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As the evidence of the toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) grows, its application in commercial products is gradually being replaced with other related compounds, such as bisphenol S (BPS). Nevertheless, very little is known about the occurrence of BPS in the environment. In this study, BPS was analyzed in 16 types of paper and paper products (n = 268), including thermal receipts, paper currencies, flyers, magazines, newspapers, food contact papers, airplane luggage tags, printing paper, kitchen rolls (i.e., paper towels), and toilet paper. All thermal receipt paper samples (n = 111) contained BPS at concentrations ranging from 0.0000138 to 22.0 mg/g (geometric mean: 0.181 mg/g). The overall mean concentrations of BPS in thermal receipt papers were similar to the concentrations reported earlier for BPA in the same set of samples. A significant negative correlation existed between BPS and BPA concentrations in thermal receipt paper samples (r = -0.55, p < 0.0001). BPS was detected in 87% of currency bill samples (n = 52) from 21 countries, at concentrations ranging from below the limit of quantification (LOQ) to 6.26 μg/g (geometric mean: 0.029 μg/g). BPS also was found in 14 other paper product types (n = 105), at concentrations ranging from 88%). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of BPS in paper products and currency bills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments are routinely conducted to evaluate the toxicity of water effluents or chemicals. In a Ceriodaphnia dubia reproduction test, organisms are exposed to varying concentration levels of the toxicant or other adverse treatment and the number of young produced after a given experiment period are recorded. To analyze the test outcomes, mean reproduction is modeled as a function of the concentration, and the estimated concentrations associated with specified levels of adverse effect often are used in risk management. While aquatic toxicity analyses often focus on outcomes from the current test, laboratories commonly have a history of conducting such tests using the same species, following a similar experimental protocol. So it seems reasonable to assume that the same underlying biological process generates the historical and current tests. In the present study, we propose using a calibrated power prior approach to incorporate historical control outcomes as prior input, and compare the behavior of the method when different congruence measures are used to determine the amount of historical input that will be incorporated. Simulation results show that three of the congruence measures can improve precision and reduce bias of the potency estimates.Supplementary material to this paper is provided online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X$X$ be a random variable and define its concentration function by Qh(X)=supx∈RP(X∈(x,x+h]).$$\begin{equation*} {\mathcal {Q}}_{h}(X)=\sup _{x\in {\mathbb {R}}}{\mathbb {P}}(X\in (x,x+h]). \end{equation*}$$For a sum Sn=X1+⋯+Xn$S_n=X_1+\cdots +X_n$ of independent real‐valued random variables, the Kolmogorov–Rogozin inequality states that Qh(Sn)⩽C∑i=1n(1−Qh(Xi))−12.$$\begin{equation*} {\mathcal {Q}}_{h}(S_n)\leqslant C{\left(\sum _{i=1}^{n}(1-{\mathcal {Q}}_{h}(X_i))\right)}^{-\frac{1}{2}}. \end{equation*}$$In this paper, we give an optimal bound for Qh(Sn)${\mathcal {Q}}_{h}(S_n)$ in terms of Qh(Xi)${\mathcal {Q}}_{h}(X_i)$, which settles a question posed by Leader and Radcliffe in 1994. Moreover, we show that the extremal distributions are mixtures of two uniform distributions each lying on an arithmetic progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr3+‐activated broadband near‐infrared (NIR) phosphors are studied extensively for application in phosphor converted light‐emitting diode (pc‐LED), a new light source for substance testing based on NIR spectroscopy. However, the emission of Cr3+ is mainly located in the NIR I region (700–1000 nm) and many substances show the characteristic spectroscopy in the NIR II region (1000–1700 nm). In this paper, dual‐wavelength emission of NIR I and NIR II is realized in Cr3+ and Ni2+ codoped Zn3Ga2GeO8 (ZGGO) via energy transfer from NIR I emitting Cr3+ to NIR II emitting Ni2+. The photoluminescent properties of the doped ZGGO are studied as a function of doping concentration and the optimal concentrations of Cr3+ and Ni2+ are determined to be 0.04 and 0.003, respectively, with internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of 37.5%. The ZGGO:Cr3+, Ni2+ phosphor‐in‐glass (PiG), is prepared for fabricating PiG‐converted ultrabroadband NIR LEDs to avoid serious reabsorption of the NIR II emission as in the pc‐LED packaged using phosphor dispersed epoxy resin or silicone. The PiG pc‐LED offers photoelectric efficiency of 4.3%@20 mA and NIR output power of 17 mW@200 mA and shows stable spectral distribution against drive current compared to pc‐LED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the hydrogen embrittlement sensitivity of carbon gradient heterostructure materials and to verify the reliability of the scratch method. Design/methodology/approach: The surface-modified layer of 18CrNiMo7-6 alloy steel was delaminated to study its hydrogen embrittlement characteristics via hydrogen permeation, electrochemical hydrogen charging and scratch experiments. Findings: The results showed that the diffusion coefficients of hydrogen in the surface and matrix layers are 3.28 × 10−7 and 16.67 × 10−7 cm2/s, respectively. The diffusible-hydrogen concentration of the material increases with increasing hydrogen-charging current density. For a given hydrogen-charging current density, the diffusible-hydrogen concentration gradually decreases with increasing depth in the surface-modified layer. Fracture toughness decreases with increasing diffusible-hydrogen concentration, so the susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement decreases with increasing depth in the surface-modified layer. Originality/value: The reliability of the scratch method in evaluating the fracture toughness of the surface-modified layer material is verified. An empirical formula is given for fracture toughness as a function of diffused-hydrogen concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introducing nanorods into a polymeric matrix can enhance the physical and mechanical properties of the resulting material. In this paper, we focus on understanding the dispersion and orientation patterns of nanorods in an unentangled polymer melt, particularly as a function of nanorod concentration, using molecular dynamics simulations. The system is comprised of flexible polymer chains and multi-thread nanorods that are equilibrated in the NPT ensemble. All interactions are purely repulsive except for those between polymers and rods. Results with attractive vs repulsive polymer–rod interactions are compared and contrasted. The concentration of rods has a direct impact on the phase behavior of the system. At lower concentrations, rods phase separate into nematic clusters, whereas at higher concentrations more isotropic and less structured rod configurations are observed. A detailed examination of the conformation of the polymer chains near the rod surface shows extension of the chains along the director of the rods (especially within clusters). The dispersion and orientation of the nanorods are a result of the competition between depletion entropic forces responsible for the formation of rod clusters, the enthalpic effects that improve mixing of rods and polymer, and entropic losses of polymers interpenetrating rod clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deformable gel particles (DGPs) possess the capability of deep profile control and flooding. However, the deep migration behavior and plugging mechanism along their path remain unclear. Breakage, an inevitable phenomenon during particle migration, significantly impacts the deep plugging effect. Due to the complexity of the process, few studies have been conducted on this subject. In this paper, we conducted