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Abstract Adsorption cooling and desalination systems have a distinct advantage over other systems that use low‐grade waste heat near ambient temperature. Since improving their performance, including reliability and failure prediction, is challenging, developing an efficient diagnostic system is of great practical significance. The paper introduces artificial intelligence (AI) and an automated machine learning approach (AutoML) in a real‐life application for a computational diagnostic system of existing adsorption cooling and desalination facilities. A total of 1769 simulated data points containing data indicating a failure status are applied to develop a comprehensive AI‐based Diagnostic (AID) system covering a wide range of 42 input parameters. The paper introduces a conditional monitoring system for adsorption cooling and desalination systems. The novelty of the presented study mainly consists of two aspects. First, the intelligent system predicts the health or failure states of various components in a complex three‐bed adsorption chiller installation using the extensive input data sets of 42 different operating parameters. The developed AID expert tool, based on selecting the best from 42 models generated by the DataRobot platform, was validated on the complex, existing three‐bed adsorption chiller. The AID system correctly identified healthy and failure states in various installation components. The developed expert system is very efficient (AUC = 0.988, RMSE = 0.20, LogLoss = 0.14) in predicting emergency states. The proposed method constitutes a quick and easy technique for failure prediction and represents a complementary tool compared to the other condition monitoring methods.

Abstract Anthropogenic eutrophication of lakes threatens their homeostasis and carries an increased risk of development of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. In this paper we show how eutrophication affects seasonal changes in the taxonomic structure of bacterioplankton and whether these changes are associated with the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria of the genera Legionella and Aeromonas. The subject of the study was a unique system of interconnected lakes in northern Poland (Great Masurian Lakes system), characterized by the presence of eutrophic gradient. We found that the taxonomic structure of the bacterial community in eutrophic lakes was significantly season dependent. No such significant seasonal changes were observed in meso-eutrophic lakes. We found that there is a specific taxonomic composition of bacteria associated with the occurrence of Legionella spp. The highest positive significant correlations were found for families Pirellulaceae, Mycobacteriaceae and Gemmataceae. The highest negative correlations were found for the families Sporichthyaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, the uncultured families of class Verrucomicrobia and Chitinophagaceae. We used also an Automatic Neural Network model to estimate the relative abundance of Legionella spp. based on the relative abundance of dominant bacterial families. In the case of Aeromonas spp. we did not find a clear relationship with bacterial communities inhabiting lakes of different trophic state. Our research has shown that anthropogenic eutrophication causes significant changes in the taxonomic composition of lake bacteria and contributes to an increase in the proportion of potentially pathogenic Legionella spp.

Plants from the Amaranthaceae family are a source of oleanolic acid (OA)-type saponins with cytotoxic activity. Two known OA-type saponins, calenduloside E and chikusetsusaponin IVa, were isolated from the roots of Chenopodium strictum Roth. Their structures were confirmed using MS and NMR techniques. This constitutes the inaugural report of the saponins in Ch. strictum. Both the isolated saponins and structurally similar compounds, momordin Ic and OA, were compared for their cytotoxicity against various cancer and normal cell lines (including skin, breast, thyroid, gastrointestinal, and prostate panels). Their effects were dose- and time-dependent, varying with the specific cell line and compound structure. A chemometric approach demonstrated the effects of the compounds on the cell lines. The study discusses the structure–activity observations. The key structural elements for potent cytotoxic activity included the free carboxyl group 28COOH in the sapogenin structure (OA) and the presence of a sugar moiety. The monodesmosides with glucuronic acid (GlcA) at the C3 position of OA were generally more cytotoxic than bidesmosides or OA alone. The addition of xylose in the sugar chain modified the activity towards the cancer cells depending on the specific cell line. OA-type saponins with GlcA (particularly calenduloside E and momordin Ic) represent a promising avenue for further investigation as potential anticancer agents.

