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HIGHLIGHTS Improvement of the simulation by calculating a temperature function with the daily minimum and maximum temperatures. Equation to determine the maximum rate of node appearance of soybean cultivars recommended for Southern Brazil. Maximum node appearance rate varies with the maturity group and not with the type of growth of soybean cultivars. RESUMO Os modelos agrícolas que simulam o aparecimento de nós são ferramentas que descrevem os estágios vegetativos da soja e auxiliam a compreender os processos fisiológicos da planta. O objetivo deste estudo foi calibrar e validar um modelo não linear de aparecimento de nós para as cultivares de soja recomendadas para o Sul do Brasil. Foram utilizados dados de 47 experimentos realizados no Rio Grande do Sul entre 2010 e 2018, com 35 cultivares de soja de tipo de crescimento determinado e indeterminado e grupo de maturidade relativa variando de 3,9 a 8,3. A calibração do modelo de aparecimento de nós foi realizada por meio do método dos mínimos quadrados do resíduo, entre o número de nós observados e simulados, para três versões do modelo no que se refere ao cálculo da função de temperatura [f(T)]. O desempenho do modelo foi validado com dados de número de nós de experimentos e lavouras, com regime hídrico irrigado e não irrigado, ambientes de terras altas e baixas. A simulação do número de nós é melhorada quando é calculada uma função de temperatura com a temperatura mínima diária do ar e outra com a temperatura máxima diária do ar e, em seguida, calculada a média das duas funções (versão Tmm). Além disso, a equação geral, que não leva em consideração o tipo de crescimento da cultivar, pode ser utilizada para o cálculo da taxa máxima de aparecimento de nós (NARMAX), sem perda de precisão na simulação.

Understanding and uncovering the mechanisms or motifs that molecular networks employ to regulate noise is a key problem in cell biology. As it is often difficult to obtain direct and detailed insight into these mechanisms, many studies instead focus on assessing the best precision attainable on the signalling pathways that compose these networks. Molecules signal one another over such pathways to solve noise regulating estimation and control problems. Quantifying the maximum precision of these solutions delimits what is achievable and allows hypotheses about underlying motifs to be tested without requiring detailed biological knowledge. The pathway capacity, which defines the maximum rate of transmitting information along it, is a widely used proxy for precision. Here it is shown, for estimation problems involving elementary yet biologically relevant birth-process networks, that capacity can be surprisingly misleading. A time-optimal signalling motif, called birth-following, is derived and proven to better the precision expected from the capacity, provided the maximum signalling rate constraint is large and the mean one above a certain threshold. When the maximum constraint is relaxed, perfect estimation is predicted by the capacity. However, the true achievable precision is found highly variable and sensitive to the mean constraint. Since the same capacity can map to different combinations of rate constraints, it can only equivocally measure precision. Deciphering the rate constraints on a signalling pathway may therefore be more important than computing its capacity.

Relevance . HIV infection has a negative impact on the demographic and economic situation. Despite the slowdown in prevalence, incidence and prevalence rates remain. Aim . Analysis of the development of the HIV epidemic process in the risk group of prisoners of the Tyumen region over a period of many years. Materials and methods . The work used statistical data from the Center for the Fight against AIDS of the Tyumen Oblast State Budgetary Health Institution, the Office of the Federal Service for Supervision of Human Welfare in the Tyumen Region. The work uses analytical, epidemiological methods, research methods, statistical evaluation methods, average errors, average errors, estimated significance, differences between comparison factors. Results . In the region, HIV-infection affects more than 1% of the population. The group of prisoners occupies a leading position Prisoners in prisons are at increased risk of infection in the structure of HIV-infected region with an average multiyear share of 16.3%. The maximum rate of increase in HIV among prisoners was + 44.0%, the minimum – -27.0%. The average long-term share of nonresident prisoners was 40.6 ± 0.65%, and among those registered in the region – 59.4 ± 0.65%. Places of deprivation of liberty must be considered as one of the main places with a high degree of probability of contracting HIV due to the contact of a healthy population with HIV infected, like in no other location. Conclusions . In 2001, the share of prisoners of all identified HIV – positive in the region amounted to 30.3%. The nature of the generalized course of HIV infection has acquired in prisons since 2005. The intensity of the HIV epidemic process in the region is supported, among other things, by the continuity of the formed connection between the special contingent and the law-abiding population, which requires targeted attention from the sanitary and preventive services.

Photosynthesis is a major process included in land surface models. Accurately estimating the parameters of the photosynthetic sub-models can greatly improve the ability of these models to accurately simulate the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we used a hierarchical Bayesian approach to fit the Farquhar–von Caemmerer–Berry model, which is based on the biochemistry of photosynthesis using 236 curves for the relationship between net CO2 assimilation and changes in the intercellular CO2 concentration. An advantage of the hierarchical Bayesian algorithm is that parameters can be estimated at multiple levels (plant, species, plant functional type, and population level) simultaneously. The parameters of the hierarchical strategy were based on the results of a sensitivity analysis. The Michaelis–Menten constant (Kc25), enthalpies of activation (EJ and EV), and two optical parameters (θ and α) demonstrated considerable variation at different levels, which suggests that this variation cannot be ignored. The maximum electron transport rate (Jmax25), maximum rate of Rubisco activity (Vcmax25), and dark respiration in the light (Rd25) were higher for broad-leaved plants than for needle-leaved plants. Comparison of the model’s simulated outputs with observed data showed strong and significant positive correlations, particularly when the model was parameterized at the plant level. In summary, our study is the first effort to combine sensitivity analysis and hierarchical Bayesian parameter estimation. The resulting realistic parameter distributions for the four levels provide a reference for current and future land surface models. Furthermore, the observed variation in the parameters will require attention when using photosynthetic parameters in future models.

In Russia, much attention is paid to the development of the healthcare sector by providing financial direct and indirect support. The granting of tax preferences facilitates the activities of the institutions themselves, since this greatly alleviates the tax burden for them and ensures the inflow of capital and investment in this area. All this contributes to the development of the private medicine sector, increasing the cost of research and development related to health, which in turn brings benefits to the population. The main direction of application of preferences in the field of health care will contribute to the further development of the industry. The extension of the existing preferences, in particular on income taxes, which expires next year, may contribute to the development of both public and private health organizations. Of course, it’s not about indefinite exemption from the tax, a developed practice is the establishment of a reduced tax calculation rate, with its subsequent gradual increase. This option is the most lenient for organizations, as a sharp transition from full tax exemption to calculating it at the maximum rate under normal conditions may entail a sharp increase in the tax burden, which can adversely affect the average and small health care businesses just starting its detail.

