Temperature-controlled Chamber Research Articles

EHSGNet: A novel edge and high-level semantic guided network for CFRP subsurface defects detection

Infrared thermography, due to its fast detection speed, low cost, and intuitive results, is widely used in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) materials detection. However, CFRP infrared image noise and lower resolution lead to intrinsic similarly and edge disruption, making it impossible to obtain satisfactory results. Additionally, the current methods require a lot of preprocessing and post-processing operations. Since camouflaged object detection has achieved good results in solving intrinsic similarly and edge disruption. Therefore, this paper proposes an edge and high-level semantic guided network (EHSGNet) based on camouflaged object detection for infrared thermography CFRP subsurface defect detection, achieving end-to-end detection of CFRP. This paper also constructed a dataset containing CFRP samples with both natural defects and artificially simulated internal defects to validate our method. Since the temperature change is achieved in the temperature-controlled chamber by means of hot air heating, it can heat the sample uniformly and improve the quality of CFRP infrared images, so our experiments will be carried out in the temperature-controlled chamber. The experiments were conducted on CFRP specimens with different sizes, shapes and depths of artificial defects. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed EHSGNet outperforms current approaches significantly on our dataset, with precision (PRC) and recall (RCL) reaching 94.3% and 93.1%, respectively.

Glucose Enhances Salinity-Driven Sea Spray Aerosol Production in Eastern Arctic Waters.

Sea spray aerosols (SSA) greatly affect the climate system by scattering solar radiation and acting as seeds for cloud droplet formation. The ecosystems in the Arctic Ocean are rapidly changing due to global warming, and the effects these changes have on the generation of SSA, and thereby clouds and fog formation in this region, are unknown. During the ship-based Arctic Century Expedition, we examined the dependency of forced SSA production on the biogeochemical characteristics of seawater using an on-board temperature-controlled aerosol generation chamber with a plunging jet system. Our results indicate that mainly seawater salinity and organic content influence the production and size distribution of SSA. However, we observed a 2-fold higher SSA production from waters with similar salinity collected north of 81°N compared to samples collected south of this latitude. This variability was not explained by phytoplankton and bacterial abundances or Chlorophyll-a concentration but by the presence of glucose in seawater. The synergic action of sea salt (essential component) and glucose or glucose-rich saccharides (enhancer) accounts for >80% of SSA predictability throughout the cruise. Our results suggest that besides wind speed and salinity, SSA production in Arctic waters is also affected by specific organics released by the microbiota.

Increased Multiplexity in Optical Tissue Clearing-Based Three-Dimensional Immunofluorescence Microscopy of the Tumor Microenvironment by Light-Emitting Diode Photobleaching

Optical tissue clearing and three-dimensional (3D) immunofluorescence (IF) microscopy is transforming imaging of the complex tumor microenvironment (TME). However, current 3D IF microscopy has restricted multiplexity; only 3 or 4 cellular and noncellular TME components can be localized in cleared tumor tissue. Here we report a light-emitting diode (LED) photobleaching method and its application for 3D multiplexed optical mapping of the TME. We built a high-power LED light irradiation device and temperature-controlled chamber for completely bleaching fluorescent signals throughout optically cleared tumor tissues without compromise of tissue and protein antigen integrity. With newly developed tissue mounting and selected region-tracking methods, we established a cyclic workflow involving IF staining, tissue clearing, 3D confocal microscopy, and LED photobleaching. By registering microscope channel images generated through 3 work cycles, we produced 8-plex image data from individual 400 μm-thick tumor macrosections that visualize various vascular, immune, and cancer cells in the same TME at tissue-wide and cellular levels in 3D. Our method was also validated for quantitative 3D spatial analysis of cellular remodeling in the TME after immunotherapy. These results demonstrate that our LED photobleaching system and its workflow offer a novel approach to increase the multiplexing power of 3D IF microscopy for studying tumor heterogeneity and response to therapy.

