Search

In the cooperative multi-agent pathfinding and motion planning, given a unique start position and a unique goal position for each agent, all agents are able to pursue their own goals without colliding with each other. To aim at realizing the collision-free motion of the agents within the tractable time, this work proposes a polynomial-time solver, called the HBD-AOI, hybridizing centralized and decentralized schemes. Firstly, an algorithm of centralized pathfinding is utilized to plan the optimal paths of all agents. Afterwards, each of the agents updates the local motion pattern to tracks its own planned waypoints with the obstacle avoidance in a decentralized manner. Furthermore, to resolve unavoidable egoistic conflicts occurring in the decentralized scheme, a centralized intervener with the route replanning is invoked to coach the involved agents to abort the existing deadlocks. Bounded by an amount of time, the performances of the proposed and benchmarked algorithms are simulated on the same instance, from the evaluated testbeds that consists of various maps and scenarios. In the simulations, it is proved that this work outperforms other benchmarked algorithms for all presented instances in the term of the success rate. The experimental results are also demonstrated to verify the feasibility of the proposed methodology.

To evaluate the molluscicidal effect of 50% wettable powder of niclosamide ethanolamine salt (WPNES) againstFollowing immersion with 50% WPNES at concentrations of 2 mg/L and 1 mg/L outdoors in winter, the 3-day corrected snail mortality rates were 98.0% and 76.0% on the soil surface, and the 7-day corrected snail mortality rate was both 100.0%. Following immersion with 50% WPNES at concentrations of 2 mg/L and 1 mg/L outdoors in winter, the 7-day corrected snail mortality rates were 95.5% and 85.6% 2 cm below the soil layer, 66.0% and 6.4% 5 cm below the soil layer. However, the 7-day snail mortality rate swere comparable between the 50% WPNES treatment group (at 2 mg/L and 1 mg/L) and controls 10 cm below the soil layer (bothImmersion of 50% WPNES at a concentration of 2 mg/L for 7 days presents a high molluscicidal efficacy against

Double-peaked distribution (DPD) of particle flux has only been observed on the outer divertor target in electron cyclotron resonance heating deuterium plasmas with [Formula: see text] toward the X-point in the HL-2A tokamak using high spatiotemporal Langmuir probe arrays. The experimental results demonstrate that the formation of the DPD is mainly due to the enhanced poloidal [Formula: see text] drift flow stimulated in the divertor region, which is dependent on the plasma density, heating power, and divertor structure. The experimental results are qualitatively consistent with the SOLPS simulation. The experiment also shows that the formation of the DPD might be related to the enhanced cross field transport in the far scrape-off layer. This experimental findings presented here reveal the crucial role played by the synergistic effect of poloidal E × B drift flow and the closed divertor structure in the redistribution of the particle flux, which provides a potential way for the control of high heat flux in future fusion devices.

For the first time, we proposed a 2T complementary architecture of one-time-programmable memory (OTP) in a foundry logic CMOS chip. It was then used to realize the PUF (Physical unclonable function), and the combination with the AI technology to provide a one-time password capability. At first, an OTP was developed based on a novel 2T CMOS unit cell. The experimental results show that the macro exhibits high speed operation, excellent data retention under more than 1 month baking at 200oC, and fairly large memory window. Next, a PUF is developed and because of the gate oxide integrity in the 40nm planar transistor technology, a superb randomness, i.e., an ideal and un-biased normal distribution of hamming distance, and narrow distribution of hamming weight can be achieved. Moreover, we use AI deep learning algorithms to generate a pseudo-PUF for one-time password successfully. Overall, this OTP provides an ideal and reliable solution either for the storage purpose or the security application in 5G era.

The pathfinding is generally regarded as a multi-objective optimization problem that simultaneously optimizes the shortest path and the least collision-free distance to obstacles. This work develops an MOEA-based algorithm of pathfinding to navigate a mobile robot to avoid the obstacles in a given finite environment. A grid-based method is also introduced for mapping of the environment to efficiently encode the robot’s position to be chromosomes. The hardware architecture is built by a mobile robot and its working environment, as well as the Aruco system and a computer running the algorithms of pathfinding and image processing. Both simulations and experimental results are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. In applications, this work can be employed in a commercial ball collecting or object-carrying robot.

The reactions of manganese(II) chloride tetrahydrate and four bulky Schiff base ligands derived from amantadine (or rimantadine) and salicylaldehyde (or 4-methoxysalicylaldehyde) generated four novel complexes, C34H42Cl2MnN2O2 (I), C36H46Cl2MnN2O4 (II), C38H50Cl2MnN2O2 (III), and C40H54Cl2MnN2O4 (IV), respectively. These complexes were characterized by melting point, infrared spectra, elemental analysis, magnetic susceptibility, molar conductance and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (CIF files CCDC nos. 1 540 253 (I), 1 540 254 (II), 1 540 255 (III), 1 540 256 (IV)). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that I, III and IV crystallize in the orthorhombic system with space groups P212121, Pbcn and Pcan, respectively, whereas II crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P21/n. Each asymmetric unit for I–IV consists of one manganese(II) atom, two Schiff base ligands and two chlorine atoms. The central manganese(II) atoms lie on a twofold rotation axis in III and IV, whereas manganese(II) atoms lie on general positions in I and II. In these complexes molecules, manganese(II) atoms is four-coordinated via two chlorine atoms and two oxygen atoms from the corresponding Schiff base ligands, forming a distorted tetrahedral geometry.

