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During the construction of railway tunnels in plateau environment regions, ensuring adequate oxygen supply is crucial for both worker health and safety, and tunnelling progress. Existing diffusion-type oxygen supply enrichments for plateau regions lack quantitative conclusions and have not been implemented systematically in actual engineering. To refine the design parameters of the required method, this study utilized computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to examine the optimal design parameters for oxygen supply equipment in a typical engineering project. The optimal scheme consisted of three rows of oxygen diffusion apparatuses with 0.07 m inlet diameter, 0.4 m lateral spacing and 60° tilt that maintain a constant oxygen supply rate. This configuration maximized oxygen concentration enrichment in workers' breathing zones, with oxygen partial pressure in most target zones remaining below 3000 m altitude, except for the ventilation side where it was 3360 m. This study elucidated the effects of various design parameters on oxygen distribution and proposed the optimal combination for a typical tunnel engineering project. The findings provide a guidance for implementing diffusion-type oxygen enrichment in high-altitude tunnel construction, aiding both worker safety and project efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyester Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastic (Polyester GFRP), a thermosetting plastic comprised of glass fiber and polyester polymer compounds, is extensively utilized in high-speed trains. Unraveling its pyrolysis mechanism is crucial as it significantly influences the combustion characteristics and fire safety aspects. Currently, kinetic research on polyester GFRP primarily focuses on employing the Coats-Redfern method to derive a theoretical kinetic model. However, the pyrolysis process of polyester GFRP is complex and the aforementioned theoretical model fails to accurately describe the pyrolysis mechanism. Therefore, this study seeks to utilize the Sestak and Berggren (SB) model as a methodological approach to reveal the complex reaction mechanism during the pyrolysis process. Based on thermogravimetric analysis, the entire pyrolysis process of polyester GFRP is divided into two primary stages. Furthermore, model-free methods are employed to ascertain the activation energy and pre-exponential factor. The results show that the fitted empirical models of the two main pyrolysis stages are f(α)=(1−α)1.47[−ln(1−α)]1.50 and f(α)=(1−α)1.77[−ln(1−α)]1.72, respectively. The predicted results are in good agreement with experimental data under different heating rates, which indicates that the empirical model can sufficiently describe the pyrolysis process of polyester GFRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forced ventilation is a common means to solve the problem of high ambient temperature during the construction of high-ground-temperature tunnels. In forced ventilation, it is very important to prevent the fresh cold airflow from being heated by the high-ground-temperature environment when it reaches the working surface so as to ensure the cooling effect. Based on heat transfer theory, a temperature numerical calculation model is proposed for forced ventilation in high-ground-temperature tunnels that considers the convection heat transfer between the airflow inside the duct, and the airflow inside the tunnel and the surrounding rock, combined with the influence of the duct leakage rate. This model compensates for the lack of considering the surrounding rock temperature and the duct leakage rate in relevant studies. Using the 7# cross tunnel of an actual tunnel as a case study, the effects of ventilation volume, construction distance and thermal insulation duct on the airflow temperature inside the duct and tunnel were investigated. According to the field test results, the developed numerical calculation model is in good agreement with field test data, with a maximum difference of 2 °C between the numerical calculation results and field test data. The thermal insulation duct has good thermal insulation performance. Under different construction distances, the thermal insulation duct can reduce the airflow temperature at the outlet of the duct by 6–14 °C, up to as much as 28–40%. Simply increasing the ventilation volume has no significant effect on preventing the airflow temperature rise inside the duct. At the same construction distance, although the airflow temperature at the duct outlet gradually decreases with the increase in the ventilation volume, the decrease is small: For every 10 m3 s−1 increase in the ventilation volume, the temperature is only reduced by 1 °C. For a tunnel with short construction distance and low surrounding rock temperature, the requirements can be met without thermal insulation treatment of the duct, but for a long-distance tunnel, the thermal insulation duct is an effective and economical auxiliary cooling means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Railroad transportation has been widely adopted and developed in recent years. In particular, many railroads have been built on complex terrains such as plateaus and mountainous areas, and these tunnels are generally characterized by large inclination angles or very long lengths and are equipped with rescue stations. These factors lead to changes in environmental conditions, tunnel geometry, and the angle of inclination, thus presenting new challenges to ventilation as well as fire safety in railroad tunnels. This review argues that there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive analysis of smoke control in railroad tunnel fires, including horizontal tunnels, inclined tunnels, and rescue stations within long railroad tunnels. Hence, this work attempts to address the key fire safety characteristics from the existing literature covering critical velocity, back-layering length, the maximum temperature under the ceiling of the tunnel, and longitudinal smoke temperature distribution. Important factors affecting smoke movements such as fire source, tunnel geometries, and blockages are also evaluated. Moreover, this study calls attention to the impact of extended blockages and temperature distribution in blocked railroad tunnels, as well as emerging innovative solutions such as intelligent monitoring and disaster prevention technologies for smoke control in railroad tunnels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D printing has the unique advantages of personalized customization and machining of pure metal parts. However, high equipment cost of laser 3D printing to prepare pure metal parts has limited the wide application of metal 3D printing. Combination of material extrusion (MEX) with debinding and sintering leads to a low-cost process of creating solid metal parts. In this study, filament filled with 316 L stainless steel (316LSS) powder at 91 wt% is used to fabricate full metal parts. The 3D printing, debinding, and sintering process are thoroughly investigated, and the parameters are optimized with respect to the properties of the part. A two-step debinding process is performed especially to obtain full metal parts. Cyclohexane debinding is optimized to create an interconnected network to ensure the full release of the binder. Thermal-debinding process is optimized based on thermogravimetric analysis. Physicochemical characterization of the parts is then performed. After processing, parts show the highest density, microhardness, and tensile strength of 94.23%, 131.36 HV, and 343 MPa, which are comparable to the average level of previous reports. The reported process technique in this study opens the way to create intricate-shaped 316LSS parts for complex bionic structures, functional integration, lightweight, shape cooling, prototype spare parts, and biological implants, making it a new choice to manufacture metal parts for engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum C-peptide exhibits various biological activities. The relationship between C-peptide and atrial cardiomyopathy remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the association between C-peptide level and atrial cardiomyopathy in nondiabetic adults. Our study enrolled 4578 participants without diagnosed diabetes from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Atrial cardiomyopathy was defined as a deep terminal negative P wave in V1 below − 100 µV (more negative), according to the electrocardiogram. The participants were categorized into low C-peptide (≤ 1.46 nmol/L) and high C-peptide (> 1.46 nmol/L) groups, according to the receiver operating characteristic analysis. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between C-peptide level and atrial cardiomyopathy were generated using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of atrial cardiomyopathy was higher in the high C-peptide group than in the low C-peptide group (5.62% vs. 2.31%, P < 0.001, respectively). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that participants in the high C-peptide group had a 3.60-fold (95% CI 1.81–6.99) higher risk of atrial cardiomyopathy than those in the low C-peptide group. Per standard deviation increase in C-peptide was linked to a 1.20-fold (95% CI 1.00–1.41) higher risk in atrial cardiomyopathy. High C-peptide level might be an independent risk factor for atrial cardiomyopathy in nondiabetic adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperloop has become one of the key reserve technologies for future high-speed rail transit. The gas in the tube is compressed and rubbed, leading to a strong aerodynamic heating effect. The research on the flow field characteristics and aerodynamic heating effect of hyperloop is in its infancy, and that on the flow field structure is lacking. In this study, the nozzle theory was used to make a preliminary judgment on the choked flow phenomenon in the hyperloop. Based on the flow results obtained under different working conditions, the identification basis of the choked flow phenomenon in the hyperloop was obtained. Furthermore, the effect of the choked/unchoked flow on the flow structure, temperature, and pressure distribution of the annular space in the tube was analyzed. Based on traditional high-speed railway aerodynamics, according to relevant theories and calculation in aerospace field, and combined with the model test data, the reliability verification analysis on the characteristics of the flow field are carried out. The structure of the flow filed in the tube can be divided into choked and unchoked. The judgment is dependent on whether the throat reaches the speed of sound. Under the choked flow, a normal shock wave is formed in front of the tube train. The temperature rise of the local flow field exceeds 50 K; the temperature rise of the stagnation region exceeds 88 K, and the pressure is approximately 1.7 times that of the initial pressure in the tube. When the flow is unchoked, differences arise in the distribution of the flow field corresponding to different incoming Mach numbers. When the incoming flow is supersonic, the flow field maintains a supersonic speed, and a bow-shaped shock wave is formed at the front of the tube train. Owing to the shock wave or expansion wave, the local flow field exhibits significant fluctuations in temperature and pressure. Conversely, when the incoming flow is subsonic, the flow field in the tube maintains a subsonic speed, and no shock wave structure is observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Controlling the ambient temperature inside a tunnel to less than 28 °C is the key to ensure safe operation of tunnels that experience high-geothermal temperature. One of the most popular methods to lower the ambient temperature of an extra-long tunnel with high-geothermal temperature is mechanical ventilation. Taking the Layue tunnel as an example, this paper examined the impact of natural wind, piston airflow, and mechanical ventilation on tunnel thermal hazard control. The results show that the cooling effect of natural ventilation is better when natural wind flows from entrance to exit than when it blows from exit to entrance. When there is only natural ventilation, the length of tunnel ambient temperature higher than 28 ℃ is more than 15 km within 5.0 years of natural ventilation. Piston airflow does not significantly reduce the length of high tunnel ambient temperature distribution range. Only relying on natural wind and piston airflow cannot control heat damage in the Layue tunnel. The thermal layer can reduce the length over which high tunnel ambient temperature is distributed, but the maximum reduction is within 2500 m. When the mechanical airflow speed is at least 3.0 m s−1, the heat damage can be effectively controlled within one year. Whether mechanical airflow is started in summer or winter, mechanical airflow shall be carried out at the speed of 3.0 m s−1 at least 200 days in advance to effectively control the heat damage of Layue tunnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change materials (PCMs) offer great potential for realizing zero-energy thermal management due to superior thermal storage and stable phase-change temperatures. However, liquid leakage and solid rigidity of PCMs are long-standing challenges for PCM-based wearable thermal regulation. Here, we report a facile and cost-effective chemical cross-linking strategy to develop ultraflexible polymer-based phase change composites with a dual 3D crosslinked network of olefin block copolymers (OBC) and styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) in paraffin wax (PW). The C-C bond-enhanced OBC-SEBS networks synergistically improve the mechanical, thermal, and leakage-proof properties of PW@OBC-SEBS. Notably, the proposed peroxide-initiated chemical cross-linking method overcomes the limitations of conventional physical blending methods and thus can be applicable across diverse polymer matrices. We further demonstrate a portable and flexible PW@OBC-SEBS module that maintains a comfortable temperature range of 39–42 °C for personal thermotherapy. Our work provides a promising route to fabricate scalable polymer-based phase change composite for wearable thermal management.Jing et al. report a cost-effective chemical cross-linking method for synthesizing ultraflexible polymer-based phase change composites with 3D crosslinked networks and further demonstrate portable applications for wearable thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify abdominal adiposity and generate data‐driven adiposity subtypes with different diabetes risks. Methods: A total of 3817 participants from the Pinggu Metabolic Disease Study were recruited. A deep‐learning‐based recognition model on abdominal computed tomography (CT) images (A‐CT model) was developed and validated in 100 randomly selected cases. The volumes and proportions of subcutaneous fat, visceral fat, liver fat, and muscle fat were automatically recognized in all cases. K‐means clustering was used to identify subgroups using the proportions of the four fat components. Results: The Dice indices among the measurements assessed by the A‐CT model and manual evaluation to detect liver fat, muscle fat, and subcutaneous fat areas were 0.96, 0.95, and 0.92, respectively. Three subtypes were generated separately in men and women: visceral fat dominant type (VFD); subcutaneous fat dominant type (SFD); and intermuscular fat dominant type (MFD). Compared with the SFD group, the MFD group had similar diabetes risk, and the VFD group had a 60% higher diabetes risk when age and BMI were adjusted for in men. The adjusted odds ratio for diabetes was 1.92 (95% CI: 1.32‐2.78) in the MFD group and 6.14 (95% CI: 4.18‐9.03) in the VFD group in women. Conclusions: This study identified gender‐specific abdominal adiposity subgroups, which may help clinicians to distinguish diabetes risk quickly and automatically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is an acute idiopathic polyneuropathy which is related to infection and immune mechanism. The exact pathogenesis of the disease is unknown and treatment is limited. Thus, the purpose of the study is to identify biomarkers of GBS serum and elucidate their involvement in the underlying pathogenesis of GBS that could help to treat GBS more accurately. Antibody array technology was used to detect the expression levels of 440 proteins in serum of 5 GBS group and 5 healthy control group. Sixty-seven differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified by antibody array, among which FoLR1, Legumain, ErbB4, IL-1α, MIP-1α and IGF-2 were down-regulated, while 61 proteins were up-regulated. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that most DEPs were associated with leukocytes, among which IL-1α, SDF-1b, B7-1, CD40, CTLA4, IL-9, MIP-1α and CD40L were in the center of protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Subsequently, the ability of these DEPs to distinguish GBS from healthy control was further evaluated. CD23 was identified by means of Random Forests Analysis (RFA) and verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ROC curve result of CD23 respectively displayed that its sensitivity, specificity and AUC were 0.818, 0.800 and 0.824. We speculate that activation of leukocyte proliferation and migration in circulating blood might be associated with inflammatory recruitment of peripheral nerves, leading to the occurrence and development of GBS, but this conclusion still requires deeper confirmation. More importantly, central proteins may play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of GBS. In addition, we detected IL-1α, IL-9, and CD23 in the serum of GBS patients for the first time, which may be promising biomarkers for the treatment of GBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytoremediation technology is an effective method to remove formaldehyde indoors, but the purification capacity and physiological response of plants to formaldehyde under the simultaneous influence of light and CO2 have not been examined in previous studies. In this study, formaldehyde fumigation experiments were conducted on the C3 plants Epipremnum aureum A. and Chlorophytum comosum L., and the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Dieffenbachia maculate A. The phytoremediation performance and physiological response of plants were studied. The initial concentration of formaldehyde was established at 11.950 ± 1.442 m g ∙ m - 3 ; the light intensities were 448 ± 7 Lx , 1628 ± 22 Lx , and 3259 ± 22 Lx , respectively; and the concentrations of CO2 were 455 ± 29 ppm , 978 ± 50 ppm , 2020 ± 66 ppm , and 3006 ± 95 ppm , respectively. The results indicated that the highest purification rates of formaldehyde by E. aureum, D. maculata, and C. comosum were 55.8%, 43.7%, and 53.2%, respectively. The light intensity had a positive effect on the formaldehyde purification rates of all three plants and positively stimulated peroxidase (POD) activity, while the CO2 concentration had no significant impact on the formaldehyde purification capacity and plants' physiological characteristics. Exposure to formaldehyde inhibited formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FADH) activity and positively stimulated catalase (CAT) activity. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity positively correlated with the formaldehyde purification capacity of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen is a type of clean energy which has the potential to replace the fossil energy for transportation, domestic and industrial applications. To expand the hydrogen production method and reduce the consumption of fossil energy, technologies of using renewable energy to generate hydrogen have been developed widely. Due to the advantages of widespread distribution and various hydrogen production methods, most of the research or review works focus on the solar and biomass energy hydrogen production systems. To achieve a comprehensive acknowledge on the development state of current renewable energy hydrogen production technology, a review on hydrogen production systems driven by solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, ocean and hydropower energy has been presented. The reaction process, energy efficiency, exergy efficiency, hydrogen production rate, economic and environmental performance of these systems have been evaluated. Based on the analysis of these different systems, the challenge and prospects of them are also analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the automotive and transportation sectors, technological advancements and innovations aim to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of vehicles. In vehicles, a significant portion of fuel energy is wasted in heat, vibrations, and frictional losses. The vibration energy from vehicle suspension systems is always wasted in heat and can be utilized for useful purposes. Many researchers have designed various regenerative shock absorbers (RSA) to transform vibration energy into electrical energy that can charge electric vehicles' batteries and power low-wattage devices. The present work focuses on an in-depth summary of rotary, hydraulic, and linear electromagnetic RSA. Also, the applications of regenerated energy and technical challenges are discussed. In RSA, the maximum energy harvesting, and ride comfort of the vehicle cannot be achieved simultaneously. The weight of RSA may increase due to the integration of some additional components compared with conventional shock absorbers. It is necessary to examine the impact of weight on the vehicle's road handling and ride comfort. The hydraulic RSAs have low energy harvesting efficiency, so they are not suitable for lightweight vehicles despite their higher energy harvestability than rotary and linear RSAs. The bibliometric analysis is conducted using the visualization of similarities (VOS) viewer to visualize the contributing authors and countries and specify the research themes. The articles are collected from the Web of Science using keywords related to energy harvesting from 2000 to 2021. Authors from China are more productive than others, with the highest number of publications related to the energy-harvesting from RSAs in 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel tank-Photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) system is presented in this paper, and its energy performance has been compared with a traditional heat pipe PV/T system. The novel tank PV/T system combines photovoltaic cell, heat absorbing plate and hot-water storage tank which expands the heat exchange area, shortens the heat transfer path and saves the module installation space. A prototype system is constructed and tested in a cold weather condition and then compared with a heat pipe PVT system. The experimental results indicate that during the 10 days' testing, the electrical, thermal and overall efficiency of the tank PV/T system ranges from 14.3% to 15.6%, 38.6% to 43.8% and 53.1% to 58.1%, respectively, while the heat pipe PVT system ranges from 10.9% to 12.2%, 39.3% to 41.2% and 50.5% to 53.4%, respectively. Based on these data, the electrical and thermal efficiency curve of the system with the novel tank-PVT system and heat pipe PVT system were generated. According to the comparison result, it shows that the novel tank-PVT system has a better thermal and electrical efficiency. This system provides a new design method for the development of the PV/T systems, which has a potential for PV/T systems building integration in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper critically analyzes the most recent literature (64% published after 2015) on the experimentation and mathematical modeling of latent heat thermal energy storage (LHTES) systems in buildings. Commercial software and in-built codes used for