DGP flow experiments using a physical model of a multi-point sandpack under various injection rates and particle sizes. Particle size and concentration tests were performed at each measurement point to investigate the transportation behavior of particles in the deep part of the reservoir. The residual resistance coefficient and concentration changes along the porous media were combined to analyze the plugging performance of DGPs. Furthermore, the particle breakage along their path was revealed by analyzing the changes in particle size along the way. A mathematical model of breakage and concentration changes along the path was established. The results showed that the passage after breakage is a significant migration behavior of particles in porous media. The particles were reduced to less than half of their initial size at the front of the porous media. Breakage is an essential reason for the continuous decreases in particle concentration, size, and residual resistance coefficient. However, the particles can remain in porous media after breakage and play a significant role in deep plugging. Higher injection rates or larger particle sizes resulted in faster breakage along the injection direction, higher degrees of breakage, and faster decreases in residual resistance coefficient along the path. These conditions also led to a weaker deep plugging ability. Smaller particles were more evenly retained along the path, but more particles flowed out of the porous media, resulting in a poor deep plugging effect. The particle size is a function of particle size before injection, transport distance, and different injection parameters (injection rate or the diameter ratio of DGP to throat). Likewise, the particle concentration is a function of initial concentration, transport distance, and different injection parameters. These models can be utilized to optimize particle injection parameters, thereby achieving the goal of fine-tuning oil displacement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exponential random graph model (ERGM) is a central object in the study of clustering properties in social networks as well as canonical ensembles in statistical physics. Despite some breakthrough works in the mathematical understanding of ERGM, most notably by Bhamidi, Bresler, and Sly [Ann. Appl. Probab. 21 (2011), pp. 2146–2170] through the analysis of a natural Heat-bath Glauber dynamics, and by Chatterjee and Diaconis [Ann. Statist. 41 (2013), pp. 2428–2461; Eldan [Geom. Funct. Anal. 28 (2018), pp. 1548–1596; and Eldan and Gross [Ann. Appl. Probab. 28 (2018), pp. 3698–3735] via a large deviation theoretic perspective, several basic questions have remained unanswered owing to the lack of exact solvability unlike the much studied Curie-Weiss model (Ising model on the complete graph). In this paper, we establish a series of new concentration of measure results for the ERGM throughout the entire sub-critical phase , including a Poincaré inequality, Gaussian concentration for Lipschitz functions, and a central limit theorem. In addition, a new proof of a quantitative bound on the W_1-Wasserstein distance to Erdős-Rényi graphs, previously obtained by Reinert and Ross [Ann. Appl. Probab. 29 (2019), pp. 3201–3229], is also presented. The arguments rely on translating temporal mixing properties of Glauber dynamics to static spatial mixing properties of the equilibrium measure and have the potential of being useful in proving similar functional inequalities for other Gibbsian systems beyond the perturbative regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an easy to operate time-dependent, two-dimensional vertical model for the simulation of sand and mud concentrations, transport, and morphodynamic bed evolution in conditions with combined currents and waves. The basic model equation is the advection–diffusion equation for sediments including flow velocities, sediment mixing coefficients, and the settling velocity. The vertical distribution of the sediment mixing coefficient is described by fairly simple and flexible expressions based on flow and wave parameters with user-specified coefficients for calibration of results. The settling velocity is constant or dependent on the sediment concentration to represent mud flocculation and hindered settling processes based on input parameters. The bed boundary condition is modeled by a bed concentration as a function of the bed-shear stress due to currents and waves. The model is valid for sand concentrations and for low and high mud concentrations including fluid mud concentrations. The numerical SUSTIM2DV model has been used to simulate sand and mud transport and bed level changes in dredged (shipping) channels. The model is valid for perpendicular and oblique flow across a dredged channel. The channel slopes should not be too steep (1V:7H or milder), because logarithmic velocity profiles are used. Results of various validation cases of channel deposition of sand, silt, and (fluid) mud in tidal conditions with and without waves are presented. The effect of channel geometry is specifically addressed. The numerical model has also been used to derive sediment trapping factors, which can be used in simpler channel deposition models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study uniformly random lozenge tilings of strip domains. Under the assumption that the limiting arctic boundary has at most one cusp, we prove a nearly optimal concentration estimate for the tiling height functions and arctic boundaries on such domains: with overwhelming probability the tiling height function is within n δ of its limit shape, and the tiling arctic boundary is within n 1 / 3 + δ to its limit shape, for arbitrarily small δ > 0 . This concentration result will be used in Aggarwal and Huang (Edge statistics for lozenge tilings of polygons, II: Airy line ensemble, 2021. arXiv:2108.12874) to prove that the edge statistics of simply-connected polygonal domains, subject to a technical assumption on their limit shape, converge to the Airy line ensemble. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the optical performance of circular trough concentrators with tubular receivers. First, a simple analytical formula for the achievable geometric concentration ratio as a function of the rim angle and acceptance angle is developed. Notably, the development reveals the existence of three distinct concentration ratio regimes: a first regime where the receiver is sized based on the reflection of the edge rays from the rim alone, a second regime where the receiver is sized based on the rim and the edge ray caustics, and a third regime where two reflections from the mirror are permitted. Several exemplary designs are proposed and further analyzed using Monte Carlo ray tracing to obtain transmission angle curves and receiver flux distributions. For an acceptance angle of 1 deg, the circular trough concentrator with circular receiver is found to achieve a maximum geometric concentration ratio of 7.695× with a peak flux of 30 suns. For large acceptance angles (10 deg), the circular trough achieves a geometric concentration ratio as high as 82% of that of a parabolic trough. This noteworthy performance, along with the fact that a circular mirror is amenable to an inflated polymer construction, makes this configuration promising for low-cost, low-concentration solar thermal applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semidefinite programs (SDPs) arising from the Kalman—Yakubovich—Popov (KYP) lemma are frequently encountered in systems robustness analysis, filter design, and other control/signal processing related applications. These programs possess a special structure that can be exploited to construct specialized algorithms that substantially outperform general-purpose SDP solvers. In this paper, a new interior path-following algorithm that utilizes this structure is proposed. The main idea behind the algorithm is a new barrier function for these specially structured SDPs. Convergence of the new algorithm is shown and a measure of the accuracy of suboptimal solutions produced by the algorithm is provided. The algorithm is tested in numerical experiments and the results indicate that the new algorithm is indeed favorable against general-purpose SDP solvers in many circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the prediction of the helium concentrations as function of a spatially variable source term perturbed by fractional Brownian motion. For the direct problem, we show that it is well-posed and has a unique mild solution under some conditions. For the inverse problem, the uniqueness and the instability are given. In the meanwhile, we determine the statistical properties of the source from the expectation and covariance of the final-time data u (r , T). Finally, numerical implements are given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a fiber break occurs in longitudinal tension of a unidirectional composite, dynamic stress concentrations arise, which can be different from the ones found considering only static loading. The current paper analyzes the dynamic stress concentration factors (SCF) around a fiber break in unidirectional carbon fiber/epoxy composites. 