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An optical fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer based on double S-tapers is proposed for strain sensing. The double S-taper strain sensor is formed by two steps. The fiber is pulled during arc discharging, and a second arc discharge is performed while the fixtures are misaligned to form a S-taper. The transmission spectra were collected with different structural parameters, including the axial offset, taper region diameter, and transition region length. The transmission spectra of each group of parameters are compared and analyzed. This work is meaningful for further research on double S-taper strain sensors. When the axial offset is 60 μm, the S2-taper region diameter is 54 μm, the transition region length is 0.7 cm, the strain experiment is tested from 0 με to 800 με, and the strain sensitivity is 6.63 pm/με. In addition, the stability, reversibility, and temperature sensitivity were experimentally characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thin-layer drying performance for a typical solid waste (paper towel) was evaluated at hot air temperatures of 90–130 °C (0.5 m/s air velocity) and microwave powers of 200–800 W in a bench-scale microwave combined convective drying setup. Influences of hot air and radiation modes (multi-magnetron and mode stirrer) on the temperature distribution uniformity were examined. The effective moisture diffusivities of sample during pure hot air drying ranged from 6.07 × 10−9 to 1.31 × 10−8 m2/s, while those for pure microwave drying were from 3.54 × 10−8 to 1.52 × 10−7 m2/s. The apparent activation energy of sample in pure hot air drying was estimated as 23.17 kJ/mol, while that for pure microwave drying was 22.64 W/g. The effective moisture diffusivities of sample in combined drying ranged from 5.71 × 10−8 to 2.05 × 10−7 m2/s. The heating uniformity for microwave was improved effectively by the combined drying. The application of the mode stirrers and multi-magnetron radiation modes further improved the microwave heating uniformity. Midilli model can well describe moisture content of paper towel over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave drying performance of spent coffee grounds (SCG) briquette in a bench-scale setup was evaluated in terms of the influences of power levels (119–700 W) and three mineral additives (10% sodium chloride, 10% sodium sulfate and 10% lignite). During the drying process, a short warm-up period, a first and a second falling rate period were detected. Compared with raw SCG briquette, the required drying times of SCG with Na2SO4 and NaCl additives at 385 W decreased by 38% and 18%, respectively, while the drying time increased by 9% with the addition of the fine lignite. The effective moisture diffusivities of raw SCG in the first falling rate period were 7.89 × 10−9 to 1.75 × 10−8 m2 s−1, while that in the second falling rate period were 1.09 × 10−9 to 1.81 × 10−8 m2 s−1. The average activation energy of raw SCG in the falling rate period was 24.43 W g−1. The apparent activation energy in the falling rate periods for SCG/sodium carbonate and SCG/sodium chloride was less than that of the raw SCG, which indicated that sodium chloride and sodium sulfate could improve the microwave drying performance of SCG briquette. The lignite had a negative effect on the microwave drying kinetics of SCG briquette. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A linear non-equilibrium thermodynamics (LNT) microwave-multiphase transport model was developed in order to describe the microwave drying behavior of lignite and hematite thin layer. The moisture ratio profiles and temperature distribution derived in terms of dielectric and coupled dielectric and magnetic loss mechanisms fitted the experimental results well with reasonable deviations. The electric and magnetic field intensities of the corner and edge in the samples were higher than that of the center regions, which met with the experimental temperature distribution. No pumping phenomenon was detected during the whole drying process. The heat flux driven by the polarization relaxation at the higher electric and magnetic field intensities (103–5 × 103 V m−1, 4–7 A m−1) regions was higher than that at the lower ones (2 × 102–2 × 103 V m−1, 1–4 A m−1), and the electric-thermal effects also decreased with the increasing of the sample temperature and the decreasing of the moisture content in the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of LINC01296 in the progression of liver cancer (LCa) and to explore its possible molecular mechanisms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: TCGA database was used for information mining to verify the expression of LINC01296 in liver tumor tissues and normal tissues. The levels of LINC01296 in 40 pairs of LCa and adjacent tissues, as well as normal liver cell lines and liver cancer cell lines, were detected by quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). The Chi-square test was performed to analyze the clinical characteristics of tumor samples and LINC01296 expression. Meanwhile, the Chi-square test was used to explore the relationship between different clinical indicators and the expression of LINC01296. The liver cancer cell lines were screened and transfected with siRNA-LINC01296 and microRNA-760 inhibitor, as well as corresponding negative controls, respectively. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and Transwell assays were used to determine the effects of LINC01296 on the proliferative and invasive capacities of cells. Furthermore, the regulatory association between LINC01296 and microRNA-760 was verified by the Dual-Luciferase reporter assay. RESULTS: LINC01296 expression was remarkably higher in LCa tissues than that of normal liver tissues. Meanwhile, LINC01296 expression was associated with poor prognosis of LCa. Patients with high LINC01296 expression were more likely to have lymph node metastasis. In vitro experiments showed that the knockdown of LINC01296 significantly inhibited the proliferation and migration of HCC cells. Meanwhile, microRNA-760 was remarkably lowly expressed in LCa tissues and cells. Subsequent experiments indicated that LINC01296 was regulated by miR760 in LCa tissues, and high expression of linc0129 could limit microRNA-760 expression. Furthermore, the inhibition of microRNA-760 in HCC cells reversed the effect of LINC01296 knockdown on cell proliferation and invasion. CONCLUSIONS: LINC01296 could promote the proliferative ability and invasiveness of hepatoma cells by inhibiting the expression of microRNA-760. Moreover, its expression was closely related to lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis of LCa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microwave drying performance of lignite thin layer in a bench-scale setup was highlighted in terms of three additives with 10% dosage. The dielectric loss for dried lignite, raw lignite, lignite/coal fly ash, lignite/Na2SO4, and lignite/Na2CO3at 2,450 MHz were 0.06, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, and 0.18. In comparison with raw lignite, the average temperature rising of the thin layer at 385 W for lignite blending with sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, and coal fly ash was about 10, 7, and 2°C. The apparent activation energies of both falling rate periods for lignite blending with three additives were less than that of raw lignite. Sodium carbonate among three additives could be preferable one, followed by sodium sulfate and coal fly ash. The energy efficiency increased with the addition of sodium carbonate, sodium sulfate, and coal fly ash. The required electricity energy for lignite/Na2CO3blend at 385 W was reduced by about one half compared with the raw lignite. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The condensation behavior for a gas/steam mixture with fine lignite particles and lignite ash particles is experimentally investigated as the particles flow over horizontal finned tube bundles. The effects of the gas velocity, inlet temperature of cooling water, excess air coefficient, and particle dimension are discussed. The total mass flow rate of the condensate and the condensation heat transfer coefficient for flue gas including particles are higher than those of flue gas excluding particles when Reynolds number is higher than 2,300. The area covered by ash depositions tends to grow from the leeward toward the windward side with increasing particle diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kinetics on the lignite thin-layer during hot air forced convective drying was investigated experimentally as a function of drying conditions (hot air temperature and speed). The experiments were conducted at hot air temperatures of 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, and 160 °C and hot air speeds of 0.6, 1.4, and 2.0 m/s. The drying process of lignite presented a combination of the short warm-up period, the first falling rate period and the second falling rate period. The Midilli model gave a perfect prediction for the lignite thin layer drying. The effective moisture diffusivity of lignite thin layer was from 5.098 × 10 −9 to 1.481 × 10 −8 m 2 /s for the first falling rate period, and from 7.003 × 10 −9 to 1.907 × 10 −8 m 2 /s for the second falling rate period. The hot air temperature and speed had significant effect on the effective moisture diffusivity of the lignite sample ( P < 0.05). On the hot air speeds of 0.6, 1.4, and 2.0 m/s, the apparent activation energy of lignite thin layer in the first falling rate period was determined as 17.652, 15.495, and 15.175 kJ/mol, whereas it was 16.340, 14.787, and 13.672 kJ/mol in the second falling rate period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]