Advanced exergy analysis of waste‐based district heating options through case studies

The heating of the buildings, together with domestic hot water generation, is responsible for half of the total generated heating energy, which consumes half of the final energy demand. Meanwhile, district heating systems are a powerful option to meet this demand, with their significant potential and the experience accumulated over many years. The work described here deals with the conventional and advanced exergy performance assessments of the district heating system, using four different waste heat sources by the exhaust gas potentials of the selected plants (munici-pal solid waste cogeneration, thermal power, wastewater treatment, and cement production), with the real‐time data group based on numerical investigations. The simulated results based on conventional exergy analysis revealed that the priority should be given to heat exchanger (HE)‐I, with ex-ergy efficiency values from 0.39 to 0.58, followed by HE‐II and the pump with those from 0.48 to 0.78 and from 0.81 to 0.82, respectively. On the other hand, the simulated results based on advanced exergy analysis indicated that the exergy destruction was mostly avoidable for the pump (78.32– 78.56%) and mostly unavoidable for the heat exchangers (66.61–97.13%). Meanwhile, the exergy destruction was determined to be mainly originated from the component itself (endogenous), for the pump (97.50–99.45%) and heat exchangers (69.80–91.97%). When the real‐time implementation was considered, the functional exergy efficiency of the entire system was obtained to be linearly and inversely proportional to the pipeline length and the average ambient temperature, respec-tively

Evaluation of fractalkine (FKN) and secreted frizzled-related protein 4 (SFRP-4) serum levels in patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to compare serum levels of FKN and SFRP-4 in patients with normal glucose tolerance (NGT), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A total of 152 patients presented to the endocrinology outpatient clinic of our hospital were included in the study. Eighty-two patients with a history of T2DM were assigned to the T2DM group. IGT (n = 34) and NGT (n = 36) groups included the patients who received oral glucose tolerance test outcomes. RESULTS: Serum FKN levels were significantly higher in the IGT and T2DM groups compared to the NGT group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Serum SFRP-4 levels were significantly higher in the T2DM group compared to the IGT and NGT groups (p = 0.001 and p = 0.004, respectively). A significant correlation was observed between FKN and fasting glucose levels. SFRP-4 was significantly correlated with fasting glucose, HbA1c, and triglyceride levels. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, increased FKN levels in patients with IGT were demonstrated for the first time in this study. The results of our study support the opinion that FKN and SFRP-4 may contribute to the pathogenesis of T2DM (Tab. 1, Fig. 3, Ref. 23)

The Investigation of Treatment Effects on Serum Biochemical Parameters in Bladder Cancer Diseases

Objective: The most common cancer in smokers is bladder cancer (BC). Intravesical chemo immunotherapies are used to lower the risk of progression in patients who are at risk. Bacillus Calmette-Guerin immunotherapy is the most effective adjuvant therapy discovered. We aimed to evaluate the levels of arginine, citrulline, ornithine, symmetrically dimethylated arginine (SDMA), N-monomethyl-Larginine. (L-NMMA) or asymmetrically dimethylated arginine (ADMA) in patients with BC, as well as their relationship with methylarginine. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from all patients (n=30) and controls (group 1) prior to transurethral resection of bladder tumour (TURBT) (group 2), 20 days after TURBT (group 3) and at the end of intravesical immunotherapy 74 (group 4). The levels of serum methylated arginine were measured using ABSCIEX API 3200 tandem mass spectrometry system in positive ESI mode. Results: In comparison to group 2, group 1's ADMA and arginine/total methylated arginine levels were 98 significantly lower (p=0.035 and p=0.049, respectively), while SDMA/ADMA, L-NMMA and arginine/ADMA levels (p=0.001, p=0.008 and p=0.017) increased, and no statistical difference was found for other parameters (p>0.05). When compared to group 3, ADMA, arginine, citrulline, methylated arginines and L-NMMA levels in group 2 (p=0.035, p=0.001, p=0.015, p=0.032, p=0.032) increased, while SDMA/ADMA levels (p=0.041) decreased. Conclusion: The decrease in arginine and ADMA levels in non-muscle invasive BC patients is thought to be promising, and these markers may be useful in monitoring the diagnosis and treatment of patients