Impacts of ethanol blended fuels and cold temperature on VOC emissions from gasoline vehicles in China

The Chinese central government has initiated pilot projects to promote the adoption of gasoline containing 10%v ethanol (E10). Vehicle emissions using ethanol blended fuels require investigation to estimate the environmental impacts of the initiative. Five fuel formulations were created using two blending methods (splash blending and match blending) to evaluate the impacts of formulations on speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from exhaust emissions. Seven in-use vehicles covering China 4 to China 6 emission standards were recruited. Vehicle tests were conducted using the Worldwide Harmonized Test Cycle (WLTC) in a temperature-controlled chamber at 23 °C and −7 °C. Splash blended E10 fuels led to significant reductions in VOC emissions by 12%–75%. E10 fuels had a better performance of reducing VOC emissions in older model vehicles than in newer model vehicles. These results suggested that E10 fuel could be an option to mitigate the VOC emissions. Although replacing methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) with ethanol in regular gasoline had no significant effects on VOC emissions, the replacement led to lower aromatic emissions by 40%–60%. Alkanes and aromatics dominated approximately 90% of VOC emissions for all vehicle-fuel combinations. Cold temperature increased VOC emissions significantly, by 3–26 folds for all vehicle/fuel combinations at −7 °C. Aromatic emissions were increased by cold temperature, from 2 to 26 mg/km at 23 °C to 33–238 mg/km at −7 °C. OVOC emissions were not significantly affected by E10 fuel or cold temperature. The ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of splash blended E10 fuels decreased by up to 76% and 81%, respectively, compared with those of E0 fuels. The results are useful to update VOC emission profiles of Chinese vehicles using ethanol blended gasoline and under low-temperature conditions.

Thermally stable Peltier controlled vacuum chamber for electrical transport measurements.

The design, manufacture, and characterization of an inexpensive, temperature-controlled vacuum chamber with millikelvin stability for electrical transport measurements at and near room temperature is reported. A commercially available Peltier device and a high-precision temperature controller are used to actively heat and cool the sample space. The system was designed to minimize thermal fluctuations in spintronic and semiconductor transport measurements, but the general principle is relevant to a wide range of electrical measurement applications. The main issues overcome are the mounting of a sample with a path of high thermal conductivity through to the Peltier device and the heat sinking of the said Peltier device inside a vacuum. A copper slug is used as the mount for a sample, and a large copper block is used as a thermal feedthrough before a passive heat sink is used to cool this block. The Peltier device provides 20W of heating and cooling power, achieving a maximum range of 30K below and 40K above the ambient temperature. The temperature stability is within 5 mK at all set points with an even better performance above the ambient temperature. A vacuum pressure of 10-8 hPa is achievable. As a demonstration, we present experimental results from current-induced electrical switching of a CuMnAs thin film. Transport measurements with and without the Peltier control emphasize the importance of a constant temperature in these applications. The thermal lag between the sample space measurement and the sample itself is observed through magnetoresistance values measured during a temperature sweep.

Modeling temporal dual variations for return air temperature prediction of mK-level temperature-controlled clean chamber

Clean chamber with mK-level temperature stability is required for precision manufacturing and optical equipment to achieve nanoscale manufacturing tolerances and measurement accuracy, however, the equipped precision air conditioning system cannot respond immediately to temperature fluctuation in the chamber due to large time delay. Predicting the future return air temperature gives the control module a prescient ability to act in advance, thus aiding in temperature regulation. To this end, this paper deals with the mK-level temperature prediction problem under a high-precision temperature control situation, and a novel prediction network model dubbed TDVNet is designed based on convolutional neural network (CNN) and gated recurrent unit (GRU), where Temporal Dual Variations of time series data, namely variations-between-phases and variations-across-periods, are modeled to achieve a higher accuracy of return air temperature prediction. Utilizing chamber temperature data collected on-site for model training and evaluation, the experimental results show that capturing data change patterns from dual perspectives has reduced the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the TDVNet model by 21.4% and 24.3%, respectively, compared to the model only capturing the variations-between-phases. Under a signal sampling interval of 10 s and a temperature fluctuation of (66.9 ± 25.8) mK@10min, the TDVNet model can accurately predict the return air temperature change in the next 5 min, and the proportion of prediction errors within 15 mK in the test set can reach over 90.1%.

