A comprehensive review of solar thermoelectric cooling systems

The negative environmental impacts of burning fossil fuels have forced the energy research community seriously to consider renewable sources, such as naturally available solar energy. This paper provides an overview of solar thermoelectric (TE) cooling systems. Thus, this review presents the details referring to TE cooling parameters and formulations of the performance indicators and focuses on the development of TE cooling systems in recent decade with particular attention on advances in materials and modeling and design approaches. Additionally, the TE cooling applications have been also reviewed in aspects of electronic cooling, domestic refrigeration, air conditioning, and power generation. Finally, the possibility of solar TE cooling technologies application in “nearly zero” energy buildings is briefly discussed, and some future research directions are included. This research shows that TE cooling systems have advantages over conventional cooling devices, including compact in size, light in weight, high reliability, no mechanical moving parts, no working fluid, being powered by direct current, and easily switching between cooling and heating modes.     

Synthesis and characterization of a titanium phosphate-tellurite glass for Faraday rotators

This work is focused on investigation of thermal, structural, optical, magnetic, and magneto-optical properties of novel titanium phosphate-tellurite glass applied as Faraday rotators. The glass belonging to the system 35Li₂O–10Al₂O₃–5TiO₂–45P₂O₅–5TeO₂ was prepared by a nonconventional wet route of raw materials processing, followed by melting-quenching-annealing steps. Some important physical properties of the investigated glass have been measured and calculated, providing knowledge related to glass compactness, electronic structure, glass forming capability, etc. XRD analysis evidenced an amorphous network structure of the investigated glass. The optical absorption in the Vis domain is mainly due to Ti³⁺ ions and Te₂ clusters formed during the glass melting process. A relatively low optical absorption is noticed over 600 nm that activates a significant Faraday magneto-optical effect. Photoluminescence bands in the blue, red, and infrared domains are observed, caused by Te₂ clusters formed during the glass melting process. The magnetization in dependency on applied magnetic field reveals a complex behavior of the glass, depending on temperature. Thus, it is found a ferromagnetic behavior up to 2000 Oe, a paramagnetic component up to 40 000 Oe, followed by a diamagnetic one over 40 000 Oe. Faraday rotation angle and Verdet constant values in the visible domain are correlated with the reduced TeO₂ content of the glass.     

Changing Microspatial Patterns of Sulfate-Reducing Microorganisms (SRM) during Cycling of Marine Stromatolite Mats

Microspatial arrangements of sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRM) in surface microbial mats (~1.5 mm) forming open marine stromatolites were investigated. Previous research revealed three different mat types associated with these stromatolites, each with a unique petrographic signature. Here we focused on comparing “non-lithifying” (Type-1) and “lithifying” (Type-2) mats. Our results revealed three major trends: (1) Molecular typing using the dsrA probe revealed a shift in the SRM community composition between Type-1 and Type-2 mats. Fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) coupled to confocal scanning-laser microscopy (CSLM)-based image analyses, and ³⁵SO₄ ²⁻-silver foil patterns showed that SRM were present in surfaces of both mat types, but in significantly (p < 0.05) higher abundances in Type-2 mats. Over 85% of SRM cells in the top 0.5 mm of Type-2 mats were contained in a dense 130 μm thick horizontal layer comprised of clusters of varying sizes; (2) Microspatial mapping revealed that locations of SRM and CaCO₃ precipitation were significantly correlated (p < 0.05); (3) Extracts from Type-2 mats contained acylhomoserine-lactones (C4-, C6-, oxo-C6 C7-, C8-, C10-, C12-, C14-AHLs) involved in cell-cell communication. Similar AHLs were produced by SRM mat-isolates. These trends suggest that development of a microspatially-organized SRM community is closely-associated with the hallmark transition of stromatolite surface mats from a non-lithifying to a lithifying state.     

