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As an important intercity commuting approach, the intercity metro line is expected to increase the housing choices of residents in core cities and then change the price difference between property markets in two connected cities. This study has investigated the influence of the Guangzhou–Foshan Metro Line and the related network on local residential property markets. Based on the property transaction records and point of interest (POI) location information, a significant polarization effect is detected in most regions in Guangzhou because of this metro line. However, a diffusion effect is also found only in the regions within 500 m from stations. The distance to stations is proven to be a crucial determinant for the polarization/ diffusion effect in property markets. For cross border regions, the city premium disappears in a sample region through which the Guangzhou–Foshan Line passes. By contrast, a large city premium persists in another sample region through which the line does not run. The intercity metro line only partially narrows the gap of property values in a few regions but enlarges the price difference in most regions between the two cities. City planners should be aware of the polarization effect by the intercity metro line network, especially for the excessive supply in property markets in noncore cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great practical significance to study the financial constraints enterprises face when improving low-carbon technology and the role of financial institutions in low-carbon transformation. Based on consumers' environmental awareness, the government's carbon peak, and carbon neutrality goal, this paper investigates the cooperative financing mode and efficiency of low-carbon supply chain enterprises under the situation of financial constraints. To deeply explore the four scenarios of whether financial institutions intervene or whether customer companies adopt voluntary diffusion, this paper, based on evolutionary game theory, constructs a game model of the relationship among financial institutions, suppliers, and customers to explore the evolution process of the diffusion of financing efficiency of the low-carbon supply chain. The simulation analysis is carried out to demonstrate the evolution process of the three-party evolutionary game subject from its initial value to the equilibrium value. The results find that financial institutions, upstream supplier firms, and downstream customer firms are closely related in the green credit market, and their lowcarbon supply chain financing efficiency diffusion varies with different scenarios. This paper enriches the existing financing models, provides rich theoretical guidance for solving the problem of low-carbon supply chain financing, has essential reference significance for improving the efficiency of low-carbon supply chain financing, and has practical significance for enterprises to choose lowcarbon supply chain financing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem on finite-/fixed-time synchronization (FFTS) is investigated for a class of diffusive Hopfield neural networks with leakage and discrete delays. Some new and useful criteria independent on time delays but dependent on the diffusion coefficients are established to guarantee the FFTS for the addressed network model under a unified framework. In sharp contrast to the existed results which can only finite-timely or fixed-timely synchronize the systems with both diffusion effects and leakage delays, the theoretical results of this paper are more general and practical. Finally, a numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control methods.

This study aims to propose numerical schemes for fractional time discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs). The scheme is comprised of two stages. Using von Neumann stability analysis, we ensure the robustness of the scheme. The energy balance model for climate change is modified by adding source terms. The local stability analysis of the model is presented. Also, the fractional model in the form of PDEs with the effect of diffusion is given and solved by applying the proposed scheme. The proposed scheme is compared with the existing scheme, which shows a faster convergence of the presented scheme than the existing one. The effects of feedback, deep ocean heat uptake, and heat source parameters on global mean surface and deep ocean temperatures are displayed in graphs. The current study is cemented by the fact-based popular approximations of the surveys and modeling techniques, which have been the focus of several researchers for thousands of years. Mathematics Subject Classification:65P99, 86Axx, 35Fxx. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-03-011 Full Text: PDF

This study examines the impact of financial and industrial agglomeration on regional economic development through a descriptive analysis. By establishing an evaluation index system for financial agglomeration effects and constructing a spatial measurement model, we empirically investigate the dynamics between financial accumulation and economic growth. Our Analysis of 37 Chinese cities reveals that Moran’s I, indicating the spatial correlation of economic growth, varies between 0.300 and 0.410, suggesting a strengthening spatial correlation over time. These findings highlight the significance of financial agglomeration in regional economic development and suggest avenues for economic structure optimization.