mathematical modeling of LHTES systems are consolidated and reviewed to provide details on the selection of appropriate tools. Insights on software's computing speed, model simplicity, accuracy (by considering the convective term in the melting process), and application of artificial neural networks are reviewed in detail. Moreover, the overall research status of the experiments conducted on the phase change material-based LHTES systems with different experiment configurations is reviewed. The analysis shows that ANSYS Fluent is the most widely used software for specific heat transfer phenomenon in storage tanks, while self-developed models with simplified terms are evaluated as more flexible and easier to apply. For hybrid systems, self-developed MATLAB, mature parts in ESP-r, TRNSYS, and EnergyPlus are compatible. Further, most of the experimental investigations are conducted on the laboratory scale, providing data for model validation. To provide a clear guidance for the future market application, the scope for future works is presented. With this review, it would be easier to develop a unified, simplified, visual, and accurate simulation platform for the PCM-based thermal energy storage in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel polygeneration system is designed to provide electricity, heating and cooling capacity on basis of solar energy. Two-stage power cycle of sCO2 Brayton and steam Rankine is propelled to generate electricity with residual heat transferred to drive an efficient heating device and an intercooled absorption cooling system. System performance is comprehensively analyzed from thermal efficiency in terms of energy and exergy, based on the quasi-steady numerical model. Results indicate that built system obtains electricity, heating and cooling capacity of 243.84, 42.05 and 10.746 MW with energy efficiency of 0.5304, 0.0915 and 0.0234 and exergy efficiency of 0.562, 0.0174 and 0.0024, respectively. Mass flows of working fluids and detailed specifications of solar collecting field are also included in this investigation. Parametric analysis exhibits that operating parameters exert remarkable influence on thermal efficiencies. Proposed system can save amounts of energy over three individual systems with identical products by means of a primary energy saving ratio analysis and energy saving performance is more sensitive to turbine inlet temperature of Brayton. Exergoeconomic evaluation reveals that designed system achieves inferior electricity performance and superior heating and cooling performance in comparison with current circumstance. In conclusion, this novel cogeneration system takes full advantage of solar energy to meet various energy consumptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exterior louver blinds are one of the most common shading devices attached to the building façade, which will not only screen solar radiation but also affect the flow around the building and change the convective heat exchange at the façade. To better understand how different wind directions affect the convective heat properties of louvered building façades, this paper conducted a CFD simulation with the validation of previous wind-tunnel experiments. A total of 63 shading cases and 7 unshaded cases were both investigated by simulations. It was found that with the increase in wind attack angle θ, the surface-averaged convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) at the louvered surface will first increase by about 40~50% (θ from 0° to 60°) and then be cut down by 60% (θ from 60° to 90°). In addition, the convective heat exchange rate at the louver slats will gradually decrease with the growth of θ. Finally, modifications for previous correlations were proposed to quantify the effect of wind directions on the CHTCavg at the blinds and façade, of which the maximum deviation for convective heat exchange rate is less than 18%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report an approach for tuning the surface morphology and phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) by using an ultrafast laser in a one-step process. Four surface micro/nanostructures with specific phase states were sequentially formed by changing the pulse energy: the modified ripple structure, the completely crystallized structure, the ablated nanodots, and the ablated ripple structure. A high correlation existed between the surface micro/nanostructures and their property. Through integrated property–structure modulation, multifunctional optical recording could be achieved by using modified ripples with specific crystallized phase states. The geometric grating morphology caused by the volume shrinkage effect during crystallization enabled modified ripples to exhibit a structural color based on the grating's diffraction effect. Moreover, the considerable change in the reflectivity of the crystallized area enabled easy grayscale identification. On the basis of the spatially resolved phase-transition threshold effect, the integrated modulation of the geometric nanograting proportion and degree of crystallization was conducted in multilevel states. Notably, different from the fixed ablated surface structures, the printed modified surface structures could be erased and rewritten by controlling its phase state. This paper presents a promising method for producing dynamic tunable metasurfaces, conducting optical anticounterfeiting, and achieving information storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Night ventilation is regarded as a promising cooling strategy by storing night cooling in the thermal mass of the building. However, night ventilation performance in hot summer is restricted by the climatic limits. In this paper, we propose a new solution as the integration of wall-attached night ventilation (WANV) and phase change material wallboard (PCMW). The principle of the proposed system is to utilize the wall-attached jet ventilation to achieve forced convection and to adopt latent energy storage of PCMW to enlarge the energy storage density capabilities, and the coupling method is expected to improve the night ventilation performance. Comparative experiments were conducted to evaluate the thermal performance of the hybrid system by evaluating indoor temperature history, thermal comfort time and cooling efficiency. Due to the high thermal energy storage density capability of PCMW, it was found that the presence of PCMW has a negative influence on night cooling efficiency but still has a positive influence on the overall cooling effect. The proposed WANV combined with the PCMW system significantly increased the temperature decrease of room air and west wall inside surface during one hour's night ventilation by 94.97% and 67.74%, respectively, and reached an extension of 38.42% of indoor thermal comfort time. The results highlight the potential of WANV integration of PCMW to improve the thermal performance of night ventilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evacuated tube transportation is an important development direction for the high-speed transportation technology of the future. However, a train running at supersonic speed in a closed tube can create an unstable aerothermal phenomenon, causing the temperature to rise sharply inside the tube and endangering the safe operation of trains and equipment. The blockage ratio is one of the key factors affecting the aerodynamic characteristics in the tube. In this paper, a 2D axisymmetric model and Delayed Detached Eddy Simulation (DDES) based on the Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model are used to study the aerothermal environment in the tube. The calculation method used in this paper was verified by a wind tunnel experiment. The aerothermal phenomenon and distribution of the flow field in the tube with different blockage ratios were compared and analysed. The results show that the aerothermal environment is significantly affected by the blockage ratio. A choking