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BackgroundAlcohol abuse is a risk factor for bone damage and fracture‐related complications. Through precise β‐catenin signaling, canonical Wnt signaling plays a key role in fracture repair by promoting the differentiation of new bone and cartilage cells. In this study, we examined the effects of alcohol on the Wnt pathway in injured bone using a murine model of alcohol‐induced impaired fracture healing.MethodsMale C57Bl/6 or T cell factor (TCF)‐transgenic mice were administered 3 daily intraperitoneal doses of alcohol or saline. One hour following the final injection, mice were subjected to a stabilized, mid‐shaft tibial fracture. Injured and contralateral tibias were harvested at 6, 9, or 14 days post‐fracture for the analysis of biomechanical strength, callus tissue composition, and Wnt/β‐catenin signaling.ResultsAcute alcohol treatment was associated with a significant decrease in fracture callus volume, diameter, and biomechanical strength at day 14 post‐fracture. Histology revealed an alcohol‐related reduction in cartilage and bone formation at the fracture site, and that alcohol inhibited normal cartilage maturation. Acute alcohol exposure caused a significant 2.3‐fold increase in total β‐catenin protein at day 6 and a significant decrease of 53 and 56% at days 9 and 14, respectively. lacZ staining in β‐galactosidase‐expressing TCF‐transgenic mice revealed spatial and quantitative differences in Wnt‐specific transcriptional activation at day 6 in the alcohol group. Days 9 and 14 post‐fracture showed that acute alcohol exposure decreased Wnt transcriptional activation, which correlates with the modulation of total β‐catenin protein levels observed at these time points.ConclusionsAcute alcohol exposure resulted in significant impairment of fracture callus tissue formation, perturbation of the key Wnt pathway protein β‐catenin, and disruption of normal Wnt‐mediated transcription. These data suggest that the canonical Wnt pathway is a target for alcohol in bone and may partially explain why impaired fracture healing is observed in alcohol‐abusing individuals.

Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is an effective way to treat solid wastes with high moisture content. The co-hydrothermal liquefaction (co-HTL) experiments of oily scum and poplar sawdust biochar at the different hydrothermal temperatures were performed in this work. The changes of the appearance and components of the liquid products were comprehensively studied. The results showed that the addition of biochar into oily scum significantly reduced the moisture content of the residue hydrochars obtained after co-HTL. As the hydrothermal temperature increased, the liquid products obtained from co-HTL turned clearer and lighter in color, and the recovery rate of the liquid products significantly increased. The co-HTL of bi-ochar and oily scum could effectively improve the liquid quality and enhance the recovery rate of hydrochars. The carbon numbers of the liquid products obtained from co-HTL were concentrated in C5-C11, which were main compositions of gas-oline. This work can provide basic data and theoretical reference for oily scum efficient treatment and engineering practice.

A complete surveillance strategy for wind turbines requires both the condition monitoring (CM) of their mechanical components and the structural health monitoring (SHM) of their load-bearing structural elements (foundations, tower, and blades). Therefore, it spans both the civil and mechanical engineering fields. Several traditional and advanced non-destructive techniques (NDTs) have been proposed for both areas of application throughout the last years. These include visual inspection (VI), acoustic emissions (AEs), ultrasonic testing (UT), infrared thermography (IRT), radiographic testing (RT), electromagnetic testing (ET), oil monitoring, and many other methods. These NDTs can be performed by human personnel, robots, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); they can also be applied both for isolated wind turbines or systematically for whole onshore or offshore wind farms. These non-destructive approaches have been extensively reviewed here; more than 300 scientific articles, technical reports, and other documents are included in this review, encompassing all the main aspects of these survey strategies. Particular attention was dedicated to the latest developments in the last two decades (2000–2021). Highly influential research works, which received major attention from the scientific community, are highlighted and commented upon. Furthermore, for each strategy, a selection of relevant applications is reported by way of example, including newer and less developed strategies as well.

