Selection of metal hydrides-based thermal energy storage: Energy storage efficiency and density targets

Thermo-chemical energy storage based on metal hydrides has gained tremendous interest in solar heat storage applications such as concentrated solar power systems (CSP) and parabolic troughs. In such systems, two metal hydride beds are connected and operating in an alternative way as energy storage or hydrogen storage. However, the selection of metal hydrides is essential for a smooth operation of these CSP systems in terms of energy storage efficiency and density. In this study, thermal energy storage systems using metal hydrides are modeled and analyzed in detail using first law of thermodynamics. For these purpose, four conventional metal hydrides are selected namely LaNi₅, Mg, Mg₂Ni and Mg₂FeH₆. The comparison of performance is made in terms of volumetric energy storage and energy storage efficiency. The effects of operating conditions (temperature, hydrogen pressure and heat transfer fluid mass flow rates) and reactor design on the aforementioned performance metrics are studied and discussed in detail. The preliminary results showed that Mg-based hydrides store energy ranging from 1.3 to 2.4 GJ m^?3 while the energy storage can be as low as 30% due to their slow intrinsic kinetics. On the other hand, coupling Mg-based hydrides with LaNi₅ allow us to recover heat at a useful temperature above 330 K with low energy density ca.500 MJ m^?3 provided suitable operating conditions are selected. The results of this study will be helpful to screen out all potentially viable hydrides materials for heat storage applications.     

Metabolism of Storage Lipids and the Role of Lipid Droplets in the Yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

Storage lipids, triacylglycerols (TAG), and steryl esters (SE), are predominant constituents of lipid droplets (LD) in fungi. In several yeast species, metabolism of TAG and SE is linked to various cellular processes, including cell division, sporulation, apoptosis, response to stress, and lipotoxicity. In addition, TAG are an important source for the generation of value-added lipids for industrial and biomedical applications. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe is a widely used unicellular eukaryotic model organism. It is a powerful tractable system used to study various aspects of eukaryotic cellular and molecular biology. However, the knowledge of S. pombe neutral lipids metabolism is quite limited. In this review, we summarize and discuss the current knowledge of the homeostasis of storage lipids and of the role of LD in the fission yeast S. pombe with the aim to stimulate research of lipid metabolism and its connection with other essential cellular processes. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of fission yeast in lipid biotechnology and recent achievements in the use of S. pombe in the biotechnological production of valuable lipid compounds.     

A shift of the perceptual attributes of color due to the manifestation of the simultaneous contrast effect on a display

This research shows the effect of simultaneous contrast on a design solution that generates it, and it also shows how its manifestation affects the shift of perception attributes of the observer's color. In the conducted research, 55 subjects had to harmonize the primary stimuli from the reproduction obtained with the help of digital printing technology, with the primary stimuli presented on two computer screens. As a visual harmonization technique, simultaneous binocular harmonization was used. The primary stimuli were made achromatic, with a 50% Raster Tone value (RTV), and are surrounded by achromatic secondary stimuli whose values increase in steps from 10% RTV up to 100% RTV. A shift in the perceptual attributes of color has been shown with the help of the CIEDE2000 system. Using ANOVA with repeated-measures and Fisher's post hoc analysis, statistically significant differences were found between the perceived means of shift in the ΔC₀₀ chroma and ΔL₀₀ lightness on defined samples on both computer screens, while in the case of the ΔH₀₀ hue, no statistically significant differences were observed. The research also determined colorimetric differences in the ΔE₀₀ color difference. Moreover, the student's t test was used to determine that the effect is stronger when manifested on the Lenovo computer than on the Asus computer screen (P < .05).     

Dependence of Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit Performance on H-Oil Severity,Catalyst Activity,and Coke Selectivity

The effect of the quality of ebullated bed vacuum residue H-Oil hydrocracking gas oils cracked in a commercial fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) on its performance was studied. Six different catalysts were employed in this study. Four catalysts were tested in a commercial FCCU, and two in a laboratory FCCU. An increase of the H-Oil hydrocracker reaction temperature was associated with a decrease in the K_W factor of the H-Oil gas oils. The diminished K_W factor of H-Oil gas oils resulted in lower FCCU conversion and higher regenerator temperatures. The FCC conversion at maximum gasoline yield is best predicted by the feed K_W factor. The higher-activity, higher-Δcoke catalyst is unfavorable for FCCU performance because the excessive regenerator temperature excursions require reduction of the throughput.     

