Changes of the Level of Liquidity in Time of the Financial Crisis： A Case of Polish Companies

The financial crisis undoubtedly exerted a pressure on the companies operating in Poland. Thus, it is important to undertake researches that reveal the paths and strength of the transmission of financial crisis with regard to the business entities. This paper presents partial results of the researches dedicated to the analysis of the impact of financial crisis on the financial situation of companies operating in Silesian Region in Poland. It analyses and discusses the general changes in the financial ratios that inform about the company＇s financial liquidity and the level of liquidity risk. As a research paper, it aims at justifying hypotheses about the changes of liquidity and liquidity risk in companies operating in Poland, Silesian Region within the period of 2006-2009. The tested hypotheses generally indicate the decrease of liquidity in the aftermath of crisis and a worse situation in the Silesian Region, as compared to the national level. The study is based on an application of a part of authors＇ self-developed method--the CFS Watch （Corporate Financial Situation Watch）, which consists of five analytical modules. In this study, one module is applied： the FLA Module （Financial Liquidity Analysis） with regard to financial liquidity and the level of liquidity risk. The research is based on the data collected by the Polish Central Statistical Office. The analysis of FLA Module is based on two samples of companies： companies operating in the Silesian Region （denoted as the MEPP sample）, and companies operating in Poland （denoted as the MAPP sample）. This allows developing a comparative analysis between regional and national dimension. The results of the study represent an interesting starting point for further comparative researches based on the analysis of the changes in the level of liquidity and liquidity risk of companies operating in different countries. It may form a base for finding similarities or differences in their financial situation in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The CFS Watch method in terms of the liquidity can be widely applied to make the results comparable.

Effect of the Filling Liquid Ratio on the Thermal Performance of a Novel Thermal Diode with Wick

The application of thermal diodes,which allow heat to flow more readily in one direction than the other,is an important way to reduce energy consumption in buildings and enhance the battery heat dissipation of electric vehicles.Depending on various factors including the specific design,materials used,and operating conditions,the convective thermal diode can exhibit the best thermal rectification effect in intended applications compared to the other thermal diodes.In this study,a novel convective thermal diode with a wick was proposed based on the phase change heat transfer mechanism.This design takes advantage of both capillary forces provided by the wick and gravity to achieve enhanced unidirectional heat transfer performance for the designed convective thermal diode.The effect of the filling liquid ratio on the thermal performance of the thermal diode was experimentally investigated,which was in good agreement with the theoretical analysis.The research findings showed that with an optimal liquid filling ratio of 140%,the thermal diode with a wick can achieve a better thermal rectification ratio when subjected to a lower heating power,and the maximum thermal rectification ratio of 21.76 was experimentally achieved when the heating power of the thermal diode was 40 W.

A new design of foam spray nozzle used for precise dust control in underground coal mines

In order to improve the utilization rate of foam,an arc jet nozzle was designed for precise dust control.Through theoretical analysis,the different demands of foam were compared amongst arc jets,flat jets and full cone jets when the dust source was covered identically by foam.It is proved that foam consumption was least when an arc jet was used.Foam production capability of an arc jet nozzle under different conditions was investigated through experiments.The results show that with the gas liquid ratio(GLR)increasing,the spray state of an arc jet nozzle presents successively water jet,foam jet and mist.Under a reasonable working condition range of foam production and a fixed GLR,foam production quantity increases at first,and then decreases with the increase of liquid supply quantity.When the inner diameter of the nozzle is 14 mm,the best GLR is 30 and the optimum liquid supply quantity is0.375 m^3/h.The results of field experiments show that the total dust and respirable dust suppression efficiency of arc jet nozzles is 85.8%and 82.6%respectively,which are 1.39 and 1.37 times higher than the full cone nozzles and 1.20 and 1.19 times higher than the fiat nozzles.

Determination of the subcooled liquid solubilities of PAHs in partitioning batch experiments

Subcooled liquid solubility is the water solubility for a hypothetical state of liquid. It is an important parameter for multicomponent nonaqueous phase liquids （NAPLs） containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）, which can exist as liquids even though most of the solutes are solid in their pure form at ambient temperature. So far, subcooled liquid solubilities were estimated from the solid water solubility and fugacity ratio of the solid and （subcooled） liquid phase, but rarely derived from experi- mental data. In our study, partitioning batch experiments were performed to determine the subcooled liquid solubility of PAHs in NAPL-water system. For selected PAH, a series of batch experiments were carried out at increased mole fractions of the target component in the NAPL and at a constant NAPL/ water volume ratio. The equilibrium aqueous PAH concentrations were measured with HPLC and/or GC- MS. The suhcooled liquid solubility was derived by extrapolation of the experimental equilibrium aqueous concentration to a mole fraction of unity. With the derived subcooled liquid solubility, the fugacity ratio and enthalpy of fusion of the solute were also estimated. Our results show a good agreement between the experimentally determined and published data.

