Search

Downbursts can produce severe damage in near-ground areas and can also pose serious threats to aircraft in flight. In this study, a high-resolution boundary layer model—the Boundary Layer Above Stationary, Inhomogeneous Uneven Surface (BLASIUS) model—is used to simulate the evolution of a downburst. The observational data collected in Tazhong, China, located in hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert, during the Boundary Layer Comprehensive Observational Experiment on 27 July 2016 are used as the thermodynamic initial field for the BLASIUS model. In addition, the impacts of the terrain on the structure, turbulence intensity, and maximum wind speed of the downburst are also investigated. The results show that the BLASIUS model can simulate the structure and evolution characteristics of downbursts. The cold pool becomes warm if an isolated hill is implanted in the model under the same model conditions. Both the movement speed of the head and the average wind speed of the downburst decrease, while the maximum wind speed increases. The scale of the hill affects the dynamic and thermodynamic structures of the downburst through obstruction and entrainment mixing. The maximum wind speeds occur on the windward slope, and the downburst passes over the hill in the various tests with a hill. The head of the cold pool becomes narrow and tall for larger hill width cases. The Froude number generally decreases as the height of the hill increases, and the downburst can pass over the hill. The results are helpful to improve our understanding of the effects that terrain blocking on downburst structure and near-ground wind shear. Significance Statement Downbursts have the potential to cause significant damage to building structures and agricultural production and to cause unpredictable serious disasters. It is particularly important to understand the structure and evolution of downbursts. In addition, the influence of the topography on the structure and intensity of turbulent vortices during a downburst remain unclear. The results show that the Boundary Layer Above Stationary, Inhomogeneous Uneven Surface (BLASIUS) model can simulate the structure and evolution characteristics of downbursts. The cold pool becomes warm if an isolated hill is implanted in the model. The scale of the hill affects the dynamic and thermodynamic structures of the downburst through obstruction and entrainment mixing. The Froude number generally decreases as the height of the hill increases, and the downburst can pass over the hill.

The purpose of this study was to assess the status of coagulation function in a large series of reproductive-age women with a history of missed abortion in China. Likewise, we want to explore the association between coagulation and missed abortions, in order to evaluate whether they could be used as early predictive factors for missed abortions. A total of 11182 women who suffered from missed abortion from Peking University Third Hospital and 5298 healthy age-matched reproductive-age women were enrolled in our study. Coagulation function tests (prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time), fibrinolysis status detection (fibrinogen, D-Dimer), anticoagulation function tests (protein C, protein S and antithrombin III) and lupus anticoagulants (LAC) were examined. In addition, platelet counts were detected by automated hematology analyzer. Platelet aggregation (PAgT) were tested by light transmission aggregometry (LTA).Compared with healthy reproductive-age women, the level of D-Dimer, dRVVT-R, PC, PAgT and platelet count were higher, and the antithrombin III (AT-III) activity was lower in women with a history of missed abortion. (P

Roadside LiDAR (light detection and ranging) is a solution to fill in the gaps for connected vehicles (CV) by detecting the status of global road users at transportation facilities. It relies greatly on the clustering algorithm for accurate and rapid data processing so as to ensure effectiveness and reliability. To contribute to better roadside LiDAR-based transportation facilities, this paper presents a fast-spherical-projection-based clustering algorithm (FSPC) for real-time LiDAR data processing with higher clustering accuracy and noise handling. The FSPC is designed to work on a spherical map which could be directly derived from the instant returns of a LiDAR sensor. A 2D-window searching strategy is specifically designed to accelerate the computation and alleviate the density variation impact in the LiDAR point cloud. The test results show the proposed algorithm can achieve a high processing efficiency with 24.4 ms per frame, satisfying the real-time requirement for most common LiDAR applications (100 ms per frame), and it also ensures a high accuracy in object clustering, with 96%. Additionally, it is observed that the proposed FSPC allows a wider detection range and is more stable, tackling the surge in foreground points that frequently occurs in roadside LiDAR applications. Finally, the generality of the proposed FSPC indicates the proposed algorithm could also be implemented in other areas such as autonomous driving and remote sensing.

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors are receiving an increasing amount of attention in traffic detection because of their powerful capacity for providing accurate trajectory data of vehicles and non-motorized road users. When installed at the roadside, LiDAR faces the same occlusion problem as other over-roadway sensors (such as video cameras)—the integrity and reliability of object detection can be reduced when occlusion occurs. Existing occlusion reasoning methods are either developed for video sensors or require sensor fusion. Fast and accurate occlusion determination is an indispensable step in the process of vehicle detection, classification, and tracking. This paper presents a novel algorithm to automatically identify the occurrence of vehicle partial occlusion and the corresponding occluding/occluded relationship from roadside LiDAR data. According to the inherent characteristics of LiDAR sensors, two specifically designed heatmaps (ClusterID heatmap and Distance heatmap) were generated and used as the basis for fast occlusion search. Using the field data collected from two testbeds, it was shown that the proposed method could achieve about 95.60% accuracy for partial occlusion identification and a processing speed of 2 ms per frame (32-laser LiDAR sensor with 0.1 s per frame).

An efficient and long-term stable nano-sized N-H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst for the one-step aldol condensation reaction of formaldehyde and MAc to produce MA and AA is reported. Its total lifetime reaches up to 226 h by three regeneration runs.

We found that the excellent ORR performance of Ni doped CuXP2S6 (X = In, Bi and Cr) is related to spin selective charge transfer and spin flip, which are clearly observed and analyzed by first-principles calculation.

