A simplified configuration was developed to facilitate the mode transition process within an over-under Turbine-Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) inlet. Leveraging dynamic mesh technology, an unsteady numerical simulation of the mode transition was conducted, emphasising the flow characteristics of the mode transition and the impact of key similarity criteria numbers. The findings indicate that at an incoming Mach number of 2.0, the mode transition is paired with a continuous alteration in the capture mass flow of the high-speed duct. This continual change instigates the inlet unstarting, with subsequent flow characteristics being contingent on the historical effect, exhibiting a degree of hysteresis characteristics. When the scale effect is considered, it is observed that a larger model scale results in higher Reynolds (Re) and Strouhal (St) numbers. This directly contributes to a notable delay in the unstart moment, a decrease in the unstart interval, and an enlargement of the hysteresis loop. An examination of control variables reveals that the Re number marginally influences mode transition characteristics, while the St number’s effect constitutes approximately 90% of the scale effect. This conclusively demonstrates that the St number is the predominant similarity criterion number in the mode transition process.

Ice breaking has become one of the main problems faced by ships and other equipment operating in an ice-covered water region. New methods are always being pursued and studied to improve ice-breaking capabilities and efficiencies. Based on the strong damage capability, a high-speed water jet impact is proposed to be used to break an ice plate in contact with water. A series of experiments of water jet impacting ice were performed in a transparent water tank, where the water jets at tens of metres per second were generated by a home-made device and circular ice plates of various thicknesses and scales were produced in a cold room. The entire evolution of the water jet and ice was recorded by two high-speed cameras from the top and front views simultaneously. The focus was the responses of the ice plate, such as crack development and breakup, under the high-speed water jet loads, which involved compressible pressure ${P_1}$ and incompressible pressure ${P_2}$. According to the main cause and crack development sequence, it was found that the damage of the ice could be roughly divided into five patterns. On this basis, the effects of water jet strength, ice thickness, ice plate size and boundary conditions were also investigated. Experiments validated the ice-breaking capability of the high-speed water jet, which could be a new auxiliary ice-breaking method in the future.

The extent of the reduction of maize (Zea mays L.) kernel moisture content through drying is closely related to field temperature (or accumulated temperature; AT) following maturation. In 2017 and 2018, we selected eight maize hybrids that are widely planted in Northeastern China to construct kernel drying prediction models for each hybrid based on kernel drying dynamics. In the traditional harvest scenario using the optimal sowing date (OSD), maize kernels underwent drying from 4th September to 5th October, with variation coefficients of 1.0–1.9. However, with a latest sowing date (LSD), drying occurred from 14th September to 31st October, with variation coefficients of 1.3–3.0. In the changed harvest scenario, the drying time of maize sown on the OSD condition was from 12th September to 9th November with variation coefficients of 1.3–3.0, while maize sown on the LSD had drying dates of 26th September to 28th October with variation coefficients of 1.5–3.6. In the future harvest scenario, the Fengken 139 (FK139) and Jingnongke 728 (JNK728) hybrids finished drying on 20th October and 8th November, respectively, when sown on the OSD and had variation coefficients of 2.7–2.8. Therefore, the maize kernel drying time was gradually delayed and was associated with an increased demand for AT ⩾ 0°C late in the growing season. Furthermore, we observed variation among different growing seasons likely due to differences in weather patterns, and that sowing dates impact variations in drying times to a greater extent than harvest scenarios.

Marangoni flow is the motion induced by a surface tension gradient along a fluid–fluid interface. In this study, we report a Marangoni flow generated when a bath of surfactant contacts a pre-wetted film of deionized water on a vertical substrate. The thickness profile of the pre-wetted film is set by gravitational drainage and so varies with the drainage time. The surface tension is lower in the bath due to the surfactant, and thus a liquid film climbs upwards along the vertical substrate due to the surface tension difference. Particle tracking velocimetry is performed to measure the dynamics in the film, where the mean fluid velocity reverses direction as the draining film encounters the front of the climbing film. The effect of the surfactant concentration and the pre-wetted film thickness on the film climbing is then studied. High-speed interferometry is used to measure the front position of the climbing film and the film thickness profile. As a result, higher surfactant concentration induces a faster and thicker climbing film. Also, for high surfactant concentrations, where Marangoni driving dominates, increasing the film thickness increases the rise speed of the climbing front, since viscous resistance is less important. In contrast, for low surfactant concentrations, where Marangoni driving balances gravitational drainage, increasing the film thickness decreases the rise speed of the climbing front while enhancing gravitational drainage. We rationalize these observations by utilizing a dimensionless parameter that compares the magnitudes of the Marangoni stress and gravitational drainage. A model is established to analyse the climbing front, either in the Marangoni-driving-dominated region or in the Marangoni-balanced drainage region. Our work highlights the effects of the gravitational drainage on the Marangoni flow, both by setting the thickness of a pre-wetted film and by resisting the film climbing.