This study investigates the phytochemical composition and biological activities of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) leaves, flowers’ methanolic extracts from the Sofia variety, and its sprouts cultivated under different light conditions (natural light, darkness, blue, and white LED light for 5, 7, and 9 days). Phytochemical analysis using HPLC identified four key polyphenolic compounds in sprouts’ extracts: chlorogenic, caffeic, and gallic acids, and myricetin, with a predomination of the chlorogenic acid. In contrast, leaves and flowers’ extracts contained cannflavins A and B and chlorogenic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids, with a significant presence of isochlorogenic acid. Antioxidant capacity, assessed by FRAP method, revealed higher antioxidant potential in leaves compared to flowers and sprouts, with sprouts grown under blue and white LED lights exhibiting the highest activity. Cytotoxic activity was evaluated on human colon cancer cell lines (HT29, HCT116, DLD-1) and normal colon epithelial cells (CCD 841 CoN). Results demonstrated significant and selective cytotoxicity against cancer cell lines, with leaves showing more pronounced effects than flowers, and sprouts only moderate activity. All samples revealed an anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. To conclude, sprouts, leaves, and flowers of the Sofia hemp may be considered promising products for chemoprevention in the future.

Sustainable development policy focuses on reducing the carbon footprint generated by the global industry and energy sector. Replacing conventional energy sources with environmentally friendly ones requires advanced research to increase energy efficiency and reduce the instability and intermittence of renewable sources. Moreover, adsorption chillers are an opportunity to introduce net-zero emission technologies to the refrigeration, air-conditioning, and desalination industries. Adsorption devices could be popularized if a method of effective heat transfer in the volume of the adsorption bed is developed. The innovative concept of introducing fluidized beds into the adsorption system can achieve the most promising results in improving energy efficiency. To confirm the adopted assumption, heat transfer coefficient calculations for the packed and fluidized bed were carried out in this paper based on experimental tests and literature data. The empirical research aims to extend the fundamental knowledge in the implementation of fluidization under low-pressure conditions, characteristic of the adsorption systems’ working cycle. Experiments were conducted on a unique test stand equipped with the Intensified Heat Transfer Adsorption Bed (IHTAB) reactor prototype. Five adsorption bed samples were analyzed. The reference sample consisted only of silica gel, and the subsequent ones contained aluminum or carbon nanotubes with 5 and 10% additions. In the case of samples with admixtures, the fluidized state increased the heat transfer coefficient on average from approx. 36.9 W/m2 K to approx. 245.4 W/m2 K.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common urological disease affecting aging men. Its pathogenesis is regarded as complex and multifactorial, with sex hormones and inflammation as key contributory factors. In the current study, we investigated the anti-BPH potential of terpenoids present in the fruits of Sorbus intermedia (EHRH.) PERS. Not only the effects on testosterone-stimulated normal prostate epithelial PNT2 cells, namely suppression of 5-α-reductase activity, PSA secretion, and cell proliferation, were determined but also the inhibitory activity on heat-induced protein denaturation, hyaluronidase, as well as IL-6, TNF-α, and NO release in LPS-treated macrophages. Sorbus terpenoids significantly inhibited 5-α-reductase activity and reduced PSA secretion in PNT2 cells, reversing the stimulatory effect of testosterone. PNT2 cell proliferation was also found to be attenuated. Subsequently, all compounds reduced the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW 264.7 cells. In addition, ursolic acid (UA) and its aldehyde (UAL) were the most potent hyaluronidase inhibitors of all compounds, with IC50 values of 225.75 µg/mL and 369.77 µg/mL, respectively. For better understanding and interpretation of the overall effect of Sorbus terpenoids on different aspects of BPH pathogenesis and development, cluster analysis was applied.

Saponins are plant metabolites that possess multidirectional biological activities, among these is antitumor potential. The mechanisms of anticancer activity of saponins are very complex and depend on various factors, including the chemical structure of saponins and the type of cell they target. The ability of saponins to enhance the efficacy of various chemotherapeutics has opened new perspectives for using them in combined anticancer chemotherapy. Co-administration of saponins with targeted toxins makes it possible to reduce the dose of the toxin and thus limit the side effects of overall therapy by mediating endosomal escape. Our study indicates that the saponin fraction CIL1 of Lysimachia ciliata L. can improve the efficacy of the EGFR-targeted toxin dianthin (DE). We investigated the effect of cotreatment with CIL1 + DE on cell viability in a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, on proliferation in a crystal violet assay (CV) and on pro-apoptotic activity using Annexin V/7 Actinomycin D (7-AAD) staining and luminescence detection of caspase levels. Cotreatment with CIL1 + DE enhanced the target cell-specific cytotoxicity, as well as the antiproliferative and proapoptotic properties. We found a 2200-fold increase in both the cytotoxic and antiproliferative efficacy of CIL1 + DE against HER14-targeted cells, while the effect on control NIH3T3 off-target cells was less profound (6.9- or 5.4-fold, respectively). Furthermore, we demonstrated that the CIL1 saponin fraction has a satisfactory in vitro safety profile with a lack of cytotoxic and mutagenic potential.

