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Photovoltaic thermal heat pump technology with deep utilization of solar energy has great market potential to achieve "Carbon Neutrality" in the building sector. A novel photovoltaic thermal heat pipe/heat pump composite cycle trigeneration system synergetic driven by a compressor and a working fluid circulating pump was proposed and experimentally verified. On this basis, the trigeneration performance and operating characteristics of the novel system were tested and investigated in the summer. The experimental results showed that the novel system can arbitrarily switching between different cycles and has an excellent energy saving effect. The average electrical efficiency, thermal efficiency, heating COP , and refrigerating COP of the novel system were 10.1%, 40.3%, 7.02, and 2.60, respectively. During the whole day, the comprehensive COP for heating, power generation, and refrigerating of the novel system was 13.93. The heating COP and comprehensive COP of the novel system were 20%–50% and 40%–65% higher than that of the existing photovoltaic thermal heat pump trigeneration system, respectively. Furthermore, the CO 2 emission of the novel system was 4042 kg CO 2 in summer, which was 20%–80% lower than that of other technical solutions. The novel system represents a practical response to the need to achieve the total decarbonization of the building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic thermal heat pump technology has outstanding cogeneration ability by utilizing renewable energy to be accepted as a decarbonization pathway in the residential sector. However, existing photovoltaic thermal heat pumps consume higher energy under better external heat source conditions. To address this problem, a novel direct-expansion photovoltaic thermal heat pump/power heat pipe compound cycle system for heating and power generation as well as refrigeration, whose core equipment was a photovoltaic thermal module with straggled honeycomb fluid channel pattern on the serpentine arrangement, was proposed, manufactured, and studied with the method of experiment. The thermoelectric performance was compared between the heat pump and power heat pipe cycle modes, investigated under typical weather conditions, and discussed in contrast to the literature. The results showed that the average photoelectric conversion efficiency and coefficient of photothermal performance of the PVT modules, as well as COP of the novel system were 10.6%, 51.0%, and 6.19, respectively, at the average ambient temperature of 27.0 °C, average solar radiation intensity of 581 W/m2 and water temperature of 18.3–55.6 °C. And daily average COP s of the novel system under sunny, cloudy, and overcast conditions were 15.12, 7.40, and 3.17, respectively. The conclusion drawn from the experimental results is that the COP of the novel system was 10.0%–60.0% higher than that in the literature under similar outdoor conditions. The payback period of the additional cost of the novel system compared with the existing direct-expansion photovoltaic thermal heat pump was within 2.5 years. The novel system represents a practical response to the need to achieve total decarbonization of the residential sector. • A novel photovoltaic thermal compound cycle system was proposed. • The average COP of the novel system for 21-day in summer was 6.19. • The COP at sunny, cloudy, and overcast conditions were 15.12, 7.40, and 3.17. • The COP of the novel system is 10–60% higher than that of literatures. • The payback period of additional cost of the novel system was within 2.5 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To develop a 3D U-Net-based model for the automatic segmentation of the pancreas using the diameters, volume, and density of normal pancreases among Chinese adults. Methods: A total of 2778 pancreas images (dataset 1) were retrospectively collected and randomly divided into training (n = 2252), validation (n = 245), and test (n = 281) datasets. The segmentation model for the pancreas was constructed through cascaded application of two 3D U-Net networks. The segmentation efficiency for the pancreas was evaluated by the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). Another dataset of 3189 normal pancreas CT images (dataset 2) was obtained for external validation, including 1063 non-contrast images, 1063 arterial phase images, and 1063 portal venous phase images. The pancreas segmentation in dataset 2 was assessed objectively and manually revised by two radiologists. Then, the pancreatic volume, diameters, and average CT value for each phase of pancreas images in dataset 2 were calculated. The relationships between pancreas volume and age, sex, height, and weight were analyzed. Results: In dataset 1, a mean DSC of 0.94 for the test dataset was achieved. In dataset 2, the objective assessment yielded a 90% satisfaction rate for the automatic segmentation of the pancreas as external validation. The diameters of the pancreas were 43.71–44.28 mm, 67.40–68.15 mm, and 114.53–117.06 mm, respectively. The average pancreatic volume was 63,969.06–65,247.75 mm3, which was greatest at the age of 18–38 and then decreased to a minimum at the age of 69–85. The