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In Fenton-like reaction, peroxymonosulfate (PMS) could be activated by either transition metals or graphitized carbon. These two activation paths had their own advantages and disadvantages. To simultaneously increase the PMS activation efficiency and degradation performance, lower the metal leaching, and improve the environmental adaption; herein, a yolk@shell nanoreactor was designed, where Kirkendall effect induced abundant hollow CoO nanoparticles were encapsulated inside a Co, N atoms co-doped graphitized carbon (Co-N-GC) shell. Because of the full exploitation of active sites on yolk@shell nanoreactor, nearly 100% of PMS activation efficiency was realized and 80.0% of tetracycline (TC) (50 mg/L) was degraded within 40 min. Under the protection of Co-N-GC shell, TC were effectively degraded over the full pH range or in the presence of various inorganic anions, and the leached Co2+ was only 0.462 mg/L even after 5 cycles. This study provided a new vision to improve the Fenton-like reaction using yolk@shell nanoreactor. In the reaction, PMS firstly adsorbed onto the CoN 4 sites on the Co-N-GC shell surface and then activated to be 1O 2. Part of PMS were diffused into the cavity via the porous shell, and activated to be SO 4 •- and •OH on the hollow CoO nanoparticles surface. TC was degraded via both radical path (SO 4 •- and •OH) and non-radical path (1O 2), in which 1O 2 was the primary reactive species, leading to outstanding environmental adaption. [Display omitted] • Co, N atoms are co-doped in GC shell, and CoO yolks are hollowed by Kirkendall effect. • PMS activation efficiency is 95.8% by fully exploiting active sites of CoO@Co-N-GC. • On CoN 4 site, PMS donates e - and main species 1O 2 is formed via SO 5 •- as intermediate. • CoO@Co-N-GC effectively works under full pH values or various anions. • Leached Co2+ is 0.462 mg/L after 5th run, completely meeting China Emission Standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantitative measurement of transient transcritical/supercritical jet under high pressure cell. • Improved phase-shifting interferometer system realized by pixelated-array masked method. • Subcritical jet flow fragmentation and atomization found under interfacial tension with density pulsations. • Jet flow goes cross pseudo-critical line with large gradient under pseudo-boiling expansion. Precise measurement and visualization of trans-/supercritical jet processes are of great significance for the control of power engines, chemical reaction and industrial processes. The quantitative measurement of transcritical jet under the influence of high pressure effect and transient effect is the key issues in such analysis. In this study, an improved phase-shifting interferometer system with high temporal and spatial resolution (0.001 s, 3.45 μm) has been realized by pixelated-array masked method to investigate characteristics in trans/supercritical jet processes. The transient density field and boundary structure of the phase-transition interface during four jet processes under sub/trans/supercritical conditions were quantitatively measured, which is different from those under subcritical conditions. The results show that the characteristic of subcritical jet is phenomenon of fragmentation and atomization within the experimental cell due to the presence of interfacial tension and strong density pulsations. The atomization is suppressed by high pressure effect in supercritical jet. Instead, Instead, single-phase mixing occurs due to the absence of surface tension. The dense core is found gradually dissolved during diffusion process of the jet flow. The transition from liquid-like to gas-like status of fluid occurs when the injection fluid goes cross the pseudo-critical line, and the jet surface has a large density gradient (in the current test range, | ∇ ρ | max = 8 × 105 kg/m4) due to temperature rise and pseudo-boiling expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-span and wide railway bridges are loaded with various loading cases, and the structural dynamic amplification factor (DAF) corresponding to different loading cases has great variability. This study presents an approach to obtaining DAF under different loading cases. Then the approach is applied to the analyses of DAFs from long-term monitoring data. The usual values of vibration amplitude and DAF under eight single-train loading cases during long-term operation are analyzed, and the midspan amplitude and displacement DAF of the main girder under the typical two-vehicle intersection, three-train intersection, and four-train intersection loading cases are also investigated. The correlation between the DAF of the eight loading cases, the structural temperature, and the train speed under the single-train loading case is analyzed. The obtained results show that in the long-term operation, the vibration amplitude level and DAF level of the railway bridge are mainly related to the train loading case, and in 16-carriage loading cases, the DAF value is higher than that in eight-carriage loading cases in the same line. The vertical dynamic response of the midspan main girder under each working condition is small. Furthermore, depending on this evolution law, different traffic loading cases must be considered during the assessment of dynamic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modal frequencies are widely used to capture dynamics and reveal possible failures of bridge structures. However, the non-Gaussianity and nonlinearity of nonstationary modal frequencies associated with the actual structure under changing environmental conditions often restrict the application in structural health monitoring. Therefore, a new localized frequency cointegration without environmental measurements for the elimination of environmental interference and damage warning is proposed in this paper. The k -nearest neighbor rule is first employed to search for sufficient nearest neighbors for each modal feature based on similarity measurements over a wide range of training data. After that, the cointegration analysis associated with the Johansen procedure is performed to remove environmental trends and obtain multivariable cointegration residuals. Then, the defined early warning index (i.e., the weighted Mahalanobis distance) derived from the exponentially weighted moving average is adopted with respect to the identification of subtle damage. Eight groups of cointegration models between nonstationary modal variables are constructed and validated on the Z24 bridge case. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach can successfully discard spurious influences of environmental variations and identify the occurrence of real structural damage compared to traditional methods. Additionally, this approach is not constrained by the statistical distribution of observation samples, and the selection and combination of different modal orders are crucial in capturing the changes in frequency anomalies for the bridge condition assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model updating techniques are often applied to calibrate the numerical models of bridges using structural health monitoring data. The updated models can facilitate damage assessment and prediction of responses under extreme loading conditions. Some researchers have adopted surrogate models, for example, Kriging approach, to reduce the computations, while others have quantified uncertainties with Bayesian inference. It is desirable to further improve the efficiency and robustness of the Kriging‐based model updating approach and analytically evaluate its uncertainties. An active learning structural model updating method is proposed based on the Kriging method. The expected feasibility learning function is extended for model updating using a Bayesian objective function. The uncertainties can be quantified through a derived likelihood function. The case study for verification involves a multisensory vehicle‐bridge system comprising only two sensors, with one installed on a vehicle parked temporarily on the bridge and another mounted directly on the bridge. The proposed algorithm is utilized for damage detection of two beams numerically and an aluminum model beam experimentally. The proposed method can achieve satisfactory accuracy in identifying damage with much less data, compared with the general Kriging model updating technique. Both the computation and instrumentation can be reduced for structural health monitoring and model updating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helical coil electromagnetic launchers (HEMLs) using brush-commutation strategy, solving the problem of synchronization control perfectly, have a promising prospect in accelerating big mass to high speed. One of its current technical