Because they are believed to control the microclimate of the skin by removing or reducing perspiration accumulation and providing localized cooling, low-air-loss mattress systems are used for the treatment and prevention of pressure ulcers. However, no clear, universally agreed upon definition exists for their design, and reproducible standards on which to base their performance or assess their...

One important problem in lumber drying is to maintain the lumber moisture content distribution within certain minimum and maximum values. Over-drying and under-drying are common causes for lower grade recovery and dimensional stability problems. It is known that both over-drying and underdrying can be reduced by sorting green lumber into different moisture content groups and sorting also offers...

Using the analogy between heat and mass transfer processes, the recently developed entransy theory is extended in this paper to tackle the coupled heat and mass transfer processes so as to analyze and optimize the performance of evaporative cooling systems. We first introduce a few new concepts including the moisture entransy, moisture entransy dissipation, and the thermal resistance in terms o...

A linear knife grid device was developed for first-stage size reduction of high- and low-moisture switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a tough, fibrous perennial grass being considered as a feedstock for bioenergy. The size reduction is by a shearing action accomplished by forcing a thick packed bed of biomass against a grid of sharp knives. The system is used commercially for slicing forages for...

This paper reports the Ku band (1318GHz) response of thick film equilateral triangle microstrip patch antenna to moisture laden sunflower (Helianthus Annuus) seeds using overlay technique. From the frequency response the moisture dependent microwave permittivity has been reported. The thick film patch antenna is sensitive even to ~ 4.25% moisture content in the overlay material. The actual mois...

[1] A wireless sensor network (WSN) was deployed as part of a water balance instrument cluster across a forested 1 km headwater catchment in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. The network, which integrates readings from over 300 sensors, provides spatially representative measurements of snow depth, solar radiation, relative humidity, soil moisture, and matric potential. The ability of th...

One of the main problems hard-to-heal wounds regards monitoring their healing progress. Currently, clinicians monitor wound’s status by removing dressing, disturbing process. A relevant parameter that they need to is wound moisture. Indeed, a low amount exudate can desiccate wound, while high level moisture will lead maceration. Thus, optimize process, it particularly important maintain an opti...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of radiofrequency (RF), electroacupuncture (EA), and low-level laser therapy (LLLT), which are used in physical therapies, on facial wrinkles and moisture. [Subjects and Methods] A total of 30 female participants aged 30-55 years participated in this study and the results will be used as a reference for further development of sk...

A new relationship between the surface distribution of equivalent potential temperature and the potential temperature at the tropopause is proposed. Using a Gaussian approximation for the distribution of equivalent potential temperature, we argue that the tropopause potential temperature is approximately given by the mean equivalent potential temperature at the surface plus twice its standard d...