This article considers the individual equilibrium behavior and socially optimal strategy in a fluid queue with two types of parallel customers and incomplete fault. Assume that the working state and the incomplete fault state appear alternately in the buffer. Different from the linear revenue and expenditure structure, an exponential utility function can be constructed to obtain the equilibrium balking thresholds in the fully observable case. Besides, the steady-state probability distribution and the corresponding expected social benefit are derived based on the renewal process and the standard theory of linear ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, a reasonable entrance fee strategy is discussed under the condition that the fluid accepts the globally optimal strategies. Finally, the effects of the diverse system parameters on the entrance fee and the expected social benefit are explicitly illustrated by numerical comparisons.

Vermiculite is a common layered silicate clay mineral which has good adsorption and ion-exchange properties, and which is used to remove pollutants from groundwater. The adsorption by vermiculite from Heibei Province, China, of low-concentration ammonium in water was assessed here to evaluate the effects of adsorption time, particle size, adsorbent dose, pH, and temperature. Using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, the concentration of NH4+ at 1430 cm−1 was evaluated after ammonium was adsorbed by vermiculite. Based on Langmuir-model analysis, the adsorption capacity of the Chinese vermiculite (in the particle-size range 0.025–0.075 mm) for ammonium was 18 mg/g after 3 h of equilibration. Optimal adsorption occurred at pH 6–7 and 60°C, which is different from that at high ammonium concentrations. Smaller particle-size fractions showed greater degrees of adsorption. Increase in Mg2+, K+, or Na+ concentrations influenced ammonium adsorption and, therefore, indicated that cation exchange was the mechanism for ammonium uptake from low-concentration solutions.

As important epigenetic regulators, microRNA regulate protein expression by triggering the degradation of target mRNA and/or by inhibiting their translation. Dysregulation of microRNA expression has been reported in several cancers, including colorectal cancer. In this study, microRNA-array differential analysis revealed strongly enhanced expression of miR-24-1-5p in the colon tissue of azoxymethane/dextran sulphate sodium-induced mice that were fed with black raspberry anthocyanins for 9 weeks. Overexpression of miR-24-1-5p in human colorectal cancer cells significantly repressed β-catenin expression, and simultaneously decreased cell proliferation, migration and survival. Furthermore, miR-24-1-5p could target β-catenin and trigger a negative regulatory loop for β-catenin and its downstream target genes. β-Catenin signalling is vital to the formation and progression of human colorectal cancer. The current findings therefore identified miR-24-1-5p as a potent regulator of β-catenin, and this may provide a novel chemopreventive and therapeutic strategy for β-catenin signalling-driven colorectal cancer.

Evidence on the association between maternal Hb concentration and preterm birth (PTB) risk is inconclusive. This paper aimed to explore whether women with anaemia or high Hb level before pregnancy would be at higher risk of PTB. We conducted a population-based cohort study with 2 722 274 women aged 20–49 years, who participated in National Free Pre-Pregnancy Checkups Project between 2013 and 2015 and delivered a singleton before 2016 in rural China. Logistic models were used to estimate OR and 95 % CI after adjusting for confounding variables. Restricted cubic spline models were applied to evaluate the dose–response relationships. A total of 192 819 (7·08 %) women had preterm deliveries. Compared with women with Hb of 110–149 g/l, the multivariable-adjusted OR for PTB was 1·19 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·44) for women with Hb<70 g/l, 1·01 (95 % CI 0·97, 1·03) for 70–99 g/l, 0·96 (95 % CI 0·95, 0·98) for 100–109 g/l, 1·04 (95 % CI 1·01, 1·06) for 150–159 g/l, 1·11 (95 % CI 1·05, 1·17) for 160–169 g/l and 1·19 (95 % CI 1·11, 1·27) for ≥170 g/l, respectively. The multivariable-adjusted OR for very PTB (VPTB) was 1·07 (95 % CI 1·03, 1·12) and 1·06 (95 % CI 1·01, 1·12) for women with Hb <110 and ≥150 g/l, compared with those with Hb of 110–149 g/l, respectively. Our study identified a U-shaped relationship between maternal preconception Hb concentration and PTB risk. Both preconception anaemia and high Hb level can significantly increase VPTB risk. Appropriate intervention for women with abnormal Hb levels before pregnancy is very necessary.

Due to the increasingly severe environmental pollution problems, the development of semiconductor photocatalysts is being extensively carried out because they have exhibited high activities for the degradation of many organic and inorganic pollutants. In this study, waxberry-like Ni11(HPO3)8(OH)6 microball photocatalysts with a diameter of 10–20 μm have been successfully synthesized via a solvothermal route by using NiSO4 as a Ni-source and NaH2PO2 as a P-source in a mixture of ethylene glycol and water under the optimized conditions with a Ni:P molar ratio of 1:2 at 200 °C for 16 h. The as-prepared photocatalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller N2 adsorption, zeta potential, ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) absorption, and photocatalysis tests. The decolourization of organic dyes, methylene blue and rhodamine B, under ultraviolet light over the as-prepared products reveals an excellent photocatalytic performance due to the good absorption for ultraviolet light.