Intranasal Administration of BDNF Improves Recovery and Promotes Neural Plasticity in a Neonatal Mouse Model of Hypoxic Ischemia.

The benefit of intranasal brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) treatment on cognitive function in a neonatal postnatal day 7 (P7) mouse model of hypoxic ischemia (HI) was explored. Intranasal delivery is attractive in that it can promote widespread distribution of BDNF within both the brain and spinal cord. In this study we evaluated the effectiveness of intranasal BDNF to improve cognitive recovery following HI. HI is induced via ligation of the right carotid artery followed by a 45-minute exposure to an 8% oxygen/ 92% nitrogen mixture in an enclosed chamber. Male and female pups were subjected to a 2-hour hypothermia in a temperature-controlled chamber as a standard of care. A solution of saline (control) or recombinant human BDNF (Harlan Laboratories) was administered with a Gilson pipette at the same time each day for 7 days into each nasal cavity in awake mice beginning 24 hours after HI. We evaluated cognitive recovery using the novel object recognition (NOR) and western analysis to analyze neuro-markers and brain health such as synaptophysin and microtubule associated protein -2 (MAP2). The objective of this study was to evaluate the role and therapeutic potential of BDNF in neonatal HI recovery. Our results indicate that intranasal BDNF delivered within 24 hours after HI improved object discrimination at both 28 and 42 days after HI. Our results also demonstrate increased synaptophysin and MAP2 at day 42 in HI animals that received intranasal BDNF treatment compared to HI animals that were administered saline.

Simplified Protocol to Demonstrate Gene Expression in Nicotiana benthamiana Using an Agrobacterium-Mediated Transient Assay.

Agrobacterium-mediated transient gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana is widely used to study gene function in plants. One dramatic phenotype that is frequently screened for is cell death. Here, we present a simplified protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transient gene expression by infiltration. Compared with current methods, the novel protocol can be done without a centrifuge or spectrometer, thereby suitable for K-12 outreach programs as well as rapidly identifying genes that induce cell death. Key features • The protocol simplifies the widely used Agrobacterium-mediated transient gene expression assay [1] and can be completed within one week when plants are available. • Rice XB3 gene can induce a dramatic and easily identifiable cell death phenotype in Nicotiana benthamiana. • Allows identification of cell death-inducing genes and is suitable for teaching. • Compared to the currently used methods, our protocol omits the use of agroinfiltration buffer, pH meter, temperature-controlled growth chamber, centrifuge, and spectrophotometer. Graphical overview Agrobacterium infiltration (agroinfiltration) of Nicotiana benthamiana. The photo demonstrates the method of agroinfiltration into the abaxial side of leaves using a needleless syringe.

Impacts of Increasing Temperature on the Metabolism of Confined and Freely Moving American Lobsters (Homarus americanus).