bottlenecks is the arc erosion caused by the brush commutation, which damages the current-fed rails, besides reduces the energy conversion efficiency of HEMLs. During the commutation process, the leading, trailing edges of the commutating brush act as the closing, opening switches, respectively. When the brush-controlled circuit turns ON and OFF, the commutation-induced voltage (CIV) is a key to research the arc erosion of brushes. It can be concluded that the CIV is proportional to the current, the commutation inductance gradient (CIG), and the projectile velocity by a theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The CIG is a critical structural parameter of HEMLs, and the formulas of the CIG for single and multiple turn commutation are deduced. Compared with single turn commutation, the current in the commutating turns changes moderately, and the CIV is lower in the case of multiple turn commutation. Two armatures of 35 turns and 135 turns were tested in an HEML of coil-unit barrel; the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single-locus markers have many advantages compared with multi-locus markers in genetic and breeding studies because their alleles can be assigned to particular genomic loci in diversity analyses. However, there is little research on single-locus SSR markers in peanut. Through the de novo assembly of DNA sequencing reads of A. hypogaea, we developed single-locus SSR markers in a genomic survey for better application in genetic and breeding studies of peanut. Results: In this study, DNA libraries with four different insert sizes were used for sequencing with 150 bp paired-end reads. Approximately 237 gigabases of clean data containing 1,675,631,984 reads were obtained after filtering. These reads were assembled into 2,102,446 contigs with an N50 length of 1,782 bp, and the contigs were further assembled into 1,176,527 scaffolds with an N50 of 3,920 bp. The total length of the assembled scaffold sequences was 2.0 Gbp, and 134,652 single-locus SSRs were identified from 375,180 SSRs. Among these developed single-locus SSRs, trinucleotide motifs were the most abundant, followed by tetra-, di-, mono-, penta- and hexanucleotide motifs. The most common motif repeats for the various types of single-locus SSRs have a tendency to be A/T rich. A total of 1,790 developed in silico single-locus SSR markers were chosen and used in PCR experiments to confirm amplification patterns. Of them, 1,637 markers that produced single amplicons in twelve inbred lines were considered putative single-locus markers, and 290 (17.7 %) showed polymorphisms. A further F2 population study showed that the segregation ratios of the 97 developed SSR markers, which showed polymorphisms between the parents, were consistent with the Mendelian inheritance law for single loci (1:2:1). Finally, 89 markers were assigned to an A. hypogaea linkage map. A subset of 100 single-locus SSR markers was shown to be highly stable and universal in a collection of 96 peanut accessions. A neighbor-joining tree of this natural population showed that genotypes have obviously correlation with botanical varieties. Conclusions: We have shown that the detection of single-locus SSR markers from a de novo genomic assembly of a combination of different-insert-size libraries is highly efficient. This is the first report of the development of genome-wide single-locus markers for A. hypogaea, and the markers developed in this study will be useful for gene tagging, sequence scaffold assignment, linkage map construction, diversity analysis, variety identification and association mapping in peanut. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supported rhodium acetate dimers were prepared by the reaction of Rh 2 (OAc) 4 (OAc is acetate) with highly dehydroxylated MgO powder and characterized by extended X-ray absorption fine structure and infrared (IR) spectra, which show that the supported species were well represented as Rh 2 (OAc) 3 , with each Rh atom on average bonded to one oxygen atom of the MgO surface. Aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy gave images of Rh atoms in pairs on the MgO. The supported rhodium dimers were probed with a pulse of CO, and the IR spectra indicate a Rh(II) species with weakly bonded carbonyl ligands; the sharpness of the ν CO band indicates highly uniform surface species. Further treatment in CO led to breakup of the rhodium dimers into mononuclear species; such fragmentation took place in other treatment gases as well, with the degree of fragmentation decreasing in the order CO > C 2 H 4 > helium. The fragmentation is inferred on the basis of IR spectra to have proceeded through intermediate Rh 2 species without acetate ligands. In contrast, rhodium dimers were reduced and not fragmented in the presence of H 2 at 353 K, but at higher temperatures the rhodium aggregated to give larger clusters. The supported species catalyzed ethylene hydrogenation at 298 K and 1 bar at a H 2 :ethylene molar ratio of 4; after 27 h of catalysis in a once-through flow reactor, acetate ligands were removed from the dimers, and some of them fragmented, as shown by IR spectroscopy. The intermediate dirhodium species without acetate ligands are two or three orders of magnitude more active as catalysts than the supported mononuclear rhodium species or those present predominantly as Rh 2 (OAc) 3 , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling between thermal mass and buoyancy-driven natural ventilation has great potential for passive regulation of indoor thermal environment. The nonlinearity associated with the use of this coupled mode has attracted great attention. Theoretical models have been developed for decoupling indoor air temperature and ventilation flow rate for buildings exposed to harmonically fluctuating external thermal environments. However, the solutions in existing models are implicit and only the main fluctuation frequency of indoor environmental parameters is accounted for. This paper focuses on multi-frequency fluctuation behaviors induced by the coupling between thermal mass and buoyancy-driven natural ventilation. A mathematical approach is undertaken to decouple the indoor air temperature and ventilation flow rate, and explicit solutions are obtained for both the phase shift and fluctuation amplitude of the indoor air temperature and ventilation flow rate at various frequencies. Experiments are performed to validate the theoretical analysis. Both analytical and experimental results show that coupling between thermal mass and buoyancy inside a building can lead to multi-frequency (or anharmonic) fluctuation of natural ventilation. The phase shifts of the high-order indoor air temperature fluctuation terms (with respect to the 1st-order outdoor air temperature fluctuation term) can exceed π / 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We derived the conditions on certain combinations of integrals of the fragmentation functions of pion using HERMES data for the sum of the charged pion multiplicities from semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering (SIDIS) off the deuteron target. In our derivation the nucleon parton distribution functions (PDFs) are assumed to be isospin SU(2) symmetric. Similar conditions have also been obtained for the fragmentation functions (FFs) of kaon by the sum of charged kaon multiplicities as well. We have chosen several FFs to study the impact of those conditions we have derived. Among those FFs, we find that the fragmentation functions produced by the nonlocal chiral-quark model (NL χ QM) constantly satisfy the conditions. Furthermore, the ratios of the strange PDFs S ( x , Q 2 ) and the non-strange PDFs Q ( x , Q 2 ) extracted from the charged pion and kaon multiplicities differ from each other significantly. Finally, we demonstrate that the HERMES pion multiplicity data are unlikely to be compatible with two widely-used PDFs, namely CTEQ6L and leading order NNPDF3.0. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual stresses and their optimization in terms of machining and service performance represent both a serious barrier to better materials processing, usage, and an opportunity in terms of surface engineering and life extension. It is therefore that there is a considerable amount of researches on developing predictive models for machining-induced residual stress such as analytical model, computational/numerical model. However, these developed models for residual stress prediction are operational complexity, time-consuming and low prediction efficiency. For the purpose of avoiding the large number of time-consuming experimental work, a hybrid technique combining the finite element method and the statistical model is developed in this paper. On the basis of the simulation residual stress, the exponentially damped cosine function is fitted using a particle swarm optimization method. It was found that values of fitting accuracy R 2 are ranging from 81.7 to 99.2% in peripheral milling of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. Sensitivity to cutting speed and feed rate of four key features of the residual stress profile including surface residual stress ( σ r,Sur ), compressive stress peak value ( σ C,ax ) and location ( h r 0 ), response depth ( h ry ) are investigated. The four key features showed the similar sensitivity to cutting speed and feed rate. Performance of σ r,Sur changed from compressive to tensile, while σ C,ax decreased, h r0 and h ry increased with the increase of cutting speed and feed rate. However, the trend was not significant at low feed rate. Using the proposed procedure, the optimum cutting conditions could be obtained to control the residual stress of milling titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V and also other metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce potential capacities of quantum channels in an operational way and provide upper bounds for these quantities, which quantify the ultimate limit of usefulness of a channel for a given task in the best possible context. Unfortunately, except for a few isolated cases, potential capacities seem to be as hard to compute as their plain analogues. We thus study upper bounds on some potential capacities. For the classical capacity, we give an upper bound in terms of the entanglement of formation. To establish a bound for the quantum and private capacity, we first lift the channel to a Hadamard channel and then prove that the quantum and private capacity of a Hadamard channel is strongly additive, implying that for these channels, potential and plain capacity are equal. Employing these upper bounds, we show that if a channel is noisy, however close it is to the noiseless channel, then it cannot be activated into the noiseless channel by any other contextual channel; this conclusion holds for all the three capacities. We also discuss the so-called environment-assisted quantum capacity, because we are able to characterize its potential version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead-free (1− x )(K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 - x Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 ( x =0.050, 0.070, 0.090, 0.095 and 0.100) transparent ferroelectric ceramics have been fabricated by pressureless sintering procedure. Transmittance of 0.91(K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 -0.09Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 ceramics sintered in sealed alumina crucible was 15% higher than those sintered unsealed in air. By increasing the content of Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 , the phase structure of (K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 ceramics transformed from orthorhombic to tetragonal symmetry first and then to pseudo cubic symmetry. The 0.91(K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 -0.09Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 ceramics exhibited high density (98%), high transmittance (60%) in the near-IR region and relatively good electrical properties ( ε r =1914, tan δ =0.037, T c =147 °C, P r =6.88 μC/cm 2 , E c =8.49 kV/cm). Meanwhile, the introduction of Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 induced a composition fluctuation in the (K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 lattice and made the ceramics more relaxor-like, which would lead to a further reduction of light scattering. These results demonstrated that 0.91(K 0.37 Na 0.63 )NbO 3 -0.09Ca(Sc 0.5 Nb 0.5 )O 3 could be promising lead-free transparent ferroelectric ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slow growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB), hinders development of new diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Using non-invasive real-time imaging technologies to monitor the disease process in live animals would facilitate TB research in all areas. We developed fluorescent protein (FP) expressing Mycobacterium bovis BCG strains for in vivo imaging, which can be used to track bacterial location, and to quantify bacterial load in live animals. We selected an optimal FP for in vivo imaging, by first cloning six FPs: tdTomato, mCherry, mPlum, mKate, Katushka and mKeima, into mycobacteria under either a mycobacterial Hsp60 or L5 promoter, and compared their fluorescent signals in vitro and in vivo. Fluorescence from each FP-expressing strain was measured with a multimode reader using the optimal excitation and emission wavelengths for the FP. After normalizing bacterial numbers with optical density, the strain expressing L5-tdTomato displayed the highest fluorescence. We used the tdTomato-labeled M. bovis BCG to obtain real-time images of pulmonary infections in living mice and rapidly determined the number of bacteria present. Further comparison between L5-tdTomato and Hsp60-tdTomato revealed that L5-tdTomato carried four-fold more tdTomato gene copies than Hsp60-tdTomato, which eventually led to higher protein expression of tdTomato. Evaluating anti-TB efficacy of rifampicin and isoniazid therapy in vitro and in vivo using the L5-tdTomato strain demonstrated that this strain can be used to identify anti-TB therapeutic efficacy as quickly as 24 h post-treatment. These M. bovis BCG reporter strains represent a valuable new tool for evaluation of therapeutics, vaccines and virulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider a single-server retrial queue with constant retrial rate and batch arrivals, in which the unreliable server has the option to take an additional vacation after the first essential vacation. Customers arriving at the system according to a compound Poisson process are served immediately as long as the server is available; otherwise, they enter a retrial orbit and form a single queue. When the orbit becomes empty, the server leaves for the first essential vacation, after which he may either remain idle within the system or take one of J optional vacations. When the server is busy, he is subject to random breakdowns and repairs. It is assumed that the service times, repair times and customer retrial times are arbitrarily distributed. The implementation of the supplementary variable technique makes it possible to derive the probability generating functions of the system size distribution at a random epoch. We also develop a variety of system performance measures as well as two reliability indices. Finally, we deal with the problem of cost optimization and provide a number of numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's laptop exports account for more than 70% of global laptop shipments by volume. Laptop is a typical import-and-assembly processing trade product in the machinery and electrical equipment-manufacturing sector and comprises nearly 60% of China's total export value. The laptop sector is also carbon emissions intensive and contributes heavily to China's carbon emissions problem. To study the laptop sector's impact on carbon emissions, we first developed a carbon footprint map for the product across its supply chain, which allowed us to identify the emission contributions of each component and the production process as a whole. Then, using Simapro software and life cycle inventory data derived from the bottom-up life cycle-analysis method, we calculated the carbon footprint of laptop production. The results show that 33.3% of the carbon emissions from the production of export laptops originate from components produced abroad, while 66.7% is derived mainly from components produced domestically. Finally, we discuss the uncertainties in our approach and the trade policy implications of our research results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider optimal locations of heat diffusion and related optimal control to achieve null controllability for multi-dimensional heat equations. Both time optimal control and norm optimal control problems are considered. The reason behind combining these two problems together is that these two problems are actually equivalent: The energy to be used to drive the system to zero in minimal time interval is actually the minimal energy of driving the system to zero in this minimal time interval and visa versa. We formulate the optimal locations for time optimal control and norm optimal control into two types of shape optimization problems. One is seeking the optimal domain of heat diffusion with a fixed interior actuator domain. This can be considered as a domain perturbation problem in shape optimization. Another is to seek both the optimal locations of the optimal heat diffusion domain and the related optimal actuator domain. The existences of these two types of shape