Thermodynamic analysis of a novel fossil-fuel–free energy storage system with a trans-critical carbon dioxide cycle and heat pump

This paper presents and analyzes a novel fossil-fuel–free trans-critical energy storage system that uses CO2 as the working fluid in a closed loop shuttled between two saline aquifers or caverns at different depths: one a low-pressure reservoir and the other a high-pressure reservoir. Thermal energy storage and a heat pump are adopted to eliminate the need for external natural gas for heating the CO2 entering the energy recovery turbines. We carefully analyze the energy storage and recovery processes to reveal the actual efficiency of the system. We also highlight thermodynamic and sensitivity analyses of the performance of this fossil-fuel–free trans-critical energy storage system based on a steady-state mathematical method. It is found that the fossil-fuel–free trans-critical CO2 energy storage system has good comprehensive thermodynamic performance. The exergy efficiency, round-trip efficiency, and energy storage efficiency are 67.89%, 66%, and 58.41%, and the energy generated of per unit storage volume is 2.12 kW·h/m3, and the main contribution to exergy destruction is the turbine reheater, from which we can quantify how performance can be improved. Moreover, with a higher energy storage and recovery pressure and lower pressure in the low-pressure reservoir, this novel system shows promising performance

Coil combination using linear deconvolution in k-space for phase imaging

Background: The combination of multi-channel data is a critical step for the imaging of phase and susceptibility contrast in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Magnitude-weighted phase combination methods often produce noise and aliasing artifacts in the magnitude images at accelerated imaging sceneries. To address this issue, an optimal coil combination method through deconvolution in k-space is proposed in this paper. Methods: The proposed method firstly employs the sum-of-squares and phase aligning method to yield a complex reference coil image which is then used to calculate the coil sensitivity and its Fourier transform. Then, the coil k-space combining weights is computed, taking into account the truncated frequency data of coil sensitivity and the acquired k-space data. Finally, combining the coil k-space data with the acquired weights generates the k-space data of proton distribution, with which both phase and magnitude information can be obtained straightforwardly. Both phantom and in vivo imaging experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Results: Compared with magnitude-weighted method and MCPC-C, the proposed method can alleviate the phase cancellation in coil combination, resulting in a less wrapped phase. Conclusions: The proposed method provides an effective and efficient approach to combine multiple coil image in parallel MRI reconstruction, and has potential to benefit routine clinical practice in the future

Simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of Tangkening granule using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)

This study was designed to establish the quality standard of Tangkening granule in order to effectively control the quality of this new Chinese traditional patent medicine in the process of production, in addition to ensure the good clinical application. Fructus gardenia, Herba gynostemmatis, Dioscorea batatas, and Polygonatum odoratum in Tangkening granule were identified by thin layer chromatography (TLC), and the content of geniposide was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A comprehensive validation of the method that included sensitivity, linearity, repeatability and recovery was conducted. The results show that this analytical method was simple and suitable for the original identification and quality control of this new Chinese traditional patent medicine.Key words: Tangkening granule, geniposide, quality standard, thin layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography

Switchable coupling between charge and flux qubits

We propose a hybrid quantum circuit with both charge and flux qubits connected to a large Josephson junction that gives rise to an effective inter-qubit coupling controlled by the external magnetic flux. This switchable inter-qubit coupling can be used to transfer back and forth an arbitrary superposition state between the charge qubit and the flux qubit working at the optimal point. The proposed hybrid circuit provides a promising quantum memory because the flux qubit at the optimal point can store the tranferred quantum state for a relatively long time.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Tissue-specific Accumulation of Flavonoids in Grape Berries is Related to Transcriptional Expression of VvF3′H and VvF3′5′H

