Experimental investigation on a dual-mode thermochemical sorption energy storage system

A dual-mode seasonal solar thermochemical sorption energy storage system using working pair of expanded graphite/SrCl2-NH3 was constructed and investigated. Solar thermal energy is transformed into chemical bonds in summer, and the stored energy is released in the form of chemical reaction heat in winter. Two working modes are performed to produce heat with expected temperature according to the different ambient temperatures in winter. The direct heating supply mode is adopted at a relatively high ambient temperature. The effective energy storage density is higher than 700kJ/kg and the corresponding system COP is 0.41 when the heat output temperature and ambient temperature are 35oC and 15oC, respectively. The specific heating power increases with the decrease of heat output temperature for a given ambient temperature. The temperature-lift heating supply mode is adopted to upgrade the heat output temperature at a low ambient temperature below 0oC. It can produce heat with a temperature above 70 oC although the ambient temperature is as low as -15oC. It is desirable to further improve the system performance using low mass ratio and high global conversion. Experimental results showed the advanced dual-mode thermochemical sorption energy storage technology is feasible and effective for seasonal solar thermal energy storage

Danggui Buxue Tang – A Chinese herbal decoction activates the phosphorylations of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and estrogen receptor α in cultured MCF-7 cells

AbstractDanggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). The weight ratio of RA to RAS used in DBT must be 5:1 as stipulated as early as AD 1247; however, DBT’s mechanism of action has never been described. Here, the estrogenic effects of DBT were investigated by determining the phosphorylations of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (Erk1/2) in cultured MCF-7 cells. The application of DBT triggered the phosphorylation of ERα and Erk1/2 in a time-dependent manner. In contrast to the effect of estrogen, DBT triggered ERα phosphorylation at both S118 and S167. This DBT-specific phosphorylation was not triggered by an extract of one of the individual herbs, or by mixing the extracts of RA and RAS. DBT-induced downstream signals are described here. These signals suggest the uniqueness of this Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation

Assessment of soil erosion and conservation on agricultural sloping lands using plot data in the semi-arid hilly loess region of China

Study region: Semi-arid hilly loess region of China. Study focus: The objectives of this study were to investigate soil and water loss on agricultural sloping lands and to evaluate the effectiveness of soil conservation practices in controlling erosion using plot data. Runoff and soil loss were measured from the short slope plots (SSP) (7 m long) and the long slope plots (LSP) (20 m long) at various slope angles as well as from cropland and soil conservation plots (SCP) under natural rainfalls. New hydrological insights for the region: The results revealed that runoff per unit area slightly increased with slope angle on SSP, but reached a maximum at 15° and then decreased with slope angle on LSP. Soil loss per unit area increased with slope angle on both SSP and LSP. An average of 36.4% less runoff but only 3.6% less soil loss per unit area was produced on LSP than on SSP. The S factor calculated using the slope factor equations in USLE/RUSLE was significantly greater than that estimated from the measured soil loss on the plots. Rainstorms with recurrence intervals greater than 2 years were responsible for more than two thirds of the total soil and water loss. The effectiveness in reducing surface runoff by five types of conservation practices was mixed. However, all the conservation practices yielded much less soil loss than cropland

Large deformation and failure mechanism of plain woven composite in bias extension test

Large shear deformation of plain woven composite sheets and corresponding failure mechanism are investigated by bias extension test. Digital image correlation analysis was conducted on a series of photos taken during the test. Four typical phases were identified, and a theoretical model of the large deformation is proposed from energy point of view. Numerical simulations have also been carried out, but it will be reported in a subsequent paper

Wavelet-based fuzzy reasoning approach to power-quality disturbance recognition

This paper proposes a wavelet-based extended fuzzy reasoning approach to power-quality disturbance recognition and identification. To extract power-quality disturbance features, the energy distribution of the wavelet part at each decomposition level is introduced and its calculation mathematically established. Based on these features, rule bases are generated for extended fuzzy reasoning. The power-quality disturbance features are finally mapped into a real number, in terms of which different power-quality disturbance waveforms are classified. Numerical results obtained from a large database show that the disturbance waveforms such as high- and low-frequency capacitor switching, voltage sag, impulsive transient, transformer energizing, and perfect sine waveform can all be correctly identified. The effect of the amplitude and frequency content of power-quality disturbance on the energy distribution patterns and the effect of noise on classification accuracy are also discussed in the paper

Generative group activity analysis with quaternion descriptor

10.1007/978-3-642-17829-0_1Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)6524 LNCSPART 21-1