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Simple Summary: Coated calcium pantothenate or coated thiamine supplementation potentially promotes milk production by stimulating nutrient digestion and fatty acids synthesis of the mammary gland in dairy cows. Owing to the synergistic effect of pantothenate and thiamine on the regulation of energy metabolism, the combined addition of coated calcium pantothenate and coated thiamine will more effectively promote lactation performance than that achieved by coated calcium pantothenate or coated thiamine alone. Further research is needed to determine the influences of coated calcium pantothenate or/and coated thiamine on the development of the mammary gland. Considering the synergistic effect of pantothenate and thiamine on the regulation of energy metabolism, this study investigated the influences of coated calcium pantothenate (CCP) and coated thiamine (CT) on milk production and composition, nutrients digestion, and expressions of genes involved in fatty acids synthesis in mammary glands. Forty-four multiparous Chinese Holstein cows (2.8 ± 0.19 of parity, 772 ± 12.3 kg of body weight [BW], 65.8 ± 8.6 days in milk [DIM] and 35.3 ± 1.9 kg/d of milk production, mean ± SD) were blocked by parity, BW, DIM, and milk production, and they were allocated into one of four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial block design. Additional CCP (0 mg/kg [CCP−] or 55 mg/kg dry matter [DM] of calcium pantothenate from CCP [CCP+]) and CT (0 g/kg [CT−] or 5.3 mg/kg DM of thiamine from CT [CT+]) were hand-mixed into the top one-third of total mixed ration. Both CCP and CT additives increased milk production, fat content, true protein, and lactose by promoting nutrient digestibility. The CCP or/and CT supplementation induced the elevation of C11:0, C12:0, C13:0, C14:0, C14:1, C15:0, C15:1, C16:00, C16:1, C24:00, C24:1 fatty acids, saturated fatty acid, and C4-16 fatty acid contents in milk fat; but it decreased C17-22 fatty acid content. Ruminal total VFA content was increased, but pH was decreased by both additives. The ruminal fermentation pattern was altered, and a tendency of acetate formation was implied by the increased acetate-to-propionate ratio after both additives' supplementation. The expressions of PPARγ, SREBPF1, ACACA, FASN, SCD, and FABP3 mRNAs were enhanced by CCP or CT addition, but the relative expression of LPL mRNA was upregulated by CT addition only. Additionally, blood glucose, triglyceride, insulin-like growth factor-1, and total antioxidant capacity were promoted by both additives. The combination of CCP and CT more effectively increased the ruminal total VFA concentration, the acetate to propionate ratio, and blood glucose level, and decreased ammoniacal nitrogen concentration than that achieved by CCP or CT alone. The results suggested that CCP and CT supplementation stimulated lactation performance by promoting nutrient digestion and fatty acid synthesis in the mammary glands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the stability and stabilization problems for T-S fuzzy systems with two additive time-varying delays. Firstly, a novel Lyapounov-Krasovskii functional (LKF) is constructed by delay-product-type functional method together with the state vector augmentation. In order to handle time-delay square terms introduced into the derivative of LKF, an extended binary quadratic function negative-determination lemma is proposed. A less conservative delay-dependent stability condition is developed since not only some new bounding technologies are employed to deal with integral terms, but also the proposed lemma is employed to dispose nonlinear time-delay terms in derivative of constructed function. Then, the corresponding controller design method for closed-loop delayed fuzzy system is derived based on parallel distributed compensation scheme. Finally, four numerical examples are given to illustrate the superiority and effectiveness of the proposed criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal stratification is an important phenomenon in the process of natural circulation decay heat removal in sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFR). It affects the establishment of the natural circulation and the flow rate of the natural circulation in a station black out (SBO) accident, and therefore affects the safety of the reactor. In safety evaluation, programs are often required to perform analysis for various conditions and long-term transients. However, it is difficult to meet this requirement by adopting a multi-dimensional method or one-dimensional and multi-dimensional coupling method. Therefore, this paper proposes applying a thermal stratification model to the system analysis program THACS to analyze the thermal stratification phenomenon. First, the thermal stratification model is validated with experimental data. The validated model is applied to analyze a station black out accident in the SFR. The lumped parameter model and thermal stratification model are used respectively for the hot pool. By comparing the calculation results of the two models, the effect of thermal stratification of the hot pool on key parameters such as the natural circulation flow rate of the primary circuit, natural circulation flow rate in the inter-wrapper region, average core outlet temperature, maximum core fluid temperature, and the maximum temperature of cladding was analyzed, and the effect of thermal stratification on natural circulation decay heat removal of the SFR was evaluated. This work can provide a reference for the safety analysis of the reactor and contribute to developing a more conservative safety analysis and evaluation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims Design Methods Results Conclusion Relevance to Clinical Practice Reporting Method Patient or Public Contribution Glioma patients are at high risk for postoperative delirium (POD), yet studies focusing on this population in general neurosurgical ward settings are limited. This paper investigates the incidence of POD and related risk factors in glioma patients hospitalized in general wards.Prospective observational study.This prospective study included 133 adult glioma patients hospitalized in the general neurosurgery ward. In addition to collecting routine perioperative general clinical data, patients' psychological status was assessed preoperatively using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). POD was assessed within 3 days postoperatively using the Confusion of Consciousness Assessment method, twice daily. The incidence of POD was calculated, and risk factors were identified using logistic regression analysis.The incidence of POD in glioma patients admitted to the general ward was 31.6% (40/133). Multivariate regression revealed advanced age (age > 50 years), frontal lobe tumour, presence of preoperative anxiety or depression, retention of a luminal drain, postoperative pain, indwelling catheter these six factors were independent risk factors for the development of delirium in patients after surgery.In general ward settings, supratentorial glioma patients exhibit a high risk of POD. Critical risk factors include preoperative psychological conditions, as well as postoperative pain, drainage and catheterization. Rigorous preoperative evaluations, effective pain management strategies and the integration of humanistic care principles are essential in mitigating the risk of POD for glioma patients.In general ward settings, this study reveals the high occurrence of POD in glioma patients and identifies preoperative psychological states, age, tumour location and several postoperative factors as significant risk factors for POD, which provides a framework for targeted interventions. By integrating these insights into clinical practice, healthcare teams can better identify glioma patients at risk for POD and implement preventive measures, thereby enhancing recovery and overall care quality for glioma patients in general neurosurgical wards.This study adheres to the STROBE guidelines, ensuring a transparent and comprehensive reporting of the observational research methodology and results.Patients involvement was limited to the provision of data through their participation in the study's assessments and the collection of clinical information. The study did not involve a direct patient or public contribution in the design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the data, nor in the preparation of the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 5G scenarios, there are a large number of video signals that need to be processed. Multiobject tracking is one of the main directions in video signal processing. Data association is a very important link in tracking algorithms. Complexity and efficiency of association method have a direct impact on the performance of multiobject tracking. Breakthroughs have been made in data association methods based on deep learning, and the performance has been greatly improved compared with traditional methods. However, there is a lack of overviews about data association