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2022-05-07 | Diffusely infiltrative low-grade gliomas (LGG) are primary brain tumours that arise predominantly in the cerebral hemispheres of younger adults. LGG can display either astrocytic or oligodendroglial histology and do not express malignant histological features. Vast majority of LGG are unified by IDH mutations. Other genomic features including ATRX as well as copy number status of chromosomes 1p and 19q serve to molecularly segregate this tumor group. Despite the exponential gains in molecular profiling and understanding of LGG, survival rates and treatment options have stagnated over the past few decades with few advancements. In this study, we utilize low grade glioma RNA-seq data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA-LGG) and tandem mass-spectrometry on an in-house cohort of 54 formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) LGG specimens to investigate the transcriptomic and proteomic profiles across the three molecular subtypes of LGG (Type I: IDH mutant – 1p19q co-deleted, Type II: IDH mutant – 1p19q retained, Type III: IDH wildtype). Within the 3 LGG subtypes, gene expression was driven heavily by IDH mutation and 1p19q co-deletion. In concordance with RNA expression, we were able to identify decreased expressions of proteins coded in 1p19q in Type I LGG. Further proteomic analysis identified 54 subtype specific proteins that were used to classify the three subtypes using a multinomial regression model (AUC = 0.911). Type I LGG were found to have increased protein expression of several metabolic proteins while Type III LGG were found to have increased immune infiltration and inflammation related proteins. Here we present the largest proteomic cohort of LGG and show that proteomic profiles can be successfully analyzed from FFPE tissues. We uncover previously known and novel subtype specific markers that are useful for the proteomic classification of LGG subtypes. | Integrated proteomic analysis of low-grade gliomas reveals contributions of 1p-19q co-deletion to oligodendroglioma | 10.1186/s40478-022-01372-1 |
2022-05-06 | Based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation, to find a new target and mechanism of MEK inhibitor Selumetinib in the treatment of low-grade glioma (LGG), and to provide theoretical guidance for its clinical medication. All possible targets of Selumetinib were fished through the compound target prediction database. New targets of Selumetinib in the treatment of LGG were found and its mechanism was evaluated employing molecular docking, gene difference analysis, molecular dynamics simulation, and protein subcellular localization prediction. A total of 100 Selumetinib targets and 85 LGG-related targets were screened in this study. There were 7 active targets at the intersection of the two. Through protein interaction (PPI), gene enrichment analysis, and gene difference analysis, one effective target of Selumetinib was finally screened, CDK2 mainly existing in the cytoplasm, endoplasmic reticulum, and plasma membrane; the target plays a role in the treatment of LGG by inhibiting the signal pathways of PI3K Akt and participating in biological processes such as peptide amino acid modification, regulation of intracellular signal transduction, and positive regulation of cell metabolism. CDK2 may be a new direction of Selumetinib in the clinical treatment of LGG. | Discovery of novel targets and mechanisms of MEK inhibitor Selumetinib for LGG treatment based on molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation | 10.1007/s00894-022-05132-9 |
2022-05-03 | Sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors (i) reduce cardiovascular and renal events in patients with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the underlying mechanisms are debated. Low-grade inflammation (LGI) is a key driver of vascular complications, suggested to be attenuated by SGLT-2i in animal models. Based on a specific working hypothesis, here we investigated the net effect of SGLT-2i on LGI in patients with T2D and the possible underlying mechanism. We enrolled patients with T2D treated either with a stable therapy with SGLT-2i or with other glucose-lowering drugs (GLD) ( n = 43 per group after matching for a range of pro-inflammatory variables), and tested hs-CRP and interleukin (IL)-6 as primary variables of interest. Patients treated with SGLT-2i had lower circulating levels of IL-6, a prototypical marker of LGI, but also of uric acid and fasting insulin, compared with patients treated with other GLD. Then, to explore whether uric acid and insulin might mediate the effect of SGLT-2i on IL-6, we tested physiologically pertinent doses of these two molecules (i.e. 0.5 mM uric acid and 1 nM insulin) in two in vitro models of LGI, i.e. monocytes (THP-1) treated with LPS and endothelial cells (HUVEC) exposed to hyperglycaemia. Results from in vitro models supported a pro-inflammatory role for uric acid and its combination with insulin in monocytes and for uric acid alone in hyperglycaemia-stimulated endothelial cells. On the contrary, we observed no drug-intrinsic, anti-inflammatory effect for dapagliflozin, empagliflozin, and canagliflozin in the same models. Overall, these results suggest that SGLT-2i possess a tangible activity against LGI, an effect possibly mediated by their ability to lower uric acid and insulin concentrations and that juxtaposes other proposed mechanisms in explaining the observed benefit of this class on cardiovascular and renal endpoints. | Anti-inflammatory effect of SGLT-2 inhibitors via uric acid and insulin | 10.1007/s00018-022-04289-z |
2022-05-02 | Background After amputation, many people become less active, feel lonely and lose independence. Understanding the factors associated with low physical activity levels and participation could contribute to defining key interventions which can support prosthesis users so they can live a more active and socially included lifestyle. This longitudinal observational study aims to assess relationships between physical activity, community participation, prosthetic fit, comfort and user satisfaction using actimetry, 3D scans and questionnaires in a Cambodian cohort of established lower limb prosthesis users. Methods Twenty participants (5F:15M, nine transfemoral, eleven transtibial, 24–60 years old and 3–43 years since amputation) were recruited. They completed a questionnaire which included their demographics, community participation, prosthesis satisfaction and comfort at the start of the study, and between three and six months later. Their prosthetic sockets and residual limbs were 3D scanned at the start and end of the study. Accelerometers were embedded under the cosmesis on the shank of the prosthesis, to collect ten weeks of activity data. Results Participants averaged 4470 steps/day (743–7315 steps/day), and wore their prosthesis for most waking hours, averaging 13.4 h/day (4.5–17.6 h/day). Self-reported measures of activity and hours of wear correlated with these accelerometer data (Spearman’s rho r s = 0.59, and r s = 0.71, respectively). Participants who were more active wore their prosthesis for more hours/day (Pearson r = 0.73) and were more satisfied with socket fit (r s = 0.49). A longer residual limb correlated with better community participation (r s = 0.56) and comfort (r s = 0.56). Self-reported community participation did not correlate with a person’s activity level (r s = 0.13), or their prosthesis comfort (r s = 0.19), and there was only weak correlation between how important the activity was to an individual, and how often they participated in it (r s = 0.37). A simple 0–10 scale of overall comfort did not provide enough detail to understand the types and severity of discomfort experienced. Conclusion Associations between perceived and measured activity levels correlated with socket satisfaction in this cohort of people with established lower limb amputations. The small sample size means these correlations should be interpreted with caution, but they indicate variables worthy of further study to understand barriers to community engagement and physical activity for prosthesis users in Cambodia, and potentially in other settings. | Activity, socket fit, comfort and community participation in lower limb prosthesis users: a Cambodian cohort study | 10.1186/s12984-022-01021-7 |
2022-05-01 | Ultrastable glasses (mostly prepared from the vapor phase under optimized deposition conditions) represent a unique class of materials with low enthalpies and high kinetic stabilities. These highly stable and dense glasses show unique physicochemical properties, such as high thermal stability, improved mechanical properties or anomalous transitions into the supercooled liquid, offering unprecedented opportunities to understand many aspects of the glassy state. Their improved properties with respect to liquid-cooled glasses also open new prospects to their use in applications where liquid-cooled glasses failed or where not considered as usable materials. In this review article we summarize the state of the art of vapor-deposited (and other) ultrastable glasses with a focus on the mechanism of equilibration, the transformation to the liquid state and the low temperature properties. The review contains information on organic, metallic, polymeric and chalcogenide glasses and an updated list with relevant properties of all materials known today to form a stable glass. | Ultrastable glasses: new perspectives for an old problem | 10.1007/s40766-022-00029-y |
2022-05-01 | The temperature-dependent dry sliding wear behavior against an alumina disk is investigated for a novel high-voltage low-current electric energy-treated AISI 1080 steel in comparison with the conventionally treated (patented-cum-cold drawn) AISI 1080 steel up to a test temperature of 60 °C. The conventionally treated steel is found to suffer from an accentuated wear loss with increasing test temperature. This is attributed to the thermal softening effect together with the breakdown of oxide layer so as to aggravate abrasive wear through microcutting and microplowing mechanism alongside plastic flow of metal. In contrast, in case of high-voltage low-current electric energy-treated AISI 1080 steel, a typical tribo-oxide layer of FeAl 2 O 4 is developed at 60 °C. As a result, the surface friction and the surface temperature are brought down to obviate the thermal softening effect. This causes an arrest in wear loss at 60 °C. | Temperature-Dependent Wear Characteristics of a High-Voltage Low-Current Electric Energy-Treated AISI 1080 Steel | 10.1007/s11665-021-06503-8 |
2022-05-01 | As a deceptively simple material, SnS has received extensive attention in the thermoelectric community recently due to its fascinating electron and phonon transport features, making it a very promising thermoelectric candidate. In this review, we first discuss the fundamental characteristics of SnS, including crystal structures, electronic and phononic band structures, and physical or chemical properties. Meanwhile, the approaches of improving thermoelectric performance are summarized, including simultaneous carrier concentration tuning and carrier mobility improvement, multiple valence bands transport and their synergetic optimization, and anharmonicity and phonon “softening” behavior. We also compare the difference in electrical and thermal transport properties between crystals and polycrystalline SnS. Then, theoretical calculations to predict the maximum ZT in SnS system are also established for potential performance enhancement. Finally, some future possible strategies are proposed to aim at further promoting the figure of merit of SnS. The exploration and research on this new emerged material can contribute the thermoelectrics toward practical applications to meet market demands of low-cost, high-effectiveness, and environmental compatibility. SnS作为一种看似简单的化合物, 近年来却因其极具吸引力的电子和声子传输特性而在热电领域得到广泛关注, 使其成为一种非常具有应用前景的热电材料候选者. 本文首先讨论了SnS的基本特性, 包括晶体结构、电子和声子能带结构以及物理和化学性质. 同时, 对提高该材料热电性能的策略也进行了总结, 包括载流子浓度的优化和载流子迁移率的提升, 多价带输运协同优化热电参数, 以及非简谐性和声子“软化”行为. 对于晶体和多晶SnS在电和热传输性能上的差异, 我们也进行了比较. 然后, 建立了预测SnS体系中最大ZT的理论模型计算, 以进一步提高其热电性能. 最后, 我们提出了进一步提升SnS体系ZT值的方法策略. 对这种新型材料的探索和研究将有助于热电材料的实际推广和应用, 以满足市场对低成本、高效率和环境兼容性的需求. | Remarkable electron and phonon transports in low-cost SnS: A new promising thermoelectric material | 10.1007/s40843-021-1945-1 |
2022-05-01 | Abstract —When studying the microstructure of carbon steel by the example of steel 10 and steel 45, inclusions of gold and silver were found on the surface hardened by shockwave deformation, which were confirmed by experimental and quantitative studies. The formation hypothesis of synthetic gold and silver in the structure of deformed steel is proposed on the basis of cold nuclear fusion (CNF) or low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR) in the deformation core zone. It is shown that the CNF nuclear chain reaction is triggered only when an amorphous core emerges in the deformation zone. The splitting of the amorphous steel structure into iron clusters and degenerate electron gas leads to a collapsing self-compression of the system due to the pressure of the degenerate electron gas and electromagnetic interaction of iron clusters. As a result of the collapse of iron clusters, the CNF of the gold and silver proceeds in them. The leading stage of iron-silver transmutation is shown. It was proved that in the process of silver CNF, an additional proton flux is introduced into the system that leads to their recombination with free electrons and the formation of a significant amount of hydrogen. Hydrogen saturation of the steel causes the well-known effect of anomalous spontaneous deformation of iron, which activates amorphization of steel in the core deformation zone accelerating the CNF process. The development of experimental studies to confirm the course of CNF in the processes of the shockwave deformation of steel during its surface hardening is shown. | A New Type of Phase Transformations in the Process of Shockwave Deformation of Low-Carbon Steel | 10.3103/S0967091222050035 |
2022-05-01 | Cracks easily generate in concrete at early age owing to the shrinkage deformation. CaO-based expansion agent (CEA) and superabsorbent polymers (SAP) have been extensively used for the mitigation of concrete shrinkage. The macroscopic properties of concrete are highly determined by the microstructure. In this study, the influence of CEA and SAP addition on the pore structure evolution of cement paste under different curing temperatures was evaluated via low-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Test results indicated that, in cement paste, a higher CEA content led to a higher porosity and a larger most probable pore diameter (MPPD). Meanwhile, SAP addition increased the porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste at early age but decreased them after 7 d, and a higher SAP content always brought a higher porosity and MPPD. Furthermore, the addition of SAP led to a lower porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste than that of plain cement paste after 14 d. Moreover, the porosity and MPPD of CEA cement paste decreased first and subsequently increased as the curing temperature raised. 混凝土在早期由于较大收缩变形,易产生裂缝、严重影响其耐久性。氧化钙膨胀剂(CEA)和高吸水树脂(SAP)可以有效减小混凝土的收缩,降低开裂风险。混凝土的宏观性能与微观结构密切相关。本文采用低场核磁共振技术研究了掺CEA和SAP水泥浆体在不同养护温度下的孔结构演变特征。结果表明,水泥浆体的孔隙率和最可几孔径随着CEA的掺量增大而增大。SAP的掺入使CEA水泥浆体早期孔隙率和最可几孔径增加,7 d 后孔隙率和最可几孔径降低,且SAP掺量越高,水泥浆体的孔隙率和最可几孔径越大。同时,SAP的掺入使CEA水泥浆体在14 d 后的孔隙率和最可几孔径均低于普通水泥浆体。此外,随着养护温度的升高,CEA水泥浆体的孔隙率和最可几孔径先减小后增大。 | Influence of CaO-based expansive agent, superabsorbent polymers and curing temperature on pore structure evolution of early-age cement paste | 10.1007/s11771-022-4957-1 |
2022-05-01 | The scarcity of clean and safe water is one of the most perilous glitches faced by the world. The pure drinking water resources across the world are depleting progressively due to rapid industrialization and growth in population. The conceivable solution for this problem is converting the available seawater into pure drinking water through several techniques of desalination. In the stream of desalination, many prodigious endeavours are in evolution to increase the reliability of the process by cutting down the principal and maintenance costs. Among several desalination approaches, low-temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) is an intriguing and advancing trend in the desalination process by using low temperatures and pressures in a range similar to ambient temperatures and vacuum pressures. The LTTD technique is operated by taking the energy input from waste heat, thermoclines and renewable energy sources. However, the operating temperatures of the LTTD system are less than 50 °C. The development of this particular LTTD process driven by renewable energy sources has gone through various stages, based on the water–energy demands, environmental concerns and technological progressions. In this article, the historical developments of the LTTD process using several renewable and non-renewable energy sources have been reviewed. Finally, some future recommendations for further developments in this approach are discussed. This article paves the path for the researchers working in desalination to choose an appropriate LTTD approach that is more viable and sustainable than the conventional desalination systems. | A review on low-temperature thermal desalination approach | 10.1007/s11356-022-19147-5 |
2022-05-01 | To solve the problem that the low temperature leads to the slow development of cement strength in deepwater cementing, we prepared low-temperature early strength material of nano-C-S-H gel seed with sodium silicate nonahydrate and calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as raw materials. The chemical structure and elemental composition of nanometer C-S-H gel seed were characterized by FT-IR, EDS, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The effect of nanometer C-S-H gel seed on the early strength of cement at 5 °C was evaluated. The results showed that the nano-C-S-H gel seed is nanoscale and semi-crystalline form. Compared with blank cement, nano-C-S-H gel seed increased the compressive strength of cement by 2.6 MPa (8 h), which could significantly improve the early strength of cement. Finally, mechanistic analysis by XRD and SEM showed the nucleation effect and the adsorption effect of nano-C-S-H gel seed stimulated the reactivity of cement clinker at the low temperature, accelerating the hydration process of the cement slurry. The low-temperature early strength material of nano-C-S-H gel seed may have promising application in deepwater cementing. | Preparation and Properties of Low-Temperature Early Strength Material for Nano-C-S-H Gel Seed | 10.1007/s13369-021-05558-y |
2022-05-01 | High current density electrochemical machining (ECM) and high temperature corrosion behavior of nickel-based alloys have been well researched, but these works cannot provide reference for precision removal and refurbishment of Haynes 214 honeycomb structure carried out at ambient temperature. Thus, we propose micron-scale removal of the Haynes 214 structure by using the low current density ECM technique at ambient temperature and have systematically investigated the electrochemical dissolution behavior of Haynes 214 alloy under such process conditions. Compared with the NaCl solution, the NaNO 3 solution is a preferred electrolyte for electrochemical machining of Haynes 214 due to its good electro-dissolution stability. For Haynes 214 machined in NaNO 3 solutions, a low dissolution resistance can be obtained at the concentration of 7 wt.% and temperature of 40 °C, and in a current density range of 0.1~0.5 A·cm −2 , a material removal rate at the micron scale (1.5~7.5 μm·min −1 ) is maintained. The breakdown of passive films on the Haynes 214 surface occurs preferentially at grain boundaries. Continuous Al enrichment is found throughout the polarization process. In the transpassive region, a large number of γ' particles are exposed on the Haynes 214 surface due to the preferential dissolution of γ matrix. The corrosion products identified by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are composed of Ni(OH) 2 , Cr 2 O 3 , Cr(OH) 3 , Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , and Fe 3 O 4 . This study provides an experimental and theoretical basis for the electrochemical machining of Haynes 214 alloy. The results demonstrate the viability of the proposed method for micron-scale removal of Haynes 214 honeycomb structure at ambient temperature. | Electrochemical Dissolution Behavior of Haynes 214 Honeycomb Structure in NaNO3 Solutions for Low Current Density Electrochemical Machining | 10.1007/s11665-021-06524-3 |
