Did This Get Lost In The Covids?
In October 2019, I wrote Asthma Carbon Footprint ‘As Big As Eating Meat’ and it made me think, when I just read it.
I would normally follow up a post like this, but I don’t remember doing anything like that.
The Wikipedia entry for the COVID-19 pandemic in England, starts with this paragraph.
The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020.
It looks to me, that like everybody else in England, I had the Covids on my mind.
Is Respimat A Zero-Carbon Inhaler?
Just to be sure, I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
The Respimat soft mist inhaler is considered to have virtually no associated carbon emissions from its operation because it does not contain the high global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) propellants found in metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs).
While it has a substantially lower carbon footprint than traditional pMDIs, it is not strictly “zero-carbon” when considering its entire life cycle, which includes manufacturing, materials (stainless steel, aluminium, polymers), and end-of-life disposal. These factors contribute a small product carbon footprint (PCF).
According to Google AI, a reusable version is available.
A reusable Respimat device has been introduced, which further reduces the carbon footprint by up to 71% over six months compared to the disposable version because the device itself is kept longer, reducing manufacturing impacts.
Google AI says this about NHS guidance.
Health bodies like the NHS encourage the use of lower-carbon inhalers like the Respimat or dry powder inhalers (DPIs) as part of their net-zero targets, provided they are clinically appropriate for the patient.
But it does seem that Respimat devices are helping to cut global warming.
What Is The Patient Experience Of Respimat?
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Patient experience with the Respimat inhaler is generally very positive, with high satisfaction for its ease of use, handling, and the “soft mist” it produces, leading to high continuation rates in studies; patients find it easier than many older devices and report good effectiveness, though common side effects like dry mouth, cough, and sore throat can occur.
Key Aspects of Patient Experience
- High Satisfaction: Over 85-90% of patients report being satisfied or very satisfied with the Respimat’s handling and the ease of inhaling the mist.
- Preference Over Other Devices: Many patients prefer Respimat over traditional metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) or dry powder inhalers (DPIs), finding it easier to use and more effective.
- Soft Mist Technology: Patients appreciate the gentle, slow-moving mist, which helps deliver medication effectively and feels different from a typical puff.
- Good Adherence: High satisfaction often translates to continued use, with physicians reporting high patient adherence and continuation rates after studies end.
- Improved Technique: While initial use might need guidance, pharmacist-led interventions show significant improvements in patients’ inhalation technique over time.
That doesn’t look bad to me!
Could Immunotherapy Drugs Be Delivered By An Inhaler?
We always felt the device could deliver other drugs.
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Yes, immunotherapy drugs could potentially be delivered by an inhaler, and this approach is a promising area of active research and development, particularly for treating lung cancer and respiratory diseases like asthma.
Rationale and Research
- Targeted Treatment: Inhaled delivery allows for high concentrations of the drug to be delivered directly to the lungs, which is particularly beneficial for treating lung-specific conditions like lung cancer or severe asthma. This localized approach aims to maximize the therapeutic effect where needed.
- Reduced Side Effects: By concentrating the medication in the lungs and minimizing its systemic absorption into the bloodstream, researchers hope to significantly reduce the severe side effects (e.g., systemic toxicity, autoimmune reactions) commonly associated with traditional intravenous or oral administration of some immunotherapies and chemotherapies.
- Patient Convenience: Inhalation is a non-invasive administration route, which is more convenient and comfortable for patients compared to injections or intravenous infusions, potentially allowing for self-administration and improving patient compliance.
The Soft Mist Technology could surely be a help!
Was Osborne Reynolds The Greatest Fluid Dynamicist?
I have to ask Google AI this question, as some of the discussions that led to creation of Respimat, took place in my house at Debach, where Osborne Reynolds had lived.
Google AI gave this answer to my question.
Osborne Reynolds is considered one of the most influential and foundational contributors to the field of fluid dynamics, though naming a single person the “greatest” is subjective. His work fundamentally shaped modern engineering and physics and remains central to the study of fluid flow today.
Key Contributions to Fluid Dynamics
Reynolds’ most significant achievements include:
- The Reynolds Number: He identified a crucial dimensionless parameter (now named the Reynolds number) that determines whether fluid flow is laminar (smooth and orderly) or turbulent (chaotic and eddying). This number is a foundational concept used across all engineering and physical sciences.