3D finite element models with random and hexagonal fiber distributions were analyzed to investigate the evolution of stress concentrations as a function of time and position. The results indicate that dynamic effects result in much higher SCFs with a larger effective area around the broken fiber. The increase of SCFs in the closest fibers was determined to be larger for lower fiber volume fractions due to the presence of dynamic effects. Similar to the static case, a lower volume fraction causes higher maximum dynamic SCF in random packings. Results also support the high prevalence of coplanar cluster breaks observed in the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The incorporation of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes into a block copolymer system can lead to formation of microphase separated nanostructures driven by the electrostatic complex between two oppositely charged blocks. It is a theoretical challenge to build an appropriate model to handle such coacervate-driven self-assembly, which should capture the strong electrostatic correlations for highly charged polymers. In this paper, we develop the self-consistent field theory considering the ion paring effect to predict the phase behavior of block polyelectrolytes. In our model, two types of ion pairs, the binding between two oppositely charged monomers and the binding between charged monomers and counterions, are included. Their strength of formation is controlled by two parameters Kaa and Kac, respectively. We give a detailed analysis about how the binding strength Kac and Kaa and salt concentration affect the self-assembled nanostructure of diblock polyelectrolyte systems. The results show that the binding between two oppositely charged blocks provides driven force for microphase separation, while the binding between charged monomers and counterions competes with the polyion pairing and thus suppresses the microphase separation. The addition of salt has a shielding effect on the charges of polymers, which is a disadvantage to microphase separation. The phase diagrams as a function of polymer concentration and salt concentration at different situations are constructed, and the influence of Kaa, Kac, and charged block composition fa is analyzed in depth. The obtained phase diagrams are in good agreement with currently existing experimental and theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhibiting a signalling pathway concerns controlling the cellular processes of a cancer cell's viability, cell division and death. Assay protocols created to see if the molecular structures of the drugs being tested have the desired inhibition qualities often show great variability across experiments, and it is imperative to diminish the effects of such variability while inferences are drawn. In this paper, we propose the study of experimental data through the lenses of a mathematical model depicting the inhibition mechanism and the activation-inhibition dynamics. The method is exemplified through assay data obtained from an experimental study of the inhibition of the chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) and chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) signalling pathway of melanoma cells. The quantitative analysis is conducted as a two step process: (i) deriving theoretically from the model the cell viability as a function of time depending on several parameters; (ii) estimating the values of the parameters by using the experimental data. The cell viability is obtained as a function of concentration of the inhibitor and time, thus providing a comprehensive characterization of the potential therapeutic effect of the considered inhibitor, e.g. |$IC_{50}$| can be computed for any time point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the values of the absolute constants in the Kolmogorov–Rogozin and Kesten inequalities are refined for the concentration function of the sum of independent random vectors in a Hilbert space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study a nonlinear elliptic equation arising in astrophysics: (0.1) − Δ u + V (x) u = | u | 2 ⁎ − 2 u | x ′ | + Q (x) | u | q − 2 u , x : = (x ′ , x ″) ∈ R m × R n − m , where n ≥ 3 , 2 ≤ m < n , 2 ⁎ = 2 (n − 1) n − 2 , 2 < q < 2 n n − 2 and V (x) , Q (x) ∈ C (R n). The partly singular term | u | 2 ⁎ − 2 u | x ′ | in (0.1) forces us to establish a refined Sobolev inequality involving partly weighted Morrey norm, which generalizes similar inequality obtained by G. Palatucci and A. Pisante (2014) [25]. Benefiting from the new inequality, we obtain a global compactness result and some existence result for (0.1) , which extend the results obtained by Y. B. Deng et al. (2012) [12]. Our strategy turns out to be more concise because we avoid the use of Levy concentration functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the results of high temperature resistivity and Hall effect studies of Mg-doped GaN and AlxGa1−xN epilayers (0.05 < x < 0.23). The studied samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on low temperature buffers of GaN and AlN deposited on a sapphire substrate. The experiments were carried out at temperatures ranging from 300 up to 1000 K. Up to a certain critical temperature TC (around 800 K), a typical increase of the conduction processes due to the excitation of impurity states has been observed with an activation energy of about EA = 200 meV. However, at this critical temperature TC, an annealing effect was observed in all the investigated samples. At this critical temperature, the increase in the free carrier concentration as a function of time leads to an irreversible decrease in the samples' resistivity of more than 60%. The observed temperature dependences of the electrical transport properties are analyzed in the frame of an impurity model including shallow donors and Mg-related acceptors (with EA ∼ 200 meV). In some cases, an additional conduction channel not related to free carriers in the valence band must be taken into account. This can lead to an incorrect determination of hole concentration in the valence band, an important parameter in the process of radiative recombination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to establish distribution-free concentration inequalities for the log-likelihood function of Bernoulli variables, which means that the tail bounds are independent of the parameters. Moreover, Bernstein's and Bennett's inequalities with optimal constants are obtained. The simulation study shows significant improvements over the previous results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the current state of the initiation of the global spontaneous fires and the reasons of their apparitions. Their spontaneity probably is related to the presence of the pollutants in the atmosphere such as methane and fuel particles. Moreover, methane is the precursor of ozone. Ozone, in its turn, is the factor that leads to the destruction of flora and the transformation