LBM investigation of a Cu-water nanofluid over various configurations of pipes in the mixed convection flow

Increasing the heat capacity of heat exchangers is a crucial need for modern devices. The thermal conductivity of the usual fluids and the Nusselt (Nu) number of flows containing such fluids are two bottlenecks in the way of increasing heat delivery in the heat exchangers. For this reason, nanofluids have been introduced. The effect of utilizing a Cu-water nanofluid as a coolant of two hot pipes in a square cavity is investigated numerically with a two-component lattice Boltzmann method. The volume fraction of nanoparticles is assumed to be constant (0.03) while the Richardson (Ri) number varies from 0.02 to 20. Results show that the effectiveness of nanoparticles is better observed in the natural convection mode. However, sedimentation is also very probable at high Ri numbers, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of the nanoparticles. Configurations which produce a natural convection stream similar to the forced convection one as well as the configurations with high spacing and hence, low heat stream interactions, are the best choices for a uniform heat rate from the pipes.     

Expression of Main Toll-Like Receptors in Patients with Different Types of Colorectal Polyps and Their Relationship with Gut Microbiota

Abnormal activation of Toll-like receptor (TLRs) signaling can result in colon cancer development. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of important TLRs in different histological types of colorectal polyps and evaluate their relationship with intestinal microbiota. The expression levels of TLR2, 3, 4, and 5 were analyzed in intestinal biopsy specimens of 21 hyperplastic polyp (HP), 16 sessile serrated adenoma (SSA), 29 tubular adenoma (TA), 21 villous/tubulovillous (VP/TVP) cases, and 31 normal controls. In addition, selected gut bacteria including Streptococcus bovis, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF), Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas spp., Lactobacillus spp., Roseburia spp., and Bifidobacterium spp. were quantified in fecal samples using absolute qRT PCR, and, finally, the association between TLRs and these gut microbiota- was evaluated by Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Higher expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in VP/TVP and TA, and lower expression levels of TLR3 and TLR5 in all type of polyps were observed. The differences in TLR expression patterns was not only dependent on the histology, location, size, and dysplasia grade of polyps but also related to the intestinal microbiota patterns. TLR2 and TLR4 expression was directly associated with the F. nucleatum, E. faecalis, S. bovis, Porphyromonas, and inversely to Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Roseburia quantity. Furthermore, TLR3 and TLR5 expression was directly associated with Bifidobacterium, Roseburia, and Lactobacillus quantity. Our results suggest a possible critical role of TLRs during colorectal polyp progression. An abnormal regulation of TLRs in relation to gut microbial quantity may contribute to carcinogenesis.     

Access point selection in the network of Internet of things (IoT) considering the strategic behavior of the things and users

The Journal of Supercomputing - With the expansion in the use of IoT, increasing the efficiency of these networks has become even more significant. Objects need reliable communications at suitable...     

A New Algorithm for the Elimination of Common Subexpressions in Hardware Implementation of Digital Filters by Using Genetic Programming

A new algorithm based on Genetic Programming (GP) for the problem of optimization of Multiple constant Multiplication (MCM) by Common Subexpression Elimination(CSE) is developed. This method is used for hardware optimization for DSP systems. A solution based on Genetic Programming is shown in this paper. The performance of the technique is demonstrated in one- and multi-dimensional digital filters with constant coefficients.     

On development of a finite dynamic element and solution of associated eigenproblem by a block Lanczos procedure

The paper first presents the details of the development of a new six-noded plane triangular finite dynamic element. A block Lanczos algorithm is developed next for the accurate and efficient solution of the quadratic matrix eigenvalue problem associated with the finite dynamic element formulation. The resulting computer program fully exploits matrix sparsity inherent in such a discretization and proves to be most efficient for the extraction of the usually required first few roots and vectors, including repeated ones. Most importantly, the present eigenproblem solution effort is shown to be comparable to that of the corresponding finite element analysis, thereby rendering the associated dynamic element method rather attractive owing to superior convergence characteristics of such elements, presented herein.     

Weekly storage of coolness in heavy brick and adobe walls

Weekly storage of coolness in heavy walls (walls with large thermal inertia or large characteristic time constants or low Fourier numbers) was investigated numerically by considering one-dimensional heat conduction through the walls. The study consisted of first analyzing the heat flow through a single wall and considering various boundary conditions on the inside. The boundary conditions were: constant inside air tempeture throughout the day, variable inside air temperature on a 24-hour cycle, and variable inside air temperature on a 48-hour cycle. Next, the heat flow through walls was studied through a thermal network analysis of a simple building. In this case it was assumed that the ambient air temperature (following a periodic distribution) was increased suddenly and followed this new distribution for many days thereafter.It was concluded that walls with high thermal inertia or time constant can store coolness for several days. The larger the time constant of the wall (for example adobe as compared with brick) the longer it takes for the wall temperature to reach a steady periodic distribution after the change has occurred. However, because of low thermal conductivity of adobe, the retrieval of the stored coolness in these walls is slow, and the mean daily temperature of the room air in the adobe building does not change appreciably beyond seven days after the change. Increase of the wall thickness beyond 50 cm does not improve the thermal performance of the building significantly.     

A generalized continuum theory for multiphase suspension flows

A continuum theory for multiphase particulate suspensions in a fluid media is formulated. The generalized fundamental balance laws for the particulate phases as well as for the continuous suspending fluid phase are presented. The thermodynamics of a multiphase system is studied and the method of Lagrangian multipliers is employed to include the constraints of incompressibility of materials of the constituents and the criterion for fully saturated media. Constitutive equations are developed which include microrotational and microdilatational effects. The basic equations of motion of different phases are derived and discussed. Special considerations are given to the case of incompressible constituents. Examples of applications of the present theory to dilute suspension flows and multiphase sedimentations are also discussed.     

Characterization of micromachined silicon rectangular waveguide at 400 GHz

We present the first characterization of a micromachined silicon rectangular waveguide at 400GHz. The silicon waveguide has an average loss of 0.086dB/mm for a range of 350-460GHz. The waveguides are formed using well known microfabrication techniques and demonstrate a successful first step towards the use of silicon waveguides as a viable option for THz systems.     

Effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles on the performance of gas diffusion electrodes for the oxygen reduction reaction

The effect of carbon surface oxidation on platinum supported carbon particles (Pt/C) with nitric acid was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, polarization experiments and chronoamperometry. Cyclic voltammograms, polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectra showed that the treated catalyst had much larger active surface area and higher ionic conductivity than the untreated catalyst, and provided enhanced performance for oxygen reduction. The formation of acidic groups was examined by IR spectra. The Pt/C surface oxidation had a large effect on the performance of a gas diffusion electrode for oxygen reduction reaction.