The present study deals with the thermal performance evaluation and economic analysis of a low-cost modified flat-plate solar water heater (SWH) with a parallel two-side serpentine flow. This is a unique inexpensive and easily fabricated SWH having better thermal efficiency than those investigated by earlier authors. The solar water heating system is having parallel two-side serpentine arrangem...

PURPOSE We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of warm water sitz baths in patients who have undergone transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) owing to lower urinary tract symptoms secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the records of 1,783 patients who had undergone TURP between 2001 and 2009. In the warm water sitz bath group, patients were instructed...

Rice starch added to bath water was studied for its possible beneficial effects on impaired barrier function as evaluated by transepidermal water loss measurements. The forearm skin of healthy volunteers was irritated by sodium lauryl sulphate. Exposure to rice-starch-containing bath water--twice daily for 15 min--led to a 20% improvement on the healing capacity of damaged skin. The beneficial ...

BACKGROUND Lowering water heater temperature set points and using less drinking water are common approaches to conserving water and energy; yet, there are discrepancies in past literature regarding the effects of water heater temperature and water use patterns on the occurrence of opportunistic pathogens, in particular Legionella pneumophila. Our objective was to conduct a controlled, replicate...

Legionella pneumophila is known to proliferate in hot water plumbing systems, but little is known about the specific physicochemical factors that contribute to its regrowth. Here, L. pneumophila trends were examined in controlled, replicated pilot-scale hot water systems with continuous recirculation lines subject to two water heater settings (40 °C and 58 °C) and three distal tap water use fre...

Fast transient microboiling has been characterized on modified gold microheaters using a novel laser strobe microscopy technique. Microheater surfaces of different hydrophobicity were prepared using self-assembled monolayers of hexadecane thiol (hydrophobic) and 16-mercaptohexadecanol (hydrophilic) as well as the naturally hydrophilic bare gold surface. The microheater was immersed in a pool of...