2022-05-01 | Conductive hydrogels have garnered wide interest for various promising applications, such as wearable devices, electronic skins, and intelligent robots. However, these hydrogels still suffer from weak mechanical properties, poor environmental stability, and low sensitivity. Here, we report a conductive organohydrogel that is easily synthesized by a one-step acrylamide polymerization in the presence of cellulose nanofiber (CNF)-templated carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrids and glycerol-water binary solvent. The uniformly dispersed CNF/CNT nanohybrids act as a reinforced and conductive skeleton, which synergistically endows the organohydrogel with excellent tensile strength (≈ 119.2 kPa) and high electronic conductivity (≈ 2.7 mS cm −1 ). Moreover, the synergy of glycerol-water solvent network and polyacrylamide (PAAm) polymer matrix provides an ultra-stretchability (up to 1343%) and skin-like modulus (≈ 17.7 kPa), which can well match the dynamic human–machine interface. Furthermore, the organohydrogels exhibit excellent flexibility under an extreme temperature (< − 24 °C) and maintain the long-term water-retention capability in an open environment (> 10 days), owing to the glycerol-enhanced H-bonding interface interactions. Benefiting from these high performances, our organohydrogel can be employed for preparing multifunctional sensing devices, which display high sensitivity to external strains (gauge factor = 10.03) and dynamic temperature changes (temperature coefficient of resistance = − 1.081% °C −1 ), superior to the most reported samples. Our results pave the way for simple and practical systems that fulfill the requirements of intelligent electronic devices. Graphical abstract | Nanocellulose-templated carbon nanotube enhanced conductive organohydrogel for highly-sensitive strain and temperature sensors | 10.1007/s10570-022-04516-7 |
2022-05-01 | Hardness and strengthening effect of the BC x N y coatings synthesized by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) on the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy were studied. The BC x N y coatings were deposited from borane triethylamine vapor at the temperature range of 500-800 °C. It was found that the BC x N y coatings deposited at 600-700 °C have maximum hardness values. Strengthening effect was evaluated from the stress–strain characteristics under cyclic (periodic) loading. The coated samples showed greater resistance to fatigue failure compared to uncoated ones; the greatest strengthening effect was observed for the coating deposited at 600 °C. Mechanical stresses in the coatings were measured to clarify the nature of the strengthening effect. Most of the coatings were found to be under tensile stress; the maximum stress values of 800-1000 MPa were characteristic for the coatings deposited at 550-650 °C. The critical strains which lead to the failure of the coatings were determined. A brittle destruction of the coating occurred simultaneously with the irreversible deformation in the substrate. The interpretation of the obtained results was made using the data on the chemical and phase composition of the coatings. | Hardness and Strengthening Effect of Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition BCxNy Coatings Deposited on Ti-6Al-4V Alloy | 10.1007/s11665-021-06463-z |
2022-05-01 | The early-age thermal cracking easily generates and severely impairs the durability of concrete. The temperature rising inhibitor (TRI) was utilized to regulate the temperature evolution by controlling the cement hydration process. This paper aimed to investigate the pore structure formation and hydration characteristics of cement paste containing TRI by low-field nuclear magnetic resonance. The experiment showed that the T 2 peak of cement paste shifted from 7.32 ms to 0.23 ms regardless of TRI addition. But the pattern of pore structure formation was changed with TRI addition, that is, the pore structure formation was delayed, and the pore successively shifted to left in two parts. In addition, TRI addition significantly prolonged the duration of gel pore formation and greatly decreased the increase rate of gel water, which implied that TRI introduction hindered the growth of C-S-H, and subsequently decreased the hydration rates and delayed the main hydration peak. Meanwhile, TRI dissolved and diffused rapidly at 40 °C, delaying the hydration of cement paste seriously. Moreover, TRI brought about the C-S-H nucleation homogeneous and the ion concentration uniform, which might reduce the localized curvature occurring on the sheet of C-S-H, and then decreased the T 2 intensity of capillary water and gel water. 混凝土结构在早龄期易产生温度裂缝,严重影响其耐久性。水化温升抑制剂(TRI)通过调控水泥水化过程,进而调控混凝土内部温度历程,减小温升温降幅度和内外温差,从而降低温度裂缝开裂风险。本文采用低场核磁共振技术研究了掺TRI水泥浆体的水化特性和孔结构演变特征。试验结果表明,不掺TRI水泥浆体横向驰豫时间T2的分布峰均从7.32 ms左移到0.23 ms,但掺TRI水泥浆体的水化和孔结构形成模式明显改变,孔结构形成被抑制,呈双分布峰左移。TRI 明显延长了凝胶孔形成时间,大幅度降低了凝胶孔水的增长速率,表明TRI 抑制了C-S-H 的生长,从而降低了水化速率。此外,TRI在40 °C养护下快速溶解并扩散,大大延缓了水泥水化。TRI还影响C-S-H 成核和浆体中离子分布均匀性,减少了C-S-H片原位卷曲的发生,降低了凝胶孔水与毛细孔水的T2信号强度。 | Pore structure formation and hydration characteristics of cement paste with temperature rising inhibitor | 10.1007/s11771-022-4956-2 |
2022-05-01 | LTCC applications require densification at temperatures lower than 950 °C to allow co-firing with metal electrodes, lower dielectric constant to increase signal transmission speed, a thermal expansion coefficient matched to Si for reliability and higher thermal conductivity to dissipate heat. For this purpose, (SiO 2 –Al 2 O 3 –CaO)-based glass (50–60 wt%)/ceramic (Al 2 O 3 or mullite) composites with nano-hBN (0–10 wt%) addition were investigated. Al 2 O 3 was replaced by mullite to decrease dielectric constant and to match thermal expansion coefficient to Si, and hBN was incorporated to increase thermal conductivity and to decrease dielectric constant. Densification at temperatures ≤ 900 °C was easily achieved for all compositions due to viscous sintering of the glass matrix. hBN did not react chemically with crystalline and amorphous phases, which effectively decreased dielectric constant and increased thermal conductivity. Hence, both mullite and nano-hBN strongly improved dielectric and thermal properties required for the LTCC applications. Dense mullite/glass (55 wt%) base composite with 10 wt% hBN addition was successfully engineered and had comparable dielectric and thermal properties (i.e., 2.3 gcm −3 after sintering at 900 °C, dielectric constant (loss) = 5.13 (0.003) at 5 MHz, thermal conductivity = 1.91 Wm −1 K −1 at 25 °C, and thermal expansion coefficient for the base composite = 4.75 ppm°C −1 ) with respect to the commercial LTCC products. Graphical abstract | Processing and properties of nano-hBN-added glass/ceramic composites for low-temperature co-fired ceramic applications | 10.1007/s43207-021-00185-7 |
2022-05-01 | Herein low-cement alumina-zirconia-silica matrices with outstanding high-temperature strength have been successfully produced for the first time from the demolished industrial trash obtained from glass melting furnaces. Different fine matrix mixes with Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 ratios of 1 to 3 were formed from the fine powders with particle sizes of less than 500 μm of ZAC, calcined alumina, refractory cement, and silica fume. The formed batches were cast with water, demolded, dried, and fired at different sintering temperatures. The experimental mixture of formula Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 = 3 presented the maximum load capacity (~132 MPa), the highest density (2.76 g/cm 3 ), and the lowest porosity (1.42 vol.%) at 1375oC. The formulated refractory mixture from demolished wastes of glass melting furnaces with Al 2 O 3 /SiO 2 = 3 can be substantially proposed as a potential matrix for synthesizing low-cement refractory castables with application temperatures up to 1375°C for the sake of lining specific parts of cement kilns. | Utilization of Demolished Waste of Glass Kilns for the Synthesis of High-Strength, Low-Cement Alumina-Zirconia-Silica Refractory Matrix | 10.1007/s11148-022-00675-z |
2022-05-01 | The effect of parameters of hot rolling and controlled cooling on formation of the martensite-austenite component of bainitic and ferritic-bainitic structures in a pipe steel of strength class K60 is studied. The Pocket Jaw module of a Gleeble 3800 facility is used to reproduce the modes of rolling and controlled cooling of the steel. The deformed samples are subjected to an x-ray diffraction analysis. The content of untransformed austenite and martensite in the structure of the steel is determined. It is shown that the volume fraction of the martensite-austenite component varies from 0.5 to 8% depending on the studied parameters of the thermomechanical treatment. The accumulated strain is found to play the dominant role in formation of the martensite-austenite particles and to determine the fraction of acicular ferrite. | Role of Martensite-Austenite Component of Bainitic Structure in Formation of Properties of Pipe Steel. 1. Effect of Parameters of TMT | 10.1007/s11041-022-00764-3 |
2022-05-01 | The multi-point simultaneous long-term measurement of CO 2 concentration in seawater can provide more-valuable data for further understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of CO 2 . Thus, the requirement for a low-cost sensor with high precision, low power consumption, and a small size is becoming urgent. In this work, an in-situ sensor for CO 2 detection in seawater, based on a permeable membrane and non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) technology, is developed. The sensor has a small size (Þ 66 mm×124 mm), light weight (0.7 kg in air), low power consumption (<0.9 W), low cost (<US$1 000), and high-pressure tolerance (<200 m). After laboratory performance tests, the sensor was found to have a measurement range of (0–2 000)×10 −6 , and the gas linear correlation R 2 is 0.99, with a precision of about 0.98% at a sampling rate of 1 s. A comparison measurement was carried out with a commercial sensor in a pool for 7 days, and the results showed a consistent trend. Further, the newly developed sensor was deployed in Qingdao nearshore water for 35 days. The results proved that the sensor could measure the dynamic changes of CO 2 concentration in seawater continuously, and had the potential to carry out long-term observations on an oceanic platform. It is hoped that the sensor could be applied to field ocean observations in near future. | A low-cost in-situ CO2 sensor based on a membrane and NDIR for long-term measurement in seawater | 10.1007/s00343-021-1133-7 |
2022-05-01 | Previous studies have reported that daily average temperature is connected with respiratory diseases (RD), but proof is limited for the influence of the extreme low temperature on RD in Lanzhou, a northwestern China of temperate area. Generalized additive model (GAM) was built in this work to describe the relationship between daily mean temperature and RD in Lanzhou, China from 2012 to 2017. The results indicated that the exposure–response curve was inverse J-shaped, showing the lower the temperature, the larger the relative risk (RR). The RR of daily emergency room (ER) admissions in P5 extreme low temperature (the temperature below the fifth percentile, etc.) was larger than that in P10. The P5 extreme low temperature has the strongest effect at lag 0, and the RRs were 1.043 (95% CI: 1.030, 1.055) for the total, 1.031 (95% CI: 1.015, 1.046) for males and 1.058 (95% CI: 1.039, 1.077) for females. For different age groups, the largest RRs were 1.026 (95% CI: 1.013, 1.039) for the children (age < 16 years) at lag 5, 1.057 (95% CI: 1.030, 1.085) for the young adults (aged 16–45 years), 1.060 (95% CI: 1.023, 1.099) for the middle-aged (aged 46–60 years) and 1.121 (95% CI: 1.077, 1.166) for the elderly group of age > 60 years. Meanwhile, females and the elderly were more vulnerable to extreme temperature. The results could strengthen the scientific evidence of effects of extreme low temperature on RD in temperate areas. | Health risk of extreme low temperature on respiratory diseases in western China | 10.1007/s11356-021-18194-8 |
2022-05-01 | Aqueous Zn-based batteries are promising energy storage technology due to their low cost and high safety. However, the solvation structure of electrolyte leads to dendrite growth, parasitic reactions, and poor low-temperature properties, limiting their practical application. Here, we report 1,2-propanediol (PG) electrolyte with a modulated solvation structure, which can suppress Zn dendrite growth and parasitic reactions. PG can break the interaction between H 2 O molecules and the interaction between H 2 O and Zn 2+ due to the higher electron density of O and higher Gutmann donor number of PG than those of H 2 O, which increase the H-O covalent bond strength, decrease the water activity and freezing point, and change the solvation structure of Zn 2+ . As a result, the battery exhibits high cycling stability (Zn//Zn battery cycle over 1000 h), high reversibility (Coulombic efficiency of 98.9%), high capacity properties (specific capacity of 225 mA h g −1 at 5 A g −1 , and capacity retention of 92.6% for 5000 cycles), and excellent anti-freezing properties (specific capacity of 190 mA h g −1 at −20°C over 500 cycles). This work provides a promising strategy for the development of highperformance aqueous zinc-ion batteries. 水系锌基电池具有低成本和高安全性的优点, 是很有潜力的储能技术. 然而, 枝晶、副反应和较差的低温性能限制了其实际应用, 这与电解液的溶液组成密切相关. 在本工作中, 我们通过调控丙二醇电解液的溶剂结构及键相互作用, 有效抑制了锌枝晶和副反应. 丙二醇具有较高的电子云密度和DN (Donor number) 值, 可以破坏水分子间和水分子与Zn 2+ 间的相互作用, 从而提高H–O共价键的强度, 降低水活性和冰点, 改变Zn 2+ 的溶剂化结构. 制备的电池器件表现出高的循环稳定性(Zn//Zn电池循环超过1000 h), 高可逆性(库伦效率达到98.9%), 高储锌性能(在5 A g − 1下比容量为225 mA h g − 1, 循环5000圈容量保持率为9 2. 6 %) 和优异的防冻性能(在−20 ° C 下循环5 0 0 圈比容量为190 mA h g − 1). 本工作为高性能水系锌离子电池的发展提供了一种有前景的策略. | Modulated bonding interaction in propanediol electrolytes toward stable aqueous zinc-ion batteries | 10.1007/s40843-021-1841-5 |
2022-05-01 | Until quite recently, Arctic diesel fuel was produced in accordance with GOST R 55475 with a cold filter plugging point down to –52°C using a depressant-dispersing additive. However, in the Arctic, the temperature drops to –60°C and below, and the use of depressant-dispersing additives provokes product stratification with a sharp deterioration in the properties of the lower layer. This limited the application of Arctic diesel fuel in the Arctic. For such conditions, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation developed its own standards for Arctic diesel fuel without the use of depressant-dispersing additives, and suggesting values not higher than –65°C for the cloud point, pour point and cold filter plugging point. An obstacle for obtaining a product with such properties is the difficulty of simultaneously providing the required cetane number and the low temperature properties. This paper presents a method for obtaining Arctic diesel fuel with the desired properties based on deeply isomerized diesel fractions. To implement the project, the existing units at Slavneft-YANOS PJSC were analyzed, and a chain of units was assembled for primary oil refining, hydrotreating 80 atm and isodewaxing. In the course of a number of experiments new causes of the onset of cold filter plugging point were discovered, which were explained by an increase in the diesel fuel viscosity at extremely low temperatures. To reduce the viscosity of the product, hydrocracked kerosene was added to the formula. In May 2020, permits were received from the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, and in October 2021, for the first time in the Russian Federation and in the world, the first industrial batch of 3,000 tons was successfully produced. | The World’s First Industrial Batch of Arctic Diesel Fuel with Application Temperatures Down to –65°С | 10.1007/s10553-022-01376-6 |
2022-05-01 | Cadmium (Cd) pollution is a serious heavy metal pollution in paddy fields, but its effect and underlying mechanism on soil arthropod overwintering and cold resistance are still unclear. In the present study, adult females of the wolf spider Pirata subpiraticus exposed to Cd stress underwent a simulated temperature process (25℃ → 16℃ → 8℃ → 4℃). The mortality rate and content of nutrients in the Cd-treated spiders were dramatically elevated after low-temperature treatment compared to those in the Cd-free control spiders under the same temperature condition. To uncover the putative modulatory mechanism of Cd on cold tolerance in P. subpiraticus , we employed an in-depth RNA sequencing analysis and yielded a total of 888 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Besides, we characterized genes that participate in multiple cryoprotectant syntheses, including arginine, cysteine, glucose, glycerol, heat shock protein, and mannose. The enrichment analyses found that most of the DEGs involved in biological processes and pathways were related to carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism. Notably, ten Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways, such as starch and sucrose metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, mineral absorption, and vitamin digestion and absorption, were distinctively enriched with downregulated genes. Meanwhile, we also identified that seven DEGs might inhibit the KEGG pathway of ovarian steroidogenesis and potentially cripple ovarian function and fecundity in the spider. The decreased egg sac weight, number of hatched spiderlings, and vitellin concentration further supported the view that Cd exposure vitiates the overwintering spider’s fecundity. Collectively, the comparative analysis provides a novel perspective regarding the survival response and fecundity on the cold tolerance of spiders under Cd stress and offers a profound insight for evaluating Cd-induced toxicity on overwintering arthropods. | Comparative analysis of cadmium-induced toxicity and survival responses in the wolf spider Pirata subpiraticus under low-temperature treatment | 10.1007/s11356-022-18548-w |
2022-05-01 | We discuss the temperature dependence of a common low temperature local thermometer, a tunnel junction between a superconductor and a normal metal (NIS junction). Towards the lowest temperatures its characteristics tend to saturate, which is usually attributed to selfheating effects. In this technical note, we reanalyze this saturation and show that the temperature independent subgap current of the junction alone explains in some cases the low temperature behavior quantitatively. | Low Temperature Characteristics of the Metal–Superconductor NIS Tunneling Thermometer | 10.1007/s10909-022-02713-z |
2022-05-01 | Abstract— With a growth in the scales on which binary cycle (ORC) power units are constructed, new technical solutions aimed at improving the efficiency of binary technologies are searched for. To this end, the possibility of using multistage ORCs based on the principle of incremental (staged) conversion of geothermal fluid energy is also studied. In view of the fact that low-temperature geothermal resources dominate around the world (the fluid outlet temperature is lower than 130°С in up to 60% of all geothermal fields), the optimization calculated studies of two- and three-stage ORCs were carried out for a source geothermal fluid with a temperature of 120°С. The article presents the results of studying the effect that the choice of low-boiling organic substances and the geothermal fluid temperature in the stages have on achieving the cycle maximal power output and minimal fluid mass flowrate. The technical characteristics of two- and three-stage ORCs are compared with those of a conventional single-loop ORC power unit in the case of using various nontoxic and fire- and explosion-safe organic substances. It is shown that, by applying a three-stage process circuit with R-600 working fluid in all loops and using geothermal fluid with a temperature of 120°С, it is possible to increase the amount of heat transferred to the binary cycle by 36.5% in comparison with the single-stage process circuit. In accordance with the previously performed calculations, the growth of heat transferred to the binary cycle in the case of using geothermal fluid with a temperature of 180°С amounted to 15.0%. It has been found that the minimal (net and gross) mass flowrates of geothermal fluid with a temperature of 120°С in the three-stage process circuit are achieved in the case of using R-600 substance as working fluid in the first, second, and third stages and make 44.6 and 42.7 (kg/s)/MW, respectively. The obtained results can be used in the development and designing of multistage ORCs with the geothermal fluid temperature equal to 120°С. | Multistage Organic Rankine Cycles: Utilization of Medium Temperature (120°С) Geothermal Fluid | 10.1134/S0040601522050068 |
2022-05-01 | Deformation of rectilinear elements of Du 200 pipeline made of 20 steel under cyclic loading with internal pressure has been studied experimentally. Tests were carried out on a pneumohydraulic bench under conditions close to plane stress state, room temperature, and cycle asymmetry under soft loading mode (stress control). Circumferential and axial strains were recorded at three points of a diametrical section located in the middle of the element under study. Two tubular elements were tested at different values of maximum and amplitude stresses based on 100 cycles of loading. Deformation curves (cyclic creep) of tubes in a circular direction have been obtained, the character of which is significantly non-uniform in comparison with deformation of laboratory specimens. It is shown that even a slight increase in maximum (by 4%) and amplitude (by 8%) stresses significantly (up to 50%) increases the cyclic creep strains in the circular direction. Such growth of deformations can be explained by a peculiarity of 20 steel, the deformation diagram of which in the elastoplastic transition area contains a yield point, which determines intensive deformation of the material. Fixed plastic deformations in the axial direction are more than an order smaller than circular ones, and with increasing loading cycles, they change insignificantly and coincide for the two studied tubular elements. | Experimental Study on Cyclic Creep of Pipes | 10.1007/s11223-022-00413-3 |