AbstractGulf of Maine waters are warming rapidly, prompting a reevaluation of how commercially important marine species will respond. The goal of this study was to determine the respiratory, cardiac, and locomotory responses of American lobsters (Homarus americanus) to increasing water temperatures and to compare these to similar published studies. First, we measured the heart rate and ventilation rate of 10 lobsters that were confined in a temperature-controlled chamber while exposing them to gradually warming temperatures from 16 to 30 °C over 7 h. Both heart rate and ventilation rate increased along with the temperature up to a break point, with the mean heart rate peaking at 26.5 ± 1.6 °C, while the ventilation rate peaked at 27.4 ± 0.8 °C. In a subset of these trials (n = 5), oxygen consumption was also monitored and peaked at similar temperatures. In a second experiment, both the heart rate and activity of five lobsters were monitored with custom-built dataloggers while they moved freely in a large tank, while the temperature was increased from 18 to 29 °C over 24 h. The heart rate of these lobsters also increased with temperature, but their initial heart rates were lower than we recorded from confined lobsters. Finally, we confirmed that the low heart rates of the freely moving lobsters were due to the methods used by comparing heart rate data from eight lobsters collected using both methods with each individual animal. Thus, while our overall results are consistent with data from previous studies, they also show that the methods used in studies of physiological and behavioral responses to warming temperatures can impact the results obtained.

Rapid egg cooling rate after oviposition influences the embryonic development, hatchability, and hatch time of young and old broiler hatching eggs

This study investigated the effect of the egg cooling profile after oviposition on blastoderm development, embryonic mortality, hatchability, and hatch time of broiler hatching eggs from young and old breeder flocks. Hatching eggs were obtained from commercial Ross 308 broiler breeders at 28 wk (young) and 64 wk (old) of age. A total of 3,150 eggs laid within a 15-min period were collected and randomly assigned to 2 temperature-controlled chambers in both flocks. The eggshell temperature (EST) was cooled to 24°C either within 6 h (control) or 45 min (rapid). After the EST reached 16°C in the chambers in all groups, eggs were transported to the commercial hatchery. Eggs were stored for 6 d at 16°C and 75% relative humidity. The development of the blastoderm in sampled eggs (25 embryos in each batch) was determined immediately after egg collection and before transport to the hatchery (after cooling) on a farm in each flock. At each flock age, there were 5 replicate trays of 150 eggs per egg cooling treatment set in a single commercial incubator. The results showed that the embryonic developmental stage was retarded by rapid cooling and by the younger flock. A flock age×cooling rate interaction was observed for fertile hatchability and early and late embryonic mortality (P < 0.001). In the young flock eggs, the fertile hatchability was significantly lower in the rapid than in the control cooling treatment (88.7 vs. 92.8%) due to higher early and late embryonic mortality, whereas rapid cooling reduced early embryonic mortality (P < 0.01) and numerically increased the fertile hatchability (88.7 vs. 87.2%) in the old flock eggs. Hatch time was affected by the cooling treatment. The average hatch time was delayed by 3 h by rapid cooling (486.2 vs. 489.2 h) after oviposition compared with the control. This study showed that cooling the EST to 24°C within 45 min (rapid cooling) compared to 6 h (control) after laying retarded the blastoderm developmental stage and hatch time of eggs from both young and old broiler breeder flocks. This was apparently detrimental for the young flock as indicated by the higher early and late embryonic mortality but beneficial for the old flock due to the lower early embryonic mortality. The differences in hatchability between young and old flock eggs resulting from a rapid cooling rate might depend on the differences in embryonic development at oviposition.

Investigation on deterioration mechanism of geopolymer cemented coal Gangue-Fly ash backfill under combined action of high temperature and salt corrosion environment