Probiotics reduce stress-related inflammation and abnormal behaviors in humans and rodents via regulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The objective of this study was to determine if probiotic, Bacillus subtilis, has similar functions in broiler chickens under heat stress (HS). Two hundred forty 1-d-old broiler chicks were assigned to 48 pens with 4 treatments: Thermoneutral (TN)-RD (regular diet), TN-PD (the regular diet mixed with 1 × 106 CFU/g feed probiotic), HS-RD and HS-PD. Probiotic (Sporulin) was fed from day 1; and HS at 32°C for 10 h daily was initiated at day 15. The data showed that final BW, average daily gain , and feed conversion efficiency were improved in PD groups as compared to RD groups regardless of the ambient temperature (P HS-PD > TN-RD > TN-PD birds (P < 0.01). Compared to TN birds, HS birds spent more time in wing spreading, panting, squatting close to the ground, drinking, sleeping, dozing, and sitting but spent less time in eating, standing, and walking (P < 0.05 or 0.01). In addition, HS birds had greater levels of hepatic IL-6, IL-10, heat shock protein (HSP)70, and HSP70 mRNA expression (P < 0.01) and greater levels of cecal IgA and IgY (P < 0.01) compared to TN birds. Within TN groups, TN-PD birds had greater concentrations of hepatic IL-10 (P < 0.05) and cecal IgA (P < 0.01) than TN-RD birds. Within HS groups, HS-PD birds spent less time in wing spreading, panting, squatting close to the ground, drinking, sleeping, dozing, and sitting but spent more time in eating, foraging, standing, and walking than HS-RD birds (P < 0.05 or 0.01). The HS-PD birds also had lower concentrations of hepatic IL-6 and HSP70 (P < 0.01), whereas greater levels of IL-10 (P < 0.05) and lower concentrations of cecal IgA and IgY (P < 0.01). These results indicate that broilers fed the probiotic, B. subtilis, are able to cope with HS more effectively by ameliorating heat-induced behavioral and inflammatory reactions through regulation of microbiota-modulated immunity.

A mixture of copper(II) chloride dihydrate and ligands derived from amantadine and 5-halogenated salicylaldehyde in anhydrous methanol generated two novel complexes C34H38Cl2CuN2O2 (I) and C34H38Br2CuN2O2 (II), respectively. The complexes were characterized by melting point, elemental analysis, molar conductance, IR, UV-Vis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (CIF files nos. 1435429 (I), 1435430 (II)). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that both complexes crystallize in monoclinic system, P21/c space group. Each asymmetric unit consists of two mononuclear copper(II) complex molecules and each complex molecule includes one copper(II) atom two corresponding deprotonated ligands. The central copper(II) atom is four-coordinated via two nitrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms from the corresponding Schiff base ligands, forming a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Electrochemical properties of the complexes were studied by cyclic voltammetry.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the tooth loss status of mandibular molars with furcation involvements after 5-year non-surgical periodontal treatment,and to analyze the factors that affected the tooth loss. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 79 patients with chronic periodontitis, who had received non-surgical periodontal treatment and 5 years of periodontal maintenance treatment in Department of Periodontology, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology from 1988 to 2012. Their clinical indexes, including probing depth (PD), bleeding index (BI), furcation index (FI) and tooth mobility were both evaluated before treatment and at the last time of the maintenance treatment. Bone resorption at furcation area was measured at the first visit by periapical radiographs taken by professional doctors of medical imaging. The status of tooth loss after 5-year non-surgical periodontal treatment on mandibular molars with furcation involvement, and the factors that affected the tooth loss were analyzed. RESULTS: (1) Non-surgical treatment was significantly effective on the changes of PD in the patients of chronic periodontitis with furcation involvement, while the presence of furcation involvement could affect the improvement of PD here. (2) PD at the furcation area, tooth mobility, vertical bone resorption, and bone resorption area were all significant risk factors of mandibular molar missing (P

