Reference Point For Comparison Research Articles

Research Note: Comparative effects of liquid and dry applications of a combination of lysolecithin, synthetic emulsifier, and monoglycerides on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and litter moisture in broilers fed diets of differing energy density

Supplementation of a combination of lysolecithin, a synthetic emulsifier, and monoglycerides (LEX) in liquid and dry form to broiler diets with different energy levels was investigated to determine their effect on performance, litter quality and subsequent occurrence of footpad lesions. One thousand two hundred and forty-eight-day-old Ross 308 broilers were assigned to 1 of 6 treatments for a 42-day study: a basal diet with a normal energy content (NE); NE + 300 g/t LEX in liquid form (LEL); NE + 500 g/t LEX in dry form (LED); a basal diet with low energy (LE, -90 kcal/kg starter, -100 kcal/kg grower, finisher), LE + 300 g/t LEL and a LE + 500 g/t LED. Each treatment consisted of 13 pens of 16 birds each. Diets were fed in 3 phases (starter d 0-10, grower d 11-21, finisher d 22-42). Feed intake and weight were measured on d 0, 10, 21, and 42. On d 42 a litter sample was collected from each pen and 2 birds per pen were assessed for footpad lesions and breast scald. Data were analyzed using JMP 16, with means separation achieved using Tukey's HSD; significance was assumed at P < 0.05. Results showed a higher (P < 0.05) cumulative bodyweight gain with LEX supplementation (NE CON = 2,718 g, NE+LED = 2,829, NE+LEL = 2,895, LE CON = 2,722, LE+LED = 2,787, LE+LEL = 2,893; P = 0.0027). An increased feed intake was observed for the LE diets, however cumulative FCR of LE+LED and LE+LEL remained equal to the NE control (1.657 NE CON, 1.657 LE+LED, 1.623 LE+LEL; P > 0.05), suggesting LEX enabled the birds to compensate for the energy gap. Litter dry matter was significantly improved with both LED and LEL supplementation compared to the control groups, and resulted in lower (P < 0.05) occurrence and severity of footpad lesions and breast scalds. Considering the income over feed cost (IOFC) of the NE treatment as the reference point for comparison, all other treatments improved profitability, with NE+LEL and LE+LEL achieving the greatest IOFC with 154.58 and 175.96 €/1,000 birds respectively. In conclusion, feeding broilers a combination of lysophospholipids, a synthetic emulsifier and monoglycerides resulted in improved bird performance. The use of the LEX also improved litter quality and footpad health, therefore improving animal welfare indicators such as breast scald and footpad measurements.

How individuals react emotionally to others' (mis)fortunes: A social comparison framework.

When confronted with others' fortunes and misfortunes, emotional reactions can take various forms-ranging from assimilative (happy-for-ness, sympathy) to contrastive emotions (envy, schadenfreude) and from prosocial (reward) to antisocial behavior (punish). We systematically tested how social comparisons shape reactions to others' (mis)fortunes with a newly developed paradigm with which we investigated envy, happy-for-ness, schadenfreude, and sympathy in a joint rigorous experimental setup, along with individuals' ensuing behavioral reactions. In nine experiments (Ntotal = 1,827), (a) participants' rankings on a comparison dimension relative to other people and (b) others' (mis)fortunes (changes in relative rankings) jointly determined how much individuals experienced the emotions. Upward comparisons increased envy and schadenfreude, and downward comparisons increased sympathy and happy-for-ness, relative to lateral comparisons. When the relevance of comparison standards (Experiment 4a) or the comparison domain (Experiment 4b) was low, or when participants did not have their own reference point for comparison (Experiment 4c), the effect of comparison direction on emotions was attenuated. Emotions also predicted the ensuing behavior: Envy and schadenfreude predicted less, whereas happy-for-ness and sympathy predicted more prosocial behavior (Experiments 5 and 6). Overall, the strongest social comparison effects occurred for envy and sympathy, followed by schadenfreude and happy-for-ness. The data suggest that envy and sympathy arise when comparative concerns are threatened, and happy-for-ness and schadenfreude arise when they are satisfied (because inequality increases vs. decreases, respectively) and predict behavior aimed at dealing with these concerns. We discuss implications for the function of fortunes-of-others emotions, social comparison theory, inequity aversion, and prospect theory. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