limit formed in the flow field will aggravate the aerodynamic phenomenon as the blockage ratio increases, which further deteriorates the aerothermal environment of the tube. Moreover, the existence of the choking limit, shock wave, and Mach disk make the flow field in the tube more complicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Latent heat thermal energy storage can not only alleviate the mismatch between supply and demand but also improve the performance and dependability of the energy system. Unfortunately, previous research achieves a specific engineering load shifting using a single water‐phase change material (PCM) tank, the volume of which is tailored to the specific cooling or heating load. This paper proposes the concept of multi‐modular water‐PCM tanks (MMWPT), which offer flexibility and are simple to be mass‐produced, as thermal storage in an underground shelter's emergency mode. The thermal inertia of the geothermal energy is used to remain the PCM at solid state at first and to naturally cool the tank once they are melted. The mathematical model is created in MATLAB and validated by experiment with an NMBE of less than ±10% and RMSE of less than 30%. In addition, the MMWPT's thermal performance in various matrixes was investigated in an underground shelter where the peak load occurs suddenly and with low frequency. The result reveals that the ∆Twater in the scenario with matrix form of N (number of tanks in series) × 5 (number of tanks in parallel) is almost four times as that with matrix form of N × 1. By separating the water into five parallel water tanks, the corresponding EDD is 1.27‐1.28 times larger. Changing the N from 1 to 2 and 3 could increase the EDD by 3.0%‐12.5% and 5.9%‐25%, respectively. Three acceptable MMWPT matrixes were presented using the effective discharging duration (EDD) and temperature drop as assessment criteria. Additionally, PCM with a maximum phase change temperature (Tpch_PCM) of 19.41°C and a connection matrix of 3 × 4 is recommended when using a single charging cycle or active cooling approach. Otherwise, a Tpch_PCM of 22.41°C with a connection matrix of 3 × 5 is advised. This research is planned to give references for using the MMWPT in underground shelters to shift loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decorative plants can efficiently purify formaldehyde and improve the quality of indoor air. The existing studies primarily revealed that the aerial and underground parts of plants' capacity to purify formaldehyde, while the performance of stems is unclear. A formaldehyde fumigation experiment was conducted on Epipremnum aureum and Rohdea japonica in a sealed chamber. Results showed the stems could remove formaldehyde. The efficiency of removal by the stems of each plant was 0.089 and 0.137 mg∙m−3∙h−1, respectively, the rate of purification was 40.0 and 61.6%, respectively. Both were related to plant species and the latter was affected by other factors like exposed area. To further explore the mechanism of phytoremediation, the correlation between the concentration of formaldehyde and CO2 during the experiment was investigated. Results showed when leaves of plants were exposed to formaldehyde, the concentration of CO2 increased with the decrease in concentration of formaldehyde, and the change in concentration of CO2 could be used as an indicator of the degree of decontamination of formaldehyde by the plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many higher plants, seed oil accumulation is governed by complex multilevel regulatory networks including transcriptional regulation, which primarily affects fatty acid biosynthesis. Tree peony (Paeonia rockii), a perennial deciduous shrub endemic to China is notable for its seed oil that is abundant in unsaturated fatty acids. We discovered that a tree peony trihelix transcription factor, PrASIL1, localized in the nucleus, is expressed predominantly in developing seeds during maturation. Ectopic overexpression of PrASIL1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf tissue and Arabidopsis thaliana seeds significantly reduced total fatty acids and altered the fatty acid composition. These changes were in turn associated with the decreased expression of multitudinous genes involved in plastidial fatty acid synthesis and oil accumulation. Thus, we inferred that PrASIL1 is a critical transcription factor that represses oil accumulation by down-regulating numerous key genes during seed oil biosynthesis. In contrary, up-regulation of oil biosynthesis genes and a significant increase in total lipids and several major fatty acids were observed in PrASIL1- silenced tree peony leaves. Together, these results provide insights into the role of trihelix transcription factor PrASIL1 in controlling seed oil accumulation. PrASIL1 can be targeted potentially for oil enhancement in tree peony and other crops through gene manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 30 years, tubular daylight guide systems (TDGSs) have become one of the most popular ways to transport outdoor natural light into the inner space in building design. However, tubular daylight guide systems are not widely used because of the lack of methods to evaluate methods on the suitability of the TDGSs. This study therefore summarizes the daylight performance metrics of TDGSs and presents the estimation methods in terms of field measurements, simulation and empirical formulae. This study focuses on the daylight performance and potential energy savings of TDGSs. Moreover, this study will be helpful for building designers to build healthy, comfortable and energy-saving indoor environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switchable multi-layer ethylene tetra-fluoro-ethylene (ETFE) cushion controls the natural light and heat flux passing through the cushion with varying outdoor conditions by dynamically modifying its properties. In this paper, the switchable ETFE cushions with ink printing of different optical and thermal properties were adopted as the window in a typical office model, and the indoor daylight and energy consumption were simulated by using Grasshopper software. Experimental model was built to validate the numerical model. Five locations representing five climate zones in China were selected to analyze the feasibility of the switchable ETFE cushion in different climates. The hourly indoor daylight and heat gain in a single day revealed the effects of the dynamic mechanism of ETFE cushion in improving indoor natural light and thermal environment. In addition, the annual daylight performance at the working area (1.5 m from the window) was simulated. ETFE cushion with printing of the lowest transmittance (ETFE1) was the optimal option for most cities and window-to-wall ratios, with the percentage of annual useful daylight hours up to 78.6%, except for the cases where the window-to-wall ratio (WWR) was 0.35 in Harbin, Beijing, and Hefei. The distribution of useful daylight hours revealed that ETFE cushions with low, medium, and high printing transmittance were suitable for offices where people work in the front, medium, and back region of the room, respectively. Energy consumption calculation revealed that ETFE1 showed advantages over other windows in most cities except for cities highly dominated by heating. ETFE1 delivered up to 33% of energy saving over a year in Kunming compared with the conventional double glazing but was not superior in cities with high heating and low cooling demands, such as Harbin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the influence of active cooling and natural cooling on the electrical performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules in a cold highland area in winter, and the thermal performance of two photovoltaic thermal (PV/T) systems for space heating. A comparative system with exactly the same size of a PV system, liquid-cooled PV/T system, and heat pipe PV/T system was designed and constructed