Preoperative acetabular cup templating has an important auxiliary effect on hip surgery. The traditional acetabular cup templating method requires the measuring person to have some experience in total hip replacement (THA) surgery since the measurement results vary from person to person with differences between different measuring persons. To obtain stable templating results, we designed a new acetabular cup templating method and tested the inter-person measuring differences and measurement accuracy of this method. Meanwhile, the clinical application of this method was preliminarily explored.The pattern of this new method was manual labeling of imaging characteristic points and then programmed automatic measurements. The measurement process was performed entirely by orthopedic graduate students without any experience in hip replacement surgery. The inter-person measuring difference was evaluated by comparing the templating results of three measuring persons. The accuracy of the templating was evaluated by comparing the templating results with the actual size of the prosthesis in the surgery. The correlation between the position of the acetabular cup and the templating error was analyzed to explore the clinical significance of the templating results. This study was a retrospective study which included templating in a total of 406 cases for total hip replacement with cementless cup prosthesis. Digital measurements were performed using the Matlab software from MathWorks. The statistical comparison was performed using Kendall's W test.The results of the three measuring persons were completely identical in 61.8% (251/406) of cases, and the variation in 38.2% (155/406) of cases did not exceed one size of the acetabular cup. The Kendall's W coefficient was 0.977, and p 0.01. The measurement accuracy is not as good as the traditional method in exactly accurate measurement and ±1 cup size, but it is similar to the traditional method in the ±2 cup sizes. The correlation between the templating error and the position evaluation of the implanted acetabular cups reveals: (1) larger the templating error, larger the proportion of the acetabular cups with poor position; (2) the proportion of acetabular cup with poor position slowly increased when the templating error was from 0 to 1 size, and the proportion rapidly increased when the templating error was from 1 to 2 size.All the patients with clear teardrop bottom and lateral superior edge of acetabulum were able to use our method to predict the size of the acetabular cup. The method has the following advantages: (1) it does not require the measuring person to have any previous experience of the THA surgery, which reduces the labor cost of the templating; (2) the differences between the measuring persons is small, the measurement result can be repeated; (3) it can predict the probability of acetabular cup with poor positioning according to the templating error, and thereby reminding the surgeon to recheck and correct the position of the acetabular cup in time during the surgery.

Background Chemo- and target therapies may induce myocardial dysfunction and lead to poor prognoses. Early detection of minor myocardial dysfunction is important for the prevention of subsequent cardiotoxicity. Cardio-oncology is a multidisciplinary field focusing on managing and preventing cardiovascular complications in cancer patients. However, whether Cardio-oncology program truly makes difference in cardiovascular outcomes remains unknown. Herein, we are sharing our experiences in our Medical Center. Methods Since 2014 till 2017, we recruited 154 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer preparing for Epirubicin therapy. Echocardiography, biomarkers, six minute walking distance and cardiovascular adverse events including new onset of hypertension, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI) and mortality were recorded at baseline, three months, six months and one year. Any functional decline was reported to oncologists for the consideration of changing regimens. Otherwise, cardiologists would be consulted for cardiovascular educations and therapies. The echocardiographic and clinical records of 450 breast patients receiving Epirubicin therapy during 2010 to 2013 were also collected as comparison. Results Compared with the ratio of 20% patients receiving echocardiography prior to 2014, the ratio increased to 100% since Cardio-Oncology program started. Also, the drop of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from 25% attenuated to 5%. Before Cardio-Oncology Program, there were 1.7% of new onset hypertension, 0.8% of MI, 0.8% of stroke and 16.8% of mortality. Conversely, after the program, there were only 0.6% of new onset hypertension while no other cardiovascular complications were reported. Furthermore, compared with previous reports of the effectiveness of Cardio-Oncology Program, our result also displayed a superior impact on the cardiovascular outcomes. Conclusions Collectively, through a comprehensive monitoring and an early intervention of myocardial dysfunction post chemotherapies, Cardio-Oncology Program truly decreased the cardiovascular complications in breast cancer patients. Acknowledgement/Funding Chi-Mei Medical Center

Robot-path-planning is an important research that seeks the shortest path to optimize the motion cost for robots. In robot-path-planning, the computational time will significantly increase if the moving targets for a robot rise largely, while the current algorithms for the shortest path planning may be invalidated due to large input data. This work thus proposes a hybrid algorithm, called the k-means-based pointer network, to tackle the problem mentioned above. By combining the k-means clustering and pointer network, unsupervised and supervised learning respectively, this work demonstrates how to lower the learning cost drastically with smaller training data. The simulation results show that the computational time cost of the Held-Karp algorithm grows significantly when the input size increases in some amount, while the proposed algorithm climbs slightly during the increments of input size because of using smaller input data for Ptr-Net. In applications, the proposed work can be applied practically to the case of large input size, for example, the employment for the ball-collecting robot in a golf court.