CT value of the pancreas also decreased with age, from a maximum value of 38.87 ± 9.70 HU to a minimum of 27.72 ± 10.85 HU. Conclusion: The pancreas segmentation tool based on deep learning can segment the pancreas on CT images and measure its normal diameter, volume, and CT value accurately and effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results from Non-Intrusive Load Monitoring serve for energy decomposition and load identification, which would facilitate effective energy consumption management. Existing studies have focused on settings with a fixed number of electrical appliances. This differs significantly from real-world scenarios, thus largely limiting the practical application of related research. We study the pattern variations of the aggregated power sequences and separately analyze two different scenarios for new appliance introduction. Based on this, we propose a novel appliance detection method that can be implemented for low-frequency sampling data. The proposed method can determine whether new appliances are introduced without the prior information at the appliance level, thus establishing a basis for load monitoring in scenarios with dynamic changes in load topology. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves at least a 35.93 % improvement in the metric of F1 compared to the event-based approach in the presence of a different number of unknown appliances. • We analyze low-frequency power data and present two case studies for new appliances. • Novel proximity measures are introduced to assess the similarity between appliances. • A new algorithm is proposed to detect the previously unknown appliances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A novel heat pump water heater with a freezing latent heat evaporator was proposed. • The energy recovery of the novel system was 4.4 times that of the conventional one. • The novel system could save 60% of energy compared with the electrical water heater. • The heat transfer coefficient increased significantly at the moment of freezing. Abstract The temperature of domestic drain water is relatively high, but its flux is sometimes insufficient as a heating source. Thus, the conventional wastewater source heat pump water heater is incapable of meeting user heating demand given the limited sensible heat temperature difference in many situations. To address this problem, a novel in–house heat pump water heater with a freezing latent heat evaporator and assisted by domestic drain water was proposed. A prototype of the system was first constructed to determine the performance of the system. An experiment was then conducted, in which a parallel helical coil tube evaporator was designed and developed to extract freezing latent heat from domestic drain water. Experimental data was obtained in different experimental conditions. Results of the investigation show that the heat pump water heater with a freezing latent evaporator recovers 3.4 times more energy than the conventional wastewater source heat pump water heater, and saves 60% energy compared with the traditional electric water heater. Furthermore, an interesting result is that the heat transfer coefficient increased significantly at the moment the wastewater was just frozen. This paper provides a reference for the wastewater source heat pump water heater to extract freezing latent heat from domestic drain water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Condensing, falling, and acting condensates are identified and defined. • Effect of different categories of condensates on film condensation is investigated. • Film condensation model considering different categories of condensates is built. • Precise inundation effect coefficient is determined by homologous method. The condensates generated in the process of film condensation, such as condensing, falling, and acting condensates, are identified and defined to obtain precise inundation effect model of 3D finned tube bundle. Furthermore, the influence of three categories of condensates on the film condensation under different heat fluxes and condensing temperatures is experimentally investigated via the homologous method. A test bench with a test section contains two arrays of 8 horizontal tubes is initially constructed. Experimental results show that the inundation effect coefficient decreases from 1.00 to 0.78 as acting condensate Re increases from 75 to 1860. The influence of heat flux on three categories of condensates is more significant than that of condensing temperature. As tube row depth increases from 1 to 6, the proportion of condensing condensate Re to acting condensate Re decreases from 100% to 15.0%, whereas the proportion of falling condensate Re to acting condensate Re increases from 0 to 85.0%. Furthermore, the condensation heat transfer model of single 3D finned tube and inundation effect model are established, and the deviations of results between experiments and models are almost within ±3.0%. The deviations of inundation effect coefficients between experiment and model proposed in this study are 92.5% and 50.0% less than those between experiment and models using routine method and considering single condensate with homologous method, respectively. Moreover, the