Thermal optimisation of a built-in storage solar water heater

A simple transient analysis of a built-in storage solar water heater is presented; the results obtained by the present theory are in close agreement with experimental observations as well as with predictions obtained by a more rigorous theory. The water heater consits of an insulated rectangular tank whose top surface is suitably blackened by blackboard paint and then glazed. The unit is exposed to solar radiation during sunshine hours and is covered by adequate insulation at night. The effect of insulation thicknesses (top and bottom insulation) and water mass in the tank is discussed. The importance of using a reflecting sheet instead of insulation is emphasised.     

Hand-Gesture Computing for the Hearing and Speech Impaired

An instrumented data glove with a wireless interface provides convenient and natural human-computer interaction for people with speech or hearing impairments.     

Experimental and thermal analysis of energy efficient novel design wet cooling towers

Waste heat is generally dissipated from process water to atmospheric air in cooling towers. In the present study, a novel design is used to extract more amount of heat without any additional energy input by incorporating secondary ambient air in an induced draft wet cooling tower. In addition, more fresh air is induced in the tower from the rain zone, which increases the effectiveness at any value of the water to air flow rate (L/G ratio). Moreover, tower characteristics, range, and evaporation loss were also increased due to the novel design. It is noteworthy that secondary fresh air increases effectiveness, heat rejection, and tower characteristics by 10.12%, 19.65%, and 26.11%, respectively, and decreases approach by 16.32% at 0.55 L/G ratio, 44°C inlet water temperature, 29.7°C dry bulb temperature, and 18.4°C inlet air wet bulb temperature.     

Rational Structure-Based Design of Fluorescent Probes for Amyloid Folds

Amyloid fibrils are pathological hallmarks of various human diseases, including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or motor neurone disease), and prion diseases. Treatment of the amyloid diseases are hindered, among other factors, by timely detection and therefore, early detection of the amyloid fibrils would be beneficial for treatment against these disorders. Here, a small molecular fluorescent probe is reported that selectively recognize the fibrillar form of amyloid beta(1–42), α-synuclein, and HET-s(218–289) protein over their monomeric conformation. The rational design of the reporters relies on the well-known cross-β-sheet repetition motif, the key structural feature of amyloids.     

Ag2O–Al2O3–ZrO2 Trimetallic Nanocatalyst for High Performance Photodegradation of Nicosulfuron Herbicide

Topics in Catalysis - In the present study, Ag2O–Al2O3–ZrO2 based trimetallic oxide nanocatalyst was designed using simple microwave assisted reduction method. It was characterized...     

New insights into the mechanisms of carbon dioxide mineralization by portlandite

Portlandite (Ca(OH)₂; also known as calcium hydroxide or hydrated lime), an archetypal alkaline solid, interacts with carbon dioxide (CO₂) via a classic acid–base “carbonation” reaction to produce a salt (calcium carbonate: CaCO₃) that functions as a low-carbon cementation agent, and water. Herein, we revisit the effects of reaction temperature, relative humidity (RH), and CO₂ concentration on the carbonation of portlandite in the form of finely divided particulates and compacted monoliths. Special focus is paid to uncover the influences of the moisture state (i.e., the presence of adsorbed and/or liquid water), moisture content and the surface area-to-volume ratio (s_a/v, mm⁻¹) of reactants on the extent of carbonation. In general, increasing RH more significantly impacts the rate and thermodynamics of carbonation reactions, leading to high(er) conversion regardless of prior exposure history. This mitigated the effects (if any) of allegedly denser, less porous carbonate surface layers formed at lower RH. In monolithic compacts, microstructural (i.e., mass-transfer) constraints particularly hindered the progress of carbonation due to pore blocking by liquid water in compacts with limited surface area to volume ratios. These mechanistic insights into portlandite's carbonation inform processing routes for the production of cementation agents that seek to utilize CO₂ borne in dilute (≤30 mol%) post-combustion flue gas streams.     

Influence of soil density on gas permeability and water retention in soils amended with in-house produced biochar

Biochar has been used as an environment-friendly enhancer to improve the hydraulic properties(e.g.suction and water retention) of soil.However,variations in densities alter the properties of the soil-biochar mix.Such density variations are observed in agriculture(loosely compacted) and engineering(densely compacted) applications.The influence of biochar amendment on gas permeability of soil has been barely investigated,especially for soil with diffe rent densities.The maj or obj ective of this study is to investigate the water retention capacity,and gas permeability of biochar-amended soil(BAS) with different biochar contents under varying degree of compaction(DOC) conditions.In-house produced novel biochar was mixed with the soil at different amendment rates(i.e.biochar contents of 0%,5% and 10%).All BAS samples were compacted at three DOCs(65%,80% and 95%) in polyvinyl chloride(PVC)tubes.Each soil column was subjected to drying-wetting cycles,during which soil suction,water content,and gas permeability were measured.A simplified theoretical framework for estimating the void ratio of BAS was proposed.The experimental results reveal that the addition of biochar significantly decreased gas permeability k_g as compared with that of bare soil(BS).However,the addition of 5%biochar is found to be optimum in decreasing kg with an increase of DOC(i.e.k_(g,65%) k_(g,80%) k_(g,95%)) at a relatively low suction range(200 kPa) because both biochar and compaction treatment reduce the connected pores.     

A Potent,Selective CBX2 Chromodomain Ligand and Its Cellular Activity During Prostate Cancer Neuroendocrine Differentiation

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are epigenetic regulators that facilitate both embryonic development and cancer progression. PcG proteins form Polycomb repressive complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1 and PRC2). PRC2 trimethylates histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27me3), a histone mark recognized by the N-terminal chromodomain (ChD) of the CBX subunit of canonical PRC1. There are five PcG CBX paralogs in humans. CBX2 in particular is upregulated in a variety of cancers, particularly in advanced prostate cancers. Using CBX2 inhibitors to understand and target CBX2 in prostate cancer is highly desirable; however, high structural similarity among the CBX ChDs has been challenging for developing selective CBX ChD inhibitors. Here, we utilize selections of focused DNA encoded libraries (DELs) for the discovery of a selective CBX2 chromodomain probe, SW2_152F. SW2_152F binds to CBX2 ChD with a K_d of 80 nM and displays 24-1000-fold selectivity for CBX2 ChD over other CBX paralogs in vitro. SW2_152F is cell permeable, selectively inhibits CBX2 chromatin binding in cells, and blocks neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer cell lines in response to androgen deprivation.     

Voltage Assisted Control of Spin-Transfer Nano-Oscillators

The spin-transfer nano-oscillator(STNO) has recently acquired a huge amount of research interest, due to its promising easy tunability along with the miniature size. The output frequency control of an STNO through magnetic field and current has been examined almost to its full extent; however, there are issues that still need to be addressed. Here, we propose a novel way of voltage control of the output frequency of an STNO, and alongside reducing its power requirement.