We investigate and compare the electronic structure of a bulk single crystal of ${\mathrm{Y}}_{3}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ garnet [YIG, a high-${T}_{C}$ (= 560 K) ferrimagnet] with that of an epitaxial ultrathin (3.3 nm) film of YIG with a reduced ferrimagnetic temperature ${T}_{C}=380\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$, using bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES), x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The Fe $2p$ HAXPES spectrum of the bulk single crystal exhibits a purely trivalent ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ state for octahedral and tetrahedral sites. The Fe $3s$ spectrum shows a clear splitting which allows us to estimate the on-site Fe $3s\text{\ensuremath{-}}3d$ exchange interaction energy. The valence band HAXPES spectrum shows Fe $3d$, O $2p$, and Fe $4s$ derived features and a band gap of $\ensuremath{\sim}2.3\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$ in the occupied density of states, consistent with the known optical band gap of $\ensuremath{\sim}2.7\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{eV}$. Fe $L$-edge XAS identifies the octahedral ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ and tetrahedral ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ site features. XMCD spectra at the Fe ${L}_{2,3}$ edges show that bulk single-crystal YIG exhibits antiferromagnetic coupling between the octahedral- and tetrahedral-site spins. The calculated Fe $2p$ HAXPES, Fe $L$-edge XAS, and XMCD spectra using full multiplet cluster calculations match well with the experimental results and confirm the full local spin moments. In contrast, HAXPES, XAS, and XMCD of the Pt/YIG (3.3 nm) ultrathin epitaxial film grown by a pulsed laser deposition method show a finite ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{2+}$ contribution and a reduced ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{3+}$ local spin moment. The ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{2+}$ state is attributed to a combination of oxygen deficiency and charge transfer effects from the Pt capping layer to the ultrathin film. However, the conserved XMCD spectral shape for the ultrathin film indicates that the 3.3-nm epitaxial film is genuinely ferrimagnetic, in contrast to recent studies on films grown by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering which have shown a magnetic dead layer of $\ensuremath{\sim}6$ nm. The presence of ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{2+}$ and the reduced local spin moment in the epitaxial ultrathin film lead to a reduced Curie temperature, quantitatively consistent with well-known mean-field theory. The results establish a coupling of the local Fe spin moments, valency, and long-range magnetic ordering temperature in bulk single crystal and epitaxial ultrathin-film YIG.

For resin-based composite materials, the hot and humid environment has a very obvious impact on its performance. Moisture can penetrate into the composite material through diffusion and capillary action, which causes the resin matrix with plasticization, swelling and hydrolysis, and swelling and infiltration of liquid will lead to micro-stress inside the material. Thus, the polymer macromolecular chain will stretche or even break, and it can lead to the weakening of the interface properties of the resin and the fiber, which in turn leads to fluctuations in the mechanical properties of the composite material. In this paper, we carried out damp and heat tests on multilayer composite structures to study the effects of different temperature and humidity environments on the physical and chemical properties and mechanical properties of composite materials. The law of moisture absorption characteristics of composite materials is clarified, and the moisture absorption in the initial stage of moisture absorption is proportional to the moisture absorption time t1/2. With time increasing, the moisture absorption gradually tends to balance, and the higher are the damp and heat conditions, the greater the moisture absorption of the composite material will be. The moisture absorption is between 0.13% and 0.78% with different damp and heat environments. The chemical structure of the composite material itself has not changed significantly, and the damp-heat effect will induce the destruction of the fiber-matrix interface and the expansion of cracks along the pores, which weakens the bonding strength of the interface. As a result, the moisture makes the transverse performance and shear performance of the composite material greatly reducing, but has little effect on the longitudinal performance.

Probiotics reduce stress-related inflammation and abnormal behaviors in humans and rodents via regulation of the microbiota-gut-brain axis. The objective of this study was to determine if probiotic, Bacillus subtilis, has similar functions in broiler chickens under heat stress (HS). Two hundred forty 1-d-old broiler chicks were assigned to 48 pens with 4 treatments: Thermoneutral (TN)-RD (regular diet), TN-PD (the regular diet mixed with 1 × 10(6) CFU/g feed probiotic), HS-RD and HS-PD. Probiotic (Sporulin) was fed from day 1; and HS at 32°C for 10 h daily was initiated at day 15. The data showed that final BW, average daily gain , and feed conversion efficiency were improved in PD groups as compared to RD groups regardless of the ambient temperature (P < 0.01). Heterophil to lymphocyte ratio was affected by treatment and its value was in the order of HS-RD > HS-PD > TN-RD > TN-PD birds (P < 0.01). Compared to TN birds, HS birds spent more time in wing spreading, panting, squatting close to the ground, drinking, sleeping, dozing, and sitting but spent less time in eating, standing, and walking (P < 0.05 or 0.01). In addition, HS birds had greater levels of hepatic IL-6, IL-10, heat shock protein (HSP)70, and HSP70 mRNA expression (P < 0.01) and greater levels of cecal IgA and IgY (P < 0.01) compared to TN birds. Within TN groups, TN-PD birds had greater concentrations of hepatic IL-10 (P < 0.05) and cecal IgA (P < 0.01) than TN-RD birds. Within HS groups, HS-PD birds spent less time in wing spreading, panting, squatting close to the ground, drinking, sleeping, dozing, and sitting but spent more time in eating, foraging, standing, and walking than HS-RD birds (P < 0.05 or 0.01). The HS-PD birds also had lower concentrations of hepatic IL-6 and HSP70 (P < 0.01), whereas greater levels of IL-10 (P < 0.05) and lower concentrations of cecal IgA and IgY (P < 0.01). These results indicate that broilers fed the probiotic, B. subtilis, are able to cope with HS more effectively by ameliorating heat-induced behavioral and inflammatory reactions through regulation of microbiota-modulated immunity.

