Influence of staff number and internal constellation on surgical site infection in an operating room

Prediction of bacteria-carrying particle （BCP） dispersion and particle distribution released from staffmem- bers in an operating room （OR） is very important for creating and sustaining a safe indoor environment. Postoperative wound infections cause significant morbidity and mortality, and contribute to increased hospitalization time. Increasing the number of personnel within the OR disrupts the ventilation airflow pattern and causes enhanced contamination risk in the area of an open wound. Whether the amount of staffwithin the OR influences the BCP distribution in the surgical zone has rarely been investigated. This study was conducted to explore the influence of the number of personnel in the OR on the airflow field and the BCP distribution. This was performed by applying a numerical calculation to map the airflow field and Lagrangian particle tracking （LPT） for the BCP phase. The results are reported both for active sampling and passive monitoring approaches. Not surprisingly, a growing trend in the BCP concentration （cfu/ms） was observed as the amount of staff in the OR increased. Passive sampling shows unpredictable results due to the sedimentation rate, especially for small particles （5-10 i~m）. Risk factors for surgical site infections （SSls） must be well understood to develop more effective prevention programs.     

Investigating the effect of operating parameters on the open circuit voltage of a passive DMFC

The variations of the open circuit voltages (OCVs) were studied in a passive air-breathing direct methanol fuel cell with an air-breathing cathode using Nafion 115 as the electrolyte membrane. The effects of some operating parameters such as cell temperature, cell orientation, and also methanol concentration on the OCV of fabricated fuel cell were investigated experimentally. The experimental results showed that the OCV values depend strongly on the cell orientation, cell temperature, and methanol concentration. The OCV values decrease with an increase in methanol concentration and cell temperature. Also, the OCV values in vertical orientation are lower than the OCV values in other orientations.     

Curvilinear smoothed particle hydrodynamics

We suggest a new set of equations to employ smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) in a curvilinear space, and we refer to it as curvSPH. In classical SPH, the horizontal and vertical resolution of discretization is supposed to be equal for fluid particles. However, curvSPH makes the horizontal and vertical resolutions independent from each other. This is performed by transformation of physical space into an appropriate computational space with a different scale in horizontal and vertical directions. Solving a problem using SPH in a curvilinear space also provides capability to model curved boundaries as straight lines. In classical SPH, special care is needed to reach a uniform mass distribution along curved boundaries; however, producing uniform mass distribution along a line using curvSPH is straight forward. Different simulations, including simulation of a flip bucket are performed to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. Good agreement of results with experimental data and classical SPH confirms the capabilities of curvSPH. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and characterization of cellulose-ZnO nanocomposite based on ionic liquid ([C4mim]Cl)

Cellulose-ZnO composite was achieved by microwave assisted dissolution of cellulose in ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C₄mim]Cl) followed by addition of premixed ground of Zn(CH₃COO)₂·2H₂O and NaOH. Surface characterization, optical property and thermal stability of nanocomposite were determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV–Vis spectroscopy and thermo gravimetric analysis. XRD patterns showed the ZnO in polymer matrix has the wurtzite structure. Presence of zinc oxide nanoparticles and cellulose fibers in the composites were observed by SEM. Band-edge transition of zinc oxide in the nanocomposite occurs in lower wavelength than bulk zinc oxide. Thermal stability of nanocomposite was lower than regenerated cellulose due to catalyst behavior of zinc oxide nanoparticles in cellulose matrix.     

Determination of Chlorophenoxy Acid Herbicides in Water Samples by Suspended Liquid-Phase Microextraction�CLiquid Chromatography

In this study, directly suspended liquid-phase microextraction was investigated for the extraction and determination of five chlorophenoxy acid herbicides in water samples. The optimized parameters for extraction of chlorophenoxy acid herbicides were 1 M HCl concentration in sample solution, solution temperature 20 °C, 45-min extraction time, 1,000 rpm stirring rate, 25 ??L extracting solvent volume and without NaCl addition. Under the optimum conditions, the enrichment factor ranged from 192 to 390. Calibration curves yielded good linearity (R ² > 0.999) and the linear range was 5.0?C500.0 ??g L^?1, limit of detection was 0.3?C0.4 ??g L^?1 and limit of quantification was 1?C2 ??g L^?1 for analytes and the relative standard deviations were in the range of 3?C10% (n = 3). Finally, the proposed method was successfully applied to the quantification of five chlorophenoxy acid herbicides in water samples and recovery was in the range of 74?C110%.     

On the Properties of Convex Multilayered Cyclofusene

Cyclofusene is a corona-condensed benzenoid whose graph-theoretic representation consists of hexacycles each having exactly two non-adjacent shared edges. Multilayered cyclofusene is a fused hexacylic system which can be partitioned into successive layers of cyclofusene. In such systems, an edge shared by two consecutive hexacycles in the same layer is termed radial. We present upper bounds for the number of radial π-bonds in a convex k-layered cyclofusene.     

On the equitability of multiply-connected monolayered cyclofusene

Multiply-connected monolayered cyclofusene (MMC) is a fused hexacyclic system with an exterior region and at least two interior empty regions called holes, as in figure 1. Each hexacyle has either: (a) two edges belonging to an exterior boundary and at least one hole, or (b) two edges belonging to boundaries of at least two holes. Let G be the graph of a given MMC. We show that G is equitable if and only if the set of vertices belonging to three hexacycles is equitable.     

Influence of mass moment of inertia on the normal modes of a preloaded solar array mast

Earth-orbiting spacecraft often contain solar arrays or antennas supported by a preloaded mast. Due to weight and cost considerations, the supporting structures of the spacecraft appendages are made extremely light and flexible. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the influence of all physical and structural parameters on the dynamic behavior of the overall structure. The governing equation of motion and its general solution for the preloaded mast are developed. Furthermore, the mass moment of inertia of the mast subjected to bending vibrations is included in the governing equation of motion to investigate its influence on determining the circular frequencies. To verify the developed formulations, a finite element technique was implemented. The accuracy and limitation of the technique on calculating the circular frequencies are discussed. Although the study described in this paper primarily focuses on the mast for the space station solar arrays, the developed formulations and techniques can be applied to any large and flexible beam in zero gravity.     

The effect of cell orientations and environmental conditions on the performance of a passive DMFC single cell

A single cell passive air-breathing liquid feed direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is designed and fabricated. Furthermore, the effects of cell orientation and environmental conditions such as temperature and relative humidity on the performance of such passive DMFC are tested experimentally. The obtained results indicate that both environmental temperature and relative humidity have significant effects on the performance of fabricated fuel cell. The experimental data contained within this work shows that under lower relative humidity and higher temperature, the passive air-breathing direct methanol fuel cell has higher power output and better performance. According to experimental results, flooding has a vital role on the cell performance in various relative humidity and temperatures. The results also show that cell orientation has a strong effect on the performance of passive DMFC. The best power output and performance were achieved under vertical orientation.