Coherent spin dynamics of electrons and holes in CsPbBr3_3 perovskite crystals

The lead halide perovskites demonstrate huge potential for optoelectronic applications, high energy radiation detectors, light emitting devices and solar energy harvesting. Those materials exhibit strong spin-orbit coupling enabling efficient optical orientation of carrier spins in perovskite-based devices with performance controlled by a magnetic field. Perovskites are promising for spintronics due to substantial bulk and structure inversion asymmetry, however, their spin properties are not studied in detail. Here we show that elaborated time-resolved spectroscopy involving strong magnetic fields can be successfully used for perovskites. We perform a comprehensive study of high-quality CsPbBr$_3$ crystals by measuring the exciton and charge carrier $g$-factors, spin relaxation times and hyperfine interaction of carrier and nuclear spins by means of coherent spin dynamics. Owing to their "inverted" band structure, perovskites represent appealing model systems for semiconductor spintronics exploiting the valence band hole spins, while in conventional semiconductors the conduction band electrons are considered for spin functionality.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures + supplementary informatio

3D computational fluid dynamics study of a drying process in a can making industry

YesIn the drying process of a can making industry, the drying efficiency of a thermal drying oven can be improved by adjusting the volumetric air flow rate of the blower. To maximize drying efficiency, an optimal flow rate is needed. Consequently, a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to provide simulation according to the response of air velocity, air temperature and evaporated solvent concentration with respect to changes in volumetric air flow rate in the drying oven. An experimental study has been carried out to determine the evaporation rate of the solvent. To validate the models, the process data obtained from the CFD is compared with that obtained from actual data. In the accurate models, the simulation results demonstrate that the decrease in volumetric air flow rate provides no major discrepancy of the air velocity patterns in all dimensions and decreases the maximum temperature in the oven. Consequently, this decrease in volumetric air flow rate rapidly increases the evaporated solvent concentration in the beginning and then gradually decreases over the length of the oven. In addition, further reduction of the flow rate gives lower heat loss of the oven up to 83.67%.The authors would like to thank The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) under The Royal Golden Jubilee Ph.D. Program (PHD/0158/2550), The Institutional Research Grant (The Thailand Research Fund) (IRG 5780014) and Chulalongkorn University (Contract No. RES_57_411_21_076) for financial support to this work

Synthesis, Characterizations, and Recent Applications of the Silica-based Mobil Composition of Mesoporous Material: A Review

Silica-based mesoporous materials are a class of porous materials with unique characteristics such as ordered pore structure, large surface area, and large pore volume. This review covers the different types of porous material (zeolite and mesoporous) and the physical properties of mesoporous materials that make them valuable in industry. Mesoporous materials can be divided into two groups: silica-based mesoporous materials and non-silica-based mesoporous materials. The most well-known family of silica-based mesoporous materials is the Mesoporous Molecular Sieves family, which attracts attention because of its beneficial properties. The family includes three members that are differentiated based on their pore arrangement. In this review, the major applications of the Mobil Mesoporous Molecular Sieves family, such as catalysts, adsorbents, and drug delivery agents, have been surveyed. Furthermore, the synthesis of the Mesoporous Molecular Sieves materials, the silica sources, the importance of templates, and the mechanisms of the synthesis are discussed herein. Members of this material family are characterized by many physicochemical properties that are closely related to their high silica content, crystalline structure, and pore arrangement. Commonly, the members of this family have large surface areas, high pore volumes, small pore sizes, and narrow and uniform particle size distributions. These properties enable numerous industrial applications and opportunities for scientific studies to further develop existing materials or manufacture new ones

Devise of a W serpentine shape tube heat exchanger in a hard chromium electroplating process

YesIn a hard chromium electroplating process, a heat exchanger is employed to remove the heat produced from the high current intensity in an electroplating bath. Normally, a conventional U shape heat exchanger is installed in the bath but it provides low heat removal. Thus, this study designs a novel W serpentine shape heat exchanger with identical heat transfer area to the conventional one for increasing heat removal performance. The performance of the heat exchange is tested with various flow velocities in a cross-section in range of 1.6 to 2.4 m·s− 1. Mathematical models of this process have been formulated in order to simulate and evaluate the heat exchanger performance. The results show that the developed models give a good prediction of the plating solution and cooling water temperature and the novel heat exchanger provides better results at any flow velocity. In addition, the W serpentine shape heat exchanger has been implemented in a real hard chromium electroplating plant. Actual data collected have shown that the new design gives higher heat removal performance compared with the U shape heat exchanger with identical heat transfer area; it removes more heat out of the process than the conventional one of about 23%

Current Progress on the Microalgae-mediated Treatment of Pharmaceutical Active Compounds

Pharmaceutical active compounds (PACs) are under consideration due to their potential risk to human health and the ecosystem. Researchers are exploring economical and effective wastewater treatment methods to address these issues. Conventional wastewater treatment facilities cannot successfully remove PACs. The co-existence of several PACs and various microalgal species provides an opportunity for microalgae-based bioremediation of PACs. This review paper focuses primarily on antibacterial resistance genes (ARGS), removal of PACs through microalgal systems, essential factors influencing PACs removal, ecotoxicity of microalgae, bioprospecting strategy for microalgae, and challenges and future aspects for microalgae in PACs removal