Hydrogenation of methyl acetate is a key step in ethanol synthesis from dimethyl ether carbonylation and Cu-based catalysts are widely studied. We report here that the hydrogenation activity of Cu/ZnO catalysts can be enhanced by the addition of MgO promoter. The evolution of crystal phases during coprecipitation and the physicochemical properties of calcined and reduced catalysts by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric (TG)-mass spectrometry (MS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N2O titration, in situ CO-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and H2-temperature programmed reduction (H2-TPR) reveal that the promoter effect likely lies in the presence of Mg2+. A proper amount of Mg2+ mediates the precipitation process of Cu and Zn, leading to preferable formation of aurichalcite (CuxZn1−x)5(CO3)2(OH)6 crystal phase and a small amount of basic carbonates such as hydrozincite Zn5(CO3)2(OH)6 and malachite Cu2CO3(OH)2. The presence of aurichalcite strengthens the interaction between Cu and Zn species, and thus enhances the dispersity of Cu0 species and helps generation of Cu+ species on reduced catalysts. Furthermore, the performance of Cu/ZnO catalysts exhibits an optimal dependence on the Mg loading, i.e., 17.5%. However, too much Mg2+ in the precipitation liquid prohibits formation of aurichalcite but enhances formation of basic nitrates, leading to a dramatically reduced hydrogenation activity. These findings may find applications for optimization of other Cu-based catalysts in a wider range of hydrogenation reactions.

Searching for high effective catalysts has been an endless effort to improve the efficiency of green energy harvesting and degradation of pollutants. In the past decades, tremendous strategies are explored to achieve high effective catalysts, and various theoretical understandings are proposed for the improved activity. As the catalytic reaction occurs at the surface or edge, the unsaturated ions may lead to the fluctuation of spin. Meanwhile, transition metals in catalysts have diverse spin states and may yield the spin effects. Therefore, the role of spin or magnetic moment should be carefully examined. In this review, the recent development of spin catalysts is discussed to give an insightful view on the origins for the improved catalytic activity. First, a brief introduction on the applications and advances in spin-related catalytic phenomena, is given, and then the fundamental principles of spin catalysts and magnetic fields-radical reactions are introduced in the second part. The spin-related catalytic performance reported in oxygen evolution/reduction reaction (OER/ORR) is systematically discussed in the third part, and general rules are summarized accordingly. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are given. This review may provide an insightful understanding of the microscopic mechanisms of catalytic phenomena and guide the design of spin-related catalysts.

The PVDF/ZnO/CuS heterostructured photocatalysts with excellent photocatalytic performance under UV and visible light irradiation were prepared by hydrothermal and ion-exchange techniques using PVDF nanofiber membranes as the substrate.

Acetone is currently produced by large amount of propylene and benzene, and its synthesis from a cheap and non-petroleum material has not yet been reported. Here, we present a new method for acetone production, which involves the carbonylation of dimethyl ether (DME) to methyl acetate and its subsequent ketonization to acetone over pyridine-modified H-mordenite. This convenient approach offers an acetone selectivity of 73% (CO2 excluded) and a DME conversion of 100% at 553 K. Spectral and isotopic studies revealed that the ketonization of methyl acetate was promoted by carbonylation, while the formation of a ketene intermediate was demonstrated by the formation of CH2DCOOD and two types of pyrones. A ketene-based ketonization mechanism was also proposed based on the kinetic isotope effect of CH2=13C O, indicating that the acetyl moiety contributed to the acyl part of acetone, while the ketene moiety was responsible for the alkyl part of acetone and the generation of CO2.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are involved in the progression of various cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the biological functions of lncRNA small ubiquitin-like modifier 1 pseudogene 3 (SUMO1P3) and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we revealed that SUMO1P3 expression was enhanced in HCC tissues and cell lines, positively associating with tumor size and number, poor differentiation, lymphatic and distant metastasis, TNM stage, and poor prognosis in HCC patients. In vitro assays showed that SUMO1P3 depletion reduced HCC cell viability and proliferation by hindering cyclin D1 expression and Akt phosphorylation. SUMO1P3 knockdown induced HCC cell apoptosis, as indicated by increased Bax and cleaved caspase-3 expression and the decreased Bcl-2 level. SUMO1P3 silencing suppressed HCC cell migration and invasion by increasing epithelial marker E-cadherin expression and decreasing mesenchymal marker vimentin expression, as well as reducing matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 levels. Consistently, SUMO1P3 depletion in HCC cells retarded tumor growth and lung metastasis in vivo. Overall, these results supported the applicability of SUMO1P3 as a useful predictor of HCC prognosis and a potential therapeutic target for HCC patients.

Decarbonylation of carboxylic acids is an effective reaction for alkene production but suffers from the requirement of homogeneous transitional-metal-based catalyst, ligand, and stoichiometric addi...

Coupled Majorana zero modes with nonzero energies are generally detrimental to the non-Abelian statistics due to the additional dynamic phase. Nevertheless, we show that a well-connected lead can introduce a local non-Hermitian dissipation term to shift the energies of the both coupled Majorana modes to zero, and surprisingly turn the coupled Majorana mode far from the lead into a dark Majorana mode with exponentially small dissipation. This dark Majorana mode can conquer the drawback of the partially overlapped Majorana zero modes and possess the properties of true Majorana zero mode such as the perfect fractional Josephson effect and the non-Abelian statistics., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures

Adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapy has been demonstrated to be extremely effective for treating genetic hearing loss over the past several years. However, successful gene therapies for hereditary deafness have not been well-studied in adult mice. To explore the possibility of gene therapy after peripheral auditory maturity, we used AAV8 to express vesicular glutamate transporter 3 (Vglut3) in the cochleae of 5w, 8w, and 20w Vglut3