The vertical movement is comprised of both vertical crustal movements and vertical ground movements. Vertical crustal movement is established by using a cubic polynomial model with first-order leveling data from four separate time periods (1958-2015) in the Shandong Province and neighboring areas, and the vertical motion is formed from continuously operating reference stations (CORS) data (2010-2015) with GAMIT/GLOBK and a linear regression estimation in the Shandong Province. Vertical ground movement can be obtained by subtracting vertical crustal movement from vertical motion. Vertical crustal movement of Shandong Province gradually changes from descending to ascending along the northwest to the southeast, and the rate varies from -5.9 to 6.2 millimeter/year (mm/yr). Three distinct settlement areas including Guangrao, Dezhou and Heze are analyzed in detail. Substantial subsidence with a maximum rate of 78.2 mm/yr occurred in northern and western areas of Shandong Province. Slight uplift with a maximum rate of 8.4mm/yr occurred in central region and Jiaozhou Peninsula of Shandong Province. The vertical ground movements are basically consistent with vertical movements in the Shandong Province.

The explosion characteristics of a hydrogen–propane mixture under different initial temperatures and at different hydrogen addition, equivalence, and dilution ratios were studied using a 20-L apparatus. First, the effects of hydrogen addition and equivalence ratio were studied. The results showed that the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise first increased, then decreased from lean to an equivalence ratio of 1.6, and reached the maximum value at the equivalence ratio of 1.2. The maximum explosion pressure and the maximum rate of pressure rise increased with the increasing hydrogen proportion of the mixtures, and the time to the maximum explosion pressure decreased. Furthermore, the mixed fuel with the equivalence and hydrogen addition ratios of 1.0 and 0.4, respectively, was explored under nitrogen or carbon dioxide dilution. Carbon dioxide exhibited a stronger dilution effect than nitrogen. For the mixed fuel with the equivalence and hydrogen addition ratios of 1.0 and 0.4, respectively, the maximum explosion pressure saliently decreased with the increasing initial temperature in the range of 25 °C-120 °C. The variation trend of experimental results was consistent with theoretical predictions.

Taking maximum flame propagation velocity, maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise and time-average of rising pressure impulse as index, this paper is aimed at evaluating the inerting effects of carbon dioxide on confined hydrogen explosion by varying initial pressure, carbon dioxide addition and equivalence ratio. The results indicated that under enhancing hydrodynamic instability, the stronger flame destabilization occurs with the increase of initial pressure. At Φ = 0.8 and Φ = 1.0, the destabilization effect of thermodiffusive instability continues to increase with the increase of carbon dioxide addition. At all equivalence ratios, the destabilization effect of hydrodynamic instability decreases monotonously with the increase of carbon dioxide addition. All of maximum flame propagation velocity, maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise and time-average of rising pressure impulse reach the peak value at Φ = 1.5, and decrease significantly with increasing carbon dioxide addition. The inerting effect of carbon dioxide could be attributed to the reduction of thermal diffusivity, flame temperature and active radicals. The chemical effect of carbon dioxide reaches the peak value at Φ = 1.0. With the increase of carbon dioxide addition, the chemical effect continues to decrease at Φ = 0.8 and Φ = 1.0, and increase monotonously at Φ = 2.5.

When using the method of low-volume hemoperfusion (MOG) in the clinic, the therapeutic effect of which is to implement the mechanisms of hemomodulation and activation of the sorption procedure, it is important to take into account the activation properties of solid-phase granular drugs. Blood-contact interaction was carried out in bench conditions with the use of donated blood in rotary mode. Blood samples were taken before the experiment and after 5, 20, 40 and 60 minutes. Changes in blood cell and subcellular populations were evaluated using the Sysmex XT 1800i hematological analyzer (26 parameters), which made it possible to indirectly judge the activation of blood cells. 20 experiments were conducted. To analyze the activation functions of the hemocontact preparation SCT 6A HP, the speed-time adhesive profi le of blood cells on the sorbent was used. The maximum rate of adhesion was noted in the period of “5 min” from the beginning of contact. The rate of adhesion of granulocytes in all time intervals was signifi cantly higher than that of agranulocytes. The adhesion process can be an indicator of the activation of blood cells in contact with foreign surfaces, and serve as an evaluation criterion for the activation capabilities of these surfaces.

Experiments were performed to study the explosion characteristics of DME-blended LPG mixtures with different DME contents and equivalence ratios using a closed vessel. The maximum explosion pressure (Pmax), the maximum rate of pressure rise (dP/dt)max and the propagation velocity of shock wave (v) were investigated. The results indicated that both the peak overpressure and peak rate of pressure rise were raised with increasing DME content, reaching peak values at the equivalence ratio of 1.2. Furthermore, it was found that slight incorporation of DME had a small effect on the explosion hazard, but as the ratio of DME to LPG/DME mixture exceeded 30%, the explosion hazard would increase dramatically. The propagation of the shock wave behind the obstacle was divided into three stages in this paper: initial acceleration, stable acceleration and decaying. In the propagation process, Pmax, (dP/dt)max and v first increased and then decreased along the pipeline, and the peak values often appeared in the stable acceleration stage. The peak overpressure and the maximum value of v also appeared in the same location approximately, indicating that the occurrence of maximum overpressure risk was often accompanied with the appearance of the most severe dynamic evolution.

Fire protection is an important part of the industry where flammable and explosive dusts are found. Production, storage and transport of food powders such as flour can be very dangerous in terms of explosiveness. The article deals with the measurement of explosion characteristics of wheat flour dust. The measurements were carried out according to EN 14034-1+A1:2011 Determination of explosion characteristics of dust clouds. Part 1: Determination of the maximum explosion pressure pmax of dust clouds and the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise according to EN 14034-2+A1:2012 Determination of explosion characteristics of dust clouds - Part 2: Determination of the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise (dp/dt)max of dust clouds. A sample of wheat flour with a median particle size 84 μm exhibits the maximum explosion pressure 7.00 bar at the concentration of 600 g.m−3 and then explosion constant is 16.9 bar.s−1.m. A sample of wheat flour with a median particle size 50 μm exhibits the maximum explosion pressure 7.97 bar at the concentration of 1000 g.m−3 and the explosion constant 54.9 bar.s−1.m.Based on the results of the measurements, we found that the particle size distribution has a significant influence on the explosion parameters of the wheat flour samples.

In this work, we present a parametrical characterization of the features of the total electric field induced in material in response to an external incident field. We propose global parameters enabling characterization of the volume in which the squared modulus of the induced electric field is mainly concentrated, as well as the predominant state of polarization over the region where the power is significant. In addition, an uncertainty relationship is proven linking the region of concentration of the induced electric field and the region where its maximum rate of change occurs.

