Science News-The American Board of Obesity Medicine Five Year Report

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Medical News The American Board of Obesity Medicine Five Year Report Five-year report reflecting on the growth of ABOM – Obesity Society Obesity Journal- June Issue 2017 Embargo expired on 25-May-2017 at 00:05 ET Insurance vs. Out-of-Pocket Payment Not a Big Factor in Weight-Loss Outcomes Individuals whose insurance covered the cost of a comprehensive medical weight-loss program had one-year outcomes very similar to those of patients who paid for the treatment out of pocket, according to an observational study conducted at Wake Forest... – Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Obesity, June-2017 Embargo expired on 25-May-2017 at 00:00 ET Bronchial Thermoplasty Helps Asthma Patients Reduce Severe Attacks, Hospitalizations and ER Visits In a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference, adult asthma patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty (BT) had fewer severe exacerbations and were able to reduce their ER visits and hospitalizations in the... – American Thoracic Society (ATS) Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 09:15 ET Machine Learning May Help in Early Identification of Severe Sepsis A machine-learning algorithm has the capability to identify hospitalized patients at risk for severe sepsis and septic shock using data from electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society Intern... – American Thoracic Society (ATS) Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 09:15 ET In-Hospital COPD Mortality Shows Large Drop from 2005-2014 While the number of hospitalizations for COPD in the United States fluctuated within a narrow range between 2005 and 2014, in-hospital deaths decreased substantially during that same time, according to new research presented at the ATS 2017 Internati... – American Thoracic Society (ATS) Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 09:15 ET Parent Training on ADHD Using Volunteers Can Help Meet Growing Treatment Needs Using volunteers to train parents concerned about attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in their children can improve capacity to meet increasing ADHD treatment needs, finds a new study by NYU’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, an... – New York University Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, May 24, 2017 Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 16:00 ET UK and Brazilian Researchers Collaborate to Uncover the Hidden Spread of Zika Virus in Brazil and the Americas Using Virus Genome Sequences An international research collaboration has studied the genetics of Zika virus in Brazil and beyond, providing a new understanding of the disease and its rapid spread through space and time. The research has significant public health implications an... – University of Birmingham Nature, May-2017 Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 13:00 ET Hospitals Vary Widely in Transitioning From Treatment to Comfort Care After Stroke ... – American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 16:00 ET Canada’s Largest Hospital Reports on Year of Medically Assisted Dying Today, in the New England Journal of Medicine, the team from University Health Network in Toronto that developed the organization’s protocol for medical assistance in dying (MAiD) describes UHN’s approach and experience. This comes a year after ... – University Health Network (UHN) New England Journal of Medicine, May-2017 Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 17:00 ET Genetic Mutation Studies Help Validate New Strategy for Reducing Lipids, Cholesterol A new strategy – an injectable antibody – for lowering blood lipids and thereby potentially preventing coronary artery disease and other conditions caused by the build-up of fats, cholesterol, and other substances on the artery walls, is supporte... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania New England Journal of Medicine; Journal of the American College of Cardiology ; R01HL131961; K08HL114642; R01HL118744; R01HL127564; R21HL120781 Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 17:00 ET Yearlong Survey Tracks the Microbiome of a Newly Opened Hospital A 12-month study mapping bacterial diversity within a hospital — with a focus on the flow of microbes between patients, staff and surfaces — should help hospitals worldwide better understand how to encourage beneficial microbial interactions and ... – University of Chicago Medical Center Science Translational Medicine, May 24, 2017 Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 14:00 ET Fruit Flies Journey to International Space Station to Study Effects of Zero Gravity on the Heart Researchers at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) today announced six boxes of fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) will travel to the International Space Station (ISS) to study the impact of weightlessness on the heart. The fr... – Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute Embargo expired on 25-May-2017 at 09:00 ET includes video Safe Space for Illegal Drug Consumption in Baltimore Would Save $6 Million a Year A new cost-benefit analysis conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and others suggests that $6 million in costs related to the opioid epidemic could be saved each year if a single “safe consumption” space for illicit dru... – Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Harm Reduction Journal Researchers Find Brain Differences Between People with Genetic Risk for Schizophrenia, Autism Deletions or duplications of DNA along 22nd chromosome