Geometrical investigation of microchannel with two trapezoidal blocks subjected to laminar convective flows with and without boiling

Microchannels are important devices to improve the heat exchange in several engineering applications as heat, ventilation and air conditioning, microelectronic cooling, power generation systems and others. The present work performs a numerical study of a microchannel with two trapezoidal blocks subjected to laminar flows, aiming to analyze the influence of the boiling process on the geometric configuration of the microchannel. Constructal Design and Exhaustive Search are used for the geometrical evaluation of the blocks. The Mixture multi-phase model and the Lee phase change model were both employed for the numerical simulation of the boiling process. In this study, the influence of the height and higher width of the first block (H11/L11) over the heat transfer rate and pressure drop for different magnitudes of the ratio between the lower width and higher width (L12/L11) was investigated. It is considered water in monophase cases and water/vapor mixture for multiphase flow. Two different Reynolds numbers (ReH = 0.1 and 10.0) were investigated. Results indicated that, for the present thermal conditions, the consideration of boiling flows were not significant for prediction of optimal configurations. Results also showed that in the cases where the boiling process was enabled, the multi-objective performance was higher than in the cases without boiling, especially for ReH = 0.1.

Enhanced Air Stability of Perovskite Quantum Dots by Manganese Passivation

Organic-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (PeQDs) have attracted attention due to their excellent optical properties, e.g., high photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs; >70%), a narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM; 25 nm or less), and color tunability adjusted by the halide components in an entire tunability (from 450 nm to 730 nm). On the other hand, PeQD stability against air, humidity, and thermal conditions has still not been enough, which disturbs their application. To overcome these issues, with just a focus on the air stability, Mn2+ ion passivated perovskite quantum dots (Mn/MAPbBr3 QDs) were prepared. Mn2+ could be expected to contract the passivating layer against the air condition because the Mn2+ ion was changed to the oxidized Mn on PeQDs under the air conditions. In this research, Mn/MAPbBr3 QDs were successfully prepared by ligand-assisted reprecipitation (LARP) methods. Surprisingly, Mn/MAPbBr3 QD films showed more than double PLQY stability over 4 months compared with pure MAPbBr3 ones against the air, which suggested that oxidized Mn worked as a passivating layer. Improving the PeQD stability is significantly critical for their application.

Dependence of the Distribution and Structure of the White Mulberry (Morus alba) Population in Wrocław on the Intensity of Anthropopressure and Thermal Conditions

The selection of species which show the highest possible tolerance to negative habitat conditions, also among plants of foreign origin, is a pressing issue. One of the species we would like to recommend for planting in urban areas is the white mulberry species (Morus alba) due to both its outstanding adaptability and its ecosystem services. There are no reliable studies on the distribution of this species in urbanized areas in Poland, nor sufficient analyses of the methods of its renewal, both deliberate and spontaneous spread through self-seeding. Collecting data on the population of an alien species within individual regions and forecasting potential changes in the population’s size and structure, as well as its possible impacts on other organisms, is one of the basic measures to reduce biological invasions, which is one of the six priority objectives of the European Biodiversity Strategy and an element of the Strategy on Invasive Alien Species. The aim of this study was to determine the size and structure of the white mulberry population in the city of Wrocław and to analyse the relationship between this structure and intensity of anthropopressure and thermal conditions.

Genetic diversity in terrestrial subsurface ecosystems impacted by geological degassing

Earth’s mantle releases 38.7 ± 2.9 Tg/yr CO2 along with other reduced and oxidized gases to the atmosphere shaping microbial metabolism at volcanic sites across the globe, yet little is known about its impact on microbial life under non-thermal conditions. Here, we perform comparative metagenomics coupled to geochemical measurements of deep subsurface fluids from a cold-water geyser driven by mantle degassing. Key organisms belonging to uncultivated Candidatus Altiarchaeum show a global biogeographic pattern and site-specific adaptations shaped by gene loss and inter-kingdom horizontal gene transfer. Comparison of the geyser community to 16 other publicly available deep subsurface sites demonstrate a conservation of chemolithoautotrophic metabolism across sites. In silico replication measures suggest a linear relationship of bacterial replication with ecosystems depth with the exception of impacted sites, which show near surface characteristics. Our results suggest that subsurface ecosystems affected by geological degassing are hotspots for microbial life in the deep biosphere.

