Experimental investigation of the parameters that affect droplet size and distribution for design calculations of two-phase separators.

The critical design parameter when sizing a separator is the size of oil droplets in the water phase. This study improves the design of a separator by investigating the parameters that control droplet size, frequency, and distribution. Experimental work was performed to investigate the effect of flow rates and oil layer thickness on these parameters. Experiments were performed using a transparent laboratory separator to allow the measurement of droplet properties. The Design of the Experiment (DOE) method with the Taguchi analysis was applied to investigate statistically if droplet properties are solely a function of the independent variables or if they interact. The findings show that the results can be modelled using Gaussian distributions. Droplet size distribution and the number of droplets produced are functions of the interaction between oil flow rate and oil pad thickness. The oil flow rate dominates the droplet size though layer thickness has a minor effect. The number of droplets (Frequency) increases with both oil and water flow rates but decreases with oil pad thickness. There are clear interactions between all variables resulting in different droplet frequencies for combined effects. The distribution of the droplet sizes is controlled by oil layer thickness, where the spread is seen to rise with thickness. However, interactions between the fluid flows and oil pad thickness give rise to different droplet distributions if either variable were changed on its own.

Time-to-Task in Interval Simulated Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training: A Method for Maintaining Resuscitation Skills.

PURPOSE: The literature supports interval simulation training as a means of improving nurses' cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills. The aim of this project was to improve the time-to-task skills in single-rescuer basic life support (BLS) in an outpatient surgery center through interval simulation training. DESIGN: Quality Improvement project. METHODS: Twenty-nine nursing staff were included in this pretest/post-test within subjects interventional design quality improvement project. A 2-minute pretest cardiac arrest simulation was performed in the outpatient surgery center where time-to-task and quality of CPR data were collected. The pretest was followed by a lecture and CPR training. Three months later, the simulation was post-tested in an identical scenario with measures of time-to-task and quality of CPR. FINDINGS: The mean times for code bell activation and initiation of CPR decreased significantly following the interval simulation training (P < .05). A clinically significant decrease was seen in the mean time-to-task placement of a backboard on code team arrival. CONCLUSIONS: Interval simulation training is an effective means of maintaining CPR skills in the outpatient surgery center setting.

The Effect of Polysialic Acid Expression on Glioma Cell Nano-mechanics.

Polysialic acid (polySia) is an important carbohydrate bio-polymer that is commonly over-expressed on tumours of neuroendocrine origin and plays a key role in tumour progression. polySia exclusively decorates the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) on tumour cell membranes, modulating cell-cell interactions, motility and invasion. In this preliminary study, we examine the nano-mechanical properties of isogenic C6 rat glioma cells-transfected cells engineered to express the enzyme polysialyltransferase ST8SiaII, which synthesises polySia (C6-STX cells) and wild-type cells (C6-WT). We demonstrate that polySia expression leads to reduced elastic and adhesive properties but also more viscoelastic compared to non-expressing wild-type cells. Whilst differences in cell elasticity between healthy and cancer cells are regularly assigned to changes in the cytoskeleton, we show that in this model system, the change in properties at the nano-level is due to the polySia on the transfected cell membrane surface.

Effects of cigarette smoking on distortion product otoacoustic emissions.

This study measured distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) and DPOAE input/output (I/O) curves to assess the effects of smoking on cochlear function. Twenty-four healthy adults, 12 smokers and 12 nonsmokers in the 20-30 years age range were selected based on self-reported histories of five to eight years of smoking or no smoking, respectively. All subjects received tympanometric screening to rule out middle ear pathology. Conventional (0.25-8 kHz) and ultra high frequency (UHF; 10-20 kHz) audiometry showed normal or age-appropriate thresholds across both groups. DPOAE results showed small, but significant, decline in DPOAE levels without concomitant changes in noise floors in smokers as compared to nonsmokers. I/O detection thresholds were also significantly elevated at high frequencies in smokers as compared to their nonsmoking counterparts. These findings indicate that smokers are at greater risk for cochlear damage than nonsmokers, and that DPOAE amplitudes and I/O detection thresholds may identify early changes in cochlear function in smokers.