The aim of this study is to discuss the experimental performance analysis and deep learning based modelling of moist sodium polyacrylate material (also known as Orbeez) in a closed-loop heat pump ...dryer using R-134a as a secondary fluid. The experiments are performed on different weights of Orbeez at a constant air flow rate to calculate different performance parameters like coefficient of performance of the heat pump, drying rate, heat transfer rate by condenser, moisture extraction rate, and specific moisture extraction rate. The higher test loads such as 6, 7, and 8 kg are found better in terms of maximum coefficient of performance (5.2–5.8) and heat transfer rate (0.56–0.64 kW). Similarly, the higher test loads such as 6, 7, and 8 kg yield the highest moisture extraction rate (∼0.66–0.75 kg/h), specific moisture extraction rate (∼2.15–2.27 kg/kWh), and weight reduction (∼91%). The water removal rate depends on the moisture diffusivity, and it increases with an increase in the drying air temperature and drying air velocity. In addition, a deep learning model considering the most influential dryer inlet conditions (air temperature, air relative humidity, and airflow rate), time, and weight as the input features to estimate the dryer outlet conditions and weight reduction for assessment of drying kinetics of the considered material. A high accuracy (coefficient of determination = 0.997) makes it a simple, cost effective, and reliable method to predict the drying performance of various materials with a closed loop heat pump dryer.
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•An advanced energy-efficient closed loop heat pump dryer system is proposed.•Investigated is a high moisture content material, Orbeez.•Higher test loads are better in terms of higher MER and SMER.•Higher test loads are better in terms of heat transfer rate and COP.•A deep learning model is proposed to assess the dryer performance.
Fabry disease is a treatable lysosomal storage disorder, which is often misdiagnosed or belatedly diagnosed.
To determine the disease incidence in the Taiwan Chinese population, a Fabry disease ...newborn screening study was initiated. A total of 110 027 newborns were screened by assaying the alpha-galactosidase A (alpha-Gal A) activity using dry blood spots. Low plasma alpha-Gal A activity and presence of a Fabry mutation was demonstrated in 45 neonates (3 females). Eight different mutations were identified, including 3 known missense mutations (R112H, A143T, and R356W), 4 novel missense mutations (G104V, M296L, G360C, and K391T), and one known intronic mutation (IVS4+919G-->A). The IVS4+919G-->A mutation was most common (82% of patients). A total of 20 maternal grandparents of infants harboring this intronic mutation were evaluated by echocardiography, mutation analysis and alpha-Gal A activity assay. The intronic mutation was found in 9 grandfathers and 11 grandmothers. Of these grandparents, 3 grandfathers (33%) but none of the grandmothers had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Additionally, 16 males who had been diagnosed with idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were screened by mutation analysis and alpha-Gal A activity; 4 (25%) showed deficient plasma alpha-Gal A activity in combination with the intronic mutation.
We found an unexpected high prevalence of the cardiac variant Fabry mutation IVS4+919G-->A among both newborns (approximately 1 in 1600 males) and patients with idiopathic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the Taiwan Chinese population. The early identification of undiagnosed patients allows timely therapeutic intervention providing a better clinical outcome.
Tissue angiogenesis is intimately regulated during embryogenesis and postnatal development. Defected angiogenesis contributes to aberrant development and is the main complication associated with ...ischemia-related diseases. We previously identified the increased expression of RUNX1T1 in umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial colony-forming cells (ECFCs) by gene expression microarray. However, the biological relevance of RUNX1T1 in endothelial lineage is not defined clearly. Here, we demonstrate RUNX1T1 regulates the survival, motility and tube forming capability of ECFCs and EA.hy926 endothelial cells by loss-and gain-of function assays, respectively. Second, embryonic vasculatures and quantity of bone marrow-derived angiogenic progenitors are found to be reduced in the established Runx1t1 heterozygous knockout mice. Finally, a central RUNX1T1-regulated signature is uncovered and VEGFA, BMP4 as well as TGF-β2 are demonstrated to mediate RUNX1T1-orchested angiogenic activities. Taken together, our results reveal that RUNX1T1 serves as a common angiogenic driver for vaculogenesis and functionality of endothelial lineage cells. Therefore, the discovery and application of pharmaceutical activators for RUNX1T1 will improve therapeutic efficacy toward ischemia by promoting neovascularization.