2022-05-01 | Atmospheric low-temperature plasma has received attention for application in disinfection methods. In this study, we develop a plasma bubbling method as a disinfection method. In the plasma bubbling method, the bactericidal effect can be introduced into the water by bubbling with carbon dioxide plasma. The plasma bubbling method is effective for the treatment of Staphylococcus aureus , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Candida albicans , Serratia marcescens , and Fusarium solani , which pose problems in the field of ophthalmology. In addition, we develop ultrasonic-combined plasma bubbling, in which plasma bubbling imposes a bactericidal effect, whereas ultrasonic exerts a detachment effect as a disinfection method for adherent bacteria on medical equipment. Ultrasonic-combined plasma bubbling demonstrates a prominent bactericidal effect on P. aeruginosa adherent bacteria on stainless steel plates and can be used to the measuring prism (MP) of applanation tonometers. In observation the MP treated with plasma bubbling and ultrasonic-combined plasma bubbling for 11 h, no damage to the MPs was observed. | Ultrasonic-Combined Plasma Bubbling for Adherent Bacteria Disinfection on Medical Equipment | 10.1007/s11090-022-10241-7 |
2022-05-01 | A procedure is described for compounding petroleum diesel fuel and the 180-240°C fraction obtained from a liquid bioproduct from the pyrolysis of plant materials. The physicochemical properties and group chemical composition of the plant matter were studied. We present the physicochemical properties of the diesel fuel mixtures obtained. The permissible concentrations of the biocomponent in the preparation of these mixed biodiesel fuels were established. | Feasibility of Using a Liquid Bioproduct in the Manufacture of Commercial Diesel Fuel | 10.1007/s10553-022-01373-9 |
2022-05-01 | Abstract Composites based on carbon black/high-density polyethylene composites and, as well as linear low-density polyethylene containing graft copolymers of low molecular weight polyethylene and acrylic acid, have been produced. The introduction of graft copolymers into the polyethylene matrix helps to reduce the average size of carbon black particles in the composition, reduce the melt viscosity and improve the thermal stability of carbon black-filled compositions, which is important for the production of pipe products based on polyethylene. | Use of a Graft Copolymer of Low Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Acrylic Acid in Carbon Black-Filled Polyethylene Compouns | 10.1134/S1070427222050044 |
2022-05-01 | The impact behavior of sandwich structures was studied using experimental and numerical methods. Polypropylene with 0.5 wt% of graphene (PP/0.5% G) or pure polypropylene (PP) was sandwiched between aluminum face sheets for experimental tests. Impact tests revealed that the nanoreinforced structures had a higher contact force and a shorter contact duration than pure core structures. Both the damage area and the dent depth were lower for nano-reinforced structures. More energy absorbed the pure structures. The higher absorbed energy can be explained by the higher amount of damage that occurred in the structure. To further investigate the impact response of the sandwich structures, a three-dimensional quarter model was developed and implemented in the ABAQUS software. The strain-rate-dependent behavior of the core and face sheets was investigated using the Johnson–Cook material model to simulate the impact behavior of aluminum, PP, and G/PP layers. Simulation results were compared with experimental data, and a good agreement between them was found to exist. The validated finite-element model was used for studying the effects of geometrical and material parameters, including the thickness of aluminum and PP layers, different weight ratios of nanoparticles, and different mechanical properties of the aluminum layers, on the impact response of sandwich structures. By introducing graphene up to 0.5 wt% into the PP material, all of the impact outputs reached their extremum amounts, which were considerably affected by the yield strength and elastic modulus of aluminum layers. | An Experimental and Numerical Investigation on the Low-Velocity Impact Response of Nanoreinforced Polypropylene Core Sandwich Structures | 10.1007/s11029-022-10022-5 |
2022-05-01 | Traditional fire extinguishing methods can harm people and nature. For this purpose, in this study, no harmful acoustic-driven airflow fire extinguishing system was developed and experiments were carried out to extinguish gasoline, kerosene, thinner (synthetic thinner) liquid fuels and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) flames. 17,442 extinguishing experiments were conducted in 5 different flame sizes, 54 different frequencies and 10 cm to 190 cm distance range. The data obtained were analyzed using the polynomial regression method. For liquid fuels, the frequencies of 10 Hz to 50 Hz at a distance of 10 cm to 100 cm, 10 Hz to 32 Hz at a distance of 100 cm to 150 cm, and 10 Hz to 28 Hz at a distance of 150 cm to 180 cm are effective extinguishing ranges. LPG fuel, 10 Hz to 45 Hz at a distance of 10 cm to 140 cm, frequencies of 15 Hz to 30 Hz at a distance of 140 cm to 180 cm are effective extinguishing ranges. In addition, caused by the compression of the woofers membrane inside the collimator and the injected airflow at frequency of 30 Hz reduced the 12 cm diameter metal plate from 86.2°C to 18.8°C in 5 min, and the metal plate left to cool down from 80°C to 21.7°C in 10 min at a distance of 100 cm. The average Mean Square Error value obtained as a result of polynomial regression analysis is 0.9544, and the Root Mean Square Error value is 1.2020. | Acoustic-Driven Airflow Flame Extinguishing System Design and Analysis of Capabilities of Low Frequency in Different Fuels | 10.1007/s10694-021-01208-9 |
2022-05-01 | The design and performance of inorganic tin-based perovskite known as cesium tin iodide (CsSnI 3 ), which serves to be an alternative for conventional toxic lead-based solar cells have been reported. The designed solar cell has been optimized by varying parameters such as active layer thickness, absorber defect density and work function of the bottom electrode. The optimal thickness of the perovskite layer has been found to be 400 nm that leads to a performance improvement of ~ 8%. The final optimized solar cell has reached a Fill factor (FF) of 85.44%, a short-circuit current density ( J sc ) of 31.12 mA/cm 2 , a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 32.36%, and an open-circuit voltage ( V oc ) of 1.22 V. The device has been successfully compared with the previous works to showcase its performance enhancement. Also, the optical and electrical properties of the device such as absorption coefficient, indirect and direct bandgap transition, capacitance–voltage and conductance–voltage characteristics have been obtained and analysed with the help of Tauc and Bode plots. This study also suggests a low-cost perovskite solar cell, which is free from carcinogenic agents that can be used for solar energy harvesting in a larger scale. | Design and simulation of inorganic perovskite solar cell | 10.1007/s13204-021-02268-7 |
2022-05-01 | Screening and identification of plant resources with high quality and multi resistance is important for crop breeding. In this study, ion content was determined by ion chromatography and atomic absorption spectrophotometer, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomic analysis was carried out. Then metabolic pathways were constructed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and the MetaboAnalyst website to compare the changes and differences of young and old leaves of two wild soybean lines with different stress tolerance under low-phosphorus (LP) stress. The aim was to reveal the mechanism of wild soybean resistance to LP stress from insights concerning nutrient accumulation and mobilization. The results showed that in LP-tolerant wild soybean, Ca 2+ accumulated and TCA, amino acid and organic acid metabolisms were enhanced in young and old leaves; disaccharide and trisaccharide metabolism was enhanced and phosphohexose metabolism was inhibited in old leaves; Mg 2+ , disaccharide and trisaccharide contents increased in young leaves, while inorganic P was relatively stable. Our experiment highlighted that LP-tolerant wild soybean adapted to LP stress by enhancing energy and material metabolisms and maintaining the growth and development of young leaves at the expense of old leaves, which is of great significance for the development and utilization of germplasm resources and the breeding of LP-tolerant soybean. | Wild soybean resists the stress of low phosphorus by increasing nutrient reuse between the young and old leaves | 10.1007/s10725-022-00804-1 |
2022-05-01 | Abstract The cost of electricity generated at a nuclear power plant (NPP) considerably depends on the NPS thermal effectiveness. An important reserve for increasing the thermal effectiveness of nuclear power plants with water-moderated water-cooled power reactors (VVER) lies in the performance optimization of the system for regenerative heating of feed water and main condensate. In this paper, this problem is formulated as applied to a promising low-speed turbine unit at NPPs with VVER reactors. According to the regulations adopted abroad and in Russia, the criterion of technical and economic efficiency, on the basis of which a decision can be made on the choice of one or another equipment configuration, is the reduced cost of electricity for the entire period of operation. It is advisable to use it when all performance indicators of power units are available and the economic conditions for the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning of the power unit, as well as the conditions for its operation in the power system during various time periods, are known. At the stages of making decisions on the thermal scheme and equipment designs, criteria are used in Russia and abroad to reduce the cost of electricity relative to a basic case. In doing so, only the cost components, which is affected in optimizing the technical solutions for the power unit, are considered. An optimization of performance indicators of the regenerative feedwater heating system is carried out in this work for a low-speed turbine unit at an NPP with type VVER reactor based on the criterion of annual economic effect. The specific of the used procedure is the determination of optimal values of the regenerative system parameters on a change in the conditions at the electricity and equipment market, operating conditions, and economic policy. Based on the calculated results, it is proposed to increase the feedwater temperature at the steam generator inlet. It has been established that it is necessary in order to improve the efficiency of a turbine plant to design low-pressure heaters with the minimum (within the process and layout limitations) subcooling to the saturation temperature due to their high thermodynamic contribution to the cycle efficiency and a relatively low cost. For the subcoolings in high-pressure heaters, technical and economic optimums have been determined. The presented procedure for technical and economic optimization may be used to determine the optimal values of the parameters of thermal power systems. The results obtained may be used by developers in designing turbine units for NPPs with type VVER reactors. | Performance Optimization for the Regenerative Feedwater Heating System of Turbine Units at Nuclear Power Plants with Type VVER Reactors | 10.1134/S0040601522050020 |
2022-05-01 | Fruit production in Thailand has been increasing due to the practical farmers’ knowledge of agroecology and sustainable farming. Thailand is one of the productions of the most massive fruit in southeast Asian countries. On the other hand, the status of fruit waste, which becomes stuck previous to landfills, is concerned by researchers over the years. Low-grade and waste longan fruits are also no exceptions that are feedstock material for bioethanol production. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate bioethanol production from dried low-grade and waste longan fruits by using physical pretreatment (boiling and autoclave) and blue-green algal enzymes for hydrolysis. After pretreatment, total and reducing sugar was 227.63 ± 2.63 g/L and 89.26 ± 1.70 g/L, respectively. Algal enzymes were added at a pH of 7.0 in the hydrolysis process; subsequently, total and reducing sugar were achieved 348.68 ± 3.95 g/L and 183.33 ± 14.70 g/L, respectively. The present study shows that using algal enzymes in the hydrolysis process improves fermentable sugar production and applicable for bioethanol production. | Physical pretreatment and algal enzyme hydrolysis of dried low-grade and waste longan fruits to enhance its fermentable sugar production | 10.1007/s13399-020-01176-0 |
2022-05-01 | The Hierarchical Multi-mode Molecular Stress Function (HMMSF) model predicts the elongational and multiaxial extensional viscosities of polydisperse linear polymer melts based exclusively on their linear viscoelastic characterization and a single nonlinear material parameter, the so-called dilution modulus $${G}_{D}$$ G D . For long-chain branched (LCB) polymer melts such as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), the HMMSF model describes quantitatively the elongational stress growth coefficient up to the maximum of the elongational viscosity but fails to predict the existence of the maximum and the following steady-state viscosity. By taking into account branch point withdrawal in elongational flow of LCB melts, we extend the HMMSF model and show that the maximum of the elongational viscosity can be characterized by a single additional parameter, the characteristic stretch $${\overline{\lambda }}_{m}$$ λ ¯ m , while the steady-state tensile stress and the elongational viscosity depend only on the dilution modulus $${G}_{D}$$ G D as in the case of linear polydisperse melts. Comparison of predictions of the Extended Hierarchical Multi-mode Molecular Stress Function (EHMMSF) model to experimental data of 5 LDPE melts with widely different molecular weights, polydispersities and densities, and a model polystyrene pom-pom polymer shows good agreement within experimental accuracy in constant elongational-rate flow as well as stress relaxation after steady and reversed elongational flow. For the LCB melts considered, we report differences in the specific Hencky strain at the maximum of the tensile stress as quantified by the characteristic stretch $${\overline{\lambda }}_{m}$$ λ ¯ m , and we discuss correlations between polydispersity, dilution modulus $${G}_{D}$$ G D , and strain hardening potential of the LDPE melts. We also extend the fracture criterion for brittle fracture of monodisperse polymer melts to the case of polydisperse polymers and find reasonable agreement with experimental evidence. | Modelling elongational viscosity overshoot and brittle fracture of low-density polyethylene melts | 10.1007/s00397-022-01328-1 |
2022-05-01 | This study investigates the role of convection–circulation coupling on the simulated eastward propagation of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) over the Maritime Continent (MC). Experiments are conducted with the European Centre Hamburg Model Version 5 (ECHAM5) coupled with the one-column ocean model—Snow-Ice-Thermocline (SIT) and two different cumulus schemes, Nordeng-Tiedtke (E5SIT-Nord) and Tiedtke (E5SIT-Tied). During the early phase of MJO composites, the E5SIT-Nord simulation reveals stronger intraseasonal anomalies in the apparent heat source ( Q 1 ) over the convective center, however, the E5SIT-Tied produces a stronger background Q 1 , suggesting that deep convection prevails over the MC but does not couple with the MJO circulation. Similarly, in the E5SIT-Tied simulation, in-column moisture is kept mostly by local deep convection over the MC, which is in contrast to the well-correlated relationship between moisture anomaly and MJO circulation in E5SIT-Nord. A case study based on an observational MJO reveals similar biases concerning of convection–circulation coupling emerges within a few days of simulations. The E5SIT-Tied simulation produces weaker heating at the convective center of the MJO than the E5SIT-Nord a few days after model initiation, resulting weaker subsidence to the east and less favorable for propagation. The present findings highlight the instantaneous responses of cumulus parameterization schemes to MJO-related environmental changes can further affect intraseasonal variability through altering convection–circulation coupling over the MC. Physical schemes of moist convection are essential to realistically represent this coupling and thereby improve the simulation of the eastward propagation of the MJO. | Role of convection–circulation coupling in the propagation mechanism of the Madden–Julian Oscillation over the Maritime Continent in a climate model | 10.1007/s00382-021-06013-2 |
2022-05-01 | The laminar premixed n-propylamine (NPA) flame with equivalence ratio of 1.70 has been investigated at 4666.28 Pa using tunable synchrotron photoionization and molecular-beam mass spectrometry techniques. Chemical structures and mole fractions of 40 species were determined. Ethenol, allylamine, butadiyne, vinylacetylene, 1,3-butadiene, 1-butene, 2-butene, n-butyl radical, 1,3-cyclopentadiene, cyclopentene, 2-pentene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, 2-propen-1-imine, cyclopropanimine, pyrrole, 2-butenenitrile and n-butylamine were newly identified in the amine flames. Mole fraction profiles of some species including reactants, intermediates and products in the NPA flame were given. HCN and N 2 were observed as the primary N-containing products in the NPA flame, which was different from the result that NO was the major N-containing products in previous studies of nitrogen flames. The bond energies of NPA were calculated through quantum chemistry calculations on the basis of density functional theory at the CBS-QB3 level. It showed that the CH 3 CH 2 -CH 2 NH 2 bond was the weakest and NPA mainly decomposed to CH 2 NH 2 and C 2 H 5 radicals. The H-abstractions at C α by OH/O (NPA+OH=CH 3 CH 2 CHNH 2 +H 2 O and NPA+O=CH 3 CH 2 CHNH 2 +OH) had significant promoting effects on NPA consumption. The N conversion chain of NPA under flame conditions was proposed and detailed analysis with respect to intermediates especially the nitrogen-containing species were provided. The results will enrich the understanding of NPA flame and are essential to further establish the kinetic mechanism. | Investigation of the Laminar Premixed n-Propylamine Flame | 10.1007/s11630-022-1528-6 |
2022-05-01 | The goal of this research was to obtain a coating with low-infrared emissivity and both good hydrophobic and mechanical properties. Using nano-SiO 2 as the micro-nano structural modifier, a hydrogen-containing silicone oil (HCSO)-modified polyurethane (PU)/Al composite coating with super-hydrophobicity and low-infrared emissivity was prepared via a simple glass rod scraping method. Effects of the ratio of HCSO to PU, the total filler addition, and the ratio of Al powder and nano-SiO 2 on the coating properties are systematically discussed. The results show that as the ratio of HCSO to PU increases, the surface energy of the coating decreases, and this significantly increases the hydrophobicity of the coating. When the ratio is 2:8, the coating has outstanding hydrophobic properties, the adhesion strength of the coating reaches grade 1, and the water contact angle (WCA) reaches 152°. The total filler addition has a significant impact on the coating performance. With an increase in the filler addition, the emissivity of the coating increases, and the glossiness decreases. When the total filler addition is 50 wt%, the coating surface forms an obvious papillary micro-nano rough structure, so that the coating has outstanding hydrophobic properties. The ratio of Al powder to nano-SiO 2 obviously affects the emissivity and hydrophobic properties of the coating. When the ratio is 5.5:4.5, the coating has good overall performance. At this point, the emissivity of the coating is as low as 0.675; the glossiness and adhesion strength are 2.7 and grade 1, respectively; the WCA and sliding angle are 155° and 8°, respectively; and it has outstanding self-cleaning performance. Through the research in this paper, a low-infrared emissivity coating with outstanding super-hydrophobic properties and adhesion strength has been obtained and has important application value in the design and transformation of infrared stealth of various equipment. | Preparation and characterization of hydrogen-containing silicone oil-modified polyurethane/Al composite coating with low-infrared emissivity | 10.1007/s11998-021-00567-w |