create anatomical features, detected by MRI scans, and hint at biological underpinnings of these disorders – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Journal of Neuroscience NUS Researchers Create Palm-Size Device for Quick, Effective Treatment of Common Hearing Disorder Researchers from the National University of Singapore have developed a novel handheld device, known as CLiKX, for the treatment of a condition called Otitis Media with Effusion, or ‘glue ear’, which is the leading cause of hearing loss and visits... – National University of Singapore ‘Sticky’ Particles Promise More Precise Drug Delivery for Brain Cancer A Yale research team has found that by tinkering with the surface properties of drug-loaded nanoparticles, they can potentially direct these particles to specific cells in the brain. – Yale Cancer Center Mindfulness-Focused Childbirth Education Leads to Less Depression, Better Birth Experiences A study this month from researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) shows mindfulness training that addresses fear and pain during childbirth can improve women’s childbirth experience... – University of Wisconsin-Madison K01 AT005270 ; K01 AT006545 TSRI Scientists Find Simple Copper Complex Shuts Down Botulinum Neurotoxin Poisoning Clostridium botulinum is the bacterium that causes the neurointoxication, which produces one of the most potent toxins on earth and is classified as a potential bioterrorism threat. While no cure exists—and botulism treatment options are limited—... – Scripps Research Institute National Institutes of Health, R01A1119564 Epilepsy Journal Devotes Entire Issue to Cannabinoid Research Increasing interest in the properties of cannabinoids as a therapy for epilepsy has prompted Epilepsy & Behavior to produce a special issue devoted entirely to studies of cannabinoids. A UAB neurologist involved in UAB’s studies of CBD oil serves a... – University of Alabama at Birmingham Epilepsy and Behavior First-of-Its-Kind Study Shows How Hand Amputation, Reattachment Affect Brain When a person loses a hand to amputation, nerves that control sensation and movement are severed, causing dramatic changes in areas of the brain that controlled these functions. As a result, areas of the brain devoted to the missing hand take on othe... – University of Missouri Health Nearly 500 Supporters Joined ATS Rally on Capitol Hill: Lab Coats for Lungs In an ATS 2017 International Conference first, respiratory health professionals and patients joined other conference attendees at a rally near the Capitol on Tuesday, May 23 to voice their concerns about recent policies that threaten to undermine man... – American Thoracic Society (ATS) Three Types of Work Stress Increasing in the U.S., According to SUNY Downstate Researchers Two stressful work characteristics, low job control and “job strain” – that is, high-demand, low-control work – have been increasing in the U.S. since 2002. The findings may explain why declines in cardiovascular disease and related mortalit... – SUNY Downstate Medical Center European Journal of Preventive Cardiology 2017 Recreational Cannabis, Used Often, Increases Risk of Gum Disease Recreational use of cannabis—including marijuana, hashish, and hash oil—increases the risk of gum disease, says a study by Columbia University dental researchers. – Columbia University Medical Center Journal of Periodontology Patients in Rural Hospitals Can Save Thousands of Dollars if Local Hospital Is Part of Tele-Emergency Room Network Patients in small towns can save thousands of dollars in health care costs by avoiding transfer to a larger facility if their local rural hospital is part of a tele-emergency room network, according to a new study from the University of Iowa. – University of Iowa Jefferson Researcher Identifies Targets for Better Anti-Thrombotic Medicine Blood thinners, such as aspirin, reduce the risk of thrombus formation but also interfere with the initial clot formation that is essential for preventing blood loss from the wounds. Now researchers have discovered that a molecule plays a role in thr... – Thomas Jefferson University PLOS ONE, 2017; HL 57630 ; HL113188. New Brain Mapping Tool Produces Higher Resolution Data During Brain Surgery Researchers have developed a new device to map the brain during surgery and distinguish between healthy and diseased tissues. The device provides higher resolution neural readings than existing tools used in the clinic and could enable doctors to per... – University of California San Diego Advanced Functional Materials, May 12, 2017; ECCS-1351980; MR-15-328909; N00014-13-1-0672 Zika Reached Miami at Least Four Times, Caribbean Travel Likely Responsible With mosquito season looming in the Northern Hemisphere, doctors and researchers are poised to take on a new round of Zika virus infections. Now a new study by a large group of international researchers led by scientists at The Scripps Research Insti... – Scripps Research Institute National Institutes of Health, 5T32AI007244-33; National Institutes of Health, U54-GM088491; National Institutes of Health, R35 GM119774-01; National Institutes of Health, 4R01AI099210-04... Sedentary Lifestyle Appears to Increase Risk for Both Kidney and Bladder Cancer A new study led by researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute establishes a connection between a sedentary lifestyle and risk of developing kidney or bladder cancer. – Roswell Park Cancer Institute Cancer Epidemiology; T32CA108456 Labeling a Bacterial Cell 'Jacket' A team of researchers from the University of Delaware have discovered how to label and light the sugar backbone of a bacterial cell wall. The findings will