The capacity under strong asynchronism was recently shown to be essentially unaffected by the imposed decoding delay—the elapsed time between when information is available at the transmitter and when it is decoded—and the output sampling rate. This paper shows that, in contrast with capacity, the second-order term in the maximum rate expansion is sensitive to both parameters. When the receiver must locate the sent codeword exactly and therefore achieve minimum delay equal to the blocklength $n$ , the second-order term in the maximum rate expansion is of order $\Theta (1/\rho)$ for any sampling rate $\rho =O(1/\sqrt {n})$ (and $\rho =\omega (1/n)$ for otherwise reliable communication is impossible). Instead, if $\rho =\omega (1/\sqrt {n})$ , then the second-order term is the same as under full sampling and is given by a standard $\Theta (\sqrt {n})$ term. However, if the delay constraint is only slightly relaxed to $n(1+o(1))$ , then the above order transition (for $\rho =O(1/\sqrt {n})$ and $\rho =\omega (1/\sqrt {n})$ ) vanishes and the second-order term remains the same as under full sampling for any $\rho =\omega (1/n)$ .

In this study, the explosion behaviors of methane-air mixtures were investigated experimentally in a cylinder vessel (210 mm inner diameter and 210 mm height) filled with a single orifice plate at atmospheric pressure (1 atm) and room temperature (298 K). The equivalence ratios of the test mixtures ranged from 0.7 to 1.3. The blockage ratios of the orifice plates were from 0.49 to 0.94, and the distance between the orifice plates and the ignition point ( S ) were 25 mm, 50 mm and 75 mm. The results show that the maximum explosion pressure in the presence of an orifice plate. However, the effects of the orifice plate on the maximum rate of pressure rise are various. At the fuel-lean side, the maximum pressure rise rate is increased significantly (larger than that of the stoichiometric condition). As the distance between the orifice plate and ignitor increases, the maximum pressure rise rate increases. In the case of the fuel-rich conditions, the maximum pressure rise rate is the smallest for S = 25 mm, followed by the no plate condition, S = 50 mm and S = 75 mm. The mechanisms are left for further study.

N-hexane is an important alternative fuel for aviation kerosene in recent years. In this study, experiments of n-hexane in air at various initial temperatures of 353–393 K, initial pressures of 60–100 kPa and equivalence ratio of 0.7–1.7 were carried out in a cylindrical vessel with central ignition. The pressure histories and outward propagations of the spherical flame in the explosion process were recorded by the pressure sensor and Schlieren system, respectively. Explosion characteristics including the explosion pressure Pmax, the maximum rate of pressure rise (dP/dt)max and laminar burning velocity U1 were obtained and analyzed. Results show that all explosion parameters strongly depend on the n-hexane/air ratio, initial pressures and temperatures. The explosion pressure Pmax and maximum rate of pressure rise (dP/dt)max raise with the increase in initial pressure and decrease in temperature. However, the dimensionless explosion pressure Pmax/P0 remains constant with an increased initial pressure. Furthermore, the n-hexane/air flame propagation characteristics were investigated and the Markstein length were studied. The unstretched flame propagation speed S1 and laminar burning velocity U1 share the similar variation tendency with equivalence ratios, and they are increased with the increase of initial temperatures and decrease of pressures.

The results of tests of a short-circuit resistive switching superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) for dc mains with maximum voltage of 4.1 kV and rated current of 4 kA have been considered. The superconducting unit and automatic high-speed vacuum breaker are key components of the SFCL. The superconducting unit consists of eight series-parallel connected modules, each of which contains four parallel high-temperature superconducting (HTSC) tapes. The tests of the SFCL have been carried out under simulations of short-circuit current with maximum current of 20 kA (maximum rate of current rise is 2500 A/ms) at a voltage of 4 kV. The tests have shown the ability of SFCL to limit the current up to 4 kA and turn it off 5 ms after the starting the mode of current limitation. The mean temperature of a HTSC tape reached up to 190 K at a duration of current limitation of 5 ms, which is in the range of allowed temperatures (lower than 290 K). The time to restore superconductivity of SFCL after turning off the current was no higher than 0.3 s.

In this paper, the Creation of Residual Strain during the hydration of cement paste is studied by performing oedometric experiments on class G cement pastes during the six first days of hydration. Various conditions of temperature (between 7 and 30 °C) and pressure (between 0.3 and 45 MPa) are explored. It is found that after a hydration degree of about 18%, mechanical loadings can induce residual strain. This state is reached at a time called critical time for Creation of Residual Strain (CRS). It corresponds to the maximum axial strain rate in an oedometric test or to the maximum rate of wave-velocity evolution versus time recorded in a Ultrasonic Cement Analyzer (UCA) test. The Boundary Nucleation and Growth (BNG) model is used to estimate the critical time for CRS. Within the range of studied temperatures and pressures, the predictive capacity of the BNG model for estimation of the critical time for CRS is demonstrated.

Explosion characteristics and influential factors of hybrid CH4/coal dust explosions are studied using a 20-L spherical explosion vessel. Experimental results show that the maximum explosion pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise increase in the initial phase and then decrease as the coal dust or CH4 concentration increases. The optimum concentrations of coal dust and CH4 are 200 g/m3 and 5 vol.%, respectively, when the initial pressure is equal to the atmospheric pressure. Moreover, the maximum explosion pressure keeps rising with the increasing initial pressure, and the maximum rate of pressure rise also shows an increasing trend. In addition, the optimum concentration of hybrid mixture varies with the initial pressure. The explosion risk of hybrid CH4/coal dust is much higher than that of pure coal dust in all dust concentrations, but it is only higher than that of pure coal dust explosion at high CH4 concentrations.

This article reports the results of an experimental study on explosion characteristics of gasoline vapor/air mixture in closed vessels with different shapes and volumes (20-L sphere, 280-L rectangle, 1.15 m3 cylinder and 5.19 m3 cylinder) and different shapes but same volumes (straight rectangular tube and rectangular tubes with 1 branch, 2 branches, 3 branches and 4 branches) under conditions of low, medium and high initial gasoline vapor volume concentration. The maximum explosion overpressures pmax, the maximum rates of pressure rise (dp/dt)max and the deflagration indices KG are examined in comparison with similar data obtained in different shape and size vessels. The measured maximum rates of pressure rise and deflagration indices are strongly influenced by the shape and size of test vessels. When the other initial conditions are invariant, the maximum rates of pressure rise and deflagration indices in the spherical vessel are larger than that in rectangular tube and cylinder tube. When the vessel shapes are same or similar, with the increase of the vessel volumes, the maximum rate of pressure rise decreases, while, the deflagration index increases. When the test vessels remain same size but different shape, the maximum overpressure and maximum rates of pressure rise of the gasoline vapor explosions increased with the branch number of the rectangular tubes. The influence of flame velocity, structure and shape and even turbulence should be considered when the maximum rate of pressure rise and deflagration index of the explosions in a specific non-spherical vessel are determined.