2022-05-01 | The characteristics of arsenic emission and distribution of a typical Chinese coal-fired power plant renovated with ultra-low emission technique have been studied. The results showed that arsenic concentration in coal was 5.72 mg/kg, and the arsenic emissions in fly ash, bottom ash, gypsum, flue gas, and wastewater were 489.12 g/h, 5.15 g/h, 1.14 g/h, 0.46 g/h, and 0.03 g/h, respectively, corresponding to the proportion of arsenic in fly ash, bottom ash, gypsum, flue gas, and wastewater of 98.63%, 1.04%, 0.23%, 0.09%, and 0.01%, respectively. About 87.61% of the gaseous arsenic was absorbed by catalysts used for selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Low-low temperature electrostatic precipitator (LLT-ESP) plays a key role in decreasing particulate arsenic. Wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) has positive effects on absorbing both gaseous and particulate arsenic. The removal efficiencies across the air pollution control devices follow the order of LLT-ESP > WFGD > SCR. The LLT-ESP can achieve a significant arsenic removal efficiency of 99.94%, resulting in quite low arsenic emission to the atmosphere. According to the calculated arsenic emission factor, the total emission amount of arsenic to the atmosphere from all Chinese coal-fired stations with ultra-low emission control technique in 2020 is estimated to be about 9.67–11.59 tons/year. | Arsenic emission and distribution characteristics in the ultra-low emission coal-fired power plant | 10.1007/s11356-021-16745-7 |
2022-05-01 | DNA persistence and DNA transfer are important features in the assessment of a crime scene. The question how long DNA may persist at a certain location is similarly important as the one how the DNA has been transferred to this location. Depending on the source of the DNA as well as the conditions at the crime scene, the answer to this question is quite difficult. In this study, persistence of DNA from epithelial abrasions, blood cells, and saliva cells in indoor and outdoor scenarios has been investigated with regard to exposure time and exposure conditions including sunlight, temperature, and humidity in summer and winter scenarios. Overall, we generated 338 epithelial samples, 572 blood samples, and 572 saliva samples. A complete profile of the cell/DNA donor after exposure could be obtained in 47%, 65%, and 58% of epithelial abrasions, blood samples, and saliva samples, respectively. Regarding blood samples, there were no differences between supporting materials cloth and plastic; however, the percentage of complete profiles was higher for saliva samples on plastic and for epithelial samples on cloth. In indoor scenarios, complete profiles could be recovered from nearly all blood and saliva samples up to 9 months, whereas the amount of epithelial complete profiles already started to decline after 3 months. In outdoor scenarios, we observed a tipping point at an exposure time of 3 months. Blood and saliva samples collected after this period displayed complete profiles in less than 25% of samples. After 12 months, no outdoor sample showed a complete profile. The results of this study facilitate decisions on the relevance of recovered DNA from crime scenes. | About the influence of environmental factors on the persistence of DNA — a long-term study | 10.1007/s00414-022-02800-6 |
2022-05-01 | This paper presents the results of research for determining the optimal conditions for simultaneous dearomatization and hydrodewaxing reactions to evaluate large-scale production of low-viscosity hydrocarbon bases for drilling fluids in the dewaxing section of an LCh-24/7 unit without recycle. The Influence of one of the key factors, namely, temperature, on the course of the reaction was studied. This research was conducted using a platinum-containing dewaxing catalyst in a laboratory unit for the study of hydorprocesses. It was found that the key factor is 280°С at which hydrodewaxing reactions begin to prevail over dearomatization reactions. The research made it possible to reduce the content of aromatic compounds in diesel fuel to the 7% level, which is the basis for further research to determine the influence of other parameters, such as pressure and volume feed rate. | Optimum Conditions for Simultaneous Reactions of Hydrogenation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Isomerization in Diesel Fuel Dewaxing Process | 10.1007/s10553-022-01375-7 |
2022-05-01 | Low-grade ores, tailings, and solid wastes contain small amounts of valuable heavy metals. Improper disposal of these substances results in the waste of resources and contamination of soil or groundwater. Accordingly, the treatment and recycling of low-grade ores, tailings, and solid wastes attracted much attention recently. Bioelectrochemical system, an innovative technology for the removal and recovery of heavy metals, has been further developed and applied in recent years. In the current study, the low-grade chalcopyrite was bioleached with the assistance of microbial fuel cells. Copper extraction along with electricity generation from the low-grade chalcopyrite was achieved in the column bioleaching process assisted by MFCs. Results showed that after 197 days bioleaching of low-grade chalcopyrite, 423.9 mg copper was extracted from 200 g low-grade chalcopyrite and the average coulomb production reached 1.75 C/d. The introduction of MFCs into bioleaching processes promoted the copper extraction efficiency by 2.7 times (3.62% vs. 1.33%), mainly via promoting ferrous oxidation, reducing ORP, and stimulating bacterial growth. This work provides a feasible method for the treatment and recycling of low-grade ores, tailings, and solid wastes. But balancing energy consumption of aeration and circulation frequency and chemical consumption of acid to improve the copper extraction efficiency need further investigation. | Copper extraction from low-grade chalcopyrite in a bioleaching column assisted by bioelectrochemical system | 10.1007/s11356-021-18283-8 |
2022-05-01 | The present study involved to synthesize reduced grapheme oxide (rGO) nanocomposite–decorated lotus flower–like selenium dioxide (SeO 2 ) nanomaterial by the sonochemical method, and it was utilized for electrochemical detection of quercetin (QR) (a flavonoid) in natural food sample, urine, and blood serum samples. The as-synthesized nanomaterial was characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Raman, BET, FE-SEM, EDX, and mapping analysis techniques. The SeO 2 /rGO nanocomposite modified on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) showed an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the detection of QR as compared with other modified GCEs, and bare GCE. Moreover, the present electrochemical sensor was exhibited a superior current response for sensing of QR with wide linear ranges (from 0.01 to 200 µM), high sensitivity (71.023 µA µM −1 cm −2 ), and a lowest limit of detection (LOD) of 0.0016 µM. Besides, the fabricated SeO 2 /rGO nanocomposite–modified GCE was provided an excellent selectivity for QR in the presence of facile biological and inorganic interfering species. The fabricated SeO 2 /rGO-modified GCE was utilized for the determination of QR in various real samples, and the obtained data showed good recovery results. Graphical Abstract | An Efficient and Highly Sensitive Amperometric Quercetin Sensor Based on a Lotus Flower Like SeO2-Decorated rGO Nanocomposite Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode | 10.1007/s12678-022-00707-9 |
2022-05-01 | Low pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) has been increasingly used in advanced treatment of pulp and paper wastewater (PPWW) for the purpose of water reuse. However, membrane fouling is a major problem encountered by full-scale RO systems due to the organic and inorganic contents of the feedwater. Electrocoagulation (EC) as an effective treatment for foulants removal can be applied in pre-filtration. Therefore, the LPRO membrane fouling mechanism and the membrane fouling control performance by EC treatment were investigated in this study. EC pretreatment could reduce the membrane fouling and improve the membrane flux by 31%, by effectively removing and/or decomposing the organic pollutants in PPWW. Fluorescent spectrometry analyses of the feedwater and the permeate revealed that humic acid-like and fulvic acid-like organics in PPWW were the major foulants for the LPRO membranes. Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry results confirmed that the organic foulants contained benzoic rings and carboxylic groups, which were typical for organic substances. EC effectively removed organic pollutants containing functional groups such as carboxylic acid COH out-of-plane bending, olefin (trans), and NH 3 + symmetrical angle-changing. Moreover, the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek model suggested that the membrane filtered 30-min EC-treated PPWW had the strong repulsion force to foulants due to the higher cohesion energy (12.1 mJ/m 2 ) and the lower critical load, which theoretically explained the reason of EC pretreatment on membrane fouling control. | Electrocoagulation pretreatment of pulp and paper wastewater for low pressure reverse osmosis membrane fouling control | 10.1007/s11356-021-18045-6 |
2022-05-01 | Sophora davidii is an ideal material for studying the response to low phosphorus (P) because of its strong adaptability to low-P habitats. However, to date, there has been no research on S. davidii under low-P stress. In this paper, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of S. davidii were studied on days 3 and 9 of low-P treatment by transcriptome sequencing and analysed with GO and KEGG analyses. Under low-P stress, the contents of antioxidants (POD, SOD and CAT), osmotic adjusters (soluble protein and proline) and anthocyanin increased. Under low-P and normal-P conditions, 323 (209 and 114 of whose expression was upregulated and downregulated, respectively) and 504 DEGs (280 and 224 of whose expression was upregulated and downregulated, respectively) were found in S. davidii on days 3 and 9, respectively. The analysis of transcriptomics data revealed certain aspects of genes regulation under low-P stress. First, several key candidate genes, such as Orphans, GNAT, bZIP, MYB, AP2-EREBP, NAC and WRKY genes, were predicted to determine tolerance to low-P stress. Second, four pathways (starch and sucrose metabolism; plant hormone signal transduction; phenylpropanoid biosynthesis; and alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism) were correlated with low-P stress and were highly differentially regulated in two time treatments. These results provide new insights into the complex mechanisms of the low-P response in S. davidii or even other plant species. | Transcriptome Analysis of Sophora davidii Leaves in Response to Low-Phosphorus Stress | 10.1007/s00344-021-10382-7 |
2022-05-01 | Abstract Patented processes for the sintering of polydisperse materials with low packing density and porosity and poor hydrophobic properties are described. Industrial tests of a combined action drum–screw module are conducted. Parameters are derived for the sintering of carbon black. Granulated samples matching the properties of industrial samples are produced. | Processing and Granulation of Carbon Black | 10.3103/S1068798X22050240 |
2022-05-01 | Static random access memory is a key component for most microprocessor-based digital devices. With the declining technology node and reducing supply voltage, it is essential to improve its performance. This paper proposes a seven transistor, single-ended, bit cell configuration. The performance of the cell are evaluated at 300 mV supply voltage. The hold/read noise margins for the proposed bit cell is fairly high at 98 mV each, while the write margin is 154 mV. The reliability of the cell is measured using Monte Carlo process variation and temperature variation analysis. The results obtained for the proposed cell are compared against various pre-existing 5T, 6T, 7T, and 8T cells to showcase the improvements achieved by the proposed 7T cell. The power consumption for the proposed cell is minimal amongst others and requires a pulse width of 13 and 5 ns to perform successful write and read operations, respectively. The above-stated enhancement is achieved for the layout area of 0.65 μm 2 . While the layout footprint for 5T, 6T1, 6T2, 7T1, 7T2, 7T3, 8T1, 8T2, and 10T cell are 0.66, 0.82, 0.048, 0.74, 0.82, 0.8, 0.84, 1.34, and 1.27 µm 2 , respectively. | A Reliable and Temperature Variation Tolerant 7T SRAM Cell with Single Bitline Configuration for Low Voltage Application | 10.1007/s00034-021-01912-5 |
2022-05-01 | The physical and chemical properties of foams change based on atmospheric pressure, so estimating the effect of pressure on the efficiency of foamite has important implications for extinguishing fires in high-altitude regions like the plateau in Sichuan province, China. In this study, foam expansion rate, drainage time, burn-back time, and fire extinguishing efficiency of three kinds of foamite are examined through pool fires in field experiments in plateau areas and in laboratory chambers. Agents investigated are fluorine-protein foam (FP), aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), and alcohol-resistant foam (S/AR). The results show that increases in altitude led to reduced performance across all measured performance parameters for all three kinds of foam extinguishing agents, and that AFFF still performs better than both (S/AR) and (FP) in high altitude. The study helps with the selection of foamite for pool fires in high-altitude regions and improves the fire protection. | Performance of Foam Agents on Pool Fires at High Altitudes | 10.1007/s10694-021-01188-w |
2022-05-01 | The feasibility of bioethanol production from low-grade longan fruit waste material was recently studied as a novel substrate for bioethanol production. First, hydrothermal pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis converted both the cellulosic and hemicellulosic biomass of the low-grade longan fruit wastes into fermentable sugars, which eventually produced ethanol by yeast fermentation. Therefore, an optimal condition of hydrothermal residence time and pretreatment concentration was determined to obtain the high release of sugars. An experimental design was constructed with the Central Composite Design (CCD) response surface method using factors of the hydrothermal residence time and pretreatment concentration in constant temperature and time. The results revealed optimum reducing sugar yield of 240.396 g/L ( R 2 = 0.9989), sugar productivity of 240.396 g/L.day ( R 2 = 0.9763), and sugar yield coefficient of 24.04 g/g ( R 2 = 0.9989). The highest ethanol yield (16.74 g/L) was achieved at 24 h of fermenting time. These results show that low-grade longan fruit wastes are an excellent feedstock for producing ethanol that could be either used as biofuel or as a beverage. | Impact and significance of pretreatment on the fermentable sugar production from low-grade longan fruit wastes for bioethanol production | 10.1007/s13399-020-00977-7 |
2022-05-01 | Understanding the physical processes that affect the turbulent structure of the nocturnal urban boundary layer (UBL) is essential for improving forecasts of air quality and the air temperature in urban areas. Low-level jets (LLJs) have been shown to affect turbulence in the nocturnal UBL. We investigate the interaction of a mesoscale LLJ with the UBL during a 60-h case study. We use observations from two Doppler lidars and results from two high-resolution numerical-weather-prediction models (Weather Research and Forecasting model, and the Met Office Unified Model for limited-area forecasts for the U.K.) to study differences in the occurrence frequency, height, wind speed, and fall-off of LLJs between an urban (London, U.K.) and a rural (Chilbolton, U.K.) site. The LLJs are elevated ( $$\approx $$ ≈ 70 m) over London, due to the deeper UBL, while the wind speed and fall-off are slightly reduced with respect to the rural LLJ. Utilizing two idealized experiments in the WRF model, we find that topography strongly affects LLJ characteristics, but there is still a substantial urban influence. Finally, we find that the increase in wind shear under the LLJ enhances the shear production of turbulent kinetic energy and helps to maintain the vertical mixing in the nocturnal UBL. | Interactions Between the Nocturnal Low-Level Jets and the Urban Boundary Layer: A Case Study over London | 10.1007/s10546-021-00681-7 |
2022-05-01 | The effect of hydrogen charging on the corrosion behavior of E690 steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution was investigated. The corrosion behaviors of the charged and uncharged steel were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results showed that hydrogen charging promoted the precipitation of corrosion products on the surface of E690 steel, with the corrosion products mainly consisting of α-Fe 2 O 3 , α-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH. The relative content of α-FeOOH reached maximum when the hydrogen charging current density was 20 mA/cm 2 , and two different corrosion product layers were formed on the surface. And the hydrogen charged current density at 20 and 50 mA/cm 2 , the potentiodynamic polarization curves also displayed passivation regions. | Effect of Hydrogen Charging on the Corrosion Behavior of E690 Steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl Solution | 10.1007/s11665-021-06473-x |
2022-05-01 | Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are prominent porous materials for molecules separation due to their desirable structures. However, very few COFs are reported for the separation of macromolecules such as low molecular-weight (MW) proteins. Here, two stable mesoporous COFs (Azo-COF and Tp-COF) with highly crystallized frameworks are synthesized, and their pore sizes are slightly-regulated via elaborate selection of pyrene knots and amino linkages. Benefiting from the pore size difference less than 4 Å, the tandem utilization of these two COFs exhibits efficiently size-selective separation ability towards low MW proteins cytochrome c and myoglobin with small MW difference of 2 kDa, in which protein adsorption possibilities are verified by computational calculations together with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Furthermore, a simple COF-based separation device is designed and prepared to achieve effective and low-consumption proteins separation. This work has offered an optimized synthetic strategy for fine-tuned mesoporous COFs and expanded their applications on macromolecules separation. | Fine-tuned mesoporous covalent organic frameworks for highly efficient low molecular-weight proteins separation | 10.1007/s12274-022-4078-z |
2022-05-01 | Highly reactive iron coke hot briquette (ICHB) prepared by carbonizing the agglomerate of iron-bearing substance and blended coals is regarded as an alternative fuel to mitigate carbon emission and energy consumption of blast furnace. Simultaneously, the reduction process of iron-bearing burden is extremely crucial for blast furnace smelting. The effects of ICHB on the non-isothermal reduction process of iron-bearing burden with different reduction properties were thus experimentally studied under the conditions of simulated blast furnace lump zone (below 1100 °C), and the related mechanism was discussed and analyzed. The results showed that the non-isothermal reduction process of iron-bearing burden is promoted by adding ICHB. As the charging ratio of ICHB is increased from 0% to 30%, the reduction degree of pellet is increased from 22.91% to 36.62%, but the increased amplitude is leveled off. Furthermore, the reduction degree of sinter is raised from 35.10% to 93.33%. It is also indicated that the promotion effect of ICHB on the non-isothermal reduction of iron-bearing burden depends on the reduction property of burden. Compared with the burden with poor reduction performance (such as pellet 1), the promotion is more significant for the burden with good reduction property (such as sinter 1) since the reduction reaction of iron oxide in iron-bearing burden and the gasification of carbon in ICHB are remarkably reinforced each other. The practical application of ICHB in blast furnace should be utilized with highly reductive iron-bearing burden. | Non-isothermal reduction process analysis of iron-bearing burden with charging iron coke hot briquette under simulated blast furnace conditions | 10.1007/s42243-021-00640-z |
2022-05-01 | Cities can set in motion sustainability transitions through experimentation and innovation. To invest in and mainstream solutions that contribute to urban transformation agendas, urban planners needs to understand which innovations have transformational potential as well as how these innovations can accelerate sustainability transitions. In order to explore this, existing frameworks of transformative capacity provide the guidance, but they are generic, abstract, and challenging to apply for urban planning. As part of our effort to develop a more operational version of the transformative capacity framework by Wolfram ( 2016 ), we conducted a systematic scoping review of the academic literature to determine the characteristics of people-based and nature-based low-carbon innovations that constitutes their transformative capacity. After reviewing 65 records, we identified dimensions indicating each of the transformative capacity components through analysis and synthesis. Besides contributing to the science–policy interface through a knowledge synthesis on low-carbon people-based and nature-based innovations, this paper examines bridging frameworks to inform urban planners in developing practical solutions and actionable elements for low-carbon urban futures. | Transformative low-carbon urban innovations: Operationalizing transformative capacity for urban planning | 10.1007/s13280-021-01653-4 |