To investigate the expression of long non-coding RNA zinc-finger E-box binding homeobox 1-AS1 (lncRNA ZEB1-AS1) in gastric cancer cells and tissues, to study its effect on the gastric cancer cell metastasis capacity, and analyze its clinical significance.The relative expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in gastric cancer cells was detected via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Transwell assay was used to detect the effects of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 on the invasion and metastasis capacities of gastric cancer cells. qRT-PCR was used to detect the relative expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in 75 pairs of gastric cancer tissues, and the correlations of its expression with the pathological characteristics and prognosis of patients were statistically analyzed.qRT-PCR showed that compared with that in the normal gastric epithelial cell (GES-1), the expression level of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was up-regulated in gastric cancer cells (MKN28, MKN45, BGC823, MGC803, KATOIII, and SGC7901). LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 interfering sequence was transfected into model cells, and Transwell assay showed that the cell invasion and migration capacities were significantly inhibited. qRT-PCR also revealed that the expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was up-regulated in 55 out of 75 cases of gastric cancer and para-carcinoma tissues (fold change1). Statistical analysis showed that the high expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 was positively correlated with TNM staging (p = 0.002), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.002), and invasion degree (p = 0.004). The survival time of patients with high expression of lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 in gastric cancer tissues was shorter than that of patients with low expression (p = 0.004).LncRNA ZEB1-AS1 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues and cells, and it is expected to be a new prognostic marker of gastric cancer used for the clinical diagnosis and prognostic evaluation. After intervention in lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 expression, the cell invasion and migration are inhibited, and lncRNA ZEB1-AS1 may be an important target to reverse the malignant phenotype of gastric cancer.

The paper is focuses on the development of a theoretical framework together with an experimental validation to investigate rotational piezoelectric energy harvesting. The proposed device includes an electrically rectified piezoelectric bimorph mounted on a stationary base with a magnet attached to its free end. Energy is harvested by vibration of beam induced by non-contact rotary magnetic plucking. The DC power frequency response is predicted and found to be in good agreement with experiment. It shows that the harvested DC power is around 1 mW in average with the rotational frequency ranging from 5 Hz to 14 Hz. In addition, the parallel connection of two piezoelectric oscillators with respective electrical rectification is considered. It is observed that the power output of the array is the addition of the response from each individual piezoelectric oscillator.

This study investigated the dioxin-like (DL) PCB concentration and congener distributions in water, sediment, and Boleophthalmus pectinirostris samples collected from a beach near the 37th PCBs sealed site (the hazardous waste storage site was sealed by Zhejiang Province Environmental Monitoring Center) of Zhejiang Province, China, so as to evaluate the harmful effects of PCBs waste sealed sites on the surrounding environment. The results showed that DL-PCBs were in all samples. For all samples, the detection ratio of the mono-ortho congener PCB118 and the non-ortho congener PCB81 reached 100%, and both of their contents correlated well with the total DL-PCBs contents. Levels of low-chloride congeners were higher in environmental samples, while the enrichment of the high-chloride congeners was higher in fish. The content of PCBs in B. pectinirostris was highly related to the sediment environment, thus B. pectinirostris could well indicate environmental PCBs pollution. Considering both of the PCBs ...

In this study, electrospraying method and hydrothermal process were utilized to fabricate the piezoelectric zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods. The optimum growing parameters were studied. The electric field around 533–800 V/mm was determined to electrospray ZnO seed layer selectively on Au/chromium/silicon substrates. And the coverage rate of the ZnO seed layers can be controlled. Piezoelectric ZnO nanorods with height of 3–5 μm (aspect ratio from 10 to 16) were obtained. The ZnO nanorods were packaged in arrays of 1 × 1, 2 × 2, 3 × 3, 4 × 4 and 5 × 5 to characterize their piezoelectric properties. We used X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) to analyze the morphology and luminescence of ZnO nanorods. For the sensing test, the lower electrode is platinum (Pt) deposited by sputtering that forms Schottky contact with ZnO nanorods, and the upper one is Au. Then they were packaged to measure the underwater ultrasonic waves. With the signals provided by ultrasonic probe, the relation between average voltage output and the force output can be obtained as a function of the various frequencies and distances.

The encapsulation of proteins and nucleic acids within the nanoscale water core of reverse micelles has been used for over 3 decades as a vehicle for a wide range of investigations including enzymology, the physical chemistry of confined spaces, protein and nucleic acid structural biology, and drug development and delivery. Unfortunately, the static and dynamical aspects of the distribution of water in solutions of reverse micelles complicate the measurement and interpretation of fundamental parameters such as pH. This is a severe disadvantage in the context of (bio)chemical reactions and protein structure and function, which are generally highly sensitive to pH. There is a need to more fully characterize and control the effective pH of the reverse micelle water core. The buffering effect of titratable head groups of the reverse micelle surfactants is found to often be the dominant variable defining the pH of the water core. Methods for measuring the pH of the reverse micelle aqueous interior using one-dimensional (1)H and two-dimensional heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy are described. Strategies for setting the effective pH of the reverse micelle water core are demonstrated. The exquisite sensitivity of encapsulated proteins to the surfactant, water content, and pH of the reverse micelle is also addressed. These results highlight the importance of assessing the structural fidelity of the encapsulated protein using multidimensional NMR before embarking upon a detailed structural and biophysical characterization.

