratory reproducibility was 95.92%, with a kappa index of 0.757 that indicates a substantial agreement and a high accuracy (80.81%). The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and precision indexes for the Salmonella genus and S. Typhi targets were maximum, although the targets for Paratyphi A, Typhimurium and Enteritidis showed less accuracy. During a seven-week period, hot-start multiplex-PCR runs were performed with reagents mixed with wax to test their stability at 30ºC, and no significant variation in the patterns of amplification was observed. An improved multiplex-PCR for rapid detection of the most common serovars of Salmonella operable in both developed and developing countries has been designed and tested intra and inter-laboratories. Following a careful optimization protocol will not only allow the confirmation of any suspicious colony by the amplification of the Salmonella genus target, but also the preliminary adscription to the prevalent serovars. Premixed reagents with wax facilitate the throughput and stability of reagents at high room temperatures.

The study of energy-saving strategy for direct expansion air conditioning system

Most air conditioning, energy-saving research has focused on the chiller system, the most effective energy-saving procedure of its kind would be the use of forced downtime or load shedding control methods. However, the use of forced downtime control methods on direct expansion systems, while saving energy, would be at the expense of increasing room temperature, leading to the discomfort of the inhabitants. This research focused on the direct expansion system and used periodic downtime control methods to execute energy-saving procedures, thus providing reasonable temperature control and saving energy at the same time. According to the results, by reducing the periodic downtime, we can improve unstable temperature problems; i.e. operating for 15 min and downtime for 5 min, provided the optimal energy-saving efficiency, saving 21.66% of energy. However, the percentage of high room temperatures during this downtime period was 40.43%, this meant that if we wanted to save energy, we would have to sacrifice comfort; if we wanted more comfort, then we have to select an operating mode that was secondary to operating for 10 min and downtime for 5 min. We also discovered that if the air conditioner manufacturer modified the embedded program and adjusted the limit for upper temperatures of the settings upward by 1 °C, users would save 7.22% of energy; this was a procedure that was more direct and effective than any other energy-saving requisition.

Understanding the mechanisms of food intake and obesity

Rapid progress is being made in understanding the brain-processing and related psychology of the sensory propertiesof food, and how the satiety (fullness) signals producedduring and after eating regulate appetite. While brain mech-anisms control appetite, a number of sensory and environ-mental factors contribute to overstimulation of the sensorysystems, producing sensory reward signals that are strongerthan can always be controlled easily by satiety signals (1,2).This knowledge makes it seem very likely that, whilesatiety signals have not changed in the last 30 years,changes in the same period in the sensory side of the controlprocess mean that they are now being overridden, contrib-uting to the increasing incidence of obesity. One implica-tion of this work is that, if factors on the sensory side ofthe appetite control process could be regulated, it wouldopen avenues to address obesity prevention and control.From the neuroscience and psychology perspective, thereare, however, many other mechanisms that interact withthe brain and contribute to obesity.