In this paper, the problem on finite-/fixed-time synchronization (FFTS) is investigated for a class of diffusive Hopfield neural networks with leakage and discrete delays. Some new and useful criteria independent on time delays but dependent on the diffusion coefficients are established to guarantee the FFTS for the addressed network model under a unified framework. In sharp contrast to the existed results which can only finite-timely or fixed-timely synchronize the systems with both diffusion effects and leakage delays, the theoretical results of this paper are more general and practical. Finally, a numerical example is presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective behavior of local governments during regional environmental cooperation could generate a diffusion effect through the black box of reputation mechanism. This study incorporates the reputation mechanism, social capital, and environmental governance performance into a unified analysis framework, empirically testing the moderating effect of the implementation rate of environmental cooperative projects (indicating reputation) on the relationship between two types of social capital and environmental governance performance among cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) regions. The inter-governmental environmental cooperation news and policies are collected by Data Capture technology as a dataset, and a set of social-economic data is also adopted. The spatial econometric regression results show that an increase in reputation could both strengthen the leadership and coordination ability (bridging social capital) of the central cities in the YRD and BTH regions, thus improving their environmental governance performance. However, the bonding social capital path could only significantly work in the BTH region, which unexpectedly increases pollutant emission through excessive internal cohesion. The results indicate that a "community of entangled interest" should be constructed among cities within urban agglomerations, which requires local governments to weaken the concept of their administrative boundary. At the same time, in order to avoid excessive internal condensation, a clear division of rights and responsibilities is also necessary during continuous inter-governmental environmental cooperation. We believe that these findings could provide empirical evidence for local governments to avoid failing to the traps of "agglomeration shadow". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "double-carbon" policy is a new opportunity for the transformation of China's production sector. With steady economic growth, each province has proposed specific policies aimed at cleaner production. However, the interactions between regions and the complex linkages between industries have hindered the implementation of the "double-carbon" policy. In order to address this issue, we introduced a complex network framework with multiple industries at a national level. The framework aimed to clarify whether there is fluctuation diffusion in China's multi-province multi-industry carbon emission system, to identify key industries and regions, and to answer the question of "who" is the most effective in governance. The results showed that the fluctuations of industrial carbon emissions had a cross-regional diffusion effect in China indeed. The diffusion capacity of industry fluctuation depends on whether the industry is located at a "hub" position in the network. Hub industries with strong capacity can spread the carbon emission fluctuation of themselves and upstream or downstream industries to the whole country through regional interactions. This characteristic of the hub industry should be taken into account in governance to maximize the effectiveness of emission reduction. Shandong and Inner Mongolia, as important provinces for the production of intermediate products and energy chemicals in China, had a greater role to play in global carbon supply push from their hub industries than in the demand pull. The pulling capacity of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to the national carbon demand side was greater than that of Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These findings might have implications for environmental and economic policymaking, particularly with regard to cross-provincial coordinated systemic solutions and policy anchors for synergy with industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GIS equipment faults can be found by detecting SF6 decomposition materials. However, due to the diffusion effect of decomposition materials inside the equipment, the gas content of detected fault characteristic components will be affected, resulting in insufficient equipment fault judgment. Therefore, the diffusion effect and influencing factors of typical SF6 decomposition SO2 in GIS equipment are investigated in this study. Based on CFD technology, this study simulates the diffusion effect of SO2 inside the equipment. Under the condition of 0.4 Mpa, the influence of 10 initial concentrations on the diffusion of SO2 is detected, and the function relation between the initial concentration and the concentration when the diffusion is uniform is obtained by fitting, which provides theoretical basis for judging the severity of the fault. Under the conditions of 0.4 MPa,0.5 MPa,0.6 MPa,0.7 MPa and 0.8 Mpa, the time for SO2 diffusion to reach uniform is 3 940 s,3 850 s,3 740 s,3 630 s and 3 550 s, respectively. These results show that the pressure environment of SF6 gas has a certain influence on SO2 diffusion, that is, the higher the pressure, the shorter the time required for the uniform diffusion of SO2. This study comprehensively discusses the influence of the combined action of pressure and initial concentration on SO2 diffusion, which provides a theoretical basis for setting the monitoring period of on-line monitoring technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central China Normal University is the property of Huazhong Normal University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we further investigate the finite-/fixed-time synchronization (FFTS) problem for a class of delayed memristive reaction-diffusion neural networks (MRDNNs). By utilizing the state-feedback control techniques, and constructing a general Lyapunov functional, with the help of inequality techniques and the finite-time stability theory, novel criteria are established to realize the FFTS of the considered delayed MRDNNs, which generalize and complement previously known results. Finally, a numerical example is provided to support the obtained theoretical results.