阿德莱德的安利路：关于大城市地区中心大街环境中的适度折衷

安利路位于阿德莱德大城市地区南部近郊，它是澳大利亚大城市中相当常见的“中心大街”的一个缩影。本文通过南澳大利亚大学规划专业学生在社区调查基础上进行的项目研究，反映了安利路作为中心大街商业区的主要特征、对安利路形成竞争的因素、对安利路产生影响的问题，并探讨了从社区愿望出发对安利路进行改善的方法和管理战略。     

MS Binding Assays for D1 and D5 Dopamine Receptors

MS Binding Assays are a label‐free alternative to radioligand binding assays. They provide basically the same capabilities as the latter, but an unlabeled reporter ligand is used instead of a radioligand. The study presented herein describes the development of MS Binding Assays that address D₁ and D₅ dopamine receptors. A highly sensitive, rapid and robust LC–ESI‐MS/MS quantification method for the selective D₁ dopamine receptor antagonist SCH23390 ((5R)‐8‐chloro‐3‐methyl‐5‐phenyl‐1,2,4,5‐tetrahydro‐3‐benzazepin‐7‐ol) was established and validated, using its 8‐bromo analogue SKF83566 as an internal standard. This quantification method proved to be suitable for the characterization of SCH23390 binding to human D₁ and D₅ receptors. Following the concept of MS Binding Assays, saturation experiments for D₁ and D₅ receptors were performed, as well as competition experiments for D₁ receptors. The results obtained are in good agreement with results from radioligand binding assays and therefore indicate that the established MS Binding Assays addressing D₁ and D₅ receptors are well‐suited substitutes for radioligand binding assays, the technique that has so far dominated affinity determinations toward these targets.     

An effective heuristic for adaptive control of job sequences subject to variation in processing times

Variation in sequential task processing times is common in manufacturing systems. This type of disturbance challenges most scheduling methods since they cannot fundamentally change job sequences to adaptively control production performance as jobs enter the system because actual processing times, are not known in advance. Some research literature indicates that simple rules are more suitable than algorithmic scheduling methods for adaptive control. In this work, a ‘state space – average processing time’ (SS-APT) heuristic is proposed and compared to four most commonly used scheduling rules and two well-established heuristics based on Taillard’s benchmarks. It is shown that the adaptive control is made possible under variation in processing times given the flexibility and strong performance of the SS-APT heuristic, especially for work-in-process inventory control.     

Covalently-Bonded “Onion Type” Double Fullerenic Carbon Cages

Abstract

Three “onion type” double carbon cages (consisting of an inner sp³-hybridized C₆₀ buckminsterfullerene skeleton and an outer larger carbon cage with icosahedral symmetry, with covalent bonds between the carbon atoms of the 5-membered rings) are described and their strain energies are discussed: (i) when the outer cage is a C₁₂₀ cage derived from buckminsterfullerene by replacing each bond between two six-membered rings by an acetylenic group, the strain is smallest.; (ii) when the same derivation concerns each bond between 5- and 6-membered rings leading to a C₁₈₀ outer cage, the strain is largest.; (iii) when the outer cage is C₁₈₀ with benzenoid rings, the strain is intermediate.     

Hyperwelcome

Web page annotation and adaptive navigation support are two active, but independent research directions focused on the same goal: expanding the functionality of the Web as a hypertext system. The goal of the AnnotatEd system presented in this paper has been to integrate annotation and adaptive navigation support into a single value-added service where the components can reinforce each other and create new unique attributes. This paper describes the implementation of AnnotatEd from early prototypes to the current version, which has been explored in several contexts. We summarize some lessons we learned during the development process and which defined the current functionality of the system. We also present the results of several classroom studies of the system. These results demonstrate the importance of the browsing-based information access supported by AnnotatEd and the value of both the annotation and navigation support functionalities offered by the system.     

Multifunctional carbon nanotube coatings used as strain sensors for composite tanks

The modern strain sensors currently used in monitoring the structural properties of such tank structures suffer from a number of limitations, including a low level of sensitivity and detection. In this work, we present a novel method of structural monitoring utilizing a thin film of carbon nanotubes carefully deposited on carbon fiber composites. The nanotube film and raw material were first characterized via microscopy and spectroscopy techniques. Bowing of the tank wall was simulated by applying a three-point bend load test, which was found to strongly affect the electrical resistance of the carbon nanotube film. These measurements were very reproducible, as the film resistance returned to its original value each time that the load was slowly released. We believe that these highly sensitive carbon nanotube films are potential candidates as replacements for the current health-monitoring sensors.