in Ganzi city, China. The energy performance of these systems was tested under real weather conditions for several days. The experimental results show that the PV module can achieve the cooling effect by natural cooling, with a daily average temperature between 30 °C and 40 °C, and an electrical efficiency 3.71% higher than that of active cooling. However, the temperature of naturally cooled PV modules fluctuates drastically with time, and the temperature changes above 10 °C in a short time. The solar energy conversion efficiency of PV/T systems is more than 2.67 times that of a PV system. The heating power of the liquid-cooled PV/T system and heat pipe PV/T system can reach 847.4 and 948.5 W, and the primary-energy saving efficiency can reach 68.8% and 76.7%. A comparison of the intercept efficiency shows that the heat pipe PV/T system has the best energy performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many higher plants, seed oil accumulation is governed by complex multilevel regulatory networks including transcriptional regulation, which primarily affects fatty acid biosynthesis. Tree peony (Paeonia rockii), a perennial deciduous shrub endemic to China is notable for its seed oil that is abundant in unsaturated fatty acids. We discovered that a tree peony trihelix transcription factor, PrASIL1, localized in the nucleus, is expressed predominantly in developing seeds during maturation. Ectopic overexpression of PrASIL1 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaf tissue and Arabidopsis thaliana seeds significantly reduced total fatty acids and altered the fatty acid composition. These changes were in turn associated with the decreased expression of multitudinous genes involved in plastidial fatty acid synthesis and oil accumulation. Thus, we inferred that PrASIL1 is a critical transcription factor that represses oil accumulation by down-regulating numerous key genes during seed oil biosynthesis. In contrary, up-regulation of oil biosynthesis genes and a significant increase in total lipids and several major fatty acids were observed in PrASIL1- silenced tree peony leaves. Together, these results provide insights into the role of trihelix transcription factor PrASIL1 in controlling seed oil accumulation. PrASIL1 can be targeted potentially for oil enhancement in tree peony and other crops through gene manipulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Considering platane wood as a kind of natural biomass building material, it features a structure with abundant pores and lightweight, which can be used as a supporting material to prevent the liquid leakage of phase change materials (PCMs). In this work, the lignin of the platane wood is removed, and then, a series of the form‐stable PCMs (FSPCMs) are prepared by the vacuum impregnation method, for which implemented the delignified wood (DW) as a supporting material and four kinds of fatty acid (FA) as PCMs. The microstructure and thermophysical characteristics of the FSPCMs are investigated. Furthermore, the results show that DW preserves the inherent porous structure of the platane wood, and the specific surface area and total pore volume of DW are greater than those of the platane wood. Thus, the DW adsorbs more PCMs than platane wood by the physical connection. The maximum impregnation rate of FA in the DW is as high as 76 wt%. There is a little variation in the phase change temperature of DW/FA FSPCMs compared with that of the FA, while the latent heat of DW/FA FSPCMs is almost consistent with the content of FA in the composite. Thermogravimetric analysis results show that DW/FA FSPCMs present good thermal stability. Moreover, DW/FA FSPCMs have good thermal reliability after 500 thermal cycles. Therefore, the prepared DW/FA FSPCMs show a potential application prospect in the thermal energy storage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) system combines the conventional PV panel with solar collector into one integrated system, which could achieve the function of generating power and providing thermal energy at the same time. Recently, it has become the most promising solar system for building applications. Most of the PV/T systems use water as the coolant, which could cause freezing problem in winter. To overcome this problem, the heat pipe PV/T system is developed to provide electrical and thermal energy stably without the seasonal barrier. Although some published review works have involved this type of PV/T system, they just stated a simple introduction on it, acting as a small part of their works. This paper focuses on the heat pipe PV/T system independently and provides a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of its performance. Firstly, the structure and operational principles of the heat pipe PV/T module and system are introduced concisely. Then the features and performance of different types of heat pipe PV/T systems, i.e., integral heat pipe, loop heat pipe, and pulsating heat pipe PV/T system, are presented and analyzed. This is followed by the review on the performance of the systems which combine heat pipe PV/T module and other devices. Finally, the research gaps in this field are identified, and some future research trends and directions are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel micro-combined polygeneration system based on solar energy and fuels is designed with aim to simultaneously satisfy energy demands of electricity, heating and cooling in distributed areas. Integration solar radiation with conventional natural gas-fired power systems is conceived to eliminate existing disadvantages of low efficiency and high cost for fuel-only and solar-only plants. Thermodynamic and economic analyses are evaluated to explore performance of proposed systems with three working fluids. Energetic and exergic efficiencies are individually 0.839 and 0.4536, 0.8721 and 0.5852, and 0.8656 and 0.5825 for N2-, He- and Ar-based micro-combined systems under specified power capacity of 100 kW. Solar collector field, compressor, turbine and combustion chamber exhibit four largest exergy destruction, followed orderly by heat exchanger, generator, condenser, evaporator, throttling valve and pump. Preliminary economic analysis indicates that levelized electricity costs of N2-, He- and Ar-based micro-combined systems are 0.112, 0.103 and 0.101 $ kWh−1 with corresponding payback periods of 4.563, 5.090 and 5.138 years. Parametric analysis reveals that five operating parameters (compression ratio, turbine inlet temperature, solar collector field outlet temperature, generator outlet temperature and split ratio) exert noticeable influence on thermal efficiency of micro-combined systems. In conclusion, proposed micro-combined polygeneration system achieves efficient conversation of thermal energy into electricity, heating and cooling at a rational energy utilization for distributed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Phase change materials (PCMs) have limited use in thermal storage because of their poor conductivity and lack of multi driving energy. Therefore, to overcome these problems, polyethylene glycol‐calcium chloride/expanded graphite (PEG‐CaCl2/EG) functional composite PCMs with high electrical and thermal conductivities were synthesized by ligand substitution using PEG‐CaCl2 as the PCM and EG as the highly electrically and thermally conductive framework material. The PEG‐CaCl2/EG PCMs were thoroughly investigated, and the experimental results revealed the significance of EG in the composite structure, which leads to high electrical conductivity and high thermal conductivity. The resistivity of the functional PCM decreased to 1.67 Ω m, and the thermal conductivity (k) increased to 8.4 W/(m K) when the EG content was 10 wt%. In addition, the electro‐thermal conversion efficiency of the functional PCM reached 86.9%, and its energy storage could be inspired at low voltages (2.0‐5.0 V). The heating and energy storage rates increased with the working voltage and EG content, respectively. Melting‐crystallization experiments and electro‐thermal cycle tests showed that the functional PCMs had good thermal stability. Therefore, this study provides a new perspective for various fields of energy conversion and storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of railways, sensors, signal lights and other rail‐side applications are being used to increase the safety of trains. The source of electricity for rail‐side applications remains a problem. In this study, a portable solar energy harvesting system (SEHS) is developed to supply power for rail‐side applications. The designed system can be used as a temporary or permanent power supply due to its portability. The proposed system is composed of two main parts: a solar foldable‐wings module (SFWM), and an energy storage module. The photovoltaic (PV) panels convert the solar energy into electricity, and the generated electricity is stored in supercapacitors which supply power to rail‐side applications. The Beijing–Tangshan Inter‐City Railway is selected for a case study. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the annual power generation of the SEHS can be up to 673,994 kWh. We conducted solar radiation simulation experiments on the proposed system in the laboratory using a solar simulator. Experiments show that the maximum output power of the proposed SEHS is 10.934 W when the prototype is loaded with 5 Ω, indicating that the proposed system would be able to supply power for rail‐side applications as a permanent power source or a temporary power source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, yttrium-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) was firstly used as a nucleating agent and copper foam as the matrix to simultaneously reduce the supercooling degree and improve the thermal conductivity of sodium acetate trihydrate (SAT). The SAT/copper foam/YSZ composite phase change material (PCM) was prepared by ball milling and melting impregnation method. The influences of content of YSZ on supercooling degree of SAT and porosity of copper foam on thermal conductivity of SAT were studied experimentally. The step-cooling curve method results indicated that the supercooling of SAT can be eliminated by 0.8 mass% YSZ without any chemical interaction between SAT and YSZ. The thermal conductivity test and heat transfer test results of SAT/copper foam/YSZ composite PCM indicated that copper foam increases the thermal conductivity of SAT. The thermal conductivity of SAT/copper foam/YSZ composite PCM was 5.9, 6.9 and 9.4 times as that of pure SAT when the porosity of copper foam was 8 ppi, 15 ppi and 40 ppi. Moreover, the volume energy storage density of SAT/copper foam/YSZ composite PCMs was calculated as 448.6–473.0 MJ m−3, which was 2.09–2.20 times as that of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An effective approach is proposed to adjust the surface morphology induced by using a femtosecond laser, including the area and period of rippled structures. The effect of the processing steps and laser polarization on the surface morphology of rippled structures on a titanium surface was experimentally investigated in this study. A processing sequence was designed for two series of femtosecond laser pulses that irradiate a titanium surface, for example, N = 50(0°) + 50(90°). The experimental results show that the area and period of rippled structures can be simultaneously adjusted by following a two-step method. Due to the enhancement of energy absorption and SP-laser coupling of the initial rippled structures, large area surface structures with small periods are fabricated using two series of femtosecond laser pulses with the same polarization direction. By changing the polarization direction of the two series of femtosecond laser pulses, the recording, erasing, and rewriting of subwavelength ripples is achieved. During the rewriting process, material removal and the formation of new ripples simultaneously occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In filamentous fungi, hyphal growth depends on the continuous delivery of vesicles to the growing tips. It is unclear how fast‐growing hyphae coordinate simultaneous cell extension and expansion in the tip cells.We have functionally characterized 12 TBC (Tre‐2/Bub2/Cdc16) domain‐containing proteins in Fusarium graminearum. Among them, FgMsb3 is found to regulate hyphal tip expansion and to be required for pathogenicity. The regulatory mechanism of FgMsb3 has been further investigated by genetic, high‐resolution microscopy and high‐throughput co‐immunoprecipitation strategies.The FgMsb3 protein localizes at the polarisome and the hyphal apical dome (HAD) where it acts as a GTPase‐activating protein for FgRab8 which is required for apical secretion‐mediated growth and pathogenicity. Deletion of FgMSB3 causes excessive polarized trafficking but blocks the fusion of FgSnc1‐associated vesicles to the plasma membrane. Moreover, we establish that FgSpa2 interacts with FgMsb3, enabling FgMsb3 tethering to the polarisome. Loss of FgSpa2 or other polarisome components (FgBud6 and FgPea2) causes complete shifting of FgMsb3 to the HAD and this affects the polarized growth and pathogenicity of the fungus.In summary, we conclude that FgSpa2 regulates FgMsb3–FgRab8 cascade and this is crucial for creating a steady‐state equilibrium that maintains continuous polarized growth and contributes to the pathogenicity of F. graminearum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the resonant effects on nonlinear photoionization of Li4 cluster under femtosecond laser irradiation. The real-time and real-space time-dependent density functional theory is applied to describe the optical linear response and nonlinear electron dynamics during the laser-material interactions. The calculations describe well the behaviors of the ionization process for both the off resonance and on resonance cases. For given laser intensities, the frequency dependence of electron ionization and energy absorption on multiphoton and/or tunnel ionization mechanisms is investigated. Theoretical results show that (1) the off resonance behaves as a classical oscillator whereas resonance leads to an internal excitation with subsequent emission of electrons after the laser termination; (2) when multiphoton ionization dominates, the frequency dependence of emitted electrons and absorbed energy coincides with trend of the spectral cross section for photon absorption; (3) while when tunnel ionization becomes significant, the aforementioned correlation gradually disappears, and the enhancement of resonant effect on photoionization is not manifest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recently, a critical problem of latent heat thermal energy storage remains the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs), which can lead to low heat transfer rate. Structural optimization design is an effective solution for this problem. In this work, two horizontal shell‐and‐tube heat exchangers (HEs) with one inner tube (n = 1) and four inner tubes (n = 4) are designed keeping the same amount of PCM and water flow rate, and their melting and solidification thermal performance and heat transfer characteristics are compared. The results show that in comparison with one‐inner‐tube HE, the temperature of detected points are affected by both upper and lower inner tubes for four‐inner‐tube HE, thus the differences in phase change process appear. In addition, the phase change time reduction rates are 34.1%, 33.39%, 28.82% at Tin (inlet water temperature) = 75°C, 80°C, 85°C during charging process, and 17.2%, 27.69%, 36.67% at Tin = 10°C, 15°C, 20°C during discharging process, respectively. In comparison with the one‐inner‐tube HE, the theoretical efficiency of four‐inner‐tube HE is increased from 75.88% to 90.34%. Although more friction loss should be paid by four‐inner‐tube HE, a lower energy consumption and a higher heat‐energy