The study of the impact of the high-speed railway (HSR) on enterprise financing costs (EFCs) contributes to understanding the economic impact of transportation facilities, by analyzing the coordinated development of the regional economy and studying the influencing factors in enterprise operation. By using data of Chinese listed companies from 2008 to 2019, this paper analyzes the impact of HSR on EFCs and examines the role of central cities (CCs) in the whole process through methods of the DID model, panel threshold model, PSM-DID, parallel trend test and so on. The research results are as follows: first, HSR led to a significant decrease in the level of corporate debt financing. The regression coefficient of HSR is −0.002, which is significant at a 5% level. Second, there exists a heterogeneous effect of HSR on CCs. Mid-region enterprises suffered more than small enterprises, low-growth enterprises and enterprises with a low return on assets. Third, HSR affects EFCs, which leads to the diffusion effect of CCs, resulting in an increase in EFCs in CCs and a decrease in non-CCs. It was found that there is a single threshold of the panel threshold regression based on per capita GDP, and the regression coefficient of HSR below the threshold is −0.001, which is significant at the 5% level. Additionally, the regression coefficient of HSR above the threshold is 0.002, which is significant at the 1% level. The interaction term and group regression both also confirm the above conclusion. Fourth, the impact of HSR on EFCs is limited by geographic distance. When the geographic distance between a non-CC and a single CC is greater than 500 km, and the total distance between a non-CC and four CCs is greater than 3500 km, the effect of HSR is remarkable. The above conclusions prove the significant impact of HSR on EFCs and reveal the role of CCs and geographic distance in this process. These provide new ideas and evidence for corporate financing management as well as planning for urban development and the HSR network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective behavior of local governments during regional environmental cooperation could generate a diffusion effect through the black box of reputation mechanism. This study incorporates the reputation mechanism, social capital, and environmental governance performance into a unified analysis framework, empirically testing the moderating effect of the implementation rate of environmental cooperative projects (indicating reputation) on the relationship between two types of social capital and environmental governance performance among cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) regions. The inter-governmental environmental cooperation news and policies are collected by Data Capture technology as a dataset, and a set of social-economic data is also adopted. The spatial econometric regression results show that an increase in reputation could both strengthen the leadership and coordination ability (bridging social capital) of the central cities in the YRD and BTH regions, thus improving their environmental governance performance. However, the bonding social capital path could only significantly work in the BTH region, which unexpectedly increases pollutant emission through excessive internal cohesion. The results indicate that a “community of entangled interest” should be constructed among cities within urban agglomerations, which requires local governments to weaken the concept of their administrative boundary. At the same time, in order to avoid excessive internal condensation, a clear division of rights and responsibilities is also necessary during continuous inter-governmental environmental cooperation. We believe that these findings could provide empirical evidence for local governments to avoid failing to the traps of “agglomeration shadow”.