UKRAINIAN MODEL OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

In the article the author analyzes the Ukrainian model of administrative procedure, which is enshrined in the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure" in order to borrow foreign experience – provisions from various European models of administrative procedure and their implementation in the newly adopted law. Recourse to international law in the field of administrative procedure has always been and remains one of the priority ways to improve and develop its own administrative procedure. However, the simple reception of foreign experience will not give the desired result, as it is necessary to take into account national traditions, trends in rule-making and legal understanding. The author believes that you need to borrow ideas, not specific rules. The author chose the most effective and rational foreign models of administrative procedure, in particular the German, Polish and French models, as a reference point for comparison. Using the method fragmentary comparative analysis, attention was focused on the provisions that have already been borrowed and which should be noted in the process of applying the Law of Ukraine "On Administrative Procedure" and possibly amendments to it. The provisions of the following legislative acts are analyzed: the Law of Germany "On Administrative Procedure", the Code of Administrative Procedure of Poland and the Code of Relations between the Public and the Administration of France. The author came to the conclusion that it was the German model of administrative procedure that was adopted as a model and formed the basis for drafting the law. Confirmation is the provisions borrowed by the Ukrainian legislator on the principles of administrative procedure, administrative act, the external law enforcement nature of the procedure. The provisions of the Polish model of administrative procedure, in particular regarding the procedure for appealing an administrative act, are taken into account in fragments. In our opinion, the experience of the French model, which is the most progressive, especially in the application of information and telecommunication technologies in administrative proceedings, has not been taken into account in the Law of Ukraine.

SURFACE ROUGHNESS OF LITHIUM DISILICATE PRESS CERAMICS AFTER DIFFERENT TYPES OF POLISHING

INTRODUCTION: The smoothness of a ceramic’s surface is very important of its esthetic and prophylactic qualities.&#x0D; AIM: The purpose of this investigation is to study the possibilities of polishing lithium disilicate ceramics after making a correction on the glazed ceramic surface.&#x0D; MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subject of the study were 20 test samples made of lithium disilicate press ceramics. They were divided into 4 groups according to the method of processing and polishing. Group 1 was treated with a red diamond bur and polishing set; Group 2 was treated with a green diamond bur and polishing set; Group 3 was treated with a red diamond bur, polishing set and diamond paste; Group 4 was treated with a diamond bur with green coding, polishing set and diamond paste. The samples were examined with an atomic force microscope to observe the change in surface relief. The reference point for comparison was the surface of the glazed ceramic.&#x0D; RESULTS: After polishing with diamond paste, the surface became smoother compared to the treatment of the surface with a polishing kit alone.&#x0D; CONCLUSION: Regardless of the polishing protocol used, there was a difference in the topography of the ceramic surface before and after treatment.

Activity-based cost of platelet transfusions in medical and surgical inpatients at a US hospital.

