[en] This work was prepared by the Chilean and International Atomic Energy Agencies and covers the hydrodynamic functioning of sewage stability pools using tracers. The plant selected in the city of Cabrero, 500 km. south of Santiago, and is a rectangular facultative pool with a surface area of 7100 m² and a maximum volume of 12,327 m2 that receives an average flow of 20 l/s, serving a population of 7000 individuals. The work aims to characterize the runoff from the flow that enters the pool, using a radioactive tracer test, where the incoming water is marked, and its out-coming passage is determined, to establish the residence time distribution. Tritium was selected in the form of tritiated water as a tracer that is precisely emptied into the water flow from the distribution ravine at the lake entrance. Samples are taken at the outflow to determine the concentration of tritium after distillation, simultaneously measuring the flow, to be analyzed in a liquid flicker counter. An average test time of 5.3 days was obtained and an analysis of the residence time distribution for the tracer shows that it leaves quickly and indicates bad flow distribution in the lake with a major short circuit and probable dead zones

[en] The skeletal maturation of the shoulder has been well documented on radiographic and cadaveric studies. Recent increased use of MRI has provided increased understanding of the soft-tissue and osseous changes that occur during development. Thus recognizing normal maturation, imaging manifestations and pitfalls is crucial when evaluating the pediatric shoulder joint. At birth, the humeral diaphysis, midportion of the clavicle, and the body of the scapula are ossified, while the remainder of the bones of the shoulder are composed of non-ossified cartilaginous precursors. During growth, cartilaginous apophyses and epiphyses of the shoulder develop numerous secondary ossification centers, which fuse with the primary ossification centers to form the complete bony components of the shoulder. Additionally changes in the morphology of the growth plates as well as marrow signal occur in an organized manner. This paper affords the reader with an understanding of the normal development of three major components of skeletal maturation in the shoulder: ossification centers, growth plates and marrow signal. These topics are further subdivided into the glenoid, proximal humerus and acromioclavicular joint. We also provide a focus on distinguishing normal anatomy from imaging pitfalls related to skeletal maturation.

[en] Highlights: • “Full green” version of a rubber tyre gantry crane with fuel cell and supercapacitors. • New configuration designed and evaluated from the real driving cycle of the crane. • Configuration technically feasible, more energy-efficient and better option for the environment. -- Abstract: This paper presents a “full green” version of a rubber tyre gantry (RTG) crane with a fuel cell (FC) unit and supercapacitors (SCs) as energy storage system (ESS), instead of using the conventional RTG powered by a diesel engine. The SCs provide the required high current peaks and power demands when accelerating the load in the hoisting-up movement. Once the power demand reaches a steady level (hoist up constant speed), the FC provides the energy needed for the rest of the movements. The SCs are also charged when the hoist down movement is taking place. In this case, the regenerative energy can be stored in the SCs instead of being burnt in the braking resistors as in the conventional RTG crane. The new hybrid powertrain based on FC and SCs is designed and evaluated from the real driving cycle of the RTG crane. Simulation results, which include a comparative study with the current configuration of the RTG crane (powered only by diesel engine), demonstrate the technical viability of the RTG crane powered by FC and SCs. This hybrid powertrain is more expensive than the diesel powertrain, but more energy-efficient, and a better solution from the environmental point of view.