In recent years, artificial intelligence has become increasingly popular and is more often used by scientists and entrepreneurs. The rapid development of electronics and computer science is conducive to developing this field of science. Man needs intelligent machines to create and discover new relationships in the world, so AI is beginning to reach various areas of science, such as medicine, economics, management, and the power industry. Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting directions in the development of computer science, which absorbs a considerable amount of human enthusiasm and the latest achievements in computer technology. This article was dedicated to the practical use of artificial neural networks. The article discusses the development of neural networks in the years 1940–2022, presenting the most important publications from these years and discussing the latest achievements in the use of artificial intelligence. One of the chapters focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in energy processes and systems. The article also discusses the possible directions for the future development of neural networks.

Inflammation is a response of the organism to an external factor that disrupts its natural homeostasis, and it helps to eliminate the cause of tissue injury. However, sometimes the body’s response is highly inadequate and the inflammation may become chronic. Thus, the search for novel anti-inflammatory agents is still needed. One of the groups of natural compounds that attract interest in this context is lichen metabolites, with usnic acid (UA) as the most promising candidate. The compound reveals a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties, among which anti-inflammatory properties have been studied both in vitro and in vivo. The aim of this review was to gather and critically evaluate the results of the so-far published data on the anti-inflammatory properties of UA. Despite some limitations and shortcomings of the studies included in this review, it can be concluded that UA has interesting anti-inflammatory potential. Further research should be directed at the (i) elucidation of the molecular mechanism of UA; (ii) verification of its safety; (iii) comparison of the efficacy and toxicity of UA enantiomers; (iv) design of UA derivatives with improved physicochemical properties and pharmacological activity; and (v) use of certain forms or delivery carriers of UA, especially in its topical application.

Twenty-five years have passed since the discovery of the orexin system, during which time we have learned more and more about it. A number of studies have been conducted showing the role of the orexin system in insomnia, as well as its potential use in the treatment of obesity and depression. In this review, we present the role of the orexin system in the development of depressive illness and show the characteristics of seltorexant, a potential drug for the treatment of depression. This review describes the structure and synthesis of the compound as well as its pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Pre-clinical and clinical studies are also described, including side effects. There is evidence that the use of seltorexant is considered safe, with no clear or major clinically significant side effects, which makes it a promising candidate for the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders.

The genus Atriplex provides species that are used as food and natural remedies. In this work, the levels of soluble phenolic acids (free and conjugated) and flavonoids in extracts from roots, stems, leaves and flowers of the unexplored Atriplex sagittata Borkh were investigated by LC-ESI-MS/MS, together with their antioxidant and antihyaluronidase activity. Phenolic acids were present in all parts of A. sagittata; and were most abundant in the leaves (225.24 μg/g dw.), whereas the highest content of flavonoids were found in the flowers (242.71 μg/g dw.). The most common phenolics were 4-hydroxybenzoic and salicylic acids, kaempferol-3-glucoside-7-rhamnoside, kaempferol-3-rutinoside and the rare narcissoside, which was present in almost all morphotic parts. The stem extract had the highest antioxidant activity and total phenolic content (611.86 mg/100 g dw.), whereas flower extract exerted the most potent antihyaluronidase effect (IC50 = 84.67 µg/mL; control—quercetin: IC50 = 514.28 μg/mL). Phytochemical analysis of the flower extract led to the isolation of two triterpene saponins that were shown to be strong hyaluronidase inhibitors (IC50 = 33.77 and 168.15 µg/mL; control—escin: IC50 = 307.38 µg/mL). This is the first report on the presence of phenolics and saponins in A. sagittata. The results suggest that both groups of metabolites may contribute to the overall activity of this plant species.

Nowadays, stressful situations are an unavoidable element of everyday life. Stressors activate a number of complex mental and physiological reactions in the organism, thus affecting the state of health of an individual. Stress is the main risk factor in the development of mental disorders, such as depression and other disorders developing as a result of addiction. Studies indicate that women are twice as likely as men to develop anxiety, depression and therefore addiction, e.g., to nicotine. Even though the data presented is indicative of significant differences between the sexes in the prevalence of these disorders, the majority of preclinical animal models for investigating stress-induced disorders use predominantly male subjects. However, the recent data indicates that this type of studies has also been launched in female rodents. Therefore, conducting research on both sexes allows for a more accurate understanding and assessment of the impact of stress on stress-induced behavioral, peripheral and molecular changes in the body and brain. In this manuscript we have gathered the data from 41 years (from 1981–2022) on the influence of stress on the development of depression and nicotine addiction in both sexes.

