Experimental study of a compact unglazed Solar Thermal Facade (STF) for energy-efficient buildings

This paper presents a real-time experimental measurement of a novel compact unglazed solar thermal facade (STF) system at outdoor environment in Shanghai, China for about a whole summer week. It demonstrates the daily average solar thermal efficiency fluctuated from 40% to 45.5%. The overall result indicates the advantages of the STF with simple structure, low cost and high feasibility in architectural design for energy-efficient building application, especially at future district or city levels

Automatic compensation of thermal disturbances in machine tools

This study deals with a practical method of reducing the effects of thermal disturbances upon the accuracy of machine tools by controlled feed adjustment at the tool. The spatial displacement between the cutting tooI and the workpiece closely correlates with the temperature increase in the machine tool. The equation which describes the relation between the displacement and the temperature for a certain operating condition can be written as a linear combination of temperature values. One of the major conditions for the application of these equations is a good reproducibility of the thermal behaviour. The implementation of this method in a computerized numerical system is very simple. Experiments with lathes have shown that this way leads to reasonable results

An experimental investigation into resonance dry grinding of hardened steel and nickel alloys with element of MQL

Current policies on environmental issues put extra pressures on manufacturing processes to be resource efficient and eco-friendly. However, in grinding processes, large amounts of cutting fluids are used. These fluids are not environmental friendly thus require proper management before disposal with associated cost. Hence, this work sets to explore low-frequency vibration in grinding in order to improve coolant application in conventional grinding at the first stage with the aim to introduce this into high efficiency deep grinding (HEDG) at latter stage. An attempt is made to grind nickel alloys with minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) as oppose to flood cooling. To achieve this with minimum alterations to the machine tool, a piezo-driven workpiece holder was developed for surface grinding. This simple innovative workpiece holder allowed oscillating during actual grinding process. However, this paper presents the results of low-frequency oscillatory grinding in dry and near-dry conditions. The response of the machine tool spindle unit is presented alongside with the workpiece holder response. In this investigation, hardened steels and nickel alloys were ground with vibration assistance. The grinding forces are illustrated together with the surface finish. The wheel performance is given in terms of grinding ratio

Lipoxin A 4 (LxA 4 ) Promotes Reduction and Antibiotic Efficacy Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P aeruginosa) is an opportunistic bacterium commonly found in wound infections and airways of cystic fibrosis patients P aeruginosa readily forms biofilms which can reduce the efficacy of antibiotics used to eradicate the pathogen We have previously shown that a Specialized Pro resolving Mediator ( Lipoxin A 4 (LxA 4 is a quorum sensing inhibitor which can reduce P aeruginosa virulence In this study, we examined the direct actions of LxA 4 and RvD 2 on P aeruginosa biofilm formation and virulence gene expression The influence of LxA 4 on antibiotic efficacy and the combined effects on biofilm formation were also investigated LxA 4 and RvD 2 reduced P aeruginosa biofilm formation and virulence gene expression LxA 4 increased ciprofloxacin inhibition on biofilm formation but did not affect ciprofloxacin’s action on non adherent bacteria On the other hand, LxA 4 increased bacterial killing action of imipenem but did not affect imipenem’s action on biofilm We also found that LxA 4 can increase ciprofloxacin’s bacterial killing ability in established biofilm Together these results suggest that LxA 4 has direct effects on P aeruginosa biofilm formation and can increase antibiotic efficacy directly

Methods for reducing thermal influences on the accuracy of machine tools

As the automation of manufacturing process is increasing and because higher machining accuracy is mandatory the disturbance variables influencing the performance of machine tools must be controlled. This paper attempts to give a survey of the present knowledge of the thermal behaviour of machine tools. The effects of thermal disturbances are described and compared with other disturbances. Common methods for the investigation of the thermal behaviour are presented. The methods for reducing thermal disturbances are classified under different topics. Known methods are summarized

Proteasomal protein degradation: adaptation of cellular proteolysis with impact on virus-and cytokine-mediated damage of heart tissue during myocarditis

Viral myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle triggered by direct virus-induced cytolysis and immune response mechanisms with most severe consequences during early childhood. Acute and long-term manifestation of damaged heart tissue and disturbances of cardiac performance involve virus-triggered adverse activation of the immune response and both immunopathology, as well as, autoimmunity account for such immune-destructive processes. It is a matter of ongoing debate to what extent subclinical virus infection contributes to the debilitating sequela of the acute disease. In this review, we conceptualize the many functions of the proteasome in viral myocarditis and discuss the adaptation of this multi-catalytic protease complex together with its implications on the course of disease. Inhibition of proteasome function is already highly relevant as a strategy in treating various malignancies. However, cardiotoxicity and immune-related adverse effects have proven significant hurdles, representative of the target's wide-ranging functions. Thus, we further discuss the molecular details of proteasome-mediated activity of the immune response for virus-mediated inflammatory heart disease. We summarize how the spatiotemporal flexibility of the proteasome might be tackled for therapeutic purposes aiming to mitigate virus-mediated adverse activation of the immune response in the heart