The elastoplastic behavior of a Functionally Graded Material (FGM) simply supported beam consisting of elastic material A and elastoplastic material B under uniformly distributed load is investigated. A power function is used to describe the volume fractions of the constituent materials, and the average stress of the FGM beam is obtained by using the averaging method. This method can avoid the assumption of the varying properties of the whole material, and can consider the different Possion’s ratios of the different constituent materials. What’s more, only the elastoplastic material B in the FGM beam will yield, and the yield function is determined by the stress of material B only, rather than the average stress of the whole material. The method used in this work is more closer to the real material than the method by assuming the variation of the whole properties of FGM. The theoretical results show a good agreement with the finite element results, which indicates that the method provided in this work is valid. With this method, the variation of the elastic and plastic areas, the stress distribution on the cross section, variation of the curvature and neutral layer, and the residual stress distribution of the FGM beam are discussed through numerical results. This work can provide a new way for the design and in-depth investigation of FGM material.

This paper focus on the mechanical and martensitic transformation behaviors of axially functionally graded shape memory alloy (AFG SMA) beams. It is taken into consideration that material properties, such as austenitic elastic modulus, martensitic elastic modulus, critical transformation stresses and maximum transformation strain vary continuously along the longitudinal direction. According to the simplified linear SMA constitutive equations and Bernoulli-Euler beam theory, the formulations of stress, strain, martensitic volume fraction and governing equations of the deflection, height and length of transformed layers are derived. Employing the Galerkin’s weighted residual method, the governing differential equation of the deflection is solved. As an example, the bending behaviors of an AFG SMA cantilever beam subjected to an end concentrated load are numerically analyzed using the developed model. Results show that the mechanical and martensitic transformation behaviors of the AFG SMA beam are complex after the martensitic transformation of SMA occurs. The influences of FG parameter on the mechanical behaviors and geometrical shape of transformed regions are obvious, and should be considered in the design and analysis of AFG SMA beams in the related regions.

Pathogenesis of pregnancy toxemia (PT) is believed to be associated with the disruption of lipid metabolism. The present study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms of lipid metabolism disorder in the livers of ewes with PT. In total, 10 pregnant ewes were fed normally (control group) whereas another 10 were subjected to 70% level feed restriction for 15 days to establish a pathological model of PT. Results showed that, as compared with the controls, the levels of blood β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and cholesterol were greater (P<0.05) and blood glucose level was lower (P<0.05) in PT ewes. The contents of NEFAs, BHBA, cholesterol and triglyceride were higher (P<0.05) and glycerol content was lower (P<0.05) in hepatic tissues of PT ewes than those of the controls. For ewes with PT, excessive fat vacuoles were observed in liver sections stained with hematoxylin–eosin; furthermore, inner structures of hepatocytes including nuclei, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum were damaged seriously according to the results of transmission electron microscope. Real-time PCR data showed that compared with the controls, the expression of hepatic genes involved in fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and triglyceride synthesis (TGS) was enhanced (P<0.05) whereas that related to acetyl-CoA metabolism (ACM) was repressed (P<0.05) in PT ewes. Generally, our results showed that negative energy balance altered the expression of genes involved in FAO, ACM and TGS, further caused lipid metabolism disorder in livers, resulting in PT of ewes. Our findings may provide the molecular basis for novel therapeutic strategies against this systemic metabolic disease in sheep.