Skeletal muscle is a target tissue of GH. Based on its anabolic properties, it is widely accepted that GH enhances muscle performance in sports. Athletic performance depends on muscle strength and the energy required to power muscle function. The energy required to power muscle function is derived from a continuum of anaerobic and aerobic sources. Molecular and functional studies provide evidence that in muscle GH stimulates the anaerobic and suppresses the aerobic energy system, in turn affecting power-based functional measures in a time-dependent manner. In recreational athletes, GH improves anaerobic capacity but has not been proven to significantly enhance muscle strength, power, or maximum rate of oxygen consumption. GH appears likely to selectively benefit sprint events and not physical performance that depends on strength and endurance. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2019;63(6):576-81

This study investigates the effect of variations of coal dust particles size on the rate of burning of coal dust particles in a 2-liter closed chamber. Coal dust was selected from three different mines with different sizes (149μm, 125μm, 105μm, 74μm, 63μm, 53μm, 44μm, 37μm) for explosion testing in a closed chamber of 2-liters. In this analysis, the concentration of coal dust was considered constant (10000 g/m3), all tests were carried out at a pressure of 1.5 bar and the initial tem- perature was 25 °C. To calculate the burning rate, the explosion severity parameters of each sample, such as the maxi- mum explosion pressure, the maximum rate of increase in pressure, and the explosion index must be determined during various tests. The results of the experiments show that by variating the size of the coal dust particles, the burning rate of the particles also changes and there is an inverse relationship between them. Coal dust particles with dimensions of 44μm and 37 μm have a higher burning velocity than other dimensions. Thus, with a reduction in the size of coal dust particles, the burning velocity of coal dust increases. The outcomes acquired in this examination are not just valuable in developing information on coal dust explosion processes, but also improve the measures needed to prevent coal dust explosions in coal mines.

To study the effects of hydrogen addition on the explosion characteristics (the explosion pressure and maximum rate of pressure rise) of n-hexane/air mixtures, experiments were performed in a cylindrical vessel at 100 kPa, 353 K, with equivalence ratios of 0.8–1.7 and hydrogen addition range from 0% to 80%. Concurrently, flame images were captured by high-speed schlieren photography to study the burning performance. The results indicate that both the explosion pressure and maximum pressure rise rate increase with the increase in hydrogen addition in terms of the lean n-hexane/hydrogen/air mixtures. With respect to the richer mixtures, however, the inverse tendency is observed. With increasing hydrogen fractions, the explosion pressure and maximum pressure rise rate decrease. The peak values of the explosion pressure and maximum pressure rise rate shift to the leaner mixture with increased hydrogen proportion. Moreover, the laminar burning velocities of n-hexane/hydrogen/air mixture were also obtained via the expanding spherical method and the pressure-time histories, respectively. Variation of laminar burning velocity with hydrogen proportion from both methods were studied as well, and the results show that the laminar burning velocity changes significantly under different hydrogen addition.

Objective. To assess the state of neurosurgical care (NSC) provision to stroke patients in Ukraine, to determine the possibilities for integrating stroke units (including neurovascular ones) into a single network. Materials and methods. The results of the full-design statistical study of the clinical work of neurosurgical units (NSU) of Ukraine in the years 2008 to 2017 were analyzed. Statistical methods of sampling and grouping, time series studies were used. Calculations were performed using Microsoft Office Excel. Results. Over the last 10 years the number of hospital patients increased by 33 % (from 7,160 in 2008 to 9,520 in 2017), the number of those operated by 76 % (from 2,573 to 4,532). Per a million people the growth rate is even greater: the rate of hospitalization increased by 59 % (from 156 to 248), the rate of surgeries enlarged by 111 % (from 56 to 118). In the structure of patients operated in NSU, the share of those who underwent surgeries because of stroke increased from 6 % to 11 %. In 2017 85 NSU provided care to patients with stroke. Among them, 8 units are neurovascular, 7 units may be regarded as those ones by formal signs, the rest are multifaceted NSU. NSC for stroke is concentrated in the capital and large cities. In 2017, 45 % of surgeries relating to stroke were performed in the NSU of the capital (2,044 surgeries out of 4,532). Another 27 % (1,015) of operated patients received surgical treatment in the units in Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Lviv. In 2017, in Ukraine the share of operated persons among those to whom such surgery is indicated amounted to 16 %. The maximum rate of NSC provision is in Kyiv (126.3 %). However, it is wrong to analyze it as care provided to residents of Kyiv, because a major part of those operated there were residents of other regions. Among regions, the population of Ivano-Frankivsk (17.9 %), Dnipropetrovsk (16.2 %), Lviv regions (12.1 %) were the most provided with NSC for stroke; in 8 regions the coverage was 5–10 %; in 10 — less than 5 % of the need. The lack of information on the number of stroke units, their distribution throughout the country, the number of treated stroke patients cause the necessity of creation of a framework of stroke units, their certification and accounting of their activities. Conclusions. Over the last 10 years in Ukraine the indicators of NSC provision to stroke patients improved. However, the rate of coverage of stroke patients with NSC remains low, with a considerable swing in the rate by regions of Ukraine. The necessity of integrating stroke units (including neurovascular ones) into a single network, their certification and keeping statistical accounting have become urgent.

Bio-H2 was produced by Enterobacter sp., using de-oiled cake (DOC) as nitrogen source and was subsequently converted to electricity by a hybrid platform of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC) and photo voltaic (PV) cells. Taguchi design was used to maximize H2 production on using different DOC concentrations, pH, pre-treatment time and agitation speeds. Highest H2 production of 3.42 ± 0.26 L L−1 was observed at pH 6.0, 50 g L−1 DOC concentration, 20 min pre-treatment time and 200 rpm agitation speed, respectively. In continuous process maximum rate of H2 production of 854 ± 20 mL L−1 h−1 (molasses), 580 ± 22 mL L−1 h−1 (glucose) and 640 ± 22 mL L−1 h−1 (starchy wastewater), respectively was observed at 0.2 h−1 dilution rate. The hybrid system showed maximum current (I), voltage (V) and power (P) of 0.035 mA, 11 V and 385 mW, respectively.

