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Phase change material (PCM) based thermal energy storage (TES) is an important solution to the waste of heat and intermittency of new energy sources. However, the thermal conductivity of most PCMs is low, which severely affects the thermal energy storage performance. Oscillation of the tube bundles in a TES unit can intensify the convection of liquid PCM and, therefore, enhance heat transfer. However, the energy storage performance of bundled-tube TES systems in response to oscillation at different amplitudes and frequencies has not been well understood yet, and the optimum time to apply the oscillation during phase transition remains unexplored. To address this issue, this present study was carried out. First, the melting behaviour of PCM with oscillation starting at different times was investigated. Then, the influences of oscillation frequency and amplitude on the melting performance were explored. Finally, the solidification behaviour of PCM with oscillation starting at different times was examined. Results show that the oscillation can accelerate the phase transition process by enhancing convective heat transfer. Compared to the case without oscillation, the complete melting and solidification times are reduced by 8.2 and 6.7% for the case with oscillation starting at 200 s, respectively. The effect of oscillation frequency on the melting enhancement is negligible, while the oscillation amplitude has an important effect on the melting enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exposure to a hypobaric hypoxic environment at high altitudes can lead to liver injury, and mounting evidence indicates that pyroptosis and inflammation play important roles in liver injury. Curcumin (Cur) can inhibit pyroptosis and inflammation. Therefore, our purpose here was to clarify the mechanism underlying the protective effect of nanocurcumin (Ncur) and Cur in a rat model of high altitude‐associated acute liver injury. Eighty healthy rats were selected and exposed to different altitudes (6000 or 7000 m) for 0, 24, 48, or 72 h. Fifty normal healthy rats were divided into normal control, high‐altitude control, salidroside (40 mg/kg [Sal‐40]), Cur (200 mg/kg [Cur‐200]), and Ncur (25 mg/kg [Ncur‐25]) groups and exposed to a high‐altitude hypobaric hypoxic environment (48 h, 7000 m). Serum‐liver enzyme activities (alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, and lactate dehydrogenase were detected and histopathology of liver injury was evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and inflammatory factors were detected in liver tissues by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. Pyroptosis‐associated proteins (gasdermin D, gasdermin D N‐terminal [GSDMD‐N], pro‐Caspase‐1, and cleaved‐Caspase‐1 [cleaved‐Casp1]) and inflammation‐associated proteins (nuclear factor‐κB [NF‐κB], phospho‐NF‐κB [P‐NF‐κB], and high‐mobility group protein B1 [HMGB1]) levels were analyzed by immunoblotting. Ncur and Cur inhibited increased serum‐liver enzyme activities, alleviated liver injury in rats caused by high‐altitude hypobaric hypoxic exposure, and downregulated inflammatory factors, including tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β, IL‐6, and IL‐18, in rat liver tissues. The level of P‐NF‐κB, GSDMD‐N, cleaved‐Casp1, and HMGB1 in rat liver tissues increased significantly after high‐altitude exposure. Ncur and Cur downregulated P‐NF‐κB, GSDMD‐N, cleaved‐Casp‐1, and HMGB1. Ncur and Cur may inhibit inflammatory responses and pyroptosis in a rat model of high altitude‐associated acute liver injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the functions of matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and assessed the effects of MMP2 on HCC cell sensitivity to cisplatin.

This study compared the realtime monitoring effects of conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) on evaluating radio frequency ablation (RFA) in a living swine liver model.