optimization problems over some class of open sets in general R N space have been proved separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new restoration algorithm for partial blurred image which is based on blur detection and classification is proposed in this paper. Firstly, a new blur detection algorithm is proposed to detect the blurred regions in the partial blurred image. Then, a new blur classification algorithm is proposed to classify the blurred regions. Once the blur class of the blurred regions is confirmed, the structure of the blur kernels of the blurred regions is confirmed. Then, the blur kernel estimation methods are adopted to estimate the blur kernels. In the end, the blurred regions are restored using nonblind image deblurring algorithm and replace the blurred regions in the partial blurred image with the restored regions. The simulated experiment shows that the proposed algorithm performs well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an experimental investigation on heat transfer characteristics of water flowing upward in a 2-m long vertical rifled tube with an hydraulic diameter of 19.1 mm. The experiment was conducted at pressures ranged from 11 to 32 MPa, values of mass flux from 170 to 800 kg m −2 s −1 and heat fluxes up to 600 kW m −2 . The results show that at subcritical pressures, dryout occurs at high vapor qualities and is delayed by decreasing heat flux. The influence of mass flux on the onset of dryout is non-monotonic. Compared to smooth tube, rifled tube can effectively prevent the occurrence of departure from nucleate boiling (DNB). Whereas, at near-critical pressures, the enhancement disappears and DNB even occurs in sub-cooling region. But the peak wall temperature is remarkably reduced. Based on the experimental data, correlations were obtained to predict heat transfer in single-phase, two-phase and post-dryout regions. At supercritical pressures, heat transfer is enhanced within the pseudo-critical region due to drastic variations of thermo-physical properties. Both buoyancy and flow acceleration have little effect on heat transfer. Five heat transfer correlations were evaluated with the experimental data divided into forced convection and mixed convection. The Mokry et al. correlation shows the best performance in predicting heat transfer with forced convection and the Jackson correlation gives the best prediction in mixed convection region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The virtual boundary meshfree Galerkin method (VBMGM) is presented to calculate the single-domain heat conduction with heat source problem. The virtual source function of the virtual boundary and the heat source in the computational domain both are interpolated by the radial basis function interpolation. The equation of the proposed method is obtained by the Galerkin method of the weighted residual methods. Consequently, VBMGM possesses the advantages of Galerkin method, boundary element method and meshfree method. And the numerical meanings of the weighted values in VBMGM, such as the partial derivative the temperature, the heat flux and the heat source expression, are definite. The detailed and specific equation of VBMGM is deducted. The numerical examples, namely the temperatures of the rectangular domain and the square domain, are computed. And the accuracy and the stability of the proposed method for the single-domain heat conduction with heat source problem are validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crohn’s disease (CD) is an idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease involving the small and/or large intestine. More than 50% of Western CD patients and up to 88% of Asian CD patients may have small intestinal involvement. Video capsule endoscopy (VCE) has a higher diagnostic yield than small bowel barium radiography and computed tomography enterography for the detection of small intestinal involvement of CD. VCE also provides diagnostic yields comparable to magnetic resonance- (MR-) based enterography or enteroclysis and may have several advantages over MR-based tests for the detection of early small intestinal lesions. Several studies have suggested the use of VCE-based disease activity scoring systems to evaluate small intestinal mucosal disease activity, although their clinical relevance needs to be further studied. A possible indication for VCE is recurrence monitoring after complete surgical excision of CD-involved segments but its usefulness and efficacy compared with conventional endoscopy should be evaluated. The capsule retention rate ranges from 0 to 5.4% in suspected CD patients and from 0 to 13.2% in established CD patients. If VCE is necessary, significant small bowel stricture should be ruled out before VCE by performing a patency capsule study and/or small bowel radiological study in suspected or established CD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Static compensators (STATCOMs) are able to provide rapid and dynamic reactive power support within a power system for voltage stability enhancement. While most of previous research focuses on only an either static or dynamic (short-term) voltage stability criterion, this study proposes a multi-objective programming (MOP) model to simultaneously minimise (i) investment cost, (ii) unacceptable transient voltage performance, and (iii) proximity to steady-state voltage collapse. The model aims to find Pareto optimal solutions for flexible and multi-objective decision- making. To account for multiple contingencies and their probabilities, corresponding risk-based metrics are proposed based on respective voltage stability measures. Given the two different voltage stability criteria, a strategy based on Pareto frontier is designed to identify critical contingencies and candidate buses for STATCOM connection. Finally, to solve the MOP model, an improved decomposition-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm is developed. The proposed model and algorithm are demonstrated on the New England 39-bus test system, and compared with state-of-the-art solution algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent experiment confirmed that the infrared (IR) local heating method drastically reduces springback of dual-phase (DP) 980 sheets. In the experiment, only the plastic deformation zone of the sheets was locally heated using condensed IR heating. The heated sheets were then deformed by V-bending or 2D-draw bending. Although the experimental observation proved the merit of using the IR local heating to reduce springback, numerical modeling has not been reported. Numerical modeling has been required to predict springback and improve the understanding of the forming process. This paper presents a numerical modeling for V-bending and 2D-draw bending of DP 980 sheets exposed to the IR local heating with the finite element method (FEM). For describing the thermo-mechanical behavior of the DP 980 sheet, a flow stress model which includes a function of temperature and effective plastic strain was newly implemented into Euler-backward stress integration method. The numerical analysis shows that the IR local heating reduces the level of stress in the deformation zone, although it heats only the limited areas, and then it reduces the springback. The simulation also provides a support that the local heating method has an advantage of shape accuracy over the method to heat the material as a whole in V-bending. The simulated results of the springback in both V-bending and 2D-draw bending also show good predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of polydimethyl siloxane–graphene nanosheets (PDMS–GNS) hybrid membranes were fabricated via physically blending method. In these hybrid membranes, GNS exhibit different orientation and dispersity with the variation of GNS content. An appropriate interfacial structure favoring permeate molecules transport is constructed, which mainly arises from the non-covalent interactions between PDMS and GNS. The mechanical stability, thermal stability and anti-swelling property of the hybrid membranes are simultaneously enhanced. Pervaporative desulfurization performance of PDMS–GNS/PVDF hybrid membranes was investigated utilizing n-octane/thiophene mixture as a model gasoline system. The prepared hybrid membranes show an enhanced permeation flux while maintaining a constant enrichment factor, which should be attributed to the optimized free volume characteristics of the membranes and π–π interactions between GNS and thiophene. Especially, when GNS/PDMS mass ratio reaches 0.2 wt%, the membrane shows an optimum desulfurization performance with a permeation flux of 6.22 kg/(m 2 h) (65.9% higher than that of pure PDMS membrane) and an enrichment factor of 3.58 (similar to that of pure PDMS membrane). Additionally, the effects of GNS