Analysis of Technical Efficiency, Economic Feasibility, and Environmental Impacts of using Solar Heating Installations for Buildings

This study aims to provide a clear vision of the potential of solar heating installations currently available in the market as a successful alternative to traditional methods, economic feasibility, and contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study involves using solar energy to provide the energy needed to heat a house in Warsaw. The solar installations were tested, and their performance was simulated and compared based on production quantity with cost and suitability for the climatic conditions of the study area. In addition to determining the best way to install solar panels by calculating optimal tilt and azimuth angles. The work methodology for designing a suitable solar system went in two directions; the first is using a solar thermal collector in direct heat generation, while the second is using photovoltaic panels to generate electricity to heat water by a water heater. All results were obtained through simulation work in RETScreen and PVGIS software. The results showed that solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels contributed to the annual energy demand by 40% and 43%, and the financial returns in case the conventional energy is electricity or natural gas are 715 and 252 EUR (for STC) and 765 and 269 EUR (for PV), respectively. It also reduced annual emissions by 2.36 and 2.53 tCO2. © 2023, International Journal of Renewable Energy Research. All Rights Reserved.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: FEUZ-2022-0031Funding from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University Program of Development within the Priority-2030 Program) is gratefully acknowledged: Grant Number FEUZ-2022-0031

Root cause and fatigue analysis of traction winch failures

This paper describes the investigation, analysis and proposed solutions to the problem of a regularly failing traction winch that resulted in significant and unacceptable downtime of crucial production machines. The winch's wire ropes fail on average about once a month. The reliability of the machine investigated is critical to the success of the business. A Root Cause Analysis (RCA) of the failing machine was conducted which identified the physical, human and latent root causes of the traction winch failures. The average number of cycles to failure for the wire ropes was only 1088 cycles (equating to approximately 24 days of service). Physical root causes were identified through theoretical fatigue analysis and visual inspection and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine the fracture surface of the failed wire ropes. The analysis indicated that there were extensive bending fatigue cracks leading to total rope failure. It was concluded that the leading physical root cause of the premature failure of the traction winch was the bending fatigue failure in the wire rope caused by the specification of an undersized sheave and drum in the traction winch design

Design and characteristics of cytotoxic fibroblast growth factor 1 conjugate for fibroblast growth factor receptor-targeted cancer therapy

Anna Szlachcic, Malgorzata Zakrzewska, Michal Lobocki, Piotr Jakimowicz, Jacek Otlewski Department of Protein Engineering, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland Abstract: Fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) are attractive candidate cancer therapy targets as they are overexpressed in multiple types of tumors, such as breast, prostate, bladder, and lung cancer. In this study, a natural ligand of FGFR, an engineered variant of fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1V), was conjugated to a potent cytotoxic drug, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), and used as a targeting agent for cancer cells overexpressing FGFRs, similar to antibodies in antibody–drug conjugates. The FGF1V–valine–citrulline–MMAE conjugate showed a favorable stability profile, bound FGFRs on the cell surface specifically, and efficiently released the drug (MMAE) upon cleavage by the lysosomal protease cathepsin B. Importantly, the conjugate showed a prominent cytotoxic effect toward cell lines expressing FGFR. FGF1V–vcMMAE was highly cytotoxic at concentrations even an order of magnitude lower than those found for free MMAE. This effect was FGFR-specific as cells lacking FGFR did not show any increased mortality. Keywords: fibroblast growth factor 1, FGF receptor, targeted cancer therapy, cytotoxic conjugates, FGFR-dependent cancer, MMAE, auristati

Bilateral transection of the lateral olfactory tract but not removal of the vomeronasal organs inhibits short-photoperiod-induced testicular regression in golden hamster

It is now known that removal of the olfactory bulbs increases basal gonadotropin secretion and prevents short-photoperiod-induced testicular regression in Syrian hamsters. The experiments described in the present paper were an attempt to determine which neuronal systems associated with the olfactory bulbs are responsible for this influence on the reproductive neuroendocrine axis. In the first experiment, removal of the vomeronasal organ failed to influence gonadotropin secretion or testes weight in hamster on long or short photoperiod, suggesting that the vomeronasal-accessory olfactory pathway is not individually responsible for the effect of the olfactory bulbs on gonadotropin secretion. In the second experiment, bilateral transection of the lateral olfactory tracts (LOT) did prevent short-photoperiod-induced testicular regression and the associated decrease in gonadotropin secretion. Since the nervus terminalis is confined to the surface of the medial olfactory bulb pathway, the results of LOT transection indicate that the nervus terminalis, which itself contains gonadotropin releasing hormone, does not mediate the influence of the olfactory bulbs on gonadotropin secretion. These results further suggest that the olfactory bulb influence on gonadotropin secretion is due to neural connections to the pyriform cortex, entorhinal cortex or amygdala.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/27962/1/0000393.pd