In practice, to attract new buyers and to avoid lasting price competition, a seller frequently offers its buyers a permissible delay in payment (ie, trade credit). However, the policy of granting a permissible delay in payment adds an additional dimension of default risk to the seller. In contrast to previous researchers for finding optimal solutions to buyers, we first propose an economic order quantity model from the seller's prospective to determine its optimal trade credit and order quantity simultaneously. In addition, we incorporate the important and relevant fact that trade credit has a positive impact on demand rate but a negative impact on receiving the buyer's debt obligations. Then the necessary and sufficient conditions to obtain the seller's optimal trade credit and order quantity are derived. An algorithm to determine the seller's optimal trade credit is also proposed. Finally, we use some numerical examples to illustrate the theoretical results and to provide some managerial insights.

Weaning is associated with reduced intestinal absorptive capacity in piglets. Our previous study indicated that dietary supplementation with N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) enhanced growth performance and improved intestinal function in weaned piglets. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with NCG may increase the growth performance of weaned piglets by regulating the expression of intestinal nutrient transporters, thus enhancing nutrient absorption. Twenty-four Huanjiang mini-pig piglets weaned at 21 d of age (3.17 ± 0.21 kg average BW) were randomly assigned to 2 dietary treatments consisting of a basal diet and the basal diet with 0.1% NCG supplementation for a 14-d period with 6 pens per treatment and 1 male and 1 female per pen. On d 14, 1 piglet was randomly selected from each pen for blood and tissue sampling. Dietary NCG supplementation enhanced (P < 0.05) growth rate and the efficiency of feed use in weaned Huanjiang mini-pig piglets. The NCG-supplemented diet increased (P < 0.05) mRNA expression levels of Slc6a19, Slc7a9, and Slc1a1 and the protein abundance of ASCT2, B(0)AT1, b(0,+)AT, y(+)LAT1, and EAAC1 in the jejunum. Furthermore, the contents of low density lipoprotein, ammonia, urea nitrogen, and AA as well as the activity of alkaline phosphatase in plasma were all altered (P < 0.05) by supplementation with NCG. These findings indicate that dietary supplementation with NCG may improve intestinal absorptive function in weaned piglets by increasing the expression of AA transporters in the intestine.

In practice, to attract new buyers and to avoid lasting price competition, a seller frequently offers its buyers a permissible delay in payment (ie, trade credit). However, the policy of granting a permissible delay in payment adds an additional dimension of default risk to the seller. In contrast to previous researchers for finding optimal solutions to buyers, we first propose an economic order quantity model from the seller's prospective to determine its optimal trade credit and order quantity simultaneously. In addition, we incorporate the important and relevant fact that trade credit has a positive impact on demand rate but a negative impact on receiving the buyer's debt obligations. Then the necessary and sufficient conditions to obtain the seller's optimal trade credit and order quantity are derived. An algorithm to determine the seller's optimal trade credit is also proposed. Finally, we use some numerical examples to illustrate the theoretical results and to provide some managerial insights.

To analyze the role of oxycodone in acute lung injury(ALI) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats.Male SD rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups: control group, oxycodone group, LPS group, LPS+ oxycodone group. The effects of oxycodone on LPS-induced neutrophils influx, inflammatory cytokines release, pulmonary edema, apoptotic cell were examined. In addition, the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in lung tissues was detected by Western blotting.Oxycodone significantly attenuated LPS-induced pulmonary histopathologic changes, alveolar hemorrhage, and neutrophil infiltration. The lung wet-to-dry weight ratio, was markedly decreased by oxycodone(5.60±0.24 vs 6.80±0.27, P0.05 ). Moreover, oxycodone decreased the productions of the inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, TNF-α, HMGB-1((1 208±18)pg/ml, (1 660±14) pg/ml, (61±4) pg/ml , all P0.05). Oxycodone treatment also reduced the concentration of apoptosis in lung tissues(18.6%±0.5%, P0.05). Furthermore, the expression of TLR4 was significantly suppressed by oxycodone treatment in lung tissues(1.20±0.15, P0.05).Oxycodone exerts protective effects on LPS-induced ALI in rats. The potential mechanism of this action may attribute partly to the inhibition of TLR4 activation.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene+20 wt-% polycarbonate (PC)/27 wt-% aluminium flake metallised plastics were immersed in aqueous H2SO4 for chemical roughening. The adhesive strengths of the metallised plastics that were roughened at various corrosion temperatures (30–90°C) for various times (10–30 min) with styrene–ethylene–butene–styrene at various melting temperatures (180–220°C) were investigated. Experimental results indicate that the aluminium flakes reduce the activation energy of the metallised plastics in aqueous H2SO4 at 30–70°C. The roughness and the weight rate of the roughened metallised plastics increase with corrosion temperature and time. Corrosion at 70°C for 10 min yields the largest effective adhesive area and adhesive strength. The adhesive strength increases with the melting temperature of styrene–ethylene–butene–styrene.

