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The follow-up timing observations were carried out for 24 pulsars discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey. We report their phase-connected timing ephemeris, polarization pulse profiles, and Faraday rotation measurements. With their spin periods spanning from 2.995 ms to 4.34 s, their period derivatives were determined to spread between 7.996(8) × 10−21 and 9.83(3) × 10−15 s s−1, which imply that they have characteristic ages from 1.97 × 106 to 5.93 × 109 yr. It is inferred that PSRs J0211+4235 and J0518+2431 are beyond the ‘traditional death line’. PSR J0211+4235 is beyond the ‘death valley’. The death line model of Zhang et al. also cannot explain the radio presence of PSR J0211+4235. This suggests that radiation theory needs to be improved. Besides, ten of the 22 canonical pulsars show nulling phenomena. Moreover, PSR J1617+1123 exhibits variation of emission and J0540+4542 shows subpulse drifting. The DM of five pulsars is larger than the estimated by the YMW16 electron density model, which could suggest that electron density models need updates for higher Galactic latitude regions. PSRs J0447+2447 and J1928−0548 are isolated millisecond pulsars. With their flux densities spanning from 5(1)–553(106) μJy, some of these new pulsars found by FAST are distant, dim, and low-$\dot{E}$ ones and are suitable for testing pulsar emission theories.

We report the phase-connected timing ephemeris, polarization pulse profiles, Faraday rotation measurements, and Rotating-Vector-Model (RVM) fitting results of 12 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) in the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST survey (CRAFTS). The timing campaigns were carried out with FAST and Arecibo over 3 yr. 11 of the 12 pulsars are in neutron star–white dwarf binary systems, with orbital periods between 2.4 and 100 d. 10 of them have spin periods, companion masses, and orbital eccentricities that are consistent with the theoretical expectations for MSP–Helium white dwarf (He WD) systems. The last binary pulsar (PSR J1912−0952) has a significantly smaller spin frequency and a smaller companion mass, the latter could be caused by a low orbital inclination for the system. Its orbital period of 29 d is well within the range of orbital periods where some MSP–He WD systems have shown anomalous eccentricities, however, the eccentricity of PSR J1912−0952 is typical of what one finds for the remaining MSP–He WD systems.

The intensively intermittent use of antibiotics promotes the rapid evolution of tolerance, which may lead to resistance acquisition in the following evolutionary trajectory. In addition to directly exporting antibiotics as an instant resistance strategy, efflux pumps are overexpressed in tolerant strains.

We report the follow-up of 10 pulsars discovered by the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical radio-Telescope (FAST) during its commissioning. The pulsars were discovered at a frequency of 500-MHz using the ultrawide-band (UWB) receiver in drift-scan mode, as part of the Commensal Radio Astronomy FAST Survey (CRAFTS). We carried out the timing campaign with the 100-m Effelsberg radio-telescope at L-band around 1.36 GHz. Along with 11 FAST pulsars previously reported, FAST seems to be uncovering a population of older pulsars, bordering and/or even across the pulsar death-lines. We report here two sources with notable characteristics. PSR J1951+4724 is a young and energetic pulsar with nearly 100 per cent of linearly polarized flux density and visible up to an observing frequency of 8 GHz. PSR J2338+4818, a mildly recycled pulsar in a 95.2-d orbit with a Carbon–Oxygen white dwarf (WD) companion of $\gtrsim 1\, \rm {M}_{\odot }$, based on estimates from the mass function. This system is the widest WD binary with the most massive companion known to-date. Conspicuous discrepancy was found between estimations based on NE2001 and YMW16 electron density models, which can be attributed to underrepresentation of pulsars in the sky region between Galactic longitudes 70° < l < 100°. This work represents one of the early CRAFTS results, which start to show potential to substantially enrich the pulsar sample and refine the Galactic electron density model.

BACKGROUND Prostate volume (PV) and its change rate are important for the progression of prostate disease, but studies on their estimates are inconsistent. OBJECTIVES To investigate whether age, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and other specific characteristics are associated with PV and its change rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS A community-based cohort study was conducted in a rural area of China among male residents aged 40-80 years. PV was estimated at baseline and at 4 years of follow-up by trans-abdominal ultrasound. Annual PV change rate (PVCR) was calculated as change in volume divided by time interval. Baseline characteristics, including age, serum PSA, and hormones, were evaluated. And their relationships with PV or PVCR were assessed with Pearson correlation and multivariate linear regression analyses. RESULTS Totally, 462 participants completed the follow-up with baseline PV (PV0 ) of 15.6 ± 5.5 ml. PV0 was highly correlated with age and PSA in pairwise correlations (Pearson r = 0.35 and 0.34, respectively, p