Previous studies by the Cost of Blood Consensus Conference (COBCON) have used a comprehensive, standardized and generalizable activity-based costing (ABC) model to estimate the cost of red blood cell transfusions and plasma transfusion. The objective of this study was to determine the total cost of platelet transfusions in a real-world US hospital inpatient setting. This database analysis study retrospectively collected costs for all activities related to platelet transfusion in a single-acute care US teaching hospital in 2017. Costs were collected in a stepwise manner using a custom ABC model which mapped the technical, administrative and clinical processes involved in the transfusion of platelets. For the 15024 inpatients included in the analysis, 6335 (42·2%) were given a blood type and screen, and 941 (6·3%) received a transfusion of one or more blood products. A total of 333 platelet units were transfused in 131 patients (mean 2·54 units per patient): 211 (63·4%) units in medical inpatients and 122 (36·6%) in surgical inpatients. The total cost was $1359·99 per platelet unit, corresponding to $3457·06 per inpatient. Acquisition costs made up the largest proportion of the total cost (45·1%) followed by direct and indirect overheads (38·7%) and hospital processes costs (16·3%). This is the first study to use an ABC costing model to determine the full cost of platelet transfusions within a US inpatient setting. This provides a useful reference point for comparisons with other transfusion products, and considerations for cost reduction.

Response to Dan Shen

Response to Dan Shen

Korean EFL students’ argumentative writing in L1 and L2: A comparative move analysis study

PurposeThis comparative study aims to investigate the rhetorical organization of Korean and English argumentative texts. In previous studies, the rhetorical organization of such texts has been categorized as either direct or indirect depending on the placement of the thesis statement (Chien, 2011). The present study attempts to document more specific rhetorical patterns using Swales (1990) concept of moves and steps.Design/methodology/approachTen Korean EFL students with similar L1 and L2 literacy backgrounds were selected, and, adopting a within-subject design, the students wrote two argumentative essays, one in Korean and one in English, in response to two different topics. The students’ essays were analyzed at both the macro and micro levels. The focus of the macro-level analysis was on the placement of the thesis statement and of topic sentences in each of the body paragraphs. Once the macro-level analysis was done, the essays were analyzed at the micro level using Swales (1990) move analysis.FindingsThe findings suggest that both texts were organized in a similar way at the macro level, constituting a typical paper structure (i.e. introduction, body and conclusion). However, a difference appears at the micro level: the students used a variety of steps to create a move when writing in Korean, whereas little variation was found in the English texts. An analysis of the data suggests the possibility that the standardized moves and steps in the English texts may be due not to culture-specific rhetoric, but to a lack of practice with rhetorical thinking in English.Originality/valueIn previous studies, the rhetorical organization of texts has been categorized as either direct or indirect depending on the placement of the thesis statement. The present study uses the framework of move analysis to describe more specific organizational patterns of Korean and English writing to determine the extent to which Korean and English writing is similar in the genre of argumentative writing. Another significance of the study lies in the choice of Korean writing as a reference point for comparison with English writing. It has been widely noted that there is a dearth of research of Korean students’ writing in contrastive rhetoric. To the best of the author’s knowledge, most of the contrastive rhetoric studies were conducted with Chinese or Japanese student writers.

The Influence of a Polymer Powder on the Properties of a Cold-Recycled Mixture with Foamed Bitumen.

The paper investigates the influence of redispersible polymer powder (RPP) on the physical and mechanical properties of a cold-recycled mixture with foamed bitumen (CRM-FB). Four types of RPP with a varied chemical base were used: VA-VeoVA, VA-VeoVa-Ac, EVA and VA/VV/E/Ac. The polymer powder-modified cold recycled mixture with foamed bitumen, (P)CRM-FB, was composed of 45.8% reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP), 45.8% natural aggregate (VA), 3.0% Portland cement CEM I 42,5R, 3.0% foamed bitumen 50/70 and 3.0% RPP, all dosed by weight. The reference mixture, (R)CRM-FB, served as a reference point for comparison. It was found that RPP improved the workability of the CRM-FB mixture. This results in a reduced number of compaction cycles and lower energy needed to obtain the air void content as in the reference mixture. In addition, the RPP modifier markedly increased the CRM-FB mixture cohesion (ITSDRY) and strength, by approximately 40–70%, depending on the RPP used. These findings are particularly important for CRM-FB mixtures designed for road bases. The present investigations confirmed the improvement of the CRM-FB mixture parameters after the modification with RPP, regardless of the powder type used.