In this paper, the explosion characteristics of a methane-air mixture at low initial temperatures (up to 113 K) and elevated pressures were measured. Various parameters, such as explosion pressure, rate of the explosion pressure rise, combustion duration and flame development duration were obtained for the initial temperature range of 123–273 K. The results indicated that the maximum explosion pressure and the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise reached peak values at the equivalence ratio of 1.1. With the increase in initial pressure, the maximum explosion pressure increased significantly, and the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise increased linearly because of a larger density of the flammable mixture within the explosion vessel. With the decrease in the initial temperature the maximum explosion pressure increased monotonically, whereas the effect of initial temperature on the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise was negligible because of two opposing aspects: an increase in the amount of flammable mixture and a decrease in the flame propagation speed. Both the combustion duration and the flame development duration increased with the increase in initial pressure and decreased with the increase in initial temperature. Finally, at an equivalence ratio of 1.0, two empirical correlations were obtained to calculate the combustion duration and the flame development duration.

Budbreak is one of the most observed and studied phenological phases in perennial plants. Two dimensions of exposure to temperature are generally used to model budbreak: accumulation of time spent at low temperatures (chilling); and accumulation of heat units (forcing). These two effects have a well-established negative correlation: the more chilling, the less forcing required for budbreak. Furthermore, temperate plant species are assumed to vary in amount of chilling required to complete endodormancy and begin the transition to breaking bud. Still, prediction of budbreak remains a challenge. The present work demonstrates across a wide range of species how bud cold hardiness must be accounted for to study dormancy and accurately predict time to budbreak. Cold hardiness defines the path length to budbreak, meaning the difference between the cold hardiness buds attain during the winter, and the cold hardiness at which deacclimated buds are predicted to open. This distance varies among species and throughout winter within a species. Increases in rate of cold hardiness loss (deacclimation) measured throughout winter show that chilling controls deacclimation potential – the proportion of the maximum rate response attained at high chill accumulation – which has a sigmoid relationship to chilling accumulation. For forcing, rates of deacclimation increase non-linearly in response to temperature. Comparisons of deacclimation potential show a dormancy progresses similarly for all species. This observation suggests that comparisons of physiologic and genetic control of dormancy requires an understanding of cold hardiness dynamics and the necessity for an update of the framework for studying dormancy and its effects on spring phenology.

The size and density of stomatal pores limit the maximum rate of leaf carbon gain and water loss (gmax) in land plants. The limits of gmax due to anatomy, and its constraint by the negative correlation of stomatal size and density at broad phylogenetic scales, has been unclear and controversial. The prevailing hypothesis posits that adaptation to higher gmax is typically constrained by geometry and/or an economic need to reduce the allocation of epidermal area to stomata (stomatal-area minimization), and this would require the evolution of greater numbers of smaller stomata. Another view, supported by the data, is that across plant diversity, epidermal area allocated to guard cells versus other cells can be optimized without major trade-offs, and higher gmax would typically be achieved with a higher allocation of epidermal area to stomata (stomatal-area increase). We tested these hypotheses by comparing their predictions for the structure of the covariance of stomatal size and density across species, applying macroevolutionary models and phylogenetic regression to data for 2408 species of angiosperms, gymnosperms, and ferns from forests worldwide. The observed stomatal size-density scaling and covariance supported the stomatal-area increase hypothesis for high gmax. A higher gmax involves construction costs and maintenance costs that should be considered in models assessing optimal stomatal conductance for predictions of water use, photosynthesis, and water-use efficiency as influences on crop productivity or in Earth System models.

With the vaccination against Covid-19 now available, how vaccination campaigns influence the mathematical modeling of epidemics is quantitatively explored. In this paper, the standard susceptible-infectious-recovered/removed (SIR) epidemic model is extended to a fourth compartment, V, of vaccinated persons. This extension involves the time t-dependent effective vaccination rate, v(t), that regulates the relationship between susceptible and vaccinated persons. The rate v(t) competes with the usual infection, a(t), and recovery, μ(t), rates in determining the time evolution of epidemics. The occurrence of a pandemic outburst with rising rates of new infections requires k+b, Physics, 3 (2), ISSN:2624-8174

An important challenge in ecology is to understand variation in species’ maximum intrinsic rate of population increase,rmax, not least becausermaxunderpins our understanding of the limits of fishing, recovery potential, and ultimately extinction risk. Across many vertebrates, terrestrial and aquatic, body mass and environmental temperature across important correlatesrmaxacross species. In sharks and rays, specifically,rmaxis known be lower in larger species, but also in deep-sea ones. We use an information-theoretic approach that accounts for phylogenetic relatedness to evaluate the relative importance of body mass, temperature and depth onrmax. We show that both temperature and depth have separate effects on shark and rayrmaxestimates, such that species living in deeper waters have lowerrmax. Furthermore, temperature also correlates with changes in the mass scaling coefficient, suggesting that as body size increases, decreases inrmaxare much steeper for species in warmer waters. These findings suggest that there (as-yet understood) depth-related processes that limit the maximum rate at which populations can grow in deep sea sharks and rays. While the deep ocean is associated with colder temperatures, other factors that are independent of temperature, such as food availability and physiological constraints, may influence the lowrmaxobserved in deep sea sharks and rays. Our study lays the foundation for predicting the intrinsic limit of fishing, recovery potential, and extinction risk species based on easily accessible environmental information such as temperature and depth, particularly for data-poor species.

Whole body vibration (WBV) has been suggested to improve athletes’ neuromuscular strength and power. This study investigated the effect of single WBV stimulation on volleyball-specific performance. The participants were 20 elite male volleyball players who performed a 1-min warm-up exercise on a vibration platform at a frequency of 30 Hz and peak-to-peak displacement of 2 mm. After the warm-up exercise, the participants performed a blocking agility test (BAT), 10-m sprinting test, agility T-test, and counter movement jump test. We compared the participants’ performance at four time points (Pretest, Post 0, Post 1, and Post 2). The results revealed that the participants’ BAT performance and maximum rate of force development improved significantly 1 min after the vibration stimulation (p

Peak height velocity (PHV) is the period where the maximum rate of growth occurs. The moment the sports player reaches PHV can be estimated by monitoring the growth of body structures. The aim of this study was to assess changes in resting energy expenditure (REE), body composition and blood pressure in young, male soccer players between the pre-PHV, circa-PHV and post-PHV periods. This transverse study was conducted among 184 children aged 9 to 17 and included measurements of the resting energy expenditure (REE) using indirect calorimetry, body composition (bioimpedance) and blood pressure (sphygmomanometer). In addition, births in each quartile were analyzed. Children in the pre-PHV group had significantly lower REE values compared to the other two groups (p &lt, 0.0001). The differences in the value of the REE between the children in the circum and post groups were not statistically significant. Additionally, the fat-free mass was significantly lower in the pre-PHV period compared to the other two periods (p &lt, 0.0001), and the same relationship concerned the z-score body mass index (BMI) and systolic blood pressure. Early-born players were overrepresented (p &lt, 0.05).