We previously presented the YM500 database, which contains >8000 small RNA sequencing (smRNA-seq) data sets and integrated analysis results for various cancer miRNome studies. In the updated YM500v3 ...database (http://ngs.ym.edu.tw/ym500/) presented herein, we not only focus on miRNAs but also on other functional small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs), such as PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), tRNA-derived fragments (tRFs), small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) and small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs). There is growing knowledge of the role of sncRNAs in gene regulation and tumorigenesis. We have also incorporated >10 000 cancer-related RNA-seq and >3000 more smRNA-seq data sets into the YM500v3 database. Furthermore, there are two main new sections, 'Survival' and 'Cancer', in this updated version. The 'Survival' section provides the survival analysis results in all cancer types or in a user-defined group of samples for a specific sncRNA. The 'Cancer' section provides the results of differential expression analyses, miRNA-gene interactions and cancer miRNA-related pathways. In the 'Expression' section, sncRNA expression profiles across cancer and sample types are newly provided. Cancer-related sncRNAs hold potential for both biotech applications and basic research.
An increase in renewable energy injected into the power system will directly cause a fluctuation in the overall voltage and frequency of the power system. Thus, renewable energy prediction accuracy ...becomes vital to maintaining good power dispatch efficiency and power grid operation security. This article compares the one-day-ahead PV power forecasting results of three models paired with three groups of weather data. Since the number, loss, and matching problem of weather data will all influence the training results of the model, a pre-processing data framework is proposed to solve the problem in this study. The models used are a deep learning algorithm-based artificial neural network (ANN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and gated recurrent unit (GRU). The weather data groups are Central Weather Bureau (CWB), local weather station (LWS), and hybrid data (the combination of CWB and LWS data). Compared to the other two groups, hybrid data showed a 5–8% improvement in measurements. In addition, when it comes to different weather conditions, the advantages of the LSTM model were highlighted. After further analysis, the LSTM model combined with hybrid data showed the most accurate measurements, which was proved through forecasting results for one month. Finally, the results indicate that when the amount of data is limited, using hybrid data and the five weather features is helpful for training the model. Accordingly, the proposed model shows better one-day-ahead PV forecasting.
Graphene oxide-based materials (GOBMs) have been widely explored as nano-reinforcements in cementitious composites due to their unique properties. Oxygen-containing functional groups in GOBMs are ...crucial for enhancing the microstructure of cementitious composites. A better comprehension of their surface chemistry and mechanisms is required to advance the potential applications in cementitious composites of functionalized GOBMs. However, the mechanism by which the oxygen-containing functional groups enhance the response of cementitious composites is still unclear, and controlling the surface chemistry of GOBMs is currently constrained. This review aims to investigate the reactions and mechanisms for functionalized GOBMs as additives incorporated in cement composites. A variety of GOBMs, including graphene oxide (GO), hydroxylated graphene (HO-G), edge-carboxylated graphene (ECG), edge-oxidized graphene oxide (EOGO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and GO/silane composite, are discussed with regard to their oxygen functional groups and interactions with the cement microstructure. This review provides insight into the potential benefits of using GOBMs as nano-reinforcements in cementitious composites. A better understanding of the surface chemistry and mechanisms of GOBMs will enable the development of more effective functionalization strategies and open up new possibilities for the design of high-performance cementitious composites.
The most frequent cancers among women worldwide. The mortality of cervical cancer has declined significantly primarily due to the widespread use of Pap smear tests as a screening test and therapeutic ...vaccination. However, cervical cancer still remains a severe disease among the female population, as the prognosis of metastatic cervical cancer is very poor.
In this study, we performed 2D-DIGE and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS to analyze differentially expressed proteins between HeLa and invasive HeLa-I5 cells..
According to our proteomics data, 68 differentially expressed proteins between the HeLa and HeLa-I5 cells were identified. One of these differentially expressed proteins, Progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1), was selected as a candidate for further studies. To correlate the role of PGRMC1 with cellular migration and cancer progression, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to knockdown the expression of PGRMC1. Similar function of PGRMC1 was also observed in two other cervical cancer lines, CaSki and ME-180.