Laminar Organization and Projections of the Motor Cortex of the Sheep

The organization of the motor cortex of the sheep is a gateway to understand quadrupedal locomotion, and a possible point of reference for comparison with other terrestrial Cetartiodactyla and hoofed mammals in general. The cortical structure, its laminar subdivision and projections, received scarce attention in the past.Since recent data using modern technics are lacking, we analyzed the lamination of the motor cortical columns using conventional histology, digital imaging and alternative statistical inference. We also traced the motor cortex projections using MR and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Sampling topography was based on the available literature and physiological evidence.Our data suggest that the thickness of motor cortex of the sheep is comparable to that of other terrestrial Cetartiodactyla, but thicker than that of marine members of the same Order of equivalent body size. Analyses of the cortical columns showed a five‐layered agranular cortex only partially similar to that of rodents and primates. Layer I contained more round and sparse cells, while layer V had the most heterogeneous cell population profile, including gigantocellular pyramidal neurons.MR results and DTI revealed that the a) a robust bundle of fibers reaches the central pattern generators in the brainstem (Figure 1), thus indirectly emphasizing the existence of several extrapyramidal tracts; and b) the corticospinal tracts, presumed to be minor and limited in Cetartiodactyls given their limited dexterity in respect to primates and carnivores, forms a pathway comparable in size (if not superior) to the extrapyramidal tracts.Our data contrast the generally accepted idea that the extrapyramidal tracts are overwhelmingly dominant in ruminants, and that pyramidal projections to the spinal cord are minimal.Support or Funding InformationThis study was supported by Grant # 2015Y5W9YP from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research to Bruno Cozzi, including also all the other Authors.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Life cycle assessment and environmental-based choices at the early design stages: an application using building information modelling

ABSTRACTDespite the apparent simplicity of existing BIM-LCA tools, there is a lack of integration with the main BIM software, and the double-effort of design development and parallel simulations is a barrier to their implementation in the design process. Moreover, simplifications on these tools may provide misleading results to the designer. The main aim of this research is to develop an integration interface of manufacturer-based LCA data into a BIM platform by combining applications of existing and consolidated tools (namely, Autodesk Revit and Dynamo, and Microsoft Excel), in order to obtain environmental profiles for decision-making in the initial design stages, requiring less time, effort and ad hoc experts. The methodological procedures were aggregated into the following system development and testing phases: (a) input data organization, (b) creating new parameters on BIM software, (c) visual programming, (d) results analysis for decision-making and (e) simulation of social housing. The results of the developed tool provided complete results automatically, not requiring the designer to make changes in the software or interfaces. Some limitations were identified during development and application, due to the lack of LCA data availability by manufacturers, the complexity of data programming importation and extraction on BIM software for different construction subsystems, and the complexity of LCA results analysis and understanding encountered by non-experts. Regarding the latter, the research concluded that broad knowledge dissemination is still necessary to improve awareness regarding this environmental assessment methodology, in addition to determining the most advantageous environmental performance parameters, as a reference point for comparison.

Voiceless nasal sounds in three Tibeto-Burman languages

This paper focuses on two types of voiceless nasal sounds in Xumi, a Tibeto-Burman language: (i) the voiceless aspirated nasals // [] and // [], and (ii) the voiceless nasal glottal fricative []. We provide a synchronic description of these two types of sounds, and explore their similarities and differences. Xumi voiceless nasal consonants are described with reference to the voiceless nasal consonants // and // in Burmese and Kham Tibetan because Burmese voiceless nasals are the best described type of voiceless nasals, and are therefore used as a reference point for comparison; voiceless nasals in Kham Tibetan, which is in close contact with Xumi, represent a characteristic regional feature. The synchronic description is based on acoustic and aerodynamic measurements (the total duration of the target phonemes, the duration of the voiced period during the target phonemes, mean nasal and oral flow). Our study (i) contributes to a better understanding of voiceless nasals as a type of sound, (ii) provides a first-ever instrumental description (acoustic and aerodynamic) of the voiceless nasal glottal fricative [], as attested in a number of Tibeto-Burman languages of Southwest China, and (iii) suggests a possible phonetic basis for the observed dialectal and diachronic variation between voiceless nasals and [] in some Tibeto-Burman languages.