[en] The Thermogravimetric Heat Pump (TGHP) is a non-conventional system, implementing a reverse cycle, the main difference of which from the usual vapor compression (Rankine) cycle is a quasi-isothermal compression of the working fluid by a high heat capacity carrier fluid. Previous studies showed that employing HFC134a or PF5050 as working fluids may be promising in terms of thermodynamic performance, though the corresponding required plant heights confine its application to tall buildings (from minimum height of 10–12 storeys to skyscrapers). Accordingly, an investigation has been carried out in the present study in order to determine a group of fluids which allow lower heights under the same input conditions. In order to investigate the performance of the system and the required plant height, operation of a 100 kW TGHP has been simulated for 17 different fluids. Accordingly, the corresponding COPs and required heights are determined and based on the achieved COPs, the optimum fluid for each range of building height is selected. The resulting plant heights range from 20 m to nearly 200 m and R245ca is shown to be the most promising fluid for the lowest plant height range. A parametric study is next carried out in order to study the effect of variations in the condensation temperature and the dimensionless plant height on the performance of the system. The obtained results demonstrate that an increase in the former from 313 K to 348 K, for almost all of the analyzed fluids, causes a reduction of around 50% in the COP. It is also shown that, almost independent of the employed fluid, the maximum values of COP are reached for a dimensionless plant height of around 1.8. Moreover, all the analyzed fluids show basically the same COP trend and, at the same operating conditions, the COP values for all fluids are within a 10% range of variation. This leads to the conclusion that the thermophysical properties of the employed fluid mainly influences the required height of the system, while the COP values remain in a relatively small range. - Highlights: • The required plant height with different working fluids for a thermogravimetric heat pump was determined. • A fluid selection diagram including COP and the required height for different fluids was presented. • Sensitivity analysis to study the effect of height increasing factor on COP was performed. • Sensitivity analysis to investigate the effect of condensation temperature on the COP was also carried out

[en] Data concerning reperfusion strategies of intracranial atherosclerosis-related occlusion (ICARO) and clinico-angiographic outcomes remain scarce, particularly in Caucasians. We aim to compare the reperfusion rate and functional outcome between reperfusion strategies in the setting of the ICARO. Retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) registries at three high-volume stroke centers were retrospectively analyzed for consecutive ICARO patients from January 2015 to December 2019. We defined ICARO as any fixed high-degree (> 70%) focal narrowing or stenosis of any degree with a perpetual tendency for reocclusion. We categorized reperfusion strategies into four groups: EVT [group 1], balloon angioplasty [(BAp), group 2], placement of self-expandable stents [(SES), group 3], and BAp combined with implantation of SES; or direct placement of balloon mounted stents (BMS) [(BAp-SES/BMS), group 4]. We evaluated the association with the successful reperfusion [mTICI 2b - 3] and favorable outcome [mRS 0-2] with logistic regression analysis. Out of 2550 EVT, 124 patients (median age, 70 (61-80) years; 76 men) with ICARO and 130 reperfusion attempts [36 EVT, 38 BAp, 17 SES, and 39 BAp + SES/BMS] were analyzed. SES implantation showed the highest frequency of post-procedural symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage [(18%, 3/17), p = .03]; however, we observed no significant differences in the mortality rate. Overall, we achieved successful reperfusion in 71% (92/130) and favorable outcomes in 42% (52/124) of the patients. BAp + SES/BMS was the only independent predictor of the final successful reperfusion [aOR, 4.488 (95% CI, 1.364-14.773); p = .01], which was significantly associated with the 90-day favorable outcome [aOR, 10.837 (95% CI, 3.609-32.541); p = < .001] after adjustment for confounding variables between the reperfusion strategies. Among patients with ICARO, the rescue angioplasty stenting effectively contributed to higher odds of successful reperfusion with no increased risk for intracranial hemorrhage.

[en] Highlights: • n-Si/DLC solar cell by simple electrodeposition technique. • Surface plasmon effect in n-Si/DLC solar cell. • 28% enhancement in J_SC due to plasmonic nPs (Ag) in DLC solar cell. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films and nanocrystalline silver particles containing diamond-like carbon (DLC:Ag) films were electrodeposited on n-type silicon substrate (n-Si) to prepare n-Si/DLC and n-Si/DLC:Ag heterostructures for photovoltaic (PV) applications. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect in this cell structure and its overall performance have been studied in terms of morphology, optical absorption, current-voltage characteristics, capacitance-voltage characteristics, band diagram and external quantum efficiency measurements. Localized surface plasmon resonance effect of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) in n-Si/DLC:Ag PV structure exhibited an enhancement of ∼28% in short circuit current density (J_SC), which improved the overall efficiency of the heterostructures.