Experimental methods and results of aerosol explosion under high-temperature ignition source have not yet been reported. An explosion test system for aerosol explosion at high-temperature source was established in this study. Through a series of experiments carried out in a 20 L confined vessel, explosion characteristics of isopropyl nitrate (IPN) aerosol under high-temperature ignition source were obtained and the results discussed. The explosion pressure-time history of IPN aerosol under high-temperature ignition was found to have a “double peak” structure produced in the first and second explosion respectively. The second peak of the explosion pressure is 3–5 times that of the first. The peak of explosion pressure at electric spark ignition is higher, compared with the second peak of the explosion pressure at high-temperature ignition for the IPN aerosol with the same equivalence ratio, but both are not significantly different. The maximum rate of pressure rise in the first explosion of IPN aerosol at high-temperature ignition is clearly larger than that at electric spark ignition. The maximum rate of explosion pressure rise at electric spark ignition is slightly higher than that in the second explosion at high-temperature ignition for the IPN aerosol with the same equivalence ratio.

Evolution and plasticity can drive population-level phenotypic change (e.g., changes in the mean phenotype) on timescales comparable to changes in population densities. However, it is unclear whether phenotypic change has the potential to be just as fast as changes in densities or whether comparable rates of change occur only when densities are changing slow enough for phenotypes to keep pace. Moreover, it is unclear whether this depends on the mode of adaptation. Using scaling theory and fast-slow dynamical systems theory, we develop a method for comparing maximum rates of density and phenotypic change estimated from population-level time-series data. We apply our method to 30 published empirical studies where changes in morphological traits are caused by evolution, plasticity, or an unknown combination. For every study, the maximum rate of phenotypic change was between 0.5 and 2.5 times faster than the maximum rate of change in density. Moreover, there were no systematic differences between systems with different modes of adaptation. Our results show that plasticity and evolution can drive phenotypic change just as fast as changes in densities. We discuss the implications of our results in terms of the strengths of feedbacks between population densities and traits.

This chapter studied the effect of ethanol fumigation on engine performance using a modern compression ignition engine. Performance-related parameters were investigated at ethanol substitutions of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40% (by energy) under 25, 50, 75, and 100% load at 1500 and 2000 rpm. Using E10 and E20 in some of the operating modes decreased FMEP and BSFC; while using E40 increased FMEP and BSFC. The mechanical efficiency improved with the use of E10 in half of the operating modes; however, in general there was a decreasing trend associated with increasing ethanol substitution. While ethanol improved the thermal efficiency, lower substitutions performed better. At lower loads, thermal efficiency decreased with higher substitutions, while at higher loads, it increased with higher substitutions. Increasing the ethanol substitution increased the maximum in-cylinder pressure. The maximum rate of pressure rise was minimally impacted at low substitutions, although it increased significantly at high substitutions (>20%). At 1500 rpm, increasing the ethanol substitution decreased the CoV of IMEP, especially with E30 and E40. However, at 2000 rpm, using higher substitutions slightly increased the CoV of IMEP (~2%) at higher loads. Under 25% load, increasing the ethanol substitution increased the maximum apparent heat release rate. Under 50 and 75% loads, by increasing the ethanol substitution there was a tendency toward having double peaks in the heat release diagram. Also, increasing the substitution rate increased the peak values. Under full load, the first peak values increased and the second peak diminished as the ethanol rate increased.

The results of experimental studies of the behavior of fireproof materials of Russian production – OGNEZA-LTU, OGNEZA-M-KOR, OG-NEZA-M-KOR (NG), «OGNEBAZALT» PMBOR, OGNEZA-GT under thermal action are presented. Research method – synchronous thermal analysis TG/DCS/dDSC, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG). Experimental conditions on the NETZSCH thermal analyzer: measurement mode – TG/DCS/dDSC; heating rate: 20 °C /min; heating – up to 1000 °С; atmosphere – N2. The rates of weight loss of the investigated fire-retardant materials have been studied. A high rate of weight loss was established for the OGNEZA-LTU samples (20.5 %/ min at 335 °C) and OGNEZA-GT (11.9 %/min at 369 °C); low – OGNEZA-M-KOR (NG) – 1.7 %/min at 349 °C, OGNEZA-M-KOR – 6.1%/min at 341 °C, «OGNEBASALT» PMBOR - 3.5 %/min at 388 °С. Time intervals of weight loss were determined: all test samples had maximum weight loss in the range of 15-20 minutes. The temperature ranges of the maximum rate of weight loss were determined: 349 - 388 °C. The best heat-resistant properties were shown by OGNEZA-M-KOR (NG), «OGNEBASALT» PMBOR, OGNEZA-M-KOR. It is proposed to consider the revealed properties when using fire retardant materials for the constructive fire hazard of civil and industrial facilities.

International audience; The transdimensional Bayesian method AH-RJMCMC applied to archeomagnetic intensity data available in the Balkans and the Near East allows us to estimate the variations in intensity of the geomagnetic field in Upper Mesopotamia during the 7 th and 6 th millennia BCE (Late Neolithic), with adequate treatment of the dating and intensity uncertainties. The results for the 6 th millennium BCE appear particularly interesting because there is enough data to trace rapid geomagnetic field intensity variations, with two century-scale peaks around 5800 BCE and 5550 BCE, associated with rates of changes (>0.2 µT/year) higher than the maximum rate observed in the current geomagnetic field. We show that these variations could help decipher the correlations between different archeological sequences or periodizations established from scattered sites in Upper Mesopotamia. So far documented only from the Balkan data, the intensity peak occurring around 5800 BCE may provide accurate chronological constraints for the Early Halaf phase. New insights are also obtained for the Halaf-Ubaid Transitional phase (end of the 6 th millennium BCE), which remains poorly defined from an archeological point of view. The AH-RJMCMC results imply that either the archeointensity data currently available from Upper Mesopotamia document only the beginning of this phase, or that this phase occurred between ~5400 and ~5200 BCE, shorter 2 than often considered. Such preliminary archeological inferences will progress and broaden with the addition of new archeointensity data.

Not only for humans, but also for all livelihood species on earth today, drinking water is a requirement. But the supply of drinking water is not ample; pure water is, therefore, insufficient in the universe today. Solar is also an appliance that can be used for desalination. Design modifications in solar stills can improve the productivity. One of the economical and best method integration of the fins on the still basin is used to maximize the heat transfer. But there is not much effort on the fins to increase the yield of solar still. The usage of solar fins still and how it can be used to increase solar distillate production still. Different geometries of fins like parabolic pin fin with sharp edge and blunt edge and truncated cone with the use of certain materials which improves the productivity have been studied and modeled using CATIA software. Analysis of base to check the maximum heat transfer of the base plate integrated with fins has been performed using ANSYS software and obtained that parabolic blunt edge fin and truncated cone have maximum rate of heat transfer.