2022-05-01 | Low-alloy steels prepared by PM methods are widely used in the automotive industry and commercial machinery to manufacture components for actual applications. The unique feature of PM materials is densification through deformation, which significantly enhances the mechanical properties of finished items. Machinability defines the way a material behaves during processing. Surface grinding is one of the traditional finishing processes, which may provide a better surface finish and narrow dimensional tolerance for machined components. The addition of molybdenum to low-alloy steels increases mechanical strength and machinability due to the nature of the alloying element. In this context, current experimental work focuses on the effect of densification on the machinability of the sintered Fe–0.5% C–2% Mo low-alloy steel. One sample was retained in the sintered state for the study, while four others were densified at different levels by uniaxial compaction. In this case, the maximum density of the pre-form was determined by the appearance of lateral cracks on the surface during the application of the incremental axial load for the densification process. Three sintered alloy steel preforms were subjected to cold upsetting by progressively applying three intermediate uniaxial loads. The density of as-sintered and deformed samples was measured according to Archimedes’ principle. The surface grinding was performed on the as-sintered and densified specimens at constant machining parameters. After that, the surface roughness and hardness values were measured. It is found that an increase in density improved surface finish and hardness values of the preforms. The microstructure and surface morphology of the ground samples were also analyzed. | Effect of Density on the Machinability of Fe–C–Mo PM Low-Alloy Steel during Surface Grinding | 10.1007/s11106-022-00300-1 |
2022-05-01 | The polymerization of fused-ring acceptors (FRAs) to afford their corresponding polymeric acceptors for high-performance all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) has achieved remarkable progress in the past few years. However, due to the high degree of synthetic complexity for the monomer, the high-cost of these polymeric acceptors may limit their commercial applications. Thus, it is urgent to develop inexpensive and high-performance polymeric acceptors for all-PSCs. Herein, two novel polymeric acceptors ( PBTzO and PBTzO-2F ) have been designed and synthesized by copolymerization of noncovalently fused ring acceptors (NFRAs), which were employed in all-PSCs for the first time. Upon introducing the “noncovalently conformational locks (NoCLs)” in the backbone and selective fluorination of the end-group, photophysical and electrical properties, and solid-state packing properties of the NFRAs have been rationally tuned. As a result, the PBDB-T: PBTzO-2F based devices presented an excellent power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 11.04%, much higher than that of PBTzO based ones due to the increased charge generation and extraction, improved hole transfer and carrier mobilities, and reduced energy loss. More importantly, PBTzO-2F exhibited a much lower synthetic complexity (SC) index and higher figure-of-merit (FOM) values than the highperformance fused-ring acceptor based polymer acceptors (FRA-PAs) due to the simpler structures and more effective synthesis. This contribution provided a novel idea to achieve low-cost and high-performance all-PSCs. | Low-cost polymer acceptors with noncovalently fused-ring backbones for efficient all-polymer solar cells | 10.1007/s11426-022-1222-y |
2022-05-01 | Purpose Limited data is available on the effect of COVID-19 vaccination in immunocompromised individuals. Here, we provide the results from vaccinating a single-center cohort of patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID). Methods In a prospective, open-label clinical trial, 50 patients with CVID and 90 age-matched healthy controls (HC) were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 spike antibody (Ab) production after one or two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Additionally, in selected patients, SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific T-cells were assessed. Results A potent vaccine-induced anti-spike–specific IgG Ab response was observed in all the HC. In contrast, only 68.3% of the CVID patients seroconverted, with median titers of specific Ab being 83-fold lower than in HC. In fact, only 4/46 patients (8.6%) of patients who were seronegative at baseline reached the threshold for an optimal response (250 U/mL). Using the EUROclass definition, patients with either a reduced proportion, but not absolute counts, of switched memory B-cells or having an increased frequency of CD21 low B-cells generally generated poor vaccine responses. Overall, CVID-patients had reduced spike-specific IFN-γ positive CD4 + T cell responses 2 weeks after the second dose, compared to HC. The total CD4 and CD4 central memory cell counts correlated with humoral immunity to the vaccine. Conclusions CVID patients with low frequency of switched memory B-cells or an increased frequency of CD21 low B-cells according to the EUROclass definition demonstrated poor responses to Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination. Cellular immune responses were significantly affected, affirming that the defect in CVID is not limited to humoral immunity. | Elevated CD21low B Cell Frequency Is a Marker of Poor Immunity to Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine Against SARS-CoV-2 in Patients with Common Variable Immunodeficiency | 10.1007/s10875-022-01244-2 |
2022-05-01 | Background and aims Crop yield and quality are generally limited by poor soils, which is a key limiting factor for sustainable development in modern agriculture. Wild soybean ( Glycine soja ) is an excellent wild resource, with tolerance to adverse environments, especially poor soil. This study aimed to reveal the key molecular mechanism of wild soybean to resist phosphorus deficiency in soil. Methods Differences in the types, amounts and metabolic pathways of small molecule metabolites and gene expression were compared and multi-omics integration analysis was performed between wild and cultivated soybean ( Glycine max ) seedling roots under sufficient and artificially simulated low-phosphorus in this study. Results Under low-phosphorus stress, wild soybean seedlings experienced less growth inhibition and root-specific growth compared with cultivated soybean. Genes encoding sulfoquinovosyl transferase (SQD2), catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and peroxidase (POD) were up-regulated; levels of glutamic acid, glycine, putrescine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, catechol and neohesperidin were increased; and levels of glycerol-3-phosphate decreased. Integrated analysis showed that the above genes and metabolites were involved in glutathione metabolism, glycerolipid metabolism and phenylpropane biosynthesis. Conclusions These metabolic pathways are involved in phosphorus reuse, while membrane lipid remodelling and reactive oxygen species scavenging are carried out to maintain membrane stability and ensure plant survival under phosphorus deficiency. This study provides new ideas for the study of mechanism of tolerance to phosphorus deficiency in wild soybean and lays the theoretical foundation for developing varieties of cultivated soybean that tolerate poor soils. | Membrane lipid phosphorus reusing and antioxidant protecting played key roles in wild soybean resistance to phosphorus deficiency compared with cultivated soybean | 10.1007/s11104-022-05316-5 |
2022-05-01 | The shift in food consumption pattern to accommodate an array of bioactive compounds in foods with minimum calorie intake has resulted in the development of many novel beverages in the last decade. In the present study, optimization of apricot (AP; 0–50%) blended Aloe vera (AV; 50–100%) based low-calorie beverage functionally enriched with aonla juice (AJ; 3,5,7,10%) using steviol glycoside (SG; 0–100%) was performed. The preliminary screening suggested that 40% addition of AP (AV-AP; 60:40) had an acceptable taste. While, for functional enrichment of squash, incorporation of 7% AJ with 40ºB TSS was optimized based on color, consistency, taste, and overall acceptability scores. The developed squash had higher ascorbic acid (26.83 mg/100 g), total phenols (68.77 mg/100 g), antioxidant potential (36.50%) and antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (18.00 mm). The aloin content was recorded 0.9 ppm, well within the maximum permissible limits. Additionally, replacement of sucrose with stevioside up to 50 per cent resulted in equi-sweetness level without characteristic bitter aftertaste and a significant reduction in energy value from 142 kcal/100 g to 85.26 kcal/100 g. The developed beverage recorded a high amount of functional compounds with reduced energy values. The beverage can be a recommendation for general consumption for health- conscious people to cover their functional food desires. | Optimization of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) blended Aloe vera (Aloe barbadensis M.) based low-calorie beverage functionally enriched with aonla juice (Phyllanthus emblica L.) | 10.1007/s13197-021-05216-z |
2022-05-01 | This study aims to predict the pavement layer moduli using responses from surface deflections data using a lightweight deflectometer (LWD). For thin asphalt pavement, LWD may be a useful tool for evaluation purposes. A finite element method, Plaxis 2D software, was used to analyse the LWD stress influences on selected pavement crust thickness. Conversion of in situ deflections values into moduli values is known as the backcalculation technique and; it is a complex and mathematical process that relies solely on one of the factors of measured surface deflections under a given load. It is challenging to measure backcalculate moduli of thin pavements. Thus, this study aims to develop an empirical equation using regression analysis for a quick approximate estimation of in situ layer moduli using user-friendly interference Microsoft excel without any seed value and software interface requirement. In this regard, Kenlayer pavement analysis was used to develop synthetic data, which helps develop an empirical equation. Validation for the developed empirical model deals with the genetic algorithm base backcalculation approach, laboratory results and field test data. Validation of the results strengthens the developed empirical equation. Eventually, LWD with 20 kg drop weight proposed empirical model provides a quick approximate estimation, and efficient way to access the existing thin asphalt pavement condition may be the further no requirement of backcalculation process. | A Simplified Empirical Approach for Prediction of Pavement Layer Moduli Values Using Lightweight Deflectometer Data | 10.1007/s42947-021-00050-0 |
2022-05-01 | The sandstone units of the Early Cretaceous Lower Goru Formation are significant reservoir for gas, oil, and condensates in the Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan. Even though these sandstones are significant reservoir rocks for hydrocarbon exploration, the diagenetic controls on the reservoir properties of the sandstones are poorly documented. For effective exploration, production, and appraisal of a promising reservoir, the diagenesis and reservoir properties must be comprehensively analyzed first. For this study, core samples from depths of more than 3100 m from the KD-01 well within the central division of the basin have been studied. These sandstones were analyzed using petrographic, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopic analyses to unravel diagenetic impacts on reservoir properties of the sandstone. Medium to coarse-grained and well-sorted sandstone have been identified during petrographic study. The sandstone are categorized as arkose and lithic arkose. Principal diagenetic events which have resulted in changing the primary characters of the sandstones are compaction, cementation, dissolution, and mineral replacement. The observed diagenetic processes can be grouped into early, burial, and late diagenesis. Chlorite is the dominant diagenetic constituent that occurs as rims, coatings, and replacing grains. The early phase of coating of authigenic chlorite has preserved the primary porosity. The recrystallization of chlorite into chamosite has massively reduced the original pore space because of its bridging structure. The current study reveals that diagenetic processes have altered the original rock properties and reservoir characteristics of the Lower Goru sandstone. These preliminary outcomes of this study have great potential to improve the understanding of diagenetic process and their impact on reservoir properties of the Lower Goru sandstone in the Lower Indus Basin and adjoining areas. | The impact of diagenesis on the reservoir quality of the early Cretaceous Lower Goru sandstones in the Lower Indus Basin, Pakistan | 10.1007/s13202-021-01415-8 |
2022-05-01 | The endolymphatic sac is a small sac-shaped organ at the end of the membranous labyrinth of the inner ear. The endolymphatic sac absorbs the endolymph, in which the ion balance is crucial for inner ear homeostasis. Of the three sections of the endolymphatic sac, the intermediate portion is the center of endolymph absorption, particularly sodium transport, and is thought to be regulated by aldosterone. Disorders of the endolymphatic sac may cause an excess of endolymph (endolymphatic hydrops), a histological observation in Meniere’s disease. A low-salt diet is an effective treatment for Meniere’s disease, and is based on the assumption that the absorption of endolymph in the endolymphatic sac abates endolymphatic hydrops through a physiological increase in aldosterone level. However, the molecular basis of endolymph absorption in each portion of the endolymphatic sac is largely unknown because of difficulties in gene expression analysis, resulting from its small size and intricate structure. The present study combined reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and laser capture microdissection techniques to analyze the difference of gene expression of the aldosterone-controlled epithelial Na + channel, thiazide-sensitive Na + -Cl − cotransporter, and Na + , K + -ATPase genes in the three individual portions of the endolymphatic sac in a rat model. A low-salt diet increased the expression of aldosterone-controlled ion transporters, particularly in the intermediate portion of the endolymphatic sac. Our findings will contribute to the understanding of the physiological function of the endolymphatic sac and the pathophysiology of Meniere’s disease. | Low-salt diet increases mRNA expression of aldosterone-regulated transporters in the intermediate portion of the endolymphatic sac | 10.1007/s00424-021-02661-9 |
2022-05-01 | The results of a study of the dislocation structure evolution in polycrystals of homogeneous solid solutions in low-stability states in Cu-Mn-based alloys with FCC crystal lattice are presented. It is found out that each stage is characterized by its own deformation carrier in the form of a certain dislocation substructure (DSS), whose volume fraction has a maximum in this stage. At the same time, the deformation carrier of the previous stage gradually disappears as the strain degree (ε) increases in the current stage, and there appears a deformation carrier of the subsequent stage. In a certain range of ε values, the deformation carriers characteristic of the previous, current and subsequent stages coexist. It is shown that there are transitions from some types of DSS to other types in certain strain degree ε intervals. It is revealed that each deformation stage has its own DSS – deformation carriers. The stage-to-stage transition is accompanied by the formation of new deformation carriers, which is a characteristic feature of low-stability states of the system. Logically, this situation is observed because the study is carried out at a grain size involving a possibility of implementing a low-stability structural-phase state of the alloy, since in this case the grain size acts as a kind of a governing parameter. | Dislocation Structure Evolution in Low-Stability States of Solid Solutions of Alloys Under Their Deformation | 10.1007/s11182-022-02613-5 |
2022-05-01 | Low permeability coal seams severely restrict the safe, efficient and rapid development of coal mines. Cracking associated with carbon dioxide phase changes is of great significance for improving the permeability of coal seams and the gas drainage rate. Taking a particular mine as an example, technology that increases liquid carbon dioxide phase change and permeability is used to fracture the coal seam. Then, quantitative analysis of the fracture characteristics of the coal seam is performed, and the gas content, extraction concentration, and excavation after fracturing are monitored and studied. The results show that the liquid carbon dioxide in the coal seam has a permeability enhancement radius of 2 m after phase cracking. After phase cracking, the number of coal seam cracks and the width of the coal seam cracks is increased. The rate of gas content decline is significantly higher than that before cracking. After cracking, the gas concentration is significantly improved and can be maintained at approximately 50% for a long time, and the extraction purity is significantly higher than that before cracking. The tunnelling standard increases from 8 m/d before cracking to 9.1 m/d after cracking; thus, cracking promotes the speed of tunnelling. | Study on the Cracking and Penetration Effect of Liquid Carbon Dioxide Phase Transition | 10.1007/s10706-022-02064-2 |
2022-05-01 | One of the most important issues during the selection of low- k dielectrics is related to their intrinsic properties including their electric breakdown and leakage current that are predominantly determined by conduction mechanisms. This study is devoted to elucidating the charge transport mechanism in the SiOCH low- k dielectric films fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. By analyzing four bulk-limited models of the charge transport it was found that only the Nasyrov–Gritsenko model of phonon-assisted electron tunneling between neutral traps describes the experimental I – V – T characteristics with all the fitting parameters with reasonable physical values. The obtained thermal trap energy value 1.2 eV is confirmed independently by photoluminescence spectroscopy data analysis. The trap nature and comparison of the obtained results with the corresponding data for low- k films with similar chemical composition and deposited by the spin-on-glass technology using self-assembling chemistry is discussed. It is hypothesized that the defect with ionization energy of 1.2 eV is the oxygen divacancy. | Charge Transport Mechanism in a PECVD Deposited Low-k SiOCH Dielectric | 10.1007/s11664-021-09411-8 |
2022-05-01 | Aims/hypothesis Biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and low-grade inflammation are important in the pathogenesis of CVD and can potentially be modified by physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Effects of physical activity on biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction may be especially prominent in type 2 diabetes. Methods In the population-based Maastricht Study ( n = 2363, 51.5% male, 28.3% type 2 diabetes, 15.1% prediabetes [defined as impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose]), we determined biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and low-grade inflammation, and combined z scores were calculated. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour were measured by activPAL. Linear regression analyses were used with adjustment for demographic, lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors. Results The association between total, light, moderate-to-vigorous and vigorous intensity physical activity and sedentary time on the one hand and biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction on the other were generally significant and were consistently stronger in prediabetes and type 2 diabetes as compared with normal glucose metabolism status ( p for interaction <0.05). Associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour on the one hand and low-grade inflammation on the other were also significant and were similar in individuals with and without (pre)diabetes ( p for interaction >0.05). Conclusions/interpretation Physical activity and sedentary behaviour are associated with biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and low-grade inflammation. For biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction, associations between physical activity and sedentary behaviour were consistently stronger in (pre)diabetes than in normal glucose metabolism. Whether increasing physical activity or decreasing sedentary time can positively influence biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction in individuals with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes requires further study. Graphical abstract | Sedentary behaviour and physical activity are associated with biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and low-grade inflammation—relevance for (pre)diabetes: The Maastricht Study | 10.1007/s00125-022-05651-3 |