methods. Therefore, this article first analyzes characteristics and performance of three traditional data association methods and then focuses on data association methods based on deep learning, which is divided into different deep network structures: SOT methods, end-to-end methods, and Wasserstein metric methods. The performance of each tracking method is compared and analyzed. Finally, it summarizes the current common datasets and evaluation criteria for multiobject tracking and discusses challenges and development trends of data association technology and data association methods which ensure robust and real time need to be continuously improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a tracking-by-detection framework for multi-object tracking (MOT). It first detects the objects of interest in each frame of the video, followed by identifying association with the object detected in the previous frame. A deep association network is described to perform object feature matching in the arbitrary two frames to infer association degree of objects, and then similarity matrix loss is used to calculate association between each object in different frames to achieve an accurate tracking. The novelty of the work lies in the design of a multi-scale fusion strategy by gradually concatenating sub-networks of low-resolution feature maps in parallel to the main network of high-resolution feature maps, in the construction of a deeper backbone network which can enhance the semantic information of object features, and in the use of a siamese network for training a pair of discontinuous frames. The main advantage of our framework is that it avoids missing detection and partial detection. It is particularly suitable for solving the problem of object ID switch caused by occlusion, entering and leaving of objects. Our method is evaluated and demonstrated on the publicly available MOT15, MOT16, MOT17 and MOT20 benchmark datasets. Compared with the state-of-the-art methods, our method achieves better tracking performance, and is therefore, more suited for MOT tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a given data, robust principal component analysis (RPCA) aims to exactly recover the low-rank and sparse components from it. To date, as the convex relaxations of tensor rank, a number of tensor nuclear norms have been defined and applied to approximate the tensor rank because of their convexity. However, those relaxations may make the solution seriously deviate from the original solution for real-world data recovery. In this paper, we define the tensor Schatten p-norm based on tensor train rank and propose a new model for tensor robust principal component analysis (named TT S p ). We solve the proposed model iteratively by using the ADMM algorithm. In addition, a tensor augmentation tool called ket augmentation is introduced to convert lower-order tensors to higher-order tensors to exploit the low-TT-rank structure. We report higher PSNR and SSIM values in numerical experiments to image recovery problems which demonstrate the superiority of our method. Further experiments on real data also illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to test whether monoamine oxidase A ( MAOA) gene polymorphism was a marker of the genetic vulnerability model or the differential susceptibility model by investigating the interaction of MAOA gene polymorphism with maternal parenting on externalizing and internalizing problems and social competence among Chinese children. Participants were 290 children and their parents in China. MAOA genotypes were ascertained by polymerase chain reaction amplification. Mothers reported their parenting stress and engagement in parent-child activities when the child was 6 months old. Children's behavioral problems and social competence were rated by mothers and fathers at 48 months old. The results showed that MAOA genotypes interacted with maternal parenting stress in predicting boys' internalizing problems. Also, MAOA genotypes interacted with maternal engagement in parent-child activities in predicting boys' social competence. The analyses of regions of significance and the proportion of interaction index indicated that boys with the low-activity genotype were at risk for (a) high internalizing problems under high maternal parenting stress and (b) low social competence if mothers displayed a low level of maternal engagement. No significant interaction effects were found among girls. The results suggested that the MAOA gene might be a marker of the genetic vulnerability model among Chinese boys. Highlights We evaluated whether MAOA gene was a marker of the genetic vulnerability model or the differential susceptibility model by investigating the interaction of MAOA gene polymorphism with maternal parenting on behavioral problems and social competence among 4-year-old Chinese children., The results of regions of significance and the proportion of interaction index indicated that boys with the low-activity genotype were at risk of high internalizing problems or low social competence with high maternal parenting stress or low engagement. No significant interaction effects were found among girls., The results indicated that MAOA gene might be a marker of the genetic vulnerability model rather than the differential susceptibility model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the issue that existing direction-finding approaches perform poorly under impulse noise and do not work well in underdetermined scenarios, a novel sparse array direction-finding approach on the background of impulse noise is proposed in this work. The approach introduces an infinite norm Gaussian kernel to restrain the impulse noise and obtains accurate estimates via the maximum likelihood algorithm. Meanwhile, a novel quantum transient search optimization (QTSO) algorithm is designed to solve the corresponding cost function. In addition, we prove the convergence of QTSO and derive the Cramér–Rao bound of sparse array direction finding in the presence of impulse noise. Compared with some traditional direction-finding approaches, the proposed approach shows excellent performance through simulation results in different schemes, which can also be a general framework to address other complex direction-finding problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, based on Cuk converter, a novel commutation torque ripple reduction strategy is proposed for the brushless DC motor. Output modes (buck–boost mode and boost mode) of the Cuk converter during the commutation period and normal conduction period are altered by designing a mode selection circuit, which can reduce commutation torque ripple over the entire speed range. During the commutation period, Cuk converter operates in the boost mode to step up the input voltage of three-phase bridge inverter and then meet the voltage demand of commutation period, such that the commutation torque ripple can be reduced by keeping the noncommutated current steady. In order to improve the utilization rate of the converter, during the normal conduction period, Cuk converter operates in the buck–boost mode and the input voltage of three-phase bridge inverter is regulated by adopting the pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) method without the inverter pulse width modulation chopping, which can reduce the voltage spike damage to the motor windings caused by turn-on/off of MOSFET in the inverter and simplify the program of modulation method further. The experimental results verify the correctness of the theory and the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, alternating current (AC) magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) electroosmotic flow of incompressible Maxwell fluids between micro-parallel plates is investigated by using the method of separation of variables. Fluids were driven under the Lorentz force produced by the interaction of a vertical magnetic field and two horizontal electrical fields. The solution involves analytically solving the linearized Poisson–Boltzmann equation, together with the Navies–Stokes equation and the constitutive equation of Maxwell fluids. By numerical computation, the influences of Hartmann number Ha , Reynolds number Re, dimensionless relaxation time De and electrical field strength parameter S on the velocity profiles and volumetric flow rates are explained graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore whether work strain (i.e., job demands and job control) and subjective need for recovery (NFR) after work are related to measured concentration of cumulative cortisol. Methods: Participants were 43 teachers recruited from kindergarten. They self-reported their NFR, job demands and job control over the last month. NFR was measured with the NFR scale. Job demands and control were assessed with the Chinese version of the Job Content Questionnaire. Hair cortisol was used to represent cumulative cortisol excretion. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) was measured with high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results: No significant correlations were found between job demands or job control and HCC. NFR was significantly and inversely correlated with HCC ( r = −0.41, p = 0.006). The inverse association between NFR and HCC remained significant when age and job demands and job control were controlled for ( p = 0.02). Conclusions: The activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis declines with the accumulation of NFR after working time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Recent advance in nanomaterials for cancer immunotherapy are summarized. • The strategy combining nanotechnology and immunotherapy are presented. • Challenges and future perspectives of organic nanomaterials and inorganic nanomaterials for cancer immunotherapy are discussed. As one of the four pillars of cancer treatment, immunotherapy is poising to the forefront of precise cancer treatment. Cancer immunotherapy, such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR-T) therapy, monoclonal antibody therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, has achieved remarkable results. However, cancer immunotherapy is only effective for rarely patients, with low response rates and immune-related adverse events (irAEs). In this decade of rapid development, the combination of nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy has contributed to the future of cancer treatment with precision medicine. The addition of nanomaterials reduces the occurrence of irAEs and promotes the activity of antigen presenting cells (APC) and cytotoxic T cells (CTL) at the tumor site. The focus of this review is the application of nanomaterials as drug carriers in tumor immunity. On this basis, we introduced the combination of immunotherapy and phototherapy based on nanomaterials. Finally, the toxicity and safety issues of nanoparticles and the prospects, and challenges of nano-precision targeted therapy are put forward. It is expected that this review will provide some enlightenment for the future research and clinical translation of nanoparticles based on cancer immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, a computationally efficient multiple signal classification (MUSIC)‐based evolutionary algorithm for angle estimation of bistatic multiple‐input multiple‐output (MIMO) radar is proposed. The existing MUSIC algorithms require a computationally cumbersome two‐dimensional (2D) peak searching and the performance is highly related to the grid that set, which leads to a conflict between the computational efficiency and estimation performance. To address this difficulty, a multimodal quantum‐inspired salp swarm algorithm, integrating kmeans clustering technique, is proposed to substitute the 2D peak searching to obtain multiple maxima of the MUSIC algorithm. The resulting computationally efficient algorithm obviously reduces the computational complexity of the MUSIC algorithm, avoids grid errors, and further exploits the potential of the MUSIC algorithm. Numerical simulations in various scenarios are carried out to verify the superiority of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thin-walled tubular parts with longitudinal ribs are important lightweight components. To manufacture the complex shape, incremental forming processes like flow forming are increasingly used. However, it is still difficult to form deep longitudinal ribs by conventional flow forming like ball spinning (BS). This paper proposes a novel flow forming process named two-stage flow forming (TSFF) to manufacture the thin-walled tubular parts with deep longitudinal outer ribs. The TSFF process includes two forming stages of preforming and final forming. During the preforming stage, the balls make axially feed movement, which force the metal to flow radially, and preform the longitudinal outer ribs. In the final forming process, the balls make axial feed movement and the blank makes rotation, which forces the metal to flow along circumferential and radial direction. Thus, the wall thickness is reduced, and the deep longitudinal outer ribs are formed. Based on numerical simulation, the forming geometrical dimension by BS and TSFF is compared, and the forming effect of TSFF is better. To make further analysis of metal flow behavior, it can be found that TSFF promotes the metal to flow along tangential and radial direction, while restraining the axial flow of the metal, and finally improve the filling effect of the longitudinal outer ribs. In addition, the key process parameters of TSFF were studied, and it was found that the reduction of preforming and ball diameter had great influence on the filling effect of the outer ribs. Finally, the TSFF experiment is carried, and the result shows that thin-walled tubular parts with deep longitudinal outer ribs formed by TSFF are feasible. This study provides theoretical and experimental support for the development of the novel flow forming process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the microwave thermal recovery of unconventional oil and gas resources, the use of microwave absorbers can effectively improve the effect of microwave heating and is an auxiliary agent with wide application potential. In this paper, the mechanism of microwave absorbent is explored, and the role of microwave absorbent in viscosity reduction of heavy oil, in-situ exploitation of oil shale and pyrolysis of oily sludge is reviewed. The effect of the absorbent under different parameters was compared, and the mechanism of different parameters affecting the effect of the absorbent was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotin (BI) and cobalamin (CA) are essential for rumen propionate production and hepatic gluconeogenesis. The study evaluated the influence of BI or/and coated CA (CCA) on milk performance and nutrient digestion in cows. Sixty Holstein dairy cows were assigned in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement and randomised block design to four groups. The factors were BI at 0 or 20 mg/day and CCA at 0 or 9 mg CA/day. Dry matter intake increased with BI addition but was unchanged with CCA supply. Addition of BI or CCA increased fat‐corrected milk, milk fat and milk protein yields and feed efficiency. Moreover, lactose yield was increased by CCA addition. Dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and acid detergent fibre total‐tract digestibility increased for BI or CCA supply. When CCA was supplemented, positive response of neutral detergent fibre digestibility to BI addition was enhanced. Supplementing BI did not affect pH, propionate content and acetate to propionate ratio, but increased total volatile fatty acids (VFA) and acetate contents. Supplementing CCA decreased pH and acetate to propionate ratio, but increased total VFA, acetate and propionate contents. Rumen protease and carboxymethyl‐cellulase activities and fungi, bacteria and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens numbers increased for BI or CCA supply. In addition, protozoa increased for BI addition, and protease activity and Prevotella ruminicola increased for CCA supply. When CCA was supplemented, positive responses of R. albus and Ruminobacter amylophilus numbers to BI addition were enhanced. Blood glucose concentration was unchanged with BI supply, but increased for CCA supply. Blood nonesterified fatty acids and β‐hydroxybutyrate contents reduced with BI or CCA supply. Supplementation with BI or CCA increased blood BI or CA content. The results showed that supplementing BI or/and CCA improved lactation performance and nutrient digestion, and CCA supply did not enhance the lactation performance response to BI supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Phenix natural circulation test was analyzed by system program THACS. • The predicted results of THACS are in good agreement with the test results. • The effect of Inter-wrapper flow on decay heat removal of pool-type SFR was analyzed. • The analytical capability of THACS program for natural circulation of pool-type SFR was evaluated. For the pool type sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), whether the primary circuit can establish a stable natural cycle after the reactor accident, and whether the primary natural cycle can take away the decay heat of the reactor core in the long-term, are the key issues in the design and safety analysis of SFR. In order to verify the natural circulation capacity of the primary circuit, a natural circulation test was carried out on pool type SFR Phenix by CEA before the reactor is decommissioned. One objective of this test is to verify the system codes used to simulate sodium natural convection phenomena. In this paper, the system code THACS is used to analyze Phenix natural circulation test, and the capacity of THACS to analyze the natural circulation of SFR is evaluated. Firstly, this paper introduces the components of Phenix reactor and the process of natural circulation test. Then, the models of program and the computational modeling of Phenix reactor are described. The calculation involves the whole process of the test: dry out of steam generators, scram, stop of pumps, two