inundation effect model proposed in this study reveals that different proportions of condensing or falling condensates to acting condensate lead to different inundation effect coefficient at the same acting condensate Re. The research results will lay the foundation for further revealing the mechanism of film condensation on 3D finned tube bundle and guide the thermal design of 3D finned tubes applied in shell-and-tube condensers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New test facility for inundation effect coefficient of 3D finned tube is built. • Precise inundation effect coefficient is determined by homologous method. • Inundation effect on an array of 6 horizontal new 3D finned tubes is investigated. • Inundation effect model of new 3D finned tube is established. • Inundation effect coefficient in this article is 10-30% higher than that in others. To accurately evaluate the condensation heat transfer performance of new 3D finned tubes in shell-and-tube condenser, the inundation effect of the film condensation of R-134a on an array of 6 horizontal new 3D (three-dimensional) finned tubes is experimentally investigated with a new experiment method of homologous method. And the precise inundation effect coefficient of film condensation is determined. A novel test facility, whose test section contains two arrays of 8 horizontal tubes to realize the homologous method, is developed and constructed. The outer diameter of the tube and effective tube length in the test section are 19.05 and 500 mm, respectively. The condensation heat transfer coefficient of new 3D finned tube and inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle are determined under different conditions. The results show that the inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle decreases from 1.00 to 0.78 as Re increases from 75 to 1860. And the effect of heat flux on the inundation effect is more sensitive than the condensing temperature. Furthermore, for new 3D finned tube, the condensation heat transfer and inundation effect models are established, and the deviations of results between experiment and models are almost within ±6.0%. In comparison with literatures, the average inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle is 10.0-25.0% higher than that of 3D finned tube bundle in literatures, within 3.0% lower than that of two-dimensional finned tube bundle, and 15.2% higher than that of plain tube bundle. And the average condensation heat transfer coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle in this article is 5.0-25.0% higher than that of 3D finned tube bundle in literatures, 10.0-30.0% higher than that of 2D finned tube bundle, and more than 10 times that of plain tube bundle. The precise inundation effect coefficients can be used as benchmark data to build precise and universal inundation effect model of 3D finned tube, and the models established in this study will help guide the thermal design of the new 3D finned tube applied in shell-and-tube condenser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New test facility for inundation effect coefficient of 3D finned tube is built. • Precise inundation effect coefficient is determined by homologous method. • Inundation effect on an array of 6 horizontal new 3D finned tubes is investigated. • Inundation effect model of new 3D finned tube is established. • Inundation effect coefficient in this article is 10-30% higher than that in others. To accurately evaluate the condensation heat transfer performance of new 3D finned tubes in shell-and-tube condenser, the inundation effect of the film condensation of R-134a on an array of 6 horizontal new 3D (three-dimensional) finned tubes is experimentally investigated with a new experiment method of homologous method. And the precise inundation effect coefficient of film condensation is determined. A novel test facility, whose test section contains two arrays of 8 horizontal tubes to realize the homologous method, is developed and constructed. The outer diameter of the tube and effective tube length in the test section are 19.05 and 500 mm, respectively. The condensation heat transfer coefficient of new 3D finned tube and inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle are determined under different conditions. The results show that the inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle decreases from 1.00 to 0.78 as Re increases from 75 to 1860. And the effect of heat flux on the inundation effect is more sensitive than the condensing temperature. Furthermore, for new 3D finned tube, the condensation heat transfer and inundation effect models are established, and the deviations of results between experiment and models are almost within ±6.0%. In comparison with literatures, the average inundation effect coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle is 10.0-25.0% higher than that of 3D finned tube bundle in literatures, within 3.0% lower than that of two-dimensional finned tube bundle, and 15.2% higher than that of plain tube bundle. And the average condensation heat transfer coefficient of new 3D finned tube bundle in this article is 5.0-25.0% higher than that of 3D finned tube bundle in literatures, 10.0-30.0% higher