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Energy saving in buildings is a high-priority in developed countries as buildings are responsible for a substantial part of the energy consumption. Typically heating, cooling and artificial ventilation systems of a building are major consumer of energy. A validated Fortran 77 compiler program has been used to elaborate the influence of building orientation on building energy consumption. The amount of heat influx through windows on different oriented vertical walls for various direction has been compared and it has been found that heat gain through south oriented windows is maximum followed by East, West and North bound windows in a tropical climate of northern hemisphere. An experimentally designed, Programmable Logic Controller based movable exterior window shading device linked with sun path has been introduced through a validated TRNSYS building model to show the reduction in cooling load of a hospital building in tropical climate. The simulation study shows that maximum energy savings can be achieved in the month of June i.e. 14.9% and average energy savings is 9.8% annually by movable exterior window shading for a building in tropical climate. Through an economic analysis it has been established that the proposed exterior shading device is financially viable and the payback comes within 6 months. This study is useful for professionals who are responsible for decision-making during the design phase of energy-efficient buildings and can show a path for sustainable building design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role of shading devices in the improvement of energy efficiency of buildings in hot dusty and dry tropical regions. The effect of shading in reducing the energy consumption of buildings is investigated by considering a case study of a guest house chosen because of its logical design approach to reduce thermal loads. The building plan, measurements, and details on schedules of building usage activities have been used as input data to a simulation program of the building. Based on the inputs, a thermal building model is developed in TRNSYS 17 simulation program and the effect of external shading on the building has been explored. It is seen that building design and orientation determine the effectiveness of shading. Movable shading over windows has a significant impact reducing temperatures by about 1.5°C in each thermal zone. The difference in thermal energy loads of the building calculated from modeling simulations of the base case and the control case utilizing movable shading devices is approximately 8%. A programmable logic controllers (PLC)-based movable shading device has been designed to facilitate optimal shading control. The results enable us to draw inferences regarding the additional contribution of the shading factor in energy saving techniques for buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of core temperature is one of the crucial functionalities of the lithium-ion Battery Management System (BMS) towards providing effective thermal management, fault detection and operational safety. It is impractical to measure the core temperature of each cell using physical sensors, while at the same time implementing a complex core temperature estimation strategy in onboard low-cost BMS is also challenging due to high computational cost and the cost of implementation. Typically, a temperature estimation scheme consists of a heat generation model and a heat transfer model. Several researchers have already proposed ranges of thermal models with different levels of accuracy and complexity. Broadly, there are first-order and second-order heat resistor–capacitor-based thermal models of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for core and surface temperature estimation. This paper deals with a detailed comparative study between these two models using extensive laboratory test data and simulation study. The aim was to determine whether it is worth investing towards developing a second-order thermal model instead of a first-order model with respect to prediction accuracy considering the modeling complexity and experiments required. Both the thermal models along with the parameter estimation scheme were modeled and simulated in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. Models were validated using laboratory test data of a cylindrical 18,650 LIB cell. Further, a Kalman filter with appropriate process and measurement noise levels was used to estimate the core temperature in terms of measured surface and ambient temperatures. Results from the first-order model and second-order models were analyzed for comparison purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly nonlinear characteristics of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are significantly influenced by the external and internal temperature of the LIB cell. Moreover, a cell temperature beyond the manufacturer's specified safe operating limit could lead to thermal runaway and even fire hazards and safety concerns to operating personnel. Therefore, accurate information of cell internal and surface temperature of LIB is highly crucial for effective thermal management and proper operation of a battery management system (BMS). Accurate temperature information is also essential to BMS for the accurate estimation of various important states of LIB, such as state of charge, state of health and so on. High-capacity LIB packs, used in electric vehicles and grid-tied stationary energy storage system essentially consist of thousands of individual LIB cells. Therefore, installing a physical sensor at each cell, especially at the cell core, is not practically feasible from the solution cost, space and weight point of view. A solution is to develop a suitable estimation strategy which led scholars to propose different temperature estimation schemes aiming to establish a balance among accuracy, adaptability, modelling complexity and computational cost. This article presented an exhaustive review of these estimation strategies covering recent developments, current issues, major challenges, and future research recommendations. The prime intention is to provide a detailed guideline to researchers and industries towards developing a highly accurate, intelligent, adaptive, easy-to-implement and computationally efficient online temperature estimation strategy applicable to health-conscious fast charging and smart onboard BMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer nanoparticles are swiftly progressing and are being applied to solve several limitation of conventional drug delivery system such as non-specific biodistribution and targeting, lack of water solubility and poor oral bioavailability. Advances in protein engineering and materials science have contributed to novel nanoscale targeting approaches that may bring new hope to cancer patients. Several therapeutic nanocarries have been approved for clinical use. Nanoparticles have been designed for optimal size and surface characteristic to improve their biodistribution and to increase their circulation time in the bloodstream. By selectively using the unique pathophysiology of tumours, such as their enhanced permeability and retention effect nanotherapeutics arew able to carry loaded active drug to cancer cells. In addition to this passive targeting mechanism, active targeting stratigies using ligards or antibodies directed against selected tumour targets magnify the specific of these therapeutic nanoparticles. Multi functional nanoparticles are now being actively investigated and are on the horizon as the nexty generation of nanoparticles and tailored cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer nanoparticles are swiftly progressing and are being applied to solve several limitation of conventional drug delivery system such as non-specific biodistribution and targeting, lack of water solubility and poor oral bioavailability. Advances in protein engineering and materials science have contributed to novel nanoscale targeting approaches that may bring new hope to cancer patients. Several therapeutic nanocarries have been approved for clinical use. Nanoparticles have been designed for optimal size and surface characteristic to improve their biodistribution and to increase their circulation time in the bloodstream. By selectively using the unique pathophysiology of tumours, such as their enhanced permeability and retention effect nanotherapeutics arew able to carry loaded active drug to cancer cells. In addition to this passive targeting mechanism, active targeting stratigies using ligards or antibodies directed against selected tumour targets magnify the specific of these therapeutic nanoparticles. Multifunctional nanoparticles are now being actively investigated and are on the horizon as the nexty generation of nanoparticles and tailored cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pharmacological characteristics of phytochemicals have prompted a lot of interest in their application in disease management. Due to the high incidence of cancer related mortality and morbidity throughout the world; experiments have concentrated on identifying the anticancer potential of natural substances. Many phytochemicals such as flavonoids and their derivatives produced from food offer a variety of new anti-cancer agents which prevent the cancer progression. Taxifolin, a unique bioactive flavonoid, is a dietary component that has grabbed the interest of dietitians and medicinal chemists due to its wide range of health benefits. It is a powerful antioxidant with a well-documented effect in the prevention of several malignancies in humans. Taxifolin has shown promising inhibitory activity against inflammation, malignancies, microbial infection, oxidative stress, cardiovascular disease, and liver disease. Anti-cancer activity has been shown to be relatively significant than other activities investigated in vitro and in vivo with a little or no side effects to the normal healthy cells. In summary this review offers the synopsis of recent breakthroughs in the use of taxifolin as a cancer treatment, as well as mechanisms of action. However, to develop a medicine for human usage, more study on pharmacokinetic profile, profound molecular mechanisms, and drug safety criteria should be conducted utilizing well-designed randomized clinical trials. [Display omitted] • Chemistry, sources and pharmacokinetic perspectives of taxifolin. • Pharmacological activities of taxifolin. • Chemotherapeutic activities of taxifolin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]