phases of natural circulation. Then, the results are compared with the test data, and the influence of inter-wrapper flow (IWF) on core outlet temperature is emphasized. The results show good applicability of THACS to analyze natural circulation in SFR, and the IWF can reduce the peak value of core outlet temperature at the beginning of natural cycle. Finally, the deviation between calculation and test results are analyzed, and the limitation of the models are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TNK1 (thirty-eight-negative kinase 1) belongs to the ACK (Activated Cdc42 Kinases) family of intracellular non-receptor tyrosine kinases that usually acts as an important regulator in cytokine receptor-mediated intracellular signal transduction pathways. JAK-STAT signal pathway acts as a key point in cellular proliferation, differentiation and immunomodulatory. Mammalian TNK1 is involved in antiviral immunity and activation of growth factors. However, TNK1 has rarely been studied in fish. To evaluate the role of fish TNK1 in JAK-STAT pathway, we cloned the full-length cDNA sequence of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) TNK1 (CiTNK1). CiTNK1 protein consists of N-terminal Tyrkc (tyrosine kinase) domain, C-terminal SH3 (Src homology 3) domain and Pro-rich domain. Phylogenetic analysis showed that CiTNK1 has a closer relationship with Danio rerio TNK1. The expression and phosphorylation of CiTNK1 in grass carp tissues and cells was increased under poly(I:C) stimulation. Subcellular localization and co-immunoprecipitation indicated that CiTNK1 is targeted in the cytoplasm and interacts with grass carp STAT1 (CiSTAT1). Co-transfection of CiTNK1 and CiSTAT1 into cells facilitated the expression of IFN I. This is because that the presence of CiTNK1 enhanced the phosphorylation of CiSTAT1 and causes activation of CiSTAT1. Our results revealed that TNK1 can potentiate the phosphorylation of STAT1 and then regulates JAK-STAT pathway to trigger IFN I expression in fish. • CiTNK1 can respond to poly (I:C) stimulation. • poly(I:C) induces the auto-phosphorylation of CiTNK1. • CiTNK1 and CiSTAT1 trigger IFN I expression. • CiTNK1 can interact with CiSTAT1. • The presence of CiTNK1 enhances CiSTAT1 phosphorylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galfenol (Iron-gallium) alloys have attracted significant attention as the promising magnetostrictive materials. However, the as-cast Galfenols exhibit the magnetostriction within the range of 20–60 ppm, far below the requirements of high-resolution functional devices. Here, based on the geometric crystallographic relationship, we propose to utilize the 90°-domain switching to improve the magnetostriction of Galfenols by tuning the crystal growth direction (CGD) along the easy magnetization axis (EMA). Our first-principles calculations demonstrate that Pt doping can tune the CGD of Galfenol from [110] to [100], conforming to the EMA. Then, it is experimentally verified in the (Fe0.83Ga0.17)100−xPtx (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) alloys and the magnetostriction is greatly improved from 39 ppm (x = 0, as-cast) to 103 ppm (x = 0.8, as-cast) and 188 ppm (x = 0.8, directionally solidified), accompanying with the increasing CGD alignment along [100]. The present study provides a novel approach to design and develop high-performance magnetostrictive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the passive behavior of 304 stainless steel (SS) in NaCl solution is studied by electrochemical methods and surface analysis. The polarization measurement results show that the pitting potential (Ep) has a simple linear relationship with the temperature increase. Scanning Kelvin probe results show that the surface potential difference on the surface of 304 SS is well correlated with the temperature. Scanning electron microscope results show that the rupture of the passive film accelerates with the increase of temperature. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis shows that the high temperature causes more oxidation on the surface of 304 SS, leading more Cr3+ oxidized to Cr6+ at high temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, polyaniline (PANI) modified attapulgite (ATP) nanocomposite was synthesized and employed as reinforcements to enhance the corrosion resistance of the alkyd coating. The morphological and structural properties of the synthesized ATP/PANI were characterized by transmission scanning electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was employed to investigate the corrosion protection performance of the alkyd coatings, showing the improved corrosion resistance in the presence of the ATP/PANI nanocomposite. Scanning Kelvin probe (SKP) and Raman spectroscopy were performed to characterize the metal passivation inhibition ability of composite coatings. Compared with blank coating, the SKP results revealed a clear decrease in electrochemical activity at the scratch of ATP/PANI coating. Results from Raman spectrum indicated that the protective capability of the scratched coating can be recovered through the passivation of polyaniline to form stable oxide film (Fe2O3) on metal surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: To evaluate residual heat removal capacity of next generation China sodium‐cooled fast reactor (SFR) and provide data for code validation, an integral natural circulation experiment was performed on a scaled water platform which had same structure with reactor primary system. A modular code THACS focusing on safety analysis of SFR was validated by this test. Some necessary development and verification for physical property, frictional loss, and heat transfer of water were carried out first. Whole simulation of an unprotected loss‐of‐flow (ULOF) case was divided into two phases and computation lasted until 5000 s of test time during second stage. Agreement in light of system temperature distribution in first stage provided a suitable initial condition for subsequent transient. Satisfied flow rate curve was reproduced with decaying pressure head and valve characteristic as input when pump was stopping. All natural circulation paths were predicted, including original flow in primary loop through main pipe and reversed flow in reactor vessel cooling system (RVCS). Transition to operative mode of direct heat exchanger (DHX) in direct reactor auxiliary cooling system (DRACS) and its cooling power were also forecasted successfully. This work means a significant advance for THACS in the field of engineering application of China SFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline of crude oil reserves and the increase in global energy demand have promoted the research progress of unconventional oil and gas resources (oil shale). Convection heating in-situ mining technology is a new type of oil shale mining technology. This technology can improve the fracture gap connectivity, crude oil fluidity, and heat transfer efficiency in oil shale reservoirs. This technology has become a research hotspot in the field of in-situ mining technology. However, this technology still faces technical problems, such as low heating efficiency and high equipment cost. Therefore, scholars have carried out a lot of improvement research on heat conduction, oil shale structure change, and fluid flow after convection heating oil shale. This review compares and summarizes the technology of in-situ mining oil shale by convection heating, including fracture development, temperature distribution, and fluid migration law in oil shale reservoirs. In addition, the author also introduces the development process, optimization scheme, engineering application, and theoretical guidance of the technology. Finally, the key problems and future development direction of convective heating oil shale technology are prospected. • In situ mining is the only technology for large scale development of oil shale. • Oil shale is rich in kerogen and a small amount of asphalt. • The proppant can solve the problem of easy closure of oil shale cracks after heating. • Nitrogen will not condense into liquid state to hinder oil and gas production. • Convection heating oil shale has the advantages of environmental protection. • In situ mining is the only technology for large scale development of oil shale. • Convection heating technology can improve the fracture gap connectivity and heat transfer efficiency in oil shale. • Besides temperature, pressure, atmosphere and fracture structure also have important effects. • Convection heating oil shale has the advantages of environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available chlorine is known to play a significant role in metal corrosion due to its oxidising properties. In this paper, the effect of available chlorine concentration on corrosion behaviour of the low alloy marine steel was investigated by electrochemical and immersion tests. Experimental results show that the corrosion rate of low alloy marine steel is accelerated with the increase of available chlorine concentration in seawater. The localised electrochemical dissolution of the steel is more active with the concentration of available chlorine increasing. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was performed to understand the composition of the corrosion products that the large enrichment of Cl element occurred for the high available chlorine concentration (100 ppm) after 720 h exposure to seawater. The influence of available chlorine concentration on mechanical property of low alloy marine steel indicatesthe less impact on the tensile and yield strength of the low alloy marine steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural modified filtrate reducer is an important additive in the process of oil drilling. It can reduce the fluid loss of drilling fluid, improve filter cake and protect borehole wall. However, with the continuous increase of drilling depth and the gradual increase of temperature, natural modified filtrate reducer began to appear poor stability, lower filtration effect and other problems. Therefore, scholars have studied the natural filtrate reducer to improve the temperature resistance of the natural filtrate reducer, so that the natural modified filtrate reducer can adapt to the high temperature formation. Moreover, some natural modified filtrate reducer also have calcium and salt resistance. This review provides a comparative investigation and summary for asphalt, humic acid, lignin, cellulose and starch filtrate reducers. In addition, the author also introduces the mechanism of natural modified filtrate reducers, preparation process of natural modified filtrate reducers, optimization and improvement of natural modified filtrate reducers and their application fields. Last, the author looks forward to the current key issues and future development direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the spraying efficiency of cotton chemical topping agents, a field experiment was conducted to compare the effects of 250 g·L−1 mepiquat chloride aqueous solutions sprayed by a T30 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a boom sprayer. The cotton agronomic parameters, pesticide utilization rate, yield, and fiber quality were determined. The results showed that the pesticide utilization rates of the T30 UAV and the boom sprayer were 48.71% and 30.37%, respectively. After 10, 20, 30, and 40 days of T30 UAV spraying, the plant height inhibition rates of the two varieties of cotton were 12.97%, 13.78%, 20.91%, and 26.14% for Xinluzao 52 and 8.64%, 13.37%, 14.72%, and 18.03% for Huiyuan 720. After spraying with a boom sprayer, the plant height inhibition rates were 7.94%, 11.13%, 18.23%, and 23.69% for Xinluzao 52 and 6.09%, 9.98%, 11.78%, and 15.14% for Huiyuan 720 after 10, 20, 30, and 40 days of spraying. The T30 UAV spraying chemical topping agent was shown to have a significant beneficial effect on the utilization rate of the pesticides, as well as the agronomic properties, yield, and the fiber quality of the cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal burst prediction is an important research hotspot in coal mine production safety. This paper presents FDNet, which is a knowledge and data fusion-driven deep neural network for coal burst prediction. The main idea of FDNet is to extract explicit features based on the existing mine seismic physical model and utilize deep learning to automatically extract the implicit features of mine microseismic data. The key innovations of FDNet include an expert knowledge indicator selection method based on a subset search strategy, a mine microseismic data extraction method based on a deep convolutional neural network, and a feature deep fusion method of mine microseismic data based on an attention mechanism. We conducted a set of engineering experiments in Gaojiapu Coal Mine to evaluate the performance of FDNet. The results show that compared with the state-of-the-art data-driven machines and knowledge-driven methods, the prediction accuracy of FDNet is improved by 5% and 16%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The present study aims to investigate the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and hair cortisol concentration among teachers to examine whether hair cortisol can be a biomarker of chronic work stress. Methods: Hair samples were collected from 39 female teachers from three kindergartens. Cortisol was extracted from the hair samples with methanol, and cortisol concentrations were measured with high performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Work stress was measured using the effort–reward imbalance scale. Results: The ratio of effort to reward showed significantly positive association with hair cortisol concentration. Conclusion: The cortisol concentration in the system increases with the effort–reward imbalance. Measurement of hair cortisol can become a useful biomarker of chronic work stress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The electrochemical mechanism of Fe-Ni electrodeposition under ultrasonic was investigated by electrochemistry methods. Linear scanning voltammetry and cyclic voltammetry were used to show that the deposition process changed from the diffusion control under static conditions to an electrochemical control under ultrasonic conditions. Chronoamperometry curves showed that the Fe-Ni deposit occurred by a mechanism that instantaneous nucleation is followed by three-dimensional growth under charge transfer control. Chronopotentiogram indicated that because of the intensity of the ultrasound stripping effect, high ultrasonic power is unsuitable for electroforming Fe-Ni alloy, and a high current density is also not appropriate. Thus, the optimum parameters for Fe-Ni electrodeposition under ultrasonic conditions are ultrasonic power between 80 and 100 W (power density 0.28–0.35 W/cm2), and a current density lower than 10 mA/cm2 with temperature 323 K and pH 3. Experiments were performed to verify that the Fe-Ni masks prepared by ultrasonic-assisted electroforming had a good surface quality. The increase in ultrasonic power can obtain a larger grain size, thus got a low thermal expansion coefficient and a high hardness. Therefore, ultrasonic-assisted electrodeposition technology provides an effective and practically feasible manufacturing method for OLED Fe-Ni mask preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The low-velocity drop hammer impact tests of five HSC specimens are conducted. • Five failure modes are proposed. • The impact process of HSC specimens is divided into 5 stages. • Static loading tests are implemented on HSC specimens to analyze structural residual bearing capacity. • Comparisons of dynamic response between HSC and SC slabs are made. The current research on the dynamic response of half steel–concrete (HSC) composite slabs is not only limited but also primarily concentrated on high-velocity impacts. This study investigates the dynamic response of such structures by examining failure modes, impact resistance mechanisms, and energy dissipation under low-velocity impacts through drop hammer impact tests conducted on five HSC specimens. In addition, the variation of the out-of-plane residual bearing capacity with the damage degree of specimens and impact energy is analyzed using static loading tests. Finally, the dynamic response differences between half steel–concrete slabs and steel–concrete (SC) slabs are analyzed by comparing multiple indicators. The results indicate that HSC slabs exhibit five distinct failure modes when subjected to low-velocity impact within a range of 3.13–7.00 m/s. Additionally, five stages of the dynamic response process of the HSC slabs are proposed. Moreover, the bottom steel plate plays a crucial role in retaining structural out-of-plane residual bearing capacity. Furthermore, compared with the SC structure, the HSC slab is capable of absorbing input impact energy within a much smaller displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the coal pore system is extremely significant for gas disaster prevention in coal mines and coalbed methane exploitation. To accurately, quantifiable, and non-destructively characterize the coal pore system, the relationship between total porosity, effective porosity, pore size distribution, and resistivity of coals with different degrees of metamorphic was studied by resistance test and low field NMR techniques. The dimensionless parameter ρP that characterize the coal pore system was defined by the variety of resistivity in dry and saturated conditions. The achieved results are presented as follows: (1) The greater the ρP (the influence of the coal pore system on the conductivity), the larger the total porosity; (2) The proportion of effective pores increased linearly with the addition of the ρP; (3) The proportion of micropores and small pores decreased linearly as the ρP increased, revealed that these pores had poor connectivity and complicated structure, and had a significant negative effect on the conductivity of saturated coal. (4) The proportion of mesopores and macropores gained linearly as the ρP increased, indicated these pores had well connectivity, and had a positive