than that of 2D finned tube bundle, and more than 10 times that of plain tube bundle. The precise inundation effect coefficients can be used as benchmark data to build precise and universal inundation effect model of 3D finned tube, and the models established in this study will help guide the thermal design of the new 3D finned tube applied in shell-and-tube condenser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel integrated home energy with freezing latent heat collection was proposed. • The performance of novel unit was experimentally determined under various modes. • Efficiency of novel unit is 10–20% higher than traditional units in severe winter. • Thermal energy recycling rate of novel unit is 2.6 times that of traditional units. • Life cycle cost of novel unit is 10–35% less than that of traditional units. A novel integrated home energy system with freezing latent heat collection was proposed to improve the overall efficiency of building energy usage. The novel unit can recycle waste heat (including sensible and freezing latent heat) from domestic drain water and condensing heat to efficiently provide space heating and cooling and domestic hot water for a household. A novel unit, whose core equipment was a parallel serpentine tube evaporator with a new de-icing technique to efficiently extract freezing latent heat, was initially constructed. The performance, annual thermal energy recycling rate, and life cycle cost of the novel unit were determined, studied, and discussed, respectively. Results showed that the coefficient of performance of the unit with de-icing technology is 10.00−20.00% higher than that of systems reported in extant literature under unfavorable condition. The annual thermal energy recycling rate was 25.00−30.00%, which is approximately 2.6 times that of systems described in literature. In addition, the life cycle cost of the unit is 10.00−35.00% lower than that of traditional units. The novel unit considerably reduces the energy consumption, environmental pollution, and related costs of buildings, thus providing practical importance and a scientific research value for improving energy efficiency, changing the original energy structure, and reducing the environmental load brought by energy conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Understanding vascular patterns is crucial for minimizing bleeding and operating time in colorectal surgeries. This study aimed to develop an anatomical atlas of the inferior mesenteric artery (IMA) and vein (IMV). (2) Methods: A total of 521 patients with left-sided colorectal cancer were included. IMA and IMV patterns were identified using maximum-intensity projection (MIP) and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction techniques. The accuracy of these techniques was assessed by comparing them with surgical videos. We compared the amount of bleeding and operating time for IMA ligation across different IMA types. (3) Results: Most patients (45.7%) were classified as type I IMA, followed by type II (20.7%), type III (22.6%), and type IV (3.5%). Newly identified type V and type VI patterns were found in 6.5% and 1% of patients, respectively. Of the IMVs, 49.9% drained into the superior mesenteric vein (SMV), 38.4% drained into the splenic vein (SPV), 9.4% drained into the SMV–SPV junction, and only 2.3% drained into the first jejunal vein (J1V). Above the root of the left colic artery (LCA), 13.1% of IMVs had no branches, 50.1% had one, 30.1% had two, and 6.7% had three or more branches. Two patients had two main IMV branches, and ten had IMVs at the edge of the mesocolon with small branches. At the IMA root, 37.2% of LCAs overlapped with the IMV, with 34.0% being lateral, 16.9% distal, 8.7% medial, and both the marginal type of IMV and the persistent descending mesocolon (PDM) type represented 1.4%. MIP had an accuracy of 98.43%, and 3D reconstruction had an accuracy of 100%. Blood loss and operating time were significantly higher in the complex group compared to the simple group for IMA ligation (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: A comprehensive anatomical atlas of the IMA and IMV was provided. Complex IMA patterns were associated with increased bleeding and operating time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalization of head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) is an essential task in the research on virtual hearing. In this paper, a method based on sparse principal component analysis (SPCA) and sparse representation (SR) was proposed to personalize HRTFs. The fundamental assumption is that an equivalent sparse combination can express the same anthropometric parameters. SPCA was first used to reduce the dimensionality of three-dimensional anthropometric parameters, and the reduced physiological parameters were used to reconstruct a physiological parameter database. SR was performed on the reconstructed physiological parameters of all subjects. For each subject, SR was used on the anthropometric parameters that were consistent with those in the reconstruction database. The matching pursuit algorithm was used to obtain the subjects in the database that had the same SR as the subject, and the HRTFs of the matched subject were