This paper explores whether the cross-border effect of ethnic violence is contingent on internal factors, such as domestic security measures, distribution of religious sites, availability of communication tools, and proximity to turbulent neighboring countries. Using county-level data from Xinjiang (1995–2012), our analyses show no support for direct violence-enhancing effects of outside terrorism in Xinjiang. When terrorist attacks increase globally or in neighboring countries, overall violence in Xinjiang diminishes. We attribute this to increased security measures by the government. However, the reduction in violence is highly conditional on local factors. We find that historical religiosity and geographic proximity to the border reduce the subsident effects of external terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: After implementing a nationwide harm reduction program in 2006, a dramatic decline in the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection among people with injection drug use (IDU) was observed in Taiwan. The harm reduction program might have sent out the message discouraging the choice of IDU among illicit drug users in early stage. Based on the yearly first-time offense rates from 2001 to 2017, this study aimed to examine (1) whether the nationwide implementation of the harm reduction program in 2006 led to changes in first-time offenders' use of heroin; (2) whether the intervention had a similar effect on the use of other illicit drugs; and (3) whether the effect of the intervention was limited to the first-time offenders of young age groups. Methods: Yearly first-time illicit-drug offense rates from 2001 to 2017 in Taiwan were derived from two national databases for drug arrests that were verified using urine tests: the Criminal Record Processing System on Schedule I/II Drugs and the Administrative Penalty System for Schedule III/IV Substances. A hierarchy of mutually exclusive categories of drug uses was defined by the drug with the highest schedule level among those tested positive in an arrest. Segmented regression analyses of interrupted time series were used to test for the impact of the 2006 intervention. Results: There was a decrease of 22.37 per 100,000 in the rate for heroin but no detectable level changes in that for methamphetamine or ecstasy after the 2006 intervention in Taiwan. There were baseline decreasing trends in the first-time offense rate from 2001 to 2017 for heroin and ecstasy and an increasing trend for methamphetamine, with the slopes not altered by the 2006 intervention. The postintervention decrease in the first-time offense rate for heroin was detectable among offenders less than 40 years old. Conclusions: Our results indicate a diffusion effect of the 2006 intervention on decreasing heroin use among young offenders and have policy implications for better prevention and treatment for different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation has been applied to study the influence of water medium on the nano-cutting process and the evolution of sub-surface defects of single-crystal γ-TiAl alloy. The effect of water medium in the result of cutting force and cutting temperature have been analysed and discussed in the machining process, while the function of common neighbour analysis (CNA) method has been used to research the chip removal mechanism, sub-surface defects and crystal structure changes. The results showed that the extrusion and shear effects of tool removed atoms from the surface of the workpiece. In the meantime, the cooling and lubricating effect of the water medium reduces the cutting temperature and cutting force. Especially, the temperature of the workpiece has a diffusion effect in the cutting process in the absence of the water medium. Some heat was taken away by the water medium, which lead to insufficient nucleation and migration of the dislocation, and high compressive stress was formed during cutting of water-bearing medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on altering the diffusion combustion characteristics of the self-reflux burner by optimizing the burner nozzle structure. By adjusting the jet angle of each nozzle, enhancing the diffusion effect of fuel and air in the combustion chamber, a low-oxygen combustion atmosphere is formed in the high-temperature zone of the combustion chamber, avoiding local high temperature caused by fuel accumulation and combustion, reducing the combustion rate of nitrogen, and then the thermal NOx emission is reduced. Parallel, inwardly inclined, and outwardly inclined jet angles are studied in simulation, and five working conditions (-10°, -5°, 0°, 5°, and 10°) are calculated, compared, and analyzed. The cooperative coupling mechanism between multiple fields (velocity, concentration, and temperature) is compared and analyzed. We use the diffusion effect to reduce the oxygen concentration in the central axis and achieve the goal of reducing NOx by reducing the maximum combustion temperature. The simulation results show that the maximum and average temperatures of the combustion chamber are reduced by 28.9 K and 15.38 K, respectively, when the jet angle is outwardly tilted by 5°, which reduces the local high temperature; and NOx emissions are in turn reduced by 104.72 ppm.

