Energetic and exergetic study for cross-corrugated membrane-based total recovery exchanger for ventilation

Indoor air quality is an important component of the air conditioning of buildings due to its major effect on the health of the occupants, thus the air supplied to these buildings by the ventilation system should be sufficient, clean and healthy. A most promising development was the heat recovery system which offers better thermal energy efficiency and comfort with adequate fresh air. An energetic and exergetic analysis has been conducted on a cross-corrugated membrane based total heat exchanger core for ventilation of single dwellings. In order to enhance the sensible and latent effectiveness of the heat and mass transfer intensification was achieved by selecting Polyethersulfone for the membrane material, and a cross-corrugation arrangement of different dimensions for the primary surface exchanger. The design was tested against a ventilation air volume flow rate for an individual household; from 85 to 100 m³/hr. The dimensions of the exchanger were based on the polymer core being developed by Redring-Xpelair, Peterborough UK, with core dimensions of width and length both 250 mm, and a range of heights 100 – 500 mm. The cross-corrugated design of the test core had triangular openings with pitch lengths of 5, 10 and 25 mm. The ambient conditions were for a cold and humid winter in the UK. The ambient temperature test values were 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 °C, and the inlet air velocities in the core were 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2 m/s, with Reynolds numbers not exceeding 2200. CFD studies were conducted to investigate the thermal-fluid performance of the core, the Transition-SST model was used in the simulations within ANSYS Fluent 17.1 software and was validated using experimental data in the literature. The proposed model performed successfully in this study and proved that it was compatible with the test conditions. The exergetic analysis was conducted using the IPSEpro modelling software, by creating a system consisting of membrane core, a domestic dwelling, fresh air and exhaust fans. The energetic analysis results were the basis of the IPSEpro modelling to determine the exergy, the exergetic efficiency and exergy destruction in the system. The study concluded from both the energetic and the exergetic analysis that the membrane based exchanger core showed promising performance as a total heat and moisture recovery application with sensible and latent effectiveness values varying from 65% to 82%; and exergetic efficiency values varying from 30% to 60%, depending on core geometry and ambient conditions. The chemical exergy was the dominant factor in the performance in all cases, and the membrane core had the highest exergy destruction percentage comparing to the other system components. Decreasing the pitch length of the exchanger core intensified its performance, the 5 mm case showed the best performance, but there are likely to be difficulties in manufacturing such a compact core. But, and more directly, its use would mean unpleasant compromises due to the extremely higher pressure drop across such a core even at low Reynolds numbers. The 10 mm case gave a better performance than the 25 mm, but not substantially different, therefore, the optimum choice lies between the better heat and mass transfer performance of the 10 mm case and the lower pressure drop and relative ease of manufacture of the 25 mm

A Closer Look at Precision Hard Turning of AISI4340: Multi-Objective Optimization for Simultaneous Low Surface Roughness and High Productivity

This article reports an extended investigation into the precision hard turning of AISI 4340 alloy steel when machined by two different types of inserts: wiper nose and conventional round nose. It provides a closer look at previously published work and aims at determining the optimal process parameters for simultaneously minimizing surface roughness and maximizing productivity. In the mathematical models developed by the authors, surface roughness at different cutting speeds, depths of cut and feed rates is treated as the objective function. Three robust multi-objective techniques, (1) multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA), (2) multi-objective Pareto search algorithm (MOPSA) and (3) multi-objective emperor penguin colony algorithm (MOEPCA), were used to determine the optimal turning parameters when either the wiper or the conventional insert is used, and the results were experimentally validated. To investigate the practicality of the optimization algorithms, two turning scenarios were used. These were the machining of the combustion chamber of a gun barrel, first with an average roughness (Ra) of 0.4 µm and then with 0.8 µm, under conditions of high productivity. In terms of the simultaneous achievement of both high surface quality and productivity in precision hard turning of AISI 4340 alloy steel, this work illustrates that MOPSA provides the best optimal solution for the wiper insert case, and MOEPCA results are the best for the conventional insert. Furthermore, the results extracted from Pareto front plots show that the wiper insert is capable of successfully meeting both the requirements of Ra values of 0.4 µm and 0.8 µm and high productivity. However, the conventional insert could not meet the 0.4 µm Ra requirement; the recorded global minimum was Ra = 0.454 µm, which reveals the superiority of the wiper compared to the conventional insert

Investigation and Statistical Analysis for Optimizing Surface Roughness, Cutting Forces, Temperature, and Productivity in Turning Grey Cast Iron