Land-sea Thermal Contrast in Relation With Summer Monsoon Onset Over the Chao Phraya River Basin

An earlier onset of the Southeast Asian summer monsoon (SAM) was observed over the Chao Phraya River basin in Thailand using Thai Meteorological Department (TMD)-derived high-resolution merged rainfall from 1981 to 2016. As the SAM is precipitous, its variability depends on many local and global factors, such as thermal conditions over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and Tibetan Plateau (TbT). Despite tremendous studies in the past, the role of thermal heat contrast over SAM is still not fully understood. Using the observation and reanalysis datasets, it was found that the absolute value of total heat over the BoB was higher. However, the interannual variability in total heat is higher over the TbT. Significant changes in surface temperature (±1.5°C), air thickness (±20 meters) and geopotential height found over the TbT were associated with early (late) SAM onset. The results also suggested that the significant changes in air thickness were influenced by the surface temperature difference over the TbT, and the changes in the integrated apparent heat source and integrated apparent moisture sink were up to ± 100 Wm−2, which resulted in stronger (weaker) convective activities over the BoB and mainland of the Indochina Peninsula during early (late) SAM onset. At the intraseasonal timescale, the instance MJO found over the Indian Ocean and Western Hemisphere at 4 to 10 days span during early SAM onset. An opposite scenario is found for a late SAM onset years with MJO location over Western Pacific and Maritime continent.

Comparison between Heat Flow Meter (HFM) and Thermometric (THM) Method for Building Wall Thermal Characterization: Latest Advances and Critical Review

It is well-known that on-site measurements are suitable for verifying the actual thermal performance of buildings. Performance assessed in situ, under actual thermal conditions, can substantially vary from the theoretical values. Therefore, experimental measurements are essential for better comprehending the thermal behavior of building components, by applying measurement systems and methods suitable to acquire data related to temperatures, heat flows and air speeds both related to the internal and external environments. These data can then be processed to compute performance indicators, such as the well-known thermal transmittance (U-value). This review aims at focusing on two experimental techniques: the widely used and standardized heat flow meter (HFM) method and the quite new thermometric (THM) method. Several scientific papers were analyzed to provide an overview on the latest advances related to these techniques, thus providing a focused critical review. This paper aims to be a valuable resource for academics and practitioners as it covers basic theory, in situ measurement equipment and criteria for sensor installation, errors, and new data post-processing methods.

Development of Real-time PCR Kit for Detection and Quantitation of Six Common Mutations A3243G, G3380A, A8344G, T8993G, T8993C, G11778A of Human Mitochondrial Genome

A procedure for production of a real-time PCR kit for detection and quantitation of 6 common mitochondrial genome mutations including A3243G, G3380A, A8344G, T8993G, T8993C, G11778A using fluorescent locked nucleic acid (LNA) Taqman probes was reported. The procedure consists of designing of specific primers and LNA probes, selection of master mixture components and real-time PCR thermal conditions. The produced kit had specificity of 100% and sensitivity ≥ 1% and remained fully active after 7 days of storage at 25 oC or 20 days at 4 oC or 6 months at -20 oC. The kit was used to analyze A3243G, G3380A, A8344G, T8993G, T8993C, G11778A mutations from 69 patients tentatively diagnosed with mitochondrial diseases and 3 cases of A3243G carriers (4.34%) was found. In these cases, the A3243G mutation was heteroplasmic, maternally inherited, and the heteroplasmy level was shown to be related to the symptome expression.tome expression.

Irreversible impact of early thermal conditions: an integrative study of developmental plasticity linked to mobility in a butterfly species

Within populations, phenotypic plasticity may allow adaptive phenotypic variation in response to selection generated by environmental heterogeneity. For instance, in multivoltine species, seasonal changes between and within generations may trigger morphological and physiological variation enhancing fitness under different environmental conditions. These seasonal changes may irreversibly affect adult phenotypes when experienced during development. Yet, the irreversible effects of developmental plasticity on adult morphology have rarely been linked to life-history traits even though they may affect different fitness components such as reproduction, mobility and self-maintenance. To address this issue, we raised larvae of Pieris napi butterflies under warm or cool conditions to subsequently compare adult performance in terms of reproduction performance (as assessed through fecundity), displacement capacity (as assessed through flight propensity and endurance) and self-maintenance (as assessed through the measurement of oxidative markers). As expected in ectotherms, individuals developed faster under warm conditions and were smaller than individuals developing under cool conditions. They also had more slender wings and showed a higher wing surface ratio. These morphological differences were associated with changes in the reproductive and flight performances of adults, as individuals developing under warm conditions laid fewer eggs and flew larger distances. Accordingly, the examination of their oxidative status suggested that individuals developing under warm conditions invested more strongly into self-maintenance than individuals developing under cool conditions (possibly at the expense of reproduction). Overall, our results indicate that developmental conditions have long-term consequences on several adult traits in butterflies. This plasticity likely acts on life history strategies for each generation to keep pace with seasonal variations and may facilitate acclimation processes in the context of climate change.