Multistage space guide vane long shaft pump is widely used in many important fields because of its compact structure, convenient maintenance and simple pipeline. However, due to the complex flow phenomenon in its channel, the space guide vane long shaft pump has the problem of low performance. This paper takes xb4.3/240-300lc vertical long shaft fire pump as the research object. When the blade outlet width is the same, three schemes of impeller outlet inclination angle (0°, 15°and 25°) are designed, and CFX is used for numerical simulation to analyse the difference of internal flow field of each scheme. The results show that compared with the other two schemes, the scheme with an inclination angle of 15° has better performance in efficiency( η ) and head( H ). The pressure on the working surface of the blade is higher than that on the back of the blade, and the pressure near the front cover plate increases with the growth of the inclination angle. Under the condition of small flow, the velocity at the impeller outlet increases with the growth of inclination angle. Under the condition of large flow, the velocity at the impeller outlet decreases with the growth of inclination angle. Similarly, the turbulent kinetic energy shares the same pattern with the velocity at the impeller outlet. Under all working conditions, small vortex structure appears in impeller and guide vane. It is found that the scheme with impeller outlet inclination angle of 15° has smaller impeller vortex structure under standard working condition.

In this paper, a vertical long-shaft fire pump XBC18-178-240LC3 was taken as the research object to study the static characteristics of the pump rotor-shaft system under different shaft length connection. To analyse the influence of the length and number of the intermediate shaft section of the pump shaft on the deformation and equivalent stress of the shafting rotor, three shafting rotor models Z4(modified model), Z5(original model) and Z6(modified model) were designed, and then the static characteristics of them were analysed and compared under four operating conditions of 0.65Q d(0.65 times design flow),1.0Q d, 1.2Q d and 1.4Q d by numerical simulation. The results suggested that the changed rules of the three models' deformation and equivalent stress were basically the same. After the rated operating condition, the maximum deformation of the impeller of Z5 model was smaller than that of the Z4 and Z6 models. Under the four operating conditions, the maximum equivalent stress of the impeller of Z5 model was the smallest. This showed that the length and number of the intermediate shaft section affected the deformation and equivalent stress of the shaft rotor. Therefore, Z5 model was selected as the best rotor structure design scheme.

For multi-stage pumps, the change of the impeller stage spacing will have a greater impact on the dynamic characteristics of the shafting rotor. The paper took XBC18-178-240LC3 vertical long shaft fire pump as the research object, using ANSYS Workbench software to study the relationship between the critical speed of the shafting rotor and the different positions of the impellers. First, 9 shafting rotors (based Z4,Z5 and Z6 models) under the different positions of the impellers were established; and then the change law of the critical speed on 9 shafting rotors in the first 12 modes was studied. The results showed that different positions of the impeller on the shaft have a great impact on critical speed of the shafting rotor. With the increase of the distance between the impeller stages, the low-order critical speed (6th order and within) of the Z4 model shafting rotor decreases. However, the low-order critical speed (5th order and within) of the Z5 and Z6 model shafting rotors decreases with the increase of the distance between the impeller stages, and the high-order critical speed doesn’t satisfy this law. Considering static characteristics of the shafting rotor and actual engineering applications, the paper selected the Z5-stage spacing 800mm shafting rotor model as the best case, providing a theoretical support for the subsequent vertical long shaft fire pump design optimization.

The previous work has shown that Berberine and Hesperidin have beneficial effects on cardiovascular diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effect of Berberine and Hesperidin on inflammatory cytokine secretion, proliferation, differentiation, and collagen synthesis of cardiac fibroblasts stimulated by the transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and the potential of these drugs to regulate the Notch1 signaling pathway.Neonatal rat primary cardiac fibroblasts were stimulated with 5 ng/mL TGF-β1 as model (TGF) group. In the Berberine (TGF+B) group cells were given TGF-β1, along with 1.25/2.5/5/10 mg/L Berberine, while the Hesperidin (TGF+H) group was treated with TGF-β1 and 12.5/25/50/100 µmmol/L Hesperidin. Cellular proliferation, differentiation, and collagen synthesis were evaluated. The role of the Notch1 signaling pathway in the protective effects of Berberine and Hesperidin was analyzed by using γ-secretase inhibitor (DAPT) to block the Notch1 pathway.5/10 mg/L Berberine intervention could noticeably decrease both TGF-β1 and IL-1β levels, 25/50/100 µmol/L Hesperidin could reduce IL-1β secretion from TGF-β1 stimulated cardiac fibroblasts. Both Berberine and Hesperidin decreased the expression of α-SMA and cell viability in a concentration-dependent manner; however, the apoptosis of cardiac fibroblasts was not influenced. 10 mg/L Berberine or at least 50 µmol/L Hesperidin could noticeably decrease MMP-1 expression, and at least 5 mg/L Berberine or 100 µmol/L Hesperidin could markedly reduce MMP-9 expression. Using DAPT to block Notch1 signaling could reverse the protective effects of Berberine and Hesperidin.Berberine and Hesperidin can reduce the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, differentiation, and proliferation, and increase the collagen synthesis of cardiac fibroblasts stimulated by TGF-β1 via the Notch1 signaling pathway.

