This research focused on the enhancement of a conventional air ventilation system by using monitoring control. A specially designed was developed to optimize current systems in order improve quality and thermal comfort buildings. Indoor parameters, such as temperature, humidity, pollution (CO2), were monitored controlled. Researchers accumulated data implemented performance analysis tool for as...

BACKGROUND UK Biobank will be collecting blood samples from a cohort of 500 000 volunteers and it is expected that the rate of collection will peak at approximately 3000 blood collection tubes per day. These samples need to be prepared for long-term storage. It is not considered practical to manually process this quantity of samples so an automated blood fractionation system is required. METH...

Laboratory studies were conducted to determine factors that affect the tunneling behavior of the western subterranean termite (Reticulitermes hesperus Banks). Soil particle sizes between 2.36 and 0.84 mm prevented tunneling. Exposure to solid layers of calcium, magnesium, or zinc borate did not repel workers, but produced >87 percent kill within 10 d. No tunneling occurred in soils treated with...

Results of an experimental investigation are reported, conducted to study the stress-strain behavior of a soil having undergone different amounts of internal erosion. The soil used is gap-graded and cohesionless comprising silt, sand and gravel. Internal erosion tests and subsequent triaxial tests are performed in a specially designed apparatus having modified perforated end platens and a drain...

The effects of freeze-thaw events on the inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil were examined. Oocysts were inoculated into distilled water in microcentrifuge tubes or into chambers containing soil the water content of which was maintained at 3%, 43%, or 78% of the container capacity. The chambers and tubes were then embedded in 3 soil samples from different aspects of a hillsid...

Wind erosion threatens soil productivity and air quality in the Columbia Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest United States. Management practices are sought that will abate erosion, but limitations exist in measuring the effectiveness of these practices in reducing erosion. Portable wind tunnels are ideal tools that can be used to assess the impact of management practices on erosion. A porta...

Microbial volatilization of selenium as dimethylselenide (DMSe) and dimethyldiselenide (DMDSe) from soil is an important part of the Se cycle in nature, but little is known about the stability and transformations of these gases during residence in the soil environment before dissipation to the atmosphere. Experiments monitored by gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectroscopy were made w...