- The Theory of Turbulence: In an 1895 paper, he established the standard mathematical framework used in the study of turbulence, introducing what is known as the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations.
- Experimental Validation: His elegant, yet simple, dye experiments visually demonstrated the transition between flow regimes, providing clear empirical evidence for his theories.
- Theory of Lubrication: He developed the Reynolds equation in 1886, which still underpins the analysis of hydrodynamic lubrication in modern bearings.
- Heat Transfer and Similitude: His research into heat transfer between solids and fluids led to significant improvements in boiler and condenser designs, and his work on hydraulic similitude enables engineers to use scaled-down models (e.g., in wind tunnels for aircraft design) to predict the performance of full-scale machines.
How Many Good Ideas Did The Covids Delay?
It could be that the roll-out of Respimat for was delayed by the Covids!
But it wouldn’t have been the only idea to have been delayed in that way!
Alzheimer’s Expert Was Treated Like A Heretic Until Now
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
For decades Professor Ruth Itzhaki believed there was a link between Alzheimer’s and the virus that causes shingles, and has just been vindicated
These two paragraphs outline an amazing story.
Ruth Itzhaki does not, she says, refer to it as her time “in the wilderness”. When she reflects on the decades investigating — often almost alone — whether Alzheimer’s could be triggered by viruses, she prefers a different term. “I’d call it, ‘repeated burning as a heretic at the stake’. ” For much of her career she was treated “contemptuously”.
Today, as yet another study finds that the shingles vaccine appears to cut dementia risk, that has changed. At a stage in life when most researchers are retired, Itzhaki, an emeritus professor at Manchester University, finds herself reviewing studies from around the world. She is treated with contempt no more. But, she says, it has not been fun. “I just have to stop myself from being bitter.”
Sad to say, it is not an unusual story.
This was the comment, I appended to the Times web site.
There was a wonderful BBC Panorama about a Glasgow Veterinary professor, who believed the messenger of the body was an oxide of nitrogen, at least twenty years ago.
He was ostrasised for being a heretic.
Eventually, he was proved to be right.
I might have exposed how a simple treatment for stroke is ignored in the UK.
I was found to be coeliac at fifty and Addenbrooke’s hospital said that I should have B12 injections every three months.
In my sixties, I had a serious stroke and if I lived in the States, I would have been given B12 injections to aid my recovery. But that simple treatment is not used here, as it is considered American quackery.
However, several doctors have said, I have made a remarkable recovery. Was that because of the B12 injections, I still have?
More research needs to be done and I’ll travel anywhere to help any doctor, who is doing serious research.
It could just be, that as a London Mongrel, I have more survival genes, than a small field of Japanese Knotweed.
I should add, that as the date of my next B12 injection approaches, I can almost feel, the various parts of my body fighting for what little I have left.
But what do I know? I’m just a slightly crazy engineer/scientist and mathematician, with no medical training, who has been given an unusual body to investigate.
I’ve Just Come Across Avnos
I feel we should take into account any possibilities of second use of oil or gas structures, that once held hydrocarbons.
An article in a magazine called Carbon Herald pointed me to a company called Avnos, who are developing Direct Air Capture of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. If systems like that of Avnos do work, we may need somewhere to put the carbon dioxide.
Centrica are storing the hydrogen in the Rough gas field, which was previously used for storing natural gas and now some depleted gas fields are being used to store captured carbon dioxide.
On the subject of carbon capture, Avnos do it differently, in that for every tonne of CO2, they capture from the air, they capture five tonnes of distilled water. And they do it without using any heat.
This is their web site.
This is their mission statement on the front page of the web site. There is also a video.
Carbon Negative. Water Positive
Avnos is commercializing the most advanced technology in the Direct Air Capture of CO2
Our proprietary Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) solution inverts the water paradigm in DAC, producing water, eliminating heat consumption and reducing costs compared to other forms of DAC.
It sounds too good to be true!
But I have experience of the positive financial results of fluid dynamics in this area.
Thirty years ago, two guys approached me with an idea for an aerosol valve that used nitrogen as a propellant.
At the time, I lived in the house, where Osborne Reynolds, the great Victorian fluid dynamicist of Reynold’s number fame had been brought up.
The guys succeeded and the device was sold on to J & J.
They were then asked to develop a metered dose inhaler for asthma drugs, which is now sold as Respimat, which is sold by Boehringer Ingelheim.