advance immune system research. – University of Delaware Nature Communications includes video Ineffective Antibiotics Form Strong Teams Against Deadly Super Bacteria A team of researchers found that combinations of three antibiotics – that are each ineffective against superbugs when used alone – are capable of eradicating two of the six ESKAPE pathogens when delivered together. – University at Buffalo Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy Harvard Medical School Expert Calls for Protection of Critical Gains Made in Cancer Care Under Obamacare Cancer—the second leading cause of death in the United States—claims more than 600,000 lives each year. – Harvard Medical School The Cancer Journal Many Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer Receive Costly, Inappropriate Testing, Says Fred Hutch Study A study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting on June 5 in Chicago shows that asymptomatic women who have been treated for early-stage breast cancer often underg... – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center ASCO Annual Meeting, 2017 What Can We Learn From Global Health Care Systems? ISPOR held a number of sessions at its 22nd Annual International Conference in Boston, MA, USA that focused on the health care systems from different countries. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 Panel Explores Issue of Real-World Evidence to Inform Health Policies for Medical Devices ISPOR held an afternoon session at its 22nd Annual International Meeting in Boston, MA, USA that explored the use of real-world evidence to help inform health policies for medical devices. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 Is Big Data Eclipsing the Role of Randomized Controlled Trials? ISPOR hosted its third and final plenary session this morning focusing on the usefulness of big data in health care policy decisions at ISPOR’s 22nd Annual International Meeting in Boston, MA, USA. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 Developing and Paying for Gene Therapies: How to Measure Value? ISPOR hosted a session this morning at its 22nd Annual International Meeting in Boston, MA, USA that examined the issue of developing and paying for gene therapies. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 New Methodological Approaches to Assess Value of Immuno-Oncology Therapies ISPOR hosted a morning session at its 22nd Annual International Meeting in Boston, MA, USA that examined cost-effectiveness models for innovative oncology treatments. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 How Sharing Cancer Data Can Save Lives Global leaders in cancer research have called for the worldwide sharing of cancer data to save lives. The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health argue how the ‘freeing of data’ for a disease that knows no borders will enable researchers to find ... – Queen's University Belfast Opioid Abuse and Overdose: How Toxicologists Are Addressing This Public Health Crisis With increasing reports of and concerns about opioid abuse, there are actions toxicologists can take to help prevent and treat the problem. – Society of Toxicology University of Kansas Cancer Center Partners with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to Offer Innovative Blood Cancer Clinical Trials The University of Kansas Cancer Center joins Blood Cancer Research Partnership – University of Kansas Cancer Center The Medical Minute: Go Easy on the Salt Your body needs salt to work properly -- but too much can be bad for your health. – Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Two-Time Transplant Recipient Joins Team Set to Climb Mount Kilimanjaro Calvin Kennedy, a nurse at UAB Hospital, is a two-time kidney transplant recipient who has no plans to live an ordinary life. – University of Alabama at Birmingham includes video World’s Leading Liver Experts Focus on Continuing Advancements in Liver Disease and Transplantation Despite many advancements in liver transplantation — like the cure for the hepatitis C virus — liver disease continues to impact people of all ages and cultures across the globe. – Intermountain Medical Center 2017 International Liver Transplant Society Meetings, May-2017 After a Wet Winter, Insects Appear with a Vengeance While many insects pose no threat to us, some are cause for concern. Expert Available – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Asks Congress to Fully Fund Vital Food, Nutrition and Health Programs and Services The Administration’s proposed budget for 2018 contains funding cuts to nutrition assistance programs, food and nutrition research and health care infrastructure that provide a safety net for our country’s most vulnerable populations and the evide... – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics ISPOR Presents 2017 Scientific and Leadership Awards ISPOR recognized honorees of the ISPOR Awards Program at its 22nd Annual International Meeting in Boston, MA, USA this week. The ISPOR Awards Program is designed to foster and recognize excellence and outstanding technical achievement in HEOR. – International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) ISPOR Annual International Meeting, May-2017 ACR Announces New Officers The American College of Radiology (ACR) Council elected Alan D. Kaye, MD, FACR, president and Lawrence A. Liebscher, MD, FACR, vice president. Kaye and Liebscher are among several new leaders taking office during ACR 2017 — The Crossroads of Radiol... – American College of Radiology (ACR) World Thyroid Day Recognized Globally World Thyroid Day Recognized Globally- May 25, 2017 – American Thyroid Association Vets4Warriors Recognized by Department of Defense for Its Support of Military Employees Vets4Warriors, operated by Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, receives prestigious Pro Patria Award – Rutgers University Mount Sinai Develops Imaging Research Warehouse Volumes of Unique Data will Revolutionize Clinical Care and Translational Research – Mount Sinai Health System Penn’s Garret FitzGerald Receives American Heart Association Merit Award to Enhance Blood Pressure Control Garret FitzGerald, MD, FRS, director of the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received a $1 million Merit Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) t... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania American Society of Anesthesiologists Honors Kraig de Lanzac, M.D., with 2017 Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government Award The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) presented Kraig de Lanzac, M.D., president of the Louisiana Society of Anesthesiologists (LSA) with the 2017 Bertram W. Coffer, M.D., Excellence in Government Award. – American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Innovation in Aging Fund Selects Grant Recipients, June 1 Event to Highlight Winners June 1 Event to Highlight Winners Features WGBH’s Kara Miller and Aging 2.0’s Stephen Johnston – Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Science News UW Scientists Borrow From Electronics to Build Circuits in Living Cells UW synthetic biology researchers have demonstrated a new method for digital information processing in living cells, analogous to the logic gates used in electric circuits. In a key step in the ability to program living cells, the team built the large... – University of Washington Nature Communications, May 25, 2017 Embargo expired on 25-May-2017 at 05:00 ET Leading Archeologist Involved in Groundbreaking Discovery of Early Human Life in Ancient Peru A-tisket, A-tasket. You can tell a lot from a basket. Especially if it’s from ancient ruins of a civilization inhabited by humans 15,000 years ago. An archeologist is among the team that made a groundbreaking discovery in coastal Peru – home to o... – Florida Atlantic University Science Advances Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 14:00 ET Dennis Brown, PhD, Becomes 90th President of the American Physiological Society Dennis Brown, PhD, assumed the presidency of the American Physiological Society (APS) in April, immediately following the APS annual meeting at Experimental Biology 2017. Brown is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and director o... – American Physiological Society (APS) Embargo expired on 24-May-2017 at 12:00 ET Approach Tested at FAU First to Look at Dolphin Immune System With the drastic increase in the number of unusual dolphin strandings and deaths along the southeastern coast of the U.S. and elsewhere, finding specific antibodies to test, monitor and document their immune health is critical. – Florida Atlantic University BMC Veterinary Research Neutrons Provide the First Nanoscale Look at a Living Cell Membrane A research team from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has performed the first-ever direct nanoscale examination of a living cell membrane. In doing so, it also resolved a long-standing debate by identifying tiny groupings of... – Oak Ridge National Laboratory 10.1371/journal.pbio.2002214 includes video Scientists Capture the First cryo-EM Images of Cellular Target for Type 2 Diabetes in Action Researchers at the University of Michigan, Stanford University and biotech company ConfometRx have captured the first cryo-electron microscopy snapshots of a key cellular receptor in action. – University of Michigan Nature Masdar Institute Files Patent on Design of Novel Catalytic Converter Substrates to Reduce Toxic Vehicle Emissions Researchers Develop Novel Structure for a High-Efficiency Catalytic Converter Aimed at Boosting Automobile Manufacturers’ Ability to Meet Stringent Vehicle Emissions Standards – Masdar Institute of Science and Technology Where You Grow What You Grow A new study looks at how three varieties of camelina perform when grown in two different regions within the Great Plains. The end goal is to find the camelina variety that performs best in each location or environment--beyond the genetics involved. ... – American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Agronomy Journal, May 5, 2017 Population Only Part of Tornado Casualty Story New research out of Florida State University shows that the strength of a tornado has a significantly larger effect than population on the number of casualties. – Florida State University Report Challenges Perception of Mineral Scarcity The common perception that many of the world’s most valuable minerals, such as copper and aluminum, are becoming scarce is challenged report that also highlights the environmental and social keys to unlocking future resources.in a new – Cornell University Printed, Flexible and Rechargeable Battery Can Power Wearable Sensors Nanoengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed the first printed battery that is flexible, stretchable and rechargeable. The zinc batteries could be used to power everything from wearable sensors to solar cells and other kinds... – University of California San Diego South Sudan Wildlife Surviving Civil War, but Poaching and Trafficking Threats Increase The first aerial assessment of the impact of South Sudan’s current civil war on the country’s wildlife and other natural resources shows that significant wildlife populations have so far survived, but poaching and commercial wildlife trafficking ... – Wildlife Conservation Society International Liquid Crystal C