ratio are achieved. Based on the results of this study, the amount of cumulative heat per energy consumption is 1.52 × 108 and 2.88 × 108 for one‐inner‐tube and four‐inner‐tube HE, respectively. Highlights: Performance of one‐inner‐tube and four‐inner‐tube heat exchanger is compared.Both melting and solidification processes are taken into consideration.Thermal interaction between each tube is included for practical value.Theoretical efficiency increases from 75.88% to 90.34% for the case of n = 4.Heat‐energy ratio increases from 1.52 × 108 to 2.88 × 108 for the case of n = 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The method to cool a high heat flux device is an important research direction for the heat exchanger design. Micro-channels are an effective heat exchange structure both for single-phase and two-phase flow. In this paper, the heat transfer correlations of single-phase, two-phase and nanofluid in a micro-channel are discussed and analyzed. The correlations of pressure drop for single-phase and two-phase fluids are also presented. Excluding the different working fluids used in the micro-channel, the diameter and aspect ratio, shape and structure, surface roughness, internal and external factor and layout of micro-channel pipe are considered to analyze their influence on the heat transfer performance and pressure drop. Micro-channel technology applications include industry, air-conditioning, solar energy systems, heat pipe technology and computer data center cooling. Compared to the conventional heat exchangers used in these fields, a micro-channel heat sink showed a much better heat transfer coefficient and low volume, indicating that it is a good choice and has huge potential for cooling application. Finally, existing problems and future scopes are described, and drawing up design standard, experimental and simulated methods for evaluating its performance are the urgent actions which need to be carried out. This review paper serves as guidance for researchers to design and predict the performance of micro-channel heat sinks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recently, a critical problem of latent heat thermal energy storage remains the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs), which can lead to low heat transfer rate. Structural optimization design is an effective solution for this problem. In this work, two horizontal shell‐and‐tube heat exchangers (HEs) with one inner tube (n = 1) and four inner tubes (n = 4) are designed keeping the same amount of PCM and water flow rate, and their melting and solidification thermal performance and heat transfer characteristics are compared. The results show that in comparison with one‐inner‐tube HE, the temperature of detected points are affected by both upper and lower inner tubes for four‐inner‐tube HE, thus the differences in phase change process appear. In addition, the phase change time reduction rates are 34.1%, 33.39%, 28.82% at Tin (inlet water temperature) = 75°C, 80°C, 85°C during charging process, and 17.2%, 27.69%, 36.67% at Tin = 10°C, 15°C, 20°C during discharging process, respectively. In comparison with the one‐inner‐tube HE, the theoretical efficiency of four‐inner‐tube HE is increased from 75.88% to 90.34%. Although more friction loss should be paid by four‐inner‐tube HE, a lower energy consumption and a higher heat‐energy ratio are achieved. Based on the results of this study, the amount of cumulative heat per energy consumption is 1.52 × 108 and 2.88 × 108 for one‐inner‐tube and four‐inner‐tube HE, respectively. Highlights: Performance of one‐inner‐tube and four‐inner‐tube heat exchanger is compared.Both melting and solidification processes are taken into consideration.Thermal interaction between each tube is included for practical value.Theoretical efficiency increases from 75.88% to 90.34% for the case of n = 4.Heat‐energy ratio increases from 1.52 × 108 to 2.88 × 108 for the case of n = 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a clinically silent hemoglobin (Hb) variant, Hb Broomhill [α1 or α2 114(GH2) Pro > Ala;HBA1 or HBA2:c.343C > G] in a diabetic Chinese man. The Hb fractions of the subject were analyzed using various chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques. The glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels measured using cation-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography (CE-HPLC) and the boronate affinity method showed nearly identical results. Analysis of the chromatogram of the CE-HPLC revealed an abnormal shoulder peak that appeared towards the end of the elution profile. Though the capillary electrophoresis method did not interpret the results, a manual examination revealed an abnormal shoulder on the HbA0 peak. Similarly, the electropherogram of the capillary zone electrophoresis also had an abnormal shoulder on the HbA peak. A missense mutation specific to the Hb Broomhill variant was found using Sanger sequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With social development and economic enhancement, energy is facing significant worldwide demand, and fossil fuels are the prime energy sources for various energy systems over past decades. Furthermore, among fuel-consumed applications, power plants are the primary source of energy consumption. There is a lot of waste heat and steam accompanied by the latent heat produced in the exhaust flue gas. Therefore, the latent heat recovery from the flue gas plays an important role in increasing the efficiency of the system and saving water. To recover the heat and mass in power plants, three primary methods are proposed to condense the vapor based on previous studies: (1) flue gas condensation technology, (2) liquid desiccant-based dehydration (LDD) technology and (3) membrane technology. This paper mainly reviews and summaries the indirect cooling technology in flue gas condensation technology. The numerical simulation and theory of flue gas condensation are introduced. Different heat exchanger types and conducted experiments are also summarized. The performance of the indirect cooling technology is affected not only by its own configuration and design but also by the flue gas inlet temperature, velocity, water vapor mass fraction, etc. The major concerns and outlook of practical applications for further study are attributed to the heat exchanger size and cost, acid corrosion, ash accumulation in flue gas, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbaceous peony is widely cultivated around the world because of its ornamental and medicinal value, nevertheless, there has not been systematic studies on its seeds. In this study, the fatty acids, total phenol content (TPC), total flavonoids content (TFOC), and secondary metabolites content of 17 cultivars seed were systematically investigated. The antioxidant activity was evaluated by DPPH, FRAP, ABTS, and HRSA. The results showed that the fatty acids of herbaceous peony were different among cultivars, besides, the ALA content of 'HSHEBT' and 'MZL' has a significantly higher content of ALA and LA, respectively. The metabolite profiles of 17 cultivars were similar and paeoniflorin was the most abundant secondary metabolites in all samples. In addition, the extracts of seeds showed good antioxidant activity in DPPH (32.82–42.6 μmol TE/g DW), ABTS (16.87–57.63 μmol TE/g DW), FRAP (14.55–49.23 μmol TE/g DW) and HRSA (3.16–52.97%). The 17 cultivars were classified into 4 clusters according to the fatty acids, TPC, TFOC, and metabolites. Cluster I showed the highest average value of linolenic acid, TPC, and secondary metabolite content among all clusters, which is consist of 'XN' and 'HSHEBT' and they are to be a potential resource of functional food. Overall, the resulted showed metabolites and fatty acid content various between herbaceous peony cultivars, which can be the resource of healthy vegetable oil and food with antioxidant effect in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]