University Technical Services (United States)

Calorimetric thermal stress studies where indirect calorimetry is used as a tool to estimate energy expenditure have been undertaken since this technique was developed. Some examples of these studies are presented in this chapter. The measurement of gas exchange by means of an open-circuit respiration chamber have been done in studies where climate needs to be constant but also in studies where animal reactions to differences in climate as part of the experimental design. In the past and in present, animal studies are done in chambers with and without integrated climate controls. Changing climate factors, e.g. temperature, relative humidity, and air speed, may change an animal’s physiological responses. As climate can also affect energy metabolism it is necessary to have a well-designed, accurate and reliable air conditioning system inside a respiration chamber to rule out the unwanted effects of an uncontrollable climate. In this chapter important issues related to the design of climate control in respiration chambers are described and methods for improving accuracy are discussed. We conclude that the design of chambers with and without climate control should be undertaken by those that understand animal biology as well as technicians and engineers. Furthermore, the basic physics of heat measurement are discussed and we elaborate about possible biases from biological factors and physical factors and how to deal with them.

Communities of practice are a possible mechanism for improving knowledge sharing among project managers, both within and between organizations. Based on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, we theorize a model of participation intensity in communities of practice by project managers and explore the use of Web 2.0 technologies to increase this participation. Using structural equation modeling, we test the research model and find that the factors of reputation, enjoyment, and management support impact the participation intensity of project managers in communities of practice. However, we do not find support for the impact of Web 2.0 technologies on participation intensity. This study provides evidence that participation in communities of practice can result in individual benefits for the project manager, as well as in more far-reaching organizational benefits.

Abstract For technical applications, a physical model capable of predicting the particle evolution in the burning process along its trajectory through the furnace is very useful. There are two major demands: all the thermo-dynamic processes that describe the particle burning process must be accounted and the model must be written in such equation terms to allow the intervention for parameter settings and particle definition. The computations were performed for the following parameters: furnace average temperature between 700 and 1200 °C, size of the sawdust particle from 4 to 6 mm and fix carbon ignition between 500 and 900 °C. The values obtained for the characteristic parameters of the burning process ranged from 30 to 60 [kg/(h·m3)] for the gravimetrical burning speed WGh and from 150 to 280 [kW/m3] for the volumetric thermal load of the furnace QV. The main conclusion was that the calculus results are in good agreement with the experimental data from the pilot installations and the real-case measurements in the sawdust working boiler furnaces or pre-burning chambers. Another very important conclusion is that the process speed variation, when the furnace temperature changes, confirms the thermo-kinetic predictions, namely that the burning process speed decreases when the furnace temperature increases.

A hospital formulary accessed through a database management system (DBMS) is described. The hospital formulary database was developed for use on a commercially available System 2000 DBMS at a 1200-bed teaching hospital. Information on therapeutic class, prescription status, dosage form, strength, route of administration, formulary availability and restrictions, and content of sugar, potassium, sodium, dye, and preservatives is available online for 730 drugs. The DBMS is also capable of providing a monthly printout of the hospital formulary, a yearly camera-ready version of a formulary handbook, cumulative reports of pharmacy and therapeutics committee activity, and online formulary information for pharmacists. The use of a self-contained language feature employing English-like commands simplifies information retrieval and record updating. Because specific hardware or software is not necessary for system operation, costs of maintaining the DBMS hospital formulary are determined solely by online use. Operation of a hospital formulary on a DBMS allows storage, retrieval, and analysis of specific drug information without substantial investments in computer equipment or personnel.