Aprotic alkali metal–O2 batteries face two major obstacles to their chemistry occurring efficiently, the insulating nature of the formed alkali superoxides/peroxides and parasitic reactions that are caused by the highly reactive singlet oxygen (1O2). Redox mediators are recognized to be key for improving rechargeability. However, it is unclear how they affect 1O2 formation, which hinders strategies for their improvement. Here we clarify the mechanism of mediated peroxide and superoxide oxidation and thus explain how redox mediators either enhance or suppress 1O2 formation. We show that charging commences with peroxide oxidation to a superoxide intermediate and that redox potentials above ~3.5 V versus Li/Li+ drive 1O2 evolution from superoxide oxidation, while disproportionation always generates some 1O2. We find that 1O2 suppression requires oxidation to be faster than the generation of 1O2 from disproportionation. Oxidation rates decrease with growing driving force following Marcus inverted-region behaviour, establishing a region of maximum rate. Redox mediators are important for improving the rechargeability of metal–air batteries, however, how they affect singlet oxygen formation and hence parasitic chemistry is unclear, hindering strategies for their improvement. Now, the mechanism of mediated peroxide and superoxide oxidation is elucidated, explaining how redox mediators either enhance or suppress singlet oxygen formation.

Animals are often not growing at the maximum rate, but can compensate for a bad start of life by subsequently increasing growth rate. While this compensatory growth is widespread, its direct fitness consequences are seldom investigated and its genetic basis is unknown.We investigated the genetic regulation, as well as fitness and lifespan consequences of compensatory growth in response to temperature, using C. elegans knockout of the thermo-sensitive TRP ion channel TRPA-1, involved in temperature recognition. We exposed juvenile worms to cold, favourable (intermediate) or warm temperatures in order to delay or speed up development.Wild-type worms initially exposed to cold temperature experienced slower growth but after being switched to a more favourable temperature, they expressed compensatory growth and caught up in size. Those initially reared at warmer temperatures than favourable experienced slower growth and attained smaller adult size after being switched to the most favourable temperature.Compensatory growth also altered the reproductive schedule. While rate-sensitive individual fitness decreased by cold juvenile temperatures, as a direct effect of the substantial developmental delay, once worms returned to more favourable temperature, they shifted their reproductive schedule towards early reproduction. Therefore, when focusing on the post-treatment period, the reproductive rate increased even though lifetime reproductive success was unaffected. Surprisingly, compensatory growth did not reduce adult lifespan. In contrast to the findings for wild-type worms, juvenile temperature did not induce compensatory or slowed-down growth in the trpa-1 knockout mutants.We thus show that the trpa-1 is involved in the network regulating temperature-induced compensatory growth in C. elegans and that this compensatory growth can influence the reproductive rate.

Nowadays the quantification of the content of genetically modified (GM) constituents in food or feed products is performed by using either quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) or digital PCR (dPCR). The latter is increasingly used. Therefore, experimental protocols for the quantification of 52 GM events authorised in the EU have been converted into a digital format and minimum performance characteristics for dPCR methods are detailed. Because of the need to harmonise the transformation of PCR results between two different measurement scales, 50 conversion factors for Certified Reference Materials (CFCRM) have been experimentally determined by three and sometimes four independent expert laboratories. The uncertainty of each CFCRM has been estimated to express dPCR results in mass fraction with a consistent uncertainty contribution. In 38 out of 58 cases, the validated qPCR methods (for 52 event-specific and 6 taxon-specific measurements) could easily be transferred into dPCR methods by using the same oligo sequences, final oligo concentration or annealing temperatures for the dPCR procedure. Laboratories have nevertheless used different strategies to improve the resolution or to reduce the so-called rain in their dPCR outcome. Those modifications were needed for PCR procedures that could not be converted without changes into a digital format. Therefore, exclusion/quality criteria such as the maximum rate of partitions with intermediate fluorescence “rain”, the minimum resolution and repeatability are suggested for dPCR methods. The CFCRM determined in this study were generally in agreement with the declared zygosity of the GM parental donor for hemizygous maize events. In a limited number of GM events the CFCRM values were significantly different when measured with different maize-specific (ZmAdh1 or hmgA) genes.

Introduction: Right ventricular failure (RVF) is a common complication following LVAD implantation and a significant driver of post-LVAD mortality. dP/dt max , the maximum rate of rise in ventricular pressure, is a validated hemodynamic parameter of ventricular contractility that, when indexed to CVP, accounts for loading conditions. This parameter has not, however, been studied in the context of post-LVAD RVF. We therefore evaluated the relationship between dP/dt max /CVP and post-LVAD RVF in a cohort of LVAD recipients at Stanford. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center analysis of patients who underwent continuous-flow LVAD implant at Stanford between January 2010 and June 2019. Preoperative RV dP/dt max /CVP values were extracted from right heart catheterization (RHC) reports. For cases in which dP/dt max /CVP was not reported, preoperative RA and RV pressure tracings were utilized to manually calculate the index. We then performed unpaired t-tests to evaluate for the presence of associations between dP/dt max /CVP and early post-LVAD RVF, defined as the prolonged (>7 days) requirement for inotropic or pulmonary vasodilator therapy or the need for RVAD support, and between dP/dt max /CVP and severe post-LVAD RVF, defined only by the requirement for RVAD support. Results: This cohort included 202 LVAD recipients who had available preoperative RHC data. Of these, 14.4% (n = 29) required an RVAD and 50.5% (n = 102) experienced early post-LVAD RVF. Mean values of dP/dt max /CVP amongst patients with and without early post-LVAD RV failure were 94.9 ± 128.5 s -1 and 105.6 ± 125.5 s -1 (p = 0.56), respectively, while mean values of dP/dt max /CVP amongst those who did and did not require an RVAD were 53.2± 42.0 s -1 and 108.2 ± 129.5 s -1 (p = 4.2 х 10 -5 ), respectively. Conclusion: In continuous-flow LVAD recipients, low preoperative RV dP/dt max /CVP is strongly associated with severe post-LVAD RVF requiring RVAD support but not early post-LVAD RVF more generally.