content, operation temperature, thiophene content, feed flow rate and operation time on membrane separation performance were investigated systematically. The prepared hybrid membranes may find potential applications in the separation of aromatics-containing mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Cu 6 Sn 5 and Cu 3 Sn alloy interface layers are prepared through simple temperature control. • The key factors affecting the interface layer of Li metal in different Cu-Sn alloys have been summarized. • Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu has a uniform surface structure and excellent electrolyte wettability. • The deposition mechanisms of Li metal on the Cu 6 Sn 5 and Cu 3 Sn alloy interface layer are proposed. [Display omitted] Lithium (Li) metal is one of the best anode candidates for high energy density battery because of the lowest electrode potential and high theoretical capacity. However, the unstable electrode/electrolyte interface will cause uneven Li deposition and induce the formation of Li dendrites. The Cu-Sn alloy interface layer has been proven to be an effective strategy to inhibit the growth of Li dendrites, but how the alloy type of Cu-Sn alloy affects the deposition/exfoliation behavior of Li metal is still unclear. Here, we used a simple and fast chemical plating method to prepared lithophilic Cu 3 Sn and Cu 6 Sn 5 pure phase interface layers on the surface of the Cu foil by controlling the temperature. Then, the effects of two different alloy types on the deposition/stripping behavior of Li metal anodes were studied. Compared with Cu 3 Sn@Cu, Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu has a more uniform surface structure and higher surface free energy. Uniform electron distribution and fast reaction kinetics are conducive to the uniform deposition of Li metal. Meanwhile, Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu also has higher electrolyte wettability. This helps to reduce the interphase impedance and polarization, thereby avoiding the growth of Li dendrites. These advantages make deposition mechanism of Li metal on the Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu surface a unidirectional "Parallel-Deposition", while on the Cu 3 Sn@Cu surface it is a multi-directional "Preferred-Deposition". After being modified by Cu 6 Sn 5 , a more reasonable deposition mechanism reduces the overpotential of Li deposition on Cu foil by half. Even under the high deposition capacity of 10 mAh cm−2, Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu can still cycle stably for more than 900 h. In addition, Li-Cu 6 Sn 5 @Cu has also been proved to have more stable rate performance and higher capacity retention rate than Li-Cu 3 Sn@Cu when it is used in full cell with LiFePO 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multistimuli responsive materials based on the viologen coordination polymers have attracted much interest in the past few years due to the increasing demand for smart materials. In this paper, based on a viologen ligand 1-(3-carboxybenzyl)- 4,4′-bipyridinium chloride (Hcbbpy) and zinc(II) ion, a new crystalline complex, namely, {[Zn(cbbpy)Cl 2 ]·H 2 O} n (1) has been designed and synthesized. In complex 1 , every cbbpy ligand as a bridge links two Zn2+ ions via carboxylate O atom and pyridine N atom to extend to a 1D zigzag chain. The 1D chains are extended to 3D supramolecular structure through π···π stacking and hydrogen bonding. More importantly, 1 exhibits fast photochromic behaviors in response to UV and X-ray due to the formation of viologen radicals. Complex 1 also shows photo-modulated luminescence property in the solid state. In addition, complex 1 can be deposited on filter paper and displays the potential application as inkless print material. [Display omitted] • A new viologen complex was successfully synthesized and characterized. • Complex 1 shows fast response to UV light and X-ray irradiation. • Complex 1 can be deposited on filter paper and displays as inkless print material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the convection heating technology for shale oil recovery, steam is used as a transmission medium to pyrolyze oil shale. An experiment was designed to pyrolyze oil shale via steam injection in a large reactor. The samples of oil shale and semi-coke were obtained at different pyrolysis temperatures, and the pore-fracture structure of the samples was studied. The results showed that the average pore diameter and median pore diameter increased by about 10 times when the steam temperature increased from 314 °C to 555 °C. After completion of the steam pyrolysis, we observed that the internal fractures of oil shale were mainly microfractures. At the pyrolysis temperature of 555 °C, the number of microfractures in oil shale was more than 50 times compared with those observed at normal temperature. The micro-CT results indicated that the porosity of oil shale reached 15% after pyrolysis with high-temperature steam. At this porosity, the oil content of samples after pyrolysis was 0.05–0.22%, and the internal organic matter was completely pyrolyzed. Finally, the bedding planes of rock mass exhibited significant ruptures when the oil shale was pyrolyzed with high-temperature steam, thus providing proper channels for steam injection and flows of oil and gas. • An experiment of oil shale pyrolysis by steam injection in a long reactor was designed. • The internal fractures of oil shale after steam pyrolysis were mainly microfractures. • The number of microfractures in oil shale at 555 ℃ was over 50 times higher than that at normal temperature. • The organic matter retained in the dead-end pores was fully pyrolyzed by superheated steam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the effect of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and radial depth of cut) on surface topography in peripheral milling of titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V. Peripheral milling experiments based on the Taguchi method have been conducted on Ti–6Al–4V to characterize surface topographies by various milling conditions. Surface analysis techniques including surface defects, multiple linear regression analysis of surface parameters and auto-correlation analysis of the surface profile, were implemented to characterize the machined surface topography. The experimental results have shown that the main forms of surface defect in peripheral milling of Ti–6Al–4V are feed marks, scratch marks, adhered material particles, etc. The high quality of the machined surface can be obtained in the combined conditions with high cutting speed, low feed and small radial depth of cut. Auto-correlation analysis is used to describe the spatial relation dependence of the surface topography, the direction and periodicity of the surface texture. Increasing cutting speed is helpful to reduce the random components in the auto-correlation spectra of the machined surfaces. However, increasing feed rate has the opposite effect. Radial depth of cut has no significant influence on auto-correlation spectra in finish milling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to investigate the problem of robust finite-time output feedback $$ H_\infty $$ control for stochastic jump systems with incomplete transition rates. Firstly, for the nominal stochastic jump systems, the sufficient conditions for the finite-time boundedness and finite-time output feedback stabilization are developed, respectively. Then, a robust finite-time $$ H_\infty $$ output feedback controller is designed by means of linear matrix inequalities. A key point of this work is to relax the special requirement of completely known transition rates to more general form that mixes two cases of completely known and completely unknown transition rates. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the applicability of the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial wireless sensor networks (IWSNs) have the potential to contribute significantly in areas such as cable replacement, mobility, flexibility, and cost reduction. Nevertheless, the industrial environment that the IWSNs operate in is very challenging because of dust, heat, water, electromagnetic interference, and interference from other wireless devices, which make it difficult for current IWSNs to guarantee reliable real-time communication. In this paper, we present a novel method based on the segmented slot assignment, fast slot competition, and free node concept that will improve the reliability and real-time communication significantly so that more advanced applications can be enabled. The main purpose of the algorithms is to improve the retransmission efficiency for time-division-multiple-access-based multihop IWSNs by using limited shared slot resources more efficiently. More importantly, the proposed algorithms support efficient slot rescheduling caused by link or node failure. We evaluate the proposed methods by using simulations and a real implementation targeting monitoring of welder machines. Our obtained results show that the proposed method outperforms the first published and most widely used IWSN standard called WirelessHART. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parabolic heaters, each consisting of a radiant heat source with a parabolic reflector, are used in engineering fields. Although a parabolic heater theoretically heats a target area at the same temperature, temperature distribution is made on the target area in engineered conditions. However, experimental and numerical analyses of parabolic heaters have not been properly conducted. In this work, three types of parabolic heaters with different entrance widths were made and used in the heating experiment. The results of the experiment shows that the temperature distribution is affected by the entrance width of the parabolic reflector. In order to simulate the performance of the parabolic heaters, a numerical model for the simulation of the parabolic reflectors was proposed. The results of finite element simulation using the proposed model were compared with the experimental results. The comparison has validated the usefulness of the numerical model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Domestic goats (Capra hircus) have been selected to play an essential role in agricultural production systems, since being domesticated from their wild progenitor, bezoar (Capra aegagrus). A detailed understanding of the genetic consequences imparted by the domestication process remains a key goal of evolutionary genomics. Results: We constructed the reference genome of bezoar and sequenced representative breeds of domestic goats to search for genomic changes that likely have accompanied goat domestication and breed formation. Thirteen copy number variation genes associated with coat color were identified in domestic goats, among which ASIP gene duplication contributes to the generation of light coat-color phenotype in domestic goats. Analysis of rapidly evolving genes identified genic changes underlying behavior-related traits, immune response and production-related traits. Conclusion: Based on the comparison studies of copy number variation genes and rapidly evolving genes between wild and domestic goat, our findings and methodology shed light on the genetic mechanism of animal domestication and will facilitate future goat breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on the phase transformation of undercooled Ti–48Al (at.%) droplets atomized by high pressure gas. The microstructural evolution was analyzed using the transient nucleation theory in combination with the microstructural examinations. The primary phase, final phase volume fraction and the hardness are related to the droplets size to provide fundamental understanding. The competitive formation of the primary phases α and β are strongly controlled by the droplets size, and a critical diameter of about 25 μm was identified corresponding to an undercooling of 102 K. The final phase volume fraction of γ increased with the increase of powder size from 12% to 85%. The highest hardness with the value of 652 HV was obtained for powder of 50 μm in diameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We performed a life-cycle environmental assessment of China's multi-crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules associated with international trade. The study distinguished domestic and imported raw materials for PV modules within the framework of a life-cycle assessment based on traditional processes. Domestic process data were collected from typical PV companies in China and the literature. Imported raw material data were obtained from international trade databases and life-cycle inventory primary databases. The results indicate that it is necessary to consider the international trade of raw materials in life-cycle environmental impacts of PV modules produced in China when considering the shift of environmental impacts between countries associated with international trade of material and products. Multi-crystalline silicon PV production and PV module packaging are important manufacturing processes within the context of environmental impacts of the manufacture of PV modules in China. This assessment also reveals that production of multi-crystalline silicon PV modules in the country has emitted significant amounts of greenhouses gases (GHG). For example, over 2.21E+07 tons of CO 2 eq were emitted in 2010, of which 94% were from Chinese domestic industries and only 6% from imported raw materials. Regarding the export of PV modules, 82.4% of GHG emissions in China were from imports of PV modules by other countries. This result implies that while the export of Chinese PV modules supplied a large amount of clean energy to the world, it also caused significant environmental impacts in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peripheral milling with variable pitch end mills is available to improve the surface integrity during final machining. Among the indicators of surface integrity, surface plastic deformation and surface topography are the foremost characteristics. In this paper, two main aspects are included. On the one hand, a unique generic technique in terms of depth of plastic deformation, plastic strains distribution for analyzing the plastic deformations on the work piece is presented. The presented technique applies the problem of the Flamant–Boussinesq in the plastic deformation problem. Through experimental verification, the analytical results have a higher accuracy. On the other hand, the surface generation mechanism in peripheral milling with variable pitch end mills is studied. Corresponding surface generation model, which is used to predict the generated surface topography with incorporating the cutting process parameters and several sources of machining error such as tilting, run-out, deflection of the tool and work piece displacement, is proposed. Through a set of cutting tests, it is confirmed that the presented model predicts the surface texture and roughness parameters precisely. By the sensitivity analysis, Helix angle and feed rate have significant influences on surface topography, while the effects of cutting speed on surface topography can be neglected when the effects of the machining error sources on the behavior and performance of the model are not considered. Among the sources of machining errors, the deflection of the tool has the most significant impact on the surface profile. The sequence is the displacement of the work piece and the run-out of the tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation of all the floors of a multi-story building may require a tall stack. To provide satisfactory ventilation flow rates for a multi-story building and to restrict the height of the ventilation stack, this paper proposes a hybrid ventilation scheme of mechanical ventilation in the upper-level floors and natural ventilation of lower-level floors with the stack pressure induced by the warm discharge flows from all of the floors. This scheme is achieved by connecting the lower-level naturally ventilated floors to the upper-level mechanically ventilated floors via a common stack. A model is developed to optimize the quantity of mechanically ventilated floors required to provide satisfactory ventilation rates for the lower naturally ventilated floors and also minimize the energy consumption. The applicable conditions associated with the ventilation scheme are expressed explicitly. The model predictions are validated against a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. The results indicate that the proposed scheme is effective at energy savings if the key engineering parameters are appropriately designed. A larger exhaust opening of the stack and an optimized vent area of the ventilated rooms are helpful to both the increase in the quantity of naturally ventilated floors and the decrease in the energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The active vibration control of a rectangular plate either partially or fully submerged in a fluid was investigated. Piezoelectric sensors and actuators were bonded to the plate, and the assumed mode method was used to derive a dynamic model for the submerged plate. The properties of the piezoelectric actuators and sensors, as well as their coupling to the structure, were used to derive the corresponding equations of their behaviour. The fluid effect was modelled according to the added virtual mass obtained by solving the Laplace equation. The natural vibration characteristics of the plate both in air and in water were obtained theoretically and were found to be consistent