ENERGY NEWS-Oil prices lower as OPEC reviews extending production cut deal

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Oil prices lower as OPEC reviews extending production cut deal

May 25 (UPI) -- The likelihood that parties to an OPEC-led effort to balance the market with production cuts stand pat on output left oil prices in the red early Thursday.

U.S. states taking up wind energy mantle

May 25 (UPI) -- Gains in wind power in the United States are coming up from the state level, with California among the leaders, an industry report found.

Michigan, a volatile market for gas prices, sees demand go up

May 25 (UPI) -- Drivers in Michigan, one of the most volatile markets for gasoline, are putting slight pressure on demand because of economic conditions, a state report found.

Budget for shale-rich Oklahoma disappoints

May 25 (UPI) -- A budget proposal on the table for 2018 in shale-rich Oklahoma leaves the state with too many funding gaps, Gov. Mary Fallin said.

Iran networking with energy companies from Vienna

May 25 (UPI) -- Iranian officials in Vienna worked the sidelines at a meeting Thursday to discuss possible gas development deals with European companies, state media reported.

Preliminary data show Texas oil production down year-over-year

May 25 (UPI) -- Preliminary data for March show total crude oil production from Texas was up slightly from the previous month, but lower year-over-year.

Wood Mac: Don't expect an OPEC-fueled rally in crude oil prices

May 25 (UPI) -- An extension of a managed production decline agreement led by OPEC won't have much of a long-term impact on crude oil prices, Wood Mackenzie found.

Rally in oil prices stumbles ahead of pivotal OPEC meeting

May 24 (UPI) -- Uncertainty about what happens next with an OPEC-led production cut and lower than expected supply drains pushed oil prices lower early Wednesday.

British petrochemicals company INEOS expands oil and gas holdings

May 24 (UPI) -- British petrochemicals company INEOS said Wednesday it built up its oil and gas business with a $1 billion purchase of assets from DONG Energy.

