Mathematical Modeling of Drying Processes of Selected Fruits and Vegetables

This study investigates the behavior of fruit and vegetable samples during drying. The experimental data are fitted to several different thin-layer drying models. Regression analysis is used to determine model parameters, while statistical indicators serve to evaluate the goodness of fit. The power function model gives the best fit for all examined samples. Based on this model, different drying and heat storage technologies can be combined to ensure that the required residual moisture content of an agricultural product is reached. It is demonstrated on the case of a specific Togolese processing plant that under favorable conditions, fossil fuel consumption can be decreased by 33 %.     

Facile preparation and strong adhesive strength of honeycomb polyurethane films with small pore diameter

With the continuous development of bionics, such as, geckos and virginia creeper with both superhydrophobic and super-adhesive, the surface wetting and super-adhesive properties of various porous materials have attracted extensive attention of the scientific and medical communities. Here, the honeycomb polyurethane (PU) porous films with strong adhesion were successfully prepared by microphase separation method and the effects of growth parameters on their microstructure and adhesive strength to ice were investigated. It was found that a high relative humidity (e.g., 100%) and a low solution concentration (e.g., 2%) facilitated the formation of ordered honeycomb PU porous films, and as-prepared PU pores with average pore diameter as small as 5 μm are better ordered and more uniform than these in related documents. Although the contact angle of water droplets on the surface of PU porous films increased from the premodification value of 85–130° to more than 160° after surface modification with polydopamine (PDA), the corresponding rolling angle remained approximately constant (180°), indicating that the surface of PU porous films has strong adhesion similar to geckos and virginia creeper. Furthermore, at lower temperature, the PU porous films exhibited the high adhesive strength of 142.13 kPa on ice, which was strongly dependent on the porous microstructures and surface compositions. The improved adhesive behavior to ice of honeycomb PU porous films modified with PDA provides new strategies for surface modification of materials and potential applications in medical domain.     

硬孔攻丝用高性能先端丝锥的设计及应用

热后硬孔攻丝螺纹变形量小、尺寸稳定、强度高。该工艺方法对刀具强度要求较高,使用普通高速钢丝锥和螺纹铣刀加工时,普通高速钢丝锥无法承受热后硬孔攻丝所产生的大扭矩而频繁折断,报废率较高,同时螺纹铣刀成本高,不适合大批量生产。针对热后硬孔攻丝工艺复杂、成本高的问题,专门设计了硬孔攻丝用高性能先端丝锥,解决硬孔攻丝难题,并与其他种类丝锥进行了切削力对比。     

Shotgun metagenomics of dust microbiome from flight deck and cabin in civil aviation aircraft

Microbial exposure is related to the health of passengers on commercial aircraft, but no studies characterized the microbial composition at the species level and identified their ecological determinants. We collected vacuum dust from floor and seat surfaces in flight decks and cabins of 18 aircraft, and amplification-free shotgun metagenomics was conducted to characterize the microbial composition. In total, 7437 microbial taxa were identified. The relative abundance for bacteria, eukaryote, viruses, and archaea was 96.9%, 1.8%, 0.3%, and 0.03%, respectively. The top bacterial species mainly derived from outdoor air and human skin included Sphingomonas, Corynebacterium, Micrococcus luteus, Variovorax paradoxus, Paracoccus dentrificans, and Propionibacterium acnes. The abundance of NIAID-defined pathogens was low, accounted for only 0.23% of total microbes. The microbial species and functional composition were structured by the indoor surface type (R² = 0.38, Adonis), followed by the manufacturer of the aircraft (R² = 0.12) and flight duration (R² = 0.07). Indoor surfaces affected species derived from different habitats; the abundance of dry skin and desiccated species was higher on textile surfaces, whereas the abundance of moist and oily skin species was higher on leather surfaces. The growth rates for most microbes were stopped and almost stopped.     

Edge induced band bending in van der Waals heterojunctions: A first principle study

Nano Research - The dangling bond free nature of two-dimensional (2D) material surface/interface makes van der Waals (vdW) heterostructure attractive for novel electronic and optoelectronic...     

Petroleum substitution, greenhouse gas emissions reduction and environmental benefits from the development of natural gas vehicles in China

This study develops a bottom-up model to quantitatively assess the comprehensive effects of replacing traditional petroleum-powered vehicles with natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in China based on an investigation of the direct energy consumption and critical air pollutant (CAP) emission intensity, life-cycle energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity of NGV fleets. The results indicate that, on average, there are no net energy savings from replacing a traditional fuel vehicle with an NGV. Interestingly, an NGV results in significant reductions in direct CAP and life-cycle GHG emissions compared to those of a traditional fuel vehicle, ranging from 61% to 76% and 12% to 29%, respectively. Due to the increasing use of natural gas as a vehicle fuel in China (i.e. approximately 28.2 billion cubic metres of natural gas in 2015), the total petroleum substituted with natural gas was approximately 23.8 million tonnes (Mt), which generated a GHG emission reduction of 16.9 Mt of CO₂ equivalent and a CAP emission reduction of 1.8 Mt in 2015. Given the significant contribution of NGVs, growing the NGV population in 2020 will further increase the petroleum substitution benefits and CAP and GHG emission reduction benefits by approximately 42.5 Mt of petroleum-based fuel, 3.1 Mt of CAPs and 28.0 Mt of GHGs. By 2030, these benefits will reach 81.5 Mt of traditional petroleum fuel, 5.6 Mt of CAPs and 50.5 Mt of GHGs, respectively.