This paper investigated the influence of cutting parameters, including feed rate, cutting speed, tool nose radius, and wet or dry cutting conditions, on the resultant force, cutting edge/workpiece temperature, and surface roughness when turning grey cast iron. Results showed that increasing the feed rate increased the resultant force, cutting temperature, and surface roughness. At the same time, increasing the cutting speed and nose radius increased the cutting temperature, which in turn reduced the resultant force. For practical applications, basic mathematical calculations based on the sole effect of each parameter on the output of the experiments were used to estimate the extent of percentage increase in cutting temperature due to increasing feed rate, cutting speed, and nose radius. Similarly, the same approach was used to estimate the effect of increasing feed rate, cutting speed, and nose radius on average surface roughness. Results showed that increasing the feed rate increases the cutting temperature by 5 to 11% depending on the nose radius and cutting speed. On the other hand, increasing the cutting speed was found to have limited effect on cutting temperature with small nose radius whereas this effect increases with increasing the nose radius reaching about 11%. Increasing the nose radius also increases the cutting temperature, depending mainly on cutting speed, reaching a maximum of 21% at higher cutting speeds. Results also showed that increasing the feed rate increased the average surface roughness considerably to about 120% at high cutting speeds and a large nose radius. On the other hand, increasing the cutting speed and nose radius reduced the surface roughness (i.e., improved surface quality) by a maximum of 29 and 23%, respectively. In order to study the combined effects of the cutting parameters on the three responses, namely, the resultant cutting force, cutting temperature, and surface roughness, full factorial design and ANOVA were used, where it was found to be in good agreement with mathematical calculations. Additionally, the desirability function optimization tool was used to minimize the measured responses whilst maximizing the material removal rate

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE BASELINE GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE IN PERIAPICAL GRANULOMA AND PERIAPICAL WOUND HEALING AFTER SURGICAL ENDODONTIC TREATMENT

In this study, we have investigated the association between the baseline gene expression profile in periapical granuloma and periapical wound healing after surgical endodontic treatment. Twenty-seven patients aged between 15 and 57 years underwent periapical surgery. The retrieved periapical tissue sample was used for mRNA expression analysis of COL1A1, VTN, ITGA5, IL-4, TNF, ANGPT, VEGFA, and CTGF. All patients were recalled after 6 and 12 months for periapical healing evaluation. Healing was then correlated with baseline gene expression. Healing was observed in 15 patients at the end of 6 months, which increased to 21 patients after 12 months. Six patients showed no healing even after 12 months. Analysis of baseline expression levels of the tested genes with healing status showed the mean relative expression of VTN, VEGFA, ANGPT, TNF, and CTGF to be significantly different (p < 0.05) between the healing group (6 and 12 months) (72.99%) and the non-healing (94.42%) group. Periapical Index scores 3–5 exhibited a positive correlation with ITGA-5 expression. Overexpression of ANGPT and a strong positive correlation between ITGA5 and PAI scores in the non-healing group of patients may suggest these genes to be a potential prognostic biomarker for periapical wound non-healing after surgical endodontic treatment

Spatial Positioning of Immune Hotspots Reflects the Interplay between B and T Cells in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Beyond tertiary lymphoid structures, a significant number of immune-rich areas without germinal center-like structures are observed in non–small cell lung cancer. Here, we integrated transcriptomic data and digital pathology images to study the prognostic implications, spatial locations, and constitution of immune rich areas (immune hotspots) in a cohort of 935 patients with lung cancer from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A high intratumoral immune hotspot score, which measures the proportion of immune hotspots interfacing with tumor islands, was correlated with poor overall survival in lung squamous cell carcinoma but not in lung adenocarcinoma. Lung squamous cell carcinomas with high intratumoral immune hotspot scores were characterized by consistent upregulation of B-cell signatures. Spatial statistical analyses conducted on serial multiplex IHC slides further revealed that only 4.87% of peritumoral immune hotspots and 0.26% of intratumoral immune hotspots were tertiary lymphoid structures. Significantly lower densities of CD20+CXCR5+ and CD79b+ B cells and less diverse immune cell interactions were found in intratumoral immune hotspots compared with peritumoral immune hotspots. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the percentages of CD8+ T cells and T regulatory cells in intratumoral but not in peritumoral immune hotspots, with tertiary lymphoid structures excluded. These findings suggest that the intratumoral immune hotspots reflect an immunosuppressive niche compared with peritumoral immune hotspots, independent of the distribution of tertiary lymphoid structures. A balance toward increased intratumoral immune hotspots is indicative of a compromised antitumor immune response and poor outcome in lung squamous cell carcinoma

A collaborated genetic with lion optimization algorithms for improving the quality of forwarding in a vehicular ad-hoc network

Vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET) is dynamic and it works on various noteworthy applications in intelligent transportation systems (ITS). In general, routing overhead is more in the VANETs due to their properties. Hence, need to handle this issue to improve the performance of the VANETs. Also due to its dynamic nature collision occurs. Up till now, we have had immense complexity in developing the multi-constrained network with high quality of forwarding (QoF). To solve the difficulties especially to control the congestion this paper introduces an enhanced genetic algorithmbased lion optimization for QoF-based routing protocol (EGA-LOQRP) in the VANET network. Lion optimization routing protocol (LORP) is an optimization-based routing protocol that can able to control the network with a huge number of vehicles. An enhanced genetic algorithm (EGA) is employed here to find the best possible path for data transmission which leads to meeting the QoF. This will result in low packet loss, delay, and energy consumption of the network. The exhaustive simulation tests demonstrate that the EGA-LOQRP routing protocol improves performance effectively in the face of congestion and QoS assaults compared to the previous routing protocols like Ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV), ant colony optimization-AODV (ACO-AODV) and traffic aware segmentAODV (TAS-AODV)

