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In this article, we study the spectral volume (SV) methods for scalar hyperbolic conservation laws with a class of subdivision points under the Petrov–Galerkin framework. Due to the strong connection between the DG method and the SV method with the appropriate choice of the subdivision points, it is natural to analyze the SV method in the Galerkin form and derive the analogous theoretical results as in the DG method. This article considers a class of SV methods, whose subdivision points are the zeros of a specific polynomial with a parameter in it. Properties of the piecewise constant functions under this subdivision, including the orthogonality between the trial solution space and test function space, are provided. With the aid of these properties, we are able to derive the energy stability, optimal a priori error estimates of SV methods with arbitrary high order accuracy. We also study the superconvergence of the numerical solution with the correction function technique, and show the order of superconvergence would be different with different choices of the subdivision points. In the numerical experiments, by choosing different parameters in the SV method, the theoretical findings are confirmed by the numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore a test method for evaluating the effective cross-linking density of hydrogels. A guar gum–epichlorohydrin hydrogel (GEH) was prepared using guar gum (GG) as the raw material and epichlorohydrin (ECH) as the cross-linking agent. The thermal and mechanical properties, equilibrium swelling rate (ESR), water uptake (WU), and mass cross-linking degree of the hydrogels were assessed. Furthermore, the diffusion behavior of water molecules in the freeze-dried GEH was investigated. The experimental results showed the significance of the initial decomposition temperature (Ti) and final decomposition temperature (Tf) of the freeze-dried GEHs in determining the effective cross-linking density. The water uptake kinetics of the freeze-dried GEH was consistent with the linear fitting of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and nonlinear fitting of the Fickian diffusion model, suggesting that chemisorption dominated the water absorption process in the GEH. Therefore, the effective cross-linking density of the hydrogels could be determined from the thermodynamic analysis and the diffusive behavior of water molecules in the gels. The thermal stability and water diffusion kinetics of the hydrogels were closely linked to the effective cross-linking density and pendant modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We used the Chinese skink Eumeces chinensis as a model animal to study the effects of tail loss on reproductive investment and offspring traits. A total of 147 wild-captured adult females were divided into four groups according to their tail conditions. Tail breaks occurred most frequently in the proximal portion of the tail and least frequently in the distal portion, with the middle portion in between. This finding suggests that tail breaks occurring in nature often entails substantial energetic costs in E. chinensis where the tail is a major site of energy storage. The proportion of females that laid eggs was higher in females with intact or completely regenerated tails than in those with broken tails. Following whole-tail autotomy, the clutch size was reduced by 17%, and the clutch mass was reduced by 14%. Females undergoing substantial tail autotomy reduced reproductive investment, and they did so by reducing the number but not the size of eggs produced. None of the egg and hatchling traits was affected by tail loss. Comparing our data with those reported for other oviparous and viviparous skinks allows us to draw two general conclusions: one is that fecundity (clutch or litter size) is affected by tail loss in all species so far studied, whereas offspring size is affected by tail loss in some species, but not in others; the other is that the reduction in fecundity following tail loss is more evident in species lacking abdominal fat bodies [Current Zoology 58 (2): 228-235, 2012].

new material of Cu(OH)2 nanostructures was prepared using cupric nitrate and sodium hydroxide as raw materials by the chemical precipitation method. The Cu(OH)2 nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectrometer, and X-ray diffractometer. The results showed that the Cu(OH)2 nanostructures exhibited excellent uniform and dispersion at 40°C. A series of factors was investigated to effect the photocatalytic efficiency of methyl orange (MO), such as the concentration of Cu(OH)2 nanostructures, the reaction time of the Cu(OH)2 nanostructures, the initial concentration of MO, and so on. As a result, the Cu(OH)2 nanostructures exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficiency with the concentration of 20 mg L-1 Cu(OH)2 nanostructures, the initial concentration of MO was 15 mg L-1 and the stirring time was 70 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]