Cyp1 Inhibition Prevents Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy in a Zebrafish Heart-Failure Model

Doxorubicin is a highly effective chemotherapy agent used to treat many common malignancies. However, its use is limited by cardiotoxicity, and cumulative doses exponentially increase the risk of heart failure. To identify novel heart failure treatment targets, a zebrafish model of doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy was previously established for small-molecule screening. Using this model, several small molecules that prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity both in zebrafish and in mouse models have previously been identified. In this study, exploration of doxorubicin cardiotoxicity is expanded by screening 2271 small molecules from a proprietary, target-annotated tool compound collection. It is found that 120 small molecules can prevent doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, including 7 highly effective compounds. Of these, all seven exhibited inhibitory activity towards cytochrome P450 family 1 (CYP1). These results are consistent with previous findings, in which visnagin, a CYP1 inhibitor, also prevents doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Importantly, genetic mutation of cyp1a protected zebrafish against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity phenotypes. Together, these results provide strong evidence that CYP1 is an important contributor to doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and highlight the CYP1 pathway as a candidate therapeutic target for clinical cardioprotection.     

Multiple Chemical Features Impact Biological Performance Diversity of a Highly Active Natural Product-Inspired Library

A systematic, diversity-oriented synthesis approach was employed to access a natural product-inspired flavonoid library with diverse chemical features, including chemical properties, scaffold, stereochemistry, and appendages. Using Cell Painting, the effects of these diversity elements were evaluated, and multiple chemical features that predict biological performance diversity were identified. Scaffold identity appears to be the dominant predictor of performance diversity, but stereochemistry and appendages also contribute to a lesser degree. In addition, the diversity of chemical properties contributed to performance diversity, and the driving chemical property was dependent on the scaffold. These results highlight the importance of key chemical features that may inform the creation of small-molecule, performance-diverse libraries to improve the efficiency and success of high-throughput screening campaigns.     

Fluorescent Nanodiamonds Embedded in Biocompatible Translucent Shells

High pressure high temperature (HPHT) nanodiamonds (NDs) represent extremely promising materials for construction of fluorescent nanoprobes and nanosensors. However, some properties of bare NDs limit their direct use in these applications: they precipitate in biological solutions, only a limited set of bio‐orthogonal conjugation techniques is available and the accessible material is greatly polydisperse in shape. In this work, we encapsulate bright 30‐nm fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) in 10–20‐nm thick translucent (i.e., not altering FND fluorescence) silica shells, yielding monodisperse near‐spherical particles of mean diameter 66 nm. High yield modification of the shells with PEG chains stabilizes the particles in ionic solutions, making them applicable in biological environments. We further modify the opposite ends of PEG chains with fluorescent dyes or vectoring peptide using click chemistry. High conversion of this bio‐orthogonal coupling yielded circa 2000 dye or peptide molecules on a single FND. We demonstrate the superior properties of these particles by in vitro interaction with human prostate cancer cells: while bare nanodiamonds strongly aggregate in the buffer and adsorb onto the cell membrane, the shell encapsulated NDs do not adsorb nonspecifically and they penetrate inside the cells.     

Contribution of biomass burning to atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at three European background sites

Radiocarbon analysis of atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from three background areas in Sweden, Croatia, and Greece was performed to apportion their origin between fossil and biomass combustion. Diagnostic ratios of PAHs implied that wood and coal combustion was relatively more important in the northern European site, while combustion of fossil fuels was the dominant source of PAHs to the two central-southern European background sites. The radiocarbon content (delta14C) of atmospheric PAHs in Sweden ranged between -388 per thousand and -381 per thousand, while more depleted values were observed for Greece (-914 per thousand) and Croatia (-888 per thousand). Using a 14C isotopic mass balance model it was calculated that biomass burning contributes nearly 10% of the total PAH burden in the studied southern European atmosphere with fossil fuel combustion making up the 90% balance. In contrast, biomass burning contributes about 50% of total PAHs in the atmosphere at the Swedish site. Our results suggest that the relative contributions of biomass burning and fossil fuels to atmospheric PAHs may differ considerably between countries, and therefore, different national control strategies might be needed if a further reduction of these pollutants is to be achieved on a continental-global scale.