influence on the conductivity. The results showed that the variety of coal resistivity from dry to the saturated condition was mainly controlled by the pore system. Therefore, a new method to characterize the coal pore system was proposed, which was exceedingly effectively, conveniently, and non-destructively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a tyrosine phosphatase, Src homology 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2) serves as an inhibitor in PI3K-Akt pathway. In mammals, SHP2 can phosphorylate GSK3β at Y216 site to control the expression of IFN. So far, the multiple functions of SHP2 have been reported in mammals. However, little is known about fish SHP2. In this study, we cloned and identified a grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) SHP2 gene (CiSHP2 , MT373151). SHP2 is conserved among different vertebrates by amino acid sequences alignment and the phylogenetic tree analysis. CiSHP2 shared the closest homology with Danio rerio SHP2. Simultaneously, SHP2 was also tested in grass carp tissues and CIK (C. idellus kidney) cells. We found that it responded to poly I:C stimulation. CiSHP2 was located in the cytoplasm just as the same as those of mammals. Interestingly, it inhibited the phosphorylation level of GSK3β in a non-contact manner. Meanwhile CiGSK3β interacted with and directly phosphorylated CiTBK1. In addition, we found that CiSHP2 also reduced the phosphorylation level of CiTBK1 by CiGSK3β, and then it depressed the expression of IFN I via GSK3β-TBK1 axis. These results suggested that CiSHP2 was involved in CiGSK3β and CiTBK1 activity but not regulated their transcriptional level. At the same time, we also found that CiSHP2 also influenced the activity of CiIRF3. Therefore, fish SHP2 inhibited IFN I expression through blocking GSK3β-TBK1 signal axis. • CiSHP2 responded to poly I:C stimulation and down-regulated CiIFN I expression. • CiSHP2 didn't bind to CiGSK3β but could regulate its phosphorylation at Tyr216. • CiGSK3β physically bound to CiTBK1 in the absence of poly I: C. • Knocked-down of CiTBK1 can block the regulation of CiGSK3β on CiIFN I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Validation of THACS and OpenMC for SFR has been enhanced by simulating FFTF LOFWST Test #13. • A new modeling method multi-parallel channel plus local subchannel model is proposed for reactor core. • Important local phenomenon like inter wrapper flow, thermal stratification is analyzed by the specific model. In order to support collaborative efforts within international partnerships on the development of sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposes a coordinated research project (CRP) about the unprotected loss-of-flow-without-scram test (LOSWOS) performed at Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) in 2018, which could validate simulation tool and numerical models for SFR. As one of the participants, the Nuclear THermal-hydraulic Laboratory at Xi'an Jiaotong University (NuTHeL) participates with the monte carol code OpenMC and system thermal hydraulic code THACS. This paperdeal with the standalone neutronic modeling by OpenMC and thermal hydraulic modelling by THACS. For neutronic part, the axial homogenous model was modeled to analyze the reactivity feedback coefficients and steady radial power distribution. For thermal hydraulic part, the system model, including 2D CFD outlet plenum model, subchannel model and inter-wrapper flow model, was modeled to analyze both system response and local phenomena during the LOSWOS. In general, both neutronic results and thermal hydraulic results agreed well with other participants or experiments, the reactivity feedback of GEM could provide major negative feedback, which could be used as a novel passive shutdown device. However, the remaining discrepancies were the underestimated peak temperature of PIOTA at the begin of transients, it may be caused by unknow heat transfer coefficients around hexagon tube, which has no correlation and should be further investigated by experiments. In addition, when considering IWF model, the maximum temperature of the outlet for the active fuel region was 10 K larger than the subassemblie' outlet in the PIOTA, this phenomenon should be carefully treated in loss of flow accidents of SFR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong coupling heat transfer between subassemblies and inter-wrapper gaps is closely related to the safety of the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). Therefore, it is very important to carry out a detailed thermal hydraulic analysis of the core. In this paper, the inter-wrapper channel is modeled using the subchannel analysis method. A core thermal-hydraulic analysis code SACOS-Na (Subchannel Analysis Code Of Safety for SFR) is developed by using SIMPLE algorithm. For the subassembly module, a total of three experiments, including ORNL 19-pin experiment, TOSHIBA 37-pin experiment and KNS 37-pin experiment, are adopted to demonstrate the feasibility of the mathematical and physical models and numerical algorithms of the SACOS-Na as well as the rationality of the selected auxiliary models. For the inter-wrapper gap module, WEISS 2-subassembly experiment and CCTL-CFR 3-subassembly experiment are used to verify not only the simulation capability for backflow and strong inter-subassembly heat transfer, but also the heat structure model and the subchannel modeling approach on inter-wrapper gaps. In addition, the prediction accuracy of SACOS-Na has reached the advanced international level by comparing with the worldwide well-known core thermal hydraulic analysis codes. • The subchannel modeling method is adopted to build the mesh for inter-wrapper channels. • The SIMPLE algorithm is used to solve the problems of the reverse flow and inter-subassembly heat transfer occurred in SFRs. • The universal core thermal-hydraulic analysis code SACOS-Na for SFRs is developed. • The accuracy and reliability of the SACOS-Na are discussed from all aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to viral infections, various pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) are activated for the production of type I interferon (IFN I). As a center of these receptor responses, TANK binding kinase-1 (TBK1) activates interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3). SRC is a member of Src family kinases (SFK) which participates in TBK1-mediated IFN I signaling pathway. In mammals, the immunological function of SRC is depended on its interaction with TBK1. To date, SRC has not been studied in fish. In this paper, we cloned the ORF of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) SRC (CiSRC). CiSRC has a closer relationship with Sinocyclocheilus rhinocerous SRC (SrSRC). The expression level of CiSRC was significantly up-regulated following poly (I:C) stimulation in grass carp tissues and cells. Subcellular localization results showed that CiSRC is located both in the cytoplasm and nucleus, while CiTBK1 is only located in the cytoplasm of CIK cells. When GFP-CiSRC and FLAG-CiTBK1 were co-transfected into CIK cells, we found that they were co-localized in the cytoplasm. GST-pulldown and Co-immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that CiSRC and CiSRC tyrosine kinase domain deletion mutant (SRC-ΔTyrkc) can interact with CiTBK1, respectively. CiSRC promotes the phosphorylation of CiTBK1. Furthermore, the phosphorylation of TBK1 is more strongly under poly (I:C) stimulation. We also demonstrated that SRC can up-regulate IFN I expression. These results above unraveled that CiSRC initiates innate immune response by binding to and then up-regulating the phosphorylation of TBK1. • CiSRC can respond to poly (I:C) stimulation. • CiSRC can physically interact with CiTBK1. • CiSRC activates CiTBK1 by increasing the phosphorylation level of CiTBK1. • CiSRC promotes the expression of IFN I via CiTBK1. • The tyrosine kinase domain of CiSRC is important for the expression of IFN I. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fe-Ni film with smooth surface could be electrodeposited at high current density due to the reducing of internal stress of film by ultrasonic power. • The iron content, grain size, micro-hardness and Young's modulus of film all present an upward trend with ultrasonic power increases from 13 W to 93 W, and then a downward trend due to the intensively transient cavitation caused by higher ultrasonic power 120 W. • With the ultrasonic power of 93 W and current density of 1 A/dm2, a good surface quality of Fe-Ni films with 60.07 wt.% iron content, microhardness 351 HV, Young's modulus 167.5 GPa and CTE 3.38 × 10−6/°C can be electrodeposited. Fe-Ni alloy is considered as the most suitable metal for OLED mask making due to its excellent properties. However, electrodeposited Fe-Ni film is often companied with poor surface quality and thermal expansion. To get proper film for masks making, experiments of electroforming Fe–Ni were performed with different ultrasonic powers and current densities. Results show that Fe-Ni film with smooth surface could be electrodeposited at high current density due to the reducing of internal stress of film by ultrasonic power. The iron content, grain size, micro-hardness and Young's modulus of film all present an upward trend with ultrasonic power increases from 13 W to 93 W, and then a downward trend due to the intensively transient cavitation caused by higher ultrasonic power 120 W. With the ultrasonic power of 93 W and current density of 1 A/dm2, a good surface quality of Fe-Ni films with 60.07 wt.