The products and the related gene expression of flavonoid metabolism were examined in the skin and pulpof Yan73 (Vitis vinifera L. cv.) grapes, a teinturier variety cultivated in China, and the data were comparedwith those in the skin and pulp of Cabernet Sauvignon (Vitis vinifera L. cv.) grapes, a well-known redvariety. The results showed that, in comparison with the skins of Cabernet Sauvignon, the skins of Yan73berries were characterised by fewer types of flavonols and anthocyanins, a higher level of flavonoids,and a much lower percentage of 3′-hydroxylated flavonols. Flavonoid metabolism was also present in thepulp of Yan73, and the percentages of 3′-hydroxylated flavonols and 3′-hydroxylated flavan-3-ols weresignificantly higher than the percentages of their corresponding 3′,5′-hydroxylated forms. Only flavan-3-ols were found in the pulp of Cabernet Sauvignon. The expression of VvmybA1 exhibited a co-ordinationwith the accumulation of anthocyanins in the pulp of the teinturier cultivar, which showed great similarityto that in the skin. A good correlation was found between the expression of VvF3′H and 3′-hydroxylatedflavonoids, as well as between the expression of VvF3′5′H and 3′,5′-hydroxylated flavonoids in the skin andpulp of the grape berries. It is suggested that tissue-specific accumulation of flavonoids in grape berries isrelated to the transcriptional expression of VvF3′H and VvF3′5′H

Position-Based Multi-Agent Dynamics for Real-Time Crowd Simulation (MiG paper)

Exploiting the efficiency and stability of Position-Based Dynamics (PBD), we introduce a novel crowd simulation method that runs at interactive rates for hundreds of thousands of agents. Our method enables the detailed modeling of per-agent behavior in a Lagrangian formulation. We model short-range and long-range collision avoidance to simulate both sparse and dense crowds. On the particles representing agents, we formulate a set of positional constraints that can be readily integrated into a standard PBD solver. We augment the tentative particle motions with planning velocities to determine the preferred velocities of agents, and project the positions onto the constraint manifold to eliminate colliding configurations. The local short-range interaction is represented with collision and frictional contact between agents, as in the discrete simulation of granular materials. We incorporate a cohesion model for modeling collective behaviors and propose a new constraint for dealing with potential future collisions. Our new method is suitable for use in interactive games.Comment: 9 page

Dissociation of writing processes: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study on the neural substrates for the handwritten production of Chinese characters

Writing is an important way to communicate in everyday life because it can convey information over time and space, but its neural substrates remain poorly known. Although the neural basis of written language production has been investigated in alphabetic scripts, it has rarely been examined in nonalphabetic languages such as Chinese. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study explored the neural substrates of handwritten word production in Chinese and identified the brain regions sensitive to the psycholinguistic factors of word frequency and syllable frequency. To capture this, we contrasted neural activation in “writing” with “speaking plus drawing” and “watching plus drawing.” Word frequency (high, low) and syllable frequency (high, low) of the picture names were manipulated. Contrasts between the tasks showed that writing Chinese characters was mainly associated with brain activation in the left frontal and parietal cortex, whereas orthographic processing and the motor procedures necessary for handwritten production were also related to activation in the right frontal and parietal cortex as well as right putamen/thalamus. These results demonstrate that writing Chinese characters requires activation in bilateral cortical regions and the right putamen/thalamus. Our results also revealed no brain activation associated with the main effects of word frequency and syllable frequency as well as their interaction, which implies that word frequency and syllable frequency may not affect the writing of Chinese characters on a neural level

On scaling method to investigate high-speed over-tip-leakage flow at low-speed condition

Modern high-pressure turbine blades operate at high-speed conditions. The over-tipleakage (OTL) flow can be high-subsonic or even transonic. From the consideration of problem simplification and cost reduction, the OTL flow has been studied extensively in low-speed experiments. It has been assumed a redesigned low-speed blade profile with a matched blade loading should be sufficient to scale the high-speed OTL flow down to the low-speed condition. In this paper, the validity of this conventional scaling approach is computationally examined. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methodology was first validated by experimental data conducted in both high- and low-speed conditions. Detailed analyses on the OTL flows at high- and low-speed conditions indicate that, only matching the loading distribution with a redesigned blade cannot ensure the match of the aerodynamic performance at the low-speed condition with that at the high-speed condition. Specifically, the discrepancy in the peak tip leakage mass flux can be as high as 22%, and the total pressure loss at the low-speed condition is 6% higher than the highspeed case. An improved scaling method is proposed hereof. As an additional dimension variable, the tip clearance can also be "scaled" down from the high-speed to low-speed case to match the cross-tip pressure gradient between pressure and suction surfaces. The similarity in terms of the overall aerodynamic loss and local leakage flow distribution can be improved by adjusting the tip clearance, either uniformly or locally