Three children were injured by putting their arms into spin dryers. In each case the injuries were severe. Though not common, these accidents should be preventable. Warning notices are useless for toddlers, and a built-in safety mechanism seems the only certain means of stopping such accidents.

Janet L. Poole. MA, OTR/L, is Assistant Professor, Program in Occupational Therapy, University of Pittsburgh. A lthough a variety of assistive devices are available to disabled persons for hair care, a review of health care equipment catalogues and the occupational therapy literature failed to reveal any devices designed specifically for drying hair. In particular, persons with upper extremity ...

There is a growing concern for adverse effects of untreated discharge from confined animal feedlot operations (CAFOs) in the Midwestern states. Ample data exists to show that the waste discharge from livestock operations is a major contributor to the contamination of surface water systems. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) estimates that 41 percent of the total non-poin...

Experimental results from the transient drying of sheets of polyester in an infrared (IR) dryer were used to derive a performance model. Separate drying experiments were done using sheets of material of various densities and thicknesses. The formulations expressed the core temperature of the web to the surface temperature of the web as a function of the residency time in the dryer and the elect...

Process analytical technology (PAT)-tools were used to monitor freeze-drying of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) at pilot and production scale. Among the evaluated PAT-tools, there is the novel use of the vacuum valve open/close frequency for determining the endpoint of primary drying at production scale. The duration of primary drying, the BCG survival rate, and the residual moisture content (RMC...

In this paper, a sliding mode control with a proportional integral (PI) sliding surface applied to the hybrid tunnel dryer has been assessed through simulations. A dynamic model of the process was developed specifically for this purpose. The pseudo-bond graph methodology was used in modelling the system, such methodology was very suitable for this thermal process and permits us to establish a m...

Recently, washer-dryer machines with slanted drums have become popular in Japan. We measured and analyzed posture while using such machines with three-dimensional motion capture measuring devices. Subjective Kansei and usability questionnaires were also used. After the measurements, working postures were analyzed with a human kinematic model (3D SSPP). Three types of machines were used for the ...

An intermittent noise that occurs around 30 seconds after compressor start-up has been disturbing customers of many domestic refrigerator manufacturers over the past 10 years. This noise is very similar to that produced by popcorn popping, being referred to as popping noise. The most probable cause of this strange and unpleasant noise is thought to be CIS (Condensation Induced Shock). The aim o...

The pulp and paper industry has a great opportunity to take advantage of the experience about forestry and wood handling for production of renewable fuels, chemicals and materials. Residues from forestry, i.e., tops, branches and stubs, have great potential to become a raw material that can replace crude oil or natural gas in many applications. By constructing a gasification-based production fa...

AIMS To compare an ultra-rapid hand dryer against warm air dryers, with regard to: (A) bacterial transfer after drying and (B) the impact on bacterial numbers of rubbing hands during dryer use. METHODS AND RESULTS The Airblade™ dryer (Dyson Ltd) uses two air 'knives' to strip water from still hands, whereas conventional dryers use warm air to evaporate moisture whilst hands are rubbed togethe...