A 70-W Asymmetrical Doherty Power Amplifier for 5G Base Stations

YesMuch attention has been paid to making 5G developments more en-ergy efficient, especially in view of the need for using high data rates with more complex modulation schemes within a limited bandwidth. The concept of the Doherty power amplifier for improving amplifier efficiency is explained in addi-tion to a case study of a 70W asymmetrical Doherty power Amplifier using two GaN HEMTs transistors with peak power ratings of 45W and 25W. The rationale for this choice of power ratio is discussed. The designed circuit works in the 3.4GHz frequency band with 200 MHz bandwidth. Rogers RO4350B substrate with dielectric constant εr=4.66 and thickness 0.035 mm is used. The perfor-mance analysis of the Doherty power amplifier is simulated using AWR MWO software. The simulated results showed that 54-64% drain efficiency has been achieved at 8 dB back-off within the specified bandwidth with an average gain of 10.7 dB

Spatial Positioning of Immune Hotspots Reflects the Interplay between B and T Cells in Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Beyond tertiary lymphoid structures, a significant number of immune rich areas without germinal center-like structures are observed in non-small cell lung cancer. Here, we integrated transcriptomic data and digital pathology images to study the prognostic implications, spatial locations, and constitution of immune rich areas (immune hotspots) in a cohort of 935 lung cancer patients from the TCGA. A high intratumoral immune hotspot score, which measures the proportion of immune hotspots interfacing with tumor islands, was correlated with poor overall survival in lung squamous cell carcinoma but not in lung adenocarcinoma. Lung squamous cell carcinomas with high intratumoral immune hotspot scores were characterized by consistent upregulation of B cell signatures. Spatial statistical analyses conducted on serial multiplex immunohistochemistry slides further revealed that only 4.87% of peritumoral immune hotspots and 0.26% of intratumoral immune hotspots were tertiary lymphoid structures. Significantly lower densities of CD20+CXCR5+ and CD79b+ B cells and less diverse immune cell interactions were found in intratumoral immune hotspots compared to peritumoral immune hotspots. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between the percentages of CD8+ T cells and T regulatory cells in intratumoral but not in peritumoral immune hotspots, with tertiary lymphoid structures excluded. These findings suggest that the intratumoral immune hotspots reflect an immunosuppressive niche compared to peritumoral immune hotspots, independent of the distribution of tertiary lymphoid structures. A balance towards increased intratumoral immune hotspots is indicative of a compromised anti-tumor immune response and poor outcome in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Effect of surgical experience and spine subspecialty on the reliability of the {AO} Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System

OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper was to determine the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility of the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System based on surgeon experience (&lt; 5 years, 5–10 years, 10–20 years, and &gt; 20 years) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine surgery, neurosurgery, and "other" surgery). METHODS A total of 11,601 assessments of upper cervical spine injuries were evaluated based on the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System. Reliability and reproducibility scores were obtained twice, with a 3-week time interval. Descriptive statistics were utilized to examine the percentage of accurately classified injuries, and Pearson’s chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used to screen for potentially relevant differences between study participants. Kappa coefficients (κ) determined the interobserver reliability and intraobserver reproducibility. RESULTS The intraobserver reproducibility was substantial for surgeon experience level (&lt; 5 years: 0.74 vs 5–10 years: 0.69 vs 10–20 years: 0.69 vs &gt; 20 years: 0.70) and surgical subspecialty (orthopedic spine: 0.71 vs neurosurgery: 0.69 vs other: 0.68). Furthermore, the interobserver reliability was substantial for all surgical experience groups on assessment 1 (&lt; 5 years: 0.67 vs 5–10 years: 0.62 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs &gt; 20 years: 0.62), and only surgeons with &gt; 20 years of experience did not have substantial reliability on assessment 2 (&lt; 5 years: 0.62 vs 5–10 years: 0.61 vs 10–20 years: 0.61 vs &gt; 20 years: 0.59). Orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons had substantial intraobserver reproducibility on both assessment 1 (0.64 vs 0.63) and assessment 2 (0.62 vs 0.63), while other surgeons had moderate reliability on assessment 1 (0.43) and fair reliability on assessment 2 (0.36). CONCLUSIONS The international reliability and reproducibility scores for the AO Spine Upper Cervical Injury Classification System demonstrated substantial intraobserver reproducibility and interobserver reliability regardless of surgical experience and spine subspecialty. These results support the global application of this classification system