with the experimental results, and the changes in the natural frequencies resulting from submersion in fluid can be accurately predicted. A multi-input, multi-output positive position feedback controller was designed by taking the natural vibration characteristics into account and was then implemented by using a digital controller. The experimental results show that piezoelectric sensors and actuators along with the control algorithm can effectively suppress the vibration of a rectangular plate both in air and submerged in a fluid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Silk has numerous unique properties that make it a staple of textile manufacturing for several thousand years. However, wider applications of silk in modern have been stalled due to limitations of traditional silk produced by Bombyx mori. While silk is commonly produced by B. mori, several wild non-mulberry silkmoths--especially members of family Saturniidae--produce silk with superior properties that may be useful for wider applications. Further utilization of such silks is hampered by the non-domestication status or limited culturing population of wild silkworms. To date there is insufficient basic genomic or transcriptomic data on these organisms or their silk production. Results: We sequenced and compared the transcriptomes of silk glands of six Saturniidae wild silkmoth species through next-generation sequencing technology, identifying 37758 ~ 51734 silkmoth unigenes, at least 36.3% of which are annotated with an e-value less than 10-5. Sequence analyses of these unigenes identified a batch of genes specific to Saturniidae that are enriched in growth and development. Analyses of silk proteins including fibroin and sericin indicate intra-genus conservation and inter-genus diversification of silk protein features among the wild silkmoths, e.g., isoelectric points, hydrophilicity profile and amino acid composition in motifs of silk H-fibroin. Interestingly, we identified p25 in two of the silkmoths, which were previously predicted to be absent in Saturniidae. There are rapid evolutionary changes in sericin proteins, which might account for the highly heterogeneity of sericin in Saturniidae silkmoths. Within the six sikmoths, both colored-cocoon silkmoth specific transcripts and differentially expressed genes between the colored-cocoon and non-colored-cocoon silkmoths are significantly enriched in catalytic activity, especially transferase activity, suggesting potentially viable targets for future gene mining or genetic manipulation. Conclusions: Our results characterize novel and potentially valuable gene resources of saturniid silkmoths that may facilitate future genetic improvement and modification of mulberry silkworms. Our results suggest that the disparate features of silk- -coloration, retention, strength, etc. --are likely not only due to silk proteins, but also to the environment of silk assembly, and more specifically, that stable silk coloration exhibited by some Saturniidae silkmoths may be attributable to active catalytic progress in pigmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new approach for power system transient stability preventive control is proposed by performing trajectory sensitivity analysis on the one-machine-infinite-bus (OMIB) equivalence of multi-machine systems. Exact instability time/angle are determined from the equivalent OMIB power-angle curve; the trajectory sensitivity is calculated at the instability time and the transient stability of the multi-machine system is controlled by constraining the OMIB's angle excursion at the instability time to that of the critical OMIB which corresponds to the marginally stable condition of the system. The required preventive control action (generation rescheduling) can be efficiently solved via a linear programming model with the OMIB trajectory sensitivities-based constraints. Simulation results on the New England 10-machine 39-bus system and a 285-machine and 1648-bus system validate its effectiveness and superiority over previous trajectory sensitivity applications to this problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we focus on the reconfiguration of complex, intensive and sequential signal processing systems and propose a Multi-Stage Reconfigurable Signal Processing Flow (MSRSPF). The signal processing flow is partitioned into a number of stages which are connected with unified interfaces. With the combination of staged processing flow, the whole system can work at multiple modes with diverse functions and switch to a more suitable mode quickly according to the change of application requirements. As an application case, we introduce the usage of MSRSPF in passive signal reconnaissance. The reconnaissance system based on MSRSPF is flexible and adaptable to the electromagnetic environment, and can get the electronic information from different views with more reliability. The performance testing results show that MSRSPF supports multiple hardware logic and has a good reconfigurability with time overhead no more than a few seconds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A facile and efficient approach was first developed to prepare g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 nanocomposites by combining the arginine-enabled biomimetic mineralization of TiO 2 with the thermal oxidation etching of bulk g-C 3 N 4 . The resultant g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 nanocomposites exhibit a well-defined morphology, in which TiO 2 nanoparticles about 5.5 nm in diameter are uniformly distributed on the g-C 3 N 4 nanosheet. They exhibit higher degradation efficiency for Rhodamine B (RhB) than TiO 2 , g-C 3 N 4 and their mixture under visible light and simulated-sunlight irradiation. In all the as-prepared samples, the g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 nanosheet with 25.9 wt% of g-C 3 N 4 exhibits the highest photocatalytic efficiency, which can degrade almost all RhB under simulated-sunlight irradiation within 50 min. The synergistic effect between TiO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 plays an important role for the enhanced photocatalytic activity of g-C 3 N 4 /TiO 2 nanosheets. This kind of sheet-like nanocomposites may find the potential application for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SHAPE technology was used to analyze RNA secondary structure of the 5′ most 474 nts of the MHV-A59 genome encompassing the minimal 5′ cis -acting region required for defective interfering RNA replication. The structures generated were in agreement with previous characterizations of SL1 through SL4 and two recently predicted secondary structure elements, S5 and SL5A. SHAPE provided biochemical support for four additional stem–loops not previously functionally investigated in MHV. Secondary structure predictions for 5′ regions of MHV-A59, BCoV and SARS-CoV were similar despite high sequence divergence. The pattern of SHAPE reactivity of in virio genomic RNA, ex virio genomic RNA, and in vitro synthesized RNA was similar, suggesting that binding of N protein or other proteins to virion RNA fails to protect the RNA from reaction with lipid permeable SHAPE reagent. Reverse genetic experiments suggested that SL5C and SL6 within the nsp1 coding sequence are not required for viral replication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of precipitated nanophases on the mechanical properties of Fe-based amorphous nanocrystalline alloys is an urgent issue to be explored. Two amorphous nanocrystalline alloys, i.e., (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 and (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14 containing nanophase of the body-centered cubic and face-centered cubic structures, respectively, were selected to investigate the effect of the structure and volume fraction of nanophase on their mechanical properties. The results of nanoindentation experiments and the calculation of the volume and size of the shear transition zone reveal that the two alloys show different mechanical properties. When the volume fraction of the nanophase in (Fe0.9Ni0.1)86B14 is larger than 50%, the elastic modulus is increased suddenly and the volume and size of the shear transition zone is decreased dramatically, while no dramatic change occurs in (Fe0.7Ni0.3)86B14. Moreover, it was found by using molecular dynamics simulations that the main reason for these abnormal mechanical properties is the change of cluster type in the system due to the incorporation of nanophases with different structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Treatment efficacy may differ among patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) at similar tumor–node–metastasis stages. Moreover, end-of-treatment tumor regression is a reliable indicator of treatment