Desorption experiments performed on four Cu-adsorbed palygorskites suggest that the leached Cu2+ ion originates at the surface and/or net-like interstice of the palygorskite fibres. The leached fraction, calculated from the quantities of adsorbed Cu2+ before and after desorption, is <1%. This may indicate that the majority of Cu is in inaccessible structural sites. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and electron spin resonance (ESR) were used to determine the mineralogical character of the Cu-adsorbed palygorskite. Two photoelectron lines at 932.5 and/or 933.7 eV in the narrow scan Cu 2p3/2 spectra show that Cu adsorbed on the surface of palygorskite is in the Cu+ and Cu2+ state. The stretching vibrations of the octahedral cation shift ~3–5 cm–1 towards a greater wavenumber in the FTIR spectra of Cu-adsorbed palygorskite. It can be deduced that the Cu2+ is trapped in the channel of the palygorskite structure. The ESR spectra of the palygorskite give g values of 2.34, 2.12, 2.08 and 2.05, suggesting that some Cu ions cannot be reached by H+. These results confirm that Cu is adsorbed by palygorskite via three possible mechanisms: (1) the Cu is adsorbed onto the surface or in a net-like interstice, and its oxidation states are +1 and +2; (2) Cu forms a complex ion – [Cu(H2O)4]2+ or [Cu(H2O)6]2+, and is trapped in the channel; or (3) Cu enters into the hexagonal channel of the tetrahedral sites or the unoccupied octahedral sites of palygorskite.

Diarrhea is a common cause of morbidity and mortality and the incidence of diarrhea in the world has changed little over the past four decades. To assess the prevalence of and healthcare practices for diarrhea, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Pudong, Shanghai, China. In October 2014, a total of 5324 community residents were interviewed. Respondents were asked if they had experienced diarrhea (defined as ⩾3 passages of watery, loose, bloody, or mucoid stools within a 24-h period) in the previous month prior to the interview. The monthly prevalence of diarrhea was 4·1% (95% CI: 3·3–4·8), corresponding to an incidence rate of 0·54 episodes per person-year. The proportion of individuals with diarrhea who sought healthcare was 21·2% (95% CI: 13·4–29·0). Diarrhea continues to impose a considerable burden on the community and healthcare system in Pudong. Young age and travel were identified as predictors of increased diarrhea occurrence.

The fruit of Ligustrum lucidum (FLL, Nuzhenzi in Chinese) is an important traditional medicine, and have attracted significant research attention because of their various biological activities. However, there are few research reports available on the use of FLL as a feed additive in livestock nutrition, particularly in layers. This study was conducted to determine the effects of supplementation of the diet of laying hens with FLL on laying performance, egg quality and blood metabolites. A total of 360 72-week-old hens were allocated to three dietary treatments (eight replications of 15 hens/treatment group) and were fed either a control diet or a diet supplemented with an inclusion level of 0.25% or 0.50% of FLL powder in the final feed, until 78 weeks of age. Hens were housed in a three-tier cage system. Feed and water were provided ad libitum. Blood samples and eggs were collected at the end of the experiment. The results showed that dietary supplementation with FLL did not affect egg weight, feed conversion ratio, eggshell thickness, albumen height, egg yolk color, eggshell breaking strength or egg shape index. However, FLL supplementation significantly decreased (P<0.001) mortality, cracked-egg rate and blood serum levels of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and alanine aminotransferase, and increased (P<0.001) blood serum levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. No differences in serum levels of total protein, albumin, glucose, calcium, aspartate aminotransferase or alkaline phosphatase were observed in hens fed FLL compared with the control group. It can be concluded that FLL, at a supplementation level of 0.25% final feed, can be used as an effective feed additive to improve the performance of laying hens during the late laying period.

Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) is a naturally stress-tolerant plant, a major reserve crop and a model for panicoid grasses. The recent completion of the S. italica genome facilitates identification and characterization of WRKY transcription factor family proteins that are important regulators of major plant processes, including growth, development and stress response. The present study identified 103 WRKY transcription factor-encoding genes in the S. italica genome. The genes were named SiWRKY1–SiWRKY103 according to their order on the chromosomes. A comprehensive expression analysis of SiWRKY genes among four different tissues was performed using publicly available RNA sequencing data. Eighty-four SiWRKY genes were more highly expressed in root tissue than in other tissues and nine genes were only expressed in roots. Additionally, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to comprehensively analyse the expression of all SiWRKY genes in response to dehydration. Results indicated that most SiWRKY genes (over 0.8) were up-regulated by drought stress. In conclusion, genome-wide identification and expression profiling of SiWRKY genes provided a set of candidates for cloning and functional analyses in plants’ response to drought stress.