Dynamic modelling and simulation of industrial scale multistage flash desalination process

YesMultistage Flash (MSF) desalination process is still a dominant process, especially in the Gulf region, to produce high quality freshwater. Although there has been energy price surge in recent years, MSF process will continue to operate in that region for some foreseeable future. The key challenge is how to make such processes still profitable. Understanding the dynamics of any processes under uncertainty and disturbances is very important to make a process operationally feasible and profitable. The main aim of this work is to understand the dynamics of industrial scale MSF process using high fidelity and reliable process model. For this purpose, a detailed dynamic model for the MSF process incorporating key and new features is developed and validated against the actual data of a large-scale seawater desalination plant. The model is then used to study the behaviour of large scale MSF processes for disturbances in steam temperature, feed temperature and the recycle brine flow rate. The simulation results show that the last stage requires a longer time to settle compared to the preceding stages. In addition, steam temperature shows insignificant influence on the performance ratio compared to the inlet seawater temperature and recycle brine flow rate. Furthermore, it is found that the productivity of plant can increase in the winter compared to that in the summer. However, this benefit comes at the expense of increased steam consumption in the winter, resulting in a low performance ratio

Bio-DME production based on conventional and CO2-enhanced gasification of biomass: A comparative study on exergy and environmental impacts

YesIn this study, a novel single-step synthesis of dimethyl ether (DME) based on CO2-enhanced biomass gasification was proposed and simulated using ASPEN PlusTM modelling. The exergetic and environmental evaluation was performed in comparison with a conventional system. It was found that the fuel energy efficiency, plant energy efficiency and plant exergetic efficiency of the CO2-enhanced system were better than those of the conventional system. The novel process produced 0.59 kg of DME per kg of gumwood with an overall plant energy efficiency of 65%, which were 28% and 5% higher than those of conventional systems, respectively. The overall exergetic efficiency of the CO2-enhanced system was also 7% higher. Exergetic analysis of each individual process unit in both the CO2-enhanced system and conventional systems showed that the largest loss occurred at gasification unit. However, the use of CO2 as gasifying agent resulted in a reduced loss at gasifier by 15%, indicating another advantage of the proposed system. In addition, the LCA analysis showed that the use of CO2 as gasifying agent could also result in less 21 environmental impacts compared with conventional systems, which subsequently made the CO2-22 enhanced system a promising option for a more environmental friendly synthesis of bio-DME.Part of this work is sponsored by Ningbo Bureau of Science and Technology under its Innovation Team Scheme (2012B82011) and Major R&D Programme (2012B10042)

Pesticide exposures in a malarious and predominantly farming area in Central Ghana

In areas where malaria is endemic, pesticides are widely deployed for vector control, which has contributed to reductions in malaria deaths. Pesticide use for agrarian purposes reduces pest populations, thus improving crop production and post-harvest losses. However, adverse health effects have been associated with pesticide exposure, ranging from skin irritation to neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Though misuse of these pesticides can lead to widespread potential dangers, the debilitating effects are usually underappreciated in many developing countries. To evaluate the pattern of pesticide usage among rural communities in the Kintampo area of Ghana, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1455 heads of households randomly sampled from among 29,073 households in the Kintampo Health and Demographic Surveillance System area of Ghana to estimate the prevalence of pesticide use and indications for use among this rural populace. Seventy-one percent (1040/1455) of household heads reported having used pesticides on either their farms or homes, most commonly for control of weeds (96.4%, 1003/1040) or insects (85.4%, 888/1040). Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was used by 22.9% (238/1040) of respondents. The majority of households who reported use of pesticides said women in their households assisted in the spraying efforts (69.3%, 721/1040); of these women, 50.8% (366/721) did so while carrying their babies on their backs. Only 28.9% (301/1040) of the study participants wore protective devices during pesticide applications. Frequent symptoms that were reported after spraying, included cough (32.3%; 336/1040), difficulty in breathing (26.7%; 278/1040) and skin irritation (39.0%; 406/1040). Pesticide use among community members in the Kintampo area of Ghana is common and its potential health impacts warrant further investigation.Key words: Pesticide, malaria, prevalence, Kintampo, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

Dynamic Profiling of β-Coronavirus 3CL Mpro Protease Ligand-Binding Sites

β-coronavirus (CoVs) alone has been responsible for three major global outbreaks in the 21st century. The current crisis has led to an urgent requirement to develop therapeutics. Even though a number of vaccines are available, alternative strategies targeting essential viral components are required as a backup against the emergence of lethal viral variants. One such target is the main protease (Mpro) that plays an indispensable role in viral replication. The availability of over 270 Mpro X-ray structures in complex with inhibitors provides unique insights into ligand-protein interactions. Herein, we provide a comprehensive comparison of all nonredundant ligand-binding sites available for SARS-CoV2, SARS-CoV, and MERS-CoV Mpro. Extensive adaptive sampling has been used to investigate structural conservation of ligand-binding sites using Markov state models (MSMs) and compare conformational dynamics employing convolutional variational auto-encoder-based deep learning. Our results indicate that not all ligand-binding sites are dynamically conserved despite high sequence and structural conservation across β-CoV homologs. This highlights the complexity in targeting all three Mpro enzymes with a single pan inhibitor