The engraving of projectile is of great importance during interior ballistics when a gun is fired. In order to investigate the effect of loading speed on the engraving process, quasi-static and dynamic engraving tests are performed, respectively. Small caliber projectiles were engraved by using an MTS809 under predetermined low loading speeds and a specially designed gas gun-based test rig under high loading speeds. The hoop strain of the exterior surface of gun barrel during engraving process was measured. Surface morphology of copper jacket after engraving was observed. Microstructural evolution in cross section of copper jacket was investigated. The present study demonstrates the critical role of strain hardening at low loading speeds and strain rate effect as well as thermal effect at high loading speeds during the engraving process.

ICE1 genes play a very important role in plants in cold conditions. To improve the cold resistance of tomato, the ICE1 gene of Arabidopsis thaliana was used to construct the plant expression vector p3301-ICE1, and was overexpressed in tomato through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Five strains of resistant plants were obtained. PCR and half-quantitative results showed that the ICE1 gene was transferred to tomato; three strains tested positive. After low-temperature stress treatment, praline content and peroxide and catalase activities in the transgenic tomato plants were higher compared with non-transgenic controls, while malondialdehyde content was clearly lower.

The aim of this study was to examine the expression of macrophage migration-inhibitory factor (MIF) in duodenal ulcer epithelial cells and its relation to Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection, and to discuss the pathogenic roles of MIF expression and Hp infection in duodenal ulcer. MIF protein and mRNA expression was examined in samples from patients with duodenal ulcer with and without Hp infection (N = 40 each, experimental group), and in normal duodenal bulb mucosal tissue (N = 40, control group) using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Patients without Hp infection received routine treatment, and treatment was provided to the patients positive for Hp to eradicate Hp infection. Hp and MIF expression levels before treatment and after the ulcer had been cured were compared. The positive rates of MIF protein and mRNA in patients with Hp infection before treatment were 67.5 and 65%, respectively, and were 18.9 and 21.6% in the 37 patients from whom Hp was eliminated. These were statistically different both before and after treatment compared with controls (P0.05). In the patients without Hp infection, the positive rates of MIF protein and mRNA expression before (45 and 47.5%, respectively) and after (32.5 and 30%) treatment were not significantly different (P0.05). The results of this study suggested that MIF is related to the development of duodenal ulcer, and that the presence of Hp is closely related with the expression of MIF in the duodenal mucosa and the development of duodenal ulcer.

The tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) is sensitive to cold, and low field temperatures can result in shortened growth periods and decreased crop yield. Transcription of CRT/DRE-binding factor (CBF) is regulated by INDUCER of CBF EXPRESSION1 (ICE1). CBF activates many downstream genes that confer cold tolerance on plants. ICE1 has been used in genetic engineering to improve cold-resistance in several plant species. Here, ICE1 in a plant expression vector was used to transform a tissue-cultured rhubarb tomato variety using Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The transgenic and control plants were compared at 4°C for 0, 24, and 72 h. We measured leaf physiological indicators related to cold resistance, including malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline (Pro) contents, and peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) activities. At 72 h, the MDA content in transgenic plants was significantly lower than in control plants, indicating a lower membrane lipid injury. The Pro contents and the CAT and POD activities in the transgenic plants increased significantly compared with those of the control plants. For Pro, the increase continued over the prolonged stress exposure, while CAT and POD activities reached peak levels at 24 h. These results are consistent with the roles of Pro, CAT, and POD in defending the integrity of plant cells. Our study not only improves the cold resistance of tomato, but also provides the foundation for further research on the role of ICE1 as a transcription factor in plant cold resistance.