The geopolymer cemented coal gangue-fly ash backfill (GCGFB) is pumped to the goaf to maintain the stability of surface subsidence, which is inevitably affected by the high temperature caused by geothermal heat and ion erosion of mine water. To study the deterioration mechanism of GCGFB caused by salt corrosion and high temperature of mine water, in this study, a customized temperature-controlled corrosion chamber was used to carry out the corrosion experiment of GCGFB. A three-factor and three-level orthogonal experiment was designed. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), relative dynamic elastic modulus (RDEM) and weight deterioration of GCGFB under different combinations of temperatures, solution concentrations, and solution types were analysed. The deterioration mechanism of GCGFB was analysed through the testing of scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). From the results, the most significant factors on the deterioration of GCGFB is solution type. Cl− and SO42− caused chemical-physical erosion on GCGFB, and the UCS, RDEM and weight of GCGFB increased first and then decreased with ages. The reason for the increase was due to the compacting effect of Friedel 's sat, ettringite, and gypsum filled in GCGFB. The reason for the decrease was due to the expansion pressure on the inner wall of the pores of the GCGFB caused it to crack or even peel off. The GCGFB was corroded in 20 % Na2SO4 solution at 40 °C for 90 days, and the UCS increased by 164.90 % compared to that of the uncorroded specimen. Mg2+ brought chemical erosion on GCGFB, and a decreasing law of the UCS, RDEM and weight with ages was shown. During the Mg2+ erosion, there are more and more M−S−H in matrix, which reduced the density of specimen apparently. The GCGFB was corroded in 5 % MgCl2 solution at 40 °C for 180 days, and the macropore area distribution of GCGFB is increased to 23.499% than that of uncorroded group. The expansion stress of corrosion products would squeeze the inner pore wall, resulting in microcracks inside GCGFB and high temperatures would accelerate the migration of ions and the formation of corrosion products. Overall, this study can provide a new insight or valuable data for the designing of ultra-high performance, low-caron, eco-friendly, and durable GCGFB structures in the harsh mining environments.

A Multifunctional Characterization Test Bench for Shape Memory Alloy Micro-Wires-Design, Implementation and Validation.

Most relevant to predicting the behavior of shape-memory-alloy (SMA)-based actuator-sensor applications activated by Joule heating are the electro-mechanical characteristics of the material under consideration. For a comprehensive characterization, a single setup that is able to provide all relevant data and information is desirable. This work covers the design, implementation and validation of such a high-end test bench for the holistic characterization of SMA micro-wires. In addition, the setup provides the possibility of application simulation experiments. Key elements of the design are the clamping mechanism guided on air bearings, a linear direct drive, a high-resolution load cell, a high-precision constant current source and a stress-controlled in-line wire sample installation. All measurements take place inside an isolated, temperature-controlled chamber. With the presented setup, the electro-mechanical and thermal characteristics of SMA wire samples with diameters from 20 µm to 100 µm can be determined. Via hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) implementation, the outputs with different biasing mechanisms and additional end-stops can be simulated even at high ambient temperatures. The generated results facilitate the prediction of the exact characteristics of SMA-driven actuator-sensor systems in a variety of applications and lead to a better general understanding of the alloy's properties. All functionalities and features of the setup are presented by discussing the results of exemplary experiments.

The effect of temperature on the nonlinear elasticity of a fault rock in dynamic acoustoelastic testing (DAET) experiments

Summary Dynamic nonlinear elasticity in rocks may play an important role in earth processes, such as earthquake nucleation. In order to understand how nonlinear elasticity occurs within the shallow crust, experiments are required that simulate the in situ conditions of intact crustal rocks. Additionally, exploring the behaviour of nonlinear elasticity in response to changes in external parameters (e.g., temperature and wave frequency) acts as a means to further illuminate the complex mechanisms which give rise to nonlinear elasticity in rocks. In this study, we perform dynamic acoustoelastic testing (DAET) experiments on an intact cataclasite from the damage zone of the Alpine Fault, New Zealand. By performing pump-probe DAET experiments inside a temperature-controlled chamber, we are able to investigate a rich variety of nonlinear behaviour as a function of temperature. We find that the magnitude of averaging softening, cubic nonlinearity, and hysteresis tend to increase as temperature increases from 20 to 110○C. In contrast, quadratic nonlinearity decreases with increasing temperature. These observations support the hypothesis that at least two distinct mechanisms control nonlinear phenomena in rocks. Nonlinear parameters show little to no dependence on frequency over the 200-600 Hz pump range, although values of the nonlinear parameter α are found to be nearly two orders of magnitude smaller than those determined using ultrasonic perturbations. Additionally, an analysis using different time windows shows that the surface waves of the ultrasonic probe sense greater nonlinearity compared to the direct P-wave due to differences in the polarisation and propagation paths. As well as providing further insight into the mechanisms responsible for nonlinear elasticity in rocks, our experiments show that nonlinear softening will increase as temperature increases in the damage zones of faults. This has potential implications for understanding earthquake nucleation processes.

