Experimental Study of the Water Heating Performance of a Novel Tile-shaped Dual-function Solar Collector

AbstractSolar collectors are widely used in buildings for energy saving. However, the conventional solar collector does not match the tile roof of the building in appearance. To solve this problem, we propose a novel dual-function solar collector with tile-shaped Polymeric Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA) covers to match the roof appearance. This novel dual-function solar collector can provide hot air in winter and hot waterin other seasons, with high annual solar thermal utilization ratio. Experiments are conducted to investigate the performance of the tile-shaped collector. The efficiency of the novel tile-shaped dual-function solar collector varied from 53.2% to 69.1% in water heating mode in the test. The daily thermal efficiency of the water heating system with this tile-shaped collector system varied from 54.0% to 61.8%, while the daily thermal efficiency of the dual-function solar collector with semicircle covers varied from 44.7% to 59.2%, compared with the daily efficiency of the conventional dual-function solar collector without PMMA covers varied from 35.5% to 67.4%. It shows that the tile-shaped collector can greatly integrate the solar collector technology in to the local special feature buildings with slightly decrease of thermal efficiency

Development of Near-Isogenic Lines in a Parthenogenetically Reproduced Thrips Species, \u3cem\u3eFrankliniella occidentalis\u3c/em\u3e

Although near-isogenic lines (NILs) can standardize genetic backgrounds among individuals, it has never been applied in parthenogenetically reproduced animals. Here, through multiple rounds of backcrossing and spinosad screening, we generated spinosad resistant NILs in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), with a haplo-diploid reproduction system. The resultant F. occidentalis NIL-R strain maintained a resistance ratio over 30,000-fold, which was comparable to its parental resistant strain, Spin-R. More importantly, F. occidentalis NIL-R shared 98.90% genetic similarity with its susceptible parental strain Ivf03. By developing this toolset, we are able to segregate individual resistance and facilitate the mechanistic study of insecticide resistances in phloem-feeding arthropods, a group of devastating pest species reproducing sexually as well as asexually

Development of Near-Isogenic Lines in a Parthenogenetically Reproduced Thrips Species, \u3cem\u3eFrankliniella occidentalis\u3c/em\u3e

Although near-isogenic lines (NILs) can standardize genetic backgrounds among individuals, it has never been applied in parthenogenetically reproduced animals. Here, through multiple rounds of backcrossing and spinosad screening, we generated spinosad resistant NILs in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), with a haplo-diploid reproduction system. The resultant F. occidentalis NIL-R strain maintained a resistance ratio over 30,000-fold, which was comparable to its parental resistant strain, Spin-R. More importantly, F. occidentalis NIL-R shared 98.90% genetic similarity with its susceptible parental strain Ivf03. By developing this toolset, we are able to segregate individual resistance and facilitate the mechanistic study of insecticide resistances in phloem-feeding arthropods, a group of devastating pest species reproducing sexually as well as asexually

Query-dominant User Interest Network for Large-Scale Search Ranking

Historical behaviors have shown great effect and potential in various prediction tasks, including recommendation and information retrieval. The overall historical behaviors are various but noisy while search behaviors are always sparse. Most existing approaches in personalized search ranking adopt the sparse search behaviors to learn representation with bottleneck, which do not sufficiently exploit the crucial long-term interest. In fact, there is no doubt that user long-term interest is various but noisy for instant search, and how to exploit it well still remains an open problem. To tackle this problem, in this work, we propose a novel model named Query-dominant user Interest Network (QIN), including two cascade units to filter the raw user behaviors and reweigh the behavior subsequences. Specifically, we propose a relevance search unit (RSU), which aims to search a subsequence relevant to the query first and then search the sub-subsequences relevant to the target item. These items are then fed into an attention unit called Fused Attention Unit (FAU). It should be able to calculate attention scores from the ID field and attribute field separately, and then adaptively fuse the item embedding and content embedding based on the user engagement of past period. Extensive experiments and ablation studies on real-world datasets demonstrate the superiority of our model over state-of-the-art methods. The QIN now has been successfully deployed on Kuaishou search, an online video search platform, and obtained 7.6% improvement on CTR.Comment: 10 page

Partially bonded aluminum site on the external surface of post-treated Au/ZSM-5 enhances methane oxidation to oxygenates

Au nanoparticles supported on the exterior surface of the ZSM-5 zeolite (Au/ZSM-5) have shown the ability to partially oxidize methane to methanol and acetic acid. However, further improvements to the catalyst activity are required. This study investigates the effect of modifying the acidic properties of the ZSM-5 support through a desilication–recrystallization (DR) process on the activity of Au/ZSM-5 catalysts toward methane oxidation. A DR treatment of 24 h leads to a 50% higher oxygenate yield compared to the analogous catalyst prepared using the untreated support. Characterization using solid-state 27Al NMR and FTIR adsorption of pyridine and 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine reveals that DR induces framework dealumination and redistribution of Brønsted acid sites to the zeolite external surface. Two-dimensional 27Al MQMAS NMR further identifies partially coordinated framework Al sites on the zeolite surface, correlating with a higher oxygenate yield. These external acid sites help stabilize the Au nanoparticles, enhancing catalyst stability for methane partial oxidation

Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of HPV in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Northeast China

Background/Aims: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an etiological risk factor for a subset of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. HPV has been proven to be a powerful prognostic biomarker for oropharyngeal cancer, but its role in the larynx has not been explored in depth. Here, we sought to evaluate the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in patients with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) in northeast China. Methods: HPV DNA in specimens from 211 patients diagnosed with LSCC was analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization, and p16 overexpression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. p16 expression was scored positive if strong and diffuse nuclear and cytoplasmic staining was present in > 75% of tumor cells. Results: In this study, infection with HPV and p16 expression were not absolutely consistent. Among all patients, 132 (62.6%) were positive for HPV DNA (HPV+), while 23 (10.9%) were inconsistent for HPV and p16. Multivariate analysis indicated that HPV, but not p16, is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival in LSCC. Overall survival was significantly improved in HPV+ LSCC patients compared with the HPV-negative group (hazard ratio, 0.395; 95% confidence interval, 0.185–0.843; p = 0.016). Among the 132 HPV+ patients, 28 (21.2%) were HPV-16 single infection. Conclusion: This study indicates that HPV DNA is a more reliable surrogate marker than p16 for the prediction of survival in patients with LSCC

Guard cell endomembrane Ca2+-ATPases underpin a ‘carbon memory’ of photosynthetic assimilation that impacts on water-use efficiency

Stomata of most plants close to preserve water when the demand for CO2 by photosynthesis is reduced. Stomatal responses are slow compared with photosynthesis, and this kinetic difference erodes assimilation and water-use efficiency under fluctuating light. Despite a deep knowledge of guard cells that regulate the stoma, efforts to enhance stomatal kinetics are limited by our understanding of its control by foliar CO2. Guided by mechanistic modelling that incorporates foliar CO2 diffusion and mesophyll photosynthesis, here we uncover a central role for endomembrane Ca2+ stores in guard cell responsiveness to fluctuating light and CO2. Modelling predicted and experiments demonstrated a delay in Ca2+ cycling that was enhanced by endomembrane Ca2+-ATPase mutants, altering stomatal conductance and reducing assimilation and water-use efficiency. Our findings illustrate the power of modelling to bridge the gap from the guard cell to whole-plant photosynthesis, and they demonstrate an unforeseen latency, or ‘carbon memory’, of guard cells that affects stomatal dynamics, photosynthesis and water-use efficiency

Methane conversion to methanol using Au/ZSM-5 is promoted by carbon

The oxidation of methane using molecular oxygen as the terminal oxidant, over a Au/ZSM-5 catalyst, has been previously shown to produce methanol and acetic acid as products. We now show that this reaction is significantly enhanced by the addition of a range of carbon additives. Isotopic 13C-labeled studies and corresponding investigation into the activity of the carbon materials alone reveal that nearly all the methanol produced is derived from methane oxidation, with a negligible contribution attributed to the carbon additives, while further study identified carbon as the primary source of acetic acid, which was observed as a minor product. Gas phase CO is not observed as a product in the reaction of Au/ZSM-5 with CH4 + O2, and in reactions with added CO, not all the CO is converted. We, therefore, conclude that the effect observed with the carbon additive is not due to the in situ production of gas phase CO as a reaction intermediate. Rather, we postulate that the effect derives from the oxidation of the surface of the carbon in the aqueous reaction mixture and the interaction of the oxidized carbon surface with Au/ZSM-5. The reactivity of carbon in this reaction at 240 °C is unexpected, and the presence of water is required to observe the effect

Experiments and Modeling on the Influence of Interfacial Tension on Imbibition Height of Low-Permeability Reservoir

Low-permeability reservoirs have tiny pores with winding and complicated pore throats. The oil recovery efficiency of low-permeability reservoirs can be enhanced through the displacement of reservoir oil through imbibition. In the present study, experiments were conducted to investigate variations in the imbibition height of hydrophilic and weakly-hydrophilic rock samples under different interfacial tensions. An imbibition model considering imbibition resistance and bending of pore throats was established based on fractal theory. According to the experimental results, variations in the imbibition height of low-permeability rock samples with time can be divided into three stages. In the first stage, the capillary force plays a dominant role, while the viscous force and gravity have very slight effects. The imbibition height first increases rapidly and then levels off to a constant rate. With the increase in interfacial tension, the imbibition rate in the first stage increases, the ultimate imbibition height increases initially and then decreases, and the contribution of the imbibition height in the first stage to the ultimate imbibition height becomes greater. There is an optimal interfacial tension that causes the ultimate imbibition height to reach its maximum. The calculated results obtained from the proposed imbibition model are consistent with the experimental results, indicating that the model can accurately reflect the change in the imbibition height in low-permeability reservoirs in the first stage