This study investigates the influence of high-speed rail (HSR) on off-site investments (OSI) in the context of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) urban agglomeration. Using a comprehensive dataset of OSI activities between 2008 and 2018, we employ negative binomial regression models to examine the heterogeneous effects of HSR on OSI. Our findings reveal significant positive effects of HSR on OSI in the central region of the YRD, with shorter HSR travel times and higher train frequencies further enhancing these effects. We find that medium-sized enterprises, non-state-owned enterprises, and firms in the producer service industry exhibit greater responsiveness to HSR in terms of OSI. We also observe the coexistence of both siphon and diffusion effects of HSR on OSI in the YRD, with the diffusion effect dominating. This suggests that HSR primarily promotes OSI flows from developed areas to less developed areas, contributing to regional integration and reducing disparities. Lastly, we find that the factor flow (specifically labours and innovations), agglomeration externality, and market potential play significant mediating roles in HSR's impacts on OSI. Our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between HSR and OSI, providing valuable insights for policymakers in the central region of the YRD and similar regions. We highlight the importance of context-sensitive approaches when coordinating HSR development with other regional policies. And we underscore the need for policymakers to make a balance between short-term and long-lagged-term considerations when maximizing the benefits of HSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lobes and clefts are characteristic structures at the front of sand storms. In this paper, their original formation mechanism and geometric features are studied experimentally and theoretically. A rotatable lock-exchange tank is utilized to avoid the strong local disturbances existing in the conventional horizontal apparatus, and the original lobe size is selected as the dominant spanwise wavelength by a statistical method instead of the mean lobe size used in the literature. It is shown that at the initial formation stage, the measured lobe sizes for different tank geometries and density differences (or Atwood numbers) have a 1/3 scaling law with the Grashof number (Gr) as predicted by a Rayleigh–Taylor (RT) model, especially at moderate Gr range, and substantially depend on the diffusion effect represented by the Schmidt number. Furthermore, using turbulent Schmidt number and eddy viscosity for atmosphere in the RT model predicts large scale dominant lobes, whose sizes agree qualitatively with those observed in a real sand storm, revealing that the underlying control mechanism for these lobe and cleft structures is intrinsically related to the RT instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although traditional studies concerning the diffusion effect of board interlocks stress the influence of mimetic pressures, extant studies increasingly emphasize board interlocks' communication role. From the perspective of corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting, this paper seeks to investigate the validity of the two views by introducing market development as a moderating variable. Based on samples of Chinese listed companies between 2008 and 2015, we find that board interlocks positively affect firms' CSR reporting. Consistent with the communication mechanism view, the impact of board interlocks on CSR reporting is relatively weak in developed regions. With this study, we contribute to the literature concerning the diffusion effect of board interlocks and the institutional literature related to CSR reporting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain finance (SCF) benefits participants by alleviating capital constraints and generating additional profits but also brings a host of disadvantages. This study examines and compares how various SCF schemes affect participants' profits and the contagion and diffusion effects of default risk in a dual capital-constrained supply chain. This study used a game theoretical approach to investigate a dual capital-constrained supply chain. The financially constrained manufacturer and retailer may be funded by bank credit or trade credit from their upstream participants, forming four financing structures. The findings suggest that although trade credit offered by the manufacturer brings more profits to the supply chain participants than bank credit, it increases the expected losses of the creditors and incurs both the contagion and diffusion effects of default risk. Pure bank financing cannot completely coordinate the supply chain but can control the contagion and diffusion effects of default risk. These effects are also weakened over time. The findings offer implications for participants who implement financing and operational actions to improve their performance and control the contagion and diffusion effects of default risk along a supply chain. • Trade credit brings more profits but higher expected loss compared with bank credit. • Trade credit incurs the contagion and diffusion effects of default risk along the supply chain. • These effects are affected by wholesale price, demand risk sharing, and interest rate effects. • The contagion and diffusion effects depend on the available financing schemes. • The contagion and diffusion effects of default risk are weakened over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular simulations of reacting shock-bubble interaction were performed to study viscous effects on the supersonic premixed combustion, using the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Different bubble diameters that are comparable to the thickness of the normal shock wave (Mach=2) were taken into account. The evolution of bubble morphology indicates that viscous effects (diffusion and dissipation) leads to the disappearance of some typical phenomena, including the shock focusing, positive viscosity deposition and wake-like cross-section. Meanwhile, the viscous dissipation is mainly responsible for the enstrophy degeneration, which is enhanced by reducing the bubble scale and heat release in combustion. The observed combustion process, which is prominent near the bubble core, is more evident with a larger bubble diameter and unlikely to occur with the smallest bubble diameter. The corresponding reason is that the strong viscous diffusion reduces the collision events between fuel and oxygen molecules. In addition, a time-scale analysis was conducted to illustrate the viscous diffusion in the hydrodynamic and chemical reaction time-scales with different bubble diameters. As a consequence, a changing dimensionless Damkohler number was presented to understand the dominant diffusion effect in microscale supersonic premixed combustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films were synthesized on a metal-alloy probe using thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at low temperature (550 °C). The morphology of the Ni catalyst deposited on Co and Ta barrier layers on the metal-alloy substrate was investigated. In addition, we studied the tuning of the thickness of the Ni catalyst (without Co and Ta barrier layers), pretreatment time in a NH 3 , and the C 2 H 2 /NH 3 ratio for growing MWCNTs. We showed that buffer layers were unstable during Ni catalyst nucleation on the metal-alloy probe during CNT growth because it diffused into the surface of probe and recrystallized during pretreatment. The results suggest that only using a thicker Ni catalytic layer (50 nm) could it allow for the growth of MWCNTs on the metal-alloy probe. The length of the MWCNTs was ~10 μm. In this paper, we propose a mechanism for thermal CVD of MWCNTs on a metal-alloy probe without barrier layers under a C 2 H 2 /NH 3 atmosphere. Unlabelled Image • MWCNTs were synthesized on metal-alloys probe at low temperature by thermal CVD. • A thick Ni catalyst layer reduces the diffusion for MWCNTs growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central China Normal University is the property of Huazhong Normal University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the recent literature, many research studies have proven that Known and Chosen plaintext attacks are very efficient tools that are widely used to cryptanalyze partially or completely some chaos-based and non-chaos cryptosystems. In this paper, we addressed some weaknesses in the first Zhang et al., cryptosystem “An image encryption scheme using reverse 2-dimensional chaotic map and dependent diffusion”. First, we analyzed the encryption process of Zhang et al., and we found that the non-linear diffusion process can be removed because its argument is present in the ciphered image. Then, based on this observation we derived a partial cryptanalysis equation that removes the effect of the diffusion function and accordingly permits to recover the permuted version of the ciphered image. As a result of the previous operation, the brute-force attack became more suitable. In addition, we mounted a chosen plaintext attack based on a proposed chosen plain image. Consequently, the encryption key space is reduced or recovered for one round, also, the average values of NPCR and UCAI randomness parameters become small compared to the optimal values, and moreover, they are very low for specific pixel position attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of diffusion on SSFP (Steady-state Free Precession) signals in triple-echo steady state (TESS) sequence and ultimately on the accuracy of T2 relaxometry. Methods The extended phase graph (EPG) algorithm was used to study the effect of diffusion on SSFP signals and T2 relaxometry. The simulation results were verified by a commercial phantom and in vivo studies. Based on the simulation results, a correction scheme was proposed to correct the estimated T2 values. Results T2 underestimation in TESS was evident in case of small flip angle and large unbalanced gradient moment on objects with large T2 and D values. The T2 underestimation mainly originated from the diffusion sensitivity of SSFP-echo. It was also observed that SSFP-FID (Free Induction Decay) signals increased with increasing diffusion weighting under some specific conditions. The proposed correction scheme corrected the T2 underestimation, which verified that the underestimation was due to the neglect of diffusion effect. For clinical practice of TESS in tissues with short T2 such as cartilage and muscle, the diffusion effect of TESS is negligible. Conclusion The effect of diffusion cannot be neglected during TESS T2 quantification as it is the main source of T2 underestimation when small flip angle and large unbalanced gradient moment is used, especially for objects with large T2 and D values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to compare the recycling performance for some waste fractions selected including food waste, bulk waste, paper, metal