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Free cooling of buildings uses the nocturnal outdoor air as a heat sink via a ventilation process. This could be performed by storing the night coolness for use during the daytime as appropriate. Due to the latent heat capacity, phase change material (PCM) could play anessential role in the effective operation of the free cooling systems by shifting the daytime peak load to the night. However, there is a scarceness on the technology application in hot climates. This paper presents results of a parametric investigation into the application of PCMs as thermal energy storage (TES) to provide sustainable cooling to buildings in hot arid climate by making use of the night-time free cooling. The proposed TES medium comprises an arrangement of metallic modules filled with RT28HC PCM. Numerous geometrical configurations and operational parameters have been assessed. A transient CFD simulation has been employed using ANSYS Fluent software. Validation of the numerical results with experimental data has shown a good agreement. The results have demonstrated that the temperature difference between the PCM and the air, at appropriate air flow rate would have a significant impact on the performance of the system. A free cooling system based on the proposed arrangement has the potential to meet around 42% of a typical building cooling load and has the ability to save up to 67% of building cooling energy load in summer season compared to conventional air-conditioning systems in hot arid climates.

Decarbonizing the building sector is extremely important to mitigating climate change as the sector contributes 40% of the overall energy consumption and 36% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Net-zero energy buildings are one of the promising decarbonization attempts due to their potential of decreasing the use of energy and increasing the total share of renewable energy. To achieve a net-zero energy building, it is necessary to decrease the energy demand by applying efficiency enhancement measures and using renewable energy sources. Net-zero energy buildings can be classified into four models (Net-Zero Site Energy buildings, Net-Zero Emissions buildings, Net-Zero Source Energy buildings, and Net-Zero Cost Energy buildings). A variety of technical, financial, and environmental factors should be considered during the decision-making process of net-zero energy building development, justifying the use of multi-criteria decision analysis methods for the design of net-zero energy buildings. This paper also discussed the contributions of renewable energy generation (hydropower, wind energy, solar, heat pumps, and bioenergy) to the development of net-zero energy buildings and reviewed its role in tackling the decarbonization challenge. Cost-benefit analysis and life cycle assessment of building designs were reviewed to shape the priorities of future development. It is important to develop a universal decision instrument for optimum design and operation of net-zero energy buildings.

Currently active suspension system is more applicable than passive for improving the suspension performance, ensuring the stability and passenger safety in modern automotive suspension system. However, high energy consumption is one of the main disadvantages of implementing this system in real applications. In this paper, the energy consumption of electromagnetic actuators used for an active suspension system controlled by proportional-integral-derivative (PID), fuzzy adaptive PID, and neuron adaptive PID are investigated through simulation studies. Based on the energy consumption and the performance analysis, it has found that it is potential to develop a vibration energy recovery system to achieve the energy balance requirement in active suspension systems.

Pool boiling in porous media has been applied in various thermal management systems by using latent heat and increasing the heat transfer area and thermal conduction path to improve the heat transfer performance. In mechanical equipment, vibration is an inevitable problem due to reasons such as engine operation and high-speed relative motion between transmission system components, which causes the system components to be affected by vibration forces or vibration accelerations. This study focuses on a review of published articles about the effects of mechanical vibration on the characteristics of boiling process in porous media by two aspects: heat transfer performance and bubble dynamics. Heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and critical heat flux are two main parameters used to measure the boiling heat transfer characteristics of porous media. For bubble dynamics investigations, properties such as migration, fragment, coalescence, departure diameter and frequency are the focus of research attention. Different mechanical vibration parameters, i.e., direction, frequency, and amplitude, will have different effects on the above characteristics. It is worth mentioning that the greatest influence occurs under resonance conditions, and this has been verified through experimental and simulation calculations. This review highlights the importance of considering mechanical vibrations in the design and optimization of porous media systems for efficient heat transfer applications. Further research is warranted to explore the detailed mechanisms and optimize the vibration parameters for enhanced heat transfer performance in thermal management systems using porous media.

This study introduces novel phenothiazine-based organic dyes, 2-LBH-100, 2-LBH-44, and 2-Ryu-4, specifically designed for quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells (QsDSSCs). Employing a donor-π-acceptor architecture, these dyes incorporate varying electron-donating moieties, including bis(3-(hexyloxy)phenyl)amine and diphenylamino, coupled with a cyanoacrylic acid acceptor. Alkoxy substitutions in 2-LBH-100 and 2-LBH-44 enhanced solubility and dye loading on TiO2, leading to improved performance in QsDSSCs. 2-LBH-100 exhibited a power conversion efficiency (PCE) exceeding 5% with excellent stability, while 2-LBH-44 demonstrated a PCE of over 3%, increasing to 4% over time. 2-Ryu-4, with its diphenylamino donor, achieved an initial PCE of over 6%. This research highlights the crucial role of donor–acceptor interactions in optimizing organic dye design for high-performance QsDSSCs, paving the way for efficient and stable next-generation solar energy technologies.