We report on a systematic photoconductivity (PC) study on the individual titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanorods (NRs) with single-crystalline quality. The photoconductive gains (device-oriented parameter) and their corresponding normalized gains (material-oriented parameter) of the TiO2 NRs have been defined and compared. The quantitative results show that the indirect-bandgap TiO2 NR exhibits a competeable photoconduction efficiency with the maximal (saturation) normalized gain (Γn) at 2 × 10–4 m2 V–1 in comparison to the direct-bandgap zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires (Γn ∼ 1.2 × 10–4 m2 V–1). In addition, the maximal normalized gain is also over 4 orders of magnitude higher than that reported for the polycrystalline nanotube counterpart. The photoconduction mechanism is also proposed for the highly efficient photoconduction properties in this titania nanostructure. The results demonstrate the potential of an ultrasensitive ultraviolet photodetector using TiO2 NRs and the superior efficiency for charge transport in...

We study the issues of reconstruction of the inverse nodal problem for the one-dimensional p -Laplacian eigenvalue problem with eigenparameter boundary value conditions. A key step is the application of a modified Prufer substitution to derive a detailed asymptotic expansion for the eigenvalues and nodal lengths. The parameter boundary data are also reconstructed.

In this work, we investigate the feasibility of detecting quantitatively DNA molecules utilizing the technology named after the immunomagnetic reduction (IMR) assay. Magnetic nanoparticles dispersed in a phosphate buffer saline solution were bio-functionalized with probing single-strand DNA. A superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) ac magnetosusceptometer was employed to detect IMR signals related to the concentration of the target DNA. The results reveal that use of IMR assay had merits such as a high convenience level, e.g. wash-free processes and high sensitivity, down to pM, for DNA detection.

Eu–Nd codoped CaBi3.75−x Eu x Nd0.25Ti4O15 (CBENT) powders were synthesized by a simple sol–gel method. Their structures were examined by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, respectively. The coexistence of orthorhombic and tetragonal phase was found when the Eu3+ doping content varied from 0.3 to 0.6. The photoluminescence properties of the CBENT powders show that the intense emission bands centered at around 574, 590 and 612 nm are due to the transitions of 5D0 → 7F0, 5D0 → 7F1 and 5D0 → 7F2 of the Eu3+ ions, respectively. The spectra of the temperature dependence of dielectric constant indicate that the Curie temperature T C gradually decreases from 785 to 765 °C. The peaks of dielectric constant are restrained with increasing Eu3+ doping concentration, suggesting the weakness of the ferroelectricity. Combining the photoluminescence with the ferroelectric property in the CBENT, the optimal Eu3+ doping concentration x is 0.2.

From high-tech industry to consumer electronics, thermoelectric cooler (TEC) has been widely used. Basically, TEC is a sandwich structure. An array of small bismuth telluride cubes is placed between two ceramic plates and bonded to them. When a DC is applied, thermal deformation occurs because of the temperature gradient produced between the two ceramic plates of the device. To ensure the safety of the TEC, it is therefore important to investigate the thermal deformation induced. However, because of the complexity of the TEC structure, numerical simulation cannot be easily performed. In this study, digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) was employed to measure the real-time full-field thermal deformation in TECs. Variations of thermal deformations versus magnitudes of DC were obtained. The obtained experimental results will be very useful for building the numerical model.

This study describes magnetically driven suppression of cross-reactions among molecules. First, the magnetic nanoparticles are coated with bio-probes and dispersed in liquid. The bio-probes can then bind with homologous or heterologous bio-targets. When alternating-current (ac) magnetic fields are applied, magnetic nanoparticles rotate driven by ac magnetic fields. Thus, the bio-targets bound on the surface of magnetic nanoparticles experience a centrifugal force. The centrifugal force can be manipulated by adjusting the angular frequency of the rotating magnetic nanoparticles. The angular frequency is determined by the applied ac magnetic field frequency. Since the binding force for good binding is much higher than that of poor binding, frequency manipulation is needed for the centrifugal force to be higher than the poor-binding force but lower than the good-binding force. Therefore, poor binding which contributes to cross reactions between molecules can be suppressed efficiently by control of the ac magnetic field frequency.

The surface photovoltage response was investigated in partly c -axis oriented Bi 4 Ti 3 O 12 thin film deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide conductive glass substrate by a sol–gel technology. The maximum SPV of BiT film reaches 1.8 mV under the dc bias voltage (+1 V) and is three times larger than that under the zero bias. It is also found that the SPV response intensity increases with the increasing positive field, and the intensity of the SPV signal becomes weak with a reverse response when the negative field increases. It is suggested that the SPV is strongly related to the ferroelectric polarization.