Fire detection and suppression in mines

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Sperosens’ solutions for the South African mining industry include deep mine distributed telemetry systems, coupled with carefully chosen fire detection and suppression options catering to unique customer requirements. Distributed sensor networks monitor the quality and safety of air in underground mines and are primarily focused on four application areas: • Monitoring for safe working environments for humans. • Monitoring for early detection of underground fires. • Monitoring for explosive atmospheres in fiery mines. • Monitoring for optimising of ventilation system performance. The challenge in underground mining telemetry is the long distances underground. Without the benefit of wireless devices due to RF propagation constraints, it has to be cable based systems. From a central vertical shaft, mining workings are typically spread in a radius of 6 to 10 km, with as many as 15 separate vertical levels. The total distributed area to be covered becomes very large and in a typical mine it is not uncommon that 300 km of telemetry cable is installed. Communication protocol deployed is serial digital communications, and must be rugged enough to withstand harsh physical and electromagnetic conditions, from shaft hub to the furthest working areas. The collective data from all the levels are fed into the mine’s fibre optic backbone in the shaft and communicated to the control centre on surface. Modern computer systems in the control centre provide the functions of data logging, alarming, displaying, trending and reporting. The underground telemetry infrastructure is utilised for all four monitoring applications listed above simultaneously, without fear of clash of interest. This is very good use of infrastructure. Suppression system rational design principles Fire risks on many industrial installations, including mining, are unique and cannot be controlled using a set of easily interpretable fixed rules from a handbook. To design these applications a process known as rational design must be followed, which considers the unique parameters associated with the risk, and then applies a suitable international guideline or standard (such as SANS standards and the various NFPA standards) in search of a practical solution. This rational design process is normally done by a professional engineer or engineering technologist registered with ECSA, and with fire credentials and experience. Fire suppression principles The easiest method to kill a fire is to remove the heat, in other words to cool the area down. The next best option is to displace the oxygen, and hence smother the fire. Cooling down is the most reliable method, since after cooling down a fire cannot re-ignite spontaneously due to residual heat. This means that the energy source that generated the heat in the first place must also be removed. The most economical way of cooling is water, or a water foam mixture. Displacing the oxygen is usually done in cases where cooling down is not an option, i.e. for fires in the presence of energised electrical equipment and oil fires. The methods of displacing the oxygen is to use an inert gas to displace oxygen, or to use a high density foam blanket or dry chemical powder to cover the burning object effectively preventing oxygen from reaching the burning fuel. Fire detection linked to a suppression system A fire suppression system is only useful when it is linked to a reliable activation system, better described as a fire detection system, or an early warning system that provides warning signals indicating that a fire may occur. It is far better to prevent a fire than to suppress one. A good fire detection system should therefore have a pre-alarm that initiates a predetermined protocol to cool down or shut down equipment when a risk for ignition is detected. If pre-alarming fails, only then must a fire detection system actually release the suppressing agent and also shut down the energy source that generated the heat in the first place (i.e. electrical current or rotating or moving machinery). The best technique to obtain early warning is to place temperature sensors or infrared scanners at the correct locations. A temperature sensor placed correctly will give immediate indication of a local temperature that poses an immediate risk. A temperature trend over time can be used to warn of an increasing risk to trigger preventative measures. An IR scanner is able to analyse a larger surface area for developing problems. A temperature sensor placed directly on a bearing housing gives immediate reading of imminent bearing failure. An IR scanner observing a rotating conveyor belt drive pulley surface, will give indication of a belt that is slipping and heating up the pulley surface. An actual flaming fire is best detected with a suitable flame sensor that gives a fast and accurate alarm. In open environments, indirect sensing of smoke