High-performance supercomputers and emerging computing clusters created in research and development centres are rapidly increasing available computing power, which scientists are eager to use to implement increasingly advanced computing methods [...]

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is one of the most advanced technologies allowing for the reduction in CO2 emissions during the combustion of solid fuels. The modified method combines chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) and in situ gasification chemical looping combustion (iG-CLC). As a result, an innovative hybrid chemical looping combustion came into existence, making the above two technologies complementary. Since the complexity of the CLC is still not sufficiently recognized, the study of this process is of a practical significance. The paper describes the experiences in the modelling of complex geometry CLC equipment. The experimental facility consists of two reactors: an air reactor and a fuel reactor. The paper introduces the fuzzy logic (FL) method as an artificial intelligence (AI) approach for the prediction of SO2 and NOx (i.e., NO + NO2) emissions from coal and biomass combustion carried out in air-firing; oxyfuel; iG-CLC; and CLOU conditions. The developed model has been successfully validated on a 5 kWth research unit called the dual fluidized bed chemical looping combustion of solid fuels (DFB-CLC-SF).

Insomnia affects 4.4–4.8% of the world’s population, but because the effect of hypnotic drugs is limited and may cause harmful side-effects, scientists are turning their attention to developing drugs that act on the orexin system. Daridorexant, a selective dual-orexin receptor antagonist (DORA), has exhibited promising results in both animal and human studies. Its activity was evaluated based on the physiology-based pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic model. The use of daridorexant is considered safe, with no clinically significant side-effects including deprivation of next-morning residual effects. In this manuscript we conducted a comprehensive review of daridorexant including pharmacodynamics, animal and human research, pharmacokinetics and safety.

Abstract We present the results of an analysis of the 16S rRNA-based taxonomical structure of bacteria together with an analysis of carbon source utilization ability using EcoPlate (Biolog, USA) metabolic fingerprinting assessment against the backdrop of physicochemical parameters in fifteen interconnected lakes. The lakes exhibit a wide spectrum of trophic gradients and undergo different intensities of anthropopressure. Sequences of V3–V4 16S rRNA genes binned by taxonomic assignment to family indicated that bacterial communities in the highly eutrophicated lakes were distinctly different from the bacterial communities in the meso-eutrophic lakes (ANOSIM r = 0.99, p = 0.0002) and were characterized by higher richness and more diverse taxonomical structure. Representatives of the Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Bacteroides phyla predominated. In most cases their relative abundance was significantly correlated with lake trophic state. We found no similar clear relationship of community-level physiological profiling with lake trophic state. However, we found some significant links between the taxonomic and metabolic structure of the microbes in the studied lakes (Mantel’s correlation r = 0.22, p = 0.006). The carbon source utilization ability of the studied microorganisms was affected not only by the taxonomic groups present in the lakes but also by various characteristics like a high PO4 3− concentration inhibiting the utilization of phosphorylated carbon.

The dried Glechoma hederacea L. herb has a long history of use in traditional medicine. Its therapeutic potential is related to the presence of phenolic compounds. To optimize extraction efficiency the effect of the use of different techniques (HRE—heat reflux extraction, I/ME—infusion combined with maceration, UE—sonication and SE—Soxhlet extraction), various solvents (water and ethanol) and processing time (15 min to 2 h) on phenolics content was investigated. The HPLC method was applied to determine and compare the content of phenolic acids (rosmarinic, chlorogenic, protocatechuic) and flavonoids (rutin, isoquercetin) in the extracts. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity of the extracts was examined for the first time against human cancer and normal cells of skin origin (A375, HTB140, HaCaT) and gastrointestinal origin (Caco-2 and HT-29, HepG2). In addition, the antioxidant potential was evaluated using the DPPH and FRAP method. The I/ME-water and HRE/ethanol procedures turned out to be optimal for obtaining extracts of dried G. hederacea L. herb rich in bioactive phenolics. These extracts exhibited high antioxidant activity, correlated with the content of the compounds analyzed. Furthermore, the extracts of the dried Glechoma herb were not toxic to normal human cells, indicating its safe use both internally and externally.