Responses to elevated daytime air and canopy temperature during panicle development in four rice genotypes under paddy conditions in large field chambers

Rising air temperatures have the capacity to impact rice yields in future climates. Studies in large temperature-controlled field chambers were established to examine the responses of four contrasting rice genotypes to elevated daytime temperatures (ET) during reproductive development under paddy conditions. Field chambers were effective in raising mean above-canopy maximum daytime temperatures from 29.9 to 41.1°C during 12 d of ET treatment (68–80 d after emergence, DAE), while increased transpiration under ET resulted in lowering of mean lower-canopy maximum temperature to 33.2°C. Nevertheless, the earliest genotype Vandana encountered a hot spell of 37.0°C at 68–74 DAE in the lower canopy at its late reproductive stage, which exceeded the spikelet sterility threshold of 33.7°C, so its spikelet fertility, grain number and grain yield were reduced under ET. Genotypes differed in the extent of canopy cooling, with less reduction in Vandana and IR64 than in N22 and Takanari. For canopy cooling to be effective, stratification of air layers must occur within the canopy, which was more effective under the shorter and denser canopy of N22 and Takanari (plant height of 70–80 ​cm) than under IR64 (90–110 ​cm) and Vandana (115–130 ​cm). Genotypes with appropriate canopy structures should be chosen for high vapour pressure deficit (VPD) conditions. Both maximum canopy temperature and VPD need to be specified to define the critical threshold for heat tolerance. Takanari was notable for greater leaf area retention and greater leaf photosynthetic capacity due to the maintenance of a higher internal leaf CO2 concentration, which led to higher spikelet and grain numbers and higher yield potential under ET conditions.

Investigation of ambient temperature effects on the characteristics of turbulent diffusion flames: An experimental approach

Pool fires, commonly associated with industrial accidents, have posed a significant threat to the safety of industrial processes. This is particularly relevant in environments where storage tanks, engine cabinets, and boiler rooms are typically maintained. The effects of ambient temperature on the flame characteristics of gaseous pool fires were explored through a series of experiments conducted in a temperature-controlled chamber, with temperatures ranging from 40 ℃ to − 20 ℃. A modified flame height correlation accounting for the temperature effect was proposed. These findings have potential implications for enhancing the reliability of industrial design and fire risk assessment in environments with varying temperature conditions.

Broad-temperature-range mechanically tunable hydrogel microcapsules for controlled active release.

Here, we report PNIPAm-co-PEGDA hydrogel shelled microcapsules with a thin oil layer to achieve tunable thermo-responsive release of the encapsulated small hydrophilic actives. We use a microfluidic device integrated with a temperature-controlled chamber for consistent and reliable production of the microcapsules by utilizing triple emulsion drops (W/O/W/O) with a thin oil layer as capsule templates. The interstitial oil layer between the aqueous core and the PNIPAm-co-PEGDA shell provides a diffusion barrier for the encapsulated active until the temperature reaches a critical point above which the destabilization of interstitial oil layer occurs. We find that the destabilization of the oil layer with temperature increase is caused by outward expansion of the aqueous core due to volume increase and the radial inward compression from the deswelling of the thermo-responsive hydrogel shell. The copolymerization of NIPAm with PEGDA increases the biocompatibility of the resulting microcapsule while offering the ability to alter the compressive modulus in broad ranges by simply varying crosslinker concentrations thereby to precisely tune the onset release temperature. Based on this concept, we further demonstrate that the release temperature can be enhanced up to 62°C by adjusting the shell thickness even without varying the chemical composition of the hydrogel shell. Moreover, we incorporate gold nanorods within the hydrogel shell to spatiotemporally regulate the active release from the microcapsules by illuminating with non-invasive near infrared (NIR) light.