Afterwards, I researched Reynolds at Manchester University, where he was the first Professor of Engineering and I found that he had done some marvelous things with fluids. He was a true genius and undergraduates are still taught on his Victorian apparatus.
I suspect that Avnos may have been exploring in the same area and are using another of Reynold’s useful properties.
The Aerosol Tales
When I left Liverpool University in 1968, I was very familiar with the use of products distributed in aerosol cans.
- I had used aerosol shaving cream, although about that time, I acquired my beard.
- I certainly used aerosol deodorant, as did most in the 1960s.
- Aerosol paints were common for covering scuffs and scratches in your car.
- Aerosols were often used to apply sun protection.
- Aerosols containing cream or a non-dairy alternative for culinary use were not unknown.
- Aweosol lubricants were starting to appear.
Although, I went to work for the chemical giant; ICI, at that time, I had no idea how an aerosol and its can worked.
As ICI at the time, ICI were major manufacturers of aerosol propellants, I quickly learned how they worked.
The Wikipedia entry for Aerosol Spray Dispenser gives a lot of history about aerosol cans and their propellants.
The Wikipedia entry for Propellant has this paragraph describing propellants of the last century.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were once often used as propellants, but since the Montreal Protocol came into force in 1989, they have been replaced in nearly every country due to the negative effects CFCs have on Earth’s ozone layer. The most common replacements of CFCs are mixtures of volatile hydrocarbons, typically propane, n-butane and isobutane. Dimethyl ether (DME) and methyl ethyl ether are also used. All these have the disadvantage of being flammable. Nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide are also used as propellants to deliver foodstuffs (for example, whipped cream and cooking spray). Medicinal aerosols such as asthma inhalers use hydrofluoroalkanes (HFA): either HFA 134a (1,1,1,2,-tetrafluoroethane) or HFA 227 (1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane) or combinations of the two. More recently, liquid hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) propellants have become more widely adopted in aerosol systems due to their relatively low vapor pressure, low global warming potential (GWP), and nonflammability.
Note that the whole range of these chemicals, effect the ozone layer.
Rocksavage Works
ICI’s Rocksavage Works, was an integrated chemical plant by the Mersey,.
- It made all types of CFCs for aerosols and other purposes.
- It also made the fire suppressant and extinguisher; Bromochlorodifluoromethane or BCF.
- Alongside BCF, it made the anaesthetic Halothane or as ICI called it Fluothane.
- The plant was a poisonous place with all those bromine, chlorine and fluorine compounds.
- Despite this, the plant had a remarkable safety record.
I had the pleasure of working at the plant and it was where, I had most of my excellent Health and Safety training, from the amazing site foreman; Charlie Akers.
Some of the wisdom he distributed has proved invaluable in aiding my stroke recovery.
I suspect that since the signing of the Montreal Protocol, the plant has changed greatly or has even been closed.
All that appears to be left is the 800 MW gas-fired Rocksavage power station and a Facebook page.
Aerosol Baked Beans
In those days, I worked most of the time in a lab at Runcorn Heath.
One of the labs near to where I generally worked, in the large research complex, was a lab, where new aerosol products were developed and tested.
One of the standard jokes about that lab, was that they were working on aerosol baked beans. They said, they would develop the product, even of they had to eject them from the can one at a time.
Gift Time
One afternoon, the boss of the aerosol development lab came through with a tray of goodies.
On the tray, which was much like a cinema usherette’s ice cream tray of the sixties was a whole host of partly-labeled aerosol cans. Only clues to what the product might be were written on the outside in felt-tip pen.
I grabbed two, one of which was marked something like lubricating oil and the other was just marked hand cream, which I of course gave to my new wife; C.
We were married for nearly forty years and often, when she bought hand cream, she would remark, that it wasn’t of the same standard as the little can I brought home from work.
It appears to me, that one of the world’s top cosmetic companies and ICI were trying to create the world’s best and probably most expensive hand creams.
DMW
Fast-forward nearly twenty years and I was approached by Lloyds Bank about two individuals, who had developed an aerosol valve, that instead of using CFCs or other ozone-depleting chemicals.
- By the exploitation of the nether end of fluid dynamics, the propellant of the aerosol was nothing more harmless than pure nitrogen.