of flora into the fuel. It is also clear that the complex processes that take place in the Biosphere with the presence of polluting gases and the occurrence of fires lead to the development of the states of extreme temperature variations, drought and floods. Increasing albedo values have an increasing influence on the development of extreme temperatures and other natural cataclysms. An empirical method based on the thermodynamic laws of ignition point with fire cascade processes is elaborated. The empirical expression of the albedo variation as the function of concentration of green house gas also is elaborated and suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the steady states of a system of cross-diffusion equations arising from the modeling of chemotaxis with local sensing, where the motility is a decreasing function of the concentration of the chemical. In order to capture the many different equilibria that sometimes co-exist, we use computer-assisted proofs: Given an approximate solution obtained numerically, we apply a fixed-point argument in a small neighborhood of this approximate solution to prove the existence of an exact solution nearby. This allows us to rigorously study the steady states of this cross-diffusion system much more extensively than what previously possible with purely pen-and-paper techniques. Our computer-assisted argument makes use of Fourier series decomposition, which is common in the literature, but usually restricted to systems with polynomial nonlinearities. This is not the case for the model considered in this paper, and we develop a new way of dealing with some nonpolynomial nonlinearities in the context of computer-assisted proofs with Fourier series. • Existence proof and precise description of many co-existing steady states for a chemotaxis model. • Management of non-linearities and propagation of errors in rigorous numerics. • Computer-assisted proofs for cross-diffusion systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dopamine synthesis in the substantia nigra appears to be increased in schizophrenia. • There is evidence for increased glutamatergic functioning and reduced GABAergic functioning in the substantia nigra. • Reduced GABAergic inhibition and excessive glutamatergic excitation might underlie the increased dopamine synthesis in the nigrostriatal pathway. Dysregulation of striatal dopamine is considered to be an important driver of pathophysiological processes in schizophrenia. Despite being one of the main origins of dopaminergic input to the striatum, the (dys)functioning of the substantia nigra (SN) has been relatively understudied in schizophrenia. Hence, this paper aims to review different molecular aspects of nigral functioning in patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls by integrating post-mortem and molecular imaging studies. We found evidence for hyperdopaminergic functioning in the SN of patients with schizophrenia (i.e. increased AADC activity in antipsychotic-free/-naïve patients and elevated neuromelanin accumulation). Reduced GABAergic inhibition (i.e. decreased density of GABAergic synapses, lower VGAT mRNA levels and lower mRNA levels for GABA A receptor subunits), excessive glutamatergic excitation (i.e. increased NR1 and Glur5 mRNA levels and a reduced number of astrocytes), and several other disturbances implicating the SN (i.e. immune functioning and copper concentrations) could potentially underlie this nigral hyperactivity and associated striatal hyperdopaminergic functioning in schizophrenia. These results highlight the importance of the SN in schizophrenia pathology and suggest that some aspects of molecular functioning in the SN could potentially be used as treatment targets or biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the impact of the particle initial wetting and the viscosity of the oil phase on the structure and rheological properties of direct (Oil/Water) and reverse (Water/Oil) Pickering emulsions. The emulsion structure was investigated via confocal microscopy and static light scattering. The flow and viscoelastic properties were probed by a stress-controlled rheometer. Partially hydrophobic silica particles have been employed at 1 and 4 wt.% to stabilize dodecane or paraffin-based emulsions at 20 vol.% of the dispersed phase. W/O emulsions were obtained when the particles were dispersed in the oily phase while O/W emulsions were prepared when the silica was introduced in the aqueous phase. We demonstrated that, although the particles adsorbed at the droplets interfaces for all the emulsions, their organization, the emulsion structure and their rheological properties depend in which phase they were previously dispersed in. We discuss these features as a function of the particle concentration and the oil viscosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the present paper is to characterize the hydration properties of glucose and the hydrogen bond network in glucose–water mixtures. For these purposes, temperature scans on ten concentration values of glucose–water mixtures were performed by means of Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy. More specifically, in order to get this information an analysis of the intramolecular OH stretching mode, investigating the 3000–3700 cm−1 spectral range, was performed by means of an innovative approach based on the evaluation of the Spectral Distance (SD). The adopted procedure allows evaluating the glucose hydration number as well as characterizing the temperature behavior of the hydrogen bond network in the glucose–water mixtures. The obtained results for the hydration number are in excellent agreement with literature data and suggest the existence of a particular concentration value for which the hydrogen bond network shows a maximum strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, MXene nano‐material is used with silicone oil to improve the thermal conductivity of nano‐fluids and it further increases the heat transfer. MXene nano‐material‐silicone oil‐based nano‐fluids have the capacity to be employed as heat transfer fluids in various thermal applications since it has excellent thermal properties, higher heat resistance and silicone oil have the ability to operate upto a temperature of 400°C. This paper investigates the thermal conductivity values for different concentrations and temperature of MXene nano‐fluids. The thermal conductivity of the prepared MXene nano‐fluids is strongly dependent on temperature and concentration of MXene nano‐particles. The values of thermal conductivity are predicted by developing multilayer perceptron (MLP) Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. The temperature and nano‐particles concentration are taken as inputs and thermal conductivity is taken as output to the model. Mean square error (MSE) and correlation coefficient (R) are used to assess the efficacy of the developed model using trial and error method. The values of MSE and correlation coefficient for the optimum model are found to be 2.6 × 10−07 and 0.99687, respectively. A correlation for thermal conductivity as a function of temperature and concentration is also propounded using the experimental results. The developed optimum ANN model show satisfactory performance, and the predicted thermal conductivity values matches well with experimental thermal conductivity values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the actual background of the susceptible population being directly patients after inhaling a certain amount of PM 2.5 is taken into account. The concentration response function of PM 2.5 is introduced, and the SISP respiratory disease model is proposed. Qualitative theoretical analysis proves that the existence, local stability and global stability of the equilibria are all related to the daily emission P 0 of PM 2.5 and PM 2.5 pathogenic threshold K. Based on the sensitivity factor analysis and time-varying sensitivity analysis of parameters on the number of patients, it is found that the conversion rate β and the inhalation rate η has the largest positive correlation. The cure rate