used as the HRTFs of the new subject. The effect of the proposed method was evaluated by spectral distortion. The results showed that the method did better than others regardless of whether the Chinese pilots' database or the CIPIC database was used, especially in the 0–8 kHz bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the image quality of breath-hold magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (BH-MRCP) and respiratory-gating MRCP (RG-MRCP), and to explore breathing curve–based factors and patient-related data affecting image quality. Methods: A total of 126 participants who underwent RG-MRCP and BH-MRCP on a 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner were enrolled from May to December 2021. The images were evaluated by three radiologists on a 5-point scale. Respiratory parameters were extracted from the breathing curves. The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the image quality between the two MRCPs. Logistic regression analyzes were performed to identify age, sex, abdominal pain, and breathing predictor variables of better image quality. Results: BH-MRCP performed better in visualizing intrahepatic bile ducts and overall image quality than RG-MRCP (p < 0.01). Factors predicting relatively good image quality included lower standard deviation of the respiratory amplitude (SDamp)-minimum-peak (odds ratio = 0.16, p < 0.01) for RG-MRCP and lower SDamp (OR = 0.69, p < 0.01) for BH-MRCP. Conclusions: BH-MRCP had significantly better overall image quality than RG-MRCP. Respiratory conditions exerted a significant impact on MRCP image quality, and parameters derived from the breathing curve could help predict the image quality of both sequences. Key Points: • Both breath-hold (BH) and respiratory-gating (RG) MRCP demonstrate satisfying image quality. • BH-GRASE-MRCP is significantly better than RG-MRCP at the group level, but not for every individual. • Respiratory conditions exert a significant impact on the image quality, and the breathing curve can help predict the image quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a superheat matching control method (SMCM) for a roll-bond photovoltaic-thermal heat pump (RB-PVT-HP) system is proposed to achieve adaptive control of the target superheat under different operating conditions. The target superheat was determined based on a comprehensive consideration of the stable running superheat and the optimally performing superheat of the system. The effectiveness of the SMCM was experimentally verified. The trigeneration performance tests of the system under the SMCM were conducted in the summer. Results show that the average deviation degrees of superheat were 0.48 °C and 2.09 °C in the heating and cooling processes, respectively. In the heating process, the average input power of the compressor, heating power and coefficient of performance of the system were 5.40 kW, 17.90 kW, and 3.31, respectively, across four days of continuous operation. The average photoelectric conversion efficiency, comprehensive energy output capacity and comprehensive performance of thermal-and-electrical generation were 14.19 %, 21.29 kW and 34.76 %, respectively, during daytime operation. In the cooling process, the average input power of the compressor, cooling power and energy efficiency ratio of the system were 3.82 kW, 7.72 kW, and 2.02, respectively, during nighttime operation. [Display omitted] • A superheat matching control method in a PVT heat pump system was proposed. • Optimum superheat quality was determined experimentally and theoretically. • Feasibility and stability of the system were verified on the long time basis. • Comprehensive performance of thermal-and-electrical generation was defined. • PTE and EER were respectively obtained to be 34.76 % and 2.02 during summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate head-related transfer function can improve the subjective auditory localization performance of a particular subject. This paper proposes a deep neural network model for reconstructing the head-related transfer function (HRTF) based on anthropometric parameters and the orientation of the sound source. The proposed model consists of three subnetworks, including a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) to process anthropometric parameters as input features and another network that takes the sound source position as input to serve as a marker. Finally, the outputs of these two networks are merged together as the input to a third network to estimate the HRTF. An objective method and a subjective method are proposed to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. For the objective evaluation, the root mean square error (RMSE) between the estimated HRTF and the measured HRTF is calculated. The results show that the proposed method performs better than a database matching method and a deep-neural-network-based method. In addition, the results of a sound localization test performed for the subjective evaluation show that the proposed method can localize sound sources with higher accuracy than the KEMAR dummy head HRTF or the DNN-based method. The objective and subjective results all show that the personalized HRTFs obtained using the proposed