This paper presents a novel analysis approach by considering multiple crack interaction in achieving FAA certification for durability and damage tolerance of exterior attachment installations on an aircraft fuselage according to FAA policy on Certification by Analysis-Supported-by-Test (CAST). Durability and damage tolerance evaluation of an aircraft component requires assessment of damage initiation and fatigue crack propagations under service loading, which consists of complex loading types, paths and variable amplitudes. Both simulation and service experience showed that multiple cracks developed in the fuselage skin and doublers that are made of wrought aluminum alloys. Progressive failure analysis (PFA) tool was used to simulate the fatigue damage initiation life using a scale-down stress-life property. A virtual crack closure technique (VCCT) was implemented to evaluate fatigue crack growth with interactions between cracks from different parts in a component, which preserves conservativeness. The fatigue crack growth data is obtained uniquely from an analytical extension of fatigue crack growth data of thin aluminum sheet. Fatigue crack growth analysis showed that only a few initiated cracks propagated steadily before a crack became visible under inspection, which was validated by comparison to service history. Eventually one crack became dominate in the fracturing process thereby setting an inspection time. Analysis also showed that fatigue damage state in the components at the designed operational life will not exceed the static safety requirements. Therefore, FAA accepted the damage tolerance analysis and the aircraft retained certification with no need for repair.

Both growth and immune capacity are important traits in animal breeding. The animal quantitative trait loci (QTL) database is a valuable resource and can be used for interpreting the genetic mechanisms that underlie growth and immune traits. However, QTL intervals often involve too many candidate genes to find the true causal genes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide an effective annotation pipeline that can make full use of the information of Gene Ontology terms annotation, linkage gene blocks and pathways to further identify pleiotropic genes and gene sets in the overlapping intervals of growth-related and immunity-related QTLs. In total, 55 non-redundant QTL overlapping intervals were identified, 1893 growth-related genes and 713 immunity-related genes were further classified into overlapping intervals and 405 pleiotropic genes shared by the two gene sets were determined. In addition, 19 pleiotropic gene linkage blocks and 67 pathways related to immunity and growth traits were discovered. A total of 343 growth-related genes and 144 immunity-related genes involved in pleiotropic pathways were also identified, respectively. We also sequenced and genotyped 284 individuals from Chinese Meishan pigs and European pigs and mapped the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to the pleiotropic genes and gene sets that we identified. A total of 971 high-confidence SNPs were mapped to the pleiotropic genes and gene sets that we identified, and among them 743 SNPs were statistically significant in allele frequency between Meishan and European pigs. This study explores the relationship between growth and immunity traits from the view of QTL overlapping intervals and can be generalized to explore the relationships between other traits.

We derive z phot for sources in the entire (~0.4 deg2) H-HDF-N field with the EAzY code, based on PSF-matched broad-band (U band to IRAC 4.5 μm) photometry. Our catalog consists of a total of 131,678 sources. We find σNMAD = 0.029 for non-X-ray sources. We also classify each object as a star or galaxy through SED fitting. Furthermore, we match our catalog with the 2 Ms CDF-N main X-ray catalog. For the 462 matched non-stellar X-ray sources, we improve their z phot quality (σNMAD = 0.035) by adding three additional AGN templates. We make our photometry and z phot catalog publicly available.

Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) is a type of vector-borne zoonosis sensitive to climate change. To explore the short-term effect of air temperature and amount of precipitation on HFRS incidence, a total of 13 722 clinically confirmed HFRS cases from January 1977 to December 2001 in Junan County, China were included in this study. According to symmetric bidirectional case-crossover design, the hazard period (the three calendar months preceding the month when the case was diagnosed) and the control period (the same calendar month of the year before and the year after the hazard period) matched and conditional logistic regression was used to examine the effect of monthly mean temperature and precipitation on the risk of HFRS. The results showed the facilitating climatic conditions for HFRS included: condition with moderate mean air temperature (10–25 °C) and abundant precipitation (>120 mm) 3 months before [odds ratio (OR) 1·346, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·191–1·522] and 2 months before (OR 1·193, 95% CI 1·063–1·339); and condition with temperature >25 °C and abundant precipitation (>120 mm) 3 months before (OR 1·17, 95% CI 1·004–1·363). Temperature of 10–25 °C and moderate precipitation (10–120 mm) in the current month was the most favourable condition for HFRS incidence.