Adsorption cooling and desalination technologies have recently received more attention. Adsorption chillers, using eco-friendly refrigerants, provide promising abilities for low-grade waste heat recovery and utilization, especially renewable and waste heat of the near ambient temperature. However, due to the low coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling capacity (CC) of the chillers, they have not been widely commercialized. Although operating in combined heating and cooling (HC) systems, adsorption chillers allow more efficient conversion and management of low-grade sources of thermal energy, their operation is still not sufficiently recognized, and the improvement of their performance is still a challenging task. The paper introduces an artificial intelligence (AI) approach for the optimization study of a two-bed adsorption chiller operating in an existing combined HC system, driven by low-temperature heat from cogeneration. Artificial neural networks are employed to develop a model that allows estimating the behavior of the chiller. Two crucial energy efficiency and performance indicators of the adsorption chiller, i.e., CC and the COP, are examined during the study for different operating sceneries and a wide range of operating conditions. Thus this work provides useful guidance for the operating conditions of the adsorption chiller integrated into the HC system. For the considered range of input parameters, the highest CC and COP are equal to 12.7 and 0.65 kW, respectively. The developed model, based on the neurocomputing approach, constitutes an easy-to-use and powerful optimization tool for the adsorption chiller operating in the complex HC system.

Quercetin is one of the most common, naturally occurring flavonoids, structurally classified to the flavonol subfamily. This compound, found in many edible and medicinal plants either as a free or glycosidated form, has been scientifically exploited for many years, and one could hardly expect it could be a hero of some additional story. Commonly recognized as an anti-inflammatory agent, quercetin not only limits capillary vessel permeability by inhibiting hyaluronidase but also blocks cyclooxygenases and lipoxygenases. As a typical flavonoid, it is also known for its antioxidant effect, which was confirmed by many in vitro and in vivo studies. Throughout the years, numerous other activities were reported for quercetin, including antidiabetic, anti-proliferative, or anti-viral. Of note, recent data have revealed its potential role as a therapeutic agent for several central nervous system disorders. This review provides an overview of available experimental data on quercetin and its complexes with respect to central nervous system diseases, with a main focus on some aspects that were not discussed previously, such as anti-anxiolytic effects, anti-Huntington’s disease activity, or therapeutic potential in brain cancer. Moreover, quercetin’s protective role in some of these diseases is discussed, especially as an anti-neuroinflammatory agent. Bearing in mind the poor bioavailability of this compound, possible options that would enhance its delivery to the site of action are also presented.

This corrects the article entitled “Presence and identification of Legionella and Aeromonas spp. in the Great Masurian Lakes system in the context of eutrophication" by the authors Karolina Grabowska, Aleksandra Bukowska, Tomasz Kaliński, Bartosz Kiersztyn, Waldemar Siuda, and Ryszard J. Chróst, published with DOI 10.4081/jlimnol.2019.1924. In the Figures 3 and 4 the correct values for the number of studied bacteria are presented.

Global CO2 concentration level in the air is unprecedently high and should be rapidly and significantly reduced to avoid a global climate catastrophe. The work indicates the possibility of quickly lowering the impact of changes that have already happened and those we know will happen, especially in terms of the CO2 emitted and stored in the atmosphere, by implanting a virgin ivy plant on the available area of walls and roofs of the houses. The proposed concept of reducing CO2 from the atmosphere is one of the technologies with significant potential for implementation entirely and successfully. For the first time, we showed that the proposed concept allows over 3.5 billion tons of CO2 to be captured annually directly from the atmosphere, which makes even up 6.9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The value constitutes enough high CO2 reduction to consider the concept as one of the applicable technologies allowing to decelerate global warming. Additional advantages of the presented concept are its global nature, it allows for the reduction of CO2 from all emission sources, regardless of its type and location on earth, and the fact that it will simultaneously lower the air temperature, contribute to oxygen production, and reduce dust in the environment.