HPLC Pigment Profiles of 31 Harmful Algal Bloom Species Isolated from the Coastal Sea Areas of China

Chemotaxonomy based on diagnostic pigments is now a routine tool for macroscopic determination of the composition and abundance of phytoplankton in various aquatic environments. Since the taxonomic capability of this method depends on the relationships between diagnostic pigments and chlorophyll a of classified groups, it is critical to calibrate it by using pigment relationships obtained from representative and/or dominant species local to targeted investigation area. In this study, pigment profiles of 31 harmful algal bloom(HAB) species isolated from the coastal sea areas of China were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC). Pigment compositions, cellular pigment densities and ratios of pigments to chlorophyll a were determined and calculated. Among all these species, 25 kinds of pigments were detected, of which fucoxanthin, peridinin, 19'-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin, 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin, violaxanthin, and antheraxanthin were diagnostic pigments. Cellular pigment density was basically independent of species and environmental conditions, and therefore was recommended as a bridge to compare the results of HPLC-CHEMTAX technique with the traditional microscopy method. Pigment ratios of algal species isolated from the coast of China, especially the diagnostic pigment ratios, were higher than those from other locations. According to these results, pigment ratio ranges of four classes of phytoplankton common off the coast of China were summarized for using in the current chemotaxonomic method. Moreover, the differences of pigments ratios among different species under the same culturing conditions were consistent with their biological differences. Such differences have the potential to be used to classify the phytoplankton below class, which is meaningful for monitoring HABs by HPLC-CHEMTAX.

Evaluating Soil Dissolved Organic Matter Extraction Using Three-Dimensional Excitation-Emission Matrix Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Soil dissolved organic matter （DOM） consists of many organic compounds and plays an important role in contaminant transport in the ecosystem. However, the effects of different extraction conditions on contents of different DOM components are poorly understood. We extracted DOM from three soils using different extraction times, solid to liquid ratios （SLR）, and extraction solution （KC1） concentrations, and evaluated the extractions using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix （EEM） fluorescence spectroscopy. The sum of the contents of the main DOM components （protein-, fulvic-, and humic-like compounds） increased by 0.6-3.5, 2.5-3.9, and 0.11 0.37 times （P 〈 0.05） when SLR decreased from 1：2 to 1：10, the extraction solution concentration increased from 0.01 to 1.5 mol L-1, and extraction time increased from 10 to 300 rain, respectively. The three-dimensional EEM fluorescence spectroscopy is a useful tool to characterize the components of DOM and evaluate DOM extraction in soils.

Optimizing soil dissolved organic matter extraction by grey relational analysis

Dissolved organic matter(DOM)in soil plays an important role in the fate and transport o f contaminants.It is typically composed of many compounds,but the effect of different extraction factors on the abundance of different DOM components is unknown.In this study,DOM was extracted from three soils(paddy field,vegetable field and forest soils)with various extraction time,liquid to solid ratios(LSRs).extractant types,and extractant concentrations.The LSR had a significant effect on DOM content,which increased by 0.5-4.0 times among the three soils when LSR increased from 2:1 to 10:1(P<0.05).Dissolved organic matter content increased by 4%-53%when extraction time increased from 10 to 300 min(P<0.05).Extractant concentration had different effects on DOM content depending on the extractant.Higher concentrations of KC1 promoted DOM extraction,while higher concentrations o f KH2PO4 inhibited DOM extraction.Therefore,grey relational analysis was used to further quantitatively evaluate the effect of extraction time,LSR,and extractant concentration on DOM,using KC1 as an extractant.For the paddy field and forest soils,the impact of these three factors on DOM extraction efficiency was in the following order:KC1 concentration>LSR>extraction time.However,the effect was different for the vegetable field soil:LSR>extraction time>KCI concentration.Taking all these factors into account,1.50 mol L^-1 KC1 and an LSR of 10:1 with a shaking time of 300 min was recommended as the most appropriate method for soil DOM extraction.

Experimental Research on Thermal Performance of Ultra-Thin Flattened Heat Pipes

Ultra-thin flattened heat pipe(UTHP) is an effective solution to solve the problem of high-power density heat dissipation in narrow space. The key factors that determine its thermal performance include: the shapes and sizes of the UTHP, the wick structure, the type of working fluid and its filling ratio. The change in the filling ratio means not only a change in the amount of the working fluid, but also a change in the space distribution of the gas and liquid phases inside the heat pipe. Therefore, it is important to explore the effect of liquid filling ratio on the thermal performance of UTHP. It can provide effective guidance for the production of UTHP. In this work, experiments were conducted on four groups of UTHPs with different mesh wicks under a series of liquid filling ratios. The results demonstrate that the volume of the filling working fluid should account for 22%-37% of the total internal volume of the UTHP to avoid deterioration of heat transfer during the operation of the UTHP. In addition, a prediction model of the evaporator temperature has been established to provide guidance for the application of UTHPs.