Category: Uncategorized - page 7

A research team lead by Professor Jian-Hui Hou from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has optimized the alkyl chains of the BTP-4Cl and synthesized a series of new non-fullerene electron acceptors (NFAs) that can be used for large-area coatings. The team applied the new NFAs in fabricating large-area coated OPV cells and achieved good results. Their study was published in National Science Reviews, “17% efficiency organic photovoltaic cell with superior processability.”

In cooperation with Professor Wei Ma from Xi’an Jiaotong University, they found that a BTP-4Cl-12 had balanced solution processability and aggregation features. The results were that the blade-coating film showed an excellent phase separation morphology, which contributed to the high carrier transport and suppressed charge recombination in the OPV cells. The findings demonstrated that the efficiency of the photoactive materials’ chemical structures substantially impacted large-area coating production.

To learn more about this research, read: https://phys.org/news/2020-02-photovoltaic-cell-efficiency-superior-large-area.html

Apex Measurement Systems is a leading process analytical and quality control supplier in Brighton, MI. We place value on working with engineers and chemists focused on quality, process optimization, standardization, and automation. apexmeasurementsystems.com 

The water industry is posed to have several new changes that happen within the next decade due to rapid urbanization, climate change, consumer demands, and emerging digital technologies. Complex business challenges will arise, and companies can turn these changes into opportunities that could benefit both businesses and consumers and the environment. Below, are five trends that will have an impact on the water industry within the next decade:

1. Extreme Weather

It is anticipated that we will have more extreme weather in the next decade than ever recorded before. Most of the climate change is attributed to water, and these changes will influence agricultural production, rises in sea levels, and wildfires leading to droughts and floods. 

Hard engineering structures such as dikes, seawalls, and levees can be built to protect coastal communities against severe flooding. The use of intricate water modeling technologies can help determine current vulnerabilities and offer better solutions to address these coastal challenges.

2. Agricultural Changes

The UN has projected that the world’s population will reach more than nine billion by 2050 and making sure that there is enough food for everyone will be essential. It is estimated that global food production needs to be increased by at least 70% to maintain enough food. To keep up with these demands, there needs to be enough arable land for crop production and more efficient irrigation technology to handle the requests. Precision farming systems, coupled with emerging technologies to improve agricultural production, will help in using less water for more crops. 

3. Reusing Wastewater

Wastewater is made up of many valuable elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and other resources that can be used for energy and be reused instead of letting them be discarded back into the environment. The current water consumption model is liner in nature, meaning that water is extracted from a source, checked for quality, consumed, treated, and discharged in a receiving body of water. In the next decade, we will see the emergence of a more circular model, one of which focuses on reusing wastewater and utilizing its properties we are currently discarding. To do this, we will need to rethink and redesign the current infrastructure. 

4. Customer-Led Revolution

Digital technologies are used by consumers nearly every moment of the day, empowering them more than ever. People expect more personalized products and services to improve every aspect of their life, which will only increase as time goes on. Businesses must accept that the new paradigm of the empowered customer adapts their mindsets to service this expectation. Technologies for smart water softeners, filtration systems, and other consumer products will give homeowners more control over bills, utilization, and overall maintenance. The water industry will be challenged to examine how to work with businesses, consumers, and technologies to achieve the desired goals for all. 

5. Smart Network and Technologies

As we progress into a more tech-driven world, smart water network solutions will increase in use and improve the reliability of physical water operations by gathering and analyzing data more effectively. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a term coined to describe all devices connected to the internet and speak with each other, sending data, automatic process, and analytics. IoT will help better manage the water industry infrastructure and reduce non-revenue water losses; it will also support essential changes to how utility companies operate and function. This will allow the opportunity to improve productivity and ROI, all while enhancing customer experience and expectations. 