and gas is an unreliable method to get immediate detection of an actual fire. Distributed temperature sensing (DTS) using a fibre optic cable is becoming more affordable and feasible. DTS makes it possible to guard against temperature hot spots over very long distances, up to 10 km per instrument. Typical applications are the full length of a conveyor belt or the full length of cable, road or rail tunnels. Application-based suppression techniques Conveyor belts The normal approach on conveyor belts is to protect the areas of greatest risk. These are normally the so-called head end and tail end. The head end is the one end of the belt containing the large pulleys that drives the belt. The tail end is at the opposite end where the belt loops back around. The reason for the higher risk in these two areas is the likelihood of belt slip over driven pulleys, as well as bearing seizure of free running pulleys. In such events the belt can catch fire due to friction or the bearings can overheat igniting lubricant materials. Conveyor belt heads and tails can be protected by a foam system (using NFPA 16 as guide-line), of by water spray (Deluge using NFPA 15 as a guideline). Generally a deluge system requires larger volumes of fire water than a foam system and is utilised as such. Full conveyor belt suppression systems are much less common than local area protection systems. However, the mining industry is moving towards this goal, which requires distributed sensing, selective zone activation and much higher fire water supply requirements. Correct conveyor fire suppression system design also requires cooling of the steel supporting structure. If a steel supporting structure of a conveyor belt installation is lost in a fire it is difficult and time consuming to replace the steel structure lost and the consequent long period of operations interruption may be a serious business loss. Electrical equipment Power transformers are another high fire risk. Especially oil cooled transformers. Extinguishing a burning oil filled transformer is practically impossible. However, early warning of an overheating transformer can release a NFPA 16 or NFPA 15 suppression system cooling the unit down (after isolating the electrical supply side). An interesting fact is that the addition of a foam mix such as AFFF to the fire water increases the suppression/cooling effect of the same volume of water by a factor 4 due to better penetration of the mixture which overcomes surface tensions much better, hence cooling hot areas more effectively. Electrical switchgear cubicles often catch fire due to overloading or ageing contactors that heat up. Here, introducing water is not an option, hence displacing oxygen is the chosen method. Two techniques are used, i.e. introducing an extinguishing gas or dry chemical powder (DCP) into the cubicle. Common gases that are used are Novec123 or FM200 or NAFS125. Water mist A new technique that is fast becoming popular for fire suppression is high pressure water mist, which is when water is broken down into droplets smaller than 50 m using high pressure (> 100 Bar) and suitable nozzles. The advantages of water mist are: • Due to the small droplet size the total surface area of a specific volume of water introduced as mist into a fire zone, compared to the same volume of conventional water spray, is enlarged by a factor 100. • Fast evaporation of the mist droplets when entering the fire zone forming steam, extracts 2200 kilojoule of energy from the volume around the fire, which does not happen so effectively in the case of water spray which normally has to come into contact with the hot surface before evaporation takes place. • Thirdly, 1 litre of liquid water turns into 1650 litre of steam when it evaporates. This huge expansion of volume displaces the air (oxygen) from the fire zone. Water mist therefore combines the effects of cooling and oxygen displacement in a very effective way. Other advantages of water mist suppression are that it requires greatly reduced volumes of fire water, while the pipework concerned is cheaper and easier to install due to the smaller diameter when compared to water spray piping requirements. Applications for water mist include: • A replacement for conventional sprinkler systems and gaseous fire extinguishing systems in many applications. Water mist causes very little damage to furniture and equipment and is not harmful to personnel that may be exposed to the mist). • Computer rooms and data centres (the nature of the very clean water used means it can be used on operating computers without damaging the electronics or the need to shut down the systems). • Power generation equipment and paper mills are important applications. Water sprinklers and water spray can severely damage super-heated machinery on contact. Water mist prevents this from happening. For more information contact Marihette Hattingh, Sperosens, 086 177 3767, marihette.hattingh@spero.co.za, www.spero.co.za

