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Abstract This paper aims to present a feasibility study of the innovative plant for methanol synthesis from carbon dioxide-sequestered by fossil fuel power plant and hydrogen, which is produced by water electrolyzer employing the over-production on the electrical grid. The thermo-economic analysis is performed in the framework of the MefCO2 H2020 EU project and it is referred to the German economic scenario, properly taking into account the real market costs and cost functions for different components of the plant. Three different plant capacities for methanol production (4000 10,000 and 50,000 ton/year) have been investigated, assuming an average cost for electrical energy to feed electrolysers and analyzing the influence of the most significant parameters (oxygen selling option, methanol selling price and electrolysers’ capital cost) on the profitability of the plant. The analysis has been performed in W-ECoMP, software for the thermo-economic analysis and plant optimization developed by the University of Genoa.

Abstract In recent years living walls have increasingly spread, thus becoming a diffuse architectural envelope cladding technology. Consequently, a more precise understanding of their thermal behavior and impact on the building energy balance are needed. One of the most important effects provided by the use of living walls is the shading of the building envelope, with clear benefits during the cooling period. Furthermore, many features characterize the thermal behavior of living walls, namely plant species, leaf area index (LAI), evapotranspiration, emissivity and air cavity type. All these particular characteristics have been accounted in the mathematical model developed in the frame of the presented research, whose aim is to provide a tool for the prediction of the thermal behavior of living walls. Two kinds of living walls, one with grass and closed air cavity and the other one with vertical garden and open air cavity were considered. The results achieved by means of the developed model show a good agreement with the measurements also supported by model efficiency indexes such as Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency index (NSEC). Values of around 0.7 were obtained for the NSEC index for both the investigated living walls.

AbstractThe brief exposure of recently ovulated mouse oocytes to a dilute solution of ethanol in vitro for 1, 3, or 5 min induced a uniform high incidence of parthenogenetic activation. The majority of parthenogenones developed a single haploid pronucleus after the extrusion of a second polar body. The proportionate incidence of this parthenogenetic class was significantly reduced as the duration of ethanol exposure increased from 1 min to 5 min. There was a concomitant increase in the incidence of parthenogenones that developed two haploid pronuclei following failure of extrusion of the second polar body. Cytogenetic analysis of the ethanol‐induced single‐pronuclear haploid parthenogenones at metaphase of the first cleavage division clearly demonstrated that a significant proportion were aneuploid. The incidence of aneuploidy observed was directly related to the duration of ethanol exposure. G‐band analysis of the aneuploid metaphases revealed that the chromosomes were not randomly involved in the malsegregation events. This observation may be a reflection of the relationship of particular chromosomes to the meiotic spindle apparatus rather than on any specific property of the agent to which they were exposed. It is believed that ethanol disrupts the organisation of cytoskeletal elements and, in particular, interferes with the processes of chromosome segregation at the second meiotic division.

Abstract The rapid increase in energy demand and the limited resources of fossil fuel as well as the environmentally damaging effects, drive the world to find new options for sustainable electricity generation, which is represented by renewable energies. Concentrating solar power (CSP) is one of the most promising technologies in the field of electricity generation to tackle this issue with a competitive cost in the future. This paper presents an investigation of the potential of implementation of CSP plants in Libya. The socio-economic context, current energy situation of the country and different types of CSP plants are discussed. Moreover, an assessment of site parameters required for CSP plants including solar resources, land use and topography, water resources and grid connections are investigated in detail. In addition, thermo-economic simulation of a 50 MW parabolic trough power plant is performed. The simulation is conducted based on meteorological data measured by the weather station installed at the Centre for Solar Energy Research and Studies (CSERS) in Tajoura city. The performance results are compared with the reference plant Andasol-1 in Spain. Even though the proposed plant is located on the North coast where solar resources are at their minimum compared with other regions of the country, the outcome of the study proves that Libya is not only suitable but it can be economically competitive in the implementation of CSP technology.

Abstract An orange and an apple juice each containing 250–385 ppm tin were under suspicion of having caused an outbreak of food poisoning in Kuwait in 1967 but did not cause any toxic signs when fed to pigeons, cats and dogs. One cat out of 11 vomited when fed an orange juice containing 540 ppm tin derived from the container, and with juices containing 1370 ppm tin, 20–30% of the cats vomited but none of the dogs was affected. Fruit juices containing 2000 ppm tin caused vomiting in up to 40% of the cats. Modification of orange juices with a high tin content by addition of nitrate or ethanol or by adjustment of the pH from 3 to 6 did not affect the incidence of vomiting. No toxic signs were produced in rats given fruit juices containing added tin salts up to a level of 995 ppm or in rats and cats given aqueous solutions of tin salts (up to 1200 ppm tin) in citric acid. Solid foods containing tin derived from the containers up to the highest level obtainable (470 ppm) had no toxic effect when fed to dogs and cats. Five human volunteers showed no toxic signs after drinking fruit juices containing 498, 540 or 730 ppm tin derived from the containers, but all five had some gastro-intestinal disturbance after drinking a fruit juice containing 1370 ppm tin. A repeat experiment with the latter juice had no effect in four of the volunteers and only mild symptoms in the fifth. In rats and cats, there was no evidence of tin absorption 24 hr after ingestion of fruit juices containing high levels of tin. No tin was recovered from the urine and in the rats 99% was recovered from the faeces. Only minute amounts of tin could be found in the body, apart from the alimentary tract, of a rat that had been given orange juice with a high tin content ad lib. instead of drinking water for 7 days. It is concluded that toxic signs follow the drinking of tin-containing fruit juices by man and cats only with tin levels of approximately 1400 ppm and above, that there is no evidence from these experiments that toxicity is due to the absorption of tin and that the most likely cause is local irritation of the mucous membrane of the alimentary tract.

For zero‐defect wave soldering of double‐sided and multilayer printed circuit boards, the copper through‐hole‐plating must be impervious to gas generated in the laminate for the period of a few seconds while the solder is molten. The kinetics of the gas evolution during soldering have been related quantitatively to the integrity of the plated copper. This in turn is related to the quality of the electroless copper (evaluated using the backlighting test), the nature and distribution of the catalyst (evaluated using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and the methods and effectiveness of the hole‐wall preparation (evaluated using scanning electron microscopy). The relevance of laboratory measurements has been confirmed on a wide range of industrial production plating lines.

Abstract— The odd nucleoside 4‐thiouridine, which is present in position 8 of 70% of E. coli tRNAs, possesses unusual spectroscopic properties which make it suitable for intramolecular energy transfer studies. Both its luminescence excitation spectrum and the action spectrum (230–380 nm) for the 8–13 link formation have been established in native E. coli tRNA at room temperature. The spectra are identical and present a new unexpected peak around 260 nm. At this wavelength, they are amplified by a factor of nine as compared with the absorption and excitation spectra of the free nucleoside in aqueous solution.The origin of this new peak is discussed and it is concluded that energy transfer does occur from the common nucleosides to the 4‐thiouridine residue. Using the values of the nucleosides to 4‐thiouridine distances inferred from the sets of atomic coordinates obtained on yeast tRNAphe crystals, a satisfactory account of our finding can be obtained assuming singlet‐singlet energy transfer. The efficiency of the mechanism is probably favoured by a good overlap between the emission spectra of the common nucleosides and the absorption spectrum of 4‐thiouridine.