γ of infected persons has the greatest negative correlation on the number of patients. The control strategy formulated by the analysis results of optimal control theory is as follows: The first step is to improve the clearance rate of PM 2.5 by reducing the PM 2.5 emissions and increasing the intensity of dust removal. Moreover, such removal work must be maintained for a long time. The second step is to improve the cure rate of patients by being treated in time. After that, people should be reminded to wear masks and go out less so as to reduce the conversion rate of susceptible people becoming patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binary adsorption isotherms of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and water vapor from the air have been the focus of much research in recent years. The content of adsorbed VOCs in the presence of water vapor can be determined by the volumetric or gravimetric method, in a static or dynamic mode. This study focuses on the adsorption technique in a static mode for isotherm measurement of the co-adsorption of VOCs and water vapor from the air using the gravimetric method. The content of VOCs is determined using a total organic carbon analyzer, while the amount of the adsorbed water was calculated from the difference between total adsorption (VOCs and water) and the adsorbed VOCs. This paper presents several adsorption isotherms with different VOCs (toluene, benzene, methanol, ethanol and isopropyl alcohol) and adsorbents (ZSM-5 zeolite, silica gel and Na-Form mordernite) in the presence of water vapor. The well-known adsorption isotherm models (Langmuir, extended Langmuir, Freundlich, extended Freundlich and Hill) were used to treat experimental results. The adjusted R-Squared (adj. R2) values obtained for those non-linear models for isotherms (total adsorpton (qe,tot) as a function of equilibrium concentration of VOC (Ce) and the adsorbed VOC (qe) as a function of equilibrium concentration of VOC (Ce) are used to determine the best-fit isotherm model. The modeling results showed that the 3-parameter models could fit the data better than the 2-parameter model, with relatively higher adj. R2. Experimental results demonstrate that the presented adsorption technique can be used for isotherm measurement of the co-adsorption of VOCs and water vapor from the air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Al/JP-10/oleic acid nanofluid fuel system has demonstrated potential in advanced combustion for aviation turbine engines. To improve the energy density of nanofluid fuel, a higher Al concentration requirement needs to be met. Correspondingly, a higher surfactant oleic acid concentration is required to maintain better dispersion stability. The increment of Al and oleic acid concentrations results in more frequent microexplosions, but a slower evaporation rate. Therefore, this paper proposes to deeply understand the contradiction of the concentration effect on the stability, physical properties, evaporation and microexplosion characteristics and obtain the best Al and oleic acid concentrations to maintain the most suitable comprehensive performance. Experiments on the stability, physical properties, evaporation and microexplosion characteristics were conducted, respectively. The analysis and discussion were then made to reveal the Al and oleic acid concentration effect on the stability, physical properties, evaporation and microexplosion characteristics. The results show that the optimum mass ratio of Al:oleic acid is 1:2 for the nanofluid fuels with Al concentrations of 2.5 wt.% or below, 1:2.5 for 5.0 wt.% or above to obtain the best stability. The physical properties of the nanofluid fuels such as density, surface tension and viscosity are linear, quartic and quadratic functions of Al concentration, respectively, relating to the internal flow and microexplosion of fuel droplets. With increasing oleic acid and Al concentration, the evaporation rates reduced, and the microexplosions became more frequent and intense. At a high ambient temperature of 600 °C, the evaporation rates were kept almost equivalent for JP-10, JP-10/oleic acid, and Al/JP-10/oleic acid fuels. It was found that the increment of ambient temperature can compensate for the reduction of the evaporation rate owing to the addition of oleic acid and Al nanoparticles, improving the evaporation and microexplosion performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of apo-metallothioneins (apo-MTs) have been relatively elusive due to their fluxional, disordered state which has been difficult to characterize. However, intrinsically disordered protein (IDP) structures are rather diverse, which raises questions about where the structure of apo-MTs fit into the protein structural spectrum. In this paper, the unfolding transitions of apo-MT1a are discussed with respect to the effect of the chemical denaturant GdmCl, temperature conditions, and pH environment. Cysteine modification in combination with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to probe the unfolding transition of apo-MT1a in terms of cysteine exposure. Circular dichroism spectroscopy was also used to monitor the change in secondary structure as a function of GdmCl concentration. For both of these techniques, cooperative unfolding was observed, suggesting that apo-MT1a is not a random coil. More GdmCl was required to unfold the protein backbone than to expose the cysteines, indicating that cysteine exposure is likely an early step in the unfolding of apo-MT1a. MD simulations complement the experimental results, suggesting that apo-MT1a adopts a more compact structure than expected for a random coil. Overall, these results provide further insight into the intrinsically disordered structure of apo-MT. [Display omitted] • ESI-MS experiments show the disordered apo-MT1a structure is cooperatively unfolded. • Apo-MT1a has residual secondary structure, which can be cooperatively unfolded. • The thermodynamic folding parameters were obtained and indicate marginal stability. • The exposure of a particular cysteine residue in apo-MT1a is not random. • Apo-MT1a is likely a molten globule type of intrinsically disordered protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In aquatic toxicity tests, responses of interest from organisms exposed to varying concentration levels of the toxicant or other adverse treatment are recorded. These responses are modeled as functions of the concentration and the concentration associated with specified levels of estimated adverse effect are used in risk management. While aquatic toxicity analyses often focus on outcomes from a single experiment, laboratories commonly have a history of conducting such experiments using the same species, following a similar experimental protocol. So it is often reasonable to believe that the same underlying biological process generates the historical and current experiments. This connection may facilitate the design of more efficient experiments. In the present study, we propose a simulation-based Bayesian sample size determination approach using historical control outcomes as prior input and illustrate it using a C. dubia reproduction experiment with count outcomes. Simulation results show that precision of the potency estimates is improved via incorporation of historical data. For a standard EPA required test of 60 total organisms, when a single historical control study is incorporated assuming moderate relevance, the mean length (AL) of the 95 % interval of RI 25 (the concentration associated with 25 % inhibition relative to control) is reduced by 17 % . So more precision is possible from the historical control data or a reduction of 40 % of the 60 organism would result in the same precision for a pre-specified AL criterion. The incorporation of multiple historical controls assuming moderate relevance would reduce AL by 37 % , translating into a reduction of 70 % of the current default sample size. Supplementary materials accompanying this paper appear online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper synthesises insights and