2022-05-01 | In order to study the influence of natural fracture and artificial fracture on reservoir well pattern deployment and development, Chang 6 fractured reservoir in Tang 9 oilfield is taken as the research object, through core, microscopic slice and microseismic artificial fracture monitoring, the development characteristics of natural fractures and artificial fractures in the reservoir are studied, and the production conditions of horizontal wells and fractures in different directions are analyzed. It is found that the natural fractures in the core of Chang 6 reservoir in Tang 9 oilfield are well developed, the occurrence is mainly high-angle oblique fractures or vertical fractures, the fractures with dip angle more than 70 degrees account for the majority, the surface density of micro-fractures is generally 0.1–0.3 cm/cm 2 , the average 0.2 cm/ strip cm 2 is about 108 m, which is much longer than the distribution length of natural fractures. The initial annual decline of the parallel fracture direction of the oil well is 28%, and the annual decline of the vertical fracture direction is 42%. It is considered that the development effect of the parallel fracture direction of the horizontal section is better, mainly because the horizontal section is in the process of fracturing production. The influence of fracture on production is much greater than that of the original fracture direction of the reservoir. This is different from the understanding of well pattern deployment in conventional fractured reservoirs, and the result has practical guiding significance for the development of similar reservoirs. | Study on Fracture Development Characteristics of Low Permeability Oilfield and Its Influence on Horizontal Well Pattern Deployment | 10.1007/s10553-022-01392-6 |
2022-05-01 | Hydrofluoric acid is used in large volumes during solar panels manufacturing for cleaning purpose. It results in the generation of wastewater containing high concentrations of fluoride. Chemical precipitation is commonly used to remove most of fluoride from the wastewater. It reduces fluoride concentration to ~ 20 mg/L, whereas the discharge standard is set to 2 mg/L. Adsorption is preferable when dealing with diluted wastewater. This study evaluated the adsorption of fluoride using two low-cost adsorbents: granular palm shell activated carbon and its modification with the prepared chitosan of prawn shells. The effects of pH, dosage, contact time and initial fluoride concentration were studied in batch mode adsorption experiments. The highest removal efficiencies of fluoride by two adsorbents comprised 46% and 55%, respectively, at pH 2 and pH 7. The contrasting behavior of the two adsorbents in relation to pH is attributed by the adsorbents surface charge associated with the surface functional groups identified by FTIR. The adsorption isotherm modeling showed better fit to the Langmuir model for both adsorbents. Adsorption kinetics results fitted well into the pseudo-second-order kinetics model suggesting chemisorption mechanism of fluoride removal. | Fluoride removal by low-cost palm shell activated carbon modified with prawn shell chitosan adsorbents | 10.1007/s13762-021-03448-2 |
2022-05-01 | Abstract The effect from the combined action of a low-frequency acoustic field, a demulsifier (DE), and the temperature factor on the stability of the water-in-oil emulsions formed by crude oils differing in the contents of resins, asphaltenes, and paraffin hydrocarbons was examined. It was shown that the DE acts on the emulsions more effectively after acoustic treatment which accelerates the process of coalescence and separation of free aqueous phase. Preliminary exposure of the emulsion to the physical field facilitates migration of the DE molecules towards the interfacial film and causes loosening of the protective shells around the water droplets, thereby leading to formation of new disperse structures via redistribution of the oil components. An IR-spectroscopic analysis showed that the resin molecules in the emulsion are more susceptible to the acoustic field exposure than the asphaltene molecules, which causes a change in their structural-group composition. | Destruction of a Water-in-Oil Emulsion under Combined Action of a Low-Frequency Acoustic Field and a Demulsifier | 10.1134/S0965544122020220 |
2022-05-01 | The zero-valent iron-anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ZVI-anammox) system has received widespread attention due to its excellent nitrogen removal performance and user-friendly operation. However, its disadvantages include a short service life, high ZVI consumption, and poor system stability. The use of ultrasound as a physical method is increasing in various water treatment processes. In this study, a series of batch tests were conducted to obtain the best ultrasonic parameter and explore the comprehensive effects of ultrasound on a ZVI-anammox system. The highest specific anammox activity of the ZVI-anammox system was found to be 2.88 mg total nitrogen/g of volatile suspended solids/h after ultrasonic treatment (0.2 w/mL, 5 min), which was 37.85% higher than a control group. Additionally, the service life of ZVI extended by 28.57% and the total nitrogen removal efficiency changed from 58.03–72.08 to 63.92–78.33% under ultrasonic irradiation. These phenomena were related to the mechanical force and cavitation of ultrasonic waves. Judging from the characteristics of sludge and ZVI, ultrasound can promote anammox sludge granulation, ease ZVI passivation, and enhance the stability of the entire system. This paper also briefly discusses the impact mechanisms of ultrasound on the ZVI-anammox system. In brief, ultrasound destroys the surface structure of ZVI and thus provides numerous attachment points for microorganisms that improve the performance of the entire system. The proposed ultrasound combined with ZVI is a novel method that has potential for use in large-scale engineering applications in actual sewage treatment after comprehensive analysis. | Impact mechanism and performance enhancement of ultrasound on ZVI-anammox system | 10.1007/s11356-021-16318-8 |
2022-05-01 | We propose a method for eliminating the temporal illumination variations in whisk-broom (point-scan) hyperspectral imaging. Whisk-broom scanning is useful for acquiring a spatial measurement using a pixel-based hyperspectral sensor. However, when it is applied to outdoor cultural heritages, temporal illumination variations become an issue due to the lengthy measurement time. As a result, the incoming illumination spectra vary across the measured image locations because different locations are measured at different times. To overcome this problem, in addition to the standard raster scan, we propose an additional perpendicular scan that traverses the raster scan. We show that this additional scan allows us to infer the illumination variations over the raster scan. Furthermore, the sparse structure in the illumination spectrum is exploited to robustly eliminate these variations. We quantitatively show that a hyperspectral image captured under sunlight is indeed affected by temporal illumination variations, that a Naïve mitigation method suffers from severe artifacts, and that the proposed method can robustly eliminate the illumination variations. Finally, we demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed method by capturing historic stained-glass windows of a French cathedral. | Eliminating Temporal Illumination Variations in Whisk-broom Hyperspectral Imaging | 10.1007/s11263-022-01587-8 |
2022-05-01 | Assessment of the level of activity of advective transport through faults and fractures is essential for guiding the geological disposal of radioactive waste. In this study, the advective flow (active, inactive) of meteoric water through fractures is assessed by comparing stable isotopes (δD and δ 18 O) between fracture and pore waters obtained from four boreholes in marine deposits in the Horonobe area, Japan. At 27–83-m depth in one borehole and 28–250 m in another, the isotopic compositions of pore and fracture water reflect mixing with meteoric water, with stronger meteoric-water signatures being observed in the fracture water than in pore water of the rock matrix. At greater depths in these boreholes and at all sampling depths in the other two studied boreholes, the isotopic compositions of fracture and pore waters are comparable. These results suggest that the advective flow of meteoric water is active at shallow depths where fossil seawater is highly diluted in the two boreholes. This interpretation is compatible with the occurrence of present or paleo meteoric waters and tritium, whereby present meteoric water and tritium are limited to those depths in the two boreholes. This difference in the level of activity of advective flow is probably because of the glacial–interglacial difference in hydraulic gradients resulting from sea-level change. Although fractures are hydraulically connected to the surface through the sedimentary rock, advective flow through them is inferred to remain inactive so long as sea level does not fall substantially. L′évaluation du niveau d′activité du transport advectif à travers les failles et les fractures est essentielle pour contraindre le stockage géologique des déchets radioactifs. Dans cette étude, le flux advectif (actif, inactif) de l′eau météorique à travers les fractures est évalué en comparant les isotopes stables (δD et δ 18 O) des eaux de fracture et ceux des eaux interstitielles obtenues à partir de quatre forages dans des dépôts marins de la région de Horonobe, au Japon. A 27–83 m de profondeur dans un forage et à 28–250 m dans un autre, les compositions isotopiques de l′eau de porosité et de fracture reflètent un mélange avec de l′eau météorique, avec des signatures en eau météorique plus fortes dans l′eau de fracture que dans l′eau de porosité de la matrice rocheuse. A de plus grandes profondeurs dans ces forages et à toutes les profondeurs d′échantillonnage dans les deux autres forages étudiés, les compositions isotopiques des eaux de fracture et des eaux interstitielles sont comparables. Ces résultats suggèrent que le flux advectif d′eau météorique est actif à faible profondeur où l′eau de mer fossile est fortement diluée dans les deux forages. Cette interprétation est compatible avec la présence d′eaux météoriques actuelles ou anciennes, les eaux météoriques actuelles et la présence de tritium étant limitées à ces profondeurs dans les deux forages. Cette différence dans le niveau d′activité du flux advectif est probablement liée à la différence glaciaire–interglaciaire des gradients hydrauliques résultant des variations du niveau de la mer. Bien que les fractures soient hydrauliquement reliées à la surface par les roches sédimentaires, on suppose que le flux advectif qui les traverse reste inactif tant que le niveau de la mer ne baisse pas de manière substantielle. La evaluación del nivel de actividad del transporte advectivo a través de fallas y fracturas es esencial para orientar el almacenamiento geológico de residuos radiactivos. En este estudio se evalúa el flujo advectivo (activo, inactivo) del agua meteórica a través de las fracturas mediante la comparación de isótopos estables (δD y δ 18 O) entre las aguas de fractura y las de poro obtenidas en cuatro sondeos en depósitos marinos en la zona de Horonobe, Japón. A 27–83 m de profundidad en un sondeo y a 28–250 m en otro, las composiciones isotópicas del agua de poro y de fractura reflejan la mezcla con el agua meteórica, observándose firmas de agua meteórica más fuertes en el agua de fractura que en el agua de poro de la matriz de la roca. A mayores profundidades en estos sondeos y en todas las profundidades de muestreo en los otros dos sondeos estudiados, las composiciones isotópicas de las aguas de fractura y de poro son comparables. Estos resultados sugieren que el flujo advectivo de agua meteórica está activo a poca profundidad, donde el agua de mar fósil está muy diluida en los dos sondeos. Esta interpretación es compatible con la presencia de aguas meteóricas actuales o antiguas y de tritio, por lo que el agua meteórica actual y el tritio se limitan a esas profundidades en los dos sondeos. Esta diferencia en el nivel de actividad del flujo advectivo se debe probablemente a la diferencia glacial–interglacial en los gradientes hidráulicos resultantes del cambio del nivel del mar. Aunque las fracturas están conectadas hidráulicamente a la superficie a través de la roca sedimentaria, se infiere que el flujo advectivo a través de ellas permanece inactivo mientras el nivel del mar no descienda sustancialmente. 评估裂隙和断层的对流传输水平对于指导放射性废物的地质处置至关重要。在本研究中, 通过比较日本和罗门地区海洋沉积区四个钻孔中获得的裂隙水和孔隙水的稳定同位素(δD 和 δ 18 O), 评估了大气降水通过裂隙的对流活动(活跃和非活跃)。在一个深27–83 m的钻孔和另一个深28–250 m的钻孔中, 孔隙水和裂隙水的同位素组成反映了其与大气降水的混合, 在裂隙水中观察到的大气降水特征高于孔隙水。在这些钻孔的更大深度和其他两个研究钻孔的所有取样深度, 裂隙水和孔隙水的同位素组成具有可比性。这些结果表明, 在化石海水高度稀释的两个钻孔浅层, 大气降水的对流是活跃的。该解释与当前或古大气降水和氚的出现相一致, 因此当前大气降水和氚仅限于两个钻孔的深度。对流活动水平的这种差异可能是由于海平面变化导致的冰川–间冰期水力梯度的差异。尽管裂隙通过沉积岩与地表进行水力连接, 但只要海平面没有大幅下降, 通过裂隙的对流就可以保持不活动状态。 A avaliação do nível de atividade do transporte advectivo através de falhas e fraturas é essencial para orientar a disposição geológica de resíduos radioativos. Neste estudo, o fluxo advectivo (ativo, inativo) da água meteórica através de fraturas é avaliado pela comparação entre os isótopos estáveis (δD e δ 18 O) da água em fraturas e da água em poros, obtidas de quatro poços em depósitos marinhos da região de Horonobe, Japão. Nas profundidades de 27–83 m em um poço e 28–250 m em outro poço, a composição isotópica das águas dos poros e fraturas refletem uma mistura com água meteórica, sendo observadas assinaturas mais fortes da água meteórica nas fraturas do que nos poros da rocha matriz. Em maiores profundidades nesses mesmos poços, e em todas as profundidades amostradas nos outros dois poços estudados, a composição isotópica da água nas fraturas e nos poros são comparáveis. Esses resultados sugerem que o fluxo advectivo da água meteórica é ativo em profundidades mais rasas, onde a água fóssil do mar é altamente diluída nos dois poços. Essa interpretação é compatível com a ocorrência de águas meteóricas recentes, ou águas paleometeóricas e trítio, sendo que a água meteórica recente e trítio são limitados a essas profundidades nos dois poços. Essa diferença no nível de atividade do fluxo advectivo é provavelmente por conta da diferença glacial–interglacial nos gradientes hidráulicos, resultante da mudança do nível do mar. Embora as fraturas são hidraulicamente conectadas à superfície através de rochas sedimentares, o fluxo advectivo através delas é inferido como inativo contanto que o nível do mar não caia substancialmente. | Assessment of the level of activity of advective transport through fractures and faults in marine deposits by comparison between stable isotope compositions of fracture and pore waters | 10.1007/s10040-022-02466-9 |
2022-05-01 | The viability of thermal waste-to-energy (WTE) plants and its optimal performance have informed intelligent predictive modelling of its significant variables critical to optimal energy recovery and plant operational planning using machine learning approach. However, the optimality of hyper-parameters is significant to accurate modelling of combustion enthalpy of waste in neuro-fuzzy models. In this study, the significant effect of hyper-parameters tuning of different clustering techniques, vis-à-vis fuzzy c-means (FCM), subtractive clustering (SC) and grid partitioning (GP), on the performance of the ANFIS model in its standalone and hybridized form was investigated. The ANFIS model was optimized with two evolutionary algorithms, namely particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithm (GA), for predicting the lower heating value (LHV) of waste using the city of Johannesburg as a case study. The optimal model for LHV prediction was selected based on minimum error criteria after testing the models’ performance using relevant statistical metrics like root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), mean absolute deviation (MAD), relative mean bias error (rMBE) and coefficient of variation (RCoV). The result revealed a better performance of the hybridized ANFIS model than the standalone ANFIS model. Also, a significant variation in all models’ performance at different clustering technique was noted. However, all GP-clustered models gave the most accurate prediction than others. The most accurate model was obtained using a GP-clustered PSO-ANFIS model with triangular input membership function (tri-MF) giving RMSE, MAD, MAPE, rMBE and RCoV values of 0.139, 0.064, 2.536, 0.071 and 0.181, respectively. This study established the significance of municipality-based LHV prediction model to enhance the efficiency of thermal WTE plants and the robustness of evolutionary-based neuro-fuzzy model for heating value prediction. | Evolutionary-based neuro-fuzzy modelling of combustion enthalpy of municipal solid waste | 10.1007/s00521-021-06870-2 |
2022-05-01 | Phosphorus (P) deficiency is one of the major limitations for soybean production. Moreover, it has been well reported P and other mineral elements function interdependently or antagonistically to control nutrients homeostasis in plants. Thus, it is urgently needed to understand the genetic mechanism of the accumulation of mineral elements in response to low-P stress. In this study, to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and candidate genes controlling the accumulation of mineral elements suffering low-P stress in seedling stage of soybean plants, we measured concentrations of mineral elements, including P, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mg and Ca, in shoots of 211 soybean accessions under normal phosphorus (+P) and low phosphorus (−P) conditions in two hydroponic experiments. And genome-wide association study (GWAS) using high density NJAU 355K SoySNP array and concentrations of five of these mineral elements except P was performed. A total of 36 SNPs distributed on 13 chromosomes were identified to be significantly associated with low-P tolerance, and nine SNPs on chromosome 10 formed a SNP cluster. Meanwhile, the candidate gene GmFeB1 was found to serve as a negative regulator element involved in soybean P metabolism and the haplotype1 (Hap1) of GmFeB1 showed significantly higher shoot Fe concentration under -P condition than that of Hap2. In summary, we uncover 36 SNPs significantly associated with shoot mineral elements concentrations under different P conditions and a soybean low-P related gene GmFeB1 , which will provide additional genetic information for soybean low-P tolerance and new gene resources for P-efficient soybean varieties breeding. | Genome-wide association analysis discovered new loci and candidate genes associated with low-phosphorus tolerance based on shoot mineral elements concentrations in soybean | 10.1007/s00438-022-01895-1 |
2022-05-01 | In this study, a dynamic nuclide identification algorithm based on fuzzy probability factor superposition (FPFS) was proposed for γ spectrum analysis, and the algorithm was tested with spectra from single and multiline radionuclides of the five nuclides 241 Am, 133 Ba, 137 Cs, 60 Co, and 152 Eu. The test results showed when the number of probability factors superposed exceeded 15, the nuclide identification accuracy rate was over 98%. In contrast to the traditional fuzzy logic nuclide identification algorithm and multiple linear regression fitting algorithm, the FPFS algorithm had a higher recognition rate and more advantages especially when there were lower counts and mixed nuclides. | Application of fuzzy probability factor superposition algorithm in nuclide identification | 10.1007/s10967-022-08318-w |
2022-05-01 | Isotope of iodine 129 I is a fission radionuclide generated by nuclear power plants (NPPs). It is long lived ( t 1/2 = 15.7 × 10 6 years) and easily spread through the environment. Concentrations of 129 I in low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) can be determined using scaling factors, liquid scintillation counting, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS), neutron activation analysis (NAA), and accelerator mass spectrometry. This study examined three LLRW matrixes: cement solidification, radioactive liquid, and metal powder from a nuclear facility and NPP. After alkaline fusion and solvent extraction, the concentration activity of 129 I was determined through ICP–MS analysis. The 129 I concentrations in the liquid and metal powder samples revealed using ICP–MS were two to three orders higher than those when using NAA. This difference might be attributable to two sources of interference, molybdenum and cadmium, which form isobaric 129 during 16 O collision in ICP–MS. This interference can be eliminated by performing resin purification before ICP–MS analysis. The proposed technique is an economic and reliable method of determining 129 I concentration in LLRW. | Determination of 129I activities and interference in low level radioactive waste by alkaline fusion coupled with ICP-MS | 10.1007/s10967-022-08252-x |