PGRMC1 plays an essential role in regulating cancer progression and metastasis of cervical cancer cells, thus serving as a potential therapeutic target for cervical cancer.
•A model to predict the effect of lubricant on the refrigerant nucleate boiling performance.•Site-activation and detailed physical parameters with bubble dynamics is proposed in the model.•Polymer ...adsorption theory and energy gap concept is used to describe the effect of lubricant.•The lubricant appreciably changes interfacial energy upon metal-liquid and liquid-bubble interfaces.•The model is validated with R-134a/POE, and R-134a/PVE and R-1234ze/POE mixtures.
The present study proposes a rationally based model to investigate the influence of lubricant on the nucleate boiling characteristics of refrigerant-lubricant mixtures. This model is developed based on site-activation boiling mechanism along with detailed physical parameters in association with thermal and hydrodynamic processes, including waiting period for bubble incipience, bubble growth and departure period. Yet, the model also encompasses the polymer adsorption theory and energy gap concept to address the effect of lubricant with different chemical structure and physical property on the heat transfer phenomenon during each period of nucleate boiling individually. In addition, by using the partition function with Boltzmann energy distribution in different energy state, bubble density can be expressed in an analytic form to facilitate the calculation of heat transfer coefficient. Based on the proposed model, the presence of lubricant appreciably changes interfacial energy upon metal-liquid and liquid-bubble interfaces. The lubricant prefers lying on metal surface, thereby influencing surface coverage concentration when bubble is initiating. Such lubricant-rich layer near metal surface significantly alters the waiting period of nucleate boiling process, bubble size, growth and departure time, bubble density and superheat on heating surface. In essence, the presence of lubricant dramatically influences heat transfer performance. The proposed model is validated against some recent test data for R-134a/POE, R-1234ze/POE and R-134a/PVE refrigerant/lubricants mixtures.
This study uses the tree stumps of the three representative trees in Taiwan (Leucaena leucocephala, Syzygium samarangense, and Ziziphus jujuba) as the material source and recyclable oyster shell ...powder as an activator. A carbonization process for upgrading and recycling the tree stumps was developed with our homemade, digital-controlled, energy-saving carbonization system. First, the tree stumps are carbonized at a medium temperature of 500 °C and then heated to 900 °C for high-temperature carbonization, followed by the activation procedure as required. With our method, we can produce biochar with a high proportion of fixed carbon and a high proportion of meso- and macropores while maximizing the yield of wood vinegar. The specific surface area of the meso- and macropores can reach up to 70 m2/g or more. The effect of different activation materials on the pore characteristics and specific surface area of biochar was carefully examined. It was found that both KOH and oyster shell powder is the ideal activator for producing biochar with a high proportion of meso- and macropores. The FTIR spectrum, CEC, and contents of the ordinary elements and heavy metals of the biochar were also reported. It is clear from the FTIR data that the absorption peaks of the overall spectrum of the three types of biochar after carbonization at high temperature are cleaner than those of biochar carbonized at low temperature. This research can promote the recycling of agricultural residues, enhance soil carbon sequestration, preserve fertilizers, and suppress diseases and pests, moving towards approaching the goal of net-zero carbon emissions.
To develop composite materials of biochar micro-coated soil beneficial microorganisms, soil samples were collected from the saline-alkali land of the Penghu in Taiwan. After isolation, purification ...and identification, a total of one Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and two Bacillus megaterium were identified as the source of beneficial microorganisms. The agricultural waste is collected and initially crushed, and then made into biochar through a series of thermal cracking processes. The specific surface area of biochar is more than 100 m2/g, the fixed carbon is more than 80%, the proportion of medium and large pores is more than 30%, the pH after adjustment is 7.3 ± 0.2, and the pore size of beneficial microorganisms grows inward, which is one of the beneficial microorganisms. The biochar micro-coated soil-beneficial microorganism composite material developed in this experiment can indeed help crops to overcome the stress of salt damage to a certain extent, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens can indeed promote plant growth and help crops effects of over-salting adversity.
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