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With the rapid increase of electrical energy consumption in metropolises, more and more power cables are utilized in power grid or urban power network to transmit and distribute electrical energy. Silicone rubber is widely used as polymeric insulating materials of power cable accessories due to their excellent electrical and thermal performances. However, under high dc electric field space charges can accumulate inside the silicone rubber, which will distort the electric field in the bulk of the material, influencing the reliability and safety of operation. A bipolar charge injection and transport model is adopted to investigate the accumulation of space charges and distortion of electric field in silicone rubber. It is found that when charge injection rate is higher than the charge migration rate, space charges will accumulate in the material and the accumulation increases with an increase in electric field. The influence of the Poole-Frenkel effect is then studied. It is found that stronger Poole-Frenkel effect can enhance the nonlinearity of effective carrier mobility of silicone rubber, reducing the accumulation of space charges. This indicates that tuning the nonlinearity of effective carrier mobility by nano-doping can suppress space charges, improving the reliability of power cable accessories.

Abstract Puberty is a fundamental development process experienced by all reproductively competent adults, yet the specific factors regulating age at puberty remain elusive in pigs. In this study, we performed a genome scan to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting age at puberty in gilts using a White Duroc × Erhualian intercross. A total of 183 microsatellites covering 19 porcine chromosomes were genotyped in 454 F2 gilts and their parents and grandparents in the White Duroc × Erhualian intercross. A linear regression method was used to map QTL for age at puberty via QTLexpress. One 1% genome-wise significant QTL and one 0.1% genome-wise significant QTL were detected at 114 cM (centimorgan) on SSC1 and at 54 cM on SSC7, respectively. Moreover, two suggestive QTL were found on SSC8 and SSC17, respectively. This study confirmed the QTL for age at puberty previously identified on SSC1, 7 and 8, and reports for the first time a QTL for age at puberty in gilts on SSC17. Interestingly, the Chinese Erhualian alleles were not systematically favourable for younger age at puberty.