Wear and damage behaviours of wheel and rail materials: Effects of friction modifier and environmental temperature

Low temperature conditions can aggravate the wear and fatigue damage of the wheel and the rail materials. Friction modifier (FM) is used to control the adhesion and alleviate the wear and damage. However, the wear and damage behaviours of wheel and rail with the application of FM under low temperature have not been revealed. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the effect of FM on the wear and the rolling contact fatigue (RCF) damage of the wheel and the rail under low temperature conditions. Tests were conducted on a rolling-sliding wear testing apparatus with the samples enclosed in a temperature-controlled chamber. The results indicated that the effect of FM on the wear and the RCF damage of the wheel and the rail was influenced by the temperature significantly. Compared with the dry condition, the wear rate of the wheel decreased obviously at all temperature conditions when using FM. Meanwhile, the RCF damage of the wheel was relatively slight. Besides, there was no significant difference among the RCF damage of the wheel at different temperatures both under the dry and the FM conditions. At room temperature, the application of FM could alleviate the RCF damage of the rail. Under the low temperature condition, the performance of FM would fail, which would result in a severe oil wedge effect on the rail specimen. Therefore, the application of FM could induce a higher wear rate and severe RCF damages on rail material at the low temperature condition. The results of the present study could provide guidance for the development and design of FMs used in cold regions.

Toucans’ ostentatious beaks do not expand their thermoneutral zone

Some birds are just instantly recognisable. From elegant flamingos with graceful necks to toco toucans (Ramphastos toco) with their jet-black plumage and distinctive beaks, some birds just stand out from the dowdy crowd. And the toucan's outsized beak comes in handy for retrieving fruit and cracking nuts. But Glenn Tattersall from Brock University, Canada, explains that the toucan's outrageous bill also doubles as a radiator; he recalls how, in the 2000s, Augusto Abe (Sao Paulo State University, Brazil) put him on to the possibility that the birds may use their beaks to regulate their body temperature. However, warm-blooded creatures mainly prefer living at temperatures where they expend little energy to remain warm or keep cool, known as their thermoneutral zone. Denis Andrade, Jussara Chaves (both from Sao Paulo State University) and Tattersall wondered whether the toucans’ ostentatious beaks could expand the range of temperatures over which the birds live at relatively little cost to maintain their body temperature.Collecting six toucans, Chaves settled the birds in Andrade's lab at the Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil. Then each night, she placed individual birds into a temperature-controlled chamber – set at temperatures from 0 to 35°C, spanning the 10–25°C temperature range where they expend little energy to remain warm – and measured their oxygen consumption to find out how much energy they used to regulate their temperature when hot and chilly. Then, Chaves repeated the oxygen consumption measurements, but this time she prevented the birds from using their beaks like a radiator by placing a snuggly fitting felt jacket over each beak, which allowed the birds to open their beaks if they got warm and needed to pant, while preventing their beaks from absorbing or losing heat to regulate their temperature. If the beaks were allowing the birds to expand the range of temperatures over which they could live a relatively low-cost life, then the felt beak-jacket would alter the temperatures at which the birds began using more energy to keep warm or cool.But the beak-jacket didn't extend or reduce the temperature range over which the birds live comfortably. Their thermoneutral zone is not extended by their radiator beaks.The team also reviewed how the birds slept in cold conditions and realised that the chilliest birds with unjacketed beaks tucked their beaks beneath their wing feathers, in addition to shutting off the blood supply to the beak, to keep warm. However, as the temperatures rose above 30°C, the birds’ naked beaks came into their own. The toucans with felt jacketed beaks used 20% more energy than those without beak-jackets, probably because they were panting to keep cool. ‘Our estimate is that the beneficial consequence of being able to access the normal heat exchange through the bill at 35°C corresponds to ∼32% of basal metabolic rate’, Tattersall explains.So, the toucan's beak can work both ways. ‘It promotes heat dissipation quite efficiently, but under conditions of high solar radiation it may also be a window to undesired heat gain’, says Andrade. And the team suspects that the toucans’ ability to absorb heat through their impressive beaks as they go about their daily business could limit how long they spend foraging for food, forcing them to seek shade at the peak of the day to avoid overheating.