The aim of the research was to investigate the expression of lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS2 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and evaluate its influence on the proliferation, invasion and apoptosis of NSCLC. A total of 56 NSCLC tissues and its corresponding adjacent tissues were collected. Quantitative Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed to evaluate the lncRNA EPB41L4A-AS2 expression level in tissues and cell lines. Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) protein level was determined by western blot assay. CCK8 assay, EdU assay, flow cytometry (FCM) and transwell assay were performed to access cell proliferation, apoptosis and invasion. EPB41L4A-AS2 expression was significantly downregulated in cancer tissues and cells compared with the adjacent tissues and normal cells (P

In the common tapping, the pine barks need to be scraped and the side grooves, the middle grooves need to be cut by hand on the pine trunk, as well as the resin collector needs to be hung on the bamboo pendants which were nailed to the pine trunk. But the borehole tapping without scraping the pine barks and cutting the grooves on the pine, so borehole tapping possesses the lower labor intensity and the higher production efficiency than the common tapping; and the collected resin by borehole tapping is clean without the visible pollutants by human eyes, so it has been widely applied in the foreign countries. But borehole tapping is still in the experimental stage and the relative devices such as the borehole tapping machine and resin guiedvane are scarcely any studied and reported, to a certain extent these have delayed or hindered the application and popularization of borehole tapping in our country. In order to solve these problems, the resin guiedvane used in borehole tapping was designed, and its stress and strain with full-load were analyzed by the finite element analysis (FEA) in this paper. The analysis results have showed that the resin guiedvane didn't fracture and wasn't pulled off during resin tapping; moreover these analysis results were consistent with the practices. The other purpose of this paper is to provided some technical and theoretical references for the design and trial production the relative products, and to promote the development and application of borehole tapping in our country.

The microstructures, surfaces and types of fracture of welded joints of dissimilar steels T92/HR3C are studied after short-term tests at 500 – 650°C. A pioneer equation is obtained for describing the long-term strength of welded joints with the help of data of short-term tensile tests. The values of the long-term strength computed by the equation agree well with experimental data.

After short term tensile test at 823–923 K, microstructure, fractography and fracture mechanism of the T92/Super304H dissimilar steel weld joints were studied. In the high temperature tensile process, the fracture location of all joints is in the T92 base metal; however, the fracture mechanism of these joints changes from a normal mode to a shear mode with the increase of the temperature. Moreover, an equation of the creep rupture strength related to the short term tensile strength of the joints was firstly derived in terms of the Goldenberg model. And then the creep rupture strength of the joints was obtained, = 42·7 MPa.

A convenient and efficient method for the hydrogenative cleavage of azo compounds to corresponding amine (s) using chitosan-supported formate as hydrogen donor in conjunction with low-cost magnesium powder is reported. This method was found to be highly facile with selectivity over several other functional groups, such as halogen, alkene, nitrile, carbonyl, ether, amide, methoxy, and hydroxyl groups. Furthermore, this mild, exceedingly efficient, and highly chemoselective method simplifies the handling and separation procedures.

To investigate the distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the diseased areas cut from HPV-positive cervical adenocarcinoma (ADC) detected by laser capture microdissection (LCM).Paraffin-embedded specimens diagnosed as ADC between 2005 and 2010 were collected from 9 hospitals in 7 regions across China. HPV genotyping was conducted on paraffin sections using sandwich technique and LCM in order to identify HPV infection in the tumor tissues. HE and p16 immunohistochemistry staining were performed to make histological diagnosis.A total of 169 cervical adenocarcinoma cases were recruited, including 94 cases of mucinous adenocarcinoma (ADC-CX), 9 cases of adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC), 19 cases of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (ADC-MIN), 14 cases of clear cell adenocarcinoma (ADC-CC), 8 cases of endometrioid adenocarcinoma (ADC-ENDO), 9 cases of serous adenocarcinoma (ADC-SER) and 16 cases of adenocarcinoma not otherwise specified (ADC-NOS). Fourteen types of high risk HPV were detected in the whole tissue section (WTS). HPV16 was the most common type, and the second was HPV18 and HPV52, respectively. Compared with WTS, the HPV-positive rate detected by LCM was lower. The HPV positive rates were significantly different among different subtypes of cervical adenocarcinoma (P0.001). After LCM, the HPV positive rate was 50.8% and 66.7% in the single infection and multiple, infection groups respectively (P=0.14). The positive rates of p16 was significantly different among different subtypes of cervical adenocarcinoma (P0.001). p16-positive rate was 73.9% in the HPV-positive samples after LCM, significantly higher than the 38.5% of negative samples (P0.001).Laser capture dissection technique can more precisely reflect the HPV distribution in cervical adenocarcinomas. The etiological association between HPV infection and cervical adenocarcinoma occurrence is not as close as that reported in the literature.