% iron content, microhardness 351 HV, Young's modulus 167.5 GPa and CTE 3.38 × 10−6/℃ can be electrodeposited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The heat exchanger tubes showed leakage failure after one year of service. • The standard failure analysis methods were conducted to investigate the root cause of the failure. • The heat exchanger tube failed as a result of the severe pitting corrosion and severe denicklification was found in corrosion pits. Failure analysis of a heat exchanger made of 70/30 cupronickel was investigated in this paper. The heat exchanger tubes showed leakage failure after one year of service. The maximum thinning regions were mainly distributed in the lower region near the tube inlet along the flow direction. Visual examination, chemical composition analysis and microstructure characterization were conducted to determine the root cause of the failure. Visual investigation revealed the perforation was initiated from the inner wall of the tube. Microscopic examination showed that the heat exchanger tube failed as a result of severe pitting corrosion. The chloride presence and denicklification were found in the corrosion pits. The aggressive environment generated under deposits caused the phenomenon of localized corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional mold metal always has a high thermal expansion coefficient which cannot satisfy the demand for composite material component mold making. Therefore, in order to get a cylindrical shell in thicker, large size, and low thermal expansion property for mold making, fundamental experiment of electrodeposited Fe–Ni alloy was performed on a cylindrical cathode with different rotary speeds and current densities. The composition, micro-structure, thermal expansion property, and mechanical properties were tested after deposition. The results showed that with the decreasing in current density and increasing in cathode rotary speed, the thermal expansion coefficient, micro-hardness, and tensile strength are decreasing while the iron content represents an upward trend. Due to the application of rotating cathode speed ranging from 10 to 60 r/min, the thermal expansion coefficient of alloy can be adjusted between 7.6 and 13.3 × 10−6/°C. In cathode rotary speed of 60 r/min, a good quality Fe–Ni alloy cylindrical sample of 64 wt.% iron contents, hardness 558 HV, tensile strength 1364 MPa, and thermal expansion coefficient 7.6 × 10−6/°C can be obtained at a comparatively high current density 6 A/dm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, with the increasing depth of coal mining around the world, traditional shallow geology mechanics are no longer suitable for the research on deep geological problems. In terms of deep mining, soft rock roadways in inclined rock formations show different deformation types compared with soft rock roadways in shallow horizontal strata. Based on the -1000 m track contact roadway in Qishan Mine of Xuzhou, physical model tests on the failure process of 45° and 60° inclined layered soft rock formations are carried out using physical models. The real-time monitoring of strain inside the model during the failure of soft rock formation is conducted to explore the failure mechanisms of 45° and 60° inclined layered soft rock formations in terms of in-depth high self-weight stress and horizontal tectonic stress. FLAC3D is also used for numerical simulation and comparative analysis. The roof and floor of the tunnels through 45° and 60° inclined formations fail on the left, and left and right walls fail near the bottom. The maximum displacement of the roof and floor of the 60° inclined formation is larger than that of the 45° inclined formation, and the maximum amount of deformation of left and right walls of the 45° inclined formation is larger than that of the 60° inclined formation, indicating failure features of different steeply inclined layered soft rocks roadways under high lithostatic stress and horizontal tectonic stress can provide a theoretical basis for mining and support of deep roadways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More frequent extreme heat conditions, forecasted in the context of climate change, are likely to significantly affect microbial communities that are important for nitrogen (N) cycling and N 2 O emissions. Here we report an incubation study on the effect of a range of temperatures (20, 30 and 40 °C) on the growth of bacteria (ammonia oxidizing bacteria, AOB), archaea (ammonia oxidizing archaea, AOA), fungi (18SrRNA) and key denitrifying communities ( nirK- , nirS- and nosZ -denitrifiers), and effects on N 2 O emissions, following the application of urea and an organic manure in an acidic soil. Results showed that the growth of ammonia oxidizers and denitrifiers were strongly inhibited by the higher temperatures, particularly at 40 °C. AOB grew well with the application of urea and manure but AOA grew in the Control at 20 °C. Bacterial denitrifiers only grew mostly at 20 °C and did not grow at the higher temperatures. In contrast, fungi communities, including fungal nirK -type communities, grew under all three temperatures in the manure treatment, but not in the urea treatment, showing fungal tolerance to high temperatures and an interaction between nitrogen (N) source and fungal growth. N 2 O emissions increased in the urea treatments and decreased in the manure treatments with increasing temperature, possibly pointing to different mechanisms of N 2 O production in the urea and manure treated soils. These results suggest that different microbial communities will respond differently to extreme heat conditions and the type of N source applied will also have an interactive effect with temperature on the microbial growth and N 2 O emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the mechanical properties of and crack propagation in coal after water intrusion is necessary to tackle a number of geological engineering problems such as those associated with underground water storage in collieries and support for underground roadways in coal mines. To study the mechanical properties and crack development, 12 coal samples with moisture contents of 0, 2.37, 3.78 and 5.29 % were prepared for acoustic emission tests under uniaxial compression. Over about 6 days, the coal samples absorbed moisture from a humidifier in three different phases. In this period, uniaxial tests show that the peak stress, elastic modulus, strain softening modulus and post-peak modulus decreased with rising moisture content in the samples while the peak strain increased. It was further found that, by analysing the relationship between the stiffness and stress and the accumulated acoustic emission counts, all the phases of crack development can be evaluated. This is useful for studying the effect of water intrusion on crack propagation and for calculating the mechanical properties of the coal such as the elastic modulus. This investigation also quantifies the percentage of the stress thresholds for crack closure, crack initiation, and crack damage that constitutes the peak stress. These stress thresholds do not change with moisture content. Our results are of great significance for water storage in coal mines, for determination of pillar dimensions in coal mines, and for expanding the knowledge base of the mechanical properties of coal and the characteristics of crack propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is a potent greenhouse gas and is mainly produced from agricultural soils especially vegetable soils with large N fertilizer input. How future projected climate change may impact on the N 2 O emissions and the related key (de)nitrifier communities in such ecosystem is poorly understood. The aim of this field study was to determine the interactive effects of a simulated warmer and drier climate on (de)nitrifier communities and N 2 O emissions in a vegetable soil. A warmer (+3.3 °C) and drier climate (−14.4% soil moisture content) was created with greenhouses with or without urea N fertilizer application. The variation of microbial population abundance and community structure of Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), bacteria (AOB) and denitrifiers ( nirK/S , nosZ ) were determined using Real time-PCR and sequencing. The results showed a strong interactive effect of simulated climate change with N fertilizer applications, whereby the impacts of warmer and drier conditions on the microbial communities and N 2 O emissions were more evident when N fertilizer was applied. The simulated warmer and drier conditions in the greenhouses significantly decreased N 2 O