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Solar energy is a renewable energy heat source freely and widely available everywhere throughout the year. Heat pipes are very effective and passive heat transfer devices. A solar heat pipe collector performs well at high temperatures. Thermoelectricity could be utilized for power generation and provide cooling and heating. The combination of a solar heat pipe collector with thermoelectric modules could provide a very useful device for simultaneous power generation and hot water heating. Such hybrid systems could offer small, mobile, transportable and off-grid power and heating systems for small-scale industry or domestic applications. This paper reviews some of the works conducted on the solar/heat pipe/thermoelectric hybrid system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat pipe heat exchangers could be employed as run-around coils in air conditioning systems for enhanced dehumidification and cooling. This article reviews some of the works conducted on the cooling and dehumidification aspects in various air conditioning systems. They have been proved to be effective in enhancing dehumidification and reducing air conditioning costs especially in hot and humid tropical countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conventional natural convection flat plate solar collector needs to be placed at an incline to the horizontal and exposed to the sun in order for the solar hot water heater system to work. This arrangement is satisfactory where there is ample roof top space to locate the collector and storage tank. In a high-rise apartment, space is at a premium and also the hot-water recticulation requires long lengths of piping to distribute the hot water supply to the individual apartment. Most every modern high-rise apartment has a balcony facing outward from the wall structure. Balcony-type solar water heaters (SWHs) are catching up fast in China. Their performance would depend on collector and storage tank designs and sizes, weather conditions (solar radiation intensity and ambient temperature) and direction in which the balconies are facing. This article compares the outdoor performance of two SWH systems incorporating the evacuated glass U-tube solar collectors operating under natural convection. The panels were tested in both the vertical and inclined positions using the same tank but at different times of the year. It was found that the inclined panel system performed better than the system with the vertical panel system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain and depression often occur simultaneously, may have common causal mechanisms, and may also influence each other. An understanding of their precise relationship would be useful for the prediction of response to treatment and for better pain management for chronic pain patients. A biopsychosocial model will be used in this review paper to elucidate the relationship between chronic pain and depression in biological, social, and psychological terms. Due to the enormous amount of information available, only a selective review of the most relevant literature was done. A critical analysis of the selected literature on the relationship between chronic pain and depression was performed to present an insight into this complex relationship.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a type of facial pain that is difficult to treat. The pain can be excruciating and debilitating. The wide range of treatments currently used for trigeminal neuralgia is ample evidence that there is no simple answer to how it should be managed. This review will evaluate the current surgical procedures used for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. A critical analysis of the evidence-based studies to date was done to evaluate and compare the efficacy of the different surgical procedures. Arguments for and against the use of surgery for trigeminal neuralgia are presented. In addition, the surgical procedures were compared with other treatments for trigeminal neuralgia.

This article reviews the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for postoperative dental pain. An evidence-based approach is used to evaluate the clinical studies to date on the safe use of these drugs in dental patients. No drugs are without adverse effects or are perfectly safe, but their safe use in clinical practice would entail maximizing the therapeutic efficacy and minimizing the adverse effects. Therapeutic recommendations are made after reviewing the evidence for the safe use of NSAIDs in postoperative dental pain.