offers new quantitative analyses of data gathered during 40 years of stream research by Danish researchers and international associates. Lowland Danish streams mostly drain fertile cropland and contain high nutrient concentrations saturating maximum yield and growth rate of plants. Concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) are variable, although usually high, supporting a range of wetland and permanently submerged species.All terrestrial and most amphibious species are obligate CO2 users, while the majority of permanently submerged species can supplement their inorganic carbon demand with bicarbonate. In lake outlets, the average CO2 concentration was close to air saturation during summer, whereas sites with no lake influence were 9‐fold supersaturated. The 20% increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations over the past 40 years has marginal influence on CO2 concentrations in the streams.In lake outlets with low CO2 concentrations, calculations on 33 stream species showed essentially no underwater photosynthesis by temporarily submerged terrestrial species, low rates by amphibious species, and high rates by permanently submerged bicarbonate users. Underwater photosynthetic rates increased at sites with high CO2 concentrations (no lake influence): they were lowest for terrestrial wetland species (mean 1.8 mg O2 g dry weight−1 hr−1), followed by homophyllous (3.0) and heterophyllous amphibious species (5.6), and highest among permanently submerged species (15.0). Terrestrial and amphibious species grew very slowly when CO2 levels were low, but rapidly in CO2 rich water, or when in contact with air above the water's surface. Decreasing CO2 concentrations from upstream to downstream caused lower photosynthesis rates of amphibious species, while photosynthesis by bicarbonate users was consistently high.The relative abundance of terrestrial and amphibious species decreased significantly as CO2 resources decline from upstream to downstream, while the abundance of permanently submerged species increased as streams progressed. However, plant abundance as a function of CO2 concentrations did not differ markedly among the plant groups.We conclude that photosynthesis and growth of species of different plant types under controlled experimental conditions resembling high in situ nutrient availability are closely related to inorganic carbon supplies, while their representation in plant assemblages is influenced by the spatially and temporally highly diverse ecological conditions from upstream to downstream in the mostly CO2‐rich lowland streams.Submerged terrestrial and amphibious species restricted to CO2 use for photosynthesis can partly escape the slow gas diffusion under water by growing in very CO2‐rich streams and having apical leaves in contact with air. Thus, strong restrictions on their growth and existence should be identified at sites where CO2 concentrations are consistently low and no air contact is possible, while co‐limitation by nutrients is likely to be marginal.Generally, rising atmospheric CO2 is irrelevant to photosynthesis of permanently submerged plants because of their ability to use bicarbonate and the high CO2 supersaturation in most stream sites. In contrast, photosynthesis and growth of amphibious and terrestrial plants under water are highly dependent on CO2 concentrations varying from close to air saturation in lake outlets to supersaturation in headwaters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with studying a connection of the Littlewood–Offord problem with estimating the concentration functions of some symmetric infinitely divisible distributions. It is shown that the concentration function of a weighted sum of independent identically distributed random variables is estimated in terms of the concentration function of a symmetric infinitely divisible distribution whose spectral measure is concentrated on the set of plus-minus weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) is a weak sugar acid structurally related to glucose. All known physiological and biochemical functions of AA are due to its action as an electron donor. Ascorbate readily undergoes pH-dependent autoxidation creating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In vitro evidence suggests that vitamin C functions at low concentrations as an antioxidant while high concentration is pro-oxidant. Thus, both characters of AA might be translated into clinical benefits. In vitro obtained results and murine experiments consequently prove the cytotoxic effect of AA on cancer cells, but current clinical evidence for high-dose intravenous (i.v.) vitamin C's therapeutic effect is ambiguous. The difference might be caused by the missing knowledge of AA's actions. In the literature, there are many publications regarding vitamin C and cancer. Review papers of systematic analysis of human interventional and observational studies assessing i.v. AA for cancer patients' use helps the overview of the extensive literature. Based on the results of four review articles and the Cancer Information Summary of the National Cancer Institute's results, we analyzed 20 publications related to high-dose intravenous vitamin C therapy (HAAT). The analyzed results indicate that HAAT might be a useful cancer-treating tool in certain circumstances. The AA's cytotoxic effect is hypoxia-induced factor dependent. It impacts only the anoxic cells, using the Warburg metabolism. It prevents tumor growth. Accordingly, discontinuation of treatment leads to repeated expansion of the tumor. We believe that the clinical use of HAAT in cancer treatment should be reassessed. The accumulation of more study results on HAAT is desperately needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In part I of this paper series, the application of an incomplete adjoint operator to calculate the optimal reduction of the total emissions S′ was suggested. This paper, part II of the series, focuses on calculating the reduction of the anthropogenic emission source S′a As Sc (the source term due to the chemical reaction in the atmosphere) is a complex function of the pollutant concentration ρ, we propose an iterative optimization method using a positive-negative discriminant to obtain S′a from S′. The convergence of the iterations is also proven in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to study the process of coprecipitation of polyhydroxocomplexes of nickel and aluminum from solutions of nickel (Ni) (II) sulfate and aluminum (Al) (III) sulfate with caustic soda and to study the conversion process to nickel aluminate and to check its properties. Design/methodology/approach: For the thermodynamic analysis of the precipitation process, the software package MEDUSA was used. The dependences of the electrical conductivity, pH and residual concentrations as functions of the OH/Me ratio were obtained. Using X-ray phase analysis, spectroscopic analysis and derivatographic analysis, the properties of the products obtained were studied. The effects of OH/Me ratio and molar ratio cation of reagents on the physicochemical properties of the products were analyzed. Findings: The paper deals with the results of theoretical and experimental research on the synthesis pigments of blue and green colors based on Ni-Al spinel. The influence of the molar ratio cation content on optical and color characterise of pigments were studied. Originality/value: The original complex method of studying the processes of co-precipitation of cations in the form of hydroxides is proposed. pH precipitation of aluminum hydroxide and nickel are different. It is interesting to study their co-precipitation. The resulting single-phase product is a precursor of nickel aluminate over a wide range of cation ratios. The dependences of the electrical conductivity, pH and residual concentrations as functions of the OH/Me ratio were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of polymer modification on the durability of Polymer Modified Bitumens (PMBs) still remain relatively unclear due to partial understanding of the combined effects of ageing