Performance Evaluation of Irbene RT-16 Radio Telescope Receiving System

Abstract In the present paper, recent measurement results of refurbished Irbene RT-16 radio telescope receiving system performance are presented. The aim of the research is to evaluate characteristics of RT-16, which will allow carrying out necessary amplitude calibration in both single dish and VLBI observations, to improve the performance of existing system as well as to monitor, control and compare performance if possible changes in the receiving system will occur in future. The evaluated receiving system is 16 m Cassegrain antenna equipped with a cryogenic receiver with frequency range from 4.5 to 8.8 GHz, which is divided into four sub-bands. Multiple calibration sessions have been carried out by observing stable astronomical sources with known flux density by using in-house made total power registration backend. First, pointing offset calibration has been carried out and pointing model coefficients calculated and applied. Then, amplitude calibration, namely antenna sensitivity, calibration diode equivalent flux density and gain curve measurements have been carried out by observing calibration sources at different antenna elevations at each of the receiver sub-bands. Beam patterns have also been evaluated at different frequency bands. As a whole, acquired data will serve as a reference point for comparison in future performance evaluation of RT-16.

Why Knowledge Megaprojects Will Fail to Transform Gulf Countries in Post-Carbon Economies: The Case of Qatar

ABSTRACTIn the last two decades, resource cities of the Arab Gulf Region have been known to urban scholars and the general public for their extravagant, large-scale urban developments. These so-called megaprojects have allowed Gulf governments to both brand their nations globally and compete regionally and internationally with other global economic centers. However, as oil-rich Gulf countries have attempted to diversify their revenue stream away from fossil fuels, a new urban typology has emerged in their capitals to facilitate the transition to the knowledge-intensive economy. In continuity with previous research on megaprojects in the Gulf and Asian countries, we have called this new typology Knowledge Megaprojects (KMs). In this paper, by using as a reference point for comparisons the existing literature on knowledge developments in the West, we set to exemplify KMs in the Gulf region by analyzing the case of Education City—a large knowledge campus being developed by the Qatari government in Doha. One main result of this study is that KMs replicate the same shortcomings of other more mundane, extravagant megaprojects and thus are unlikely to provide the right urban setting to foster a sustainable transition to the post-carbon economy in the Gulf.

Cradle-to-gate assessment of environmental impacts for a broad set of biomass-to-product process chains

This study advocates a modular approach combining unit processes as building blocks to formulate biomass process chains. This approach facilitates a transparent environmental life cycle impact assessment for bio-based products. It also enhances the ability to develop and assess more complex biorefinery systems, identifies critical parameters and offers useful material to support environmental impact assessment in early design stages. Twenty-three different products were assessed with regard to the environmental burden associated with their production paths. Life cycle inventories (LCIs) for 32 unit processes were compiled (using information from pilot plants, simulation and literature data) and organized in biomass process chains. Then, 58 study systems were formed based on various combinations of the unit processes, each study system referring to the production of a selected product. Three indicators were used for quantification of the impacts: non-renewable fossil cumulative energy demand (CED), global warming potential (GWP) and water depletion as defined in the ReCiPe method. Factors influencing the variation of results even for similar products are discussed (e.g. production path and allocation method lead to a range of GWP values for ethylene production from 0.43 to 3.37 kg CO2 eq/kg ethylene). For the majority of bio-products, CED has lower values than fossil-based equivalents (average difference 39-70 MJ eq/kg product depending on the allocation method), while mixed trends are obtained for the GWP and water depletion indicators. Assessments also highlight attributes that have a significant effect in the environmental profile of a production path such as the synthesis path, the process chemistry (water intensity) and process-related factors (energy intensity, degree of energy integration/heat recovery). The analysis of impacts per unit process is able to demonstrate the particular production stages featuring high environmental intensities along a path further hinting to suggestions for amendments and improvements from an overall performance perspective. The study makes a useful source for biorefinery design studies especially in adopting a modular approach to represent and to analyse biomass process chains; it also provides a reference point for comparison (benchmarking) between different process technologies for biomass utilization. Finally, the analysis is compatible with the standards of the LCA methodology, and it is based on the use of the most common LCA databases, which facilitates the comparison of the results with other relevant studies.