Human influenza viruses are major concern as the leading cause of global pandemics. In infecting cells, they preferentially bind to sialyloligosaccharides containing terminal N-acetyl sialic acid linked to galactose by an α-2,6-linkage (NeuAcα2,6Gal). The amount of NeuAcα2,6Gal in Vero cells, which are predominantly used for production of influenza vaccines over the past 30 years, may not be as high as that in epithelial cells of human respiratory tract, what leads to the suboptimal virus growth in Vero cells. In this study, we stably transfected Vero cells with cDNA of human α-2,6-sialyltransferase (SIAT1), an enzyme catalyzing α-2,6-sialylation of galactose on glycoproteins. Overexpression of SIAT1 in the transfected Vero cells (Vero-SIAT1 cells) was confirmed by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy. Vero-SIAT1 cells expressed 7 times higher amounts of NeuAcα2,6Gal, but 3 times lower amounts of NeuAcα2,3Gal as compared to parental Vero cells. Furthermore, the influenza viruses A (H1N1 and H3N2) and B grew in Vero-SIAT1 cells to the higher titers than in Vero cells. Taken together, these results imply that Vero-SIAT1 cells are useful not only for the propagation of human influenza viruses, but also for the preparation of influenza vaccines.

Diffraction Enhanced Imaging (DEI) was used to characterize the extinction contrast coefficient of plant tissues. Single-cells were imaged with planar DEI. The organized structures of the plant cell walls were found to exhibit significant extinction contrast and were readily visualized using DEI. Extinction properties of different tissue types in plant roots, stems and seeds were characterized by DEI in Computed Tomography (DEI–CT) mode at the peak of the analyzer-rocking curve. DEI–CT yields different extinction coefficients for different cell types, resulting in high-contrast, high-resolution images of internal anatomical structures of plants.

We investigated the effects of a modified Shoutaiwai recipe on integrin β3 and leukemia-inhibitory factor (LIF) in the endometrium of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) mice during the implantation window. Seventy non-pregnant mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: a traditional medicine (TCM) treatment group (N = 30), an aspirin treatment (N = 30) group, and a control group (N = 10). After the model was successfully established, mice in the drug treatment groups and the control group were respectively treated with the modified Shoutaiwai recipe, aspirin, or 0.9% physiological saline. During the implantation window of mice, the middle segment of the mouse uterus was recovered, and integrin β3 and LIF expressions in the endometrium were respectively detected using an immunohistological two-step method and reverse transcription-PCR. Expressions of integrin β3 and LIF in the endometrium of mice in the TCM treatment group were significantly increased compared to aspirin-treated and control mice, and those of aspirin-treated mice were increased compared to the control group. Our modified Shoutaiwai recipe may improve the endometrial receptivity of COH mice by increasing the expression of integrin β3 and LIF in the endometrium during the implantation window.

An adaptive control model of a network of signalized intersections is proposed based on a discrete-time, stationary, Markov decision process. The model incorporates probabilistic forecasts of individual vehicle actuations at downstream inductance loop detectors that are derived from a macroscopic link transfer function. The model is tested both on a typical isolated traffic intersection and a simple network comprised of five four-legged signalized intersections, and compared to full-actuated control. Analyses of simulation results using this approach show significant improvement over traditional full-actuated control, especially for the case of high volume, but not saturated, traffic demand.

Experimental evidence has been presented to suggest that the human augmenter of liver regeneration (hALR) serves as a hepatotrophic growth factor during liver regeneration and as a generalized growth factor during pancreas transplant/regeneration. A prokaryotic expression plasmid, pRSET/6his-c-myc-hALR was constructed, by cloning synthesized hALR cDNA into pRSET/6his-c-myc that was improved on the basis of pRSET B by the group. As a result, the protein was highly expressed in E. coli BL21. The recombinant hALR was over 60% of the total protein in E. coli. Its validity was confirmed by means of Western Blotting. The protein was purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography and this FAD-dependent sulfhydryl oxidase activity was measured.

