Open microchannels are a promising configuration for flow boiling because the top gap facilitates vapor evacuation and liquid replenishment, thereby improving thermal performance and moderating flow instabilities. However, their behavior under different inlet subcooling conditions remains insufficiently understood under hydrostatically controlled inlet-head operation, particularly when water is used as the working fluid. Deionized water flow boiling was experimentally investigated in an open microchannel heatsink featuring a 100 μm top gap and microstructures with an aspect ratio of 15 and a length of 50 mm. Experiments were conducted at four prescribed hydrostatic heads (from 45 to 85 cm) at three different inlet temperatures: 60, 75 and 90 ºC. Quantitative thermohydraulic measurements were complemented by high-speed flow visualization. Raising inlet temperature from 60 to 90 ºC reduced the heat flux at the onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) by 73–79%, whereas the critical heat flux (CHF) decreased by only 19–34%. Consequently, the two-phase operating window widened and was largest at 90 ºC. The lowest subcooling condition yielded the highest heat transfer performance, with maximum heat transfer coefficients of 12,847–23,686 W/m2·K under surge-like vapor motion, but also the sharpest pre-CHF deterioration. This wider operating window incurred hydraulic and dynamic penalties: pressure drop increased by up to 335% from ONB to CHF and, at 102 W/cm2 under the highest hydrostatic-head condition, pressure drop oscillation severity increased by 169%. Increasing hydrostatic head from 45 to 85 cm more than doubled the ONB flow rate, whereas lower subcooling accelerated flow rate depletion and fluctuations toward CHF.
Biomass-derived ionic liquids are promising compounds which can transform thermal energy storage (TES) by coupling high-performance phase change behaviour with renewable origins. Based on a comprehensive review of more than 120 key studies published between 2002 and 2026, this review targets Green Chemistry agenda by moving beyond generic claims of “green” ionic liquids and systematically linking precursor origin, synthetic routes, and atom economy to thermophysical performance in thermal, waste-heat recovery, and building energy storage systems. Recent advances in sugar-, lignin-, amino acid-, cholinium- and fatty acid-based ionic liquids are reported, showing how rational cation–anion design can tune melting point, latent heat, heat capacity, viscosity, and cycling stability to compete or outperform conventional molten salts and organic phase change materials. At the same time, it is discussed that sustainability is not intrinsic to the final ionic liquid: since life-cycle burdens, side contaminations and processes, fluorinated anions, and energy demands can fake environmental benefits if not quantified. By including cradle-to-grave considerations and bio-origin-driven classification with structure–property trends, this review provides design guidelines for ionic liquids that are not only advanced TES media but also aligned with circularity and climate mitigation goals.
Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is the second leading cause of death among gynecologic malignancies and exhibits marked histological and molecular heterogeneity. Advances in tumor biology and targeted therapies have increased the need for accurate biomarker characterization. This updated consensus by the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the Spanish Society of Pathology (SEAP) reviews key morphological and molecular features for diagnosis and providing recommendations for biomarker assessment across major OC subtypes. The document addresses classical serum biomarkers, prognostic tools, and genomic alterations with therapeutic implications, including homologous recombination deficiency (HRD), BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, mismatch repair status, as well as other established and emerging biomarkers. Emphasis is placed on optimal sample selection, validated techniques, and multidisciplinary integration is required to ensure diagnostic quality. These recommendations aim to optimize prognostic stratification and guide personalized treatment strategies, ultimately improving clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer.
River ecosystems in tropical Asia are increasingly threatened by climate and land-use change. The proliferation of oil palm plantations is thought to exacerbate climate change-driven stream temperature increases through the removal of bankside tree shading. As such, there are concerns that rising water temperatures could severely affect sensitive river organisms. Despite this, research investigating how the conversion of native tropical forest to oil palm plantations impacts stream shading has been limited. River scientists and plantation managers therefore currently lack the evidence needed to develop appropriate riparian management strategies. To address this knowledge gap, we present the results of a drone-based study quantifying differences in stream shading generated under three different tropical forest canopy treatments: native dipterocarp forest, disturbed forest and oil palm plantation. Working in the Langat River watershed, Malaysia, we generated Structure from Motion point clouds of riparian forest cover for these three treatments and used the resulting data to measure tree height and canopy density at each site. We then input these data into the shading routines of the Heat Source stream temperature model, generating values of effective shade and view-to-sky (VTS) along a 500 m stream reach at each site. Our results showed that both the disturbed and particularly oil palm treatments generate significantly lower effective shade (similar to 17% and similar to 6%, respectively) than the native tropical forest treatment (similar to 28%). We subsequently investigated the interaction between shade and channel width under each canopy treatment by developing an algorithm that iteratively removed pixels along the river's centreline, allowing us to calculate shading in progressively narrower channels while retaining identical riparian forest structure. While the native and disturbed forest treatments showed a strong effect of channel width on the magnitude of shade provided to the stream, the shading provided by oil palms exhibited almost no variation with width; instead, it was consistently low, with the shading offered even to very narrow channels (5 m wide) being lower than that afforded by native forests to the widest (25 m) streams. This study is the first to apply these methods to assess shading in tropical streams and highlights the significant loss of shading when native forest is replaced with oil palm. These changes may elevate stream temperatures, with cascading effects on aquatic biodiversity. Our findings emphasise the importance of retaining a buffer of natural forest along the riparian zone of streams within oil palm landscapes.
Soccer is an intermittent sport requiring rapid recovery from repeated high-intensity efforts, especially under heat stress conditions. Cooling vests have emerged as a practical strategy to enhance post-exercise heat dissipation, yet their physiological effects remain underexplored. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a cooling vest following a repeated shuttle sprint ability (RSSA) test under hot conditions, focusing on skin temperature, blood lactate, and heart rate responses. Eleven recreational male soccer players completed two RSSA tests in a randomized crossover design, each followed by 15 min of passive recovery with or without a cooling vest. Skin temperature was measured at five anatomical sites, while blood lactate and the heart rate were recorded at baseline, pre-test, and at 0, 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 min post-exercise. Compared with the control condition, the cooling vest intervention significantly reduced skin temperature at the 3(rd )and the 5(th) min post-exercise (3 min: d(z) = -1.54, 95% CI [-2.53, -0.55], p < 0.001; 5 min: d(z) = -0.90, 95% CI [-1.71, -0.08], p = 0.016). Transient between-condition differences were also observed for blood lactate at the 3(rd) and the 5(th) min (3 min: d(z) = -1.00, 95% CI [-1.95, -0.006], p = 0.022; 5 min: d(z) = -1.34, 95% CI [-2.36, -0.31], p = 0.003) and for the heart rate at 1 min post-exercise (d(z) = -0.84, 95% CI [-1.59, -0.09], p = 0.013). No consistent differences were found at other time points. The protocol showed high between-day reliability (CV = 2.47%; ICC = 0.75), supporting the validity of the observed effects. In conclusion, post-exercise use of a cooling vest after repeated sprints in the heat accelerates early superficial thermal recovery, as evidenced by reductions in skin temperature during the first minutes of recovery. Transient and isolated differences were also observed for the heart rate and blood lactate concentration; however, these effects were not sustained across the full recovery time-course. From a practical perspective, cooling vests may be useful during short recovery windows in intermittent sports, while further research is needed to determine whether broader or longer-lasting physiological benefits can be achieved.