New Way to Make Plasma Propulsion Lighter and More Efficient

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Matt Williams द्वारा Plasma propulsion is a subject of keen interest to astronomers and space agencies. As a highly-advanced technology that offers considerable fuel-efficiency over conventional chemical rockets, it is currently being used in everything from spacecraft and satellites to exploratory missions. And looking to the future, flowing plasma is also being investigated for more advanced propulsion concepts, as well as magnetic-confined fusion. However, a common problem with plasma propulsion is the fact that it relies on what is known as a "neutralizer". This instrument, which allows spacecraft to remain charge-neutral, is an additional drain on power. Luckily, a team of researchers from the University of York and École Polytechnique are investigating a plasma thruster design that would do away with a neutralizer altogether. A study detailing their research findings - titled "Transient propagation dynamics of flowing plasmas accelerated by radio-frequency electric fields" - was released earlier this month in Physics of Plasmas - a journal published by the American Institute of Physics. Led by Dr. James Dendrick, a physicist from the York Plasma Institute at the University of York, they present a concept for a self-regulating plasma thruster. A 6 kW Hall thruster in operation at NASA;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Credit: NASA/JPL Basically, plasma propulsion systems rely on electric power to ionize propellant gas and transform it into plasma (i.e. negatively charged electrons and positively-charged ions). These ions and electrons are then accelerated by engine nozzles to generate thrust and propel a spacecraft. Examples include the Gridded-ion and Hall-effect thruster, both of which are established propulsion technologies. The Gridden-ion thruster was first tested in the 1960s and 70s as part of the Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT) program. Since then, it has been used by NASA's Dawn mission, which is currently exploring Ceres in the Main Asteroid Belt. And in the future, the ESA and JAXA plan to use Gridded-iron thrusters to propel their BepiColombo mission to Mercury. Similarly, Hall-effect thrusters have been investigated since the 1960s by both NASA and the Soviet space programs. They were first used as part of the ESA's Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology-1 (SMART-1) mission. This mission, which launched in 2003 and crashed into the lunar surface three years later, was the first ESA mission to go to the Moon. As noted, spacecraft that use these thrusters all require a neutralizer to ensure that they remain "charge-neutral". This is necessary since conventional plasma thrusters generate more positively-charged particles than they do negatively-charged ones. As such, neutralizers inject electrons (which carry a negative charge) in order to maintain the balance between positive and negative ions. An artist's illustration of NASA's Dawn spacecraft with its ion propulsion system approaching Ceres. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. As you might suspect, these electrons are generated by the spacecraft's electrical power systems, which means that the neutralizer is an additional drain on power. The addition of this component also means that the propulsion system itself will have to be larger and heavier. To address this, the York/École Polytechnique team proposed a design for a plasma thruster that can remain charge neutral on its own. Known as the Neptune engine, this concept was first demonstrated in 2014 by Dmytro Rafalskyi and Ane Aanesland, two researchers from the École Polytechnique's Laboratory of Plasma Physics (LPP) and co-authors on the recent paper. As they demonstrated, the concept builds upon the technology used to create gridded-ion thrusters, but manages to generate exhaust that contains comparable amounts of positively and negatively charged ions. As they explain in the course of their study: "Its design is based on the principle of plasma acceleration, whereby the coincident extraction of ions and electrons is achieved by applying an oscillating electrical field to the gridded acceleration optics. In traditional gridded-ion thrusters, ions are accelerated using a designated voltage source to apply a direct-current (dc) electric field between the extraction grids. In this work, a dc self-bias voltage is formed when radio-frequency (rf) power is coupled to the extraction grids due to the difference in the area of the powered and grounded surfaces in contact with the plasma." The hall-effect thruster used by the SMART-1 mission, which relied on xenon as its reaction mass. Copyright: ESA In short, the thruster creates exhaust that is effectively charge-neutral through the application of radio waves. This has the same effect of adding an electrical field to the thrust, and effectively removes the need for a neutralizer. As their study found, the Neptune thruster is also capable of generating thrust that is comparable to a conventional ion thruster. To advance the technology even further, they teamed up with James Dedrick and Andrew Gibson from the York Plasma Institute to study how the thruster would work under different conditions. With Dedrick and Gibson on board, they began to study how the plasma beam might interact with space and whether this would affect its balanced charge. What they found was that the engine's exhaust beam played a large role in keeping the beam neutral, where the propagation of electrons after they are introduced at the extraction grids acts to compensate for space-charge in the plasma beam. As they state in their study: "[P]hase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy has been applied in combination with electrical measurements (ion and electron energy distribution functions, ion and electron currents, and beam potential) to study the transient propagation of energetic electrons in a flowing plasma generated by an rf self-bias driven plasma thruster. The results suggest that the propagation of electrons during the interval of sheath collapse at the extraction grids acts to compensate space-charge in the plasma beam." Naturally, they also emphasize that further testing will be needed before a Neptune thruster can ever be used. But the results are encouraging, since they offer up the possibility of ion thrusters that are lighter and smaller, which would allow for spacecraft that are even more compact and energy-efficient. For space agencies looking to explore the Solar System (and beyond) on a budget, such technology is nothing if not desirable! Further Reading: Physics of Plasmas, AIP