emissions largely due to the drier soil conditions. The abundance and community structure of AOB showed more rapid responses than AOA under the simulated climate conditions when N fertilizer was applied. Changes of AOB community structure were significantly correlated with soil moisture content and NH 4 + -N concentration. The simulated climate change did not affect the nirS gene abundance, but significantly increased nirK gene abundance, and significantly decreased nosZ gene abundance with urea application. N 2 O emissions were positively correlated with the bacterial amoA abundance and with the ratio of nirK / nosZ gene abundance. Therefore, bacterial amoA , nirK- and nosZ- type denitrifiers are the dominant microbial communities which were affected by the simulated climate conditions and are thus critically important for N cycling in vegetable soils under a changing climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In this work, periodic ultrasound was introduced into the electroforming process to electrodeposit fe–ni foil layers with high properties and low coefficient of thermal expansion that satisfied the requirements for avionics packaging. The periodic ultrasound was realized by a time relay. T on represents the working time of the time relay, while t off is the off time. During T on , the ultrasonic transducer and the power supply are simultaneously active. Under the action of an electric field force and ultrasonic waves, the metal cations in solution are rapidly deposited on the surface of the cathode. During T off , the ultrasonic transducer is inactive, while the power supply continues to function. In this case, no ultrasound-assisted process is active on the surface of the cathode, and the metal cations in solution are deposited on the surface only under the action of the electric field. The infinite loop created by the t on and t off time relay enables intermittent ultrasound-assisted electrodeposition on the cathode surface. • Electrochemical analysis and morphological testing indicated that periodic ultrasonic can sufficiently weaken the stripping effect caused by continuous high-power ultrasonic treatment. Under periodic ultrasonic treatment, it is possible to apply both high current density and high ultrasonic power in the electroforming system. By adjusting the current density and the duty cycle, fe–ni deposits with coefficients of thermal expansion ranging from 2.96 to 6.71 × 10−6/°C were obtained. Compared to fe–ni alloys prepared via traditional electrodeposition methods, the fe–ni layers obtained in this study exhibit a larger range of CTE values and great improvements in other physical and mechanical properties. Periodic ultrasound was introduced into the electroforming process to electrodeposit Fe–Ni foil layers with high properties and low coefficient of thermal expansion that satisfied the requirements for avionics packaging. Electrochemical analysis and morphological testing indicated that periodic ultrasound can sufficiently weaken the stripping effect caused by continuous high-power ultrasonic treatment. Under periodic ultrasonic treatment, applying both high current density and high ultrasonic power in the electroforming system is possible. By adjusting the current density and the duty cycle, Fe–Ni deposits with coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) ranging from 2.96 to 6.71 × 10−6/ °C were obtained. Compared to Fe–Ni alloys prepared via traditional electrodeposition methods, the Fe–Ni layers obtained in this study exhibit a larger range of CTE values and great improvements in other physical and mechanical properties. The Fe–Ni alloy foil obtained at a duty cycle of 0.57 and current density of 1 A/dm2 possessed a low surface roughness of 0.95 μm, the iron content of 63 wt.%, micro-hardness of 373.1 HV, Young's modulus of 133.7 MPa, and CTE of 5.39 × 10−6/ °C. [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Epilepsy is a disease characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures and by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of this condition. Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is the most common and often drug-resistant type of epilepsies in the adult and aging populations and has greatly diverse in etiologies and electro-clinical manifestations. Kindling through repeated brief stimulation of limbic structures has long been used as a model of TLE. While classic kindling in a few weeks does not induce spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS), extended kindling is able to induce SRS in several animal species. The SRS induction by extended kindling is generally not associated with gross brain injury, but rather a loss of subgroups of GABAergic interneurons in the hippocampal hilar region. The lack of observed gross brain injury in extended kindled animals is different from post status epilepticus models in which SRS emergence is accompanied with pronounced brain damage. As such the extended kindling model may help explore epileptogenesis in the absence of major brain pathology as is seen in many patients with TLE. To data, there is limited insight about EEG characteristics of SRS in rodent models of extended kindling. We therefore attempted to provide more information in this area using a mouse model of extended hippocampal kindling (Song et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2019; Frontier Pharmacology). Methods. Male C57 black mice ages 11–13 months were operated to implant intracranial electrodes. Each mouse was implanted with two pairs of bipolar electrodes, one in the hippocampal CA3 for kindling stimulation and local recordings and another in contralateral/ipsilateral hippocampal CA3, dorsomedial thalamus, parietal cortex or entorhinal cortex. Hippocampal kindling (60 Hz for 2 sec) was applied twice daily, and SRS were detected by 24-hour EEG-video monitoring. Age-match mice that received similar electrode implantation and twice daily handling manipulation but not kindling were used as controls. Brain histological examinations were performed in a subset of mice to verify the location of implanted electrodes and to examine potential gross brain lesion. Results. (1) SRS were observed from 47 mice following 80–140 kindling stimulation; no spontaneous seizure was detected in 12 control mice. (2) SRS remained detectable in individual mice up to 4 months after termination of the kindling stimulation. SRS incidences varied in a range of 2–14 events per day but inter-SRS intervals were ≤2 hours for about 65% of SRS events. (3) Most of SRS were featured with EEG ictal discharges and concurrent motor seizures at the Racine scale 3–5. SRS that presented EEG ictal discharges without or with concurrent motor behaviors at the Racine scale 1–2 were also noticeable, particularly in mice with implanted electrode in the dorsomedial thalamus. (4) In ≥1500 SRS events examined, nearly all EEG ictal discharges presented low-voltage signals at onset and such ictal onset appeared to concur in the kindled CA3 and unkindled site despite the latter targeted to different brain structures. (5) CA3 and cortical EEG ictal discharges were not substantially affected by intra-peritoneal injection of lorazepam (a benzodiazepine positive GABAa receptor modulator) but concurrent severe motor seizures were greatly suppressed. Summary. We suggest that epileptogenic network activity encompassing multiple forebrain areas may be responsible for SRS initiation in the mouse model of extended hippocampal kindling. Subcortical structures involving the dorsomedial thalamic circuitry may play an important role in manifestation and/or control of severe motor seizures in this model. Support. EpLink – The Epilepsy Research Program of the Ontario Brain Institute and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The PIRT of SBO for China pool type SFR has been developed by 15 experts. • A math method to evaluate different opinion about PIRT results has been proposed. • The results could be developed V&V matrix and a better understanding for SFR. In order to satisfy analysis of safety requirements for China pool type sodium-cooled fast reactor, a phenomena identification and ranking table (PIRT) is developed for station blackout (SBO) accidents by 15 experts. The SBO accidents could be divided into two phases, i.e. phase 1: force circulation and phase 2: natural circulation, and the most important phenomena but maximum disagreements among experts are the gap conductance model between fuel and clad, the inter wrapper flow, the heat transfer between coolant and inter wrapper. Those phenomena should be carefully assessed and done more theorical and experiment analysis to develop more accurate and realistic model, to reduce uncertainty of safety analysis. The PIRT could be also used for developing verification and validation matrix for thermal hydraulic safety code, guiding researchers and designers to conduct experiments to close technological gap and giving related researcher and designer a comprehensive understanding for pool-type sodium-cooled fast reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]