Usnic acid (UA) is a chiral lichen metabolite with an interesting pharmacological profile. The aim of this study was to compare the anti-melanoma effect of (+)-UA and (−)-UA in an in vitro model by studying their impact on the cells as well as the processes associated with cancer progression. The effect of UA enantiomers on the viability, proliferation, and invasive potential of three melanoma cell lines (HTB140, A375, WM793) was evaluated. Their interaction with a chemotherapeutic drug—doxorubicin was assessed by isobolographic analysis. Anti-inflammatory and anti-tyrosinase properties of (+)-UA and (−)-UA were also examined. Both UA enantiomers dose- and time-dependently decreased the viability of all three melanoma cell lines. Their synergistic effect with doxorubicin was observed on A375 cells. (+)-Usnic acid at a sub-cytotoxic dose strongly inhibited melanoma cells migration. Both UA enantiomers decreased the release of pro-inflammatory mediators. The cytotoxic effect of (+)-UA and (−)-UA depends greatly on the melanoma cell type; however, the overall anti-melanoma potential is perspective. Our results indicate that the strategy of combining usnic acid enantiomers with cytostatic drugs may be an interesting option to consider in combating melanoma; however, further studies are required.

Two triterpene saponins, including a novel serjanic acid derivative, were isolated from Chenopodium hybridum L. (Amaranthaceae) aerial parts. Their structures were elucidated by a combination of spectroscopic methods (MS, 1D and 2D NMR). Both compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity and selectivity on skin, prostate, gastrointestinal, thyroid and lung cancer cells. Their effect was dose and time-dependent with varied potency, the highest against prostate PC3 and melanoma WM793, where IC50 was lower than the reference drug doxorubicin. Structure–activity relationship is briefly discussed.

Growing anthropopressure over the last several decades has resulted in rapid progressive eutrophication of the Great Masurian Lakes (GML) system located in northeastern Poland. In our studies, we investigated whether there is a relationship between the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria: Legionella spp. and Aeromonas spp., not explored so far in the waters of GML system, and the trophic status of the studied lakes. The GML system of glacial origin includes lakes connected by natural and artificial channels, and it extends from north to south for approximately 100 kilometers. Water samples were taken during the summer, subsequently spring and autumn seasons from 15 lakes in land-water ecotones. At all sampling sites, basic in situ measurements of physicochemical parameters were recorded. The amounts of chlorophyll a, nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon were also measured. The trophic state index (TSI) of the sampling sites was also estimated. The real-time PCR technique enabled the determination of the presence and abundance of Legionella spp. and Aeromonas spp. The results clearly showed that several environmental water quality parameters, associated with eutrophication, and among them: nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, ammonium concentration, conductivity, turbidity, water transparency, highly affected the presence and abundance of the detected pathogenic bacteria in the studied lakes. Special attention should be paid to the high impact of water eutrophication on the number of pathogenic microorganisms, which result both from human activities in lakes and climate change.

The paper introduces the artificial intelligence (AI) approach for modeling fluidized adsorption beds. The idea of fluidized bed application allows a significantly increased heat transfer coefficient between adsorption bed and the surface of a heat exchanger, improving the performance of adsorption cooling and desalination systems. The Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network algorithm was used, classified as a deep learning method, to predict the vapor mass quantity in the adsorption bed. The research used an LSTM network with two hidden layers. The network used in the study is composed of seven inputs (absolute pressures in the adsorption chamber and evaporator, the temperatures in adsorption chamber and evaporator, relative pressure, the temperatures in the center of adsorption bed and 25 mm from the bed center, the kind of the solids mixture, the percentage value of the addition) and one output (mass of the sorption bed). The paper presents numerical research concerning mass prediction with the algorithm mentioned above for three sorbents in fixed ad fluidized beds. The results obtained by the developed algorithm of the LSTM network and the experimental tests are in good agreement of the matching the results above 0.95.

This article presents a study of the effect of metal particle and carbon nanotube additives on the thermal diffusivity of a silica-gel-based adsorption bed of an adsorption chiller. The structural properties of silica gel and carbon nanotubes were investigated using the volumetric method of low-pressure nitrogen adsorption. Thermal characteristic tests of the prepared mixtures based on a silica gel with 5 wt% and 15 wt% of aluminum, copper, or carbon nanotubes were carried out. The obtained results show that all the materials used as additives in blends in this study achieved higher thermal diffusivities in comparison with the thermal diffusivity of the parent silica gel. However, the best effect was observed for the mixture with 15 wt% aluminum.