2022-05-01 | Activated sludge treatment of citric acid wastewater creates large quantities of residual biological sludge that is difficult to dewater and dispose of. In order to deepen the understanding of the sludge dewatering process, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used to study changes in internal, vicinal, interstitial, and free water contents and binding degree during citric acid sludge dewatering. The effects of polyaluminum chloride (PAC), PAC and calcium oxide (PAC + CaO), and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) treatment and altering the doses of these coagulants were evaluated. Obvious changes were detected in the distribution of water between interstitial and free forms during sludge dewatering. The transverse relaxation time ( T 2 ) and water content obtained by low-field NMR spectroscopy indicated that CPAM played an important role in the sludge cake formation stage because of its flocculation. In this process, the vicinal, interstitial, and free water contents of the sludge decreased by 0.581 g/g-dry matter (DM), 6.695 g/g-DM, and 51.867 g/g-DM, respectively, under vacuum filtration ( t = 2 min), that are much higher than other conditioning agents. In the sludge cake shrinkage stage with vacuum filtration for 8 min, PAC + CaO pretreatment gave a higher dewatering rate (10.783 g/g-DM) than CPAM (7.098 g/g-DM) because of the role of the skeleton structure. Overall, the treatment effects of these three conditioners were ranked in the order CPAM > PAC + CaO > PAC. Low-field NMR spectroscopy proved to be a convenient and reliable method to investigate changes in the water distribution in sludge during the treatment process. | Low-field nuclear magnetic resonance detection of changes in the water distribution in citric acid biosludge during dewatering | 10.1007/s13762-021-03288-0 |
2022-04-30 | Dual rolls equal channel extrusion (DRECE) is an unconventional severe plastic deformation (SPD) process that can effectively produce the ultrafine-grained microstructure in metals and alloys. Previously, the DRECE process carried out on non-ferrous alloys and low-carbon steels were mostly focused on the influence of process parameters on the mechanical properties. The aim of this study was the evolution of the microstructure and texture in the DC01 low-carbon steel strip after the subsequent passes of the DRECE process. The scanning transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope equipped with an electron backscattering diffraction detector were used for microstructure investigations. Observations after selected DRECE passes revealed defected microstructure, characteristic for the materials after SPD processes, in the form of numerous dislocation tangles, systems with dense dislocation walls and dislocation cell blocks. The texture analysis showed that with the increase of strain, the rolling texture has weakened in the tested material. These changes were accompanied by the microhardness rise. | Effect of the number of passes on grain refinement, texture and properties of DC01 steel strip processed by the novel hybrid SPD method | 10.1007/s43452-022-00432-6 |
2022-04-29 | Background Pre-existing chronic pain has been associated with severe postoperative pain. In this study, we sought to prospectively analyse the association between the duration of chronic low back pain and the intensity of acute postoperative pain after lumbar fusion surgery. Methods A total of 330 patients who underwent lumbar fusion surgery were divided into three groups (chronic low back pain less than 1 year, one to 5 years, and more than 5 years) based on the duration of chronic pain. On the first postoperative day, the maximum pain scores of each patient were recorded during the day and at night. Bivariate correlation and logistic regression were performed to identify relationships between acute postoperative pain and related variables (age, sex, smoking history, body mass index, operation history, duration of surgery, level of preoperative pain, aetiology of back pain, Self-rating Anxiety Scale, Self-rating Depression Scale, FRAIL scale, and duration of chronic low back pain). If the postoperative pain score was > 3 when the patient reported was at rest, the patients were treated with postoperative intravenous self-controlled analgesia or rescue analgesics if necessary. Results There was an association between severe acute postoperative pain and the duration of chronic low back pain. In terms of VAS day, multivariable logistic regression showed the duration of chronic low back pain was not statistically significant (OR = 2.48, 95% CI: 0.900 to 6.828, p = 0.0789). The result is uncertain because the confidence interval included the null after controlling for SAS, SDS, BMI, and aetiology of back pain. In terms of VAS night, patients with a duration of chronic low back pain of more than 5 years were more likely having moderate to severe acute postoperative pain (VAS > 3) compared to patients with a duration of chronic low back pain less than 1 year (OR = 3.546, 95% CI: 1.405 to 8.95, p = 0.0074). Hospital stay, the pain score on the day of discharge and the pain score after 3 months displayed no significant difference among the three groups ( P > 0.05). However, the need for postoperative rescue analgesics was different among the three groups ( P < 0.05). Conclusion The longer the duration of chronic pain was, the higher the incidence of moderate to severe acute postoperative pain was and the greater the amount of analgesics required after surgery. Trial registration This study was registered at the Chinese Clinical Trial Registration Center ( http://www.chictr.org.cn/index.aspx , clinical trial number: ChiECRCT20200165, date of registration: July 6, 2020). | The duration of chronic low back pain is associated with acute postoperative pain intensity in lumbar fusion surgery: a prospective observational study | 10.1186/s12871-022-01674-w |
2022-04-28 | Background The study aimed to investigate the effect of low-frequency electrical stimulation (LFES) on disuse muscle atrophy and its mechanism in a rabbit model of knee extension contracture. Methods This study involved two experiments. In the time-point experiment, 24 rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control 1 (Ctrl1 group), immobilization for 2 weeks (I-2 group), immobilization for 4 weeks (I-4 group), and immobilization for 6 weeks (I-6 group). In the intervention experiment, 24 rabbits were randomly divided into 4 groups: Control 2 (Ctrl2 group), electrical stimulation (ESG group), natural recovery (NRG group), and electrical stimulation treatment (ESTG group). All intervention effects were assessed by evaluating the knee joint range of motion (ROM), cross-sectional area (CSA) of the rectus femoris muscle, and expression of autophagy-related proteins. Results The time-point experiment showed that immobilization reduced the knee ROM, reduced the rectus femoris muscle CSA, and activated autophagy in skeletal muscle. The levels of five autophagy-related proteins [mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), phosphorylated mTOR (p-mTOR), autophagy-related protein 7 (Atg7), p62, and microtubule-associated protein light chain 3B-II (LC3B-II)] were significantly elevated in the skeletal muscle of the I-4 group. The intervention experiment further showed that LFES significantly improved the immobilization-induced reductions in ROM and CSA. Additionally, LFES resulted in a significant decrease in the protein expression of mTOR, p-mTOR, Atg7, p62, and LC3B-II in the rectus femoris muscle. Conclusions LFES alleviates immobilization-evoked disuse muscle atrophy possibly by inhibiting autophagy in the skeletal muscle of rabbits. | Low-frequency electrical stimulation alleviates immobilization-evoked disuse muscle atrophy by repressing autophagy in skeletal muscle of rabbits | 10.1186/s12891-022-05350-5 |
2022-04-27 | Background Smoke from solid biomass cooking is often stated to reduce household mosquito levels and, therefore, malarial transmission. However, household air pollution (HAP) from solid biomass cooking is estimated to be responsible for 1.67 times more deaths in children aged under 5 years compared to malaria globally. This cross-sectional study investigates the association between malaria and (i) cleaner fuel usage; (ii) wood compared to charcoal fuel; and, (iii) household cooking location, among children aged under 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Methods Population-based data was obtained from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) for 85,263 children within 17 malaria-endemic sub-Saharan countries who were who were tested for malaria with a malarial rapid diagnostic test (RDT) or microscopy. To assess the independent association between malarial diagnosis (positive, negative), fuel type and cooking location (outdoor, indoor, attached to house), multivariable logistic regression was used, controlling for individual, household and contextual confounding factors. Results Household use of solid biomass fuels and kerosene cooking fuels was associated with a 57% increase in the odds ratio of malarial infection after adjusting for confounding factors (RDT adjusted odds ratio (AOR):1.57 [1.30–1.91]; Microscopy AOR: 1.58 [1.23–2.04]) compared to cooking with cleaner fuels. A similar effect was observed when comparing wood to charcoal among solid biomass fuel users (RDT AOR: 1.77 [1.54–2.04]; Microscopy AOR: 1.21 [1.08–1.37]). Cooking in a separate building was associated with a 26% reduction in the odds of malarial infection (RDT AOR: 0.74 [0.66–0.83]; Microscopy AOR: 0.75 [0.67–0.84]) compared to indoor cooking; however no association was observed with outdoor cooking. Similar effects were observed within a sub-analysis of malarial mesoendemic areas only. Conclusion Cleaner fuels and outdoor cooking practices associated with reduced smoke exposure were not observed to have an adverse effect upon malarial infection among children under 5 years in SSA. Further mixed-methods research will be required to further strengthen the evidence base concerning this risk paradigm and to support appropriate public health messaging in this context. | Cooking outdoors or with cleaner fuels does not increase malarial risk in children under 5 years: a cross-sectional study of 17 sub-Saharan African countries | 10.1186/s12936-022-04152-3 |
2022-04-26 | This study aimed to access the influence of rice flour incorporation on various quality attributes of low-gluten wheat-based pretzels viz., functional, rheological, starch digestibility, color, textural and sensorial properties. Significant increase in swelling power (18.33 ± 0.51) and bulk density (0.58 ± 0.04) was observed in flour blend upon incorporation of rice flour, whereas, significant decrease in oil absorption capacity (0.62 ± 0.09), solubility index (6.72 ± 0.17), foaming capacity (9.67 ± 0.34), and foaming stability (3.39 ± 0.15) was recorded. Pasting properties of samples were studied using a Rapid Visco Analyser which indicated that all the pasting properties increased with an increase in rice flour incorporation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies revealed no difference in the basic functional groups of flour blend upon the incorporation of rice flour, however, it had a pronounced effect on elastic modulus (G′) of flour blend. In vitro starch digestion characteristics revealed 7.23% surge in slowly digestible starch and 13.36% reduction in rapidly digestible starch of developed low-gluten pretzels upon the incorporation of rice flour. Apparent amylose content (27.3 ± 1.45) and resistant starch content (6.12 ± 0.97) increased and starch digestibility index (69.87 ± 1.72) decreased in developed low-gluten pretzels. In conclusion, the developed low-gluten pretzels had significantly ( p < 0.05) higher mineral profile and lightness ( L* ) and lower breaking strength in addition to having better overall acceptability. This study indicated that substituting wheat flour with rice flour up to a level of 35% affected the quality attributes of developed low-gluten pretzels. Graphical abstract | Influence of replacement of wheat flour by rice flour on rheo-structural changes, in vitro starch digestibility and consumer acceptability of low-gluten pretzels | 10.1186/s43014-022-00088-y |
2022-04-26 | We present an optically powered, intrinsically safe gas monitoring system to measure four essential environmental gases (CH 4 , CO 2 , CO and O 2 ), together with ambient temperature and pressure, for underground mines. The system is based on three key technologies developed at UNSW: (1) power-over-fibre (PoF) at 1550 nm using a single industry-standard, low-cost single-mode fibre (SMF) for both power delivery and information transmission, (2) liquid–crystal-based optical transducers for optical telemetry, and (3) ultra-low power consumption design of all electronics. Together, this approach allows each gas monitoring station to operate with less than 150 mW of optical power, meeting the intrinsic safety requirements specified by the IEC60079-28 standard. A 2-month field trial at BMA’s Broadmeadow underground mine proved the cabling compatibility to the mine’s existing optical network and the stability of the system performance. Compared with conventional electrically powered gas sensors, this technology bypasses the usual roadblocks of underground gas monitoring where electrical power is either unsafe or unavailable. Furthermore, using one fibre for both power delivery and communication enables longer distance coverage, reduces optical cabling and increases multiplexing possibilities and data throughput for better awareness of underground environment. | Optically powered gas monitoring system using single-mode fibre for underground coal mines | 10.1007/s40789-022-00496-y |
2022-04-26 | Obtaining a homogeneous low-dose pharmaceutical powder blend without multi-step processing remains a challenge. One promising technology to address this risk is resonant acoustic mixing (RAM). In this study, the performance of a laboratory resonant acoustic mixer (LabRAM) was studied at low active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) concentrations (0.1–0.5% w/w), using three commercial grades of a model API (Acetaminophen) and diluents with varying physical properties. The performance was assessed by evaluating blend uniformity (BU) and capsule content uniformity (CU) as a function of mixing time. Overall, the LabRAM achieved acceptable BU in a single step even at 0.1% w/w drug loading. A reduction in API primary particle size led to improved mixing efficiency and uniformity. Moreover, the presence of surface cavities in the diluents used appeared to have led to improved uniformity. The results demonstrated that RAM could achieve uniform powder blends without multi-step processing, for low-dose formulations. Graphical Abstract | Assessment of Resonant Acoustic Mixing for Low-Dose Pharmaceutical Powder Blends | 10.1208/s12249-022-02262-4 |
2022-04-25 | With the development of agricultural science and technology, the influence of nanomaterials on plants under low pressure is still not reported. Planting at the low-pressure place (in space or high-altitude areas of the Earth) is looking increasingly possible in the future. In this study, rice seedlings were cultured under low and atmospheric pressure, with the application of nanomaterials and Cd into the nutrient solution. We have investigated the influence of Cd, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, cerium oxide nanomaterials and their co-exposure effects on rice seedlings. Physiological parameters such as plant height and root length of rice remained non-significant under nanomaterials treatment. However, nanomaterials with Cd showed the inhibitory effect on plant height and root length as compared to control. Conversely, nanomaterials with Cd had no effects on rice biomass at atmospheric pressure but an average of 34.7% inhibit the biomass at low pressure. The low-pressure group showed that a low concentration of nanomaterials will promote the absorption of Cd in rice, and atmospheric pressure group showed that a high concentration of nanomaterials will promote the absorption of Cd. Transmission electron microscope images revealed that rice seedlings uptake the nanomaterials at both pressures. The results showed that low pressure would affect the growth and development of rice to a great extent, also affect the absorption of nanomaterials and Cd by rice. | Toxicities of nanomaterials and metals to rice under low atmospheric pressure | 10.1007/s11738-022-03391-w |
2022-04-24 | Background Vector-borne diseases are on the rise on a global scale, which is anticipated to further accelerate because of anthropogenic climate change. Resource-limited regions are especially hard hit by this increment with the currently implemented surveillance programs being inadequate for the observed expansion of potential vector species. Cost-effective methods that can be easily implemented in resource-limited settings, e.g. under field conditions, are thus urgently needed to function as an early warning system for vector-borne disease epidemics. Our aim was to enhance entomological capacity in Nepal, a country with endemicity of numerous vector-borne diseases and with frequent outbreaks of dengue fever. Methods We used a field barcoding pipeline based on DNA nanopore sequencing (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) and verified its use for different mosquito life stages and storage methods. We furthermore hosted an online workshop to facilitate knowledge transfer to Nepalese scientific experts from different disciplines. Results The use of the barcoding pipeline could be verified for adult mosquitos and eggs, as well as for homogenized samples, dried specimens, samples that were stored in ethanol and frozen tissue. The transfer of knowledge was successful, as reflected by feedback from the participants and their wish to implement the method. Conclusions Cost effective strategies are urgently needed to assess the likelihood of disease outbreaks. We were able to show that field sequencing provides a solution that is cost-effective, undemanding in its implementation and easy to learn. The knowledge transfer to Nepalese scientific experts from different disciplines provides an opportunity for sustainable implementation of low-cost portable sequencing solutions in Nepal. Graphical Abstract | A barcoding pipeline for mosquito surveillance in Nepal, a biodiverse dengue-endemic country | 10.1186/s13071-022-05255-1 |
2022-04-21 | Main conclusion We performed genome-wide and heterologous expression analysis of the safflower cysteine protease family and found that inhibition of CtCP1 expression enhanced plant cold resistance. Abstract Cysteine protease (CP) is mainly involved in plant senescence and stress responses. However, the molecular mechanism of endogenous cysteine protease inhibition in plant stress tolerance is yet unknown. Here, we report the discovery and functional characterization of a candidate CP1 gene from safflower. The conserved structural topology of CtCP s revealed important insights into their possible roles in plant growth and stress responses. The qRT-PCR results implied that most of CtCP genes were highly expressed at fading stage suggesting that they are most likely involved in senescence process. The CtCP1 expression was significantly induced at different time points under cold, NaCl, H 2 O 2 and PEG stress, respectively. The in-vitro activity of heterologously expressed CtCP1 protein showed highest protease activity for casein and azocasein substrates. The expression and phenotypic data together with antioxidant activity and physiological indicators revealed that transgenic plants inhibited by CtCP1 -anti showed higher tolerance to low temperature than WT and CtCP1 -OE plants. Our findings demonstrated the discovery of a new Cysteine protease 1 gene that exerted a detrimental effect on transgenic Arabidopsis under low-temperature stress. | Identification and functional characterization of safflower cysteine protease 1 as negative regulator in response to low-temperature stress in transgenic Arabidopsis | 10.1007/s00425-022-03875-6 |
2022-04-21 | Polymers play an integral part in the semiconductor electronic industry. Low dielectric constant materials (k < 3.0) have the advantage of facilitating manufacture of high performance integrated circuit (IC) devices with decreasing feature size of the chip. In this work, two different approaches has been put forth to produce low dielectric materials from polybenzoxazines (Pbzs). At first benzoxazine (Bzo) monomers with different functionalities such as nitrile, benzophenone and azo groups in their backbone were synthesized. And secondly, Pbz/SiO 2 nanocomposites were prepared using the synthesized monomers and SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs). Simple Mannich reaction and thermal curing were effective for synthesizing the ring closure and ring opening benzoxazines via molecular designs and provided high yield products without using any specific catalyst. DSC analysis showed that the benzoxazine monomers exhibit different reactivity towards polymerization as it possesses different functional groups. The inclusion of the inorganic component into the organic polymer had a significant enhancing effect on both thermal and mechanical properties of polybenzoxazine. An increase in thermal and mechanical property and a decrease in dielectric property are observed on increasing the addition of silica nanoparticles to the benzoxazine matrix. | Fabrication of SiO2-reinforced polybenzoxazine composites and their thermal and dielectric properties | 10.1007/s10965-022-03010-9 |