The fcc/L1 2 coherent structure formed in the quaternary Ir–Nb–Ni–Al alloys. The ductility of quaternary Ir–Nb alloy was drastically improved by mixing with Ni–Al binary alloy. The two investigated alloys exhibited higher high-temperature 0.2% flow stress (e.g. above 1000 MPa at 1200 °C) and better ductility (≈20% both at room temperature and 1200 °C). An excellent balance of high-temperature strength and ductility was obtained. The improvement of ductility was attributed to change the fracture mode from intergranular to transgranular.

Biodiesel has recently gained extensive attention. Catalysts play an important role in producing biodiesel by transesterification reaction. In this study, CaO-CeO2 catalysts are developed as the solid base catalyst. Using PDMS-PEO as a structure-directing agent, the prepared CaO-CeO2 catalysts have a three-dimensional interconnected porous structure, which benefits the transesterification reaction. While the added Ce slightly decreases the catalytic activity, the stability of the catalyst shows remarkable improvement. Considering the catalytic activity and stability, the best catalyst is determined to be catalyst 0.15-1073 (Ce/Ca molar ratio of 0.15 and calcination temperature of 1073 K). Under optimum reaction conditions, the biodiesel yield reaches to 97.5% and metal leaching is 117.7 ppm. For catalyst 0.15-1073 regenerated after four reaction cycles, the biodiesel yield is 94.1%. The results reveal that the CaO-CeO2 catalyst has good potential for application in large-scale biodiesel production in the future.

Metallic Glasses (MGs) are always aging toward the lower energy state, which leads to higher density, modulus, and hardness. We find that high pressure (HP) could lead to similar densification and hardening while the energy is increased. The comparison between two processes under HP and ambient pressure shows that densification happens in denser regions in MGs under HP, while it happens in looser regions under ambient pressure, which leads to the opposite energy changes in the two conditions. This result breaks the common wisdom about the relationship between the free volume and enthalpy and displays different structural and energy evolutions in MGs.

Recently, A2B3 type strong spin orbital coupling compounds such as Bi2Te3, Bi2Se3 and Sb2Te3 were theoretically predicated to be topological insulators and demonstrated through experimental efforts. The counterpart compound Sb2Se3 on the other hand was found to be topological trivial, but further theoretical studies indicated that the pressure might induce Sb2Se3 into a topological nontrivial state. Here, we report on the discovery of superconductivity in Sb2Se3 single crystal induced via pressure. Our experiments indicated that Sb2Se3 became superconductive at high pressures above 10 GPa proceeded by a pressure induced insulator to metal like transition at ~3 GPa which should be related to the topological quantum transition. The superconducting transition temperature (TC) increased to around 8.0 K with pressure up to 40 GPa while it keeps ambient structure. High pressure Raman revealed that new modes appeared around 10 GPa and 20 GPa, respectively, which correspond to occurrence of superconductivity and to the change of TC slop as the function of high pressure in conjunction with the evolutions of structural parameters at high pressures.

Two alloys made by adding 5 or 10 at. pct, respectively, of Ni-18.9 at. pct Al to an Ir-15 at. pct Nb alloy were investigated. The microstructure and compressive strength at temperatures between room temperature and 1800 °C were investigated to evaluate the potential of these alloys for ultra-high-temperature use. Their microstructural evolution indicated that the two alloys formed fcc and L12-Ir3Nb two-phase structures. The fcc and L12 two-phase structures were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The 0.2 pct flow stresses were above 1000 MPa at temperatures up to 1200 °C, about 150 MPa at 1500 °C, and over 100 MPa at 1800 °C. The strength of the quaternary Ir-base alloys at 1200 °C was even higher than that of Ir-base binary and ternary alloys. And the strength of quaternary Ir-Nb-Ni-Al was equivalent to that of the Ir-15 at. pct Nb binary alloy at 1800 °C. The compressive ductility of quaternary (around 20 pct) was improved drastically compared with that of the Ir-base binary alloy (lower than 10 pct) and the ternary Ir-base alloys (about 11 pct). An excellent balance of high-temperature strength and ductility was obtained in the alloy with 10 at. pct Ni-18.9 at. pct Al. The effect of Ni and Al on the strength of the Ir-Nb binary alloy is discussed.

The wetness fraction of steam causes dangerous erosion of turbine blades and other components, and decreases efficiency of stages. The instrumentation of wet steam has, therefore, attracted growing interest from the point of safety and economical operation of power stations. Based on the light scattering technique, a method is presented that is capable of measuring the wetness fraction of steam, the mean water droplet diameter as well as their full size distribution. An optical probe has been constructed that can be used in the turbines in operation. Its main characteristic and features are discussed in this paper. Experimental results in a 200 MW condensing steam turbine are also given.