Centipede (Chilopoda) richness, diversity and community structure in the forest-steppe nature reserve “Bielinek” on the Odra River (NW Poland, Central Europe)

AbstractWell-preserved habitats provide us with insights into natural Chilopoda communities, which is an important reference point for comparison, bioindication, and protection purposes. The forest-steppe nature reserve “Bielinek” is one of the most precious natural sites in Poland. The plant cover of the reserve is of a relict type – it has survived since the postglacial climatic optimum. Qualitative and quantitative studies on Chilopoda resulted in the collection of 2,690 specimens of 14 species from three orders: Lithobiomorpha (7 species), Geophilomorpha (6), and Scolopendromorpha (1). The diversity of habitats to a small extent affect the species composition of Chilopoda – the number of species reported from wetter sites (elm forest, beech forest) was 12, whereas in the dry xerothermic slope 9 species were found. The most numerous and the most common species were

Evaluating Demands Associated with the Use of Voice-Based In-Vehicle Interfaces

This panel addresses current efforts associated with the evaluation of demands associated with the use of voice-based in-vehicle interfaces. As generally implemented, these systems are perhaps best characterized as mixed-mode interfaces drawing upon varying levels of auditory, vocal, visual, manual and cognitive resources. Numerous efforts have quantified demands associated with these systems and several have proposing evaluation methods. However, there has been limited discussion in the scientific literature on the benefits and drawbacks of various measures of workload; appropriate reference points for comparison (i.e. just driving, visual-manual versions of the task one is looking to replace, etc.); the relationship of demand characteristics to safety; and practical design considerations that can be gleamed from efforts to date. Panelists will discuss scientific progress in the topic areas. Each panelist is expected to present a brief perspective followed by discussion and Q&amp;A.

Classifiers consensus system approach for credit scoring

Banks take great care when dealing with customer loans to avoid any improper decisions that can lead to loss of opportunity or financial losses. Regarding this, researchers have developed complex credit scoring models using statistical and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to help banks and financial institutions to support their financial decisions. Various models, from easy to advanced approaches, have been developed in this domain. However, during the last few years there has been marked attention towards development of ensemble or multiple classifier systems, which have proved their ability to be more accurate than single classifier models. However, among the multiple classifier systems models developed in the literature, there has been little consideration given to: 1) combining classifiers of different algorithms (as most have focused on building classifiers of the same algorithm); or 2) exploring different classifier output combination techniques other than the traditional ones, such as majority voting and weighted average. In this paper, the aim is to present a new combination approach based on classifier consensus to combine multiple classifier systems (MCS) of different classification algorithms. Specifically, five of the main well-known base classifiers in this domain are used, namely, neural networks (NN), support vector machines (SVM), random forests (RF), decision trees (DT) and naïve Bayes (NB). Two benchmark classifiers are considered as a reference point for comparison with the proposed method and the other classifiers. These are used in combination with LR, which is still considered the industry-standard model for credit scoring models, and multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), a widely adopted technique in credit scoring studies. The experimental results, analysis and statistical tests demonstrate the ability of the proposed combination method to improve prediction performance against all base classifiers, LR, MARS and seven traditional combination methods, in terms of average accuracy, area under the curve (AUC), the H-measure and Brier score. The model was validated over five real-world credit scoring datasets.