- I formed a company called DMW with the two inventors.
- John Gummer, who at the time was my MP and Environment Minister, knew of the aerosol valve and he took the details to Montreal.
So did a device developed in Suffolk help push through the Montreal Protocol?
Osbourne Reynolds
I also wonder, if we had some supernatural help. At the time, I lived in the family home of Osbourne Reynolds.
- He did a lot of the early work on fluid dynamics.
- He was the first UK Professor of Engineering.
- He was professor of Engineering at Manchester University for nearly forty years.
- The Reynolds number is named after him.
- Remarkably, students are sill taught on the equipment Reynolds designed.
- Reynolds was certainly one of our great Victorian scientists.
This Wikipedia entry gives more details of his remarkable life and work.
After Montreal the aerosol valve was sold to Johnson & Johnson.
DMW continued to develop other products and we had one, who no-one had any idea about how it worked.
So I discussed it with the Reynolds’s expert at Manchester University and he said he had no idea either.
But he was absolutely certain, that Reynolds would have known.
A Redbrick Station For A Redbrick University
My late wife; C and myself, met at Liverpool University in the 1960s.
Liverpool considers itself as the Original Redbrick on its web site.
This Google 3D visualisation shows why.
Note.
- This 3D picture was taken from the East.
- The white building in the bottom-right corner is the Electrical Engineering and Electronics, where I did most of my studying.
- The building above it is the Harold Cohen Library.
- The clock tower in front is part of the Victoria Building.
There’s a lot of redbrick on the University site.
These pictures show University (Birmingham) station.
Note.
The Architects didn’t spare the red bricks.
- The station has an NHS Clinic
- The bridge has lifts and steps.
- There is a lot of glass.
There are a pair of bi-sexual toilets, which seems to the standard for new stations these days.
Will Other Universities Want A Station?
Here are a few thoughts.
Liverpool University
I wrote about the possibility in A Railway Station At Liverpool University.
This is an extract.
In Liverpool’s Forgotten Tunnel, I showed this map, which shows a proposed reopening of the Wapping Tunnel as a passenger route between Liverpool Central and Edge Hill stations.
Note.
- The map shows a station at University
- The Wapping Tunnel is shown as a dotted blue line.
- Between four and eight trains per hour (tph) would be running through University station.
Liverpool has other projects on its mind at present, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the future.
Manchester University
This Google Map shows the location of Manchester University.
Note.
- The red arrow picks out a notable building in the University.
- Manchester Piccadilly station is in the North-East corner of the map.
- Manchester Oxford Road station is in the South-West corner of the map.
- In recent years I’ve walked between the two stations.
- The Castlefield Corridor passes through the University.
A station on the Castlefield Corridor could be a possibility.
£400k For National Grid Innovation Projects As Part Of Ofgem Fund To Help Shape Britain’s Net Zero Transition
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this press release from National Grid.
These three bullet points, act as sub-headings.
- Three transmission and distribution network innovation projects receive green light
- Funding kickstarts projects for the discovery phase of Ofgem innovation scheme
- 14 National Grid projects worth £4m have won innovation funding since scheme began
These are the three projects.
HIRE – Hybrid-Network Improvement & Reliability Enhancement
This is National Grid’s description of the £135,000 project.
Researching new state-of-the-art condition monitoring to improve the commissioning and operation of offshore cables. This new, robust system will mitigate the risk of failure, overcome the limitations of existing techniques (e.g. cable length) and aid network operators in decision making for a more flexible grid. PROJECT PARTNERS: University of Manchester, DNV, Monitra, SSEN Transmission.
With all the offshore cables, that have been laid around the UK, Europe and the world in recent years, I am surprised that such a system has not been developed before.
But I suspect, that the project partners know that if they can develop a superior cable monitoring system, then it could be a nice little earner in addition to its job with UK offshore cables.
According to their web site, Monitra seem to be the monitoring experts.
This is the mission statement on their home page.
Our aim is to maximise the uptime of every high voltage asset worldwide.
I like this company’s attitude and it should make the world a better place.
I certainly think that the £135,000 will be well spent.
REACH – Rural Energy And Community Heat
This is National Grid’s description of the £120,000 project.
Working with rural community energy groups to develop a modular rural energy centre that will help communities make cost effective decarbonisation plans. The solution will offer shared low carbon heating, rapid EV charging, and renewable generation in areas not served by commercial markets, and where there is limited electricity network capacity.