products, plastics/rubber and glass products and then to develop some directions for the future improvements. The priority of each waste fraction for recycling is also analyzed by using an importance-performance analysis. Traditionally, the recycling rate that is calculated by the ratio of waste recycled to waste collected is used as an indicator to measure recycling performance. Due to a large variation among waste fractions in municipal solid waste (MSW), the recycling rate cannot reflect the actual recycling performance. The ceiling of recycling rate for each waste fraction estimated from the diffusion models is incorporated into a model to calculate recycling performance. The results show that (1) the diffusion effect exists significantly for the recycling of most recyclables but no evidence is found to support the diffusion effect for the recycling of food waste and bulk waste; (2) the recycling performance of waste metal products ranks the top, compared to waste paper, waste glass and other waste fractions; (3) furthermore, an importance-performance analysis (IPA) is employed to analyze the priority of recycling programs and thus this paper suggests that the recycling of food waste should be seen as the most priority item to recycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of styrene-butadiene-styrene modified asphalt (SBSMA) is significantly impacted by its aging and regeneration. In this research, the molecular dynamics simulation was utilized to investigate the rejuvenation effect of active reagents on aged SBS modified asphalt through the following tasks: 1) verifying the accuracy of the asphalt model by density and solubility parameters; 2) assessing the changes in the rejuvenated asphalt model's energetic parameters and volume parameters, 3) studying the interaction energy between SBS molecules and asphalt molecule models, and 4) evaluating the relative concentration, interfacial interaction energy, and diffusion effect of the asphalt-asphalt models. The results indicated that the restored broken SBS molecule substantially impacted the functionality of the rejuvenated asphalt binder. For Methylene-bis(4-cyclohexylisocyanate) (HMDI) and 1,6-Hexanediol Diglycidyl Ether (HDE) rejuvenated asphalts, the non-bond energy decreased gradually with the repair of broken SBS molecular structures. The free volume fraction of rejuvenated binders was lower than that of SBSMA, indicating that the compactness and packing degree of the rejuvenated asphalt were increased. The interaction energy between SBS and asphalt molecules in rejuvenated asphalt increased because of the enhanced van der Waals interaction between the reconstructed SBS molecule and rejuvenated binders. The free HDE molecular chain reduced the interaction energy between SBS and asphalt molecules. For the asphalt-asphalt models, the diffusion coefficient of the SBSMA-rejuvenated asphalt model was lower than that of the SBSMA-SBSMA model. The HDE rejuvenated asphalt showed better diffusion behavior than SBSMA, and SBS molecules repaired by HDE had excellent fluidity. The interfacial interaction energy of the SBSMA-rejuvenated asphalt model was higher than that of the SBSMA-SBSMA model. With the repair of the broken SBS molecular chain, the interfacial interaction energy between HMDI rejuvenated asphalt and SBSMA increased gradually. In contrast, the interfacial interaction energy between HDE rejuvenated asphalt and SBSMA decreased gradually. The fully restored SBS molecular structure had stable thermodynamic properties and could accelerate the diffusion effect of rejuvenated asphalt. [Display omitted] • The process of broken and repair of SBS molecular chain was introduced. • The thermodynamic properties of rejuvenated SBS modifed asphalt binder models were evaluated. • The diffusion effect and binding energy of double-layer asphalt models were characterized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Shanghai Physical Education Institute / Shanghai Tiyu Xueyuan Xuebao is the property of Shanghai Physical Education Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the present work a sixth-order hybrid WENO–Centered Difference (CD) scheme with an adaptive mesh refinement method is employed to investigate gaseous detonation by injecting a hot jet into a hydrogen–oxygen combustible mixture flowing at supersonic speed. Two-dimensional reactive Navier–Stokes (NS) equations with one-step two-species chemistry model are solved numerically. The comparison between viscous and inviscid detonation structures shows that due to the absence of both the physical viscosity in Euler equations and minimization of numerical dissipation in the hybrid WENO–CD scheme, very small-scale vortices can be observed behind the detonation front. The diffusion effect in the NS equations suppresses the small-scale vortices, but it has negligible influence on the large-scale vortices generated by Richtmyer–Meshkov (RM) instability and those along the highly unstable shear layers induced by Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. When studying the same setup in an expanding channel and beyond the point of detonation initiation, it is found that because of the diffusion effect of detached shear layers, any unburned jet flow is consumed quickly and then additional energy is released periodically. Because of the formation of multiple secondary triple points and subsequent shear layers after the shutdown of the hot jet, a highly turbulent flow is produced behind the detonation front. Rather than