A calculation model has been proposed to forecast the spread of the СOVID-19 epidemic under quarantine conditions. The resulting simple analytical relationships allow for the assessment of factors determining the intensity of the spread of infection, including the changing requirements for quarantine severity. The prediction method presented makes it possible to calculate both the total number of infected persons and the maximum rate of spread of infection.Following the publication of this work in May 2020, in October this year there was a new surge in the virus epidemic, the intensity of which depends on the population’s compliance with the rules of hygiene and social distance. Comparison of the results of the model calculations with the statistics for Berlin shows that they are of satisfactory quality. In particular, it shows that with an epidemic growth rate of around 1,000 people/day, unless additional quarantine measures are taken, the total number of infections can be expected to approach 100,000 within approximately six months. It is shown that the intensity of the virus’s spread depends on the socio-demographic composition of the population in different districts of Berlin and age structure. The possible impact of behavioural factors dependent on the psychological state of people on the spread of the epidemic, which can be assessed by analysing changes in heart rate, is discussed.

A carboxylate-driven assembly strategy has been developed for the first time to build calix[n]arene-based polyoxotitanate clusters with tuneable nuclearity and structures. Photocatalytic studies revealed that these clusters exhibit structural-dependent H2 evolution ability with a maximum rate up to 415.11 μmol h−1 g−1, which is almost the highest recorded in polyoxotitanate clusters.

Continuous estimation of left ventricular hemodynamic parameters is helpful to early diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases. Current non-invasive methods are somewhat inconvenient to monitor these parameters. Here, a deep neural network is built to noninvasively estimate left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), left ventricular diastolic pressure (LVDP), maximum rate of left ventricular pressure rise (+ dp/dt(max)) and minimum rate of left ventricular pressure drop (- dp/dt(min)) based on heart sound and PPG signals. The model consists of residual network and bidirectional recurrent neural network. Performance is evaluated on 2 beagle dogs’ experiment data with large ranges induced by epinephrine. Mean absolute errors and standard deviations between the estimated and the measured LVSP, LVDP, + dp/dt(max) and - dp/dt(min) are 7.23±8.33 mmHg, 2.12±3.0 mmHg, 298±406 mmHg/s, and 172±386 mmHg/s, respectively. The average correlation coefficients for LVSP, LVDP, + dp/dt(max) and - dp/dt(min) are 0.94, 0.86, 0.95 and 0.92. The results show that accurate intraventricular hemodynamic parameters can be achieved by non-invasive heart sound and PPG signals with deep neural networks. This technique suggests an easy way for real-time monitoring of intraventricular hemodynamics.

Bacteria alter their local chemical environment through both consumption and the production of a variety of molecules, ultimately shaping the local ecology. Molecular oxygen (O2) is a key metabolite that affects the physiology and behavior of virtually all bacteria, and its consumption often results in O2 gradients within sessile bacterial communities (biofilms). O2 plays a critical role in several bacterial phenotypes, including antibiotic tolerance; however, our understanding of O2 levels within and surrounding biofilms has been hampered by the difficulties in measuring O2 levels in real-time for extended durations and at the micron scale. Here, we developed electrochemical methodology based on scanning electrochemical microscopy to quantify the O2 gradients present above a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. These results reveal that a biofilm produces a hypoxic zone that extends hundreds of microns from the biofilm surface within minutes and that the biofilm consumes O2 at a maximum rate. Treating the biofilm with levels of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin that kill 99% of the bacteria did not affect the O2 gradient, indicating that the biofilm is highly resilient to antimicrobial treatment in regard to O2 consumption. IMPORTANCE O2 is a fundamental environmental metabolite that affects all life on earth. While toxic to many microbes and obligately required by others, those that have appropriate physiological responses survive and can even benefit from various levels of O2, particularly in biofilm communities. Although most studies have focused on measuring O2 within biofilms, little is known about O2 gradients surrounding biofilms. Here, we developed electrochemical methodology based on scanning electrochemical microscopy to measure the O2 gradients surrounding biofilms in real time on the micron scale. Our results reveal that P. aeruginosa biofilms produce a hypoxic zone that can extend hundreds of microns from the biofilm surface and that this gradient remains even after the addition of antibiotic concentrations that eradicated 99% of viable cells. Our results provide a high resolution of the O2 gradients produced by P. aeruginosa biofilms and reveal sustained O2 consumption in the presence of antibiotics.

The co-combustion of fuel has substantial advantages when compared to normal combustion and it requires very little modification. In this perspective, ethanol supplement co-combustion with biodiesel is proposed. The co-combustion characteristics were studied by manifold induction of vaporized ethanol and direct injection of waste cooking oil biodiesel. A vaporizer system was fabricated to produce vaporized ethanol in a volumetric basis (10% and 20%, respectively). It was revealed from the experiments that with co-combustion of oxygenated biofuels, the combustion advanced and peak pressure shifted to TDC. The pressure rise rate decreased with the increase of vaporized ethanol induction and the maximum rate of pressure rise reduction was noted with biodiesel-20% ethanol induction which was 4% lower than biodiesel-10% vaporized ethanol induction. On the other hand, the maximum rate of heat release rate (60.24 J/degrees CA) was seen in biodiesel with 20% ethanol induction. Furthermore, the co-combustion studies disclosed a two-stage heat release pattern (low temperature and high temperature reactions). It was observed that the increase in ethanol concentration extended low temperature region by 1 degrees crank angle and retarded high temperature region by 3 degrees crank angle.

In recent years, due to customers have higher requirements for 4K/BK video and high-speed internet, telecom operators have begun to deploy FTTH network, but found that it is generally difficult to deploy fiber to the home, so G.fast technology has been favored by most telecom operators around the world and have begun to actively deploy. For the most widely deploy VDSL2 line with maximum rate that can only provide 100M internet service, a intelligent and accurate G.fast 300M high speed service prequalification technology, is a major research topic for telecom operators to promote 300M high-speed internet service. This paper proposes to use AI machine learning to estimate the G.fast line rate by using VDSL2 line attenuation to meet the real-site provision needs of telecommunications operators.

Chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) has been used to understand photosynthesis and its response to climate change, particularly with satellite-based data. However, it remains unclear how the ChlF ratio and photosynthesis are linked at the leaf level under drought stress. Here, we examined the link between ChlF ratio and photosynthesis at the leaf level by measuring photosynthetic traits, such as net CO2 assimilation rate (An), the maximum carboxylation rate of Rubisco (Vcmax), the maximum rate of electron transport (Jmax), stomatal conductance (gs) and total chlorophyll content (Chlt). The ChlF ratio of the leaf level such as maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) is based on fluorescence kinetics. ChlF intensity ratio (LD685/LD740) based on spectrum analysis was obtained. We found that a combination of the stomatal limitation, non-stomatal limitation, and Chlt regulated leaf photosynthesis under drought stress, while Jmax and Chlt governed the ChlF ratio. A significant link between the ChlF ratio and An was found under drought stress while no significant correlation in the control, which indicated that drought stress strengthens the link between the ChlF ratio and photosynthetic traits. These results suggest that the ChlF ratio can be a powerful tool to track photosynthetic traits of terrestrial ecosystems under drought stress.