Adsorption chillers are characterized by low electricity consumption, lack of moving parts, and high reliability. The disadvantage of these chillers is their large weight due to low adsorbent sorption capacity. Therefore, the attention is turned to finding a sorbent with a high water sorption capacity and enhanced thermal conductivity to increase chiller efficiency. The article discusses the impact of selected adhesives used for the production of an adsorption bed in order to improve heat exchange on its surface. Experiments with silica gel with three commercial types of glue on metal plates representing heat exchanger were performed. The structure of samples was observed under a microscope to determine the coverage of adsorbent by glue. To determine the kinetics of the free adsorption, the amounts of moisture adsorbed and the desorption dynamics the prepared samples of coated bed on metal plates were moisturized and dried in a moisture analyzer. Samples made of silica gel mixed with the adhesive 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose, show high adsorption capacity, low dynamic adsorption, and medium dynamic desorption. Samples containing adhesive poly(vinyl alcohol) adsorb less moisture, but free adsorption and desorption were more dynamic. Samples containing the adhesive hydroxyethyl cellulose show lower moisture capacity, relatively dynamic adsorption, and lower dynamic desorption.

Forecasts to 2030 indicate that demand for electricity will increase from 2% to 3% per year, and due to the observed high rate of development of the world economy, energy demand will continue to increase. More efficient use of primary energy has influence on reduction emissions and consumption of fuel. Besides, reducing the amount of fuel burned, it reveals a beneficial effect on the environment. Since extraction-back pressure turbines have some limitations, including the restriction of electricity production due to limited heat consumption in summer. The paper discusses the possibilities of integrating the adsorption aggregate with a combined cycle gas turbine and its impact on the operation of all devices. Simulations are performed on Sim tech IPSEPro software. The obtained results confirm that the adsorption aggregate, using a low grade of thermal energy, does not affect the operation of the gas and steam cycle and allows the production of electricity at a constant level. The calculated chemical fuel energy utilisation factor was 85.7% in cogeneration and 75.6% in trigeneration. These factors indicated a reduced utilisation of chemical fuel energy; however, this reduction is caused by a lower COP for adsorption chillers. Besides, the adsorption aggregate additionally generates chilled water for air conditioning or other technological processes, which stands for an added value of the innovative concept proposed in the paper.

The progress in environmental investigations such as the analysis of building arrangements in an urban environment could not have been expanded without the use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as a research tool. The rapid development of numerical models results in improved correlations to results obtained with real data. Unfortunately, the computational domain discretization is a crucial step in CFD analysis which significantly influences the accuracy of the generated results. Hence an innovative approach to computational domain discretization using polyhedral elements is proposed. The results are compared to commonly applied tetrahedral and hexahedral elements as well as experimental results of particle image velocimetry (PIV). The performed research proves that the proposed method is promising as it allows for the reduction of both the numerical diffusion of the mesh as well as the time cost of preparing the model for calculation. In consequence, the presented approach allows for better results in less time.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a hydroalcoholic extract from Galinsoga parviflora herb (GP) in some aspects of the endothelial cell function necessary for anti-inflammatory activity and wound healing and relate these to the GP phytochemical profile. This study demonstrated that the GP extract caused a dose-dependent reduction of IL-6 secretion on IL-1β-stimulated endothelial cells. The IL-6 release was decreased to 33% ± 9% while this did not influence the IL-6 secretion without stimulation. Additionally, the GP extract exhibited an anti-hyaluronidase activity (IC50 = 0.47 mg/mL), which was evidently stronger than the positive control kaempferol (IC50 = 0.78 mg/mL) as well as a moderate and concentration-dependent, antioxidant activity. The results of the scratch assay showed that exposure of the endothelial cells to GP induced complete healing of the damage after 12 h of the study. The phytochemical profile of the extract was studied by using spectrophotometric (total amount of polyphenols and flavonoids) and UPLC (phenolic acids) methods. The main compound in the GP extract was a chlorogenic acid (2.00 ± 0.01 mg/g by UPLC). The total content of polyphenols was 98.30 ± 0.14 mg of chlorogenic acid equivalent/g of the dry herb and content of flavonoids amounted to 6.15 ± 0.41 mg quercetin equivalent/g of the dry herb. Moreover, the presence of flavonoids in G. parviflora was provided after their isolation and identification by spectroscopic methods. In conclusion, it demonstrated that application of GP in the treatment of skin lesions gives possibility of wound healing based on antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hyaluronidase-inhibiting activities of G. parviflora herb extract.