the commonly known RM instability, the large-scale vortices involved in the highly unstable shear layers dominate the formation of the turbulent flow and the rapid turbulent mixing between the unburned jet flow and burned product. It is found that the size of unburned jets and vortices due to KH instability is growing for larger expansion angles. The further generated turbulent flow resulting from larger sized vortices, significantly enhances the mixing rate behind the Mach stem, leading to rapid consumption of the unburned reactants. Therefore, detonations propagate faster in channels with larger expansion angle and higher expansion ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propagation behavior of bright spatial solitons under the diffusion effect in photovoltaic (PV) photorefractive (PR) crystals poled periodically is investigated by considering the optical absorption of the crystals. The numerical simulations show that, soliton beams follow a wiggling trajectory under the combined influence of the crystal absorption and the diffusion effect which is properly managed by designing the periodic domain inversion structure of periodically poled PV PR crystals. Moreover, the oscillation amplitude of the wiggling trajectory of a low-intensity soliton decreases gradually with the propagation distance, but the situation for a high-intensity soliton is contrary. Furthermore, the recursive equations describing the propagation trajectory are formulated and the analytical result of the propagation trajectory is in good agreement with the numerical one. The research results contribute to enriching the dynamics of PR spatial solitons and provide a method to suppress the self-deflection of soliton beams arising from the diffusion effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The approximate but analytical solution of the viscous Rayleigh-Taylor instability (RTI) has been widely used recently in theoretical and numerical investigations due to its clarity. In this paper, a modified analytical solution of the growth rate for the viscous RTI of incompressible fluids is obtained based on an approximate method. Its accuracy is verified numerically to be significantly improved in comparison with the previous one in the whole wave number range for different viscosity ratios and Atwood numbers. Furthermore, this solution is expanded for viscous RTI including the concentration-diffusion effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various core-shell structured Ni@SiO nanocatalysts were prepared to provide an insight into the intrinsic effects of shell structures on the ammonia decomposition activity. The thickness of silica shell structure can be fine tuned in the range of 5-20 nm. With the increase in shell thickness, it was found that the catalytic activity did not decrease obviously, even though the reducibility determined by H-TPR exhibited a noticeable changes. As for the porosity of the shell, the SP-1 sample with a well-developed pore structure showed better catalytic performance than the SP-0 sample with a less-developed pore structure. It can be concluded that diffusion limitations would be greatly influenced by shell porosity nor shell thickness to some extent. Graphical Abstract: Various core-shell structured Ni@SiO nanocatalysts were prepared to provide an insight into the intrinsic effects of shell structures on the ammonia decomposition activity. The thickness and porosity of silica shell structure were fine tuned. It was concluded that diffusion limitations would be probably greatly influenced by shell porosity nor shell thickness to some extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomeration impacts the electricity efficiency of resource-based cities. Under the background, the paths that lead to high level electricity efficiency are not clear. Therefore, it is difficult to guide the socio-economic planning. This paper assumes that the influence of urban agglomeration includes agglomeration and diffusion effect. Then, this paper uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore the paths lead to high-level electricity efficiency. The process includes the measurement of electricity efficiency, the selection and quantification of action conditions, and path analysis. Four main conclusions are obtained. First, the positive impact of urban agglomeration on the electricity efficiency of resource-based cities is achieved through the optimal allocation of regional resources. Second, compared with the paths under diffusion effect, the paths under agglomeration effect are more diversified. Third, the effects of two kinds of paths are obvious: the agglomeration of non-resource-based industries to central cities and the diffusion of green production from central cities. Fourth, the diffusion of green production depends on the sustainability of resource-based cities. The research conclusion can improve the energy and sustainability policies of urban agglomerations and resource-based cities, and the improved policies will improve the efficiency of regional resource allocation and will promote the electricity efficiency and sustainability of resource-based cities. • The influence of urban agglomeration includes agglomeration effect and diffusion effect. • Paths under agglomeration effect are more diversified than that of diffusion effect. • The agglomeration effect may not conducive to sustainability. • Local transformation is essential for positive diffusion effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]