A randomised, double-blind, parallel, placebo-controlled, 12-week study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of 20-mg tadalafil taken ‘as needed’ in a population of men with erectile dysfunction (ED) from Egypt and Turkey. One hundred and thirty-two patients were randomised in this study. Tadalafil was superior to placebo on all three co-primary efficacy end points. The mean change from baseline for the erectile function domain of the International Index of Erectile Function was 9.3 ± 0.8 for the tadalafil group and 2.3 ± 1.6 for the placebo group. Tadalafil-treated patients reported a significantly greater improvement in the mean percentage of successful penetrations (tadalafil: 34.5 ± 4.1; placebo: −4.6 ± 8.1) and successful intercourse attempts (tadalafil: 52.2 ± 3.8; placebo: 16.8 ± 7.8) than placebo-treated patients as measured by the Sexual Encounter Profile. Tadalafil was generally well tolerated with 82% of adverse events being mild in severity. Tadalafil 20-mg taken ‘as needed’ significantly improved the erectile function in Egyptian and Turkish men with ED.

In this paper, novel applications of experimental mechanics for verifying the design of ultrasonic horns for ultrasonic flip-chip bonding are reported. Two photomechanics methods, i.e. amplitude-fluctuation electronic speckle pattern interferometry (AF-ESPI) and laser Doppler vibrometry were employed to measure the deformation of the ultrasonic horns. The experimental results confirmed the purely longitudinal resonant mode, the location of the nodal point and the high degree of coplanarity of the horn designed earlier by computer simulation.

The relationship between the large-scale circulation and regional climate of the northeast United States is investigated for early winter using observational data and the State University of New York at Albany regional climate model. Simulated patterns of temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric circulation compare well with observations, despite a cold, dry bias. Ten December runs are analyzed to investigate the impact of the Pacific–North American (PNA) pattern on temperature, precipitation, clouds, and circulation features. During a positive PNA pattern, the simulated and observed eastern U.S. jet shifts to the southeast, coinciding with cold, dry conditions in the Northeast. This shift and intensification of the upper-level jet stream during a positive PNA pattern coincides with a greater frequency of cyclones and anticyclones along a distinct southwest–northeast track. Despite increased cyclone activity, total wintertime precipitation is below normal during a positive PNA pattern because of enhanced stability and subsidence over land, along with lower-atmospheric moisture content. Lower surface air temperatures during a positive PNA pattern result in enhanced simulated cloud cover over the Great Lakes and Atlantic Ocean due to increased thermal contrast and fluxes of sensible and latent heat, and a reduction in clouds over land. Interactions between the PNA and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) patterns impact the Northeast winter climate. Observed frontal passages through New York are most abundant during a negative PNA and positive NAO pattern, with a zonal upper-level jet positioned over New York. A positive PNA pattern is frequently characterized by an earlier observed Great Lakes ice season, while the greatest lake-effect snowfall occurs during a positive PNA and negative NAO pattern. The NAO pattern has the largest impact on northeast U.S. temperatures and the eastern U.S. upper-level jet during a positive PNA pattern.

In this paper, both photoelasticity and moire interferometry were successively incorporated with finite element method to investigate the predicted thermal stresses and lateral displacement of bonded structures calculated from different theories. It was found that the distributions of moment and transverse force play significant roles in making different values of thermal stresses in the adherends by authors’ and Suhir's 1986 theories. On the other hand, the values of lateral displacement obtained from different theories are almost identical.

This paper presents a pseudo-static-based approach for evaluating the mechanical effects of facing components on the seismic displacement of reinforced soil walls backfilled with cohesionless soils. The proposed method is used to examine some factors that may influence the seismic stability and/or displacement of a 5 m high idealized wall, such as the connection strength at the facing–soil interface, the shear strength of the facing, the shear strength of the backfill soils, and the length of the reinforcement. Seismic displacement charts are established for a 5 m high idealized reinforced wall with various types of facing subjected to four different ground excitations. These charts are then verified using wall displacements measured after a major earthquake, and can be used to facilitate preliminary performance-based seismic designs of reinforced soil walls. Analytical results show that a conventional ‘two-wedge’ analysis greatly underestimates the seismic stability of a wall with a structural facing component because the interaction between the facing and the retained soils is ignored. The connection strength between the facing and the reinforcement may significantly increase the seismic stability and/or reduce the seismic displacement of the investigated wall provided that a specially designed facing–geogrid connection is used, which enables very high connection strength to be developed. The interblock shear strength of discrete-type facing affects the seismic stability of the wall only in a secondary way, because higher interblock shear strength may cause a failure mechanism that passes through the bottom of the wall. The unit weight of the facing plays a moderate role in the increase of the seismic stability of the 5 m high wall with vertical facing. It is also shown that the advantage of using a structural facing may vary according to changes in the internal friction angle of the backfill and the length of reinforcing material.

To the authors' best knowledge this is the first time that the photoelastic method has been used to determine experimentally the whole-field state of thermal stresses of bonded structures. Except for the immediate vicinity of the interfacial edges, the photoelastic results were confirmed through the finite element method (FEM). Theoretical solutions provided by both Timoshenko and Suhir were then re-examined and compared with the photoelastic and FEM results. A comparison of those results indicated that the current theoretical solutions are oversimplified and need to be improved.