Crystallization deformation and phase transitions of coarse-grained sulfate saline soils upon cooling

The volumetric expansion of saline soils under cooling could pose a threat to infrastructure constructed on these soils. This study examines the crystallization deformation characteristics of coarse-grained sulfate saline soils subject to stepwise cooling from 30 °C to −15 °C. Soil columns are prepared in plexiglass buckets with different fine contents, percent compaction, moisture contents, and sodium sulfate content. Cumulative heave and temperature evolution are measured when the specimens are maintained in a temperature-controlled environmental chamber (freezing in three dimensions). Upon cooling, salt and ice crystals grow in soil pores, leading to volumetric expansion. A model is proposed to describe the precipitation-induced deformation varying with temperature based on random forest (RF). The RF-based model reveals that the initial salt-to-water ratio exerts the most significant influence on the accumulated deformation, followed by moisture content, soil salinity, percent compaction, and soil gradation. The initial precipitation and freezing points (response variables) are expressed as two separate functions of soil properties (predictor variables) using the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS). The MARS-based models demonstrate that the precipitation points are mainly affected by the initial salt-to-water ratio and soil salinity; all factors contribute to the freezing point prediction, given the combined action of salt and ice crystallization. A threshold soil salinity of 33.33% existed in the evolution of precipitation points, while a threshold fine content of 35% and a threshold soil salinity of 39.68% were observed in freezing point predictions. The interaction mechanism of salt and ice crystallizations led to incredible difficulty capturing freezing points rather than precipitation points and predicting the sample heave. Although the evaluation metrics (RMSE, MAPE, and R2) confirm that the RF- and MARS-based models achieve the regression tasks well, more efforts are needed toward the second phase transition phenomenon and its implications for explaining thermally induced saline soil response. The findings may guide the utilization and management of land resources in saline areas.

Influence of Ambient Temperature and Crystalline Structure on Fracture Toughness and Production of Thermoplastic by Enclosure FDM 3D Printer

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing has printed thermoplastic materials layer-by-layer to form three dimensional products whereby interlayer adhesion must be well controlled to obtain high mechanical performance and product integrity. This research studied the effects of ambient temperatures and crystalline structure on the interlayer adhesion and properties of thermoplastic FDM 3D printing. Five kinds of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) filaments, both commercially available and the laboratory-made, were printed using the enclosure FDM 3D printer. The ambient temperatures were set by the temperature-controlled chamber from room temperature to 75 °C with and without a cooling fan. The interlayer adhesion was characterized by the degree of entanglement density, morphology, and fracture toughness. In addition, PLA filament with high crystallinity has induced heat resistance, which could prevent filament clogging and successfully print at higher chamber temperatures. The ambient temperature increased with increased chamber temperature and significantly increased when printed without a cooling fan, resulting in improved interlayer bonding. The crystalline structure and dynamic mechanical properties of the 3D printed products were promoted when the chamber temperature was increased without a cooling fan, especially in PLA composites and PLA containing a high content of L-isomer. However, although the additives in the PLA composite improved crystallinity and the degree of entanglement density in the 3D-printed products, they induced an anisotropic characteristic that resulted in the declination of the interlayer bonding in the transverse orientation products. The increasing of chamber temperatures over 40 °C improved the interlayer bonding in pristine PLA products, which was informed by the increased fracture toughness. Further, it can be noted that the amorphous nature of PLA promotes molecular entanglement, especially when printed at higher chamber temperatures with and without a cooling fan.