and loading on damage accumulation. This paper investigates the effects of laboratory ageing on the damage tolerance of cross-linked SBS and EVA modified bitumens measured using the Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test and corroborated with the morphology of the PMBs. The PMBs were prepared with three polymer concentrations (i.e. 2%, 4% and 6%). In general, ageing affects the capacity of bitumens to maintain integrity to damage and reduces their time-temperature susceptibility. The damage tolerance is derived from the combination of the two mechanisms as a function of the bitumen's strain level. At low strain levels, typical of thick pavements, ageing enhances the damage tolerance. Contrarily, at higher strain levels, it provides the opposite effect. SBS improves the damage tolerance of the base bitumen as a function of polymer concentration and dispersion. However, the polymer chain undergoes oxidative degradation and its effect reduces with ageing. EVA forms a polymer network with a low oxidative susceptibility that contributes, at low strain, to maintaining or improving the damage tolerance with ageing as a function of the polymer concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the one-pot method for the synthesis and doping of boehmite by a reagent-free method using the underwater plasma. Metal wires (Al, Fe, Ni) are used as sources of AlOOH and doping elements. The basic characterization tools have been used to determine the phase composition, particle size, morphology, and surface properties (X-ray diffractions (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), specific surface area). Varying the plasma parameters makes it possible to obtain either doped boehmite or systems of binary oxyhydroxides. The obtained materials are mesoporous, which are capable of removing the Cr(VI). The adsorption of chromium ions is studied as a function of concentration and reaction time. Fe-doped boehmite and Al-Fe oxyhydroxide system show high sorption activity concerning chromium ions (60-100 mg g-1). In contrast, materials based on Al-Ni have shown low efficiency as sorbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One difficulty in solving the Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) equations used for studying the ion transport in channel proteins is the possible convection‐dominant problem in the Nernst–Planck equations. In this paper, to overcome this issue, considering the general mixed boundary conditions of concentration functions on the interface, a novel stabilized finite volume element method based on the standard weak formulation to solve the steady‐state PNP equations is proposed and analyzed. Numerical tests on four ion‐channel proteins served as benchmark with varying boundary conditions in a certain range show that the new stabilized technique not only improves the robustness of the new PNP solver, but also makes the computed (especially the maximal) concentration values much more reasonable. A new stabilized technique for the mixed boundary condition on the interface is proposed and analyzed.The new stabilized PNP solver is fulfilled in Fortran and Python, and well validated using the test models.The effectiveness of the new stabilized technique as well as the robustness of the new PNP solver is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Research consistently shows that crime concentrates on a few repeatedly victimized places and targets. In this paper we examine whether the same is true for extortion against businesses. We then test whether the factors that explain the likelihood of becoming a victim of extortion also explain the number of incidents suffered by victimized businesses. The alternative is that extortion concentration is a function of event dependence. Methods: Drawing on Mexico's commercial victimization survey, we determine whether repeat victimization occurs by chance by comparing the observed distribution to that expected under a Poisson process. Next, we utilize a multilevel negative binomial-logit hurdle model to examine whether area- and business-level predictors of victimization are also associated with the number of repeat extortions suffered by businesses. Results: Findings suggest that extortion is highly concentrated, and that the predictors of repeated extortion differ from those that predict the likelihood of becoming a victim of extortion. While area-level variables showed a modest association with the likelihood of extortion victimization, they were not significant predictors of repeat incidents. Similarly, most business-level variables significantly associated with victimization risk showed insignificant (and sometimes contrary) associations with victimization concentration. Overall, unexplained differences in extortion concentration at the business-level were unaffected by predictors of extortion prevalence. Conclusions: The inconsistent associations of predictors across the hurdle components suggest that extortion prevalence and concentration are fueled by two distinct processes, an interpretation congruent with theoretical expectations regarding extortion that considers that repeats are likely fueled by a process of event dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adsorption phenomenon is a popular separation process in environmental remediation and wastewater treatment due to its simplicity, low cost, efficiency, and environmentally friendliness. The amount of material absorbed by a substrate is often expressed as a function of the equilibrium concentration at a constant temperature in a process known as Adsorption Isotherm. The study of adsorption isotherms is essential to gain insight into the design and operation of adsorption systems. In this review paper, the general knowledge and application of the isotherm model to date have been highlighted for an insight into the concept and application of adsorption isotherm models. The classification of the isotherm model has also been highlighted. In addition, various types of isotherm models in terms of the number of parameters have been extensively discussed. The criteria for selecting the appropriate model as well as the modern trend in the modelling approach have also been discussed. This review will enable researcher make informed choices in selecting adsorption isotherm models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How we ought to diagnose, categorise and respond to spectrum disabilities such as autism and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a topic of lively debate. The heterogeneity associated with ADHD and autism is described as falling on various continua of behavioural, neural, and genetic difference. These continua are varyingly described either as extending into the general population, or as being continua within a given disorder demarcation. Moreover, the interrelationships of these continua are likewise often vague and subject to diverse interpretations. In this paper, I explore geneticists' and self-advocates' perspectives concerning autism and ADHD as continua. These diagnoses are overwhelmingly analysed as falling on a continuum or continua of underlying traits, which supports the notion of "the neurodiversity spectrum", i.e., a broader swath of human neural and behavioural diversity on which some concentrations of different functioning are diagnosed. I offer a taxonomy of conceptions of the genetic, phenotypic, and endophenotypic dimensionality within and beyond these diagnostic categories, and suggest that the spectrum of neurodiversity is characteristically endophenotypic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the most promising way of restructuring the financial system in Ukraine, in particular a single regulator (megaregulator), thus allowing to avoid contradictions in the system of state regulation and control in the financial sphere and create a stable basis for the successful integration of Ukraine into the global financial system. The main purpose of state financial agencies is stabilizing the financial system, taking into account the positives and drawbacks of state regulation