method perform well in HRTF reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method of head-related transfer function (HRTF) personalization was built to optimize new user matching in the HRTF database to enhance 3D virtual hearing. The method of modified sparse representation (MSR) treated the HRTF personalization for an incomer as the task of finding similar subjects in the HRTF database with sparse representation (SR) of the incomer’s anthropometric features under the assumption that the equivalent sparse combination expresses the same anthropometric features and HRTFs for virtual hearing. The correlations among principal component coefficients and all anthropometric parameters were calculated after principal component analysis of the HRTF database for the same orientation. A derived database of anthropometric parameters was reconstructed, and SR was performed for all subjects in the original HRTF database. When the SR of the incomer was best matched with that of a subject in the derived database, the HRTF of the matched subject was used for the incomer’s 3D virtual hearing. The effect of MSR HRTF personalization was evaluated by spectral distortion. The results showed that the proposed method performed better than the others with the Chinese pilots database and the CIPIC database, especially in the frequency range of 0–8 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a radiomics model in the preoperative differentiation of mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) and macrocystic serous cystadenoma (MaSCA) and to compare its diagnostic performance with conventional radiological model.Methods: 57 Patients (MCN = 31, MaSCA = 26) with preoperative multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scans were retrospectively included in this study. A radiological model was constructed from radiological features evaluated by radiologists. A radiomics model was constructed with high-dimensional quantitative features extracted from manually segmented volume of interests (VOIs). A combined model was constructed using both radiomics features and radiological features. The diagnostic performance of three models were assessed by the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and the calibration curves.Results: The radiological model yielded an AUC of 0.775, sensitivity of 74.2 %, specificity of 80.8, and accuracy of 77.2 %. The radiomics model yielded an AUC of 0.989, sensitivity of 93.6 %, specificity of 96.2 %, and accuracy of 94.7 %. The combined model yielded an AUC of 0.994, sensitivity of 96.8 %, specificity of 100 %, and accuracy of 98.2 %. Both combined model and radiomics model showed higher AUC, sensitivity, and accuracy than radiological model (all P <  .05). The combined model showed higher AUC than radiomics model, though no significant difference was found (P =  .41). The combined model showed better calibration than radiomics model (P =  .91 vs. P <  .001).Conclusions: Combined model which contained both radiomics features and radiological features outperformed radiomics model and radiological model in the preoperative differentiation of MCN and MaSCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An adaptive proportional-integral control method (APCM) of a direct expansion photovoltaic-thermal heat pump (DX-PVTHP) system is proposed. First, the APCM was adopted and the proportional and integral factors were determined by experiments. Then, a universal engineering model combined the 10-factor model and temperature prediction model is built. The initial electronic expansion valve (EEV) opening during start-up under different working conditions is predicted and the EEV opening under dramatic irradiance changes is corrected under the APCM. Multiple experiments were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the APCM and test the performance of DX-PVTHP system under the APCM. The results reveal that the stability of superheat improved under typical cloudy skies and the maximum overshoot value was 3.2 °C. The overshoot time percentage of superheat was 27.54% with a decrease of 36.12% relative to the conventional control method. Moreover, the average coefficient of performance and photoelectric conversion efficiency were 3.51 and 13.25% in household mode, and 3.16 and 13.78% in commercial mode. Furthermore, the comprehensive coefficient of heating and electricity generation (CHE) is proposed to evaluate the comprehensive coefficient of the DX-PVTHP system. The CHE of the system was obtained 34.92% in household mode and 32.83% in commercial mode. • An adaptive control method for photovoltaic-thermal heat pump was proposed. • Engineering model was used to predict the opening of electronic expansion valve. • Comprehensive coefficient of thermal and electricity generation was defined. • Overshoot of superheat was determined less than 3.2 °C under typical cloudy skies. • CHE of system was obtained 34.92% in household and 32.83% in commercial modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) is a T cell subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Typically, lymphoma rarely infiltrates vascular structure. In this article, we present a case of retroperitoneal ALK-positive ALCL with splenic venous tumor thrombosis. A 62-year-old patient presented to our institute with the symptoms of epigastric pain, abdominal distension, and reduced bowel movement. Physical examination indicated no enlarged peripheral lymph nodes or abdominal mass. Laboratory workup revealed granulocytosis, abnormal coagulation function, and normal level of lactic dehydrogenase (LDH). Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed a retroperitoneal mass with involvement of pancreas and duodenum and formation of splenic venous tumor thrombus. Ultrasonography-guided retroperitoneal lesion biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of ALK-positive ALCL. The patient was able to tolerate oral intake after two cycles of chemotherapy and showed no sign of lymphoma by positron emission tomography (PET)-CT after the fourth cycle of chemotherapy. In spite of its rarity, lymphoma should be taken into account as a differential diagnosis of other malignancies with tumor thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Photovoltaic thermal heat pump system engineering was constructed. • Heating performance of the system in different conditions in winter was studied. • Application simulation of the system in 12 typical cities was carried out. • Simulation of the system heating under variable operation conditions was conducted. An array arrangement strategy of photovoltaic thermal modules and a connection form of refrigerant pipeline were innovatively proposed by author's research group. Subsequently, the photovoltaic thermal heat pump system engineering was designed and constructed, and then the performance study of system heating in continuous operation and stage operation in winter was carried out in January 2021. During the system operation, the average coefficient of heating performance of the system was 2.95 in daytime stage operating, 2.55 in nighttime stage operating and 2.07 in continuous operating. To conduct the application simulation of photovoltaic thermal heat pump system, first the prediction model of system heating performance based on back propagation neural network was established and verified according to the operational parameters, then 12 cities of typical climate zone in China were selected to conduct operation simulation and performance prediction to analyze the regional applicability of the system, finally the performance prediction of system heating under variable working conditions was carried out to guide the design calculation of engineering application of photovoltaic thermal heat pump system engineering. It can be concluded that the system was more suitable for engineering application in cities of cold zone and hot summer and cold winter zone than that in severe cold zone. Besides that, the integration and operation optimization of system should be carried out to reduce the average temperature of the circulating hot water tank so that the energy efficiency of hot water system can be improved by 42%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The system engineering based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump was constructed. • A new idea for the energy-saving reconstruction of district heating was introduced. • The prediction model of system heating performance was established and optimized. • The equivalent electricity consumption of heating was defined. • The economic performance of energy-saving reconstruction was studied. Actively promoting the reconstruction of clean heating is the key direction of the "Planning for clean heating in winter in northern China (2017–2021)". The photovoltaic thermal heat pump system was introduced in this paper to improve the comprehensive energy efficiency and reduce the operation energy consumption of the heat source system, which provided a new idea for the energy saving reconstruction of clean district heating. In order to verify the feasibility of the energy saving reconstruction by photovoltaic thermal heat pump, following studies were carried out in this paper: First, the integrated energy system engineering based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump was constructed to study the heating performance of the system in winter. Subsequently, the prediction model of heating performance based on back propagation neural network was established and optimized to simulate the heating performance throughout the year. Then, the calculation model of district heating system was established and the evaluation method of system operation energy efficiency and economic performance based on "equivalent electricity consumption of heating" was introduced. Finally, a residential area of Dalian was taking as an example to study the economic performance of energy saving reconstruction of district heating system based on three conventional heat sources by photovoltaic thermal heat pump. The results showed that after the capacity expansion and energy saving reconstruction based on photovoltaic thermal heat pump were conducted, the payback period of energy saving reconstruction investment was 5 years. Besides, with the increase of the configuration ratio of photovoltaic in the system from 1 to 2, the payback period was further shortened to 3 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]