Rolls-Royce mtu seem to have a system, that might go some way to satisfy National Grid’s ambitions, that I wrote about in Would You Buy A Battery Energy Storage System From Rolls-Royce?.
Road to Power
This is National Grid’s description of the £140,000 project.
Developing specific tools to forecast future energy consumption and infrastructural impact of works, to support the street and road works sector as it decarbonises 7.8TWh of energy demand across 700,000 major works in the sector’s pivotal transition to net zero by 2030.
This sounds like an excellent idea. Especially, if it makes street and road works quieter and less polluting.
Conclusion
I like these three projects and have already added them to my list of Google Alerts.
NHS Prevention Programme Reduces Type 2 Diabetes By A Fifth
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the sub-heading.
Participants are given free Fitbits or smart watches to help them lose weight
These two paragraphs outline the program.
An NHS scheme that sends obese patients to slimming classes and gives them free Fitbits has cut diabetes rates by one fifth.
The NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, also known as Healthier You, offers health advice alongside free cookery and exercise sessions online or in person. Participants are given NHS-funded Fitbits or smart watches to monitor their activity to help them lose weight.
Note.
- Manchester University have analysed the project.
- Those on the scheme lost five pounds on average.
- The Healthier You programme is available in all parts of England.
It sounds like the programme has been a success.
I’d like to hear of peoples’ stories about this programme.
University Of Manchester And National Grid Team Up To Develop SF6-Free Retrofill Solution For Electricity Network
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from National Grid.
This is the introductory paragraph.
National Grid and the University of Manchester are to collaborate on a four-year project to develop a full-scale demonstrator at the Deeside Centre for Innovation, designed to test at scale how the UK can retrofill sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) across its network of high-voltage equipment.
Note.
- Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) is a gas commonly used in the power industry to provide electrical insulation and arc interruption.
- Eighty percent of sulphur hexafluoride is used in the electricity industry.
- According to Wikipedia, sulphur hexafluoride has several important applications, including a medical one in eye surgery.
- But sulphur hexafluoride is a is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 25,200 times greater than CO2.
It certainly looks to be a good idea to see if the sulphur hexafluoride can be eliminated from electrical equipment and other uses, that may release the gas into the atmosphere.
These paragraphs from the press release outline the project.
The £1.9m project will see experts at Manchester help determine how National Grid can develop a retrofill solution to replace SF6 with an environmentally friendlier alternative without having to replace or otherwise modify the existing equipment.
This solution – to be demonstrated at National Grid’s test facility the Deeside Centre for Innovation – will mean National Grid can avoid the environmental impact and cost of replacing equipment otherwise fit for many more years’ service.
It is not the first time National Grid and the University of Manchester have teamed up on a project exploring SF6 alternatives – a previous initiative which concluded in 2020 is now up for an IET Engineering & Technology magazine innovation award for ‘Best Innovation in Net Zero and Sustainability’.
The press release also says this about the Deeside Centre for Innovation.
National Grid’s Deeside Centre for Innovation in North Wales is the first of its kind in Europe, where electricity network assets can be tested under real life conditions, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It certainly seems that National Grid and Manchester University are on top of the problem and have the resources to achieve success in the project.
The Russian Attack On Ukraine
You may wonder what this has got to do with improving transformers and switchgear in Manchester and Wales.
Recently, the Russians have been targeting the Ukrainian electricity network. Are Ukrainian transformers and switchgear insulated with sulphur hexafluoride and if they are how of this potent global warming gas has been released into the atmosphere?
Is Hydrogen The Fuel Of The Future?
The title of this post, is the same as that as this article on Engineering and Technology Magazine.
The article is a must read about hydrogen.
Will It Be Engineers And Scientists Who Cure Back Pain?
BBC Radio 5 had a discussion this lunchtime about back pain. The most amazing part was a statement by Brian Saunders of the School of Materials at Manchester University. He talked of how they were developing a jelly-like polymer, which could be injected into the body. Things are apparently going well!
Couple this with work, I know of at Liverpool University, where engineers have been analysing the gait of humans, dogs and horses, to get greater insight into problems and I get the feeling that over the next decades engineers and physical scientists will make great process in helping us to live longer and better. These two examples are probably just two of many similar ones.
The Anonymous Widower 