Carbon type differentiation technique for diagnosing pulverised coal injection efficiency

Coal injection is a common practice for coke replacement in current blast furnace (BF) operations. The amount of coal that can be injected and successfully replace large coke is determined by the extent of coal gasification, which is a function of both the combustion environment in the tuyere/raceway region and combustibility of the injected coal. A new carbon type differentiation (CTD) technique was developed at CanmetENERGY for quantifying the amount of unburnt pulverised coal injection (PCI) residue that is carried in the furnace top gas for diagnosing the extent of injected coal gasification. This technique utilises the combustion characteristics of solid carbonaceous material generated during rapid pyrolysis and partial combustion of coal. The CTD technique developed was transferred to ArcelorMittal Dofasco and successfully implemented in the industrial environment. Using this technique, AM Dofasco established a PCI efficiency baseline for each of its three BFs, which will be used as a reference point for comparison in future trials. The capability of the CTD technique in diagnosing and understanding the effect of BF operating parameters on PCI burnout efficiency was demonstrated upon examining the effect of blast temperature decrease during a recent BF stove repair.

Исследование накопления радионуклидов озерной лягушкой (Pelophylax ridibundus Pall.) в водных экосистемах как индикатор антропогенного загрязнения

Accumulation of anthropogenic 90Sr and 137Cs radio nuclides in lake frog (Pelophylax ridibundus Pall.) in the subjected to anthropogenic pollution regions of Beloyarka and Verkhni Tagil reservoirs location, the Urals, has been investigated. Conduction of this research was caused by wide spreading of this amphibian species in water bodies, absence in literature any data on the lake frog radioecology, as well as by the fact that this research outcome can serve a good indicator of anthropogenic pollution. Levels of the radio nuclides accumulation by this frog in the Beloyarka nuclear power station industrial/storm water sewer characterized by the increased 90Sr and 137Cs discharge to the channel ecosystem have been determined. The Tagil River at the point of water discharge from the Verkhni Tagil reservoir (the Verkhni Tagil thermal power station basin cooler) was chosen as a reference point for comparison. Any reliable difference in radio nuclides accumulation depending on amphibian sex and age was not found. Comparative radio nuclides accumulation levels for lake frog in comparison with other species of aquatic ecosystem have been assessed. The industrial/storm water channel example has shown that 90Sr accumulation is decreasing in the following series: plankton &gt; frogs, plants, ground &gt; ichthyofauna, and for 137Cs: plankton &gt; plants &gt; frogs, ground &gt; ichthyofauna. Содержание 137Cs content in animals from the channel appeared to be reliably lower than in the Tagil River. It was supposed that probably there was an unidentified source of amphibian radioactive contamination where from 137Cs was transferred to the Tagil River.

Design and characterization of a new H-C passive micromixer up to Reynolds number 100

In this study, a new passive ‘H-C’ micromixer based on the split and recombine (SAR) principle is presented. The design phase was supported by a preliminary numerical analysis of the flow patterns inside the channel to quickly obtain a general idea of mixing of fluids from the distribution of path lines. Then mixing efficiency and pressure drop were investigated numerically as well as experimentally for Reynolds numbers in the range 1–100. At the same time, two known SAR mixers, the Chain and the Tear-drop, were examined to have a point of reference for comparison. Results show that the mixing efficiency of the Tear-drop mixer is good except at the middle range of Reynolds numbers and its pressure drop is high; conversely, the Chain mixer has moderate pressure drop but relatively low mixing efficiency at low and middle range of Reynolds numbers. The H-C mixer shows an almost flat mixing characteristic over the whole range of Reynolds numbers examined and mixing efficiency is higher than 90%. Furthermore, pressure drop within the H-C micromixer, i.e. its energy requirement, is significantly less than that of the Chain and the Tear-drop mixers at the same flow rate.