sensitivity. This study aimed to investigate whether quantitative dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) parameters could predict sensitivity to neck–lymph node radiotherapy in patients with NPC. Methods: Overall, 388 lymph nodes were collected from 98 patients with NPC who underwent pretreatment DECT. The patients were divided into complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) groups. Clinical characteristics and quantitative DECT parameters were compared between the groups, and the optimal predictive ability of each parameter was determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. A nomogram prediction model was constructed and validated using univariate and binary logistic regression. Results: DECT parameters were higher in the CR group than in the PR group. The iodine concentration (IC), normalized IC, Mix-0.6, spectral Hounsfield unit curve slope, effective atomic number, and virtual monoenergetic images were significantly different between the groups. The area under the ROC curve of the DECT parameters was 0.73–0.77. Based on the binary logistic regression, a column chart was constructed using 10 predictive factors, including age, sex, N stage, maximum lymph node diameter, arterial phase NIC, venous phase NIC, λHU and spectral Hounsfield units at 70 keV. The area under the ROC curve value of the constructed model was 0.813, with a sensitivity and specificity of 85.6% and 81.3%, respectively. Conclusion: Quantitative DECT parameters could effectively predict the sensitivity of NPC to radiotherapy. Therefore, DECT parameters and NPC clinical features can be combined to construct a nomogram with high predictive power and used as a clinical analytical tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions The impact of continuing or stopping 5‐aminosalicylates (5‐ASA) after commencing anti‐tumour necrosis factor (anti‐TNF) therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains unclear.To compare the outcomes of patients with IBD who stopped or continued 5‐ASA after starting anti‐TNF therapy.We analysed data from the Korean National Health Insurance claims database between 2007 and 2020. We compared the clinical outcomes of patients who stopped or continued 5‐ASA within 90 days of anti‐TNF initiation. The primary outcome was any adverse clinical event defined as a composite of new corticosteroid use, IBD‐related hospitalisation, or intestinal surgery.Among 7442 patients included for analysis (4479 [60.2%] with Crohn's disease [CD] and 2963 [39.8%] with ulcerative colitis [UC]), 1037 (13.9%) discontinued 5‐ASA within 90 days of starting anti‐TNF therapy. During a median 4.3‐year follow‐up, discontinuation of 5‐ASA was not associated with an increased risk of adverse clinical events (adjusted hazard ratio 1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.93–1.10). The cumulative incidence of each adverse clinical event and the composite outcome were not significantly different between groups (all, p > 0.05). Additionally, separate analyses in CD and UC cohorts revealed no differences in adverse clinical outcomes between the 5‐ASA continuation and discontinuation groups. Subgroup analyses by presumed risk factors for disease relapse showed no significant differences in the risk of adverse events between groups.In this nationwide population‐based study, discontinuing 5‐ASA after starting anti‐TNF therapy was not associated with an increased risk of adverse events in patients with IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on cardiovascular diseases using CT-derived strain is gaining momentum, yet there is a paucity of information regarding reference standard values beyond echocardiography, particularly in cardiac chambers other than the left ventricle (LV). We aimed to compile CT-derived strain values from the four cardiac chambers in healthy adults and assess the impact of age and sex on myocardial strains. This study included 101 (mean age: 55.2 ± 9.0 years, 55.4% men) consecutive healthy individuals who underwent multiphase cardiac CT. CT-derived cardiac strains, including LV global and segmental longitudinal, circumferential, and transverse strains, left atrial (LA), right atrial (RA), and right ventricle (RV) strains were measured by the commercially available software. Strain values were classified and compared by their age and sex. The normal range of CT-derived LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global radial strain (GRS) were −20.2 ± 2.7%, −27.9 ± 4.1%, and 49.4 ± 12.1%, respectively. For LA, reservoir strain, pump strain, and conduit strain were 28.6 ± 8.5%, 13.2 ± 6.4%, and 15.5 ± 8.6%, respectively. The GLS of RA and RV were 27.9 ± 10.9% and −22.0 ± 5.7%, respectively. The absolute values of GLS of RA and RV of women were higher than that in men (32.4 ± 11.4 vs. 24.3 ± 9.1 and −25.2 ± 4.7 vs. −19.4 ± 5.0, respectively; p<0.001, both). Measurement of CT-derived strain in four cardiac chambers is feasible. The reference ranges of CT strains in four cardiac chambers can be used for future studies of various cardiac diseases using the cardiac strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging modalities for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), such as intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) or optical coherence tomography (OCT), have increased in the current PCI era. However, their clinical benefits in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have not been fully elucidated. This study investigated the long-term outcomes of image-guided PCI in patients with AMI using data from the Korean Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry. A total of 9,271 patients with AMI, who underwent PCI with second-generation drug-eluting stents between November 2011 and December 2015, were retrospectively examined, and target lesion failure (TLF) at 3 years (defined as the composite of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction, and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization) was evaluated. From the registry, 2,134 patients (23.0%) underwent image-guided PCI (IVUS-guided: n = 1,919 [20.6%]; OCT-guided: n = 215 patients [2.3%]). Based on propensity score matching, image-guided PCI was associated with a significant reduction in TLF (hazard ratio: 0.76; 95% confidence interval: 0.59–0.98, p = 0.035). In addition, the TLF incidence in the OCT-guided PCI group was comparable to that in the IVUS-guided PCI group (5.3% vs 4.7%, p = 0.903). Image-guided PCI, including IVUS and OCT, is associated with favorable clinical outcomes in patients with AMI at 3 years post-intervention. Additionally, OCT-guided PCI is not inferior to IVUS-guided PCI in patients with AMI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sintering phenomena, densification, and grain growth are crucial for proper control of the microstructure for good mechanical strength. Here, materials and processing parameters, the addition of La2O3, and two‐step sintering (TSS) were combined to lead to higher strength in the porous alumina prepared by freeze‐casting. Based on grain growth and densification behaviors with the La2O3 doping, a beneficial thermal profile was designed for the TSS. As a result, higher relative density levels and smaller grain size were obtained compared with the results with conventional sintering (CS): 38.56% and 0.82 µm at 1500°C by CS; 40.78% and 1.78 µm at 1600°C by CS; 41.43% and 0.87 µm by TSS. The microstructural benefits provided ∼1.4 times higher compressive strength (5.46 MPa) from TSS than from the CS sample (3.92 MPa), highlighting the synergetic effect of La2O3 doping and the TSS strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, nano- SiO2 was synthesized using the sol-gel method to modify the properties of fly ash-slag geopolymers (FASGs). FASGs with six contents of sol-type nano- SiO2 (0, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.5%) and two alkali dosages (5% and 7% of Na2O) were prepared. The influences of sol-type nano- SiO2 and alkali content on the compressive strength, flexural strength, drying shrinkage, and microstructure of FASG were studied. The results demonstrated that the early-age compressive and flexure strength of FASG can be enhanced by sol-type nano- SiO2 due to the improved microstructure and the reaction products. The improvement effect of sol-type nano- SiO2 on mechanical properties was more significant for FASGs with lower alkali dosages. The optimized content of sol-type nano- SiO2 in FASG was 0.2% for the mechanical properties. The addition of the sol-type nano- SiO2 can mitigate the drying shrinkage of the FASG when the content is lower than 0.4%. The sol-type nano- SiO2 can promote the formation of reaction products in FASG and result in a denser microstructure of FASG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]