We integrate previous work on the Hegenshan–Heihe suture with our interpretation of geomagnetic anomaly and seismic reflection data to investigate the role of the Hegenshan–Heihe suture in the evolution of late Mesozoic extensional structures in the Wunite depression of the Erlian Basin. Sags in the Wunite depression present as NE50° trending in the western sector, N0°–NE30° trending in the central sector and NE45° trending in the eastern sector. Our results highlight the importance of the pre-existing Hegenshan–Heihe suture in the evolution of the late Mesozoic rift system and reveal the following details. (1) The NE50° extent sags in the western sector are controlled by the c. NE50°-trending suture. Moreover, the extensional deformation of the reactivated suture during Early Cretaceous time resulted in a further vertical and horizontal extension of major border faults. (2) The N0°–NE30° extent sags in the central sector are influenced by the c. NE75°-trending suture. The sinistral strike-slip component of the reactivated suture during Early Cretaceous time resulted in a strike rotation of major border faults from NEE-trending (following the suture) to NNE-trending. (3) Because of strike-slip deformation, which resulted from the deformation of the reactivated suture accrued in major border faults, light dip-slip deformation led to less vertical offset. (4) The NE45°-trending sags in the eastern sector are controlled by the c. NE45°-trending suture. Moreover, the extensional deformation of the reactivated suture during Early Cretaceous time facilitated a further vertical and horizontal prolongation of major border faults.

We designed a quadruped robot with a one-degree-of-freedom (1-DOF)-pitch head, a 1-DOF-roll tail, and 14 active DOFs in total, which are controlled via a central pattern generator (CPG) based on a Hopf oscillator. Head and tail movements are coupled to the leg movements with fixed phase differences. Experiments show that tail swinging in roll can equilibrate feet–ground reaction forces (GRF), reducing yaw errors and enabling the robot to maintain its direction when trotting. Head swing in pitch has the potential to increase flight time and stride length of the swinging legs and increase the robot's forward velocity when running in bounds.

Morphologically controllable copper sulfide (CuS) nanoneedle, nanowall, and nanosheet networks on copper substrates have been fabricated by a simple, facile, and fast method based on low-temperature chemical vapor deposition through simply adjusting the reaction conditions such as the temperature and flow rate of argon gas. The compositional and structural analyses indicated that all the obtained nano-networks were single-crystalline. And their growths were possibly controlled by a solid–liquid–solid mechanism. The photocatalytic activities of the different shaped CuS nanostructures have been evaluated by their photodegradation on rhodamine B and methylene blue in aqueous phase, which revealed that in both cases the CuS nanoneedles nano-network exhibited better performance than the other two nanostructures.

Water-lubricated bearings are expected to be widely used because of convenience, green,safe and energy saving. The purpose of this study is to provide references for designinghydrodynamic water-lubricated step thrust bearings. The numerical analysis is undertakenunder the condition of different pad dimensions, step heights, step positions, water filmthicknesses and rotational speeds of thrust rings based on computational fluid dynamics(CFD). The results including pressure distribution, load carrying capacity, frictiontorque and friction coefficient are gained and compared for optimizing geometryparameters. A reference to determine water-lubricated step thrust bearing dimensions and aformula to check the minimum water film thickness are proposed.

Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, delivery models and policies on mental health care in China during the period of 1949–2009 were reviewed and characteristics of different stages of the mental health-care development were also analysed in this period. Recent studies demonstrate that mental health-care services in China are being transformed from large mental hospital-based pattern to community-based pattern in the past six decades. Combining the international experiences with current strategies and situations of Chinese health care, we provided the outlook for mental health-care services in the next decade in China. In addition, we proposed relevant policy recommendations that mainly focus on the equity and availability of mental health-care services with the purpose of promoting community-based health services.

An observation approach is proposed for determining the poses of the active/constrained wrench and the unified statics of some limited-DOF parallel manipulators (PMs) are studied systematically. First, a general PM model is constructed, and the unified inverse displacement is analyzed. Second, various types of acceptable legs are synthesized; the poses of the active/constrained wrench exerted on the various acceptable legs are determined by the observation approach. Third, a unified 6 × 6 Jacobina matrix and a unified statics equation are derived for solving active/constrained wrench of many limited-DOF PMs. Finally, two PMs are presented to illustrate this approach.

This paper suggests one possible mechanism for the biological flexor reflex by emulating a cat's behavior with its robotic counterpart, making it capable of walking around and clearing obstacles autonomously in various environments. A central pattern generator and a hip-to-knee mapping function are employed to realize basic rhythmic motion for a quadrupedal robot. When an input from a contact sensor on the robot's toe is detected, a patterned motion generated by the flexor reflex emerges depending on the location of the bumping phase, and replaces the ongoing rhythmic motion of that leg, causing it to be raised high enough to clear the obstacle. By restricting this reflex to within one cycle time of the walk and only to the bumping leg, rhythm and stability of motion are ensured. Numerical simulations and experimental implementation on a physical quadrupedal robot demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Catalytic synthesis of spindle-type hematite particles was studied for the first time under the conditions of boiling reflux and pH values ranging from 4 to 7, using Fe2(SO4)3 and NaOH as raw material, a trace amount of FeSO4 as the catalyst, and NaH2PO4 as the growth-regulating agent. The final products were characterized by x-ray diffraction, high-resolution electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared techniques. Primarily, the catalytic effect of ferrous ion on the conversion of ferric hydroxide was investigated. It was found that the addition of a trace amount of ferrous ion promoted fast conversion of ferric hydroxide and remarkably accelerated the transformation process to hematite. The reaction conditions affecting the conversion rate and morphologies in the presence of trace amount of ferrous ion were investigated. The final particles prepared had the characteristics of controlled size, a narrow particle size distribution, and good reproducibility.