2022-04-21 | The Sinian Dengying formation reservoirs in Sichuan Basin of China have characteristics of high temperature, high pressure, deep buried depth, strong heterogeneity, low porosity and permeability, rich pore, natural fractures, vugs and high concentration H 2 S, CO 2 , which limit the reconstruction technologies about the gas reservoir. The formation poroperm of Tainei block Dengying unit is worse than that of Taiyuan block’s, and the difference of gas well productions in Tainei block is enormous. The technique of retarded acidizing with segmented by mechanical system was developed and applied in Dengying unit of Taiyuan block, which significantly raised the gas well production. It is difficult for the retarded acidizing technique to applied to gas wells in Tainei block, for the lower formation quality and immature fractures/vugs. The keys to formation reconstruction for highly deviated and horizontal wells are acid homogeneous placement and deep penetrating in order to connecting natural fracture and vugs system. With exploration and practice over several years, a set of segment acid fracturing comprehensive technologies for highly deviated and horizontal wells were formed, including accurate fragmenting based on quantizing evaluation of formation quality, differential acidizing of retarded acid and self-generation acid. The slow acid fracturing technology is used for the formation which the RES is over 1.0. Then, the multistage alternating injection acid fracturing technology is used for the formation which the RES is lower 1.0. The acid fracturing process parameters, such as displacement and acid strength, were optimized by experiments. The precision acidizing technique was applied for gas well of Tainei block Dengying unit, which the testing production of gas well is over 1 million cubic meter per day after aciding stimulated. The precision acidizing technique significantly raised gas well production of Tainei block Dengying unit and is helpful for exploratory development of Tainei block Dengying unit with low formation quality. According to the characteristics of dispersed and superimposed development of high-quality reservoirs in long horizontal section, the acid fracturing process criterion of "one section and one policy" was established. The acid fracturing process criteria for reservoirs with different transformation potential are established, and the pertinence of acid fracturing transformation is improved. Gel acid fracturing process is adopted for high-quality reservoir, the acid fracturing process of authigenic acid preflush is adopted for medium reservoir and the acid fracturing process of multistage alternating injection of authigenic acid preflush + gelled acid is adopted for low-quality reservoirs. The targeted reconstruction of strong heterogeneity long well section is realized. | Accurate sectional and differential acidizing technique to highly deviated and horizontal wells for low permeable Sinian Dengying formation in Sichuan Basin of China | 10.1007/s42452-021-04804-0 |
2022-04-21 | Background Delay in care seeking is one of the causes for neonatal death. Mothers’ knowledge of neonatal danger signs is imperative to promote early recognition of neonatal illness and reduce the delay in care seeking. Currently, no study has been conducted on the knowledge about neonatal danger signs in China, especially in economically less developed areas. This study aimed to examine the knowledge of neonatal danger signs and risk factors of poor knowledge among mothers in a rural county of southwest of China. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wenshan, a rural county of southwest of China. A total of 112 respondents were included from November 2020 to February 2021 among women who had babies aged 0–12 months and brought their babies to health care centers for immunization within the study period. A questionnaire with 18-item key neonatal danger signs was used to measure their knowledge about these signs. Mothers who scored above average were considered to have relatively good knowledge whereas those who scored below average were considered to have relatively poor knowledge. Independent predictors of mothers’ knowledge were identified by multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results The mean knowledge score of neonatal danger signs of mothers was 18.1 (SD = 8.6). Fifty-eight percentage of mothers (65/112) had poor knowledge of neonatal danger signs. Danger signs of “bluish or pale skin”, “chest indrawing”, and “convulsion” were mostly recognized, whereas danger signs of “not able to feed since birth, or stopped feeding well”, “excessive crying” and “eyes draining pus” were recognized poorly. Less than four antenatal visits [AOR = 4.348], younger than 25 years old [AOR = 3.839], ethnic minority [AOR = 3.956] and family financial difficulty [AOR = 4.944] were significant indicators of relatively poor knowledge. Conclusions Mothers’ knowledge about neonatal danger signs in rural China is poor even though the coverage of maternal and child health care services are expanded. Existing efforts should be enhanced for antenatal care visits, avoiding early marriage as well as early childbearing. More attention should be paid to low-income ethnic minority mothers. Educating and training should be strengthened for danger signs, especially those who are predicted to have insufficient knowledge. | Knowledge about neonatal danger signs and associated factors among mothers of children aged 0–12 months in a rural county, Southwest of China: a cross-sectional study | 10.1186/s12884-022-04592-4 |
2022-04-21 | Power consumption has become one of the bottlenecks limiting the future development of integrated circuits. Tunnel FETs (TFETs) and negative capacitance FETs (NCFETs) can break the subthreshold swing limitation (60 mV/dec at room temperature) of conventional metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) to reduce the operating voltage and thus power consumption. However, induced by the band-to-band tunneling mechanism, TFETs have a subthreshold swing degradation issue and relatively low ON current. Although NCFETs with ferroelectric/dielectric gate stack can theoretically maintain a high ON current comparable to conventional MOSFET, the physical origin of sub-60 SS is controversial and the mechanism of switching behavior in NCFET is still not clear. In this work, by experimentally investigating the whole negative differential capacitance process and its gate voltage amplification coefficient, an intrinsic issue of SS degradation with increased gate voltage is also found in NCFET for the first time. Based on the physical investigation and simulation results, it is shown that the intrinsic SS degradation in NCFET is resulting from the instant dielectric polarization response. Both the decrease of dielectric thickness and the increase of dielectric constant may lead to the severer SS degradation, which is not favorable for scaled NCFETs. | Physical investigation of subthreshold swing degradation behavior in negative capacitance FET | 10.1007/s11432-021-3283-5 |
2022-04-19 | The thermal characteristics of large airship with multi-gasbag of complex shape at low-altitude flight were investigated in this paper, using numerical simulation method. Heat transfer of large airship system with multi-gasbag at low altitude was analyzed with convection and radiation modes, and a new environmental model was established. Afterward, the coupled flow field and temperature field simulation were conducted on an airship under different flight conditions. Using the meteorological data of the summer solstice in Wuhan, the numerical simulations for thermal characteristics were conducted for airship flights from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. The effects of wind speed, the volume of helium bag, and physical properties of materials on thermal characteristics were studied to obtain the temperature distribution of airships under different flight conditions. The simulation model was validated by the locally measured data. | Study on thermal characteristics of the large multi-gasbag airship at low-altitude flight | 10.1007/s40430-022-03516-9 |
2022-04-19 | Gaseous ethanol detection has attracted significant interest owing to its practical applications such as in breath analysis, chemical process monitoring, and safety evaluations of food packaging. In this study, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanoparticles functionalized with cobalt porphyrin (CoPP) are utilized as resistive ethanol-sensing materials, and are integrated with a suspended micro-heater for low power consumption. The micro-heater with the suspended structure inhibits substrate heat transfer, resulting in power consumption as low as 18 mW when the operating temperature is approximately 300 °C. CoPP functionalization allows an enhanced response (197.8%) to 10 ppm ethanol compared to that of pristine TiO 2 nanoparticles. It is confirmed that the sensor response is reliable upon exposure to 10 ppm ethanol for three cycles. In addition, responses of different magnitude are obtained under exposure to ethanol at various concentrations from 9 to 1 ppm, indicating that the resistance change originates from a charge transfer between the sensing materials and target gas. The sensing mechanism of CoPP-functionalized TiO 2 in relation to charge transfer is analyzed, and the performance of the proposed sensor with previously reported TiO 2 -based ethanol sensors is compared. Considering that it is processed by batch fabrication, consumes low power, and offers high sensitivity, the proposed sensor is promising for use as a portable sensor in the distributed monitoring of gaseous ethanol. | Ethanol-sensing properties of cobalt porphyrin-functionalized titanium dioxide nanoparticles as chemiresistive materials that are integrated into a low power microheater | 10.1186/s40486-022-00146-7 |
2022-04-19 | We present an experimental study on the motion of a spherical droplet in a plane traveling sound wave. The experiments were performed in the test section of a tunnel with two loudspeakers at the two ends of the tunnel. By adjusting the amplitude ratio and the phase difference between the two speakers, a plane traveling sound wave field can be achieved in the test section of the tunnel, which we checked by measuring the amplitudes and phases of the sound pressure along the tunnel and by simultaneously measuring the velocity field of the air flow at three different locations in the tunnel. When a liquid droplet was introduced in the test section, the motion of the droplet and the velocity of the air flow around the droplet were recorded by high speed cameras, from which we analyze and obtain the ratio of the velocity amplitudes and the phase difference between the particle motion and the fluid motion. The experimental data confirm the theoretical result from the wave equations in the long-wavelength regime, i.e., when the particle size is much smaller than the wavelength. Moreover, we showed that in this regime, the theory on particle motion in an unsteady uniform fluid, when the history term is included, also yields the same results that are in agreement with the experimental data and the wave equation. Our result extends the parameter range over which the theory on particle motion in unsteady fluid is checked against experiments, especially to the range of particle-fluid density ratio that is of important practical applications. 本文进行了单液滴在平面行波声场中运动的实验研究, 该平面行波场是在一个两端装有扬声器的直槽道中, 通过调节两个扬声器的幅值比和相位差以产生. 平面行波场的品质通过同时测量测试段不同位置的瞬时声压, 以及三个不同位置处槽道中气流的瞬时速度场得到验证. 在测试段中的液滴在声场作用下会产生垂直于波面方向的运动. 我们采用高速相机记录液滴的运动, 同时利用粒子图像法测量液滴处气流的速度, 由此分析出颗粒运动和流体运动的速度幅值比和相位差. 本文的实验数据以及理论分析表明在长波长(即当声波波长远大于颗粒尺寸)的条件下, 基于单颗粒的波动方程的解和包含历史力的颗粒动力学方程的解两者相互一致并且都与实验结果相当吻合. 本文从实验上拓展了颗粒在非稳态流场中运动理论的适用参数范围, 特别是对具有重要实际应用意义的颗粒-流体密度比范围. | Experimental study on the motion of a spherical particle in a plane traveling sound wave | 10.1007/s10409-022-09015-x |
2022-04-18 | Ni nanoparticle catalysts embedded in ZrO 2 porous spheres and ZrO 2 porous composite spheres, SiO 2 -ZrO 2 , MgO-ZrO 2 , and Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 , with 83−115 nm diameter and 167–269 m 2 /g specific surface area were prepared by a one-pot and one-step solvothermal reaction from precursor solutions consisting of Ni(NO 3 ) 2 ‧6H 2 O, Zr(O n Bu) 4 , and acetylacetone in moist ethanol combined with either Si(OEt) 4 , magnesium acetylacetate, or Y(O i Pr) 3 . The obtained Ni catalysts have high specific surface areas of 130–196 m 2 /g, even after high-temperature reduction by H 2 at 450 °C for 2 h. They were utilized as catalysts for low-temperature dry reforming of methane (DRM) at 550 °C to suppress carbon deposition on Ni nanoparticles. The Ni catalysts embedded in SiO 2 -ZrO 2 and Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 demonstrated high catalytic activity and long stability in the reaction. Moreover, carbon deposition on Ni nanoparticles in the DRM reaction was effectively suppressed in when using the SiO 2 -ZrO 2 and Y 2 O 3 -ZrO 2 composites. Graphical abstract | One-Step Solvothermal Synthesis of Ni Nanoparticle Catalysts Embedded in ZrO2 Porous Spheres to Suppress Carbon Deposition in Low-Temperature Dry Reforming of Methane | 10.1186/s11671-022-03683-7 |
2022-04-18 | Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous carbonate successions are widely exposed throughout the Sakarya Zone, Northern Turkey. The carbonates are considered as invaluable archives of palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic conditions of Tethys Ocean. We, here, present new micropaleontological, microfacies, and stable isotope data (δ 18 O and δ 13 C) of Lower Cretaceous carbonate succession of the eastern part of Sakarya Zone, NE Turkey. The studied Lower Cretaceous carbonates are characterized by, from bottom to top, microfacies associations within Unit 1 and Unit 2 that were deposited in the Barremian–Albian. Unit 1 (Barremian–Aptian) is represented by the predominance of benthic foraminiferal associations and shallow marine organisms. Unit 1 shows alternations of different microfacies, including non-laminated mudstone (MF-1), autochthonous bioclastic-foraminiferal grainstone and packstone (MF-2) and intraclastic grainstone/packstone (MF-3). An abrupt palaeoenvironment change is represented by Unit 2 with deeper water microfacies associations consisting of dark grey limestones with chert nodules, mud-rich texture, reworked skeletal fragments, sponge spiculitics and a presence of the planktonic organism. Unit 2 (Albian) displays two different microfacies: reworked bioclastic packstone/wackestone microfacies (MF-4) and gradually overlying sponge spiculitic wackestone–mudstone (MF-5). The integration of microfacies and micropaleontological data implies that the Barremian–Albian interval represents the inner platform to the slope palaeoceanographic conditions revealing an overall transgressive trend, which is consistent with a significant rise in the sea level throughout Tethys margin during the Albian. The Albian sea-level rise is likely triggered by the sedimentary evolution of the basin due to the extensional tectonic regime in NE Turkey. Besides, the palaeo-temperatures are measured by the δ 18 O data that were obtained from well-preserved belemnite samples in Unit 2. Palaeotemperature analysis presents a range of 18.30–26.77 °C with an average of 23.13 °C during the Albian. Our palaeo-temperature data are conformable with the warm Cretaceous climatic conditions, which are recorded in the different parts of the Tethys margin. Therefore, this contribution provides the first insight into the palaeoclimatic conditions of the Tethys ocean for the eastern part of the Sakarya, NE Turkey. | Sedimentological and geochemical approaches for determination of the palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic conditions of Lower Cretaceous marine deposits in the eastern part of Sakarya Zone, NE Turkey | 10.1007/s13146-022-00768-3 |
2022-04-17 | To capture more details and enhance image’s contrast in a low-light-level (LLL) environment and improve the performance of the LLL night vision system, a method of extending the dynamic range for the LLL night vision system based on guided filter and adaptive detail enhancement is proposed. Moreover, a complete high dynamic range (HDR) intensified complementary metal oxide semiconductor (ICMOS) camera based on this method is implemented. Unlike conventional technologies to create HDR images, the proposed camera based on an HDR CMOS can better process images’ edge information while avoiding artifacts’ appearance and solve the storage problem in a multi-images fusion so that real-time image is realized processing. Based on this, the ICMOS camera can capture details in a high contrast environment with an extended dynamic range of up to 80 dB. As the core processing unit of this camera, a Xilinx Spartan 6 series FPGA has completed the work of CMOS driving, image detail enhancement, image storage control, video compression output. Finally, this camera can realize an output video with a resolution of 1280 × 1024 at the rate of 60fps, and experimental results show that this camera has a good performance under a 10 −4 lx environment. | A real-time high dynamic range intensified complementary metal oxide semiconductor camera based on FPGA | 10.1007/s11082-022-03679-8 |
2022-04-16 | To determine the water vapour permeability of porous building materials, the wet cup and dry cup tests are frequently performed. Those tests have shown to present high discrepancy. The water vapour permeability of building materials is an essential parameter to determine the hygrothermal behaviour of the material and its impact on indoor comfort. Several previous studies have aimed to improve the reproducibility of the tests, by improving the protocol, the analysis of the results, notably by taking into account the surface film resistance. Yet, it is commonly accepted with no evidence that this surface film resistance can be neglected for an air velocity above 2 m/s over the cup. This study aims at experimentally testing the influence of either the flow regime or the flow velocity on the robustness of the measured water vapour permeability. For this purpose, two mini wind tunnels were designed to produce a laminar or a turbulent flow above the cups with variable air velocity. Water vapour permeability tests were performed in the tunnels with varying air velocity and flow regime on earth plasters with different compositions. The results have shown that regardless of the air velocity and flow regime, the surface film resistance should not be neglected. Based on the presented results, to reach an optimal repeatability, the use of wind tunnels should be considered as they allow to precisely control the air flow above the samples. | Measurement of the water vapour permeability of earth plasters using small-scale wind tunnels under variable air flow regimes | 10.1617/s11527-022-01950-8 |
2022-04-16 | Introduction Mobile produce markets are becoming an increasingly prevalent, accepted, and effective strategy for improving fruit and vegetable (F&V) access and consumption across underserved and lower-income communities. However, there is limited published research on mobile market operations. The goal of this research is to identify the challenges mobile markets face and ways to potentially mitigate those challenges. We will also discuss implications of our findings for future implementation of evidence-based food access interventions. Methods We conducted 21 semi-structured key informant (KI) interviews to assess common practices of mobile market organizations that had been operating for 2 + years. We asked KIs about their organizational structure, operations, procurement and logistics, evaluation efforts, marketing and community engagement, success and challenges. A primary qualitative analysis involved deductive coding using qualitative software. A secondary qualitative analysis identified subthemes related to common challenges and remedial practices. A deductive coding process was applied to match identified challenges to the appropriate Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Results The leading challenges cited by KIs correspond to the CFIR domains of inner setting (e.g., funding and resources), outer setting (e.g., navigating regulations), and process (e.g., engaging community partnership). Practices that may mitigate challenges include maximizing ancillary services, adopting innovative volunteer and staffing structures, and formalizing agreements with community partners. Conclusion Common and persistent challenges ought to be addressed to ensure and enhance the positive public health impacts of mobile produce markets. Contextual factors, particularly organizational factors, that impact implementation should also be considered when implementing an evidence-based intervention at a mobile market. Further research is needed to determine which innovative solutions are the most effective in mitigating challenges, improving implementation, and enhancing sustainability of mobile markets. | Operational challenges that may affect implementation of evidence-based mobile market interventions | 10.1186/s12889-022-13207-8 |
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