Reynolds Water Conditioning Co. was established in 1931 and is Michigan’s oldest water conditioning treatment company. Reynolds Water is delighted to provide the highest quality products at a cost-effective price. www.reynoldswater.com

Researchers affiliated with UNIST (Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) have demonstrated, for the first time, the ionizing cooling of muons. For those who work in the field, this is considered a massive step toward creating the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. The new muon accelerator is expected to provide a better understanding of the fundamental properties of matter.

The Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment (MICE) collaboration has been behind the breakthrough, including many UK scientists. One of the pioneers is Professor Moses Chung, who leads his team at the School of Natural Sciences at UNIST. His organization’s work has been featured in the online version of Nature on February 5, 2020.

“We have succeeded in realizing muon ionization cooling, one of our greatest challenges associated with developing muon accelerators,” says Professor Chung. “Achievement of this is considered especially important, as it could change the paradigm of developing the Lepton Collider that could replace the Neutrino Factory of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).”

These experiments have demonstrated that the phase-space volume occupied by the muon beam can be controlled with ionization cooling, as predicted by the field’s theories.

Read more about this leading breakthrough in particle accelerators, here.

On Tuesday, June 7th, the largest electric provider in New Mexico had unveiled its solar array to power Facebook’s Los Lunas Center with renewable energy. 

The 50-megawatt facility had its virtual ribbon-cutting event at Encino Solar Fields, located in Sandoval County west of Rio Rancho. New Mexico Renewable Development LLC and Public Service Co. of New Mexico entered an agreement in 2019 to build the array to power the data center near Los Lunas. 

The Encino solar array power purchase agreements equal to 287 megawatts of solar and more than 350 megawatts of wind and includes around 180,00 solar modules. 

Facebook has devoted itself to supporting the utility operations with 100% renewable energy beginning this year, and additional renewable resources are anticipated to emerge for the following years. 

J&P Electrical is a full-service electrical equipment company. At J&P, we supply contractors, end-users, and supply houses with new surplus, quality reconditioned, and obsolete electrical equipment. We also purchase a wide range of electrical equipment, such as bus plugs, ducts, panel switches, substations, and transformers. 

View the original article here: https://www.power-grid.com/2020/07/10/new-mexico-utility-unveils-solar-array-to-power-facebook/

As we continue to move forward in 2020 with Covid-19 seemingly expanding wider, oncologic care is finding itself in an uncommon and challenging dilemma between the goal to protect patients who are susceptible to Covid-19 while also trying to provide the important treatment they need in appropriate time frames so not to jeopardize treatment outcomes.

Unfortunately, those patients who have cancer are particularly susceptible because of their age, health, and immunosuppression from ongoing cancer therapy. With about 50% of cancer patients receiving radiation therapy, radiation departments around the county have needed to adapt in a situation that is uncharted, requiring ultra-sterile environments, and sometimes uncomfortable processes that would not have been necessary before the Covid-19 era.

Radiotherapy institutions are contemplating major questions that can impact not only the quality of their patient’s treatments, but also their patient’s health and the medical staff who serve them. Comprehensive measures are being taken to mitigate risk from exposure and spread. Patients and medical personnel are oftentimes required to enter separate entrances before they take a sperate screening, with appointments broken out in separate intervals to minimize extensive overlap in the waiting room. For patients who are COVID-19 positive and need radiation treatment, all equipment must be sterilized, and extra precautions are taken than those who are Covid-19 negative. Treatment breaks are another issue for recently diagnosed Covid patients, as the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines require a 14-day minimum quarantine, increasing treatment package and time sacrificing confidence in local control.

A new mindset for department operations is also developing with the use of telemedicine, which has become paramount in mitigating exposure for patients and health care workers while also lowering the number of employees in facilities. While these precautions are necessary and positive for maintaining the spread of Covid, we need to make sure that patients do not feel socially isolated or neglected by their health care providers in such a great time of uncertainty as this. Patients are already trying to overcome the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis and, world pandemic or not, we need to make sure these patients get all the care they deserve.

Read More: https://appliedradiationoncology.com/articles/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-radiation-oncology-department-workflow-in-the-united-states