in the financial sector. Reforms for regulation and supervision in the financial market of Ukraine should be implemented in four main areas: - unifying the rules and regulations of state regulation in the financial market with the gradual concentration of regulatory functions in a single state body; - separating supervisory functions from regulatory and implementing the system of prudential supervision in all major segments of the financial market; - increasing the role of self-regulatory organizations of professional participants and establishing their closer connection with regulatory bodies; - significant improvement in financing state regulators, including from market sources. The need to concentrate efforts on developing the mechanisms of the state influence on financial stability, system analysis and implementing measures to prevent systemic risks, ensuring effective management of the financial system liquidity, modernizing and improving the transparency of financial legislation and implementing existing legislative norms by all subjects of financial relations is noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the latest refinements brought to the DARDAR-CLOUD product, which contains ice cloud microphysical properties retrieved from the cloud radar and lidar measurements from the A-Train mission. Based on a large dataset of in situ ice cloud measurements, the parameterizations used in the microphysical model of the algorithm – i.e. the normalized particle size distribution, the mass–size relationship, and the parameterization of the a priori value of the normalized number concentration as a function of temperature – were assessed and refined to better fit the measurements, keeping the same formalism as proposed in DARDAR basis papers. Additionally, in regions where lidar measurements are available, the lidar ratio retrieved for ice clouds is shown to be well constrained by the lidar–radar synergy. Using this information, the parameterization of the lidar ratio was also refined, and the new retrieval equals on average 35±10 sr in the temperature range between -60 and -20 ∘C. The impact of those changes on the retrieved ice cloud properties is presented in terms of ice water content (IWC) and effective radius. Overall, IWC values from the new DARDAR-CLOUD product are on average 16 % smaller than the previous version, leading to a 24 % reduction in the ice water path. In parallel, the retrieved effective radii increase by 5 % to 40 %, depending on temperature and the availability of the instruments, with an average difference of +15 %. Modifications of the microphysical model strongly affect the ice water content retrievals with differences that were found to range from -50 % to +40 %, depending on temperature and the availability of the instruments. The largest differences are found for the warmest temperatures (between -20 and 0 ∘C) in regions where the cloud microphysical processes are more complex and where the retrieval is almost exclusively based on radar-only measurements. The new lidar ratio values lead to a reduction of IWC at cold temperatures, the difference between the two versions increasing from around 0 % at -30 ∘C to 70 % below -80 ∘C , whereas effective radii are not impacted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In a previous paper, the author introduced a new class of multivariate rational interpolants, which are called Optimal Padé-type Approximants (OPTA). There, for this class of rational interpolants, which extends classical univariate Padé Approximants, a direct extension of the “de Montessus de Ballore''s Theorem” for meromorphic functions in several variables is established. In the univariate case, this theorem ensures uniform convergence of a row of Pade Approximants when the denominator degree equals the number of poles (counting multiplicities) in a certain disc. When one overshoots the number of poles when fixing the denominator degree, convergence in measure or capacity has been proved and, under certain additional restrictions, the uniform convergence of a subsequence of the row. The author tackles the latter case and studies its generalization to functions in several variables by using OPTA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper considers a social network modeled as an Erd-os-Rényi random graph. Each individual in the network updates her opinion using the weighted average of the opinions of her neighbors. We explore how an external manipulative agent can drive the opinions of these individuals to a desired state with a limited additive in uence on their innate opinions. We show that the manipulative agent can steer the network opinion to any arbitrary value in finite time (i.e., the system is controllable) almost surely when there is no restriction on her in uence. However, when the control input is sparsity constrained, the network opinion is controllable with some probability. We lower bound this probability using the concentration properties of random vectors based on the Lévy concentration function and small ball probabilities. Our theoretical and numerical results shed light on how controllability of the network opinion depends on the parameters such as the size and the connectivity of the network and sity constraints faced by the manipulative agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the different characteristics of coal spontaneous combustion (CSC), different countermeasures can effectively prevent CSC. In this paper, a new characteristic parameter, the oxygen consumption rate integral (OCRI), was proposed. The characteristics of CSC during the latent period and the effect of low oxygen concentration (0–20.96 %) on the CSC were comprehensively examined. Using a lab-built closed oxidation system, isothermal oxidation experiments were performed on different grades of coals at different temperatures. The OCRI was obtained by integrating the oxygen consumption rate as a function of oxygen concentration. The OCRI expresses the sum of the rates of oxygen consumption at different concentrations of oxygen and can be used as an identification index for the propensity of CSC. The kinetic basis for this approach is the variability of initial oxygen consumption rates and oxygen reaction orders for different coals. Finally, the physicochemical structure of the coal was measured by N 2 adsorption and IR analysis. The results were correlated with the OCRI. On this basis, the main microscopic reaction pathways affecting the CSC were revealed. The results can aid in the future direction for research and development of high-efficiency inhibitors. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CALMET-LAPMOD can be used for radionuclide atmospheric dispersion simulation. • Summarizing the unique advantages of source terms based on recognized events. • Verifying the releases caused by certain recognized events. • Kernel function concentration calculation may not require massive released particles. • Wind direction substantially influences the temporal tendency of simulated results. This paper investigates a local-scale radionuclide dispersion modeling, focusing on the 20 km range of the Fukushima accident. The California Meteorological Model (CALMET) was used to calculate the diagnostic wind fields for simulation using on-site meteorological observations, and the Lagrangian Particle Model (LAPMOD) was used to simulate the dispersion of the 137Cs. The simulation was validated against the measurement from two 137Cs airborne concentration stations (Futaba and Naraha). A comprehensive sensitivity analysis was implemented to the source term, the number of particles per second, and the disturbance in wind speed and direction. The results show that the simulation agrees well with the measurement at Futaba (Geometric Mean Bias: 0.79, Fractional Mean Bias: 0.58) than that at Naraha (Geometric Mean Bias: 1.01, Fractional Mean Bias: 0.52), especially for the peak values. The sensitivity analysis indicates that the simulation is highly affected by the source term and the wind direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]